Chapter 96: A Way to Save Her
"You are miles away, Lorelai," Althea said in a deceptively kind voice. "I’ve missed you. This is the first time in a while we’ve been together like this, and yet... you are awfully quiet. Don’t you have anything to say at all?"
"I’m sorry, Your Majesty," were the only words the princess could force out. Whenever she was in the queen’s presence, she knew it was always safer to say less.
"Why are you apologizing?" Althea asked, her tone carrying a faint edge. "I suppose you have been busy these days. Working on the new slavery abolition law must be taking up a lot of your time."
She paused, her expression turning faintly disapproving. "Please remember, you don’t need to overexert yourself. It’s a noble idea, I admit, but it’s hardly essential for Erelith. I don’t think you should waste your time like this."
Lorelai remained silent, her grip tightening on the rounded handle of her cane. Frustration churned within her as she listened to the queen’s words, every syllable laced with veiled mockery.
Althea’s smile lingered, but her eyes gleamed with something sharper. "It was a ridiculous endeavor from the very beginning. Allowing beasts to influence the laws of humans..." Her once-attractive expression began to twist, her warm and motherly facade giving way to a cold, unflinching sternness.
"They are nothing but animals," the queen declared, her voice now icy and resolute. "And we, as humans... must remind them of their true place."
Lorelai swallowed hard.
Her throat tightened, and her mouth felt suddenly parched. Althea’s words had cleared up the doubts that had been gnawing at her for quite some time.