The Mad Queen

Chapter Sixteen

My Grandmother told me of a book that could help me understand my powers. I've searched in the Library for it high and low, yet have found nothing. I visited her again and told her of my troubles. She frowned then, an odd look passing on her face.

"What is it?" I had asked.

"Nothing," she replied quickly before standing up and leaving.

Confused, I headed to the council meeting. It did not go well. Everything I said or suggested was shut down. There was so much I wanted to do as Queen. I wanted to make peoples lives better. Introduce a compulsory day off during the week. A minimum wage that all workers must be paid in order to be able to live without hunger and with a roof over their heads. Lower the taxes. We don't need the amount we are getting. There is so much coming in, yet so little we are giving back to the development of the city.  The edges of the city have turned into slums and healing centres are being shut down. Yet, the council don't seem to care. They think I have not noticed what they've been doing. That the clothes they wear are getting finer and finer. That the multiple homes they are buying across Vivelle are getting grander. They are being paid a lot for their jobs as councilmen, but not that much. I suspect that a lot of the tax money goes straight into their pockets. Yet, I can't do anything about it. I can't replace them. They can only be replaced if they die or get a lack of confidence vote. Judging by the fact that a lot of the court seems to be indulging in the same thieving that they are, I doubt a lack of confidence vote would happen.

I may be the queen, but I can't make decisions and changes without the votes of at least two councilmen behind me. I also can't prove their crimes.

Grandmother would never have allowed this to happen. She had respect. The power-hungry snakes that make up the court knew not to try anything with her. Me on the other hand. Well, they don't respect me as their queen. They walk all over me and have no consequences to worry about.  I need to get them to respect me. I have The Gift and that is something they should fear. If I learn how to use my visions and understand them, then I could expose all their secrets. I could know exactly what they were planning and come up with ways to stop it.

I will learn and I will be feared.

~Diary of Orianna Duavelle

The next day of the trials passes quickly. The morning consisted of hunting and tracking. Our objective was to track some warriors through the woods and find them. All five of us were dropped off in different areas of the Kingswood at the same places that warriors had been dropped off an hour before. We each had five warriors to find. To complete the challenge, we had to find at least three of the five. I managed to find all five. They weren't exactly subtle. They left behind footprints and broken branches. They basically made a path for me to follow. No doubt my fathers doing, even though I am supposed to have harder tests. Fallon, Rayana and Shaelyn all passed their tests. Cordelia on the other hand failed. With each failure of my sisters, my determination grows. If this doesn't work, then they are one step closer to being sacrificed.

Once that test was done, we spent the next three hours being dressed up. I wore a spectacular silver dress which glinted with shimmers of dark blues, purples and emerald grees. My make up matched, my eyes lined with shimmering silvers. My sisters all wore very similar dresses too. We looked grand. Once we were done, we were taken to the arena again. Gone were all the obstacles from the fight. Instead, it was decorated with hundreds of flaming torches and small candles along the ground. It actually looked really nice in the dark. Especially as it made our dresses and makeup glitter. That test was the first dance tests. It should have been with our betrothed, but as he is on a mission, we had to make do with some other high ranking males. Lord Emlyn was one of them which made the test much more pleasant and it passed quickly. I don't really remember the point of the test. Something about showing the nation our grace and beauty. None of us failed at least and it was pretty easy. All the dances have been drilled into us since we could walk.