by LJ Rivers
Blood spurted down Brendan’s sword arm after a cut from Maxim’s blade, and I gripped Charlie’s hand. Part of me wanted to look away, to leave, but I had to sit this through. If I faltered in my belief that Brendan could do this, others would too. They wouldn’t respect him, and they certainly wouldn’t accept him as my intended—their possible future king. So, I stayed, watching in agony every time they drew blood from one another.
The men were panting, sweat beading their brows, their blades glinting crimson in the light from the torches. Brendan cried out and took a blow to the shoulder while spinning his body closer to his opponent, elbowing him below the rib cage. Maxim let out a visible puff of breath, and Brendan knocked the pommel of his sword down on a wound on the wolf’s hand, knocking the sword from his grip.
Maxim’s arms came forward around Brendan’s upper body. My boyfriend fell to his knees, slipping out of Maxim’s grasp. He rolled around and came back to his feet, both swords in his hands. Spit and blood dribbled from Maxim’s mouth as he dumped down on the ground in defeat, slamming his fist into the dirt.
“The victor: Brendan of Callaghan,” the announcer’s voice boomed.
The crowd was on their feet. All but Miranar, who had his arms crossed, scowling at his son. I rose, but couldn’t bring myself to cheer. Brendan was hurt.
“Can I heal him now?” I asked Morgana.
“Not yet. Let him bear the marks of his victory for a little while longer.”
“But—”
“Princess!”
I clamped my mouth shut. Brendan was still on his feet, and although he was covered in smudges of blood and dirt, it didn’t appear he had any life-threatening wounds. I would heal him later, once we were alone.
As was the custom, Brendan sauntered over to the royal booth, bowing at the queen and me. “My Queen. Princess.” He smirked.
“Well done, Swordmaster Brendan of Callaghan. An impressive performance.” Morgana smiled, and he smiled back, showing off his blood-stained teeth.
I gave him my best scowl. “You did well.”
“Anything for you, My Princess.” He winked, and I wanted to wipe the smugness off his face. Then again, he had earned it, so I conceded and went down the steps where I extended my arm. His warm gaze captivated mine, and all my concerns were washed ashore with that one reassuring look. He took my hand and kissed the back of it. “See you in a bit,” he whispered.
I nodded and returned to my seat while Brendan went to the other swordsmen and a group of Junipers. The men cheered, and two of them bowed respectfully.
“I believe that’s my cue.” Morgana stood, gesturing to Taryn.
The Crimson commander retrieved the horn from his belt. “Morgana of Fay, Queen of Avalon and the Southern Isles, Protector of Talani, Awarnach, and Ygrenya, Defender of the Realm,” he shouted.
As Morgana stepped out of the booth, I grabbed Jen’s and Charlie’s hands, pulling them with me. “Let’s get out of here and find Tallaks. I’ve worked up an appetite.”
Chapter Three
Having spent the better part of a month in this magical realm, I was getting used to most aspects of life in Avalen. All except the lack of light. The absence of light, which was a term I usually associated with the shadows—and whatever was calling me from within them—was constantly messing with my head. I missed my daily routines from back in London. Or Chester, for that matter. I was used to getting up around half past six in the morning, sometimes even earlier, and going for a morning run. Now, as I listened to Brendan’s heavy breath next to me, I couldn’t tell if it was the third, fifth or even ninth awr of the day. And not a single Avalonian—royal, noble, or commoner—would understand it if their new princess suddenly started running for no reason.
My so-called intended was fast asleep and would probably not have noticed if Auberon’s army rode through my bedroom. The poor thing. I had been so scared for him during the swordplay yesterday and could still not believe how I allowed him to go all those hours before I healed his wounds. But, as my queen insisted, his stature among the citizens of Avalen would only benefit from his bravery, and they would frown upon me helping him in front of everyone. At least as his wounds were not lethal. Stubborn as Brendan was, however, I hadn’t healed every cut and bruise. He had been adamant that I leave a few. I didn’t know, but I guessed it was his pride talking.
