Chapter Three.

"Really? What a foolish child." The Queen remarked after Donn spew out all of what had happened nights before. He confessed that Fiora had bamboozled the brains of their women and how they all dreamt of becoming what only men should dream of. "Quiet now. Women have the freedom to such dreams as well. Whoever told you only men are allowed to prosper?" She hushed him.

"Sorry, your majesty. Please forgive my mindless head." He quickly apologized. He was the queen's rat, she had quite a lot of those. By rat, that would mean an honest respectful citizen, but whose reasoning and thinking had been washed clean by the power possessed by Helen. By rat, that would mean one particular servant who had dedicated all his life to the power of the throne. He would never own his life again because he has sold it to Queen Helen, for almost no price at all.

"But still, these women ought to be contented. As long as their husbands provided for them, that should be enough. Unless," she stopped and he shivered in panic. "Unless, you men don't provide well enough for them."

"No no. Of course not, your majesty. We provide pretty heavy for them." He quickly replied, shaking with agitation.

"Well, if that be the case, I'm sure all of this will die down soon enough. Give or take, six, seven days." She said.

"I hope so too, but I'm afraid it might be impossible. This Missy I speak of is quite... daring. She would go to any length. She just stormed out from nowhere, and now everybody won't stop talking about her. She's gone through hell for these women in the past couple of days now." He rushed all his words, but still chose them as careful as possible.

"Hmm. Perhaps for power, I suppose?" She asked.

"Yes! Most definitely. Her majesty ought to be careful, just in case..." he paused and stared away, avoiding eye contact with the queen.

"Worry not. I shall take care of this woman myself." She assured, and just like he had wanted to hear, he smiled. "Anything else?" She asked.

"Uh, no for now, your majesty." He confessed, his knee still half bent on the floor like he was singing a song of love proposal to his lover. 

"Well?" She flashed a wicked glare at him and screamed; "Leave!" after he still didn't get the message, gesturing her head out towards the exist as she disposed of him.

He rushed out and asked he headed on his way, met a fine looking averaged aged lad who he quickly recognized to be Sire Clement. He slightly lowered his head to a bow and greeted. Clement just walked past him, ignoring his kind gesture. 

"Your majesty-" Clement managed to start saying before Helen hushed him up at an instant.

"Go straight to the point, Clement. We don't have all day." She impatiently rose up at her feet. Whenever Helen faced a devastating issue, it usually bothered her for only about two or three days before a solution came up. But this particular one had been bugging her for over two weeks now and Helen was running mad already.

"I'm afraid it's still the same." He sluggishly said.

Helen sighed in huge disappointment. Her people were turning their back at her now, and all eyes on the contrary, worshipped Tobin, her arch nemesis. Lord Tobin was a lot of things, but only on the bad sides. He was also one to never give up. His mission to over throne Helen had been living for years now, and she feared he was getting closer to the grand price each day. She paced uncontrollably as Clement gave unyielding results and stated more and more problems with no solutions yet. "So, what do you propose?" She frowned slightly.

"The hatred for the false Queen grows more and more each day." He explained and Helen gestured for him to continue by continuously motioning her palm to hush him into speaking faster. "They might need you to defend yourself by making a public announcement. Or a form of plea."

"A plea? This is all the fault of that bastard Tobin!" She faltered, fear gripping out her heart. She would not loose to him. She couldn't. "That is out of the option. I need a better one from you-"

"Your majesty, I am trying my possible best." He explained.

"Well I believe it's not quite your best enough." Her posture balanced firmly, and she slowly turned her gaze towards Clement. "After all these years of us being together, you know just how dangerous I can be, not just to you but all your family as well." 

He lowered his head in surrender. "I know, your majesty. And I thank you every day that you and I are still together, in peace."

"Very well." She said, then stopped to think for a few seconds. "How about," she said after a while. "This chief of welfarism, what is his name? That short old maggot," She thought for a while and answered almost immediately. "Rupert."

"You do not want to cross Rupert, your ma-"

"I don't care. Double whatever we've offered him before." She cuts in, her voice shaking and breaking.

"Your majesty, Rupert is directly under Lord Tobin. They work together and he is not ready to listen to you or me."

"Triple the amount then!" She barked out. "Do something. Anything!" 

After a long stare at the Queen's impulsive act, Clement managed a slight bow and left the room. And suddenly, she felt all alone again.

****

After many long sleepless nights, Tobin could proudly boast of a peaceful one that morning. He slept truly hale and healthy, with a long cold menace smile across his face, and woke up feeling truly refreshed. He would be another even fewer steps closer to his dream. Once the people of the Central City hated their queen, it wouldn't be long till they request a new ruler. 'Who would be a better ruler than himself?' He thought, and he already had his answer. 

No one.

