Twenty
When Everly brought me back to the palace, I was unsurprised to find the Queen waiting for me. “Mother,” said Everly tentatively upon seeing her, “I don’t really think now is the time---”
“And I would remind you, Princess, that I am not only your mother but also the Queen.” She glanced coldly at her daughter. There was no time for family bonding, and she had made that perfectly clear.
Everly sighed, gave me a sad look, and went on her way.
“You know.”
She didn’t say it as a question. She said it as a statement. She appeared cool, and calm, but I knew at that moment I was the most powerful person in the room. I decided if her future would be easy, or if it would be harder.
I nodded.
“You must understand, if we thought there was any other way…. we would have done it. Wh
