The Girl at the Well

by J. C. Ahmed

  “Well, I should have trusted you and Jack to save me.”

  “You knew about the plot?”

  “It was my idea but I couldn't bring myself to ask you. I thought I would be asking too much of you.”

  “I didn’t react well when Jack asked me. But as sad and empty as I feel now, it's nothing compared to what I would have felt if I let you and Aimee and those other kids die.”

  “And no one suspects anything?”

  “Master Caan, I mean Chief Adviser Caan, figured it out?”

  “How?”

  “He has been my teacher since I was four. He is the only person who truly knows me. He didn't approve of how my parents ran the kingdom, so our terrible secret is safe with him. And Aldra the Good knows.”

  “The magicians would, I suppose.”

  “How is Aimee?”

  “Not well. The guards at the prison help themselves to the female prisoners,” he said bitterly. Liralexa jumped up.

  “No!” she screamed. She put her hands over her ears as if doing so would block out the awful thoughts coursing through her mind. The earth seemed to pitch and roll beneath her feet once again.

  “Poor Aimee.”

  She sat down and sobbed. She didn't think the revelations about what went on in the kingdom could get any worse than this. Now she was glad her parents were dead. All the guilt she felt flushed out of her body. Aldrin knocked on the door and opened it. He noticed the queen’s swollen eyes. The tailor stood behind him.

  “I've shown Governor West and Jack to their rooms. When the tailor is finished, freshen up, and we will have lunch together.”

  Governor West swelled with pride as he watched his son and new daughter-in-law ascend the steps to their thrones. His pride and joy was tinged with sorrow. If only Cordelia was there to see her son become king. The new royal couple, clad in white and gold, held hands as attendees entered the room. Before they took their seats the governors of the six other put-upon regions stopped to congratulate him and shake his hand. The governors of the Golden and Mason regions walked in with eyes narrowed and lips pursed. Puffed up with self-importance they took their seats without acknowledging the father of the new king. When everyone was seated Aldra the Good stood up to speak.

  “A thousand years ago, Attilus the Great was traveling through the Argondelle Woods when he was set upon by a gang of thieves. They were no match for the great wizard who kept them at bay with ease. During his escape, he fell from his horse and was rendered unconscious. He would surely have been murdered without the intercession of a prince leading his troops into battle. Hearing the commotion, they rode toward danger and fought off the ruthless bandits. To show his gratitude, Attilus the Great promised victory to the prince. That was the day Prince Lestor Abbingdon won the throne of what is now known as the Golden Region. Attilus the Great pledged his loyalty to the Abbingdon clan. He set up the Sigils Guild to train magicians to serve and protect the family. We have stood by them ever since. Now there is a new royal couple Liralexa and Malthus Abbingdon who will take on the daunting task of ruling this great kingdom.”

  Just like at Liralexa’s first ceremony, ten magicians surrounded their thrones. Aldra the Good once again gestured with her hands and the bubbling purple potion appeared. Musicians banged on drums as she climbed the steps to the thrones. The magicians chanted in their mystical language as Aldra the Good applied the potion to the foreheads, cheeks, and chins of the couple. She dipped her finger in the potion and ran it along Liralexa’s golden stripe and shield knot. When she applied the potion to the new king’s neck, the stripe and shield knot appeared.

  “Do you promise to govern the people of the Kingdom of the Nine Regions, according to the laws and traditions passed down by your ancestors?”

  “I promise,” the royal couple said simultaneously.

  Assistants bearing crowns approached the thrones. Aldra the Good uttered in a mystical language as she placed them on the heads of the royal couple.

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

  The crowd erupted into cheers at the end of the ceremony. Malthus and Liralexa insisted on accompanying the attendees into the woods for the reception rather than travel in the royal carriage. They mingled with the crowd and took part in all the dances. Hours later they strolled home accompanied by Aldrin.

  “Any requests for tomorrow?” he asked.

