Queen's Mirror

Chapter 15

Evelyn awoke the next morning to a rose and a handwritten incantation beside her bed for her to practice, and a smile came to her face. She picked up the rose with the intention of smelling it, and gasped as it transformed into a pair of butterflies that fluttered around the room before vanishing. "Showoff." she muttered playfully, tucking the incantation safely into a book before summoning the servants to help her dress. Her studies would have to wait. She needed to start on the arrangements for her mother's funeral, and she had to try to get Damian alone. Before anyone else could get their claws into him.

She found her half brother in the throne room, and he wasn't alone. Francine DeFrey had donned her mother's crown, which looked tainted somehow by her faded auburn curls and shifty brown eyes. Her gown was a lavish purple silk, far too low cut and revealing, and she wore half the jewels of the royal treasury among her fingertips, neck, and ears. She looked ridiculous, was the only thing Evelyn could think as she entered the room. "Damian, would you care to join me for a walk in the garden? I have to select flowers for the arrangements and I could use your help." she asked, hoping to pull him away from the ears of Francine.

"The king has more important matters to attend to." Francine scoffed, placing her hand on Damian's shoulder as she loomed over him.

"The king has yet to be coronated. I'm sure the regent can handle whatever pressing issue is at hand while my brother mourns." Evelyn retorted, and it was enough to silence Francine, though she stood fuming as Damian rose to his feet to join Evelyn. She noticed the dark circles under his eyes as he drew closer, though his wild red hair did help cover them to an extent. "Brother, I dare say you need rest...and a haircut." she teased him as they walked, making their way out to the gardens.

"Rest, to be sure. My mother's incessant croning is going to drive me mad." he sighed, offering Evelyn his arm. "Ev, I meant what I said that night at your birthday banquet. I didn't choose this any more than you. I have no desire to be king. I have no idea what I'm doing." he admitted sourly, running his free hand through his hair in frustration.

"I admit, I thought you were in on it. But now I know you weren't the one with nefarious intentions. Damian, there's something you should know. I don't think you are safe here." she stated firmly, stopping their walk next to the flourishing rose bushes of the inner courtyard where they were less likely to be overheard by any eavesdropping servants. "I managed to trace the poison used to kill our parents back to the seller." she stated firmly.

Damian's face lit up. "And? Can they identify the culprit?" Evelyn took a deep breath, knowing his excitement would ebb when he found out the truth.

"Yes. But you won't like what you hear. The poison used against you and the poison used to kill our parents were purchased by two different people; our mothers." she said firmly, her hands tightening around his wrists to keep him in place as she gauged his reaction.

"Your mother tried to kill me?" he asked uncertainly.

"No. She meant to ensure you would not have any heirs. It was never meant to kill you. But your mother...she knew of the poison. It is why she killed our parents." she watched as Damian put the pieces together in his mind, his eyes widening with shock and then horror.

"She didn't know it wasn't meant to kill me. No wonder she acted so surprised at my recovery. She meant for me to die with them. That's why she had been throwing herself at the archduke at the banquet." Damian's expression twisted into one of pure fury as he clenched his fists.

"Don't be rash. Your mother has the archduke's support. They each think they can manipulate the other to gain power. I have ensured the witnesses have been moved someplace safe. But your safety is not guaranteed so long as you are here." again her voice was firm as she guided him over to the stone bench in the center of the courtyard, his head clearly reeling from the onslaught of new information.

"What do you suggest?" he asked, his tone defeated as he let his head fall into his hands.

"For now, take some of the guards that came with us, they are loyal to Acacia and will obey my orders. And as awful as it sounds, befriend our young princess. Even Francine would not risk an attempt on your life so long as Snow White is within range. The last thing she wants is war when she is trying to gain power." Evelyn said thoughtfully, putting her arm in his. "Try not to let on that anything is amiss. I'll figure out how to get you out of the castle without any suspicions arising. Before Francine and the archduke can stage a coup, preferably."

Damian's gray eyes shot to hers and he paused, searching her face. "What if I abdicate? I never wanted this. Wouldn't that solve all the problems?" he questioned, getting to his feet as he paced the secluded inner courtyard of the garden. "I can abdicate the throne to you, I would still be considered a prince, she would have her wealth, and you would be queen of both realms. Problem solved."

Evelyn sighed at his vain attempt at self preservation. "I doubt that would work. One, because once you abdicate they have no further use for you. If Francine doesn't kill you, the archduke will. Two, it doesn't resolve the fact that she murdered our parents, Damian. I will have her head for it, make no mistake." she was firm, and he knew by the look in her eyes that she meant every word of it.

Damian sighed, shaking his head as he raked a hand through his red hair. "There is no easy way through this, is there? Any way you look at it, it will be a bloodbath."

"I'm afraid politics always are, my dear brother." Evelyn stood, wrapping her arm around his. "I think the yellow and white roses would suit mother. Father would want something less flowery and feminine, knowing him. I think perhaps a greenery arrangement with his shield as the centerpiece would do him better justice, don't you agree?"

"How are you so good at this?" he asked with wry amusement.

"I was born for this, Damian. It is all I have been taught from the time I could remember. It is all I know."