On both sides, young peasant girls were lined up, readied for the kill in case their hearts' weights matched the Queen's desire.
"Poor girls," Cerené whispered. "All those girls will be slaughtered in the Queen's bloody bathtub."
The Queen of Sorrow herself, although far from Fable's poor eyesight, sat on her glass throne between Sirenia Lark, her private singer, and the mirror where Bloody Mary lived. Fable was more interested in Sirenia Lark than Bloody Mary this time. She remembered Shew had mentioned her briefly as the siren helper of the Queen of Sorrow. What did this woman do apart from playing eerie melodies with her flute? Fable knew Sirenia also sang. Was that all she did, sitting by the Queen's side?
"That's Sirenia," Marmalade whispered. She sounded bitter, angry, and sad. "I should have killed her long ago."
"What do you mean?" Fable whispered back.
Jack nudged her into silence. "We're in no position to talk about Marmalade's past now."
Fable's curiosity was piqued. Marmalade was a mermaid, obviously infatuated with the moon. How did she meet Sirenia in the past?
"I can't stand Bloody Mary," Cerené whispered, sounding sincere. "She scares me like no one else."
"I tried to steal her mirror once," Jack bragged. "But that's another story for another time. Now, shush, all of you."
Fable listened to Jack and stopped her mind from thinking about anything that wasn't helping her mission. In truth, Sirenia and Bloody Mary were nothing compared to the Queen of Sorrow. Her presence was undeniable in this dream. Although she sat far away, Fable couldn't take her eyes off her. She looked so powerful and so mean, disguised behind a mask of unexplainable beauty.
How is she so beautiful? How is this possible? Does bathing in young girls' blood give her such magic? And why had she pretended to be my foster mother—because she knew I was a Lost Seven? Then why me rather than the others?
***
The ceremony of weighing Shew's heart—again—took some time from start to finish. Shew looked pale, as if she hadn't been eating enough. She looked broken, like she had given up the fight. Having been trapped in the Rapunzel Tower for so long must have been an awful experience.
Shew asked for her father, Angel Von Sorrow. He wasn't there. Angel was away fighting vampires at the borders of the Kingdom of Sorrow.
Before being laid on the table where Dame Gothel, the Queen's witch, was to weigh her heart, Shew asked about Cerené.
"Who's that?" the Queen of Sorrow said. Of course she knew who Cerené was, Fable thought. She only pretended she didn't remember her to downplay the importance of the Phoenix.
"The glassblower. My friend," Shew said. "My best friend, who Loki killed."
"If the Huntsman killed her, why are you asking about her?" The Queen sounded suspicious.
Shew didn't answer her. Tears rolled down her face as she gave in to Dame Gothel's sedative. Fable was saddened that, at this point, poor Shew thought her best friend, Cerené, was dead. She must have felt awful having disappointed Cerené. Was that why she was giving up easily, or had she been tortured in the Rapunzel Tower? That must have been another story for another time.
Cerené, on the other hand, fidgeted beside Fable. Shew's words weren't easy on her. Fable was sure she wanted to remove her cloak and chop everyone's head off.
Fable wondered when they would make their move. Marmalade had suggested they should wait and see if Shew's heart weighed twenty-one grams. In all cases, the Lost Seven needed to know about Shew's heart's weight as well, since they had no means to weigh it themselves.
They all had their swords readied for the attack once the weighing was announced.
As they waited, Bloody Mary suddenly appeared in her mirror to warn the Queen of something.
"What is it now, Mary?" the Queen said, sighing.
"I smell treason, My Queen." Mary sniffed the air in the chamber.
"What do you mean?" asked the Queen.
"There is someone near who shouldn't be here." Mary's sniffing intensified. "Their intentions aren't clear, but their souls smell of fear."
"Who is it, Mary?"
"I can't tell, but…" Mary signaled for the Queen to approach the mirror, and began whispering in her ear.
None of the Lost Seven knew if Mary was talking about them. How would she know? It was unlikely there were any intruders but them, though. They were still standing in the last row, the main door to their backs. If things went wrong, they could still escape. But Fable didn't have the luxury of escape. She had to help her friends.
None of the Lost Seven moved.
"Huntsmen!" The Queen stood and waved after Mary had whispered in her ear. "Why stand so far back when you deserve better?"
All right, Fable thought. Bloody Mary was talking about them. Whatever she and the Queen had in store was beyond her.
"You protect us from the worst enemies and most dangerous threats," the Queen continued. "I ask you to step forward, to the first row, to witness my daughter's Weighing of the Heart."