Cymbal was constructing a rebellion.
For years, it had been him carefully selecting the pieces to run on his board; a board which he thought was his.
He wanted to cease control over the Kingdom, and destroy his brothers while their Mother, the Queen, still unaware, lived in isolation.
It had been years since she went in isolation, leaving Cassian as her Proxy.
The absence had created an illusion that brothers ruled the kingdom, not the Queen.
And Cymbal had long accepted that illusion. It had become his reality.
And all he wants is power, and the one woman he cannot have.
For Winifred, the study was a place where no servant bothered to keep a fire lit for a man they rarely saw. A place for his mind to dwell in the serene sense of his work. A cold place far into the castle.
Winifred crossed the room without lighting any lamps.
Rain struck the tall windows in long, uneven sheets, and somewhere above the roofline…
*Ghrumble*
Thunder rolled low.
