The Queen Revealed (23 page)

Chapter Thirty-Three

“What Comfort There Lies in Dreaming”

Adele awoke to the feel of a cold compress on her forehead and the scent of lavender in the air. There were people talking softly in the room.

“I’m not at all surprised she collapsed this afternoon, Pere Raven.” It was the voice of Lady Olivia. “The Queen has been trying to be discreet, but she had been ill the entire time we’ve been here. I have not seen her keep one meal down for more than a few hours.”

Adele was mortified that Lady Olivia had seen her throwing up. Surely it couldn’t have been that often though?

“Hmmm, I wonder if perhaps she has an ailment of the gut caught from the water here. The water at Belvoir can affect visitors oddly sometimes,” said Pere Raven.

Adele decided she had been discussed enough and opened her eyes, yawning widely to alert her audience to the fact she had woken up. She tried to sit up, but her head swam again and she lay back down, groaning. The cheerful visage of Pere Raven came into her view, followed by the concerned smile of Lady Olivia.

“Your Majesty, it is good to see you awake finally,” he smiled and patted her shoulder before taking the pulse on her wrist. “You gave us quite a turn for a while there.”

“What happened?” croaked Adele.

“I believe you simply fainted, Your Majesty. What with the heat, lack of food and that terribly restrictive dress you are wearing, it was just all too much for you.”

Adele groaned, embarrassed. Fainting had been almost a regular occurrence on Earth, but she had never had an episode here in Unisia. She hoped it wasn’t something new that was starting. This certainly wouldn’t help General Ohrig’s opinion that she was a fragile female in need of his protection.

“Luckily, His Highness, Prince Rainere was at hand to catch you before you fell to the ground,” said the Priest shaking his head. “I swear I’ve never seen a man move so fast!”

“The Prince carried you the whole way to your bedroom, Your Majesty,” said Lady Olivia giving her a wide-eyed look. “He even refused to give you over to General Ohrig who wanted to carry you himself, and he would only leave your side when Pere Raven promised him that you were just asleep. He was
very
concerned for you.”

“How kind of him,” murmured Adele, laying back on her pillows and avoiding Lady Olivia’s curious gaze. She smoothed her hands down over the embroidery of the sheets and tried to ignore the frisson of excitement that Lady Olivia’s words caused in her chest.

“Did the children see me faint? Were they frightened for me?” she asked and at the same moment heard her children in the corridor beyond her bedroom door. She smiled at the sound of them battering someone with questions.

The children burst into the room with Prince Rainere and Bertie in tow. Bertie held Stella in his arms and Natalie had clamped hold of Rainere’s forearm. Only Aaron jumped on the bed to kiss his mother, but he soon jumped off again when a maid came in carrying a tray of cakes and fruit. Aaron greeted the young woman by name and she ruffled his hair affectionately.

“That’s Mary,” said Aaron as the maid bobbed to Adele and left. “She makes sugar buns, too.”

“So wonderful to see you looking better, Your Majesty!” Bertie beamed at her.

Adele gingerly pushed herself up to sit, feeling very self-conscious in a room full of people with her in bed and her bodice ribbons untied. “I’m so sorry to have made such a fuss, Bertie. I have no idea what came over me.”

Bertie waved her apology away with large flapping gestures. “We are just relieved you are well, Your Majesty.”

Adele finally dared to look at Rainere. He was freshly showered and dressed in a clean suit of black silk instead of his tight velvet coat. He looked uncomfortable surrounded by the domestic scene in the bedroom, and his eyes shifted from person to person restlessly. Adele wanted his gaze back on her.

“I understand it was you who caught me, Your Highness,” she said. “Thank you so much for saving me from falling off the podium.”

Natalie giggled. “You could have fallen onto a horse poop, Mummy!”

“I suppose,” answered Adele with a wan smile, but she was distracted by watching Natalie lean into the Prince’s leg and hold his hand in both of hers, gazing up at him adoringly. Adele decided, then and there, she really had to teach her daughter some personal boundary rules.

Prince Rainere acknowledged her thanks with a modest gesture. “It is a Prince’s duty to aid his Queen wherever he can.”

Adele smiled and felt a flush creep across her cheeks. She made to reply, but Rainere wasn’t finished yet.

