by Neha Yazmin
She made an exasperated noise before the rest of her words came out in a rush. “And my mother’s ancestors, who were actually from Khadak, were instrumental in getting the Sea Princess’s tale altered. Did you know the Nidiyas hailed from Khadak?”
He shook his head. She went on to catch him up on where she was in her investigation, and Rudro learned something about Kanona’s family that he hadn’t dared hope to uncover. The Nidiya family’s campaign against the Sea Princess’s tale couldn’t have been to make the tale suitable for children, not when you took into account that she was a sea folk.
“We need to find the original version of the tale,” he murmured.
He had started pacing the length of the wall behind his desk during the Princess’s monologue and couldn’t bring himself to stop.
“Yes,” Malin agreed. “But I can’t go back to the Royal Library.”
“You can’t stop using the library,” he advised her as he paced. “That will only make Parth more suspicious. Keep visiting every now and then, but stay clear of books on the sea folk, and of course, the Sea Princess. I’ll write to Her Majesty’s secretary and ask for permission to access the library. I’ll say I’m researching a poison—”
“It will have to be something that you can’t find in the public library,” she pointed out. “Will you be able to come up with something like that?”
Rudro halted. “Not without a little research first, no. It will take time.”
“I don’t have time,” the Princess moaned. “Someone could go missing any time now, and the rain is getting worse. Adgar will drown at this rate, and—”
“What did you say?” he asked sharply.
After a moment’s pause, she said, “I want to know what happened to those people that went missing so I can try to stop it from happening again—”
“Yes, but before that, you said Adgar will drown.”
He took his seat and looked intently at the Princess. Had Kanona’s ghost come to her with the same warning she’d sent Aaryana?
The Princess frowned in confusion. “Well, yes. Parts of the southern coast is under water, they say. Who knows what’s happening at the northern coast?”
Her tone, and the way she spoke, didn’t suggest that she knew of any prophecy predicting the Island’s destruction. But her words made him connect, for the first time, the heavy rainfall they’d been contending with these past couple of months to Kanona’s warning about Adgar drowning.
“If it continues to rain like this, Adgar will drown.”
“If it wasn’t for the fiery heat,” Princess Malin murmured, “we would have lost most of the Outskirts by now.”
Rudro’s breath caught in his throat. If it doesn’t drown, then it will burn. Was this awful rain and severe heat what the dead Queen had foretold?
As Aaryana had suspected, the Crown Prince didn’t join everyone in the dining hall for breakfast. He missed lunch, too, and she’d suppressed a grin throughout the meal, thinking how cheeky he was being. Seth misinterpreted her secret smile as something else entirely. He had heard that she’d been alone with Wyett in his rooms twice recently and was under the impression that she’d gotten acquainted with Wyett’s bedsheets. She put him straight rather curtly and Seth suppressed his own grin from then on.
Once he’d realised that his brother wasn’t coming, he’d seated himself next to Aaryana for both meals. She was elated by the chance to spend time with him, but the joy was lined with a despairing hopelessness. He was going to die young, die before his time, and no one seemed to be doing anything about it.
Resentment pierced her heart. The King had asked her and Wyett to find the traitors in his Court. Why wasn’t he tasking people to find a cure for his youngest son? He seemed to only care about protecting his own life, instead of trying to prolong Seth’s!
Because Wyett seemed to have left the Palace for the day, Seth insisted on training with her after lunch. She couldn’t refuse him, even when he seemed to look more and more tired as the day progressed. In the training hall, he insisted that she teach him how to jump as high as she could, leap as far, but Aaryana still didn’t know how to do that.
As they stretched and warmed up, Aaryana said, “That birthmark of yours... I’ve never seen anything like it.”
She hadn’t expected him to respond with, “It’s unique to the Fresdans. Just like our hair.” He rolled his eyes as he rolled his shoulders.
“So, your brother has the same mark?”
