Snippet #2458211

(Co-written with SkullsandSlippers)

The timekeepers say it is ninety two days into the 514th year of Jeytelh's ride.

-

Solaria

The Queen’s death, the strong possibility it was assisination and the method consumed Alleara. She wrote down what she knew, which admittedly was not as much as she would have liked. On top of that she wrote down every poison she could think of and its effects.

After all that the next list was the method of delivery. Her hands ached from the scribbling.

What if it was not poison and they just never announced how she died? A knife to the back? A slit throat?

Despite her earlier boredom with the talk of the funeral Alleara could not wait to view the Queen’s body for signs of the cause of death.
***
The day of the funeral she was dressed in light blue, a colour her mother decided was most fitting. The whole family bore the colour in some form or another from her dress to her father’s robe.

Alleara fidgeted. She was eager to go and get in what would likely be long line ups to view the Queen’s body.

Her mother frowned at her, scrutinizing the young woman. She was certain her daughter had some sort of plan going on in her head but she did not know what for sure. She vowed to watch her like a hawk to prevent the curious woman from make a fool of herself or her family.

Her father was lost in his own head as well though his thoughts centered around his newest creation. It was a bonding agent that would help hold all manner of things together though the mixture was still off currently.

The family of three left their home, Alleara’s mother ordering them to look as sombre as possible.

They would eventually join the many nobles and dignitaries present within the Palace of the Sun to give one last gaze to the departed queen's countenance.

The new queen sat with her entourage of maidens and servants on a balcony overlooking her predecessor's coffin filled with treasures. The last queen was draped in the finest fabrics and linens that covered her completely save her face. Guards were posted at the entrances, around the old queen's body, and on the balcony where Haniea sat. The young queen was not expected to say much during this day, her vow of silence would last until the funeral's completion.

The old queen was considerably older when she took to the throne, the timekeepers say she was around 33 when she was crowned. Similar to Haniea in terms of her rise to ruling Solaria, she was an orphan taken in by the Sisters of Jeytelh and she lived a monastic life. Unlike Haniea, the late queen became a Solar Matriarch and she was then chosen by the queen before her to be the successor. She ruled for approximately ten years before her tragic end came. She was struck down by fate, as some would have it, before she had the chance to name a successor.

Of course, some believe in fate, and others do not. Some believe in Jeytelh, and others feign belief in the Lord of the Sun, and he who founded Solaria. They say that the late queen's spirit will join his sphere that he takes across the sky. After her soul has circled the world of M'Sal for a year, it will be released into his domain.

The line of nobles was long. Too long. Alleara really wanted to get closer and it seemed like people were taking their time to look over the cold dead body. Dead body people, nothing special....move it along....

From her spot she could see the fabric covering the body and she huffed in annoyance. Her mother shot her a look and Alleara dropped her eyes to the floor.

She let them drift up. Guards? Who guards a dead body? What is she going to do get up? Someone going to try and kill her? Really....

The line moved in a slow shuffling manner. A hand tapped her arm and her mother pointed to where the new Queen sat. Alleara frowned at her mother but looked up anyway. The woman was young but a bit older than Alleara from what she could tell. She wasn’t the best judge of such things though. From her spot in line Alleara could see the guards that surrounded her too and the look on the Queen’s face.

I would hate to be in her spot.

It would go on like that, slow shuffling steps bringing her and her family ever closer to the body. She watched as some women played up their grief, sobbing and falling to their knees. Alleara rolled her eyes. As if they will win some sort of favour with the new Queen for their pretending.

Her mother sniffled beside her and Alleara’s eyes went wide. Not her too....

They inched closer. Alleara could make out the slope of her feet under the material. She leaned around the person in front of her in order to try and get a better look at the face. Colour looks fine. So that rules out a couple but means nothing overall.

The man in front of her grunted at her and Alleara stood back. She tapped a foot impatiently. They made it to the end of the coffin. Her mother moved past her and Alleara pouted. Her mother was more concerned with what was in the coffin with the body and how they had dressed her. Didn’t she realize there was a real mystery here? For his part her father simply walked as if strolling slowly down a street, his mind elsewhere.

