"Work with me on this one, Selene. Say 'ahhh'," Levana said, holding a spoon of mashed potatoes to Selene's lips. The child took the spoon in her mouth, chewing in a rather unladylike manner. "Good job, Sweetie!"
Selene giggled, clapping her hands. "More!"
A snort of disgust came from the end of the table, where Channary sat, frowning. Levana and Selene were sitting opposite the queen, in their own world. The whole display simply served to make Channary's stomach churn.
"Levana, stop teaching the rugrat such terrible manners." She sniffed. "I swear she's more like a mongrel than a princess."
Levana tossed her hair, feeding Selene another spoonful of potatoes. Channary hissed, scrunching her napkin in a clenched fist. Servants bustled around the table, the sound of clattering plates coming from the kitchen as they came in and out.
"Selene, do you want to be a real princess?"
The child looked over to her aunt, smiling wide. "But I am a real princess. Mama says so."
Channary's teeth clenched at the word mama. "Just stay quiet, would you? Your gum-slapping is making me sick," she grumbled.
Levana sighed, wiping stray potatoes from Selene's cheeks. "Just leave her alone, Channary. She's only four."
Selene wiped her hands on her bib, a grin on her face.
"More tea, Your Highness?" a servant asked Levana, holding a steaming teapot in her gloved hands. Levana nodded, holding the cup out. The servant refilled it with a smile. "Shall I also get milk for your niece, dear?"
Levana gripped the handle of the teacup, her brow scrunched in confusion. "Yes, but—"
The servant whisked Selene's cup away with a flourish, cutting Levana off mid-sentence. Channary smirked slightly at the spectacle.
"Mmm, milk! I love milk!" Selene said, rubbing her belly.
"Why do they always refer to her as my niece?" Levana asked, glancing over at her sister. "It's been happening often lately."
Channary arched an eyebrow, taking a sip of her own tea. "Why should I know?"
Levana crossed her arms over her chest. "It's getting on my nerves. You've never been pregnant, so why are they mistaking her for yours?" The princess cocked her head. "Is there something I should know?"
Channary blew a strand of hair from her face. "Oh, please. If there was anything to know, it would be evident."
Levana arched an eyebrow, feeding Selene another spoonful of potatoes. "You're hiding something from me."
"No, I'm not."
Levana set down the spoon. "You are," she insisted. The tell-tale signs were there. The queen nervously sipping her wine, the soft tapping of her foot. Channary was a terrible liar when she really had something to hide.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Channary said, her expression hinting at nothing. Her lips curled into a sneer. "Clean up your rugrat, would you?"
Looking to her right, Levana saw that Selene's dress, hands and face were covered with gooey white. Levana loosened up, laughing a bit at how silly she looked. She sighed with a small smile on her face as she started wiping her down.
"I guess that's the last time I'm allowing you to eat that by yourself," she chuckled. Selene smiled.
"How disgusting," Channary muttered, rising to her feet in a single motion. The wine swished in her glass, like the blood of her people.
Levana rolled her eyes, diverting her attention back to Selene as Channary left, grumbling. "Was that good, sweetie?"
"Yum! I love potatoes!"
Levana smiled, brushing Selene's bangs from her brow. "We should have them more often. I'm sure that the cooks would be happy to make them," she said.
Selene clapped her hands then pushed away her empty bowl. "I'm ready fo' desert."
"Me too. What would you like?"
"Chocolate cake! I love cake."
Levana leaned back as a servant took away both her and Selene's dishes, replacing them with plates of luscious cake.
"Why were you and auntie fighting?"
Levana scrunched her nose, taking a bite of her cake. "She's keeping secrets, Selene. And I'm going to find out what they are."
Levana entered her sister's study on her tiptoes, as if the floor was a landmine that would go off at any moment. The room was vast and cold, more like a dungeon rather than a workspace. The large netscreen on the wall seemed to be waiting for her, the login screen blinking.
She frowned. Of course it was password-protected.
Levana felt the urge to give up before she even started. The password could've been anything. And, she knew if she got it wrong, Channary would know it in an instant; then she'd really be in trouble. She sat herself down on the chair, her fingers at the ready.
Enter password.
Her fingers flew across the keyboard.
Password incorrect; try again?
She hissed, searching her mind for any hint, any at all. Think, Levana.
EarthenEmpress, she typed in.
She gaped at the screen as it blinked green and opened the home menu. A surge of pride rushed through her. She had done it. Her eyes darted across the screen as she searched file after file for anything suspicious. Selene's records were all stored in the same folder. How convenient, she thought.
Vaccination receipts, medical forms, her school application for the next year. Nothing of particular importance, nothing that stood out as odd. She set her cheek against her knuckles, blowing a strand of hair from her face. "Come on, there must be something here…"
Nothing, nothing, nothing. Levana sighed, leaning back into the cushioned chair. The last document in the folder was Selene's birth certificate, sitting nice and pretty at the bottom of the list. She gently tapped on the icon, the file popping open with a flash.
Levana's heart began to pound faster as she skimmed down the certificate, her eyes narrowing.
Princess Selene Jannali Blackburn of Luna
Sex: F
Date of Birth: June 16th, 109 T.E.
Weight: 6.3 pounds
Length: 48 cm
Father: Unknown
Mother: Channary Lucia Blackburn
Levana's heart was a volcano now, her blood flowing like magma through her veins. Mother. Channary. The queen's loopy signature sat on the bottom like a parasite, taunting her.
Mother. Channary.
