The First Queen (Currently Being Updated)

Chapter 21

Darien let out a chuckle as he leaned back in his seat. He looked so different. I could tell that he was more built that when I had last saw him and his hair seemed darker.

 "Hello, sister," Darien replied, his eyes never leaving mine, "have you missed me?"

I could hear the evident sarcasm dripping from the question. If one thing hadn't changed, it was his attitude towards authority.

"To be quite honest with you, no, I have not. You've done much with your time these past eight years. Trying to take over thrones, killing family members, going after other kingdoms, should I go on," I asked, pleased to see I had irritated him judging by his clenched jaw.

"Tsk, tsk, the only reason I have done this is to get what is rightfully mine. I'm guessing that you already know what that is, sister dearest?"

Rightfully his? Rightfully his?! You have got to be kidding me!

"You don't understand, do you," I asked carefully, looking into his eyes (you want some drama, I'll give you drama), "the torch has already been passed on to me. There is no way for me to give it to you. I mean, you have tried to taking it from me by violent means," I said, turning a bit in my chair to point at my back where the scar was covered by my dress, "but you are still relentless. Tell me, Darien, why do you want the throne so badly, besides for the reason that it is supposedly 'rightfully' yours?"

He leaned forward in his seat, his eyes seeming to darken a bit. The number of emotions swirling around in me were infinite. A part of me knew that this was once my playmate and treasured friend, but a dark cloud has cast a shadow over those good memories. Now, I saw him as a threat. I mean, he was nearly successful in killing me, how much more do I need to say?

"You were always in the way of my throne, Eleanor. In the beginning, you were just the spare. Yes, Richard loved you dearly and took you battle but never for a minute did I doubt that the throne was destined for me. I treasured you, Eleanor, I loved you. But then our mother revealed to me the truth of my origins once I turned eighteen. I nearly slapped her in rage but then I realized how right she was. I looked nothing like Richard. It was I who was the bastard child, only my bastard lineage belonged to some Dominic in Bellumigne! But then . . . then I knew that that the throne was no longer mine. You were the heir. It was yours for the winning, but you did not know. That is why I pushed you away, I didn't want our close relationship to ruin my plans to remove you from the line of succession. My God, you could have been dead years ago if I hadn't chosen to let you live! I chose Richard to take the fall but he lived and saw through me," Darien shouted, his eyes watering and his knuckles began to turn white from his harsh grip of the armrests.

     A part of me tore apart as I watched my brother begin to slowly crumble in front me. He knew. He had known even before I did that he was not meant to be the heir. But why would he want the throne? He is just a Dominelli, not an Alagor. But why was I a threat?

     "How dare you," I said after a long silence had filled the tent.

     "Excuse me?"

     "I said how dare you! How dare you put this on me! You didn't have to push me away. It could have been worked out. Richard, my father, surely would have worked with you but it was too late. Your pride had made you fully blind and you cared for yourself. Yes, Darien, Richard came to know by himself you weren't his child but he knew that he had a responsibility to take care of you, it was just that Katarina had enclosed you in her snare and shielded you from the real world. Because of your ignorance and your pride, we are now at war, and there is no way now to call it off. You have tried to take my life now I must return the favor. We are no longer children, Darien. We can't have others doing our dirty work. Do you not care that many will die all because you want a crown that doesn't even belong to you?"