She Claimed to be Queen

In my store, there was a woman who claimed to have been Queen. She had the general features of Queen Magdala- similar dark hair,  and green eyes. Her build and stature evoked the memory of the prior queen. She even carried the Queen’s sword, which had won our nation many a battle. 

And yet, I could not believe her to be the Queen. The way she carried herself was radically different. Her shoulders were slumped, her eyes sunken. Grime dirtied her cheek. The Queen had been larger than life, a figurehead that could hold the torch aloft and led her people to victory. This woman was only a woman. No seal or sigil or signet ring could convince me that the person before me had once been Queen.

Her sword, however, was very much real. For a reason that I was never able to divine, the sword shone. I had seen it before in broad daylight, during the Queen’s speeches. Even then it glowed. Here, in my dusty old shop, it shone brighter than any sun that I’d seen.

The person wished to get rid of their sword; it was not for sale. If it was I wouldn’t be sure that I’d have been able to afford such a relic. Instead, the women wished to pay for me to destroy the sword. For several moments I did not respond. I merely stood there and blinked. For one thing, the sword was priceless. 

I could not imagine someone wishing to destroy it and I was loathed to destroy it myself. For another, it being priceless, I could not imagine someone parting with it and not receiving some form of compensation. And she named a price that she would pay me. It was no pithy sum either, such money would ensure that my children and my children’s children would be well cared for.

When I asked her why she would part with the sword, she smiled sadly and said, “The time for heroes ended; I did what I set out to do. I can only hope that this sword died as I did, that it tastes no more blood.”

When she spoke those words, I saw regalness swell within her. But, as the seconds died, the moment passed. She was only an old woman, tired and worn, who wished to retire in peace.