Loophole

Delphi hummed to herself as she finished the letter to her family. She had come to the castle five years ago to work as a maid to help out with the bills at home. While she missed spending time with her brothers and sisters, she couldn’t argue that living in the castle had its perks. She had her own living space and beautiful gardens to lounge in and draw. And of course, she met the love of her life. She often looked back on that day with a smile.

She had finished hanging up the laundry outside when a small, red ball landed in front of her feet. Before she could react, Persephone dove on the ground, grabbing the ball in between her legs from behind.

Delphi gasped and almost fell as she hopped away from Persephone’s hand, “P-princess!” She stuttered out, quickly giving a curtsy. “I’m so sorry, I-”

“What are you apologizing for? I’m the one who got in your way. I’m sorry…” She trailed off, waiting for her name.

Delphi blinked, “Delphi. My name is Delphi.” She was struck with how warm her eyes were, how genuine her smile was, “And don’t worry about it, miss. No harm done.”

Persephone’s smile grew and Delphi must have been seeing things, because there was no way the princess, the future Queen of Helianthus, looked her up and down, almost nodding her head in approval.

“Delphi.” She said, and Delphi almost shivered at the way it rolled off her tongue. She wanted to listen to Persephone say her name all the time. “Is that after the Delpinus constellation?”

Delphi nodded, “Yes. My mother said it was visible the night I was born.”

“It’s also Greek for dolphins.”

Pink tinted her cheeks, “I guess it is.”

Persephone laughed a little, reaching out and tucking a strand of loose hair behind Delphi’s ear, “I like it.”

Delphi relaxed a little, leaning ever so gently into the princess’s touch. They stood like that for a few moments, feeling as if they were in a bubble, a world with just the two of them. The spell was broken when Persephone’s name was called across the lawn.

Persephone huffed, reluctantly letting her hand fall to her side, “My tutor. I must go to my lessons.”

Delphi cleared her throat, “Of course. I will see you again, Princess.” She said, giving another curtsy.

Persephone took Delphi’s left hand, bringing it to her lips and kissing it gently, “I look forward to it.” She winked and let go of her hand, turning and walking back to the castle without another word.

Delphi wasn’t sure how long she stood there staring down at her hand. She was only able to come out of her trance when the church bell rang, indicating 3 o’clock. She shook her head and went back to work, her heart feeling the lightest it’s ever been.

Delphi let out a sigh of happiness, slipping the gold coins into the envelope and sealing it with wax. Soon her love would be the Queen. She witnessed years of Persephone tirelessly training for this moment. The handmaiden was beyond proud.

She heard a knock at her door. She stood up, smoothing out the skirt of her dress and went to answer it. She wasn’t the least bit surprised when she saw the Princess standing there. What did surprise her was the look on her face. Persephone had an art for keeping her face neutral, but she wasn’t trying to hide the disappointment and sadness.

Delphi’s heart skipped a beat, “Princess?”

It was then that Persephone fell into her lover’s arms, the tears starting to fall as she buried her face in Delphi’s neck.

Delphi gasped softly but held on tight. She gently pulled her into the room and shut the door behind them. Everyone in the castle knew about the two of them but it was still better to keep some things private.

Delphi brought her over to the bed and sat them both down. She didn’t say anything as she rubbed Persephone’s back, letting her cry for as long as she needed to. A million thoughts ran through her head but she kept quiet, giving her love the time she needed.

It wasn’t too long after that that Persephone pulled away a little, still wrapped in her arms.

Delphi moved a piece of hair that had fallen out of her braid out of her face, “My love, what happened?”

Persephone took a shaky breath and moved her arms so she could hold Delphi’s hands, “I...Del...I will not be Queen.”

“What do you mean? Of course you’ll be Queen, you’re a Sol.”

“Yes, I know, but I will not have the control or the power.” She closed her eyes. She could not look at Delphi as she said the next part, “The King, my husband, will.”

Delphi felt the breath leave her lungs, “Your...husband? But you said-”

“I know what I said!” Persephone snapped as she stood up, “I was under the impression that I would not have to marry but apparently I was mistaken.”

“Seph, please just explain what happened.”

The Princess started to pace, “The Royal Advisors informed me that there is actually a law that states that if the first born heir happens to be a woman, they will need to marry a man before they can rule.” She scoffed, “It doesn’t make any sense. My father put it in his will that I would be Queen. I never...I never told him about what I really am but he knew. I know he knew. He wouldn’t betray me like this.”

“He must not have known then.” Delphi said as she stood up.

“I should have known it wouldn’t have been this easy. Of course the Advisors would have found a way to take the power away from me.”

Delphi felt her heart sink, already knowing what the answer was, “So...what are you going to do?”

Persephone stopped moving and looked back at Delphi. All she could think about since hearing this news was how it was going to affect her. Why did she not stop to think how Delphi would feel about this? How they might actually lose each other for good.

“I…” There was so much Persephone wanted to say. To reassure Delphi she would find a solution. That she had everything under control. But if there was one thing Persephone couldn’t do, it was lie to Delphi. “I need some air.”

Before Delphi could open her mouth, Persephone was out the door.

Persephone went to the hallway near her parents’ old room and looked for the painting of sunflowers. It was a wedding gift from her father to her mother. There was a certain flower that when you pressed it the right way, the hidden door would open and lead to a winding staircase. Up on the top was a secret room that only the Sol family was aware of. Persephone still remembers the joy her five year old self felt when her parents let her in on the secret. The family spent many nights up there, stargazing on the little balcony, eating treats stolen from the kitchen, performing made up plays. This was the one place in the castle that the Sol family could be alone together.

