Palace Walls

Part Fourteen

"Unlike the little folk, I do not think a woman is beautiful only because she is thin. You know which one I'm talking about— Lady Salmon the Younger. She has a deep cleft in her chin and fluffy white hair and big pale eyes that gleam like glazed pottery and white eyebrows that are draw so high she appears permanently surprised.  The little girl has withered into a ghost.

She is not only beautiful, but intelligent, thanks to Lady Salmon the Elder-- herself being one of those slender, cold-eyed, regal beauties that would have been as beloved as Queen Clotilda, if not for that constant scornful lift of her brow. Trust me; when I bested her at hjess, she didn't speak-- all she did was scowl and offer a sarcastic, 'My, you've done so well! I should have known...'

I do not think a person is good because she is smart— and it's such a shame, because the Lady Salmon has brains by the Dodo, and yet she spills them over things like revenge and talking to demons and killing the Queen. The latter of which— if she succeeds —would lower her intelligence. She knows damn well the Queen is the most famous person around, if not the most loved."

—observation by Penelope Oltu

Lady Salmon shuffled in her high, platformed chopines. These bronze, open-toed slippers had no high heels; the soles were stretched to a giddy height, so she could hardly take a step. She yawned. If it wasn't for Mother's nagging, I wouldn't be wearing these damn shoes-- to deliver a baby, no less!

She kicked off her shoes and sank into her long, fluffy white lounge. She stretched her legs across the soft cushion, sore and exhausted from the day. Her eyes closed softly, and before long she into a deep, dreamless sleep....

"Gobnet, wake up!"

Lady Salmon yawned, before sliding herself upright. Mother glared over her, the red-smudged corners of her mouth twitching with rage.

"You missed the Birth Feast," she snapped, "Her Majesty was asking for you constantly today, even more so than Lady Keturah. I felt mortified to tell her the truth, but I see now, it's more mortifying to be you...with whatever you call your life."

"I helped her give birth for a long time, and now I need my rest. She should understand that; after all, I believe she sleeps until the middle of the day. It helps with beauty, she says, As well as...other, less desirable things."

"You really need to get it together, Gobnet Salmon. I swear to the Goddess, this world will eat you alive!"

Lady Salmon's eyes flashed with equal venom.

"And I'll give it indigestion."

Ka-wip! Mother slapped her with a fan, piercing her jaw with the hard, pointed end until blood dripped from the stinging spot.

"You delivered her child, for Goddess' sake!" she cried, "Can't you be the least bit happy for her?!"

Lady Salmon lifted her wounded chin.

"Not until you are as equally happy for me."

"And why would I do that? You haven't any children, nor have you a husband or concubine." Mother's mouth twitched to a frown. "It's such a shame, for a woman as beautiful as yourself. You don't want people to talk, do you?"

"They have plenty to talk about, Mother," Lady Salmon snapped, leaning forward, "I delivered her child. I let myself get sprayed by blood and all the other disgusting things from her body. I wrapped him in a blanket and snuggled him as if he were my own! Aren't you the least bit proud of that?!"

Mother shook her head slowly.

"No daughter of mine...no daughter of mine is going to rest on something as ignoble as that! Where are your morals? Where is your pride?! Have you forgotten the great Salmon name?! The motto-- 'Produce and serve?'" She smirked, before laughing coolly. "I'm not sure what has led you down this path, Gobnet, but it's really something-- that the busy, fashionable Queen can marry and have a family, while your only excuse-- from what I can see...." She looked her up and down. "Is laziness!"