“In fact, Your Majesty, the good doctor, Pere Raven, has noted that it is the heat that has brought you so low today, and perhaps on other occasions during this week. I have suggested that perhaps a brief respite in the cooler microclimate of the Grey Palace might help you to recover some of your strength. I would be delighted to host you and your family again until you are better recovered.”

Adele felt her smile stiffen and become brittle. What the Hell was Rainere playing at? Did he want to be more obvious!

Too shocked to respond, Adele heard the children fill the silence with their shrieks of “
Can we? Can we, Mummy?
” Her eyes travelled to the door and she saw that General Ohren stood in the hall wearing a horrified expression. Obviously he had just heard the Prince.

“Of course you can take a little holiday from the Belvoir Estate if you would like to, Your Majesty,” Bertie grinned at the Prince and Adele instantly saw that the two were in collusion. That was interesting. “I would love to come myself, truth be told, but I have this Carnival to host and I can’t very well miss my own party!”

“If you don’t need me here, Bertie, I would love to go to the Grey Palace in your stead?” said Pere Raven looking pleased. “I have wanted to see inside of that wonderful place since we were young fellows daring each other to run and touch those forbidding front gates.”

“Gosh, we were just boys,” said Bertie, smiling wistfully at the memory.

“Of course you are all welcome to join Her Majesty at my home,” said Prince Rainere graciously, disentangling himself from Natalie’s passionate hug with gentle hands. “Though my hospitality won’t compare to that of Prince Bertrand’s I am sure.”

The children all cheered, jumping about the room and their hysterics made everyone smile, but Adele was still troubled. How would the Court interpret the Royal Family leaving the Belvoir Carnival to be alone with Prince Rainere for a non-state visit? It would almost be an outright admission of a relationship between them and that could only mean trouble when she went back to the Golden Palace and had to explain herself to High Wizard Ohren.

As if he had read her mind Tilburn came striding into the room with his bouncy little steps. He marched straight over to Adele and presented her with a scroll mounted on a wooden board.

“I need you to sign this letter directly, Your Majesty. It’s addressed to High Wizard Ohren and just lets him know that all is well with you after your little episode this afternoon. I’ve been instructed to keep him informed of your health while you are here at the Estate.” Tilburn handed her a quill and pointed to the place she needed to sign with his manicured finger. “You caused quite a commotion at the race today. I can only imagine the stories and rumors that are flying back to the Golden Palace, as we speak. The High Wizard will be most concerned about you, I’m sure.”

Adele felt a surge of anger at the Majordomo’s words.
If the High Wizard is so concerned about me then why isn’t he here?

She remembered Ohren’s open smile and his radiant blue eyes that twinkled with humor and had to admit that she also felt a little hurt that he hadn’t tried harder to see her at Belvoir. Didn’t he care what happened to her anymore? The fact that he was only communicating with Tilburn and not her directly was infuriating.

A bolt of rebellion stirred her anger at the High Wizard. Ohren had sent her to the Belvoir Estate and told her not to go back to the Golden Palace, but he hadn’t told her why. His secrecy disturbed her and made her feel vulnerable at the same time. If events were afoot at the Golden Palace then they could very well follow her to Belvoir where most of the Court of the Golden Palace had decamped for the Carnival. Maybe it
would
be much safer for her and the children if they were at the Grey Palace? Nothing could touch them there with Rainere by her side and the protection of Marchant Magic surrounding them.

Adele scribbled her royal insignia across the page. She looked up into the expectant gaze of her three children and Prince Bertie’s excited grin. Rainere’s eyes were hooded and his face didn’t betray any of his emotions. When she glanced at him, General Ohrig gave her an almost imperceptible shake of his head. She ignored him.

“I think going to the Grey Palace is a wonderful idea. Thank you for your kind invitation, Prince Rainere.”  Adele’s fragile stomach did some nauseating flip flops with excitement. “I have been feeling quite ill with the heat since I got here so a little break would be a relief.”

“The heat never bothered Your Majesty so much in Sandar,” commented Ohrig quietly. Adele chose to ignore him again, but noticed that Pere Raven had also heard the General and the priest sent him a curious look.

