an incomplete character portrait
A thin veil lay over the face of the person in the portrait behind their desk. The veil was neither mourning black, or wedding white, but instead a deep blue. The rest of their outfit was a suit of the same blue shade. A single hand was visible, a white-knuckled grip on the chair they stood behind. Although the features were obscured (or perhaps not painted at all), the figure still seemed to be glaring at everyone who entered the shop.
“Who’s the woman in the picture?” the boy asked.
The woman in the picture was a man. The man in the picture was the king’s advisor, known by the people as ‘The Bastard Queen’, not for being particularly unliked, of illegitimate birth, or any particular femininity, but because of the amount of power over the king he was rumored to have. Other portraits, scattered around the city, showed his face, but Adrian would proudly boast that hers was the only one that showed their mask.
The portrait's presence was usually a point of pride for Adrian, as it was a mildly offensive spin on the old king's law that everyone must have a portrait displaying at least one member of the royal family in their homes (by which he doubtlessly intended for people to display portraits of himself or his sole heir). Anyone who remembered this edict would assume Leon was insane, if they saw the place of pride that her portrait of the Bastard Queen hung in, with no depiction of actual royalty in sight. The edict had been quite well forgotten by now, however, so most comments tended towards moderate confusion, which Adrian was usually happy to elaborate upon. Unfortunately, Adrian had not been having a good day, so the only answer the boy received was a curt “The Bastard Queen.”
The boy nodded his understanding. “My aunt has a painting of The Bastard Queen, although you can see he’s smiling in hers.”
"He's smiling in mine too, you just can't tell."
"Oh! Well if you say so, you would know!"
“Who’s the woman in the picture?” the boy asked.
The woman in the picture was a man. The man in the picture was the king’s advisor, known by the people as ‘The Bastard Queen’, not for being particularly unliked, of illegitimate birth, or any particular femininity, but because of the amount of power over the king he was rumored to have. Other portraits, scattered around the city, showed his face, but Adrian would proudly boast that hers was the only one that showed their mask.
The portrait's presence was usually a point of pride for Adrian, as it was a mildly offensive spin on the old king's law that everyone must have a portrait displaying at least one member of the royal family in their homes (by which he doubtlessly intended for people to display portraits of himself or his sole heir). Anyone who remembered this edict would assume Leon was insane, if they saw the place of pride that her portrait of the Bastard Queen hung in, with no depiction of actual royalty in sight. The edict had been quite well forgotten by now, however, so most comments tended towards moderate confusion, which Adrian was usually happy to elaborate upon. Unfortunately, Adrian had not been having a good day, so the only answer the boy received was a curt “The Bastard Queen.”
The boy nodded his understanding. “My aunt has a painting of The Bastard Queen, although you can see he’s smiling in hers.”
"He's smiling in mine too, you just can't tell."
"Oh! Well if you say so, you would know!"
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