Her Reputation (The Empire: Book 1)

by Laura R Cole

CHAPTER 5

  Queen Layna strode into the room. Phoenix immediately stood and bowed to her mother, who, as always, waved away this formality as though it was a pesky insect.

  “I know you have a lot on your plate already, Phoebe,” she began, taking a seat next to Phoenix who had reseated herself on the couch, “but I have a favor to ask of you.”

  Phoenix sighed inwardly, but outwardly simply smiled at her mother. The woman’s aging features seemed to have taken on even more worry lines since the arrival of the strangers. Though there seemed to be no malice from the visitors, and no threats of hostility, there was still a tension in the air around them. If she could ease some of the burden of her mother’s stress, she would.

  “What is it?” she asked politely.

  “Lady Aria and Lord Noam’s son, Gavin, will be coming to the palace, and I would appreciate you taking him under your wing. He’s a year younger than you, so he’ll be completing the last of his schooling with the tutors here. Could you please show him around?”

  Phoenix nodded. Her mother went on, as though trying to make Phoenix understand why she was asking such a favor of her, though she was already aware. She let her mother explain anyway.

  “As the son of the Lady Aria, the First Advisor and my Treymayne equivalent, he is technically almost equal to you in status. He’s been raised by relatives in Treymayne, but has come back to spend the last year of training here. His mother says he wishes to be part of the royal guard. Very commendable.”

  “Indeed,” Phoenix agreed. “I would be happy to show him around.” Phoenix had known Lady Aria her entire childhood, yet she had very few memories of actual interactions with the woman. Upon reflection, Phoenix guessed that Aria was not a child-lover. Recent observation of the lady in the nursery suites seemed to confirm that she was uncomfortable in the presence of children. This apparent fact, combined with how busy she was, made it unsurprising that her son had been raised by relatives. It was a practice that was not unheard of, and was actually quite common with the lesser nobles. It was especially common in situations where they could let their heirs take advantage of better schooling or upbringing from more wealthy relatives. Phoenix understood it but was very happy that her parents had chosen to keep her near, no matter how busy they had been. Though many of the meetings and Council sessions that she had sat through had been tedious and tiring, Phoenix wouldn’t change her time with her parents for anything.

  Queen Layna let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you, sweetie. I knew I could count on you. With everything going on with the heralds being here…” she didn’t finish the sentence. Both knew that the Queen was dealing with more than just playing hostess. Phoenix had no doubt that even as they spoke there were spies and extra guards being put in place all over the kingdom, watching for more travelers from the sea. And her mother, Phoenix was sure, felt the need to oversee all of these personally.

  “When should I expect Gavin’s arrival?” she asked.

  “He’s already here. He’s staying in Lady Aria’s suite at the moment. Could you go and collect him in time to show him to the first classes of the day?” she asked hopefully.

  Phoenix inwardly sighed again, and outwardly smiled. “Of course. I’ll go fetch him now.”

  Layna kissed the top of her daughter’s head. “You’re the best.”

  Phoenix watched her mother go, then stood and walked over to her closet. I suppose for meeting such an important guest I should really wear something more formal, she thought with a sigh. Unfortunately, formal meant uncomfortable. She rang the bell for one of her maids to come help her. When the door opened moments later, Phoenix greeted Alisha warmly. The girl was one of her favorites; she always had gossip from the staff and was willing to share, even if she did have the annoying habit of interfering in Phoenix’s personal life.

  Alisha flew around the room, gathering all the necessary items she would need to beautify her mistress. Phoenix relinquished herself into the girl’s capable hands. In no time at all, Phoenix was satisfactorily dressed and made-up to play the part of hostess to the young man. She looked at herself in the mirror and shook her head in amazement. The transformation that Alisha had been able to accomplish in such a short amount of time was nothing less than a miracle. Phoenix had often tried to do her own make-up when she didn’t want to bother one of the maids, but found that the final product never came even close to what Alisha had just done.

  Phoenix thanked the maid with a smile and picked up the billowing skirt to step carefully out of the room. Across the palace, she raised her hand to knock at the door to Lady Aria’s suites. After a moment, the woman’s welcoming response sounded from inside and Phoenix creaked open the door.

