The Inner Circle | A Midnight Quartet

Chapter 13 | Aspen Cooper

Aspen watches Miles walk away from the library before remembering that she has a mistress to attend to. She grabs the forgotten rag from the table and stuffs it in a pocket in her work smock, rushing out the door a few moments behind Miles.

The guards open the door to the Queen's chamber and Aspen walks in, finding Odessa sitting very unlady-like on one of her couches. Her hair is messy and she looks tired... almost distraught, even. She looks up as Aspen enters. "Ah, there you are. I had thought you had forgotten about me."

And I wish you had forgotten about me. Aspen thinks. "No, your Majesty, I was just attending to something."

The Queen waves her hand, dismissing the matter. "That's quite alright." They simply stare at each other for a moment before Odessa gestures towards a chair across from the couch. "Please, sit down." Aspen obeys, wondering where this could be heading. "I know I'm not as nice as I could be to you, Aspen."

Now she could tell that something really was up, if the Queen was calling her by her actual name. Aspen politely inclines her head as she continues. "Losing Irena has been devastating. I know that must seem like a surprise, as I apparently don't know how to have a good relationship with anyone; not even my own children. I've always been faced with responsibility and sometimes, I put getting things done effectively over being kind to those around me." She sighs, making her look like her actual old age despite all the makeup trying to hide it. "I wish I could've built more of a bond with my only daughter. You never know when those precious things in your life will be stripped away from you. Maybe, though, this experience is trying to show me to make the best of what I have and improve my relationship with the two children I still have. The only problem is that they fight all the time and I'm sure it would take a miracle for them to ever be on good terms with one another at this point."

She pauses, giving Aspen time to recognize how odd it is for Odessa to be opening up like this. Out of everyone, wouldn't the Queen have the most secrets to hide and not feel comfortable talking about this kind of stuff? "Mine and Irving's marriage was arranged, but I'm sure you already knew that. I never tried to make any effort to love him, and I think it shows when we try and get anything done. We argue all the time and it's always tearing apart any progress we might've made in deciding hard things for our kingdom. And, I'm going to be very honest with you here, Aspen, I know for a fact that he has had many affairs throughout the years. I've known that it's happening in the moment that it is going on. But did I ever do anything to stop it? Did I ever try to take a stand against those women that were coming upon my husband? No. Did I help him cover up some stuff of my own volition so that way no one would know about the scandal the King was causing? Yes. Because I have never cared about what he is or isn't doing when it doesn't involve me. But, I'm worried that everyone is going to find out about it despite all the efforts that have been made to cover it up."

Aspen just stares at Odessa, slack-jawed. "Why are you telling me this?"

The Queen pitifully laughs. "I have no one else to confide in. I'm not sure why I chose you specifically, though; I guess you are a bit of an odd choice. Maybe I'm finally starting to realize that I need to be a better person." They sit in silence for many minutes and Aspen doesn't know what to say to that, since she can't really just say that all the horrible things Odessa did to her is fine. She finally breaks the quiet, saving Aspen from trying to come up with a response. "Please don't mention this to anyone else. You may go now, if you wish."

Aspen stands from the now very uncomfortable chair and bows, seeing the Queen in a whole different light now. She slips out of the door and slumps against the wall, processing the still-churning words going around in her head. Why is their family so messed up? One of the guards grumbles at her, threatening her to get on the move again. She rolls her eyes as she hisses back at him, but she eventually stands up and heads down the long corridors, making her way to her living space.