Long Live The Queen

Freedom is a rare possession. You think you have it, but in a suprising turn of events, you let it slip from your fingers without even noticing. The world needs a leader, everyone needs someone to worship, to obey blindly too. I was once the one who kneeled in front of the wealthy, and now I was kneeling on under the guillotine, as people who were once my neighbors begged for my quick death.

I was once some common modiste, dressing up the ladies who spent more on a dress than I did on my own house. In all honesty, it could've been worse. I could've been like the children selling newspapers on the streets with their toes peeking outside of the holes in their shoes or like the young girl who was selling her dignity to put food on the table. Still, I had a family to support, a dad who could barely stand on his two feet and my mother's store to run. We barely had food on the table since most of my money went to pay to keep the store, but our scraps were better than eating nothing at all. And I longed for more. I longed for the day we could eat enough to be able to throw it back up, I longed for the day I would be able to parade these streets in a dress made out of the finest of fabrics. But life wasn't a fairytale, that's what my father said. But I still dreamed until the day that dream came true.

The day the prince fell in love with me. I never knew if he married me to appease his savior soul, but I didn't care about it. In this world, with people like me, we can't be foolish enough to long for true love. It's all about survival and protecting ourselves. And when a future king wants to put a ring on your finger, you don't ask questions. Specially when he saves you from a life of poverty.

When one is given the opportunity to change lives, you take it without a second to go over your decision. So I did it. I walked down the aisle, in my wedding dress, ignoring the whispers and jealousy. I didn't care what these people thought. I finally had all I needed in life. All I ever dreamed of. And all I had to do was to please the man in front of me.

Being the future queen was my new job, one I didn't mind working for. I learned that the future king's favorite color was green, so I made sure every dress I bought had a shade of green. If they didn't, I'd wear every emerald necklace I could put my hands on. I learned that my husband liked to talk and brag about his conquests, and even when I knew that his armies were the ones dying on the battlefield, I'd still pretend to be impressed.

No matter how boring he was, I'd forget that the moment he would offer me another piece of jewelry, every time I tried on a new dress or went to the opera. But the thing I found myself loving the most was the food. There were so many varieties besides bread and water, which were my usual meals when I worked. And each day that passed by, the more dresses I bought, the more princesses I'd become acquainted with and the more pastries I ate, the more I kept forgetting about my true origins. It's like they never existed. It's like that person I was before was dead and buried under the expensive silks.

My family. My neighbors. I never saw them again. And as heartless as it was, I didn't care to see them again. I spent my whole life living for others, serving others, and I didn't want to live that life again. I didn't want any reminders of the old me, so I kept my distance. The royal council kept reutining every week, worrying more and more about the commoners who seemed to be on the edge of an uproar ever since the king raised their taxes. I didn't see the big deal at first. Everyone in the kingdom had the responsibility to satisfy the king. I once did the same and I kept doing it every day since I married in a different way.

Then the French Revolution happened. Their monarchy went down and the royal councelors warned us that it could affect us. It could give our own kingdom ideas. So I came up with a solution. I told them the only way for them to be kept in line was if they were forced to submit.

And that's when the executions started. Every little whisper of a revolution was quickly shut down. Every subject suspected of treason was immediatly put down in an extravagant event for the rest of the country to watch. I wasn't scared. Those were strangers. They were the enemy.

But the more we killed, the more traitors showed up to replace them. It was now a big twisted game. Us against them. But I would never surrender. I would rather die in this castle than going back there.

And once again, I got what I wanted. It was my birthday party. The ballroom was decorated with dahlias and I had the best musicians and dancers of the kingdom perform to me. Only the respectable ones were invited and the cake consisted of multiple layers of chocolate and strawberry with icing on top. We obviously weren't going to eat it all, but it was still nice to look at. I was distracted, contemplating this life, a life that was always meant to be mine, that I didn't see them coming. None of us did.

One hour, I was licking the icing out of my finger as a soft melody filled my ears, and one hour later, I was being dragged by dirty calloused hands outside. I lift my head up as their leader gave some speech. I didn't pay much attention to what was being said, too focused on the rest of the peasant folk shouting about the end of the monarchy. As I looked up at the guillotine, I quickly understood what was going to unfold.

The King tried to appear strong, but his whole body was trembling. It didn't suprise me. He's always been a coward. It just shocked me that he wasn't weeping.

When the commoner was done with the speech, they started dragging each one of my guests. I didn't look at them. I couldn't bear myself to watch, knowing it was what was going to happen to me. As I looked at the lineup, it was clear I was going to be the last and that was on purpose. They wanted to punish me because I represented what they didn't have. I was the only one of them who managed to escape that life. And I didn't regret it one bit because I knew they would've done the same if given the opportunity.

The commoners walked towards us, ready to drag the king. He kept fighting, trying to free himself as he yelled a bunch of nonsense which I didn't bother to hear. Instead, I decided that I wasn't going to figth. I wasn't going to put on a show. I was going to show these people what they lacked: dignity.

Once I couldn't hear his voice anymore, I knew it was my time. I didn't let them drag me. I walked towards them, facing their insults and enraged expressions, dressed in a white gown, looking like some sort of angel. It seemed only fitting as I would soon become one.

I kneeled in the same position the others did and made sure to put my emerald necklace on the ground. I didn't want it to break.

"Long live the Queen." I whispered to myself before the large blade came down.