TCoLG: The Royal Sisters. Chapter 2 The Chronicles of Lowerground – The Royal Sisters Chapter Two – The Black Queen Midnight Word Count – 4089 In which there is an argument.
Age of Darkness 4116 - 8th Day of Thawing In a large rectangular room, chairs lined the long the grey stone walls leaving no space for decoration of ether painted stone or hanging drape; the third wall was a large pair of doors made of dark and valuable wood, and opposite that, against the fourth wall, was one stone throne. It was engraved with images of war framed in twisting vines, and sheathed in the left arm rest was a sword, the hilt of which was shaped like a wolf’s head. Its hand and half long handle was covered first in black leather, then green and purple cloth: the colours of royalty, death, and magic. The blade was called Wolves Bane.
On that throne sat a young black adult vixen. The Black Queen Midnight was slender and fragile-looking in the seat of her ancestors’ Wolves Bane, sleeping under her arm, unaware of Tasha's organised resistance growing in her city. This was the feared Black Queen Midnight, and she knew little of what happened outside the palace walls. Her advisor, and the royal council, saw to that- of course the Queen wasn’t meant to know that, but despite their best efforts their queen’s ice blue eyes saw enough to know that she was being used as a tool. She just couldn’t see a way out.
Hidden behind the stone throne, out of sight of the advisors and other council members, was a young fox cub. She had white and red streaked hair; the fur on the rest of her body was red, turning orange on her hands and feet, and white on her muzzle.
She wore blue culottes and a blue tunic, over which she wore a purple knit cardigan. The cardigan was held closed by a brooch near the collar. The brooch held a pink stone which was glowing slightly.
The council was arguing over the new taxation rise on food. They hadn’t raised the tax for the money, but to prevent so much food being bought, because simply, There wasn’t enough to go around. The underground city was running out.
The Black Queen muttered some words under her breath, lips barely moving, and only the cub behind her heard.
The cub repeated the words, whispering them to the pink stone that glowed slightly, as more of the magic within was drawn upon to make her words louder, and to make it sound like a male voice, coming from the direction of the crowded seats.
“Ration the food instead of Taxation!”
The stone glowed again and another voice was heard, from another area of the council room.
“Use the money in the treasury to pay for new growing caverns!”
The council members looked around, trying to find those who had spoken up. A few of the more highly ranked members frowned at the queen.
The Queen’s face showed nothing but boredom. The cub tried to make herself appear even smaller than she already was, using the pink magestone to ensure that no one saw her.
The chief royal advisor, a heron, was glaring at the Black Queen even after other councilors started shouting answers to the questions.
“Rationing will panic the population!”
“How can we start new growing caverns without the miners’ guild?”
Finally, the advisor looked away, calling the meeting to an end. People started slowly filing out. The Black Queen muttered under her breath as the cub lifted a trap door behind the throne, and disappeared down a secret passageway, closing the door after her.
The last thing the little Vixen heard was the click of the heron claws as he walked up to the throne.
A few hours after the Council Meeting, the Black Queen entered the little vixen’s room; the room of a young princess that no one outside the palace knew existed.
“Inia, I don’t want you sneaking into the council hearings anymore.” The secret princess’ head snapped away from the window she had been gazing out of, to stare at her sister.
“What?” Inia blinked. “Why? You need me there! Midnight, no one there ever listens to you!”
“They don’t listen to your phantom voices either!” Midnight snapped back. “Please, Inia, you were almost seen. Just because that Sense magestone Tasha gave you lets you pull a few tricks...”
Midnight bit her lip and forced herself to keep her tone down. She knelt next to the bed, smoothing a strand of red and white hair from her watery blue eyes.
“Inia, it’s just not worth the risk. I don’t want you to get found out, and I don’t want you to get hurt. Do you have any idea what might happen to you if they know that you’ve been interfering with the meetings?”
“But…” Inia glared at her sister. “I’m helping you. You need all the help you can-.”
Midnight stood up. “It’s not worth the risk. And that’s the last I’ll hear of it.”
