by J. C. Ahmed
“So, if we need to ask her…?”
“Maybe she'd be open to helping.” Jack sat down next to him.
“Malthus, I know you're scared. But this is insane. An assassination plot? Break into their castle? Or whatever it is. It will never work.”
“It’s a house. The castle isn’t built yet. Anyway, I was thinking about an ambush when they travel. That's where Liralexa would come in handy. I'm sure she knows their travel schedule, and she knows her way around the woods. Matt Regus is training his recruits for—”
“Malthus, listen to yourself. It will never work.”
“You're right. I shouldn't have said anything.”
Jack put his hand on Malthus’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
“I need to go. Pretend I was never here,” Malthus muttered, before barging out of the room. He berated himself for letting Hope whisper silly notions into his ear and in his desperation he had listened. The rapid fire clicking of his shoes and the slam of the front door echoed throughout the house.
Jack and Malthus pretended the events of the night before never happened as the five friends lay on the grass waiting for Liralexa. Lying with their hands behind their heads, they looked for shapes in the cottony clouds.
“Clouds are deceptive,” Malthus said.
“In what way?” Meryl laughed.
“They provide an illusion of safety and comfort. Like you think they would wrap you up and make you feel protected but if you stepped on one you would fall right through.”
“What is the takeaway from that?” Aimee asked. “Outward appearances can be deceiving?”
Before Malthus could respond, the five jumped almost simultaneously when Liralexa emerged from the portal. With their eyes focused on the sky, they didn't notice the appearance of the glow.
“Hey all! No buckets today?”
“Buckets?” Aimee asked.
“To get water.”
“We get our water from the wells in Vallerton,” Aimee explained. “We come up here because it's peaceful. Malthus is the only one who gets water from this well. He says carrying it down the hill and into town builds his muscles.”
Liralexa grinned at Malthus.
“I was hoping you would come back,” he said sheepishly. “I’ll wait for you every day.”
Her face lit up. Anton was about to make fun of the love struck couple when Jack shot him a look of warning. The girls noticed and knew something was afoot.
“We should hide among the trees,” Malthus said. They darted into the thicket and sat on the logs. Except this time Malthus sat next to Liralexa.
“How are you doing, Princess?” Anton asked.
“Call me Liralexa. We're all people, none more special than the others. I’m not interested in pointless man-made distinctions, which make weak-minded people feel better about themselves.”
“Very well, Liralexa.”
“I'm not well. This whole thing is eating me alive and I'm who knows how many years away from being able to fix it.”
Jack glanced at Malthus. Anton and the girls wondered what was going on.
“I hate to tell you this but I feel the need to be open and honest. Maybe it will hurt you more than ignorance would. But my parents throw big celebrations every few weeks. Hundreds of people come from miles around. And there are copious amounts of food. Food of all kinds on long tables. I don't even know how many tables. I've never counted them. And so much of that food is wasted.”
“Thirty thousand people live in the Step Region,” Meryl said, with barely controlled rage. “Half of them go to sleep hungry. And the food stolen from us goes uneaten?”
Liralexa bit her lower lip. “Yes. I'm afraid so.”
Aimee shook her head. “That's unbelievable.”
“My parents appear to have split personalities. They are so good to the people of our region. No one wants for anything. They see us as a superior race, I suppose.”
“They banned interregional marriage when they came to power,” Jack said. “A person with a golden stripe is forbidden to marry those without them. And servants who come from what they consider the seven inferior regions can’t travel more than half a mile from where they work.”
“My dad is the mayor of Vallerton,” Aimee said. “He travels to the Golden Region on business sometimes. He said soldiers patrol the streets and constantly check the papers of people without a golden stripe. We’re supposed to be a single nation, but it's made very clear most of us aren't wanted there.”
Liralexa massaged her throbbing temples. She had been experiencing bad headaches since her first visit to the Step Region. Aldrin called them tension headaches. She begged him not to tell her parents.
“What kills me is if I hadn't met you before the Strages maybe I wouldn't have thought of it as something bad. Maybe I would have considered it necessary cruelty. Maybe it is only because I can put faces to the tragedy and hear your side of the story first that I see how wrong it is. If I had never come, maybe I would have been as evil and cruel as my parents.”
“I don't believe so, Prin...Liralexa,” Malthus said. “I believe you are kind and honorable like your grandparents.”
Liralexa was flustered by the praise, especially since it came from the boy she couldn’t get out of her mind. As she averted her gaze, her eyes fixed on a knot in a tree trunk which resembled a heart. Maybe it was a harbinger. She fervently hoped she would be a better ruler, that power would not corrupt her. She wanted her subjects to love rather than fear her. Her future aspirations, no matter how noble, meant little to the kids sitting before her.
Malthus believed the only way the people of his region could escape their seemingly never-ending nightmare was to hatch an assassination plot with the princess. But how in the world would he bring that up? Sure, she may be unhappy and desirous to bring about change but supporting a plot to kill her parents could very well be a bridge too far. After making some small talk, Liralexa forced herself to stand up.
“I should leave.” She hugged Aimee.
“Should we say something?” Jack whispered to Malthus.
