"If the ocean hasn't claimed you, don't go to get claimed"

44| A MOTHER'S LOVE

The Queen stares out into the distance from the window of her bedroom. The forest which she stares upon is so still and silent that one wonders if the time is even going by the world at all. It does go by, according to the life that is not that far away from the forest. The upper and lower towns of the kingdom. The peasants living their lives and the guards protecting the kingdom and their King as is their duty. She stares out, not looking for anything nor at anything, but at everything. This habit she passed onto her youngest daughter, who longed for the world.

Her daughter never knew where she did get the habit to wish to be out in the world, and the Queen was not about to tell her. For the truth would have put both of them to death. It is a mother's wish to keep her children alive and to protect them with all that she has. Even hide the truth that could change and end their lives. The Queen's eyes stare out into the distance. Perhaps waiting for the return of her youngest daughter, who has not yet been found after her disappearance.

The day is cold, it is not a day to be outside for the Royal family. Her youngest child plays on the ground with the nanny in the room that the Queen is in. When it is her youngest child that will take the Throne, it is her second child whom she loves the most. A mother does not choose which child she favors the most, and she does not speak of it. Yet, the child that was conceived as her second is the one that she has always favored to be her best. Though never was the woman able to tell her that.

For the girl was out of control. Taking after her true father. The Queen knew that she had to protect her daughter. Ruling her as the wild girl and the mischievous girl. If she were branded as the mad child of the King, then they would never know the truth of her heritage. The Queen worries for her second child, the child that she has always deeply cared for and loved. The child that is more special than anyone could have ever known and the child that is gone from her protection and sight to somewhere that she cannot find.

As she stares into the distance, the trees do not move, and yet they bring her comfort. The rest of the world behind her is not even there at all. The nanny and her son are barely heard the longer that she stares out there. If minutes or hours pass, the Queen does not know. It is not until something moves in the forest which breaks her focus. The movement is small, but she notices something in the trees. Upon looking closer, she noticed it are their own guards. The guards that were sent with her eldest daughter on her journey out to sea.

Gasping when she sees more of them, she is quick on her feet and runs towards the door. With the nanny calling after her and the maids as well, along with the guards stationed by her chambers at all times. They run after her as they sense her distress. None of that she cares for as she runs the hallways towards the Throne room. Reaching the room and seeing her husband sitting on the Throne. A couple of the guards that went along with their daughter have already reached the Throne room and bow before their King.

The Queen walks with her head high towards her own Throne and sits down. Her mouth is kept shut as a Queen does not speak out of turn. No matter the worry that she has for her child, and no matter the anger and fear which she feels. A Queen has to have a brave face on and show that no weakness has touched her and no weakness can bring down the kingdom and her husband. It is a worthy title that she carries, but the crown is heavy, and the duties are worse than Hell itself.

Then the doors open and their daughter walks inside. The look on her face is one as if she has seen a ghost. None of the guards that came with her had spoken a word about what had happened. They waited for the Princess to speak. She walks in front of her mother and father and slightly bows to show respect. "What is the meaning of this, child? You have been sent to marry" Her father, the King speaks. His love as well has never been with this child of his, neither the third but the second one.

She might not have been his daughter by blood, but she is the daughter that he raised and the one that he loves as his own. "Father, I saw her. I saw Isolde" Elizabeth speaks. Her voice is clear. As if she has practiced the words that she would speak. And she did. For days the things that she would say, the things that she would speak of after what happened ran through her mind countless times. Bringing her to the brink of madness. Both King and Queen are shocked to hear her voice. The King's eyes look around. "Then where is she? Have you not brought her home?" He asks her.

The Princess shakes her head. "My sister is a Demon that has sought to condemn us all. She split apart the ocean itself And brought down an entire ship" She speaks. A few chuckles and a few laughters around the room make her glare at everyone, even her mother and father who look at her as if she has gone mad, and maybe she has. "It is true that Isolde has been troubled and often referred to as such, but she is your sister and our daughter. You shall treat her as such" The King speaks.

His voice filled with anger. She shakes her head by his words. "I saw her do things that only Demons can do. That was not my sister" She speaks to him. The state of Elizabeth is one as a peasant which has stolen clothing from her mistress. The gown that she wears is the same one that she left in, dirtied and ripped, covered with blood. Her hair has not been brushed nor styled for days it seems nor even washed. Her face and the skin that shows is covered in dirt and dried blood.

