Chapter 71

Any other expression the servant may have worn before recognition sank in was missed by Kit. Had Blankka been delighted? Ashamed? Remorseful? It didn’t matter now because Kit knew exactly what she had done, and a seething rage boiled up out of her soul as she imagined the consequences. There would be no way to undo what Blankka, someone who was meant to be her friend, her ally, a confident, had done.

“You conniving little bitch!” Kit shrieked, tearing her arm away from Galter and flying at Blankka, her fingers crooked as if her nails were talons.

“No, Princess! Please!” Blankka shouted, dropping to her knees and throwing up her arms to cover her head. “Forgive me!”

Kit would visit no mercy on the girl. She’d rip her to shreds in this very hallway. Even if her mother came out and ordered her to stop, Kit wouldn’t show any leniency for the woman who had cost her so much. A guttural cry echoed down the hallway as Kit launched herself at the weeping woman.

She never reached her, though. Caught from behind, Kit’s feet flew up, leaving the ground and sending her toppling backward into a firm, familiar chest. “Kit! Stop! Get ahold of yourself!”

Kit turned to look into Eli’s eyes, not comprehending why he of all people wouldn’t let her tear Blankka limb from limb. “Do you know what she’s done? Do you have any idea what she’s done?”

“I know, Kit! I know!” he insisted. “But you losing your composure can’t change that, now can it? Get a grip on your emotions, Princess!” He had both of her shoulders now, firmly, and shook her just enough to jar her but not to hurt her. Leaning in close where only she could hear, he whispered. “You’re a queen, Katrinetta. Act like one.”

His words were enough to jolt her slightly back to her normal disposition, but under the circumstances, even inhaling his scent heavily couldn’t completely calm her. She turned back to face Blankka, shaking her shoulders to signal she wanted to be let free, and Eli complied, though he didn’t step away from her.

Anger still singed each word as it came out of her mouth, though she was no longer screeching like a hawk. “You betrayed my trust, Blankka! Do you have any idea what you’ve done? I trusted you! I thought you were my friend, but this entire time, the only person you’ve cared about is yourself!”

Blankka was doubled over on the floor before them, and Kit felt powerful for once in her life, as if her words really mattered, but then her eyes caught sight of her mother, standing at the end of the hall behind the cowering lady-in-waiting, and Kit immediately remembered her place, dropping into a curtsey.

“Katrinetta!” the queen bleated. “That is enough!”

“Yes, my Mother the Queen,” she replied, sucking in deep breaths in an attempt to still her racing heart. Her lungs were still burning, and she was suddenly very aware that her feet felt like mangled, bloody stumps.

The queen approached them, and all heads stayed fixated on the floor until she cleared her voice, having come to a stop directly behind Blankka. “Commander, take Blankka to the kitchen. Tell Rosy she can do whatever she’d like with her, unless of course Sima has use for a scullery maid.”

“Your Majesty?” Blankka asked, staring up with tears in her eyes. “But my only wish was to serve you.”

“You’re a fool, Blankka,” the queen said dismissively. “You are no use to either of us now. She can’t trust you, and I know you to be an imbecile. Take her, Commander.”

Kit turned back to face Eli for a moment, confused. Why would her mother order him to take Blankka away if the woman had actually done what Kit suspected? Why wasn’t her mother ordering her guards to take him off to the dungeon at once?

Eli gave Kit a half-hearted smile, perhaps a signal that everything truly would be all right, and then gestured for Blankka to stand. The girl pulled herself up off of the ground sobbing, and with heavy feet, started toward the kitchen. Eli didn’t touch her, only walked beside her, and Kit couldn’t blame him for having no sympathy for the pathetic creature. As he walked away, she noticed he wasn’t wearing his uniform, which she thought was odd, but thought perhaps he’d be part of the delegation from Eastbury since he’d gone and retrieved the Representative. From the back it was hard to tell exactly what he was wearing, but she recognized the colors of Eastbury--red and blue.

There was a scuffing of boots behind her. A glance over her shoulder told Kit she would have plenty of escorts to take her back, once her meeting with her mother was over. It seemed half her guard had arrived just in time to see her ranting like a lunatic. The apples of her cheeks were on fire as she thought about how she must’ve looked, overcome with rage. And now she was beginning to think perhaps Blankka’s presence here had nothing to do with what had occurred in the library.

“Come along, Katrinetta,” the queen insisted, turning and marching back toward her throne room. Her long, purple skirt swirled around, almost catching Kit’s leg, so she waited for her mother to get ahead of her before following.

The room was empty, save for the mother and daughter. Rona marched up the steps and took a seat in her throne, and Kit stopped before her, head bowed. When the ring was presented to her, she kissed it, rattling off the same homage she always did, waiting to discover what in the world was going on.

Rona took a deep breath. “The girl is a blathering idiot, Katrinetta. I suggest you worry yourself only about people that matter.”

Kit looked up, shocked. “But, Mother.... Are you saying...?”

“Whether what she said is true or not, I have more important concerns.” Rona let out a deep sigh. “You are aware that Eliason is loathsome to me in more ways than I can express, are you not?”

“Yes, Mother.”

“And though you do not know the reasons, the fact remains the same. I have suggested time and again that you put the boy far from your mind, and yet that seems to attract you to him further. So I have removed him whenever possible, and still you harbor feelings for him. Now, here you are with over three dozen strapping young men to choose from, and you still seem to prefer a disgraced nobleman who grew up shoveling horse manure. I cannot pretend to understand it.”

Kit bit the inside of her cheek until she tasted blood. She couldn’t possibly reply to her mother’s observation. It would be best if she said nothing at all.

Rona shifted in her seat. “Now, what was it you wished to speak to me about?”