“I don’t believe it’s the right time,” he whispered back.
After embracing Meryl, she turned to the boys and gave Anton and Jack quick hugs. When her arms encircled Malthus, she held him for longer than she meant. Deeming her behavior unseemly, she pushed away from him.
“I must go!” She hot footed it toward the well, gave her new friends a quick wave, muttered the spell, and was gone. Malthus stared through the emptiness.
“So, what’s going on between you two?” Aimee asked. Malthus tilted his head toward Jack.
“Should we tell them?” Jack asked. Malthus nodded. They returned to the logs and Jack explained the assassination plan.
“Are you out of your minds?” Meryl roared. “You can’t ask her that.”
“What if she reports you to her parents?” Anton asked.
“I don’t think she would do that,” Malthus answered. He pushed his hands into his trouser pockets and shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other.
“Don’t be so sure,” Anton said. “Look, I know she seems nice but you would be tortured and executed just for thinking up such a plot. Do they have the magic to find out?”
“I don’t think they can read our thoughts, or we would all be dead already,” Meryl said.
“So, we have a workable plan, but we’re just supposed to ignore it?” Jack asked. “I thought it was ridiculous at first when Malthus told me last night but there is no other way out of this mess. Any of us could be next.”
“Is it workable?” Anton asked. “Without knowing how Liralexa would respond to such a plan, we really can’t say we have one.”
“And what if she's like a cloud?” Aimee asked. Malthus jerked his head toward her. “Maybe she appears outwardly safe but would be certain death if we tried to depend on her to protect us.”
Malthus was disappointed, but he knew it was true.
Chapter Eight
�
��If the eyes are a window to the soul
Then his soul is made of filaments of sorrow and torment
Forged in a crucible built in my name
He can smile his widest smile
It can’t disguise the anguish and ache
I feel responsible because the blood in my veins
Comes from the people who caused his pain”
— Journal entry by Liralexa Abbingdon
Liralexa’s eyes popped open to the unmistakable sound of rain lashing her windows. She jumped out of bed, winced when her feet touched the cold floor, hurriedly tiptoed to the window, opened the curtains, and cursed the angry and threatening sky. Going to visit her new friends was out of the question. She dried a stray tear. How had she never noticed before she was so lonely? Other than for parties, her age-mates rarely came to the palace grounds. And she wasn't allowed to leave to visit anyone.
Her parents seemed to be unconcerned about her lack of playmates. Outside of meals, they rarely spent time with her. They traveled a lot but never brought her along. Aldrin said they didn't want to disrupt her day-to-day schedule or expose her to illness. They made sure she was properly cared for and always spoke affectionately to her. But for the first time she wondered if they truly cared for her. Maybe she was just another achievement for them, an heir to be protected.
An Abbingdon firstborn had held the throne for a thousand years. Thanks to the healing and protective powers of the Sigils Guild the line of succession remained unbroken. When the heir was female, she kept the Abbingdon name, which her husband took on. An heir was usually born within a year or two of marriage. When Cameron and Stella failed to produce an heir after four years of marriage, the royal court veered from nervous to frantic. If there was no heir when Cameron passed, multiple relatives would vie for the throne. The hex binding the Sigils Guild to the Abbingdons would transfer to a sibling as long as they played no role in the death of the firstborn. It would not transfer to a cousin. Without the protective powers of a united Sigils Guild, the Nine Regions were at risk of being sacked by hostile tribes or taken over by larger kingdoms.
Members of the Guild poured over books and every magician in the kingdom was called to cast fertility spells but all to no avail. Just when talk turned to the extreme option of ending the marriage, so Cameron could try to produce an heir with someone else, Liralexa made her appearance. She used to feel like a beloved child but now felt like little more than a pet. A pet crucial to the continuation of family rule but a pet nonetheless. An achievement. Just one more achievement.
Alma entered the room. “You’re awake early, Your Highness. I’ll get the fire going and bring warm water for your washbasin.”
“The rain woke me up.” Liralexa tried to sound less glum than she felt. “There’s no hurry.”
She returned to the comfort and warmth beneath her blankets. Her blank and lifeless eyes fixated on the ceiling. There was no way she could see Malthus or the others. Would he wait for her and be disappointed when she didn’t come? Maybe it was raining in the Step Region too. After all, it was only a hundred miles away. Maybe the weather wasn’t much different. There was no point in trying to sneak away. Her mother always saw her comings and goings.
Liralexa spent much of the day not listening to her tutor and lying on a couch doing nothing. Even though she was bored out of her mind, she had no will or desire to do anything. She was surrounded by potential amusements, but they held no thrill for her anymore. The hands of the living room clock moved so slowly, Liralexa wondered if it needed to be wound.
“The hands are movin’ the same as they always do,” the butler told her when she brought up her concerns.
“Are you sure?”
“I am, Your Highness. It runs the same as always.”
Alma was worried about her mistress. She could get into trouble with Queen Stella if she didn't properly care for her.
“You look stressed, Your Highness. A soak in the tub will relax you.”
Liralexa shrugged her shoulders. She had nothing better to do. She lay on the couch and stared at the minute hand until she heard a gentle tapping on the door. Alma popped her head in.