  “Please have the governors of what my parents considered the seven lesser regions attend lunch,” Liralexa said. Malthus winced at the word lesser.

  “Very well, Your Majesty.”

  “I would like to have the governors of the Golden Region and the Mason Region come for dinner. Based on their demeanors today, they aren’t receptive to the changes the king and I will make.”

  “They are as mad as wet hens,” Aldrin laughed.

  Liralexa giggled. “They couldn’t even suppress it for the big day.”

  Liralexa’s waking hours brought fear and worry but sleep was no escape. In her dreams, she saw the shocked and pleading face of her father as she repeatedly plunged a knife into his chest. The grisly scene haunted her. She snuggled up close to Malthus. His warm body next to her was her vindication. If she hadn't saved him, he would be lying stiff and cold in a mass grave. The warmth of his body and his steady breathing brought her some peace.

  Malthus had his own fears which haunted him during moments of wakefulness and sleep. At the party, a burst of raucous laughter took him back to the Golden City prison. Darkness enveloped him. His body trembled. He covered his ears to block out screams. Now that he had power over his former tormentors he was plotting revenge. Everyone in the Golden Region who had oppressed, abused, exploited, and murdered the peoples of the other regions would be held to account. He took hold of his restive wife.

  “Don't fret, dear,” he whispered. “Go to sleep.” She drifted off into a calm sleep in his arms.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Love? No, it never crossed my mind

  I had an end I needed to reach

  And she was the means

  A thing to use as I laid out my plans

  Now regret consumes me

  Because she deserves love”

  — Journal entry by Malthus West

  Despite being haunted by disturbing dreams, Liralexa awoke in high spirits, her mind brimming with plans and ideas. Her joy rubbed off on Malthus and they set about turning those ideas into action. Lunch with the regional governors was their first formal event. Liralexa spoke to the group.

  “I know you have been burdened with excessive taxes. We will change that immediately. All regions will be taxed at the same rate. We will reduce portal transportation fees. Taxes collected on portal transportation will be distributed fairly among the regions. We will set up a committee with representatives from each region to oversee the collection and distribution of taxes. All unnecessary building projects in the Golden Region have already been halted.”

  “I trust you to do the right thing, Your Majesty,” the governor of the Druss Region said. “But I worry about who will come after you. Your grandparents were fair rulers but your parents were tyrants. We have to think of future generations as well as our own needs.”

  “The internal portals connecting the nine regions must go,” the governor of the Hasting Region demanded. “We only need external portals to protect us from outsiders who would do us harm. If the internal portals remain, the people of the subject regions will always be at the mercy of the rulers of the Golden Region.”

  “I agree the portal system has been terribly unfair,” Aldrin said. “And that they have been abused. The whole point of their creation was to exploit and dominate the subject regions. But we can't remove them. The portals were created by a super magician. Their kind only grace this world once or twice in a thousand years. There is no magician alive at the mome
nt who could remove the portals.”

  “And there is nothing at all the Sigils Guild can do to modify this system to make it more fair?” the Governor of the Lake Region asked.

  “We magicians can only perform spells created by those with higher powers,” Aldra the Good said. “We can't create our own. Only magicians with titles of ‘the great’ or ‘the magnificent’ affixed to their names can create new spells. I will order a review of our books of magic but I don't expect to find any spells to modify the portals. Even if we do find such spells, we may not have a magician with the capability to cast them.”

  “But you have hundreds of such books and dozens of members,” he protested.

  “Asher the Magnificent had a purpose in mind when he created the portals,” she responded. “He did not want that purpose undone.”

  “I believe Queen Liralexa and King Malthus will treat the people of all regions fairly,” the governor of the Lagaas Region said, as she folded her napkin. “But for the sake of future generations we should be told where the portals are and how to access them.”

  The governor of the Ajian Region agreed. “Even the fairest rulers of the past have been unwilling to tell us the locations of the portals.”

