The Chronicles of Onyx: Book 1

Chapter Five - A Few Weeks Before

Early morning light seeped through the ornate glass windows and spilled onto the carpeted hall. The castle stood large and empty, as Rok struggled to locate the Queen through the labyrinth of halls.

"Maybe she's in her chamber," he silently pondered.

Out of all the rooms in the castle, there was one he was strictly forbidden to enter—the Queen's chamber. It always intrigued him how the door to that room remained closed even when she was not inside. It was as if she were hiding something, and she didn't want him to ever discover it. However Rok's loyalty for the Queen prevented him from ever considering entering without her consent. Despite his burning curiosity to uncover her secrets, he had always respect her boundaries.

Slowly he navigated his way, turning into various halls and passing an endless number of doors. Until finally, he stood before the doorway to her room, only this time to find the doors wide open. It was the first time he had a glimpse inside, and it appeared similar to any other chamber, more regal, but the similar.

"Your Majesty, may I speak with you?" he asked, met with no response. It was as if all his loyalty to the Queen had left him at that moment, and he took a step inside. His curiosity got the better of him, like greed to a man, a weakness he couldn't resist.

Her room was quite large, befitting her royal status, with the balcony window open, letting in fresh breeze and sunlight, disrupting the silence of the halls. Rok saw neither the Queen nor anything of particular interest until an open jewelry box caught his eye. Inside, there lay a single pendant attached to a delicate silver chain. The pendant was a dark green stone, one he immediately recognized as the one his mother always wore around her neck. The pendant brought back memories of her death, a haunting nightmare he had managed to escape. In a sudden burst of rage he slammed the small, fancy wood lid shut—causing a loud snap and a small crack to appear on the stained wood.

"I tried to keep that from you. It seems I failed," Demeter's quiet voice called out from her doorway, hesitant to enter.

"How could you have this? You told me you knew nothing of my mother!" Rok's voice growing louder as he went on, filling the room with his anger and pain.

"I can't tell you," she whispered, her usual authority and dominance dissipated by the threatened manner of Rok's intensity.

"Yes, you can! And you will explain this!" He raved as he held up the small stone between his thumb and index finger. Rok's anger surged through his veins. All his loyalty and kindness for the Queen evaporated, replaced by a burning hatred instead.

The Queen sighed heavily, a defeated look in her violet eyes, one he had never seen before. "I never wanted you to find out why your mother was killed," she paused briefly before adding, "why she had to be killed, to prevent her from doing something irreversible."

Rok stared at her with a cold, intense glare. His usually gentle brown eyes now radiated with anger. "Keep going," he managed to choke out through clenched teeth.

The Queen cautiously entered the room, never taking her eyes off the furious Half-breed, moving like a mouse approaching a sleeping cat. She gently approached the bed, sitting on its edge with a lady-like elegance, crossing her legs. Then, breaking the silence with her soft voice, she said, "Take a seat."

"I am fine standing," Rok replied harshly, his fingers still wrapped tightly around the little green stone. Impatience mixed with his impulsive anger towards the Queen's hesitation.

"Your mother's name was Theta, named after the Orcish god of mischief and trouble, and she certainly lived up to her name." she started.

"Tell me something I don't know, my patience is running thin," Rok responded aggressively.

"She's stalling. She's smart, and she knows how to manipulate her subjects." He thought in response to her hesitation.

"Fine, I'll get to the point," the sharpness returning to her voice. "Your mother was aware of a very special object in my possession and sought to destroy it. She had to be stopped," the Queen explained, devoid of any emotion. She finished quickly, eager to end the conversation.

An uneasy feeling settled within Rok. He revered the Queen, and he had always found himself loyally following in all her decisions without question. Above all, he loved her like a mother. Thoughts of anger, sadness, and confusion swirled in his mind. "How could she keep this from me? What else is she lying about? What secrets has she concealed?" These questions made him question the truthfulness of her words about his mother.

"What was the object?" he finally asked, his voice tinged with doubt as though preparing himself for another lie.

"That, I cannot tell you. You already know too much," she replied coldly.

"Was it this?" He asked, once again holding up the small pendant, ignoring her previous answer.

"No. I kept it merely as a threat to others, a reminder never to cross me," her voice remained calm and steady, yet her nervous eyes betrayed her as she watched him closely.

Silence fell upon them, granting Rok's mind a slim opportunity to process what he had learned. Yet, his mind and raging anger refused to cooperate, instead he remained fixating only on one idea, Demeter's death, in which he was determined to carry out.