The Queen of Stones

Chapter 18

During my life, I've never worried about death because I was sure I would be reminded as a great queen. However, now, all that will be left of my memory ⏤ if any memory remains at all ⏤ is how I was taken off the throne by my own privy council. The next generations will talk about how I was the last ruler of the Halvard dynasty and how I led my family name to extinction. That is definitely not the legacy I hoped to leave behind.

The thought of Davi comes to my mind and leads me to wonder what he is thinking about at this moment. I speculate if he is scared of death or trusts that I'll free us from this situation, saving his life in the process. I remember him at the second he understood that we would have to run and try to put my finger on what was the object he chose to take with him. I wonder why I don't know what it was.

The fact that we have been married for five years and I still don't know what is his most important possession is worthy of judgment. I spent all this time trying to avoid knowing him, simply for not being interested, and now I've come to the conclusion that I've lost the opportunity to have something that could have been great. However, it is not really my fault.

Ever since I was born, I learned that queens don't marry the one they love, they marry the one who is more beneficial for their reign. So, at a very young age, I gave up on love. I told myself that I should never fall in love with a man and, instead, fall in love with my throne. And that is what I did. The reason I never loved Davi is that I never tried to love him.

Now, I have lost my chance.

The chances of me getting out of here alive are minimal. I would need supporters and an army, to which I have none, meaning that I'll probably die in here. And so will Davi; alone and full of fear in his cell.

I ask myself if I would have saved his life with Steinmor's location if I could. The temptation of pushing the thought away for the dread of coming to a conclusion that makes me seem careless tries to overcome me, but, at this point, there is nothing else to lose and nobody else to judge me. I have to evaluate my own honor.

Sadly, a part of me knows that I would probably put my crown above his life if I could. I don't know. It would make me an awful person if I were to decide on my crown, and the realization of my terrible character in my last days of life is exactly what I don't need at the moment. I should focus on my virtues.

I wonder in which side of history I would be on if the information that I chose to protect Steinmor over my own husband's life were to become public. The next generations would say that I was an evil person for putting a crown over a life or would they say that I was loyal to the stones until my last minute. It doesn't matter. Winners are the ones who write history, so I'll probably be on the wrong side of it.

I start to cry.

Maybe I am a wicked person and maybe I should be on the wrong side of history. I analyze every decision I have ever made as queen and come to the conclusion that I wasn't thinking about the population in order to make them; I was thinking about me. My tears start to wet the pillow and I turn on the bed, now facing the bars of the cellblock. I don't know when I fall asleep but it is with tears in my eyes and staring at the gray bars of my new home.

I wake up to someone calling my name. As I slowly open my eyes and look up to the origin of the sound, I see a tall dark-haired guard on the other side of the prison grid.

"Time to wake up," he said.

That's it, I think to myself, Alastair decided he doesn't need Steinmor and now I'm going to die. I stand up in an attempt to stay closer to his height, but he is way taller than me. I feel powerless.

"Need some help?" His smirk makes me shiver and I take a step back. "Calm down, I'm not here to kill you. I can get you out ⏤"

"Then do now," I said interrupting him.

"For the right price, of course."

I should have known; he is not a guard at all. His hair is untamed, with some locks even falling on his eyes, and most guards have their heads shaved. He is just a greedy man who is here for some money. Good thing money is something that I do have.

"I'll give you a thousand Geads if you set me free."

"I meant a different type of price." He calmly sits down on the floor and pulls the cell keys out of his pocket, showing me my freedom. "Here is the deal. I set you free, we leave, gather up some people, come back and take your throne. In return, you make me king."

"Are you out of your mind?" I can feel the anger in my voice and try to extinguish it. There is no point in losing control. "I'm already married."

"Well, he'll probably die so you don't have to worry about that." His pale skin reminds me of Aiden Bloomfield's face, but since the friendly freckles are missing I ignore the association.

"What? No, he won't." Honestly, how dare he. I close my fists, but still, try to keep a straight face.

"If you do nothing he definitely will." He looks at me, waiting for me to accept his offer. I say nothing. "No? Okay then."

He gets up and starts to walk away. His decisive walk makes me desperate, he sounds as if he doesn't really need me. At this moment, I'm the one who needs him, and that gives him complete control of the situation. I have to do something; this is probably my only chance of survival.

"I'll give you a nobility title. And money, a lot of money." I can no longer see him, but my ears tell me that he stopped walking. "Enough to buy you respect and authority at court."

"And a place in the privy council," he said.

"I have no idea which type of family you come from. I can't just make you a duke." He walks in my direction, allowing me to see him again. He looks impatient. I can read in his face that this is my last chance. I sigh. "Okay, but we have to save my husband."

"I think we have a deal." He stands his hand to me through the grid and I shake it. "My name is Hades, by the way, not that you asked."