And so the Illusions carry on
Never here
But never gone
Never here
But never gone
 |  |  |
What is the dreamer’s curse? Where did it come from, and how could anyone escape from it? Forest-born November sets out to find the answers, and comes upon a lost mother and child who are far more than they seem.
He promises to help them, and return them home, but soon he’s swept away in something he can’t escape.
A story of love, power, and madness, “The Mansion’s Queen” concludes these short tales of the developing world.
He promises to help them, and return them home, but soon he’s swept away in something he can’t escape.
A story of love, power, and madness, “The Mansion’s Queen” concludes these short tales of the developing world.
Sneak Peak:
June and November discuss Claire's condition in Talya's (November's baby daughter) room:
“Since you left for the center of magic, she’s… She’s not been well.”
“How so?”
November hesitated. He’d thought over and over the things he could say to her, and yet now that they were face to face, he wasn’t quite sure how to explain what Claire was doing. “She’s gone mad with grief and power. She watches her people too closely, afraid they’ll turn on her. Even just speaking against her is punishable by death.”
June frowned, and nodded. November was surprised at her lack of shock. “I… I did suspect it,” she whispered. “Claire is guarding herself as well, but her magic isn’t as strong due to her lack of focus. I thought I saw a flicker of something wrong, but I was too distracted to linger on it…”
“I’m sorry, June.”
“It’s no fault of yours,” she said quickly. “Are you alright, November? Has she hurt you?”
“No,” he said, before he could stop himself. June raised her eyebrows in disbelief. November sighed. “I don’t think she would hurt me intentionally, but she… She won’t let me leave. I can’t go home again, I can hardly leave the mansion. I would have walked away from her, but…” He gestured to Talya, asleep in her cradle. “I couldn’t leave while she was pregnant. Now I can’t bring myself to take my daughter and run. Claire would get even worse. And the mansion’s people have come to depend on me. If I’m not duplicating crystals, I’m showing someone else how to, or tending to one who needs my gift.”
“And you love Claire.”
November heard it as a question at first, but quickly realized that June simply knew, and there was no point in trying to deny it. “I have to fix this, June. I have to help her. If I run, it’ll just be worse for everyone.”
“You should leave this to me. With my mind cleared again, I’m noticing so much I didn’t before, but even if I was still cursed, I think I’d be able to see how you suffer. Go home to your forest. Fix yourself, and leave the mansion to me. I belong here, and you belong in the North. This mess isn’t yours to clean up.”
“I… I am grateful for the offer, but… I couldn’t live with myself knowing I’d left all of this on you. I couldn’t just sit and wonder what became of you all.”
“November… Is that because you care for me and the mansion’s people, or because you love Claire?”
“Both?” He sighed. “I can’t run. Never mind the reason, I just can’t run.”
“Then you can help me find a way to fix this. When did Claire start acting like this? Soon after I left?”
“Yes.”
“And what about when she was pregnant with Talya? How was she then?”
“Happier. Hopeful. It didn’t lift away the madness entirely, but it seemed to help.”
“She needs her children,” June said. “She has others, doesn’t she? I’ve never even met them. I don’t know their names.”
“She has twins,” November said. “One’s queen of the South, the other’s king of the North. Aislinn and Arawn. I don’t know if they could help us.”
“Twins?” June said. “I didn’t know that was even possible.”
“I know. But they’re real, and they’ll come back for Claire.”
“I’ll summon them,” June said. “It might take a while for them to reach us, but they can at least send more help our way. We need people with us who aren’t afraid of what Claire can do. If they both have their own kingdoms, Aislinn and Arawn should be the perfect people to bring to the mansion. They can help Claire set up a fair system. Perhaps having more of her family brought back to her will help her cope with her grief. If they can’t come, maybe I can do enough for her on my own. We’ll see. Once I better understand her condition, I might have a better idea of what to do.”
“Thank you June,” November said. “I… I should return to her now. She’ll know something’s up if I’m gone to long.”
“You won’t have to live like this much longer, November.”
“How so?”
November hesitated. He’d thought over and over the things he could say to her, and yet now that they were face to face, he wasn’t quite sure how to explain what Claire was doing. “She’s gone mad with grief and power. She watches her people too closely, afraid they’ll turn on her. Even just speaking against her is punishable by death.”
June frowned, and nodded. November was surprised at her lack of shock. “I… I did suspect it,” she whispered. “Claire is guarding herself as well, but her magic isn’t as strong due to her lack of focus. I thought I saw a flicker of something wrong, but I was too distracted to linger on it…”
“I’m sorry, June.”
“It’s no fault of yours,” she said quickly. “Are you alright, November? Has she hurt you?”
“No,” he said, before he could stop himself. June raised her eyebrows in disbelief. November sighed. “I don’t think she would hurt me intentionally, but she… She won’t let me leave. I can’t go home again, I can hardly leave the mansion. I would have walked away from her, but…” He gestured to Talya, asleep in her cradle. “I couldn’t leave while she was pregnant. Now I can’t bring myself to take my daughter and run. Claire would get even worse. And the mansion’s people have come to depend on me. If I’m not duplicating crystals, I’m showing someone else how to, or tending to one who needs my gift.”
“And you love Claire.”
November heard it as a question at first, but quickly realized that June simply knew, and there was no point in trying to deny it. “I have to fix this, June. I have to help her. If I run, it’ll just be worse for everyone.”
“You should leave this to me. With my mind cleared again, I’m noticing so much I didn’t before, but even if I was still cursed, I think I’d be able to see how you suffer. Go home to your forest. Fix yourself, and leave the mansion to me. I belong here, and you belong in the North. This mess isn’t yours to clean up.”
“I… I am grateful for the offer, but… I couldn’t live with myself knowing I’d left all of this on you. I couldn’t just sit and wonder what became of you all.”
“November… Is that because you care for me and the mansion’s people, or because you love Claire?”
“Both?” He sighed. “I can’t run. Never mind the reason, I just can’t run.”
“Then you can help me find a way to fix this. When did Claire start acting like this? Soon after I left?”
“Yes.”
“And what about when she was pregnant with Talya? How was she then?”
“Happier. Hopeful. It didn’t lift away the madness entirely, but it seemed to help.”
“She needs her children,” June said. “She has others, doesn’t she? I’ve never even met them. I don’t know their names.”
“She has twins,” November said. “One’s queen of the South, the other’s king of the North. Aislinn and Arawn. I don’t know if they could help us.”
“Twins?” June said. “I didn’t know that was even possible.”
“I know. But they’re real, and they’ll come back for Claire.”
“I’ll summon them,” June said. “It might take a while for them to reach us, but they can at least send more help our way. We need people with us who aren’t afraid of what Claire can do. If they both have their own kingdoms, Aislinn and Arawn should be the perfect people to bring to the mansion. They can help Claire set up a fair system. Perhaps having more of her family brought back to her will help her cope with her grief. If they can’t come, maybe I can do enough for her on my own. We’ll see. Once I better understand her condition, I might have a better idea of what to do.”
“Thank you June,” November said. “I… I should return to her now. She’ll know something’s up if I’m gone to long.”
“You won’t have to live like this much longer, November.”
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