Vienna's breath caught in her throat, her hair raised on her back and arms, as aeryn's warm breath danced funny in her ear.
Vael bowed stiffly, his face a mask of pride and humiliation, his voice strangled. "As… as you command, my queen."
"As I command," Aeryn said, turning from them. "Go now. Prepare her. The council meets at dawn, and she will stand in my place."
The heavy doors shut behind them, leaving only the echo of their departure.
Aeryn stood in the center of the chamber, her heart a steady drumbeat against her ribs. This was not just vengeance, not just a display of fear. It was the beginning of something larger.
The court had wanted proof of her loyalty to the realm. She had given it to them; but on her terms.
Not through submission.
But Through transformation.
The chamber had fallen into silence again, but it was not long before the sound of hurried footsteps echoed against the stone. Sakina reentered, her brow tense. She bowed quickly, then lifted her eyes to Aeryn, the words spilling before she could still them.
"Your Highness," she said, her voice tight with caution, "why Vienna? She is Lord Vael's daughter! You know what he is. He will try to shape her, to manipulate her into being nothing but his mouthpiece. I don't think this was a good idea."
Aeryn had been standing before the tall window, her fingers trailing the edge of the cold stone sill, her reflection faint in the glass. At Sakina's words, she turned, slowly, with the faintest smile curving her lips. It was not a mocking smile, nor cruel; it was the kind of smile that belonged to someone who had already thought ten steps ahead.
"Sakina," she said softly, though her tone carried a sharp edge, "I am the Highness of this realm. Do you question my decision?"
Sakina immediately bowed, her head lowered until her forehead nearly brushed the polished stone. "Never, my queen."
The air tightened. Sakina immediately bowed low, her forehead nearly brushing the floor. "Never, my queen," she whispered, her throat constricted. She held the bow longer than necessary, waiting until Aeryn's silence permitted her to rise again.
Then Aeryn moved, her gown whispering against the floor as she approached the balcony doors, her eyes on the horizon where dawn's faint light threatened the night. Then she moved closer. Her smile did not fade, but her voice deepened.
"Lord Vael, he won't do anything of the sort," Aeryn said at last. "He thinks he will, of course. Men like him always do. But Vienna is not her father's shadow. She is the light he has tried to snuff out. Sakina! vienna is a pure noble in bearing, yet down to earth in spirit. An embodiment of best behavior, not because he taught her, but because she had to teach herself what he denied her. Being ignored in her own house gave her a privilege most lords' daughters will never know; the knowledge of the overlooked, the strength of the forgotten, the heart of those who have always been silenced."
Sakina frowned, unconvinced. "But ignored children often break. They grow bitter. Resentful."
She turned her head slightly, her profile sharp against the fainting dark.
"And so did I," Aeryn replied sharply, her eyes gleaming. "Yet here I stand." She let the silence weigh heavy before she continued. "Vienna have a privilege far greater than Vael understands: the privilege of seeing the unseen. Of walking among the downtrodden without looking down on them. She knows what it means to be silent, to be pushed aside, and still to endure. That is strength. More than any councilor with a silver tongue or a noble son with polished boots could ever possess."
The conviction in Aeryn's voice wrapped the room like iron bands. She paced once around the dais, her hand brushing the carved arm of the throne she had refused to sit upon.
"She is more capable of holding this position aeryn finished, "more than anyone else in the court. That is why I chose her. Not because she is Vael's daughter; but because she is the only one who is not him.And if Vael thinks he can shape her to his liking, he will learn that this daughter of his was not raised in shadows for nothing. She will outgrow him. And his sons hw was so proud of."
Sakina's rigid stance softened. She inhaled, then exhaled slowly, as though releasing her resistance. At last, she nodded and slowly lifted her head. She studied Aeryn for a long moment before finally nodding.
"You see what others cannot, my queen," she said, the words part confession, part admiration. "Perhaps you are right. Perhaps Vienna will rise."
Aeryn tilted her head, a small, approving flicker in her gaze. "Not perhaps. She will. I will see to it."
"You're right," she murmured. "Perhaps she is the one the council will least expect. And the one they'll most underestimate."
"Which makes her dangerous," Aeryn replied simply.
The two women stood in silence, the air between them taut with unspoken understanding.
At last, Sakina drew in a careful breath, her composure returning. "Your Highness…"she started gently, "all preparations are done and complete. The horses are saddled, the guards handpicked, the maps drawn, the banners packed, the provisions secured. We will leave tomorrow morning."
Aeryn's smile deepened, though it carried no warmth; only a quiet certainty.
"Good. Tomorrow, then." she murmured, her voice distant but steady. "Tomorrow, We step into the unknown. And when we return, the realm will no longer belong to men who whisper in marble halls."
She continued after a while
"Then let the realm learn that their queen does not move as they expect. Don't announce my departure to them, let vael handle them."
"Yes your highness!" Sakina said.
Aeryn stepped back to the window, looking out at the black expanse of sky where clouds rolled like boiling smoke across the moon. She pressed her hand lightly against the glass and lifted her gaze toward the paling sky, as though addressing not Sakina, but the blood itself that pulsed through her veins.
"To silence the past," she whispered, "I will build a future."
A always you can read ahead at accuscripter (P)(A)(T)(R)(E)(O)(N). youR support mean the world to me. even a dime matters.