I got out of bed as quietly as I could. Kit, who was curled up by the foot of the bed, lifted an eyelid. He appeared for a couple of seconds to contemplate getting up, only to close his half-open eye, stretch his still growing body, and nestle back into the furball shape he preferred while sleeping. I was quiet, not so much for Brendan or Kit’s benefit, but I was hoping to not alert my chambermaid, Cherise, that I was up. For once, I wanted to just get dressed and go outside without having someone wait on me.
Fat chance.
All my clothes were gone. As were Brendan’s. I had dropped them on the floor, except for my dress, which I had draped over one of the chairs. Cherise had protested as loudly as she dared when I told her we wanted to be alone. She apparently meant I should be bathed and my hair brushed, as I had spent an entire day among the commoners. To be fair, Cherise had a point about my clothes and hair being out of sorts after my time out and about, but it wasn’t high on my list of priorities.
At first, I had found her attitude towards the citizens provoking, but soon learned that to be a commoner was not necessarily frowned upon in Avalon. Granted, the class system placed them lower than the nobles or members of the queen’s court, just like the working class was viewed back home on Earth. But the queen herself had proven time and again how much she loved her people, and I was convinced she would put a commoner’s needs before those of a noble any day and twice on Sundays.
The city was bustling with thousands of celebrating Avalonians and visitors, and it was simply impossible to keep all the streets clean. The air was filled with dust and dirt from horses, unicorns, games of all kinds and of course the smells. The spices and herbs mixed in a chaos of unrecognisable scents, and they stuck to everything: clothes, hair, skin, animals, even the very walls of the buildings.
And I loved it.
“What would you like to wear today, Princess?” Cherise peeked inside, all bright and chipper. And fully dressed. Had she even slept?
“Good morning,” I whispered. “Something not too elegant. What awr is it?”
She furrowed her brows for a second. “Your Highness, Berlomis only makes elegant clothes.” Her voice was curt, and she seemed to reel herself in, flashing me a warm smile. “And the ninth awr has just begun. Would you like a morning meal?” She glanced at the Swordmaster in my bed. “And the queen’s champion swordplayer must be famished.”
“Thank you, Cherise.” I was about to say no, but my stomach told me otherwise. “Some bread and oil, maybe a little of that lovely green mixture?”
“I told you, did I not? Whoever gets a taste of the Father of Indulge will instantly fall in love with it.”
“That’s a strange name for a dish. What does it symbolise?”
“I believe it was brought here from another realm, where it was called Baba Nush or something like that. I am uncertain of the pronunciation.”
Something struck a chord in the back of my mind, but I couldn’t grasp it. “I will ask the kitchen staff for the recipe and make it when I—” I bit my tongue.
Cherise’s smile vanished just as quickly as it had appeared. “Forgive me, Your Highness. It is my most sincere wish that you would not speak of returning to the Land of Eternal Sand. My heart cries at the mere thought.”
And my heart cried daily over all I had lost back on Earth, and I couldn’t imagine I would never return to my life there. Cherise’s words touched me more than I had expected, however. “Thank you,” I said, swallowing the lump in my throat. “I will not speak of it again.”
“I will bring a selection of dresses for you to choose from,” she said.
I didn’t feel like w
earing a dress today. Not this early, at least. It might have been the thought of my morning runs that spurred the feeling.
“Uhm … would the black hunting outfit be appropriate?” I asked. Before she could reply, I held my hand up. “I know, I know. Berlomis only makes appropriate clothing.”
Her big white smile returned. “Indeed, Highness.” She vanished into the hallway for a moment, returning with the outfit. “I will be right back with your meal.”
It couldn’t have been more than five or six minutes before she returned, carrying a tray with a huge, dome-shaped loaf of bread in the middle. Around it were little bowls of oils and the dip sauce with the strange, paternal name. I sat down and tore into the bread, smiling as I recognised Tallaks’ signature decorations on the crust. The model carriage was pulled by two unicorns, and the detail was astounding. How it was possible to make such a piece of art with bread dough was beyond me.
