Helena gazed at the mirror, eyes sunken, face horrified.
Her mouth was agape as she blinked her eyes. For the fourth time she ran her finger through her hair, and some hair pulled out easily, some falling off on the ground. Her long, beautiful, wavy black hair was falling off.
She staggered back, apparently shocked. Eyes breaking with tears, lips trembling, as her heart thumped in her chest.
"Call me the grandmaester…now!
Her voice was breaking but still firm enough to get her personal maid springing into action.
Immediately the maid left, and Helena collapsed on the floor, placing her head between her legs; she cried her eyes out.
...….
They talked in controlled whispers, Helena and the grandmaester. Helena nodded at intervals, dabbing her eyes with the napkin in hand to dry off her tears.
"Don't worry, you are fertile…." His voice faded as Selena stepped into the room. Helena quickly fixed her face and smiled at her mother.
"Queen mothers, Selena." The grandmaster said then bowed.
"A lovely morning to you, Mother." Helena said, rising from the edge of the bed she was seated on.
Selena could tell that all was not well, but she held her peace.
"Come here." Selena said with outstretched hands as she enveloped Helena into a motherly hug. Helena needed the hug more than anything.
She didn't know when tears started streaming down her cheeks.
"Leave us." Selena commanded the grandmaster, not raising her gaze as she patted Helena lightly on her back to console her. The grandmaster bowed and left without saying a word.
"Cry, dear, let out all the pain."Selena said as Helena wept in her bosom. She had stayed strong all this year, not allowing her mask off.
"Mother, if Vinson finds out…" Helena choked in her tears, then wiped her face; her cheeks were now red, and so were her eyes.
"What if Vinson finds out? Will he still want me? Mother, I look horrible! Helena moaned and then broke into tears.
"Shh, don't say that, dear. You will be just fine. I will discuss it with Ragaleon and have the wedding arranged immediately." Selena said as her eyes darkened. She would do anything to make sure her daughter married the man of her dreams.
Leah's back ached; she had been seated for hours listening to the tutor rant all about the golden rules of the palace. She rolled her eyes and crossed her hand on her chest, not so ladylike, but she was frustrated. They were seated on one of the long wooden benchesin the open hallway.
The tutor won't stop talking; she ignored Leah's sour countenance and went on talking for hours. Before finally closing the books in her hand.
"You can take a break." The tutor says
The next minute, Leah was walking along the hallways, taking a supposed break as the tutor had said.
"A break? I am not going back to that place! Leah fumed as the sound of her shoes making contact with the floor echoed in the vast corridors. She was simply devastated.
She slowed down in her tracks when she heard the sound of swords clashing. She diverted her direction, leaning on one of the stone walls of the open hallway; she could see Vinson practicing with his sword.
Her dark eyes softened, all the anger disappearing instantly. Her violet-colored hair dropped on her face as she leaned in, peering at him over the walls of the open hallway.
Suddenly, as if he knew he was being watched, Vinson raised his gaze, his obsidian blue eyes locking with that of Leah. Leah's countenance fell, now replaced with embarrassment, her cheeks burning as she retracted her gaze.
But then he signaled to her to come to him. Leah was simply dazzled, but as swiftly as lightning, she made her way through the corridors and climbed down multiple stairs before getting to the enclosed training field Vinson was in.
Leah slowed down in her steps, acting nonchalant as she walked towards him. Her hands crossed in front of her, hair in place, a faint smile on her rosy lips. Vinson was sweating, muscles catching the sunlight, but he still looked sinfully handsome.
"Do you fancy swords? He asked, picking up a sword from where it lay by the side on the grass, and before Leah could answer, a sword came flying her way; she caught it midair instinctively. It was a wooden sword, not a real sword. Vinson couldn't risk hurting her.
Leah gazed at the wooden sword in her hand; it was simply foreign to her, but then she had a lying tongue.
"I have always wanted to know how to use a sword, but my mother said sword fights are not ladylike." Leah said softly, her voice low.
"Want to learn a few tricks? He asked, and she nodded curtly.
