The Story of the Trees - Sword, Ring, and Crown Book One

Chapter Ten

After I was led into the office, with Klick and Klack following behind me, I saw a painting of my mother hanging on the wall over his desk. Her dark golden hair draped around the purple velvet chair she sat on and pooled upon the blue floor in wavy rivulets. She looked serene and perfect, with a tiny Mona Lisa smile on her face. She was wearing a high-waisted, empire-style gown in lavender that had tight, long sleeves.

My mouth twisted into a sneer because it was the most inaccurate painting I'd ever seen. Mother was a presence that was too large for such a sedate pose. She had raised me alone and fiercely guarded me against all comers. She'd taught me a history of wild beings that could never be content to sit in a chair, and she was born of those same beings.

More ridiculous was the yellow-haired cherub peeking over my mother's left shoulder that I assumed was me. Painted on each of my shoulders were big, flashy, white wings! I also had the same overly long hair, which mixed with my mother's glorious golden strands. What was even more laughable was the sweet, big-eyed expression on my face -- like I thought whoever was painting us was a deity!

The artist even painted me with dimples. I wished I had dimples but no such luck. It would have been fantastic for getting away with stuff. Still, I drank in that picture of my mother and felt wistful. I'd hoped I would finally see her in the alley.

In the room, two women sat in front of a wide oak desk. The younger woman had gleaming dark hair that, under the overhead light, had the hue of a black sapphire. I imagined it would be striking under the sun, though it was muted indoors. She had it pulled up into a tight topknot and, inserted into the knot, was a jeweled comb winged with two golden, horn-like projections. Attached to the comb was a gray, fluttery veil that partially obscured her face. I could tell that she was lovely in a vague sort of way. She stood up, and I saw she was about 5'8" tall and had a regal bearing. She was wearing a dove-gray robe with a broad, vertical strip of heavy embroidery down the front. Acorns, Celtic knots, and vines made up the embroidery.

The second woman... she was the one that made me freeze. She looked almost exactly like my mother. Bronze hair, a narrower face, but the resemblance was undeniable. My hand flew to my mouth as tears threatened to spill over. She stood quickly, her shock mirroring mine.

"Is that..." Her voice trembled slightly as she took a step toward me, her hands lifting as if she might embrace me. But the younger woman beside her, with her obscured, veiled face, placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her short. The older woman's hands fell back to her sides, her regal expression hardening as the moment passed. My mother's doppelgänger lifted her chin with an air of distant nobility, and the raw emotion from just seconds ago was gone.

I stood frozen in place until Luke touched my shoulder, gently steering me toward a chair near them. Klack hissed and pecked at his hand, and Luke snatched it back with a grimace. I pulled away from him, my eyes darting between the two women, unsettled.

"I'll stand, thanks."

Luke's tone remained firm but measured as he spoke. "Very well. This is your aunt, Lady Athalia, and your cousin, Elect Regina."

Athalia gave me a stiff nod, though her eyes still looked stricken, as if seeing a ghost. Regina, on the other hand, gave me nothing but a cold, assessing stare from beneath her veil.

"Nice to meet you," I muttered, though the words felt as natural as swallowing shards of glass.

Luke wiped the hand Klack had pecked with a handkerchief, his expression showing faint disdain for my pets. I watched as he tossed the cloth into the trash with a sharp flick, my disgust growing deeper. Being there, among those people who seemed to know me far better than I knew myself, felt like I was walking into a nightmare I couldn't wake from.