Adele turned to Bertie. “But I am sorry we will miss the famous Steeplechase, Bertie,” she said. “There is no way we will be back in time for it if we leave today. The Grey Palace is a day’s travel each way and the Steeplechase is only in three days.”

“Ah-ha! Don’t you worry about that, Your Majesty,” said the old Prince, tapping the side of his nose. “Tomorrow I will show you that I can have you there and back in just a twinkle!”

Chapter Thirty-Three

“Passions Stirred and Emotions Tumbled”

Tonight Adele’s bedroom was as busy as a backstage dressing room. At least half a dozen people bustled about, with maids bringing in more candles, hot water, and whatever else was required to manually prepare the beautification of the Queen and her Royal Entourage. A heavy white moon shone in through the open window, but the room was lit up as bright as day with candelabras of all sizes.

“Not too tight, Lady Olivia,” said Adele as she held her hands to the stays that pulled in hard on her ribs. She had already fainted once today, she didn’t want to do it again.

“But your waist is so tiny, Your Majesty,” smiled Lady Olivia and gave the ribbons an extra yank. “No one would ever think that you have had three children.”

Adele smiled to accept the compliment and stared at herself in the mirror. On Earth a night out would have meant clean hair and a nice blouse instead of a t-shirt, but here in Unisia it took hours of primping and preening to dress for a ball.

Adele patted her hair that had been piled up high on her head and threaded through with gold silk and gems. Her wine-colored gown was cut low on the shoulders and showed off her modest bust to great effect. The fabric of the bodice was heavy with violet and emerald gems which flowed onto the stiff silk skirts in a wave pattern. Forest green lace peaked out from behind slashes in the hem of the gown and decorated the short train behind her. Adele turned her painted face this way and that, admiring her eyebrows that had been plucked into two elegant arches and the rose tinted blush that colored her cheeks so prettily.

She was getting used to looking like a Queen and it was a little disconcerting to realize she preferred it to being more natural now. The beauty she wore felt like a suit of armor. The dress, the hair, the makeup, it all helped to cover her up and keep her safe inside the Queen’s disguise. Dressed this way, Adele felt confident enough to push back her shoulders and smile at her image until Lady Olivia stepped into the mirror behind her. The young blonde was truly beautiful with her large blue eyes, long dark lashes and high cheekbones. She was at least four inches taller than Adele and had a willowy elegance that was impossible to fake. Lady Olivia was wearing a gown of sky blue that pushed her fuller bust high, reducing her small waist to miniscule proportions. She had draped a sparkling necklace over her décolletage which drew the eye in further as the last dangling gem fell between her breasts.

Adele wasn’t a prude and she applauded young women who were proud of their bodies, but she suddenly felt ancient beside her gorgeous young lady-in-waiting.

“Are you looking forward to dancing with Prince Rainere tonight, Your Majesty?” whispered Lady Olivia with a giggle. “I remember watching you two at the Coronation ball and the Prince looked like a very good dancer.”

“Oh, you remember that?” said Adele and brushed on a little more lipstick to hide her smile. “Well, I suppose I’ll have to, he did win the big race today.”

“I wouldn’t mind dancing with the Prince,” sighed Lady Olivia, as she replaced a pin in her hair, leaning close to Adele’s ear. “I know I shouldn’t be saying this, but he is so handsome and mysterious, it makes me wonder how long it’s been since a woman gave him any attention.” She giggled again, but Adele could only stare at her wide-eyed.

There was a knock at the door and Adele was disappointed to see General Ohrig enter, she thought perhaps she could have avoided him surrounded by the protection of her beauty team and their preparations. Ohrig looked out of place and terribly masculine in the midst of all the strewn gowns and make-up stations.

“Your Majesty, I was told that you are close to finished preparing for the ball and perhaps would have a minute to talk privately,” said the General over the chaos of the crowd in Adele’s bedroom. He stepped back to allow a maid carrying armfuls of tulle to get past him.

“I guess I’m as ready as I’ll ever be,” said Adele reluctantly. She dismissed her staff with a kind word and was dismayed at how quickly everyone cleared out of the room.

“Doesn’t the Queen just look radiant tonight, General Ohrig?” asked Lady Olivia as she floated past on her way to the door and flashed him a beautiful smile.

