“That’s really kind of brilliant,” Azur muttered. “Very evil, but just as brilliant all the same”
“Why Craskbrand though?” Masse inquired. “Why would he have been chosen out of all the criminals?”
“Because he has too many enemies and would have wanted the king to save him.” Ryanon smiled. “Only that didn’t work out too well for him. He still ended up six feet under.”
There was something in her smile that sent chills down Dak’s spine. “So, now that Craskbrand is out of the picture, it should slow the king down, but only for a short period of time. He’s not going to give up on breaking the curse. He and my brother do actually believe that they have the power to do so.”
Karlen eyed Dak. “Do you think they will?”
“I don’t know, but I do know he is pretty serious about killing the sleeping king.”
Chapter Nineteen: The King’s Secret
Amberfall stared down the long table at where King Teodric was chatting with Prince Vicar. They had been going for what seemed like hours about the next hunt they were going on. Queen Ariana had claimed a headache and had not been seen for hours. Princess Alse was too busy chatting with Lady Lina Lowfallow about some foreign prince.
Amberfall caught Frostfire's eye, who seemed just as disgusted as she did about tonight's dinner arrangements. They had to say yes; Amberfall feared that the King of Xandria was not a man that too many people said no to. Plus, she was hoping that he would say anything about the Trelian mission, but that did not seem to be on tonight's agenda.
One thing Amberfall didn't understand was the number of guards that had been stationed around the room. It wasn't like it was state dinner or something. None of the men looked familiar. She would have thought that the captain of the guard would have been here, but maybe this was below his standards.
Amberfall studied Prince Vicar, who was taking great delight in bragging about how nice it had been to stab a fox to death on his last hunt. There was no way that this foul creature could be Jessimond's true love. It was just impossible that this beast could be her sweet, kind, and loving princess's true love.
"Your Highness, would you like to join us on our hunt?" King Teodric asked. Though his voice was sweet, Amberfall could hear the poison laced in it.
Amberfall smiled at him. "I don't think it would be appropriate for a lady to handle weapons." She mentally winced at the words. She probably could kill the king on sight without even moving, but Xandria was kind of backwards their views of male and female strength.
Prince Vicar snorted. "You wouldn't have a weapon anyway. You would just be there for looks."
"Now, now, Vicar, let's not speak to our guest like that," King Teodric said, smirking. He looked over at Amberfall. "You'll have to excuse my son's manners. He has the making of a good king with all of his honestly."
And he'll get you all killed...
Amberfall smiled sweetly at them. "Well, I always did find it better for a ruler than be honest about their intentions than to lie about them."
King Teodric toasted her with his glass. "Such great words to be spoken by such a powerful queen."
Beside her, Frostfire lightly snorted into his own cup. Amberfall shot him a look, but quickly looked away before the king could notice. "Don't you feel the same way, Your Highness?" she asked, her voice sweet. "Shouldn't we always be honest?"
King Teodric nodded. "We should, but I think there are times that we have to keep our secrets for the good of the kingdom. Don't you agree, Queen Amberfall?"
"Very much so," Amberfall replied. "It always is about the people."
"Glad you see it that way." King Teodric bit off a huge chunk of meat. "Now, since we are on the good of the people, I think you will find that I have left you something of interest in your chambers. I think it will allow you to see your friend, King Rauffe Eveneye, in a different light." He smiled. "I always does people well to see each other's true colours, wouldn't you think so?"
Amberfall nodded her head. "Very much so." She and Frostfire exchanged looks. What on earth could King Teodric have on King Rauffe that they didn't know about?
Dinner did not pass quickly enough for Amberfall's liking. It seemed as if the king was trying to keep them their longer than necessary, but even he ran out of reasons.
Amberfall and Frostfire quickly rushed back to their chambers and sure enough on her desk was a few sheets of parchment. She quickly grabbed it and began to read.
On November 5, in the twentieth year of his reign, King Rauffe Eveneye, King of Trelia, held a partial cabinet meeting to discuss the future of Trelia. The Operation Overshadow, recorded and written by Duke Metody Honoraxe, lays out plans for maintaining the Trelian race, regaining land lost during the Warynian Wars, and building a flourishing economy. This document is very clear on how Trelia will go about achieving these pragmatic goals in order to ensure the achievement of its ideal State.
King Rauffe Eveneye finds himself torn between two options as to how Trelia should deal with its economy: autarchy or participation in world trade. He understands that Trelia must rely on imported food and raw materials in order to produce and provide for a successful “race.” King Rauffe Eveneye recognizes that Trelia cannot depend on everyone to serve as a trading partner, so he has issued plans for the seizure of Necraria and Astrad. Both countries are situated on the Trelian border and will be easier for the State to access and control. King Rauffe Eveneye believes that Xandria and Zania have “written off” the Astrads, and he knows we will not want another major conflict. Trelia also knows that Xandria will not act without Zanian support.
