by Kelly Carr
The city was abuzz over the next few days, with the news of the failed crops and the approaching refugees. Soldiers were dispatched to investigate what was happening up north. The citizens of Corralis who Liana was training all quickly became aware of the implications of the situation and threw themselves into their exercises with renewed vigor.
Liana was surprised to find that the former Humans were quite creative. The Torvinians frequently found new ways to use their magical abilities, both to attack and to defend, when they were called upon to spar with one another.
Liana and Valeria had several dozen pupils now, many of whom exhibited magic that hadn’t been seen for millennia. As Liana was the only one who could attempt to instruct them, she was heartily relieved the day she scried Jina and found that the Trevi refugees had reached the Endless Sea.
“They’re here,” she said to Elias and Valeria. Without any further explanation, she grabbed her glider from a chair and hurried for the stairs, Valeria right behind her.
Chapter eighteen: jina
Jina waited in the shadow of the Cliffs of Kerval, leaning heavily on her staff, and shivered as she gazed up at the sky. She knew Liana would come. At last, two figures soared over the cliff and drifted down into the forest a short distance away. She hurried to meet them.
“Jina!” Liana said when she burst through the trees.
Jina embraced the young woman, holding her tightly to reassure herself that she was real.
“I’m so glad you’re alright!” Liana said with relief.
“I knew you’d be watching,” Jina said, letting Liana go and taking a step back. Valeria stepped forward, and Jina took her hand, squeezing it affectionately. “I’ve been watching you as well, when I had the time, but I don’t quite understand what I’ve been seeing. Why are there Trevi outside the Erean Forest? Why didn’t you return to us after we were attacked?”
“Elias and Valeria felt that I was needed more here. I have news, but I’m not sure what you’ll think of it.”
Jina listened in astonishment as Liana explained the discovery of her new ability and how she had been using it.
“You mean you have a force of Trevi who are prepared to fight back against the Genvu?” Jina said, hopefully.
Liana frowned. “I’m not sure that I’d say they’re ready just yet, but they’ve promised to help when the need arises,” she said. “Meanwhile, how is everyone here?”
“Come and see for yourself,” Jina said sadly. She led Liana and Valeria through the forest until they came to a stand of towering, ancient oak trees. A thick stone wall had been raised around the area. Above them, an immense, tightly woven net was draped across the treetops to protect against any attack from that direction.
Already, the Trevi had managed to create some semblance of a town amid the branches of the trees. Several dozen people moved about, carrying their few belongings or exploring their new surroundings. All wore tired, wary expressions. The weight of the grief they carried was almost tangible, but they brightened as they caught sight of Liana and ran to greet her.
“Is this everyone that’s left?” Valeria whispered, appalled, as the Trevi gathered around them.
“Heavens, no!” Jina said in surprise. “There are several more groups like ours. We split up along the way to make ourselves less of a target, and of course, the Trevi who already lived in the southern reaches of the forest are completely alright. They’ve had no trouble at all here, though they knew of what happened up north.”
“We all felt it when you were attacked,” Liana said.
Jina nodded grimly. She wasn’t surprised.
“Lady Liana!” A Sylph eagerly approached Liana and spun in a circle in greeting. “I’m so glad to see you. Have the Humans agreed to help us?”
Jina glanced at Liana and waited to hear her answer. She was reasonably sure that if Liana had resorted to training Humans in magic herself, she must have been denied the help she had hoped for.
“Well, sort of,” Liana said, in answer to the Sylph’s question and the eager expressions of the others around her. “Why don’t you come sit down, and I’ll tell you about it.”
Jina raised a few low stone benches from the earth, and the Trevi all took a seat and looked at Liana expectantly. Jina wondered, as she often did, at the faith they placed in her.
Liana told the story of her journey south and her first encounter with the king. The Trevi’s disappointment at his rejection of their plea for help turned to a whole range of confusion, delight, and disapproval when she revealed how she had changed Humans into Trevi.