The girl does not seem to be the Princess that she used to be. She has been schooled and clothed into the Princess that she is supposed to be, and the wife of a King, and she would be a Queen of some kingdom. She would have been great, and she would have been a Queen that a King would use to sire offsprings. Princess Elizabeth has always been the model girl that would have made the world a better place. Now, she has been through things that have changed her. Never again will she be the same as she was before.

The Queen turns to the King. "I fear our daughter is exhausted from her trip, perhaps we should have the Healers tend to her and let her rest" She speaks once he has looked at her. He sharply nods. "Very well" He speaks. He gestures for his servants. "See to it that the Princess is fed and taken to the Healers before she is presented to us again" He orders them. They bow before him and walk towards Princess Elizabeth. "I feel all right, father. I speak the truth, and I shall swear to the God above that only the truth leaves my lips" She speaks.

The King gestures for the guards to take her, and they do. "I speak the truth. She is a Demon!" Elizabeth yells through the Throne room. It could be heard by everyone. Every single one in the room knows who Isolde is, the troubled child that likes nothing more than to trick those around her. The pity that she had tricked her own sister to madness. It would not be the first time that the second child has made others mad. She does have that ability, she loves to toy with people and their feelings.

Dragging her screaming and kicking, the guards take her towards the Healers, where the girl fights with all that she has inside her. Telling them that her soul is ruined, and the Demons are coming for them all. That she is coming for them all and there will be blood to pay. People have begun to weep for the Princesses, one gone towards madness and the other still gone and perhaps dead. The King and Queen remain on their Thrones. "Leave us!" He orders all in the room. They bow before him and one by one they all leave the Throne room.

The guards, the maids, the servants, everyone. As soon as the door has been closed and the room has been cleared, the King and Queen remain. "We have lost our allies, our kingdom is on the brink of war and the ally that we had was to marry our eldest. We have lost our allies, our kingdom will fall" He speaks. The King stands from his Throne and walks towards a stained-glass window. The anger seeping through him. The Queen sighs as she too stands from her Throne and walks over to her husband.

"We have allies in the West, and we have a Crown Prince, an heir. Many others have only daughters. We have leverage, and we have a son" She speaks. Though, her words are not enough. It is the Queen that must bear the rage of the King, so the kingdom doesn't. "It is not enough!" He yells at her as he turns to face her. His fists are clenched. "She's gone. Our daughter is gone. Lost in the world!" He says, the anger within him rising. For the loss of a child is great. They do not know if she is alive or dead.

In this world, it is not kind to maidens that speak and fight back. They can only fear the worst and that God has taken her. The Queen once again sigh as she takes his hands. "We must live on and carry her memory. We shall seek allies elsewhere" She speaks to him, even she herself does not sound confident in her words. Pushing her away, the King walks away from her. And towards the doors. "We are doomed to fail" He tells her and then is out of the Throne room. Leaving the Queen on her own in there.

Turning to the window, she stares at the world out there. The upper towns are in her sight, the people that are their subjects, are her subjects. The heart of the Queen breaks apart from the inside when she watches those people living their lives. Soon, the streets will be filled with blood and the people will lie in it, their own blood. The kingdom is falling and it will soon fall. The King and Queen will fall alongside it. Her children will be slaughtered, and a usurper will take the Throne.

A Queen's job is to be at her husband's side and die the death that she is meant to. It is not a mother's wish to watch her children die. But rather to see her children live and have children of their own and then die of old age. A life which they deserve. A mother will do whatever it takes to protect her children, all of them. That does include the oldest, the second, and the youngest one. No matter what father sired those children, they are hers and hers alone. A man cannot take care of children, only a mother can.

This mother is not only a mother but a Queen who has three children and will do whatever it takes to protect them. Even if that means that she must do the unthinkable. Taking her leave she goes out of the Throne room which now stand empty. Where the King has gone, she does not know and does not care. For this fight is hers. Her head is high as she walks the hallways towards her daughter's bedroom. Towards Isolde's bed chambers. Upon entering the room, she is met with the room of the daughter that she cherished so deeply.