The General nodded curtly. “Yes, very nice.”

Adele sighed and sank onto a chair. The General was already tense so this wasn’t going to be fun. “Please sit, Ohrig,” said Adele and gestured at a tiny tapestry chair opposite her. The General moved a tray of jewelry from the cushion and sat stiffly, his leather weapon belts creaking as he arranged himself, pushing his sword to the side.

Adele folded her hands in her lap and waited for the General to start. Ohrig was a man of action so it wouldn’t take long.

“Your Majesty,” he began, but paused and rubbed his hand over the rough five o’clock shadow on his chin, searching for the right words. The General was really worked up if he couldn’t even begin what they both knew he wanted to say.

“Ohrig, please just speak frankly, otherwise we are going to be here forever,” said Adele and her nerves made her sound more short than she meant to.

Ohrig gave her one of his grim smiles. “As you wish, Your Majesty,” he said, but there was a warning in his tone. “Here it is. I want to know why you are risking your life and the lives of your children by returning to the Grey Palace with the Marchant Prince tomorrow morning?”

“Well…”

“Because …” he interrupted. “From the moment I met you, you have done nothing but make decisions which mean you are with your children at all times. And never have I thought you were being reckless with their safety when you obviously know best how to look after them. But now – now there is something going on and you are not telling me what that is.”

“Really, Ohrig, I…”

“I mean, I understand that as a foreigner to our land that you might not understand the full implications of aligning yourself with an outcast like the Prince and what that could mean in Unisia, but, Your Majesty, I have to tell you that rushing in blind to this relationship will be political suicide, if not outright death at the Prince’s hands. The Marchant Family have never sought anything, but the fall of the Kingdom…”

“General, enough!” yelled Adele. She felt a flush heat her cheeks as she fought to control her fury. “Believe me, I’m not the only one who is acting blind here and I think you are angry with the wrong Wizard! You are so dead against Prince Rainere that I don’t think you have even stopped to consider why we are here at the Belvoir Estate in the first place. The High Wizard Ohren, sent us here for a
horse
Carnival! Are you kidding me?” She waved her arms about to express her outrage further. “People could be dying of the terrible Summer Influenza right now all over Unisia and we are stuck here in Belvoir with the cure because the High Wizard told us we can’t go back to the Golden Palace!”

“That is beside the point, Your Majesty…” interrupted Ohrig, but Adele wouldn’t let him finish.

“And I have heard just enough about your prejudice against Marchants,” she continued but the General was too loud to be shouted down.

“Prejudice!” he snapped. “Your Majesty, I may not be a great student of history, but even I know that the Marchant Kings were all murderous tyrants. There has never,
ever
,
been a good Marchant King!” He raised a hand to count on his fingers. “The last Marchant King on the Unisian throne was King Rainov the
Cruel
.  Before that we had King Rainmon the
Berserk
. Before that we had King Rainfor the
Depraved
whom Rainmon murdered to steal the throne. Shall I go on?”

“But that’s all ancient history, Ohrig,” Adele protested. “Don’t you see? Prince Rainere is as judged for his family name as I am for mine.” Adele got up and started pacing behind her chair, warming to her theme. “How do you know he isn’t as misplaced in his role as the Black Prince as I am in mine as Queen of Unisia?”

“Don’t ever say that, Your Majesty!” hissed Ohrig, checking the door and Adele realized she was shouting. She lowered her voice, but couldn’t stop now that Ohrig had her so angry.

“He has nothing! No lands, no servants, no money. He lives alone in that decrepit palace suffering the punishment for the sins of his fathers. You tell me how is that fair?”

“He doesn’t need anything,” said Ohrig through gritted teeth. “He is a Wizard and despite what you might think of his pitiful life he is still the second most dangerous man in the Kingdom behind Wizard Ohren.”

“You think Ohren is dangerous?” asked Adele, shocked that Ohrig had even said such a thing as loyal as he was to his family of St. Lucidis.

“Of course!” snapped Ohrig, obviously frustrated by her stupidity. “High Wizard Ohren is an insanely powerful Immortal, older even than Prince Rainere. If he wanted to he could take this entire Kingdom to its knees. Just as Prince Rainere could...”

“Wait! What? High Wizard Ohren is Immortal?” Adele was stunned. He had never mentioned that little detail about himself.

