A Kingdom of Shadow

by Clara Johnson

  “You see, most of them had lost their parents at a young age and didn’t know how to take care of themselves. Some were dropped off on the street to starve. These girls needed guidance. When I lost my daughter, His Majesty thought I could help raise the girls here who had no mothers to speak of. I was needed here, so I came to help them and in doing so, I helped myself heal. I will always miss my daughter and husband, but these girls have become my family. I couldn’t leave them if I tried.”

  I never thought Mia had suffered so much loss in her life. Over the past few weeks, we spent time together in ways I’d wish my own mother did. We became friends and I’d grown to care for her—dependent on her. That’s why I couldn’t bear the thought of telling her my condition. I didn’t want to see her hurt.

  “So, when I say that I would’ve understood, I would’ve,” she stated.

  “I’m so sorry, Mia. I’m so sorry.” I cried.

  Since the attack, I fought back the urge to sob over everything that had happened. Between Jonas and the guardsmen who lost their lives . . . I couldn’t hold it back anymore and I broke down, apologizing over and over again.

  Mia shushed me and held onto me, slightly rocking me back and forth.

  “It will be all right, my dear. I know you’re scared, but I will be here with you. I promise.”

  I cried until I had no more tears to shed. Mia held me until darkness crept over me and I fell into warms dreams of a happier time.

  CHAPTER 24

  I wasn’t sure how long I was out. The sun told it was at least morning. It shone brightly, making me cover my eyes for a few moments before they adjusted to the light. I tried to sit up, but the sharp pain in my side stopped me. A reminder of the stitches Mia put in. I’d have to take it easy to not tear them open. I looked around and found that the infirmary was empty except for the occupied bed beside me.

  Jonas.

  Moving carefully, I sat up and went towards a nearby chair. Jonas was asleep and his leg was neatly bandage so I couldn’t see how the wound was faring. He was still a little pale, but had more color than before. I released a breath, he was being taken care of. I took his warm hand, caressing the top of it with my palm.

  As much as he needed to rest, I wanted him to wake up, even if it was just to hear his voice again. I missed his laugh. His smile.

  “I’m sorry, Jonas. If I didn’t make you come with me, you wouldn’t be here right now. This is all my fault,” I whispered.

  Though no one could’ve known about the upcoming attack, he wouldn’t have been there if it weren’t for me. None of it made sense. The Darkness had only send a scouting group to attack the city. If it was as great as the old myth dictated, it should’ve sent more.

  Perhaps it was to send a message to everyone in the kingdom that it was alive and ready to kill. If this Darkness had the ability to make such strategic decisions, it only proved to me that there was something controlling these monsters. A leader who would send them to where ever he needed them. But why now after all this time?

  The Darkness was considered nothing but a myth, but sometimes myths are based on truths. Jared once told me that the barriers were placed to keep them out of his lands. Had the barriers failed or did they manage to find a way around them? The thought that they could possess such an ability made me shiver.

  This is not good.

  The questioned remained if Jared was going to do anything about it. But what could he do to protect his people from such evil? He knew of its existence from the start, which means he could’ve prepared his soldiers. Maybe the ones who had known were the ones who the ones killed in the hunting party.

  One thing was certain; everyone was in grave danger. How protected was the palace from attack? My mother was here, and Jonas and Mia, along with everyone else. If there was an attack on the palace, could Jared protect us? It was easy to assume there was some type of barrier protecting the palace, even if it was just for the king’s sake. Had Jared created them? If not, then who? Could it be that the barriers were failing somehow? Too many questions and not enough answers. I could only hope that Jared did the right thing to protect us all. To protect him. I looked at Jonas as he stirred in his sleep. He turned his head to the side but didn’t wake up.

  The door to the infirmary opened, distracting me from my rushing thoughts. Entering was the very person I was still wasn’t prepared to speak to. He approached me with soft footsteps as he spotted Jonas sleeping. His face was grim. Apparently, he’d gotten the news about Mightrun.

  He took a deep breath. “Ellyn, may I have a word with you in my study?” Jared said.

  The last thing I wanted to do was to leave Jonas’s side, but I also had to speak to Jared about what he was planning to do. He’d want to know my side of the story and hound me with questions. “Why were you there?” “How did you get hurt?” “How many inferniwulves attacked the city?”

  I slowly stood up, holding my side. If I was careful, I shouldn’t open the stitches. He rushed to my side as if I was about to fall. “Are you, all right?” Evidently, he hadn’t been told about my injury.

  I gave a single nod. He wrapped his arm around me cautiously and led me to his study.

  ~ * ~

  He helped me sit then offered me a cup of warm spiced tea. I accepted it without hesitation. It was sweet, traveling down my throat smoothly. Jared took the chair beside me rather than behind his desk. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. The pile of papers was higher than the last time I saw them. I supposed the news of Mightrun may have set him behind on his work. Or added to it.

  We sat there quietly for several minutes. I suppose he was giving me time to relax before the interrogation started. I wasn’t sure what else I could tell him besides what he’d already been told. Then again, someone had failed to tell him of my injury. Casualties were probably the top priority. Had more than the seven men I knew about died? There were so many injured . . .

