Chapter 4: Don't Run, Beg, or Scream

The story so far...

Prologue // Chapter 1: The Queen is Dead...Again // Chapter 2: The Ball // Chapter 3: Long Live The 7th Queen //

And so it continues...

It seemed like all too soon, everyone was gone. Her father was the last to go as Jonathan took his leave of the festivities. After the wedding, the guests had gone to their rooms to rest for their travels home, though her wary father didn’t rest at all. She’d spent the morning with him as he packed, his hands running through his hair repeatedly until he looked frazzled.

“Daddy, you’re going to go bald.” She said calmly, though the pit in her stomach never went away. She was putting on a brave face, though the terror and sadness gripped her like a vice. Breon looked to his daughter and closed his eyes, before wrapping his arms around her petite frame.

“You’ve always been so brave. I never understood how a coward like I could have raised such a strong, smart girl.” He said softly.

“Well, I am half of mom, so there’s that,” Iris responded jokingly, a smile tugging up at her lips as she hugged him back tightly. Breon, despite himself, let out a soft chuckle before cupping her face in his hands.

“Smart ass. Just like her.” He mused as he put his forehead to hers. “Gods and Goddesses, what should I do?” he said out loud and Iris shook her head.

“You go home, pretend you know nothing. You keep our people as safe and happy as possible. As you always have. The rest is up to me. I won’t go down like the others… I refuse. And if I do end up dying then you live your life honoring me. Doing what’s right. For now, that is all we can do. I will come up with a plan. I will make allies. I will make small subtle moves until I can either escape or win the long fight.” She said softly. “And pray that the Gods and Goddesses give me wisdom, courage, strength, and success. Pray that they guide me.” She added, closing her eyes.

Through her brave face and talk, she had no clue what to do next. She was lost, but she had faith that something would open her eyes to the path she must take. Surely the heavens had not abandoned this kingdom completely. Surely the Gods would answer the prayers of her and her parents. Breon let his daughter go after planting a kiss on her cheek.

“I had better be on my way home before the King wakes and finds me lingering. I am sure your mother is beside herself and needs comforting too. It'll take me days to get home, I hope she's okay.” He said softly. Iris nodded. To be honest, it was the best she could hope for. She wanted her father far away from this dismal, dank, dark castle as soon as possible. Safe, with her mother.

"I will write. And I'll send supplies if I can. I'm going to figure something out. Daddy, keep an eye and ear out for changes. Unlike the others before me, I'm going to do something. If I'm going to be put in a situation where I am going to die, then I might as well die by trying to make a difference."

She wasn't sure how confident she sounded and she felt hollow even saying these words. They were just words until she managed to do something. She was wavering between determination and hopelessness. Still, she knew that she wanted to be the one Queen that people in the kingdom remember remembered.

It still felt all too soon that she was watching his carriage disappear over the drawbridge, leaving her there in the castle that smelled of death, feeling empty and forlorn. As the gates closed behind him, she wondered if she would feel anything other than fear or loneliness again before she ultimately perished.

She shook her head, closing her eyes and holding back the tears that threatened her. It was day number one here at what the citizens of this country called “Death Palace,” and she could not be consumed by negativity. Not yet. She knew in her heart that her life would never be the same, and ahead of her would be the darkest time of her life.

She looked up at the gloomy sky that never seemed to have a sunny day and never rained, silently letting her heart do the praying that she was too afraid to voice out loud. For a moment she allowed herself to get lost in her thoughts as she let her mind fill up with the familiar faces that she was certain she’d never see again. Her mother, the baker, the seamstress, and even the crazy medicine woman who ran the apothecary back home.

“Uhm, Your Majesty?” A timid voice yanked Iris from her reminiscing, and her head jerked in the direction behind her, golden eyes narrowing in surprise. She saw a middle-aged woman standing there, her weathered hands clasped together formally. The woman was dressed modestly, with a long black dress that covered almost every inch of her body, save for her tired face. She had blue eyes, and her hair was pulled back in a severe and neat bun on the top of her head. Strands of grey peppered the light brown hair, and her hands were clasped firmly in front of her.

“My name is Drea. I oversee your royal waiting staff. These women behind me are your maids in waiting. They have been given their orders to attend to your needs. If you need anything that we do not have on hand, they report to me, and I see to it that those needs are met. I am also in charge of the kitchen and garden staff, which is where I spend most of my time. You will not be seeing me much, but Mia and Evelyn shall be with you most of the time.” She gestured behind her to two younger girls. When she was done, she bowed her head and turned, walking quickly back into the castle, leaving Iris and the two girls staring at each other awkwardly.

The girl with short, strict straight red hair and green eyes stepped forward and offered a small, though it was tired. She was petite but tall, and freckles stood out on her pale face. Even beyond the tired face and wary eyes, Iris could see that this woman was beautiful.

