The Changeling

by Jennifer Lyndon

  We arrived in the early morning, a few hours prior to the change of guard. I called to the gatekeeper to let me in, but he ignored me, thinking me a peasant. I was too tired to protest, and sank down to my knees. When the guard changed at dawn, the new captain recognized me as I slept slumped up against the gate. I was still holding the ratty rope I’d tied to the mare, with both of my girls cuddled close to me. Within moments my guards surrounded us. One lifted me, while another took the girls. After days of nearly uninterrupted silence, Ania began violently screaming for me.

  “Put me down,” I commanded.

  The guard obeyed, but kept a steadying arm across my shoulders as I reclaimed my screaming child from another guard. I barely managed to lift Ania as she gripped my filthy tunic in her little fists, forcing me to walk along awkwardly with my stomach exposed. Lia remained in the arms of one of my guards, her large grey eyes following me in terror as we made our way up the walk toward the palace.

  “See to it my mare is well cared for,” I commanded, over the muffled cries of Ania. I watched as the exhausted horse was led past us, heading toward the stable. “You’re charged with the most valuable horse you will ever tend.”

  -CH 21-

  There was outrage in Nogeland. Over the following days I kept my daughters close to me, while we recovered. Nobles from all over Nogeland poured into Saranedam, without invitation, claiming every available room within the palace. Once Saranedam Palace was filled to capacity, the inns began to fill in the village. I wouldn’t allow my daughters out of my sight, so I received my Lords and Dames in the great hall, while Ania and Lia played under the tables nearby.

  Ania had stopped talking, except to Lia and me, and hid whenever guards, or anyone wearing a uniform for that matter, came into the hall. She was slowly beginning to tolerate the presence of the nobles visiting me, but refused to meet their gazes or respond when addressed.

  Lia on the other hand was more vocal than usual, giving detailed, and often morbidly embellished, descriptions of the hideous Vilken soldiers, and how we had hidden in filthy barns and foul, stinking, muddy ditches. I had to stop her when she wanted to share the story of how her mother caught that big, beautiful, white mare. I preferred not to be seen as a horse thief by my nobles. After all, I was about to ask them to go to war for me.

  Pet, accompanied by what remained of the Fae royal guard, consisting of Shiroane and seven other guard members, arrived at Saranedam Palace the week after our return. I heard the horses approaching on the entryway, and though it was far fewer hooves, the sound sent tendrils of terror through me. I had to focus to slow my breathing, as my heart battered my ribs. I made my way down the front steps of my palace, holding Lia by one hand, and Ania by the other. Pet was down from her placid grey horse in a moment, and running to us. She threw her arms around me, nearly crushing me against her, as she started crying.

  “Pet, please stop crying,” I said gently. When she didn’t comply, but only gripped me more tightly, I pulled away from her. Crying was an indulgence I could not allow anyone, especially myself, and her tears were igniting mine. I looked her in the eyes and told her, “You’re frightening my daughters. They’ve been upset enough by recent events. You will stop crying now, or go to your apartment until you’re able to control yourself.”

  Pet sniffled, straightening before she turned her attention to Lia. Pet wiped at her eyes with the heels of her hands before kneeling down in front of the girls. Ania, who was usually cooler toward Pet, clung to the Fae woman in a way I never would have expected, while Lia faced her stoically, her gaze skeptical of any show of emotion. I turned to greet Shiroane. Unfortunately, the usually unshakable head of my guard looked as though she might cry, too.

  “Fight it,” I said sharply. “I will not suffer your tears either, my friend.”

  Shiroane straightened her posture, rubbing a hand across her face, and then she was in control again. Once I was convinced the threat of tears had passed, I took a few steps down to her and wrapped my arms around her. Her grip on me was tight, and I took a moment to let myself feel protected, and vulnerable. When I stepped back again, my eyes may have been red, but I wasn’t crying.

  “I should have been there to protect you,” Shiroane said in a quiet voice, intended only for my ears. “I was not needed in Faeland. The Grand Duchess was in no danger.”

