The Queen's Riddle: A Faery Story

A Lovely Monster

Chapter 9- A Lovely Monster

“He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.” –Friedrich Nietzsche

Nora curled up in her bed, thinking over Poppy’s warning to not see Lord Ardan again. But no matter how much she fought with herself about meeting him, she couldn’t stop her need to see her true self. A shiver ran up her spine, thinking that she might be a monster behind a human façade. Maybe Poppy was right. She shouldn’t take off what made her look human ... if only so that the Queen would not know that she had wandered outside the Court walls. After all, the Queen clearly did not care about the Fae at her Court. The image of Nia shaking in front of the Queen, and the Queen’s amused smile flashed in front of her eyes as she drifted off to sleep.

“Wake up ... wake up ... wake up...”

Nora batted open her eyes. She looked down and saw Poppy jumping up and down on her belly like she did when she was a little girl. If Poppy was upset with Nora for finding out she was a changeling and wanting to meet Lord Ardan again, she wasn’t acting like it.

“What’s the hurry?” Nora muttered, rolling over and pulling the covers up over her head, sending Poppy tumbling backwards.

Tiny hands yanked the golden covers down over her face. “We have a visitor today,” Poppy said, clapping her hands.

“A visitor that wants me to get up at sunrise? I just went to bed.”

Poppy ignored her protests and continued. “The whole Court is talking! It was supposed to be a secret, but you know the Fae. We can’t keep anything to ourselves.”Poppy flew around the top of the bed, doing dives and arabesques in the air like a tiny ballerina. The last time Poppy acted this way, Nora gave her a tiny shot of an energy drink when she was ten ... just to see what would happen.

Nora propped an elbow up in the bed and sat up. “Who is coming?”

“Queen Una!”

“The Queen of the Unseely Court is coming to visit?”

“Yes!” Poppy said as she spun down to the bed and sat in front of Nora cross-legged.

“You are excited that the Queen who wants me dead is coming to chat?” Nora’s heart started beating faster, staring at Poppy and wondering just how mad she had made her last night.

“But you have accepted Sanctuary from Queen Aine. This is going to be the best ... You’ll be right under Queen Una’s nose and she’ll never know! I can hardly stand it this is so exciting.” Poppy fluttered her wings and rose a few inches in the air.

“Why is she coming though? You don’t think she knows I’m...”

“Rumor has it she’s showed up unannounced. Preparations are already underway in the courtyard for her arrival. We expect Queen Una to announce why she came when she arrives.”

Nora’s mind felt groggy from waking up and the information was slowly sinking in. “So Queen Aine doesn’t even know why her sister is visiting?”

“If she knows, she’s not telling...”

A rapid knocking came from the door and Nora immediately thought of Lord Ardan. Poppy flew over to the door and swung it open. Nora’s hopes sank as a tiny troll with a long pointy nose and a hunched back stood in the doorway. His long stringy hair grazed the floor and he was dressed in green velvet. “Queen Aine asked that I deliver this letter. It is meant for the one who accepted Sanctuary,” the troll said.