"Levana, what the hell are you doing in here?!" Channary barked, sending Levana in a frenzy, her blunt nails clutching the edge of the desk as she sunk lower into the chair. Icy fear pooled in her belly, making her shiver.
Channary stalked forward like an enraged bull. "You know that you're not allowed in here, you stupid little—"
"This is what you were hiding from me?" Levana asked softly, her eyes wide and glistening. She gestured to the screen. "Why is this here? Where is the real one?"
Channary pushed Levana out of the chair, smirking as the princess stumbled to the ground. "This is the real birth certificate, if that's what you mean. Now, get out this—"
Levana cut her off once again, her skirt swishing around her feet as she stood. "Why is your name on my daughter's birth certificate? Why did you forge it? What could you possibly gain from this?!" The words came pouring from her mouth like vomit, disgusting and vile and making her pulse ring in her ears.
Channary's eyes narrowed, the smoky tone of her eyeshadow making them all the more menacing. "Your daughter? Why, she's mine," the queen purred, staring down at her nails. "The birth certificate says so."
"It's a forgery," Levana replied, her tone dripping with venom. "She's mine. You forced me to have her, and you…" Her eyes widened, her lips pursing. The tension in the room was so thick that she feared she would choke on it. "So that's why. That's why you made me keep her." Levana put a hand to her mouth.
(every scream every cry this was all part of your plan but why do you want this)
Channary swiped her fingers across the screen, closing all the open windows and switching off the device. "Oh, you silly little twit." She giggled. "Of course I made you keep her. She's my child, after all. You just," she put a finger to her lips, "you just incubated her, that's all."
Levana's eyes sparked with a fury like no other, her lip quivering. "How could you…but why? What does Selene matter to you? You don't need her."
"Oh, but I do. She's my heir, after all. The future queen."
"Have a child of your own, if it's an heir that you want. It's not like it's a problem for you; any man on Luna would bend over backwards to father the child of the queen."
Channary's face fell. An agonizing silence fell over the two. Levana backed away slowly, her arms crossed over her chest.
"It's quite a problem," Channary mumbled, her eyes fixated on her manicure. "Quite a problem indeed."
Levana felt uneasy, put on the spot, trapped in a cage. "What, can you not have children?" she asked. The look of horror and anger that contorted Channary's face answered for her. "You can't," Levana echoed her thoughts. "You're barren, aren't you?"
Channary's sharp nails scratched against each other, and Levana barely had time to move away before they were digging into her shoulder. "Should you breathe a word of this to anyone," she hissed, "I will have your body hung in the middle of the city for all to see."
Levana's heart fluttered like a hummingbird. She broke into a cold sweat. "It all makes sense now. All this time, you—"
"If I hear the slightest whisper of this in the court, I will have your precious Selene cut up into chunks and thrown in the lake!" Channary shouted, shoving Levana away once again.
Levana found herself trembling, maybe from anger, maybe from sadness, maybe from surprise. Anger at Channary's selfishness. Sadness at her sister's plight. Surprise that it existed at all.
She had always assumed that her sister was the perfect girl; the one that every girl wanted to be. The one Levana herself wanted to be at a time. But Channary had a flaw, a weakness. As much as the queen liked to believe she was perfect, she was flawed. Broken. The thought made a laugh burst from Levana's throat.
Channary growled, her cheeks flushed, her teeth clenched. For the briefest of moments, she was hideous, despite her relentless beauty. She was pretty and ugly. Always both. She had always been both.
"I'm going to tell everyone. Just watch me. I'll tell the whole court, then they'll tell the media, and the news will spread like wildfire. The barren Queen Channary." She laughed again, despite the anger that rolled off the queen in waves. "And they'll all now about how you go around forging birth certificates, stealing babies."
"Shut up, Crybaby! Crybaby Levana—that's all you are!" Channary roared, tears pooling in her eyes.
The second and last time that Levana ever saw her sister cry.
(crybaby Levana look your arm's on fire I can't believe it you're really burning oh stop screaming you crybaby)
"Channary the baby-snatcher. Soon enough all the mothers will no longer let you kiss their childrens' foreheads. You'll just steal their angels away, like the baby-snatcher that you are. You'll make them all your little spawns," Levana babbled, the words never stopping, flowing and flowing like an endless stream.
"Oh, SHUT UP!"
No sooner than when the queen released such a sound did a maid appear in the doorway, her head lowered smartly. Channary's gaze settled on her, and if looks could kill, the maid would be nothing more than an emaciated corpse on the floor.
"Your Majesty, is everything alright?" The maid cleared her throat.
"How dare you walk in on us—"
"Yes, everything's fine," Levana cut in, her palms laying flat at her sides. "What do you need?"
The maid dared to lift her head. "Her Highness has awoken from her nap and is calling for you, Princess."
Levana's spine straightened. "Of course." She turned to Channary, giving a slight bow. "It's been a pleasant chat, sister dearest, but I'm afraid that I must go."
Channary watched as Levana and the maid left with a flourish, an odd grace to her sister's step. Rage seemed to replace her blood as if coursed through her veins, making every cell burn and roar. Burn. Burn.
(the news will spread like wildfire then they'll know about you Channary the baby-snatcher)
The queen put a hand to her flat stomach, a silver ribbon tied beautifully around her slim waist. Burn. Spread like wildfire.
(your arm is really on fire oh stars you know it's kind of pretty if you think about it)
A sigh. A smile. Channary stood rooted to the spot, fantasies of murder flooding through her along with the rage.
Oh, it'll spread like wildfire…