“You ought to know...” Seth paused to give her a pointed look; it said, You are his lover, after all.
Wyett didn’t have an indent in the shape of a wedding ring on his torso—she would have seen it when he took his gold tunic off on the night of the harvest festival.
“I do know, and he doesn’t.”
“Well, it must just be me, then.” He shrugged and got back to warming up.
“So, it’s unique to you. Not the Fresdans as a whole.”
The Prince stopped twisting his hips and gave her a look that confirmed her suspicions—all the sick brothers in his bloodline had this mark, dooming them from birth. So unfair...
They ended up practicing more swordplay, handling knives, and unconventional manoeuvres to surprise your opponent. Things like feigning an attack to the upper body and ducking at the last minute to perform a sweep or a punch with the other fist lower down. Seth was a quick learner, but he became breathless even quicker. These unpredictable moves forced him to expend more energy than his own style of fighting.
Nonetheless, the Prince looked happier than he had all day when they decided to return to their respective rooms to bathe and rest. He had truly appreciated the fact that she’d treated him the way she would Wyett if the Crown Prince wished to train with her. She hadn’t, but that’s what she made him think. She just hoped he didn’t fall ill, that she hadn’t ended up working him too hard.
Seen as she wasn’t even sweating, Aaryana decided that she didn’t need Jeena to draw her a bath right away. She didn’t call for her maid and opted to enjoy the peace and quiet of her lounge. Plopping down on the chaise, she tilted her head back and closed her eyes. Then, opened them immediately.
There was something on the low table in front of her. Something that hadn’t been here an hour ago when she’d come to change into her training gear.
Leaning forward, she examined the envelope sitting on the table. It had her name on it. The letter couldn’t be from the King or Wyett—they never wrote her name on the envelope. Wyett had yet to say her name out loud, let alone do something as intimate as write it down. Besides, it wasn’t his handwriting, or the King’s, but it was reminiscent of their hand. A noble, then.
Aaryana took no time at all to rip open the letter and her breath hitched at the words.
‘Mother said you wish to break the Fresdan curse, so I am compelled to tell you of the only thing that may come close to curing Seth.
‘Years ago, Seth’s eldest uncle’—the King at the time, Aaryana deduced, the first brother—‘sent a group of mercenaries to the Isle of the Damned, but he didn’t tell anyone at Court why.
‘Legend has it however, that in the depths of the Dead Forest, there blooms a flower that the ancients used to break curses. It is the only living plant in the forest, and to this day, people believe it can cure any curse or illness.
‘Only one of those mercenaries returned alive, and warned of the dangerous beasts that dwell in the Dead Forest. He advised against further expeditions, unless you didn’t want the explorers to come back.
‘No one knows if a second search party was dispatched to the Isle, but the Fresdan curse remains unbroken, so suffice to say, the miracle cure didn’t find its way to the Royal Palace.
‘Maybe you can find it, Lady Aaryana? Maybe you’re the only one that can bring it back and break the curse?
‘Please don’t tell Wyett or Mother that I wrote to you. Please burn this letter. Please save Seth.’
The Combat Master had friends and fami
ly that lived near the coast. No wonder he’d paled at the prospect of the Outskirts being submerged in the sea. The man had been deep in thought for almost a minute now, worry and fear etched into his face, and Malin was becoming restless.
“Rudro?” she said and he finally came to attention. “What are you thinking?”
He blinked slowly, as if to wipe away the images that were haunting him. “Threads,” he said in a rough voice before clearing his throat. “I was thinking about all the threads you mentioned.”
“Any one in particular?”
Hesitating for a second, he replied, “There must have been something in the Sea Princess book that the Nidiyas wanted to hide.”
Rudro pressed his palms to his desk, leaning towards her with an intense look on his face.
“Your mother’s ancestors risked notoriety to alter this tale, they would have had a very good reason to do it.”
“You speak as though the Nidiyas didn’t want the fame and fortune that came after their crusade against the Sea Princess.”
