Natalya slowly strolled down the hallway of the palace, looking at all the portraits of her family.
It had been a long five years since she truly felt as if she had a family. Tragedy after tragedy had occurred, ever since Erzsébet showed up in Tark and seduced Natalya's brother. One after another, each member of the Royal Family was gone, leaving Natalya as what felt like the last of her royal bloodline.
She stopped in front of the last portrait, which her father had commissioned eight years ago. The two princesses sat in chairs, mirror images of each other, while their brother stood behind them. At thirteen years old, that young Princess Natalya in the blue dress had no idea what would happen to her older siblings in those next few years. The eldest in the pink dress, Princess Katerina, would be assassinated on her twenty-first birthday. The young Prince Ivan, in his royal red suit accentuating him as the heir to the throne, would disappear in the woods a couple years later.
As she looked at her brother's face in the portrait, Natalya's hand instinctively hovered over the seams of her dress. Once she realized she would have to defend herself as the last of their bloodline, she had found ways to mend her dresses so that she could always carry her brother's favourite dagger with her.
She then looked at her sister's face in the portrait, and felt that lingering bittersweet hope of changing their fates. Their family had never told anyone what Katerina's birth spell was, perhaps there was a way it could still work. Likewise, Ivan had only disappeared into the forest, perhaps he is still alive somewhere out there.
"F to D-9."
Natalya's gaze on the portrait was interrupted as she heard the familiar voice call out from the next room. Natalya crept through the doorway into the throne room, silencing her footsteps on the glimmering tiles so that her heels wouldn't give her away. A variety of courtiers were poised across the room like chess pieces, wearing head pieces that denoted their rank and colour.
"To your left, my lord. If someone would please teach his lordship his left from his right, I would be so very grateful."
As one of the other courtiers pointed the wayward man to his correct placement, Natalya slipped behind a pillar and looked to the room's position of power. Queen Erzsébet, Natalya's sister-in-law, sat on the throne in a mint green dress. The neckline was fully exposed, revealing the gold necklace with a crescent moon pendant that the Queen always wore. Off to the side of the Queen stood her opponent for this chess match, Baron Roderich Edelstein.
"B to J-12," Roderich called out.
Another courtier moved their position, before Roderich turned to address the Queen.
"Your Majesty, I feel it is my duty to tell you about the rumours that I've been hearing."
"Rumours?" Erzsébet scoffed.
"There are rumblings that the kingdom is close to destitute, that the Royal Treasury has been emptied," Roderich elaborated, "If we were to join our two houses in marriage, I feel the court would be reassured that the kingdom was stable once again."
Natalya scowled at Roderich as he spoke. The man was once so respectful of her family and their choices of fiscal policy. In Erzsébet's five years of rule, the kingdom had indeed grown destitute, and Natalya had already been to the village of Ivrark multiple times to see the condition of the villagers first-hand. She had the slightest of hopes that Roderich would back her own claim to power and set things right, but she could now see that his motivations were purely selfish and his ruse was quite obvious.
Erzsébet's response was merely a quick bark of laughter before turning away and calling for the head servant. Yao had long served the Royal Family, regardless of whichever member was on the throne, and fulfilled every ridiculous command Erzsébet gave him.
"Yes, your Majesty?" Yao answered as he approached.
"A royal decree, take this down," Erzsébet commanded, "Any busybodies caught rumouring, gossiping, whispering, or even thinking shall be put to death. How does that sound?"
"It's quite decisive, Your Majesty."
As Yao walked away and Roderich looked back at the chess pieces on the floor, Natalya saw Erzsébet's eyes shift directly onto her.
"Is there a fire, Natalya?" Erzsébet inquired, drawing everyone's attention to the princess in the room.
"What?" Natalya said.
Erzsébet waved her over, a silent order for Natalya to approach and kneel at her feet. Natalya approached the throne, but remained standing as Erzsébet fixed her gaze at her.
"Is your bedroom on fire, Natalya?" Erzsébet repeated, "Because I'm searching for an explanation as to why you would be out of your quarters and in here, and my first guess was a fire."
"I wanted to see this party," Natalya explained, "After all, today is my 21st birthday, I should be allowed to attend these parties by now."
"Oh it's your birthday, is it?" Erzsébet said with a sarcastic tone that did not impress Natalya as she looked back at the chess pieces, "Oh my my my…. E to F-3 please."
Natalya glanced behind her as the chess piece moved per the Queen's command. She then felt a tug at her wrist, pulling her down to kneel at Erzsébet's side.
"That's better, now I can look down on you." Erzsébet belittled, "You know, Natalya, you have always just been such a stubborn thorn in my side. You are just so incredibly irritating, especially with that glare of yours. I don't care if it is your 100th birthday, do not ever sneak into a party like this again. Do I make myself clear?"
"As clear as your black heart," Natalya sneered.
"You really need to learn to respect the rules, Natalya."
Natalya only glowered at her silently in response.
"B to F-6." Roderich called out, deliberately staying out of whatever was happening between the two women.
"C to D-4" Erzsébet immediately announced, breaking her glare with Natalya, "Baron, you've been beaten for the last five minutes and didn't even know it."
The courtiers applauded as the Queen's move finished the game with a royal win. Natalya turned to peek at them, only for Erzsébet to grab her chin and make her look up into the emerald eyes again.
"It's important to know when you've been beaten, yes?" Erzsébet gloated.
Natalya pulled her head back, releasing herself from Erzsébet's grasp. She then stood to her own feet and moved away, deliberately breaking the tense eye contact with Erzsébet.
As Natalya marched out of the room, she could only feel fury in her bones. Time and time again, Erzsébet had ridiculed her. No matter how often Natalya was able to spot her sister-in-law's malicious strategies in progress, there was nothing she could do about it.
She needed to find a way to remove Erzsébet from the throne.