Land of Strength and Sorrow

by Cassandra Fear

With the help of a light cascading down from the bright moon, she scanned the land before her. The green of Mount Soumahalla faded up ahead, changing into desert-like brown, a dryness Jovi hadn’t quite expected. Although, she should have. Her lessons had explained it, how the Mammoth Fields had been a graveyard for woolly mammoths, taking more and more lives each day because of heat and lack of water. Now, there were few left. Since her uncle had taken over the fields, perhaps he’d found a way to save the rest of the wonderful creatures.

  Although she didn’t know how he had the time. The Mammoth Fields were as far west as could be traveled in Orendor and bordered Frostspher. His boundary had become home to the Fire Mages, from what Jovi heard, and he’d often battled with them and stopped them from crossing into Orendor. He should be thanked publicly by Jovi’s father, and rewarded for his services. Instead, King Ryan wouldn’t speak to his long-lost brother.

  Jovi’s thoughts ran wild in her head, Family is family. Father needs to get over it and rekindle the love he once had for his brother. One day, it will be too late to remedy. Perhaps I can help, after I save him of course.

  Cappa’s strides quickened, which made her work even harder to remain at his side. Neither spoke, choosing instead to remain quiet in hopes they wouldn’t be overheard. Jovi didn’t fear the Mammoth Fields, nor the warriors within it, but the Fire Mages made her shake with dread. If a straggler from their army appeared…She hated to admit it, but she would probably run like the wind boosted her sails.

  Jovi blew out a breath of air, wishing she could turn her thoughts off for a minute. If only she could turn back, forget about this awful trip…If she could give up on finding a cure—one she knew absolutely nothing about—she would in a heartbeat. If her father would have let her marry the Mage King, she would have stayed at the castle and done what was required of her. Her father might not like it, but at least their lands would have peace. He would have eventually gotten over it.

  If she could go home, right now, she would. And she’d never dream of adventure again. It was too late for that, though…

  Eyes straight ahead, Jovi. Keep going. You’re almost where you need to be, she reminded herself.

  Jovi steeled her resolve and marched, one foot in front of the other, until she stopped at a row of pine trees that acted as a dividing line. Jovi stood on green grass, but if she stumbled, her feet would sink into a layer of glittery, golden sand covering any grass that grew.

  Her uncle rested just behind the tree wall. A dizziness took hold and threatened to make her crumble, but she closed her eyes, blinked slowly, and gained control of her surroundings. Before she could stop herself, she lurched in between two trees, and came out the other side.

  Her feet hadn’t landed in the sand before spears poked into her chin, her arms, even her legs. She froze mid-step, hands outstretched in the air. She was afraid to move, to blink, or to breathe. Her heart raced a million beats a minute, at least, threatening to beat right out of her chest.

  She mentally cursed herself. How could I be so stupid? Of course warriors would be guarding the entrance to their land…

  When her chin trembled, one of the spears sliced into her soft skin. She felt a drop of blood run down her neck. A dull thud started in her head and pounded its way into her temples. The world swam in front of her, making everything appear hazy. Unfocused, even.

  The biggest warrior pressed harder against her arm. “Tell me who you are, who your friend is and what you two are here for. If you listen, no one will get hurt.” She twisted and her eyes met Cappa’s—who also had weapons pointed at him—before her gaze took in the warrior. His dirt-colored hair stopped just below his chin, small braids interspersed through pieces of loose hair. His wide head was held up by even wider shoulders. He towered over her and made her feel small. She swallowed. Hard.

  When she tried to step back, a blunt weapon jabbed into her spine. “Stay where you are.” This voice wrapped around her like silk, not threatening at all, but she could tell the man attached to it would be dangerous. The weapon behind her dug in harder, and she cried out.

  “Leave her alone,” Cappa yelled from behind her. Grunts followed, weapon clanged against weapon, followed by a dull thud. She turned, not caring if she got another cut in the process, only to see Cappa on the ground, flat on his stomach, a booted foot smashing against his spine.

  “Leave him alone,” Jovi screamed as she watched him squirm, only to get kicked again.

  “Isn’t this cute. They protect each other.” The big one smiled. “Where can I get one like you?” He wiggled his eyebrows.

