1So he sat with her under the yew tree and taught her what he knew. The Devil is an expert in exploiting the weaknesses of mortals, and he preyed upon the loneliness in Esmeralda. Using the amulet that had summoned him with the beating of its owner's heart, he taught her the ways of black magic. Hours passed, then days as she grew in talent and fearsome strength. She traveled on to the castle after a month of training with the Devil. She bent the will of the guards to her needs and entered the gate.
Inside was a completely different world than what she held in her memory. Banners hung from every available space, proclaiming the successful overtaking of the fractured government. White roses on a green field bore the phrase "The ones that are governed, govern". The memory of that day and the fury she had felt spurred her steps as she raced to the king's bedchamber.
She flung open the heavy oaken door with magic strength. Inside, Nathan was standing on a dais, being measured for clothes befitting a new ruler. A woman stood on a matching dais covered in lengths of silk. They and the seamstresses cowered under the pulsing power of dark magic that pervaded the room as Esmeralda stalked in.
"You! Murderer! Usurper! Traitor!" she screeched, advancing towards Nathan. She flung the servants away with a sweep of dark force. They scrambled out the door, terrified. "Fight my authority and become my eternal suffering servant in the Netherworld! Step down, and I will only rend you limb from limb and hang them from the towers... which I assure you is preferable! You and all your followers will meet their ends at my hands!"
Nathan paled under the threats. He stepped in front of the woman as if to shield her from Esmeralda's words. He licked his lips nervously and spoke:
"Adeline. Esmeralda. Whatever I am to call you, I know I deserve no quarter. But this woman-"
"I have not met this woman before," seethed Esmeralda, "and I am very interested in how quickly you met her after our rendezvous in the woods. Was it a day, Nathan? A week? Or did you know her previously from some sordid affair? Nothing but the truth will lessen your penance now."
"Previously. I knew her... a year previously." Nathan hung his head. "But I never... knew her... physically while we were married. Her condition is a few months along now, before the overthrow of the king."
"Her condition! You mean her harlotry, not to mention your adultery! You married me knowing fully well that she would have your child." Esmeralda roared.
"Which is the only favor I ask of you, Princess, Queen Mage! It was a sin, I realize, and intended to support the child in secret as not to ruin your good name or that of my ministry. I ask only that you spare the child, born of sin but one of God's own!" Nathan was sweating now, tears rolling down his cheeks.
Esmeralda ripped the girl from behind Nathan's back and examined her closely. She had a plain, narrow face with roses of blush in her cheeks. She had long blonde hair and blue eyes. She would have been slightly pretty with a little cosmetic. Although Esmeralda owed Nathan nothing, she knew in her heart she could not slaughter an unborn baby. She released the girl slowly, and she scurried back to her place.
"Very well," Esmeralda said. "I will grant you this. I am not so heartless that I would eliminate an innocent child. The woman will live... for now. I will give her a room in the servant's quarters where she may work until the baby is born. After that I will turn her out into the streets a penniless beggar. She may remain alive on one condition: the child stays with me. This unborn is a subject of the Queen and may be ordered as such. She will be a serving girl to me, with only the honorary title of "princess" in memory of her mother's great sacrifice to the crown. But if her mother does not sacrifice, both are killed on the spot. No one left to take my place, right, Nathan?" She laughed bitterly.
Nathan nodded morosely. He turned to the woman, kissed her lips, and knelt before Esmeralda. "I am ready, my Queen, for my punishment."
Esmeralda looked down on him and then to the woman, still trembling. "You may leave the chamber. Tell the kitchen master your story and begin your work for me."
The woman nodded and ran out.
Esmeralda turned back to Nathan, lifting his chin with her hand. She gazed into the eyes that she had loved and hated so deeply. He was afraid, she knew; but she must stand strong. Her first act as Queen could not be one of personal weakness.
"Nathan," she began, "you have betrayed me in a hundred different ways. My love for you is still strong, but it is run through with a black thread of hate. You have hurt me unimaginably. For the good of myself and my kingdom, I must finish you. But for the sweet days we had together, I will give your daughter a chance at a useful life. Forgive the threats I hurled at you. You are still too precious to put through torment. Close your eyes."
Esmeralda pressed her lips slowly to his and drew his soul out through his mouth. He fell to the floor. She added the soul to the gem around her neck, which grew brighter and warmer. She could feel the power surge through her, electrifying every pore. But she could also feel an aching loss twisting her spirit for the rest of her life.
Esmeralda, now known only as the Mage Queen, exited the chamber in silence. She directed the thoughts of the guards to take care of the mess in the receiving chamber. She proceeded to the queen's private apartments to weep.