“I’m glad you’re here,” Liana concluded. “I have more students than I can teach, even with Valeria’s help. Will any of you agree to return to the city with me and help me train these new Trevi?” She looked around at her audience hopefully.
The Trevi shifted uncomfortably, glancing at one another from the corners of their eyes. Some of them looked to Jina or the two Avenai Jevar who remained with them. Jina kept her face carefully neutral, and the Avenai Jevar were so weary from the journey and grief-stricken from the loss of their companions that they hardly seemed to be listening.
“You’ll be quite safe,” Liana promised. “The Torvinians have no quarrel with us. They’re perfectly friendly.”
At last, a few of the braver Trevi got to their feet. “Alright then,” said an old Oread. “I’d like to see these new Trevi for myself, but at the first sign of trouble, I come straight back to the forest.”
There were nods and murmurs of agreement. In the end, two Aidans, Two Sylphs, three Oreads, and four Undines accompanied Liana back to the city. Jina watched them go, suddenly wishing that she could follow. Whatever was happening now, it would either be the end of the Trevi, or the beginning of something entirely new…
Chapter nineteen: valeria
At Liana’s request, several of the new Trevi took the old into their homes. Those that had come from the forest were uneasy at this arrangement, but they accepted it without complaint. By the time they all came to join the lessons the next day, most of them had been made to feel so welcome that they hardly remembered why they had been worried in the first place.
With the addition of so many new instructors, the lessons began to move much faster. By the end of the month, there were well over two hundred new Trevi, all of them reasonably competent with magic and able to wield a weapon of some kind. They began calling themselves ‘the Trevi of Torvain’ to differentiate themselves from their instructors.
Valeria was delighted at the presence of so many people eager to learn magic. She and Susan often stayed up late into the night, planning lessons together. The princess was her most talented student.
One day, Valeria, Liana, Elias, Susan, and James were on their way down to the beach as usual, when they were summoned by the king. Valeria had seen little of the king since their first day in the castle, so she was surprised to be included in the summons. She looked to Susan for an explanation, but she appeared as baffled as everyone else. They followed a guard to the throne room, where the king received them alone.
“So,” he said when the door closed behind them. “My guards inform me that you five have been disappearing for hours at a time, every day. Would you care to tell me exactly what it is that you’re up to?”
Valeria could see Liana scrambling to come up with an explanation that might sound plausible, but James beat her to it.
“I thought our guests might like to see more of the city and the surrounding area,” he said calmly. “I’ve been acting as their guide.”
“Yes,” Valeria said quickly, “It’s been fascinating. It’s all so different from where we live, isn’t it, Liana?”
“Yes, very different. There’s so much to learn,” Liana agreed.
The king harrumphed slightly. “And Susan? What business do you have touring the city with them?” he asked.
Susan’s face remained carefully blank. “I enjoy their company,” she answered, so haughtily that Valeria nearly lau
ghed and ruined everything. “I wasn’t going to sit around all day while they went off to have fun.”
The king made another disgruntled noise and frowned. “Be that as it may, James, Susan, from now on, you will restrict yourselves to your normal daily duties. Lady Liana, you and your friends may pass the time as you see fit, so long as it doesn’t interfere with the everyday running of my kingdom. You are dismissed. I will speak further with my children.”
Valeria and Liana looked back as they left the room and met their friends’ eyes. Both wore expressions of disappointment and regret, but there was nothing to be done.
From that day onward, it became clear that the king was doing everything in his power to keep his children at a distance from the Trevi. He didn’t entirely succeed. Susan and James were occasionally able to sneak in a meeting with them late at night, but they were no longer able to join in the lessons on the beach.
Training was significantly less fun without James and Susan present to encourage everyone. They were also dismayed to find, when evening came, that they had been seated too far apart at the dinner table to hold a conversation.
“My father is becoming impatient,” Susan said late one evening as she lay curled on a cushion by the fire in Liana’s room. “He intends to get to the bottom of things at the ball. If your claims prove untrue or you haven’t declared your intention of establishing trade with him by then, he’ll send you away.”