  As weakened and shaky as she felt, she wanted to slap him right across his long cheek. But, the weapons poking into her stopped that thought, thankfully. She didn’t want things to get ugly. Instead of reacting how he expected her to, she raised her chin as much as she could and met his eyes.

  “I’m here to see Meical. Tell him his niece, Jovi, is here to pay a visit, along with her guard, Cappa.”

  The weapons around her dropped away, as if the warriors held hot coals, burning right through their palms. The ruffled sound of cloth rubbing against cloth pulled her gaze. Cappa not only had been returned to his feet, a warrior had lifted him there. He met her eyes and released a long, shuddering breath. Her own mimicked his, almost exactly.

  A twinkle glittered through the big one’s dark eyes. He stomped in front of her and stuck his large hand out. “Well, isn’t this an unexpected delight? Meical will be giddy. The name’s Bastien. I’m your uncle’s right-hand man.” He cupped his palm around his mouth and spoke into her ear. “And his best friend, but not many would want to admit that out loud.”

  His voice sounded like he needed a drink of water, coarse and cracked. It made her realize her own throat stung. She swallowed some spit, the only thing she had available to quench her thirst. But she didn’t take her eyes off any of them. Right now, she couldn’t let her guard down. Sure, these warriors had lowered their weapons, but they’d still harm her at the drop of a hat. If the need arose…which she’d do her best to make sure it didn’t.

  Jovi forced a smile. “Bastien, is it?”

  He nodded.

  “Fantastic. Your name will be important when I tell my uncle how I came to have this.” She scraped a finger down her neck then held it up, tinted with her blood. “Now, take me to Meical.”

  Cappa laughed.

  Bastien sucked in a breath. “My, you’re a fierce little thing, aren’t ya?” With a bow, he waved her forward. “But what the lady wants, she will have. Follow me.” He shot a glare at Cappa. “And, you. Behave back there.”

  Cappa raised his eyebrows, but said nothing as he flanked her side. Her knees threatened to buckle under her, so weakened from the previous days, but somehow, she pushed through it. Cappa tucked his arm through hers and helped her along. When he ducked toward her, goose bumps zipped down her arms as his warm breath tickled her neck. “I hope your uncle is happy to see you. If not, we might be in trouble.”

  Her stomach quivered and she wrapped her arms around it. Then she sighed, so heavily she struggled to release it. “Me too.”

  She needed his help to do this. Deep down, she knew she couldn’t have succeeded by herself. If Meical helped, if he could guide her…but what if he knew nothing about the cure?

  What if, what if, what if. Enough of it. Family has always been important to Uncle. If I appeal to that, he will help me. I know it, Jovi told herself.

  The past few days had taken their toll and left her with legs that felt like noodles and muscles that ached with every move she made. Each of them screamed with every step and begged her to sit and rest. But she didn’t have that luxury.

  Bastien led her and Cappa to a clearing of grouped tents. It smelled like sweat and dirt, which made Jovi want to gag, but she held her breath as much as she could and kept moving as she took in the sights. When the tents were close, Jovi could see they were made with a thick cloth material, like an actual home in the field. She wondered what th
ey looked like inside. They were all large, more like a canopy with fully covered sides.

  Wooden stakes were stuck in the ground, one on each side of the tent openings. It was dark, but a fire blazed at the top of each stake and lit a path to the middle, but the fire burning in the middle of it all was where most of the light came from.

  Women and men mingled together, laughing freely around the fire—and inside their tents from the sound of it. This wasn’t just a camp of warriors. It was a community. And Uncle Meical had built it from nothing. Less than nothing, really, because he’d left the castle with only the clothes on his back. It made her chest swollen with pride to see what he’d made for himself.

  She knew it was him as soon as he emerged from the tent. He stood taller than Bastien and hovered over everybody near him. His face could be the twin of her father’s, but the similarities stopped there. Where Father’s short and round gait stuck out, Uncle Meical’s body stretched taut with muscle. A large beard masked his mouth, which made his eyes appear larger than life. Black, unruly waves of hair ran down past his shoulders, streaked with blond strands woven through it. He had it tied at the base of his neck with a crimson sash.

