Aubade

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"The prime minister wishes for an audience, sire," a minister spoke, dismissed by a flick of a hand by the King. The Queen sat quietly in the corner, sharply curving her name into the endless stack of papers on her desk. Basilico's long robe pooling at the base of his throne. Kihara shot him a quick glance, fear creeping into her chest.

She resented the man who had allowed her daughter to be raised in exile, and brought a stranger into their home.

"Kihara, " he began, slowly sipping from his wine glass, setting it down on the crystal table beside him.

"Yes, Bas?" She answered, doing her best to keep her voice stable. Her pen scribbled in a fury, the ink spilling on the page like blood on a battlefield. She kept her gaze down, focused on the contracts she had begun to sign.
He was suddenly behind her, lifting the pen from her fingertips. Anger surged through her blood.

She forced a polite smile, looking up at him.

"May I help you?" He pressed a soft kiss to her plaited hair, reaching for hand. Her skin recoiled as he took her hand.

"I-" She stood abruptly, interrupting his train of thought. She snatched the stack of papers away from his view, slowly stepping backwards.

"I apologize. I need to deliver these documents-"
"Have one of the messengers do it." He insisted, firmness creeping into his low tone. She exhaled softly, offering him a sweet smile.

"It's classified documents, Bas. I simply don't feel comfortable entrusting it to a messenger. Surely you understand." He clenched his jaw, nodding his head. She thought for a brief moment she caught a glimpse of sorrow in his gaze, but it appeared to have dissipated as quick as it arrived.

You chose this fate, she repeated in her mind. The door clicked shut behind her, its echo growing deafening in the silence of her absence.

—---------------

"The princess is gone, madam," A maid stood behind Kihara, as she stood gazing out the large windows of her tower.

"Dead?" She asked, vigor creeping into her words.

"I know not, madam. She left this morning for the woods, and has not been spotted yet. Should we send a search party for her highness?" The queen hid her smile, turning her face the other direction, unable to hide the grin.
"No. The rebels have likely taken her already. There is no point." she feigned dejectedness, relief washing over her the moment the maid exited the room. The anger she felt for this stranger in her home was unmatched. Basilico had ripped away her daughter, and left a stranger in her home. Ilaria was no daughter of hers. The two likely had been plotting ways to kill the queen herself in the last year. There was no doubt in her mind that it was Ilaria who had left the poison in her drink the day before she was to deliver her daughter. Basilico was cruel, but not so far as to endanger his own child. But Ilaria, there was no telling what that woman would do.

The assassin she'd sent the night of her birthday had failed miserably. She had watched as Ilaria taunted him, and rapidly watched him disappear into the shadows.

Of course, she had understood that someone had ordered for her death. This feud between a broken mother and daughter had grown into a divide that would now only end until one of them lost their lives.

It was impossible to love a child who continued to keep pushing until she shattered.

And yet, it was impossible to stop loving her. A daughter was supposed to be special. Not be filled with a murderous rage, and a desire to plunder at any chance she got.
That was not the daughter she raised.

A relentless, throbbing ache filled her chest each time she watched her disappear into the halls. She mourned for the daughter she lost to her husband. The daughter that was now just as cruel, just as vicious, as the man she was now forever linked to. The fury that surfaced each time she saw a face she had once cherished, now filled nothing but emptiness.
Ilaria was an assassin- a machine. And she would not stop until she burned the world around her.

—---------------------------

Kihara flew down the staircases, straight into the armory, where the Defense had ordered a meeting. Of course, it was without the presence of Basilico, but the man himself hardly bothered to care for something other than himself, so the surprise following his absence was hardly uncommon. She stepped into the room, her dress training flowing after her, as she seated herself at the head of the table.

""It's an emergency, your Majesty," The head of the Guard spoke, her voice low, edged with wariness.

"There has been an attempt on the princess's life- from the King, your majesty." Kihara frowned, confused. Basílico doted on his daughter. She was his most prized possession, and as of present, the only heir to the throne.

"By the King?" She repeated, stunned. The woman nodded, standing. She reached for a bloody tiara, sliding it across the table. The metal scraped against the dark oak, cool against the queen's hands. The bloody tiara in her hands became the crushing finality forcing her to accept the true loss of her daughter.

"She's gone." She murmured. The guard's hand covered Kihara's, desperate to offer some comfort.

"These arrows were found in the outskirts of the woods. They're laced with Feirix sap." The queen inhaled sharply.

"What?" Soft murmurs echoed across the room. The rarity of the poison was only second to her alarm at its deadliness.

Kihara's heart dropped into her stomach.