A Fickle Fingered Fate
Chapter 14
Spellbound
King Apis was a Mewnian of high standards, a man of nobility with a sense of pride in himself and what he stood for. He ruled his kingdom as if the citizens were young children under his care, needing him to guide them through life. He had always felt himself superior.
It was why his marriage hadn't lasted. Despite her beauty, breeding, and background, Rosetta believed in complete equality between the classes. A soldier was as important as a baker, a fisherman was as entitled to a banquet as a lord. He had openly scoffed and belittled her ideals, and attempted to teach his only child better.
Mia had been his only heir, due to his failed marriage. No matter how much he tried to insist upon his wife to produce a second child, she had fought back tooth and nail against it out of spite. What was worse, Rosetta had taken to teaching their young, impressionable, naive daughter her strong-and misguided-opinions.
Yet he had tried his best to be a perfect example of a king for his child, and brought in the best to groom her into a proper noble fit to be a future queen. Tutors, seamstresses, ladies-in-waiting; all hand picked to mold his child into her role. Even her future suitor had been carefully chosen.
But after the 'incident' with Prince Thomas, he had been unable to convince Mia into continuing the courtship. Out of love for his child, he had decided to give her a few years to mature, then he would have arranged her marriage without the need for another courtship. It would have made things so simple for her.
Yet now he found himself in a position he had never thought he would be in; begging for help. With his daughter in the vile clutches of the monster king, and word of his victory over the Apis army spreading over the lands, he had only one ally left to turn to. Unfortunately, she wasn't the sort to do anything for free.
Stewardess Heinous Olga had assumed the temporary throne of the northern kingdom when the orphaned prince was merely weeks old. She had raised him like a son, and had struck a deal with King Apis to marry the prince to his daughter. But now he had no daughter to give, and his pride was ripped to shreds as he stood before the northern throne.
Heinous was an older woman with a tight mouth in a natural frown. Tight white curls sat upon the crown of her head, which faded into a silvery grey along the sides and back of her head. Lavender clubs marked her cheeks, while light red lipstick painted her otherwise colorless lips and black mascara filled out her thin eyelashes. Her purple dress and grey gloves did nothing to brighten her appearance, and no trace of glitter of wealth decorated her figure.
Her coal eyes glared down at him, clearly unimpressed. She lowered herself gracefully into a plain polished wood chair beside the throne, taking her time to neatly arrange her skirts. Once finished, she folded her hands together on her lap. "News of the...situation, reached us some time ago. How very...unfortunate about Princess Miakoda."
"Lady Olga, I did exactly as you asked-you swore your plan would work!" he stated. "You assured me this would get results!"
"And it has!" she snapped, coming to her feet. "Be patient, you fool. The Princess will be returned to Mewni in due time. But if we aren't careful then all of this is for nothing, and I do not waste my time."
"But what was even the point? You send an assassin dressed like one of mine to attack that beast, yet they don't kill him! They aren't afraid to go to war-they already proved their might when they attacked!"
"Ever hear of stirring a hornets' nest?" came a cocky voice. Prince Thomas swung into view on the throne, leaping into the gilded chair. His mop of salmon hair was gelled atop his head, his skin so pale it was nearly grey. He sank his unusually sharp teeth into an apple, crunching the juicy fruit. "Miss O's trying to cause some unrest."
Heinous's frown deepened slightly. "Thomas Lucitor, sit up straight, and do not speak with food in your mouth."
The young man quickly righted himself, clearing his throat once he swallowed. "My apologies, ma'am." He looked back to the king, suddenly stoic and serious. "I can understand your frustration, Your Majesty, and I can sympathize-I want Miakoda returned to us as quickly as possible. Trying to steal her away would only cause more problems. They'd come after her relentlessly, and she could be hurt in the struggle."
"We will cause unrest amongst the monsters," stated Heinous. "As things grow worse, they shall blame her, and either force her out, or drive her into fleeing herself. King Arigor is a weakling, he won't have the spine to force the princess to stay when she runs."
O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O
The morning was grey outside Mia's window. Rain had moved in just before dawn, the storm beating relentlessly against the castle walls with a dull roar. In the distance, she could barely make out the trees, but they shook and swayed as if the wind would pull them down at any moment.
