Kori went to her own quarters after she showed Eory and Pollyanna to theirs.
Hers were located on the second floor of the Great Hall near to the king's. She climbed the stairs leading up to her room--hoisting her long skirts up in her tiny hands so she wouldn't trip on her way up.
It was silent this time of night and the only sound being made were her echoing footsteps on the spiral staircase.
She panted the whole way up the stairs--she was exhausted from her long journey, both physically and emotionally. Being drained of magic, and therefore spirit, her heart nearly beat out of her chest with exertion. She reminded herself again,
Tomorrow, I must find a butterfly.
Once she finished climbing the stairs, she arrived at a hall with a checkered black and white floor. At the end of the giant hall was a circular arch from which a blue curtain hung that led to the private quarters of the king and his closest friends which included Kori.
Even for an adult, it was frightening passing through such a dark, shadowy place at night in silence. Kori could only imagine how scared a child might be.
The waif continued on through the curtained arch and arrived at a circular hallway. There was an ornate door right in front of her which led to the king's quarters, and five doors down was where her own room was located.
She hiked up her skirts once again and headed there. Her muscles were extremely sore and pushed to their limits as they ached with every step.
Thankfully, however, she soon arrived at her door and she placed her hand on the knob of it with a deep breath and a smile. A voice from the darkness made her jump, however.
“Kori, come with me.”
Her heart nearly burst from her chest as she looked about the hall which was seemingly vacant this time of night.
Her eyes locked onto a silhouette standing in the shadow of a nearby pillar, and her heart beat slowed. It was only Laurence. “You should be in bed, Laurence.”
“My wife still prefers her own bed while she’s pregnant…” Laurence said coyly.
Kori’s grip tightened on the knob. She knew the right choice was to twist the door knob, lock the door behind her, and hop into bed, but…
She leaned her forehead against her door with nausea and desire overtaking every good sense she had. She just couldn’t say no to him.
“Would you like some company, then?”
__
She rolled on her side later that night, unable to sleep as dozens of things seemed to weigh on her conscience.
The king had asked her to find out whether Eory knew Pollyanna had any weaknesses, and it tore her apart to do so. She didn't even know why she did it. She should have known by now how good and sweet her boy was, but there would always be that niggling doubt about him because of his family history. She also couldn't deny that she had seen him in a dark and scary mood from time-to-time before. Not as dark as he had been earlier, but dark nonetheless.
He’s such a sweet, innocent boy. He deserves so much better than to be unjustly accused.
Kori thought to herself as she stared into the dark recesses of the lightless room. Her mind was cloaked in a mist of unwanted sadness and extreme paranoia and fear about what would happen at the ball tomorrow.
Have I been a good mother to you, Eory
? She had tried her best, but sometimes she doubted she had been. She often had to remind herself that she was not truly his parent at all and she shouldn't have ever become so entangled in the well-being of a child who had such a high chance of becoming a criminal, but she couldn't help it. She wanted a child, and she had made him her child for her own selfish desires.
It wasn’t that she didn’t think Eory wasn’t a great kid because of her bad parenting, it was that she thought he somehow turned out great despite it.
She rested in a sweet memory with him for a moment as she rolled on her side—away from the king.
Eory was about ten-years-old, and his golden hair that was nestled between his large fairy ears was getting long and unwieldy. “Look at this beautiful, shiny mane! In order to keep it beautiful, we should braid it!”
Eory was a lot happier and just a little surer of himself back then. He grinned as she sat on the sofa and he sat on her lap—eager to do anything that would please her because he adored her. Even then, he was getting too big to be able to sit on her because she was so tiny, but she let him anyway.
“I thought braids were for girls, though?” Eory questioned after a moment.
Kori shook her head and lied coolly. “Oh no, among fairies, braided hair is very popular among the males and females. It’s a signal of strength and longevity and it’s modeled after the fairy goddesses who once wrapped the fairy kingdom in their hair to protect it from intruders. You want to pay respects to the goddesses, don’t you? They will surely bless you with long life if you do.”
