Page 39 of Shadows and Roses

Castien tensed. "We've met."

His guide gave him a peculiar look. "Not really. Not our Queen." He nodded to the two guards at the double doors.

This entrance was decorated. Whimsical swirls and patterns inlaid the stone around the wooden doors that displayed the outline of a tree. Beyond the door, along the stone walls, were carvings of clouds in simple shapes—dogs, cats, sheep, fish. Below the clouds to the left sprawled a beach with swirling water and dotted sand. The opposing side explored a forest of arching trees and gentle creatures—squirrels, deer, birds. It was all a bit simple, but this was more decor than any other hall so far.

High-pitched laughter bounced off the walls, accompanied by the occasional shrill, innocent shriek. Castien looked askance at the Escort, who only stared ahead as they approached a room.

Castien stopped in the doorway.

Jerome walked past him to a small group of children in a corner. He knelt as a boy ran over and threw little arms up for a hug. The captain returned the embrace and settled the child on a knee, listening to the youth chatter about nothing.

Another pair of children ran through the room, chasing each other and giggling. One of them fell and cried out, picking herself up awkwardly. A woman leaned over to examine the child, then patted the small head with a gloved hand. All the ladies’ claws were gloved here, with no whips in sight. The woman straightened and turned toward the door.

Castien blinked. The Queen. Dressed in a simple, brown frock, he would've dismissed her as a servant until he met those sharp green eyes. Nothing wasservile in her expression, but as another child bumped into her, an open smile bloomed on her face.

The boy, perhaps five years old, showed her a stick he'd found in the courtyard earlier. "I'm going to be a knight!" the child proclaimed, slashing at the air.

The Queen responded fondly, "Of course, you are. A big, strapping, wonderful knight. Perhaps you’ll guard me someday." She sounded like a loving mother.

"I'm going to be a dragon!" Another child, a girl with her arms spread, roared a little high-pitched roar at the boy. The Queen grinned and played along until the children ran off. Then she stepped toward him.

As his mind spun, Castien caught a few of the adults tensing. Their suspicion slightly settled his nerves; it was the only thing that made sense right now.

She still wore a casual smile, her eyes a bright aquamarine.

"Escort Castien. Thank you for joining us."

Her warm, rich voice soothed him instinctively, which only served to raise his hackles higher. A few innocent moments with children weren't enough to erase the horrors of her court.

He bowed low, as appropriate. "My Queen. I wasn’t aware I had a choice."

A touch of sadness darkened her eyes when he straightened. "We should talk. Away from little ears, I'm afraid. Come."

Across the hall was a classroom with small tables and chairs, empty of people. There were two standard chairs near the front of the room, behind the teacher’s desk. She picked one and turned it to face the other, then sat. He followed.

Crossing her fingers together on her lap, she leaned back. "They are the children of dukes and counts, barons and knights. Hostages against their goodwill."

That sounded more like the Queen he expected.

She looked out the door, across the hall.

"In the first year of my reign, the nobles tested my resolve often. I’d proven years before that I was no child, but I couldn’t prove myself a Queen until the crown was placed on my head."

"How many did you kill?" The bitter words escaped him.

Her silence was cold. He needed to curb his tongue, gloved claws or no. Yet, that wasn’t anger in her eyes. Eventually, her lips parted.

"One," she whispered, then cleared her throat and met his eyes. "Jerak Maru’uel, the firstborn son of the Duke Renall Maru’uel and Duchess Heirasti Maru’uel. He was five years old. He liked strawberries and hated toast but loved fresh bread. He wanted to be a gardener and grow bread on trees." She glanced aside and inhaled slowly. "His father was the fourth noble to test me. For the first three, we found commoner children in their deathbeds from sickness or injury, mutilated their corpses, and tossed passable heads to the offenders. It wasn’t enough.

"Duke Renall encouraged the rumor that the children weren’t actually dead. He rallied enough supporters that they brought guards and forced their way into my halls. The insurrection was easily broken, but I couldn’t risk more or worse dissension.

"The duke and duchess were dragged out in chains in front of the entire court. I showed them their son, alive and well. I didn’t even dare drug the poor boy, only stuffed his mouth with cloth and tied him tightly to the too-small post."

Her fingers clenched, and her voice dropped. "I whipped him myself. It didn’t take long. I wasn’t gentle. Before he died, I demanded the duke recognize his child. Then I slit that tiny throat."

Child murderer. Ice chilled his veins. She was worse than hercourt. A hawk—more like a harpy.

"There was no more doubt afterward. Fear, disgust, perhaps awe. I was a monster to the monsters. But no one mistook me for kind-hearted or soft-handed ever again."

---