The Final Fragment

 "...It will be held in three days, so you all may be excused from your jobs and responsibilities until afterward," the royal herald finished from his long speech about Maxith, who was the rightful heir to the throne after his mother and father succumbed to the darkness. Maxith was known for his charity work and kindness to everyone in the kingdom that he ruled over and beyond. Or at least... he had been kind. I didn't know what to believe after a set of horrible tricks were played on me and my family. I didn't know if I trusted monarchy at all.

I buried my head into my dark robes, trying to conceal the tears that were pleading to be let out and to side across my pale cheeks. The herald then, unexpectedly, kept droning on and on about how close King Maxith was to me and how big of a hole was formed in my soul when he passed away. Did it actually hurt me when he died? I did not know for sure at all, surprisingly.

Some of me said, "Yes! You miss your husband more than ever!"

The other part of me said, "No! Maxith was the absolute worst! You should be celebrating, Nsiria!"

"She should be mourning, Nsi!" Some of me rose their voice.

"She should be celebrating, Ria!" Nsi was seconds away from losing it.

"Sad!" said Ria.

"Elated!" said Nsi.

"Mourning!"

"Enthusiastic!"

Finally, I just could not take much of this any longer. I picked up my head and swiftly ran through the village square. My black dress fell to my ankles, so I had to hold it up ever so slightly. Noticing other villagers pointing at me and screaming my name, I pulled the hood of my cloak over my head and continued running.

I wanted to keep running. I wanted to run away from my past. Away from people who had hurt me and said that I could not handle being queen. Away from my duties. Away from every single miserable thing that had ever happened to me before or during my continuous reign as Queen Nsiria. But I could not.

The hem of my simple black dress was trodden on by my shoes and had me sprawled on the ground, just over by a willow tree. Fresh tears squeezed out from the corners of my eyes. They flowed out with renewed force, no end to them that was in sight. I regained my footage and sat down with my head on my knees. Wrapping my arms around my head, I started sniffling.

Maxith... I quietly sobbed. Why did you die? We could have been enough. Just you, me, Karia, Vera, and Firrol. We were a family, Maxith! Firrol had been secure and satisfied before, but when he can home with an arrow in his pale chest and bleeding endlessly, Karia had wailed over his body. And you- you were not there to comfort your daughter! I don't know what I should believe or what is right or wrong in this situation I thought that I could trust you after you unintentionally ran a sword through forgiving, sweet, innocent Vera in the dark, claiming that you thought that she was a hired assassin here to murder me that night and that you had saved my life. Liar! Karia saw you, and she saw it all, from the moment you tricked Vera into showing her face at the bridge that night to when you slaughtered her older sister. I remember too well Karia's screams in the -once peaceful- night. Her face was painted with horror, and in a vain attempt to save her sister from death, she had crawled in Vera's body. She had told me everything before dying of a terrible infection and several wounds. Now, I am the only fragment of this family that is preserved but forever changed and broken. I just wish that I could see our family once again, in one piece. Or do I... but I don't know!

"Y-y-your Majesty?!" I heard a young man shriek. "A-a-are yo f-f-eeling well?"

"Just grieving," I replied, shoving my head back onto my shoulders.

"Your hair..." The young man pointed with a shaky finger at my tresses.

Disgusted- or maybe not- with him and his adoration, I grabbed a lock of my brown, wavy hair and cut a bit off with a sharp dagger that was lying around. I focused on the hair for a while and then screamed.

"It's white!" I yelled. "Pure white!" I turned to the young man, still unsure of him.

"I did nothing that changed your original hair color, Queen Nsiria! I swear upon my father's grave! I swear upon my mother's love! I swear upon my life! I swear upon my great-uncle's sword! I swear-" Using my hands, I clamped his mouth shut before he could attract any more people with his shrieking and swearing than the thousands of my subjects that were surrounding me on each side, not to mention the knights and lords and ladies and all of their attendants standing by their side.

I stood up, wiping my eyes and nose with a handkerchief. "Greetings, loyal subjects!" I said, trembling with each and every syllable.

"Your Majesty," The knights in the crowd strode forward, everyone else stepping aside to create a pathway for them. The most recognizable, Captian Tandu, was the one who uttered the two words and stayed right in front of my chest.

"Captian Tandu," I curtsied while speaking.

"Young Queen Nsiria, do you remember you are supposed to never make conversation with those peasants?" He spat out the last word as if he was cursing.

"Captain Tandu," I returned. "Are you supposed to make more than one lover?" I heard some murmuring in the crowd, most of the approval at my choice of words. But, before he could respond, like the herald I spoke on.

"Why are there these unfair rules placed above our heads? And most aren't even rules- they are expectations, never to be surpassed or failed within your own role," I said firmly. "I do not live by these expectations, and neither should you! We need democracy! We need a republic! We need a congress! We need a REVOLUTION!"

The crowd started chanting, "Revolution!" or "Long live Queen Nsiria!"

"No!" Captian Tandu sputtered. "This will not be!" He bent down next to me, grabbed the dagger that I had used to cut a lock of my newly white hair, and set it above my heart. "If you utter a single word more about this revolution, I will make it so you will never speak again!"

"Not a chance. Long live the revo-" My words were cut off by the sudden pain of the sharp dagger breaking my skin and piercing my most essential part. Blood gushed out as he pulled the short weapon out of my chest.

"Oh yes, I will." He smiled wickedly and drew back from me. As soon as he did, people started running over to me, pressing their hands on my chest to stem the flow of continuous blood.

The young man from earlier lifted my chin ever so slightly so I could speak.

"Long live the revolution and all who play a part in it," I forced out the words before red filled my mouth and poured in a slimline out of it. "Goodbye," I gurgled, giving myself to the everlasting darkness below that took me and my family.