He bows and then walks away, leaving the two of us alone.
“Why did he take your blood?” I ask anxiously. “Why are you crying?”
My mother looks pale and sad, and I don’t like it at all.
“Come here,” she says, patting her knee.
I jump up, but when she winces, I know I’ve hurt her, and it makes me want to cry. “What’s wrong, Mother?”
She rocks me a little bit and rubs my back. “I’ve been feeling a little ill lately. The menders are helping, that’s all.”
“Ill?” I say, worried. “Like a tummy ache?”
“A little bit like that.”
“Is that why you’ve been sleeping so much?”
She presses her finger into my side, making me ticklish. “Well, I’ve got to keep up with you! And you have so much energy, so I need to sleep extra long in the mornings,” she teases.
My giggle from her tickling fades away as I look at her. “Are you going to be alright?”
“Yes, of course,” she says before kissing me on the forehead.
“If your blood’s no good, I could give you some of mine,” I offer, holding out my arm. “Maybe it will give you some of my energy?”
She smiles, but her eyes go shiny. My bottom lip wobbles, because I worry I’ve said something wrong.
But Mother takes my offered arm and presses a kiss to the inside of my wrist. “Your blood is far more precious than mine, my darling.”
“Your blood is important too!” I insist. “You’re a queen!”
She taps a finger to the tip of my nose. “Ah, but you are a Colier by blood,” she says before petting over my white hair. “And you will be queen one day.”
I consider this. “Am I going to be tired too?”
Mother laughs, the sound filling up the atrium, but I chew on my lip nervously. When she notices, her expression softens. “Queens do get tired, but we push through.”
I frown. “But why?”
She pauses for a moment, looking me over. “Do you remember how I’ve told you the stories about when you were a baby? When I would hold you all hours of the night because you wouldn’t stop crying and you didn’t want to be put down or be held by anyone other than me?”
“Yes.”
“Being a mother to a baby is a bit like being a queen,” she explains. “We have to care for others, we have responsibilities, and we have people who depend on us. We may be tired or sad or perhaps even ill, but a queen makes sure to take care of her people just as she’d take care of her baby.”
I play with the frills at her collar. “I’m sorry I made you tired when I was a baby.”
Maybe if I hadn’t, she wouldn’t be so tired and ill now.
“Don’t be,” she says with a smile as she brushes a warm hand across my cheek. “To be a queen and a mother is an honor. I give all that I can because I love this kingdom, and because I love you.” She reaches down and squeezes my hand. Hers looks so strong and pretty next to my small and stubbyfingers. “One day, you’ll be a queen and a mother, and you’ll be far better at both than I am.”
My eyebrows drop, because I can’t imagine such a thing. “But you’re a wonderful mother, and you’re a perfect queen. Everyone says so. I don’t think I could ever be as good as you.”
A tear suddenly drops down her cheek, even though she’s still trying to smile. It makes me want to cry too. I keep saying the wrong things. I’m not making her feel better at all.
“Ah, but you have this strong, precious Colier blood, remember?” she says, tracing a finger down the lines of the blue veins on my arm. “This will help you in both roles. You’re going to be the greatest queen Highbell has ever seen.”
“How do you know?” I ask nervously. I want it to be true, but I’m not sure I could ever be as good as she is. Everyone loves her.