  “Hello, Princess,” Lady Aria greeted her, holding her hand out to beckon Phoenix into the room. “Queen Layna said you’d be coming for Gavin.”

  Lady Aria led the way into the main chamber of the suite and cleared her throat to get the young man’s attention. Gavin looked up from the book he was reading and smiled.

  “Ah, Princess, I hear you are to be my guide.” He snapped the book shut and rose to his feet, strolling over to gallantly plant a kiss on her hand.

  “Indeed, Lord Gavin, it will be my pleasure to escort you to your classes and show you around the palace. Is this your first time to the capital?”

  “I’ve been here on visits but never long enough to satisfy my curiosity. There are so many rooms! Do you know the history of the place?” The boy seemed genuinely interested and Phoenix found herself warming to him immediately. She decided that perhaps this wouldn’t be such a tedious task after all.

  “I do,” she paused and corrected herself, “or at least, some of it. I would be happy to tell you what I know.”

  “Excellent!” Gavin exclaimed. “When do we begin?”

  “The next class starts in about an hour, so we could walk around a bit before heading that way if you’d like?”

  “Thank you, Princess.” He bowed his head to her and gestured for her to lead the way out into the hallway to start the tour. Phoenix thought that Lady Aria looked rather relieved to have him leave.

  Phoenix escorted her ward around the various hallways, showing him the artwork and imparting what knowledge she had about the history of the place. After a while she asked him, “So where are you from exactly?” she paused uncomfortably, seeing as how his parents lived here. “I mean, where did you grow up?”

  He seemed to take no offense. “My aunt and uncle on my father’s side raised me at their home in the southern section of old Treymayne. I must admit, not seeing the sea every morning out my window will be difficult. Already, the air feels different. The smell of it is….” He trailed off, apparently not wanting to upset her by describing how the air here smelled.

  “The smell of the city is not as nice as that of the sea, hmm?” she filled in for him, smiling.

  He smiled back. “No.”

  “Did you see your parents much?” Phoenix ventured, having picked up no resentment at the boy’s upbringing.

  “My father came to visit regularly,” Gavin supplied, “but my mother’s schedule didn’t allow her to come as often.” He looked over and met Phoenix’s eye. “My aunt was wonderful to me; she’s like a second mother. I can hardly blame Lady Aria – my mother – for wanting me to spend my childhood with parents who had more time for me rather than trying to run two countries.”

  “That’s very noble of you,” Phoenix said.

  He shrugged. “I guess. I don’t see any point in making sour grapes over it.”

  Phoenix was silent a moment, before starting up her stream of historic facts. Many of the histories of the palace before the Dark King had been erased as a side-effect of the mass book burnings that took place. Therefore, it was now a topic of great interest and debate among the scholarly community to put together what had happened. Through Wren, Phoenix was privy to many of the theories, which Gavin drank in with e
nthusiasm.

  “There’s been much discussion about the very beginning of our world, when it is said that the dragon-gods walked among us, before we considered them deities.”

  “Do you believe that dragons actually exist?” Gavin asked, the skepticism in voice hard to miss.

  Phoenix was taken-aback. “Of course I do. My mother defeated the traitor-dragon Nuko before she took the throne.”

  “But a real dragon?” Gavin persisted, “Surely no one really believes that, do they? I mean, I know that King Nathair found a way to turn himself into the form of one, but he was still just a man. A real dragon?” he repeated.

  “The Queen is not a liar,” Phoenix stated firmly, carefully controlling her tone as to hide her anger.

  Gavin immediately put up his hands in surrender. “I’m sorry. I meant no offense.” He didn’t speak for several long moments. “The people from my home have always assumed that this was some sort of exaggeration or metaphor for the actual event, glorified by the bards as they spread the tale. Hearing that it is the truth increases the respect I have for the Queen – your mother – exponentially and piques my interest.”

  “Lady Aria never spoke of it to you? Or Lord Noam? It seems they both were at least partially involved. I would imagine they could confirm it for you.”