King Rauffe Eveneye lays out how he is going to achieve his goals in three cases. The first case would be from twenty-first to the twenty-ninth year of his reign. Trelia’s rebuilding of its military will be almost finished, and waiting any longer to challenge progressing nations would be problematic. In the second case, King Rauffe Eveneye proposes the possibility of a Nercraian Civil War, which would serve as a distraction for the Nature Fairies while he invaded Astrad. In the third case, Necraria would fall because of war with another State. Another scenario of this case is that if Trelia establishes a Trelian-Xandrian frontier, then they could have a neutral relationship with Zania. If this chance were to arise, then King Rauffe Eveneye would take advantage of the opportunity, even if it were as early as the twenty-fifth year of his reign.
King Rauffe Eveneye also believes that Xandria will not protest the invasion of Astrad. However, he remains uncertain of the Xandrian King's attitude of an invasion of Necraria. Nevertheless, he did not exclude the Xandrians from his plans.
Many of the cabinet members found a few faults in King Rauffe Eveneye’s plans. Both men stress the importance of the absence of other nations current involvement. The Colonel General also believes that the Zanaina would divide their troops between the different fronts. The Field Marshall also feels that King Rauffe Eveneye is underestimating the strength of the Astrads. The Foreign Minister doubts the chances of the Nercraian Civil War, but King Rauffe Eveneye pays little heed to the concerns of his cabinet.
Amberfall roughly shoved the papers to the side. “It can’t be true!”
Frostfire slowly picked up the papers and studied them. “I don’t know, Amberfall. It really does seem like his handwriting and Trelia was in kind of a mess.”
Amberfall ran her hand through her red hair. “I know, I know, but it just doesn’t seem like him. Why would he even want to invade such small countries?”
Frostfire shrugged. “Sure, they are small countries, but they are also rich in resources.”
“I guess.” She shook her head. “Why would King Teodric show this to us now?”
“Well, he is trying to get you to side with him. He does seem to have this crazy idea that you have the magic to end this curse.”
“But I don’t!” Amberfall exclaimed. “The only thing I could do was change the curse, I couldn’t stop it!”
“And that, my dear, takes a lot of power t
o change the course of something like that,” Frostfire pointed out. “Don’t you think for one second that you are weak. You are probably one of the strongest fairies around and that is why you are here.”
“I can’t take down Nightstone! No one has been able to stop her for years and no one probably ever will!” She paused. “Although me being here did get the Iron Fairies to finally show themselves.”
“See, now, you’re getting it.”
Amberfall flopped down on the bed. “Still, I just can’t believe that Trelia would do something like that. Why didn’t they just ask Zania for help?”
“Pride and Trelia was run by a man at the time. Think about it. A man running to a woman for help just doesn’t float well with their pride.” Frostfire smiled. “Besides, can you imagine what he would have been like, knowing that he was in your debt? You’d probably never get a moment’s peace.”
“I guess, but it still doesn’t make it right.”
Frostfire lowered himself down next to Amberfall. “You are stronger than you know.” He brushed his lips against hers. “Don’t you even let anyone tell you any different. You are stronger than anyone I know.”
Amberfall returned his kiss. “You’re just trying to get something.”
"You know me all too well, my Queen."
The next morning Amberfall found herself walking across the castle grounds alone. Well, she guessed not truly alone. The captain of the guard had his men doing some kind of complicated drills on the wall, which was covered in what looked like grease and oil. Every now and then, a member of the guard would fall from the wall and land in a heap on the ground, which earned him a good cursing from Captain Morninghelm.
Amberfall's eyes drifted up toward the castle. Even out here, the darkness still could be felt. She stared in the direction of the king's chambers. The snow made the other parts of the castle look somewhat inviting, but his chambers just lingered with winter's chill.
She slowly crept closer to the king's chambers, pausing only as Captain Morninnghelm cursed another one of his men. She didn't think he would stop her from looking into his father; in fact, he seemed to actually want to bring to the king down. However, she just didn't know what he would do in the presence of his men.
She stared up at the windows. She had heard the servants whispering about seeing a dark shadow in the king's window. The only problem was that there were so many windows and she had no clue which one they were talking about. All of the windows had the curtains tightly drawn. It was like the king was doing everything in his power to keep the winter away from him.
She reached deep into her core, allowing her magic to come to the threshold. The power raced through her body at a greater rate than she normally allowed it. It was like she was the light in a world of darkness. To the common onlooker, though, it would have looked like she was just staring up at the castle.
With her senses now heightened, she allowed herself to wonder up to the chambers, but only found herself greeted by silence. She stretched further until she was ghostlike in the halls.
It was very clear that his chambers housed the finest objects she had even seen. It made the throne room's treasures look like mere common objects. The wealth in these chambers were so much richer than anything Trelia ever had. The only objects of non-wealth were the portraits of past Morninghelm rulers cased in everyday wooden frames. It was probably because of some tradition.
Amberfall's soul drifted in and out of the room, but there was no one besides a few servants tiding up the spotless rooms. However, the further she ventured into the room and the longer she stayed, the more the darkness seemed to entre her body. It's foul taste spent violent chills racing through her, making her want to purge her body of all its evil.
"I didn't think you would be out here so early."
