by C. G. Garcia
The eyes that were scrutinizing her so intently were a shade of violet so deep that they appeared almost black. Her expression was curious without even a hint of the fear so many others had shown.
She held herself with such grace and dignity that anyone would be envious. Allison feel ugly and awkward in comparison.
“Your Majesty, My Queen,” she distantly heard Aidric say as he bowed gracefully, “my lords and ladies, I present to you Allison McNeal, my new ward and apprentice.”
Somehow Allison remembered to curtsey before the royal couple, though clumsily, since she wasn’t altogether sure of the correct method, and her only examples had come from movies. I don’t know why I couldn’t have just bowed, she thought irritably. Even I couldn’t mess that up.
The king and queen both nodded in acknowledgment, and at once the low buzz of voices resumed all around her. She shifted her feet nervously and glanced over at Aidric to see what he would do next.
She really hated to know that all those people were talking about her, and there wasn’t a damned thing she could do about it. All she could do was stand there feeling like an idiot and hope that it would all be over soon so she could once again hide out in the relative safety of Aidric’s suite.
Surprisingly, it was King Diryan, not Aidric, that next spoke.
“Enough with the formalities, lad,” he said in a voice so low that it surely was meant for their ears alone. “You may both go take your seats before the Circle. Now that they have seen her with their own eyes, maybe they will be more inclined to believe all you have told them and listen to reason.”
“As thick-headed as some of them are,” Aidric murmured mischievously, “I doubt even the sight of her will make them believe.”
“You are probably right,” Diryan replied just as mischievously. “Now go take your seat, lad, before someone overhears that loose tongue of yours and you suddenly find that you have more to concern yourself with than a legendary ward!”
“My King,” he said mockingly as he led a very astonished Allison to one of the two empty seats between the dais and the circular platform. He then seated himself in the other across the aisle.
Allison couldn’t believe that the king allowed Aidric to speak so freely and sarcastically to him as if they were merely drinking buddies and not king and underling. For all she knew, they might just be drinking buddies. Either that, or her idea of how a king ruled over his subjects and King Diryan’s were as different as apples and oranges.
As she took her seat, Allison noticed that all eyes were still on her, some with ill-concealed fear, others skeptical, but most awestruck. She could feel her face burning red in embarrassment under all their scrutiny. This was exactly what she had wanted to avoid when she had first refused to come to the presentation.
Standing before the king and queen had not been as bad as she had thought it would be since her back had been to the dozens of prying eyes, even though she had still felt them boring into her back. Sitting before the Circle where she dared not lower her eyes was infinitely worse. She longed to be able to melt into her seat.
Allison reached for that imaginary line between Aidric and her.
“This was exactly why I didn’t want to come here,” she sent intently down the line, hoping that she was using her thought-speech correctly. She certainly did not want anyone else to know how uncomfortable she was.
Although his face remained as passive as ever, she saw his lips twitch ever so slightly as if he was trying to hold back a smile.
“How quickly we learn,” she suddenly heard him say in her mind, his voice dripping with the amusement he could not outwardly show. “I had about given up the idea that you would bespeak me with thought-speech without my first initiating the conversation. I see that you have also mastered volume control—at least my mind hopes you have! Now you can see firsthand the importance of thought-speech, especially in a situation such as this when conversation is taboo. Now, what is it that’s troubling you?”
“All those eyes…” she replied with a mental shudder. “I wish they would stop staring at me like I was some kind of monster or something. I hate being scrutinized, Aidric. You can’t even begin to understand just how much. When will this be over? What happens now?”
“I’m afraid that it’ll be a while, yet. Diryan plans on addressing the Circle about you and how your presence here will affect Lamia. It’s extremely important that they see you, Allison. They must accustom themselves to your presence.”
“You’ve been so vague about the prophecy and what’s in it that has so many people looking at me with fear and suspicion as if I’m plotting to murder the entire kingdom in their sleep! Even you look at me warily sometimes. Don’t think that I haven’t noticed. Do you ever plan on telling me the whole prophecy?”