"He started teaching her how to swing the sword in an adroit manner. If Leah wasn't belligerent, the sword would falter from her hand. Vinson made his way to her; he held her hand, which was on the handle of the sword, and then taught her how to swing it.
Leah was simply not learning a single thing! Her thoughts were clouded with his breath on her neck, his hands on hers, and his body grazing hers from behind as he taught her how to use the sword.
She would laugh playfully when she finally got the hang of it. This was the scene Selena's gaze caught when she was walking along the hallway with the dominating aura of a queen mother.
Her face paled with each passing second as she watched the both of them practice with the sword. Her gaze flashed at Leah's blossoming smile; that smile of hers was like sharp daggers stabbing her chest.
Selena turned around elegantly and made her way to the other side of the inner court. Her pace was now faster, her gaze as hard as a rock, lips pressed in annoyance.
When the double door to Johanna's chamber swung open abrasively, she was simply taken aback by the nerve of the person that walked in.
But when she raised her gaze and saw Selena's swollen face, she knew better than to cause a ruckus. Johanna was seated on a rocky chair with her legs crossed, eating biscuits from the silver plate on the wooden table beside the chair.
When she realized it was Selena who had walked in, she looked away and continued eating her snack like no one had ever walked in. Selena saw this, and that only fueled her annoyance.
"Johanna!
She called, still standing at the doorstep, then languidly made her way in, eyes like blades, chest out, gaze ahead.
Johanna was still relaxed.
"Here comes trouble." She muttered under her breath, sighing between.
"Selene, courtesy demands that you knock before entering." Johanna calmly said, shoving a biscuit between her lips.
Selena scoffed.
"The nerve…" She smacked her lips.
"You always parade yourself as a symbol of authority, reciting the golden rules, the words of the book from the temples never leaving your lips…. Johanna was talking when Selena interrupted.
"Oh, fuck rules, forget about my title, Johanna. I am here to speak to you as a mother, not a queen." Selena sounded so brutal.
Johanna laughed scornfully…mockingly. She was aging like fine wine; her Violet style was packed in a fishtail braid. Coral earrings dangled at both sides of her ear, and she was wearing a black gown.
"You don't fail to amuse me every single time, Selena." Johanna said, rising to her feet.
"Speak to me then…as a mother."
"Do you love your daughter? Selena's voice was dangerously low, brows arched. Johanna didn't find that question funny.
"Your question is rather appalling." She admitted, crouching down, she plucked the cup of tea on the wooden table next to the plate of biscuits, then walked past Selena.
Selena could see that Johanna had grown some wings over the months that had passed by.
"I am here to simply warn you, Johanna, for your own good and that of your daughter Leah: keep her away from Vinson." Selena said, then snapped her fingers.
Johanna was quiet.
"And if I don't?" She sipped from the cup of tea and then slowly turned around.
"Then get ready to count the cost." Selena retorted.
"You think you can just barge into my chamber and rant empty threats at me?" Johanna asked with a mocking tone. Selena shook her head from side to side.
"You and I know very well that my words are not mere threats." She slowly started making her way to where Johanna stood erect.
"You know what I am capable of, Johanna, but the question is, do you want to see…what I am made of?" Selena whispered in Johanna's left ear, words as cold as ice.
"We are both mothers; why should I only do things that will tend to favor your daughter over mine?"
"Because you are smart enough to know the consequences that follow.'
"Which are?" Johanna dared to ask.
Selena smiled wearily, then dusted invisible dirt from Johanna's left shoulder before tapping it lightly.
"You don't want to know…at least not now." Her voice was low as she leaned away, then turned around and walked out of Johanna's chamber.
Johanna gazed at the empty doorway, the grip she had on the cup she was holding tightening.
With boiling rage she thrashed the cup at the wall opposite her, and it shattered into a million pieces.
"I hate you!
Selena was walking away, but she heard the sound of the cup breaking, and she smiled knowingly. She had made herself very clear, and Johanna seemed to have gotten the gravity of the message.
As she walked with precision, the gaze of a hawk.Selena muttered.
"I hate you too… Johanna!