The King's Daughters
Title: The King's Daughters
Main Story: Cryptomancy
Flavors: Pistachio 8: Storytelling; Cranberry 22: The World
Word Count: 1007
Rating: PG-13? Nothing too bad, but some references to past cannibalism. Gods, but my warnings are weird...
Summary: History lesson! But this history is more like a fairy tale.
Notes: Continued from my last, but I think this one stands well enough alone.
“But I don’t even know who this Anaïs is,” I finally said. “Why would she want me dead?”
Lady Bloodrose shifted in her seat, adjusting her huge belly as she did so, and favored me with something like a smile. “I will tell you a story,” she said. “Do you like stories?”
Whether I did or didn't, I had a feeling I wouldn’t like Lady Bloodrose’s stories, but I nodded without a sound.
“Once upon a time,” she began, “there was a king.
“This king lived in a tall black tower and never came out, but his realm was very prosperous. He managed to keep the sky blue, the water flowing, and the people happy. One day, a witch passed through the kingdom, and she took it into her head that she would marry this king, and she did.”
Against my better judgment, I interrupted. “But if he never came out of his tower, how did she even meet him?”
“Don’t ask such foolish questions, child. They were married in the king’s forest, and the queen gave him three daughters. But when the fourth was born, she ripped open her mother from navel to neck, and the witch died.”
“My God!” I cried, and the Lady waved her hand in that half-distracted, half-irritated way that she had.
“The first daughter had pale white skin, and hair the color of crow feathers. The king built for her a beautiful white castle, and filled the lands around it with great birds and green grass and trees heavy with sweet fruit. He called that kingdom Heart’s-Desire, and he gave it and the white castle to his eldest daughter when she came of age.
“The second daughter was bright as the sun. Her hair was gold, and her eyes were the color of newly sprung violets. The king built her a castle of grey-green stone, and filled her lands with bounding foxes and bright flowers. He called that kingdom Winter’s-End, and he gave it to the second daughter with the green castle when she came of age.
“The third daughter somewhat resembled the eldest, but her skin was nearly blue. Her eyes were the black of a starless sky, and she fell ill many times as a child. Nonetheless, the king did love her well. He had spent many treasures on the first two castles, but he built the third daughter a tall red tower and keep, and painted the trees around it with red and gold. He called that kingdom Merry-Chase, and he gave it, the red castle, and the Rookery to the third daughter when she came of age.
“By this time, the king had spent all his treasures on the first three daughters. He had taken all the birds and beasts and flowers and fruit and golden leaves and given them away. Now there was nothing left in his lands, only he and his final daughter in his tall black tower in the center of a barren and withered land. When the fourth daughter came of age, the king did not have any gifts left to give her, having already given everything he had to the other three. When he told her this, she killed him and she ate his body. She claimed the black tower as her own, and the barren lands around it. This land is known as the Nameless Land.”
“If the king gave his third daughter Merry-Chase,” I said timidly, “are you her?”
Lady Bloodrose laughed, high and musical, and the sound echoed off the copper walls like melodic bells tuned slightly out of key. “I am not,” she said. “For the Red Lady is now in Heart’s-Desire, and she is the witch who we call Elspeth.”
She slouched a bit in her throne, tapping her red fingernail against its arm. “It was the Green Lady, Anaïs, that lured the White Lady away from her home. She gave a mortal the secret he would need to bind the White Lady’s soul to the world of men. With her safely imprisoned in that realm, the three remaining sisters descended on the White Castle; for Heart’s-Desire is the first of the four kingdoms, and possesses most of the Winter King’s treasures. When Elspeth left, she gave her consort regency of Merry-Chase. His name was Lord Bloodrose. When she gave the regency to him, the land listened.”
I could scarcely believe what I was hearing. “Are…you Lord Bloodrose?”
Again, she laughed. “Don’t be foolish, child. Of course not. Lord Bloodrose is my late husband.”
I swallowed, hard. “Is he dead?”
“Why, yes.” Her eyes were very serious. “I’m afraid that while the Red Lady and I share a deep love for this land, I have a good deal more in common with her youngest sister.” She leaned forward then, and I could almost smell his blood on her breath. “I know how to make the land listen.”
Of a sudden, I felt very dizzy, and took a step backward from Lady Bloodrose’s wolfish grin. She straightened, falling into a portrait of stately calm.
“So,” I said, my voice sounding far calmer to my ears than my hammering heart should have made possible, “then you are the regent of Merry-Chase. You want the White Lady to stay chained to the mortal world.”
The little gasp that escaped her lips sounded almost innocent. “Oh, no,” she replied. “That is not what I want at all. You and I have a common goal.
“As long as Elspeth sits that broken throne, Merry-Chase does not truly belong to me. I want the White Lady to come back to her castle. I want those three witches dead. You should want the same thing.”
The only thing I wanted in that moment was to find a place to sit down, cover my eyes, and cry. I said nothing, but the Lady waved me away nonetheless. I made it almost to the door before I heard her voice chirping behind me.
“There could be a pretty green kingdom in it, for you.”
