Lily of the valley

35

Romance blossomed beneath a crescent moon, the night and the heat were like some spellbinding magic. Gustavo knew all the secrets of Maequil, and with Lily's hand in his they climbed brown stone steps and stony walls.

"Where are we going?" Asked fair Lily of her companion.

"Heaven, or as close as we can get." Gustavo had always lived in a world of poetry, he amused Lily. They climbed further and further, until they ran out of city to climb. Till they were between the earth and sky, they were lost somewhere in-between dreaming and waking. In silence they stood and took in the vastness of the land and sea. The lights of the city below were like stars, then above hailed an expanse of celestial lights. Lily was breathless. She leant on Gustavo and he wrapped his arm around her.

"How I have longed for this." Gustavo whispered against Lily's hair. He was a hopeless romantic, caught up in a dream. They knew nothing about each other, the golden light they basked in was dizzying. It was impossible to see each other clearly. Like a dying star, Lily feared their romance would burn out hot and fast. And yet it was too divine to walk away from. A most beguiling of prisons.

When they kissed it was like mountains crashing together then breaking apart. They embraced with all the passion and agony of two souls drawn together and pulled apart.

Fathoms below, in the castle, Queen Thea of the canyon lands paced. Katherine sat in an armchair and watched the Queen's compulsive movements. Agathe lurked in the shadows, watching her Queen's tension bubble and boil.

"What did you say to him?" Thea interrogated the mountain princess.

"I told him about the spider Queen." Thea furrowed her brows and her pacing quickened. "He seemed interested, asked all about her."

"I'm sure he was, that prince is a warhorse. You must be more careful not to provoke him. Not till it's time." The paused her incessant movement for a moment and then continued to pace. "What else, what else?" The Queen of sunlight twisted her rings and pulled at her necklace.

"I told him I knew we did not wish to marry each other, and asked if we could be friends." Thea stopped her walking and turned to look at the little princess; she seethed.

"You what?" The Queen's cheeks were flushed and her voice was slightly raised, she held onto her temper well. Thea bit her tongue to distract from the sharp stress of not being in control. 

"He seemed to warm to me then, we have an alliance now." Thea shook her head in despair.

"You have lost your power over him now. He will never see you as his true wife." Thea's frustration was clear, Katherine's was muted. Agathe stepped from the shadows to speak before the Queen of sunlight could grow more heated.

"Your majesty; perhaps an alliance in friendship could be stronger still, do not be so quick to doubt the little princess. She is prophesied for a reason." The Queen took a deep breath and turned to her elegant advisor. From all the handmaidens Thea possessed and all the noblewomen across the land, Agathe alone dared to speak the truth to the Queen.

"You are wise sweet Agathe, besides, now we have no choice but to accept this change of plan." Queen Thea sunk into a silken chaise lounge and began to smoke dried tobacco rolled up in paper, the scent wafted around the room. To Katherine it was putrid and thick. The flower of the mountain had begun to feel constricted by the Queen, her desperate vying for control over the situation that belonged to Katherine was tiresome. However Katherine knew that the task would be impossible without the Queen's scheming, so she allowed it to run on.

"What now?" Katherine asked.

"You must be wed. Usually there would be a period of courting but we do not have time for that; tomorrow I will speak to Maequil's King and begin wedding planning." Thea took another drag and watched the smoke curl and dance towards the ceiling.

"And after the wedding?" Katherine pushed. The Queen tapped the ash from the end of her cigarette into a glass bowl.

"We provoke Isolde. Through war the kingdoms will be united." Katherine was aghast, Thea's words horrified her.

"No." Was all she could muster. It felt as though she had passed from the grips of one warmonger to another. It was a fierce 'no', there was strength in her voice. Queen Thea looked disappointed and irked.

"You can't end a war without winning that war." Thea responded coldly.

"People will die. You cannot gain peace through battle. We should reunite the council of King's without bloodshed." They kept their tones neutral and their voices steady; they were true diplomats.

"Then what do you suggest will happen when she turns her armies on us?"

"There has to be another way." Katherine was quietly exasperated.

"What other way?" Thea crossed her legs after uttering her question. Katherine paused a second to think, what could stay the spider queen?

"We could offer her something." Katherine released her thoughts out into the room.

"What does she want more than power?" Queen Thea was sceptical, Lady Agathe listened with tense curiosity.

"Isolation. We allow her to keep her lands and to live undisturbed, and in return she ceases invading dwarven land." Katherine suggested to the Queen and elf. Agathe shook her head with melancholic disappointment for she too wished to avoid war. Thea was surprised by Katherine's naivety.

"Clearly you have never felt the hunger for power little princess. They will not stop until there has been a winner." Thea counselled the flower of the mountain, that hunger had long plagued Thea's own life.

"I will not have a war in my name. We will find another way." Katherine commanded, her tone was steely and authoritative; she was growing into her role day by day. Katherine was unaware of the armies marching to stand by her side, called upon by the Queen of sunlight. The cogs were already in motion, war was at their gates.

The meeting was adjourned and they returned to their apartments to sleep, Lily's absence was heavy in Katherine's bedchambers. The room was cool and humid, the thick purple pull of sleep wrapped itself around the princess. Katherine lay upon her bed and stared up through the open window, the iridescent glow of the moon illuminated the bedsheets and Katherine's skin. The lady of the mountain watched the moon's endless journey across the great black sky until a blood red sunrise blossomed. An omen.