The night was lit ablaze as flames fell from the sky like rain and set the city below on fire.
"Your Majesty, we must leave now before the portal closes."
The queen turned away from the window to face the young maiden whose voice was laced with fear.
"Are you afraid to die, Elizabeth?"
"No, your Majesty," lied the queen's faithful young servant in a quivering voice.
The queen smiled a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes before looking down at her child who was sleeping soundly in her arms, oblivious of the losing war that was being fought outside and of the inevitable doom that has come take their kingdom.
"Your Majesty," Elizabeth said nervously as the portal started to dim.
The queen crossed the room and stood before the shimmering portal, Elizabeth moving to stand beside her.
"Shall we now, your Majesty?," she asked.
The queen turned to her.
"My arms feel sore. Can you take her for a moment?," the queen asked, smiling gently.
"Of course, my Lady," Elizabeth said, surprised, as the queen carefully placed the princess in her arms. The baby stirred beneath the thin layer of cloth she was wrapped in but made no sound. For a moment, as Elizabeth looked down at the princess' sleeping face, her fears vanished.
"She's beautiful," Elizabeth breathed. "She looks so much like you. I have no doubt she'll be just as fair as you are someday, my Queen."
The queen did not reply immediately. Elizabeth looked up to find a single tear roll down the queen's cheek.
For a second, Elizabeth felt stunned. The queen never cried.
"But I'll never see her grow up to be the fair maiden she will be someday, will I?," said the queen, making no move to wipe the tear away.
Elizabeth stared as the meaning of the queen's words dawned on her. Her eyes widened.
"Your Majesty--no--you--you can't possibly---," she spluttered. The queen turned to her and smiled wistfully.
"I've lived for quite a long time already, Elizabeth," said the queen, looking away. "A hundred years ago, I made an oath to serve and protect my people until the end of my days. My duty is to the realm I serve. I cannot simply leave my kingdom to its doom, can I?"
"But---"
"I am a Queen, Elizabeth," the queen said with steely conviction. "If my kingdom falls, I'll fall with it."
The queen turned to Elizabeth and reached out a pale hand to stroke the princess' fair head before looking up.
Elizabeth was struck by the sorrow that was mirrored in the queen's eyes, and for one fleeting moment, Elizabeth saw a mother who mourned for the loss of her child.
"Please," the queen pleaded softly. It was a single word barely audible but Elizabeth perfectly understood the silent message that came with it. Take care of my child for I cannot.
Elizabeth swallowed the lump in her throat before trusting herself to speak.
"I will raise her as my own in every way that you will, my Queen," Elizabeth promised.
"Thank you," said the queen.
She glanced at the dimming portal before withdrawing her hand to remove her necklace and clasp it carefully around her daughter's neck. The golden pendant gleamed as it rested on the child's abdomen.
The queen took out a small amber vial and handed it to Elizabeth.
"Make her drink this when she turns a year old. It will protect her," said the queen.
Elizabeth took the vial and clutched it tightly before nodding.
The queen then leaned down to brush a hand lightly on the princess' cheek. "Be good my daughter and come back to the realm of your people when your time comes," she whispered, planting a soft kiss on her child's forehead one last time before stepping away.
"Go now," she said.
"You are a great Queen, your Majesty," Elizabeth told the queen. The queen smiled at her sadly before turning to face the portal. The whirlwind blew on the queen's golden curls, keeping them away from her young face, and for a moment, Elizabeth couldn't help but be captivated at how beautiful the queen was.
The queen closed her eyes briefly before looking away from the portal as if the sight of it sickened her. "Go," she repeated.
Elizabeth obliged. Sparing her queen a last glance, she hugged the princess closer to her chest and stepped into the portal.
YOU ARE READING
AVIS ELECTUS
FantasíaLoria's life was as normal as it could get---or at least that was what she thought before three strangely beautiful and inhuman looking individuals showed up in her school and changed everything she thought she was.
