Glass Slippers [1st Draft]

28. The Queen's Speech

Chapter Twenty-Eight:

The Queen's Speech

---------

It seemed like everyone they passed stared at Queen Marianne and Clara as they made their way down the corridor, making Clara more than a little uncomfortable. Their stares were full of questions and for some, Clara was not so oblivious as to not see their eyes sparkling at the idea of a new piece of gossip right in front of them.

She hurried to be as close behind the Queen as possible, hoping that perhaps they wouldn't pay attention to her as much if she passed them quicker. Unfortunately, that tactic didn't seem to work all that well. She could still feel their gazes on her, and she was about to look back at them when the Queen came to an abrupt stop, almost making Clara run into her.

Queen Marianne had stopped in front of an ornate door that was covered in a carving of an intricate tree, and with a glance back at Clara she opened the door, leading the way into the room beyond it. The door opened to reveal a sunlit parlor with a table and five chairs situated in the middle of the room. On top of the table was a delicate tea set and Clara realized that the conversation she was about to have came with refreshments. She wasn't sure if that made her feel better or not.

"Please, do take a seat," Queen Marianne said, motioning for Clara to sit on the sky blue chair across from the identical one the Queen had just seated herself on. Clara hesitantly sat, already feeling immensely uncomfortable within her lavishly decorated surroundings. "Milk or sugar?"

"Just one sugar is fine, thank you," Clara answered, watching as Queen Marianne fixed her a cup of tea. When the Queen held it out for her to take, Clara did her best not to let the cup shake in the saucer, quickly setting it beside her before her trembling hands could cause the tea to spill onto her dress.

"You are probably wondering why I have requested you to speak with me," the Queen began, taking a measured sip of her own cup of tea in between her words. Clara nodded in response. "I believe I owe you a bit of an explanation."

Clara tilted her head slightly to the side before asking her question, "About what your highness?"

"How I knew your parents, how I realized who you were once you walked through the door, the reason I have asked you to stay longer, even why I have never reached out to you before. I believe I owe you a lot of different explanations for different things. I'm not sure we will address all of them today, but we will at least speak of some of them." The Queen paused, eyeing Clara's rigid form with calculative eyes. "What would you like to know first?"

"How did you know my parents?" Clara asked hesitantly, relieved to see that the Queen nodded and placed her own cup of tea down on the table in front of them, ready to begin their conversation.

"When I first came here many years ago as a young bride to the new king, I did not know anyone except for Lady Stanford, who came with me. Now, as the queen-to-be, I was not allowed much contact with the people of the country, and so I learned to greatly cherish the tea times and dinner parties that were often held at the palace. Around the time of my arrival in Ecrivenia, your parents had been married for a little over a few months, and though your mother was looked down upon for being from a low social standing and only marrying into her title, she was invited to many of the afternoon teas as she had become fast friends with Lady Stanford."

The queen stopped for a moment to take another sip of her tea and Clara followed suit, thankful for the beverage for giving her something to do other than just stare at the female monarch of her country. She wasn't entirely sure where she expected the story to go, but she had not expected to hear that the Queen had known her mother for so long. Her mother must've been only Clara's age when she met the Queen.