by Emma Merrell
Chapter Seventeen
Jude
"Luce is what? How is it even possible to know that yet? She was only with the prince a couple of days ago."
Jude was dumbfounded by what Petunia had just told him. He had come with Bran, for one last check-in before they began the march that evening. There was no universe in which he had expected to be told that he was going to be an uncle. "Is she happy?"
"Worried for the future, but happy. I think that they are falling in love with one another. She asked if it was possible for Prince Jonathan to keep the throne, even if the siege is successful."
"Well, the curse would be broken then right?"
"Yes, but do you really think that my uncle and Leona would be happy to win the kingdom from the queen, only to turn around and hand it right back to her son? This is not just about the babies. It is about eradicating the magic."
"And then what happens to you? And to Luce's child? Will you have to sit on your power and hide it away forever to make them happy?"
Petunia was silent for a long moment before answering, "I do not know what you want me to say, Jude. Whatever the outcome of the next couple of days might be, I don't think that it will be perfect. The best you can hope for is that Leona and my uncle will show mercy to the prince and allow him to live."
"And Luce and the baby?"
"They will be taken care of. I promise you that. The only thing that you need to be focusing on right now, Jude, is making sure that you get through this battle alive."
They broke off contact and Jude found Bran watching him. Jude nodded that all was well, unable to speak yet. His head was swirling with all the things that were happening in his life now. He had run away to free Luce, and it sounded like now that might not be what she wanted. He held no special love for the prince, but it hurt him to imagine driving off the father of Luce's child. He was going to turn her into a single mother if they succeeded. He could only hope that Bran would keep to his word and that he and Luce would be well-positioned in the new order and able to have a nice life.
"I need to get back," Bran said.
"Of course. Let's go, we have a kingdom to conquer after all."
Bran clapped him on the shoulder and pulled him to his feet. The walk back seemed to take no time at all, and before Jude knew it, he was being dropped off at the armory. Leona was there, dispensing weapons and armor to a long line of men and women. Jude wondered how these people would feel if they knew that each one was touched by blood and malicious intent. They would win this thing by the very force that they were trying to outlaw.
Jude came to the front of the line and accepted a dagger, a sword and a pile of leather. "Are you ready?" Leona asked him.
"I am, especially now that I've got these." He hefted his arms and hoped that she didn't notice the truth in his comment.
"Good, then I will see you at sunset. We plan for you to ride upfront with us."
He gave her a nod and departed to his chambers. When he was alone in his room, Jude threw down the pile of weaponry and sank down onto his mattress. A nap before the madness began was starting to seem like a very good idea. He had just completed the journey across the desert and up into the mountains a handful of days ago and he wasn't necessarily looking forward to repeating it. His time in the pit and the exertions and abuses of the party were still taking their toll on him. He was exhausted and the news that Petunia had brought him only served to make it worse.
Jude really did hope that Luce was as in love and happy as Petunia had told him. It lessened the guilt he felt, knowing that she had only been forced into sleeping with the prince because of him. But no, fuck that. She was going to have been forced into it regardless, it was why she had been brought here. This was all that evil bitch's fault. Jude had done nothing without the intention of protecting Luce, he wasn't going to take the fall for what the queen had forced her to do.
It was to these uneasy thoughts that Jude drifted off. His sleep was fitful, and when a man came in to wake him, he felt more tired than he had to begin with. It was a struggle to get the tight-fitting leather over his torso, but he managed. Not that the thin layer of animal hide made him feel any more protected than wearing nothing at all. Where was the chain mail and armor? Was the leather imbued with Leona’s magic as well?
The entire set of caves had emptied out into the night air and Jude was shocked at how many people there were. It was easy only seeing small sections of the population in those serpentine corridors, but all together they were a sight. Jude spied a few figures mounted on the top of horses and cut his way through the crowd. There was Bran talking with Leona, and Berenice was just beside them. There were a few other strong-looking men and women as well as an empty horse for Jude. He swung himself into the saddle. Berenice came up next to him and gave him a pre battle pep talk that seemed as if it helped her more than it was helping him. Jude really did enjoy her company and he hoped that they both made it through this alive.
She finished her talk, and then her eyes grew serious. "Are you afraid, Jude?"
He thought about it for a few moments before giving his answer, "I should be, right? But I'm not. I'm impatient, ready to get this over and done with."
"I'm afraid. I've never even been in a fistfight, but now I'm heading off to lay siege to a palace."
Leona must have been listening in, because she nudged her horse closer and spoke, "I promise you, girl, you have nothing to fear. Our victory is certain, of that I'm sure."
Yeah, and I know why, Jude thought.
It seemed like they stood waiting around for a long while after that. Bran rode around through the crowd, giving words of encouragement and adjusting where necessary. Jude's back was beginning to get sore before Bran finally approached the front of the crowd and raised his sword up high. Everyone drew theirs' as well and Jude quickly followed suit. Bran gave a great cry that was taken up by a thousand voices. Jude threw his head back and gave a deep-throated bellow of his own. A feeling that he had never known flowed through him in a rush and he now understood why some men had the urge for battle in their blood.
