The Queen's Mate

ONE

Brown liquor swirled in crystal cups as swarms of people dressed in black stood scattered in a magnanimous ballroom.

The air of the room was thick, gloomy; uninviting. It was as if the devil had sucked out all life and left the denizens lost and begging for hope.

Funeral wakes were bound to feel that way. Especially when it was the funeral of two of the most influential people in the world.

‘In loving memory of Mary and Daniel Sparks-Parents, Lovers, and Visionaries.’-Read the metal placard placed in front of their picture which stood proud and tall on an elevated platform in the middle of the ballroom, overflowing with their favorite carnations brought for their souls by everyone they loved.

Daniel and Mary were a force to be reckoned with. Their charming reputation in the business world was only preceded by their goodwill towards the community. Separate, they were inspiring individuals with the world at their feet; together, they were a whirlwind of strength and enigma.

The two had only been teens when they had first met; they instantly knew that it was meant to be, irrespective of how much their parents detested the match.

After spending three good decades together and raising their miraculous daughter, their matrimony ended only in death. Even so, they were together.

As of now, the ballroom of the Sparks estate bustled with mourning crowds of all their business associates, friends, and partners; this was truly a loss of one of a kind for them. No one had anticipated such a fate for the charismatic couple.

The two had been on their way to the airport to board their jet for New York; it was for their daughter’s twenty-fifth birthday in the coming week and Daniel had been behind the wheel when their car was hit by a fast-moving truck which then led to their vehicle getting toppled over and thrown into the valley to the side. By the time the Italian Police found them, they had already taken their last breaths and within moments, the demise of the Sparks couple became international news.

Anderson, the house butler, stood in one corner with a straight face, overlooking all the arrangements as he waited patiently for the heiress of the Sparks estate to finally arrive.

He had informed her of her parents’ passing away at the earliest, however, she could still not come in time to attend the funeral during the early hours of the morning.

Her flight from New York had been delayed because of bad weather and unpredictable showers whilst Anderson could not delay the funeral for long because of the crystal-clear instructions left by the couple in their will.

Such a conundrum caused their daughter to miss Daniel and Mary’s funeral which made Anderson worry for the poor girl’s sanity, considering that she did not get the chance to say goodbye to the ones who brought her into this world.

Anderson was about to dig out his phone from his breast-pocket to call her when the doors of the ballroom opened again, and his eyes widened in surprise seeing her standing in front of all of the esteemed guests.

Whispers broke out in the swarms as they all stopped in the middle of their respective conversations to gawk at the only living member of the Sparks family.

Whilst most looked at her with pity and sympathy, there were still a few holding condescension in their eyes.

“That’s Eleanor Sparks.”

“Why wasn’t she present in the funeral?”

“She looks like a mess.”

“Do you think that she will inherit all of the Sparks empire and estate?”

Anderson pursed his lips together when such hushed statements fell into his ears as he made his way towards the mourning brunette who was now making her way towards her parents’ memorial.

He knew she could also hear similar accusations and profanities and his heart clenched in pain and regret for the woman.

“Elle?” He called out sombrely upon reaching her as she turned around and he was met by her honey brown eyes which were bloodshot and glassy. He had never seen her so broken and yet so composed at the same time.

He could see her biting the inside of her cheeks as he wrapped her frame in his arms without wasting another moment.

Anderson was a father-figure in Eleanor’s life for whenever Daniel had to go on longer trips. He catered to everything the household needed and over his years that he had spent with the Sparks, he was family to them.

Every Christmas, Eleanor would hang a separate stocking for him whilst he would bring undiscovered literature and music in the form of vinyl records for her from all around the world for her birthdays; working for the Sparks allowed him a more than decent pay and a good sum of it was used in spoiling Eleanor with gifts, especially since he had no children of his own and she was the only one who made him realize what having a daughter was.

At the moment, Eleanor’s stiff shoulders and shaking hands were evidence enough for the middle-aged butler that she was barely keeping it together.

Her body felt like it could drop at any moment while it was almost impossible to not let the pools of her tears flow because of the sheer agony she was feeling.

After a few moments, she stepped back and looked up at the man who had always loved her like her recently deceased father and she felt her throat closing up again at the thought of Anderson being the only family she had left now.

“I am so sorry for your loss, Elle,” Anderson whispered remorsefully making her feel like pulling her own hair out by the roots.

Since the moment she had received the news, that was all she had heard from her friends, colleagues and even from the media houses calling her in hopes of getting an exclusive piece about the funeral.

She felt sick because of all the sympathy but she knew that she was going to have to bear it. This was all funerals were about; people expressing their half-hearted grief without realizing the depth of pain clenching the souls of those who were actually close to the ones deceased.

In Anderson’s case, she knew he meant his apology. She knew he was suffering just like her; if not more. He had known her parents from way before she was born. And hence, she knew that he understood the turmoil of her heart.

She nodded before reaching out to squeeze his hand reassuringly and then she turned around to face the guests, most of whom had gone back to their previous conversations whilst the ones close to her watched her with anticipation and sadness.

From then on, the twenty-four-year-old heiress began to make her rounds to greet everyone who had arrived for her parent’s funeral whilst she nursed a cold glass of Irish whiskey.

Eleanor was Mary and Daniel’s only child and hence the closest person to the couple. When she was born, the two were overjoyed, since Mary’s delivery had been a potentially risky one and even the doctors had declared Eleanor to be stillborn until a few moments later when her cries had broken through the deathlike silence of the room.

From then on, the nuclear family of three had been the happiest ever. Eleanor completed the two; enhanced their love for each other and more importantly, her presence made their lives meaningful.

As a child Eleanor had seen endless ups and downs in her parents’ relationship, some more intense than others, however, if there was one thing that stayed constant between Daniel and Mary then it was their spirit that never allowed them to give up. The love they harbored for each other and for Eleanor was eternal and nothing in the world could ever hamper that.

The heiress had been a curious soul ever since her childhood. The zeal to understand and to know was so deep-rooted that she would sometimes spend hours digging through books and scriptures which could enhance her mind.

And irrespective of how much reading and learning interested her, it was not all she did.

Eleanor held a deep love in her heart for meeting new people and traveling to new places, just like her father. She held the wish to occasionally dance to her heart’s desire, just like her mother. Overall, Eleanor Sparks was a beautiful combination of her father’s wit and her mother’s compassion.

Along with being an accomplished academic mind, Eleanor had shown remarkable excellence in handling parts of the Sparks business empire and her most prized possession was her own publishing firm, Aura.

Smack in the middle of Madison Street, New York, Aura was an ever-growing publishing house led by Eleanor. Before her, Mary was the sole owner but upon seeing her daughter’s interest in literature and her wondrous leadership skills, she had passed the reigns to her.

Eleanor had a fulfilled life right before she was struck by the grief of losing her parents. And her grief was gnawing at her insides for the past twelve hours.