When they reached the castle wall, the girls pushed their way through the crowd of merchants pressed in tightly for a close-up view of the dead king. Lyndal tried not to look up. She did not want to see his lifeless eyes, the red and purple face painted with blood. It had not been a quick or painless death.
‘We should string her up with him!’ someone shouted. ‘She’s proven where her loyalties lie.’
Lyndal’s eyes met the queen mother’s as she emerged at the front of the crowd. Fayre gave her a resigned smile, like she had already accepted her fate. The woman had birthed a monster—there was no denying it. But his choices were not her fault. Making her pay for them was unfair. She had done her best, even if at times her best had fallen short.
Lyndal turned to the unruly crowd. ‘Have you forgotten all this woman has done for us? She saved our lives that day in the square. She took a stand against her own son when he instructed his army to shoot us down like rabid dogs.’
‘And hasn’t spoken a word on our behalf since,’ a woman shouted. ‘While we’ve watched our loved ones starve and suffer.’
Lyndal stood her ground. ‘She’s been making a plan to end your suffering. I can attest to it, because I was the plan.’
The crowd quietened.
‘It was Queen Fayre who brought me here, hopeful that I could make a difference. She taught me the true meaning of strength, showed me how to be the queen you all needed.’ She coughed, tasting soot and ash. ‘She was not sitting idle. She was hard at work.’
A man stepped forwards. ‘We don’t trust her.’
Lyndal nodded. ‘I understand. But perhaps you trust me, and I swear to you that she wants to see the merchants thrive as much as I do.’
‘You think she’s going to care what happens to us now?’ the man asked. ‘We’re the reason her son is on that wall.’
Lyndal looked to Fayre, who was not saying a word. ‘It’s true, she’s the king’s mother, and she’ll grieve the loss of her son like any mother would. But she’s also a queen, and one of the first things she taught me was to separate heart and mind.’ Her shoulders fell. ‘I wasn’t very good at it, but she’s exemplary.’
Queen Fayre’s eyes creased at the corners.
Lyndal faced the crowd again. ‘This woman will grieve and cry and fall down in the privacy of her quarters, but then she’ll get up and do what has to be done.’ She looked between their faces. ‘Prince Becket will be coming for his crown. Don’t you think the young prince has lost enough already?’ Seeing that last comment hit the mark, she added, ‘Don’t make him return to an empty home. Every merchant here knows that kind of pain.’
She did not stop there.
‘And take her son down from the wall. That’s not who we are. The king has paid the price for his actions. Must his mother wait for the crows to arrive as we have all waited at some point?’
Silence fell over the crowd. There was not a merchant present who had not witnessed the horror of seeing a loved one or neighbour get pecked apart by birds.
‘Let Queen Fayre lay out her son and bury him the way many of us couldn’t.That’swho we are. You all came here for change, not revenge.’
It felt like a full minute passed before Lyndal heard a rope creak behind her. She turned as the king was lowered to the ground, the queen mother’s face contorting when he landed. Taking control of her emotions, Fayre finally addressed the merchants.
‘I am sorry for his death, but I am more sorry for his failure as your king. You all deserve a better leader, a better protector. I really hoped he would come to see that so I would never have to see this.’ She glanced over her shoulder, lips pressed tightly. ‘You owe my family and this kingdom nothing. You have endured more hardship in the past ten years than most can bear, but I am afraid I must ask more of you.’
There was a shuffle of feet as they waited to see what she would say next. Lyndal exchanged a look with her sisters and drew a breath.
‘You are likely aware that King Edward’s army is outside our walls. It seems they intend to stay. While I do not know exactly what that would mean for Chadora, I do know there is not enough food for us as it is.’
Birtle hobbled forwards, his wary eyes on the queen mother. ‘That’s because you lot have been selling it behind our backs.’
‘Your anger is not misplaced’ was Queen Fayre’s reply. She took a step forwards. ‘I know it is a big request, but I want to assure you that better times lie ahead for all of us. Prince Becket is not his brother. He is a young man with a lot of empathy and compassion. However, you will not get the chance to discover that if Chadora falls to England today.’
‘So what would you have us do?’ Birtle asked, arms crossed in front of him.
Queen Fayre looked around. ‘Stand alongside our army. That means no more fighting within these walls. We need every defender protecting the boroughs and the rest of you ready to fight for your homes and families. You are the next line of defence.’
The merchants looked between themselves.
‘Maybe we’ll be better off under King Edward’s reign,’ a woman called.
Fayre found her in the crowd. ‘Perhaps. Or perhaps the English army will storm your village and slaughter your families. I cannot speak of the king’s intent.’
A murmur of voices rolled through the crowd.
