The day was like almost any other.
Cold and windy, the queen's bones already ached from the restless sleep she had just awoken from. Almost immediately a servant was beside her, pulling her sleeping furs off and placing one of her several fur cloaks upon her back. A bird of some sort swooped down from the ceiling of her chambers to fasten her cloak around her neck. This particular fur held a special place in Elisheba's heart as it was the one her father used to wear. It had been recovered after the avalanche that had devastated her colony nearly a year ago. It, along with him not returning, had been enough proof that king Heinrich was dead.
At least these days were slightly different than all the others. The colony was already busy and the noise it produced was something she had not been used to hearing in some time, not since she had been a cub.
Finally she gathered the needed strength to rise from her bed and move about her den. It was empty and even the air felt lonely despite the servant that moved about it. The leopard frowned. She was never one for socializing outside of her court, especially with the lion that tidied up after her. They had caused the colony nothing but grief as the priests had informed her, as well as the colony, that their presence is what caused Shan Furen's wrath to take a physical form and destroy them.
No. It wasn't their fault, she had to remind herself. It was her father's, for allowing them into the colony in the first place and all because he fell for some lioness who couldn't even bear his children. The thought of half-siblings that bore a lion's blood made the queen's teeth clench and her tail whip behind her.
"Your majesty?"
Those two words quickly broke Elisheba's concentration on her own thoughts. Glancing over her shoulder, the queen's tense demeanor changed almost instantly. As if a weight had suddenly been lifted, her shoulders relaxed and her tail curled around her paws.
"I wasn't expecting to see you this morning, Noir." The name was a familiar one as the other leopard had served her mother before her. Now, with a woman on the throne, all of her ladies-in-waiting were much busier than they were before, despite her mother's needy ways. Elisheba nodded wordlessly to the lion attendant who silently slipped out of the den.
The black feline was growing older, it was easy to tell by the gray furs that poked up through her thick pelt. With as much grace as she could muster, Noir approached the queen and sat just behind her. "My, my, how you've grown. I remember when you were born, just how small you and your siblings were. If only your parents could see what a fine queen you've become." Each word progressively got harder to say as memories began to flood back at how the colony used to be, before the avalanche and when Heinrich and Pinot were on the throne. Their reign hadn't lasted long, but it was enough that they left their impact on the colony.
Reaching out one of her white-tipped paws, Noir smoothed some of the queen's fur that had fluffed awkwardly when the servant had put the queen's cloak on.
Flinching away from the touch, Elisheba glared over her shoulder at the lady-in-waiting who acted so familial with her. "I am no spring cub, Noir, nor are you my mother or aunt. Your words are...out of bounds." With the last few words, her voice broke. "You may have been my mother's friend, but you and I are not on the same terms." Not to say that she did not mind the thought of becoming as close to Noir as her mother had been, but as it stood, the other leopard was as much a stranger to her as many of the newcomers were.
Slowly, almost sadly, Noir took her paw back and placed it on the ground with her other paws. "As you wish."
The den grew silent and then awkward as the two just sat in each other's presence for a time.
"Is there something you needed of me, Noir?" The queen finally questioned. The morning was still young and Elisheba knew there likely many things that needed her attention during the day. More bodies, maybe a survivor if she was lucky, bickering among the council if it was to be an off day.
"Nothing important, my queen. I simply wished to see how you faired this morn. Though the captain did want me to inform you that there were two cheetahs spotted in your lands today. They claimed to be merchants, but Barafu-taji seems to have other reasons to doubt them so he brought them for you to judge." The lady-in-waiting stepped back, her head bowed slightly as she waiting for Elisheba's response as well as her blessing for Noir to leave.
"I see...hopefully these merchants came bearing goods worth their lives then." There was a humorous tone in the way Elisheba spoke. Hopefully this would change how this day looked but it was enough to at least brighten her spirits for the moment. "Thank you, Noir. If that is all, you may go."
The black leopard slipped out of the den as silently as she had entered, leaving queen Elisheba by herself once more. Perhaps there was something she could do to earn the queen's favor, but they did not have the same history Noir and Pinot had held.
It took at least another fifteen minutes for Elisheba to make herself ready for the public, especially by herself since she had dismissed everyone who normally would have helped her and it seemed silly to call them back though she knew her mother would have. With as much grace as she could muster this early in the morning, she stepped out of her room and towards the central chamber which served as the council's meeting hall and the royal family's throne room to meet these two merchants. Hopefully they would not disappoint from what Elisheba had pictured in her mind.
[word count: 1030]
