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ROSE FROWNED AS SHE finally faced her mother. “What do you mean, you don’t mind being stuck down here?” she asked incredulously.
Frustrated, Rose barely listened to the queen as she began rattling off assurances that Juana and her needlework were keeping her busy, among other things.
This is not what I expected at all. Rose glanced around the small dungeon room. It looked almost like a miniature throne room, with plenty of ornate furnishings and royal luxuries, including several large chairs and tables. She was sitting at one of them, drinking tea with the queen and Juana.
From what Rose knew of prisons, and what she had seen on her travels abroad, this was a dream for any regular convict. It irritated her that her mother was acting completely fine with her situation.
Leea gestured to a small plate of pastries. “Here, darling,” she said. “Take one. I know you like them.”
“I’m not hungry,” Rose told her.
“Juana’s told me that you haven’t been feeling well lately,” Leea said. “She said you have barely eaten since you’ve come back. You are looking much thinner, Aurora. Is something wrong?”
Rose shot Mary’s cousin a quick glare and then reluctantly grabbed a pastry.
Leea nodded approvingly before sipping from her teacup once again. “So, how are things? I feel like we haven’t talked in years.”
“We haven’t.” Rose pursed her lips together.
“Haven’t what?”
“Talked in years.”
“Well, after you dismissed the idea for a wedding, I had really nothing to discuss with you.” Leea sighed. “What does someone like me know about knighthood, after all? But I thought you would at least appreciate my efforts for the tournament at your last birthday.”
“Why would I appreciate that?” Rose asked. “I have a curse to break. I don’t need suitors coming here for a short engagement and an even shorter marriage.”
“What else could I do?” Leea asked. “Besides, marriage is not so bad. Once you get it out of the way, you have a lot more say in your life.”
Rose looked skeptical. “What about the kingdom?”
Leea shrugged. “What about it? As long as our alliances are strong, our officials are working diligently, and trade is good, there’s very little that leaders do, especially in the day to day lives of their people.”
Rose suddenly wondered if being in a dungeon was so very different from her mother’s usual routine. But, recalling the meetings she had with her the king and his council, she had to admit her mother might have had a good point. She picked at her pastry as she watched her mother take another sip of tea.
“Well, what are your plans for breaking your curse then?” Leea asked.
By her tone, Rose could tell her mother was struggling to feign interest. “Once things are settled here, I’m going to take a legion of soldiers up to Darkwood Forest, where Magdalina lives. And then we’re going to fight her.”
“Sounds unpleasant.” Leea sighed. “If only there was a way to break your curse without worrying about going to battle.”
Rose looked down at her pastry again, her stomach twisting with sudden hollowness. She bit her lip, thinking of what Theo had told her before, that night. True love’s kiss.
It hadn’t worked, she reminded herself. There was no flash of light, there was no inner revelation; there was nothing that happened when Theo had kissed her, other than she had allowed herself to kiss him back.
“Aurora?”
Rose blushed, embarrassed her mother caught her daydreaming about Theo. “What?”
“I was just asking you how things were here at the castle. I know you could not have had such accommodations while you were abroad.”
“Everything is wonderful,” Rose assured her. “I just wish things were a little less intense.”
“What do you mean?”
Finally, we’ve arrived at what I wanted to talk about. Rose swirled her teaspoon in her cup. “Well, I’ve been home for several weeks, and this is the first time I’ve been allowed to come and see you,” she said, carefully emphasizing her words to show only some of her frustration. Rose was hoping her mother would be appalled by the fact that she had to be cleared to see her by both the king and her uncle.
To Rose’s dismay, Leea waved the matter aside. “You know how these things go,” she said. “When one is being held in prison, things do not go as easily as they used to.”
“But it’s me,” Rose said, this time with more anger. “I shouldn’t have to ask if I can go and see my mother.”
“It’s for the best,” Leea assured her.
Rose slammed her teacup down on the table. “What? What are you talking about? That’s ridiculous, and you and I both know it. I am the heir to the throne, and I have a right to see my mother while she’s being held captive.”
“Rose, sit down,” Leea hissed.
Rose reluctantly sat down again, before Leea turned to Juana. “Can we have some music, please, Juana dear?”