Main Story: Cryptomancy
Flavors: Pistachio 8: Storytelling; Cranberry 22: The World
Word Count: 1007
Rating: PG-13? Nothing too bad, but some references to past cannibalism. Gods, but my warnings are weird...
Summary: History lesson! But this history is more like a fairy tale.
Notes: Continued from my last, but I think this one stands well enough alone.
“But I don’t even know who this Anaïs is,” I finally said. “Why would she want me dead?”
Lady Bloodrose shifted in her seat, adjusting her huge belly as she did so, and favored me with something like a smile. “I will tell you a story,” she said. “Do you like stories?”
Whether I did or didn't, I had a feeling I wouldn’t like Lady Bloodrose’s stories, but I nodded without a sound.
“Once upon a time,” she began, “there was a king.
“This king lived in a tall black tower and never came out, but his realm was very prosperous. He managed to keep the sky blue, the water flowing, and the people happy. One day, a witch passed through the kingdom, and she took it into her head that she would marry this king, and she did.”
Against my better judgment, I interrupted. “But if he never came out of his tower, how did she even meet him?”
“Don’t ask such foolish questions, child. They were married in the king’s forest, and the queen gave him three daughters. But when the fourth was born, she ripped open her mother from navel to neck, and the witch died.”
“My God!” I cried, and the Lady waved her hand in that half-distracted, half-irritated way that she had.
“The first daughter had pale white skin, and hair the color of crow feathers. The king built for her a beautiful white castle, and filled the lands around it with great birds and green grass and trees heavy with sweet fruit. He called that kingdom Heart’s-Desire, and he gave it and the white castle to his eldest daughter when she came of age.
“The second daughter was bright as the sun. Her hair was gold, and her eyes were the color of newly sprung violets. The king built her a castle of grey-green stone, and filled her lands with bounding foxes and bright flowers. He called that kingdom Winter’s-End, and he gave it to the second daughter with the green castle when she came of age.
“The third daughter somewhat resembled the eldest, but her skin was nearly blue. Her eyes were the black of a starless sky, and she fell ill many times as a child. Nonetheless, the king did love her well. He had spent many treasures on the first two castles, but he built the third daughter a tall red tower and keep, and painted the trees around it with red and gold. He called that kingdom Merry-Chase, and he gave it, the red castle, and the Rookery to the third daughter when she came of age.
“By this time, the king had spent all his treasures on the first three daughters. He had taken all the birds and beasts and flowers and fruit and golden leaves and given them away. Now there was nothing left in his lands, only he and his final daughter in his tall black tower in the center of a barren and withered land. When the fourth daughter came of age, the king did not have any gifts left to give her, having already given everything he had to the other three. When he told her this, she killed him and she ate his body. She claimed the black tower as her own, and the barren lands around it. This land is known as the Nameless Land.”
“If the king gave his third daughter Merry-Chase,” I said timidly, “are you her?”
Lady Bloodrose laughed, high and musical, and the sound echoed off the copper walls like melodic bells tuned slightly out of key. “I am not,” she said. “For the Red Lady is now in Heart’s-Desire, and she is the witch who we call Elspeth.”
She slouched a bit in her throne, tapping her red fingernail against its arm. “It was the Green Lady, Anaïs, that lured the White Lady away from her home. She gave a mortal the secret he would need to bind the White Lady’s soul to the world of men. With her safely imprisoned in that realm, the three remaining sisters descended on the White Castle; for Heart’s-Desire is the first of the four kingdoms, and possesses most of the Winter King’s treasures. When Elspeth left, she gave her consort regency of Merry-Chase. His name was Lord Bloodrose. When she gave the regency to him, the land listened.”
I could scarcely believe what I was hearing. “Are…you Lord Bloodrose?”
Again, she laughed. “Don’t be foolish, child. Of course not. Lord Bloodrose is my late husband.”
I swallowed, hard. “Is he dead?”
“Why, yes.” Her eyes were very serious. “I’m afraid that while the Red Lady and I share a deep love for this land, I have a good deal more in common with her youngest sister.” She leaned forward then, and I could almost smell his blood on her breath. “I know how to make the land listen.”
Of a sudden, I felt very dizzy, and took a step backward from Lady Bloodrose’s wolfish grin. She straightened, falling into a portrait of stately calm.
“So,” I said, my voice sounding far calmer to my ears than my hammering heart should have made possible, “then you are the regent of Merry-Chase. You want the White Lady to stay chained to the mortal world.”
The little gasp that escaped her lips sounded almost innocent. “Oh, no,” she replied. “That is not what I want at all. You and I have a common goal.
“As long as Elspeth sits that broken throne, Merry-Chase does not truly belong to me. I want the White Lady to come back to her castle. I want those three witches dead. You should want the same thing.”
The only thing I wanted in that moment was to find a place to sit down, cover my eyes, and cry. I said nothing, but the Lady waved me away nonetheless. I made it almost to the door before I heard her voice chirping behind me.
“There could be a pretty green kingdom in it, for you.”