Nanowrimo 2023 Best Bit and Word Count - Day 4 (Patreon)

Amazingly enough, I managed to add 2,263 words to my project, bringing my total to 7,699!

Ayden half march, half stumbled down the tower's winding staircase. Addie followed behind her, hands twisting in her apron. She did not attempt to dissuade Ayden, but Ayden knew without looking that an expression of resigned disappointment painted her face. The princess knew she would gain nothing from this endeavor, but she also knew she wouldn't be the only one hurt.

Her grip tightened on her cane as a new jolt of anger course through her. They wanted to pretend she didn't exist. Her own motherwanted to pretend she didn't exist. But Ayden would remind them. Ayden would remind them all that their boogeyman still lived, still moved.

She would not let them forget what they did to her.

There were no guards at the base of the tower either. Ayden couldn't be sure if they had abandoned their post like those who were meant to guard her door, or if they had been called away in preparation for the arrival of the foreign royalty. Either way, it was advantageous for her.

She made her way through the ornate halls that felt so unfamiliar to her now. Had they changed? Or could she simply not remember what they looked like? Her home that was no longer her home. She felt a swell of sadness under the burning anger, but she did not let herself cry. No, this sorrow was fuel for her rage. They had taken the place that had once brought her joy, and stolen it from her.

She still remembered the way to the reception room, at least. Her breath came in labored gasps as she dragged her crystalline limbs across the castle. She hadn't walked this much in years, and she had grown weak. Or perhaps she was stronger. She never would have been able to carry such a weight in her youth.

Servants jumped out of the way, screams catching in their throats as she passed. Their whispers followed her, but none dared to stop her. Soon, she could hear her mother's voice floating through the air. It was meeker than she remembered, the humor gone. Other voices joined her, including the clear, sharp tones of the Queen of Red. The fact that her mother consented to that woman stepping foot in the Kingdom of Blue would have broken Ayden's heart if it had not been shattered long ago.

She slowed, allowing herself to catch her breath. It would do her no good to show up a panting, heaving mess. She swallowed the bile that crawled up her throat. She shifted her grip on her cane to something more comfortable.

The door they approached was a small side door rather than the grand double doors that opened for her the last time. No grand relief of Iris decorated its facade, which was just as well. Ayden would not dare send a prayer up to the goddess this time. She had no faith in the Mother of the Kingdoms any longer.

Her cane clacked against the marble floor of the ballroom's upper mezzanine, barely heard with the chattering and guffaws of the royals below. She wondered how long it would take for them to notice her. How long would it take for them to see the glint of light off her glass limbs? How long until they screamed in fear, confronted with the ghost of their neglect?

She let her eyes scan over the gathered crowd. It was easy enough to find her mother, her ultramarine hair streaked a paler shade. A result of her stress, no doubt. It, like her voice, had lost its luster in the years since she’d locked Ayden away. She could still remember the look in her eyes as the tower door slammed shut, near feral in her fear and desperation to find someone else to blame – a scapegoat for the consequences of her own actions.

The bright golds of Yellow hurt her eyes, and she averted her gaze from their gleaming visage. The twins weren’t there. She wondered what her old friends would think of her now. Her eyes passed over Gentle Green, lingering on a young man not much older than herself that she didn’t recognize as part of the royal family. His piercing eyes watched her mother like a hunter, taking in every detail so as to use it later. For what, Ayden couldn’t be certain. The Queen of Violet tittered at a comment the Red Queen made; her lazy fan unable to cover her smirk.

Ayden’s gaze froze as it passed over the Kingdom of Red’s delegation. The King of Red was not in attendance. Ayden wondered how tight of a leash the Queen kept him under these days, using her existence as a weapon in the Queen’s never-ending war for a faithful husband. In his place stood the boy who once offered to dance with her. The only boy who’d ever offered to dance with her. He wasn’t much of a boy anymore, though the round glasses perched on his nose were familiar enough.

A shriek pierced the air, Ayden’s eyes snapping towards the source of the sound to find the Queen of Violet collapsed to the floor, her fan pointing in Ayden’s direction. Ayden did not move. She did not blink. She hardly even breathed. She simply watched as the royals fell apart, screaming and attempting to hide behind each other. Even her mother showed her fear, curling into herself as tears rolled over her cheeks. She trembled. Her mere presence caused her mother to tremble in fear.

And yet, it seemed at least a few did not fear her. The Green noble watched her, not in fear but something like curious amusement. His king and queen hid behind him like children, despite being at least twice his age. Ayden would think it funny if it wasn’t so pathetic.

The boy who once tried to dance with her seemed…happy? Relieved? Something was behind that open-mouthed look of surprise, but Ayden couldn’t read it.

“It seems the problem was not quite as contained as you thought it was, dear Nerissa.”

Ayden’s eyes drifted to the Red Queen and the too-wide smirk that twisted her painted lips. She looked almost pleased to see her, though there was hardly anything positive about it. Perhaps she reveled in the ability to use her to punish her mother once more. Or maybe she just found glee in the fact that the torment she’d inflicted on her was far from over. Whatever the reason, it turned Ayden’s stomach.

“S-she was! She hadn’t left that tower in years!” the Queen of Blue insisted desperately. “As far as I knew, she was dead!”

“And you didn’t even bother to check?” the Red Queen asked, sounding all too excited about the idea. “What a terrible mother you are.”

The Queen of Blue flinched at those words, her tearful eyes rising to peer up at Ayden. Periwinkle met brilliant azure. Ayden did not flinch, but her mother did. She’d only been able to hold Ayden’s gaze for a handful of seconds before looking away. Ayden could see the shame there. At least her mother had enough sense left to feel some modicum of guilt. But it was a cold comfort for her.

“Someone d-do something!” the Queen of Green demanded. “G-guards! Guards!”

Ayden took that as her que to leave, turning and walking away without a word, only the echoing sound of her cane and footsteps.