Questbound

Chapter 3-1

Queen Celeste stood up as the whole table watched on. Her silver dress glittered in the candlelight, and her hair was draped elegantly over one shoulder. Moonlight shone through the conservatory"s glass walls and ceiling, giving her an almost otherworldly quality. ‘As you are all aware, today’s celebration is in honour of our dear Yusumi’s sixteenth birthday." She beamed at Yusumi, then turned to the others and put on her most regal expression. "However, there is also another reason that I have gathered you here tonight.’

anotherShe looked around at the wizened council members and nobles seated before her, straying a moment longer on Lord Razay, who seemed suitably intrigued. Celeste gave a warm smile. ‘I wish to announce that I will be entering into official adoption procedures to make Yusumi my daughter, and, therefore, Princess of Xylantria.’

She waited for her words to sink in. As expected, a roar of babble erupted, filling the room with a mix of cheers and angry mutterings.

‘Adopting a non-relative? What is Her Majesty thinking?’

‘Well, I see nothing wrong with it. Lady Yusumi’s a smart young lady. After all—"

‘But a girl born of humble birth? Can she even do that?’

do‘This is an outrage! If she goes ahead with this, then Xya will become a laughing-stock!’

Yusumi, sitting meekly next to Celeste, sank low in her chair as everyone stared at her. Jidan purposely strolled over to her side and sat on his haunches, baring his teeth enough for them all to see how sharp they were.

The babble stopped immediately. Only Lord Razay had the courage to continue, but Celeste was fully prepared for him.

‘Your Majesty, surely you can see how absurd this is,’ he protested. ‘Don’t misunderstand me, I bear no ill feelings towards Lady Yusumi, but I have already advised that the law clearly states that no royal in line for the throne may adopt, and certainly not the queen herself.’

‘I remember well, Lord Razay,’ Celeste replied coolly. ‘But as queen, I believe I also have the right to amend any laws that I deem no longer relevant to modern society. As I am unmarried and have no children, the throne will have no suitable heir unless I adopt. Do you not agree, my lord?’

unlessLord Razay flushed red, making his dark, oiled hair and pointed beard look even more ludicrous that it was already. ‘Do you truly not wish to find a suitor, Your Majesty? You are still young, there must be a hundred noblemen willing to take your hand.’

‘I’m sure there are, but I do not wish to marry for the sake of making proceedings more practical for you, Lord Razay. I know you would much prefer it if I were a man, for it has been clear since the day my father died and the crown passed to me that you do not trust women with important affairs like ruling a country.’

you‘I never—"

‘As such, I stand with my original statement and declare that I shall adopt Yusumi as my daughter and future heir to the throne of Xylantria. As for the law forbidding such things, I decree it obsolete. If someone would so kindly fetch a scribe, I shall have the relevant documents drawn up immediately,’ she said, staring him down. In the corner of the room, the head butler discreetly beckoned to a serving boy and whispered the whereabouts of the royal scribe. The boy departed quickly.

‘Now,’ Celeste said, taking hold of her wine glass, ‘I propose a toast. To my darling Yusumi, a smart and level-headed young woman more than capable of holding her own in matters of court, and who I will be proud to call my daughter.’ She spoke with such conviction that this time no one dared even mutter under their breath.

Instead, they raised their glasses, and with the c***k of crystal against crystal, all said, ‘Hear, hear.’ Yusumi blushed as they drank to her, but for Celeste’s sake tried to stay as composed as she could.

When everyone’s glasses were dry, Celeste took Yusumi’s hand and led her through to the adjoining ballroom, where the musicians were already poised to start their first piece. The nobles and council members, still in shock from the queen"s decision and Lord Razay’s rash reaction, took a moment to catch up. When they did, they saw that the ballroom"s grand walls were decorated with hundreds of small crystal panes standing in front of candles which made the light split and refract, filling the room with shimmering glows.

The music started, a light waltz to warm the mood of the guests, and soon Celeste was inundated with invitations to dance from all the men who had supported her speech. She accepted them one after the other, and taking her lead, Yusumi took the offer of a young man who she’d spotted smiling encouragingly at her earlier. She curtsied to him, and he bowed back, ready to take her hand, but Lord Razay barged forwards and wedged himself between them. He took Yusumi’s hand in his own, and without even a word to the young man, began leading her around the dance floor.

He"d never been this close to her before, and the sweet perfume he always wore to try and mask his pungent body odour filled her nostrils. The combination of smells turned her stomach and she tried to pull away, but he gripped her tightly, all the while maintaining the utmost poise in front of the other guests.

‘You certainly seem to be doing well for yourself, Lady Yusumi,’ he whispered, his breath reeking of decayed meat. ‘Taken in by Her Majesty, given an education finer than any young noble could ever dream of, and now you’ve wormed your way in so resolutely that you’ve convinced her to make you her heir. Tell me, was that your intention all along, or do you take pleasure in taking advantage of the weak hearted?’

