Consequences

The Hand of the Queen, newly anointed as a vampire, found herself being dragged to the only person she answers to; the Queen of Meriaan. She half expected that she would be in this current predicament because she had taken it upon herself to become a vampire. No one, not even her queen, demanded it or even desired it. However, being stripped down to only your undergarments and being chained at your wrists and ankles felt as if things were going too far.

As the guards rounded a corner in a rather long hallway, she could feel the grasp of the guard on her right-side falter slightly. “You know,” she said, looking up to the guard through her hanging, platinum-white hair. “if you just unshackle my ankles, you would not have to struggle to bring me to our queen.”

“Silence filth!”

Uttering a disgusted tone, she shoots back with more resolve. “As a Hand of the Queen…”

“I said silence! You no longer bear that title anymore, traitor.”

“What is your name, guard?”

“Demetri.” Releasing his armored left hand from her arm, he raises it up and punches her squarely in the face. “Now, shut up filth.”

Silently growling to herself, she looks back at the guard with an absolute furious gaze – blood seeping for the corner of her mouth. “I was merely going to put you in your place once all of this is done, but now, I will slowly kill you for your insolence.”

“Not if I have anything to say about it, Isolde.”

She snaps her head towards the familiar voice in front of her. “Maleth.” Maleth’s attire was that of any other member of the Hand of the Queen. He wore a dark blue doublet with golden workings sewn in on the chest that flowed up and around his shoulders.

The guards stop in front of Maleth and throw Isolde to the ground. “At this point Maleth,” she said as she got up onto her knees. “you cannot stop me.”

“Now, now,” he said, holding his hands up in front of his chest. “we do not want that kind of talk, especially when we are trying to convince the queen that you haven’t changed.”

“The queen is well aware of my… fierce temper, especially with those who are intolerable.” She said, as she looked directly at Demetri. “The position we hold demands respect, traitor or no.”

“I humbly agree.” He also looks at Demetri. “Unshackle her ankle restraints.”

“But, sir…” Demetri takes a step forward. “She is a vampire. It is dangerous to give them an ounce of freedom.”

“She was dangerous long before she became a vampire. In fact,” he looks down to Isolde, then back to Demetri. “she could have killed you right now with her magical abilities, not her vampiric ones. Now,” he pulls in close to him. “are you going to unshackle her restraints or will you continue to question the order of another Hand of the Queen?”

Demetri looks down to Isolde, then back to Maleth. “No, sir.” He said feebly as he did as he was instructed. Once freed, Isolde stood up and relished in the simple feeling of moving her legs and feet by giving a smile and nod to Maleth.

“Very good. Leave the key with me and you can go back to your posts.”

The other guard and Demetri immediately stiffen up, and after a few seconds passed by Isolde leaned to Maleth and said, “Are these guards new or hard of hearing because they seem to be very defiant, especially that Demetri fellow.”

He pulls out a dagger from its sheath on his belt and raises it up just enough for both guards to see it glint from the sunlight through the nearby window. “I gave you a direct order guard. As you well know, defying an order from a Hand of the Queen is punishable by death. Must I enact this punishment?”

“Nn-nn… no sir.” Demetri said as he reached out to give Maleth the key.

“Good.” Said Maleth.

“Shame.” Said Isolde right after him.

Maleth looks to Isolde. “Shame?”

“Yes. This fool was stupid enough to hit me and I just figured that he would continue to lean on his stupidity in this matter.”

“Indeed.” He looks back to Demetri. “Now, leave us.” This time, there was no hesitation. Both guards bowed to Maleth and immediately took their leave.

“Now that they are gone,” Isolde said, as she raised up the shackles around her wrist. “can we stop this facade and remove these?”

“I am sorry Isolde, but until the queen is satisfied that you are unchanged, they will stay on.”

“Blast and damnation! Very well, let us get on with this.”

Maleth gives her a slight bow and gestures for her to lead the way. Even though Maleth was a loyal friend and comradery to Isolde, he knew to give her a wide birth now, even though she was the ‘left’ Hand of the Queen – as he always joked to her. The guard was right to be overly concerned with her, but with him being the ‘right’ Hand of the Queen, he also had to make the point of putting Demetri in his place. Their orders were law and never meant to be questioned.

“So, I assume we are to meet her in the dining room. She always loves to debrief us there.”

“You would be correct.”

“Hmm… not in the mood for talking I see.” She said as she turned her head to meet his gaze.

