Page 127 of The Princesses of Ruin
“Look at it,” I say, shaking him.
He glances down, his nostrils flared as he breathes deeply.
“I’m not above forcing your good behavior through fear. I don’t think Princess Reina is, either.” I lean in, letting my wolf shift dominate my facial features. “Death from her will not be as swift as mine, and she’ll find you faster.”
Black wraps my elongating maw and my gums ache as teeth push through. “Understand?”
He screams, groping at my hands to wrench himself free. He runs from the line and takes off into the snowy alleys of the Underbelly. I force my wolf back down and look at Clara. She’s not horrified, or even afraid. The scowl that had seemed to be a permanent feature on her face has softened. She’s hopeful.
“Go with your brothers, and be well,” I say to Clara.
She nods, tucking the package of goods to her chest tighter, and turns to collect her little family.
Reina stands taller, her eyes locked on me. I feel there’s more to be done, and it’s exactly why we came out to do this. This is a moment of change, where we can show them that we are not like the queen. We will not allow the city to fall into disarray like it was.
I turn to face the lines of people begging for the princesses’ generosity, surviving on the backs of their hard work. Some are too old or too young to provide for themselves. Some of them are nomaj, having no place in a war against a goddess. But several of them are able-bodied magi that have absconded from recruitment, and yet still suckle at the teat of charity.
“Do not mistake our kindness for weakness. We will not tolerate the brand of evil that subsisted here unchecked.”
I make eye contact with individuals in the crowd as I speak. Some of them look none-too-pleased, or cynically checked out, but the majority are hopeful.
“Leadership won’t be like it used to be. We care about you. We want to see you thriving, and happy. We want to hear your children’s full-bellied laughter through the streets. We want to see you succeeding in your crafts, excelling in your trades, making the worldbetterwith your work.”
What am I even saying? I’m offering hollow words to a hollow crowd, broken from centuries of promise after promise, never any change.
I look at my fingerless gloves and consider my aching belly. I’ve been awake for a day and eaten once in that time. Reina’s slept less, but had one more meal only because I shoved it down her throat when her stomach groaned so loud, I thought it would open up and swallow the world.
It would be easy to stop, to hoard the food for ourselves and let the people starve or freeze while we consider the battle ahead. This is hard, but all things worth doing are.
I look up and find all eyes on me, the lines stilled.
“We will all have to be a little hungry. A little cold. A little dirty. But we will not always be. Your princesses are working hard to bring this time to an end and usher in a new era of peace and plenty. Work with them. Help them…”
I check in with Reina and she nods. I never know if I’m doing this right.
“If we’re going to change the kingdom, we needyouto change, too. Don’t accept the ways of old. Don’t stand by watching Clara and her little brothers have their food stolen while you worry after yours. Demand better from your fellow citizens, and tell us. Cometo us to fix these problems. We want to hear from you. We want to make your lives better.
“And to everyone who would look at Clara like a prey animal prime for hunting: don’t.”
I grit my teeth, wishing I’d at least drawn blood from the man to make him remember.
“Do not make yourself a problem for us to handle, because wewillmake an example of you, and there will be no apology strong enough, no begging desperate enough, to stop us from making every flayed part of your body sing with agony before you pass on.”
My words hang in the air for a quiet moment. I break my stare and move to the crates to continue distributing goods. The crowds pick back up into light chatter as they move.
“Nice work, Prince Jasper. You have horrified everyone,” Lily says.
“That was somewhat of the intent,” I say, my eyes hunting the crowd for ne’er-do-wells.
“I think it was perfectly reasonable,” Reina says. “Now we just need to reform the entire governing structure to allow for urgent requests to reach us faster and start delegating power to the Spiders to take action on lower-severity issues without our explicit direction.”
“What a mess I’ve made for us,” I muse.
She chuckles. “An important mess. We need to be able to serve these people if we’re to earn the right to govern them.”
“Sagely, princess.”
She snorts. “Stop making fun of me.”
