Mea Culpa

Prologue

Queen Beatrice Everard picked her feet up and headed to her bedchamber. No matter how tired she was, it was her sole priority to take care of her 3-year-old son. She attempted to comfort the crying boy, by walking up and down her room, which made no difference to the amount of noise the young prince made.

Sighing in defeat, Beatrice laid him in his cot to rest. Turning to the mirror, the queen shrieked fearfully as she saw a dark figure cast in black shadows. Through the reflection, it was as if the person had materialized in the space of a few seconds.

Beatrice faced the unknown stranger, her hand behind her back grasping the blade hidden behind the mirror for emergencies. "W-who are you? How did you get in here?"

The person removed their hood, revealing a young girl who looked to be about 16 years old. Large, brown eyes stared at the queen. It was as if those eyes could lure anyone into a false sense of security. Dark hair flowed perfectly in waves on her shoulders. She had flawless, pale skin. There was no mistaking it - she was so beautiful that she must have been a princess. But the terrifying look on her face did not compliment her gorgeous features. For a moment, the queen forgot that this girl was an enemy, who did not seem to be here in peace. The stranger sneered at the visible distress on Beatrice's expression and in her words. "Do you not recognize me? I'm sure there must be something about me that you remember,"

The queen stared at this young woman in front of her as she strode over to the little boy in the cot. The girl stroked her fingers across his face, grazing the boy's cheek with her nail. "Three years old, how cute. Although I see you haven't left him yet. I was three when you left me, so I wouldn't get his hopes up if I were you."

"Get your filthy hands off my son!" The queen screamed deafeningly in hopes someone had heard her. However, her cry was not heard from outside the room. She had grasped the blade in her hand and was ready to use it, in case help didn't arrive. The girl looked up at Beatrice, her eyes filled with hatred.

"My hands are filthy, are they? What does that say about yours? Oh, wait - they're stained with blood, not dirt!"

The queen was exceedingly confused, but her priority was to keep her children safe. Her daughter was with the king, but her other child was in the middle of this conflict.

The girl raised her head. "Look at me," she whispered. There was something about the eyes that made the queen nervous... it was something familiar but not recognizable.

Realization hit her. In shock, Beatrice dropped the blade - her only means of defense - onto the floor. It fell, making a loud crash. But that was not at the front of her mind. "I-It can't be...! A-"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" The girl snapped angrily. "I AM THE SHADOW PRINCESS! She is dead! Who do you think you are?"

"You know who I am, which is why - I'm guessing - you are here. But what happened to you?"

The Shadow Princess said nothing, only grasping the hilt of her blade, yearning for the revenge she had wished for, for so long. However she enjoyed the misperception and fear she saw on the queen's face and decided to go further.

"It was you who made me this way. You angered the Tuatha De Danunn. You created me..." she gestured to her hands, concentrating fiercely. The goddess had taught her to control her gift and turn it into a weapon of justice.

The princess's eyes turned black. The air around her thinned, making it difficult for the queen to breathe. Beatrice looked down to the young girl's hands, which was faced upwards. A sphere of black light formed into the princess's palm. An inhumane scream came from inside it, which terrified the queen to back into the wall.

The girl's eyes faded back into her normal dark brown. She smiled maliciously, happy to see that Beatrice was terrified. "This is what you have done to me. But you should not worry, you shall not die by the gift you gave to me,"

Beatrice shrieked as she saw the girl's hand snake towards the sword at her waist.

"Instead you will fall at my hands, and I shall watch as you take your last breath. I will make sure that my vengeance is fulfilled."

"I SAVED YOU WHEN YOU WERE A CHILD!"

Her words were met with the steely glare of the girl. "You killed my family. You never saved me. You only opened my eyes to the evil in this world." And with that, she expertly threw her blade into the heart of the queen. It cut through the skin, like butter, and sank into the heart.

Beatrice, eyes wide open, gave a small gasp before falling down onto her back. Blood soaked the carpet and the queen's breaths were becoming short and limited.

The girl stood over the woman she had just murdered, watching as the last breath left the body. The child in the crib started crying, his face blotted with tears. With a smirk, the girl dissolved into shadows.

Queen Beatrice Everard - the jewel of the kingdom – had departed from the world.

{~~♡~~}

Arthur Everard was walking briskly towards his quarters. He had suffered another terrible coughing fit, but he heard crying resonating from his wife's chambers. As fast as he could, Arthur grasped the knob with his shaky hands and pushed it open. The scene in front of him was a horror.

A body was sprawled out on the floor. The body of the queen. Shock overcame the young king as he knelt down on the now-bloodstained carpet, his hands desperately searching for a pulse but when he came up with nothing, he was saddened with grief. Tears flowed down his cheeks as he watched her lifeless eyes stare up, as if she was looking to the clouds, to the heavens – where she would stay.

The bustle of people was heard through the doorway of the room, but the king paid no heed. He continued to stare blankly down at his dead wife; to him nothing mattered anymore. The screams of the handmaidens were drowned out by the wailing of the prince.

Arthur got to his feet uneasily and walked over to his son, picking him up in his arms. He whispered to his wife, "I will take care of our children for you, my love. All that I have done and will do is for you.

"Until my dying breath."

{~~♡~~}

Tuatha De Danann - The people of the goddess Danu