Since the day of what happened in the dowager queen's chamber, Aurelia hadn't left her chambers and refused to see anyone, and since then it's been three days. For three days, Queen Aurelia had been absent from court.
At first, it was dismissed as exhaustion—after all, the queen had taken on far more duties than expected, often refusing to delegate. By the second day, whispers began to trail behind silk sleeves and lowered fans.
By the third day, the rumors had settled into a single, hushed conclusion.
The queen is ill.
Some said she had caught a chill. Others whispered more maliciously—that the curse upon her body was finally worsening, that it was only a matter of time before it consumed her entirely. No one spoke these things aloud where the king might hear them, but the palace had long learned how to speak without sound.
Valerian himself have gone to her chambers to see her, but he wasn't able to see her. Each time he will be told that the queen doesn't want to see anybody.
