Elf Doubt

by Bryant Reil

The only noise was a final drop of water landing in the tub with a ploink. Kyla sighed and finished her bath in silence.

  Kyla shot up. She was in a large, soft bed, and it took a few breaths before her mind caught up with her body. Though she couldn’t see, she knew she was still in the palace, and could smell the fresh fabric of her plush pillow and blanket. Why was she awake? She swung her feet over the side of the bed and gently lowered herself onto the cold tile floor. She blinked and waited for her eyes to adjust, so she could see the faint outlines of the furniture in the darkness. It was time for a snack, she supposed. Which way was the kitchen from here? She fumbled for the bell the Queen had told her to use if she needed service.

  Before she could ring it, she heard a voice. She froze, thinking someone was in the room with her, but as it continued she realized it was hollow, like speaking through a pipe. She followed the sound, and with the help of her fingers felt a metallic flower in the wall, with a wide opening from which the sound emanated.

  “Ismenis?” she muttered, but her mouth was dry and made little noise. Then there was another voice, which Kyla recognized as Queen Titania.

  “None of you can read her? Even combined?”

  “None, Your Highness. Her mind is protected by a great magic. She wears a ring, of plain make but powerfully imbued. Perhaps that is what shields her.”

  Was it the ring’s magic that protected her? Kyla spun it on her finger. No – the fire elemental had told her it was created by ancient wizards. It must be Sophrosyne that guarded Kyla’s mind from prying eyes.

  The Queen continued. “Perhaps. Keep an eye on her. I shall keep her here as long as I can, though I fear there are some who will become suspicious if I keep her too long.”

  “You could throw her in with the other prisoners. There are fair reasons, under martial law, to keep her here. You do know she held one of the fragments of the Stele of Bachtris.”

  Martial law? Prisoner? Kyla turned an eye toward the doorway. Was her room guarded? She thought she should check the door, in case she needed to make an escape, but she recalled her lesson from Aura when they came to High Haven the last time. There was a ward surrounding the heart of the city that could teleport her straight into the dungeon if she crossed it.

  “She turned the stone in to Elial Ciana,” Queen Titania’s voice rang through the pipe. “Even if she is guilty, it won’t look that way to the public.”

  “You’re seeking Erebus, Your Highness. The people will allow you to do what you must.”

  “They believe we’ve already defeated Erebus. My investigation with Kyla must remain a secret, as does any involvement she may have had with him or his forces. Keep an eye on her friends and family, as well.”

  “They are blocked from me as well, Your Highness.”

  “Well, they must talk to each other. Get ears on them. Now why don’t you get some sleep. Your eyes look ready to fall out of your face.”

  “Yes, Your Highness. Thank you.”

  Kyla waited, breathless, lest they could hear her on their end. There was the sound of a door, and footsteps, and then silence.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Wasting Time

  Kyla sat up and rubbed her aching head as light from the doorway intruded on her sleep. A finely-dressed elf stood there, his silky brown hair tied in a tail that draped down his back. He was handsome, though not as rugged as she preferred, having the look of one who grew up indoors instead of running in the woods and climbing trees. His clothes seemed too fine for a servant, yet not so fine as the dignitaries Kyla had seen wandering the palace.

  “Good morning!” he chirped and gave her a bow and broad smile. “I am pleased to see you are well. I grew concerned when you didn’t respond to my knock. We are making breakfast for you.”

  Kyla shook her throbbing head. She started out of bed but noticed the sleeping clothes she had thrown on from the wardrobe were translucent, and so she pulled the blanket back over her chest. “Fine. Just let me change first. I’ll come to the kitchen as soon as I’m ready. Is Queen Titania there? I have a meeting with the Minister and—"

  “I’m sorry, my Lady. The Queen has other engagements, but I am to assure you that your Digan friends will be attending the meeting with Minister Terra, so you may relax.”

  Kyla heart skipped. What happened? Why was she being left out of the meeting? Would Kyla get her audience with the Queen? Surely, she would. Kyla resolved to tell her everything, when she saw her next, despite the consequences. Kyla had no business keeping Erebus prisoner and serving the goddess of night on errands.