“I am Mia. This is Evelyn-“

“Oh, but you can call me Eve, if you like your majesty.” The other girl with blond hair piped up, her cheeks flushing pink as she spoke up. Her body was rounder and curvier though Iris couldn’t call her anything but fit. She looked strong and able, and she was about a head shorter than Iris, who was tall and slender as most Elven-Fae descendants were.

“It’s lovely to meet you both.” Iris looked at them, her eyes flickering back and forth and suddenly a small ray of hope blossomed in her chest. Maids in waiting. She didn’t realize she would get personal servants. And two females around her age?. Servants were the ears and whispers of a palace. She could sense these two girls could be strong allies if she played her cards right. Maybe even friends – which would make this place a lot less terrible.

Evelyn smiled, though Mia kept her face neutral. Iris nodded at them, excited that she now had a foothold in the palace. Having ladies-in-waiting would make learning the ins and outs of the castle and figuring out a good place to start in Iris' personal and almost impossible mission seem much easier.

“We can show you around, help you find your way around. Though I’m still kind of new, so Mia will be vital. I still get lost a little bit.”

“And of course, we are here to provide anything you need.” Mia added and Iris smiled warmly at them. Drea had mentioned the kitchens and Iris smiled. If there was anywhere to get gossip and information and hear the rumors, the kitchens would be a good place to start. Other servants would be there, and Iris could make an impression on them.

“Well. First things first. I’m starving.” She declared and the two women nodded. It was a lie, but Iris wanted to get started. She only had about a year, maybe two before the King got bored and killed her. That wasn't a lot of time to save a whole kingdom. As someone who was a major noble and whose family wasn't ever in the King's court to begin with, she had to start making connections now.

“What would you like? One of us shall fetch-“Mia began and Iris shook her head.

“Actually, I’m kind of a pig. And I used to help my mother cook back home. Can you show me where the kitchen is? I think the sounds and smell of a kitchen would help me feel a little more at home. And it would be a good first stop on a palace tour.” Iris spoke lightly. She didn’t want her intentions to be obvious. She needed to expose herself to as much of the castle as possible. It had been almost 24 hours since she had last slept, but there wasn't time to rest now.

Evelyn grinned and turned to Mia. “I like her already.” She whispered though Iris could hear her plainly. Mia elbowed her working partner gently with a stern look. Iris had a feeling Mia would be harder to crack. Which meant it was more important to get her talking soon. Her eyes looked haunted, and Iris could not help but wonder what kind of horrors this girl had seen already.

The staff would be key to learning most of what she needed to know immediately. Their loyalty to the king, the rumors they hear, and their knowledge of the last few Queens would be vital. If Iris wanted to survive, she had to begin snooping, and the best way to do that was to casually speak to the castle staff. And the kitchen hens were usually the ones that squawked the most.

They led her inside and through the grand hall where the ball had been held, through a door, and down some hallways.

“There are several routes to all locations of the palace. This is a large place with many secrets. As you get to know the place, it’ll be less confusing. And you may even find some exciting secret passageways.” Evelyn explained softly as they walked.

“What is important to know is that the north wing of the palace is where His Majesty resides during the day. He doesn’t like to be disturbed when the sun is out. He mostly comes out at night, so try not to go there.” Mia added to the explanation and Iris nodded.

“You’ll have to show me where the entrance to that wing is so I can avoid it… Not that I’m not thrilled to be a Queen, but my new husband has quite a reputation. I’d rather not start off on the wrong foot.” Iris let out a small chuckle and Mia’s eyes slid to Iris, her face betraying the fear that she didn’t voice. Evelyn, however, did not miss a beat.

“Oh, we will show you, Your Majesty. Don’t worry. We will be by your side until you’re more comfortable with your new home and get to know the castle better.” She said cheerfully. Iris smiled warmly at the girl, wondering how such a sweet thing could have come to work in this palace.

"You should know, Your Majesty. You're a Queen only in name... none of the other Queen's ever were allowed to interfere with politics, or do anything that a Queen usually does." Mia told her stiffly and Iris smiled.

"Well, I suppose that means I'll just have to try hard. I don't want to be a burden on the country, or you guys."

"Just be sure not to try too hard. None of the other Queens ever really tried to be involved with doing anything for the country, so we don't know how he would react, but knowing the king, he won't take kindly to it." Evelyn said gently, a small sad smile on her face. Iris frowned and looked at them.

“If you don’t mind me asking, how did you two end up here?”

