Plot Challenge: A Queen's Sorrow

K

Kitti

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PLOT CHALLENGE

Plot challenges are designed to help you think quick and be inspired. We often play this game in the cbox, shouting out random words or phrases and see what ideas first pop in to people's heads.

To Participate: THINK FAST. Don't waste any time. The first idea(s) that comes to mind, write it down and post it!

NOTE: If you decide to borrow someone's concept for a roleplay, make sure you give credit.

Challenge Phrase
A Queen's Sorrow
 
The kingdom of Lure was one filled with fantasy and mystery. To the many occupants living in Lure demons and curses were nothing new, but their very queen, queen Natalia, had uncovered something truly horrifying, the truth. The prophecies the people of Lure blindly followed told of a terrible war that would lead to the death of their beloved king, king Julius II, and then one dreadful night, the prophecy came true. Natalia spent a whole year in mourning and dread over the loss of her husband, but then one faithful day, she received nothing more than a single piece of paper from an anonymous source. It was a single page from a book that told of a plan to assassinate the King and that the prophecy foretelling his death had been nothing more than a coverup. The very queen knew nothing of the secrets her very own kingdom held from her, and now she was beginning to find them out, realizing that the single page she had become in possession of belonged to not just a single book, but an entire library full of deception and lies. She would also soon realize, that with these secrets, came those who were sworn to protect them, but Queen Natalia would find herself delving more and more into the truth behind her beloved kingdom, despite the dangers that awaited her around every corner. She found herself uncovering things that she would forever regret having learned, and that all along she had failed to realize that sometimes, ignorance...truly is bliss.
 
The queen had only recently attained her bid for supremacy and as she lay in her bed, still dressed rather poorly, she wondered about what things were to occur to her. Certainly she would now be well off. As before she was quite poor. She looked about her room filled with gold decorations and the finest seal furs and draperies. She was so warm and comfortable. Soon she was to fall asleep when she began to hear someone crying. She looked up and saw a cerub of gold and crowned in jewels on the wall. "Why do you cry little one? Surly god takes care of thee?"
"I cry because I from my perch I can see a young woman. She is sewing with such weariness, while her son is so deathly ill. They are so cold that surely her son shall die. But they havent any money for wood."
"I am a queen! I will take care of my people."
"But what have you of them? Surely you will be too busy to bother, with your balls and corronation. Prithee take a jewel and palce it on the window perch. God will surely take care to see the stone to her." So the soon to be queen did so and pried out a jewel from the cherub. Then she placed it on the open window. Then she lie downa nd fell asleep. An hour later she heard the crying again.
"Pray what now?"
"You are a heartless girl."
"Why are you crying? I will be queen soon and I have learned charity."
"I cry because there men out there who give up their life to line your coats in furs because they cannot afford to not work. While your highness sleeps away the day. Prithee pry off my pearl crown and place break it apart. Then place it on the window. Surely god will see to it." And so the girl did. And a sparrow came and carried away the jewels to give to men. And the girl fell asleep. After another hour she fwoke up again to crying.
"Why do you cry, cherub? I have learned charity and I have learned observance."
"You are a stupid girl. Surely you will have the finest feast at your corronation but you will not share it with those who are in need. Come take off my gold leafing and when tomorrow you are approached by a beggar you must give him the gold." So the girl got up on a chair and began to try and take off the gold leaf, but as she was doing it a guard entered to check on her, and as he had never seen the girl before now took the girl for a thief and arrested her.
The moral of the story: faith can lead you into trouble without the wisdom to understand it.
 
A helpless behemoth floated along the black sea. Debris and air hissed out from the gaping wounds that scored it's steel and ceramite hide, with hundreds of meters of cable and wire hanging like ripped arteries. It was impossible to know how long it had been there, floating lifeless among the stars, being trailed by smaller chunks of itself that still clung to it, like carrion creatures that meant to suck the last remnants of life for it's meal.

A tinny voice voice suddenly filled the crowded cockpit of the rescue craft. "R.S.N Queen's Sorrow. Commissioned GY 2321, Silesian Navy, Star Kingdom Silesia. Mission: Unknown. Status: Unknown. Presumed missing due to warp field containment error."

Another voice filled the cockpit, this one clearly human. "Computer, update the R.S.N with the location of the Queen's Sorrow, instant transmission, clearance code Five-Nine-Alpha-Alpha-Charlie, Captain Barnabus, Richard."

"So someone tell me why we're here," came a voice from the back of the cramped space. "It's a hunk of dead ship."

"It's the hunk of dead ship," a female voice responded. "She was commissioned in memory of Queen Alisabeth's son. Story goes, she wanted to build the most advanced, most powerful ship the 'verse has seen-- all as her little boy's tomb. It was built with the heaviest armour, the most powerful shield, the latest in laser and grazer and nuclear tech. It even had this new warp core tech that was supposed to cut warptime in half.

On her maiden voyage, the Queen was aboard with her dead kid and half the family. She went warp, and bam. Gone. Forever."

"Not forever," came the gruff voice of the Captain. Before he could say anything else, the console beeped harshly several times before the tinny voice came back to life. "Transmission received by R.S.N. New orders received."

"And what are our orders?"

"Orders: Investigate."
 