Eory nodded eagerly and replied, “You always want the best for me!”
Kori wrapped her arms around him for a moment and thanked the waif gods for finally sending her a child to love.
Eory groaned, “Kori! I’m not five-years-old anymore! I don’t want to be hugged!”
“No matter how old you get, you’ll always be my… My…” Kori couldn’t finish the sentence.
There was an awkward silence between the two. It was as if, even at the age of ten, Eory knew she could never actually be his mother, either—and he didn’t like being reminded of mothers or families in general.
He nonetheless asked after a moment, “yes, Kori?”
“You’ll always be my Eory, no matter how old you get!” Kori said with a gentle smile.
Eory was happy for her save, and he replied, “you’ll always be my Kori, too!”
And both their hearts bloomed with love and cheerfulness at their deepening and irrevocable bond.
In a moment, however, Kori was brought back to cold reality by the king’s loud breathing and thought to herself, with a heavy heart, that she was not a good mother.
Good mothers don’t sleep around.. Good mothers don’t lock their children in a prison for twelve years.
And her sweet memory slipped through her fingers and was replaced by a twisted and ugly one—one where she was needlessly cruel to Eory. It was a time when she took her angry feelings out on him that were meant for Laurence—and it was not even the first or only time.
He was twelve-years-old, and when she visited him, his face lit up like it always did; his round cheeks were pulled up in a grin and his otherworldly rosy, fairy eyes seemed to glow at the sight of her entrance. It was nearly enough to make her forget her angry feelings, but hatefulness won out as it usually did.
Eory had accidentally forgotten to bow to her like she required him to do since he was six-years-old.
Instead, he ran up to her and threw his arms around her. He waved about the writing and mathematical assignments she had instructed him to do—wanting to show them to her.
Kori was narrowing her eyes, however, and looking displeased.
Eory backed off at her cruel expression and gulped. He lowered the papers and his ears drooped in fear and sadness.
“You forgot to bow.” Kori said with flat anger. “I have very few requirements of you, Eory, and that is one of them.”
“I’m sorry! I just wanted to show you—” Eory said with a shaky voice, but Kori cut him off.
“Such bad manners deserve a suitable punishment. I’m afraid I must cut my visit short.” Kori scowled and crossed her arms.
Eory was in tears. “But I just wanted to show you--!”
“I’ll be back when you remember your manners.” Kori replied before he could finish his sentence. She left his room while he screamed at an inhuman pitch for her company and attention. She didn’t regret her cruelty until hours later when she was sitting alone in her quarters at the castle. She had been curled up on her bed and wept at her evil spitefulness--she wanted nothing more than to go back to Eory’s tower and hug and comfort him—to beg for his forgiveness.
She could never get Eory’s piercing screaming out of her head. When she thought of the memory for too long, it would often make her sad for hours.
She had sacrificed Eory's happiness for the sake of being angry at the king.
Earlier on the day of her maliciousness, Laurence had asked for her in his quarters and, as usual, she could never say no. As always, she weakly hinted at the fact that he should just marry her if he liked her so much, but then he told her something that destroyed her.
“I’m getting married.” He had said.
She didn’t know what to say in return. Her heart was broken and she felt cheap and used. Her mind had gone blank with shock and then she shook with sadness and had no other shoulder to cry on but the king’s.
Kori was devastated and enraged and she took it out on her precious and beautiful surrogate son—the only person who loved her thoroughly and unconditionally.
She lay sleeplessly at the king’s side and tears rolled down her wrinkled cheeks.
She remembered how warm she felt with Eory’s arms around her—how overwhelmed with love and affection. The way his face lit up when she entered his room was priceless and it was burned into her memory as a happy thought whenever she needed it. He was her only drop of sunshine in her lonely and cold world.
She continued staring at the shadows until her mind was wrapped in them.
There was no sleep for her that night.