Midnight walked to the door to leave.
“But...”
Her black hand tightened on the door handle.
“Inia please.”
“I want to help!”
“It is not worth it!” Midnight shouted. “Why won’t you listen to me!?”
Midnight slammed the door and fell back against it. She had not meant to shout. The door jerked slightly as the queen heard and felt something being thrown against the door, and the sound of crying.
Midnight wasn’t sure if Inia was crying, but she knew that she was. She moved her hand up to brush the tears away, but hissed and brought her other hand up to her shoulder instead.
Looking up, she saw the tall elegant heron walking down the corridor. Only a back eye marred his grace, and that was mostly hidden by his white feathers.
“I do hope that there will be no more rogue comments from the seats.”
“There won’t be.”
The heron nodded. “Good. And how is your young sister? I would hate for anything to happen to her.”
Midnight’s icy eyes pinned the heron.
“Just as I would hate for any harm to befall you, my advisor. After all, bird bones are so difficult to splint correctly, aren’t they? And they do take such a long time to heal.”
The heron glared back at the young black fox before stalking away. Midnight growled at the retreating figure.
“Someday heron, one day.”
She turned and walked in the other direction.
*****
The back and white Cat, Viril of the hunters’ clan, gaped in shock as the Uigat’o removed the hood of her cloak, revealing her white face and green eyes.
“There’s only one white fox living in the city.” Viril said, his ears flattening against his head. “I understand your mood at the market now, I’m sure you did not like hearing me disrespect your sister, Princess Tasha.”
“I certainly did not.” The princess agreed. “However from your point of view, I can understand it. ”
Tasha wore a small tight smile on her face. “I am sorry for the deception, but in the city, it seems having any connection with the queen bares quite a stigma. I did not want to prejudice you against me before I had the chance to make our bargain.”
“Bargain?”
“To request your help with our little resistance.” The princess said, raising her arms to include the hedgehog and other fox.
“Of course, you can withdraw your aid anytime.” Kel’at, the Fox said, his fingers playing with a ring baring a purple stone.
“And you will be rewarded for what help you do provide.” the hedgehog Heg added in his own gruff voice.
The cat spluttered as he tried to find the right words.
“But you’re the Princess! The next in line! Why don’t you just challenge the Black Queen?”
Tasha blinked, and then suddenly started laughing, although no one else did.
“What, and end up as Queen myself? Me? Queen? No, no, no, no, no, you wouldn’t catch me dead on that throne.” Still smiling, Tasha locked eyes with the cat. Viril could tell by the looks on Heg’s and Kel’at’s faces that they did not agree with Tasha’s refusal to take her sister's place as Queen.
“What ever you say princess.” Kel’at sighed with a tone suggestive of an old argument.
“This resistance is not about replacing the Black Queen with me, it’s about - no, I don’t think you’re ready to hear that.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I let you follow me because I thought you might be useful,” Tasha inclined her head and lowered her voice, as if sharing a secret. “But I don’t think either one of us is quite ready to trust the other yet.”
The cat crossed his arms and glared at Tasha. Tasha shook her head, amused, as she sat down in the third empty seat at the table. “If you want to know, you’ll have to really impress me.” The cat sniffed.
“Now are you going to introduce yourself to us, or are we going to have to call you ‘the hard-headed cat who insulted my family on the way home’?”
Tasha undid the green belt that held her cloak on, revealing a thin green dress underneath.
“Viril,” the cat hissed looking away. “My name is Viril.”
“Good.” Tasha said, allowing the cloak to fall off her back and onto the back of the chair. “That’s a nice name.”
Viril looked at Tasha’s face. Refusing to look lower than the black collar around her neck, the neck line of the dress was non existent, the dress reached as far as the Fox’s underarms and stopped. The Princess seemed totally unconcerned about her bare shoulders, but such a dress was not usually worn in public. Heg frowned at the young vixen but made no comment.
