Page 90 of Of Skulls Of Shackles

She was certain on the topic, and I could see that pawns were very certain that they would obey her or suffer. Princess Take had found her calling, and it occurred to me that pawns might benefit from a stricter handling than I had provided thus far. A queen was not meant to marshal, though, and so I had done my best.

Pawns fell over themselves to reassure me that their sickness should not be given any space in the discussion of acting. Yet I could see them with my eyes and all the eyes in my mind.

They were dying.

My pawns, the monsters who were first my friends before they could not be any longer, were dying. I did not wish to rule a world where they did not live and breathe and frighten. The fright we shared last night could not be our last.

“I must conquer King Bring,” I said. “He must be very sick by now. He cannot be allowed to die. The fate of the world depends on the survival of kings. Pawns, find King Bring. If you cannot bring him to me, then hasten to takemetohim.A queen must finish conquering before all is too late and plague wipes monsters away.”

Pawns bowed and blobbed, then made their sorry and sickly way out of the throne room to see my bidding done.

“You will oversee their efforts and report back, Princess Take,” I said, standing.

She curtsied.

Candor stated, “Princess Take did not enjoy taking orders and believed she could run this queendom better if given the chance.”

The princess hissed at the unperturbed skeleton, then quickly left. I bit back the chuckle trying to escape me as she turned in the doorway.

“My queen, might I offer a suggestion?” asked Princess Take.

Candor said, “The suggestion came from a genuine place.”

Good to know. “You may this evening.”

“Kings are good for shackling.” The arch way that she offered the comment spoke of exactly why shemight shackle a king. “They are also an age of experience and ruling insight. A king is good for more than shackling.”

I dipped my head, and when she had departed, I trailed out of the throne room. She had touched on a delicate point, for reluctance did rear its head in me at the mention of a discussion with kings. I was a new queen—though more powerful than any other monster. A queen might still feel intimidated when consulting kings. They were all the things that Princess Take had described and more.

Fear cloaked inner growth, so I should throw off the robes and embrace the fear uncovered. That was the best path forward.

I climbed from courtyard to conservatory, and when I arrived, it was to find King See striding through my rooftop gardens. He entered the conservatory and stood in his position, facing outward to the gothic palace that used to be his kingdom.

His shackles snapped shut, but he could remain unstitched.

“Good evening,” I greeted kings, all of which stared at their previous territories.

King See glanced each way when the other kings did not reply.

Ah.“Hellebores, kindly desist your stroking. I must talk with kings, not at kings.”

The hellebores fell to the ground, and I waited before trying again. “Good evening.”

King Change chuckled darkly under his breath. Raise, who was shackled in the middle of the conservatory over the glass panel, might have smiled, but he also might not have. I could not truly say. Take snickered gleefully.

The stone under the kings’ feet turned them to faced me. The glass panel under Raise’s feet twisted slightly too.

“You fare as well and as poorly as pawns,” I remarked.

King See remained untouched by plague. Perhaps that was an error of ancients, or perhaps a wisdom of ancients. I could not say if I might become incapacitated by fear if plague was to set upon See. Would I forget all queenly obligations to save him? Yes, ancients had been wise to spare my king the plague. They must wish me to still succeed—a brightening thought.

I had come to discuss a specific plaguing matter with kings, and yet the words out of my mismatched lips had naught to do with plague. “What does each of you know of ancients?”

There was a draw on my power, and I felt it reverberate through the stitches in their shackles.Ah,so that is how this would work. For the price of power, kings would answer my questions. Could they save up what power I gave them? If they could save the power, what might they spend it on? Time may reveal such things if they survived.

I did not like the sudden glint in King Change’s eyes, though Ididlike the delightedwhoopfrom King Take at the little tickle of my power.

King Raise answered first. “Ancients warped us to monsters, Queen Perantiqua.”

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