I gave birth to my child last night. Another girl.

Edmund does not know yet. Now, I watch indifferently as Argenta swaddled the little babe, and although I should be happy that my child is born perfectly healthy, I could not.

Instead, all I felt was crippling fear. I think of the dead Queen Helene more than ever. The bad king had arranged for her death just because she was unable to produce a son, and I fear that the same fate shall soon befall me.

          "Do you not want to hold your daughter, Anne ?" I hear my mother-in-law ask, and I could only smile bitterly as I shook my head.

           "No," I mouthed back.

She is a beautiful, healthy baby girl. Her hair is pitch black, contrasting with her snow white skin, just like her father. The only feature she had gotten from me is her pale periwinkle eyes.

I notice that Lillianna was pacing around in the corner, her eyes darting around wildly as she nervously chewed on her fingernail.

           "What are you worrying about, Lillianna ?" I ask weakly, my voice barely above a whisper.

She briskly shook her head. "Nothing of importance. You should be resting right now, My Lady Anne."

Despite her assurance, I was certain that the matter she was worried about is indeed important. I reach out and grasp for her arm.

            "Tell me, Lillianna," I croak. "You must tell me. I must know."

She cowered under my sharp gaze, and eventually, she relented. "Your Majesty, the King's concubine, Melissa Hasteburn is pregnant."

For a moment, I felt as if my mind went blank, and then, a burst of cold laughter bubbled up my throat.

              "Your Majesty," Lillianna called out in concern, but I brushed her off.

              "I knew this day would come sooner or later. But to announce the news on this day... The Hasteburns truly know how to make others grow green with envy."

In the corner of my eyes, I could see my mother-in-law opening the door to let my husband in, and I bitterly looked away.

              "Look, Ned. It's a healthy little girl," I hear her say.

              "She is lovely. Let me hold her, Mama," Edmund's voice rang.

There was no hint of disappointment in his voice, but how pleased can he be, when he was the one who repeatedly said that we must have a son?

Then, I could feel the right side of the bed dip, and I immediately knew that it was Edmund. He knelt down to press a kiss against my forehead, but I turned away before his lips even touched my skin.

             "Anne ?" he murmured in confusion. "Do you not feel well? I will call the physician over-"

             "No," I interrupted. "I am perfectly fine. But there is no need for you to waste your time over here. Why don't you go and look after your little concubine, hm? Who knows, you might be able to get an heir out of her."

             "Anne, I will only consider our children as my heirs. I thought you knew that."

              "Of course I know," I retort. "But if she pops out a son, will your stance remain the same ?"

               "I always keep my promises, Annie. I love you, and only you. Even if she gives birth to ten boys, only our children can ascend the throne."

His words were tender and warm, albeit too idealistic. And quite frankly, I believe none of the things that he said.

Edmund had named our daughter Verena, after the queen of our first king, Grégoire.

My mother-in-law had personally arranged for a feast to celebrate Verena's birth, and as I prepare for this occasion, I feel my heart sink further and further down.

Amaranthis tells me that there will be dancers and musicians at the feast, and that it will be a fun, jolly affair, befitting the birth of a princess who brought so much joy.

Today, I don a magnificent gown of golden silk, and my crown sits neatly on top of my dark curls, but I look weak and pale. The banquet is held only three weeks after Verena's birth, and I have yet to fully recover.

        "Argenta, bring me the rouge," I order. My lips and cheeks were deathly pale, almost white in hue. Even after I smeared the rouge on, it did not help much.

I looked like a corpse in this blindingly bright dress, and my periwinkle eyes, once my greatest vanity, now look dead.

I barely have the energy to go out there and talk and smile as if nothing had happened, but I am expected to do just that nonetheless. So now, I hide my crippling fear and plaster on a fake smile.

      The banquet is as grand and opulent as my mother-in-law had described. The dining tables are laid with cloth of gold, with golden tableware to match.

There were bouquets of fresh periwinkles and lilies on the table, and the dark heavy curtains had been pulled back, allowing the sun to illuminate the usually darkened hall.

