~ FFM 1. The Black Queen ~

Straight-backed, but with the slightest droop to her shoulders, Adonna sat in one of the twin chairs facing each other in the long room. A fire crackled in the pit on the far side of the room, its warmth hardly reaching her - it did nothing to chase away the chill in her bones. She idly spun the ruby in its band of silver around her finger, the only reminder she had aside from her memories of the girl who had used to sit across from her. The room felt empty without her. The ghost of her laugh, her smile, filled the space, filled Adonna's hollow bones and made them heavy. Her shoulders drooped further and she choked back a sob.

"She used to sit here," she told the room. "We laughed like children. This was her favourite spot, of all places." She laughed, closing her eyes and smiling. "She said all our dreams could come true in this room, and they did. We did not even want the chairs here. Just the fire and each other. It was perfect." When Adonna opened her eyes, she imagined for a moment she could see the girl, sprawled out on the floor in front of the fire, her golden hair shimmering with its iridescent light. Leaves of parchment were strewn about the floor in front of her, a spilled inkpot spreading its black substance across the rug as she reached forward to take Adonna's hand.

The image was gone, and Adonna's smile faded. The room grew dark and the air became heavy. Adonna swallowed; she threw her head back and pressed her lips together.

"She was not a child, Your Majesty," said a voice from behind.

"I know she wasn't!" Adonna stood and whirled on the intruder. The woman behind the chair drew her sword, the tip mere inches from Adonna's throat. Adonna withdrew a step, biting back a sharp remark. "She did not have to die," she said softly. She looked away from the woman, resting her hand atop the weathered wood of her late companion's chair, feeling the whorls and knots and grain of the familiar wood. It was slightly different from the armrests of her own chair, imprinted with her friend's little habits - she had liked to tap on the wood, causing dips and valleys, whereas Adonna preferred to pick at the upholstery rather than the wood.

"Everyone has to die eventually," the woman said. "Please, sit." She motioned with the sword.

Adonna sat, watching as the woman sat in her own chair, leaning forward to tap the sword's tip against Adonna's chest.

"Not everyone has to be killed," Adonna said quietly. "Is that what you are going to do with me also? Like you did her?"

"Perhaps," the woman answered. "You must miss her. Do you not want to see her again?"

Adonna felt tears prick at her eyes and she looked away, towards the dark corner of the room. "You think I talk about her like she was a child, like we were both children. But you are wrong. I talk about her like we were best friends."

"You talk about her like you were lovers."

Adonna turned her hard gaze on the woman. "We were queens together. And you took her away from me. For what purpose? You have only given me more power."

"What do you mean?" the woman asked cautiously.

Adonna stood, the sword sliding through her chest harmlessly. The woman shouted in surprise and leapt to her feet, watching in growing horror as the sword glowed a brilliant white and dissolved into nothingness. In a flash it was gone.

"I have nothing left to fear," Adonna said. "You killed a White Queen, expecting the other to fall to misery and sorrow, to kill her also while she grieved. But you failed to learn that you cannot kill a Black Queen when she has lost everything and has nothing left to fear." She raised her arms, a howling wind growing inside the room. The fire exploded in the pit and went out, throwing the room into utter blackness. A swelling force pressed on Adonna from all sides, whispering in hushed, hoarse voices, like the voices of the dead. A faint scream sounded through the mass of blackness that filled the room. Adonna knew a strong evil lurked within her, rising to the surface, taking delight in the woman's pain. An evil that knew love and loss, but feared nothing. Evil could not reign in Adonna while she feared the death of her companion, her lover. That same evil burst out of her now and devoured her lover's killer, destroying the last thing Adonna would ever fear.

The wind was sucked out of the room. The fire blazed up again, throwing its light against the walls. Adonna fell to her knees and wept.