Queen Raeanne

"Well, here it is then." I smile sadly, pointing to my late mother's grave on the castle grounds.

"It's really quite something, isn't it?" James asks, crouching down to get a closer look at an inscription.

"The noblemen insisted she have this statue made to honor her legacy. I'd much rather throw her in the ocean so the fish can have at her. That would be doing more good than taking money from my country to go towards her honor." I explain. "I loved my mother, I truly did. She was just selfish in her love and sucked the life out of me for as long as she could. She is the reason I am Queen. She is who kept you banished and apart from me. I will never forgive her for what she did to us."

James stands and turns to me. "Speaking of that, I have information."

"Go on."

"I wanted to tell you myself before the murmurs got around to you." James continues.

"What murmurs?" I look at him with confusion on my face. What information does he bring?

"I've heard whisperings that the noble men are going to challenge your position." He speaks quickly, as if he worries if he goes any slower, things will get worse.

"Challenge my position?" I scoff. "What on earth does that mean?"

"It means they know of my identity and believe that with me being alive, I am still the rightful heir to the throne and should take it immediately." James waits for my reaction.

"Is this your way of kindly letting me know you will be making moves to overthrow me in a short while?" Is this why he brought me all the way out here to visit mother's grave? Did he wish to speak with me in private so that I could not make a scene? Is this all part of some master plan to make my life worse?

Why is it that I am always dealing with some sort of chaos? Was it like this when my parents were still around? I can't imagine how things could have possibly been this bad at all times. I never heard of any issues of this magnitude. Perhaps they kept their worries hidden from me so I would not worry.

Or did all of these problems arise when I took the throne because of what a poor Queen I have been?

"Not at all my Queen. I relinquished my right twenty years ago. In the eyes of the law, I am no longer a part of the royal family. I respect your reign. I wish to live on Estonian property with my wife but if this power struggle continues between the nobles, I will gladly see myself out of the country and your life and take up residence elsewhere." James stated his plans.

"The last thing I want to do is to lose you again, James. I only just got you back and it has been magnificent already." I add. "Life would not be the same without you in it anymore."

"And the last thing I want to do is make your life even more difficult by me being here." He smiles. "I am telling you this not as a threat but as a warning. I am not sure what has been set into motion yet but this is your chance to put a stop to it." He helps me with what steps I should take next.

I nod. "I trust you James, do not make me regret it." I reach out and grab his hand. "Come, I wish to show you someone else." I pull him through the graves of many great men and women who have served this country. "This is my kid brother, Henry. You never got to meet him but I know you two would have gotten along great."

"Mother had another child? I-I never knew." He hangs his head, taking a moment to pay his respects.

I shake my head and wait for him to finish. "He was left at the castle gates when he was just a baby. Mother and father took him in as their own. Despite not sharing my blood, he was always more like family to me than mother ever was. I names my son after his memory."

"What happen to him?" James asks.

"Poison." I reply simply, replaying the tragic day in my head. It feels as if I just lost him yesterday.

"Poison?" James is shocked. "How did a boy that young come into contact with poison? And within the castle walls? He should be safe in his own home."

"One would think they are safe in their own home but that quickly proves to me to be anything but the truth. Had mother not been around, Henry would have been spared."

"Mother? What does she have to do with this?" James shakes his head, trying to grasp all of this.

I laugh sadly, wishing it wasn't true. "Well she is the one who gave him the poison."

"She- she poisoned a child? For what reason?" James begins to show signs of anger. "I always knew she was a wretched woman but I did not take her for a killer." He clenches his fists. "And a child? Maybe I deserved to be banished but what could a child ever do to someone to justify their murder?"

"She took far more lives than just Henry's, I'm afraid. I only know of a few but I do not believe those are the only ones. She was way too experienced with her coverup for me to believe she was a rookie." I explain, wishing to air out her demons. I can tell no one else the truth of her life because it would mean speaking I'll on a Queen. That is enough to have my head taken from my body.

James understands why I just break my silence to him. "Who else?" He asks.

"Well for one, my husband, The King of Spain."

"No!" James' continues to grow more shocked as the conversation progresses. "Was it not her that wishes you marry him in the first place?"

I nod. "I do not know her true motives and I suppose I never will but I believe she was trying to protect me and do what was best for the country. She just went about it the wrong way." I pause, taking some time to breathe. "And the last one I know for sure was father."

"Father?! Her own husband?" James scoffs. "She took your siblings and your father from you. She left you with no one but herself."

I nod. "She said he was getting in her way so she killed him. She stabbed him and blamed it on a poor servant. She used the same story with my husband. The only reason I caught her was because I recognized the similarities in her tales."

James shakes his head in disgust. "Mother created more problems for this family than what she was able to solve." He sighs. "I am so sorry."

*
Did you like how this chapter was? I wanted to give Rae and James a chance to bond some more while also keeping it relevant to the plot. Let me know what you think!

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