Lady Dragon, Tela Du

by Kendra E. Ardnek

  Since she was closer to her brother at that moment, Petra stepped forward and took the note from him and read it. Reuben heard the contents as she read. Amber was going to address the people of Rizkaland in two days, and they were to interrupt the speech so they could negotiate the terms of the final battle.

  It doesn’t sound like there will be actual fighting this time, Reuben pointed out as she crumpled the note in her fist.

  She jerked her attention to him. If that’s supposed to make me feel better about negotiating my own death when I still don’t have a plan to win, I’m not sure it’s working. We’ll discuss this later when we don’t have an audience.

  I’ll look forward to that.

  “I’m going to go check and see if Summer has come close to picking out a dress yet,” she said aloud, sending Reuben a glare. “Honestly, you choose a dress, you put it on. Why must it be difficult?” And with that, she disappeared back into the closet.

  Tyler shook his head. “It’s good to see that some things never change.”

  “So, what did the message say?” asked Noraeto, as Reuben sat back down on the couch.

  “Or is it strictly confidential?” added Ashna. “Tyler did say that it was for your eyes only.”

  “It was just instructions to meet with Amber for some negotiations,” answered Reuben. “We should probably take the information to the council room for formal discussion before we make any decisions. Laura’s instructions are pretty clear, though.”

  “That’d probably be best,” agreed Ashna, nodding.

  Tyler looked confused, glancing towards the closet. “You didn’t read the note. Petra did. She said nothing about the contents. How…”

  Reuben gave a sheepish grin as he pulled his stick from his pocket. “Let’s just say that things have been interesting since we came to Rizkaland and the king and queen business is more than just fancy titles.”

  Chapter 6

  The day was bright and sunny, yet Amber couldn’t shake the unease and dread that boiled in the pit of her stomach. As she stared out at the crowd that had gathered at her bidding, it seemed to be the same crowd she’d seen reflected in the depths of the dragon scale so many, many times.

  She had a speech to give today, rumors about her to squash. A well-spoken speech could sway public opinion almost entirely with only a few carefully-chosen words. Today’s would have to be one of her best. She didn’t have time to waste on indecision.

  “You look beautiful today, my dear. What’s the occasion?”

  Amber sighed as she turned away from the window to face her husband. “Today celebrates fifty years since we escaped the Isle of Banishment,” she answered. “I’ve gathered the people in honor of the anniversary.”

  “Has it already been fifty years?” asked Granite. “My, but I’m convinced that time moves faster with each passing year.”

  “I find myself agreeing,” Amber admitted. “Now, I fear that the crowd will grow unruly without the main attraction, so I must be down immediately. It’s not every day that I open the gates and allow the common people into the courtyard.”

  “Let’s just hope that you don’t lose your temper so that the people don’t regret taking you up on the invitation,” said Granite.

  “Have you so little faith in me?”

  “You’ve all but depleted what I had, my dear,” answered Granite, holding out his arm. “Shall we go speak to the people?”

  Amber blinked, staring at him in surprise. “You’re coming with me?”

  “Your public image is too fragile for me to let you stand alone before the people. You shall say your pretty speeches, and I shall stand silent as I always do, hoping that I won’t have to stand between you and the people.”

  “Then I shall trust you to remain silent,” she said, accepting his arm.

  There was no cheering as they stepped onto the balcony that overlooked the courtyard and the milling people. Perhaps it didn’t look as much like the scale’s vision as Amber had originally imagined. She let go of her husband’s arm and stepped up to the railing.

  “Good people of Rizkaland,” she began, “fifty years ago I arrived here to find you suffering under the cruel winters and scorching summers caused by the decaying magic that Michael and Violet had set in place but had not bothered to maintain. The current kings and queens cared little about the plight of you, the common people, and did even less. It was with a heavy heart that I undertook the burden of restoring this land to its former glory. It is clear that few of you honestly remember how things were in those days. Your lives are but a breath, and, ah, how discontentment can cloud the memory.”

