Page 3 of The Nightmare Queen
The small tendril strokes his dirtied tear-stained cheek. “Yes…“ I coo.
“a-a-armies.”My armies? Interesting…I think. I want to ask more, but the vials worked too quickly as his body relaxes and he passes out on me, the exhaustion of our conversation kicking in. My foot lands a kick into his boot, but he remains unconscious. I look up in the direction of the rooms human-sized exit where two of my guards wait, “you can take him back to the cells, boys. I’ll finish playing with him later.” They enter the room, wary, not wanting to be too close to Vada as they hoist the wounded Vellaran back to his cell.
I call my Wield back into me, my inked serpents settling and moving less on my skin now that my magic isn’t agitated. My gaze catches on the little two dimensional creatures that curl around my arms as if they are snuggling into me. The ink is interesting enough, done by some common Mages when I was young to help hold the Wield.
“Go, little demon. I can feel your exhaustion, and you smell. It’s irritating me.” Vada’s voice invades my mind snapping me from my hazy thought, my attention leaving the tattoos and landing on her golden stare.
“I smell? You’re a giant fucking lizard. It’s not like your scent is always pleasant.” I quip. The end of her tail snaps against the stone above my head as she turns from the room leaving me among themess.
“Irksome human.” She grumbles forcing me to hold back my laughter. I dust off the debris that fell down on me while she’s disappears back into her hovel. The black of her scales melting completely from view. I take the moment to go through my mental checklist before leaving the Room and the mess behind.
Refuse a prince: Check
Torture: Double check.
Tease Dragon: Triple check.
Fulfilling night all in all, I think.
Rorin
Five Days Earlier
He’s a fucking idiot. My fingernails form crescent shapes into my palms as I force my fists tightly closed, both to not punch my father or Wield at him.
“You are not out there. You don’tsee. These tactics they are preventingnothing.” The words come out through my clenched teeth.
My father’s face remains stony. “They will wear them down. You’ll see to that.”
“SEE TO WHAT?!” The shout leaves before I can stop it. “You’ve appointed me as a General to farmers, metalworkers, shopowners for gods’ sake. Men who have never seen battle. Fuck,I HAD NEVER SEEN BATTLE! UNTIL YOU PUT ME IN ONE. AND WE. ARE. LOSING.”My face heats matching the anger I feel. I suck in a breath in an attempts to regain my composure, “men are dying, father. You are sentencing them to an unfair death because you refuse to accept aid. If we just send a request to theObsids—”
His sharp blue eyes snap up at the name of our neighboring kingdom. “We will not.” The tone is final, but I can’t find it in me to relent, to listen as I always do regardless of my personal feelings towards his decisions.
I subdue my anger so that my voice is even as I press the issue.“Her army is rumored to be outstanding. Skilled, professional, and massive. All things we need against Baelor.”
His hands slam down onto the desk sending papers flying off of it. “Rumored! It’s all rumors with their demented queen and her monster infested kingdom. I will not stoop as low to request the aid of a heretic queen who remains to be seen in the public eye herself.”
“You did once. For the Battle of Vellar, King Killian sent his aid. They might do it again.” A low laugh leaves him as he picks his palms off the desk, rubbing his hands together and clasping them in front of himself. A fake smile is plastered across his cheeks. One I’ve grown used to, it’s the smile he uses to make you feel like he’s listened even though he hasn’t. A smile meant to placate and remind you who is really in charge here.
“You have a…soft heart, boy.” The compliment is backhanded - laced with a threat. “You will not bring this up again. If you can’t handle one simple task, then you have proven to be more of a disappointment than I could have imagined. Figure it out, Rorin. This is your problem.” With that last word, he returns to his paperwork not bothering with the pieces strewn across the floor as he dismisses me.
It should be his problem, as the king, he’ll damn us all at this rate and not even the gods will step up to save us. I turn on my heel breaking my stare from the top of his head and close the door behind me. His guards don’t look at me as I depart from them, they keep their stares trained on the wall ahead.
I could return to my room, but my body is too agitated, my magic to anticipatory, waiting for me to use it as it clashes with my emotions and—
“I take it things didn’t go well?” Will’s voice sounds from behind me. I blink a few times, clearing my blurred vision and find myself sitting in the center of my old instruction room. Bile burns the back of my throat as I look at the worn floors the memories threatening to resurface.
How did I get up here?I ask myself.I was just in front of his office…
My eyes turn to where Will’s voice came from but he’s moved, I tilt my head back around to find him standing above me, his hand outstretched.. “Ahem. I think it’s best we head to Bair.” His brows draw together but he doesn’t question me at the moment instead he grabs my hand and pulls me up.
“Ready?” He asks and when I nod he walks back around me to exit the weathered and tired room. The room has deteriorated from the lack of use over the years. It seems it was created for only one person and when I no longer needed it…well it’s turned into nothing but a shell. These walls hold more horrors and secrets than I care to admit.
“It seems smaller.” The words come out a whisper, he looks back over his shoulder at me. Shame heats my cheeks and —
SLAM!Dust picks up around us from the force of the door shutting, making my nose twitch.Why the gods would I come back here?I ask myself this time as my father’s voice pierces my mind. His words as painful as a blade slicing into me.“Figure it out.”
I’ll figure it out alright, you just won’t like when I do.I say back to the version of him that lives only in my mind. Now I just hope that what I “figure out” works.