  “Never so much as to clarify the truth behind the existence of dragons. Perhaps I will have to bring up the subject with Lady Aria while I am here.” Though he had not repeated his disbelief, Phoenix could tell he still wasn’t convinced.

  She didn’t comment.

  “Is it also true that she spoke to the Three in her head then?”

  “It is. When the dragons left our world, they left behind three stones – the Kiani Stones that now grace the statue in the gardens – to help guide our people. For many years, this guidance was seen in the form of the Word down the Great River, which I am sure you are familiar with.”

  “All too well,” Gavin gave her a wry smile. “My uncle is also a priest. Your mother apparently caused quite a stir when she tried to get people to stop praying to the Three, and again when the priests realized that removing the stones had stopped the Word from coming down the river. They had to change everything that they taught.”

  “But they are not teaching about the dragons?”

  “No. Obviously, I don’t know how it was before, but we are taught that dragons are just depictions of the gods, not actual beings. You were saying, about the Three in your mother’s head?”

  “When she and my father were trying to find a way to defeat Nuko, they enlisted the help of the Kiani Stones, even though they weren’t aware of what they were. At that point, the dragons decided to move their essences from being tied to the stones to being tied to my mother. Once the threat of Nuko was eliminated, they withdrew entirely from our world.”

  “I can see why the priesthood doesn’t spread that story,” Gavin commented.

  “Why’s that?” Phoenix asked briskly.

  “Because, what you just said is that the gods we have been praying to for hundreds of years up and left us. That’s hardly comforting. People want something to believe in that will protect them, not abandon them.”

  Phoenix contemplated this a moment, and then nodded. “I suppose you’re right.”

  “So Queen Layna can’t hear the voices of the Three anymore?”

  Phoenix shook her head.

  “Can you hear voices?”

  She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, but he was staring straight ahead, not seeming to realize the gravity of his question. “No.” Her mother had come to her recently with concerns over a number of rumors that had been spreading around.

  “Pity.” He came to a stop in front of an enormous piece of art hung by the entrance to the training areas. “What is this elaborate masterpiece?”

  “Lord Chancelor had it commissioned shortly after the Dark King was defeated to remind future generations of the dangers of letting the power control you. While some of the sentiments are a bit outdated – we obviously don’t outlaw the use of magic anymore – the general feeling remains the same. Power in many forms can corrupt.”

  “Indeed,” Gavin said softly.

  The door to the training area suddenly burst open, and a stout man came hurrying out. Spotting Phoenix, he paused to give her a brief bow which she accepted with a nod. The eyes that met hers were beady and black, resembling more animal than human. They fit nicely with the very pig-like snout that protruded from the man’s face, and upward-facing ears of a swine.

  Out of the corner of her eye she saw Gavin backing away slowly and she tried to draw the man’s attention away from Gavin’s obvious surprise.

  “What are you working on today, Arnie?” she asked, making a gesture towards his hands which he had clasped in front of him.

  Her question drew Arnie’s gaze downwards and he didn’t seem to notice Gavin’s unflattering response to his appearance. He answered Phoenix brusquely, “We’ve been doing some sword training, Princess, but I seem to have cut myself,” he held out his hand, “and it won’t stop bleeding.” As he spoke, the freely-flowing blood slowed and coagulated, forming a dark scab across his stubby palm. His hands were mostly human, but the influence of pig even here made his training most difficult, Phoenix knew. He looked down at the now-scabbed wound. “Ah, thank you, Princess. I’ll be going back in now.”

  The door clanged shut behind him and Phoenix turned to Gavin. He looked stunned and was looking from her to the door, as though trying to decide which to ask about first.

  “What was that?”

  “You mean who,” Phoenix corrected. “That is Arnie from the Kanza tribe in the forgotten lands. Many of their people are still affected by enchantments from the Dark King’s reign that changed their forms. They fled to what is now their home and used powerstones to mask their changes. But now that our mothers have unified the lands, there are some brave enough to venture out, even given the reactions that they cause to those around them.”

  It took a full two minutes for Gavin to properly digest this news. As with all the children of the kingdoms, he would have been taught about the tribes. But learning about it and seeing it first-hand were two different things. He finally regained the color in his face.