“Most of the staff here were sold to the king by their families. I volunteered to my family to come here. And thanks to that, my three brothers and five sisters, mother and father live much more comfortably than a lot of people in the city.” Evelyn volunteered, and Mia pursed her lips at the mention. Iris couldn’t help but feel offended at the notion that anyone would sell their children to the King for more luxury. But at the same though, nine children were a lot of mouths to feed, and food was in short supply all over the nation.

“I was an orphan. I was given to the king to help support the orphanage I grew up at.” Mia answered in a curt tone, and Iris’ heart broke for the girl. Something told her that Mia had had a hard life, even before coming to this dark place.

“I see…I am glad that you two are my caretakers.” Iris said softly, her golden eyes lingering on the redheaded girl for a moment before they stopped in front of a heavy wooden door at the end of the stone hallway they had been walking.

“This is the back entrance to the kitchen. Once inside you’ll see there are several doors. The kitchen lay in the heart of the palace, to make it faster for servants to obey orders for food and drink.” Mia said as she opened the door.

When the door opened the sounds of a busy kitchen met Iris's ears, and the smell of food hit her nose and immediately made her mouth water. She walked in and smiled. This was quite possibly the warmest room she had seen in the castle. There were stone stove ovens in the wall, most of them unlit, and fire pits with large pots hanging over to cook stews.

The kitchen staff turned and paused when they saw who was entering. A large woman in an apron approached them curiously.

“Good afternoon, head chef Andrea. This is our new queen, Iris.” Mia introduced the two women to each other with as few words as possible, before sitting down at a large round wooden table that Iris assumed was meant for servants to come eat at when they were able.

“And she’s hungry!” Evelyn chirped up happily, making the woman’s grey eyes slide over Iris’ frame.

“She certainly looks it. Might as well feed her well while we can. The food here goes wasted otherwise.” The woman huffed before gesturing.

“We are currently preparing tonight’s dinner. But we do have leftovers from last night’s feast from the ball. Help yourself, girl.” The woman didn’t bother with formalities. The way the older woman talked, Iris knew she wasn't resigned to any notions of getting attached to this new queen she was looking at.

“Thank you, Miss Andrea.” She said nodding, looking at the table the woman had gestured to piled high with foods left over. Around the kitchen there were several servants who looked like they did not belong, eating plates of food. It was good to see that at least most of the staff here were healthy in terms of being fed. While they were all fit, none of them looked to be starving and they were missing the pale grey color of their skin that betrayed malnutrition.

“Well, it’s better than letting all our hard work go to waste as it usually does.” The plump woman with grey hair huffed, crossing her arms as Iris grabbed a plate and began to pile it high with sweet fruit, bread a few select choices of meat.

“What do you mean?” Iris asked curiously, as she sat down, gesturing for Andrea and her maids to join her. Andrea looked at her as if she were about to protest, but she sat down with a grown and reached down to rub her ankles which looked swollen from standing too long.

“We cook for the entire palace staff and the King. The King has a habit of demanding fancy dinners – which is irritating since he eats by himself most nights. He orders more than he can eat and sometimes the food we make goes bad quickly, without enough time for the staff to eat it. It goes bad. In a nation of starving people... the food I make goes bad.”

“You’re not allowed to give the rest to the people?” Iris asked and Andrea laughed.

“What does the king care if food goes bad? He is the only one who has access to unlimited resources. He doesn’t care if the people eat! He doesn’t care if the staff eats. We do what we can- but at our own risk, and when the risk is your life, you learn to numb yourself to circumstances here.” Andrea responded. Iris ate quietly for a few, chewing on this information as she did.

“I don’t understand what the big deal is if leftover food gets given to the people…” Iris said softly, frowning.

“Fed people are nourished people. Nourished people have the energy to cause commotions and stir up anger at bad leaders.” Andrea leaned in and said these words much more softly than before as if she were terrified the King could hear her across the castle.

Iris nodded, a small contemplative noise coming from her throat. That was a very good point. She added that to her mental notes. A good way to get allies outside of the castle was to try and get food to the people. And they know it was her who provided it. And do so without risking the lives of the servants and herself. How though?

“Is there any gossip I should know? Anything to prepare myself for as Queen? What will be my duties?” Iris asked curiously, wanting to get a hint of what life would be like for her, and one of the maids who was kneading dough choked out a dry chuckle, which earned her a stern look from Andrea.

“Duties? Other than to be his sex toy and entertainment for torture?” Mia asked dryly and Iris looked over at her, golden eyes widening.

“What?”

“Your title is only a title because you are married to the King. You will have absolutely no power or say so. You are nothing but a toy my dear.” Andrea answered her harshly. The brutally honest woman did not look abashed, but rather her eyes shone with pity. “I’m afraid in the days you will be here, there is not a whole lot you will be doing, probably other than trying to avoid the king as much as possible, like all the queens before you.” The woman stood up and put a hand on Iris's shoulder. “If you ever need to get away, you are welcome here.” She told her, and for the first time, her voice was gentle, before she walked away to resume her duties.

