by Gloria Mur
How she would relish turning Grino into a reptile! The heir to the throne of Groix! All he can do is snarf down food, sleep, and squeeze the servant-girls! He can't even hurt anything! And that's not even getting into higher magical mastery! But why?! Why must the heir be a man? Far away in the City of the Sun, her sister Yuma was the ruler! Queen Yuma! But she was just Guria- the great heriditary witch Guria Yala Gorr- nothing but a princess. Well, whatever! Soon, justice will be restored!
***
Samir fell to his knees before Kriida.
- "I broke the Memory Ray, Kriida! I am ready to undergo punishment!"
- "You can stand, Samir," the elder gave him her hand, "who exactly?"
- "Queen Yuma."
- "It's nothing to worry about," interrupted the Teacher, "Nastia's a strong girl, she can take it."
- "She's kept her consciousness!"
- "Yes, but I think she will manage," said Kriida. "In any case, we can only wait. Thank God that the others don't suspect anything. They will simply live through that month just as they lived it in the past. Neither Guria, nor Tamil and Greta, nor Aleur will remember a thing. I don't think Nastia will be able to recognize them.
And Kriida gave the sign for the Council to end.
Chapter 9. Queen Yuma
Nervously pacing the Queen's bedchamber, Nastia thought frantically. "Lemuria... The land of the giants. Samir did say that they'd chosen objects from Lemuria... But that's impossible!... And nonetheless, I'm here. I didn't just fall into the past. I'm different. So... Samir returned me to a past life? I chose an object from a past life and landed in Lemuria? I was once a queen? It can't be!"
Nastia walked up to the mirror once again... and saw the same beautiful lady.
"Unthinkable! If I'm to assume that this is all really happening, there's still one thing. If I was once Queen Yuma, then why don't I remember that? The only thing I remember is the language."
A knock was once again heard at the door.
- "Enter!!”
- "Your Majesty!” Tina bowed. She had already gone out and gotten a new grass braid and attached it to her cap. - "Your majesty! Your brother, prince Doro requests an audience with you." "What should I wear?" "Which dress would please you to wear?"
- "Well, what do you think?"
- "The blue lace one, of course, your majesty! It suits your eyes so well!"
- "The lace one, that's right! Where is it?"
The servant opened a door in the wall next to the bed. Not a minute later, a dress and shoes had appeared before the "queen." Tina bowed her head.
- "Listen, Tina, stop bowing all the time! And stop all this 'your majesty' stuff!" pleaded Nastia.
- "How would you like to be called, your Majesty?"
- "Well... by my name of course."
- "I'm afraid that is impossible, your Majesty," quivered Tina's voice, "I cannot call you by your name. Only members of the royal family can do that!"
Nastia sighed.
- "Alright. Call me what you normally call me. But stop bowing."
Tina crouched in a bow.
- "Very well, your Majesty. Only, you too, don't be angry, but I would like you to call me 'servant' instead of Tina, like before."
With Tina's help, Nastia wriggled into the pale-blue lace dress. There were small circular mirrors along the seam, just like Tina had, only every little mirror was encircled with pearls. An herb bag with unknown contents hung on her belt. On top of it all, Tina took the crystal flask from the side table, scooped something dark blue out of it, and drew a symbol, a triangle, enclosed in a circle on her chest, between her collarbones. Nastia sat silently, not questioning a thing. After all that, the strange Tina lit the grass braid again.
Tina gave Nastia a silver crown with a large transparent-blue stone in the center.
Nastia involuntarily admired herself.
The door opened, and a ten or eleven year old boy ran into the room.
- "Yuma!"
The boy threw himself at Nastia and hugged her.
- "Hi, Doro!" said Nastia, overcoming her shyness, and patting the boy on the head, having guessed that it was her brother, the Prince.
It must be! He looked as much like his sister as two drops of water look like each other, only his hair was lighter and flowing with beautiful curls. His head was tied with a silver ribbon. He had a little bag on his belt, just like the queen and the servant.
- "Leave us, Tina!" pleaded Nastia. The servant walked away with a bow.
- "Well, how are you doing, Doro?" asked Nastia.
- "I'm doing great, Yuma! I made you a present, let's go see!"
- "A present? Is today my birthday?"
- "No," chuckled Doro, "my present can't wait until your birthday."
