Sacrifice for a Wish

Chapter 23

Dinner that night was a celebration with just the family. The Queen sat quietly at the head of the table and watched the rest of us. I sat to her left, and Lark to her right. The Lost Boys sat down my side of the table and the Princes sat down Lark's side. At the end of the table mom sat on my side and Coach sat across.

"They were flying horses, Wren," Luck's excitement was almost contagious, but the heavy feeling was still there, and I couldn't force myself to be excited. The knot of dread twisted and wove inside my stomach.

"Their species is the Pegasus," Gryphon addressed the whole table. "They were created by Morgana. She wanted to be able to ride but also see more of Avalon. The ones in the wild do not like shifters, but the ones bred here at Wonderland Castle are trained as young foals to take even shifters as riders."

Legend took a gulp of his wine, "thank you for showing us Avalon. You have a beautiful home."

Gryphon nodded and smiled, "of course. We will all be family soon; you must think of Avalon as your home too."

The Queen picked up a small bell and rang it and a servant rushed over, ready for her command. "Tea, peppermint."

The servant rushed off to do the Queen's bidding. When he returned, he was so nervous that he splashed some of the tea on the white tablecloth.

She stood abruptly, her heavy chair fell backward, and another servant rushed to pick it up. She spoke under her breath to the servant, but I could hear the words clearly, "If I lose my temper, you will lose your head."

The servant poured the tea carefully. Even with his carefulness he shook so much that I could hear the delicate tea pot rattle against the cup.

Everyone else kept chatting even Lark. No one noticed anything out of place. Healer Willoughby stood in the corner of the room and his head turned softly to the side. After the Queen finished her tea, he trotted up to the table. "My majesty, I think it's time to return to bed. Tomorrow will be a big day."

"I'm fine," the Queen snapped.

"I insist, your majesty," the Centaur tried to mollify the Monarch.

Queen Dahlia looked around and caught my eyes on hers, her gaze narrowed. "Yes, I think I shall return to bed."

When she rose, the whole room rose with her. The queen smiled, "please, return to your meal. High Healer Willoughby thinks it's best if I get some sleep. I will see you all in the morning."

The Queen turned on her heel and with Willoughby accompanying her, left the room. Everyone in the room returned to their meal. The chatting about the joining ceremony tomorrow was a big topic. Everyone got along splendidly but still something felt off. It bothered me. It felt like an itchy tag that you forgot to cut off a new shirt. No matter how much you scratched it, or repositioned it, it still bothered you.

I stood and excused myself. Everyone stood as they had for the Queen. The Lost Boys started to follow me, "no it's fine, I just need to use the bathroom."

I rushed out into the hallway, trying to catch up to my aunt. I followed slowly behind the Queen and Willoughby until they went through the door into her rooms.

I stood outside the door. I stood for there for several minutes and debated internally on whether to knock and ask to speak to the Queen when Healer Willoughby came out and saw me.

He smiled warmly at me, "Princess Wren, is there something I can do for you? Are you feeling well?"

"Yes," I replied. "I was just going to see if Queen Dahlia is okay."

"She's fine, of course. No reason to worry," Healer Willoughby answered. I stood there and thought about the itchy feeling. After several minutes of me not speaking, the healer asked, "Is that it?"