  “Unfortunately, that is not so simple,” Aldra the Good explained. “There are risks to portal travel. Think of them as a street that can only be traveled one way at a time. If two people enter in opposite directions at the same moment, they will be lost. That is why access to the portals must be regulated. If the king and queen permit it, we could make information on the location of each portal known to the governors of each region. But I fear if word gets out about their location, it could have tragic consequences. We’re already concerned that several individuals in the Step Region know the location of their portal and how to access it.”

  Liralexa was shocked to hear about the risks of portal travel she had been unaware of when she made her own trips. But it also bothered her that there were no easy answers to preventing future exploitation of the regions. Yes, she and Malthus would be fair and treat everyone well but what about her own heir. She would teach her children to do the right thing by their subjects but she could not guarantee they would follow her precepts when enormous amounts of wealth and power were handed to them. Her head started to hurt.

  “The king and I will have to meet with our advisers to discuss what we can do to protect future generations.”

  She and Malthus were glum as they made their way to the royal offices.

  “I thought this would be easy,” Malthus sighed. They sat at a table. “But it looks like there are no surefire solutions.”

  They were joined by Aldrin, Governor West and Jack.

  “We can set up a representative body that will ensure the needs and concerns of the regions are addressed,” Liralexa said.

  “That’s what we should do,” Aldrin agreed. “Give the regions a say in how they are ruled.”

  “We must constrain our own power,” Liralexa said, “and abide by the laws of a parliament.”

  “But this parliament could be disbanded by a future monarch?” Malthus asked.

  “Yes, I’m afraid so,” Aldrin said.

  “If we can turn these changes into traditions,” Liralexa said, “they may stand the test of time. So many of the rules we follow are based on such traditions. Constraining our powers is the legacy Malthus and I will leave to future generations.”

  Malthus and Liralexa wanted to make lasting changes, and that was the only realistic way to do it. At dinner, they had to discuss the changes with the governors of the Golden and Mason regions.

  “We want to achieve spending parity across all nine regions,” Liralexa said. “To achieve that, significant spending cuts will have to be made in your regions. We have cancelled all unnecessary building projects in the Golden Region.”

  “But Your Majesty, two thousand craftsmen in my region depend on jobs in the Golden Region.”

  “I understand, but they managed to make a living prior to the advent of my parents’ vanity projects. And I'm sure they'll be in demand when needed construction projects in the subject regions begin.”

  Liralexa spoke with a confident and authoritative voice, but inside she felt like a small child. She feared they would divine her true feelings.

  “The people of the Golden Region have become accustomed to high living standards,” the governor protested.

  “I want all our regions to enjoy high standards of living. I will not allow two regions to prosper at the expense of the other seven. We are one country. We need to start acting like it.”

  The governors were unhappy with the new changes but they had no choice but to accept them.

  Dew licked Liralexa’s boots as she ambled through the woods. She needed to clear her head and her wanderings in nature always helped. But they couldn’t stop the dawn ebbing into morning. She often wished she could hold back time and savor moments of peace for a little longer. When she returned to her chamber, a sense of dread engulfed her. She lay next to Malthus, who was still wrapped in peaceful slumber. She nestled her head against his chest and drank in the sound of his heart beating. Being close to him brought both peace and agitation. When he awoke with a smirk on his face, she felt an uncomfortable knot form in her stomach.

  “What's going on?” she asked.

  “Nothing.” He jumped out of bed. “Just looking forward to today’s meetings.”

  Liralexa’s muscles stiffened. She sat up and wrung her hands. Malthus smiled at her when he emerged from the closet.

  “Do you like my new clothes?”

  Despite her fears, she smiled back. “You look very handsome.”

  He held out his hand and gently pulled her up when she took it. He gave her a tender kiss on the lips, then slipped his arm around her shoulder. When they entered the dining room, he pulled out a chair for her.

