A Bloody Crown

Chapter 5: Severed

"How do you know about that?" I whispered, refusing to let fear creep into my voice. "What have you done to the Queens?"

His eyes flared, realizing he'd hit a weak point. I cursed internally. "Nothing they haven't wanted, or done to themselves already."

My hands clenched into fists, still trying to remain calm. "Stop speaking in riddles."

"I think you should learn quite quickly that I am not a subject you can order around, my dear. In fact... let's practice." 

Before I could even blink, his hand was around my throat, applying mild pressure. As soon as I realized what happened, my back was against the wall, feet off the ground. My breaths were coming out choppily, my panic finally overriding my sense of logic.

The pressure was increasing, now to the point of pain. My head was starting to go fuzzy, my consciousness fading. If I was going to make a stand, I needed to do it now.

"Unhand me, right now," I managed to gasp out. "I'll have your head framed on my wall for this."

"Can you not see help even when it's choking you? I am an informant."

I snarled, then spit in his face.

He smiled, a rather unkind smile, and set me back onto the floor gently. I took a deep breath and steadied myself. Somewhere in my peripheral, his hand raised to punch me. I felt the air shift around him, around me, and heard his muscles moving.

Instinctively, my hand raised, catching his fist in my palm, inches before collision with my face.

Both of us stopped, staring wide-eyed at the connection.

I threw his hand down, staring into his dead, dark eyes. "You will never hit me again," I said quietly.

"You're not who they think you are, are you?"

I blinked rapidly, not understanding. "I'm sorry?"

Then, he was gone. Vanished into thin air. Or, winnowed, as I believe the fae called it.

After a moment, I left the room quickly, shutting the door behind me. I walked through the castle, my pace just short of running, to get to my father's room to discuss. 

He needed to know the threat we were under. I wasn't sure if there was anything he could do, but someone other than me had to know, right?

"Duchess Aelfrun?" Marlia called as I walked by, concern barely hidden. "How did your meeting go? Duchess?"

I waved her off, picking up my pace. I was only about two minutes from his study room, the one he resided in most hours of the day, unless he was meeting or training. My feet were nearly off the ground now, practically running.

My heels clicked on the ground harshly, ankles wobbling under the stress.

"Duchess?" Marlia called, fear in her voice behind me. Her feet hit the ground heavily behind me, hot in pursuit.

I stopped in front of his door and knocked harshly, taking steadying breaths. My chest was heaving, face flushed, and lungs filled with oxygen.

"Enter," my father called distantly, his voice hollow.

My hand grabbed the doorknob and turned, Marlia right behind me. "Duchess, please, wait-"

I burst in, alarm no longer hidden in my facial features.

Then, my face fell, through the floor, along with my heart.

My father's head was on his desk, severed from his body. The rest of him was scattered throughout the room, blood covering the floor. 

His final expression, final thought was fear. My father's eyes were wide, his lips parted, face pale. Blood was spreading from underneath his head, dripping harshly onto the floor in a growing puddle.

That smell- the smell of iron and copper. The harsh tang hovering in the air, suffocating.

Then, I heard him. Felt him in the room.

Slowly, excruciatingly slow, I turned my head to the left, and saw the fae standing there, knife in his hands.

His hands were soaked in blood, my father's blood.

"Duchess?" Marlia asked from somewhere behind me. "Aelfrun?"

Blood. Dripping onto the floor. It was so loud.

"Why?" I asked, no other question coming to mind. "Why."

"Time to grow up, little one. You are ruler now."

Then, he was gone. Gone like my father's life.

I finally entered the room fully, kneeling in front of his head. That smell mixed with the scent of old books, ink on maps, iron in weapons.

Someone screamed. I don't know if it was me or Marlia. An excruciating scream, one with panic and hurt and fear in it.

But mostly fear.

Fear.

How odd, I thought. That I didn't feel afraid in that moment. I felt... anger. Rage. Entirely unbridled, unabridged, unrestrained infuriation.

Blood soaked my ivory dress and shoes. Ran across the tops of my fingers as I put my palms in it. 

It coated my knees, my shins, my wrists.

I held my father's head in my hands, blood soaking his hair and light skin.

Why is it so strong? The smell? The feeling? The sound?

Something is wrong with me, I realized. I could feel the blood.

Guards rushed in behind me, pulling me out of the floor by the arms, causing me to drop him.

I allowed them to pull me out, stumbling backwards out of the room.

Marlia had fainted in the hallway.

Kore came barreling down the corridor, then stopped a couple feet from me, unhidden horror in his face.

"Aelfrun..." he whispered, at a loss for words.

All I could muster, the only word that was on my tongue, was, "Fae."