Ten years later

Seren sat up and stretched their aching back. Having been scrubbing at the cobblestones of the courtyard for a few hours, their back was sore and their hands were throbbing in pain. They looked up at the labyrinth’s walls at the back of the gardens, it was surrounded by a fence made of barbed wire and stone. There was a door in it made of heavy iron and multiple locks. All the keys of which were held by their mother. Just looking at the hedges overtop the wall had a taste of nostalgia heavy on their tongue. It had been years since the wall was constructed and Seren was completely banned from the labyrinth entirely. That year their mother had also labeled Seren as having far too much time on their hands and thus was tasked with various chores about the castle. Today it was scrubbing the courtyard’s cobblestones

Seren turned back to the castle that loomed up overhead. The different glass panes of the windows had cobwebs in their corners and dust over their sills. A groan creeped up their torso from the thought of eventually having to clean them. They looked back to the soapy water that they were scrubbing at and knelt over again. Working the brush over the stones. Footsteps came and went constantly, the courtyard was connected to the ballroom as well as an underground doorway into the kitchen so the servants could quickly serve food to the ballroom without having to go all the way around the halls. Footsteps of the castle staff were common as sundays were cleaning days. The entire ballroom was to be swept, scrubbed and prepared for the party the Queen would hold the next day. The smell of food came out of the kitchen entrance, it was so close to the taste of nostalgia Seren had in their mouth that everything else was ignored in favor of the smell.

“Oh! Sorry!” The bucket being kicked over and the water washing over Seren’s knees brought them back to reality. They turned around to look at the stranger that had walked backward into their bucket and spilled it. He was dressed in dark ocean blues with white trims. His hair was long and pulled back loosely. But Seren felt the blood run ice at his eyes, they remembered his eyes. One was blue, but the other was green.

“It’s fine,” they dropped their gaze quickly and snatched the bucket up before he could grab it. They were up and walking for the well as quickly as they could.

“Oh, wait hang on!” The man called after them. Seren closed their eyes and kept walking. The prince of Sjodyr ran up beside them. “You might know what I’m after.”

“Oh?” Seren asked. Avoiding eye contact with him. They couldn’t help looking at their ragged and destroyed clothes. Soaking wet from the soapy water and sweat of working under the spring sun. Their nearly black hair was haphazardly pulled up into a working bun that left split ends and broken curls sticking out at angles.

“Absolutely, there’s been rumors about Aderyntan having an heir. I believe their name is Seren?” He asked. Seren bit the inside of their lip.

“Yes,” Seren said very hesitantly. “What of them?” Seren continued a quick march across the grounds toward the well with the empty bucket in their hand. He was keeping them from escaping into the castle, walking alongside without giving an opening for them to duck past.

“Can you tell me where to find them?” There was a slight tone of irritation in his voice that struck through Seren like a knife.

“No, the Queen doesn’t like them interacting with company.” Seren said. They reached the well and set the bucket down on the stone edge. Seren reached forward to grab the well’s rope but James grabbed it first.

“Why not?” He asked, taking the bucket and tying the rope to it. “Doesn’t she want to see her child carrying on the bloodline?”

“I don’t know anything about that,” Seren turned to the crank and began dropping the bucket down.

“There must be rumors,” James asked. Grabbing the crank over their shoulder. Seren shrunk away to the other side of the well. Trying to keep things obscuring his line of sight from them. “Something that is the reason the Queen does this, what’s the whispering in the halls?” Seren looked into the well.

“Since the death of the King, the Queen has wanted to remarry.” Seren said slowly. “I believe that has been her main concern before finding a marriage for her child.”

“Competition? That’s the theory?” The crank hit the end and ran out of rope. He looked at Seren through the cover of the well. His eyes narrowed at them. When a spark of recognition ignited inside the blue and green eyes Seren panicked. They turned and ran for the castle. James yelled after them to wait but Seren didn’t stop. They ducked into the servants entrance of the castle and slammed the door behind them. They couldn’t breathe through the feeling of their heart pounding. Others employed in the castle stopped to look at them in shock. Seren avoided the looks and quickly moved to leave the kitchen and retreat deeper into the castle. They pulled their hair out and ran their fingers through it in an attempt at taming the wild mane.

A quiet knock at the door made Seren dive behind the nearest cover. One of the other servants of the castle tentatively looked at Seren before walking to the door and opening it up. Seren hissed and hid behind the counter until the silence built up the pressure in their chest and they couldn’t take it any longer. They peeked around the corner of the counter to see the open but empty door to the courtyard. In the hand of the person who opened the door was a golden apple.

Seren felt like they’d been kicked by a horse. They jumped up onto their feet and ran to the open door. Stopped by the apple in the person’s hand. They carefully took it and looked at the flawless golden skin of the apple. It hadn’t rotted at all. Seren ran out of the kitchen and back into the courtyard. Staring into the fence before the labyrinth was James.

High above the courtyard, the Queen looked down at the prince of Sjodyr. Her frown deepened as Seren appeared again in the courtyard. She watched the two of them for a few more moments before slamming the curtains closed and turning back to her chambers. The open sitting room of her chambers were empty save for a few purple upholstered sofas and small unused tables. On one there was a tray with a teapot and two unused cups. Looking at the set made the Queen’s anger rear up even harsher. She turned, flinging the heaviest layer of her gown around her. Storming through the doors and sending the ladies in waiting stumbling back in fear. The older more experienced ladies covered their faces as the Queen rushed past them, but she wasn’t interested in them this time.

She stormed through the double doors, throwing them open with a thunderous crash. Mirrors on every wall showed them not only the stone face of the Queen’s anger but also the ladies in waiting, fading in the background, rushing to the window and peeking out to see what had made the Queen so angry. The image faded away as the Queen burst through another set of doors. She had time to think as she marched through the halls. Not that it calmed her down any, it only fueled her rage. She took a sharp turn into her private study. Pacing. Something had to be done. She summoned one of her ladies in waiting, who came warily into the study.

“Find me a hunter, best within the kingdom. Quickly,” The Queen snapped. The lady hastily curtsied and turned. Barely out of sight before she took off running. The Queen turned toward one of the mirrors in the study. Her dark hair had started to lighten. In a few more years it would be white, it’s thick volume had already begun to thin. Her green eyes were dulling and that was to say nothing of the wrinkles that were starting to form around her eyes. If the Queen had been any closer she would have smashed the mirror or thrown something at it. Her own reflection had begun to mock her. An odd memory of when she had still been a wife and not a widow came to mind.

When she had sat by the open window as the white snow poured down from the grey skies while the late King rocked their newborn child. She was working on her needlepoint while staring off into the brief clearing in the clouds where night sky and stars could be seen.

“They look just like you,” he had said. The words made the Queen prick her finger on her needle. She turned to him, perfectly infatuated by the newborn.

That was the night he mysteriously died.