The Court

"The queen's eyes drifted over the squabbling crowd.
Liars, thieves, beggars. Liars, liars all. The men wanted her for her power and her beauty, not her wit. And naturally, like all men, they wanted what was under her long, lavish gowns. The women on the other hand filled her ears with unimaginably dull gossip, trying so very desperately to outdo one another in the knowledge of scandals. They wanted to be her, and if that could not be arranged, they wanted to bathe in her glory, be her lap dog, be treated like kin.
And yet none of them knew that the biggest, most shocking secret was sitting on the throne of their great country, ruling over them all. She was their beloved queen.
An ambassador was presented to her. For the first time in years, her eyes lit up. They started paying attention to the diplomat, the way he gesticulated when explaining why he was here and how honored he was to be received at her court.
The queen smiled.
The closest around her lauched a series of quizzical gazes at each other. The queen has smiled."

E.

Musings

"Darkness descended on the cliff where she had been sitting since dawn. The air was thick with smoke, as the land behind her burned itself to the ground. Ashes to ashes. Below her, many miles away, the sea roared for her approval. Violent waves clashed with the mighty earth like the day she had risen from the remainders of another world. She barely remembered, and yet sometimes.. sometimes a sudden flash of light would bring her back instantaneously. She would twitch, a demon would possess her for a second, a minute, an hour. And then she'd be alone again, in that feeble body that had been given to her. She begged to stay in the warmth and familiarity of the world she had known for a brief while, but each time something would yank the darling spirit away from her, and she would be alone again. Flames licked across the coast. She could smell it, taste in on herself - her pale, ceramic-like hands, her delicate frame, her monstrous lips and her eyes, the only part of her that had ever truly known anything. A feeling, a sentiment, a trifle of love, a piece of a life long past. She shivered at the thought, engulfed in the fire's greedy arms. She continued to dream, to let her feet dangle from the cliff. They longed for the coldness of the water, even the itch the salt would leave as it always did when she returned underwater. Whether this was her destiny this time around she did not know. She could not determine whether it was in her best interest or whether she'd be condemning herself to an impetuous, impulsive and unnecessary death. The thought became an idea in her mind. Her eyes opened to another world, an escape. An escape. Another world? Another escape? Escape. She covered her face from fire, fire and water, wave and flame. Her skin burned and her mind was washed away. She awoke, deeply lost within herself. Escape?"

E.