AN: So, so, sorry for the long delay! Anyway, glad to be back!
Chapter 5: In the Queen's Room
The Queen's Room was a very inviting and cozy place to be in. The ever-burning fire in the grate warmed Jenna's chilled bones. She loved being here, to enjoy the silence. It reminded her of the winter nights she had spent back at her home in the Ramblings, snug with her brothers and parents.
Those times were long gone. Now she came here to shut out the whole world. She last came here nearly a year ago before she got too busy with matters around the Castle. It was a relief to be able to come now. Besides, the atmosphere comforted her more.
She decided to sit on the chair, but changed her mind. Even with the warmth of the room, Jenna always felt a chill around the room whenever she comes. Strange, she'd say to herself. But she never knew what it was.
Unknown to Jenna, a young woman sat on the chair and watched her. She looked very much like Jenna, only much older. She had a gold circlet on her head just as Jenna wore. It was the ghost of the Queen.
The Queen kept watching Jenna. All through the years she had wanted to be able to hug and touch her daughter…but being a ghost clearly made that impossible.
She had never for once appeared to Jenna. Jenna didn't even know that her mother's ghost sat on the chair. The queen had been waiting until The Time Is Right before appearing. When The Time Is Right she didn't know.
Jenna felt tired as she walked around the room. Suddenly, she stumbled on a loose floorboard and fell right on the chair.
Jenna had the queerest feeling when she sat on the chair. She felt like she was underwater, cold and unable to breathe. Freezing.
All of a sudden, the coldness disappeared. Jenna sat there, gasping for air, feeling weird.
The queen herself felt weird. Much, much weirder. It was a very, very unpleasant feeling to be passed through, as all ghosts knew. Now she stood there in front of Jenna, shocked still. Unknowingly, she made herself appear.
Jenna nearly screamed as a woman materialized in front of her. She was used to ghosts, what with the Palace overflowing with them. But it was also a very, very frightful thing for a ghost you have never seen before to materialize right in front of you.
What was more, the woman was dressed in a red tunic embroidered with gold. And a gold circlet was on her head, keeping the long dark hair secure under it.
Violet eyes.
And a dark stain on the front of her tunic.
Jenna froze. She began to remember what the ghost of Etheldredda had said years ago: "…on the turret of the tower sits your—"
Impossible. But…
The queen felt that she had no choice. Now she understood. The Time Is Right! She was so sure of it.
"Princess Jenna…I am Queen Cerys… Your…your mother."
Jenna stood up. It couldn't be! "It c-can't be…"Jenna couldn't stop stuttering. She didn't even know what else to say. She cautiously reached out a shaking hand and slowly tried touching the ghost's tunic. She knew of course that her hand would simply pass through. But…
Her hand didn't pass through. She was shocked to feel the solid velvet tunic. Terrified, she looked at the face of the ghost, though she wasn't sure if it was truly a ghost. Cerys did not look ghostly at all.
The queen herself was astonished. She felt alive, utterly and impossibly human! Blood seemed to surge through her veins. But it couldn't be. She was dead, after all, for nearly seventeen years.
Jenna got over her surprise. Nothing else mattered; she believed with all her heart that this woman standing before her was truly her own mother. She suddenly stepped forward and hugged Cerys.
"Oh, Jenna. My dear daughter!" The queen hugged her back, sobbing. Jenna did not pass through.
Jenna looked up. "How is it that I'm not passing through you?"
The queen suddenly understood. Perhaps it is magyk, giving her a chance to become human, even for a moment, to be able to touch and embrace her daughter again. And besides, The Time Is Right.
"Maybe I am alive for a short while only," she answered. It was confusing, but what does it matter? She was now with Jenna.
They stood there, arms around each other, for as long as possible, sobbing. Both wished that it would last forever. Then they sat on the floor in front of the fire, Jenna's head resting on her mother's lap. They began to talk in low voices, laughing and giggling quietly. They had a great deal of stories to tell each other.