She'd liked rainy days. Sitting by a cozy hearth with a blanket and a book while sipping warm tea as the raindrops tapped almost musically against the glass of the windows. When her mother had still lived with them, she'd spent those days playing at her mother's feet while the queen hummed and sang softly, embroidering beautiful scenes into silks.
It hadn't rained since she'd arrived in the monster kingdom, and it seemed like it had only brought a sense of dread with it. Toffee had already been gone when she awoke, so her morning had been spent in stormy silence. Never had it felt so hard to get up and start the day. She found herself constantly zoning out, staring at nothing without a thought in her head, and even doing the simple things like brushing her hair seemed to require twice the effort to accomplish.
By the time she finished, she wanted to crawl back into bed, and forget the day ever began.
Her eyes wandered to the clock sitting on the mantle. It was well into the afternoon, and all she had done was wander aimlessly about the room. She'd attempted the leave earlier, but hesitated, unable to face opening the door and seeing whatever was beyond it. So she had waited, watching the rain beat against the window.
She'd let her thoughts wander, going anywhere they might take her, so long as it was a break from the looming troubles in her life. Memories of her summers with her cousin, their 'adventures' under the watchful eyes of her guards, their late nights whispering under the blankets when they were suppose to be asleep. She had always looked forward to seeing Capricorna, the two feeling more like sisters than cousins at times.
Mia had often envied her when they were children, as Capricorna had had a freer life growing up than she had, and she'd been extremely close with both of her parents. Now that she was thinking of it, she felt like she was still a little jealous. Capricorna had her pick of any suitor she'd want, and was strong willed enough to match any man who would dare demand a more feminine change in her behavior.
Part of Mia wanted to be like her, steadfast and powerful, good with magic and a skilled rider of anything she could get a saddle on. But she was a reader and an embroiderer, quiet and soft spoken to the point people often didn't even hear what she had to say. Mia sighed heavily, leaning her forehead against the cold glass, feeling the soft vibrations of each raindrop colliding with the pane. She was no Capricorna, a young lady worthy of the title of princess, she was just Mia, unworthy of being a queen.
A muffled voice caught her attention from beyond the chamber doors. She turned her head, straining to hear. It was improper to eavesdrop, but her curiosity refused to ignore it. "...and nobody has even checked? Move aside, I'm gonna actually see if she's even still alive in there." They knocked on the door, the rapping of small knuckles against the hard wood. "Mia, it's me-Renata. Can I come in?"
The queen perked in surprise. "Ah-yes, come in!" she called back.
The purple-haired princess slipped inside, leaning back against the door to shut it, almost as if she were preventing someone else from entering. In fact, she even cast a distasteful look over her shoulder before stepping further into the room. "You feeling okay?" she asked, fiddling with her fingers. "The guard says you haven't eaten or left all day."
Mia fought to not look at the clock, dreading to see how much time had passed since the last time she had inspected it, or how little. Instead she glanced out the window. "I was just watching the rain. I never knew it could sound so different than it did back in Mewni," she replied. "Do you like rain?"
"Not if I have to be in it," Renata stated, arching a brow in concern. "Is this about Toffee? Did he say something to you last night or this morning-whenever he came to get you?"
The queen shook her head slightly. "No, we actually haven't spoken yet-I don't even remember how I got back here to be honest. He was already off when I came around." She flashed a soft smile. "There's nothing to be concerned over. I just thought I'd have a quiet day to myself, you know, keeping out of the way and such."
Renata pursed her lips as she folded her arms, her fingers drumming against her arm. "So you were just gonna sit up here all day, and starve?"
"Well I can hardly starve in one-"
"You could have had a servant bring you something."
"I didn't want to be a bother-"
The princess held up a hand, the gesture entirely coined from her brother, except for the 'I'm so done with this conversation' expression she sported. "Look, I get that there's a lot of tension going on right now, but you're not gonna sweep yourself under a rug and hope we forget you exist," she stated. She closed the distance between them and took Mia by the wrist, leading her to the door. "C'mon, we can't ride in the rain but we can at least go read something so our brains don't shrivel up from boredom."
Mia perked, and lightly tugged at her hand. "Wait, I need my gloves-"
"You'll be fine, stop being a pansy." The princess pulled her out into the hall, where Rasticore had been quietly speak with Meatfork-a humanoid boar monster with a missing hand. "We're going to the library."
The boar glanced briefly between his Queen, and the door to the royal chambers, looking uncertain. "Uh, should I-?"
