The Mad Queen

Chapter Thirty-Six

I started the day nervous, yet excited. I had seen something useful and fully intended to exploit it. I was going to give the council the first glimpse of my power. So, I decided that it was time to stop not caring about my appearance. I have often not cared about the state of my hair and would leave it tangled and knotted. My clothes would be wrinkled and plain and I hardly wore jewellery. I have never thought my wardrobe would affect how I rule. I never thought it mattered. I have come to realise that I was wrong. As the Queen, I should be presenting myself in the best ways possible. Showing my power in my clothing. My lady in waiting could hardly believe what she had heard when I ordered her to get my best dresses and jewellery from storage and brush my hair.

When I looked in the mirror after she was done, I couldn't quite believe what I was seeing. All essence of childhood naivety had vanished from my appearance. That's why I am going to describe it. This was a major turning point for me and it must be recorded.

The dress was light blue with patterned swirls of gold. The neckline was off the shoulder and the corset clung tightly to my torso. Pushing my breasts up slightly. The neckline allowed more room for the spectacular golden necklace to shine. The blue silky skirts flowed to the ground without any creases and the shape of them actually made me look taller. My hair was smooth and knot-free. It shone as it descended down my back.  Then, the crown had been placed on my head.

The crown is beautiful and as I write about it now, my fingers reach to touch it. Three bands of gold jaggedly wrap around each other like branches of a tree. Decorating the branches are golden leaves so intricate that could be mistaken for being real. Dotted around the golden twigs are little emeralds, pearls and sparkling white diamonds. They are only small and delicate, but the way they sparkle is enchanting. The front of the crown is really special. The three vines wrap around one large, glittering diamond. It is spectacular and though I describe it as very delicate, which it is, it is also fairly large. And heavy. Really heavy. It was made for Visara. Like the throne, it is moulded and inspired by her sign. The Golden Tree. Only her female, gifted descendants can wear it.

Anyway, enough about the crown. That is not why I started writing today.

When I entered the Council chambers, the room went completely silent. It was a different silence to the usual one out of respect they all make as my presence is announced. They were shocked and even better, scared. I wanted to smile and gloat but I didn't. I kept my face stone cold and looked at them all with a challenging stare. I made sure they knew who the true power in that room was. It was glorious.

~The Diary of Orianna Dulavelle

Nianzu and I have travelled for five days. Bored of our normal routine, Nianzu and I have come up with a game. Who can hunt our dinner in the most unique and impressive way? Tonight it is Nianzu's turn.

The first night was my night. I hadn't hunted for a long time. Not since training in the King's Wood. So, I decided to use it as a practice night. I was awful. I tried to set traps but most of them failed. After about two hours, one of my traps finally caught a rabbit. Well, caught is a loose term. It actually just slowed it down enough for me to catch and kill. Though it did put up a fight. Nianzu laughed at me the whole night. His first night, he shifted into a great big cat. He managed to track down and kill at least five rabbits. From that night, I made the rule of him not being allowed to use his powers. Unfair advantage. My second night went a bit better, but I only came back with small squirrels. Last night, I waited quietly in the woods we stopped in. I watched the squirrels climb up and down the trees. When they stopped, I'd throw my little dagger. Sometimes I missed, other times I didn't. I caught four. Two each and plenty to fill us up for the next day of travelling. The food we had brought from the villages is mostly gone. We ration it. Having only a little with our meal to add a little flavour. It is also our only meal of the day. We are both pretty hungry and bored of eating rabbit and squirrel. They are the easiest and most common animals to find and kill. A deer or boar would be nice. It would fill us nicely. They, however, don't really live in the area we travel across. The patches of woodlands we occasionally ride through aren't big enough for them to live in. The miles and miles of grassland are far too exposed.