Queensbride

Chapter One - "In Which the Queen sees a Mouse"

One could almost call them the ghosts of the palace, for most no one bothered to notice they existed save for when something went wrong; then it was their error by default. The position of scullery maid was not one to be envied, almost level with slavery and for all accounts the same, but not to Phi. Phi wasn't very worldly or sought for very much, and was easily satisfied to live in her tiny world of service.

She was a little thing with a mop of white-blond hair and large gray eyes, almost childlike in appearance, though no one was quite sure how old she was. She seemed a child, flittering from one task to the next with almost endless energy, cheery to those who gave her a moment, shy to most everyone else. There was something greater hidden there that no one could make out, but it was of no real consequence. The girl was by and large as ignored as all the rest of her kind.

At the moment she was not in the cellar kitchens, or the chicken houses, or any of the many other freezing places she usually haunted. In fact, she felt quite sure she was forbidden to be where she was now, hidden in the shadows of an alcove above the royal throne room. Below her the light of jeweled chandeliers cast luminous impressions against the tapestries behind them or fell to dance upon the marble floor and disappear into the deep red carpet that lead to the throne.

Yet all this paled in comparison to the true object of the girl’s fascination.

“Sidja…” she breathed in awe, her aches and cold momentarily forgotten as she watched the Queen below. This was for whom it was all for, this mythical creature she had long adored yet never met, catching only the barest of glimpses of Her as the girl served far below Her feet. Phi knew what she was doing was ridiculously dangerous, she knew she was insane for being there, longing for the one person furthest from her grasp.

And yet... She was so very beautiful...

The White Queen was a tall woman with a sharp-cut figure and piercing eyes that mirrored the night itself. The rest of Her might have been hewn from a solid block of marble; just as pale and flawless, as cold and unyielding, Her namesake gained as much by Her nature as it was of the often snow-covered lands She ruled.

Suddenly the Queen broke from Her conversation and seemed to look straight up at the girl. Phi stifled a gasp and shrank back in the darkness. Her heart pounded in terror.

‘Did She see me?’

There was no way for her to be sure, but she was too scared risk another glance and she disappeared into the shadows. 

*****

A nobleman turned his head in the direction of the Queen’s, as did several others of Her entourage.

“Something...there, Your Highness?”

The Queen narrowed Her eyes at the spot from whence the girl had left, and a coy smile played upon Her lips.

“No. I thought I heard something, but it was probably just a mouse. My how they do wander...”

A certain spark came to Her eye but when She turned back it was gone, the incident dismissed, leaving Her courtiers to wonder.