Safe? Why then does she look so afraid?
Tirsa was getting curious and she had the feeling that whatever the queen was about to tell her, it was a heavy thing, a burden and perhaps she was even glad to get it off her chest.
‘The book,’ Artride began. ‘Is … cursed.’
Cursed? Tirsa thought.
Artride continued nervously, ‘Many generations ago, the ruling king, King Oleval the Great, my great-great-something grandfather wrote down the laws and punishments in a Law Book as was common to gain order and a sense of control in a time when it was very much needed. It was not even a bad idea really. However, his counsellor and sorcerer, a very powerful one, laid a spell on it to give it the absolute power needed. He did this to have full control and with that, keep Ceartas free from chaos, violence and destruction for always ... There were an immense number of crimes in those days and chaos ruled. Kings had little influence on that; even wealthy ones and only then with violence. However, a powerful sceptre was magic; for magic was still practiced in these parts by old descendents and pupils of the Silent Folk. From the moment the secret spell was born, the law simply had to be followed – had to – as well as the punishments. No trials, no pleas, no nothing other than the penalty. There was no escape from that, ever, other than death itself; sometimes worse than the penalty if not obeyed. To some it seemed fair; after all, when you committed a crime the common moral was, like today, consequences, and you had to pay for a crime somehow in order to understand the wrongdoing, and as an example to others. The minor punishments were not so terrible – paying fees and delivering ranks. Guards saw to it that those penalties were being carried out to avoid any … pain.
‘After all people knew about the strict laws and even discovered that there had to be powerful old magic involved; for there was no escape as I mentioned before, not ever from the invisible but all-watching eyes and ears of the Law book. It became a Holy Book for the people: worshipped and praised, as was its founder, the king. The sorcerer never got the credit, though. The king kind of forgot about him when his own status seemed to rise again.’ She locked onto Tirsa’s green eyes and saw her mouth hanging slightly open. She was stunned; that much was obvious.
‘Over time … people moved to other countries; others stayed, because of its safe life. You see, the Law Book is the foundation, the very essence that keeps Ceartas such a safe haven. Unto this day no one can be attacked (other than in war), have their things stolen, be murdered or cheated on, and not be justified. Justice …’she said at length and took a deep breath, shaking her head before she continued.
‘Justice as the people saw fit in those days. But as you put it yourself; the system was not safe and many people with innocent intentions, such as accidentally killing someone in self-defence or breaking a minor law by accident or ignorance, like your brother, suffered penalties, even lost limbs and worse – their lives.’
Tirsa thought about the cruel punishments she heard about for serious crimes; amputation of a hand after stealing, beheading for murder, hanging for violating Royal beings, banishment for betrayal, but mainly paying fees for numerous things. The wealthy could pay off most of these crimes by paying large sums of money, for that was allowed. The king of those days must have been very rich, as would Artride be, Tirsa reckoned.
‘And it still exists!’ Tirsa opened her mouth in sudden shock, her eyes raged. ‘How can it be possible? Why didn’t the Royal Family change the law?’
‘King Oleval wanted to change a law once after many years, and tried to write in the book, erasing one law and writing a new one. Times change, people and their ethics, norms and values change, countries change and laws and penalties should change with it. We have become civilized people; we are not the brutes of old times anymore that walked around raping women, plundering villages and murdering innocent people.
‘But as I was saying, the old king discovered he could not write in the book; his pen broke time after time upon touching the parchment. Altering laws was impossible. What once started as a powerful spell became in fact an everlasting curse. For you see, the sorcerer in the ruling years of the king felt betrayed when he forgot all about him; bathing in his new wealth and glory. All he wanted was at least some credit, some honour, some name made for himself. Then one day, having had access to the special chamber where the book lay, he added a new spell to the existing one. From that day on, no soul would ever be able to add, remove or change any laws and penalties written within it, nor… destroy it. It was cursed from that moment on, leaving the king and his future offspring powerless. So with all its might, still no one even in these days, many centuries on, can write new rules in the book. Not even Royalty … not even me.’
‘What … what happens if you release someone convicted?’ Tirsa said with an overwhelmed expression.
‘There is no escape.’ Artride bent a little forward in conspiracy. ‘If the lawbreaker is not caught for a crime; if my men do not get him, the curse of the book will punish him more painfully and terrifyingly than my men. That is a fact and one I always try to avoid, as you will understand.’
You think hanging isn’t painful? Tirsa thought about her brother.
‘I have seen it happen to a thief once; that converted me alright.’ She spoke in thought as if she had actually heard Tirsa speak out her words. Her father had made her watch in terror when she did not believe him at first.
‘The victim is inflamed from within by a terrible fire tearing at all his nerves; growing more painful by the minute, but not killing him. It would, however, if we had not ‘rescued’ him and arrested him to free him from pain and exhaustion and given him his original punishment: amputation of one hand.’ The heart can only take so much pain before it collapses.’
Tirsa was silent in puzzlement.
