Isle of Wysteria: The Monolith Crumbles Read Online Free Page B

stepped in as well, her arms crossed. “This is our duty as mari…mariota....”
    “Maar’i ota’a ann’i.”
    “Yeah, that.”
    The High Priestess unfurled her robes and pulled out her staff. “I didn’t come here to quarrel. I would prefer to settle this without force. However, I swore an oath when I took on the cloth, and I must fulfill my duties.” The second her staff touched the wood of the floor, the whole room reacted. The doors opened wide, and armored footsteps could be heard approaching.
    “The Black Guard,” Privet warned, placing his hand on his weapon. “She’s called for the church’s enforcers.”
    Evere and Hanner were ready to draw their weapons as well.
    The Queen, for her part, remained as dispassionate as ever. To look at her, you would think they were doing nothing more important than discussing the style of letterhead to use on court documents.
    “Please tell me we aren’t going to fight here,” Margaret fretted. The tension in the room was growing.
    Alder looked into the Queen’s eyes, his face pleading. “Please,” he whispered. “Please, our child did not ask to be born a man. Please do not cast him aside just for that.”
    The Queen moved to correct him, but her lips would not move. In his eyes, she could see a lifetime of abuse, of patient submission in the face of injustice. In her heart, she knew that even she had thrown a few stones onto that pile herself. It nearly took her breath away. She had the strength of the forest behind her, yet in that moment it was his will that felt indomitable to her.
    “Please, recall your enforcers,” The Queen requested affably. “The rest of you stand down. We are all friends here, not enemies.”
    The High Priestess breathed a sigh of relief and put away her staff. “Oh, I am so glad. I do not like using force. It is the worst part of my job.”
    The approaching footsteps slowed, then turned aside and became more distant, much to the relief of the guards protecting the exits.
    “What is your decision, my Queen?”
    Queen Forsythia stepped down before the High Priestess. “Firstly, I know that it seems unusual for me to allow my husband to speak to me this way. It may shock you to learn that it does not bother me. If you only knew how long it took me to get him to a point when he would speak his mind at all, you would understand why I do not silence him.”
    “But…”
    “It is all right. The interactions between husband and wife are tradition, not law. Besides, I have said far worse to him. I have treated him shamefully even, and he responded with gentleness. How can I not respond in kind, now that it is my turn to hear hard words?”
    The High Priestess furrowed her brow, desperately trying to understand. “Because he is not your equal, of course.”
    The Queen nodded. “In law, yes.”
    She turned to Alder and her expression softened. “But not in my heart.”
    Alder could not hide how much her words meant to him. In that moment their eyes met they shared a bond deeper than even the roots of the forest. The living wood around them shifted at the power of it.
    Privet tried as hard as he could not to be jealous.
    “Secondly,” the Queen said, turning back to the High Priestess. “I have nothing but respect for you and your sisters. Some of my fondest memories as a child were of listening to you cantillate the high songs at the harvest festival.”
    “I wasn’t aware you were paying attention,” Oleander chuckled a little, breaking the tension. “You were always complaining to your handlers about how bored you were.”
    The Queen smiled graciously. “An indiscretion of youth, I’m afraid. But yes, I was listening. However, as real as your authority is, you only speak for Milia in matters where her will is known. At the moment, we do not know her true purpose in this matter. I believe we can all agree on that.”
    Queen Forsythia took a step back and held out her hands, one to Alder, and the other to Oleander.