The moonlight filtered through the crystalline windows of Queen Henrietta's chamber, casting pale blue shadows across the marble floors. Her private quarters glows softly, the phoenixen trim of the pillars and drapes gleaming like whispered of wealth.
Candles flickered on ornate sconces, illuminating the royal purple velvet of her bedding and the gentle shimmer of her rose-phoenix nightgown.
Queen Henrietta jolted awake, her eyes wide as a strange sound broke the silence of her chamber. She had dismissed her maids for the evening so no one should be here.
She tried to rise, but her body betrayed her. Her limbs felt heavy, weighted by an invisible force, and her breath hitched in her throat.
She tried to move again but her muscles betrayed her. A wave of dread crept through her bones.
The footstepped draw closer.
By the flickering candlelight, she caught sight of a tall figure dressed entirely in black.
He emerged from the shadows near the window, his eyes sharp and cold like a predator's, fixed on her with terrifying gaze.
Fear paralyzed her further. Her lips tremble as she tried to speak.
"Who are you? How dare you…" But her voice is only a whisper.
Her breath caught as realization hits her. She has been poisoned, definitely from the banquet earlier.
Tears brim in her eyes but she brushed it off and searches for anything to defend herself. But her body refused to obey.
The figure drew nearer, and before she could scream, his knife plunged deep into her chest.
Her cry was muffle and raw. Blood gush, staining the fine silks she wore.
The assassin pulled out the knife again and Pain explodes through Henrietta's body.
She gasped, her trembling fingers pressing to the wound as warm blood soaked her gown. Still, she fought, dragging herself to the floor, trying to grab him and see his face but she failed.
The door opened and one of Henrietta's maids entered the room, and screamed at the horrifying sight in front of her but the man quickly turned on her and slashed her down. Her body crumpled to the floor lifeless.
Two of her maids burst into the room, horrified cries dying in their throats as the intruder turned on them.
her, lifeless.
Tears stream down Henrietta's cheeks. She had already lost her entire family months ago, her maids was all she had left.
Summoning every last shred of strength, Henrietta crawled across the marble floor, clutching her bleeding chest. She reached out to touch the dead maid. Her voice cracked in anguish.
The man leaped out the window, vanishing like a ghost into the night.
Henrietta's vision blurred. She collapsed beside the body of her maid, her blood mixing with hers, her sobs echoing through the palace walls before everything fades to black.
…
At the edge of the palace grounds, down by the palace lake where the royal swans slept, a woman dressed in a gown of sunshine-yellow silk and embroiled pearls stood at the edge of the water waiting.
Her features are sharp, regal, and utterly composed. A phoenixen ring gleamed on her left hand, a serpent biting its tail.
"Is it done?" she asked the man in black as he emerged from the dark.
"Yes," he replied curtly.
"She's dead."
The woman nodded.
"I'll have your mother released. She'll join you by morning. Leave the palace tonight. No one must ever know you were here."
The man bowed and slips away like a shadow. The woman turned, her expression unreadable, and disappeared into the dark as well.
~
By drawn, the Palace of Eldrid is in uproar. Queen Henrietta's body is discovered by other servants while coming to serve her for bath. The maid also lie beside her in a pool of blood.
Once again, panic spread across the whole palace and whispered from the servants filled in the air. Another Queen is dead.
The rumors of the curse placed on King Lucas Rutledge begin to circulate again and everyone starts to fear about the dragon returning but as always King Lucas remain silent about the news of the death of the Queen and didn't say anything to refuted the news of the dragon being the cause of the Queen's death or not.
Ever since he came on the throne as King, this is the third Queen to die in less than four years.
Queen Henrietta was buried with minimal rites and mourning processions with no family to claim her legacy because she had none left.
She hailed from a generation of soldiers and her father was a respected man in the country who died in battle, leaving behind Henrietta and her mother. But a few months ago, her mother died also, along with the rest of her kin in a "bandit raid"
On the final day of mourning, King Lucas finally showed his face, dressed in black and phoenix robes that match his icy aura, his posture was unyielding. His face looked no less than one carved from stone, his expression unreadable and his eyes colder than winter frost.
Soldiers marched in formation behind him, their armor gleaming in the evening light.
Every other persons in the room, the officials and his concubines held their breath, bowing their heads low and didn't look up until he stopped in front of Queen Henrietta's coffin.
Lucas stood frozen in position and watched her body lying lifeless for a minute then places a flower on the coffin and ordered for it to be closed then turned to leave again.
The officials shook their heads in disbelieve at his stony attitude despite losing a wife. He didn't even shed a single tear or utter a word to comfort the dead soul.
King Lucas has after all, ruled for almost ten years now, becoming the King at the age of fifteen.
In a chaos of the dragon god, Jurua's uprising eight years ago, the deity who had terrorize the royal family and country for years, he had killed the ancient beast and executed every of its followers.
Its priest however before her death, cursed the King with sorrow and everlasting pain that never ends…
And now, another Queen is dead.