Fifteen

As I acclimated to the wards, the guards had picked up Viola and dragged her in front of the throne. Anything she had gained from stealing the lives of the look-alikes had been stripped from her. Honestly, it looked like more than just the stolen life and beauty was stripped from her. Her dress sagged and bulged in odd places, and her hands were twisted and gnarled. The biggest difference was in her face. No longer was she beautiful and young. She looked as if she had passed two hundred years old. The skin was paper thin and translucent. Her eyes were glossy with cataracts and barely open from the wrinkles lining her brows and cheeks. She looked like a completely different person from what she had looked like just a half hour before.

-I wasn't surprised by her appearance change. Her age change? Yes, I was surprised by that. I expected her appearance to change. The reversal ritual must have stripped more than just the most recent rituals she had done, but all of the rituals she had ever done.-

I'm still sitting on the throne, waiting for Kat to bring the prisoners. I can feel them moving through the castle. Can I say that it is a disturbing sensation to know where everyone is at every second? I guess I know how Viola always knew when a guard entered one of the forbidden wings. Anyways, I figured now was a good time to get my immediate reactions done and over with. The Queen's guards that are still alive and not tied up are kneeling off to the left of the throne. Of my guards, two are guardians of Viola. I don't think she's going anywhere even without the guard, but it's better to be safe than sorry. Two of them guard the main entrance, and one each on the three side entrances. One is keeping an eye on the surrendered castle guards. The power that I can feel running through the wards is exhilarating, even if I'm wary of abusing it.

-The fact that you are wary of abusing the power given to you shows your control and demonstrates your ability to lead your people. I'd be more concerned if you weren't wary of the power imparted to you by the wards, and your patron deity.-

Kat arrived with the prisoners, which were in fairly good shape for being prisoners. As he proceeded into the hall, his guards peeled off and joined mine at their prospective tasks. Kat made his way in front of the throne and fell to one knee. The prisoners followed his lead. I turned to face the eldest of the group and asked him "Why were you locked up?" It took a minute for him to respond, but eventually, he answered. "For most of us? We were locked up for disobeying Queen Viola, Mylady. I was locked up because I was caught planning to follow your escape." He bowed his head. I nodded before standing and descending the stairs leading to the throne. "Rise. I'm not like Viola. All of my subjects deserve to be treated fairly. From the sounds of it, none of you deserved to be locked up."

-You acted with grace and dignity like a true Queen should. After the prisoners were taken care of, and you were settled, I warded a room with viola in mind. I left four guards posted outside, but I made sure that the room was warded in such a way that unless you or I let her out, Viola wouldn't be able to leave that room.-

I directed him and his fellow prisoners to the medical wing, where they could receive treatment. As the group left, I turned to Kat. Before I could ask him about a way to contain Viola, my vision turned black, and I felt myself falling. The ground never came. Even in the darkness, I just kept falling. As I fell, I dreamed. At first, there were strange shapes and colors, but as time went on things got clearer. I was able to separate faces and words from surroundings and scenery. I saw my ancestors fighting to protect this land. I saw them building this castle and the city surrounding it. I saw my family's patron god, Toatoean, bless my great-grandfather.

-It's a good thing I had the forethought to secure Viola. The fact that you saw your family's history is amazing. Not many rulers can claim that they were blessed in such a way. It is rare that a patron deity feels strongly about an heir ascending to grant them such a blessing.-

I saw my grandfather welcome the survivors of a kingdom-destroying disaster with open arms. Their nobility was integrated into the nobility of my kingdom. I caught flashes of Viola, already old when her family sought safety under the protection of my grandfather. I watched as she blackmailed and manipulated budding warlocks into sacrificing their life force for her. I watched as she reimagined her youth and beauty, as she forged a new name for herself. I saw as she had my grandfather killed, and manipulated my father into marrying her in his grief. How she lied about being pregnant to gain control over the castle wards and faked a miscarriage soon after she had said control.

-This would have been about the time my father started to rally my people into withdrawing. He, and his father before him, had noticed an increasing number of apprentices disappearing. These young warlocks would show up days, sometimes weeks later either dead or near dead.-

I listened as my father met my mother, and smiled at Viola's fury at being deceived. In her fury, she attempted to have me aborted multiple times. Thank Toatoean for my mother's sense for dangerous situations. After I was born, Viola's madness and cruelty only got worse. She killed my father with repeated doses of a slow-acting poison. One that had a counterpart. She took the counterpart and tricked the castle wards into giving her full control of the entire castle, and forced my mother to either be a maid or watch as I was killed in front of her. I saw all of Viola's interactions with me, and her building fury at being unable to harm me as the years went by.

-This inability to harm you must have been a form of protection of the heir from your patron deity, Toatoean. A built-in protection ward that is supposed to prevent a royal line from dying out.-

As I dreamed, things jumped forward. I watched myself get married, and have kids. I saw Viola be executed after she killed one of my children. Both her, and the guard that was tricked into helping her escape were hung as a warning. The colors and shapes and faces started to blur together one more as I started to rise. The rise seemed shorter than the length that I fell, but I'm not sure how much time actually passed in the dream world. As I rose, I felt a sense of calm and safety envelop me, something I haven't felt since I was a young child.