So, to get this thing started, allow me to introduce
you to Queen Anahid of Arpiar.
The
Queen of Arpiar bore twin sons, but only one could inherit the kingdom, so she
was faced with a choice.
"No,"
she said to her two handmaidens, Sosi and Anahid,
when her labor was complete and both
babes were swaddled in gold-edged linen. Her handmaidens were her only attendants
in that dark chamber, both sworn into her service with vows so strong that
should either girl ever break her word, she would fall dead upon the spot.
"No, I do not wish to hold them. Not yet." She motioned the bundles
offered her away, refusing to so much as look at them. "Bring Zada the
Soothsayer to me."
Those of you who have read Moonblood will immediately recognize the parallel openings . . . the
queen of Arpiar upon her birthing bed . . . newborn children untouched by their
mother . . .
But in Moonblood,
the former queen's handmaiden has become the queen.
This backstory is hinted at in the pages of Moonblood. Do you remember? The statue
of the old queen of Arpiar, whispering her angry secrets to her granddaughter,
Rose Red?
"I told
Sosi to kill it . . . Sosi was too squeamish for that kind of work. Anahid was
better. But a queen? Faugh! He's made her pretty enough, I'll grant you, but
she'll never have the force to rule Arpiar!"
(Moonblood, p. 164-165)
So Queen Anahid, we learn, has a long and bloody
history with Arpiar, from back before her husband, King Vahe, was even born! A
history which, we know, includes her love of a young knight named Diarmid.
Regret
and repentance do not always walk hand in hand.
Queen
Anahid wore guilt like weighty chains about her neck, but repentance was far
from her. Thus she inflicted upon herself all the torments of love forsaken and
the bitterness of slavery under the King of Arpiar. It seemed just punishment
for her sins . . . for the lives she had taken as the old queen's slave. For
the atrocities she had committed at the bidding of monarchs; first the queen,
now King Vahe. She suffered every day, hating each moment of her life, waking
or sleeping--for even her sleep was plagued with nightmares.
But
it was punishment meted out by herself alone. And in that, she found a grain of
satisfaction. (Moonblood,
p. 185)
Anahid, we see, is so twisted up inside with
bitterness and resentment, it is difficult to find any shred of goodness left
inside her. The one redeeming light in all her life is that daughter she bore:
Princess Varvare. For this daughter, she risks everything, fleeing even to the
mortal world to find sanctuary for her tiny newborn.
She
closed her eyes and placed hand upon her daughter's heart. "With all the
love I have to give," she murmured, "though that is little
enough." (Moonblood,
p.12)
Her bitterness has driven her too deep for her to
allow any grace for herself, however. Even the gentle call of the Prince of
Farthestshore fails to move her, though we must guess that once she had
followed his Path. See what she says to the yellow-eyed dragon who was once
Diarmid:
"I
want you to go from Arpiar. I want you to return to the Prince's Haven. Return
to that place where we met so long ago, and where you loved me once. Find the
Knights of Farthestshore and warn them of my husband's plan."
(Moonblood, p. 186)
Yes, she once communed with the knights and knew
safety at the Haven of the Prince. How she came to this dreadful state of power
and slavery we do not yet know. But perhaps, one day, I shall have an
opportunity to tell you . . .
What did you think of Queen Anahid? Do you think she
and Rose Red share any characteristics?
3 comments:
I did wonder where Diarmid had met Anahid, but I see now, so that was really fascinating! :)
I think that Queen Anahid and Rose Red both refuse to listen to the bird's song (until Rose Red finally gives in later) so that's one characteristic.
He he, I'm not very good at naming characteristics, so that's all I really see.
I know there's more somewhere, I just need to find it! :)
I think that's a very good connection, Molly! Well done. :)
I realized that I'd never said just how much I love this picture, Anne! It's beautiful!
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