She can feel the magic, breathing in the air. Green as grass where serpents slither, emerald scales gleaming. Green as the smoke pouring out of a magic mirror, making it impossible to see yourself reflected back within, let alone love what you see. Thick, seductive as perfume and just as poisonous.
Oriana feels Rose’s soul, bright and sharp as the blade of dagger, caught and wrapped in soft darkness, even as the princess’s body was embraced by arms as white as snow.
She feels her sleeves billowing in the magic whipping in the air, while a shadow takes form behind her.
Christopher: You’re wearing green.
Oriana: Green as the grass ripening under the sky. Green as the leaves which sheltered us in the spring. Oh, whom do I think I’m fooling? Green as the jealousy which brewed in my heart whenever I looked at my princess, my Blanche.
Christopher: Green can be all of those things.
Oriana: Once upon a time she said I was all of those things. She had the soul of a poet, even if she hid it from everyone. Her father simply thought she was strange.
Christopher: What did you think of her?
Oriana: It was hard to think, given the way my jealousy took my breath away at the very sight of her.
Christopher: You mentioned being jealous before.
Oriana: Always. How could I not be? She was perfect, as perfect as snow flake right before it falls and melts.
Christopher: A fleeting notion of perfection.
Oriana: How can perfection be anything, but fleeting? It’s a little like youth, yet she remains the same. Skin white as snow, lips bloodred, and hair as dark as a dreamless sleep.
Christopher: You’re a bit of poet yourself.
Oriana: If I am, she inspired me to be one. How could I ever be worthy of her?
Christopher: Did she think you were unworthy?
Oriana: She said I was like a beam of light, heralding the dawn in a midnight sky, sharing warmth and beauty with all I touched.
Christopher: Lovely.
Oriana: It was very her. Everything Blanche did was beautiful, natural, and unspoiled. No matter how much I touched her, she was untouchable.
Christopher: I think I know someone a little like that.
Oriana. I pity you if you did. It was unbearable.
Christopher: What?
Oriana: Her beauty. Oh, I might laugh and charm people, but Blanche looked at people as if she could see deep into their souls.
Christopher: What did she see?
Oriana: I don’t know. I don’t know why she smiled at me the way she did. In the end, her smile betrayed us.
Christopher: How so?
Oriana: She never smiled at anyone the way she smiled at me. Her father, King Reynard noticed. Worse, my stepmother noticed.
Christopher: What did they notice?
Oriana: A fair question. Not love. Bewitchment. Perversion. My stepmother accused me of bewitching the princess, awakening unnatural feelings in her.
Christopher: Unnatural?
Oriana: You make it sound like it’s so puzzling, almost ridiculous! (She lets out a bitter laugh.) I had corrupted Princess Blanche, a cruel thing to do when the king was so sad over the loss of his queen, Blanche’s mother.
Christopher: What did you say?
Oriana: Foolish things. I laughed in her face, asked if she was jealous, since she’d be hoping to corrupt the king herself, taking the late queen’s place.
Christopher: Was she jealous?
Oriana: My stepmother was the most jealous woman I’d ever met. She’d spent a lifetime, trying to outdo other women in displays of beauty, wealth, and power.
Christopher: Why?
Oriana: An excellent question. Maybe I should have asked her, but she was all I’d ever known, the only woman close to me, until I crossed the path of Princess Blanche.
To be continued next Monday….
If you wish to read of the princesses Oriana’s fate is entangled with, follow, follow, follow the buy links…
Nine Star Press: https://ninestarpress.com/product/fairest/
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/fairest-ks-trenten/1123806892?ean=2940179155874
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/fairest-19
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1483368
Apple Book: https://books.apple.com/us/book/fairest/id6472735190
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