SEASICK

78- A Queen's Demand

A trail of sunray hair wriggled across the floor, whipping with every turn Queen Adela made. Her polished red thumbnail wedged between her pearl, white teeth as she nibbled on it in thought. Adela's hair was flat and let down, engulfing her figure that was clad in the plainest of all the dresses she owned.

Her mind was slowly undoing itself the longer her daughter went without being found, it left her to pace in her chamber and hope that someone captured the princess.

Her bare feet pattered against the jade floor, the only sound echoing through the lavish room, apart from the very distant roar of the capital of Taycia coming through the open window.

"Your majesty," A voice called out, turning the Queen's attention to the window.

A green-haired woman kneeled at the base, one arm resting on her right knee. Chusi's eyes were closed but the stomping feet summoned her focus upward, catching the sight of the ethereal queen long enough to see her hand coming down.

The slap rang out through with a tense pop, Chusi's eyes widened as her head sluing to one side. The red of her cheeks darkened, not only from the handprint left behind.

"Where is she?!" The queen roared; face scrunched in anger. "I have fliers spread across my entire expanse and not one person has seen that little bitch!? WHY hasn't anyone come forward?!"

Chusi regained her posture, still kneeling to the queen.

"Your majesty, Taycia is great and wide, the largest kingdom due to your excellency. The people within it do not care to look around the thousand of faces for one girl on a wanted poster. Many residents do not even know what their neighbor looks like."

The queen turned away from Chusi in a huff, marching to her lounge chair where she threw herself across, sprawled out in exasperation.

"I want her, now. Either her corpse or alive, I do not give a damn. But she will not make a mockery of the royal line. I will not have an insolent daughter on the loose. She will be my pawn, or she will not live, it is as simple as that!" Adela pinched the bridge of her slim, cream white nose.

Chusi opened her mouth to reply but the queen was not done.

"Truly?! I had hoped that damn babysitter of hers would find her quite quickly, I should have known not to trust a man to do anything! Look at the 'great king,' sitting on his ass and caring only for his harem. And the people will say it was by his hand that Taycia became grand! It was me! I am the one who was willing to make all the sacrifices! I am the one who made Taycia so much grander than what it was when I arrived! Every pillaged pathetic village, every useless kingdom, it was me who took them over to make them a part of something beautiful! How else would anyone afford the luxuries of life if it was not me who pressed the unfortunate into submission!" Adela was screaming, throwing her hands around as she forgot she had an audience. Her beautiful features were so tense she appeared to be another person.

"I gave my all to this kingdom! I took all from others for this kingdom! I made this kingdom what it is! That bitch had her whole life written out! All she had to do was listen! Submit! To take over the crown and do I as I did, see that a man will do nothing for her and reign from the shadows! She was perfect! PERFECT! And that ungrateful wench runs away! Nineteen years of training lost! Nineteen years! And for what? FOR WHAT?! Adventure? A normal life?! HA!"

Adela threw her head back on her red pillow, gritting her teeth so hard they threatened to chip.

Chusi kept her eyes down, fearing that looking at the queen and getting caught would only anger Adela more.

"No... no," Adela closed her eyes softly as if she were calming down. "I will not allow her to. She was born in this palace, and this palace is where she will die. I have decided and so it will be."

Her sky-blue eyes cut open to Chusi filled with wrath.

"Tell me, Chusi..." The queen spoke evenly now. "When are you meant to meet with those rebels again?"

Chusi was hesitant to answer, though she went on. "Soon. We will meet just past the border in Taycia to go over the final plan."

The queen flickered her eyes to the marble ceiling, seeing a blurry reflection of herself she smiled.

"Then you must know what you are meant to do."

Chusi nodded once. "Yes, my queen."

"But do not kill her," Adela added, shocking Chusi. "No, bring her to me."

Chusi swallowed hard. "And the pirates?"

"What of them? Kill them, of course." Adela moved to sit up, shifting her blonde strands over her right shoulder. "In the most horribly, beautiful way possible."

"They are a force, my queen. One of me against four of them—"

"Quiet!" Adela snapped, feeling the rage seethe back in. "Who told you that you had to announce your plans to them? Do not be stupid, Chusi. Were you not the greatest assassin in Bizia? I trust you'll find a way to get it done."

The blush on Chusi's feature only grew to receive the secondhand praise of the queen, even if it was phrased as a question.

"I vow to fulfill your wishes, my Queen. I stake my life on it."

The queen hummed, standing from the lounge to move to her vanity.

"Very well," Adela sat in front of the mirror, peering in the reflection to Chusi. "Be off then."

Chusi's head snapped up in bewilderment. "My queen?"

The queen did not bother looking any longer, turning her focus to her face powder.

"You cannot possibly think after weeks of failure and disappointment that you may give me pleasure tonight." Adela dabbed the powder under her eye where creases formed in the makeup she wore.

Chusi said nothing, placing both knees to the jade floor to perform a deep bow before she disappeared into the night.

Adela peeked through the reflection once more to assure Chusi was gone. The wrath inside her crawled up as if it had never left, flying from her mouth in the most vicious of screams. Adela flew from her vanity chair, swiping everything from the surface. Jars and palettes of cosmetics clattered to the ground as she moved onto the chest of drawers, flinging the candles from their holders. Adela's screaming never stopped until everything that was not too heavy for her to throw was out of place. She fell to her knees heaving in fury, panting like a wild animal as strands of sunray cascaded around her face. The flame of the candles licked at the tapestries that hung on the wall, quickly consuming the fabric.

Adela paid no mind to the spreading flame, her attention focused on the painting of her daughter the rest across the room. Adela knew not why she had the maids bring the portrait to her room, but she stared into the painted eyes of Alana.

In some respects, Alana looked remarkably similar to her mother, especially the eyes. Though Alana's were big with kindness and curiosity, Adela remembered how her baby blues used to be the same. The queen recalled greatly how her life could have been different, how she fell from her morals and never looked back.

Blazing flames flourished around the queen, she watched as they lapped the portrait of her daughter. The paint bubbled and peeled, tearing away the image while Adela found the will to slowly stand.

"How disappointing." She spat to herself, regaining her regal composure to coolly walk from the room.

In the hall waited for three maids, ready to do whatever the queen ordered, all young teenage girls that jumped at the sound of the door flying open. Fear struck them like the fire that was eating the queen's chamber raged behind her.

"If any of my belongings burn... as will you three," Adela commented as she walked past the maids with her head held high.