“Not really, no.”

She slows her pace to walk beside Maleth. “What are my chances?”

“To be honest, I do not know. She was not happy that you left without a word.”

“There was no one else I could trust with this, other than you. Perhaps telling you was not good enough.”

“Maybe, but telling me is the only thing that has kept you alive. My word alone was enough to sway the queen from sending out a death force.”

“Then maybe it was enough.” She said, just before they turned the corner to the dining room.

To Isolde’s surprise, the doors were wide open, showing off the dining table full of various exotic foods and fine wines. As she gazed down to the furthest end of the table, she saw the Queen sat there eating something dark. Unfortunately, she was too far away to see what exactly what she was eating, but once they entered the room, the two guards that stood behind the queen straightened up into attention.

“Ah, Isolde! I see things went relatively smooth with your escort here.”

Both Isolde and Maleth bow to the Queen and make their way to the table.

“Not exactly my Queen.” Maleth said as he rounded the table to be on the Queen’s right side. “The two guards that escorted her here were not exactly kind.”

As Isolde drew close to near the queen, the guards that stood behind her readied their hands onto the hilts of their swords. It was now obvious to her that she truly had to tread lightly.

“Oh no, I am terribly sorry to hear that. Isolde, please, let me formerly offer you an apology for the actions of my guards. They are good at what they do, but they sometimes get carried away with their duty to protect me.”

“Thank you, my Queen, but there is no need to apologize. Though, if you allow it, I would like to have a… private conversation with one particular guard that… escorted me.”

“Well, that would entirely depend on how this conversation goes. Please have a seat.” Isolde bows slightly once again and moves to take a seat one chair away from the Queen, but as she reached out to pull the chair, the Queen interrupts her. “Isolde, please sit where you would normally sit. I would like to have this conversation to be like every conversation we have.”

Isolde nods, “Thank you.” As she moved to the seat closest to the Queen, she could feel the tension from the guards rise. Dhaurine wasn’t lying when he talked about the extrasensory abilities that vampires have for their surroundings.

The Queen, noticing Isolde’s attention was on the guards behind her, half turns her head towards her guards. “You may leave us now.” The guards hesitate slightly before obeying her orders and taking their leave. “Again, I must apologize. All of this was merely a precaution.” She said, turning back to Isolde.

“I will admit,” Isolde said as she took her seat beside the Queen – which Maleth mirrored. “all of this has been a bit tiresome, but I realize that the situation I have put myself in should not be taken lightly.”

“It is good that you know this.” The Queen said with a smile. “I would offer you some wine, but I do not know if you can partake anymore.”

“Actually, I can.” Isolde said with a smile. “It will affect me differently, but I can partake.”

“Fantastic.” The Queen gestures to Maleth to serve the wine. “If you would be so kind.” She then turns her attention back to Isolde. “Isolde, have I ever told you one of my favorite things to eat during or after occasions like this?”

Thinking on it for a moment, Isolde looks down to the table, then to Maleth as he poured her a glass of wine. “I do not believe so, my Queen.” She said as she reaches for the glass.

“It is chocolate, or more preferably chocolate cake.” She looks down to her plate and cuts off a small bite of the chocolate cake she was eating before Isolde and Maleth came in. “If not made properly, it can be rather dry and unsatisfying. But, when it is done right,” She puts the piece in her mouth and chews it slowly to savor the richness of it. “it can be the most heavenly thing you have tasted.” She said after swallowing it.

Sipping the wine given to her, Isolde puts on a smile and nods to the Queen. “I can agree with that. On what occasions do you eat chocolate cake?”

“Most of the time, it is for celebrations.” She takes another bite of cake, swallows it, then stares at Isolde with a serious yet bitterness look. “Other times, it is for a funeral.”

Isolde’s eyes lock in place with the Queen’s as she was taking another sip of her wine. The warmth that was seemingly coming off the Queen had snapped frozen to a cold and deadly composition. As she slowly put down her glass of wine, she looked to Maleth, who only had a look of concern as he rubbed his pointed chin and stared down at the table.

“Now.” The Queen said, tossing her fork onto the plate as she sat back, which caused Isolde to snap her attention back to her. “You will tell me why you have done this. Fled my kingdom with nary a word to anyone but Maleth. Turned yourself into a creature that should not be.” She then sits forward and rests her elbows on the table. “You will answer every question I have and if I am not satisfied with every answer you give me…” She said as her tone became more furious. “I will burn you alive.”