Braken Queen
Before Astraya arrived in Najorne, there lived a family by the Scaled River. The husband sold the finest silks and linens in the kingdom while his wife tailored the fabrics into fantastical dresses. Their two children, Ned and Loral, were raised in the family business; Loral, the aspiring merchant, and Ned, his mother’s prodigy. When Ned went to deliver overalls to a farm bordering the Brakenwoods one afternoon, he returned with the unexpected: Astraya. Bundled in azure troll hide and copper twigs, she came ill with what later became Braken fever. His parents closed closed business to care for the apparent orphan when none claimed her. The couple loved the child until the mother passed away soon after with Braken
By Emma Gullen
fever. When Astraya recovered, the merchant’s love didn't and blame took root. Ned cared for Astraya while his father couldn't. Since the children and tailor loved Astraya he couldn't abandon her. But he didn't make life easy for her either. He taught Loral his business while Ned took up his mother’s work, making Astraya run deliveries, fetching and
On the edge of a land, small but proud There stood a kingdom & its town But far beyond, in a wilderness so loud With stomping trolls beneath a coppery shroud Stood three forests thick with leaves Of copper, silver, & gold to please
washing fabrics, shining each coin acquired daily, cooking, and cleaning. If she failed any task, she’d starve that day her father decreed; and grateful for her bed, Astraya never objected. Ned made some chores easier. He cleaned up after himself while he worked, and
Yet, no man could enter Lest they wake the trolls in its center Thus these woods became a curse Of witches and trolls dispersed
when Astraya brought new fabric, she'd find him
And the day a child appeared All the villagers did fear The child from the cursed coppery Brakenwoods Who Was Barely Withstood
seven days, disappearing with her family until
in soapy water with them before she could start. The day Prince Varren came, Ned changed. Varren came to their workshop for dusk. Each task became her task in fullness. On the seventh day, Ned snapped. There was a soap stain on the silk. There’d been more fabric than usual, and taken longer to clean. Spotting it, Ned
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