I washed my face and returned to the bedroom. Queen Marlena took away the dishes. I was not going to eat no matter how hard they try. The bed was arranged for me to lie but how on earth will I sleep after this?
"You should rest, queen Ariadne. Tomorrow will be a long day" Queen Alissa told me. She kept another bed sheet for me to cover myself. It was cold and my fingers were beginning to be numb. I rubbed my pain together and sat on the edge of the bed.
"Thank you for your care," I told them. "But I think it might be time you stopped calling me queen Ariadne. I'm not royalty."
"Does it matter?" Queen Marlena asked with a smile. This was the first time I saw a smile on her face, today. She knelt in front of me and said "You will always be our queen. How do you want us to address you?...you are not just a slave. You are the only woman who dwells in the heart of the Emperor. The mother of his son, prince Edward. How will you stop us?"