  “If you had been with us, you would have died as well,” I replied. “There are very few people left to me whom I truly love. I mark you as one of them, Shiroane. It’s a comfort to me that both you, and the Grand Duchess, were in Faeland.”

  “Thank you, my Queen,” Shiroane replied, her eyes filling with tears again, though she fought them back. “I must respectfully request that you not ask me to leave you unprotected again,” she said in a hoarse voice.

  “I’ll do as you ask, Shiroane,” I agreed. “But you need to accept the fact that there was nothing you could have done,” I said. “We were forty against thousands. We should never have been at Vilkerdam to start. It was an arrogant mistake, and the blame lies with me. I trusted those Vilken savages. I always trusted them. I should have known better.”

  “You are their Queen, Lore,” Shiroane said. “You felt safe in your home.”

  “Vilkerdam Palace is not my home, and the Vilkerlings have no Queen,” I said calmly. “Soon, they will have no country.”

  Over the following weeks, I worked tirelessly, organizing my growing military force. Pet, meanwhile, performed her duties as information minister at the peak of her skills, rousing Noge nationalistic fervor to new heights. Boys and girls from all over Nogeland learned the story of the treacherous Vilken attack on their good Noge Queen and the defenseless Princesses, by way of an elaborate traveling puppet show, performing in village squares. Meanwhile, adults were treated to vaudeville acts emphasizing the dishonesty and coarseness of the ruthless, and grasping, Vilken people. My own escape from Vilkerdam, with my daughters, was dramatized. The Fae Queen’s fate was left without elucidation or dramatization, though by that point everyone already assumed the worst. The Noge were then taught a history lesson by means of a scene about the death of Sarane as recounted by M’Tek, followed by the rise of the Demon Prince, a changeling passed off as a King, whose sole purpose was terrorizing the great Noge people.

  After the numbers began to swell in the ranks of the Noge military, I rode out to training camps and visited with my soldiers, memorizing the names of as many lieutenants and sergeants as my mind would hold. To audiences of hundreds, I quietly shared my personal account of the attack at Vilkerdam, how the Fae Queen had killed fifty men while trying to procure horses for our escape, only to be captured through dark magic, by the witch Sim’Nu. I told of the fear and hunger my daughters had endured, and brought tears to the eyes of hardened soldiers when I repeated the questions my little girls asked about where their mother, the Fae Queen, now was. I rode from camp to camp spreading my anger and outrage, whipping my soldiers into a frenzy of rage and hunger for vengeance.

  When I thought my work in Nogeland completed, I traveled with Shiroane and Pet back to Faeland for the first time in almost five years. I was their returning deity, come to seek their love and devotion. I agreed to every manipulation Pet could contrive, short of actually acknowledging I was Deus. I lauded the water in each village I passed through, aware I was starting a holy war against the Vilkerlings. The High Priest called upon all good Fae to send their sons and daughters to me for our righteous cause. Our military ranks swelled as M’Tek’s generals begged audience and lined up to swear their fealty to me on bended knee during a massive public ceremony which proceeded an enormous parade of military might.

  Within three months of the Vilken attack on Vilkerdam, I moved massive armies from the north and the east into Vilkerland. We decimated the Vilken army protecting the borders first. We then began burning the estates of any noble or peasant who my spies informed me had even tenuous ties with the witch.

  Soon, Vilkerland was in near ruin, the infra
structure reduced to rubble. When we finally reached Vilkerdam Palace, we took the village first, and then the palace, in a matter of hours. Any of my staff that had remained to serve the witch’s army were seen as criminals, and sent back to Lareem for a new home in a dank cell beneath the palace. We checked the stables and absorbed all of the horses into our cavalry. I was disappointed, though not surprised, that Sabea and Twyneth were nowhere to be found. I spent an entire day in my former home, rummaging through papers, collecting portraits and everything of personal value, and searching for any sign of the location of the witch Sim’Nu’s lair.

  When I was satisfied I could learn nothing more from the palace, I had it burned and razed, along with all of the outbuildings. There would never be another palace in Vilkerdam as long as I lived. In fact, Vilkerland was no more. I dissolved the nation, and crown. It was to be a meager territory, the lands divided equally between my Fae and Noge supporters, and eventually absorbed into the twin sovereignties. It was my ambition to wipe Vilken history from the books.