I sit beside my husband as I always did, but I felt more distant from him than ever before. He is kind and civil towards me, but I do not have the heart to converse and laugh along with him like I used to before.

Instead, I am silent, and my eyes were glaring in the direction of Melissa Hasteburn. The Hasteburn girl, though plain and uninteresting, looked unusually bright and beaming today. Her light green gown was nothing compared to my own gown, but she seemed to appear more lively, more radiant.

None of my family members could come-- the plague in Rhyland has yet to die down, and now, I feel completely alone, as if I am in a room full of strangers.

     Anna-Claudia is here with her children in tow, and I hate that I could not rush over and slap that malicious smile off of her face.

    The Hasteburn twins exchange sinister smiles with each other, as if rejoicing in my misfortune.

Those are the ones that I know of. What about those that I did not notice? Surely, there must be countless families who wish that they were in House Winterbourne's place, and my failure in providing an heir meant that they were one step closer to achieving their goal.

There are so many faces here. Some are smiling, and some are laughing. What is it that they find so funny? Do they find my misfortune laughable?

                 "Anne !" Edmund's voice sharply sliced through my trance. "You were shaking, Annie. Come, let me feel your forehead."

He reaches out his hand, but I brush him off.

                "I am fine," I murmured in response. "Do not waste your time worrying about me."

I turn my gaze back to the dancers twirling in the middle of the hall, their long braided hair swaying with every movement they made.

There were musicians in the corner, some playing the lute and some hitting the drum. The tune that they played was upbeat and cheerful, and all the banquet attendees looked with excitement and delight.

      Then, the song came to an end, and the dancers made their way for an old woman to come through. She was quite small and petite, and judging from her heavy wrinkles and milky blue eyes, she had to be at least eighty years old, or even much older.

She donned a robe of azure blue taffeta that sparkled under the sunlight, and her long hair, which was completely white, was let loose down her crooked back.

          "Anne, this is Madame Mazarine, a soothsayer from the kingdom of Castelona," my mother-in-law whispered into my ear. "She came to Phoenicia to visit the Cantergarre Mountains, and I thought it would be nice to invite her to this banquet."

          "I see," I reply dryly. "Well, have her foretell Verena's future, and we will see later on if she is telling the truth."

          "She is said to be the best at her craft. It's just that her accent is quite thick, so we must be a bit careful when trying to understand what she is saying," Amaranthis said with a frown. She shifted away from me and towards Madame Mazarine.

           "Madame, the Queen wishes for you to foretell the future of Princess Verena," she said, gesturing towards my daughter, who was fast asleep in her cradle.

The old woman nodded and waddled over to the cradle, and very gently, her wrinkly fingers brushed against my daughter's face. Then, her milky eyes turned into a brilliant shade of vibrant blue, as if she had suddenly become young again.

But when she stepped away from the cradle, her eyes became cloudy again.

             "She will one day become the most powerful woman in the land. Not here, but in the land across the sea. Light will turn to dark, and the golden orchids shall be tainted with red," she spoke loudly, though her thick Castelonian accent made it quite hard to understand.

      The land across the sea... I had quite a few guesses on where it might be. It could be the small island nation of Ravier, or the sunny kingdom of Castelona, and perhaps even the vast mountainous kingdom of Amaris, where my grandmother hailed from.

I did not understand what she meant by 'light shall turn to dark', or 'the golden orchids shall be tainted with red', but the prediction that my daughter would someday be in possession of great power was nevertheless comforting.

I smiled in satisfaction and gestured for my mother-in-law to hand Madame Mazarine a bag of gold coins, but the old woman had refused.

         "I will take this instead," she gently responded, her voice as light as a dream. Her thin fingers reached out for the bouquet of periwinkles on the banquet table, and very carefully, she plucked off a single flower from the bouquet.

         "If the House of Mazarine ever requires assistance, we will come to those who are represented by this flower," she said with a wide grin, exposing her empty gums. "Do you wish for me to read your fortunes, Your Majesty ?"

