Chapter 13: Pink Contamination

"What a dreadful day," muttered the queen glaring at the autumn gardens from her bed. Her back rested against the headboard, wings spread in frustration.

"The day has hardly begun," snickered Ulric, setting down a breakfast tray on her lap. Her annoyed eyes glanced over the honey-spread toast and the finely sugar-coated wild blackberries. The aroma of vanilla tea infested her nose and she couldn't distinguish if she found it revolting or pleasing. With no conclusion, she lifted the warm teacup to her lips to sip at the golden liquid. She set it down, still with a bitter taste in her mouth.

"Let me rephrase," she replied, "What a wretched season."

"Now that isn't very agreeable of you, your highness, I find autumn to be quite marvellous," hummed Valleric from behind a book. Riona evaluated the outside once more. "I suppose the colours are pleasing to the eye," she mumbled. Vally hid his grin, crossing his one leg over the other as he sat in a rather comfortable leather chair he moved in that morning.

He had woken up Riona by doing so. He insisted that he couldn't sit a minute longer in the other chair, for he found it too hard for his bottom even with a dozen cushions. Riona simply groaned with annoyance, drifting back to sleep.

There was a knock at the door. Without waiting for permission, a blond walked in. Riona turned with her sour expression but before she could hiss any remarks, Caspian gasped, "Is that where my chair has gone to?"

"I didn't see your name on it," replied Vally, brows raised innocently, laying his book down.

"Why would I write my name on it when it was clearly set in my quarters?"

"I must have walked into the wrong room. All doors feel the same in the dark," stated Vally.

"And here I was, thinking I was about to be murdered by a clumsy assassin! I was so scared I did not dare open my eyes! Shame on you, Valleric," sneered Caspian with the ultimate offence. The lord plopped down on the other wooden seat. His glaring eyes never leaving the other lord, who smiled smuggishly in return.

"How have you been, my lady?" he finally asked softly. Riona breathed, lifting her chin in an attempt to portray a sense of well-being linked to her status. "Fairly well, thank you for your concern," she replied. Caspian suppressed a snicker, "I suppose you should be if you have found the energy to degut people."

Valleric snapped, "Watch your commentary, Lord Caspian. You wouldn't want to upset the Queen."

Caspian lifted his hands in submission, leaning back in his seat. "I would never try to upset her. Most definitely not after hearing what happened," he awkwardly laughed off.

Valleric sent him a warning glare.

"I suppose," trailed the voice of Riona, "I suppose non of you would want to see your own blood splattered over finely polished floors. Especially with the knowledge that the killer finds satisfaction at the very scenery..." Caspian felt cold as his eyes stared wide towards her who seemed to be talking to herself. "You find pleasure at the sight of blood?" he struggled to ask, afraid to stutter.

"You learn to accept it on the battlefield. King Vailant used to say that soldiers honour the ground by spilt blood because, after each war, the flowers grow more radiant than before," she explained monotoned. Caspian frowned with a slightly disgusted expression. "But staining the floorboards isn't exactly very honourable now is it..."

Valleric rolled his eyes but found himself interrupted by an announcement. "Lady Lavinia has arrived, your highness," notified a maid from the doorway. "Would your highness care to excuse the lords to change?"

Caspian was out in a flash. Valleric on the other hand reached for Riona. "Will my absence be all right?"

She nodded, "I am alright, Vally. You need not worry."

He stood calmly, eyes not leaving the dear lady who sighed. She was about to turn when he planted a quick kiss to her forehead. The lady flicked her head towards him to say something but he was almost out the door, closing it behind him with a swift motion.

The feeling of his lips lingered on her skin a moment longer when she finally decided to swing her legs from under the duvet. The maid wasted no time in setting up a basin with water and laying out her dress. Riona walked to her dressing table. She slipped into the deep blue spider silk gown embedded with crystallized dew drops for an additional twinkle. The maid braided her hair, occasionally pinning in a crocus flower between her strands. The maid offered a comfortable pair of heels though Riona rejected them, insisting on wearing her cotton slippers. "No one will see them," she waved off, "or even bother to look at my feet." The helper nodded and vanished into the hall to attend to other duties.

The queen sat in silence. She glanced over her appearance in the mirror. Her complexion seemed sickly and her eyes tired and red. Even her hair seemed lifeless in comparison to the rest of her. Cold fingers traced her neck down to her waist, finally settling in her hidden pockets. Her hand retrieved a little golden locket she had once hid... It rung as it dropped to the floor...

Not bothered to pick up the piece of her past, she raised elegantly. Chin up, eyes stern and back straight, she retreated from her room, mentally prepared to face the future.

***

The hall was calm until it wasn't. The high-pitched voice of her cousin shrieked at who knows what or who. Riona hardly stepped into the hall when annoyance pinched her. Her attempt at emerging neutrally went out the window. Anyone would have expected to be greeted by a smile. Unfortunately, Lavinia was met with a scowl of irritation.

"I find it incredibly rude to disturb a castle's peace, Lavinia," announced the Queen, stepping into the light of everyone's attention. A pretty face snapped towards her direction, plastering on a bright grin in response. "I've heard of queens snatching all the attention by their looks but you definitely have another approach," laughed the irksomely feminine voice of no other than Lady Lavinia. Riona sent a scowl in return, not at all bothered to be polite herself. At least, not while she found her cousin clinging to one of the lords first thing.

Riona glanced the lady up and down. Her gut twisted at the sight of the overwhelming pink blotch which contaminated her neutral-hued throne hall. Nonetheless, her eyes burned on the sight of Lavinia's pink lace-covered hand clawing to Vally's arm. The familiar hot vehemence of ill temper smothered her very being. It was as if she wasn't living in herself but rather a victim to possession by some goddess of jealousy or even rage. Her lungs sucked in a desperate sharp breath.

Calm down, she urged herself. Do not make a fool of yourself.

Riona breathed, forcefully relaxing her body. Her dark wings, however, remained flared which did not go unnoticed by the lord. He peeked at the new lady's hand. "Lady Lavinia, would you kindly excuse me that I go ask for Ulric to set up tea in the garden? You must be craving sweetness after your journey," he smiled politely, his own hand already prying hers from his bicep.

The woman innocently blinked up with long lashes. "That would be so kind," she chirped like a giddy girl desperate for male attention. It was revolting to watch from the other side of the room. So much that Riona inwardly gagged, debating if she could simply escape the awful scene. The brief realisation settled in her mind, she was queen, meaning she could do anything. And so she did.

She walked out.