The Girl at the Well

by J. C. Ahmed

  “Come in,” she called.

  “May I speak to you for a moment?”

  “Of course! I always love your company.”

  He gave her a sad smile and sat down on a chair. The look on his face made her nervous.

  “Your actions were justified, Your Majesty.”

  “What?” Liralexa said, taken aback.

  “I know you had something to do with this.”

  “I don't know what you're talking about.”

  “You questioned me about portals a few weeks ago, and asked if a member of the Sigils Guild could make a mistake, and now for the first time, rebels have come through the portal on palace grounds. And you underwent a personality change in recent weeks. I believe you went to the Step Region and made friends. Or perhaps you met someone who is more than a friend.”

  Liralexa’s mouth gaped open.

  “Don’t worry. I won’t tell a soul. Like I said, your actions were justified. I know it was a painful decision to make. That’s part of being a ruler. You have to make tough decisions.”

  “Does anyone else suspect?”

  “Other than Aldra the Good and those closest to her, I doubt it.”

  “Aldra the Good knows?”

  “She has a crystal ball. She saw and tried to prevent the deaths of the king and queen.”

  “Will she tell?” Liralexa trembled.

  “No, she is bound to protect you. After I heard about the loss of the king and queen, I went to her and told her you were probably involved and needed to be protected. She said she already knew and had assisted you.”

  Her eyes widened. “In what way?”

  “After your father expired, she kept the guards at bay while you hid evidence.”

  Liralexa let out a gasp. At the time, she was surprised it took so long for the guards to find her. It never occurred to her she had help.

  “We should go, my queen.” Aldrin stood up. She took his arm.

  Malthus was hot, thirsty and weak. He wanted to see what was going on outside but lacked the energy to pull himself off the floor. Three hours seemed to go on forever. After a while, it became obvious. Way more than three hours had passed.

  “What time do you think it is?” he asked a cellmate.

  “Late I think,” he answered. “We should be dead already.”

  The realization was what Malthus needed to pull himself off the cool stone floor. He looked through the bars and strained to see the viewing stands. They were empty. He turned when he heard a click. A guard unlocked the door.

  “The games are off. You're going home.”

  The murmuring and exchanges of confused glances didn’t last long. Several guards ushered the groups outside. Malthus ran to Aimee and threw his arms around her. She stiffened at his touch. His eyes darted around. Which of these guards had hurt her? He wanted to rush one of them and unleash his anger. But he was too weak. He barely had the energy to think about hurting them. The guards led the former prisoners to a room with three long tables. Malthus gently seated Aimee next to him. It broke his heart to see that a light inside his normally vivacious friend had been extinguished by the depredations of lecherous, unbridled prison guards. Seething hatred for the people of the Golden Region was welling up inside him again when his ruminations were interrupted by several perky women who came bearing food, cups, bowls and utensils. Hot porridge, bread fresh out of the oven and cold milk were placed on the table. A combination of hunger and dissonance made Malthus dizzy. He had always believed evil was in the very natures of the people of the Golden Region. While he had seen plenty of evil, he had also seen goodness in many who bore the distinctive golden stripe. He didn't know how to feel and the confusion was tearing him up inside.

  “Courtesy of the new queen,” a woman said, in a sing-song voice.

  Malthus’s heart jumped. Murmurs went up around the table.

  “Your plan?” Aimee whispered.

  “Is it possible?” Malthus responded.

  The starving children were too hungry to focus on current events. They gulped down their food. The women continued to supply more nourishment until all were satisfied. The food was followed by steaming hot tea and cake.

  “The queen said you’re all to be well taken care of,” a teenage girl said, as she poured tea into Aimee’s cup. Malthus swelled with pride. He wasn’t deceiving himself when he put his trust in the princess. He regretted the angry and scathing thoughts he had about her as he lay on a chilly prison floor.