Allison marveled that his expression never changed once as they “talked.” In fact, he didn’t glance in her direction at all.
“I realize that you must be very frustrated about that vagueness,” Aidric said, “but please understand that I had to be so. The Seer in the Order of the Providence who Foresaw your coming also thought that it should be the king of Lamia who would ultimately reveal the contents of the prophecy to the Golden Mage when she appeared. Have patience, milady. You’ll hear it soon enough, although afterwards, you may wish that you were not so eager to learn the fate Seni has given you.”
She struggled to keep her sudden alarm from her face. “What the hell does that mean?”
“Patience,” was his only reply before King Diryan began to address the Circle.
“You have all now seen with your own eyes the golden-haired maiden in which Aidric spoke of,” King Diryan said. “I know that everyone present in this room is very familiar with the Providencen Prophecy of the Golden Mage. For as the prophecy reads:
On the Eve of the Birth of the World,
Through brilliant colors and light,
A mage that hath dwelt in a realm unknown
Will come to the land of Lamia,
A maiden with hair spun like gold
And a beauty meant for no mortal eyes to behold.
This mage will possess power that no man has possessed,
Bestowed upon her by our divine lord, Seni,
To seal the fate of the kingdom.
The Golden Mage she is named,
And either Lamia’s savior or destroyer she will be proclaimed.”
Allison’s blood turned to ice when she heard the words King Diryan spoke, words she only minutes earlier had demanded to hear.
No wonder these people look at me like I’m the Devil, she thought in horror. That prophecy all but says I really will murder them all! The savior or destroyer—it doesn’t take a genius to know which one everyone believes I’ll be. Aidric was right—I shouldn’t have been so eager to know the truth. If only I hadn’t insisted Kat and I visit that damned park, then maybe none of this would have ever happened…
She was startled out of her thoughts when she suddenly found King Diryan standing before her. All she could do was blink stupidly up at him in surprise, wondering how his rising had escaped her notice. She could feel herself beginning to blush again. Painfully aware that all eyes were on them, Allison forced herself to meet the king’s gaze and not shrink from it.
When he gestured for her to stand, she could do nothing but obey. “Come,” he said simply, and she followed him down the aisle until he halted in the very center. Despite her best efforts, she could feel her knees begin to tremble at having to stand so exposed.
“There is nothing to fear,” Aidric thought-spoke to her, but his words didn’t make her feel any better.
“As you all know,” King Diryan began while Allison suffered silently at his side, “today is the Eve of the Birth of the World, and this maiden,” he gestured to Allison, “suddenly appeared in our kingdom within the Forest of Illusions. She also has spoken of traveling through a portal filled with multitudes of colors and light from a world that is not our own, a world named Earth. You also can pla
inly see that she has hair of gold, a hue no mortal in Seni’s world has ever possessed, and no soul here could honestly deny her beauty.”
Mortified, Allison could feel her cheeks heat up more fiercely and desperately wished that Aidric’s spell of invisibility still concealed her. I just want to die, right here and now, she thought miserably.
“The Mage-general has confirmed that she has abilities even beyond his own,” the king was saying, oblivious to her distress. “Untrained, she flattened him with the power of a single mind-scream. The evidence is quite compelling. I believe she is indeed the Golden Mage that was Foreseen to come, and we must do everything in our power to see that the disaster foretold in the prophecy never comes to pass. That is why I have entrusted Aidric with the duty of instructing her to control the powers that Seni has bestowed upon her.”
He paused dramatically as his gaze slowly swept the entire Circle. “She will be given full citizenship as well. As Aidric has pointed out to me, she is indeed an important asset to our magical defense, so I expect her to be treated accordingly. I forbid any unprovoked acts of violence against her under penalty of death. It is Seni’s will that has brought her to us, so it is our duty to see that His will is carried out accordingly. Who are we to defy what He has set forth?”
