Deference

She bowed her head. And though he could not see, she smiled. He thought she was submitting. But this was not deference.

She was a queen, and she would be damned before she would stand by and let this traitorous politician destroy all the things that she loved. She would rather see him die first, would rather kill him with her own two hands.

And when the sword gleamed, reflecting a pure light that caught her attention out of the corner of her eye, she realized that that was exactly what she would do.

He never saw it coming. He did not know the blade until it was embedded in his stomach, until his hands wrapped around its hilt, too late to save him, too weak to pull it out. He gasped and stared at her wide-eyed. He fell to his knees.

This time when she smiled, he saw. In fact, it was the last thing he ever saw. Her beauty, and her vengeance.