Demons of the Queen

Chapter 4

I wake up and spend a few minutes staring at the ceiling contently. Today I expect the heralds to proclaim that my coronation will be tomorrow. Maybe I should make it tonight. Yes. I will officially be the queen of Selia by tonight.

I get out of my bed and stand in front of my mirror. I stand tall and picture myself with a crown on my head instead of my usual tiara. Then I practice crying. I will go downstairs soon and have to pretend like I didn't know my entire family was murdered. I will have to say that I had gone out that night because I had been invited to dinner at a peasant's house. Once they tell me my family is dead, I will begin to cry, and then I will run back to my bedroom and recompose myself.

I open my closet and decide to wear my white gown. White is the color of purity and innocence; something I especially want to portray today. I put on my necklace that is a chain with emeralds carved into flowers. Then I brush my slightly unkempt hair thoroughly. I look in the mirror one last time and decide that I look innocent, beautiful, regal, and responsible enough to become the next queen.

As I go downstairs, the servants stare at me and so I shoot them confused looks and they look away. I suppose they have orders not to tell me what happened.

When I enter the throne room, I see the royal advisor muttering to two of the guards. They nod solemnly.

"Good morning!" I call out to them, making my voice sound cheerful.

They turn to look at me. The soldiers then begin staring at the ground.

"Princess Kyra, actually, I mean Queen Kyra," My advisor says, "I have some unfortunate news."

"What? What do you mean?" I ask, doing my best to sound very upset. "Why are you calling me the queen? What happened?"

"Your Majesty, I am not quite sure how to phrase this..." He says.

"Please!" I cry, sounding desperate. "Please just tell me what happened!"

"You are the only remaining person with royal blood in this kingdom. Your parents and siblings are dead." He says solemnly.

I gasp. Hiding my face and making awful, mournful sounds, I turn around and sprint out of the throne room and back to my bedroom.

I lock the door to my bedroom and keep making crying sounds for a couple of minutes. Then I become silent. I sit on my bed.
I think I did a convincing job of portraying innocence and devastation.

I hear a knock on my bedroom door.

"Your majesty? It's Vanessa the maid. Miss Caroline would like to speak with you about which dress you will wear for your coronation tonight.

I roll my eyes. I absolutely despise dress fittings.

"Will I need to be fitted?" I ask.

"I do not believe so, Your Majesty. Miss Caroline already has your measurements from a couple of weeks ago. She would like to speak with you about how you want your dress to look." Vanessa replies.

"Tell her that I will see her momentarily and that I would like a few minutes to recompose myself before showing my face," I say.

"Of course, Your Majesty. I will tell her right away." Vanessa responds.

I hear footsteps fading away down the hallway.

I take a deep breath, brush my hair, straighten my necklace and dress, and leave my bedroom.

"Ah! Good morning your Majesty. I cannot tell you how deeply sorry I am for your loss," Caroline says. "But, let us move to a more positive topic: your coronation! How would you like your dress to look?"

"I want my dress to be deep, rich, purple. After all, I am royalty, but I am also mourning the unexpected loss of my family," I reply.

Their deaths were not unexpected to me, but if I say they were it reaffirms that I am innocent.

"Splendid choice. That will look lovely with your complexion." Caroline says.

"One more thing," I say.

"Certainly!" Caroline says.

"I would like a very full skirt," I say.

"Consider it finished." Caroline proclaims as she curtseys.

"Good," I reply.

I turn around and walk out of the room holding my head up high. After all, I am the new queen.

I go into the royal office that now belongs to me. My dad's papers are scattered across the large desk. It's just like it was a couple of days ago when I came in here. When I still cared about my family's lives. They were so foolish to trust me.

I begin to straighten up the papers on the desk. My father was so messy, but I am not a messy person. I will keep this desk clean and orderly.

While I am organizing the papers, I notice a white envelope with my name written messily on it. This is not my dad's handwriting.

I quickly tear open the envelope and unfold the paper inside of it. It reads:

Kyra,

I watched you as you killed your father and I know you killed your mother and siblings too.

"What the hell?" I mutter under my breath.

...You don't know me, you never even knew I existed...but that's not the point. The point is that someone else knows your deepest and darkest secret.

I stop breathing.