Manon's Child

Part 37

When we arrive at the Witch-Kingdom a few days later, chaos greets us. Cursing my ever growing belly, I slip off Abraxos carefully ( :( ), then stride into the camp to be immediately harassed by witches asking questions. I ignore them all.

Only when I get to the centre of the camp do I acknowledge them. Some sort of stage erected, for whatever reason I don't care about. I stand on it, waiting in silence for them to shut up. Eventually, they do. 

"What is the problem?" I ask angrily. I have no idea how to address them, I just know I'm cross. "How dare you be so rude to your Queen!" I'm greeted by silence. "I said, what is the problem?"

Another silence, broken eventually by a stocky witch coming to the front of the stage, a crochan. "Where did you disappear off to?" she demands, and I feel like gutting her.

"That," I say icily, "Is none of your business. But I'll tell you anyway. I was securing peaceful relationships with  -" Suddenly, I lose patience at myself, and at the witches for expecting an explanation for everything. They should not question they're queen. "This is bullshit. I will not explain myself to you, and you will not ask things you do not need to know. I am the queen, and I am in charge, and you'd do well to remember that. You," I say, pointing at the witch who questioned me. "Come here."

She does, coming onto the stage and standing a few feet away from me.  I open my mouth to say something to her, but she cuts me off. "Why shouldn't we question you? The next thing we know, you Ironteeth will be slaughtering us in our sleep and drinking our blood, like you've already done to so many of our kind." 

Understanding dawns, and I stare at the witch incredulously. "So that's your problem," I say. "You're afraid."

The witch says nothing, and I can't supress my laughter. "You're pathetic. I searched for months to find you, to ask for your aid in a war where many of the Ironteeth died, fighting with you, for you. I risked my life for you; my entire coven died,  to restore this peace." I'm in the almost yelling in the other witch's face, anger filling me. "So what did you think? The Witch-Queen has run away, so I'm going to, what, overthrow her? Pathetic. Maybe I should kill you." I pause, seeing the fear in her eyes, and laugh unpleasantly. 

I turn to face the other witches, watching us. "You're all useless, if your thinking treason like her. I have sacrificed everything for this peace: why would I throw it away? I will never again kill a witch for sport, that I promised a long time ago. If any of you have any actual problem, you can find me in my tent."

Without another word, I turn and start stalking off the stage. Annoyingly, my haughty walk is thrown off by my belly. I'm almost at the edge of the platform when the other witch attacks.