Minstrel

Chapter #6 ~ Queen Isabelle

Queen Isabelle listened to the music as it wafted its way around her like a delicious smell. Music. Such a lovely thing and so very valued in her snowy kingdom. A kingdom some called rebellious against the king, but such names didn't matter to her. The people of Florencia were far too obedient for her liking. Isabelle liked a little rebellion... it would always serve the purpose of making a dull life interesting.

The queen watched from upon her throne, the glass of which it was made glistened like ice, as a young girl opened her voice to join the instruments. The girl's voice was soft and smooth, floating through the air and sending everyone's eyes to her.

A small smile broke Isabelle's face. The girl's voice was quite amazing, truly the best the queen had ever heard. 'My daughter. My beautiful flower, Rose.' The queen thought as the girl began to dance, her feet flying wildly beneath her.

Her Rose was just coming to eighteen years of age and was more than ready to marry. The queen had been looking for suitors for three years now and had not found a single man worthy of her baby girl. No one worthy of a Princess.

Isabelle's kingdom was small and to be honest wasn't much of a kingdom to begin with. All she ruled over was a small city that surrounded her even smaller, glass and stone castle. Sure it was kind of pathetic, but it was all she had and all she needed to defeat the king and put music back into Florencia.

"Your Majesty." Zeek, a slippery spy of hers, deeply bowed in front of her. The sight of him, blond spiked hair and forever bloodshot eyes, forced all her attention away from her daughter and the thoughts of her kingdom. She had sent him on a mission not more than a month ago. He should not have been back so soon.

"Zeek? What news have you brought me? Has something gone wrong?"
Her words were strong despite the unease that had settled in her stomach.

Zeek's gaze shifted to look at Rose, before coming back to rest on her. "There has been a new development, but it shouldn't change anything."
When he didn't continue, the queen sternly asked a question. "What new development?"

The spy in front of her stood from his bow to look her in the face as he said, "The girl, the one you were having me watch, is being hunted by the king."

Isabelle didn't let her neutral expression slip as she stared at the glass floor of her ballroom, the room she spent most of her time in. Her mind was quick to grasp the new information and she knew she shouldn't be surprised. The girl had been committing treason for years, playing her baritone out in the middle of the forest, but the king had never come after her. It had been years and Isabelle had just hoped the king didn't care about the young street rat and he wouldn't bother to go after her.
The poor girl. The queen inwardly grimaced. 'I should have brought her in within a week of learning about her.'

But she had decided to let the girl live her life on the streets, starving and dirty, in hope that she would grow to learn how to survive. A survivor would be helpful in their rebellion. A strong survivor was what she needed, but she had taken too long and now the girl was in danger.
"Is there anyway to bring her here?" The queen asked her spy, who uncertainly shook his head.

"I'm sorry, my queen. We could try, but the girl has an unexpected shadow and we can't get too close without him learning about us and possibly following us to the castle."

Isabelle's brow creased in confusing. "What do you mean 'a shadow'?"

"In her escape from the village the girl was followed by a knight."
Zeek's answer left her only more confused.

"Why hasn't this knight captured her yet?"

Zeek shook his head once again, sending his face into shadows under his hair. "I don't have a good answer for you, my queen. We just know the knight has been following the girl and has stayed a few hours behind her."

"Interesting. Do you have anything else for me?" The queen asked, hoping he would say no. She wanted time away from everyone to think about the new situation of the street urchin. She needed time to come up with a plan to safely bring the girl to the castle.

"No your Majesty. The only information I have left is for the Princess." Zeek bowed again and waited for Isabelle to release his presence.
But, his words were unexpected and left the queen curious about the information he had for her daughter. "What news do you have for the Princess?" She asked in a bored tone.

"Oh, surely you know of her newfound interest in the urchin girl's brother." A sly smile spread across the spy's face, showing his yellow teeth and cracked lips. The queen knew he was telling her something he wasn't allowed to tell her. A secret her Rose had wanted to stay away from her mother's ears.

"An interest? What should I care of my daughter liking of the man? She is a young woman and sure to find a man that she fancies." Isabelle looked out at Rose, who was done performing and now sitting at a small, crystal table whispering with her friends. Looking up, she caught her mother's eye and smiled, a warm loving smile that brought a glow to her silver eyes. The thought of her daughter finding love warmed Isabelle's heart, but also sent a worried chill down her spine.

"Of course my queen. I was just starting to worry, that's all." Zeek grimaced. "You see, I have reason to believe the Princess wants to leave the castle and find the boy."

The queen clinched the sides of her dress in her hands, the velvet silky beneath her fingertips. "Why do you think my daughter would do something as rash as venture out into Florencia?"

Zeek rose his gaze from the floor to look into Isabelle's eyes, the pale, grey eyes her daughter had inherited. "If the Princess thinks she is in love, she would do anything to be with this young man."

The queen looked out at her girl as she continued to gossip with her ladies in waiting. Her golden dress reflected the light and seemed to shine like the sun, a warm color in a room full of greys and fine browns. Rose's thin, auburn hair positively glowed and her soft, full lips were a deep, cherry red. She was beautiful, having inherited attractive traits from both her mother and father.

Isabelle couldn't image her Rose leaving the safety of her kingdom to chase after some fantasy with a poor, young man. Her Rose, so smart and reasonable, reduced to a lovesick fool. She couldn't see it happening. She refused to see her daughter lose her mind and heart.
"If I may make a suggestion, my queen." Zeek's smooth voice, disturbed her out of her thoughts.

Her eyes were drawn back to the man in front of her. Her trusted spy and resourceful asset. She had never really liked Zeek. He had never seemed quite right, never fully straightforward with his words and the meanings behind them. He always seemed to have his own agenda, an agenda she couldn't figure out. He was sly and sneaky like a fox, yet slippery like a snake.

"You may." Isabelle said, waving her bejeweled hand for him to continue.

The man shifted his feet in indecision, before making his propitiation. "It seems to me, that just in case the Princess wants to meet this man... It would be better to bring him to us than risk Princess Rose going out to find him."

The queen sat in silence as she contemplated the new proposal. There was no one to stop them from bringing the urchin to their kingdom. There was no one that would know if he had suddenly gone missing. With King Florence's knights after the man's sister it would only be a short few weeks before they came after him too. If Isabelle could get to him first, he would be safe from the king and living a better life than he could on the streets. Not only would the man have a better life, but her daughter would be safer and less likely to try and leave the castle.

The queen nodded. It would be better for everyone of them. "Yes, I agree. Sir Core!" She called for the captain of her guard, who marched from his position to stand and bow in front of her.

"My queen." He addressed her and rose to his full height.

"Sir Core, I need you to send out a search and recovery team of your best knights. I need you to retrieve a young man from Riverfall and bring him back here safely. Like usual, the less attention you attract the better."

The knight stomped his feet and nodded. "Yes, my queen. May I ask the name of the man we are to retrieve?"

The queen thought for a moment before the young man's name came to her. "Oh, yes! The man you are looking for goes by the name Stans Caliway."