Queen Ellendere waited.
Time had frozen upon her orders. Counselors and wise-women looked at each other, or into their empty plates. Looking at their reflections before the world broke them apart.
Well, there was nothing to be done about it. Her heart thudded in her chest as every second trickled down into the abyss, lost forever. Tension flowed around the room in droves, hammering each of them into an unrecognizable mess. Tension, and something else. Lia did not acknowledge it. It wasn't meant to be yet.
To be fair, it wasn't meant to be forever. Maybe in her bed, with her new husband, explaining to him in whispers that yes, this was okay. Yes, this was right. No, don't be afraid of hurting me. But there was to be no husband now. The world had come tumbling around them, and they'd sat ensconced in their walls of stone, never expecting that the Undead army would lay it down, brick by brick. Including her. Her timely surrender had spared her city.
Each of them tensed as the sound of laughter approached. Some eyed her, begging. Didn't they understand? She didn't
want
them to beg. She hoped they wouldn't defy her last royal decree. Hoped that in the end, she was still their queen. The door to the throne room slammed open, and in walked Erik the Conqueror, leader of the Undead Army. He was of formidable build, matching the descriptions she had had delivered to her months ago when the sun still shone and everything was a bad dream that would go away like it always does and--
Click.
He was carrying a chain. The undead had already surrounded the counselors and the Court of Justice. She took a deep breath, and followed the line of the chain. Women, royal women, dragged alongside it. Each of them were physically royal, marked by the color of their hair, the complexion of their skins, their eyes, and in some cases, they were even allowed to keep on wearing their royal adornments. Everything about these women was unique. The only thing they shared was their defeated look. The look that signified that they weren't royalty anymore. They were Erik's royal harem.
And soon, she would join them.
But, she had resolved, as she stepped down from the throne. She had thought long and hard, and realized that as a queen, she would have to keep on fighting. This was her fight. Her soldiers had lost, but
she
hadn't. Even in his harem, she would keep on resisting. The only thought she could spare her abandoned people was that they would see as she did. Not see her as someone who had left her country -- and herself, -- to the wolves, but as someone who kept fighting even when stripped naked. She hoped they would rally behind that.
"Queen Ellendere," his voice boomed across the hall. She refused to be startled. "I got your letter of acceptance."
"So you did. Spare my people."