Water {Elements of Power 2}

Chapter 22: Jasmine

I watched my reflection carefully in the mirror as I brushed my hair, trying to work out if I looked as different as I felt.

Brae had kissed me! He had wrapped me in his arms and pressed his lips to mine and he hadn't pulled away, or apologised afterwards, or told me that it had been a mistake.

I don't think I had ever felt so happy, so light, so overjoyed. My reflection grinned back at me in the mirror; I looked blissfully happy. I didn't even mind how purple my hair now was; all I could think about was Brae running his hands through it as he kissed me. He kissed me! I giggled.

My happiness was interrupted by a knock at the door and my heart beat a little faster in my chest; that must be Brae.

"Come in!" I called happily, putting my brush down on the table.

As I turned to face the door, I was shocked to see not Brae standing in the doorway, but Queen Aurelia.

"Your Majesty! Please, come in. How can I help you?"

She wavered for a moment before coming in and closing the door firmly behind her. She looked pale and anxious in a dress of flowing grey silk rather than her usual regalia. She looked stunning, but younger—more vulnerable. The single streak of blue which shot through her hair seemed to glow brightly, drawing out the impossible cerulean of her eyes, which were rimmed in red and full of tears.

"Your Majesty? Can I get you anything? Do you need one of your attendants?"

She shook her head and I didn't know what to suggest next. What was she doing in my room?

"I need to speak to you, Jasmine. It... It's important. You might hate me by the end of it, but you need to hear what I have to say, all the way through."

"Hate you? Queen Aurelia, I don't understand."

She was pacing anxiously up and down my room. "I haven't been honest with you... When I told you I would look for your parents... I already knew... Oh, I had better start at the beginning.

"I was only nineteen when I came to the throne. It was never even supposed to be mine; I had an older brother, Evander, who was killed, when I was fifteen, in an accident on a trip to the Western Isles. My father died four years later of sickness. My mother was already gone; she died in childbirth when I was five, taking my stillborn brother with her.

"So I was nineteen, alone, grieving and scared, yet after a year, I had grown accustomed to my new life. The Brizans both pitied and admired me and I was surrounded by a strong team of advisors who helped me to make decisions.

"Then the Helians commenced their Occupation. I can remember being woken that night by screams from around the castle. My ladies-in-waiting rushed from their chamber into my own room, crying inconsolably about Helians and fire. Before we even had the chance to shut and lock the door, they had burst in on us: the four Protectors and their General, Emmerich LeMarc.

"Licia, my oldest friend and the only Protector among my ladies, fought back. She hit them with the strongest burst of water she had. There was a flash of fire. It filled the room with all-consuming heat. When the smoke finally cleared, she—she was dead. Her life was gone in a flare of flames.

"There was no question of fighting back after that. They were too strong. They didn't even bother restraining us; they knew there was nothing we could do. Emmerich looked at me, his eyes blazing, and said: 'You will surrender the Realm to us formally at eleven. You will remain in your room until then; someone will come and collect you.'

"And that was all. They turned and left, locking the door as they went.

"The intervening hours were torturous. We could see smoke and flames from the window. My Realm, so full of hope and promise, and hardworking, honest people, was gone in a single night.