Kingdoms

hreatening, calling. but he didn't expect it to be this soon. Dear God, he didn't want to be this soon, when he was so unprepared. "Her." Hannah stared at him with wid

, looking for any sign of fear, or hesitation, she found none, and so she nodded. "Anastasia?" It was the king to his queen. "My Lord?" "Leave us for a moment, we need to talk. Hannah, go with your mother." "I will come to you." He added, an act of pleading, of cajolement. The Queen looked at her husband with a calm expression, but her eyes held fire. He would regret this, he knew he would, but also knew she would obey. And when she stood and stretched out her hand toward her daughter who got up and took it, when they both walked to the door and out of the throne room, he heaved out a breath of relief. **** Hannah walked hand in hand with her mother to her parents chambers, neither of them said a word till they got there. "What now, mama? Why me?" She said alas, when they got to the bedroom. Queen Anastasia wrapped her arms around her daughter and held her close to her breasts. "Nothing and no one will harm you, my child. Nothing and no one." She said, running her fingers down her hair, and pled with God to make the words true. She walked her to the bed that sat in the middle of the room, her arms still around her daughter, and both mother and daughter clung to each other, as If for dear life. The Queen hadn't wanted to cry, but she couldn't help herself as the tears came hot and steady and she found herself crying as though a dam had been burst open. "There now, my little girl, there." Her mother's words were soothing, but they also found a way to open the dam of tears. So she stayed there, her mother's arms wrapped around her and cried, cried until she had no more strength for tears, and yet the tears still came unbidden. "Mama, what will happen to me? If I do not give myself, what will happen to our people?" Her voice broke on each word and Anastasia's heart broke along with it. "I do not know what will happen to our people, but know this my child, know this, nothing and no one will touch you." Hannah rose her head at her mother's words and stared at her beautiful tear streaked face. " I wonder if that makes me a bad queen. but it is days like this that makes me not wish to be queen. when I only want to be a mother." Hannah rose a hand and placed it on her mother's cheek, her expression instantly fierce. " you are both, and you are beautiful at both. I can only hope to be a woman like you someday." "My child." She said, and held on to her daughter once more, her daughter's head on her breasts, and her cheek resting gently on her daughter's hair. "My precious child." If only you knew, she thought. **** "I will journey to the island, where the Athànatoi