  “Well, well. Not only a male Mage, this time, but a woman trespasser, too? The Fire Mages are getting bold, aren’t they?” His deep voice boomed and Jovi jumped, not expecting him to have been so loud.

  What is he talking about? We aren’t Fire Mages…Jovi wondered.

  Bastien smirked and smacked Meical on the back. “Wrong, Meic. Not Fire Mages at all. You’ll never guess who she is.” He winked. “I’ll give you a tiny hint. This guy’s name is Cappa. He’s her guard.”

  Meical rubbed a fist through his beard. “I’m not in the mood for games, Bastien.” His blue eyes narrowed.

  Bastien threw his hands up in the air. “Gosh, you’re no fun anymore. Old age took its toll on you, didn’t it?”

  Meical growled.

  Cappa’s hand hung beside Jovi’s, so she took it in hers and linked her fingers through his for strength. This wasn’t going the way she’d hoped. She had no idea why, but her chest felt like it might cave in and she had no clue what she expected from Bastien and her uncle, but the way they looked at each other, it seemed they might throw some punches soon. She couldn’t breathe and needed air. Cappa squeezed her hand, and she couldn’t thank him enough for that gift. He was with her. Standing beside her. His strength was hers, so she greedily pulled from him.

  Bastien’s hands went up in front of him, waving back and forth. “Alright. Sheesh. Chill out grumpy old man. I’ll tell you.” He paused, laughter in his eyes. “If you ask nicely.”

  Meical grunted and shoved his chest against Bastien’s.

  Bastien grunted and shoved right back.

  Before Jovi knew it, they both hit the ground, their limbs entangled as they wrestled like a bunch of kids. She didn’t have time for child’s play. Not now. Everything was at stake.

  She cleared her throat, but it did nothing to stop the fight on the ground in front of her. So, she raised her voice. “Uncle Meical. It’s Jovi. Your niece.”

  The fighting stopped, just like that. Meical crawled to his feet, his mouth hanging open, revealing his thin lips. He tottered forward, his stare so intense it made Jovi flinch. When he closed the distance, he stood still for several seconds and examined her. Jovi dropped Cappa’s hand. After, Meical’s rough fingertips snaked under her chin as he tipped her head back to get a better look.

  Jovi jerked her chin away, but he only tightened his grip, his hand stretching from one side of her face to the other with no strain. With a gentleness she wouldn’t have thought him capable of, he moved her face from side to side, then let her go as he dropped his arms to his sides.

  When he smiled, every tooth in his mouth showed. “You’re here. I never thought…when did you…” He cupped his chin and looked toward the sky, then shook himself and focused on her once more. “You’re here.”

  Jovi’s heart swelled. “You already said that.”

  He nodded. “I did. I know. I just can’t believe it. My niece stands before me, all grown up. What a beauty you are.”

  She smiled. “Thank you, Uncle. But sadly, I haven’t come just for a visit. I need…” She stopped short, her tongue battling against the fear only to lose the fight. How could she ask him for help? It would be like she came here to use him.

  Genuine happiness sparkled within him from the moment he saw her. This could crush him. She didn’t want to hurt him, but she couldn’t do any of this without him and she knew that.

  She closed the distance between them and touched his arm. “Uncle. We need your help.”

  He responded with a curt nod. “I figured as much. I’ve heard the reports of the siege at the castle. I didn’t think any of you made it out.”

  “I did, but only because of him.” Jovi pointed at Cappa with a nudge from her head. “Cappa, meet my Uncle Meical. Uncle, meet Cappa. He’s my guard, but also my friend.”

  Meical stretched his hand out and shook Cappa’s. “Good to meet you. Thanks for saving my niece. I didn’t think I’d ever get the chance to see her again.”

  Her nostrils flared. Whose fault would that have been? Not hers. A tic started in her forehead.

  She stiffened, heat racing through her veins, and before she knew what she was doing, words vomited from her mouth. “You could have seen me whenever you liked. But, instead, you made no attempt.”

  He shrugged as if he couldn’t care less, which made her blood boil hotter.

  She narrowed her eyes and shoved against him. “I guess I know where I stand with you. No care in the world, huh? Not even for your beloved family.” And to think she’d thought him happy to see her. His reaction couldn’t have been faked, or could it have? She didn’t know him well enough to figure it out for herself. Not yet.

