Poison City

“How the Kingdom has changed. Right now it’s only what you’d call, a ‘city’. ” The Lady in White turned the holographic ceiling of the garden into a dome, showing live footage of different corners in the city: “And the curse did not stop. It did not dwindle, but remained, seeping deeper into the very being of this city. ”

“Now. As for the reason you’re here. ” The Lady in White let out a long exhale: “You came here with questions. And you came here with the need to gain knowledge and experience on how to deal with the disturbances you’ve seen. I’ll grant you each one question. For anything else, I don’t see any talent in you that could justify my going through the depths of my past and memories. ”

“Oh - okay?” Gloria coughed, then took a look at Marcus.

“Think about it.” The Lady in White turned around and started checking on the flowers.

“She’s the Burnt Queen.” Marcus whispered to Gloria.

“What?” Gloria did not comprehend what Marcus was trying to say.

Marcus had to take a few deep breaths to sooth his racing heartbeat and calm himself down. This conclusion was not something he pulled out of thin air. It was much more than an educated guess. When he was young, especially before the incident with the cruise ship, he was an avid reader of almost everything relating to the legendary tale of The One-armed Knight and the Burnt Queen. And after seeing his mother’s spirit in one of his visions, he brushed up on a lot of the books and documents he read, as well as the notes he wrote as a kid. Everything he saw here, and everything the Lady in White told him only pointed to this singular conclusion.

Legend said, after returning from the campaign and venture through the desert to get anointed, the Burnt Queen started ruling with the only remaining knight in her escort team, who lost an arm during the fight against Shyurak, as her husband and King consort. They did not rule for long, only around ten years. After the Queen’s birthday, she shed her official robe, laid down her scepter at the altar, and retired with the Knight. There was not much record on where they retired to, or how their journey ended. It's all connected here.

“She’s the Burnt Queen. She’s the Queen from the story -The One-armed Knight and the Burnt Queen.” Marcus whispered again.

Gloria paused for a short moment, before her eyes opened wide and astonishment was written all over her face. “How is - how is this possible? How - ”

“I don’t know. But I guess we will see more and a lot weirder.” Marcus shook his head, then took a deep breath: “I - I’ll see if we can get more questions. I have something that - that might help.”

“What?”

“I have something she might want. It’s - I don’t know how I could use it anyway. And since she’s the Burnt Queen and she’s been fighting the ‘curse’ for all this time, I figured she could use it - ”

“Okay. Okay, go ahead please, I have too many questions. I don’t know if I can choose just one.” Gloria took another deep breath and nodded at Marcus with an appreciative look on her face: “Thank you.”

Marcus walked up to the Lady in White from behind, right hand in his inner jacket pocket. 

“My - my lady?” Marcus tried his best to come up with a humble and genuinely inquiring tone: “I have something with me. Something I was gifted from a wonderful being by chance. And I was wondering if you would be so kind as to give us some more questions, if I offer this - this artifact to you as a token of our appreciation?”

“You speak of that artifact you carry that helped you stand against my pull earlier, the one that helped you and your friend stay vigilant in the hall.” The Lady in White turned around and looked into his eyes.

Her irises were like they were made of blue sapphire with meticulous patterns. Marcus pulled back after just one look at her eyes. Then, he pulled out the piece of fabric from that White Wuchang’s robe and handed it to the Lady in White with both hands.

“What is this?” The Lady in White asked, her tone still the same but mixed with a touch of intrigue and surprise.

“It’s - a piece from a Wuchang’s Robe. A White Wuchang.” Marcus nodded.

“Did you take it from a Wuchang?” The Lady in White asked, frowning.

“Well yes but - ” Marcus was about to acknowledge when he saw the lady’s eyes narrowed: “- NOT FORCEFULLY! Not forcefully! I helped him deal with a tricky situation and then he gave me this as a token of thank you, I guess. He also showed me something - I am not sure how to describe it.”

“Tell me about it.” The Lady in White sighed and sat down on one of the platforms with flowers. “Leave nothing out.”