Diana Forthin's Arc

Chapter 1 of 1

Diana heard the whisper in the west corridor, just outside the solar where the kitchen staff gathered between shifts. She did not slow her steps or turn her head, but her fingers tightened against the letter she carried. The words had been too quiet to make out, but she knew the rhythm of gossip when it moved through stone walls. She found Vladimir in his study two hours later, the red envelope open on his desk. The gold wax seal lay in two perfect halves beside it. He did not look up when she entered, which told her everything. His silence was different from his shouting — colder, more deliberate. She stood in the doorway and watched him read whatever had been written about Astra, about the courier, about the things Diana had tried so carefully to bury. The letter trembled slightly in his hands. When he finally raised his eyes to hers, Diana felt the balance she had spent years maintaining crack like ice beneath her feet. Her hand went to the ruby at her throat, the one she wore when she needed to feel something solid against her skin. Vladimir set the letter down and spoke her daughter's name like an accusation. Diana stepped forward, putting herself between him and the doorway, between him and the hall that led to Astra's chambers. She had done this a thousand times before, but this time the script had changed. He knew something she had not given him, something that had reached him through channels she could not control. The envelope sat on his desk like proof that her careful walls had failed, and when Vladimir stood, Diana understood that appeasing him would no longer be enough to keep her children safe. He walked past her without a word, his boots heavy against the stone floor. Diana turned and followed, her heart loud in her ears. Vladimir did not go toward Astra's rooms. Instead he moved toward the throne room, where he held court over matters that required witnesses and judgment. Diana quickened her pace, trying to place herself ahead of him, but he reached the doors first. When he pushed them open, she saw the throne waiting in the center of the room, red stone gleaming in the afternoon light. Vladimir crossed to it and sat, his hands gripping the armrests. He looked at her from that seat of power and told her to bring Astra to him. Diana's careful balance was gone. Now there was only the choice of what she would break to save her daughter.