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I watched as the woman came closer and closer. With every step, she seemed younger than she first seemed. It was a woman who had haunted my dreams and fueled my nightmares. It was not her fault. It was mine.
“Thomasina,” I sobbed. “What are you doing to her, Metheus? Why do you let your men hold her like that?”
“She played a part in my father’s murder. She worked in our kitchen for years, biding her time.”
“It was not your father I meant to kill!” the woman shrieked, her eyes wide with rage. “Your brother ruined it, Your Majesty.”
I noted the strange politeness, her remembering Metheus’s title and keeping it sacred with her tongue.
“Ah, so everyone knew all along that Ari was my brother,” my husband said, his voice tinged with bitterness. He was not pleased with the idea that he was seemingly one of the last to know.
“Yes. We trusted His Grace with our secrets. He insinuated himself into the plan. Then, he made a switch. You were supposed to die, to let this bitch of a witch suffer!”
“And how do you know I will suffer if he dies?” I found myself raising my voice. “How do you know if I loved him? How do you know you are not releasing me from a marriage I did not want?”
In the corner of my eyes, I saw Metheus’s face. His jaw clenched, and his eyes widened as if I had just betrayed him. In horror, I realized what I had just said. Yet, I must say it even if the woman before me no longer looked dangerous. I did not want her to think that the way to hurt me was by murdering my husband. I loved him so much.
“I would not be surprised, witch! You never care for anyone but yourself!” the woman was shaking with anger. Metheus’s men had to hold her arms tightly to ensure she did not escape their clutches. “You sought my son out as a lover. Seduced him. Then, you burned him alive.”
“I did not mean to,” I cried, rising from my chair to face the woman I had deeply hurt all those years ago. I could see that time did nothing for her except make her look much older than she really was. Time was supposed to heal all wounds. Apparently, it was a lie.
I could not say that we were even, that I had killed her son and that she had killed someone I loved. Much as I had learned to love King Doro, he was not my father. It was Metheus who had been grievously wounded. Indirectly, his pain coursed through me. Thomasina knew just where to strike when she united with the Touch to target Metheus himself.
Still, we were not even. I had taken away the most precious person in her life, and I was still with mine.
“Whatever the case may be, you are still guilty of murder and treason. You will be imprisoned in the dungeons for the rest of your life,” Metheus declared, his voice devoid of emotion.
Metheus’s guards half-carried the flailing and kicking woman. I had wronged her. Though she had turned out to be a murderous woman, I still could not atone for what I had done. The repercussions in my mind and soul would remain forever.
“Metheus?” I turned to my husband, but he was no longer there.
During the next few days, we prepared to return to Mogochislenia. Our pieces of luggage were prepared and brought to the ship that would carry us across the sea. Rowali, Francilia, and Fuza were set to accompany us. Emir and Clem would see to the rebuilding of structures. They would also serve as regents. Metheus had wanted to stay, but Rowali had begged him to come. He did not want to speak to me. My words had apparently cut through him. We had not exchanged words of love, so I could not presume that my bluff on not wanting the marriage would have hurt him. He did it to me once during a time that felt too long ago. We had become so close since then. Even sex had become so much more. Perhaps the only thing missing was a declaration.
Every time my mouth opened to tell him I loved him, it came out like a whimper. He would look at me strangely, as if he could not understand what I was trying to do. His expression had returned to being wooden, and he had spent more time preparing the Great Hall than speaking with me or knowing if I was alright.
The day before we left for Queenspell, he spoke to me. I was thrilled, but I realized that he addressed the whole table, Rowali, Fuza, and Francilia included.
‘I know you are all anxious to leave. The work at the Great Hall had become unhealthy for breathing. We are still here because we had to settle some differences.”
“What differences? Do we still have enemies to worry about?” asked Rowali, her hands gripping the table's edge.
“No. It seemed that the latest battle had destroyed not just our Great Hall but the kingdoms beneath.”
“The kingdoms beneath?” asked Francilia, wide-eyed. She probably wondered what other sort of insanity she must deal with when living with us.
Metheus sighed and shook his head wearily.
“Yes. Apparently, we are not only dealing with witches, demigods, Seers, and uncontrollable gods here in Arrowspear. We also have fairies underneath, bothered by all the activity in their domains.”
“Fairies?” I breathed. I had seen shifters of various kinds and even demons, but not fairies. I should not have been so shocked. While Mogochislenia was teeming with witchcraft, Arrowspear was more diverse in terms of its people.
“Yes, fairies. They blame us for the destruction of their kingdoms and the death of the king’s son.”
We had so much blood on our hands, then. I knew of one that would forever mark mine. I would never forget Thomas, but not because I loved him. I would never forget someone so innocent dying in my hands.
“Do we still need to stay? What do we need to do for them?” I asked.
“I tasked Emir and Clem to deal with the fairies, see what we could do to rebuild parts of their kingdom as we rebuild ours.”
“Are they tiny?” asked Rowali, innocently serious.
“No, Rowali. They are our size, just living beneath us.”
The night before we left Prozeus, Metheus turned his back on me in bed. He responded with his own goodnight after I told him mine. I was left with hours of sleeplessness, watching the muscles on his back, the scars of battle over them. I raised my hand to touch them, but I withdrew quickly. It was almost dawn when I fell asleep.