Alleara stepped closer to her mother.

Limbs look straight, no distortion of the body. She mentally crossed off the poisons that caused the muscle of the body to seize and contort. It was almost impossible to straighten a body out once again.

A wound from a knife would require a thorough inspection of the unclothed body, something Alleara knew she would never be allowed to do. It disappointed her that she might never solve this puzzle fully. The young woman turned her attention back to poisons.

They were equal to the Queen's knees now and Alleara was scrutinizing every shape, bump or distortion of the material. If I could just get closer... Her mother sniffled again and then began to cry.

"Oh godness mother...." Alleara whispered harshly. Her mother fell to her knees and leaned on the coffin. It was like an epiphany.

"Oh mother...." Alleara tried to sound as sad and sympathetic as she could as she leaned in with her mother. She scooted around her to get closer to where she knew the Queen's hands would be. "Its alright."

The guards looked over at them but made no move to immediately dismiss them. They had been letting people have their moment before shooing them away from the casket.

Alleara moved her mother a little and the woman leaned heavily on the side as she cried. Alleara marvelled at her mother's performance, it was truly believable. As her mother leaned Alleara leaned though her hand slipped under the material. She grasped cold hand of the queen and she was immediately struck by the texture. Adjusting it slightly she exposed the fingers to her gaze.

One of the guards saw her caress the queen's hand, he simply paid no heed to what Alleara was doing.

Alleara kept one eye on the guards and her ears trained on her mother. The rest of her attention was on the Queen's hand. They roamed from her wrist to her fingertips. No lines tracing the veins so whatever it was, if it was poison did not leave a marked trail as it circulated.

Her mother became a mess of tears and sobs. Alleara growled lightly knowing the woman's behaviour was going to get them noticed more by both the other mourners and the guards. She gently turned the hand over to inspect the palm. There was veining here that should not be so pronounced. Alleara considered the possilbe causes. A few agents in the blood would show up on the palms but there would be other markers. She quickly made mental notes on the appearance of the palm before turning the hand over once more. One of the clearest indicators would be in the nail beds. Different chemicals and natural compounds left markers in the nail beds. With any luck, if it was a poison of some kind that killed the Queen it left a signature there.

Beside her Alleara's mother leaned into the coffin more. Alleara hissed at her. "Mother, stop that...you are going to get us escorted away!"

Her mother turned, red eyed crying mess "So horrible, so sad.."

Aleara moved huffed and went back to the hand that she held. Her eyes raked over the nails even as her ears picked up the sounds of footsteps. Great...just a little longer...

Haniea watched from high, noticing the younger woman touching the queen's hand and observing the body. To the queen, she seemed to find the late queen a curiosity.

Haniea whispered to her head servant, "Who is she?"

The head servant watched the woman as well with some interest, taking note of the people surrounding her. They were most likely her family.

"I believe that is Alleara Delegio of House Delegio. Her father works as an inventor of our technologies. One of the few notable names that are not of high noble lineage."

"She takes after her father well, do you suppose?"

"I suppose your majesty. There is a certain way that their minds work."

They observed Alleara keenly, waiting for perhaps some reaction or expression on her face.

"Khundis, what is she doing?"

"I...I am not sure myself, your majesty."

Now...they were indeed curious as to her motives.

"I want a private audience with her."

"Yes your majesty," Khundis whispered to some of the guards on the balcony. She pointed to Alleara, the soldiers nodded and left immediately.

The guard that was watching Alleara for some time finally lost his patience, "Alright, on with you."

He shooed her on, a bit annoyed, as if the queen's body was on for show.

Alleara frowned. "But..." And then she saw it. There were arches in the nail bed of the Queen's fingers. Blue. Not the kind of blue the skin takes on after death but a disinct blue arch in each bed. Her eyes went wide. Her mother leaned on her and she helped her walk away. She was super excited to get back home now. She had a lead.

Her mother still cried on her shoulder and Alleara resisted the urge to push her off. She played the dutiful daughter and walked her away. Her father followed, unaware of anything that had occurred.