Amberfall jumped as she turned herself toward the speaker. Captain Morninghelm stood behind her with his arms crossed, his muscles bulging in his exercise uniform. "I couldn't stand to be inside any longer. I have to be close to nature," she said in what she hoped was an innocent voice.
Captain Morninghelm rolled his eyes. "And you just happen to have to be close to nature right outside the king's chambers."
"Oh, is that what this is." Amberfall laughed. "I didn't realize where I was standing. How silly of me."
The captain snorted. "I think you knew just where you were standing. You may enjoy playing the damsel in distress, but I know you're not. You're just trying to lower him into your games." He moved close. So close that Amberfall actually took a small step back. "Have you made any progress in your research?"
Amberfall shook her head. "No, not really. We're kind of at a standstill."
Captain Morninghelm nodded his dark head. "Well, I had best get back to my men."
"Captain!" Amberfall called just as he turned to leave. "Have you ever heard of a Trelian mission to invade Necraria and Astrad? It would have been right after the Warynian Wars."
"No, I haven't, but I don't think it's impossible, highly unlikely though. Weren't your friends supposed to have more wealth than any other nation?"
"Well, Trelia was considered to be the Jewel of the East and they did have a lot of wealth, at least at the palace." Amberfall frowned, realizing something. She really hadn't seen much of Trelia outside the palace. Was it possible that the rest of the country had been left in ruins while the court bathed in luxury?
The captain smiled. "Well, you knew them, not me, and there's no record of it anywhere. I would say that if the idea was brought up, it was never carried out. If you want proof, it will probably be in Trelia and you know what it's like to try to get in there."
"I know." Amberfall smiled warmly at him. "Have a good day, Captain."
"You too, Your Highness."
She watched him retreat back to his men. He should have been the Crowned Prince over Vicar. He would have been so much better at the job. He was a trained solider, not a spoilt child. Still, if the rumours were true about his reading, there had been a reason that he hadn't been completely cast out. She would have to start listening to the servants' gossip again.
Her eyes drifted up to the king's chamber. There seemed to be something lingering in the window directly above her. It didn't look fairy or human. It's dark form didn't look like anything that she had ever seen. It looked like nothing more than a black mass. She took a small step back as it disappeared in a whirl wind of darkness.
An icy blast raced through her body just seconds later. Whatever that thing had been, it knew she had been snooping about the king's chambers and it was warning her not to enter again.
Chapter Twenty: Slaying of the Magic
Ryanon lowered herself down onto the hard floor as her fellow assassins kept up with their training. The odd part wasn’t the fact that she was taking a break. It was the fact Dak was here at training in the middle of the day. She would have thought that he would have members of the Royal Guard to terrorize.
It had been almost a week since she and Dak first brought the ledger to the guild and so far nothing had happened. It was like everyone was willing to forget about its existence. Granted, they weren’t the ones who were going to go with the king to a cursed land.
Dak flopped down next to her. “The date’s been set.”
Ryanon looked at him out of the corner of her eye. “The date?”
“For the mission.” Dak took a long drink. “If you could over soon, I can give you a layout of the plan.”
“Why can’t you do it here?”
“And how I am supposed to sneak battle plans out of the castle? I know he’s got people watching me.” He shrugged. “Besides, it would be easier for you to get in. Just play the role of a common whore and no one will think a thing of it.”
Ryanon hit him. “Why do you think this is so funny? It’s not funny at all. It’s degrading to females and you really shouldn’t be engaging in such manner anyway. If men like you didn’t find it to be so amusing, then there would not be a market for it.”
> Dak rubbed his chest. “I didn’t mean it like that.” He actually sounded like a small child who had just gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “I just meant that it would be easier for you to come to me, then me to come to you.”
“Just make sure you make your intentions truly sound like that and not in a mocking manner.” Ryanon got to her feet. “I thought the captain of the guard would have more energy than this, but I guess I was wrong. Maybe you need to start working out as hard as you make your men train.”
Dak got to his feet with narrowed eyes. “You have no idea what I’ve been through over the last couple of days.”
Ryanon rolled her eyes. “Are you really trying to play the pity card?”
Dak smiled. “Is it working?”
“Nope!” Ryanon didn’t even turn to see if he was following her. It was always a good day whenever she could get under Dak’s skin.
Ryanon had to wait only two days before she was able to sneak into the castle. Aliss took great pride in being able to dress Ryanon up for the part. She was wearing by far the skimpiest clothes that she had ever worn. To make matters worse, it did nothing to block out icy blasts that just seemed to be coming off the ocean tonight.
“And remember to keep your head up and to bat your eyes. Men will just swoon at you if you do this right,” Aliss said as she straightened Ryanon’s silk dress, if you could even call it that. It barely covered the necessary parts and with each movement, Ryanon felt like a huge part of her body was on display.
Ryanon rolled her eyes as she picked up a small dagger laced with a poison blade. One little cut from this knife would cause the victim to suffer from paralysis. “I’m going to see Dak. It’s not like anything is going to happen.”
Aliss just gave her a knowing smile. “You never know what can happen on a night like this.”
Ryanon rolled her eyes as she stomped out of the guild and into a waiting carriage.
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