Chapter II
"The Princess," the Queen began in that foreign, tired tone "was betrothed. Yes, girl," she snapped impatiently, noticing the surprise that I had failed to restrain flash across my face, "she was betrothed. The late King and I had promised her to the Crown Prince of Karlsburg before the birth. We were… fortunate that we secured their word before they could align themselves with King Gallo of Iberia. What a celebration we had the night we finalized the plans with their envoys! Their Crown Prince could not have been more than five years old then – what great confidence we had! The princess was to be the saviour of the people, the preserver of the Valerian interest.
"And then, she was born. Such a small, sickly little thing!" The Queen arose and clutched the windowsill tightly. "The first time I saw her, I thought – Good God, she looks so frail! This is the girl who is to be the great protector of Valeria? She looks as if she won't live to see her seventh year, let alone her seventeenth!
"And so we secluded her away. We could not have let word out to Karlsburg that the Princess was not the bright, lively beauty we had promised she would be – we could not let reports of the slip of a princess reach beyond the borders. There are many powers that would gloat at our misfortune, humiliate us and turn it to their own advantage. And, we could not risk upsetting the alliance we had built with Karlsburg – no, we made sure they never suspected a thing!" Here, she gave a short, derisive laugh. "They asked for portraits of their future Queen – and we spread the rumours that the Princess was a beauty like no other, that men would fall to their knees in front of her countenance to pacify them. We told them it was Valerian tradition for a betrothed Princess to not be painted, immortalised in art, until she was united with the Prince she was promised to. Oh, what pretty phrases and flattering poetry we spawned! The King asked for a correspondence between the Prince and our daughter. Once again, we denied, but sent the Karlsburg court a very valuable tapestry to soothe their ruffled feathers – one of Princess's favourite works, we informed them. Lie, after lie, deceit that was never-ending – because of that sickly girl! Many a sleepless might I have spent, turning over the inevitable future in my mind. The agreement was that the betrothal would be formally announced a fortnight before the Princess's seventeenth birthday, and she would depart Valeria for Karlsburg the day she turned of age. The wedding was set for a month after her arrival – the Prince's twenty-fourth birthday. How was I supposed to turn over this delicate, breakable girl, who had neither beauty nor health nor wit to recommend her? The dilemma played on my mind increasingly, as we hoped, prayed, begged for a miracle, for a cure to the Princess's failings.
"And then… and then, she was gone.
"I will not lie and say I was not gratified on some base level. Yes – look as shocked and righteous as you may! But that will not change the sense of relief I felt at the passing. I lost a daughter, yes – but God knows how it appeared at first – as a card of fate, bringing an end to my struggle! Yes, I was relieved, I was gratified, I will not deny that. However, when I left these quarters three nights ago, when those unholy feelings of euphoria finally abated, I came face to face with the issue that now seemed more twisted than ever.
"You must be aware of the position of Valeria in comparison to Karlsburg and our other neighbouring states. They see us as small, insignificant, easily overwhelmed. To an extent it is true. The mere size of the Karlsburgian army could engulf our entire population five times over. Foreign fallouts, strained relations are not even considerable options! One crossed sword would shake this country to its very core! In one, short month, it will be what should have been the Princess's seventeenth day of birth. This dreaded day that I have apprehended and feared for years – it is now set to come – and I have no daughter to hand over!" Despondently, she turned to face me with dark eyes. "I see you do not understand – of course not! How could you? How could anyone comprehend such paradoxical agony?"
I swallowed nervously. "You are right, Your Majesty." I said lowly, nervously. "I do not understand. I am saddened by her – the Princess' passing. But I fail to see how this is related to me."
"Indeed…" Her mouth disappeared into a tiny, hard line. "But I do not require you to understand. No, that is of little matter. This is a circumstantial matter. Yes, purely circumstantial… a preventive measure." A feverish fire lit up behind her glassy eyes. "For the good of Valeria, yes? It is for the good of our country, for the good of Valeria that we must all do our part, play an assigned role. Why not this one?"
The knot in my stomach tightened as an ominous sense of foreboding began to steal over me. Surely not, I thought desperately. That would be madness.
But when the Queen turned fully to face me with a rigid jaw, her words could not be avoided. "You have the look of nobility – despite the ambiguous nature of your origin." Her words tumbled out rushed, an unstoppable wave. "Yes, I have noticed you before, whenever I visited my daughter's quarters. There were even times when a cursed the liveliness, the aristocratic appearance of your face, next to the drawn, pallid countenance of the Princess. You are what they expect the Princess to be – those high cheekbones, those wide eyes! Hair the colour of gold, eyes the shade of the ocean! Skin pale from being secluded in the Hidden Court, unblemished from falling on stones of the courtyard, a demeanour that has never been exposed to the world of men! There was a time when I despised your beauty – but now, I am desperate, thankful for it."
"Please, Your Majesty!" I cried. I stood up, frightened by the intensity and repercussions of her words. The wooden stool fell over onto the ornamental carpet with a dull thud. "These are poisonous words! I beg you, speak no more."