  The elf coughed to regain her attention. “You needn’t come to the kitchen for your breakfast. I shall bring it, and you have been appointed a very special guide to show you around the palace grounds. There should be proper clothing in the wardrobe. I recommend something light, as it is to be a warm day.”

  Kyla smiled, though said nothing in hopes he would excuse himself. He did and bowed as he backed out and shut the door. Kyla rolled from her bed and stretched as she sauntered to the wardrobe. She fancied another bath and chat with Ismenis. She walked to the door of the washroom.

  “Ismenis?” she called. There was no reply. She walked up to the faucet over the tub, put her mouth to it, and tried again. “Ismenis?”

  There was silence again. “I’m sorry if I scared you last night. I know you aren’t supposed to talk to me, but I really enjoyed our conversation. I hope I can run into you again when you aren’t working.”

  There was a brief silence before a voice echoed back through the pipes. “Ismenis is not working this morning, my lady. Shall I pass along your message? And would you care for a bath?”

  “Oh. Sure. I mean, yeah, say hi to Ismenis for me. And no, I guess I don’t need a bath. Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Kyla waited, one part eager to strike up another conversation and meet someone new, and one part timid about getting the servants in trouble. She walked back out and began sifting through the wardrobe for something light.

  ***

  Titania entered the kennel to see Myam fussing over a baku, which was curled in a swirling nest of ethereal clay. It was whining, and its color pale. Ribs poked from its side, and its thin stomach drooped toward the floor.

  She glided over to the poor creature and reached out her hand to pat the baku’s snout, but Myam pushed her hand away.

  “What happened?” Titania asked.

  Myam hissed softly. “She has taken quite ill after feeding. Baku feed off nightmares, so it was no common dream that did this. Filthy magic pollutes that girl’s mind. Dark, and powerful. Not an elf. A demon in disguise, perhaps.”

  Titania frowned. “I am certain she is just a common elf. But she has had contact with one of the stones from the Stele of Bachtris and perhaps other dark powers. Yet nothing has set off any of our wards. She may have secrets she isn’t sharing.”

  “Of course she does!” Myam spat. “Why else would this dark cloud fill her mind? Perhaps she is being controlled. A puppet used by Erebus to infiltrate the castle. You mustn’t keep her here. Kill her or banish her to the realm of Chaos.”

  “I do believe she is an innocent girl. Used by followers of Erebus and Chaos, perhaps, but not realizing it. I’m not going to condemn an innocent to death or exile. I shall keep her under careful watch. You keep trying to find out what you can.”

  “I’m not sending any more baku to sicken themselves.”

  “Try her friends. Family, associates, anyone whose had contact. Start with Inda and Exa. They seem to know each other. Move on to the two stone elementals that arrived with her.”

  “Inda the goldsmith and Exa the blacksmith?”

  “Yes.”

  “They were fiddling about in one of the guest rooms earlier with some pipes.”

  “I know.”

  “Something’s up. Whatever’s protecting the elf girl’s mind from prying may be protecting them as well. I shan’t risk another one of my pets.”

&nb
sp; Titania nodded. She didn’t want to see the poor creatures harmed, either. “Very well. Keep nursing this one, then. I may have to try another road.”

  ***

  Breakfast came fifteen minutes later. The portions were small, but there were many of them: quail eggs, biscuits and jam, sausage, peppermint tea, boiled oats with brown sugar, and a sweet cream pudding for dessert. It was light and tasty, though Kyla felt not hearty enough. Her headache subsided, and she wondered at the cause. Perhaps stress? She was, she supposed, under more pressure than the average person, what with saving the world only to discover she had been duped into serving a daughter of Chaos.

  Her thoughts were interrupted by a gentle knock at the door.

  “Come in!” Kyla shouted, expecting the young elf man to be here with another course, or perhaps to take her dirty dishes, but instead saw a fiery-haired sprite with translucent wings, almost clear in parts but mostly decked in swirls of red and gold that looked much like flames. She wore a long dress, sparkling and crimson, and a gold necklace and earrings, each set with what Kyla supposed to be a ruby.

