Tests of the Apache

VI

As she watches the children taken away from the courtyard, rage begins to rise in her stomach again. The flame threatens to break through her barriers of calm and she allows it.

"Mistress Ren, the Regina requests your presence in her chambers." A young girl says to the woman beside Lea. Her head turns to look at her friend who's face has twisted in confusion.

"A-alright?" She says, trying to mask her confusion. She looks at Lea as she passes and Lea shrugs in reply to the question in the green eyes. She watches as her friend is lead away by the girl for a moment more before turning around and looking around at the courtyard.

Over half of the girls had failed to move from their spots and had by now disappeared to soak in their shame. Lea knew that most of them feared getting kicked out of Domus more than they feared losing the chance to become queen. She snarls at the sight of the soldiers moving the charred pieces of wood and she marches towards them.

"You disgraceful excuses for men!" She snaps at them as she stomps towards them. She places her hands on her hips as she stops a few feet away from them, her eyes blazing in anger. "How dare you allow the children to burn to death within the building! You made no move whatsoever to save them! They are mere children with their future still before them and their minds still pure. You have no right to be calls men!" She growls at them. She watches with a hint of pleasure as they shrink away from her wrath. "Go to your wounded men and leave the wood where it is." She orders them, knowing she was not high enough ranked to be giving orders to the King's men. As if they had forgotten the small fact, the move to obey her.

She turns and walks back to her chambers, her anger diminished and replaced by the weariness that comes with performing the feats she had done that day. She collapses on her bed, desperately wanting the sleep it offered but unable to receive it as her mind began to sift through the events of the day.
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She raps softly on the door, receiving a muffled 'enter ' in reply. She slowly opens the door, fear making her hand shake. She knew that the only reason anyone was called to the Regina's chambers was to be dismissed from the castle forever, and the idea of leaving Domus forever was terrifying.

She steps into the room, closing the door behind her before slowly turning to face her fate. The Ragina smiles at her from behind a simple desk at one end of the beautiful room. Polished oak shelves line the walls with old, worn books marching in rows along the wood. Midnight blue embroidered curtains are pulled away from the windows that allow the lowering sun's rays to leak into the room, making the shadows long and reaching. The rug under her feet depicts a wolf snarling at at a lion with its pack standing behind it. A similar tapestry hangs on the wall behind the desk, perfectly positioned between the windows. The tapestry shows the Symbol of Apache. A blue howling wolf on a field of red. Blue for beauty and calm, red for war and bravery.

"Please, sit." The smiling woman says, sweeping her hand toward the chair across from her. "We have much to talk about." She purrs, her eyes glinting with ambition and cunning.

The girl takes a small step foward, alarms erupting in her mind as her eyes meet the grey orbs of her leader. "Have I done something wrong, Ragina?" She asks, as she lowers herself in the chair.

"Quite the contrary, my dear. I want to help you with something." She says, offering her a cup of tea. Attempting to be polite, Ren takes the offered cup and takes a small sip, burning her tongue on the hot liquid. "Your friend, Lea, wants to become queen. For what reason, I do not know. She wants it so badly that she will do anything to get there." She says, watching the child before her, carefully.

"You saw how she acted today. She took away any chance for you to compleat the task and prove your worth to the king. She took away everyone's chance. She is selfish, cruel, and greedy." She says, spitting the words with venom. "Remaining in her company will only ruin your chance of ever being anything more than her obedient dog." She says, watching as the girl's green eyes begin to burn with fire as the seed begins to take root.

"Anyone that remains in her company, will have their chances poisoned." She continues, her words condemning and convincing. "Trust me, my dear. You need to stay away from her if you want to be queen. You will be queen if you do exactly as I say." She says, ending the last sentence with a soft smile.

The girl nods, her resolve hardened and her mind made up. "I will do as you advise. Thank you." The flame haired girl says, her voice dripping with the bitterness that had been planted in her. "If you will excuse me, I must go warn the others." She says, getting to her feet. The Ragina nods and Ren takes her leave, planting the seed that had been planted in her own mind in the others minds.

The Ragina leans back in her throne like chair, a sly grin spreading across her face. "Plant one seed, grow a tree. Plant thousands of seeds, grow a jungle. Grow a jungle, build a kingdom." She mutters as she waits for the trees to grow.

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