I dipped the bread in oil and then gently into the spicy dip sauce, taking great care not to get more than a hint of the fiery stuff on it. The symphony of flavours danced in my mouth. I should have woken Brendan so he could enjoy the still warm bread, but didn’t have the heart to cut his sleep short. Kit, on the other hand, slinked out of the bed and stretched again. Stretching had to make up a third of his daily routine, I thought.
I let Brendan sleep while I finished my breakfast, drank two cups of water and half a sip of the too-strong wine, and went to the door. I glanced at Kit, who was happily dealing with his bowl of delicacies, courtesy of Cherise. I guessed he would equally happily return to my snoring boyfriend’s side when he was done. I left my boys.
Not surprisingly, Anwinar was ready in the hallway outside my room. “Good morning, Princess Ruby. I trust you have slept well?”
“Like a rock, Anwinar.”
He tilted his head. “That was a strange way to put it.” His eyes lit up as it dawned on him. “But now that I think of it, it sounds reasonable. It means you have been still all night. Like a rock.”
I gave him a thumbs up, which he returned. Since the queen had learned the gesture from Brendan, she used it frequently, and it had become somewhat of a fad among the Avalens.
“I’d like to take a walk, maybe the fields behind the castle?”
“I shall summon three more guards then, Princess.”
“That can’t be necessary, Anwinar. It’s early, and although Avalen is usually up and alive by now, these days of celebration seem to have taken its toll on the Avalens. I’m confident no one will be out there. Besides, should we run into any trouble, I’m equally confident you and I can handle them.” I emphasised my words with a wink.
My guardian centaur pondered it for a few seconds before giving me two thumbs up.
As we exited the gates, the Juniper guards bowed deeply. That was something I had got used to, even if it was a strange experience every time. Thankfully, I had been right about the empty streets. On our way to the field, we met only a handful of people, two of which were still too drunk to recognise their new princess.
Anwinar stepped forward. “How dare you not greet your—”
“Don’t!” I placed a hand on his lower arm. “They honour me plenty by celebrating in Her Majesty’s name.”
“As you wish, Princess.”
I had spent more time with Anwinar and Cherise than any of my friends, including my boyfriend, since our arrival, and I had grown fond of them both. They would do anything to keep me happy and safe, which was both a scary and soothing thought. And both seemed to accept my way of being a princess, even if it often went against Avalonian traditions. So far, I hadn’t stepped over any major lines. If I did, I was sure Cherise would tell me. She wasn’t afraid to speak her mind, which only made me more fond of her.
Anwinar kept a little more distance, which I guessed was only reasonable. After all, I had seen The Bodyguard, and knew how important it was to keep a professional distance to the subject. When I mentioned this to Charlie and Jen at supper a couple of weeks back, they had turned it all upside down, as I had expected. In the end, they were practically rolling off their chairs, laughing at the image of a rain-soaked centaur watching his princess climbing aboard the “nine fifteen griffin to Crochan Island”, as Jen had put it.
My angels.
“I can’t begin to imagine how this place must have looked before the Fall of Light,” I said as my four-legged Kevin Costner and I entered the field. The lanterns on the castle wall cast a dim, orange glow over the grass square. It was about three hundred yards each side, with pathways criss-crossing through, each lined with beds of wilted or wilting flowers. Trees framed the square, some with remnants of dry, shrunken apples and oranges hanging here and there. As there was practically no light to work the photosynthesis, the grass and leaves would soon lose the last hints of green.
“It was a torrent of colours, as all of Avalon was.” Anwinar’s voice was low and seemed to carry all the pain of his fellow citizens. “When the light fell, it took only a few dark moons for the crops to start withering. The cropkeepers tried their best, but to no avail. The Goblins’ magic helps, of course, but it’s not enough to feed all Avalonians. And then there’s the nobles.” He spat the last word. “I beg your forgiveness, Your Highness. It is not my place to say such things.”
I turned to look at him. “You can speak freely to me, Anwinar. I won’t repeat your words to anyone.”
“You would, if the queen commands it.”
I reached out and took his hands. “No, Anwinar. That’s not how my word works. When I give it to you, I keep it.”
The centaur’s chest jutted out. “You honour me, Princess Ruby.”
