In many ways I was the product of this world, made stronger and more resilient by the way I was raised. But finding Alina made me question my old way of thinking; that nothing else mattered outside my circle of friends. Talman was truly broken and none of us really knew the extent of it.
Alina was sitting with her back artificially straight. Her hair was braided and secured on top of her head. She had changed her dress and the bright red silk shimmered in the sun like an actual flicker of flame. The long panel of the light gold fabric swayed in the warm, dry breeze, obscuring half of her body from the prying eyes of the crowd. Corliss was beside her, talking about her duties and the role she ought to play in the future. Along the side of the balcony was the area that was prepared for the queen. A crimson canopy adorned with gold hung over the massive throne that was still empty, waiting for its mistress.
I returned my gaze to Alina, who was watching two women fight as her eyes grew larger. All she had known from before was the peaceful land where she grew up, surrounded by comforts and people who loved her, butTalman was something entirely different. These lands were ruthless to dragonborns and even worse for people. The only way to survive was to be stronger, smarter, and willing to do anything to get ahead.
“Don’t let the commoners upset you, my dear. People always want more, they are all greedy creatures. It is because of all that filth that we got the virus in the first place, I am sure.” Corliss said.
“Is there something we can do to help them?” Alina asked.
Corliss looked like she could not believe her ears.
“To help them? My child, we are already doing everything we can. We distribute clean water and the great Queen Mother opened soup kitchens throughout the city. There are also free medical clinics and schools. We spend so much trying to help them better themselves, but it does not seem like it’s ever enough.”
“They seem hungry,” Alina whispered.
“Because they sell the food they get to gamble or buy alcohol.”
“Are you sure about that? That can’t be right.”
“Alina, dear. I have seen so many things while occupying this post. I once knew of a servant who sold her child to an older man for a couple of coins. They are not like us. They are a completely different species after all.”
Alina’s head snapped up, and she just stared at the old woman, her eyes wide.
“You are still so young, and do not know the world. Ah... Lord Adger is calling me. I will be back in a moment.”
With those words, she left the tent, and the heavy fabric dropped behind her, leaving me and Alina alone.
“Did you know about all of that?”
“Yes.”
“Why wouldn’t they help their own people?” she asked.
“This is what happens when people in power separate themselves behind walls and only venture outside surrounded by guards.”
“You speak about it with such ease.”
“This is all I know. I have nothing to compare it to.”
"Why wouldn't the queen do something about it?"
“I’m not sure she knows. I don’t think she comes out from her part of the palace much.”
“Someone has to tell her about this.”
“If she even wants to know.”
Alina shook her head and stared directly ahead.
The sun was hot enough to melt all the surfaces and the air had become unbearably dry when the first speaker entered the balcony.
“What are they doing? It’s too hot for all these people. Some of them have children with them.”
I stayed silent. My eyes landed on a woman who held her crying infant. A soldier in a blue uniform approached her and exchanged a couple of words with the woman. I did not need to be close to know that some high born was complaining about the noise.
I clenched my jaw.
Suddenly, the crowd perked up, and all heads turned tothe left. I followed their gazes and watched a figure, draped in a red veil, step onto the raised platform and take a seat on the throne. The fabric obscuring her face was decorated with gold stitching, and her arms were covered by armguards made out of precious metals and adorned with gemstones.
