Disclaimer: I claim no ownership of The Thief, The Queen of Attolia, The King of Attolia, nor of any characters and locations contained within. All rights of the Queen's Thief series belong exclusively to Megan Whalen Turner and her respective publishers.
Beta: A thank you to the master-beta. You know who you are. I am humbled by your skill.
Seeing Red
A Queen's Thief Short Story
Two tiny drops of blood. It was how she had always thought of those earrings. Twin rubies the color of blood that rested on her mother's ears, with a backdrop of finely crafted gold. Square and symmetrical. Beautiful yet dark in their resemblance to the universal symbol of carnage and destruction.
It was one of the few memories she had of her mother. Tall and slender, with ivory skin that glowed its most beautiful under intense moonlight. The bold red and winking gold were a stark contrast to the wilting woman who bore her.
She never knew if her mother loved her.
She was really too young to remember, but she did remember those earrings. Those two, tiny rubies that were small and insignificant pieces in the Attolian royal jewel collection.
Unimportant. Unassuming. Both these words suited the earrings. Maybe that was why her mother liked to wear them, for she knew that it was from her mother she inherited the world of the shadows - somberness, reserved dignity, silence, watchfulness. She was the invisible princess, who spoke when spoken to and did as she was told; and from the world of the shadows, she watched and she waited. For that perfect moment. Only then would she strike.
It was what made her queen.
It was what made her powerful.
It was what made her deadly.
It was only natural that those earrings would be red.
She remembered clearly the day she gave them away. Her hands had tipped dozens of glittering baubles into the grasp of those she had bribed, but that exchange, in particular, remained stark in her memories.
He was a guard. Of what rank, she couldn't remember; but he had seen her, pocketing a poisonous coleus leaf. For a brief moment, their eyes had met.
She had discreetly sent him the earrings the next day. The intent had been understood.
It was only natural that the wine had been red.
So when she awoke one morning, to find the light of early dawn tinged red from the reflection of two, tiny blood colored rubies on two symmetrical squares of gold, she threw the box at the wall, imagining it to be that confounded Thief's head.
It was only natural that she was seeing red.
Thank you for reading to the end,
Nine Days a Queen