  After they had eaten their fill, they were ushered outside by guards and lined up against a wall. Three wagons waited to take them home. Malthus stayed by Aimee’s side at all times. Blindfolds were tied over their eyes. One man reassured the terrified youngsters it was just a precaution to prevent them from seeing the locations of the portals. When everyone was ready, they were led inside box-like wagons. The doors were closed and locked.

  “Hold on tight,” each wagon driver called, as they set off toward the portal. The wagons bumped along streets for several minutes. The city noises ceased when they entered the warehouse-like building, which housed the Golden City portals. For several minutes they were stationary, then they felt a floating sensation as they moved through the magical conduit. The passengers in the wagon headed for the Step Region sensed they were going downhill. When the rattling of the wagon wheels decreased in volume and the bumping decreased in intensity, they knew they had reached Vallerton. Subdued excitement welled up in Malthus. When the doors opened, he was the first one removed. Tears filled his eyes when his blindfold was taken off. He turned in circles taking in the green in Vallerton. He was never so happy to see a place in his life. A stunned crowd had gathered round.

  “We’re home,” Aimee said, with a distance in her voice.

  “Yes,” Malthus said, in a soothing tone.

  Adin West was seated in front of the unlit fireplace with his head in his hands when he heard banging on the door. He rushed to open it. His neighbor, a woman with frizzy red hair and bright red lipstick, was giddy with excitement.

  “Malthus is here!” she screamed.

  “How is it possible?” he gasped.

  “The rumors must be true,” she squealed.

  “And the others?”

  “They're all back!”

  He rushed past her, raced to the green and pushed through the crowd. He threw his arms around his son and cried. Mayor Kelker arrived and lifted Aimee off her feet.

  “My poor Aimee.” He let out a bitter cry.

  “What happened?” Malthus asked his father. “Do you know why they let us go?”

  “Word is going round about an ambush on palace grounds. Rumor has it the king and queen are no more.” Aimee shot a knowing glance at Malthus.

  “Give me a few minutes, son. I have to make arrangements to have the kids from the country taken home. Their parents have no idea they're safe. It will be a wonderful surprise, won't it?”

  “Yes, take your time. I'm okay.”

  Adin hugged him and kissed his forehead before he rushed away to comfort the kids who needed a ride home.

  Jack ran to his sister and in his haste almost knocked her over. He cried and squeezed her until their mother arrived. Jack gave way to her and Malthus pulled him aside.

  “What's going on?” he asked.

  “I told Liralexa you were taken and told her your plan,” he explained in a rapid fire manner, barely taking the time to breathe. “She said there was no way she could do such a thing. Then the next day she came into town in disguise looking for me. I took her to see Matt, and they created a plan of attack.”

  “Well, it worked,” Malthus said, his eyes wide with amazement.

  “No, it was a disaster.”

  “But we’re here.” Malthus’s features contorted into confusion.

  “Matt killed the queen immediately,” Jack explained, “but when the palace guards fought back, several of Matt’s rebels fled. The king took Liralexa into the woods. The rest thought the jig was up and got out of t
here. No one knows what happened after that.”

  “So, the king is alive?”

  “No, I don't know how but no. Matt has sources, and they say he’s definitely dead. Liralexa is to be crowned queen in a couple of days.”

  “She actually put herself in danger to save us,” Malthus marveled. “I was right to think she would.”

  “I guess she loves you more than we thought.” Jack elbowed him.

  Malthus felt pangs of guilt at the comment. He liked Liralexa as a person, but she had always been a means to an end for him. Her feelings for him had been pure and genuine. He regretted he didn't have more faith in her. Maybe Hope was not such a demon after all. It had told him to believe in her, and he did for a time. But he threw aside that hope when others expressed doubt.

  “I wonder what the new king will be like,” Jack grumbled. “I think I'll miss her.”