Questions burned in Allison’s mind as she listened, but she didn’t dare say a word for fear that the nobles of the Circle would think her disrespectful for interrupting the king. After all, she knew next to nothing about the proper etiquette of a royal court. She didn’t want to give them any more reasons to look at her with contempt than they already did.
She stood silently with her back ramrod straight at Diryan’s side until he finished speaking.
Allison then cleared her throat and inquired timidly, “King Diryan—Your Majesty?”
His head turned to her in surprise. He had probably not expected her to speak at all. “You have a question for me?” he asked.
“Yes,” she continued, relieved that her voice came out steady. “You spoke of an uncertainty in your prophecy, that I will either be the destroyer or savior of Lamia. Is Lamia currently at war?”
She had spoken softly, intending for only the king to hear her question, but then everyone suddenly began to talk all at once while the king frowned in thought, making her instantly regret opening her mouth at all.
“None can be certain of what perils lie before our kingdom,” the king hedged. “The prophecy can very well be referring to the silent war we are currently engaged in with the eastern kingdom of Mihr. For years, their mage-king, Roderick, has hungered for the power of our Mage-field. No other kingdom’s Mage-field comes near to equaling the power of our own. With the power of Lamia’s Mage-field at his whim, he would be capable of conquering not only Mihr’s neighboring kingdoms but quite possibly the entire world. However, he would first have to conquer Lamia to even have access to the power of our Mage-field.
“What is preventing him from realizing his tyrannical ambitions is the Shield spell that my ancestor, the great King Ladonis, cast over Lamia at her founding to prevent the Mage-field from falling into the hands of men such as Roderick. Only those with permission may enter our kingdom since the Shield can only be opened from within the borders, and only those with citizenship may remain more than a few days.”
Allison must have been making quite the face because the king suddenly laid a comforting hand on her shoulder.
“Perhaps it is to free us forever from Roderick’s threat that Seni has sent you here to accomplish,” he said kindly before his eyes once again turned introspective. “And yet, there is always the possibility that allowing you to confront Roderick on the battlefield on the kingdom’s behalf could also cause our downfall, for the only possible way Roderick could breech our Shield is to have a mage more powerful than King Ladonis, himself, under his power. You have that very potential, milady Allison, as the prophecy has foretold.”
Allison felt all the blood drain from her face. “But—but wouldn’t it be better, then, if I didn’t learn how to use these mage powers?” she stammered. “Couldn’t Aidric just keep my powers shielded as he’s been doing? That way you can be sure that Roderick can’t use me to conquer Lamia.”
“Having no control of your powers could very well destroy us all, as well,” King Diryan replied gravely. “Aidric’s shields can only hold your powers at bay for a short while. At any time, the wild magic of the Mage-field could break through the shields he has placed on your channels and cause many catastrophes. You could even unknowingly destroy the Shield surrounding our kingdom, allowing Roderick’s troops to finally cross over into our lands since no mage living today can perform the Shield spell as King Ladonis did. Your powers must be controlled, Allison. There is no question of it.”
“Then I give you my word that I’ll do everything in my power to see that I learn to control these powers,” Allison pledged more bravely than she felt.
“And I shall do everything known to man under Seni to see that she receives the proper instruction,” Aidric vowed as he rose and joined the pair in the center of the room.
A middle-aged woman, dressed in an emerald-green dress more fitting to a formal ball than a Council presentation, slowly rose and said, “Your Majesty, if I may speak?”
“Of course, Lady Gaelle,” Diryan replied. “I shall hear any opinions on the matter.”
