Queen Avyanna

Andrew stood in front of a man who looked about 26. The man shared his midnight blue eyes and jet black hair. And Andrew knew all too well who the man was - his father. And even though he knew that it definitely was a dream, he couldn't help but feel anger surge through his veins.

The man had raped his mother when she was just sixteen, and he had been born out of it. And the anger he felt was not just towards his so-called father, but also towards his pathetic self that was so easily swayed by the words of his imagination.

The man was telling him the same words over and over again: 'You are unwanted'. Every time he repeated the lines, his voice grew louder and louder until that was the only thing Andrew could hear anymore.

____ ____ ____ ____ ____

Andrew woke up to the presence of someone in his room, and though it wasn't malevolent, once he opened his eyes, despite feeling tried, he could not fall asleep again.

Pushing his tired body up, he looked around and saw his mother standing at the edge of the room that was lined with books. She seemed to be deeply engrossed in the book she was reading.

"Mom, could you please knock on the door before you enter my room?" Andrew asked, feeling rather annoyed.

Queen Avyanna -his mother- turned around with a warm smile on her face.

"Good morning, Andrew. I've been waiting for you to wake up." she said.

"Good morning, mom." Andrew said indifferently. "So, why did you come here?"

"Still angry that I didn't come to see you yesterday, aren't you?" she said as she flipped through the pages of the book and then placed it back on the book rack.

"Of course. Mr. Louis was very irritating you know."

"You know he is way better than Lord Clarynth - the idiot I had to deal with, don't you?" she said as she walked to the bed and settled on its edge.

"Yeah. But I never thought that Louis would be the Master of a doll."

Queen Avyanna looked lovingly at her son. He was trying to be cold and distant, but to her he just looked a bit stupid.

"Umm, mom, why are you staring at me like that?" asked Andrew.

"Being cold and distant really doesn't suit you, you know." the Queen answered as she ruffled his hair. "Atleast, you need not be like that in front of me."

Andrew sighed helplessly. He knew what she would say next - that he ought to get married soon and she didn't care about the gender of the person he married or their class and how he should marry for love/trust and not political gain.

"Ok, ok, I'll try to find someone I like and trust soon, so leave me in peace, mom." Andrew grumbled, raising his arms in surrender.

"Good. So, do you have anyone you like, as of now?" she asked sitting next to him.

"No. I told you that 'I will' not 'I have'." he said, emphasizing the word 'will'. And then with a serious tone added: "Mom, what happened to the girl from yesterday?"

"She will be sent back to the Organisation, unfortunately." the Queen said. She did wish that the girl could stay here and live a normal life, but there was only so much she could do. She may be the Queen, but even she had limits on her powers. She had done all she could to prevent more girls from falling prey to their tactics, but once a girl agreed the Oath of Belonging, there was nothing she could do to help the girl. Mr Louis had been stripped of his title because of a rule she had managed to make a few years ago that being a member of the Dolls Organization meant that the person would not be able to join/remain in nobility. She hoped that through his example, they would understand that the rule was not for show.

"Your taste in books has improved a lot, you know?" Avyanna said changing the topic as she felt that there was no use in talking about things that she could never change. "I'm so relieved that I don't have to read you another 'Good Night Tales' story every night."

"Of course, mom. I'm eighteen you know!" Andrew retorted.

"Oh time sure does fly with children," she continued. "One moment they are cute lil' kids who want you to read them a 'Good Night Tales' story every night, and then, before you know it, they are reading books by Will Shakes and Charlie Son..."

"Should I make you read me a 'Good Night Tales' story now, mom?"

"Of course not." she quickly replied. "Come to think of it, I wanted to ask you if you need to see Miss Lavie."

Andrew thought about it for a moment and said - "Not yet. But perhaps soon..."

"And have you hurt yourself recently?" she asked him.

"It's been a week since I last did, so guess it's a success...?" Andrew muttered.

His mother seemed troubled on hearing what he said.

"Andrew, I won't consider it a success until you stop hurting yourself completely."

"I know," he sighed. "but it still is a success."

The Queen ruffled his hair once again before saying -"You really ought to have breakfast now."