“Papa! Please! No!” A young girl cried out in hysterics. Herblonde curls began to loosen under her bonnet as she kicked and scratched atthe two men gripping her arms as tightly as they could. “Please, don’t make mego…” She begged with tears spilling from her blue eyes she began to lookdisheveled. As the men struggled to keep their grasp on her, the man she calledfather sighed deeply.
<o:p> </o:p>
He was a tall man, somewhat round with a raggedly brownbeard and eyes as black as coal. The clothes he wore made one believe he was aKing, just not a very rich one. With his eyes fixed on her, the King walked towardsher, a light of hope came to her eyes and a smile formed on her lips whensuddenly…
<o:p> </o:p>
SLAP!
<o:p> </o:p>
Frozen. How could he be so cruel? Even the men were in shockas the King stared the girl down, his only child, “You are my daughter and youwill do what I say.” His voice came out cold, “You are to go and you will beobedient. Do as you told, even if you don’t like it or so help me…” And it wasthen that he remembered himself and lowered his hand. Taking a deep breath, theKing relaxed, “The safety of our Kingdom is on your shoulders.” And he walkedaway. No goodbyes, no hugs, no I love yous…just gone.
<o:p> </o:p>
With no resistance, the men were able to led her to thecarriage and made final preparations for the journey.
<o:p> </o:p>
Five days later, the girl found herself being fussed over ashand maidens ran around like headless chickens, washed her, poked her withneedles, and shouted at each other. No one had made friends with her, mostaverted their eyes or turned their noses up at her. Even though she was to beQueen, she would never truly live in their hearts for she was from a poorcountry. The King spent most of his time flirting with the hand maidens, barelytwo words exchanged between the two of them. It was as if she didn’t trulyexist.
Seated by an open window, she stared off into the horizon. Gloominess became her aura causing many of theservants to take notice and begin to refer to her as…The Queen of Sorrow, insecret of ourse.
<o:p> </o:p>
Even though a smile graced her lips, the tears behind hereyes were held back only by a single blink, ready to drown the world aroundher. This was her life now, this was for the country she would never see again…Thiswas to make her a Queen.
 
She stepped out of her tent with caution. The raid on their territory had left the Queen’s Guard in tatters. Fallen soldiers lay scattered about the bloodied grain field-turned war zone. The enemy forces had left nothing but memories, the scent of death, and the whispered promise of destruction on the wind. How her once great land had fallen. Nothing remained to take pride in. Not the people or the once magnificent, thriving lands.

Everything was burning and crumbling and dying and becoming lost. It was time for her to surrender; give those still fighting the much needed end to the madness. Though much remained to be lost, it was not worth the last lives of her people. It was simply time to give in.

With utter sadness, the queen stepped forward to the middle of the war zone, raised her hands high, and signaled for the chaos to cease.
 
When the door shut behind her and Anna sank into the windowseat, all she could think was that being a queen was not all it was cracked up to be.

Perhaps it was a survival instinct; her mind wandered away from the present, and drifted back to when she was young, and engaged to Richard. She'd never met him, and she had seen enough marriages from her parents, friends, and older sisters to know that it was a lottery at best, and unavoidable in any instance. But she was young, and naive, and dreamed of someone kind, who would perhaps want to listen to her play the piano.

A smile touched her icy lips, and she raised her tired head to look at the baby grand in the corner, and found her feet drifting across the carpeted floor towards it. The ivory was smooth under her fingers, and she found herself playing a piano wedding march. Richard was kind, though busy, and she had been fortunate enough to have a happy marriage, and when his father died, to be the queen of the country. Which essentially meant that people now had to call her 'Your Majesty' instead of 'My Lady', and that she had some petty paperwork to do at the end of each day. It also meant her husband was now the King; and became busier still. Their time together became more like visits with a friendly acquaintance instead of the intimacy of a couple.

And then Rafael was born.

she felt pins pricking at her eyes as they crinkled in a smile; her fingers playing soft notes without even thinking. Rafael, named by his father, was a beautiful little prince. Golden curls that she refused to allow to be cut until snickers about the Princess Rafael began to spread through the palace. He got into everything and anything; and there was constantly a flurry of maids and servants after him when he escaped his playrooms. He was rambunctious, loud, and a terror to his nurses.

Except if mommy was in the room. And she knew she spoiled him, she knew it, but she couldn't help it. He was the one person in her life that she loved anymore. Being a queen was lonely, except when you had a little prince to giggle and coo at. He made her feel young again; playing with Rafael took up every spare minute she had; and watched him grow stronger, his chubby hands and toes slowly but surely transforming. She would catch herself watching him play in the garden, and trying to picture him older. His rounded jaw straighter, firmer, his twinkling blue eyes with the wisdom and solemnity of age. Bits and pieces of a picture would float into her head, and be dismissed at some cry of delight or "Mommy look what I found!" Rafael, her little prince.

GNOOONNNGGGGG

Her forehead made the most non-melodic herald to her face as she leaned forward, folding her arms across the keyboard and her shoulders began to shake.

Being a queen was cold, and it was lonely, it held authority and respect and elegance. But in the end, prince or peasant, Queen or housewife; she supposed it didn't make a difference. Losing a child was still just as painful.