Black Forest: Kingdoms Fall Read Free

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    the same moment she came into the world - two forty-two at the start of day - with no concern for the disruption to the lives of everyone in the kingdom,
    as her mother had been disrupted in the wee hours to give birth to her.
    "It is here, Your Highness." The weak voice pulled Queen Ino's attention to the corridor.
    Turning from the railing, she stalked past her handmaiden Lemi without acknowledgment, hearing the harried footsteps of the maid falling into line at her
    back.
    Halfway down the hall, through the boudoir door, the droll sounds of peasant excitement faded as Queen Ino waited for Lemi to shut them into peace and
    reveal her night's costume. The woman's hands taking longer than they used to in their unwrapping of the package, the queen wondered, yet again, if it was
    time to retire her to another position within the castle, where the burden of the woman's age would fall upon someone else.
    Pulling the tie free after much effort, Lemi slid the dress from the box, raising it into the air for the queen to see. An artisan delight that might have
    normally brought the queen a moment of joy, no matter what task was to follow, the spectacle only added to her ill humor.
    "I am told it is exactly the color of Snow White's," Lemi declared. "Made of the same swatch of fabric even."
    "So is my luck," Queen Ino uttered, stepping closer. The brightness of the color making her eyes ache, she knew she would start the night with the pain in
    her head she had anticipated only by its end. "Put it up."
    Without hesitation, Lemi followed the command, pulling the wooden dress form from the corner of the room with difficulty and heaving the heavy material
    onto it.
    Perfect at the breast, Queen Ino acknowledged, down to the flowing skirts, even the stitching at the waistline was unmatched, each thread in perfect
    alignment with the next. If not for the fact that she was being made by an overreaching brat to masquerade as a bright pink rose in the dead of winter,
    Queen Ino might have thought it one of Santine's finer creations. As it was, Queen Ino continued her inspection, until, at last, tucked at the juncture
    where sleeve met bodice, she found a snag.
    "There is a mistake," she declared.
    "A mistake?" Lemi said worriedly. "I see none."
    "It is here." The queen pointed the defect out with a long finger.
    "Oh, it is well-hidden, Your Highness," Lemi said in relief. "No one shall notice."
    "I notice," Queen Ino returned, casting a gaze toward Lemi that withered her instantly. "Tell the king. He should not be made to pay full price for an
    imperfect garment."
    And, perhaps, Queen Ino thought, the next time she told Santine to lie to the king that no dye in such a hideous shade was presently available, Santine
    would be less concerned with pleasing Snow White's vulgar color sensibilities and more apt to mind her suggestion.
    "Of course, Ma'am," Lemi replied, hands wringing together before her.
    The knock on the door seemingly a relief to the woman, Lemi cast a grateful look to it before rushing to give the visitor access to the boudoir.
    In the doorway, the page of the eastern wing stood at attention, greeting Lemi with a curt nod, before turning his address to the queen. "King Kardon says
    you shall make your entrance in one hour's time, Your Majesty."
    "Tell the king I shall be indisposed in one hour's time," the queen uttered, watching the face of the page blanch. "Tell the king I shall be ready on the
    hour," she returned the color to his face, before he nodded and went to his duty.
    Shaking her head, Queen Ino turned once more to the dress, too glaring to be ignored. For those who lived behind fortified walls, and donned
    sharply-pointed accoutrements as part of their daily-wear, there was an unacceptable level of fear amongst the inhabitants of the palace.
    Closing the door after the page's retreat, it was fear that shown on Lemi's face as well as she turned to face the queen.
    "Get me ready," Queen Ino ordered, and Lemi