"No, no," she retorted with fearsome lucidity. "Not poison, girl, but providence. Yes, providence. Fate seems to have created you solely for this role – even your age is fitting! Oh, I checked," she murmured darkly, seeing the confusion at this knowledge on my features, "I assure you, I did. I need a solution. Valeria needs a solution! I have – the country has – banked so much on this happenstance. And you, you have a Princess's beauty! You have the countenance that was reported to have brought a pageboy to his knees the last time you were permitted to exit this wing! You have the fitting age, a few months younger you may be, but passable nonetheless! My dear girl, think of the country!"
The Queen, our formidable monarch dropped to her knees before me. Panicked, I reached out, hands hovering uncertainly above her shoulder.
"Your Majesty, please – this is improper. This is madness, sheer madness!"
"Listen to me," she ordered. I fell silent at the command – even now, on her knees, she carried an icy, regal edge in her tone that instinctively forbade me from crossing her. "I come here before you, not as the Queen of Valeria, but as a mother, a mother tormented and threatened. You can help me repent my mistakes – oh, the mistakes I have made!" For a moment, I fancied that I could detect real remorse in her words. "Should I not deliver on my promises, find some way to satisfy the demands I have enforced upon myself, they will consume this country one by one." The Queen looked up at me with fearful eyes. "Can't you see, girl? Can you not see that, as much as it pains me to have come to this, you are this nation's last hope. Will you take the Princess' place in the royal court of Karlsburg?"
"You Majesty!" I jolted back uneasily. "You cannot be asking me to – I could not… This is treason, Your Majesty!"
"And so you would condemn this country, my country to its demise?" The black depths of her eyes burned furiously, scorching my skin with their ferociousness. She rose imperiously to her feet, her warlike stance striking a chord of fear into my mind. "Valeria has stood for eons, and will stand for many more! Not even your… insolence," she sneered the word, "can prevent God's will."
"God's will?" I questioned desperately. "Your Majesty, I-I hardly think that masquerading as a dead Princess in a powerful court can be God's intention!"
She seemed to ignore my frantic words as she talked feverishly over my pleas. "…the part must be played convincingly of course, you look the part, but your posture must be improved, your knowledge of Valerian history reinforced, new gowns, new pursuits – there is no time to instruct you to ride, but it is of no matter, a carriage will do for the journey across the border-"
"Your Majesty," I said loudly. "Your Majesty!"
She stopped midflow and regarded me with the wild-eyed gaze.
I swallowed. "And what if I refuse?" I asked quietly, keeping my voice as low and as tranquil as possible.
The Queen stared blankly at me, before breaking into a chillingly feral smile. "Well naturally, you will know too much. And I cannot abide the danger of a drunken slip, a loose tongue spilling the country's secrets into some dubious tavern. Yes," she tilted her head to one side and regarded me out the corner of her eye, "should you refuse, child, I shall have to find you a more… permanent confinement. And your father too. He was the musician for the Princess, was he not?"
I shook my head in anger. "You cannot," I spat out, hurling the words as though they were poison. "It is wrong of you to force me in this manner. Y-You are the Queen!"
"Yes!" she hissed as she pounced on my words. "I am the first and foremost the Queen of Valeria. Not a loving mother, even less so a compassionate royal. What I do I do for the good of my country. And you will follow my command."
She stopped, the venom still evident on her face. Turning away, I distantly watched her collect herself together, piecing together the icy façade I had watched from afar for sixteen years.
"I have said enough." I did not have to look at her while she spoke to know that she was once more our feared, coldly regal monarch. "I will leave you now. I trust that would like some time to yourself."
I remained silent as her light steps tapped away - but paused at the door. Raising my head, I saw her regarding me with a complex expression. "I will not pretend to leave you with a choice. I have made my intentions quite clear." She spoke quieter now, and for good reason. She was a warrior – she could sense when her battle was won. "You have a strong spirit. Though I did not appreciate your defiance, I can see that you have the will and self-control to play the part I have entrusted to you."
Resentfully, I turned away.
"There, your insolence materialises again." There was a satisfied edge to her tone that discomfited me. To think that this woman was prostrate on her knees mere minutes ago was unfathomable. "Although this plan was formed before I chose to inform you, my hopes have only been bolstered by discovering your character. I believe that with discipline and the appropriate training, you shall create the very façade of a Princess in not only appearance, but spirit. I am assured you will perform admirably."
There was a heavy pause. Then she spoke again, in a low, low tone that reverberated in my head.
"In another life, perhaps, I would have felt sorry or regretful for the task I have given you." Her voice was a little tired and heavier now, musing lifelessly. "I do understand that it is an exquisite burden. You are so very, very young." She paused uncertainly, in a manner that I had never related to our impeccably cold monarch. "As young as my daughter was."
A lump caught in my throat. I started to turn around. "Your Majesty, I-"
"I will send someone to you tomorrow. The preparation for your role must commence soon." With that hurried message, the door opened quickly. I only caught a glimpse of her black hair and golden crown as she swept out the room, leaving me and the royal corpse behind.
A/N: And so we have Chapter Two. I have great hopes for this story. I hope I will be able to update soon.
As always - please review if you have the time! Encouragement does wonders for my motivation...