  Once Vilkerland was broken, I turned my attention to the Borderlands. With two armies at my fingertips, it took only a few months to empty the wastelands of those troublesome outlaws. The Borderlings were a nomadic people, so I had each of their camps burned, and confiscated all livestock. I took Borderling prisoners easily, never believing anyone who claimed innocence. They were clearly in Sim’Nu’s power, more so than even the Vilkerlings. The children were treated with more care. I had them gathered and spread throughout the far corners of my two realms to be educated properly in the ways of their new cultures.

  A few months later in my campaign, after destroying the great Houses, Destrue and Vassek most particularly, and leveling the estates, confiscating all valuables, and burning all crops, I finally received a request for an audience with the witch. Apparently, she wanted to negotiate.

  I rode out to her, at the summit of Smugglers Pass of all places. She still had a ragged little collection of undernourished soldiers with her, all clearly Borderlings and Vilkerlings. I even recognized a few of my former Vilken guard, and of course, Kieran. The witch was standing in the path of my horse. I refrained from running her down, but refused to show her the respect of dismounting.

  “I’m only here because I want M’Tek’s body,” I said to the witch by way of greeting.

  “We are here to discuss the terms of your surrender,” the witch replied.

  “I’ll discuss nothing with you until you return the body of the Fae Queen,” I said. “She must be interred within her family crypt.”

  “But I have not yet killed the Fae Queen,” Sim’Nu said.

  “If you have her, give her to me,” I replied. “I’ll call off my armies, and you can go back to hiding in your caves with these criminals,” I said calmly.

  “You did not do as we agreed, child,” Sim’Nu said, ignoring my offer.

  “No I did not, and I never will,” I replied. “Your order will not be restored. M’Tek was afraid of you, but I’m not. I’ll never give you what you want.”

  “You speak of the Fae Queen as though I’ve ended her life, but I told you, I have not,” Sim‘Nu said.

  “I don’t believe you,” I snapped.

  “You surprise me. Usually beings cling to their irrational hopes for the return of those valuable to them,” Sim’Nu observed, as her nasty yellow eyes shifted over me. “You are unusual,” she observed dispassionately. “Why will you not beg for your Fae? Why are you different?”

  “I don’t beg,” I replied. “And there will be no terms, witch.”

  “I do not understand you, child. Those who came before you were more compliant,” Sim’Nu observed. “Until now I have always worked well with my charges.”

  “Maybe you never made one of my sisters this angry. I told you once that if M’Tek died I would be uncooperative,” I replied calmly. “Allow me to explain more clearly what I meant. I plan to set this world on fire for M’Tek’s funeral pyre,” I said, forcing my voice to remain as flat as Sim’Nu’s. “There will be no terms, because I’ve hardly touched on the destruction I plan to release, Sim’Nu 46. Your order will never be restored.

  “The chaos I will unleash will make every war before it look like a game. I’ll destroy everything in my path. The Fae believe I’m Deus who lauded the water, but I’ll plague it. I have the power of the Sim’Sci at my fingertips. They’ve given me control of bioweapons, like your Progeroid9. I have the power to destroy every living thing in this land,” I said gently. “And it’s too late for you to stop me. You killed the only person who could have stilled my sword.”

  Sim’Nu forced one of her pseudo sympathetic smiles, and took a stiff step closer to my horse.

  “You are suffering, child,” Sim’Nu observed. “My purpose is, and has been, to protect you. I never wanted to cause you pain. I’m sorry. And I understand your anger, but M’Tek is not dead,” Sim’Nu said, making an effort to speak as I had.

  “I don’t believe you,” I replied, matching her soft tone. “I know she’s dead, because I no longer hear her.”

  “I will allow her to live, if you end this chaos and cooperate with me,” Sim’Nu added.

  “Again, I do not believe you,” I replied.

  “You require proof,” she said calmly. “I’ve never lied to you before, child.”

