Mina wove deftly through the maze-like garden at the outlet of the secret passage. She knew she couldn't run away. She couldn't survive without the dagger. She could hide, and take some time for herself. She ducked under some thickly vined branches and began to crawl through the underbrush. The small path was a little overgrown, but still there. The plants pulled at her clothing as she went, but she didn't care. Her privacy was more important to her than a dress.
The path opened up to her tiny "castle." The only people who knew about it were a gardener who had built it and since passed, and the youngest of her two older brothers. It would take him a little while to think to look for her there and longer to get away from the search effort. She could have until dinner before he came to collect her.
She brushed the dirt and debris off her dress and made herself comfortable in a beautiful handwoven chair. It was set under an awning built by the gardener to protect it from the rain. It creaked under her weight, but held. She had spent many days in this "castle" hiding from her duties and her father's wrath. Every time a potential wielder failed, it was on her head, as though she could control any of it. She wished she did, so she wouldn't have had to deal with any of it.
The bad luck of being born the queen was only seconded by being a wielder. After the death of their queen and the birth of their daughter, they were forced to live in misery until a new Wielder is found. Being separated from your mate once fully bonded was torture. Death was that much more. Her father would die within a fortnight now that she was bonded to a Wielder. Good for him and everyone who had to deal with him. The only person who might be sad was her oldest brother, Eldon. He had too much pity for their father, excusing his behavior because of the deep magical bond that had been torn apart at the time of her mother's death. She'd read enough about the previous Queens and Kings to know that her father's behavior was a choice.
She did not look forward to that kind of bond forming between her and the dirty human man who had pulled the dagger from her chest. She could still feel him holding the dagger, and it made her feel ill. She should have made him put it back before she'd left, but she'd been so disturbed by the experience that she hadn't thought of it. She still wouldn't have been able to run away because the new wielder would still be able to feel her. They were now inextricably entwined by magic and fate.
She sighed with frustration. She wouldn't have until dinner. There was no way the wielder wouldn't find her within a few hours at most. She got up and angrily kicked over a stack of trinkets, then sat back down. She'd never been her own, and the closest she could ever get was hiding in her castle. Now she didn't even have that much freedom. He would always know where she was and how to find her. Minutes turned to hours before she started to think that the wielder wasn't looking for her. He had been willing to die before forcing her to let him touch her, so maybe he wasn't willing to use his powers to help them violate her need for privacy. It was that or he was completely inept at using his new powers.
She pulled a wooden puzzle from a storage bin built into the base of the woven chair. She'd solved it hundreds of times already, but it passed the time and distracted her a little. It wasn't distracting enough for the rustling in the underbrush to go unnoticed. She stood up and wound her hand back, ready to pitch the puzzle at whoever emerged if they proved to be undesirable. Thankfully, the person who clumsily tumbled out of the brush was her youngest older brother. His blonde hair was full of twigs and leaves, and he looked quite annoyed.
"Well, hello, brother." She smiled sheepishly. She wasn't fond of irritating her only ally. He harrumphed and collapsed into the chair, his yellow cloak draped clumsily over the arms.
"My Queen," he said sarcastically, bowing lazily in his seated position. Mina pulled a face.
"I suppose."
"My condolences." He pulled a flask from his pocket, took a sip, and then offered it to her. She refused politely. "You've caused quite a stir. They're expecting to find you dead somewhere because you traveled too far from the dagger. They're preparing for the whole realm to fall apart."
"If only," she sighed. "Have you seen him?"
"I have." He sounded grave. "I've smelled stable boys that were more pleasant."
"I'm sure you have," she joked. "Like that brunette who likes to wear yellow. He can't afford yellow…"
"Ah, Gerard. Lovely fellow." He sipped his flask again before putting it back in its home at his hip.
"Aurelius, I don't think I can do this." She wasn't being dramatic. She felt like she'd rather die than be forced into this magically induced obsessive relationship. She couldn't imagine ever being truly happy.
"You can and you will. Do you know how I know?" he asked her, pointedly. She shook her head. "You're still here. You would have left us a long time ago if you weren't going to do this."
"Maybe I've just been a coward until now. Knowing that I have to spend the rest of my life with someone who smells like that might have been enough to push me to self-destruction."
"It's not. You're going to gather your wits and confront this head-on. I have every faith in you." He took the puzzle from her hand and fussed with it before tossing it back under the chair. He'd never had patience for puzzles. He wasted it all on Mina.
"Fine. Let's go, so you can be the hero." She teased and started to crawl back through the entrance. Aurelius followed.
She trudged begrudgingly back through the garden maze, Aurelius offering gentle encouragement with the occasional squeeze of the shoulder. When she started to shiver from the evening chill, the weight of her brother's cheery yellow cloak fell around her shoulders. He was always so gentle and thoughtful. She couldn't figure out how he'd turned out so decent.
When they got to the throne room, she saw the priestesses had dispersed, and the human was nowhere to be found. Her sour-faced oldest brother sat on her throne, and her father was pacing the floor in front of him, face filled with rage.
"She is here, she is safe," Aurelius announced flippantly. He was always unbothered by their father's moods. Their older brother flew up from the throne and stalked towards her. She braced herself for what was sure to be a lecture he had no right to give to his queen.
"You have embarrassed our father. Your despicable behavior needs to end here." He was practically spitting as he spoke.
"Embarrassed him? In front of whom? The priestesses, who have known our dear sister her whole life, or the human, who might as well get used to her if he's to be her king. Honestly, Eldon, you should probably mind yourself around your queen. You're not her parent, and you'll never be her better." Aurelius took Eldon's place on her throne and threw his leg casually over the armrest. Eldon turned practically purple and stormed out of the throne room.
"Have the guards take her to her rooms and keep her there. I don't wish to see or speak to her." Their father ordered. The younger of her brothers stood up from the throne and put his arm around Mina. "And, Aurelius? You are not to go with her."
"Wouldn't DREAM of it, father. We mustn't coddle our Queen. That would be unheard of."
She hugged her brother in the hall before being escorted like a criminal to her room, where the men stationed themselves on either side of her door. She was so excited about the prospect of a bath after crawling through the dirt and chilling herself to the bone. She took off her brother's cloak and dropped into the chair beside her door before starting to undo the intricate hairstyle her servant had woven for her that morning.
"Lantha! Have you already started a bath?" She called out when she caught the smell of roses and vanilla on the air. "How do you always kno-" She stopped dead in her tracks when she turned the corner and saw a complete stranger's dark-haired head resting against the edge of her bathtub. She didn't even recognize the scream that tore out of her throat.