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“I need your help,” she said.
“Of course, my queen,” I replied quickly without thinking.
She smiled.
“My personal scribe had to leave to take care of her sick child,” she replied. “I allowed her to go home for a few days.”
She paused as though she expected me to be impressed by that. I tried to make my eyes widen as though I could not believe how compassionate she was for letting a mother go to her child. I wasn’t sure if I managed to feign the emotion, but the queen continued nonetheless.
“But now, I’m faced with a problem,” she said. “She was the only one I could trust to read these messages I need to send to my lords.”
My eyes darted down to the parchment she had been working on. But quickly before I could get a glimpse, she pulled it out of my sight.
“Not that,” she said, her tone firm.
“Forgive me,” I whispered. “I didn’t...”
“Of course, you didn’t,” she said. She folded the parchment without drying the ink. “My writing is bad. I don’t want my lords to think any less of me.”
“They would not dare,” I blurted out.
It sounded harsher than I had intended, but the queen took it well.
“I asked the masters and they all say your lettering is very good,” she continued.
“Not the best,” I replied.
“But you’re the one I trust the most,” she said, showing teeth as she smiled again.
Her trust in me at this moment stemmed not from the closeness of our relationship but from her faith in my naivety. Nonetheless, I made an effort to appear proud of her compliment.
“Thank you, my queen,” I replied.
“I shall ask you to spare some sleep for this,” she said.
I didn’t have a choice and she knew it too. Besides, although I was trying not to get too excited about it, there was a chance I could find out something useful.
No. I wasn’t supposed to think about that.
“Of course, my queen,” I replied eagerly. I didn’t have to feign the emotion at all.
“Great,” the queen got up from the desk, taking the parchment with her. “Take a seat.”
I sat and wondered what I could do to get my hands on that message she was trying to hide from me.