“I believe they’re one of the few families in the world that would rather have privacy than riches,” Rudro said quietly. Before she could ask him why he felt that way, he added, “And that’s why I really want to know what’s in the original story that they worked so hard to change.
“It’s rather odd, don’t you think, that the first edition isn’t on the same shelf as the other two? There are two possible reasons for this. Either someone took it off the shelf and put it back on another or someone removed it from the library altogether.”
She shook her head. “The public librarian said no one’s allowed to take them out of the Palace’s library. They’re kept there as… historical artefacts.”
“Yes, but the librarians weren’t as vigilant as they are now,” he argued. “Before Parth started meddling in this, anyone could have taken the book without being seen.”
“So, there’s no way to find it?” Malin slumped in her chair.
“Let’s assume it’s in there somewhere,” Rudro said, in a reassuring tone. “We can at least assume that the librarians know if it’s missing. They take inventory every year, don’t they? They’re bound to have a list of all the books that have gone missing.”
She nodded. “Are you saying that we should ask them outright?” She raised an eyebrow.
“Not we,” he replied calmly. “Someone else. Someone whose library visits aren’t being monitored by Parth. Someone who won’t need to write for permission to use the library.”
He was thinking of one of the twins? Or the boy Princes?
“I really don’t want to involve my family,” Malin insisted. “I don’t trust them to keep their mouths shut.”
“I know someone we can trust.”
So, he wasn’t thinking of anyone in the Royal Family? Malin chewed on her lip. “Who?”
“Myraa,” he whispered. “As one of Leesha’s ladies-in-waiting, she can go anywhere, take anything—if she says its for the Queen.”
“She’d lie for us?” Malin was sceptical. Myraa had only ever been loyal to Aaryana. “She will get into a lot of trouble if it comes out that she unlawfully used the Queen’s name.” And Leesha already hates Myraa enough as it is.
“She will help,” Rudro said with confidence. “She was brave enough to speak up in front of your father when he was King; she won’t be afraid of your sister.”
Malin shook her head. “Myraa spoke up for Aaryana. The girl would have done anything for my sister. This has nothing to do with Aaryana.”
“This has more to do with Aaryana than you know,” he whispered to himself.
Malin heard him but pretended not to. It was evident on his face that he wasn’t going to explain what he meant by those words.
“Alright,” she sighed after a long silence, “I’ll speak to Myraa.”
“I’ll speak to her,” he said softly. “She doesn’t know you well enough to trust you.”
“And she knows you better?”
“Yes.” He stood up and made no further comment. “I will need your help to get to her, though.”
Erisa. Erisa wanted to help her find a cure for Seth? The girl that had helped her mother lure Aaryana to her almost-death? Since mother and daughter had sworn to keep from hurting her, Erisa probably thought she might as well try to get some use out of Aaryana. The girl wouldn’t dare trick her. If anything happened to Aaryana, the Crown Prince would suspect her and her mother.
Besides, this time, Aaryana had indeed written letters to the effect of what she’d told Rozlene on Saturday night. They are to be delivered to the King, Wyett, Seth, and the Head of the Royal Guards, should she be away from the castle for more than twenty-four hours without explanation. Rozlene and Erisa would be incriminated in her disappearance and their secret would come out.
But where was this Dead Forest? In the Isle of the Damned? Where was that? This was the first time she’d heard of it. And a flower that could break any curse, cure any disease... Plants were used for poisons all the time, but a blossom of this calibre… If the legends were true and the flower existed… If it worked… I will find it.
First, she needed to learn where this Isle was and how long it would take to get there. Then, she’d have to plan her journey without arousing any suspicion, without her bodyguards following her. I’ll ask Jeena. The girl would be helping her bathe and dress for dinner soon.
The next second, a knock sounded on her door. She went to open it. A middle-aged woman stood before her. She looked familiar; Aaryana had seen this maid around the Palace.
