The Greed of the Black Haired Witch
Ester sat within the wide throne room of the northern castle. She truly found herself wondering why they did not use this castle as the main castle. The opulence was a bit staggering, even for her.
The room was white marble with glistening gold and silver inlay along the floor and walls. There was a central design in the center of the floor made of this same marble and various gems of different shapes, sizes and colors.
She had been told that Grace designed all of it herself, right down to the beautiful sheers surrounding the dais where she and Gabriel now sat.
She sneered. One more reason to dislike the broodmare of the kingdom.
The thought made her smile. From her peripheral she saw Gabriel roll his eyes. She frowned. He had just returned, this morning, from his hunting trip and he was even colder to her than before.
She knew she would need to tread very carefully.
She smiled and cleared her mind of her extraneous thoughts, as she watched the Northerners bring in the requested back taxes for the crown. She had taxed them excessively because she wanted to punish them excessively. She wanted them to understand that allying themselves with Grace was a hazzard that they could not afford.
But as she watched, and began to assess what was being brought before her, her, not Gabriel, he still wanted nothing to do with this, which was annoying Ester to no end, she saw that these things were exquisite and perhaps priceless. They were pieces that were unbelievably well crafted with materials that were unknown to her and still quite fascinating.
She tried to maintain her excitement and keep her expression schooled. When all was placed and the people of the north bowed to her she straightened her back and looked at them sternly.
"Is this it? Is this all that you have? This seems an insufficient amount to cover what has been earned here in the north."
And, in truth the quantity was insufficient, but the quality of only a few of the pieces offered were more than enough to cover the so called back taxes. But Ester wanted these people to be miserable.
The elder had been prepared for this. His Lady's missive had said that this woman would do as much and possibly more. It amazed him that such vileness came from such beauty. Many quickly forgot how beautiful this woman was once she opened her mouth.
He stepped forward and bowed respectfully. Gabriel arched an eyebrow as he registered the polite respect in the act without any reverence. He almost nodded but he knew he was forever watched and he did not want to bring any harm to Grace's people. And he knew these were her people and no longer the people of Lystra. He also knew that she would wanted them back under her protection.
His eyes fluttered to the items presented as payment of taxes and quickly moved back to the elder. They may be under her protection even as Ester tries to strong arm and dominate.
"My Lady please forgive. This is all that we were left. We are a community of artisans. Please give us an opportunity to create and we will pay the tax assigned to us. We only want to be apart of this great kingdom."
With his last words the old man looked toward Gabriel, who gave the most subtle nod. He understood this man clearly. He wanted these treasures protected as items of the kingdom. And why shouldn't he? Gabriel had also see the exquisite items placed before and his heart had hurt that they were going to Ester.
Ester frowned at the elder's words and looked to Gabriel. "She has stolen from the crown. We need to do something about this. We have to show everyone that they can not do such things to the Lystra crown."
The elder stiffened but remained silent. Gabriel slowly turned his had to fully look at her. His eyes trained on her and she immediately stiffened.
"You will not do anything to her. She has obeyed the crown and there is nothing else to it."
His eyes remained on her as if he was trying to make sure that she fully understood his meaning. After some time he returned his gaze to the items the northerners were paying their taxes with.
Ester sat frozen for a time, even after he turned away. Vanessa smirked. This was probably the true reason that she liked this man so much. No one else could shut her sister up like he could.
That night Ester sat, getting her hair brushed as per usual, ranting about Grace. Vanessa watched Marigold closely as she listened to her sister. For all accounts and purposes the girl seemed what she appeared to be, but Vanessa's instincts told her differently and she trusted them more than she trusted her eyes.
The baby stirred in her belly and her thoughts softly drifted to other things. She never thought that she would ever want such a thing but now this tiny person was the most important thing in her life. She looked up to her sister for the briefest of moments and thought 'no one will take from them. They will not belong to a destitute family.' The thought was short and came and left quickly but there was strong intent behind it.
She had already looked away, her focus returning to Marigold, when Ester shivered slightly, looked to her sister, and shrugged. She continued her rant about Grace with greater fervor.
As her sister continued Vanessa began to think, within herself, how to set the stage so that she could remove her sister if need be. She nodded imperceptibly as she resolved to speak to her mother.
Marigold gently brushed Ester's hair. She was away of the times when Vanessa's eyes were frozen to her back. This intelligent woman was suspicious of her and that scared her a bit. It scared her even more when Lady Grace ordered her to the West when she was briefed of the situation.
It simple proved that she was right and the situation was dangerous. But how could she leave? Her Lady needed the I formation that she could provide. How could she abandon such a vital mission.
She listened to Ester rant and took not of all the key points and points that didn5seem important to her. She made note of Vanessa's behavior as well: how she touched her stomach from time to time, how she frowned at her sister's rant, how she had a look of killing, and how she became contemplative.
Marigold made note of all. Even as she blankly brushed hair as if she were some sot of robot or odd doll.
But somehow she knew that this act would not Fool Vanessa much longer. She instinctively knew that she would need to make a decision very soon.