  “Pardon, but are you Kyla? My name is Aethelwyne. I have been instructed to accompany you this morning.”

  “Accompany me where?”

  “I am to show you about the palace grounds.”

  “You? You…I mean, I’m sorry, but you don’t look like a servant.”

  “I am not. I am the Royal Heir. Queen Titania is training me in courtly manners and supposed it would suit me to acquaint myself with certain guests.”

  “Oh! Well, so far so good, I guess. I feel like I’m a bit under-dressed. I was told to wear something light, and I supposed this would be easy to walk in.” She held up the hem of the white summer dress she had selected, which reached just above her knees.

  “What you are wearing is fine. It is I who am overdressed. It was my desire to impress you.”

  “Done! I mean, that’s a pretty sharp ensemble. Not sure why you’d want to impress me, though.”

  “The Queen told me you are a woman of great import.”

  Kyla seldom heard herself referred to as a ‘woman’, but rather always ‘girl’. She wasn’t sure how she felt about it. She shrugged. “I dunno. I’m here to make a trade agreement.” She picked up her dirty dishes. “Let me drop these off in the kitchen real quick.”

  “Caleb will retrieve it.”

  “The handsome elf servant?”

  “Handsome? You must have rather plebeian tastes. I can introduce you, if you like.”

  “Nah. I mean, I’m not shy about introducing myself, but I have other things on my mind.”

  “Very well. Follow me. We shall talk amongst the flowers.”

  Aethelwyne shrank in a whoosh of flame so that she was no larger than Kyla’s hand, and fluttered about so that her flapping wings looked like fire licking from her back. She waved for Kyla to follow as she flitted down the hall.

  Kyla followed Aethelwyne through an archway of roses that led into a verdant garden spotted with red and blue and violet flowers. To Kyla’s relief, Aethelwyne slowed her flight, grew to Kyla’s size, and floated to the ground.

  “This is the garden.” Aethelwyne flourished her hand to designate the many flowers and bushes and trees. “We shall spend the morning here. We can walk the gardens, if you like, or sit and talk. Do you know how to play sticks and stones? We have a few sets in the shed.”

  Kyla shook her head. “I’d like to see the Queen. And Lug, and Lumpy.”

  “The Queen is rather busy, I’m afraid. I do not know Lug and Lumpy. They are friends of yours?”

  “Yes. I mean, I’m friends with Lug. I’m Lumpy’s chief. He’s a Digan.”

  “Oh! So, you’re the Chief of the Digans! It’s all over High Haven that the aurichalcum trade is being opened! When you said you were here to open trade, I didn’t—. Well, I’m sure your friends will handle the meeting with Minister Terra just fine.”

  Kyla stopped. “You know about the meeting? A second ago you’d never heard of Lug or Lumpy.”

  Aethelwyne froze and her eyes drifted to the side, but so quick Kyla would have missed it had she not been watching for it. The sprite recovered with a grin. “Of course, I know who they are, and why you’re here. But I didn’t want to entertain you as a dignitary. Chief of the Digans, and all that. I’d prefer to entertain you as a friend.”

  An obvious lie. Kyla sighed. All the mistrust and intrigue were making her feel less inclined to talk to the Queen about Sophrosyne and Erebus. Still, it was a serious enough matter not to let her personal feelings interfere. And in all fairness, the Queen had already tried a more direct line of questioning, and Kyla had boldly lied to her. A little espionage was to be expected.

  Kyla looked around for anything that might be a shed. “Why don’t we just have a game of sticks and stones.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Labyrinth

  It was Kyla’s third day as a prisoner at the Royal Palace, and the Queen had not yet granted her an audience. Lug and Lumpy had successfully worked out a treaty with the Trade Minister, so Aethelwyne had said, but the Queen never came to review it with Kyla as she had promised. The few conversations Kyla managed to overhear through the pipe in her room spoke of wars and rebellions and the mystery of Erebus. Kyla had thought last night of calling back up the pipe, screaming that Erebus was trapped safely in a jar of jam in her wardrobe, but then she thought she didn’t know to whom the Queen was speaking, or who else might overhear. So, she chose to wait until she could manage a private audience, but with so much turbulence in the world, Kyla thought maybe she was forgotten.

