The first time I saw Queen Catherine was when she announced her engagement to the then Prince Caesar. She was on the balcony of the Royal Palace. Greeting the mob, with that smile that marked her rosy cheekbones.
I was delighted with her beauty. At that time, I thought she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen (after Delilah). I was so obsessed with her that I wanted to imitate her. I tried to convince my mother to make me the same hairstyle as the then Princess Catherine. However, my mother refused. That hairstyle was very complicated and needed stylists who knew what they were doing. We also did not have money to pay a specialist or to buy the necessary supplies for the hair care.
Delilah was jealous. I kept talking about the Princess, and it frustrated her. She stopped talking to me for a week.
"Go with your Princess!" She would yell at me every time I went to look for her at her house.
Eventually, I stopped talking about her Royal Highness and Delilah's anger passed, but deep down I continued admiring Catherine, heir to the Royal Crown of Alba Terra.
Did you know that she was the one who promoted the reform so that dark-skins could marry nobles? If it wasn't for her, Marco would never have been able to fulfill his whim with me. I guess I should… Thank her?
And now ... Queen Catherine, she was in front of me, surrounded by blinding light and crimson butterflies.
"Tell me, dark skin, would you like to be Queen?" She asked me.
I was petrified.
"Ho ... Ho... How is it possible?" I stammered.
"You see, dark-skin… I don't know. I'm only sure of my death. "
«What? her death?»
"It can't be ...," I whispered.
But it could be. I knew it. I only needed to process it. For years I was aware that I could see and interact with the souls of the deceased. So, the fact that Queen Catherine was in front of me after her death was not so far-fetched.
And then ... I thought I heard the bells.
I went out to the balcony and realized that it was not my imagination. The bells were ringing announcing the death of a member of the royal family.
"I died hours ago, in the morning, but so far they are announcing it," the spirit of Queen Catherine affirmed in the middle of my room.
"No, no, no, no ...," I refused to believe it.
"I was wandering around this place for hours," she continued, "trying to understand what had happened. I did not understand. It was as if I was not yet aware of my death. And I wondered through these corridors, invisible to everyone because I couldn't get anyone to see or hear me. And for some reason, I was attracted to you. "
"No, no, no ...," I kept trying to process everything.
«Wake up, Bachué»
I pinched myself. Nothing happened.
I pinched myself again, even harder. Nothing happened. I was still there accompanied by the banshee of the late Reina.
"I don't know why I just fell into this place after my death," Her Majesty Catherine said. "I don't know why just you either. You can see me, you can hear me, and if I get too far away from you, I get lost in time, as if I were in another reality where no one can see or hear me. It is as if you are the beacon of my soul. The closer I am to you, the more aware I am, the more lucid I am. "
She kept talking, but I didn't understand anything.
I walked over to my bed and fell onto it.
"Why did Your Majesty die?" I asked.
"I don't know that either," she admitted, "I just know that I had a meal with the Secretary of the Harvest and when I took a bite, everything went black."
"Were you poisoned, Your Majesty?"
"Possibly…"
Who could have done that to Her Majesty? It was not possible! She was loved by the people, by her servants, by her council, by the King.
"Who?" I asked getting up from the bed.
"I don't know either," she said resignedly, "but I had a lot of time to think as I wandered these corridors, as I made peace with my new… situation, and I think I know who she was. It's just a suspicion. "
"Who, Your Majesty? Who could have been capable of such a heinous act? "
"Antonete of the Mercier house," she answered without a doubt in her voice.
Antonete? Sure ... it made sense if you thought about it. She was the first fiancée of the then Prince Caesar, but then he abandoned her for Catherine of the Esparza house. Why? Nobody knows it for sure. Catherine Esparza was rumored to be much more empathetic and kind-hearted than Antonete Mercier, so the Prince could not resist the charms of a caring soul.
The Queen approached me.