  Malthus felt empty inside as his delighted father led him home. Adin chatted constantly but his son hardly heard a word. When he got back to his room, he pulled the sketch Liralexa had drawn out of his desk drawer. He hadn't looked at it since she proudly presented it to him. He stared at the picture. Now that she was queen she would have to marry immediately. He wanted to see her one last time and have a genuine rather than calculated moment of affection with her. But that was out of the question. She was the queen now and every move she made would be monitored by assistants, advisers and protectors. He wiped away tears when he heard his father call for him. It was time to eat.

  Liralexa entered the Royal Hall for her first meeting with advisers and members of the Sigils Guild. She hesitated before sitting on the queen’s throne and gazed at the crowd before her. When she caught Aldra the Good’s eye, stabs of terror ricocheted throughout her being. The magician smiled at her.

  “You must choose your chief adviser, Your Majesty,” Munlin said.

  “I choose Master Caan.” Her tutor was stunned but quickly regained his composure.

  He bowed. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

  “I know this is the last thing you want to deal with right now but the law requires that you marry immediately,” Munlin said.

  “What?” she half screamed.

  “By law, the kingdom must be ruled by a king and queen.”

  “But why immediately?”

  “The kingdom must always have two rulers. And they must produce an heir as soon as possible.”

  She bit her lower lip and thought for a moment. “And I can choose my spouse?”

  “Well, yes, from the acceptable families of the region.”

  “I want to use my marriage to make peace with the Step Region.”

  “You don't need to do that. We will send our army there to crush them.”

  Liralexa once again felt a fire being stoked inside her.

  “Killing their people is what led to the assassination of my parents. I don't want a dispute with our own countrymen. They already know how to come through the portal. No one benefits from war.”

  “Marrying someone from another region is not done.”

  “But it is not forbidden by the laws of the Guild,” Aldrin said. “Queen Liralexa’s great, great, great-grandmother chose a man from the Lake Region as her king.”

  Aldrin was concerned the young and naïve queen would be exploited by people who wanted a continuation of the policies of Cameron and Stella. She had just begun her two years of royal training and had little idea of how anything worked. He was determined to use his new position to guide her and to ensure no one took advantage of her. He wouldn’t allow the people who were installed in their positions by her parents to push her around. As soon as the new couple was crowned, he intended to remove anyone who didn't fully support their vision. Munlin appealed to Aldra the Good.

  “Surely you see this is foolishness. Asher the Magnificent marked the people of the Golden Region as special.”

  “He only did so to appease a king who didn't trust him. He was trying to prove his loyalty to the Abbingdons. The powers of the Sigils Guild will protect the new queen and the kingdom regardless of her new husband’s place of origin. If the queen allows it, it is permitted.”

  “Well, yes, but…”

  “Please have the carriage and troops ready for our trip to the Step Region first thing tomorrow morning,” Aldrin interrupted.

  “But sir…”

  “Liralexa is no longer a child,” Aldra the Good interjected. “She is the queen and is to be obeyed.”

  “Very well.”

  “Two horses to pull the carriage is sufficient,” Liralexa added.

  “Very well, Your Majesty.”

  “With that out of the way, we are ready for the ceremony,” Aldra the Good announced.

  Ten magicians dressed in black gold-trimmed robes surrounded Liralexa’s throne. Aldra the Good gestured with her hands and a bubbling purple potion appeared. Musicians banged on drums as she climbed three steps to reach the throne. The magicians chanted in their mystical language while their mistress applied the potion to Liralexa’s forehead, cheeks, and chin. She dipped her forefinger into the potion and ran it along the new queen’s golden stripe and shield knot. An assistant approached with a crown on a cushion. Aldra the Good took the crown, placed it on the new queen’s head and uttered words of magic.

  “The preternatural powers of the Sigils Guild will protect you at all times, Your Majesty, as they have protected your forebears for a millennium. May the rule of the Abbingdon clan persist for all time.”

  After the ceremony Liralexa visited the kitchen. The servants bowed.

  “I want to thank all of you for the wonderful work you do. I appreciate each one of you.”