  The crowd shifted uneasily. The speech wasn’t having the desired effect. Had she lost her touch? Or had her reputation indeed suffered that much?

  “I’ve heard that you cry for her to come to rescue you – the girl who shares my face,” Amber continued, gripping the railing as she fought down the dragonfire that boiled in her stomach, “in the same way that you once pleaded for me to heal your broken land. Ah, but with your lives so short, what else can you expect but this fickle behavior?”

  The people still weren’t buying it.

  “You seek a savior, just as your parents did fifty years ago,” Amber continued. “Do you people of Rizkaland have no concept of contentment? You call her the promised of Alphego, but that is also how you spoke of me. Fickle, fickle people. Tell me, what do I do to harm this land? Yes, Klarand suffers under my fire, but what is the worth of that island compared to that of this country? Why do you seek a savior when you are not the ones who suffer? Why do you look to the hills—”

  Amber stopped short as, for dramatic purposes, she herself looked to the hill that stood near her castle. There, standing silhouetted against the sky, was a purple haranda, a girl astride its back – just as Amber had seen so many times in the scale’s vision. Except … it wasn’t quite the same.

  The Tela Du and her haranda weren’t alone on the hill. A green haranda stood beside them, also with a rider – a young man. Amber’s heart pounded as she considered the implications. She glanced away to the people in an effort to focus her thoughts, and when she looked back up, the harandas and riders were gone.

  She didn’t have very long to wonder at the disappearance, for the next moment, the harandas stood on the balcony with Amber. The riders dismounted silently, and then the harandas disappeared in a blur of silver. The girl was the Tela Du and none other, the same that Amber had seen in the depths of the scale so many times, from the cut of her purple dress, to the purple frames she wore over her eyes, to the braid in which she wore her hair. And, of course, her face was the one that Amber saw every morning in the mirror.

  “We have come to negotiate the terms of the Final War,” said the young man, and Amber’s breath caught as she focused on him.

  “Is it strange for you to see your face reflected in that of another person?” asked the Tela Du. “Stranger still to see your husband’s on another man?”

  “I expect that you’re already used to the sight,” said Amber, focusing on the girl. “Or, at least you were.”

  The girl’s eyebrow flickered, but she said nothing. The young man stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder.

  “We have come to discuss the terms of the final war,” he repeated.

  “Very well. This isn’t necessarily the best place for such a discussion,” said Granite, putting his hand on Amber’s shoulder. “Would you care to join us for lunch? I shall ensure that my wife does not poison the food.”

  Amber considered pointing out that the table didn’t produce poisoned food, but decided that she’d let them believe it could. It might scare them.

  “I’m not sure that we trust Amber out of the sight of the people,” said the young man. “However, some non-poisonous food does sound appetizing.”

  “I think there will be a much greater chance of honesty if we were to be out of the sight of the people,” said the Tela Du. “I, for one, do not want show or pretense.”
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  “And Laura will be there to oversee,” said Granite.

  “We will trust her to keep things from getting out of hand,” said the young man, dropping his hand from the Tela Du’s shoulder. He stepped to the railing to address the crowd. “People of Rizkaland, I am Reuben, King of Eliue and son of King David and Queen Michelle of Rock and Mineral; and this is Petra, the daughter of Queen Jane and King Ralph of Fire and Electricity, my queen and your Tela Du. We have come at last to end your oppression and heal your land. You may have hope once more.”

  Then he turned and offered his arm to Petra, which she took without comment.

  So, this was Summer’s brother, whom she and Tyler had taken such care to not talk about. Amber no longer wondered why they had gone to such great lengths to avoid mentioning him or panicked so much when they finally did slip up.

  “There is much for us to discuss,” said Petra, staring Amber firmly in the eye.

  Amber found it unnerving to see that amber glare directed at herself. Breaking away from it, she turned to see that Granite offered his arm to her. Lifting her chin, she accepted it.