Rose glanced over at Juana. She had barely paid any notice to her mother’s fairy companion. But, Rose thought, in all fairness, she would often ignore Juana if she had the choice. It was a rare occurrence that Juana left people that option; she was always full of gossip and tales, and after a while, it was hard to tell what was true, and what was her opinion—especially since she presented them as the same thing.
But as Juana snapped her fingers, and music began to play, Rose realized that the music was not just music; there was a spell woven within the notes.
“What is this?” she asked.
“It’s a spell to keep out eavesdroppers,” Leea said. “So we can talk more freely.”
“More freely?” Rose arched a brow at her.
“Rose, please,” Leea said, surprising Rose with the use of her preferred name. “Give me some credit, would you? If you had grown up as I had under my father, you would know the pitfalls of all sorts of politics.”
Rose just stared at her.
“What?” Leea asked. “You think I’ve been kept out of the dark here?”
“Well, considering you have Juana with you, I wouldn’t say completely.”
Leea gave Rose a sharp smile. “I’m sure she would agree with that. Juana has been my closest friend all of these years, and she has been a big help in allowing me to protect myself. And you, too.”
“What do you mean?” Rose asked.
“Rose, you are old enough and you have seen enough of this world to know what people do and what people think are often very different things.” Leea sighed. “It is time you learn the truth about my situation, and why I am in this place.”
Rose felt a growing suspicion inside of her. “Did you actually poison the king?”
Leea seemed shocked by the question, but she did not back down from it. “Yes,” she admitted. “It was me.”
“What? Why?” Rose asked, jumping out of her seat in outrage again.
“He’s not well, Rose,” Leea said. “Ever since he made that deal with Magdalina, he has been deteriorating.”
“You know about the deal?” Rose asked. “The one where he agreed I would marry a fairy of Magdalina’s choice if she gave you the power to conceive a child?”
“Of course,” Leea said. There was a sour look on her face. “Forgive me, Rose. The very sound of Magdalina’s name is very unappealing.”
“Understandable.” Rose glanced over at Juana. “Who else knows?”
“To be honest, I’m not sure,” Leea said. “I didn’t even know you knew, until you came back here, and Mary was able to inform Juana of your situation.”
“Mary.” Rose shook her head.
“She keeps me updated on some things,” Juana said. “And I supply her with more information. So you should not hold it against her. And you can rest assured that she has not told me all your secrets.”
Probably much to your dismay, Rose thought angrily as she blushed again. She was unable to stop herself from wondering just which secrets Mary had revealed.
“He reneged on that deal,” Leea said, returning her attention to the story. “Stefanos broke his deal with Magdalina.”
“I know,” Rose said, hoping that Mary had not revealed that Magdalina had offered her the very same deal recently.
“He wasn’t particularly happy with Magdalina, after she tried to poison him with the Magdust,” Leea continued. “He doesn’t consider it an unfair move, breaking the deal, because of that.”
“Why didn’t he die?” Rose asked.
“The Reverend Father was able to do something for him,” Leea said. “He had connections to a lady who, after he implored her, made a strange tapestry for him.”
Rose thought of the tapestry she’d seen in the Crystal Lake Kingdom. “I thought they were supposed to curse people,” she said.
“It depends on the weaver,” Juana spoke up. “Magdust can do any amount of things, which is why it is so dangerous.”
“But too much of it can kill.”
“Yes.” Juana shook her head. “Just like anything, Rose. Too much of it is too much for many people to handle. Your father ingested too much. We were able to keep him in stasis here at the castle while the Reverend Father went searching for a way to save him.”
“When he came back with the tapestry, the king stabilized. Eventually, as I became pregnant and you were born, he was able to get rid of the tapestry entirely,” the queen said.
“He burned it?” Rose asked.
Leea nodded. “Yes. And he has been healthy for many years since then. But now, he’s getting desperate.”
“Why?”
“Why do you think?” Leea sighed. “Your eighteenth birthday is less than barely two months away, and we have nothing. We are going to lose everything when you fall asleep, Rose.”
Rose ignored her selfish slant to the curse she bore. “Isra can still rule,” Rose insisted.