Tasha reached over the desk for a book and a pen that were there. Viril saw some of the pages, which looked blank. The white fox pulled a purple stone out of the drawer of the desk and held it above the book. She whispered a few words, and when she let go the stone remained in the air, light shining down from it onto the book, and writing appeared on the pages. There was a sound of annoyance from Heg, and a chuckle from the Kel’at, which made Viril realize that he had been gaping at the mage stone. He hissed to himself and looked down at the book. The writing made no sense at all.
Tasha caught him looking.
“What? You don’t think I would go to the trouble of enchanting the ink, and then write everything in plan writing for anyone with a mage stone to read?”
Tasha picked up a pen and started writing something. “Now. Viril, you said that given the chance, you would ‘show the queen what I think of her prices.’ So do you want that chance, knowing that your ideas and ours may not -”
“Hold on, missy!” Heg’s grey spikes shook. It looked like he had been biting his tongue up until now but had finally had enough. “You are not the leader of this operation!
And for Yedart’s sake put your cloak back on. A Regenta shouldn‘t be wearing something that low cut.”
Tasha leaned back in her chair, pulling the book onto her lap as the chair tipped back onto two legs. She absently fanned her hand over the book to dry the ink as she spoke to the Hedgehog that had interrupted her.
“Now, Heg. Has anyone I’ve brought here ever betrayed us? As for the putting the cloak back on, no I won’t. I’m hot after spending so much time away, do you have any idea how cold those tunnels are? And besides, it’s not as if I’m naked, you’ve seen me wearing this before and neither of you have ever cared then.”
“Oh, we’ve cared.” Ket’at said. He was all but leering at Tasha. “After all, a body like yours shouldn’t be hidden under so much cloth. Why don’t you take that dress off too, if you’re still warm?”
Tasha rolled her eyes.
“Flattery will get you everywhere, Kel’at, except for into my bed.”
Kel’at clicked his fingers.
“Are we going to get any work done here?” Heg demanded.
Kel’at sighed and grabbed some scrolls from a cupboard and laid them over the table. Tasha looked at her little book and closed it with a sigh. Book and pen vanished into the white fox’s skirts. With a loud clack, she let the chair fall so all four legs were touching the floor again.
Viril looked at the scrolls, confused. Again they were blank, at least they were until Kel’at grabbed Tasha’s still-floating purple stone, and pulled it so it was hovering over the maps, instead of where the young Vixen’s book had been. Tasha herself reached for her pouch which was on the floor next to the chair and pulled out a large white stone.
Viril didn’t notice, however, because he was reading the scrolls. They were maps, but they were not maps of the city; they were maps of a place that the cat had never seen before, maps of a place that no one who lived in the city had ever seen.
Viril looked up at Kel’at. “Are they…?”
“Maps of the world outside this dying tomb of a city?” Kel’at asked. “Yes, they are.”
“So those cold tunnels that Tasha was talking about weren’t the hunting grounds?”
“Correct.” Kel’at smirked. “The Princess is the first person to leave the city and return since the Bear and Wolf wars five hundred years ago.”
“So, Princess, how about those updates?” Heg asked.
Tasha placed a green magestone half the size of her head, on the table. The male Fox looked at the rock, disappointed.
“Your notes didn’t survive?”
Tasha looked up at Kel’at.
“I told you before, I didn’t like the feel of that last passage. There was an underground lake or something above it. The cave roof caved in while I was there. First, I was almost crushed, and then I almost drowned when the tunnel flooded.”
“Whoa, whoa, flash floods and cave-ins?” Kel’at gasped. “What do you get up to on these trips?”
“Oh, just some good old fun and adventure.” Tasha pointed at Kel’at “So you can use that magestone right?”
“Well…Of course I do. I am a mage.”
Tasha gave the other fox a look, which clearly said that she doubted his ability, Mage or not.
“You‘re an Elementalist. Please tell me you still have the projector?”
“Of course I do…I loaned it to Megkata.” Kel‘at admitted
“Then get it back, you’ll probably need it next time as well.”
“If there is a next time.” Heg said.
Tasha shot Heg an annoyed look. “There will be a next time Heg. I haven’t found what we’re looking for yet.”