-

After the nobles had their time with the deceased matriarch, the palace servants continued with the prior arrangements for a procession through the streets of Solaria. Starting from the Imperial Quarter, the queen's body was left before the open air within her casket. The guards carried her in advance of the rest of the procession. Following the past queen was the new queen, symbolic of the ushering of a new ruler. She was followed by her servants, and guards as well. The nobles followed after, with their own house and personal escorts along side the royal guards. Musicians playing in uplifting melodies followed behind.

They would stop once the queen left the Imperial Quarter, from that point, it was all silence through the streets. The people came out in flocks, in awe of the queen. Some had never seen her before, and were thus stunned by the beauty that had departed. Others shed tears as if the late queen was someone close to them, within their homes, perhaps to an extent within their hearts.

The Delegio's followed along with the procession of nobles as the Queen's body moved through the streets. Her mother, thankfully, clung to her father now leaving Alleara to her thoughts. Blue..only a couple who do that. I need to get back to the lab. She walked heavily annoyed at the pomp and circumstance around her It would be easier to pinpoint the nature of the poison and how it was administered if I could just get a full look at the body.

Alleara's father always preferred chemicals and machines to people and while she appreciated all of that, she liked the interaction of those things with the living world in a way that differed slightly from her father. They often used this slight difference in approach to help each other with their theories and research. She wished in this moment that she could ask him his opinion on what she saw.

The procession moved down the streets of the Imperial Quarter. As the nobles reached the border of the quarter they began to move aside and let the body and its escorts continue on. Alleara stood there for a moment and watched the procession disappear down the streets.

There goes all the evidence.

Her heart was pounding as she frantically tried to find a way to stop them taking the body away to the pyre. Alleara knew there was nothing she could do without disgracing her family and getting herself into trouble.

"Let's go now. Stop gawking. We can't be late for the luncheon."

Alleara turned to face her mother. She had composed herself now and the only evidence of her spectacle was her slightly red eyes. Alleara sighed and turned to join her mother. "So close...."

Beyond the Imperial Quarter, the queen's body would be carried through the other quarters, letting all the peoples that made up Solaria see her face one last time. The final leg of the journey would be the Gate of the Setting Sun. The gate sat on the western edge of the city. The timekeepers ensured that the queen would reach the gate in time for it to align with the setting sun. Once that was done, they would carry her body up to the western tower where a pyre had been prepared. Her funeral pyre would serve as the last light into the night.

After they had passed through the many quarters, the procession finally made its way to the western tower and mounted the steps toward the western tower to the platform. The guards lifted the late queen's casket above the pyre. Servants then placed Solarian crystals on the pyre, and as the flames lit, they changed from yellow to blue and began to dance toward the sky.

Haniea watched the blue glow stand apart against the fading orange of Jeytelh on the horizon.

Alleara was surrounded by people who were more concerned with who was wearing what instead of the mystery of the queen’s death. To them it was an excuse to show off but to her it was a puzzle that needed to be solved. She realized of course, that most of them didn’t give two thoughts about how she died. Even the women who had been gossiping about that very topic had now dismissed it and moved onto something else.

She nibbled on the food, though it was very good she had little appetite. The constant noise around her made Alleara annoyed. Do they not know how hard it is to concentrate when they drone on?

Her father was on one side of the room discussing something with another man. They seemed deep into the topic, whatever it was. They had paper out and were scribbling things furiously as they talked. The other side of the room her mother sat, tea in hand engaged in conversation with a group of women.

Alleara was expected to mingle, converse with those her age but she found the task almost painful. She moved to a corner and did her best to hide away. Here I can think... Her eyes moved to window where the sun was setting.

“It is time everyone.”

The crowd gathered near the windows to watch as in the distance the body was lit and served as a light for the people.

Alleara wanted to cry. Gone was the body, reduced to ash by the night’s end. The blue flames lit the sky and Alleara turned, shaking her head. The biggest piece of evidence is gone. I will have to solve this another way. It wasn't that she wanted to prove the queen had been assassinated, it was more that a puzzle had been presented to her and Alleara felt compelled to solve it.