  He hooked his thumbs against his waist and thrusted forward with his pelvis. His eyes gleamed with something, an emotion she didn’t know. “What a little firecracker you turned out to be. One who doesn’t have the whole story.” He angled his head down and stared harder at her than she’d ever been stared at before. “I have spent a lot of time with you. I practically raised you when you were a baby. Your parents were busy with laws and decrees and everything that came with ruling. They didn’t trust you being left with a nursemaid, so I got the privilege. And it was a privilege. I watched you grow and helped you learn to speak, to crawl, and eventually to walk.” His eyes glimmered as he looked toward the sky. “I loved playing with you as a child. Even when I left the castle, I snuck back inside the walls, sitting in your room with you while you slept. Occasionally, you’d wake and giggle up at me, jabbering that jaw of yours with words that sounded like gibberish, but I came. I saw you.” He paused and ran a hand over the top of his head. “Until your father found me one night. He increased your guards and I could no longer sneak to see you. That was the end of it.”

  Jovi’s hands curled at her sides. All this time, she’d blamed her uncle for leaving, when the blame lied at her father’s feet. She had never understood what happened between them. Couldn’t understand. Her father wouldn’t talk about it. Ever. “Why does he hate you? Why did he send you away? What did you do to deserve it?” She covered her mouth with her hand. Deserve hadn’t been the right word to use.

  A sigh flitted from Meical’s mouth. “I chose to leave, Jovi. I didn’t agree with him. What he did to the Frost Mages…nothing could have been more wrong. I tried to talk him out of it for years, but he refused to listen, cursing an entire people to death because they scared him. He hated them for what one of their people did, but fear of their power made him do the rest. I couldn’t stand by him knowing what he’d done.

  “When I left, he told me he’d never forgive me and to never return to the castle. Obviously, he meant it. More than I had thought.”

  Jovi’s lips wilted into a frown. “Now, they’ve attacked him anyway, seeking a cure he refuses to give them. That’s why I’m here.
I didn’t know how much you knew of the curse, but is there a cure? Please, tell me there is.”

  He nodded. “There is, but as far as I know the King’s sorceress, Belisandre, is the only person who knows what it is. Nobody has seen her since she cursed the Frost Mages. King Ryan sent her away after she did what he asked, probably to keep her safe, but who knows.”

  A dead end. They needed the sorceress. Jovi had heard of her, but never seen her. Her father had sent her away and she’d never returned, as far as Jovi knew.

  Great. I can’t save him because of his own stupidity, Jovi hopelessly thought.

  Just then, something caressed her mind and asked her to open it. She couldn’t have fought it even if she’d wanted to.

  Words formed, took shape, and painted a solid picture.

  Come to the cabin outside the castle walls. I, Belisandre, will await you there.

  I have the recipe for the cure, but will need your help to procure the ingredients.

  Hurry, Princess Jovi. Your father’s life is in grave danger.

  Jovi’s eyes rolled back in her head after the magic left her mind. Darkness dragged her down a long and narrow path, and she fainted for the first time in her life.

  Something pungent hit her nostrils. She snapped her eyes open, and at the same time smacked her hand against whatever rested under her nose. She connected with a small, white cylinder, and it tumbled from Uncle Meical’s hand and onto the ground.

  “Good to see you’re awake, firecracker. Now, what the hell happened?” Uncle Meical’s strong form came into view, a bit hazy but there nonetheless.

  Jovi grinned. “I had a message, a mental one.” She rubbed her head, the ache still there. “How long was I asleep?”

  “A while. I have no way to tell, but if I had to guess, I’d say a good five hours.” Meical held his hand out and helped Jovi to her feet, then raised his eyebrows. “Hmm. A mental message, you say?”

  She could tell he didn’t believe her. It didn’t matter. He could believe it when he laid eyes on the place the sorceress was hiding. “The sorceress you spoke of contacted me. There is a cabin resting outside the castle walls. She inserted an image into my head and it looks like it could fall apart any day, but sits by a lovely little pond. We must go to her there. She has a recipe for the cure and will give it to us, will help us, as long as we procure the ingredients.”