THIRD BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES OF FANTASILIA SERIES
𝘈 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘈 𝘥𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘺𝘯𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘺. 𝘈 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳. 𝘈 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴.
Two sides of the same coin are brought to the light...
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The Hall of Queens was like any other house—fully furnished, carpeted, and bright. Strange that that light didn't shine through the windows from the outside.
As soon as she stepped inside and June shut the door to the hall, lights flickered on, illuminating the whole lobby. Carpets muffled Xanthy's steps as she traipsed around the lobby. Lush chairs and beige walls greeted Xanthy's eyes. Xanthy's sweat evaporated as a cool breeze blew around her. Was there a cooling spell in this hall? Amazing.
Eight corridors branched off from the center of the building including the one that connected the entrance. The lobby was quiet and the air inside was a bit stale. People hadn't been here for a long time. June led them straight into the center corridor, his footsteps eager against the rugs. Xanthy and Canelis glanced briefly at each other before following.
A mysterious breeze of authority swept over her the moment she passed through the opening. The walls on this one were plastered with paintings of this High Queen's family, boasting jeweled coats and styled hair. All of these fairies had bluish gray hair, almost the same shade of yellow eyes, and crooked teeth. Xanthy sucked in her breath. Banshees.
June passed these portraits without attention and breezed towards the end of the corridor where a painting as tall as two fairies hung a few meters from the ground. He bowed as he stretched his hand out, gesturing at the painting.
"Behold, Marrione the Founder," he said as if the name is worthy of so much reverence. "The First High Queen that heralded the establishment of a city where all races could interact freely."
Canelis bowed at the portrait. A woman gazed down at Xanthy with pale, yellow eyes painted in such a way that they looked like miniature furnaces. She wasn't smiling, possibly to hide her crooked teeth or people at that time thought frowning in official portraits was formal. Silver hair glazed down the woman's shoulder in straight lines resembling threads from a loom.
Xanthy stepped closer and tapped her chin. The strokes captured the details of Marrione's ballooning gown, up into the exaggerated curves she appeared to possess. The background was simply a mess of blended colors, as if dark orange and green smoke met together behind the former High Queen. "Okay," Xanthy drew away and looked at June. "Why are you showing this to me?"
June gaped at her. "I'm educating you about our island!" Surprise was evident in his tone. "Marrione was the reason fairies of every race could be in the same places at once," he gestured towards Canelis behind Xanthy. "You wouldn't even have met her if Marrione didn't become the High Queen."
"Marrione the Founder is the ambassador of unity," Canelis added. "Unfortunately, at the end of her reign, her advisers saw an incompetency and had her executed."
Xanthy gasped. "Why?"
"Politics is a filthy game," Canelis shrugged. "There are many reasons why they conspired against their own Queen. History books conflicted with each other about it. Some stated that the incompetency existed in the form of mental instability while some claimed that the advisers wanted someone else on the throne."
