Crown of Purple Fire (English)

PROLOGUE

(In Yasmine's point of view)

I hate council meetings.

Not as much as I hate dealing with the rabble, the rogue, and my children, but my fury spares no one. It was Midsummer, and I was almost out of breath while walking into the Clearing behind my castle, overlooking the Galatea river. I was under a tent of course, but the crimson silk did nothing to satisfy my need for the cool air of spring and winter. Not the bumbling humidity.

Alas, it was I who suggested we meet in the outdoors, anyway. Jacintha, the high lady of the dragons, couldn't bear being confined in my chambers, where the meetings where previously held. And, as queen, my subjects' priorities are over my own. Even if I have to suffer the blinding gold of the sun.

We gathered around in a circle, each of us under a tent (except for the dragon, who merely floated over the trees). I looked at my right and saw the gryphon lord Matteo of House Durannes. He sipped through a humongous goblet of wine. Next to him, whistling, was the horse lord Gael of House Belemnon. I always wondered why the water horses were the chosen rulers, though it seems now I knew. Unlike the lot of us, Gael didn't seemed bothered by the heat. He didn't seem too bothered by the cold last time we met....though I guess it has something to do with the fact his coat crystallized, as if he turned to ice.

High lady Jacintha flapped her reptilian wings ever so slightly in the air. I always envied her, for the unique pink-and-turquoise pattern of her scales, and the creamy tone of her undercoat. Colors like that would never match my graceful silver fur, but it didn't matter. Her power set was vastly different from my own. Fire breath is no match for whispering, controlling, and breaking minds.

Finally, my gaze landed on my left. The wolf lord Efren of the House Laurall had a stony expression toward the rest of the council. Being the warden of the north, I supposed he never had the luxury of knowing the real pain of the Midsummer heat.

I cleared my throat and said, "Well? Shan't we begin?"

The four animals before me (and their bodyguards) bowed. Lord Matteo stepped forward. "My Queen...a letter was found at the threshold of my palace--"

"In mine as well," Lord Efren interjected.

"Same with us," Jacintha and Gael followed.

Matteo glared at the lot of them, but continued nonetheless. "As I was saying, the letter addressed to us was very hostile in words, and veiled threats were found everywhere."

I spoke, "And does this concern me and my kingdom in any way?"

"Yes, my queen. It concerns you, me, everyone in this clearing, and the whole of Ravanyn."

Silence. Then I said, "Do you have a copy of this letter, Lord Durannes?"

Matteo nodded. He looked at a younger gryphon--his squire, I suppose--and he came forward to give a scroll, to my handmaiden, a one-tail, on my right. She looked at me, and I nodded for her to give the scroll. Using my magic, I opened it and read aloud:

"Dear Matteo of House Durannes, lord of the Gryphons and warden of the west,

                    It is in my deepest regret to know that you have chosen to ally yourself with the usurper queen of the foxes, in the battle against my father, King Tamlin Aschere VII. For that, I will forgive you, as I understand my father's ways weren't the best approach in dealing with situations. However, it is in your best interests to know that I am not my father, and even if he was in the wrong, your 'queen' had no right to seize my throne. My birthright. And for that, I offer you a choice. In less than a fortnight, I will arrive on your shores to discuss terms of surrender. I have a fleet of sell-swords and pampered warriors. You will surrender, and bow your head as our fleet docks. You will pledge your allegiance to my cause, or I swear to you, there will be war.

Signed,

Thessalyne Aschere, your rightful queen."

I closed the scroll and handed it back to my handmaiden. I scoffed aloud. So the daughter of that wretched Tamlin Aschere--that manic who destroyed half my territory--comes back to claim her crown. Her 'birthright'. Well sorry, princess. Your wish is not my command. Neither is it my council's.

"What do you plan to do, then? Hmm?" I asked them. Gazing into every one of their eyes, even if they wouldn't meet them. Oh, how easy it would be to just take a peek into their minds, their feelings, their thoughts--

Lord Efren spoke up. "We serve only one queen. The one true queen."

"And who is this one true queen you speak of, hmm? Don't you think that I, the mistress of whispers, a queen of thought and feeling, wouldn't know vague words? Do you take me for a fool, lord Efren?"

He said nothing. I smirked. "Go ahead. If you choose to ally yourselves with her, I don't care. Just know that you will regret it for the rest of your days, the moment you pick the wrong queen to serve. Look at me," I spat, no longer smiling. "LOOK AT ME, YOU FOOLS,"

Their eyes met mine, and I know they could sense the burning rage inside me. "Even if you choose to 'ally' yourselves with me, just know that I am won't care, either. Because guess what? I have something you don't have. Something they don't have. Something none of you will ever come to receive in your possession, because it is mine."

My gaze no longer met theirs. I looked outward the Clearing, and saw the one structure my kingdom was proud of most: the fence of black. A structure that surrounded Alésun, to protect it from outsiders...and to attack them from within.

I said, while looking at the fence, "If she wants to be queen, she'll be queen alright...as long as she doesn't mind being queen of the ashes."