After Daphne’s conversation with Zephyr, she was left feeling even more lost than before. She had been stumbling and tripping as she made her way aimlessly around the palace, rejecting Zephyr’s offer of keeping her company.
It didn’t take long before her feet led her toward her father’s old office. She had heard the news. He had died rather unceremoniously, killed by her good-for-nothing older brother.
It was a rather fitting outco and frankly, Daphne didn’t have it in her to mourn for a parent who did not care for her all her life. She supposed that there was a little bit of grief, but with everything that happened in the last twenty-four hours, this was just a speck of dust in comparison.
Surprisingly, the door was left open and Daphne pushed it and entered. Her mother — soone she did not expect to see — sat at her father’s old desk, her head in her hand as she rubbed her temples. The poor woman looked as though she had aged a decade since the last ti Daphne saw her.
"Mother?" she called out hesitantly, not sure whether she even wished to be disturbed at the mont. Queen Anette looked stressed and for this parent, at least, Daphne held so form of sympathy for.
Queen Anette looked up, surprised to hear her daughter’s voice. When she locked eyes with Daphne, her expression softened into a smile. Now that King Cyrus was gone, Daphne realized that her mother had much more carefree expressions. She still retained her elegance but there was just sothing about her that was more... holy.
"Daphne," she said, exhaling heavily. "You’ve recovered."
Daphne pursed her lips and nodded. When her mother held out her arms, Daphne quickly entered the room. She closed in on the table, and instantly, Queen Anette enveloped her in a surprising hug. It startled Daphne as she did not expect such physical affection coming from her mother. But at the sa ti, she felt like she needed this.
The mont she was in her mother’s embrace — a sensation she was foreign to — Daphne felt as though she had suddenly been transported back into her childhood years. Tears imdiately ca to her eyes, welling and pooling before it eventually overflowed. What first started as a sob and a sniffle quickly beca a full bawl as Queen Anette calmly smoothed down Daphne’s hair.
Both won said nothing, not until Daphne had cried her heart out and allowed herself to feel all the emotions she had been suppressing and forgetting for the last weeks― anger, betrayal, loss, guilt, and so much more.
"Mother, what do I do?" Daphne allowed herself to ask, still tucked in her mother’s arms like any other loved daughter in any other household. "Atticus... He... He..."
"I know," Queen Anette said. "And I agree with him."
"What?" Daphne pulled away in surprise. "What do you an?"
Queen Anette smiled softly. "He gathered the rulers of several major kingdoms and organized a... council. Or more exactly, he made an announcent to the rest of the world."
"So you know, then?" Daphne questioned.
"His heritage, the loss of magic, his reasons behind it― yes. I’ve heard them all," Queen Anette affird with a nod. "And I agree with his ways."
"Mother, how could you say that?" If anything, Daphne was more surprised. She had known just how proud her family was of their magic, just like every other royal in the world. "He has rendered Reaweth and every other kingdom powerless! His ways of the ritual had also hard two of my friends, and destruction followed his wake on his journey to obtain the ingredients necessary to the ritual. Did you learn that as well? Or did he fail to ntion it?"
"He ntioned everything," Queen Anette replied. "While not the specific ingredients, he ntioned you and how you stood against his decision. He has also pointed to you to keep him in check if necessary."
Daphne felt sick to her gut. How was this a good thing? Her mother was speaking as though it was a wonderful title to have!
"Daphne, a great queen must be able to stand with her king, side by side," Queen Anette said, lightly squeezing her daughter’s arms as a show of support. "This is the sa when it cos to any other husband and wife. She need not necessarily agree with everything her husband says or believes in, but what’s more important is to know when to give and when to take. It’s alright to have differences as long as you learn to compromise."
"Did you miss the part about him harming my friends?" Daphne repeated, resisting the urge to shake her mother away. Her conduct and teachings taught her better.
"I suppose you an the kelpie and the griffin?" Queen Anette asked. "Sothing else you ought to learn, Daphne, is that a ruler — no matter king or queen — will have to make the right decisions for their people. It is not necessarily the easiest one. That is sothing your father had always failed to understand."
This ti, Daphne felt her argunt clog in her throat. She couldn’t find fault with that statent. Her mother was right― sacrifices had to be made. Not everyone could be saved. It was always about minimizing damage in the long run. However, it was just always in Daphne’s nature to want to save everyone.
It hurt to not be able to do so, especially if they were her friends.
"How is Leonora and Silas taking it?" Daphne murmured, sighing. "Or Luis?" She could already feel a headache growing as she grew more and more confused about how to treat this situation.
"Fairly well."
Daphne nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard Silas’s voice. When she whirled around, she was surprised to see her younger brother standing there, fit as a fiddle. He was no longer just a head but now, had a proper body and was perfectly capable of standing upright by himself.
"Silas!" Daphne exclaid, her eyes widening.
She scanned her younger brother up and down before controlling herself. While surprised, that was all there was to it. Just because they had been through a life-or-death ordeal didn’t an that they were suddenly best friends.
"You’re alright," she stated, carefully observing him.
"All thanks to your husband," Silas answered honestly. "Mother is right, Daphne. It’s not as bad as it looks."
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