Meredith did not sleep that night.
Those words had poured out of her like a flood after years of bitter grief and resentment; it had felt so good and liberating to look that monster in the eye and make him know exactly how she felt.
But as the hours crawled past and the darkness of the night deepened, the truth hunted her.
She had not told him everything.
She could not bring herself to tell him that all of it, his birth; the painful first five years of his life that had now faded into blurry nightmares; the monster he became once in a while; all of it was her doing.
Things she had done to win the king's favor in the early, desperate years of her marriage; deals made with people who should never have been close with. He was never supposed to turn out this way. The experiment was meant to make him extraordinary, gifted, and intelligent, a son who would secure her position forever. But something had gone terribly wrong, and the child she had tried to shape had been deeply affected.
She had no right to hate him.
Not even for killing her daughter. She had taken everything from him, his childhood, his freedom, his peace, his family. She owed him everything, and she had given him nothing but anger and hatred.
The first beam of morning light slipped through her window, and a knock sounded on her door.
Meredith's brow furrowed. Visitors at this hour were unheard of; nothing of the sort had happened again since she bore the king a girl. She was the forgotten queen, the woman everyone pretended no longer existed.
"Who is it?"
"Good morning, Your Majesty." A servant's voice came through, hesitant and uncertain. "You have a guest. Prince Isaac's fiancée wishes to see you."
Meredith's lips paused. The fiancée, or perhaps the leash the king had chosen from his collection of loyal dogs. She had heard rumors of the selection process: dozens of women tested and evaluated for their obedience and their ability to bind themselves to a monster.
"Let her in."
Silence. The servant clearly thought they had misheard.
"I should let her in?" they repeated, disbelief filling their words.
"Yes, you fool." Meredith said, her voice cracking like a whip.
"Yes, Your Majesty," the servant said immediately and retreated.
Meredith rose from her bed, walked to the nightstand, and took a long gulp of water from the bottle there. Then she moved to the sofa where Isaac had sat the night before and lowered herself onto it.
She waited.
In a few minutes a soft knock sounded.
"Come in."
The door pushed open, and a petite young woman stepped inside.
She was the image of innocence, a kind of innocence that demanded everyone's care and pity. She had short black hair, big, doe-like eyes that looked up at people with a soft gaze, fair skin that flushed delicately at the cheeks, and a short stature that made her appear younger than she likely was. She wore an oversized baggy hoodie that swallowed her frame and a short, flared skirt that showed off slim legs; every detail of her appearance seemed carved to elicit the same response: "Care for me, protect me, trust me."
Meredith knew better.
Any dog that came from the king was filled with nothing but poison and dirt. The innocence was a costume, so well worn that most would never think to look beneath it. She wondered if Isaac would see through the act. The girl was disturbingly good.
"Good morning, Your Highness." The voice was soft, pure, and pitched to soothe. "My name is Nia. I am Prince Isaac's fiancée."
She clasped her hands in front of her, the picture of respect.
"I will be going to stay with him today so we may know each other better. Before I go, I wish to hear your thoughts about him. I have never seen him before, and I thought... perhaps you could help me understand what to expect."
Meredith stared at her for a long, cold moment.
"You surely know I don't concern myself with anything that has to do with Isaac, or you are here solely to disgust me," she said flatly.
Nia's face shifted immediately into an expression of wounded apology; her lower lip trembled and her eyes glistened.
"I am so sorry, Your Highness. That was never my intention. It was the King who asked me to come…to honor tradition. I would never presume to…"
"Isaac is the devil's worst creation." Meredith cut her off, her voice devoid of warmth. "A monster who could kill you before you have time to draw breath. He does not care about people. He does not love. He does not feel. And I can assure you, you will have the worst married life imaginable."
She delivered the words like a death sentence, with absolutely no filter.
Nia trembled.
Meredith could see the fakery behind the quivering lips; it was an act, a good act, perhaps the best she had ever seen.
"Thank you, Your Highness," Nia whispered, and hurried from the room.
---
The moment the door closed behind her, Nia's entire countenance shifted.
The fear evaporated into a mocking smile.
Everyone seemed to be afraid of Isaac. The monstrous beast of a prince, but Nia had never met a man she could not tame.
She had been born with a face that brought devotion, eyes that begged for protection, and a voice that whispered, "Trust me," without ever saying a word. She had used it all her life, collecting powerful men like trophies, bending them to her will with nothing more than her tears and a carefully crafted smile. Even the King had fallen under her spell to trust her with the most important mission of his reign.
No man had ever resisted her. Not even the toughest of men.
They all fell eventually.
Isaac would be no different. He might pretend at first, but she had patience, and she believed firmly he would fall eventually.