The War of Queens

Chapter 52

Evelyn

 The sanctuary of the Queenswood was peaceful. Needless to say, Evelyn hated it.

 It was circular and built in rough, unpolished stone with an inner courtyard. The archway that circled the courtyard had uneven pillars, and the only decoration was a serpent that was carved into the stone roof that the pillars held up. You entered through a gate to a tunnel that led directly from the outside to the courtyard. Apart from the kitchen, the dining hall and the chapel, there were only dormitories. Thankfully, Evelyn and her sisters had been given the chambers that were reserved for the highborn ladies that sometimes came here.

 There was no library so the only books available were those that the women who lived there brought with them. The women were Servants, too, though they did not perform rituals like the male Servants. Instead, they worked as midwives for the lower classes and lived quiet lives of prayer. Needless to say, the books were as boring as the women.

 Still, words on a page, as silly as they were, made Helena happy. They distracted her from reality, as they always had. No amount of distraction would have made Mary happy, no matter how interesting the book. And Evelyn would not have been able to keep her focus.

 She seethed with anger every day. What had they done to deserve this? Why did the gods punish them so? Every night, she cried frustrated tears. Everything was so utterly hopeless. She was locked in, unable to do anything to change the situation. No matter how often she held Mary close and tried to soothe her, it never helped - and afterwards, she was left drained of energy. She would sneak away into the woods and allow herself to crumble.

 They came on the third day. Ten soldiers had been sent to get the three surviving princesses. “They’ve been called to trial,” the leader of the men said. When a Servants told them that this was a sanctuary, made for people who needed to find peace undisturbed by the world, he pushed her to the side.

 The commoners watched with wide eyes when they were brought through the streets. Mary cried silently, while Helena walked quietly along, clinging to her book, as though she was too perplexed by the situation to even form emotions. The glances that were sent from the members of court were hidden, but just as interested. They were locked into Evelyn’s old chambers, which were the largest and too high up for them to escape.

 Helena looked around her for a moment, then turned to Evelyn. “Well, what are we to do now?” she asked.

 “Nothing,” Evelyn said. “Wait.”

 Helena shook her head. “She’ll kill us. I know she will.”

 Mary settled on the bed. “No, she won’t. Not after mother died. She would not want to give the people even more reason to hate her.”

 “Mary is right,” Evelyn said. “Elizabeth needs the people to accept her if she is to convince them that she is the rightful queen.”

 “Which might be our ticket to life, but we will still lose everything,” Helena argued.

 “Not everything,” Mary said. “As long as we live, our sun may yet rise and shine upon us, just as theirs may sink to the horizon.”

 Evelyn sighed. “Let us, for the moment, enjoy that we are back in a castle rather than that reeking sanctuary.”

 That night, they were each given baths and dressed in clean clothes from their own wardrobe. Dinner was brought to them along with the message that their trial would be tomorrow. No more explanation was given.

 The next morning, they were awoken by handmaidens. Evelyn felt that she had never slept so well as she had that night, back in her own bed.

 “What would you like us to get from your wardrobes for the trial?” one of the handmaidens asked.