The Cursed Tyrant and His Reluctant Queen

How can I leave when Lola is bleeding out in front of my eyes?

Where is Aida? Where is Tobin?

Where is everyone, damn it?

Flavius appears behind the corner with his usual calm. He tilts his head, observing the attackers. He even turns in the direction where Marius is, from where the sounds of battle are echoing in our ears.

«What are you doing?» he inquires.

Oddly enough, he's not talking with me.

«Kneel in front of the Queen. Isn't that what people should do?»

After his order, the two assassins drop on the floor as if the weight of the sky was pressed on their shoulders. They're sweating, and soon enough, their back is bent and their hands on the ground.

After all of this, Flavius doesn't even wipe the sweat from his forehead. He just moves his eyes on me, still confused. Is this what it means to be a weapon of the Crown? Is this what the old King wanted him to do?

«You learned this all by yourself,» I whisper, forgetting about Lola for a single moment.

But then, time is ticking and won't wait for me to understand.

«Can you help her?» I ask while kneeling next to Lola and pressing my hands on her wound. «Can you heal her?»

«No.»

«No?»

«I don't know how. All I can do is stop the blood...»

«Blood magic?»

It's a mix of elemental and soul magic. Some healers might develop blood magic, but it's rare, dangerous, and generally considered witchcraft.

«But your handmaid should be able to. Just wait for her to be done.»

«Done with what?»

«With her side of the battle. She's run away after noticing them, and she's almost done. But why does she waste time putting them to sleep? Isn't it easier to kill?»

«We don't kill,» I say. «Not if we can avoid it. We have an unfair advantage against humans. Hurting one of them with our powers means using it in the wrong manner.»

«But what if there are... Uhm, twenty?»

«If we are outnumbered, then the unfairness is gone.»

We're not martyrs or angels. Just people who will eventually have guilt attacks. It's to defend our own mind, not just because of humans.

The blood running through my fingers has decreased in intensity, a sign that Flavius is controlling it just enough to save Lola from dying right away. With some luck, Aida will be back.

«Twenty?» I repeat, lost in thought.

This was not just well-organised. Someone went all-out to kill me. If these people are the same as those involved in the coup, then they must be using every single resource left to hit me. Is this their final blow? I don't think they will have more left once this fails.

Ignis made sure to erase the faction that caused his father's death, but these aren't completely unrelated. They had stopped, for a while and for some reason, their attempts, and they resumed only when I came back to the Palace.

«Don't close your eyes, Lola. Aida will be here soon, and everything will be all right. If you're alive, then we can save you. Don't give up yet.»

She's turning colder with the loss of blood, and Bea has knelt next to me to help. She doesn't react to the weird words I'm saying, just helping in silence with her fingers slightly trembling.

As for Lola, she has started crying. I can try using a little of my magic to give her warmth, but I can't do anything more. I don't know enough of the human body, and I have no access to people's souls like Aida does. I risk making things worse.

«Listen... Some things will happen, but I need you to keep it secret. Will you? No one shall know what happens here.»

Oh, now we will need to keep the kneeling assassins isolated. They heard too much. But it's a problem for later. They are going to die sooner or later, either way.

«You won't be able to tell the story about how you almost died but were saved, all right?» I continue. «Because that might endanger us all. Aida, me, and also your own life. Once saved by magic, you will be considered one of us by the Church.»

Bea is another matter, and she has proven her loyalty and discretion many times already. She's been so close to my secrets, and she never raised her eyes to check.

But Lola is young. She doesn't know what keeping a secret means, and she might over-talk because of her cheery nature.

«You saved my life,» even though it wasn't strictly necessary, «and I will save yours.»

I can't let one of my people be hurt on my watch. What kind of Queen would I be?

My warmth spreads in her body, passing through the wound and reaching her freezing hands and feet. She blinks, widening her eyes in between surprise, shock, fear... She doesn't know what this means, but she does feel better. It's only temporary, though.

«Where the hell is Aida?» I shout.

The first steps to reach us are silent. Tobin is covered in blood, and the first analyses my figure to make sure I am not hurt. Only then, he makes Bea sit a step further and makes me move my hands away.

In the absence of contact and magic, Lola whines. Still, she's too weak to protest.

Tobin tears the clothes around the wound, deaf to the maid's moans of denial. Since I can't help in any other way, I hold her hand and sit in silence.

«Reinforcements are on the way,» he says. «Doctors, guards, and his Majesty.»

Oh, Ignis will come here. But it might be dangerous... Isn't it better if he stays safe in some other place?

«The wound is deep, but the blood isn't flowing out fast,» Tobin continues. He glances at Flavius, understanding, and he cleans the skin to check out how deep it is. «Where is the healer?»

«In the Palace, dealing with twenty people,» I whisper.

«We will need to keep the assassins isolated from the world and from each other, lest the news spreads out of our control,» he sighs while pressing a piece of cloth on Lola's wound. «An attack like this is nothing in comparison to what the Church might do if it's known.»

«My handmaid knows how to do it,» I point out. «She will take care of the assassins inside the hallways without making them realise. They will think they have been poisoned.»

«What about these two, then?»

«They shouldn't live long enough to tell,» Flavius points out.

«I agree.»

Because it's too much of a secret to keep it hidden just like this.

«These two heard too much, and they're going to witness more. They know how bad Lola's injury is, and they will tell that it's impossible to heal from it in such a short time. They are a threat, more than they've been before.»

Tobin nods, leaving the task of pressing on the wound to Bea. He shows her how much to press and where to insist, and he gets up.

«You might want to close your eyes, your Majesty,» he points out while extracting the bloody sword from the sheath.

«It's my fault if they die. I can't look in the other direction.»

It's a decision I'm making now. As Queen of Alba more than any other of my identities. I'm going to execute two people who caused me harm without waiting for a trial. They are immobilised, without weapons.

It's cowardly, but do I have any choice?

«We will tell it happened during a battle,» Tobin continues. «I'll make the wounds look accidental enough. Then, we will all forget. No one will interrogate the Queen and her people.»

Bea and Flavius nod. Lola closes her eyes for a moment, and I turn back to her to wake her up.

«Just a little more, resist,» I whisper close to her ear.

«Do I have permission, your Majesty?» Tobin asks.

I raise my chin to nod, even if it's painful and will haunt me for a long time. Even if I'm not the one moving the blade, these deaths will be on my hands.

Being a Queen is a life full of perks. I can work when I'm in the mood; I have a handsome King on my side; there will always be whatever I ask, no matter how strange or rare. Still, there will also be times like these: moments when I'll need to make a decision that will change many people's lives. It won't always be ethical or just.

Still, I can't step back and ignore it. It's my job. My duty.

Before I can confirm my intentions with words, however, we are interrupted.

Tobin lowers his sword while the Royal Guards storm in. They surround the captives and run to check on me.

Now, it's late. Too many witnesses.

Also, how are we going to heal Lola? Aida can't use her magic in front of so many Royal Guards, no matter the situation.