-Caioliss-
I spin around when I hear the crunch of someone stepping on a leaf. No one emerges from the darkness, but the wind I summon tells me of a fey. I push between Jorgen and Kollek and call into the night, "Show yourself! I can scent you on the wind." We wait in silence, and just as I'm about to speak again, a figure steps forward.
"Your highness."
I squint, confused. " Step forward, into the light. And don't call me that. I may be related to the queen, but I'm no princess." I look at Jorgen and Kollek. Both grip their weapons. I turn back to the fey and look at his features. A memory surfaces from the back of my mind, and I say, "You're one of her majesty's advisors."
"Her most trusted advisor, if I may say so, your highness."
Kollek pipes up. "Who are ye'? And what d'you want with us?"
A look of distaste crosses the councilman's face. "I want.... nothing with you. My words are for the princess."
My temper flares. "I am not a princess! And don't talk to them like that! How would you like it if people treated you like you were dirt?"
I can see the disbelief on their faces out of the corner of my eye.
He sniffs. "Yes, of course, your highness." I'm about to yell at him again, but he holds up a hand and goes on. "I think my title for you is more accurate than you think, my lady." He pulls a small box out of his jacket and tosses it to me.
Jorgen looks at it curiously. "What is that?"
I open it in answer. Turning it to the light, I peer into it. The glint of a ruby meets my eye. I grip the small band and pull it out.
My breath catches. "Tell Maeve to take her mind games somewhere else."
Kollek approaches from my other side. "Why's that ring so important?"
I sigh. "It's the ring of state. A monarch gives it to their heir."
The faerie nods. "It's not a mind game. You are the rightful heir." My knees wobble, and I take a step back.
"How the bloody hell am I the heir to the crown?! I'm part human, for Niamh's sake!"
He snorts. "Human? Less than a drop. You're already nearly as powerful as Maeve was at your age. You call yourself human?"
I grip my hair. "You're lying! You have to be. What about Aodhan! Isn't he next in line?"
"He doesn't have the royal blood. Lady Caioliss, you must accept that you are the missing princess."
I'm sure that my heart stops. I open my mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. Jorgen looks at me, worried. "Are you-"
I nod. "I'm fine." I gulp air as my lungs start working again. "Tell me that you didn't just name me as Mab's... descendant."
He shrugs. "Perhaps I did."
"Who's Mab?" Kollek looks confused.
"Maeve's sister. She disappeared centuries ago. She... would have been next in line for the throne, but-"
The councilman nods. "Exactly. And therefore, you should be queen."
A thought flashes into my mind, and I smile smugly. "Then I abdicate the throne to Maeve. There."
The councilman snorts. "Doesn't work like that, princess. Maeve isn't declaring you to be queen- she wants you as queen after she passes on."
"What's so bad about being queen, after all?" Jorgen studies my face.
I flinch. "All of Maeve's power will be passed on to me at my coronation." If I am ever crowned. "One of her... powers... is that she never regrets anything."
"Some people would say that that is a gift, my lady."
"How is that a gift?! If you never regret anything, then you can never learn from your mistakes! And you could do anything- to anyone- and go on happily! That power turns you into a monster!"
"A queen with a conscience is no good to Isenor, your-"
"No. You are going to leave. Even if I was ready to give up my conscience in exchange for the throne, I will not complete the task she has assigned for me!"
Quick as a snake, the councilman darts forward and pushes the ring onto my middle finger. It shimmers, and the ruby shifts into a diamond."It is done. You will complete the task, before your coronation, which is to be in a month."
Tears stream down my face. "And if I don't?"
"You will. By your leave, your highness-" And he disappears.
Screeching, I hurl a bolt of wind at the nearest thing I can find- a rock. It clatters down the hillside, disturbing other rocks along the way.
Both Jorgen and Kollek stare at me. "There must be a way around losing your humanity," Jorgen offers.
"Even if there is, I can't complete the task Maeve has set for me."
"It seems as though your queen would like you to succeed. Why declare you her heir if she wishes you to die?" Kollek is trying to reason with me. Perfect. An insane person is trying to reason with me. "It may seem impossible now, but such tests only improve-"
I hiss. "You don't understand. My task is to take your precious feather from you and then kill you!" They stare at me with identical dumbfounded expressions. "I. Can't. Do. It." Before I lose control, I run down the hillside, away from them, and glamour myself into a sparrow.
Good luck finding me now, Maeve.
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