Poppies and Rosemaries

The Queen of Erebus

There was a pounding on the cell door, intended to wake those residing inside the cell. Rosemary sat up on her cot, immediately alert, even though she hadn't had sufficient sleep the night before. She squinted, scanning the bed for her glasses. Her hands glided across the folds of the thin mattress and caught on her round, black frames. She quickly placed them on her face and glanced in the direction of the knocking. 

A soldier was standing there, and he appeared to have a message of sorts. As Rosemary approached the door, he unlocked it and cleared his throat. 

"Her majesty, our vile queen of Erebus, demands that you come with me, your escort, to her castle for a meeting," he confidently spoke, "or what you call a 'trial'."

And Solas chose that moment to get up. Drowsy, he got out of bed, shirtless, and stood up, yawning and stretching. This behavior disturbed Rosemary so she turned to the soldier to avoid looking at Solas. 

"Now?" Rosemary asked, ignoring Solas completely. 

"Yes," the soldier answered, although he seemed to be a bit distracted by Solas, who marched up to Rosemary and put his arm around her. She slapped it away and he held up his hands, defeated. 

"Where are you taking her?" Solas interrogated the soldier. 

"To visit the queen."

"I'm coming too," he declared. 

"What? No, you're not. You're just going to make everything worse!" Rosemary protested. 

"Rosie, no offense, actually I don't care if you get offended, but I don't want to be stuck in a cell with you. I want to bargain with my mother," his words were greeted by a glare from Rosemary's direction and a look of exasperation from the soldier's. 

"I'm sorry, Prince Solas, but the queen specifically told me to tell you that you shouldn't be brought to meet her, no matter the circumstances."

"Bullshit," he smacked the wall in rage, and Rosemary did little to hide her shock at his choice of words.

The soldier had an uneasy expression as he escorted Rosemary out of the cell. He dragged her by the elbow, most likely to ensure that she wouldn't attempt to escape. She was hauled along, past the cells with perverted men, insane women, rotting bodies, and dead ones. Past the empty cells and to the entrance of the dungeon. 

After a long walk and a few concerning mishaps that Rosemary wanted to forget, involving three lonely, drunk men, who were quite a bit challenged in the looks department, they had finally reached the queen's castle. It was farther away than it had been yesterday when Rosemary had glimpsed it, but she assumed it was because of the fog, which there seemed to be an increase in. 

The soldier took her up the winding stairs with the black decor, up to what she assumed was the queen's study. The door needed some work, but Rosemary wasn't complaining as it would later prove to be useful when she needed to get out of the room. The soldier knocked on the door. Once. Twice. Three times. Because, let's be honest, knocking on the door once is strange. 

"Come in," came a strong, pretty voice. Not at all like what Rosemary expected. But, then again, when did things ever appear to be the way she had assumed? The soldier swung open the door, and a pair of bright blue eyes and unnatural red lips greeted her, along with Saffi who was sitting on the opposite end of the queen. There was also a strange man sitting next to the queen. 

"Your Vileness, may I present, the other trespasser," the soldier bowed. 

"Yes, yes. You are dismissed," she said, and with a wave of her hand, he was gone. 

"So," she turned to Rosemary, gesturing for her to sit, "you two have entered my kingdom without permission. After this meeting, both of you shall be hanged for this offense." 

"Your Majesty, pardon my interruption," the man interrupted, much to the queen's dismay, "but I believe we should be discussing their motives rather than their punishment."

"Oh, Gorde, always with your excellent advice," she attempted to smile at him, but it looked like she was being strangled.

Rosemary's eyes flicked between the two, impatiently. 

"Anyway, why are you here? Both of you."

"It was by accident. We didn't mean to. We were looking for another island. I swear it wasn't an accident. Please let us go," Saffi pleaded, and the queen looked at her with disgust. 

"I am definitely not letting you both go." 

"Well then what will you do? What use are we to you?" Rosemary reasoned. 

"Hmm," the queen thought about it for a bit, reclining in her chair, "I like this one. She's smart. I'd like to enroll her in my school."

"What school? Why? What about Saffi?" Rosemary let loose a torrent of questions. 

"My School for Villainy, of course," the queen responded, "and the other girl, what's her name? Sophie? She can enroll as well. And as for where you will be staying...you know what? It's fine. You can both stay in your respective cells for the time being. That is all." she rose from her chair. 

She called for the soldier who had brought Rosemary here, and she and Saffi returned to the dungeon. The walk there was mostly silent as Rosemary was somewhat ashamed that she couldn't negotiate their release from this immoral punishment. 

At least they had avoided their untimely death. At least they wouldn't be executed. At least they were still alive.