“Simpletons, all so stupid and blind," Gwen smirked as she walked elegant, savoring each step she took toward the flower.
"Oh dear,” she said as she caressed the glass casing.
Inside was the Evernight flower lower connected to no tree or source. But still, it was the most beautiful thing ever seen by man. Its deep iridescent violet petals gave a soft glow that had a luminescent magic essence.
It was said that the Evernight Flower was a gift given to the people of Eirenor and was the source of their wealth and protecttion.
Gwen carefully lifted the glass and gently took the flower from its bed.
“She won't see it coming," Gwen said as she giggled softy.
Gwen was born low-born, the daughter of Lily, the spice trader, and Edward, the kingdom's drunkard. Luckily for her, she met Fiona, the princess of Eirenor, when they were both kids, and the then soft and kind-hearted Gwen found a place in the heart of Fiona, the only offsprng and heir of the king.
With Fiona's help, Gwen's family was elevated and was now more respected than every other nobleman in Eirenor.
But as time went on Gwen's heart started to darken. She got jealous of Fiona. She began to notice how everyone adored Fiona while she was always overlooked. She didn't like any of it.
This worsened when the king passed away, and Fiona was crowned the first-ever queen ruler of Eirenor.
Gwen saw the power that Fiona now had, and she didn't see it as fair. Even though Fiona made her the queen's hand, putting her on the royal council she still felt like she was in Fiona's shadow.
As the queen's hand and dearest friend, Gwen took every chance she got to push Fiona into making the wrong choices. Whenever Fiona did, Gwen would start to poison the council's mind, putting the thought of a woman sitting on the throne being wrong and weak in their heads.
She had already succeeded in spreading this poison and convinced the council that Fiona was not fit for the throne, without Fiona having the slightest idea. All that was left was to give them a reason to remove Fiona from the throne—a tiny spark to start the fire. And that was where her plan came in—the Evernight Flower.
It symbolized peace, prosperity, and success in Eirenor, and if anything were to happen to it, it would be a bad omen.
Every night of the full moon, a ceremony is held where the one who sits on the throne shows the flower to the whole kingdom—which was a way of assuring the people that everything was okay.
The ceremony was the next day, and Gwen was going to steal it that night to cause havok that would lead to Fiona's downfall.
Gwen wrapped the flower in a little cloth and hid it in her blouse. She then walked out of the flower room. The narrow corridor, lit by sconces, was empty. She had adviced Fiona to give all the palace guards a break that day, and Fiona trusted her blindly. "She is too naive to be our leader," Gwen thought.
Gwen walked to her room humming and swaying her hands in contentment. She was just four steps away from her room door when Fiona came out of her room.
“Oh, hey, I have been looking for you everywhere," Fiona said on seeing Gwen. She looked worried but tried her best to hide it with a smile.
"Oh—I was—I was just walking around,” Gwen stammered as her mood changed, becoming cautious, nervous, and rather scare of being caught.
“Is anything the problem?" she asked with an awkward, shaky voice, adjusting her blouse and making sure the hidden flower wasn't visible.
“Well—" Fiona paused as she finally revealed the sadness on her face, “I don't know what color to wear," she said as her shoulders dropped.
Gwen felt great relief. “That is not a problem; wear a deep purple color, darkened or faded,” Gwen replied. 'A color representing a ruler clinging to power despite their unworthiness,' she thought, with a subtle smirk.
“Thank you," Fiona hugged Gwen.
“You know I love you, right? You are my only sister," she said sincerely, gazing into Gwen's eyes.
“I love you too," Gwen said from the corner of her mouth with a forced smile.
Fiona smiled before walking away.
“Dullard," Gwen muttered under her breath. She closed her door behind her and let out a quiet laugh.
"What!" Gwen's laughter died as she turned around. Her heart skipped a beat. She was surrounded by guards, all pointing their swords at her.
“By the order of the queen, you are under arrest," one of the guards said.
The door opened, and Fiona walked into the room.
Gwen was startled, she went numb, words escaping her.
“My dearest friend," Fiona started with a steady voice. "I trusted you while you were planning to storm the castle from within—or so you thought."
Fiona wore a bittersweet smile. “Dullard, you say. I felt something wrong the moment you gave me the wrong advice, but when I heard the poison you were spreading around, I was heartbroken. Did you think I would not have eyes and ears everywhere? I played along all this time to see what you would do, hoping that I was wrong,” Fiona said.
Gwen felt the walls closing in. "No...no" she managed to whisper. Gwen fell to the ground on her knees, her entire body trembling as she stared at the floor, tears rolling down her cheeks. Her actions weighed upon her.
Fiona walked slowly toward her, bent down gently, placed a hand on Gwen's back, and reached into her blouse, retrieving the flower wrapped in cloth. "I still love you, sister," she whispered into Gwen's ear.
Hearing those words from Fiona, Gwen burst into tears, regretting everything and how she allowed her jealousy to overcome her.
Fiona walked backward away from Gwen and signaled the guards, who then took Gwen away. Fiona watched with her eyes welling up.
Gwen was going to pay for her crime—treason.
