death is the only ending for the trash queen

Part 9

She was too still.

Pale and quiet as death. The subtle movements of her chest moving up and down the only sign of life.

Her striking red hair stood out against the deathly pale cheeks, fanning around her face as she rested.

It brought to mind so much that Penelope would rather not think about.

She pressed the palm of her hand against her mothers forehead, feeling the fever still ravaging her body.

Cale always looked so big and strong to Penelope. Despite her desire to protect her mother from her cruel fate, Penelope had never viewed her mother as weak.

Even seeing her carried back shamefully in Alberu's arms, she still had a strength to her that went unquestioned in Penelope's mind.

Perhaps it was the effect of a mother. Something about the way Cale held her as though she'd protect her daughter from the whole world left a shaking impact upon Penelope's heart.

Her mother was strong. Her mother was invincible. Her mother could handle anything.

It was an underlying belief she hadn't even realized had become written on her heart until it was crushed so thoroughly.

Cale shuddered in her sleep.

Penelope very much needed to not think about the parallels.

She didn't know if she could hold herself together if she allowed those thoughts in.

Penelope's tiny fists clenched on the sheets.

The thought resounded again and again in her mind.

Was this it? Was this the undefined moment in time when she would lose her mother?

Was it always supposed to happen now? Or had she hastened it along with this foolhardy trip?

A hand touched her shoulder and Penelope flinched away from it, glaring up at her father furiously.

Was he behind this?

While he had been cheerfully attempting to buy Penelope's love, was he sending assassins to attack her mother all the while? Wasn't it enough how he manipulated her?!

"Stay away from me." She hissed low, unsure how to keep herself from committing treason as the anger boiled up inside of her.

Alberu nodded in understanding, sitting back down to the chair at Cale's bedside.

Penelope hated that too.

How disgusting of him to pretend to care by remaining at her side. Couldn't he at least have the tact to leave so that Penelope didn't have to endure his presence?

Was this all a part of his persona as well? An alibi? 'The poor king cared so much for the wretched queen that he stayed at her bedside'? A way to assuage suspicions of his guilt.

Penelope hated him.

She realized that she hadn't before. Hate didn't come easy to her. She felt disdain and dislike for people like him, she felt distrust and disgust because of his future disloyalty, but she hadn't been able to summon up the feeling of hatred for the man that she had loved as a father for the past four years of her short life.

Although at the moment Penelope hated everyone.

Including herself.

It was her suggestion to leave Cale alone. Her suggestion that left Cale vulnerable to the attack. She was cheerfully allowing Alberu to spoil her in the streets of Puzzle City while Cale was fighting for her life.