“She is not a legitimate heir.” It was Leea’s turn to blush.
Rose wanted to talk about Hebert some, too, but she pressed on for her sister’s sake. “She is still your heir. You spent all those years hiding her from the public. Why can’t you hide the circumstances of her birth?”
“Don’t you think I tried?” Leea sighed. “It is a dark secret, Rose, and not one of our happier ones.”
“What happened? Tell me.”
From the look on her mother’s face, she was not sure if Leea would grant her request. But after a long moment, Leea sighed, and nodded.
“Hebert was the one who originally wanted to find the Rose Ruby for me,” Leea began. “He was young and strong and the three of us—your father, myself, and Hebert—had grown up about the same time. They knew of my father’s ridiculous demands and his various problems.”
“I’ve heard he was a harsh ruler,” Rose murmured.
“He was, and more,” Leea assured her. “He was frugal with everything, unless he wanted it, especially after my mother died. He was cruel and heartless, and he only wanted more power.”
“That’s why he wanted the Rose Ruby, I assume?”
“Yes,” Leea agreed. “The Rose Ruby is a special jewel. It has a unique power, even among the other enchanted rubies of the world. It has a power inside of it that cancels out other creatures’ magic. With that sort of power, my father knew he would be able to stand up to Magdalina, who had caused him quite a bit of trouble, too.”
Rose recalled what Felise, the charming innkeeper on Maltia, had told her before. The Rose Ruby had the power to bring down great men and great kingdoms.
“When Stefanos managed to bring it to him,” Leea said, “my father was more than happy to get rid of me.”
“Why didn’t you use the Rose Ruby on my father when he was sick from the Magdust?” Rose asked.
“There was no way to know if it would affect me—and you,” Leea admitted. “When my father died, it fell to my care, and I largely forgot about it, until after you were cursed and I fell into a deep depression.”
“I was wondering where it went,” Rose admitted.
“Well, I don’t have it anymore,” Leea said. “Before you get too excited.”
“Why?” Rose asked. “What did you do with it?”
Leea blushed. “While I was pregnant with you,” she said quietly, “your father was ill. Hebert kept me company. He was good to me. I knew he had been in love with me since we were younger, and ... ” She shook her head.
“So that’s how Isra and Ronan were born eventually,” Rose finished.
Leea nodded. “When your father recovered,” Leea said, “he was upset about everything. He arranged Hebert to marry one of our more volatile alliances, in an effort to stabilize relations as well as send his brother away with a legitimate reason.”
Rose thought about Ambassador Rolez, the brother of her uncle’s wife. “He probably made things worse, from what I’ve heard,” she said.
“We’ve all had rough lives, Rose. He fell in love with me, and I was to marry his brother, who wanted to marry me for the crown. He went mad from taking the Magdust, and I was depressed at losing you and him and everything seemed too much. Hebert was there for me, and I was unable to stop him from his obsession with me.” Leea shook her head. “Admittedly, after you were cursed, it was the only thing that seemed constant in my life.”
Rose knew she had never pitied her mother’s loss as much as she could have. In that moment, having felt the loss of Theo’s presence and her friends’ companionship, she understood more of what it was to be trapped by the darkness inside.
“When I felt better, and Stefanos was better, we worked out our problems. I lied to Hebert, telling him that Isra and Ronan were not his,” she admitted. “I feel terrible about it, but I know if he knew the truth, he would never accept you, Rose. He would try to take the throne away from Stefanos.”
“What about you?” Rose asked. “Didn’t you love him?”
“I might have, once, but I also loved you, Rose,” Leea said. “I knew enough about Hebert that I knew he would not accept you as his own, as your father accepted Isra and Ronan.”
“The king knows?” Rose was surprised. “Well, I guess that’s why he seems more reluctant to give Isra the throne.”
“You must forgive him. We are all under a lot of stress, even though we hide it. His madness has started to return,” the queen said, “and it gets worse as your birthday approaches.”
“He seems mostly normal to me,” Rose said.
“He is very careful to hide it around you, especially,” Leea said. She frowned. “And you should be grateful for it, too. Once he married me, he never had a problem being himself with me. There’s very little I did, and very little that I would ever do, to stop him.”