‘Fortunately for most people, witnesses report crimes and some criminals even turn themselves in. Especially after the torment they experience, as they suspect magic to be involved and know the many stories about the unavoidable punishments. They are tormented by these terrible pains until they report them; after they do that, the sooner it is all over; if they do not commit suicide or are taken by the curse that is.’ The number of suicides was, compared to other countries, higher in Ceartas; Tirsa only now completely understood why. However; the crime rate was very low. As far as the people knew; for by looking at it that way a lot of crimes were resolved if people killed themselves.
‘But why doesn’t anyone know about this curse; so people can be warned to begin with to avoid any crimes. Wouldn’t that have been a better spell in the first place? What a daft sorcerer and king!’
‘I agree, whatever the reason for secrecy is we’ve never found out. It seems to me very foolish indeed. If everyone knew, truly knew, there would be no crimes at all, now would there? Maybe that was just the intention of the sorcerer in some wicked way, his final spell – the curse; not only were rules not to be changed, no one was to know either about any of this. Otherwise: instant death. I think it had to do with power and vanity. But well, today, apart from the fact that most people respect the power of the book already and try to avoid breaking any of its laws, suspecting its power, we indeed have less crimes than other countries. Only members of the Royal Family and servants may actually know. This being a rule as written in the book; if other people find out literally, the curse exterminates them instantly. It happened before. My father told me, warned me. For you it is safe to know though, but you understand what I ask of you?’
‘Secrecy.’
Slowly she nodded. ‘Bluntly put, if my people find out, Commander, Ceartas will soon be without inhabitants. The sorcerer may have not cared about that, but I certainly do.’
That is one successful way to reduce a population or end a war even! Tirsa painfully stared at her and her temper flared from comprehension to disbelief. It was all so bizarre and the queen so frightfully honest; she had no other choice than to believe her. She frowned and little wrinkles appeared between her dark brow
s.
‘Now perhaps you can begin to understand how powerless I truly am. My rank does not mean anything, King Oleval the Great, or rather his counselling sorcerer,’ she said cynically, ‘made sure of that.’
Tirsa thought about how odd it had seemed to her when she heard about the strange disappearances of people and that when a crime was committed justice was always done. It just seemed like a mystery, but then again, she always had a soft spot for those and never really wanted to find the underlying cause of it. Sometimes things were better left alone; especially things you couldn’t really change, the innocent things on the mystical side; this however wasn’t so innocent she now knew, how ignorant of her! She was always too busy to pay it much attention and no one ever could tell her a sane thing anyway. One thing she did know: gossips and true stories were hard to separate and it was often no use, as not many people knew the difference or cared for the real truth. Sometimes made up tales were more fun and left more space for imagination. Now she knew the truth of it, she would not let it go.
She ran a hand through her wild blonde hair, felt the head bandage and was a little ashamed for the way she looked. She had not even glanced in a mirror this morning. Tirsa looked down at her clothes and noticed she was not even wearing her complete outfit. However, it did not seem to bother the queen at all.
‘Curses can be broken,’ Tirsa promptly said. ‘I have heard about that fro–’ quickly she closed her mouth, for she had almost told the queen about her friends the Woodchildren, that knew old magic. She added more softly, ‘It’s a magic spell so there must be a way to break it, even if it seems unbreakable.’
Artride stood up. She was too tense to sit; instead, she paced around the room.
‘I agree; but my father and I have tried everything to disable it; burning, ripping every page out, burying it in the deepest holes and widest seas; every thought imaginable; but nothing worked. Every time it is simply back unharmed in its own locked room in the castle. She pointed out, gesturing with her hands, ‘The only sorcerer who could have helped me; tell me if there is a way to break it, a counter spell, anything, is the one who put it there in the first place and he is long dead. So I am on my own. We are dealing with High Magic here and I believe the only way to defeat it is with magic. Fire with fire, so to speak.’
‘Yes, there must be wizards who could work out a spell against it or at least advise you how to break it,’ Tirsa agreed.
The queen walked in circles around her, in order to think, but it made Tirsa’s head toll.
‘I have traced down every known wizard and sorcerer. However, being unable to tell them, without them dropping dead on the scene, it was most difficult, because of course I had to show them the book eventually, after warning them to protect themselves with every spell known to them. Most had a hard time fighting the curse, and some died,’ she announced sadly.
‘When only seeing the book?’ It is that powerful? Tirsa swallowed hard.
‘I have tried many ways to have them make a spell which could remove the curse; without exactly telling or showing them the kind of curse, but that was of no use.’ She rolled her eyes upwards in an appealing way.
‘Every bit of information or insinuation I made was already telling and therefore lethal.’
‘Couldn’t they guess, I mean knowing our country and its history?’ I probably should have known too.
There was a moment of silence. It was very quiet in the Tower Room and Tirsa noticed completely how very much aware of the presence of the appealing queen she was; whom she began to respect more now she knew the complete story. Artride was not such a mystery to her anymore and she imagined many people would want to change boots with Tirsa.
Well, not exactly right now, I presume. Thinking about her brother.
