Page 31 of Shadows and Roses

Another name, another scar.

She stood. "Let’s go. Thank you, Madeline."

When the Queen swept into the Great Hall, the servants were still cleaning up the blood.

"Lady Germaine! What a mess you made!" The smile on her lips was only somewhat fake. There was undeniably a part of her that enjoyed watching the snakes burn. Especially the Gamuths.

Chapter 9

Castien

The next morning, he found a white letter slipped beneath his door:

You have been assigned to the Queen's Escort. Report to the Queen's Wing by noon.

He reread it. Escort. Impossible. Her Escorts consisted of her closest advisors, guards, handmaidens, and favored courtesans—perhaps a dozen people altogether. He'd barely said a word to her, had spent no more than a few minutes in her chambers. Was this a joke? He scowled at the paper. The dried rose petal pressed into the back wasn’t fake. Whatever her game was, he had no choice but to play.

It was early yet. Plenty of time for a bath and breakfast.

When he left his room, a guard waited for him again. Not fake at all. While he was glad to have dodged the nobles after his first thirty days, the letter burning in his pocket was little consolation. He felt like he’d been saved from a pond of piranhas only to be dumped into the ocean on top of a shark.

The guard was another of hers, a rose emblem gracing the metal on his shoulder. Flashing him a smirk, Castien strolled toward the bathing chambers. Heavy footsteps trailed behind him. The sound was actually quite comforting. If not for the ocean he was about to drown in, this change would be welcome.

Breakfast was cut short when the guard cleared his throat. "The Queen is not to be kept waiting."

Castien raised a brow. "Noon is not for a few hours. I thought—"

"Processing a new Escort takes time. …Milord."

It was clear what the guard thought of him. Castien slowly picked at his bread roll, chewing as the guard watched impassively. Finally, the courtesan shrugged. "Lead on."

The guard promptly exited the courtesans’ hall. They walked in the opposite direction of the palace where her chambers had been. Curious.

A pair of guards in full armor stood at the entrance to this hall, on either side of two closed, large wooden doors. One of the guards stepped forward to block his progress.

"State your business."

Castien glanced at his guide, who only bowed and left.

"I was summoned." To the Escorts. He didn’t believe it enough to say it. Instead, he extended the letter. The guard examined it closely, flipped it to scan the petal, then gave Castien a similar level of scrutiny.

The courtesan raised a brow and a corner of his lips. "Would you like to see the other side of me as well?"

The guard didn't seem to appreciate him as the moment passed in silence. Castien’s letter was returned and he was motioned to continue. Castien had the sense that the guard was watching his backside as he passed, though unlikely for enjoyment. A pity.

"Hello." A youth appeared to be waiting for him. Perhaps twelve years old, she tilted her head up with an expression reminiscent of the Queen’s proud nobility. Like the Queen, her wrists were bare, though her clothes were of leather and fabric more fit for a squire than a lady. But she had claws, even if they were painted a bright pink.

Castien hid his confused smile as he scanned the empty hall. Austere stone walls and simple grey floors weren’t what he was expecting of the highly regarded Queen's Wing. "Hello, lady. Well met."

Sheextended her hand. "The letter, please."

Bemused, Castien handed over his letter, glancing again at her wrists. "Are you… a princess?" Only royalty would dare walk the palace without bracers.

An entirely unfeminine snort escaped her. Her eyes widened as she rearranged her face and snatched the letter. "Of course not. None of the royal family lives in the palace; Anais would never— That is, the Queen— Um. Hmph." Frowning at him as though he’d done something wrong, she focused intensely on the letter.

Anais. This girl addressed the Queen by name?

Come to think of it, he’d seen no children in the palace. Jesamin had been the youngest person, with a few other servants and courtesans around her age. Not a single child roamed the halls, noble or otherwise.

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