Page 43 of Of Sockets Of Stitches
I answered, “I must try. And I have reflected deepest of all on this matter, for I feel no meaningful way forward with this king, no stepping stone. I cannot seem to locate any pebble to trigger a landslide. So, my champions, I put the task to you. In romance, what must a queen do?”
Princess Take licked her full lips. “You know, my king did mention that a pawn carried a message for King See before you entered the grave. Is it true that King See requested an audience that you denied?”
My heart fell. Because the pebble was so grotesquely simple. Yet so heavy that I felt foolish trying to pick it up. This surely could not work.
Surely speaking with King See would not lead to anything.
Chapter Fifteen
An audience.
“What do you ponder, my queen, if I may be very bold and ask?” Valetise murmured in her unique murmuring way that managed to convey great steeliness of character despite the muted volume.
I remained still as she buttoned the high neck of the crisp, white blouse. The white blouse tucked into black trousers, and while lacy embellishments and large buttons adorned the garment, they did not distract from the message of the ensemble.Business.
I answered, “I am always glad for boldness in monsters. Quite simply I yearn for a haze where time does not exist.”
“You would rather not entertain this audience with King See.”
She knew about the audience. Everyone knew about the audience. Every monster had sensed the shift when Princess Change began speaking to her king in the rooftop garden everyhour of the night. They could not miss Princess Raise acting differently, so suddenly assertive and commanding. If they had missed all of that, then they surely had experienced the sight of Princess Take wearing a full-length cloak, and also her king’s despairing shock.
And a queen had reversed her decision to deny King See an audience.
Monsters could not miss such shifts.
Soon I would meet with King See, and so many barriers in me.
How would he try to justify his betrayal?
How would I respond to an unexpected apology, if one were offered?
Yet I trusted myself forevermore since I existed in the haze… the haze I longed to return to in times like this. I trusted in my mind, in my body, and in my power. I knew them, and they knew me.
My fate was to save the world.
For my monsters.
I took a bracing breath and acknowledged Valetise’s curtsey with a nod.
“King See is for you, as Picket is for me,” she whispered to my back. “You will find love once more, my queen.”
How little she understood. I was happy for the monster’s ability to live so simply, and I did feel lonely in the complexity and diversity of my knowledge. Only a queen understood the failings of love. If most kings had known it, then they had chosen to ignore their instincts to transcend love.To survive it.
Only one king had refused the sentiment of love. King See had refused to settle for less than transcendence. In doing so, he had gone too far the other way and mistaken transcendence with coldness and distance.
And now we were meant to heal all of the misgivings and mistrust and betrayal between us in a matter of weeks.
The Real End seemed an easier path.
I floated to my throne room and sat upon my throne. Hellebores framed me bodily, curling around my face, arms, and legs in their frantic bid to alleviate the burden on my mind.
Candor slid out of the stone wall. “My queen, good dusk. Will you require my truth services during this audience?”
Did I wish to know lie from truth? No.
And yes.
I sighed. “If I believe from a sense of faith in a person, blindly in other words, does the truth carry more weight?”