‘I wish I had warned my brother of the law system of Ceartas in greater detail than I did. I remember I did tell him about the Holy Oak tree though; its importance to the Royal Family. I assumed he understood the consequences when violating the tree.’
‘Well, he is still a child.’
‘I didn’t even know about a death penalty relating to that tree!’ Tirsa remarked upset.
I have been away too long.
Suddenly she felt the hand of Artride on one of her shoulders. She almost jumped, but then relaxed. It was comforting; however, it was also a gesture of shared sadness and defeat.
Tirsa got up as if to escape her touch.
‘I can’t let him die,’ she said furiously; gritting her teeth against the pain as she saw past memories of the ones she’d lost without being able to do anything. Everyone dies on me!
‘Not this time,’ she murmured to herself, coiling her hands into fists.
‘It does not make any difference whether you know the truth or not,’ Artride spoke more to herself than to Tirsa. ‘It will not change much, not for you, not for me. All those people must despise me for it and I do not blame them. How can they respect me when they do not know what is happening? If anyone cared, that is. They all have their opinions ready. They fear me, I see it in their eyes; they fear me and there is no greater enemy than fear.’
The two women exchanged a quick look and both recognised a sense of self pity, which was just as numbing and destroying.
‘I care, my Lady,’ Tirsa silently admitted; fathoming her feeling of being powerless and being feared.
‘I believe it must be harsh, to obey the cursed book, its laws, and not being able to tell the truth and not being the queen you want to be. Now that I know, at least I can try to begin to understand if it helps. Thank you and sorry … sorry for being so inconsiderate to you before.’
They stared longer into each other’s eyes. She was touched. Finally Artride had found her match; someone who was not afraid of her and didn’t adore her simply because she was the queen. She was honest and spoke her mind, which might even equal hers.
She smiled at the young woman, who felt warmed all over by it. Nobody could see her smile and not smile back. Tirsa saw her eyes suddenly fixed on something and followed her gaze. It appeared she was looking at the letter she was reading when Tirsa broke in her room. Artride had dropped it on the floor and thought nothing about it since. She bent over and picked it up.
‘I have not given up all hope, Commander.’ That got her attention and in anticipation she waited for her to continue. ‘On his death bed I promised my father that I would find a solution for this misery. There seems to be some spark of light in the darkness.’
‘There is hope?’
The queen sat down again and explained, ‘I have heard about a sorceress; a very mighty one. She is suppose to live in a nearby country; Dochas –’
‘The Magical Land?’
The queen looked in surprise at her. ‘Why yes, it is said that she might be able to break any spell and I assume curses as well. I know it is hard to believe, but I tend to grab any opportunity there is.’ Her eyes shone full of life again.
‘It does sound hopeful. But where did you obtain this information?’
‘It is somewhat unclear to be honest. The one who told it to me in confidence; an old woman, almost blind and deaf and a little scatty, travelled to Dochas in her younger days. According to her this sorceress must still be alive today. She says she still feels her presence. I know that I shouldn’t trust her that easily, nevertheless it’s all I’ve got!’
‘As far as I know nobody has ever come back alive from The Magical Land,’ Tirsa said shaking her head. ‘But who knows, there might be some truth in what she says. The Magical Land is the only place where it could just be possible to find someone strong enough to break the curse!’
‘This old woman only made it just over the border when she was forced to go back. The work of the sorceress, she claims. She met the local Silent Folk, who told her about the powerful sorceress. It seemed that she held Dochas, an old name for the country, in some sort of magical spell. Even the Silent Folk could not break it; so this person, human or not, must be very powerful inde
ed. If she is still alive; good or evil natured, who knows what she can do for us. It does not hurt to try.’
‘This is the most information I’ve ever heard about Dochas!’ Tirsa said incredulously. ‘I’ve never met anyone who could tell as much as this.’
‘I trust you always wanted to go to Dochas?’ Artride smiled at her.
‘Now more than ever. I’m not afraid.’
I think the only fear you have is losing the ones you love; your only fear, Artride thought, but said, ‘We know so little about that country that it would also be a unique opportunity to explore it for ourselves.’
‘It would indeed.’
Artride’s smile faded. Tirsa cleared her throat and straightened her back while she stood up daintily, ‘With your permission I will lead my company into Dochas for a complete investigation and search for the sorceress. She will have to help you. No one can refuse a company of the queen carrying an order from you; not even a sorceress. I will bring her to you.’
Queen Artride was touched by the offer, but looked concerned. ‘That is very noble of you, Commander Tirsa, but I cannot possible endanger an entire company. I have heard it is the best we have; surely because of you. It would attract too much attention. The sorceress must not feel threatened or alarmed by a full armed company. I’ve known some magicians who do not appreciate large companies at all. No, we must not risk this. I will go alone.’
‘What? And threaten your life, my Lady?’
‘You sound like Jaromir!’ She gave out a quick laugh. ‘Do not worry; my best bodyguard will accompany me to protect me; because a country without its queen – we do not want to do that to the people do we?’ she laughed cynically.
The Queen's Curse Page 4