...

Only a few hours later, Mariot found herself in the throne room of Castle Rosehill, a beautiful white palace of marble and pink quartz turrets. The throne room itself was a great hall with stained glass windows all displaying a light pink rose and matching carpet. The walls flowed with pink banners etched with a white fleur, the symbol of Rosemarble. The throne itself was oak wood plated with gold and seated upon it was Princess Hildegarde, as acting queen since her mother, Queen Blaine, had fallen gravely ill. Hildegarde had black hair which was cut right below her ears and wore a light blue frock and stockings. Her crown was simple gold ring and she sat on the throne with her legs crossed, leaning over as if she were a child forced to stay in a chair. She was also armed with a needlepoint blade.

"Lady Mariot, let us hear your report." Hildegarde announced with a scoff.

Mariot knelt reverently before the princess, despite being nearly ten years her elder. Her mind raced between horror and confusion and also on which individual to properly shift the blame.

"My princess..." Mariot began, "These two foreign bandits abducted me as part of their plan to kill Countess Valaria."

"Go on..." Hildegarde pressed her.

"That was it." Mariot said, "I mean to say, that was the whole of it. I believe the bandit was injured."

"Valaria was brutally murdered by this...bandit." said a voice from behind Mariot, "Her soul be at rest."

Mariot turned around to see the captain, Jeanine, staring down at her.

"I request that my princess make these murderers suffer." Jeanine said to Hildegarde.

"Granted." Hildegarde said, "Now leave me, I must attend to the queen."

The princess dismissed the pair with a wave of her hand. Jeanine bowed and Mariot curtsied. Jeanine glared at the foolish noblewoman in anger, almost striking her on the head for forgetting Valaria's murder as if she were skipping a meal.

Hildegarde slipped away into a corridor that lead to a flight of spiral stone steps trailing up the the highest room in the tallest tower. She soon made her way up into her mother's bedroom. Queen Blaine was a bloated old matron, pale with fever, her gray hair thinned with stress and sickness. She was covered by a pink quilt, stitched with the same white fleur. Her attendant, a tall albino woman with even pailer skin and pink eyes, was spoon feeding her beef broth from a clay bowl. Hildegard watched her mother cough up the liquid in disgust but took even more disgust at the albino's hands, six fingers on each, gnarled and webbed together.

"Mother, must you have such a wretched caretaker?" Hildegarde questioned.

"Andrea has been loyal to me since the time you were both children." Blaine said weakly, "You would do well to show her respect."

Andrea frowned at the princess's insult, but did not speak up, not only out of respect for her queen, but because she could not. Andrea, had a large, unsightly scar that curved from both ends of her neck. Her vocal cords had been severed from an injury she had sustained from before she could even remember. Early in her childhood, Queen Blaine had found her and taken a liking to her, so much so that she helped around the palace garden before finally caring for the queen herself.

Hildegarde knelt down beside her mother and whispered, but just loud enough so Andrea could hear.

"If I discover that Andrea has poisoned you, then I shall have her corpse-skin flayed alive." she remarked.

Blaine raised her hand in attempt to slap her daughter but was too weak to do so.

"I'm dying of fever and age, fool daughter..." Blaine said with a cough, "Do you think me stupid enough to keep a wicked servant by my side all these years?"

Hildegarde tried to hide her tears, half-anger, half-sorrow. Andrea walked over and placed her webbed hand on the princess's shoulder in concern. Hildegarde brushed it away in repulsion.

"Leave us!!" Hildegarde screamed.

Andrea quickly made her way out of the bedroom and down the stairs wondering how the death of the queen would bode ill for her own welfare.

"Daughter, I have one final request." Blaine whispered.

"Yes, Mother?" Hildegarde asked.

"As queen you must campaign against Bloodmarble." Blaine said, "You must liberate the slaves, our human sistren. With Our Lady's strength, we shall prevail. We shall destroy the vampelles and conquer their hellish queendom."

"I knew you would request it, Mother." Hildegarde said with glee, "I have already made such plans. If we join with Kotaria, heathens though they are, we will have such an army. I am sending Sir Jimmus and Sir Reginald as my envoys."

"I would not have it this way, a Kotarian alliance, if it were not needed." Blaine noted, "We must wipe out the vampelles. All of them."