Evelyn looked flustered, her blue eyes going to her hands in her lap. Iris put the food down she was eating and looked at her maids in waiting, dread rolling through her. Mia was the one who broke the silence and she looked up at Iris.

“She’s right…I told you before we got here. You're not a real queen in this kingdom.” She said softly and Iris shook her head.

“Did you know the last queen?” She asked them. Evelyn shook her head no.

“I was a mere scullery maid back then. I’ve only been promoted here a few months because the last one ended up -” As Evelyn talked, Mia pursed her lips and looked down. The younger-looking woman had looked over to Mia and stopped talking, a small sad look crossing her features as she reached out and patted Mia's arms.

“I have been here for the last three queens. The last one… she cried a lot. She would run from him. He would always catch her…” Mia said softly, her arms snaking around herself in a hug. “He would… hurt her. A lot. He couldn’t stand her crying and when she ran, it only made it more fun for him. Your Majesty…” Mia looked up and into Iris's eyes.

“I shouldn’t say anything, I could be killed for saying this… but I want to warn you. He’s not gentle. He’s not kind or loving, and he doesn’t try to be. You should know… when he wants something from you it’s not going to be a fun experience…” She said softly, looking down with a haunted look.

“When he wants something?” Iris said softly, fear knotting her stomach.

“When he wants to bed you… It will be rough.” Mia answered softly, closing her eyes. “I know this is terrible, but I am telling you the safest way out of that mess is to bear it. Don’t scream. Don’t cry. Don’t run. Don’t beg for him to stop. It only fuels his need to…hurt more.” Mia trailed off and Evelyn was staring at her work partner in horror.

“Eve and I will be there to help you when he is done.” Mia finished more strongly than she began, clearing her throat and standing. Iris nodded, feeling sick to her stomach. She was a virgin, and she had a feeling that she was going to be tainted sooner than she anticipated. The thought made chills run down her spine.

“I see.” She said softly, filling her mouth with more fruit so she could concentrate on chewing, though her stomach was churning. There were a few minutes of silence, and Iris felt the heaviness of the conversation deep in the pit of her stomach.

“Ah… did you hear that the suits of armor in the main hall of the king’s wing were all knocked over again last night? His Majesty was furious this morning.” Evelyn tried to change the subject after a few minutes of unbearable silence, and Iris turned her eyes curiously to her.

“Someone knocked them over?” She asked curiously.

“No way! I don’t believe so. None of the servants would be that stupid! There are not many of us allowed in the king's wing. So it wouldn't be hard to figure out how did it. If His Majesty found out someone was causing such mischief, that person would surely be dead. I personally think it's a ghost of one of the queen's past! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been creeped out, heard strange things, and even seen things fly off the walls. There are definitely angry ghosts here!.” Evelyn piped up, her eyes shining.

Iris, being of different descent had heard of things like this. She wholeheartedly believed them, and she shivered at the thought of angry dead queens tormenting her alongside the king.

“There is no such thing as ghosts.” Mia interrupted irritably. “The only thing haunting these halls-“

“Is me.” A male voice ripped into their conversation from a doorway to the side, and Iris and her maids all jerked their heads towards it. The kitchen staff stopped immediately, and all the staff immediately bowed their heads and fell silent.

Jonathan stood in the doorway, his arms crossed and a cruel smile on his face as his hazel green eyes stared at Iris.

Iris put her food down and stood up, bowing her head.

“Your Majesty.” She said politely, and Jonathan laughed sharply.

“You may call me husband. Or lover. Or master. Or God. Whichever is your taste. But drop the formalities. Those are for servants and those below your status.” He said in an amused voice, and Iris couldn’t help but want to roll her eyes.

I’ll die before I call you Master. She thought viciously, wondering if there were nearby knives that she could grab. She could just end it now, stab him, usurp him… and end up with her head on a pike for treason or send the kingdom into civil war or chaos, or leave it vulnerable for neighboring kingdoms to try and take advantage to expand their territory.

“Come, wife.” Jonathan waved his hand. “You seemed interested in what you saw last night, so I thought I would show you the palace menagerie and take some time to get to know you.”

Mia shot Iris a worried look and stood.

“No need for your maids to follow. I will send a servant to fetch them and direct them to you when we are done spending time together.” Jonathan said turning and exiting the kitchen.

Iris looked at Evelyn and Mia and smiled, though the fear in her stomach had returned.

“I’ll see you girls later.” She said softly, before following her new husband out of the kitchen.

"Be careful..."

"Remember what I said."

"Gods protect her..."

The last thing Iris heard was the worried whispers of the servants as the door slammed shut behind her.

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