Page 29 of Of Sockets Of Stitches
Monsters resumed their conversations. Quieter, of course. Conversation faded again when Gangrel rapped his black fingernail against the side of a decanter. “The most delighted of welcomes to our magnificent queen upon her return from the grave. Our queen, we despaired in your absence, and we are remade now that you grace us with your exquisiteness anew. Please never leave us, for we cannot do without you.”
He colored slightly at the end and quickly sat. Other pawns hastened to add their words to his, and over the top of all that, Candor’s voice was clear.
“Most pawns felt annoyed they had not been the first to speak words of welcome to the queen.”
Huckery chuffed a chuckle from where he sat beside Candor. The skeleton’s teeth spread wider at the sound of his amusement.
I held my goblet high and waited until Motherfilled it. She had pushed all manner of foods and drinks to pile upon the table. I hoped she had not exhausted herself in death.
“My soul is warmed by monsters always. I greet pawns and princesses. I greet kings and monsters of my queendom. Nothing could content your queen more than existing in your esteemed company. Let us celebrate monstrous unity tonight, then let us settle into a queen’s rule and purpose. Feast and drink and be as happy as you dare.”
Princesses clapped politely, and pawns beamed. Some kings nodded, and others did nothing.
I drank from my goblet and did not focus on any one monster. I tuned out my bodily distractions, then allowed my many minds to take everyone in. I fully abandoned my senses to give full attention to the spinning cogs in my mind. Once I understood everything that my minds had observed of those in the room, I returned to my body too. All this in a blink.
Someone had placed Princess Change in a chair, but she did not look at anyone and did not seem to care where she was—or even that her king was present and trying to decipher the problem with his princess.
Princess Bring had grown too large to completely immerse herself in the sand pile. She was less of a sticky mess tonight, and more of a sticky blob. Her king only had eyes for her, and for his inner journey.
Princess Take was seducing her king.
The Raises were in love, and the princess rested her head against her king’s shoulder.
Pawns were in great spirits, though they were not impervious to the subtle tensions rippling through the dining hall; those between myself and King See, or Princess Take and Candor, or King Bring and the pawns—who had all shared in daylight activities with his princess for a time.
Valetise was feeding Picket a morsel of food, and every one of his rope fibersstrained toward her.
Love. Union.
Strange concepts.
Of course, amid all of this, I was aware of how King See’s gaze raked me. I was aware that he did not wish to succumb to lust, but the slit in my skirt and the glimpse of my stomach through sheer organza was undoing him.
Did he like the chainmail draped across my shoulders? Likely not, for in war we had often disagreed, and so we were at war with each other forevermore. But I did revel in his turmoil, as Candor had revealed earlier. I reveled in the idea that he might live in great regret. All this through the beating of our hearts, and there was my torture. For as he was affected, then so was I. One of us could not be calm when the other was not. Both of our hearts stuttered and skipped.
King Change snarled, “What have you done to her?”
I finished listening to Toil admonish Hex for drawing the whole plate of potatoes into his blob and not leaving any for another.
I answered the king. “I removed her single reason for existing.”
Change blinked. But with the melted appearance of his eyelids, the blink was neither symmetrical nor complete.
King Raise said from partway down the left of the table, “How is it possible to remove that from a person?”
How?My brows rose. I had not much considered how. I had wished to do it. “In the same way I would pick a flower, sir. Though a deeply rooted flower, I grant you.”
The king did not understand, but that was to be expected.
“You seek to punish me through my princess.” King Change accompanied his accusation with a glare of mange and scar.
I sipped from my goblet. “Punishment of you never entered my mind, King of No Change. This is entirely to do with a princess.”
“How so?” King Take asked, tearing his focus from his princess’s breasts.
Princess Raise answered for me, “Our queen wishes to ascertain whether a princess is of No Change too.”
The connections of a princess satisfied a queen. Her king gazed upon her with adoration and respect.