‘Please, Lord Razay, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Queen Celeste rescued me all those years ago. You were there. I never asked for any of this,’ Yusumi protested, struggling as he pulled her closer still. His grip on her waist was so strong that she was sure his fingers were leaving bruises on her skin.

‘But you did not reject it, either,’ he said in a honeyed voice.

‘I—"

‘Don’t think for one moment that I’ll allow Her Majesty to go through with this. She may resist, but I’ll find a way to stop her. I always do.’ He released her as the waltz ended and bowed low. ‘Goodnight, princess,’ he hissed, and retreated to the back of the room, disappearing into the crowd.

princessShe stood breathless, his words echoing over and over in her head. What was he going to do? Surely he wouldn’t dare think of threatening the queen?

There was a nudge at her side. ‘Are you alright, princess?’ Jidan said, eyeing her trembling body.

‘Yes, I’m fine." She couldn’t tell Jidan what Lord Razay had said, the wolf-lion already disliked the man so much that it was all he could do not to bite him. She didn’t want to give him any further reason to attack. ‘I’m a bit dizzy from the dance, that’s all. I...think I might retire for the night. My head is spinning something awful.’

‘Would you like me to come with you?’

‘No!’ she said sharply, but then recovered. ‘No, please stay with the queen and enjoy the rest of the evening. Oh, and do try not to intimidate anyone.’

try‘Come now, princess. I would never dream of doing such a thing,’ he replied, not quite hiding the amusement in his voice. She rubbed his head, and then gathered her skirts and swept out of the room.

The temperature in the long hall had dropped to freezing, and as her gown only had lace sleeves, she folded her arms tightly about her to keep in every hint of warmth she could. Compared to the loudness of the ballroom, it was so quiet that even the frantic beating of her heart as she thought of all the things Lord Razay might do threatened to break the stillness.

She felt jumpy; unsafe in the one place where she’d thought she would always be safe. To calm herself, she took the path where she knew the guards always stood watch, nodding to each of them in turn as she passed.

Eventually, she reached her room, and swinging open the door, she flung herself down on the bed, breathing deeply. It wasn’t until a few minutes later that she noticed something was different. The doll on the glass shelf was missing.

An icy tremor went through her entire body. There was only one person who could have taken it. No one else had ever dared touch it, even the maids, for they all knew how much it meant to her. With her every muscle twitching, she scanned the room for the slightest movement or sound, anything that would tell her whether he was still there or not.

There was nothing, not even the creak of a floorboard or the flutter of curtains at an exhalation of breath. She sighed, and firmly locked the door.

‘Yusumi, it’s time to wake up.’

Yusumi, it’s time to wake upYusumi’s eyes opened slowly, expecting it to be morning, but only the light of the moon flowed through her window. Straining her eyes in the darkness, she reached for the candle beside her bed and lit it with a match. Holding it out in front of her, she scanned around for the voice"s source.

It obviously wasn"t Jidan; she could hear him snoring outside her door, and the speaker’s tone was completely different to his. It wasn’t Celeste’s voice either, and no one else in the palace would address her so informally.

‘Yusumi.’

Yusumi.She turned, staring at the glass shelf. Her doll was back on it, but to her dismay, she saw that it had been cut in half, its soft innards spilling out onto the side. Stifling a cry, she cupped her free hand to her mouth, examining the doll closely. It was definitely hers, the smoky aroma that she loved so dearly clung to it firmly.

It had to be a threat from Lord Razay; that was the only explanation. But she couldn"t keep something like that to herself – she had to tell Celeste.

Opening her door carefully so as not to disturb Jidan, she crept down the hall to Celeste’s chamber. As she approached the chamber doors, she inclined her head to the guards posted either side. They didn’t respond. Perhaps they were sleeping while standing; it wasn’t unheard of for the night guards to drift off while on duty.

Tentatively, she stepped closer to one of them, a young man named Gandric who she often made jokes with, and tapped him lightly on the shoulder, expecting him to wake at her touch. He fell to the floor, catching the other guard with his shield and knocking him down too. Neither of them moved. Yusumi put her hand to Gandric’s cheek. It was clammy and cold. He was dead; they both were.

With blood pounding in her ears, Yusumi thrust the doors open and ran into Celeste’s chambers, so afraid that she could barely think straight. As she neared Celeste’s four poster bed, she heard the whispering voice around her once more.

‘This is your doing, Yusumi. You alone are at fault.’

This is your doing, Yusumi. You alone are at fault.It was scathing, as though the speaker detested her, and she couldn’t tell whether it was male or female. Taking a breath, she pulled back the bed"s curtains. The sight that met her sent her senses reeling, and the scream jumped from her throat before she’d even felt it rise.