Persephone didn’t go up there much anymore, it brought too much sorrow to her heart to be there by herself. She thought maybe one day she would bring Delphi up here, but Delphi probably will want nothing to do with her after her wedding.

The Princess stepped out onto the little balcony and looked up at the cloudy sky. She should be celebrating right now. Having too many drinks and running around the gardens. Instead she was sulking all by herself.

She sighed as she leaned against the railing. A fall from this height would kill me. The intrusive thought came into her head, causing her to straighten.

Woah, that couldn’t happen. If anything happened to her, the kingdom would be left in control of the Royal Advisors and she would rather rip out all her teeth than let that happen. Come to think of it, maybe that was their true plan to get her off the board. No, that will not be allowed.

What really irritated her about this whole thing was that she wouldn’t have power over the kingdom, that was all going to land on her husband. Maybe if she found some idiot man, she could control his actions, rule from the shadows. Honestly, this was how she had to think now? Unacceptable. And if he dropped dead, she would have to marry another. A vicious cycle that had no end and she was the loser in every scenario.

Something tugged at the back of Persephone’s mind, something she found odd about the passage she had read: If by some twist of fate, the Queen is widowed thrice and there are no male heirs, the Queen would inherit the throne and the rule of the Kingdom of Helianthus.

Widowed thrice...Queen would inherit the throne…

Persephone shook her head and walked back into the room. Sure, the life expectancy wasn’t that high but what are the chances three different husbands would die in enough time for her to get out of this mess? And she couldn’t pick men on the brink of death, the Royal Advisors had to approve the match and they would see through that plan. But if there were accidents…

Persephone looked out at the balcony again as the pieces started to fit together in her mind. There were many ways to die, like falling off of a high tower…

“Wait…” She started to pace, surprised by her own thoughts. She wasn’t sure if it was the stress of the day or maybe her mind was finally starting to crack. She couldn’t have the death of three men on her conscience just so she could be Queen. One of the lessons she had to learn in her training was about executions. They didn’t happen often but when they did, every member of the royal family had to be a witness. The first time she saw a hanging she was fourteen years old. The man was accused and found guilty of murdering his family. Persephone felt no remorse for the man’s fate, he had brought himself to those gallows.

That’s when the light bulb went off in her head. If she married a criminal, she would have no issue staging their accidents. This plan was so wild and crazy a normal person would never even consider this.

Persephone had to find Delphi.

The Princess looked throughout the castle for her love. The lady-in-waiting was not in her chambers so she must have gone to complete her work.

“Freda, have you seen Delphi?” Persephone asked the maid who was polishing the silverware in the kitchen.

“She should be out in the stables. It’s her day to feed the horses.” Freda said, not even looking up from her work.

Persephone patted her on the head in thanks and went outside. She followed the dirt path to the stables, slipping into the open doors. Delphi was there, standing at the end with Hades, the white horse Persephone was gifted on her eighteen birthday.

She went quickly to her, “I have an idea and I need you to talk me out of it.”

Delphi jumped a little, not expecting to see her girlfriend soon after the discussion they had. Whenever Persephone would get into one of her states, she would need her alone time. It never was this quick. “An idea?”

“Yes. It’s going to sound out there but I need you to listen until the end.”

Delphi put down the bucket she was holding and wiped her hands on her apron, “I’m all ears.”

Persephone nodded, “So the law says that I have to marry so there will be a male in power. If that man dies and we do not have male heirs, I would have to marry again. Same thing if the second husband dies. But, there’s something interesting about the third husband. If he dies and there is still no male heir, the Queen would have the power and control all to herself. She wouldn’t have to marry again unless she chose to. So…” She took a deep breath. Once this was out she couldn’t take it back. This could taint Delphi’s image of her. “If I find three men to marry me and I make sure they have accidents that will take them out, that is how I can get out of this situation.” She turned and looked at Delphi, “So what do you think?”

Delphi was frozen in the same position, her mind trying to wrap around what her lover just said. After a few minutes of silence she said, “You...You’re telling me...you want to be a murderer?”

Persephone wiped her face with her hands, “Well when you say it that way..”

“How else am I supposed to say it? It wouldn’t be an accident, you would be leading them to their deaths.”

“And I would have to do that anyway if I was Queen. Think about it, I marry the most awful men in the kingdom and take them out. It would be the same as if they were tried and sentenced to death. The kingdom will be safe and I won’t be forced to be someone’s wife. It’s a win-win for everyone.”

Delphi stared at Persephone’s face, “Have you been drinking? Do you hear yourself right now?”

She groaned, “I told you it was out there. But when you really think about it...it kind of makes sense.”

“Listen, I know this is a terrible situation but this is not the answer. Please, I can’t allow you to taint your soul like this.”

“So you resign us to this fate? We’ll never be able to be together again.”

A hurt look passed over Delphi’s face, “You think I don’t know that? It’s all I’ve been thinking about since I heard the news. But if you think it’s right to murder people so we can be together…” She trailed off, turning her back to Persephone and picking up the bucket, “You’re not in a good place right now. You’re still in shock. Maybe go for a walk again, clear your head. I need to get back to work.”

Persephone watched her walk out of the stable, the small bit of hope that was starting to brew in her quickly extinguished.