“And you me, by sharing what’s actually going on in this land.” I paused, then added: “My land.” The words shocked me, but at the same time, they felt right. After all, this was the land of my origin, even if I would never rule over it as my land.
“The queen forbade the nobles to fill their cellars and castles, as she wanted all food to be distributed evenly among her people,” Anwinar continued. “Some agreed with her, but many did not, and kept stocking up as the yields plummeted. Queen Morgana is aware of this, but chooses to turn a blind eye. She needs the nobles on her side, especially now.”
I nodded, thinking about the upcoming meeting. “Without them, she won’t be able to mobilise a big enough army to fight my—to fight King Auberon.”
“If that son of a Nadredd comes to Avalon, I will—” Anwinar gasped at his own words, his eyes widening.
I held my hand up. “It’s fine, Anwinar. He would be a fool to attack the queen when you’re around.”
“It’s not the queen I’m worried about.”
My breath caught in my throat.
“I live to protect you, My Princess. That is my order, and I would sooner die than disobey it.”
I didn’t know what to say to that. For a long time, all I could do was look at the dying trees and flowers.
“I—I think I would like to be alone for a while. Could you wait here, you think?”
“That is not—”
“I’ll stay within your sight. I just need to walk a little by myself.”
“Twenty pances, then.”
I smiled. “Fifty.”
“Thirty. My last offer, Your Highness.”
“Thirty it is.”
He gave me a thumbs up, and I couldn’t help but giggle.
I turned and began walking, his words echoing in my head. Would he really choose to protect me over Morgana, should he have to make such a choice? Instinctively, I thought no. But his eyes as he said it had told me he was serious. It should make me feel safe, but instead, it gave me the chills.
I glanced over my shoulder, and as expected, he followed behind at about twenty pances—instead of thirty—distance. Still, it gave me a sense of solitude I hadn’t had for quite some time.
How could all this have happened in such a short while? Less than a year ago, all I knew about Avalon was that it had once exist
ed, but that it was lost behind an ancient, destroyed portal.
One I had reopened, allowing my power-crazy father to return to claim what he believed to be his rightful place as ruler of this entire magical realm. Along the way, I had learned about his role in the death of my dad and that he was the son of Nimue, the Lady of the Lake. Not to mention how he had more or less invented MagX and helped Jarl Colburn climb to the top of a crime syndicate that made the Mafia look like a church choir.
Dry leaves crunched under my feet as I strolled along the pathways. At a crossing, I stopped and stared at a rosebush. The dark red petals of a single rose were clinging to the edge of a branch. Below, the ground was covered in brown and black rotting petals. My head was spinning. Inside, millions of thoughts were crashing against each other, swarming like blind bees. I couldn’t fathom the enormity of it all, only that most of what had transpired was my doing. I had stuck my nose in everything, starting with a low-ranked MagX dealer outside a nightclub in Chester.
I could have stopped my father from starting a new war, if I had only—
A blue spark caught my eye, interrupting my thoughts.
I spun around and dropped to one knee with two translucent orbs already loaded in my outstretched palms, ready to fire at whoever had made the sparks.
“Not bad.” Charlie held a finger on the tip of her chin and tilted her head slightly, as if scrutinising my posture. “Not a bad impression of Natasha Romanoff at all. Maybe raise one arm above—”
“Char? What the fudge?”
She laughed. “You even have the black clothes and red hair.”
“In that case, perhaps this is the right way to get back on my feet?”
I aimed my palms at the ground and let the two force fields merge into one. With a quick wave, I made it expand underneath me, sending me flying. It was a move I had thought of a few times, but never actually tried. While airborne—albeit only four or five feet above the grass—I tucked my feet to my chest. My plan had been to do a single somersault, but before I knew it, the dark outline of the mountain came into view for the second time. I kicked my legs out and straightened my back, bracing for the impact. The whole move might have taken less than two seconds, but the final tenths seemed to last forever. My feet slammed down on the ground, sending shock waves through my bones up to my chattering teeth. Although I couldn’t claim to have nailed the landing, at least I didn’t fall.