  The Tela Du and her friend weren’t going to intimidate her. They were just children playing at a game that they couldn’t possibly understand. Such a pity that their lives would be cut so short.

  No one said anything more until they reached the dining hall, where Laura was waiting for them, lunch already summoned. Laura gave each individual person a long stare before she spoke. “Before discussions begin, I would like to lay down a few ground rules. First of all, this is to be a peaceful discussion. Petra, Reuben, you will find it impossible to kill Amber and Granite today, and Amber, you wouldn’t enjoy the consequences if you were to attack them now. For the record, I won’t try to prevent verbal arguments, but if I have to shake the fabric of reality to be heard then you’re being too loud, and there is to be no physical fighting at this time.”

  “I suppose you also expect us to give up all our weapons?” asked Reuben.

  “No, I shall trust that such measures aren’t necessary,” Laura answered. “You see, disarming Amber and Granite is difficult, and with you and Petra, it’s impossible. Now, second of all, my role here is strictly a referee. The negotiations are strictly in your hands. Amber, Granite, I trust that you won’t hold back information concerning the final battle. Don’t let them come to it blindly – for it is no conventional war, as you well know. I won’t let any of you leave this table until they know everything they need to know.” A grin played at the corners of her mouth as she surveyed the group a second time. “Let the battle of wits begin!”

  “I wasn’t expecting you to bring a friend – Petra, wasn’t it?” Amber began, taking a seat at the table, frowning at Laura, who had already claimed the head. “Though, granted, I wasn’t expecting you to show up here today in the first place.”

  “I heard you were making a public appearance and decided that I might as well take advantage of the crowd,” Petra answered.

  “And there was no way she was going to leave me behind,” said Reuben, as he and Petra took seats on the other side of the table. “I’ve wanted to make a trip to another world for years. Prophecies, epic battles – there was no way I was going to let her have all the fun without me.”

  “This is a matter of life and death, Reuben,” Amber pointed out. “Don’t treat it like it’s a mere game. Two of us will die in the battle.”

  “And we’re too young to die,” said Petra, lacing her fingers together as she leaned against the table. “You know, it’s not too late for you to back out and return to your island, Amber.”

  “Perhaps you would prefer to return to your own world?” Amber offered in answer. “This is my home turf, and I did receive a proper surrender from the last king, so I rule rightfully.”

  “I’m sorry,” said Petra, with a shake of her head. “Our parents would be dreadfully disappointed in us if we returned home without doing our duty, and I don’t think Laura would open a door for us.”

  “I actually could help you find a way around her,” said Amber, glancing Laura’s direction.

  The Doorkeeper raised an eyebrow. “I’m right here, you know. Don’t speak of ways to get around me.”

  “We’re here to negotiate this Final War,” said Petra. “Unfortunately, Reuben and I have little idea what sort of negotiations we’re supposed to make. Are we debating whether or not it will actually happen? Are we deciding when we shall meet for it? Are we discussing how it shall be fought?”

  “Professor Plum in the conservatory with a knife!” Reuben exclaimed, which earned him a glare from Petra.

  “Focus, Reuben, please,” she hissed.

  “Knives aren’t a terrible guess,” said Granite, startling Amber. She had almost forgotten that her husband was in the room, he’d been so quiet. “Unfortunately, I’m not sure about the Conservatory or Professor Plum. Professors are teachers, and I think I heard Laura talking about plums once. They’re a type of fruit.”

  Amber gave him a look of disbelief. “Can you focus?” She turned her attention back to Reuben and Petra. “What you have to understand is that the events that must surround our death so that we can actually die are very … specific, despite the vague threats that Laura loves to give.”

  “Just because something hasn’t happened before doesn’t mean that it can’t,” Laura whispered.

  “Can you explain those specifics?” asked Petra, leaning back and folding her arms over her chest, staring at the food. She hadn’t touched it, although Reuben had helped himself to a whole pie. Well, he was a growing boy, Amber supposed. Too bad his growth would soon be stunted.