“Except try to poison him,” Rose pointed out.
“Once more, despite everything,” Leea said, “he understands.”
“He knows about this, too?” Rose asked, angry and more frustrated. “What is wrong with you two? Don’t you know how to have a normal marriage?”
“Rose,” Leea muttered through tight lips. “You’re young. You don’t understand. Love is complicated and marriage is even more complicated—especially if there is not enough love.”
“Knowing this, I can’t believe you wanted me to get married.”
“When it comes down to it, it’s part of the royal politics.” Leea sighed. “You know, I was actually hoping you would find someone while you were off on your journey, especially when you set out last year with Prince Philip.”
Rose briefly thought of Theo again. “Philip and I are just friends. And he has Isra now.”
“Yes, I’ve heard. I think it’s a good match.” Leea’s eyes twinkled. “I’ve heard of the Dowager’s love for parade, too, so I hope I will be able to see the wedding when it happens.”
“So what about Hebert?” Rose asked. “Why is he here?”
“I sent for him,” Leea admitted. “I had Roderick send him a message when I was imprisoned.”
When you tried to poison my father, Rose mentally corrected her.
“Why did you poison him?” Rose whispered. “I don’t understand why you would do something so terrible.”
“I told you, I was trying to protect you,” Leea said. “I thought if you had the crown, you and the kingdom would both be better off. The king is slipping into madness again, Rose. He’s just as bad as you. He barely eats, he hardly sleeps, he doesn’t try to do anything to better the kingdom. Rhone is ready for a new ruler.”
“How do you know he’s actually mad?” Rose asked. “Maybe he’s just getting old.”
“Either way, Rhone would benefit from a new ruler.”
“There’s still no reason to kill him,” Rose insisted.
“Oh, so he would just abdicate, and we would place you as a ruler, before the fulfillment of your curse?” Leea shook her head. “The kingdom would revolt. I needed a more dire reason for you to take the throne. It just seemed more merciful.”
“So then you sent for Hebert? Why?”
“I thought he would be able to help,” Leea admitted. “I see now that it was a mistake bringing him here. I thought maybe he would be able to protect Isra and Ronan, but when Isra was able to go to Einish, I realized I didn’t need him to protect them.”
“That was terrible idea,” Rose said.
“Rose, please. I was desperate. And there’s also the matter of the Rose Ruby.”
“What about it?”
“Hebert is the one who has it now.” Leea’s cheeks flushed with shame. “When he left for Aragon, I gave it to him as a parting gift.”
Rose felt her mouth drop open. “He has the Rose Ruby?”
“Yes.” Leea sighed. “I thought maybe we could use it against Magdalina. I wanted him to come and bring it. I thought if he had me, that would be enough. I thought it might be able to save you, and the throne would be secure at last.”
Rose said nothing for a long moment. She realized her head was starting to hurt, as if all of this terrible information was actually hurting her.
“Be careful around him, Rose. He doesn’t know the truth about Isra and Ronan, but even if he did, that wouldn’t stop him from hurting anyone who got in his way.”
“And he just wants you?” Rose asked.
“Me and the crown.” Leea gave her a sad smile. “It’s terrifying to think that a throne is all the reason men want to love me.”
Juana huffed. “You are beautiful, Leea. You have much to offer anyone who would be so lucky as to love you.”
Rose stood up, rubbing her temples. “Well, thank you for your time today, Mother. I need some time to process this properly. Please excuse me.”
“Fine.” Leea stood up from her chair as well. “But see that you take care of yourself, too, Rose.”
“Why?” Rose frowned at her. “Are you going to try to poison me if I don’t eat enough or get enough sleep?”
At the shocked look on her mother’s face, Rose stopped. She was about to apologize when Leea took a deep breath and said, “I suppose I deserve that. But please, Rose, don’t tell anyone what I told you,” she said. “The king knows, as I told you, but we are trying to hold off the trial as long as we can.”
“I see.” Rose headed out of the prison, closing the door behind her. There were several guards—two of Hebert’s, and two of the king’s—waiting on the other side. Rose heard Juana’s music fade into nothing as she began to head up to the castle’s keep.