The Cursed Tyrant and His Reluctant Queen

The dungeons are cold and dark. Not the best place for a pregnant woman to take a stroll.

Tobin follows me just like usual, but this time we are without maids. Curious eyes and ears are not what I need, even though I'm not going to talk secrets today. I think the time for secrets is over now.

Except for the little detail that two thirds of the restricted Royal Family will be made of Mages in a month or so. Just a few weeks more, and I'll have him in my arms. My little baby.

«Your Majesty is in a good mood,» Tobin comments.

He's been more chatty lately. He would say something without being asked, and he could answer with very long sentences even when it's not strictly necessary.

By very long, I mean with seven or more words. Before, it would happen only in certain moments, and Tobin kept silent and invisible most of the time. Now, he's more like a living person even when he's on guard.

«I'm thinking about my child,» I say. «He will be born soon. I can't wait.»

He nods, returning to his usual mood as soon as we cross the gates.

«The cell is the last one in the corridor.»

«The largest, I hope,» I point out.

«Yes, your Majesty.»

I walk there, and I finally see Juliet. She's lost her clothes and jewels, but she still has her dignified stance. I guess she's similar to the Queen Dowager in this. I wouldn't be able to look elegant even while waiting for death.

«I've seen your daughter today,» I say.

She doesn't get up to greet me as I walk next to her, but, at the mention of Aestas, she comes closer and curtseys briefly.

«She's growing up well,» I continue. «The King checks every day that she lacks nothing, and he spends some time with her at least once in three days.»

«Does he?» Juliet wonders.

«Yes. We are her godparents, after all. We promised to protect her, in case you couldn't.»

«And... And what about the fact that the King and my daughter aren't related by blood? Doesn't that upset his Majesty?»

«Upset? Oh, no.»

We're talking about a pure soul, after all.

«And, also, godparents aren't supposed to be related to their godchildren. Am I wrong?»

«I was relieved when you accepted,» she says. «Even though there was no guarantee that you would take care of my daughter, I knew that such a promise can't be broken just yet. I thought you would send her far from here in a safe place.»

«We will keep her safe in the Palace.»

She smiles, grabbing the bars.

«And does she talk more now? Does she walk?»

«She runs,» I say. «She likes to hide the King's pens, even though I told the maids not to let her play with dangerous objects... She somehow manages to get to the pens and hides them in different places every time. She and Ignis play together and look for it. It's peaceful to look at.»

«She's so smart, isn't she? Such a pity she was born a girl. It won't be worth it.»

«Why not?»

I mean... I'm a girl, and I am smart. Isn't my life worth it? Just because I'm Queen for a King doesn't mean I'm not my own person.

«She will become a good person when she grows up. Well, at least, we will try helping her become one.»

«Don't tell her about her father,» Juliet says. «She doesn't need to know that he died as a traitor. After committing so many crimes at that, other than framing his own family. She doesn't deserve to feel that kind of pain.»

«I won't tell her that her father was a traitor,» I say. «I will tell her that he loved so much that he made many mistakes for her sake.»

«In vain.»

«You failed; that's how things went. And I can't say I'm not relieved that it happened because your plan wanted me dead. But that doesn't mean that I can't see your intentions and worries.»

«As a mother, your Majesty will understand soon.»

«Thankfully, I will.»

«Can I see her?»

«That is not possible, unfortunately.»

Because of security, first thing. Then, I won't bring a kid into the dungeons. What if she is traumatised and then remembers it forever?

«I'd just look at her from afar without saying a word! She wouldn't see me either.»

«I can't do it, Juliet. The King said not to. He didn't explicitly forbid me from visiting you, and that's why I'm here. If he said I couldn't come, though, I wouldn't have.»

«I... I understand,» she says with tears in her eyes. «Take care of her as if she were your daughter, your Majesty. That's what godmothers do.»

«I will do my best. That's all I can promise.»

«Why are you here, however? I have nothing more to say. All I've known, I said to the judges.»

She did confess every single thing, including the way she wanted to cause trouble and start a war so that the King could go to the front. She would seize power while he was away. Her admission, however, didn't help in solving every single diplomatic misunderstanding. We're now working hard on preventing wars and returning our reputation to its best shape. Yet, it's not easy.

«I thought you would have liked to talk with someone,» I say. «The execution will happen soon. I'm here to listen to your last words if you have any. And your requests if they're within my powers.»

«You can't make me see my daughter one last time. How can you fulfil anything else? She's the reason why I did all of this. I don't need much else.»

«Isn't there anything at all?» I wonder. «I might pass your words to the King, by the way. Maybe, he'll let you meet her one last time before the execution. But do you want to meet her? Won't that make it harder for her? She stopped crying less than a month ago, and she calls for you in her sleep even now. Seeing you will make her go through that over again.»

She seems to understand. She puts her selfish desire away, and she looks me in the eye.

«There's also something else I would like,» she murmurs, this time a little shy. «If possible.»

«Tell me,» I say.

As she tells me her wish, I realise what moved her to do all of that. She had a reason, of course: protecting her child. But that all started because she had a child! She fell in love, and that love turned her crazy, just as it does to me when Ignis is around.

«I understand,» I say. «I will do what I can. But it won't be registered in the official acts. It will be just symbolic.»

«In front of a Priest, it will be enough,» she says.

As if I was as stupid as to fall into this trap.

«If you say anything ambiguous to the Priest, I won't be able to protect your daughter,» I remind her.

«It's not my intention, really,» she says. «Your Majesty, all I need is fulfilment. I will die soon either way. What point is there in making things even more complicated?»

«I don't see any point either, but desperate times bring desperate moves in our minds. I can't trust you now because you have nothing to lose.»

«That's wrong. I still have something to lose. I have everything, your Majesty.»

«I'd just remind you that you have it because the King is a benevolent person and not because your plans had any hope of success. You worked hard on making Aestas and my husband bond, and now you can rest assured. He will protect her from now on, and he'll raise her as if he was her real uncle.»

«So, will you also fulfil my last dream?» she asks, her eyes filled with hope. It's odd for a woman with only a few days left.

«You can't escape your destiny now. And I won't let the King change his mind if he ever thinks of it. So far, he hasn't, by the way.»

«I hope he won't feel guilty for executing the wrong people,» she adds. «His Majesty is that kind of man. He feels the responsibility of everything he's involved in, even when he couldn't do anything else.»

«He is,» I agree with a sigh.

He's that kind of man, precisely. And he's already feeling guilty and without peace.

«He will agree to your request, eventually,» I realise. «He will accept.»

«I'm glad,» she says.

Tears flow from her eyes, and she presses her hands on her chest. She bows her head, bending her back for the first time since I met her.

«Thank you, your Majesty!»

She seems sincere. Nothing makes me wonder what her real intentions are. She's a woman broken by the events, one who has given up on her life already.. On her life, but not her soul.