  “We can only be killed in the very room where we received our immortality, the room where we killed Amber’s parents,” Granite began. Amber hadn’t had the heart yet to tell him about what Laura had revealed to her about her true origins. “The Room of the Knife, it’s called.”

  “Reuben and Petra, in the Room of the Knife – with a knife!” Reuben announced.

  “Don’t get ahead of yourselves,” said Amber, shaking her head.

  “Nor does it have quite the same ring,” added Petra, giving him a sidelong glare. “Can we please be serious now, Reuben? Okay, so it is to be in a particular room. Since it’s called the Room of the Knife, is it safe for us to assume that there must be a knife involved?”

  “Two knives, actually,” answered Amber. “They are the only weapons that can kill us. However, before you can wield them, you must pass three tests in the Hall of Blood. You are allowed to bring and use other weapons in the battle, even magical weapons, but you have to give us the fatal blows with the knives.”

  “Summer and Tyler mentioned the Hall, and Laura told us a bit about the tests,” said Petra, nodding. “Are there any details that you’re willing to tell us about them?”

  Amber glanced at Laura. “I do not think those are things that we’re required to tell you. My parents didn’t tell us.”

  “No, they aren’t required,” Laura agreed. “In fact, it’s best if you go blind into the tests. However, I will personally guide you through them, just as I did for Amber and Granite, Jade and Jasper, Emerald and Sandstone, Diamond and Marble … and so forth on through the Eternal queens and kings of Luna as it came time for them to fall.”

  Petra frowned, and Amber almost felt pity for her – she still had nightmares about the test of courage, and it had been six thousand years since she had passed through it. But, no, Petra was the Tela Du and deserved none of her mercy.

  “Summer and Tyler told me of the Hall of Blood, that it is within this very castle,” Petra said at length.

  “Indeed,” said Amber. “That is why we have had to bring this castle with us as we traveled from one world to another. We are as bound to it as we are to each other.”

  “I see.” Petra leaned forward. “So as far as I understand it, the question boils down to a matter of when. When shall we face the challenges that will culminate in the Final War?”

 
“It will take at least a week to prepare the hall,” answered Amber. Glancing towards Laura.

  “Fair enough. I’m confident that Reuben and I could use a bit more training.”

  “You do know that you don’t have to do this?” Amber repeated the question that had begun the discussion. “Are you sure that you wouldn’t prefer to retreat to the safety of your own world? You’re young still, your life so full of potential…”

  “And you’re old, your life expired,” Petra countered, not even flinching.

  “Bold words.” Amber shook her head, smiling despite herself. “Petra, you remind me very much of myself when I was your age. Overconfident.”

  “You overcame the tests, and won your battle,” Petra pointed out, smirking. “At least, that’s what I understand from what Laura has told me about the succession of Luna.”

  “I did,” Amber answered. “But Granite and I had trained for the battle our whole life. My parents were a mere four hundred, young compared to us. Tell me, how long have you and Reuben been training?”

  Petra hesitated with her answer, so Amber read it easily enough. Not nearly long enough for her to feel ready.

  “Do you really think one extra week will change things? Would you like to know how effortlessly I killed your sister?”

  Petra stiffened momentarily, and her eyes flashed with a fury, but when she spoke, her voice was calm, even nonchalant.

  “I’m told that you poisoned her.”

  “That is quite correct – a poisoned needle to the shoulder – and she had the gifts of an elf. I actually thought she was one until Laura told me otherwise,” Amber continued. “Your sister died protecting your secrets and seemed willing to sacrifice her own daughter if she had to. Tell me, how does it feel to be responsible for your sister’s death and for endangering her daughter’s life?”

  “How does it feel to take life so liberally?” asked Petra, biting the words – the question had succeeded in getting under her skin, though she still kept herself remarkably calm. Amber was impressed. “I – Sarah chose to give up her life for my sake. I hadn’t even been aware that she’d left my world. The fact remains that she’d still be alive were it not for you.”