SEASICK

67- A Queen's Effort

[[I do not own the music]]

The queen sat lounging in her sitting room, by an opened window basking in the late morning sun. Maids surrounded her in a semi-circle. Some offered an assortment of cold beverages, swirling with ice of Fubkimouth. Some offered her traditional snacks of the many nations Taycia had taken for their own during her reign. Others fanned her with large feather fans. A simple wave of her hand would send them scurrying away, but the queen didn't have the energy or the care.

Blonde hair, the same shade of the gold that adorned her entire body, pooled down to the jade floors. It was a beacon of her stress, rather it could have been if anyone truly knew the queen. Even her beloved king did not perceive the cracks under her pale white mask.

Usually, the queen's long tresses were done up in beautiful ornate hairpins and gems. Today, like every day since her lover visited, she could not be bothered to sit and wait for the maids to be done with the precise work. She needed to be up; she needed to keep herself occupied.

The queen hid it well, but she was caving. The only thought preoccupying her mind was the thought of her daughter. That once little girl who she would see now and then in the lonely palace they shared.

She would be the first to unashamedly admit that she did not have a relationship with either of the two children she gave life to. Neither her son, Prince Amun, nor her daughter, the princess... Alana. And if she was being brutally honest she did not see a reason to.

They were only pawns.

They were only meant to be used.

Their one true purpose was to further her own goals.

When Amun had expressed interest in studying abroad the queen felt ecstatic, happy that one of her game pieces was approving his worth. It would be easy to sell a charming, intelligent, worldly Prince to any kings looking to pawn off one of their daughters as well. She did not see the threat in it, but she came to find out it was mistake number one.

Her son left and never returned to give her the interest she had invested. She found out by letter that he had married the princess of Ekapan and had become king.

It truly made her ill, Ekapan of all places. There was no substantial amount of land to be had, not enough gold to add to Taycia that would impress her, not even an awe-worthy military. She felt double-crossed and betrayed but did nothing rash.

After all, she still had her more promising pawn.

Alana.

Thinking of that name now made the queen grit her teeth, a scowl replaced her indifferent stare.

The little girl who she had made sure to be trained into the proper bargaining tool. The queen was always watching from afar, making sure this product of hers was just what she wanted. Her daughter was to be intelligent, kind, soft-hearted, always smiling, generous, and gentle. Moreover, something she could only hope for, not control, her daughter was beautiful. Not conventional beauty, a stop-a-man-in-his-tracks beauty. She knew this little girl would grow up to be her most valuable possession. That at the right time and under the right circumstances, she would bring all other nations to their knees begging for her hand in marriage. And at that moment the queen would have whatever she wanted.

After Amun had disappeared right from under thumb, the queen was adamant that the princess was never to be tempted by the outside world, and the outside world was never to be tempted by her. It was the Queen who banned Alana from city tours, meeting her citizens, and stepping one toe outside the palace gates. She was worried that if Alana saw who vast life could be she would be the same as Amun. And at the same time she was concerned that if the people saw that a potential heir to the throne was as kind as Alana, they would revolt to put Alana on the throne in her place. So for her daughter's entire life, she deprived her of the most essential desire: freedom.