  “How do you feel?” he asked.

  “Sore,” I answered adjusting in my chair to a more comfortable position. Not to mention the whole being attacked thing and Jonas getting hurt, but besides that I’m fine.

  “What happened? I know about the attack, but you were there and you got hurt. Ellyn, please tell me everything.”

  I did, aside from purposely leaving out the details of my condition and the man I’d spoken to about his encounter with the Darkness. I, instead, told him that I was there to get out of the palace for a while and that I had Jonas accompany me because I was recovering from my illness.

  When I’d finished, I thanked him for the daggers once again, because they’d saved my life, and Jonas’s. I only realized then that their weight on my sides was missing. I felt safer with them on my side, and with this attack on Mightrun, it would be wise to have them at all times,

  “I don’t like that you were there, but it seems it was for the best. My men didn’t know about those . . . creatures.” Was he purposely avoiding calling them inferniwulves? He drank the last bit of his tea and offered me a biscuit.

  I barely stopped for air as I ate the whole thing. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was. “And why didn’t they know, Jared? Why do your people believe that the Darkness doesn’t exist? You know that’s what truly attacked your people,” I snapped.

  “They don’t know because I don’t wish them to know of it.” He leaned forward in his seat, his body tensing. He took a deep breath then leaned back into his chair, rubbing his temple. “They don’t know because it is my duty as king. When I took the throne, my counsel told me of the situation, and that I must not let anyone know. That means my people.”

  “The situation has changed now. Why hide this to begin with? I understand that you wouldn’t want your people to panic at the potential threat, but it could’ve cost lives. It did cost lives today,” I said, remembering the dead soldiers. I may not have known them, but I knew—just like me—they had families who would mourn for their deaths.

&nb
sp; “You don’t understand as much as you think. It’s my duty as king. Those creatures have been maintained for centuries. This is the first time since then that they have made such movements against my kingdom. They’ve been dormant. Even I was beginning to believe that they’ve all but died out,” he said, rubbing both of his temples.

  “Are you well? Does your head hurt?” I reached to touch him but he waved my hand away,

  “I just haven’t been sleeping well. This whole matter . . . I wasn’t prepared for this,” he admitted.

  I sipped the rest of my tea. “No one was, Jared.”

  He nodded. It was all too true in the end. No one could have predicted this attack. The only question that remained was what were we going to do about it. Here, in this study, it all fell to Jared’s shoulders. You could feel the weight of it from where I sat. Despite the sunlight, you could feel the cloud that surrounded him. I didn’t envy him, but I did pity him. The fate of the kingdom rested on his decision. It was only a matter of time before the Darkness would attack again. We would have to be ready.

  “What will you do?” I inquired.

  He shrugged. “I will continue to do my duty to my kingdom. I will explain to my people and my soldiers that one of my barriers will need to be . . . refreshed which caused all of this. I will compensate the families of the soldiers and seek their discretion on the matter.”

  I was pretty sure I was hearing things. He couldn’t possibly be telling me he was going to cover this up and do nothing. I shook my head.

  “I’m sorry, but I may have misheard you. What did you say you were going to do?”

  “I’m going to tell my people that one of the barriers—”

  “You aren’t going to tell them the truth? You aren’t going to tell them that the Darkness is here and very real? That your people are in grave danger?” I snapped, breathing heavily. No, this couldn’t be happening.

  “I will do my duty, Ellyn! I have to keep this—”

  “But why? Jared, people died! We can’t just let them sit idly by and get killed!” I yelled.

  By this point, were in each other’s faces, though I didn’t remember out of my chair. Our eyes met, glaring. Our cheeks were flushed. Anyone would’ve thought we were about ready to start throwing punches. We stayed like that until he took a deep breath and backed off. He sat down in his chair, staring at the wall to avoid eye contact.

  “People did die, Ellyn.,” he spoke softly. “I can’t argue with that, but the law is the law and I can’t break that. I know you don’t understand that but I can promise you that I won’t let anything like this happen again. I will protect you and my people.”

  It was clear now; he wouldn’t be turned away from his decision. “It’s not my safety I’m worried about. And I don’t need you to protect me.”

  He stood and stepped in front of me, his body merely inches from mine. His body heat radiated like a furnace, making the air harder to breathe. He lifted my chin gently to face him. “I can see you care deeply about this—about my people. It makes me happy that you care so much. Anyone else would’ve been worried about their own safety. You’re different from anyone I’ve ever met, Ellyn.”

  “Just figured that out, did you?” I said, annoyed.

  A small smile curled the side of his lips. “I suppose this is what made it blatantly obvious to me.” He let go of my chin.

  “I will protect you. You and my people. Trust that I will handle this. You need to focus on getting better. Your health is what is more important right now.” He brushed a hair out of my face and rested it on my shoulder.

  My fury still raged, making my blood boil beneath my skin. How could he stand here and tell me he was going to do nothing?

  I wanted to trust him, but how could I trust a king who lied to his people about such a threat? These creatures had killed my brother, taken me away from my home, hurt the person I held dear, killed innocent people, and now invaded this land. More and more of his people will be killed. How many had to die before he took this seriously? I couldn’t bear to think of the casualties.