That morning when one of his rats came to report to him explaining just how much tensed and worried Helen was, he pictured the described image the man had given him—soured face, shaking hands, swollen eyes and messy hair— he would not stop laughing. He didn't just despise Helen because she was an evil and ruthless ruler, in fact he envied that part about her. She was a determined young woman and would stop at nothing to get what she wanted. He despised her because the moment she got into power, (and through his help of course!) she turned a stranger to him. He smuggled her up on to the throne, gave her the one thing she desired, and he'd only asked for a small favor in return. That their friendship didn't collapse untimely. He wanted his own daughter to get married to Helen's son, and become the next King of the city. Now, the offer had expired. Tobin was going to become the king himself.

****

It had been a tedious day for Fiora after that night changing event with the women and she had promised to try all of her possible best to help them one way or the other in becoming great people. Fiora decided to first start with a woman, Fanna, when the poor woman stated that she could cook well. The people were starving and if Fiora could provide them with not one, but two square meal per day, it would change their lives a lot. They wouldn't have to depend on their violent husband for food anymore. There were three major rings in the Central City; the Upper ring, where the palace was located, the Middle ring, where high and mighty Lords lived, a few lower nobles also lived around the area—a few powerful people such as Clement himself —and the lower ring where the poorest villagers resided in. These people managed a few jobs of their own, lived under tiny houses and fed quite okay enough.

Then there were the local peasants. People referred to them as the meager. These people didn't even have a roof to live under. One time, they were permitted to sleep in the church's vicinity, but a few years back, they were chased out like house mouse. They slept wherever night met them. They were hardworking, but it was never enough, even for a decent meal. Fiora was going to transform their lives.

The problem now was that getting a heavy food supply for about one hundred mouths, daily, was not an easy task. Especially in that moment when food's price was now equivalent to the same price as golds. The farmers were working well day and night, and yet, still suffering. 

"For the gods sake! This isn't an easy task at all." Aiden confessed to Fiora one night as they met at a quiet spot near the river bank. It was serene, peaceful and free of, well... people. He promised to assist her on her impossible task, and so far, had made it less impossible. Although he commended her for a few things and said he would need her for a much bigger future purpose. Lord knows what he meant, but it didn't bother her too much. As long as he wouldn't propose marriage, and he promised not to.

"But for now, the people are eating again-" 

"Yes but only tonight is promised." He hushed and there was silence yet again.

"Well," she said after a while. "We need to know why it's getting difficult to purchasing these food items. I thought they used to be easy to get, as long as you were heavily blessed with your gold coin?" she inquired.

"I don't really know much about how well the city works," he admitted.

"You still won't mention who you really are." She professed. Apart from him being from a wealthy personnel, with a charismatic appearance, and one little faded thin scratch on his left cheek, she knew almost nothing else about him. And it bothered her a lot.

"You haven't mentioned who you are as well, Mi lady." He replied. "But that's not important for now." He said almost immediately. "Regarding to your statement, I do know that there was a minister or so for food and welfarism for the people. And I also know, he is not a friend of your Queen-"

"She is not my Queen. She's just an imposter ruling at the moment. Only for now." She blurted out, quite furious at his comment. She would never get why people worshipped and adored that mad woman, people especially like Clement. "Sorry." She quickly apologized, so he doesn't pronounce her as a delirious woman and run from her. The last thing she needed now was to loose anymore friend—if she could call Aiden a friend—just as she feared she'd lost Sif.

"No no. It's fine. I despite the lunatic myself." He confirmed.

"Really?" She asked, and he nodded bashfully. "Why?"

"Let's just say it's for some tragedy that happened years ago, and she was the initiator of the catastrophe." He smiled.

"I'd say the same for me. I blame her for what happened to me. She took someone I love from me." She explained. "My father." Her voice croaked and she instantly became teary.

"I'm sorry." He said. "She took my mother away from me." 

"I'm sorry too." And just like that, the air was warmer and gloomy. 

"Which is why, we have to do something about the situation at hand," he said and started talking to himself, "Not sure if it's actually related but," then continue, but this time to Fiora again, "we need to find this Ropert man."

"Ropertman?" She asked, her brows aching up in confusion.

"Yes." He replied bluntly.

"His name is Ropertman?" She question again.

"Yes," he said then immediately taking his word back. "Wait. No, of course not, you nibblehead. His name is Ropert, or so I think. Ropert, then man. Ro-pert-man." He explained.

"Nibblehead?" She said laughing as she spoke. 

"Yea, nibblehead."

"What?" She was already laughing now and he just stared in amazement, that Fiora wondered he if he was thinking that she was either so beautiful as she laughed, or creepily ugly he just wants to run away.

"Nibblehead. I don't get why this is so funny." He scoffed, but she just wouldn't stop laughing. "This was what you referred me as the other night before."

"Noooo." She continued in her laughter and only managed to talk when her breath came back just enough for her mouth to compose words again. "I said needle head. Not-" she paused for a while like she was thinking of what to say. "That?"

"Oh, a needle head. Right." He said and she only managed a continuous laughter as her reply. "I thought," he said and waited a bit for her laughing to abate before continuing. "I thought it was nibblehead. Oh well, same thing." He smiled and she wouldn't stop laughing. They had a lot on their hand to accomplish, but in that moment, she just wanted to breath. It had been like a decade long before she'd gotten loose in that manner, and she was happy. Genuinely happy.