  Each morning Kyla was greeted by an increasingly dour Aethelwyne. She occasionally left Kyla to sneak off for some alone-time, but then hurried back before Kyla could muster the courage to sneak off and find the Queen herself.

  “Sticks and stones again?” Kyla sighed. She was frankly becoming sick of the game, in part because she had yet to win.

  Aethelwyne, too, sounded keen for a change. “We can do something else, if you like. We haven’t gone through the labyrinth yet.”

  “Whatever. I just want to kill time until I can talk to the Queen.”

  Aethelwyne seemed relieved and beckoned a gardener to gather the sticks and stones and put them back in the shed. He was a young gnome, and eager to please, it seemed, as he jogged over and packed up the pieces with exaggerated energy, until she looked away and his speed and posture slumped. Aethelwyne, for her part, barely noticed any of the servants if she didn’t need them.

  The fire sprite began to flutter her wings and shrink but looked at Kyla thoughtfully before growing back to her larger size. “I suppose I can walk with you, so we can chat.”

  Chat? Aethelwyne hadn’t been interested in chatting since Kyla arrived. It was a relief that Kyla might finally get to release some of the words that were building up inside, but she also sensed it might be some sort of trap. The Queen was likely trying to learn Kyla’s secrets, and though Kyla was eager to share them, she didn’t trust Aethelwyne as a go-between.

  Aethelwyne grabbed Kyla’s hand, which was confused and so hung like a dead fish. “You’ve never told me about your family.”

  “Nope. Sure haven’t.”

  “Well? Do you have one?”

  “Of course. Ask Queen Titania. Doesn’t she fill you in?”

  Aethelwyne dropped Kyla’s hand. “You don’t need to be so rude.”

  “I’m not an idiot. I mean, maybe I am, but I know you’re only here because the Queen’s making you spy on me.”

  Aethelwyne stepped back, and looked hurt, though her face was stiff and Kyla sense it was overly practiced. “Me? No. I just figure, since I have to spend so much time with you, I might as well make the most of it.”

  “Okay. That seems honest. Just don’t drag me along pretending to be my friend.”

  Aethelwyne clasped her own hands together and let them hang at her waist. “Right. I’ll be up front, but I expect you to be as well. I do not enjo
y spending my day baby-sitting you. No offense. You seem like a fine person. I have been asked to befriend you, and report back all you tell me.”

  “What are you trying to find out, exactly?”

  “I was given no particular orders. Only that I am to keep an eye on you, and report back anything you might say.”

  “And so, you will report this conversation as well.”

  “Yes. As I must. I have my instructions, and I shall follow them. Come, let’s go to the labyrinth. It’s more fun than you expect. And I promise, when I next see the Queen, I’ll remind her that she still needs to meet with you.”

  The labyrinth was indeed more exciting than Kyla had expected. From the outside it looked like a simple hedge maze, which was exciting enough, but the inside was full of illusions. First Kyla was in a hedged garden filled with fairies and flowers, and then on a wooden pathway built over a marsh with long grass and dragonflies and snakes and frogs swimming in the water below. Then she was in a tunnel of ice, and then a series of narrow trails over the peaks of rocky mountains. It was all illusory, of course, and she couldn’t stray from any of the trails to explore beyond them, but it was a remarkable journey.

  At least, it was for the first few hours. Now they were in a desert canyon, and whether the heat was natural or part of the magic environment, it was oppressive.

  “We should have brought some water. Can you just fly out and get some?”

  Aethelwyne smiled. “What? Tired already?”

  “No. Thirsty. That’s why I asked for water, and not a bed.”

  “We’re coming to a fountain. In here it looks like an oasis. Maybe ten more minutes. The water is enchanted, or so I’ve been told. The story is it can cure some illnesses. I don’t know if it’s true. No one would bother with the maze to get healing when they could just go to the infirmary.”

  “Why trap it in a maze then? At any rate, enchanted or not, I’m only interested in its ability to cure thirst.”