"I saw it all, dark skin. Everything that happened to you in the last hours, even if you couldn't see me. I witnessed Duke Soto with your younger sister. I must admit he disgusted me. "
I nodded.
"You haven't answered my question," she reminded me.
"Your question, Your Majesty?" I sounded confused.
She nodded.
"Would you like to be queen?"
«There. Her Majesty lost her mind after she died» I thought.
"Queen?" I asked. "I don't know what Your Majesty refers to."
"What else am I talking about, dark-skin?" Her tone seemed to scold. "To have a crown on your head, to sit on a throne and have your will done."
"That is a very beautiful dream, Your Majesty, but you more than anyone should be aware that such longings are not possible for a dark-skin like me."
"A few years ago it was impossible for someone like you to marry a nobleman, and look at you now ...", said the Queen. "What do you say? You would have the power to marry whoever you want. Marco Derderián? Ha! He would be no one compared to whom you could marry. And your sister, my dear, she wouldn't have to marry a filthy old man either. You shall be the Queen. Your will shall be done. You shall only respond to the Supreme and everyone shall respond to you. "
"How?" I asked for.
"I have a plan. But first, you must promise me that you will do whatever I tell you. I will speak to your ear. I will teach you the art of war for power. With me as your guide, there will be nothing you cannot achieve. You shall be Queen and I shall take revenge on Antonete through you. What do you say? Do you promise?"
«What the hell is going on?»
I did not answer.
"Answer, dark-skin," she pushed me. "You must decide. Do you promise that you will do everything I tell you? "
I looked into her eyes. Her face, her body, looked solid enough to be the manifestation of a spirit in pain. Anyone who could have seen her would have said she was alive.
"Is it possible? Marry whoever I want? " I asked.
"Yes."
«Delilah…» I thought.
"And my sister?" I asked.
"You can save her."
I hesitated for a few seconds, but then I made the decision that would change everything.
"It's fine. I promise," I have never said something with such certainty.
Queen Catherine smiled.
"We start tonight."
***
I slipped away in the dark. The whole mansion was asleep. The lunar eclipse loomed over me as I approached the stables. I wore a hooded cape that managed to hide my face and my elegant dress. If someone had discovered me, they wouldn't know who I was, as long as they were some distance apart.
The groom in charge that night was also sleeping. Some horses were awake. I approached the stable of a gray one. I had to be careful to open his stable without making a lot of noise.
The horse got a little nervous when I approached, but I patted his head to reassure him. I saw Marco do that so many times that he came out naturally to me.
«Am I really about to do this?»
I put the chair on top of the animal and tied it as best I could. As I did so, I prayed that the horse didn't make any noise.
Then I climbed on top of him just like I had been taught years ago.
I took the reins and hesitated.
"You are about to change your life," Queen Catherine told me, materialized right next to me.
I guess I'll have to get used to her showing up out of nowhere to talk to me
"I can't…," I wailed out loud.
"Yes you can."
Was that my inner voice or that of the ghost of a deceased Queen next to me?
"This is going to be difficult," I said.
"No one ever said it wouldn't be. But nothing worthwhile will never be easy. It's a drawer phrase, but it's true. "
"I may die."
"Or you can become the most powerful dark-skinned in all of history."
Then I saw my sister. It was a memory, but she felt so real, it seemed like I was living my memories again.
When she cried, because she was afraid to go to the mansion to work, I promised her that I would convince our mother so that only I would work for both of us. She hugged me so tight that I thought she was going to take my breath away.
"You promise?" She asked me between sobs.
"I promise," I replied.
I plucked up my courage, tore the white ribbon from my left wrist, shook the reins, and the horse began to walk.
The groom awoke, but it was too late. I had already started riding.
I shook the reins over and over again, the horse accelerated its gallop.
I looked back and saw how the mansion got smaller and smaller and was lost in the darkness of the night.
I'm really doing it. I'm really running away from my wedding.
I rode at full speed, heading north. In the direction of my sister.
End of chapter 1.