Jennet's Corruption
After a long and difficult labor, Aliana finally rested, with her newly born daughter sleeping in her arms. It was a thing of beauty, Jennet had thought. Why, the last time she'd been present for a birth, it had been two and not just one. And both of those two would be sleeping by now as well. Jennet nearly considered sleeping here herself, even, now that the chaos of child birth had subsided and the servants had all left the room.
Aliana let out a comfortable sigh. "Lynia." She smiled. "You'll tell Bermand the name, right? You're more likely to see him before I do."
"I might not see him as soon as you expect," Jennet lied. Tomorrow, just before dawn, was a Transfer day. One of her sons was going to be disappointed, to not see his new daughter yet. It scarcely mattered which one planted the seeds. "But yes, if I do, I'll tell him."
Aliana now yawned. "Goodness."
"Get the sleep while you can. The wetnurse can only help with the baby so much."
The door closed as noiselessly as could be hoped. For the High Queen to now be delivering a jug of water for her daughter in law... well, not that she still held much power over the kingdom, since her sons' coronation. At her age, she had heard it said, she shouldn't have been sustaining such stress anyway. Nobody knew of the Transfers, so nobody should have had any idea of the stress she was under. But it was true; no longer needing to govern the Kingdom had been better for her.
But a wave of something came over Jennet. Whether jealousy or something else, she couldn't ascertain. She thought she heard a man speaking, but could not tell from where. "Caynean royalty. I never thought to see one so low as to run errands." She could not find the voice anywhere in the corridor. "For being the distant spawn of Gregor, your mind does not account much for things beyond physical existence. I am not in the room with you. Or perhaps I am. It scarcely matters to me right now."
"Who are you?" Jennet whispered.
"Do not speak aloud, you withering fool, you'll expose us both. I exist within your head, not beyond it."
Then who are you? Jennet thought.
"A spectre of the past, I suppose you could call me. A figure that was perhaps dealt a great injustice at the time."
What does said figure want with the High Queen of Caynea?
"Oh, surely it's not as important as fetching a jug of water for that woman in the other room."
The woman who married my son! Queen Consort of Caynea!
"Consort, you say. Then she cannot be as important as she seems. But she is a potential danger. She cannot be left alive - she could bring disaster to this entire planet."
How?
"If she were to find me, and destroy me, this planet would surely collapse. Neither of us can allow that to happen."
