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“The queen told me,” I replied angrily. “The queen who you accuse of murder. She...”
“Oh,” Aislinn’s smile died.
“You think she’s lying?” I took a step away from her. “You’re... I...”
Someone entered the hallway, and I had to stop myself from blurting out the deep hurt in me. Aislinn and I stared at each other as a girl around Jasmine’s age slowly walked toward us. I expected her to walk past us and readied myself to resume our argument.
She did not.
“Feremir, is it?” She asked.
I turned to face her. Her green eyes were full of compassion, and her long dark hair was braided to fall to her chest from her side.
She smiled.
“Yes,” I replied. “I am.”
“I wanted to come and talk to you at Master Leo’s funeral,” she said. “But I could not finish my tasks on time.”
I nodded politely. She was a servant; it was clear from her clothes and demeanor. I did not want to point out that fact by asking her what tasks she had.
“I attended to your sister when she came to the palace to be sent off to the trials,” she said quickly. “My name is Rose.”
“You did?” I asked. She was one of the few who had seen Jasmine before she was sent to the trials. I had so many questions to ask. Was she scared? Brave? Sad? What did she think of the palace? Did she seem like she was about to align herself with our enemies? Did she hate the queen then too?
But I could not ask those questions. Not when Aislinn was right beside us, listening and possibly plotting.
“She was fearless,” Rose said, cocking her to the side. “She was funny too. I liked her very much. It is a shame what the Unseelie did to her and the others. She was... Innocent.”
Tears started forming again. Rose’s compassionate tone was the final drop. I averted Aislinn’s gaze as I felt my cheeks becoming wet.
“She was,” I told Rose.
“Look at you,” she said. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come to you after you lived through such a horrible thing. I just wanted to say I’m sorry. Master Leo was a kind man. It is a shame that he died so young. Was he sick? Did you know?”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“No,” I replied.
“But he was young,” Rose said sadly. “I mean, he was too young to have died in his sleep. When you hear about the elderly going peacefully in their sleep, you think it’s a gift. But he wasn’t so old.”
I was utterly confused. I opened my mouth and closed it again.
“He didn’t die in his sleep,” Aislinn said. “He was murdered.”
Rose turned to Aislinn.
“He was?” She mumbled. “I... I didn’t know.”
“They told you he died in his sleep?” Aislinn asked, her gaze darting my way as though she thought this was proof enough.
“Everyone thinks so,” Rose replied sheepishly. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” Aislinn said. “It’s hard to find the truth when no one wants you to.”