"No," Renata stated automatically, then looked to her guard. "Can you get lunch for us? We can take it in the library."
The septarian nodded. "Just stay put until I get there."
The princess gave an unladylike snort. "Yeah, because we're gonna die from a falling book if you aren't there to watch us," she joked, and practically dragged Mia along behind her.
O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O
The castle library was much smaller than the one that had occupied the palace in Mewni. The shelves were plain wood, a few noticeably different from the others, and were a few feet taller than either of the young ladies. The books were mostly old, their pages made of parchment rather than paper and had the sort of old leather that creaked when opened.
Few monsters aside from the royal family and the other nobles actually visited, as books were a bit of a rarity in their kingdom. But one monster was almost always present, Toffee had introduced Mia to him not long after her arrival, yet they were still one of the stranger creatures she'd encountered.
From what she understood, he was some sort of bird, and apparently a 'runt of the litter'. He introduced himself as 'Ludo'. The short-statured monster was a librarian of sorts, though Mia wasn't exactly certain was his duties were. But the few times she had entered, he'd trailed after her, babbling on about...well, she wasn't exactly sure. He'd droned on about random things that made little sense to her, and he had honestly creeped her out a bit.
As soon as they entered, the small creature scuttled into view, wearing a long mossy green tunic and the skull of some creature Mia was unfamiliar with. "Greetings, My Ladies," he welcomed them, rubbing his little hands together in an almost greedy manner. "What can I help you find on this lovely day?"
The princess cast him a polite smile. "Nothing today, Ludo. We're just gonna hang around for a bit. But we'll let you know if we need you." It was subtle, but a clear hint that she didn't want him hovering. Mia had quickly learned that Renata was the sort who hated having servants at her heels. It seemed Rasticore was the only exception.
Mia also flashed him a smile as the princess pulled her along. For such a small lady, Renata was surprising strong. Toffee had mentioned that it was another trait of being a monster hybrid, that while their appearances were random they often still inherited the abilities of their parents. Renata had more of her father's raw strength, while Toffee was more magically inclined, yet both were rather strong and talented with magic.
The princess finally released Mia once they were in the forest of shelves, the short wings on her back shuffling. "Okay, so," she turned to Mia, setting a hand on her hip. "What sort of reading do you do? History, mythology, romance-I bet its history, isn't it?"
A warmth blossomed in Mia's cheeks. "Uh, well...I do like some history. But I prefer fiction...fairytales...love stories..."
Renata snickered. "I was kidding-I saw a couple of the books your mother gave us and the one on your vanity." She glanced up at the shelves, then moved further in. "We've got a collection volume that's pretty good. I've read it a few times."
"I didn't think you were the sort to read such a thing," Mia commented. "You seem like the knights and epics type."
"A bit," she agreed, pausing to grab a polished wooden ladder and moving it to lean against a different shelf before climbing up. "I'm not that big of a fan of sappy love stories, but I don't mind it every now and then. Oh, I might read this one again-and you might like this one here, too."
The princess plucked a few heavy books from the top shelf, leaning against the ladder as she loaded one arm and used the other to reach for whatever else caught her eye. Mia watched nervously, glancing at the shelves, her hands instinctively wanting to reach out to steady the ladder, or bury themselves under her arms. "Maybe you shouldn't take so many..."
"Last one," she promised, taking a fifth book. She turned, holding it down to Mia. "Here, hold this."
The queen stiffened. "Uh..."
"C'mon-hurry, I can't get down with all these." She waved the book slightly, leaning slightly backward to edge the book closer. "Just take it while I get down."
"Renata, I don't have my gloves-just put it back, we don't need that many books."
The princess sighed in annoyance, rolling her eyes. "Fine, don't take it," she growled, and tucked the book under her chin before starting to climb down. "You seriously need to get over the vain mewnian-" Her foot missed a step, slipping off the rung, causing her to fall backwards with a gasp.
Mia lunged forward, wrapping her arms around the younger lady as they collapsed to the floor. The queen's hands met leather and parchment, fingers gripping the spines and the edge of pages. For a split second, she filled with panic, then the pain flooded in.
Renata jerked up as Mia suddenly screamed in her ear. She flung the books aside, turning to see her sister-in-law clutching her head, crying out in agony. "Mia?!" The princess turned, just in time to see Ludo rushing down the row of shelves. "Get a doctor! Tell someone to get Toffee!"