“How will he get to the bottom of things?” Valeria asked.
“Well, all the kings and queens attend the ball, remember?” Susan said. “That includes the royal family of Lezar. He intends to ask for their side of the story.”
Valeria was startled. The thought that their enemy might be bold enough to attend the ball had never occurred to her. Now that it did, it sent a shiver down her spine. The thought appeared to have caught Liana off guard as well.
“You really think she’d come? Queen Katya, I mean,” Liana said.
“She’s never missed one in the past,” Susan answered with a shrug.
“If that’s the case, we must take precautions,” Elias said.
“Like what?” asked James.
“Like posting some of the Trevi of Torvain within easy reach of the castle, armed and prepared for an attack,” Valeria suggested.
“And making sure the Trevi in the forest are especially well hidden,” added Liana.
“Do what you feel you must,” James said with a shrug, “but whatever Katya's intentions, no one would attack Corralis without a massive army, and there has been no word of any such force moving south. Only bad weather.”
“True,” Liana said thoughtfully, “but all the same, we’ll be prepared.”
The next week brought with it the arrival of many distinguished guests, all of them attired so grandly that Valeria was unable to make out which might be the members of the royal families they were hoping to speak to. The castle bustled with servants making the final arrangements for the ball, but Valeria and Liana hardly noticed, so busy were they with their own preparations.
Liana spent hours each day in the forest, helping the Trevi conceal their dwellings and set snares to warn of or capture anyone approaching on the ground. Valeria made sure each of the Trevi of Torvain was either given a post within easy reach of the castle at which to stand guard, or told to be prepared in case they should be needed. However, there was still no sign of the Lezarian royal family. Valeria began to hope that their fears might prove to be unfounded.
The day of the ball dawned bright and clear, but there was an unseasonable chill in the air that made Valeria nervous. The whole castle was aflutter with servants, but guests were all busy preparing in their rooms. Why they needed all day to dress for a party, Valeria didn’t know, but she welcomed the reprieve. All week she had been subject to intense scrutiny by the curious newcomers, and it had made it difficult for her and Liana to pursue their usual covert activities.
“…and this fits over it,” Valeria explained, showing Liana how a simple bronze chest plate fastened over her luxurious gown of embroidered purple satin. It added a certain dignity to her appearance and would serve her well, should she need to defend herself. Valeria, who was talented at metalwork, had designed the piece herself, as well as the sword concealed in the drape of her skirts.
Valeria had chosen to wear a similar gown of blue, rather than another one of her suits. The suits were more comfortable, but they also caused a stir among the Humans. For the ball, the attention needed to be focused on Liana.
There was a knock at the door. At Liana’s call, Elias entered, dressed in a fashionable black suit. His eyebrows raised and he walked in a slow circle around Liana and Valeria, examining their apparel. “Practical, but elegant,” he said thoughtfully. “Well done, Valeria.”
Valeria blushed at the praise.
“The Townsfolk are in place around the castle, and everyone is armed,” Elias said.
“Good,” Liana replied. “It may prove unnecessary, though. There’s still no sign of Queen Katya.”
“All the same, I feel better being prepared,” Elias said, his hand resting lightly on the sword at his waist.
There was another knock at the door, and Susan entered the room, wearing a crimson version of Liana and Valeria’s dresses, though it had a wider skirt and no chest plate.
Liana laughed. “You too?”
Susan grinned and spun in a circle so that her skirt flared outwards. “Well, you should have seen the lacy thing my mother chose for me. There was no way I was going to wear that, so I copied what Valeria was doing. It turned out rather well, I think.”
Valeria kissed her cheek affectionately. “You look beautiful. Come on, let’s go meet these foreign royals we’ve been waiting for.”