“Your Majesty,” Gaelle began, “you have said that she has spoken of traveling through a portal in order to reach our kingdom from another realm. You know as well as I that any mage with enough power to control the Mage-field can perform the portal spell. Mihr, of course, has its own small Mage-field, but Mage-field it still is. Roderick has more than proven he is capable of performing spells that require the use of great power, even with the limited power of his Mage-field. It’s also said that he’s a practitioner of the Dark Powers. She could very well be an agent of Roderick, sent here under a glamour more powerful than any of us have seen to destroy the Shield from within.”
“Probing her mind for any deception was the first thing I did,” Aidric interrupted impatiently. “She speaks the truth on all she has revealed, but suppose she hadn’t and was indeed an agent of Roderick’s. How then can you explain how Roderick managed to breech the Shield after all these years of failure and open a portal within our forest? Why then not come himself rather than sending a lackey?”
“I have no answer,” she replied coolly. “I’m but a mind-mage, and you, my dear Lord Aidric, have more knowledge of such things than I. The one thing these years that I have been a mind-mage have taught me is to not dismiss something as impossible. I’m sure you found no trace of deceit in her mind—we wouldn’t be standing here in this Throne Room with her a step away from the king if you had. Yet, I would ask Your Majesty’s permission to test her myself.”
Aidric angrily started to retort, but a warning look from Diryan quickly silenced him.
“We shall hear her out,” the king said. “All suspicions will be voiced and addressed right here and now.”
Just great. As if these people weren’t suspicious enough of me as it is! Allison despaired.
“It’s not that I doubt your abilities, Milord Aidric,” Gaelle explained evenly. “You would not hold the position you hold if your abilities were not exceptional. I merely wish to subject her to a test with a mind that could not possibly be distracted by her extreme beauty.”
“How dare you even imply—” Aidric boomed, taking a step towards Gaelle before Diryan held him back with his arm.
“A word of caution, Lady Gaelle,” King Diryan warned, disapproval on his face. “Your request indeed comes very near to being an accusation. However, if it would put all minds at ease once and for all as to her identity as the Golden Mage of prophecy, then I grant you my permission to perform your test before Circle and Council.” His attention turned to Aidric. “Aidric, if you would allow her access.”
“Understood,” he replied, his voice still tight with tension.
Allison eyed Gaelle nervously, wondering exactly what the woman would subject her to. She had no memory of Aidric performing anything like a test on her. Had he performed it while she had been unconscious?
She started when she heard Lady Gaelle’s voice suddenly say, “It’s done. She speaks the truth.”
But how could she have— Allison turned questioning eyes to Aidric, but before she could form the words in her mind for thought-speech, he answered her silent question.
“The test isn’t something that is consciously felt by those who don’t know what to look for,” he sent. “That’s what makes the ability so dangerous. One of the first lessons I’ll teach you is how to detect an unwanted mind-probe and how to shield against it. I must apologize for her accusations since I know she will not. They were uncalled for and accomplished nothing but making the Circle unnecessarily wary of you.
“Lady Gaelle is disliked by many. She trusts no one and thinks herself knowledgeable above all others, even the king. Calling my abilities into question in such a petty manner is just her way of making certain that she is given the attention she believes is due her. It would be wise to avoid her if possible in the future.”
“I’ll remember that,” she sent back, eyeing Gaelle with hidden contempt.
“Are there any others who also wish to speak before me?” Diryan asked.
When no one else rose, he gestured for Aidric to take his seat and commanded Allison to follow him. Puzzled, she obeyed and followed him up to the foot of the throne seats where he told her to stand before the queen and himself.
Once seated, Diryan called out the name, Voytek, and a redheaded youth barely into puberty immediately appeared from the shadows behind the throne seats. He bowed deeply to the king. He then turned to Allison and stared, his blue eyes widening as he looked at her.
Does everyone have to stare at me? Allison thought crossly as she sent to Aidric, “Who is he?”
“He’s Diryan’s page and scribe,” Aidric said. She heard his laughter echo through her mind before he added, “Although I should say he’s Diryan’s puppy from the way he follows Diryan around ever at his heels.”