  “I can’t convince you to take another route?” I asked, half expecting another argument, but I had a feeling he would not have any more of it today.

  He shook his head. “Trust me. I can handle this.”

  I nodded and turned towards the door. With his warm hand falling from my shoulder. With my hand on the handle, I paused.

  “Are you sure this is the right thing to do? No part of you thinks there is a better option than to just . . . sweep it under a rug?” I didn’t know why I bothered to ask. His answer was clear, but somehow, I still had trouble accepting it.

  “If there was a better option, I would take it, but I can’t have my people panicking and rioting. It would solve nothing. I will do what is best for my people and by doing so, I will uphold my duties as king and ensure the law remains intact,” he said, walking around his desk picking up a paper and reading something off of it.

  He seemed so sure. So sure that everything would work out fine. Part of me envied his confidence, but I knew it was flawed—horribly flawed.

  “I only hope it’s the right thing to do,” I said.

  “It is,” he replied.

  I left him to do his work.

  CHAPTER 25

  The sunlight diminished as the night sky fell. I took the long route to my room to get some fresh air to calm down. The cool breeze caressed my face, cooling the burning sensation that filled my cheeks. The conversation with Jared had escalated beyond my expectations. My fears had bloomed into solid knot in my stomach. I couldn’t understand why Jared was ignoring the threat. How could he be so blind? No mere compensation was going to keep the survivor’s mouth shut. They would want justice for their lost family member.

  How many more would have to be killed before he decides to act? The Darkness has return, and it planned to kill every single thing that stood in its way. There has to be someone who will see the threat. Not everyone would agree with the king’s decision. One way or another, there would be some type of rebellion against him or his people will take action themselves if he doesn’t.

  But, what can I do?

  I needed help. I needed someone to help me convince Jared that he is putting his people in more danger by keeping them in the dark. His council members would be a waste of time. Mia would probably label me mad to hear if I acted against her king’s orders. Mother wouldn’t be of any help. I knew very little people here at the palace. I had no allies and held no true stance against the king. His life debt was to secure my well-being and safety. Even if the life debt dictates that he had to provide me anything I needed, I wouldn’t use that against him. It wouldn’t be right.

  I leaned against the railing to look out at the darkening sky. The stars were shining brightly. It reminded me of the time when I was still at home and I would watch the sunset through the trees. Somehow, it felt like a long time ago. A simpler time.

  Such irony.

  To think there was a time when my biggest worry was making sure there was food on the table. Now, it was helping a king who couldn’t open his eyes to threat of his kingdom. I never would’ve imagined coming to a palace and building a life here. I’d only been here a couple of weeks, but it started to feel like home. I’d made friends and had given my mother a proper home. She was happy, which was a relief.

  Although, I struggled to feel the same. Jonas was hurt and Jared was endangering his people. I tried to believe that everything wasn’t as bad as it once was, but the reminder that I’d only a month left to live . . . made it hard.

  When I’d taken Dr. Manley’s medicine earlier, I’d realized I would have to take very little of it to last the rest of the month. I suppose he assumed I would die before I used the rest of it.

  How much worse would I get before my time was up? I’d barely made it through the battle before I’d broken down. Stress seemed to trigger it, but there wasn’t much I could do about it. I had the fe
eling that things would get worse as my last month passes. But, my goal hasn’t been achieved. I had to find the source of the Darkness and kill it. There was still a battle to be fought before the end of my time.

  Would I even survive it?

  I knew the answer to that question even if I didn’t want to admit it to myself. A caw came from above me. A small, lone crow sitting on a pole that held the Elra’s flag of a lion. Perhaps he thought I was mad as well. My thoughts returned to the situation at hand. It was obvious that I couldn’t convince Jared to change his mind, but maybe in some way, it was a good thing. What could a dying girl do now? I’d gotten Jonas hurt because I wasn’t fast enough. I was weak and would only grow weaker.

  I coughed violently, spitting blood onto my hand, which I wiped on my pants since I’d lost my handkerchiefs somewhere in Mightrun. I’d need to replace it.

  The coughing continued for several minutes. My throat burned, my eyes watered, and mu injured side protested sharply with each cough. The lack of air made it seem as if I had hands wrapped around my neck, squeezing the life out of me. Attempting to relax my breathing, I took deeper breaths, but it proved futile. It was like a constant weight on my chest that had grown heavier over time. My fight at Mightrun had probably shortened my time a bit, or my injury was making it worse.

  A hand touched my shoulder. I couldn’t see who it was right away, but they offered me a canteen. I drank it down, thankful it was just water. Regretfully, this meant that someone has seen my condition.

  “Relax. Try and take a deep breath,” the voice said behind me. I’ve heard that voice before.

  When the water had soothed my throat, I turned to find King Fendrel standing before me. Hopefully, he hadn’t seen the blood that covered the handkerchief and thought it was nothing more than a violent cough. I thanked him and handed the canteen back to him, holding onto the handkerchief. I straightened myself to appear stronger, but it was a foolish to hide the obvious.