Yavanna rested her head back and stared at the ceiling. Nothing made sense; not the books, not her family's letters. Nothing.
The physician had come by and asked her to try to speak. It had been better than before when the king had forced her to speak. But it had still hurt.
"General Clark is here, your majesty." Christa said and Yavanna nodded from where she sat on the couch still grasping her mother and brother's letters in her hand. The general strode in—she had been expecting him—and he smiled as soon as he saw her.
"Good afternoon, your majesty. I hope you are feeling better."
She smiled and nodded. She was.
"Excellent." He replied as he took the seat she offered and selected sugar for his tea, "Now—there is another matter that I wished to speak to you about."
She straightened and prepared herself for whatever he would say.
"Lady Vivian is to be executed at dawn tomorrow. She has been charged with treason against the crown and will face her punishment of being hanged till death."
Yavanna's lips had fallen open as soon as he'd said executed. 'Executed? That didn't seem right. Surely—surely there was another punishment.'
"Your majesty." The general began, "It may feel extreme, but this is justice for what she has done. We cannot let her misdeeds go unpunished."
'No, but does it have to be so violent?' She could only sit in her thoughts and the general allowed her to.
When many minutes had passed he finally cleared his throat, "On another… more personal matter." He glanced around, even though both had known it was clear of any other presence. "How much do you know of the magic you possess?"
She blinked and couldn't help but rear back and glance around the same as he had. Taking her quill she wrote in quick strokes her answer, "I know next to nothing."
He hummed upon reading it. "May I ask…" He shook his head, apparently changing his mind, "Why do you think it appeared when Velio paid respect to your majesty?"
She levelled her eyes on him coolly. She had only met him two days ago and he suddenly thought that she would reveal her true thoughts on matters?
"I do not care for your brother. You know what I've accused him of." She answered, feeling that that was civil enough.
He hummed again, "Yes, I do." He sipped his tea slowly as though mulling over her words. She could only sit silently on her couch as she waited for him to complete his thought. He suddenly stood, "I will have him dealt with accordingly, your majesty. For now, I must have his spy dealt with."
"Spy?" She rasped out and then proceeded to cough.
He nodded, watching her struggles with an unsure expression, "It was what I believe she was. She appears to have served him in that way."
She reached for her pen and paper, "You're not sure?"
"She hasn't revealed this information explicitly, but many things point to it. Do not worry, I would never falsely accuse someone, your majesty."
She pulled her lower lip into her mouth out of nervous habit but nodded. She didn't feel nervous or anxious around the general, she believed he was a good man. But looks could be deceiving.
He left and she began pacing, despite her soreness. Vivian was going to die, because of her. She placed her head in her hand and curled her fingers around the fabric of the veil. She wanted to growl, to stomp her foot and scream. She was so tired. It had only been two weeks since she'd entered this life and she was sick and tired of it.
"Your majesty?" Lorraine asked hesitantly and Yavanna stormed towards the door. She needed to get out of here. The general had asked her what she knew about magic, well she would learn about her new magic.
"Your majesty, where are you going?" Sir Greyson asked as she rushed down the hallways with fast steps.
"The forest." She wrote down quickly on the small scrap of paper she had grabbed. She remembered what Christa had read about how witches' magic was tied to their environment. So, she would be in the environment and see if her magic came to her.
"Allow me to accompany you, your majesty."
She shook her head; she couldn't deal with this. He couldn't know about her magic. She didn't want anyone else to know, the king and his brothers already knew and most likely Vivian as well. And Sir Greyson was a native of Nothad, and he was presumably against magic, like most of the natives.
"There's no need, Sir. I will be fine." Velio was currently gone, she would probably be fine.
"With all due respect, your majesty. But I have sworn to protect you and I will not let you out of my sight."
She sighed internally and nodded. She would just have to lose him somewhere along the way.
"I suggest her majesty wear a cloak of some sort to keep warm. The mists can be quite chilling." He said from behind her. She waved her hand in remiss. She felt rather rude communicating only with hand gestures and notes, but what could she do?
As they exited the castle then the castle gates, she began to slow in her pace. Her bruised state was catching up to her.
"You.. miss trees, your majesty?"
She smiled and nodded as he led her to where the trees grew up and into the forest just outside of the city. The mists were indeed cold and her skin broke out in goosebumps. But she blocked it out as she delved further beyond the tree line.
Another realm opened up to her in which the air felt thick and the crunch of ferns and leaves was muffled. She peered out into the mist before her only to see a white wall of it. She turned around to find Sir Greyson but staggered to stop when she saw nothing but the eerie forest.
Her eyes widened and she cursed herself for being an idiot. What had come over her?