The Dark Queen of White 1.40 ( Finale )

40.

Queen Clarity sat at her throne, while all her personal guards are missing. It had been like those since morning, when she woke to find the castle empty of the servants and guards. She looked out of the window and saw her army was all dispersing. Somehow during the night, someone or thing had influenced her army. She could think of worse things, but she got dressed and waited in the Main Hall.

First to arrive was Snow White.

The last was Nimue.

“Hello, ladies.” Queen Clarity greeted the ladies.

“Snow White, before I am removed, please allow me to explain.” Queen Clarity spoke to the Princess. “You were to be groomed after me.”

The Queen looked at Nimue.

“It was all agreed.” She nodded to Nimue. “The news was to tell you on your eighteenth birthday but the mirrors told me something else.”

“How could you do it? I was replaced by you as the pretty one?” The Queen let it out.

“Pretty?” Nimue was baffled. “I thought….”

“Being her replacing me as the Iron Lady? No, I was all peeved when the mirrors said she was prettier than me. I got

Mad. I wanted to get her out of the way.” Queen Clarity laid it out. “Do you know how it’s with us as ladies to be pretty? The men wanted us that way.”

“Clarity!” Nimue was upset at the Iron Lady. They were appointed on the qualities of them being strong and decisive. But beauty was assumed. She was pretty herself but as the Lady in the Lake, she did not concerned herself with the physical looks.

“Yes, Nimue. I was upset at her for overtaking me at such an early age. She would take the men from me. I would be Queen in name, but she would be the real Queen over those men. Do you know what it would feel like to be unneeded? Unwanted by anyone?”

“Damned! In this age, beauty means a lot to us. Have you seen those men? King Thaddeus himself was unfaithful. He was with other ladies; he cared not if they loved him, or craved his power. They cared not for him, but his position as the King. I loved him like I did with Gaerth. Since his death, I had others, but they were all empty promises.”

“I used them like how the King used me. He used me for his desire and when its was over, he chuck me to take care of his daughter. That’s what we are; a mother hen. Or a harlot. They named it. But do we actually earned it?”

“Clarity, you were supposed to be the Iron Lady.” Nimue cut in. “You had the influence. You had the power over them. Heck! They cared not if you are old, as long as you command them to do what you want.”

“You were the Iron Lady.” Nimue stressed in the point.

“True, but I needed to have that genuine feeling. I needed love.” Clarity sobbed into the sleeve of her gown. “Was that difficult to ask? Even for me as the Iron Lady.”

Nimue sighed. Morgana had failed in recruiting a successor with faults.

“Do you know how badly I wanted love, as a child? Raised among the ones who were ordered to love you. That is not love. Those are false affection.”Queen Clarity blurted it out. “When I was made Princess, I was asked to do my role for my people. People whom I had not seen before. As the Princess, I was bound to serve them.”

“I did it all that. I served them, and fought my own twin brother.” Clarity told them.

“Then before I was settled in, you came to me and said I was to wed a King. So I can become the Iron Lady. Merlin was there. He convinced me that was my destiny.” Clarity looked to them. “Have you ever lose a child? The one inside you.”

Clarity looked to Nimue.

“Have you had a baby?”

Then she looked to Snow White.

“Snow White, would you like to lose the baby inside you?” Snow White stared at the Queen.

“You would not. I did it because I followed orders. Orders that were given by them. I followed them like any others; blindly and faithfully. Ain’t we all stupid? We are the women, the slaves which followed orders.”

“Clare,” Snow White used the personal nickname of hers’. “We understand now. Please accept my apologies. I never knew.”

Queen Clarity looked to her. She smiled at the Princess.

“You never knew. You were the Princess. I was asked to take care of you. I was expressly told not to hurt you. You were the precious one. All your King ever cared was you.” The Queen smiled at her. “When I send you to the forest, even Gaerth defy my order. He let you go. You then had the dwarfs to protect you. But who ever protected me? No one.”

“You came back and waged a war to overthrow me.” Queen Clarity glared at Snow White. “That’s gratitude to you.”

“Enough!’ Nimue shouted out. “The Iron Lady reign shall not be tampered by your weakness.”

With that, Nimue called on the spell which created a vacuum around the Queen. The Queen did not fight the spell, but fixed her stare on Snow White.

Queen Clarity died on the throne like a Iron Lady.

Nimue disappeared from the Main Hall. Snow White stood there looking at the Queen on the throne. She then turned and walked away. Outside of the castle, Snow White looked to the man who was to wed her.

“Do you love me?” Snow White asked.

“Yes.” Prince William replied. Snow White hugged him. In her mind, she believed him.

She had to.

She had no choice.

She is a woman inside her. All she ever could wished for to control him was in her womb.

That was the only thing that a woman could do that the man could not. They could do almost anything, but not this one act.

Only the woman could reproduce for them.

That’s’ why they are always the Queen next to the King. He knew he could never do it alone. But she could, if she was the Iron Lady.

For a while anyway.

No matter what, the King or Queen still needed each other.

Epilogue

Across the land, Nimue appeared before another Queen.

“Queen Guinevere, I confer to you the role of the Iron Lady. May you ruled well next to Arthur.”