A court of Strength and Sorrow

𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓯𝓸𝓾𝓻

˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　　　 　˚　　　　 . ★⋆.　　　.   　　˚　　 　　*　　 　　✦　　　.　　.　　　✦　˚ 　　　　 ˚　.˚　　　　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　 　　✦

Azriel

These halls were familiar to me. Haunted with the memories of war. It was only slightly safer today. It's always odd to me what I remember out of everything. I don't remember what the king said before the arrow shot into my chest, but I remember the macabre oil painting hanging in the hall leading to the throne room. It's gone now, but nothing else has changed. If I get caught I'll still be dead. Perhaps, if I'm lucky, this new queen won't have an appetite for gore and my death will be quick. Not that anyone would even guess I was here.

I send my shadows out, paying close attention to them as they trail through the palace. The place is relatively empty, with just a few servants, not nearly the amount one would expect from a royal home of this size.

The queen exits her room just as the sun rises, my shadows slithering in her wake as she bypasses the few courtiers present. She settles into the library, selecting a title I've never seen. She curls up in an armchair and I make myself at home atop crouching one of the broad bookshelves.

.   　　˚　　 　　*　　 　　✦　　　.　　.　　　✦　˚ 　　　　 ˚　.˚　　　　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　 　　 　　　　 ✦

Queen Semaria spends hours without so much as glancing up from her page. Painfully unobservant. Over the course of the morning, I've relaxed from my crouch, and instead, I sit cross-legged, leaning against the wall at my back. I'm almost tempted to swipe a book from the shelf below, I'm fairly sure I'm sitting above a collection of historical fiction.

I shift, uncrossing my legs to relieve the prickling sensation of disuse. Her eyes snap up, scanning the room for a threat she will not find. Just in case, I manipulate my shadows further, masking myself from sight. She shakes her head slightly and turns back to her book, but I don't miss the crack of power as a shield forms around her.

One of my shadows skitters across the floor and up her chair, reaching out to wrap around her wrist. I snap it back before it can do more than touch her wrist. As I'm scolding the first, a second escapes my control, flitting up the back of her chair and moving as if to wrap around her neck. Again, I snap the willful shadow back under my control, sending it to watch the other side of the palace.

Semaria looks shaken, I note, as she marks her place and gets up to leave the library. I trail her in the shadows, keeping a distance but not far enough to miss anything. She keeps walking, back to what I can only assume are her rooms. She enters, looking in both directions before sliding past the wooden door. I send a few shadows in before appearing in the room myself, hidden away once more in a dark corner. The curtains were drawn over the windows in here, blocking out the bright light of the sun. There was barely any furniture, save for a bed pushed against one of the stone walls and a small chest opposite it. The queen of Hybern merely sat, and after a few moments, a brush floated into her expecting hands. She ran it through her long knotted hair and a few strands got caught in the bristles when she pulled it away. Her eyes drifted shut, her posture deflated as she pulled her legs under her and let her body rest against the wall. I ease up my rigid form, opting to cross my ankles and fold my arms into each other. She didn't seem... evil. Not in the same sense as her father. She hadn't even said a word out loud today, hadn't even interacted with anybody since I'd gotten here this morning. She acted less as what I'd been taught to expect from a queen and more as a person.

Her brush drops to the floor. The noise echoes in the small chamber, visibly jarring her as her eyes snap around. She didn't seem to look for anything in particular, but I'm starting to think she could somehow sense my presence.

That was the main reason Rhys was so adamant that I watch her. She was a potential threat we'd only heard of a few weeks ago, no one in Prythian or Hybern seemed to know of what she was capable of.

Her legs unfold from beneath her, and she stands still for a moment.

I wonder what's going on inside her head. She acts so different from what we thought she'd be. So far from arrogance we'd expected of the King's daughter.

The chest opens to reveal a few neatly folded pieces of clothing. No servants or maids come in to help her dress, no one to line her eyes with kohl or touch up her already pink lips. She simply changes from the loose white nightdress she had on to a dark green sweater and a pair of black leggings. She dresses like Feyre, not at all formal or uncomfortable. 

˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　　　 　˚　　　　 . ★⋆.　　　.   　　˚　　 　　*　　 　　✦　　　.　　.　　　✦　˚ 　　　　 ˚　.˚　　　　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　 　　 　　　　 ✦

A/N

I'm gonna be upfront and honest here.. I procrastinate like I'm being drug to the gallows. I owe the 2nd half of this chapter to Dae because you all would've been waiting another week if it were up to me alone.

Now go eat something, and take a nap! (Dae I'm glaring at you through this screen)

{note from Dae (that Lex doesn't know about so shh):

I don't think Lex knows I have the power to change anything she says.. and its only the kindness in my heart that actually publishes what she writes about me

<3 love you bestie don't hate me

IM A PERFECT ANGEL NO ONE BELIEVE ANYTHING LEX SAYS

go drink some water my friends <3

~dae}

˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　　　 　˚　　　　 . ★⋆.　　　.   　　˚　　 　　*　　 　　✦　　　.　　.　　　✦　˚ 　　　　 ˚　.˚　　　　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　 　　✦

Written by Lex (with a lot of help from Dae)