Queen's Obsession

Chapter 1

*Suzanna's P.O.V*

The room was silent save for the sound of a quill scratching against parchment. All of the light came from candles that were sitting on the desk in front of me. My long, dark brown hair brushed against my arm each time I moved my head, soft curses escaping my lips when ink smeared.

The quill that I was holding was almost broken. It had been worn down from daily use to the point of almost snapping every time I moved it. The ink well that sat at the top of my parchment was almost empty and I still wasn't done with writing.

Truthfully it didn't matter if I finished writing, I was merely testing my speed at writing. I kept track of the seconds in my head, the numbers practically ingrained in my brain. I cursed under my breath when a knock on my door caused my hand to jerk.

I sat back, sitting my quill into the ink pot. I rubbed my eyes with the back of my hand for a second before I got up. I made my way to the door, forcing myself to stand straight before opening the door.

"Suzanna," my mother said simply as she looked over me with barely hidden disapproval. "We have guests, make yourself presentable and then come downstairs," she stated before turning and leaving, heading down the hallway.

I sighed softly as I shut the door and moved to open my curtains. Light flooded my room which made me have to cover my eyes. I moved to my vanity, looking over myself in the mirror of it. My face had smudges of ink and my hair was hanging down to my waist.

I wiped my face off quickly before I tried to fix my hair, running a brush through it. I braided two braids and left the rest of my hair down, pinning the braids up on the back of my head. I rubbed my hands as clean as I could get them, however they had long since been stained with ink.

I shook my head once I was done, going to my desk to blow out my candles before hurrying from my room. My bare feet padded quietly on the floor as I had no reason to put on shoes since these guests had come to my family's home. Plus shoes only made it harder for me to walk, I tended to drag my feet when I wore shoes.

It was all courtesy of the nerve damage my left leg suffered from. When I was quite young, I had been bitten on the thigh by a copperhead. Ever since then my left leg has always been a little weaker than my right one.

I gripped onto the railing as I carefully walked down the stairs. The cold marble of the staircase bit into my feet but I ignored it as best as I could. I stopped at the bottom of the stairs, standing where a ray of sunshine had been beaming down.

My dress swished slightly as I approached my parents, confused as to why they were standing outside of the sitting room. My father offered a smile which instantly set me on edge. He was never this happy, not for any reason. Well any reason that didn't involve money, money had always talked to him.

"The new queen's guards are here, they want to speak to you about your writing," my father informed me.  I shivered at the reminder of the new queen that now owned our kingdom. Our own queen had passed away in the war that had, up until recently, been raging for the better part of three years.

Queen Circe had been a tyrant but she was a known factor. This new queen, Queen Seraphina, was an unknown. No one in the kingdom knew how she felt about us. She had lost both her son and husband in the war which could make her quite bitter towards our kingdom as a whole. It remained to be seen.

I snapped out of my thoughts as my father cleared his throat. I shook my head before turning to face the door, carefully pulling it open. I entered the room quietly, my eyes instantly locking in on the man who was sitting on one of the couches. I barely registered the two guards standing behind them, moving automatically to sit across the table from him.

He stood up to greet me, offering his hand. I accepted it and was slightly surprised when he pressed a kiss to the back of my hand. I hadn't expected that even though etiquette dictated that is what must be done.

"Tea?" I asked softly as I studied the man. He was decked out in battle armor, much different from the two guards standing behind him. He was an older man, about mid-40's, with black hair. There was some gray in his hair and he had some gray stubble on his jaw.

"No thank you," the man said simply as he sat back down. I looked to the two guards behind him and he cleared his throat. "They're fine as well, not supposed to accept anything when they're on the job," he said simply.

I nodded my head slightly as I made myself a cup of tea. I put two cubes of sugar and a healthy amount of milk into my tea before settling down on the couch across from him.

"I must admit that I'm a bit confused to have the Queen's guards here," I said as I took a sip of my tea, watching the man over the brim of my cup.

"Yes, I imagine that it would be quite shocking for anyone," the man chuckled. "I suppose I should introduce myself, my name is Orion. I'm the captain of the Queen's guard," he introduced himself. That explained why his armor was different from the two guards that he had accompanying him.

"That still doesn't explain why you're here," I smiled falsely over the brim of my cup. I was quite curious and a little bit- well a lot impatient to get my answers.

"The Queen is interested in hiring you as her court scribe," Captain Orion said simply. I sat my cup down with a small clunk causing some of it to slosh over the edge. That was probably the most unexpected thing I had ever heard from anyone.