The Black Princess

“Actually, I was the first victim. When I was twelve, somebody hired the Silent Brotherhood, who blackmailed a castle footman to poison me. He was squeamish about killing a child, so he diluted the poison and I survived—I was sick as hell for a few weeks, but ultimately there were no lasting effects. They still executed him, of course. Can’t have people thinking they can touch royalty. But…that was it. I was the cursed child nobody wanted to think about; nobody really cared. I think that’s why there wasn’t a second attempt. The guy’s name stuck in my head, fortunately. The second time around, I looked into him long before the assassins got to him. Things went differently this time.”

Morenna glanced back at Tamara with a faint smile, which faded fast.

“But then, someone poisoned the Queen, and it turned out all those frivolous garden parties were load-bearing. With you out of the way, there was no diplomatic force keeping the political factions united. Not only did they all feel free to go for each other’s throats, the example had been set that assassination was an acceptable way to do it. The Silent Brotherhood got a lot of work over the next few years. The irony was that in the aftermath, Linnea ended up central to politicking, specifically because she hates politics. Her stubborn neutrality made her a trusted arbiter. So…factions who didn’t want the court stable couldn’t have that. She and Uthien were assassinated next.”

Morenna hesitated before continuing in a muted tone. “Ophia died of one of her fevers within a few years.”

Tamara flinched momentarily before regaining control; Morenna was still staring across Kourvald and didn’t see it, simply carrying on with her story.

“Rakkan just disappeared. It was a great mystery, the vanished prince of the Haarstein Empire. Knowing what I do now, I’m sure he recognized that the court had gotten too dangerous and not rewarding enough to be worth it, and went off alone to make his own place in the world. I…hope he found something good for himself. Espa was married off to some prince over in Laurcester. Vanerra… I never heard anything about her, not even in rumor, years later. She was always good at avoiding notice. Most likely she tried to stay and help Aldan, but… Either she wasn’t strong enough on her own or Zaurgan managed to get rid of her.”

She paused; behind her, Tamara narrowed her eyes, but continued not to interrupt as Morenna gathered her thoughts.

“I took off not long after Rakkan, actually, for the same reason. If anything, I was even less invested in the court than he was. By that point I’d taken to stealing food, since the servants had stopped bothering to bring me any. I snatched some coin and jewels and headed out. And… I got lucky. Incredibly lucky.”

Morenna raised her eyes, smiling reminiscently up at the stars.

“I found a traveling apothecary who was stopped in Kourvald for a while, and willing to take on an apprentice. After seeing so many people get poisoned, I was very interested in medicine. And he…was simply the best person I ever knew. Smart, but also kind. When a black-haired girl with a sack of coins and all the social acumen of a stray dog walked up to his wagon, he immediately recognized the Black Princess. And instead of any of the dozen ways he could have taken advantage of that, his only thought was ‘this kid needs help.’

“He took me in, taught me the trade… Taught me everything. Business, how to live among people—not just how to avoid getting scammed or murdered, but…human interaction in general. Having grown up practically feral, I was missing a lot of understanding most people develop before their teens.”

Tamara closed her eyes. This time, she let her pained expression linger, but Morenna still wasn’t watching.

“You know, I’ve always been a little awkward—probably always will be—but it’s clear I’ve let my people skills get rusty in the last ten years. I swear I didn’t use to be as easy to fluster as I’ve been recently. Anyway… A shadow mage only needs to be lucky at first, just long enough to get a handle on her magic, and learn some combat skills. After that, everyone else has to be lucky. If I hadn’t stumbled right into one of the few people who would just help and not take advantage…I doubt I would have survived. But I did, and I did, and… Despite everything, it wasn’t a bad life. The whole world was going to hell, but I had an in-demand profession, and I was too powerful to ever be in much danger. I survived… Suffered, because everyone does, but not all the time. Sometimes I thrived. I had fun, sources of satisfaction, moments of joy. Found love, and lost it—several times. About half of them with the same…insufferably charming person.”

Tamara smiled in spite of herself, but when she finally spoke, it wasn’t about that.

“The whole world went to hell?”

Morenna finally turned back around to face her.

“After losing his wife and most of his children, Khellvain…faded. By the time his health finished failing, he had long since lost the will to govern; Zaurgan was running the Empire in all but name. That didn’t change when Aldan inherited, because—I now know—he’d spent years laying the groundwork from that, isolating Aldan from all support so that he was completely dependent on Zaurgan. It was functionally Zaurgan’s empire, and he made a complete dog’s breakfast of it.

“Zaurgan saw the Empire as a tool, and all its people the same. His whole attitude was that commoners should do as they’re told and be grateful; he kept pouring more and more resources into the military, building up an army so powerful the entire world was terrified of it, but we never found out what he was planning to do with such a force because you simply can’t run a civilization that way. Zaurgan had no respect for any culture but Miurdan, and even then, only the martial aspects of it. Everyone hated being part of his Empire, and when you have a huge, militarized nation that everyone in it hates being part of…”

Tamara clenched her fists. “Why do I think you’re about to tell me exactly the one thing I’ve always feared most?”

“Because, your Majesty,” Morenna said wearily, “you aren’t stupid.”