“Tasha….”
“No, Heg, I will not reconsider.”
“But why leave the city?” Viril spoke before he could bite back the words. Why should he care what these outlaws were doing? “There’s nothing out there but barren tunnels and burnt earth.”
“You’re wrong, Viril, there’s more out there. There has to be, maybe a place where we can grow more food. I’ve already found one.”
“If you’ve found a place to grow food, then why don’t we have any more food here?” Viril demanded.
“The exiles are growing the food. At the moment, they are only growing enough food and cloth-plant for themselves. They say it will take them another year before they have enough to sell to the city.”
“Tasha, it’s not safe. You are the heir to the throne.” Tasha opened her mouth, but the Hedgehog gave her no chance to protest. “No matter how much you might dislike that fact. And we can’t afford to lose you.”
Tasha and Kel’at shared a look; Tasha ran a hand though her hair, twisting the black streak in her fingers.
“You know what, Heg? You’re right.”
“I- I am?”
Tasha nodded.
“Yes you are, Heg, Oh Master and leader of the resistance. Once everything is ready for the next trip, you can take my place.”
“What?” Heg paled under his fur.
Kel’at stepped in then.
“Yes, Heg, you’re perfect for the work, and your notes are so much better than Tasha’s.”
Heg looked between the two foxes.
“Well…of course I would like to do that…” Heg was sweating. “But…but who would lead the resistance in my absence?”
Kel’at was trying very hard not to burst out laughing, Tasha smiled.
“Who indeed,” She said. “Who indeed...”
Viril looked at that the three clowns. These were the leaders of the resistance? This was the resistance that was meant to save the city from the crazed rule of the Black Queen?
Heg coughed, still trying to regain his composure, and he started to leave, flee, the room.
“Well, since Kel’at needs to transcribe sagemone-”
“Magestone.” Tasha corrected.
“-Whatever. I say we should adjourn this meeting so that the Princess can rest after her long absence-”
“Research Trip.”
“-Whatever.”
Heg closed the door in an almost slam.
Tasha was giggling silenty, her shoulders shaking in barely rained in mirth.
“You know, Tasha, we really thought you was dead this time.” Kel’at looked at her with a sad smile before breaking the light mood.
“I’m sorry.” Tasha said her shoulders slumping. “A whole season; I must have missed a lot of news.”
“Yep, and all bad, but that can wait until after you’ve had some water, a bath, and something to eat- not necessarily in that order. You look like a stick, girl!”
Tasha smiled looking up at Kel’at.
“Thanks, can you show Viril the ropes for me?”
“That is, if I want to be shown the ropes.” Viril spoke up. “This place is a joke, run by a spoiled princess, a coward, and a skirt chaser.”
Kel’at growled and grabbed Viril by his tunic, moving so fast that the cat had no chance to defend himself.
“Watch your mouth, kitty. You have no idea what we’ve done and what we have been doing. Hold your judgment until you know the facts.” The fox growled.
The purple stone that had been glowing suddenly fell to the table with a clunk.
Tasha started noisily putting away the maps, packing them into a bag that must have belonged to Kel’at.
The fox let the cat go, giving the white fox a hard look. She didn’t notice, or at least pretended she didn’t.
“Viril, you have to understand- the truth of what is ahead of us is dark, very dark. We have to enjoy this lighter time as much as we can, because when we reach breaking point…we don’t know who will survive.” Tasha dropped one of the maps, and tried to catch it as it rolled off the table. She cursed and reached down to pick it up off the floor.
“Please, Viril, you’re a good person, and you want to help people, right? This is a chance to do just that, even if you don’t like the people you’re working with. After all, who likes their boss, right?”
The white fox still wasn’t looking at them. Kel’at was still looking at her as if he expected something to happen to her. As if she was going to disappear.
“Fine.” The word escaped Viril’s lips without his permission.
Tasha’s head snapped up to lock eyes with Viril, he back peddled, the princess’s eyes were burning with green fire. He had never seen anything like that before. Was that something all mages could do?
