It had been over a month since Azalea had first arrived. To her shock, she had actually started feeling like she was settling in. Considering that she had absolutely no idea how long she would be here for, that was good news.
Renée had been giving her lessons on how to handle her magic. Although they initially just worked on control, the queen had relented and taught her some other things too. As simple as Renée made them seem, Azalea was still having trouble catching on. She was frustrated to say the least. Azalea had kept her word and only practiced under the supervision of the queen, but this meant that she could get no practice in between sessions, and every time that they did practice together, she had managed to do something dumb. Azalea also didn't want to disturb the Queen in any way, but due to the nature of the Queen's duties, their lessons never followed a schedule.
Renée, on the other hand, was finding it quite interesting to observe the girl as she attempted the spells. As much as she tried to deny it, she was slowly opening up to the girl. Dare she even say that she enjoyed her presence? She hadn't given up on trying to figure out the origins of the girl's magic, but so far she had been satisfied that they weren't related.
Despite her initial attempts to vehemently deny the attraction between her and the girl, she settled for spending time with her in their lessons. The girl was unskilled though. It was like attempting to teach a frisky baby rabbit to do tricks. Several times in, she wasn't sure if she wanted to grab Azalea by her shoulders and shake her or hold her in her arms. The second thought was often ruled out rather quickly though.
"You're not focusing on the runes."
Azalea turned to face Renée. "I'm concentrating as hard as I can..." she protested, feeling drained from the last attempts.
"It's a simple summoning spell." Renée spoke with the slightest hint of sarcasm which irked Azalea just a bit more.
"Like I said, I'm concentrating as hard as I can." Azalea ground out in obvious frustration.
Renée uncrossed her arms and stood up from where she had been seated on the couch. "You're focusing on your hand movements, not the runes, and I can sense your hesitation from here. What did I say?" She quipped.
"Be confident." Azalea groaned.
"Then try again. Properly this time."
Azalea closed her eyes for a second to concentrate on the rune, visualizing the symbol and letting the power fill her. Then, she traced the rune in the air. There was a whooshing sound and something flew into her outstretched hand. When she opened her eyes and saw what it was, she flinched automatically before turning to face the queen with a sheepishly expression.
Renée looked none too amused as one of her shoes dangled from Azalea's hands. "Just what were you trying to summon??"
Azalea blushed furiously and handed the shoe back, to which, Renée quickly slipped on. "I-I don't know. I was just focusing on the rune and trying to perform the spell. I didn't really focus on a target."
Renée sighed in exasperation. It was strange how the girl could make her feel, even if it wasn't always positive feelings. "The first thing I instructed you was to always focus on a target. When you don't, that's how magic gets out of control!"
Azalea balled up her fists in frustration, at the situation and herself. She was trying as hard as she could. "I'm sorry that magic doesn't come naturally to everyone, your highness." She grumbled.
Renée's eyebrows shot way up high on her forehead. "Excuse me??"
Azalea froze. She had let down her guard around the queen tremendously in the past weeks but it would do her good to remember that they were not friends.
When Azalea failed to respond, Renée quickly closed the distance until they were inches apart. "I told you to repeat that." She said quietly, eyeing the smaller girl intensely as she reached her hand out and touched the collar around the girl's neck. It became a habit whenever she was attempting to regain control of the situation.
Azalea gulped nervously and tried to back up, but Renée had basically cornered her into a wall. Azalea clenched her hands up again, feeling quite irritated at the queen's seemingly bipolar nature. "I said, I'm sorry magic doesn't come natur-"
Three things happened next, in that specific order:
Renée pressed her lips to Azalea's instinctively without even thinking, channeling her own frustration out of the conflicting feelings this girl brought.
A vase across the room smashed.
There was a knock on the door.
Promptly, both women jumped apart. Azalea's heart was beating out of her chest and her hands shook nervously. She didn't make eye contact with the queen as Renée took several steps back. She cleared her throat before turning to the door. "Yes?"
The door opened and Rosalie, the queen's personal maid, appeared. She bowed to Renée before straightening herself and speaking. "Your majesty. There is an urgent matter. General Alden has sent me to say that he must speak to you immediately in the East Wing."
Renée arched an eyebrow in interest. "Oh? I shall be right there. You may leave now." Rosalie bowed again before exiting the room.
Renée turned back to face the speechless Azalea who was staring at the shattered glass vase. After a few seconds: "Did I...."
"Indeed." The coldness had returned to the queen's voice and there was no mention of the kiss. "That is a priceless antique, which is precisely why you must learn to control your magic."
"But you can mend it in a heartbeat, can you not?" Azalea responded, feeling slightly irked again. It wasn't her fault that she had lost control of her emotions upon being kissed out of nowhere. Of course she did not mention that to Renée.
"I could." Renée agreed. "But why should I when this can be a learning experience? Clean up this mess and study a mending spell. We will practice next time until you fix it." With that last word, Renée turned and exited the room, leaving behind a flabbergasted Azalea.
~~~~
Renée made it to the East Wing of the palace, knowing full well something was up. This area of the palace was quite isolated and rarely did anyone come here aside from the servants who cleaned it. There was a reason for that - the area nearby had been the late King and Queen's quarters.
Renée wanted to be annoyed that Alden still hadn't arrived after she had, but it was near impossible for her to be irritated at the man who had practically raised her. Alden arrived shortly after, looking quite troubled.
Renée turned to face him. "Is everything quite alright?" Unlike everyone else, she never had to bother hiding her emotions from Alden.
Alden swiped at his forehead with a handkerchief. "We found him."
"What?" Renée said in confusion.
"Arthur. He was hiding near the southern borders when we got to him. He's in the cells now, awaiting your verdict."
Renée froze, her eyes staring perfectly forwards. She was sure that Alden probably expected her to be relieved but she was far from it. As much as she didn't want to admit, she had been feeling for more relaxed with the ex-general out of the picture. A part of her truly hoped that he would never be found and their paths would not cross again. He knew too much about her past and he knew exactly how to push her buttons. Although Alden had always been around to steer her away from a truly dark path, she had been under Arthur's influence for far too long. There were family secrets in the Morgan line that even her most trusted advisor didn't know. Renée only knew some of it because she had always been a curious child and stuck her nose in business that she would probably have been better off not knowing.
The thought of execution ran through her mind briefly. She would be rid of the man's influence forever. The thought left her mind as quick as it had appeared. She couldn't. Despite everything, she couldn't bring herself to truly sever any bonds with Arthur as he had served as a father figure to her as well growing up.
Finally, she took in a deep breath and turned to face Alden. "Thank you. Looks like he finally slipped up. I will go to deal with him promptly."
Alden hesitated before reaching out to touch Renée's shoulder. "Be safe. He's locked up, but take guards with you."
Renée nodded, even though she knew she would be having this conversation alone. She turned and left the room but didn't go straight to the dungeons. She paced in circles for nearly twenty minutes before gathering the courage to go.
As she descended the stairs to the cells, she relieved all the guards of their duties until she was finished. As expected, no one questioned her. She walked down the rickety old steps, struggling to keep her composure.
Once she finally made it down and found her way to the innermost isolated cell, she stood in silence and examined the state of the man in there: shabby clothes, messy hair, sullen face, yet the glint in his eyes hadn't dulled. A victorious smile appeared on his face as he made eye contact with the queen. "I've been wondering when you were going to come see me...my dearest niece."
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*edited*
😶😶
Well I hope that was unexpected.
-Cindy