“…What is that?” asked Pitch, pointing to a small dish filled with some glittery substance.

“It’s jam,” said the Queen, pouring tea into the cups. “Have you ever had tea with jam before?”

“Once, I think…when I was young…”

“Well, try this. I’m sure you’ll love it.”

The sitting room was pitch-dark, save for the light of a single candle, and weak moonbeams stifled by the rolling midnight clouds. Pitch sat across from her stepmother at the table, for one last tea party.

She scooped up some of the jam with a small spoon, and stirred it into her cup. Then she took a light sip. “This…tastes of apples,” she said.

“Oh yes; the finest apples on the continent. I’ve always loved apple-flavored confections…they have such an innocent sweetness about them. Don’t you agree?”

The Queen added some jam to her own cup of tea, and drank it down in a few hearty gulps. Pitch watched cautiously, before taking a second sip.

“Margaret, my dear: I want you to know that I wish you the very best,” said the Queen. “I’m disappointed, of course, that you weren’t able to feel at home here in the end, but I would never stand in the way of your happiness now.”

“…Thank you.”

“Is there anything that I can provide for you, anything that you will need for your travels?”

“Some basic provisions will be fine. Although, I would like to visit the armory, just to see what I can replace…”

“I’ll have someone show you there first thing in the morning.”

“I would appreciate that.”

“Would it be…at all possible for me to visit you, wherever you decide to go?”

“I…I’d really rather you didn’t. Besides, I wouldn’t have anywhere to accommodate a queen and her…party…” Pitch thought of Azor’s mansion. “Well…perhaps if we fixed the place up a bit…” she muttered.

“Perhaps if you did what…??”

“Oh, I was just saying…but, you see, it isn’t really my house. I suppose I’ve just taken to thinking of it that way, since I’ve gotten so sentimental…sentimental, self-righteous…im…impulsive…”

With some difficulty, Pitch got up from her chair. “I’m sorry; I don’t know what’s come over me…perhaps it’s just the lateness of the hour,” she said. “In any case, I really should be getting back to bed…yes…I should go back…to bed…”

Suddenly, the floor suddenly seemed to dip sharply to the left. Pitch tumbled to her knees…and only then did suspicion finally re-enter her clouded mind.

“You…you did something,” she said in a shaky whisper. “But how?? I saw you…drink it first…you drank it first…”

The Queen simply stared at her with that same dull expression, as the world around her faded into darkness.

And before consciousness finally slipped from her grasp, the last thing she heard was a loud, violent ringing in her ears.