“You’ll give me your world as a member of the Hunters Clan, to serve me and help me save this city?”
The cat swallowed as the glowing green fames receded. Although the pale green eyes themselves never lost their glare and kept boring into the hunter.
“Will you give me your word to help me?”
That was when Viril saw the truth. For all her manipulation and magical showing off the princess was still just a young adult, a girl who wasn’t asking for help. She was all but begging.
“I give you my word as Viril of the hunters.”
“Thank you.”
Kel’at threw his arm over the cat’s shoulders. Viril looked at the rebel fox as if he had offended him.
“Good, now let me show you around…we can come back and bug Tash tomorrow.”
Finally, Tasha turned to look at them again, a fake pout on her lips.
“Oh, come on. Don’t I get a day off?” She asked.
“Sure you do.” Kel’at answered. “This is it.”
The fox then grabbed his bag from Tasha’s hand and Viril’s arm in the other, and ran before Tasha could answer back.
Tasha shook her head. Sometimes she wondered why she kept coming back. Still shaking her head, Tasha started to run a bath.
Green eyes looked up as half a lake fell though the tunnel roof above her. The white fox was washed down the tunnel, fur-covered skin crashing into water-drowned rock. Unable to swim against the torrent; Unable to scream in fear; Unable to breath; Air…Air… AIR!
Tasha sat up in her bath, coughing for air and pulling her soaked overgrown hair out of her eyes. Maybe having a bath before going to bed was a bad idea.
*****
The Age of Darkness 4116 9th day of Thawing. The Queen wasn’t surprised the next day to find out that Inia had vanished. The princess that didn’t exist had run away to vanish into the city’s overcrowded streets…again.
Midnight sat on the cub’s bed, one of the pink pillows in her arms. She didn’t look at the person in the doorway. Another person whose life was dictated by the Council. Another non-existent Princess.
“She may not come back this time, Gale.”
“She’s too loyal for that. She’ll be back.”
“She’ll be safer if she doesn’t.”
Gale sat on the bed before her queen and sister. She was mostly red, with black hands and feet, and blond highlighting on her muzzle neck and tail. Her long red hair was braided with gold beads binding the ends. A gold band studded with green stones enclosed around her tail, but despite the gold, she did not look like a princess. Her clothes were worn, old and dirty, a tan tunic and shorts. A streak of mud marked her yellow muzzle.
“She will never abandon you. You know that.”
Midnight took Gale’s almost clean black hands into her own. There was mud under the claws, showing that she had quickly passed them under a tap before coming in. She had not taken time to clean them beyond what was necessary.
“You should go and have a full bath before someone sees that you’ve been in the garden again.” Midnight warned. “You know they don’t like you going in there.”
“I know.” Gale nodded. “I was on my way before I saw the open door…Tasha came by yesterday.”
“Did she say where she’s been for so long?”
Gale shook her head.
Midnight let out a small laugh a bitter smile on her face.
“Some family we are. Mala Melyn vanishes, and we never see her again, Tasha comes and goes like a ghost, Inia is following her.” Midnight let her head fall to the pillow in her arms as she stared off into space. “It’s not safe out there, and it’s not safe in here either.”
Midnight’s black furred hands gripped the pillow tighter.
“The city if overcrowded and underfed, we’re exiling anyone who even looks at a guard the wrong way, just to try to reduce the population to one that we can feed. That is just isn’t possible, and all I can think about is how my family has fallen apart and is out there somewhere, and we don’t even know if they are all alive.”
Gale placed her hand on Midnight’s shoulder and the elder sister flinched. Gale frowned.
“Hern is getting bold, and Black fur hides bruises to well.”
“I gave as well as I got.”
“Mala would have taken his head off.”
“Your twin isn’t here Gale.”
Gale rested her hand on the lower part of Midnight’s arm, offering her support.
“I’m going for that bath now.”
Midnight blinked, watching Gale leave, closing the door after her.
“She spends too much time on her own.” Midnight held the pillow even tighter. “Yet even she has more friends, and knows more of what is going on that I do…some queen I am.”