Chapter 366: Before the Queen

Chapter 365: Before the Queen

Lyria’s POV

I walked into the Queen’s chambers, my steps measured and my expression carefully neutral. The moment I crossed the threshold, the guards outside closed the doors behind me.

The sound was final.

There was no escape now.

The Queen sat upon a velvet couch near the hearth, her posture as perfect as ever, her hands folded neatly in her lap. The fire cast a warm glow across her face, though there was nothing warm about her expression.

She looked at me with the sort of cold displeasure that made my skin prickle.

I bowed deeply.

"Your M-majesty."

My gaze remained fixed upon the floor.

I did not dare look directly at her. But I noticed the Queen was not alone.

Jacinta stood several feet away, her arms folded across her chest. Her expression was one of barely restrained fury, her lips pressed into a thin line.

Several of the Queen’s maids were present as well. They stood silently along the walls, their hands folded before them, their expressions carefully blank.

They had witnessed scenes such as this before.

Jacinta moved first.

Her footsteps were quick and purposeful as she crossed the chamber.

I saw the movement from the corner of my eye.

Her hand rose.

And I instinctively braced myself for the blow.

"Your highness." The Queen called sharply.

Jacinta’s hand stopped in midair.

She lowered it slowly, though the irritation upon her face only deepened.

She instead decided to use words.

"What did you think you were doing?" she demanded. "What gave you the right to speak out in such a manner?"

I said nothing.

My gaze remained lowered.

"I am speaking to you." She said.

Still, I said nothing.

The Queen gave a soft chuckle.

"Calm yourself, your highness," she said. "Your temper is becoming rather unbecoming of a princess."

Jacinta’s jaw tightened then she stepped back, though she did not retreat far. She positioned herself instead at her mother’s side, as though she meant to stand as a second judge over the proceedings.

The Queen then turned her attention towards me.

"Do you think," she began slowly, "that merely because you are a princess in name, you possess the right to conduct yourself as one?"

I swallowed but remained silent.

"Who gave you the audacity to speak against a princess?" Her voice sharpened.

"Who gave you the audacity to speak when people of considerably greater standing than yourself were content to remain silent?"

I did not answer, which made the Queen even more annoyed.

She reached for the teacup resting upon the small table beside her.

For one brief but foolish moment, I thought she intended to drink.

Instead, she threw it.

The porcelain struck the floor beside me with a violent crack.

It shattered into several pieces, tea splashing across the polished rug and soaking the hem of my gown.

I did not move.

I merely bowed a little deeper.

"I a-apologise," I said quietly.

The Queen waved a dismissive hand.

"I do not care for your apologies. They are of no value to me."

She leaned forward, her gaze fixed upon me.

"Today, you will explain precisely what gave you the notion that you were entitled to speak in a place where nobles themselves know better than to contradict a princess."

She paused.

"Who do you think you are? What do you think you are?"

I remained silent.

The Queen’s lips curved faintly.

"Ah."

She sat back.

"I understand now. It is because we have given you too much freedom."

Jacinta’s expression brightened slightly, as though her mother had finally arrived at a conclusion worth hearing.

"Too much time to yourself," the Queen continued. "Too much opportunity to forget your station."

I said nothing.

I had known this summons would come.

I had known there would be consequences for what I had done.

That did not frighten me as much as it should have.

My hands clenched into fists at my sides.

The truth was that I was nobody to them. I was nothing except my mother’s daughter.

Jacinta’s voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Have you suddenly gone deaf?"

One of the maids along the wall shifted her weight, the faintest rustle of fabric, and went still again the moment Jacinta’s eyes swept toward her.

I swallowed, drew a deep breath, then lifted my head just enough to speak.

"I a-apologise," I said, keeping my voice polite and measured. "I did not mean for what h-happened at t-the arena to happen as it did. I was only a-attempting to p-protect the r-royal family."

The Queen raised an eyebrow.

"Protect us?"

"Yes, Your M-majesty."

She gave a quiet, humourless laugh.

"Who are you to believe that you can protect this family?"

I lowered my gaze again.

"I d-did not m-mean—"

"Since you believe yourself so clever," she interrupted, "explain precisely what protection you gave us."

"The c-commoners," I said carefully, "believe they a-are part of this k-kingdom."

Jacinta scoffed.

I continued before she could interrupt.

"A-and it is n-no argument t-that they have p-power within it."

Jacinta gave a derisive laugh.

"Power?" She asked. "They are commoners, lesser than us. What power could they possibly have?"

The Queen lifted one hand, signalling for Jacinta to be quiet.

Jacinta huffed then turned away, her arms tightening across her chest once more.

The Queen studied me a long moment, the firelight flickering across the sharp lines of her face. There was something almost patient in her cruelty, as though she meant to draw the words from me one by one, the better to pick them apart.

"You speak as though you have given this a great deal of thought," she said at last. "Tell me, when did an illegitimate girl raised on scraps and mercy come to hold opinions upon the governance of a kingdom?"

"Do not," she said sharply, "flatter yourself into believing your thoughts carry weight simply because you were permitted to hold a station too above you."

I bowed my head lower still.

"Continue," the Queen said to me. "I wish to see just how you would weasel your way out of this like the spawn you are. Though I should warn you, your mother tried the same tactic but it was of no use."

My expression almost faltered at that. There was never a situation where the Queen did not search for an opportunity to bring up my mother. It simply was not in her nature.

And my mother had told her the truth, but she had refused to see it.

I took a deep breath, grounding myself. I may not be successful in what I was about to say to the Queen but it was better than not trying at all.