Something Extraordinary

Chapter Twenty-One - Family History

Azalea left the meeting with her majesty, feeling rather pleased with herself. Despite having made no official plans of where and when the lesson would take place, she made her way to the library, confident that the Queen would catch up with her when it suited her. She was not wrong, for about an hour later, Renée stormed into the room, clearly in a sour temper. Azalea kept quiet but looked up from her book. Renée sat down across from her, not making eye contact for a moment. "Is everything alright, my Queen?"

Renée wanted to yell, to blame the girl for the source of her problems, considering she had been living in relative peace before all this.

But you weren't happy.

As much as Renée wanted to curse the little voice in her head, she knew it was right. "I'm fine." She settled on saying. Before she could process it, the girl had the audacity, or perhaps courage, to take Renée's hand in hers. Renée resisted the urge to pull away. As much as she didn't want to admit it, the physical touch calmed her down.

Renée stared blankly for several moment before making eye contact with Azalea and squeezing her hand gently. There was a silent agreement that neither of them would speak of any of this. Renée sighed softly. Even though she did not want to admit it, she trusted the girl. Something about this felt familiar to her. "I had an older brother once, Darian." Her own voice sounded strange to her, slightly choked.

Azalea observed the Queen in curiosity. Renée chuckled. "I wasn't always first in line to inherit the throne. My brother was born as heir apparent." As if reading Azalea's mind, she continued. "He's not in the royal book because mother had the pages removed. He passed when I was merely an infant. Mother...couldn't stand the loss and was barely present for years. That, of course, isn't in the book either." She turned to a pale-faced Azalea after a moment. "I know you've been reading on my family history, and I don't care. I don't know why you would want to, not like the information there is very accurate..." She muttered as an afterthought.

"Then let's make it accurate."

Renée laughed humourlessly. " You can't edit the royal book. Only the appointed scribe-"

"I didn't mean in that book." Azalea interrupted. "Let's write another book. Everyone should have the opportunity to tell their story."

"I'm a Queen, not a writer."

"Then talk to me, and I'll write it for you." Azalea said stubbornly. "I read that book...to try and learn more about you." She added in a softer voice. The two women's eyes met for a moment.

"Why?" The Queen uttered quietly.

"Is it so unbelievable to say that I care?" The proximity between the two closed slightly until the Queen ultimately pulled away.

To Azalea's astonishment, she stood up and walked over to take a seat beside her. "Father and mother were mourning Darian's death for the majority of my childhood." Renée continued, her gazed lowered to the floor. "I was never meant to rule. I found out today that the main reason that my parents were never able to accept Darian's death was because he was poisoned." Renée chuckled coldly. "Despite their attempts to keep it a secret, I know now. Growing up, I had few I could turn to. Alden was one of those people...Arthur... was another."

Azalea listened silently until now. "I understand the difficulty of the current situation for you, your majesty." She uttered sympathetically.

If it had been anyone else, Renée would have be furious at the sign of pity, but she understood it wasn't pity coming from the girl. "Alden was always the maternal type," she chuckled slightly, "if you could call it that."

Azalea felt her heart flutter at the sound of the laugh and the heat rose to her face momentarily. Luckily, the Queen appeared to be lost in her memories and not paying attention. "He was always here if I needed someone to speak to. Despite being lead general, he would find the time to tell me stories." She spoke of him fondly. "Arthur, on the other hand, was a new general in my father's army that enlisted a few years before I was born. He taught me many military skills, and took on almost a fatherly role during my childhood, before my parents' passing."

"Father and mother's deaths changed Arthur. He became quite paranoid, almost. He led his division in the army with an iron fist, always testing those he suspected for loyalty." Renée hesitated at this part, almost considering disclosing her relationship with the man, but ultimately deciding against it. It didn't matter.

Renée stopped to glance at Azalea briefly, as if wondering if she was truly interested. Azalea gently squeezed her hand in reassurance. "Alden never entirely approved of Arthur's tactics, but I assumed it was merely an occupational disagreement partially due to generational differences. Even after Alden retired from the royal army, their relationship appeared to be incredibly strained. Despite being aware of that, I never expected to see what I saw the day you summoned me."

Azalea bit her lip, understanding the situation a bit better. "You sided with Alden."

"I only intended to keep him in confinement long enough to question him. He should know that is the procedure. When he escaped, I realized there was more to the situation." Renée lowered her head. "I was on my way to speak to him when I encountered you earlier. "He said to check the royal medical records. I assumed he was referring to my parents so I went to look. I accidentally came across Darian's records. Those are one of the only remaining records of him in this palace. Mother... cleared everything out." Renée squeezed Azalea's hand, making her look up in surprise.

"This doesn't make any sense." Azalea uttered. "So he wanted you to find your brother's records?"

"God knows what he wanted me to find." Renée choked out a laugh. "For all we know, maybe he just wanted to remind me of the deaths of my parents. After all, he was always obsessed with looking for traitors in our midst. However, if I thought he changed a lot after my parents passed, I barely recognize the man now."

Azalea waited several moments before breaking the silence. "We don't know what his intentions were, your majesty. Like you said, he could merely have been referring to your parents. You mentioned he only enlisted a few years before you were born. He likely wasn't close to the royal family initially. He shouldn't have known about the circumstances of your brother's passing...unless your parents spoke of it after, but it is unlikely considering the secretive nature in which they handled it." Azalea reasoned. "Perhaps you can question him again?"

"One thing that you need to know about Arthur is that he's always been a cryptic person. If he does not wish to give you a straight answer, then you will not receive one." She sighed after a moment. "I apologize for missing our lesson."

Azalea's eye widened. "That's no matter." She didn't expect the Queen to actually apologize. "There is no harm in asking again, even if you are not certain that you will receive a straightforward answer." She added softly.

"Clearly you have the drive to learn, so I will do my best to teach." Renée made no move to address her second comment.

"But you had more important matters at hand to attend to. I understand." Azalea added, not commenting on the General Arthur situation further since she sensed that the conversation was over.

"We can begin our lesson now." Renée stood up, followed by Azalea. The two backed off several metres, still facing one another.

As Renée opened her mouth to give instruction, she was interrupted by a shrill shriek in the hallway. "Your majesty, your majesty!"

Renée froze before turning her back to Azalea and marching over to the library's main doors. Yanking them open, she was faced with a clearly distressed maid. "Yes? Speak up, girl."

"I-I went to the dungeons to bring food down to the prisoner and saw the gate open. Both of the shift change guards are dead." She fell to her knees in front of Renée.

The Queen's face paled. Azalea couldn't see her expression but she had heard the commotion. Before she could respond or even move, the Queen had disappeared in a cloud of dark-purple smoke.

----------------------------------------------———————
*edited*

Hi everyone,

Happy winter holidays! I know I have not updated for a long time. Mainly it is because I have been dealing with a lot of health issues this entire year. I am going to be going through all the chapters of this book tonight and editing, as well as moving onto the other 3 main books in the next week.

Enjoy the chapter!

Lots of Love,

-CIndy