It seemed like they should have surged forward, but the mountains were no empty field and the going was slow on horseback and foot. Still, as Jude looked up at the moonless sky cluttered with glittering stars, it was the most alive that he had ever felt. Every sense was heightened and everything in the world became more beautiful. The icy, crisp air burned his lungs. The people around him became a tribe. This was a night that he would remember, in detail, for the rest of his life.
Over the course of the evening, he also discovered some less majestic things. The first of which was that riding on a horse for this length of time was fucking uncomfortable. He hurt from his thighs all the way up to his neck. The second thing that he learned was that a group of people this large did not move quickly. At the rate they traveled it would be the middle of the day by the time that they reached the palace. And that was if they even went straight to it. Bran was tossing around the idea of stopping for a rest at the halfway mark. That would put them there closer to sunset. Jude burned to be there already so that he could get to Luce, and the thought of being on the damn horse for that long was enough to make him whimper.
By the time that the sun began to lighten the sky over the horizon, all the adrenaline had fled his body and the thought of stopping for rest became the most attractive idea that he had ever heard. He wanted to hug Bran when he signaled for a halt. He climbed off the horse gratefully and moaned out loud at how stiff and sore he had become. How was he supposed to fight like this?
All around him people were dismounting, or simply falling from their feet into sitting position. Some walked off to go to the bathroom and Jude realized what a fantastic idea that was. He didn't even care about the lack of privacy as he did his business. All that he could think about was getting back and lying down. Those who had been on foot simply wrapped their light scarves over their faces and lay down on the ground. He took a deep drink from his waterski
n and fell into the deepest sleep he had ever experienced.
Chapter Eighteen
Luce
The queen was coming to check on Luce herself and it was all that she could do not to throw up from her nerves. Luce would have felt better if Jonathan had been with her, but the queen had ordered him out claiming a man need have nothing to do with an unborn baby. Her servants had spent the morning preparing her, making sure that she looked her absolute best. Thinking of her servants gave Luce a little chuckle. This baby had allowed her a bit of insight into how the girls really felt about her, and it wasn't all kind. She couldn't blame them, around here servant was just a glorified way of saying, slave. It amounted to the exact same thing.
Luce took a sip of water that did nothing to soothe her nerves or help with her dry mouth. Even after discovering that she was pregnant and that Norrick had designs on his brother's life, this was by far the most nerve-wracking thing that had happened in the past few days. It had been surprising how easily Jonathan had taken the news that his brother and Marianne were conspiring against him, in fact, it had made Luce a bit angry. In her opinion, Jonathan wasn't nearly as concerned as he should have been, shrugging it off by saying that he had nine months before there was anything to worry about. It was almost as if he had been expecting something like this from Norrick for his entire life. And he had flat-out refused to mention a word of it to his mother.
There were footsteps approaching and Luce went to the doorway to greet the queen. She hadn't seen her since the day that she arrived, but she hadn't forgotten for even a second how intimidating that woman was. She was sweeping towards Luce now in a rustle of silk and surrounded by a cadre of guards. Luce dropped to her knees and pressed her forehead against the ground. Jonathan had informed her that bowing to the queen was a bit more formal than bowing to anyone else.
A slippered foot entered Luce's field of vision. "Your Majesty."
The queen waited a good sixty seconds before allowing Luce to rise. When they stood face to face Luce was struck by her dark beauty, that part she had forgotten over the weeks that had passed. Ruby lips opened to speak. "So, Luce, how does it feel to be my son's chosen?"
"I am honored, Your Majesty."
"Of course, you are. Well, go to the bed, girl, I've brought the healer to assure myself that you really are with child."
Luce went and did as instructed. She had already gotten a flash of the queen's emotion and it had shown in what little regard she was held. As far as she was concerned Luce was just the vessel that would birth their savior. If the baby came out all right, she could care less about her. That was fine with Luce, the less contact that the queen wanted to have with her the better.
The healer that came forward was the same one that had healed Luce both when she had first arrived and when she had been hurt by Marianne's malicious little prank. The old woman placed her hands over Luce's abdomen and began singing to herself softly. It was sort of awkward, but also sort of relaxing. Her gaze wandered as she waited for the healer to finish and she briefly met the dark green eyes of the queen. She felt the same sensation that had occurred just before getting sucked into Marianne's memories and she quickly shut her eyes so that hopefully, no one would notice.
Luce looked around and realized that she was within the exact same bedroom, but that it was obviously a different time. There was a beautiful girl straining and sweating on the bed. There were women bustling about in the chamber, speaking in a hushed murmur. Luce was lounging on a cushion, watching the whole scene through slitted eyes. The healer, a couple of decades younger, approached her with a line of worry drawn between her eyebrows. "The baby is breech, Your Majesty. The girl is already beginning to bleed. The baby might die with the mother if we don't do something quickly. There is a tiny chance that I may be able to deliver them both safe, but I can make no guarantees."
Luce's lips moved, "Give her the sleep potion and then cut the baby out of her."
