Harm and Harmony

-Chapter 113-

Day: 160

Days Left: 5320

Lives Saved: 0

Queen Corinna IX had been sitting on her bed for a while. Though her body was incredibly still, her mind was restless and constantly active. She sighed and almost laughed at herself for how ridiculous she was being. It had been over a month since her mother's death anniversary, yet she still remained ever-present in her thoughts. There were still no feelings attached to these thoughts, nothing sentimental. It was more Corinna IX questioning herself.

You're supposed to love your family. 

Yet... I cannot.

Family... it was supposed to mean that you were guaranteed that you were loved by someone the rest of your life. The queen certainly had never possessed that feeling.

Shaking her head to rid her mind of these thoughts, the queen's eyes fell onto her golem assistant, Jane, who was positioned in the corner of the room. It stood motionless like a statue, its human-like face vacant and unblinking. The uncanniness would disturb and frighten anyone else, but the queen had been used to Jane's automaton behaviour since childhood.

Acting upon impulse, Corinna IX commanded Jane to sit next to her on the bed. The golem assistant complied and sat down, the bed shaking slightly as it did. The queen hesitantly held out her hand. Jane remained still, staring blankly at the wall in front of itself. Realising that she forgot to give her assistant the order, Corinna IX instructed Jane telepathically to hold her hand. Jane did so. Its hand was cold and stiff. The queen felt like she was holding an inanimate object shaped like a hand, but that's because she was. Despite Jane being a technological marvel in the advancement of golems, its appearance so incredibly human-like, that was just it. It was human-like but could never replace a real human.

The queen let go of the golem's hand and readied herself to go to sleep for the night. Though it had been an exhausting day, the queen's thoughts kept herself awake for longer than usual.

She closed her eyes, and there was darkness. Eventually, her mind drifted away but not to sleep as she had wanted.

*

She opened her eyes yet she was still surrounded by darkness. Everywhere she looked was just an eternal abyss...

The queen realised where she was. Standing in front of her was a young woman with long golden blonde hair. Her face was covered and speckled with freckles, some of them merged together to form patches that resembled mud. It was Corinna Warren.

In her tired and mentally confused state, the queen had accidentally connected her mind with Miss Warren. Corinna IX wanted to curse out loud at such a foolish mistake but managed to keep her composure. That was until she realised that she had not conjured up the image of a throne in Warren's mind. Instead, she was standing, her short stature of 5'3'' revealed. But that wasn't all that she had forgotten to prepare...

Glancing down at herself, the queen saw that she was in her nightgown and in bare feet. She desperately hoped that her nightgown would be able to pass as everyday clothes though it wasn't as grand as her usual attire. It was too late to change that but not too late to envision a pair of shoes. Fortunately, her white mask was on. Though she did not wear it whilst sleeping, it had become so natural, like breathing, to conjure it whilst in someone else's mind. But the absence of the throne and the nightgown still bothered the queen.

Perhaps Corinna Warren wouldn't notice?

She did.

Inside Warren's mind, the queen was bombarded with a barrage of questions:

Why is the queen in her pyjamas?

Where is the throne?

Why isn't she sitting on it like usual?

She's so short!

She's shorter than me!

I swear she wasn't wearing any shoes before...

It doesn't matter, thought Corinna IX. She could just erase the young woman's memory, and the whole embarrassment would be forgotten. Groaning, she raised her hand out, prepared to cast the spell when she paused and lowered it instead.

"Your Majesty?" Corinna Warren tilted her head in confusion.

Queen Corinna raised her chin up, attempting to make herself look taller. "Miss Warren, do you believe that We are obligated to love our family unconditionally?"

Even without being inside of her mind, the queen could easily tell that the young woman was taken aback by the sudden question.

"Yes?" answered Miss Warren with uncertainty.

"Why?" demanded the queen.

"Because they're family," said Warren.

Unsatisfied with such a self-explanatory answer, the queen pressed on. "You love your family unconditionally, Miss Warren?"

"Yes."

"And do they return the sentiment?"

"Of course."

The queen could tell that there was a slight hesitation in that last answer. "And what would you define love? What constitutes it?"

"Well..."

As Corrina Warren paused in thought, the queen saw flashes of the young woman's memories, ones of her family and occasionally of The Chimaera, now known as Harmony.

"Their happiness and safety rival your own," answered Warren. "You are happy so long as they are."

"We see..." replied the queen. "Yet We still do not understand why everyone is obligated to love family simply because of shared blood."

"Because..." Warren stopped and frowned, also unsure herself but somehow still believed it was without a doubt true.

Realising that she would never receive the answer for that question from Warren, the queen decided to move onto a different one. "What about one-sided love?" Queen Corinna winced as she heard the cluster of bewildered and theorising thoughts pass by in the young woman's minds after that line. The queen was now regretting it.

"I apologise, I do not understand the question, Your Majesty."

"If it is clear that the person you love does not return the same feelings, or at least not to the same extent..." The queen lowered her head. "Do you believe that this love should still be held onto?"

There was a look of pity on the young woman's face, which the queen despised. 

"We can't control who we love," said Warren. "Sometimes, yes, people don't share your feelings..."

An image of Warren's parents flashed in the young woman's mind, along with a few other relatives. Despite this, she still ignored this sub-conscious thought and continued to believe her earlier answer that all of her family loved her unconditionally.

"But I think..." Warren continued. "That if you care about this person, you should still hold on, Your Majesty."

"It was a hypothetical question."

Warren smiled, easily seeing through the lie. "Of course, Your Majesty."

No longer feeling having the power in the conversation, the queen quickly said farewell to the young woman and exited her mind.