TO&FQ: Book 3: Chapter 10 (RAW)

Chapter 10 - Escape

For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.

- Nelson Mandela.

Her father’s face grew serious, his mind engaging in something it was rather unaccustomed to.

“Now, Seraphina, I know that it is perfectly fine to make friends with all sorts…” Anatoli began in a tone meant to be solemn.

Seraphina could already hear the but that hovered just behind his words.

“… but it has come to our attention that, during your time at the Academy, you have been spending a rather large amount of time with,” he said, before glancing sidelong at his wife and continuing, “with certain people far beneath your station, as your mother put it.”

“I don’t see why Mother is so concerned with whom I choose to befriend.”

“Must you act so stupid, Sera?” Anaselena drawled, though her voice struck with all the subtlety of a slap. “You know very well that the company you keep, and especially those who might become more than friends, reflects not only on you. You are not the daughter of some glorified merchant.”

Seraphina bit down on her reply, ignoring the dig at Eloise. Somehow, this woman always managed to get under her skin. Two things kept her from flipping the table and storming from the room. One, she knew that Anaselena’s choices, as cruel as they might seem, were in some way always made for her benefit. Two, she refused to give her the satisfaction of winning. And the secret third, though she would never admit it aloud, was that she was afraid of her. Deeply, unshakably afraid.

“Then perhaps my lady mother would enlighten me as to her opinion,” Seraphina replied with a sweetness that clung like syrup. Her hands rested neatly in her lap as she summoned every ounce of self-control.

“That boy you brought to that little party of yours at the Academy,” Anaselena said, her lips curling, “I have yet to hear the end of it from Lady de Montan. That mound of suet can barely heave herself up a staircase, yet she’s had more than enough breath to gossip about it over every cup of tea. I will hear no more of it. Do you understand me? Your choices cast a shadow over our name.”

Seraphina kept the empty smile plastered across her face. She would endure this, as she always did.

“He was the only available option,” she said evenly. “Given that I am ostensibly engaged to a prince who, as we both know, discarded me in favor of some gutterborn trollop. How else was I to answer such an insult but in kind?”

How dare the woman presume to judge her?

“You might have chosen one of your knights,” her mother said, taking a slow sip of wine. “Even that rough one. Frest, was it? A crude man, but at least familiar. What you did smacked of self-sabotage. Talk about cutting off the nose to spite the face! But then again, girls your age are often given to such antics.”

This was rich, Seraphina thought. She was not some silly child barely grown.

“And then there is the matter of promises. Made in our name. To dwarves, no less,” Anaselena continued, each word soaked in scorn. “We will overlook it this once. They are marginally more tolerable than the tide of refugees and beggars pouring out of the Empire. But this will not be allowed to happen again.”

“You shouldn’t be too harsh, my dear,” Anatoli cut in, his voice mild. “I’m sure our little Sera only meant well. We did try to raise her with a sense of duty. And the little folk have, at the very least, been paying taxes…”

Anaselena’s gaze turned toward him, sharp and unblinking. He fell silent at once.

“Yes, yes, there are tax revenues,” she said, her voice clipped. “But the little folk, as your father so quaintly names them, are known for causing trouble. There is a reason no one gives them land. And yet you, Seraphina, saw fit to offer them a foothold in our Duchy without so much as a second thought. Do you think they will leave quietly when the time comes to push them away?”

“I don’t see what the problem is.”

“No. You don’t see. That is the problem. One that might be remedied if you would finally awaken to your gift. In this, like many things, you have disappointed me.”

Her mother’s words grew colder, more precise. “What seems acceptable now may become a disaster in time. Mixing two vastly different cultures does not create harmony. It breeds discord. If you had taken even a moment to reflect, you might have recognized this before handing over a parcel of our land to the stunties.”

“That was wild land,” Seraphina snapped. “We would never have touched it. And now they’ve made it useful. You’ll see. It will bring prosperity in spaces to the Duchy.”

Anaselena arched one perfect brow. “Did you think I didn’t know? That I was unaware of what lies beneath that soil? Sweet daughter, you meddle in forces far beyond your understanding. If left to your own devices, you would bring the Cataclysm crashing down on all of us. Yes, there will be wealth, wealth beyond counting. But along with it, there will be envy. There will be spite. Even our allies will come to resent us. And worst of all, it will draw the attention of the Empire once more. Do you wish to bring war to our door?”

“You misjudge me, Mother,” Seraphina said slowly. The spark inside her had caught, flaring into something hot and unrelenting. “Of course I knew. And I judged it a worthy move. Just because I am not possessed of your vaunted sight does not mean I can not predict the future. And let others be jealous. I have lived my whole life beneath the eyes of their envy, and I have never dulled my luster for anyone. I will not start now.”

Her eyes glittered as her voice rose. “You’re afraid of war? I doubt that very much. War never touches people like us. It is the peasants who bleed, not the highborn. Let them die if they must. They breed like rabbits and return in the spring.”

“You would drag us into war for a few pieces of Saint’s Silver?” Anaselena said, her tone smooth as silk. “For what? What is it that you truly want?”

“What I want?” Seraphina’s voice cracked like a whip as she finally reached her limit. “What I want!"

