Vivianne

Eva's POV

There was an awkward silence as we rode out of the woods and into the general population. I sneaked a quick glance at her and noticed that she was looking blankly at something only she could see. Her fingers were not still. She was playing with them on her lap.

I also did that when I was uncomfortable or nervous. Like mother, like daughter, I thought before catching myself and mentally shaking my head in denial.

The sounds of galloping horses distracted me from my inner turmoil. A group of horsemen rode past us in a small cloud of dust. I stuck my head out the window and noticed riding with one of the horsemen was the older woman, Martha. I had noticed that there was tension. She was in chains afterall. She had to be a criminal or to have been accused of a crime. There was a difference between the two; a difference I knew all too well.

I withdrew into the caravan, rested my head on the cushion for the first time and sighed. I shut my eyes for a second while I absentmindedly played with the little box in my hand.

"All the answers you seek and all the answers you will seek…" Cecilia's words resonated in my head. What had she meant by that?

It sounded preposterous, how a little box could not only have answers I seeked but those I would seek. It could be a cruel prank by Cecilia, I thought. But the look in her eyes had begged to differ. She looked so overwhelmed with grief. A grief whose cause was deeper that I could understand.

I lowered my head consciously and glanced at the queen. She had not changed her position since my first glance earlier. Denying it would be beyond naive; it would be foolish. I resembled her to the t. From our dark hair to our eyes. To the distinct slope of our noses. To the angled nature of our faces. Even the way she played with her fingers. We were so alike that it was daunting.

I wanted to ask her how suddenly after twenty years, she was here to take me like a mother would pick up her child from her grandmother's place. It all felt so unreal to me. Like in a moment, I would wake from this dream. Or this nightmare.

"At least the gods let us have this victory," an audible voice said from behind the caravan. The men had been speaking amongst each other before but I had not really been paying attention.

"You said it, brother." Another quipped with relief in his voice. "It has been quite a while since any good news."

"First Lady Juliet…" the person was interrupted as I heard someone get smacked.

They all went quiet.

I wondered what about this lady Juliet they did not want the man to reveal.

"And those poor kids," another quickly said.

"They died horribly!" One lamented a bit too dramatically.

"No, being pushed off a cliff is a peaceful way to go." Someone said sarcastically.

"What do you suppose really happened?

"She pushed them off the cliff, period!"

"What could have been her motive?"

Everyone went quiet again.

"She seemed genuine with her testimony." Someone broke the silence in a solemn tone.

"Every murderer does." A man who had not spoken before, cynically hissed. "You claim you want to be a witch hunter yet you are so easily fooled." He disparaged him.

Silence again.

Witch hunter! I felt cold sweat run down my back.

"Those slippery creatures are not to be underestimated." He continued. No one else was talking, it seemed that this man had some authority.

"Yes, I heard one escaped."

I swallowed. They had to be talking about Rosé.

"I saw her," someone revealed "the night they brought her in."

"Really?!" Everyone started to speak at once in excitement.

"What did she look like?" Someone inquired.

"She had hair, the colour of an orchid flower."

"Wow,"

"She was unnaturally pale too but to tell the truth…"

"She was stunning!" A familiar voice completed for him.

"It is a shame that such a beautiful creature could be so cruel and selfish." Disgust was apparent in his voice.

I felt my blood boil. They were such narrow-minded idiots. If this is how the ones that worked for the Merynian royalty spoke of witches, how would the royals themselves fair? Rosé had been correct and I had been right to give the queen, my mother, a cold shoulder.

"What is wrong?" A gentle voice asked in concern.

I collected myself and looked up to see the queen now sitting beside me. I looked down at my hand to see her over it.

"You seem disturbed."

I released a fist I didn't know I was clenching and unfurrowed my brows. The worry in the queen's voice made my heart jump and soften.

I opened my mouth to speak only to choke on my own spit and start to cough.

She rubbed and patted my back instead of moving away.

"There, there," she cooed. "Have this." She put a bottle to my lips and let me take a sip.

Only after I felt better and had regained my composure, did she let me go.

There was a drawn silence as we sat side by side. I would have preferred to move to the opposite seat but I felt obliged for an unknown reason not to make her feel bad or make the situation any more awkward.

"What troubles you?" She took a glance at me and asked again.

I unknitted my brows again and let out a sigh. I was horrible at hiding my emotions. It was always on my face no matter how hard I tried.

"Nothing," I nervously chuckled. "Everything is moving so fast, I guess." I fingered the box as I looked down at it.

She looked away from me and fixed her gaze on the box.

"I am sorry, I can not make it any easier for you." She said solemnly.

I looked at her squarely for the first time since we started the journey. I had my reservations about her. Partially because Rosé had warned me and because I could not quite shake the animosity I had towards her. How did she not realize that the child she had been given was not hers. If not for the midwife's confession, she would have continued to be clueless. There was just no getting past that in my opinion.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She inquired, hope colouring her voice.

"No," I refused quietly. "I do not." I clenched the box harder and got up to sit in the other seat. It would be more humane of me not to give her hope of a bond between us than to dash it in the long run. The trip continued in a silence even more awkward than before.

*****

Vivanne's POV

"He is so breathtaking," Adrianna gasped.

I smirked. "That is old news," I dismissed playfully.

"You are so lucky," Felicia said, taking a sip of tea from the imported teacup my father had gifted me on my fifteenth birthday. This exquisite golden decoration gleaming in the mid-day sun.

"Xavier is quite a man, I know," I said to them. "No one rivals him."

"Darius is a worthy opponent." Alice said.

"I was about to say the same thing." Adrianna said. "The Merynian heartthrobs."

"Well, you have to give me a title too then, because one is my future husband and the other is my elder brother."

"Your half brother, you mean," Alice said.

"Alice!"Felicia and Adrianna exclaimed in unison

"That hag is lying," I refuted. The thing the adults were hiding had been exposed by the commoners that were at the trial. I found it hard to believe until the queen, my own mother and some troops had left for the search early yesterday morning. An elder sister? The gods forbid it!

"How can you be sure?" Alice challenged forthrightly.

"Father would not lie…"

The other girls looked at me strangely, warning me to keep my voice down.

"Vivianne, girls, how are you enjoying the little party?" The king's voice rang from a distance.

"It has been wonderful, father," he was standing behind me now, his hand on my shoulder. He was fidgety as he did so. His hand was shaking.

"Yes, your majesty it has been lovely," the other agreed

"That is good to hear, princess," he said. "Maybe next time you should…"

But someone cut him short. "You have a message, your Highness." It was my father's royal advisor, Augustus Marrow and in his hand was a letter.

Father retracted his shaky hand from my shoulder and collected the letter. He looked down at it as though it was a death threat before looking back up at his advisor.

The two men signaled to one another and I watched father's face fall even further. He walked away with Augustus without even saying goodbye. I looked back at the girls and Alice had a knowing look on her face.