The Iron Queen - Sequel to 'The Usurper Princess'

Chapter IX

I cowered in that cell for a length of time that became indistinguishable after the first few minutes. I tried to count at first, removing a piece of hay from my bedding and setting it to one side each time the guards arrived with food and the sun rose in the sky outside. In all that time, the bird never returned, Drevan never summoned me, and I waited at his mercy.

My hair became knotted and thick with grease, and I was covered in dirt although I couldn't understand how. I tried to keep active - spending hours pacing around my cell rather than sit idle on the floor - but I always returned to the same spot in the end, curled up in a ball in the hay, waiting for Roran to come.

It was the not knowing that was the hardest part. Every day I could hear the clanging of metal in the yard below, the neighing of horses and shouting of men as some of Drevan's army prepared to move off. I tried to listen at first, for little bits of information as to where and when they were going, so that if I were to get free, or the bird did return, I could pass this information on. But the men in the courtyard below were too distant to be understood, and my guards took care never to speak when I was in earshot. Drevan knew that I'd be listening, I soon understood.

With nothing to do and nobody to talk to, my patience soon began to wear thin. By the time I had counted 15 pieces of hay, I was at my wits end. All of this waiting around was much more painful than whatever Drevan would eventually have planned for me, and my lack of knowledge about what was happening in the war was driving me to distraction. Had Kaspian won any battles since I'd been gone? Were my family dead or alive? Was the war all but lost?

I soon found also that with nothing to do, the guilt soon set in. It nagged at me day and night, chewing on my nerves. Why had I left Roran? I must have broken his heart, and I wouldn't be surprised if he never came to my rescue after what I'd done. What if he thought that I'd left to be with Drevan because I loved him? The thought of that was almost too much to bear.

By the time the guard came on the 21st day, I had chewed my nails to pieces, my hair was a mess and I was curled up in the corner, my head in my knees. As the sudden influx of light burst into the room, I squinted to focus on who was entering, and was too weak to fight as I was hauled to my feet.

"His Grace wants to see you," the burly guard barked in his rough voice. I managed to hold in a whimper as my eyes slowly adjusted and I was shoved out of my cell, the first time I'd left that room in weeks.

The guard tugged me down the stairs, growling that if I tried to run, he'd have my feet. I remained silent and followed as I was lead through the castle, the filthy dress I wore tangling around my legs and bare feet. I ignored the stairs of the men as we passed and tried to hold myself up tall, although it had become increasingly difficult. I entered that cell as Queen Aglaia Deloras, the Queen of Kinisi and sister of the rightful King of the Seven Kingdoms. Who was I now?

We didn't go to Drevan immediately - by some mercy they allowed me a bath. The guard grunted at the serving women who waited in the baths to make me presentable, and for the Stranger's sake not to let me drown. I stood there perfectly still, timid and silent, as he left and the girls came forward to help me. One of the older women with hands as rough as tree bark removed my soiled dress, and I was left standing there naked as they prepared a bath for me. I shivered as I wrapped my arms around myself to maintain some of my modesty, but these women didn't care. I wasn't a Queen now, I reminded myself, I was a whore.

No, I argued. You are Aglaia, born of the House Baratheon, daughter of King Joffrey and great-granddaughter of Tywin Lannister, the greatest battle commander who ever lived. You are the blood of Kings, and you will not kneel to usurpers like Drevan Pine.

"Here girl," the oldest crone said, pointing her gnarled fingers at a bath that had been filled with hot water and fresh perfumes. I staggered forward, my knees weak from the weeks of walking in circles, and sank slowly into the water, shutting my eyes as it poured over my skin. Instantly the dirt left my body and floated away, with it the remnants of my former self.