  “Our meeting with General Hackett has been scheduled, I assume,” Malthus asked Jack. Liralexa twitched.

  “For eleven o’clock,” Jack said. Liralexa noted the sinister grin which lit up his face.

  “Very good.” Malthus tapped his fingers on the table. “I've been looking forward to this meeting.”

  Aldrin noticed Liralexa was on edge and changed the subject.

  “Governor West. Some palace staff who were hired by Cameron and Stella are resistant to change and must be replaced immediately. If the king and queen agree, I think you would be perfect for the role of regional adviser.”

  “That's a brilliant idea. Please say yes, father. Deputy Governor Regus can run the Step Region in your place.”

  “Well, I want to be closer to my son and new daughter, so yes, I will gratefully accept.”

  Liralexa was delighted. She had lost her family and was eager to create a new one. “You and Jack can move into staff housing and visit with us often.”

  Aldrin took the queen aside after breakfast.

  “Is the upcoming meeting with General Hackett worrying you?”

  “I fear the changes I want to make will be sorely tested today.”

  “They will, I'm afraid.”

  The king and queen stood before their thrones. Jack stood next to the king and Aldrin stood at Liralexa’s side. Palace staff and guards filed into the room. A palace assistant ushered General Hackett before the royal couple. He bowed then shuffled from foot to foot. Malthus and Jack shot knowing smiles at each other when they noticed the General’s nervous twitches.

  “I have been informed,” Liralexa said, in a commanding voice, “that guards under your command repeatedly violated helpless girls in our military prison and stadium cells. Is it true you allowed such a thing?”

  “My troops were permitted to do so by your parents, Your Majesty. I had no right to overrule their wishes.”

  Overwhelmed by shock and dismay, Liralexa fell onto her throne. How many nights had she slept peacefully, unaware girls her age were being ravaged by prison guards at the behest of her parents? Noting the many eyes trained
on her, she regained her composure and motioned to the concerned king to sit.

  “I have been told your troops did what was permitted with much gusto.”

  General Hackett looked guiltily at the new king, whose contemptuous glare tore through him.

  “In the interests of the nation, you will resign immediately, General. I will only permit those with the highest standards of decorum to hold power over others.” She turned to Aldrin.

  “I want every member of the military involved in the transporting or guarding of victims of the Strages to be removed from the military at once. We will build a better military with recruits from all over the Nine Regions.”

  “As you wish, Your Majesty.”

  “Can we prosecute the guards who abused these children and the General for allowing it?” she asked her legal advisor. Other than his stomach tightening and his lips trembling, Hackett stood still as a statue.

  “I'm afraid not,” she said. “While these abuses are illegal, your parents permission overrode the law. No judge would accept a case against them.”

  “And can General Hackett be held legally responsible for the murder of the king’s mother?”

  “I'm afraid not. He was given much leeway by your parents.”

  “But we could override the law and punish them, could we not?” Malthus asked.

  Liralexa flinched and wrung her hands. This was the moment she dreaded.

  “Of course, you absolutely have that right,” the legal advisor replied.

  “Do we want that right?” Liralexa asked Malthus. “We want to create a parliament whose laws are respected. We want the rule of law to take precedence over the whims of a king or queen. But your anger is righteous and what right do I have, as someone who has never suffered, to question it. What do you think we should do?”

  Malthus wanted vengeance. He wanted to oversee the torture and execution of the men who harmed Aimee and countless other girls. He wanted to take part in the torture and execution of General Hackett, the man who callously let his mother bleed to death. The man who enforced cruel laws with a smug smile on his face. The thought of unemployment being their only punishment was eating him up inside. But Liralexa wanted to build a better future. A future in which monarchs had less power to enforce their personal wishes. He respected her too much to go against her and what she wanted to accomplish. As much as it pained him, he would not overrule the law and undermine his wife’s authority. He would push his pain and anger down deep and support her, no matter what. Jack could see the conflict inside him as he mulled over what to do.