With that, all of them headed down to the ballroom. The doors of the grand hall were thrown open, and the inside was aglow with the light of a dozen crystal chandeliers. Music wove through the air, and men and women of all ages spun around the dance floor. They wore all kinds of clothing, from the suits and gowns Valeria had grown accustomed to, to heavily embroidered silks and gauzy flowing robes. She felt oddly at home among such a pleasant variety of people. It was not unlike a Trevi festival with each of the tribes wearing their traditional clothes.
Despite the diversity of designs, however, many eyes followed Liana and her friends as they entered the room.
“They’re all staring,” Valeria said through gritted teeth.
“Yes, they are,” Liana said mildly.
Susan laughed. “Let them look. Come on, Valeria. Dance with me.” She held out a hand, and with a smile, Valeria took it and allowed the princess to lead her into the throng of couples on the dance floor.
Chapter twenty: liana
“May I?” Elias asked, offering Liana his hand.
“With pleasure,” she replied, and allowed him to lead her out onto the floor.
The steps of the dance were unfamiliar to both of them, but the music was quick and cheerful, and simply moving with it seemed to be enough.
When the song drew to a close, everyone applauded. A new tune began, and there was a tap on Liana’s shoulder. She turned to find a short, older man with thin, greying hair and a small beard standing behind her. He wore heavily embroidered silk robes and a gold circlet. He bowed.
“May I have the honor of this dance?” he asked politely.
“I would be delighted, sir, but I don’t know the steps. I’m afraid I wouldn’t do you much credit as a partner,” Liana said apologetically.
The man laughed. “Nonsense! This is a ball. If you don’t know the dances, you must learn, or you won’t gain much enjoyment from the evening. Come, let me teach you.” He held out his hand again, and this time Liana took it with a smile.
“Very well then, teach me what you can.”
The man swept her into the dance and gave quick instructions. The new dance was slow and stately, and Liana found it easy to master, though not very entertaining.
&nbs
p; When the song ended, Liana’s partner led her to the side of the room where a table was laden with all manner of good things to eat.
“You dance well,” the man said, “though I’ve never seen you at a royal ball before. What might your name be?”
“I am Liana, Mother of Magic to the Trevi,” Liana said. “I’ve come to the ball to speak with the kings and queens of all the kingdoms.”
“How interesting,” her partner replied with raised eyebrows. “I’ve heard your name before. I’m King Haku of Marakai. One of your subjects came to speak with me.”
“Davu!” Liana said in surprise. “Of course! Is he well?”
“He seemed perfectly well the last time I saw him. I believe he travelled to Corralis with the rest of my party. He fed me a crazy story about Princess Katya and some monsters.”
Liana’s face fell. “I take it you didn’t believe him then?”
King Haku shrugged. “Up to a point, I believe him. Lezar is our closest neighboring kingdom, and it’s true that all trade between us has recently ceased without warning. There have also been strange rumors of unnatural weather and people disappearing. All of this is most alarming, of course, but I don’t believe that it could have anything to do with little Katya. The child is afraid of her own shadow, and she’s certainly not the queen. Her father visited my kingdom only a few months ago. He should be here this evening, but he appears to be late. Perhaps he’ll be able to provide some explanation when he arrives.”
“So you won’t help us?” Liana said.
King Haku shook his head. “Not until I see some kind of proof. In the meantime, you may share your story with my fellow kings and queens, but I suspect they’ll feel the same. There has been peace between the kingdoms for thousands of years. There’s no reason that should change now. But come, I see King Amir of Karzay. I’ll introduce you. I should warn you, though, you ought to be careful with him. He has an eye for beautiful women,” he said with a wink.
Liana blushed and quickly tried to collect her thoughts as King Amir approached them. He wore a long white robe with a sash of green and gold about his waist. A heavily jewelled crown twinkled on his brow. His skin was a deep, rich tan that glowed in the candlelight, and he had a small, immaculately cut mustache. He had the look of a man who had once been handsome and was having a difficult time letting go of his youth. As Liana was introduced, he gave her a calculating look that made her feel as though he could see right through her.