Daughters of Blood

Chapter 5

The Castle on the Wall was an empty shell inhabited only by the few staff who maintained it. In the days leading up to the Treaty Ball, they would be hard at work cleaning and getting the castle ready to receive guests. Food would arrive from the South and from various other kingdoms who had been invited to participate- not many accepted these invitations, but there was always at least one foreign visitor to witness this annual occurrence. It was a good motivation for both sides to behave in the presence of the other. There hadn't been an incident at a Ball in many years... not an incident that was visible to everyone, anyway.

Jaia knew better. She knew that being in the same room as King Lysander was a death wish, one she made once a year every year for the sake of peaceful relations. Because at the end of the day, she might be the only one who knew that Lysander didn't actually care about the peace. And while he bided his time, he took advantage of having his rival in the same room as he was. She knew that she would have to be sharp in order to avoid the assassination that he would attempt while they were together. It was almost tradition now, and if it wasn't her life at risk, it might almost be funny.

So, she planned accordingly. Guards in every corner, behind her, around her, at all times. A ballgown that offered as much protection as the royal dressmaker would allow. Her royal taster by her side to try everything before she consumed it, her doctor close by in case those measures failed. And this year, her not-so-secret weapon. Zephyr, her personal bodyguard, terrifying and formidable. She hoped it would all be enough.

She had her personal carriage remodeled before the trip to the Wall, in order to fit Zephyr inside it with her. The monster had offered to walk, or to sit with the driver or hold onto the back, or even be dragged along by a cart. Jaia wouldn't have it. Her bodyguard, her friend, would be afforded all the luxuries she could give her. Carriage rides and ballgowns and nights at the ball included.

"At the ball tonight there will be a Prince who wishes to dance with me." Jaia glanced out of the window of the jostling carriage as they started down the road, hidden from prying eyes behind a curtain. Carriages in front and behind carried her few members of staff and courtiers that she wished to bring along, while guards rode on horses alongside the train of carriages. It was to be a long trip and would take almost all day, but it was a trip that had been taken many times before and everyone involved had it down to an art. "He has been trying to court me for years and I fear he thinks he has a chance tonight. He is harmless, let him try. But make sure he knows that I am under your protection. Look fearsome."

"Do I not always look fearsome, Your Majesty?" Zephyr bared her teeth with a mock snarl.

Jaia laughed, pressing a finger to her lips as if to try and hold it in. "I suppose you are. No doubt absolutely terrifying to anyone who had only heard of you, never seen you."

"And to you, Your Majesty?"

She glanced over her companion, a creature of fur and silk and gold, magnificent even in the dim light of the carriage. "Well, I am used to you, of course. I see you for who you are. A person like me, trying to make the country a better place."

Zephyr nodded, smiling to herself. Jaia suddenly felt bashful for some reason, sat opposite her bodyguard in a closed-in space, no way to turn away or escape. But she didn't want to escape. That was the strangest thing of all.

"Why don't you entertain the Prince's advances?" Zephyr asked eventually as the day stretched on. "As Queen, won't you have to produce an heir?"

The Queen was silent, resting her head in her hand as she gazed out the window. It was obvious that the question had dramatically dampened her mood. "When I was a child," she started, her fingers idly stroking the velvet fabric of her gown, as if to comfort herself. "My mother put a sword in my hand and told me that I must learn to use it, because that was the world I was born into. I was five years old, running around with a sword, being trained by generals and swordmasters. When my sister was the same age, she was given one too. And we were forced to fight each other. And I remember thinking, when I got old enough to understand, that I could never do what she did. Create life and then endanger it. Bring someone into this world of violence and death, with war looming over my head every day, with the weight of my kingdom on my shoulders. I hated her for doing that to me. I could never do it to a child that I was supposed to love and protect."