  “And his hand,” he nodded towards the closed door and then eyed her, “that’s true as well then?”

  Phoenix nodded and shrugged. “I guess so,” she agreed, moving down the hall once more. “No one has been able to detect any sort of spell doing it, but people tend to heal faster in my presence. My parents say that it’s an after-effect of the spell that was used to clear out the Bricrui.”

  “Isn’t it strange to have parents who are such strong mages when you…” he trailed off, embarrassed.

  Phoenix wasn’t fazed. “We all have our special abilities.” She came to a halt in front of another door and turned to him. “Here we are; your first class. The instructor is Master Hall, and he’ll be teaching history, so I hope you were paying attention.”

  She gave him a wink before pushing the door open. He went inside and then turned back to her where she stood still holding the door. “Aren’t you coming?”

  “I’ve already had these lessons and I have things I need to attend to, but I’ll come and escort you to the next class when this is over. Have fun.”

  As she let the door close behind her, Phoenix gave a sigh of relief. In reality, she probably should have sat through the lesson as a refresher, but she did have things to attend to and hoped to have time to clear her head. She spoke with the overseer about the morning assignments and only made one small suggestion to the arrangement. Part of her duties as princess included making sure that the palace ran smoothly and especially now that her mother was so stressed she wanted to make sure that nothing went awry. As usual, the servants had things well under control and she was able to take those few moments of solitude she’d been hoping for to th
ink before she would need to get Gavin again.

  She walked through the winding halls to the library. She wasn’t in the mood to read, but she wanted the quiet solitude. She was just taking a seat by the window when she heard her name.

  “Princess Phoenix,” a young girl called softly.

  Phoenix suppressed a sigh and turned to see who it was. Madeline was tip-toeing towards her, looking around to see if any of the library patrons had heard her. She was clutching a book to her chest, and she squeezed herself next to Phoenix. Although Madeline was much younger than Phoenix, when she and Wren had spent afternoons in the library they more often than not found Madeline to be their constant shadow. The younger girl was as enthusiastic about learning as Wren was, and despite her lesser years often surprised even him with her knowledge.

  “Look what I found!” Madeline exclaimed excitedly. She held out the book for Phoenix to see.

  Phoenix looked down at the title, The Adventures of Explorer Mendalin. Madeline cracked it open to a page that she’d been holding with her finger and pointed to a passage. Leaning close to Phoenix she read aloud. “It was there that Mendalin found new land. The storms had washed his vessel up onto a strange new place where the people spoke in familiar but foreign tongues and the animals and plants were alien to him. Though he only spent a few days in this place before he had to take advantage of the winds to get home lest risk being stranded there forever, he stands by his claim that land exists on the other side of the great seas.”

  “But no one believed him because he could never prove it,” Phoenix added, remembering the book from one of her lessons.

  “Yes,” Madeline nodded emphatically. “Isn’t that amazing? All those years ago, but no one believed him, and now here they are. I’ve been trying to find other mentions of the voyage that might tell us what else he found there, but no one seems to have found it worthwhile to document.”

  “Luckily, we have the chance to find out more now.”

  “I know,” Madeline said, a bit loudly, and another reader shushed her. She ducked her head in embarrassment and lowered her voice. “I know. I talked to Wren about it the other day,” she whispered, “but he’s too preoccupied with another line of research to help me.” She pouted cutely. Phoenix felt a twinge of jealously that Wren was still talking to her.

  “Have you gotten to talk to the visitors?” Madeline asked. The girl’s excitement was contagious.

  “Not as much as I would like,” she admitted, “though I hope to be able to have a few candid conversations with them once my mother is done with them. At the moment, they are much too caught up with political dealings to have much time for idle chat.”

  Madeline reached out and squeezed her hand. “Promise me that you’ll tell me anything you find out?” Her eyes grew big.

  Phoenix laughed at the urgency with which Madeline made this request, and quickly stifled it at the look she got from one of the historians that happened to be walking by. “I promise,” she whispered. She patted the girl’s hand before removing her own, “but right now there is a young lord I need to accompany to his next class.”