The Queen

How bizarre it is that with each passing moment countless people are going about their lives in such different ways. A moment of pain could be another’s moment of joy, and the happiness of welcoming someone into the world could counter another’s last goodbye. It’s funny how the world seems to even things out. This is what Adelaine thought as she rode in the carriage that had been sent for her.

Looking around at the darkness outside left her feeling dizzy. The poor were lined up under the hanging parts of roofs, seeking whatever amount of shelter they could find against the chilly night. Beggars with their tin cups shook around the few coins they had in hopes that some passerby would be generous enough to spare some change. And worst of all, even at this late hour, slaves, bruised and exhausted, were still mining the town’s coal source. The slaves were being watched by an intimidating overseer who held a long rod-like whip, but Adelaine knew, though, that its use was hardly ever needed here, and was more of a decorative threat than an actual means of punishment. However, this knowledge did nothing to suppress her guilt.

She wanted to tell them that she had been one of them, that the carriage and the gown and all the fancy jewelry was just an act, that she was taking the role as the imposter for the greater good. This was all for their benefit after all.

For the legacy of those passed, the betterment of the living, and the futures of those to come, I shall fight knowing that at the end of the night the sun always follows.

She repeated the rebels’ saying several times to calm her nerves until the palace came into view.

The palace was made of stone, having been made hundreds of years ago. Of course, there’d been renovations made throughout the current ruler’s time living there, but the overall structure had remained the same. Adelaine found some humor in the thought that although the king had massacred many civilizations to extend his rule, he still let his home continue standing, even though the tyrant wasn’t a royal born into this kingdom. However, that knowledge didn’t prevent her feeling of awe as she looked upon it. Perhaps long ago, looking at the palace would have felt welcoming, but now it just gave off an intimidating feel.

As the carriage arrived, a footman came over to open the carriage door, and she stepped out carefully to avoid stepping on her dress. Without a word, she walked through the front gate and into the palace, and a servant with a small scar on the bottom left side of his lip was standing there waiting. He barely glanced at her before turning to lead the way.

As she followed him, she took the opportunity to look around at her surroundings. The royals didn’t spare a cent on the extremities of the interior design. Extravagant chandeliers hung from the center of the high ceiling and continued into the main hall, and trinkets from golden goblets to sharp steel swords decorated the long tables against the wall. Unlike the way the palace looked from the outside, the inside was flooded with the king’s showcase of stolen riches from the many kingdom’s he had conquered over the years. Adelaine couldn’t help but feel uneasy and small as she walked through the large room looking at the displayed souvenirs.

Relief filled her as she was led out of that room and into a hallway. As she walked, Adelaine tried to prepare herself for what she was about to do. After tonight’s events, she would be one more step closer to creating a better world and leave with a fortune large enough to buy a small kingdom. Nothing could stop her, for she was prepared to do whatever it took to ensure that the people destroying the world were stopped, even with the risk of losing her head for what she was about to do.

She was there to take out one of the more major masterminds of the kingdom, someone so evil that they were rumored to keep torture chambers beneath their bedroom so that as they slept they could delight in the victims’ painful screams, someone who was proven to have played a role in the mass murder of thousands of Cassonian citizens, someone so wretched that they slaughtered one of their own children before dropping their remains in a river.

Adelaine was there to kill the queen.

Author Notes: This is a work in progress... I'm sure I'm going to have to edit this a kajillion times, but I hope you enjoyed it! I know there wasn't really any character development or interaction in this, it was more of just setting the scene up. The next part will have a lot more of that though! Stay safe, and be happy! <3

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