“Jeena is indisposed, my Lady. I will be able to assist you with anything you might need.”
“What happened to her?” Aaryana asked, concerned. “Jeena seemed fine when I saw her not too long ago.”
The woman walked inside. “I heard the others giggling about Jeena eating a little too much cake.”
“Oh, a tummy ache? Poor Jeena.”
When she finished bathing and dressing, Aaryana exited her room to make a quick run to the library before dinner, her hair still damp. She hadn’t been there in a while, but she remembered that it had several maps of Roshdan hung on its walls. If she’d paid closer attention to them, she may already have known of the places mentioned in Erisa’s letter.
However, before she even made it outside her corridor, an aide came rushing up to her, holding up a small envelope. She recognised him as the small man that usually delivered Wyett’s or the King’s cryptic messages related to their debriefings. Bowing quickly, the man handed her the note and said it was an urgent message from the Crown Prince.
‘Come to my chambers at once.’
Quickly folding the note into the tiniest square possible, she held it tightly in her fist and half-jogged to the Prince’s rooms. It seemed that Wyett had returned to the Palace, just in time for dinner. Perhaps he hadn’t left in the first place. Had he heard that she’d been training Seth earlier? Was that why he wanted to see her? To scold her?
In fact, he may have led her to believe that he’d gone away for the day to see if she took advantage of his absence. To test her. If so... I’ve failed.
Just before she knocked on his front door, she felt for the dark scarf around her neck. Yes, it was hiding her healing cut perfectly. She had yet to let it get in contact with any water, keeping a towel around it when she bathed. She wished her hair was completely dry. It wasn’t exactly the best look for her when entering a private meeting with her so-called lover.
Inhaling deeply and letting out the breath through her mouth, Aaryana announced herself with a hard rap on the door. When it opened, several Royal Guards filed out of the room and positioned themselves outside the door. The last guard to leave—
It was Wyett. He had been walking behind the final bodyguard that vacated his chambers and came to a stop in his doorway, face blank. He’s not going to let me in. He’s going to give me a tongue-lashing out here in the hallway.
“Your Highness summoned me?” she mumbled as s
he performed a hasty curtsy.
Wyett stepped aside and she shuffled in, fidgeting with her fingers. She stopped by the chaise. The Prince’s lounge was a lot messier than the last time she’d been here. His tea table was strewn with papers and quills, books and torn out pages, pieces of string and ribbon. He was doing paperwork?From the looks of it, he’d been ensconced in his room all day.
“Sit,” he ordered.
She heard the door shut and slowly turned around to face him. She couldn’t sit on his papers, and she didn’t want to presume that she was permitted to sit on the chaise without him explicitly telling her to do so.
Thankfully, he did—he gestured to the upholstered seat and said “Sit” again. She bowed her thanks and dropped to the seat, picking at the embroidery on her dark green gown.
“I’ll just be a moment,” he told her and headed for his bedchamber, rolling up the sleeves of his black tunic as he went.
He took longer than a moment. He was probably washing up and getting dressed for dinner. Perhaps, he didn’t have anything to talk to her about—definitely not about Seth, anyway; he wouldn’t have been so civil towards her if he knew about the training session—and simply wanted to escort her to dinner. Was his father pressuring him to make more of an effort when it came to his act of being Aaryana’s lover or did Wyett actually want to spend more time with her? Want to be her friend? If he did, it would make her life much easier.
What are you working on, Wyett? She scanned the documents on his table, trying to figure out what kind of work had kept him in his rooms today. Unfortunately, the papers were in disarray, as though he’d thrown them in the air in frustration and let them fall as they wished. Indeed, there were several pieces of parchment on the floor by her feet.
Bending down, she quickly picked up the fallen documents and placed them on the table. Her body froze just as she was about to straighten up in her seat. Some of these papers had maps on them. Of Roshdan, and its nearest Islands. Exactly what she needed.