“I brought you to this courtyard because I used to come here as a boy. I’d stare up at this statue, this eternal queen, and wonder who she was. As if she was real and not just some hunk of rock. I wondered what she believed in. I had this ridiculous idea in my head of a queen so brave, so defiant in the face of the inevitable, that she would do anything to uphold what she believed was right. My imaginary queen was idealistic, probably to a fault. But I wanted so badly to be her or to love her. I don’t know which. Both, perhaps. But I can tell you that my idea of this perfect queen, the
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