Closing the door, the woman walks over to the mirror that is there. Staring at her own refection, she smirks, a wicked one or not it is unclear. "You watch your own daughter from afar, do you not?" She asks the mirror. Knowing very well that someone is watching through the reflecting glass. "You watched her grow, and you watched her leave" She speaks to the mirror. Then she turns around and walks around the room. "I should not be surprised that she took after you for you must have influenced her through the years" She says.

"Spoken to her when no one saw, whispered to her things that only she could hear. I would not be shocked to know that she knows not of your existence of your presence in her life" She says with a smirk. From the mirror itself, a figure steps out. A figure that she knows too well for that figure is the one that she shares a child with. "Enough, woman!" He speaks. His voice is rough when he speaks, and hoarse. As if the air around him does not serve him justice. It does not agree with him. The Queen chuckles and turns around to face the man.

"The years have been kind to you" She says. He scoffs. "Enough with the formalities, woman. You have gained my attention, now speak your mind" He orders her. The Queen sighs. "Do you know where she is?" She asks him. He eyes her. The emerald green eyes that he carries stares at the woman, and then he nods his head slowly. The woman sighs with relief. "Is she safe?" She then asks and once again he nods. "She has taken her rightful place as Queen" He tells her. This does shock the woman. "Queen? Isolde is only second born child and your last. She is not meant to rule" The woman speaks confused.

Her daughter has never been interested in ruling a kingdom, and neither did she pay attention to her lessons and schooling. A miracle would have to happen before that girl would ever rule a kingdom on her own, and even if she did, the woman fears that she will doom the kingdom with her recklessness. Isolde has never been known for being one to lead nor does she have the ability to do so, even the Queen knows this. Despite it being her child, she fears that Isolde is not ready to rule.

The figure chuckles. "That she may be, but she is a Queen by birth. A destiny she has yet to see. Our daughter has brought greatness. The ocean bows before her" He tells her. "You called upon me not to speak of our daughter whom you shall never see again, but you have more to say and much more to ask" He says to her. And she sharply nods. "I fear this kingdom is falling, and I ask you for your help once more. To aid us through" She nearly begs him.

If need be, the woman will go down on her knees and beg him. The woman is not beyond that if it means that she has saved not only her people and her husband but her children as well. Which is all that a mother wants. He chuckles. "Aid your kingdom when it has already served its purpose?" He asks as if it amuses him. "Your only duty was to give her a Royal life and then when she were prepared, allow her to leave" He reminds her. "I have no use for your kingdom nor you" He tells her.

She gasps. "No, I beg you. If I were to die and your daughter loses a mother, then she shall never forgive you. She shall never forgive the man that could have saved her mother and her siblings" She speaks. Salt water has formed in the Queen's eyes. Once she was told that Queens do not beg. Rather they accept their fate, but she is not an ordinary Queen. And she is not just a Queen either, she is a mother. And a mother would do all to protect her children, to see them unharmed and to see them alive.

The man chuckles at her poor attempt. "Her siblings have deemed her a Demon. The complete opposite of what she is. A Queen she is meant to rule and forever is waiting for her. Never again will she step foot on land again, never again will she see her mother nor siblings again. Sparing you and this kingdom will do her no good. The past will remain in the past and this kingdom, and you shall fall" He tells her. Her face falls when he says that. "No, you cannot do this. If not to save me for her sake, then do it for mine. I am after all the mother of your child" She says.

A mother is no good to her children dead. And she will fight tooth and nail just to see her children alive. And that means that she will have to life. The man eyes her with his emerald green eyes. "A mortal mother for a Queen that is meant to live forever. You are nothing more than the birth giver. You have served her well, you shall be rewarded upon your death" He tells her, and then he turns around towards the mirror itself.

"Wait! Tell me one thing" She says. He stops and turns his head. A tear rolls down her cheek. "Why was I chosen to bear your child?" She asks him. He gives her a smirk. A smirk that would be in the Queen's mind for the end of her life. "Blood of land and blood of salt" Is all that comes from him, and then he walks into the mirror. The Queen falls to her knees in tears. She has failed. Her children will die, and she will die, her kingdom will fall. She will soon be met with a fate of death.