"With as much blood as she is losing, I believe that the sleep potion will kill her, Your Majesty."
"I have no care for that girl, let her die, just bring my grandchild forth into the world."
The healer bowed and moved away. The only sounds now came from the girl, who was crying out and moaning in pain. The healer fed her a few drinks from a cup and wiped her brow, within moments she went completely quiet. The healer began instructing her team quickly and they scurried forward to bring her a knife. Luce's view was blocked by the mass of bodies, but when the form of a baby was raised up out of the girl's body she saw. The healer gave a hard whack to the backside of the child, waited and then gave another. It didn't look like the tiny thing was moving at all. She laid it down and began chanting over it.
Luce went forward, sweat forming on her brow. The future of the kingdom depended on the next few seconds. If this baby died the curse would remain unbroken, and only the birth of another child or the queen's own death would be able to end it. Too much time had passed, mother and child were both dead.
With a snap, Luce returned to herself and it took everything she possessed not to swat the healer's hand away from her belly. She was glad that she was lying down because what she had just learned was enough to rock the foundations of the entire kingdom. Now all that she could think about was getting this over with. She had to tell Jonathan what happened to his first love and their baby. She had to tell him that the queen could have ended the curse anytime she wanted, and all she would have had to pay was her life. Luce knew the exact nature of the curse now.
She tried to calm her breathing and relax, but the process was stretching interminably. At long last, the healer drew back and turned to address the queen, which kind of pissed Luce off. Shouldn't the mother be the one to hear all the interesting things about her baby?
"Well?"
"The child will be a boy. Born at the height of midsummer. He will be healthy and strong."
A boy?
"Amazing. Come see me, Luce."
Luce got to her feet and, again, kneeling before the queen. "Your Majesty."
"You have done well. I knew when I chose you that you were going to be a special one."
Chose me? Don't you mean bought me? The words were on the very tip of her tongue and she only just managed to keep them back. "Thank you, Your Majesty." Somehow that had come out sounding a lot more like a fuck you. Oops.
"Did you know that your little rat of a brother is marching, at this very moment, to lay siege to my city? They will be here by tomorrow evening."
"I was unaware, Your Majesty."
"They will fail. Your brother will most likely lose his life in the attempt." The queen was baiting her, but Luce refused to rise for it. However, she could now see where Norrick had learned to be cruel. The queen continued on, "I have most of my guards positioned at the walls to stop them, but I still wonder if the people won't worry. So, I'm giving them a distraction. Tomorrow, as your brother and the mountain rabble are busy failing in their attempt, we will be presenting you to the people as Jonathan's future wife and announcing your pregnancy. How does that sound?"
"Wonderful, Your Majesty."
"Good girl. Let's give them a show tomorrow, shall we?"
Luce nodded, and the queen rose to her feet and departed without another word. As soon as the room had cleared of her entourage, Luce called for her handmaiden. She appeared from the corner of the room like a mirage as if she hadn't been there all along. "I need you to find Prince Jonathan immediately. Tell him that it is urgent."
"Tell me what is urgent?"
Luce whipped around and there was Jonathan, entering the room from the same doorway that his mother had just left.
"Were you waiting around that whole time for her to leave?"
"I had to know what was said, as soon as possible."
She went to him and pulled him into an embrace. His strong arms went around her reflexively. "What is it, Luce? What is wrong?"
"Oh, Jonathan. Nothing with the baby, I promise. You're going to h
ave a son, and he will be born healthy."
His embrace grew tighter and he laid a kiss on the top of her head. "That is happy news, so why do you sound so miserable?"
"Do you remember how yesterday we found out I was pregnant, and then I gave you that horrible news about your Norrick?"
"Yes."
"Well, this is worse."
He drew back, and she could already see the shadows that she had cast in those luminous eyes. They went to the bed and sat down. Luce had trouble figuring out where to start. She supposed it was probably better if she just laid it all out for him. "I have something to tell you about your other baby. I know that you were told that they both died naturally in childbirth, but that just isn't the truth. I saw from your mother's eyes, as clear as day, what really happened in this room. The baby was turned breech, and she was struggling, starting to bleed heavily. The healer thought it possible that they could make it through, but your mother didn't want to take a chance of losing the baby."
Luce drew a deep breath for the next part and took Jonathan's hand in both of hers. "Your mother ordered her to be given a sleeping potion, even after being warned that it could kill the mother. Then she had them cut the baby out, but it was already dead by then. I'm so sorry. Jonathan. You probably still would have lost the baby that day, but if weren't for your mother, you might not have lost her too."
He made no effort to respond, but his hand suddenly felt like a piece of live wire in hers. His whole body had gone electric with tension and it was a change that was frightening Luce. She worried for a split second that he might not believe her, might, in fact, be angry with her for saying those things about the queen. His breathing had grown quick through his nose and his eyes filled with tears, but whether they were of anger or sadness, Luce couldn't be sure. She bit her lip and waited for whatever response would come. What she had not expected was for him to pound his free fist hard against his forehead and begin to rock back and forth while sobs wracked his body.