She shot to her feet, her chair screeching against the stone floor.

"To start with, I’d like to live a single godsdamned day without being picked apart for doing what I must to survive. And I’ll be friends with whomever I damn well please. I will not grovel and scrape to please half-wits with titles.”

Her breath came fast now, words tumbling out sharp as thrown daggers.

"And as for what I truly want... I want to be queen. Not a consort. Not a pretty wife on a prince’s arm while he chases every whore with legs. Queen. Of this wretched, backwards kingdom. If Father can put his crony on the throne, then why not his daughter? You claim to be an Oracle, yet you see nothing. Nothing of what I’ve sacrificed. The Church is turning against us. They want a theocracy, a puppet court where their priests can fondle boys in peace—Divines help us!”

She nearly choked on her fury, then stormed from the hall, shoulders heaving, her footsteps echoing like hammer blows against the stone. At the threshold, she paused, glared at the heavy oak table, and for a moment looked ready to flip it. But instead, she left it standing and vanished from sight.

The staff barely blinked. They were more than used to their little lady’s tempests.

“So, dear,” Anatoli said, frowning toward the doorway. “Was that what you wanted?”

Anaselena crossed her arms beneath her ample chest. Her expression was unreadable, but her voice was calm and satisfied.

“I do wish she’d learn to speak without such vulgarity, but yes. That will do. I’ve told you before. She must believe this path is hers alone. That’s the only way she’ll follow it. She’s so wonderfully naive, so easy to guide with just the gentlest nudge. A little push here, a little pull there... and she bends.”

Anatoli's frown deepened. “But must it be done so… manipulatively?”

“It must,” Anaselena replied, not unkindly. “She is near invisible to my Sight, and she grows stronger with each passing day. It took me far too long to locate her last time, and for that, I am truly sorry, my love. Too strong. But I am proud of her. I truly am.”

He studied her for a long moment. “Then I’ll trust your judgment in this. War, though? Is that truly coming?”

Anaselena reached for her goblet. “The signs all point to it.”

Anatoli gave a low chuckle. “Well, I am growing restless of late. I care not who it is against, I only ask that the enemy be a clear target that can be defeated. A good war will do wonders for the boys, toughen them up. And, I could use a bit of excitement these days. ”

“I hope you’re not saying I bore you,” she said, raising an eyebrow and swatting him lightly on the shoulder. He winced in theatrical pain.

“Not at all, light of my life,” he said, dutiful as ever. “Not in a hundred years or more.”

“Well,” she purred, leaning back in her chair, “you could make amends for such dangerous words. I’ve been eyeing a pair of mithril earrings.”

She laughed, watching his face darken and fall like a knight hearing the cost of his ransom.

***

“MIRIAM!” Seraphina’s voice rang out like a warhorn as she strode through the stone halls of the keep, her tread striking hard against the flagstones.

“Yes, milady!” came the reply, hurried and breathless, echoing from some distant corridor. The maid appeared moments later, skirts flying as she rushed to her mistress’s side.

“We are leaving,” Seraphina declared, her tone brooking no discussion.

“But, milady,” Miriam ventured carefully, “we only just arrived a few days past… and you’ve only just reunited with your lord father and lady mother. They were most terribly worried—”

“Worried?” Seraphina spat the word like it offended her. “They have done nothing but find fault. A girl could mistake them for enemies, the way they carry on. No, Milly. As always, if I want anything done, I must do it myself. I must seize my future with my own hands or be trampled beneath someone else’s boots. Now pack my things.”

Miriam nodded. “At once, milady.”

“And have the carriage readied. Tell Frest to cobble together a proper escort,” the young noblewoman ordered.

“If I may be so bold…” the maid said, hesitating with the caution of one who had been burned before more than once, “...where exactly are we going?”

“I haven’t the faintest idea,” Seraphina replied, sweeping into her chambers as she fanned herself with her hands. “Anywhere but here. I cannot stomach another moment of this place.”

She paused in thought, then snapped her fingers.

“We bought a lumber mill somewhere, didn’t we? And a patch of forest?”

“Yes, milady. That is correct.”

“Then that is where we’ll go. It will do me some good to inspect a corner of my realm. I expect they’ll be honored. After that, we shall impose upon the de Laneys. Eloise will be thrilled to see me.”

“I’m sure they, and the Lady Eloise, will be most delighted,” Miriam said with the forced cheer as her mind turned over on ways to send word ahead. Seraphina was in one of her moods, and any attempt to reason with her now would end with tears, shouting, or flying objects.

She bit her bottom lip as she adjusted her spectacles. “Is there anything else you wish for, milady?”

“Is there anything else?” Seraphina snapped, eyes flashing. “I could wish for a thousand things, and not one within reach. For a start, I wish for a single member of staff who does not need to be told every last, tiny, insignificant thing. But no matter. Get to it, Milly. I simply will not stay in this cursed place a moment longer than I must. The very air is poison to me.”

She took a long breath, drawing herself upright with exaggerated poise.

“And pack lightly,” she added. “But be sure to stop by the cellar and fetch a few decent bottles of wine. We may be guests, but we will not arrive empty-handed. I’ll not be gossiped about for lacking common decency, no matter how sudden the visit.”