  “You think I should trust you?” I asked, laughing. “You killed my mate, and you believe I’m foolish enough to trust you now. Are you insane?”

  “Loredana, you are the one who broke faith with me,” Sim’Nu said in that flat tone. “You were to breed. We were in agreement. I treated M’Tek in exchange for a promise. You disregarded our agreement. That is why I have taken this Fae from you.”

  “I have two daughters,” I replied. “We bred. I met your demand.”

  “The Fae’s offspring will not suffice. They are engineered beings, more weapon than human. Without the Sim’Sci’s interference you could not have bred with the Fae,” Sim’Nu explained. “You will breed again, preferably with a Noge nobleman, but a Vilkerling will also serve,” she added. “You will continue the Noge line for another five hundred years, and then I will have another, more cooperative charge during my next shift.”

  “You’re mistaken,” I replied, growing tired of her delusions. “In five hundred years this land will be barren. Only you will live on to witness the result of my wrath,” I promised before turning my nameless horse away from Sim’Nu, to begin the ride back down the mountain. My effort had been in vain. Sim’Nu would never return what remained of M’Tek to me.

  “I have proof your Fae lives,” Sim’Nu said.

  In a flash, the connection between M’Tek and me was open again. Though I could feel M’Tek, it was dark in her mind. I pushed and found her defenses down. Every moment of her life was open to me. Moments of violence and rage surfaced first, and I stumbled on the instant before Sarane killed Svenar. I felt emotions of indignation and disgust as Svenar held her down, and then relief flooding my senses as Sarane helped lift him off M’Tek. Finally, I felt M’Tek’s sensual craving for Sarane. M’Tek would never willingly allow me to see her that way, and yet I couldn’t hold the memory back.

  “Can you hear me?” I thought to her without expecting a response. Of course there was none.

  I tried to make M’Tek feel warmth and love, but doubted she could even register my presence. My eyes started to sting and I raised my hand to press the bridge of my nose to keep from showing emotion. I turned that horse back around and faced Sim’Nu again.

  “You see. I have not lied to you, child. The Fae Queen lives,” Sim’Nu said in that flat tone.

  “What did you do to her?” I asked. “She couldn’t feel me.”

  “Your Fae still breathes, but she is not awake. This is a kindness I have shown the creature. She has not been harmed,” Sim’Nu assured me evenly.

  “Give her back to me,” I commanded, controlling myself not to come out of my saddle.

  “You know I cannot, L
oredana,” Sim’Nu replied in an almost regretful tone. “You must end this chaos you are causing. Return to Nogeland, and breed. If you do this, I will not destroy your Fae woman.”

  “But you won’t return her to me either,” I said.

  “That is correct,” Sim’Nu said. “You have been uncooperative. If I keep this creature in my power, you will cooperate.”

  “And if I refuse, you’ll kill her,” I said, already defeated.

  “Yes. Your Fae will be of no use to me if she fails to convince you to cooperate,” Sim’Nu replied.

  “I’m convinced,” I replied. “I’ll cooperate.”

  “This pleases me,” Sim’Nu said, a strange smile, more genuine than any I’d seen from her before, spread across her face.

  “I need a period of mourning before I breed. Two years is customary,” I added. “I’ll alienate my people if I don’t observe their traditions.”

  “As a token of friendship, I will allow you to observe this Noge tradition,” Sim’Nu said, her smile still fixed. “You disregarded our last agreement. I would not be pleased by a reoccurrence. If you fail to cooperate this time, I will not try to persuade you again. I will terminate both you, and your Fae, and I will begin again with a new Katarina.”

  “You needn’t worry. You’ve won,” I replied. “I won’t defy you again.”

  “You will not visit the NGE corp. facility again until you escort me to the compound to take the others offline,” Sim’Nu added. “Be aware I’m watching you, child. Do not disappoint me again.”

  “I’ve no intention of disappointing you, Sim’Nu,” I agreed. “When do we travel to the compound?”

  “As I’ve severed your connection to them, this is not an urgent matter,” Sim’Nu replied. “When your period of mourning is completed you will accompany me to the facility and assist me in shutting them down.”