The Shadow Queen

Fathers and Sons

Only one Druid entered the Throne Room, Alozie walked in front of the pale faced man, his head slightly facing the floor he could still not shake the feelings of guilt that were flooding through his body.  Every so often his mind would remind him how it felt to hold the mermaid sword in his hand, the weight of it not just of the sword but of the expectance from Adeline, she had trusted him.

She trusted me

In that moment, as his mind circled around the words, it gave him a gift, the sound it made when the mermaid sword plunged into Adeline's chest. 

My friend.

Alozie's mouth was dry. 

"Your Grace, may I present, Tomas Antonio," said Alozie.

Tomas glanced at Alozie and an indignant smirk ran across his eyes and mouth, he was a small, chubby man with wirey brown hair that looked as though his hands were constantly being dragged through it. He was covered with black markings across skin and stood in front of Francis in a stance that gave the King and those around him the impression that he did not recognise his authority. Alozie would not meet his gaze a small line appeared between Tomas's eyebrows before his gaze shifted back to the King and he stepped forward.

"I can introduce myself, if my son will not announce me properly," Said Tomas.

Francis raised his eyesbrows but made no remark. 

"I am Tomas Antonio, Regent of the Druids in France,"

Francis smirked. 

"Are you now, just France?" Francis barely moved neither of his arms moved from the arms of this throne. Alozie knew the expression that he wore, he was looking at his father as though he was nothing more than a bug, a bug that wasn't even worth squashing. 

Alozie seemed to shrink against the wall where he was standing, Francis had heard of Tomas of course,  leader of the Druids and he knew very well that he was Alozie's father. But he had never seen him, let alone meet the man, Alozie and Tomas had been at odds for years so there was always very little chance of him coming to the castle, on any other day it would have been a curiosity to meet the man.

But like it or not here he stood, and he was happy about it too, the chaos that had been brought upon Francis, on Adeline it gave him joy. Being so close to other Druids made Alozie feel a little sick, their magic thrummed through his body, he could feel his people were close by and everything he had been running from came rushing back. He pushed his body harder against the wall to steady himself. He breathed in and out deliberately calming his senses back into the room.

King Francis remained in his Throne, trying not to look surprised that Alozie who seemed to have fallen from Olympus it's self be anything to do with this... he gazed down at the mad looking Druid who stood before him and waved him forward slightly with one finger.

"You summoned me Your Grace," said Tomas.

Francis shifted in his throne, he wanted to hurl forward and grab the man by the neck until he brought Adeline back to him, but he stayed still, calm his blue eyes like glass. 

"Where is my wife, where is the Queen of France?" Said Francis.

Tomas smiled and stepped towards the King. 

"We had wondered when we would get the call," said Tomas.

"We wondered when the Shadow would finally do her duty and travel once more, it is imperative the Vale stays open, or we will all burn, the worlds will die and we will be nothing but ash and fire,"

Tomas turned to look at Alozie. 

"What do they say son? If the Vale were to close?"

Alozie could feeling Francis' blue eyes burning into him. 

"Ash and fire, bone and rubble."

Francis continued to sit frozen on his throne, frozen like marble statue of King not a real living breathing man. 

Oh Addy, what have we done?

Adeline

It had a few days since Adeline had returned to this world, she had just about managed to hold down her job at the shop but didn't get paid for another week. She had nowhere to live and no money for food or clothes, she couldn't keep wearing Connie's gym clothes, luckily she hadn't been on shift with Connie so she hadn't been able to ask questions. 

Every night when she finished her shift she would make her way to a tunnel where the other homeless people seemed to make camp for the night. She met a middle aged woman named Charlie, or at least she had said her name was Charlie, her grey hair mattered to her scalp and dirt smudged across her weathered skin.

"You really got no place to go?" Charlie looked at Adeline with concern in her big blue eyes that still shone out despite her appearance. 

Adeline had just stared blankly at her. She had nowhere to go, there was no one, she can't have belonged to anyone if no one had come looking for her. The thought of having nothing and no one sometimes caught her off guard, she could be at work serving a customer or clearing up the shop after a busy day and something in her gut  remind her that she was totally alone. 

"Cause if you just had a fight with you parents or an argument with some boy, I'm telling you go home run as fast as you can back home, this is no life for a girl like you," Charlie looked Adeline up and down as if making some kind of silent assessment.

Adeline still said nothing, what parents, what boyfriend? Her mind was a blank hole and she reminded herself for the thousandth time. No one had looked for her, if she were to get her memories back what difference would it make? Her life would probably be the same, worse even. 

Charlie grabbed her hands and made a disapproving 'tsk' sound "those hands aint' done a days work in their lives," Charlie ran her hand over the palm, they were soft as butter, she hadn't seen anything like it, not living this life, she gave the hand back to Adeline.

 "At night you lie behind me, don't want any of those men seeing you and getting ideas, and keep ya hood up" she said Charlie just nodded as if that was it, conversation done. Every evening Adeline returned from work to the tunnel where Charlie was waiting for her.

"Here I got you something," Charlie pulled four t shirts  in a variation in colours and sizes "you stole these?" Said Adeline she wasn't hiding the shock well in her eyes.

Charlie rolled her eyes, she was used to Adeline now and the airs she sometimes put on "Don't be such a princess about it, you need fresh clothes don't ya?" She did need clothes other wise people at work would start to notice.

Adeline gave the old woman a grateful smile and tried her best not to pass judgement on her own clothes that were full of holes and covered in miscellaneous stains.

"Kid you wash in public toilets, brush your teeth at work and have been making the same loaf of bread last three days, someone will notice if you don't change your shirt," Charlie sighed.

Adeline gnawed on the stale bread she had stashed in the tunnel, she kept it with Charlie's belongings as she still didn't have a bag to keep her things in, her things consisted of her bread, any money passers by threw at her and Charlie while they slept, which as ashamed as it made her feel had been invaluable.  It had bought her the bread and would buy her next meal until she got paid. 

Adeline curled up behind Charlie pushing her body against the hard brick tunnel wall and tried to sleep, she wondered if when she woke in the morning any flicker of who she was would have entered her mind, but morning came and Adeline was just as empty as the night before except for a new subtle ache which had made its home in her chest.