“Your bath is ready. It's nice and hot. I’ll have tea and cake ready when you're done.”
“Thank you,” she sighed.
Her mind was so distracted, she didn’t hear anything Alma said but figured an expression of thanks was the way to respond to it.
“Um, your bath, Your Highness.”
“Is it ready?”
“Well, yes.”
Liralexa inched into the bathtub, letting her body adjust to the hot water, then lay back wondering about Malthus. Where was he now? Had he gone to the well to meet her, only to be disappointed when she was a no-show? Who would he ultimately marry? That thought startled her when it bored its way into her consciousness. It wouldn't be her, that was certain. She already envied his future wife. Why did she have to be a princess instead of an ordinary girl? Almost as soon as the notion entered her mind, she berated herself for it. Girls her age often went hungry, or even worse, met cruel fates at the Strages. She was blessed and had no right to complain. Oh, but how she wanted Malthus. She closed her eyes and slipped everything but her face under the water. Burying herself in the warmth eased her throbbing head. She inhaled and exhaled slowly. The water amplified the sound of her breathing. It brought her peace. Until that is, Malthus popped into her mind again. Like a Jack trying to escape its box, she shot up.
“It feels late,” she thought.
Upon returning to the sitting room, she was disappointed to see the time hadn't advanced as much as she assumed it had. She figured she had to busy herself doing something or the day would never end. And that something was drawing. Her mind was blank, but she would force herself to create. She sat at her desk and pulled out her box of drawing tools. She was an excellent artist. Everyone told her so. She knew the constant praise lavished on her was often dishonest. After all, she was a princess and people wanted to please her. But no one had to lie when it came to her art because she was truly talented.
Liralexa drew the outline of a head topped with close-cropped hair. She spent a long time on the eyes. Then she drew a nose. She erased her markings several times. Next was a mouth curled into a gentle smile. She shaded the skin, breathing in the sound of charcoal scratching on paper. The shape of her features transformed from intense concentration to profound sorrow as she turned her head sideways, propped it on her hand, and gazed at her creation. She hadn’t set out to draw Malthus and was in shock as his face took shape. She stared at it for a long time. It surprised even her she had so perfectly captured his handsome, boyish and friendly, yet weary and melancholy features. She decided to make a copy. On her next visit, she would give one to him and keep the other for herself. Anything to keep busy and keep the gnawing emptiness at bay a little longer.
Despite the heavy rain drumming on the windows, the dinner table was at capacity. With her parents distracted by their many guests, Liralexa could pick at her food in peace. After dessert, she determined the day she thought would never end had gone on long enough. She would make it end. As soon as she was out of sight of the guests, she sprinted to her room, threw on her nightgown, cleaned her teeth, and jumped into bed. She embraced the sting of cold as she nestled under the covers. An early night would speed up the imminent arrival of tomorrow.
Tomorrow did finally come in the form of today. Liralexa awoke to bird song. She jumped out of bed and pulled aside the curtains. Sunlight flooded the room. Alma was already there laying out her clothes.
“Is that Master Caan coming up the hill?” Liralexa asked. He lived in staff housing located a mile from the Royal House.
“It is, Your Highness,” the girl answered.
“He probably wants an early start because I did almost nothing yesterday,” Liralexa thought. “I must put in extra effort today to avoid suspicion.”
Acting was Liralexa’s other great talent. When she expressed an interest,
her parents hired the best acting teacher in the land. They ordered the construction of a stage, so she could put on plays for the woodland parties held on palace grounds. Now her whole life was a never-ending theatrical production. She concealed who she really was from those around her and played the part of a loving daughter and enthusiastic student. Everyone at the royal house noticed the sudden change in the demeanor of the princess but overall she successfully hid her true feelings.
Liralexa plastered a fake smile on her face when she entered the dining room and greeted those in attendance. It became genuine for a fleeting minute when she saw Aldrin was there. He was like a lighthouse, or a safe harbor, in a world that had become dark, tempestuous and dangerous. The castigations of the subject regions thrown around the table upset her, but she couldn’t let it show. A genuine smile displaced its faux counterpart when she learned no one would visit any of the regions that day. Aldrin noticed the change and didn't know what to make of it. To his delight, her good mood persisted through her lessons.
Like every other day, as soon as she was free, she was off to the well. When she arrived in the Step Region, no one was there.
“They'll come,” she thought.
After pulling herself into a tree with monkey-like dexterity, she perched on a branch. Reaching into her bag to get a book, her fingers touched the picture of Malthus. She removed it with great care and gazed at his eyes. How she longed to see the real thing. The sadness in them made her heart hurt. The sound of voices broke through her thoughts. She put away the drawing and waited for her new friends.
“Up here,” she called, when they got closer. Beams of joy spread over their faces when they saw her.
“You can climb trees?” Anton called to her.
“Does that surprise you?”
“Yes, actually. Royal children are pampered and generally forbidden to do such things.”
“Not the Abbingdon children. All practically grew up in the woods.”
She clambered down the tree. They were all amazed to see how skilled she was.