Queen Takes Knight

There was no way to know for certain how long it had been since the pegasus had been apprehended. Locked in a horribly cramped room with no window and with bright lights on at all hours, Faith's only measurement of time came every few days when she was held down by several guards and the IV that slowly fed her just enough liquid to survive on was replaced. She was exhausted, yet unable to sleep for more than moments at a time, for fear of losing the precious time she needed to plan an escape. Escape. She had to escape somehow, before she was brought before Queen Jonquil. Faith had stood on the other side of this very room once, in the months leading up to her appointment to her mother's personal retinue, and though she had not been privy to what took place when the prisoners were escorted to meet with the Queen... well, she had escorted enough of them back to the cell not to wonder what had gone on. In short, if Faith could not free herself before that meeting, she would be tortured. That didn't frighten her on its own. She was a master of enduring pain. Anything Jonquil could throw at her, Faith could take. Could Mirror? Frustrated tears pricked at her tired eyes, and she put her forehead against the cool stone wall. She was under no delusions that Mirror was weak or particularly delicate. Truthfully, she admired Mirror's quiet, unwavering strength. The unicorn had cast three complex spells at once, taken on a curse that set roots growing throughout her organs until flowers bloomed from her flesh, and then walked back to their cottage on her own four hooves without a single complaint. Mirror had collapsed, then, but only after hours had passed by, and she had been back on her hooves within days. What that really meant, though, was that Mirror was already weakened and vulnerable. Faith could not be sure she would remember to care for herself. She knew, too, that Jonquil's curse had the stipulation which meant the more love its target felt, the further and faster it would spread. Mirror had always loved much more fiercely than Faith. If she failed to escape, there was every chance that Mirror would die. Gods, she felt so stupid. Why had she run off on a moment's impulse, with no plan? That single lapse in judgement would destroy them both. No, wait. It didn't have to. Faith could get out of this if she just cooperated from the start; prove that she would talk without any torture, and play off her mother's vanity. She would cooperate. Do whatever it took to get Jonquil off her guard and gain her trust... the plan was already forming in her mind. All she had to do was completely betray Mirror's trust in her and lock her back into the prison that had broken her mind and spirit. By returning the mirror that she had stolen, intact and working, Faith could get herself hailed as a hero before the kingdom. She would make Jonquil put her before a crowd and then she would reveal her identity as the Queen's daughter before them all. However badly Jonquil would want to be rid of her, she was a public figure, and she could not allow her citizens to see her be cruel or negligent to her own daughter. Jonquil would have to accept Faith as her rightful heir. From there, Faith only had to kill her own mother and take the throne herself. The tree would be hers. She would free Mirror once more, cure her, and... Mirror would hate her. Could she even convince Mirror to go along with her plan? How much trust did she still have in her? That didn't matter. If Faith could trick Queen Jonquil and the court, none of whom had any reason to trust her yet, she could easily trick Mirror, who loved her enough to die for her. There would be plenty of time to make it up to her once they were safe again. Contrary to her letter, Faith was far too prideful to let Mirror go. Not yet. Mirror was hers. Besides, who could possibly take Faith's place beside Mirror?