Mary Anne Gruen - The House of Red

Queen Red Riding Hood was in the outer area of her boudoir in front of her enormous dressing table. Some people call this piece of furniture with the large mirror attached to it a vanity. And in this case, never a truer word was spoken. Every morning of every day, Queen Riding Hood sat before her vanity dressed in the outfit of the day, gazing at herself intently while two chambermaids applied her make-up, did her hair, polished her nails, and added the appropriate jewelry. The whole ceremony easily took from one to two hours depending on how elaborately her hair was done. She never felt the need to ask a magic mirror who the fairest of all was. She already knew the answer.

The Queen’s private bedchamber was enormous with décor entirely in red and black, the official colors of the Second Kingdom. Two walls of the room were entirely made up of closets, filled with dozens upon dozens of beautiful gowns, coats, and accessories all in various shades and prints of red. Deep cherry red was her favorite shade of the color. But there were orange reds for fall, burgundy reds for winter, and lighter reds just touched with pink for spring. The red prints were reserved for summer.

Upon arising in the morning, the Queen chose her gown for the day. Whereupon, it was prepped and ironed for her while she bathed. A full choice of accessories was also pulled out for her to choose from. After she dressed, she sat at her vanity and gave orders as to the hairstyle she wanted for that day. Both of her maids had been with her for a very long time and they knew well how to do her hair and make-up.

While at the vanity, she allowed visitors. So, this outer area of her boudoir served as an informal meeting hall as well. The actual sleeping part of her room was never visited by anyone other than her two personal maids. It was shut off from the vanity area by heavy red velvet curtains. Her sleeping apparel was made of satin. Her sheets were made of silk and her blankets were made of pure cashmere. The headboard of the bed was enormous and made of a combination of mahogany and gold, with just a touch of rubies. The bed itself was twice what most people consider king-size. Yet, despite its space, she had never shared it with anyone. Nor did she intend to.

Queen Red Riding Hood had never married. Many had asked for her hand. But she had spurned every would-be lover that had come her way. Being Queen was all she wanted. She feared that if she took a husband, he might try to eclipse her or wrest power from her. And that if she had children, they too might steal attention from her in their position as heir to the throne. So, she remained single, never naming a line of succession and even keeping her Chancellor and other advisors at a distance.

“Being Queen is the best thing in the world,” her mother had told her when she was little. “Don’t share it with anyone! And cut down anyone who would threaten your power.”

Queen Riding Hood the Third remembered those words and tried to live by them. Of course, she’d never had the occasion to cut anyone down. But then, she didn’t need to. Keeping a distance from the world made it easier to stand above it.

On this morning, the day after Virginia and Wolf’s wedding, Queen Riding Hood was dressed in a deep maroon gown, watching as her maids slowly teased and decorated her bright red hair with a series of pearl combs. The process was almost finished when there was a knock at the door.

“Come,” she said.

The door opened slowly to reveal the person of her private secretary Ichabod. He hesitated just a minute as he gauged her mood. “Your, Majesty?”

“Come in, come in,” she said.

“Your Majesty, I have some news from the border.”

“News?” she said distractedly. When she was concentrating on her reflection, it was hard to think of anything else.

“Yes.” Ichabod wrung his hands and bent his willowy body forward toward her. This way he could be close and still pull away quickly if need be. “We’ve gotten word that the trolls have renewed their attack against the Fourth Kingdom.”

The Queen stopped gazing at herself and turned her full attention to her secretary. “What?”

“They’re being led by all three of King Relish’s children. Most likely for revenge of his death.”

“Indeed?” There was no horror in her voice as she said this. In fact, she sounded quite off-handed. “How are they doing? The trolls, I mean.”

“Quite well, I think. They’ve taken Beantown and three other villages and seem to be heading directly for Kissing Town.”

“Indeed?” A slight smile was coming to her lips now. “Well. It serves that wolf-lover Wendell right. I take it the King’s troops are not doing very well.”

“They were badly scattered about the kingdom and so seem to be getting a late start to the battle.”

“Indeed?” The smile was bigger now. “Has he sent out cries of help to the Council of the Nine Kingdoms?”

“Not yet.”

“Good.” The Queen turned back to the mirror and continued admiring herself. “If he does, you may tell him that the armies of the Second Kingdom have no intentions of aiding him. If the Council demands a reason, you can tell them it’s because we feel this is a personal fight between Wendell and the trolls.”

“Yes, your Majesty,” Ichabod said. He was smiling too now, glad to have made his Queen happy.

“Oh, and would you call in the Royal Dressmaker. I think I’d like to order a new cape today, a heavy velvet one edged with fur.”

“At once your Majesty,” Ichabod said, bobbing his way out of the room backwards.