Deep down, I wanted to know what the future had in store for me, for House Winterbourne. Will we continue reigning forever, or would we end up in tragedy and ruin? I was afraid, terrified even. In the end, I shook my head.

          "No," I said softly while shaking my head. "There is no need for that."

Madame Mazarine nodded, and bowed deeply. "I understand. I shall take my leave now, Your Majesties. The Cantergarre Mountains awaits me."

Just before Madame Mazarine left, the Marquis of Hasteburn burst through the wide-eyed crowd, exclaiming, "Madame, I would like you to predict the fortunes of my unborn grandchild."

I could see Melissa Hasteburn standing behind her father's shadow, her bodice particularly tight in the abdomen to accentuate her pregnancy.

Madame Mazarine's footsteps abruptly stop, but before she could even say anything, the Marquis rudely added, "I am willing to pay whatever price you ask for. I have money, estates, horses-- anything. The House of Hasteburn will even help you in time of need--"

             "I do not need all that, and quite frankly, there is nothing that you and your house can give me. But as you are very desperate, I will read your grandchild's fortunes-- free of charge. Come closer, girl."

Melissa Hasteburn excitedly came forward, and Madame Mazarine gently placed her hand on Melissa's stomach. Her eyes became clear and frighteningly blue just like before, and as she lifted her hand, the cloudiness in her eyes returned.

           "He will be a man of God," she stated lowly, and almost immediately, the Hasteburn brothers and their supporters erupted in cheers.

            "So it is a boy ?" the Marquis guffawed, and his murky brown eyes flickered towards Edmund, his lips spread wide in a stupid grin. Without receiving confirmation from Madame Mazarine, he loudly declared, "Your Majesty, you will be having a son! Oh good God, our prayers have finally been answered!"

I felt sick to my stomach upon hearing that, and my erratic heartbeat returned. I could hear my heart pounding in my ears, and it was so loud that it drowned out the sound of my surroundings.

I swallowed hard, trying to maintain my cool and unbothered façade. Then, I averted my gaze back to Madame Mazarine and the Marquis.

               "Tell me, Madame. What kind of man shall he become? Will he become a great ruler ?" the Marquis asked loudly, as if I were invincible in that room.

Madame Mazarine did not exactly answer his question, and instead she said, "He will become the greatest, most revered priest in this land. He will aid in vanquishing the greatest evil in this land, and when that day comes, no more innocent blood shall be spilt."

Her words were cryptic, but the Marquis paid no heed to that.

                "You mean prince," he chuckled. "My grandson, the greatest prince in the land!"

               "I said, priest-"

The Marquis waved her off nonchalantly. "We all heard you the first time, Madame. When my grandson, the prince is born, you will receive a hefty reward."

His supporters cheered again, and mugs filled to the brim with beer and liquor were raised into the air. I could not bear it any longer.

This shameless man knew that I am all alone now without my father or brother to protect me, and he is blatantly trying to insult and humiliate me by ignoring my existence in this room.

They celebrate the life of Melissa Hasteburn's bastard child on the day that was meant to celebrate the birth of my daughter. He dares to refer to the bastard child as 'prince', though it is common knowledge that the child of a concubine shall never receive royal titles.

I am disgraced, and I have no strength to fight back.

With tears threatening to fall down my cheeks, I abruptly stood up from the table. My sudden movement sent goblets and chalices down to the floor, and loud clangs resounded throughout the hall. All eyes were on me.

        Yes, look. Look at me. Laugh at me. It is what you always wanted to do, right?

Edmund's hand reached out for my trembling one, slick with sweat. He tried to hold on to me, but I roughly tugged my hand away.

As I look towards the crowd, their eyes wide with shock and surprise at my unseemly reaction. What a scandal! How flagrant! The Queen is threatened by her new love rival!

I feel as if I am being pushed into a corner, and they, all these people, are coming closer and closer,  suffocating me to death. Their stares and gazes are like sharp prickly needles, tearing into my flesh and burning holes into my clothes.

With nowhere to hide anymore, I run.