[PAST ] A Quiet Rendezvous

Eularia studied the face of her friend, leaning into his touch. We were once something more, Mags. She offered a wistful smile, You were my protector and my teacher... She exhaled softly, closing her eyes. The past was in the past.

I wanted to ask, would you come to court with me as an advisor? She raised her eyebrows, studying him thoughtfully. It wasn't a request she'd ask of just anyone; though to anyone in the court it was always clear that Eularia had been more politically inclined than her husband (though she had given up a lot of herself to be that person). She'd wanted her family to be free of the burden of the titles they were given at birth.

Too kind, some might say. Others had different words to use to describe the queen.

My husband was my closest advisor... She murmured, Frankie had a brilliant mind if you knew how to pull answers from it. His chaos had balanced out with her need to over-prove herself to the nobles that had been born with their silver spoons in their mouths. The people who did not think a street urchin Crow deserved to reign as queen of their country.

Vipers in the court.

She shifted, tapping the old tome as she tilted her head back, exhaling again. I'd like you to join me at court. It's... a game of snake eat snake, lies and deceit. I used to be good at it, but... She winced, shrugging. Her husband had made her soft.

...one wrong move could mean the end of my children's lives. She murmured, as if it were just a fact of her life. Because it was. There was no point in fearing the inevitable. And death wasn't just death to a necromancer.