“Of course he is,” said the General with a roll of his eyes. “How do you think he could live so long? Good health? The man is over two hundred years old!”

Adele’s mind was spinning with this new information about the High Wizard. Again, she was being forced to doubt everything she thought she knew in this world of Evendaar. She felt a horrible sense of vertigo as the ground beneath her seemed to tip. She grabbed the back of the chair to steady herself.

“But he told me only Marchants could be Immortal as they were the Chosen Ones, chosen by the Goddess herself, you know with all that - green - Magic.”

Ohrig’s expression was grim. “Like I said, I’m not a great student of history and I can’t recall how Ohren managed to achieve Immortality, but I do know that he has no Marchant blood in him. That’s why he has been slowly aging this whole time and looks like the old man we know him as today. But rest assured, the High Wizard needs a peaceful Kingdom as much as the Kingdom needs him. If he does not want to be a despot ruling chaos, then he must abide by the laws of Men and subject himself to the wishes of the Court and the Constitution of the Golden Palace.”

“I never even thought about how he could have been there when I was born,” whispered Adele, still grappling with her shock. Suddenly she snapped back into focus. “Ohrig, have you ever heard of the Prophecy of the End of the World?”

Ohrig shook his head. “No, Your Majesty, but despite its cheerful title, I’m guessing it’s not good.”

“It’s why Ohren brought me back from Earth,” said Adele and watched Ohrig closely for his reaction. “He said that he accidentally triggered the Prophecy when he sent me away as a baby, and then had to follow the portents the Prophecy gave him to bring me back and crown me Queen. He did it quickly so no one could stop him, not even his own Court.”

Ohrig looked genuinely puzzled but not angry as Adele thought he might after she had revealed such a huge secret to him and finally explained her presence in Unisia.

“What else does the Prophecy say?”

“I don’t know,” Adele frowned. “I haven’t even seen it myself. I was hoping Prince Rainere had a copy of it. Apparently more copies were made…”

The General put his hands up in a gesture for her to stop right there. “Your Majesty, in no way would I advise you to ask one wizard to help you with a problem you have with another wizard. They do not work as we do. They are not truly men any more than I am really a cat.”

“But where is High Wizard Ohren so I can ask him all these questions!” Adele’s voice was shrill and she started pacing again. “He sent me off to Sandar before I could find out anything more about this Prophecy and then he sent us here, with no more explanation than ‘don’t be alarmed’!”

“Look, Your Majesty, the ways of Wizards are mysterious I agree but you cannot lose faith in Ohren just to drop it in the lap of Prince Rainere. Whatever else I might think about him, the High Wizard loves Unisia and has only ever done his best to see the Kingdom flourish and prosper. The only reason that he is not with us now is because he is Immortal and the Curse on the Estate might cause him real damage.”

Adele was already upset and Ohren’s stubborn tone was irritating her. First he calls Ohren dangerous and then he tells her to trust him completely. It was so confusing!

“But he abandoned us!” she protested hotly. “We haven’t seen him in weeks. He hasn’t bothered to collect the Fire Orchid stamens and he sent me to Sandar all on my own with no help…”

“Yes, and look how well that turned out,” interrupted Ohrig, triumphantly making his point. “You retrieved the stamens and repaired trade relations with Sandar
and
made a friend of the Empress Sanda’hani. It couldn’t have gone better if you ask me.”

Adele stared at General Ohrig for a long moment. The desire to tell him what had happened in the Holy Caves with the Mage of Sandar sat at the tip of her tongue. She looked into his honest face, his eyes shining with the determination to save her from making bad choices, and stopped herself. It would not help him to know just what she was capable of before she understood what had really happened herself.

Adele walked back to her chair and sat down.

“You are right of course,” she said quietly but squared her shoulders and braced herself for his anger when she said what she had to say right now. “I just need to know what I’m doing here in your world, Ohrig. I know we should trust Ohren but I hate that I am just a pawn in a Wizard’s game. Though you don’t agree, I need to know what Prince Rainere can tell me about this Prophecy and I need to know now. So I
will
be going to the Grey Palace tomorrow morning and if you don’t agree then I give you permission to remain here at Belvoir.”