  “Thank you, Your Majesty.” The head cook wiped a tear from her eye.

  “I believe you may be short-handed in here.”

  “Yes, we need two more helpers.”

  Liralexa smiled at Sam. “Have you ever had a chance to go home, Sam?”

  “No, Your Majesty,” he muttered.

  “After we hire more kitchen staff, we’ll arrange a visit for you.”

  He gave her a grateful smile and muttered his thanks.

  “You also need better lighting in here. I'll have someone take care of it.”

  “Thank you, Your Majesty,” the elderly cook sniffled.

  “I'll have dinner with Chief Adviser Caan in the living room.”

  “Yes, Your Majesty.”

  Liralexa and Aldrin dined at a small table in the spacious living room. She couldn't bear to eat in the dining room that night.

  “Who is your young man?” he asked.

  “The son of the governor of the Step Region.”

  “I see. Are you confident he will accept a proposal?”

  “No! I feel I am quite foolish.”

  “Not at all, Your Majesty.”

  “Well, naïve then. I don't know the ways of the world, something I learned trying to make my way around Vallerton.”

  “Your Majesty!” His mouth gaped open.

  “I know it was a risk but I'm glad I did it.”

  “Experience is a teacher, I suppose. How many times did you meet this young man?”

  “I'm not even sure. Several.”

  “I thought you were meeting a boy in the woods all this time. I assumed one of our young soldiers. It never occurred to me you were leaving the palace grounds, let alone the region.”

  “And you didn't tell my parents?”

  “I believe even a royal must be allowed to live their life.” He winked at her. Although embarrassed, she grinned. “I assumed you were safe with someone allowed onto palace grounds. But I know Governor West. He is an honorable man and his son always appeared to be polite and well-behaved. Does he love you?”

  “I have no idea. That is why I say I feel foolish. Maybe he loves lots of girls, and I am nothing special to him. I don’t know how these things work in the real world.”

  “And if he refuses?”

  “If he refuses, I don't know who I will marry to
morrow. He is the only one I want. I wish I had more time.” She propped her elbows on the table and pushed her head into her hands. “I feel like the world is marching in double time and I'm struggling to keep up the pace. If only things would slow down a little but the rules and traditions aren’t giving me a moment to catch my breath.”

  “I think you should put the problems of tomorrow aside for tonight. Go get some sleep.”

  Liralexa crawled under her blankets. It was the last night she would sleep alone. Tomorrow she would lie next to her new husband, but she didn’t know who he would be. Life wouldn't be worth living if Malthus refused her marriage proposal, she thought. But she had to live for the sake of her people. Duty was the one lesson her mother and father drummed into her, which she took to heart. It remained valid despite being imparted by hypocrites. She wouldn't hold it against Malthus if he said no. Being king was a huge responsibility, and he had just turned eighteen. But she didn't want to be intimate with anyone else. A shudder rippled through her body. The thought of another man’s hands caressing her bare skin repulsed her and that moment of intimacy was just hours away. Her life just weeks before seemed so full of hope and promise. Now it was filled with misery and loss. Bitter tears soaked her pillow before she fell into temporary nothingness.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “I love a stranger

  I mean I know him, embrace him, kiss him

  And we talk

  And pour out our feelings

  Our deepest, darkest fears

  But he's still a stranger

  Am I mad?

  To use my position and power

  To try to make him mine”

  — Journal entry by Liralexa Abbingdon

  Liralexa felt a flutter in her stomach as she and Aldrin stepped into the royal carriage. The royal guards looked askance at the princess dressed in black pants and a black coat. She noticed but didn’t care. It seemed inappropriate to her to dress in finery while visiting a place where many went hungry. Aldra the Good and two wizards stepped into a second carriage. A magician uttered the freezing spell using the mystical language of the guild as the royal conveyance and its two dozen protectors closed in on the well. The procession briefly paused while General Hackett recited the incantation.