The court was assembled in a quiet mood that was difficult to manage for the hundreds of men in the large oval room. The queen has taken her seat on the throne and the deadly calm that followed every morning when she did, reminded people of just how much terror and fear the older and tall queen could command.
Only the rustle of her skirts could be heard as she arranged herself on her throne.
She looked around with a bored eye.
Nobles of all classes and wealth levels stood around the room, their heads bowed respectfully and their backs straight and in perfect posture.
The queen almost sighed.
Another day of boredom was to follow. Just the same old nobles with the same old problems and questions.
The wild queen missed the days when her family had schemed and plotted to get where they were now. Those days had been a thrill to her restless being as her family had slowly plotted each royal heir's death and a scandal that would move the people against them. It had not been long before the then ruling family in the palace was considered useless by the people.
Queen Ravenshade had easily taken the throne then.
She looked around her rigid court now. Not a sliver of thrill seemed to be about.
A waltz with a ruggedly handsome man, a rendezvous in secret with a crook, an ambush for the unexpected, taking down someone who had been in power for too long, breaking up a long friendship, betraying a naïve person's trust: the queen longed for something, anything.
Her mind raced.
She had sent Dame Agatha to put something together.
It was all the rage for queens and queen consorts to have a bevy of beautiful and accomplished young women to keep them company.
Maybe then, she would not feel so restless and tired.
The group would always surround or follow the queen wherever she went in her court. She would be surrounded by voices of laughter and intellect.
The queen highly doubted she would ever be able to laugh with or enjoy the intellect of any of the women in her kingdom. They were so… dull. Well-bred, obedient, docile - they absolutely bored her and the queen believed they would never be able to stimulate her mind.
She had come from a different background than the girls.
Her family had been second in line to the throne, and they had plotted and schemed everyday to vanquish the previous royal family step by step to get to where they were. They were not ones who just sat pretty and allowed the world to just go on and on.
The man in front of her blabbered about some woe that the queen had no interest in. She had to, of course, make sure that she was on the good side of her council and the powerful nobles at large in her kingdom if she were to continue to do as she pleased.
The queen caught a few words here and there and surmised what he probably meant. She motioned to one of the courtiers on hand and he immediately came forward with papers and quill.
The queen held out a hand and the man stopped speaking immediately.
She wrote out a short and simple contract and motioned for another man in front of her to bring forth her court seal.
Almost rolling her eyes, she shot a glance at another man who hurried the next noble to the front.
If the rest of the day were to be this way, she would surely lose her mind.
And where was her pathetic son?
The boy was almost of age to run a kingdom himself and yet he lacked so much in way of reaching a location in time.
The queen called for her aide.
"Bring the crown prince to the court at once," she whispered quickly to the man.
"At once, your majesty," he agreed quietly before hurrying away.
The queue of nobles seemed unending that day and the wild ruler almost called for a lunch break then and there. Was there no gossip in the court? Was there no quarrel or scuffle?
Was it the queen's own fault?
Maybe she was playing it too safe.
"Your majesty," the whisper in her ear caused her to lean her head toward it slowly. Another noble was going on and on while her personal aide whispered to her.
"Yes, Selic, what is it?"
Her trusty aide warmed her heart.
Lovers came and went, the queen trusted none of her friends, but Selic and her own cousin. They could always be counted on to be honest with her and to look out for her.
"Tell me something lively and exciting, Selic," the queen groaned, "The court is boring me to death today."
The noble man was still going on and on about some woeful tale. Something about the crops in his quadrant never having enough water as a result of a recent draught.
"I have some things to tell you, your majesty," Selic said, continuing to whisper.
"Yes?"
"Sir Felton has a new mistress."
"My personal secretary?"
"Yes, madam. And the crown prince, his royal highness, has moved his mistress Vella Heartrianne into her own apartment of rooms this month."
The queen was quiet slowly soaking up the information.
Heartrianne. That was a powerful name in the kingdom. The duke was a capable man. He was ambitious, intelligent and cold. In ordinary terms, Duke Heartrianne was so like the queen that she would have invited him to court with open arms. But at least two assassination attempts had been made on her life since she had taken the throne. And from what she had gathered or been told, they seemed to have come from somewhere in Heartrianne's corner.
The queen bit her lip as thoughts hurried through her mind, colliding with each other before they arranged themselves in order.
Her fingernails tapped impatiently on the armrest of her expensive throne.