Red As Blood

Chapter Five

Red as Blood 5

            Sim knew the queen had wanted nothing but to embarrass her. How could she have known about Prince Nikayl? She had never heard of the name before. But the question that plagued her most was… who would be willing to marry the queen? She was the threat that mothers used to send their children to bed, the dictatorial monarch and usurper of Mirtlemeadow and the bane of every other kingdom. She wasn’t even human.

            As soon as the queen left she headed to the library. She read about other countries, but Margennar... The memory came back to her, of a country of mountains and valleys. It was a vast empire, defeating every invader and conquering all that they sought. There was no reason for them to bother with a small kingdom like Mirtlemeadow.

            But she needed to know more. There was an area of the library that she rarely ever visited. She remembered the queen going there sometimes. It was a record of the royal families, not only of Mirtlemeadow but most kingdoms that existed or had existed in the past few centuries. Sim had always thought the records would be outdated, no scholar having been housed in Mirtlemeadow for a decade.

            She doubted suddenly whether the queen had her own reasons for searching the royal family records. Awain wondered whether the queen noted the curious look on the girl’s face as they continued to talk. The queen had completed her display of power and now was interested in his kingdom’s economy. Silently the girl slipped off unnoticed.

*          *          *

            The royal family records of Margennar consisted of a single book, thin and bound in red leather. It wasn’t difficult to find, the only book among the hundreds not covered by an inch of dust and cobwebs. The book was in almost perfect condition, the dog-eared pages signs of constant reading. Sim didn’t understand why anyone would read royal family records over and over again.

            The first page was that of a king five centuries before, his four wives and thirteen children. Most of them had died young, a daughter and two sons the only remaining. The oldest was on the next page, the pen sketch of his face beautifully capturing the stern sharpness of his features and the frail beauty of his childlike queen’s smile. They had three children. The pictures were smudged, Sim imagined it was due to fingers passing over them a thousand times over the years that had passed. But the names remained. The crown prince, Nikayl.

            The records were from three hundred years before. She flipped the pages, hoping that the prince the queen spoke of was Prince Nikayl the IV or V. But she already knew. The subsequent pages were littered with the noble families. There had only been one royal family in Margennar for two hundred years, only one crown prince. She never knew that there were other people such as the queen, hoped that the evil ended with one woman alone.

            Now there was a family of monsters ruling over an empire, and she didn’t know how many more existed. She flipped through the pages, seeing more and more of the pale faces. Some of the faces changed, some didn’t. She put the book back down and left the room.

            The castle was still readying. She had thought that all the preparation had been for Prince Awain. But the decorations were still being put up, garlands of flowers and golden bells. Every torch was lit, every servant dressed in their best.

            But as the night progressed and they had their dinner, no one arrived. The entire castle held its breath as the lanterns were put out, the tables cleared and people snuck off to their beds. Sim was one of the last people to leave the grand hall. She had less fear than the rest of the people around. The queen had never hurt her, wouldn’t hurt her in the foreseeable future. There was no telling who among the staff the queen would choose as her next meal.