Fallen Queen

Chapter 32 - Present

Amelia took a deep breath. She straightened her back and lifted her chin while she headed towards the middle of the room. She felt everyone staring at her, but she ignored their mocking glances. She was here to bring them all down. She was here to kill the tyrant. She was here with a plan and she would do everything she could to make it work.

"I'll count the soldiers and where they stand. Just dance and sing." Thomas spoke softly and Amelia nodded, almost invisibly for everyone else in the room.

She started humming and then she started singing. She had thought for a moment about singing a song that was actually forbidden, but then she had decided that that would be too much of a risk. She had therefore picked a song that was safe, that maybe even the tyrant would like. Her feet started to follow the rhythm. Her new dress was flowing around her legs while she twirled around. And while she sang and dance, everyone felt silent.

"At least you can sing and dance well." The tyrant was the first one to clap his hands while Amelia had bent her head so it almost touched the marble floor. "The people in this kingdom must have hated you and Thomas a lot if they don't pay more for this." He walked towards her again. His eyes stared at the mask she was wearing. "I would pay a lot to be able to touch you."

Amelia wanted to look up. She wanted to run towards him so the protection spell of Thomas could do the damage it should do. She wanted to throw up. She wanted to forget all the horrible thoughts and visions that were going through her mind right now. But she couldn't. Instead she smiled. "Can you help me to get rid of the mask and the spell keeping me from being touched?" She made her voice sound as soft as possible and she hoped that everyone would think that the little tremble was because of her nervousness.

"No." The tyrant shook his head. "The prince might have had magic, but I only have weapons, And all those weapons are useless against you." He circled around her once more. "But I can save your life, if you want?" He cocked his head and Amelia dared to move her head a little.

"Really?" She sounded like a weak little girl. A weak little girl that needed help from the biggest monster she had ever met.

"I could offer you a job. You can work for me. You can dance for me. You can sing for me." He paused. "I can't offer you a place in this castle. The people might wonder why I would do so. They might start to distrust me as much as they've distrusted you."

"They don't distrust us." Thomas hissed between his teeth in the back of Amelia's mind. His anger was racing through her veins. Combined with hers it could be lethal. It would be lethal. "They are afraid of him. They don't want to be with us, because they think he will kill them for wanting it."

Amelia didn't doubt for a second that the tyrant would kill them.

After all, he had killed everyone in the castle who had not been on his side. He had killed her parents, he had killed all the guards.

She was still surprised that he had let a few members of the staff live. She didn't want to think about the price they had paid for it. She didn't want to think about the look in the nurse's eyes when she had seen Amelia again, when she had seen that she was still alive.

"I could pay you a golden coin a day or I could give you food and clothing. You can pick." The tyrant stood still in front of her. He had his hands folded behind his back. He was wearing something that look liked a uniform, but wasn't entirely. He was slim, even handsome if one could forget for a moment what kind of person he was. He had piercing blue eyes and dark black hair.

"I would like the food and clothing please." Amelia spoke softly and she felt how the boy inside her mind froze.

"You're not taking this job, are you?" He whispered, even though no one could hear him, not even when he would shout. "You were going here once to see how the castle looked like and where we could strike. You're not going in here again."

"You prefer dying?" Amelia raised her eyebrows and she bent her head quickly to hide the gesture for everyone who was looking at her. "If we want to win this fight we have to be strong and healthy. We can't do this if we have to eat bread that's already covered in mold when we buy it. We can't do this if we're constantly hungry." Amelia paused for a moment. "He gives us all we need to destroy him and he doesn't even know."

"That's settled then. I won't need you every day, but sir Ward will let you know when there is another festivity where I would like your appearance." The tyrant walked back to the table and sat down, gesturing Ward to step forward. "Get her out of here and give her a fresh bread and some meat." He started eating without giving Amelia one more second of his attention.

"This way." Ward couldn't grab her arm like he normally would have done, but his voice made clear that she shouldn't discuss with him, that she shouldn't do anything stupid now. "My brother will bring you home safely. You will hear from me when we need you again. Where can we reach you?"

Amelia narrowed her eyes. She knew that he was trying to figure out where she was living, but instead she curled her lips up. "I'm at the market square every day. Where you found me." She refused to give up any information that could make this whole adventure more dangerous than it already was.

"Where do you live?" Ward opened the door towards the hallway. He ordered a few guards to get the bread and the meat and he seemed to shift his weight from one leg to the other impatiently while Amelia refused to answer and his soliders didn't seem to come back immediately.

"Everywhere and nowhere." Amelia shrugged her shoulders. She wondered what the people saw when they passed her parents' house. She wondered what soldiers who came looking there saw.

Thomas had told her about the spell he had placed on the house. He had just not told her what kind of spell it had been. "You don't want to know." He spoke softly, but Amelia shook her head a little.

"It's a pity a fire destroyed your parents' home." Ward didn't mean a word of what he was saying and Amelia turned her head towards him.

"Yes, it's a pity." Amelia took a deep breath. "Tonight you show me what it looks like." She made sure the thought reached Thomas and she clenched her fists when the soldiers came back with the food. She knew that everyone thought she was alone, but she was still only getting food for a few days. She hoped it meant that the tyrant would let her come back soon. And she hoped they would have a big enough army soon to end his life.

"We will." Thomas assured her. "And I will be the one to do it."