- "Ok, well where is it?" Smiled Nastia.
- "Let's go, it's in the courtyard!"
They left the bedroom. The palace corridor, decorated with pink marble, and lit by many oil lamps, was empty. Their footsteps rang loudly off the flat walls and floors. The lamps lit themselves based on when the Queen and her brother were approaching. Spacious halls captured the imagination with their luxurious furniture, filled with a rainbow of light, coming through the stain-glass windows.
- "What a beautiful palace, Doro!"
- "It's like you're seeing it for the first time!" chuckled the prince.
- "Well, yes, but... I feel like I'm seeing it all again, through new eyes- how can I explain it to you…"
- "No need to explain," snickered Doro, "I know that you're in love! "Greta says that love fills life with different colors!"
- "So I'm in love, huh? Greta?"
- "Sure. She tells me stories about love."
- "Your... servant girl?"
- For crying out loud, Yuma! Greta is my teacher and your friend!"
- "Ah-ha," muttered Nastia in shame, "you know, Doro, I should tell you a secret. I need your help."
- “What happened?"
- "Let's go, first, you show me the present! I'll tell you the secret afterwards." Said Nastia, taking the Prince by the hand. They ran out into the garden.
Nastia noticed that the garden, like the palace, was empty. A pair of servants in blue liveries, but that was all the people they saw on there way.
- "Doro, why isn't there anyone here? Where are all the people?"
The prince looked lovingly at his sister.
- "What's wrong with you? Everyone's working to build the ark."
- "Well where's the present then?"
- "It's right here!" answered Doro, fumbling in some bushes that looked like dwarf trees. He pulled out a silver box with little holes, which looked familiar to Nastia... It looks like... the box from the museum of Shambhala! Only there, she was holding a huge, heavy box, and here was its smaller copy. When she opened it, Nastia almost dropped the present in her surprise. In the box she saw a… bear cub. She fainted. The chubby, clumsy, koala cub was trembling. He tried to bite Nastia's finger. And it would have been completely normal. If it weren't for the size of the cub. The koala was the size of a spool of thread!!!
- "Doro, who is this?!"
- "Remember, I said I would catch a mapule? This is him! They live in chisa bushes."
- "Where?"
- "Over there in the grass," said Doro, pointing to the miniature trees.
Nastia walked up, ripped off a leaf, tasted it, and smelled it. Doro laughed.
- "Yuma, are you playing around?"
Nastia instantly remembered the smell of the unctuous leaves. The small mini-trees were eucalyptus! And the koala cub lived in a eucalyptus forest, as they do! Either the citizens of Lemuria had bred tiny animals and trees, or…
- "Doro, what's the biggest animal in our land?" she asked.
- "Are you testing me again? I learned that a long time ago! The largest animal is the twing.”
- “Twing... Well, how big is it?"
- "Usually about this size," answered Doro, pointing to his knee.
- "
So what, it doesn't exist any more?"
- “Before, in ancient times, lived the forefathers of the twings, but they died out. They were a bit taller," he pointed to his belt, "around this high. But enough of this test, Yuma! Did you like the mapule?"
- "I liked it a lot, Doro, but let's let him go, I don't think he wants to live locked up."
- "Well, of course we're gonna let him go! You're very strange today, sister! What's wrong with you?”
Nastia fell silent. "If koalas are the same size as normal... Then I must be in the land of the giants! In mysterious Lemuria, about which Samir was speaking. And that means that I am a giant myself."
- "You know, Doro, something bad happened to me. I'll tell you, just promise you won't tell."
- "Yuma!" I'm your most faithful friend, you know that!"
- "You have to understand... I've forgotten everything, Doro. When I woke up this morning, I didn't have any memories. Do you get me?"
- "That must be Aveduk! I knew it! The heir of Groix..." bustled Doro, and grabbled at the herb bag.
- "Wait! Explain who Aveduk is. Tina burned that grass already."
Doro's voice cracked,
"you don't remember me either?!"
- I remember that you're my dear little brother and I love you. But nothing more," lied Nastia, and patted Doro on the head. - "You don't remember anything? Not the names of cities, nor names, nor history, nor Aveduk…"
Doro told Yuma that Aveduk is the curse of the sorcerers. A few weeks ago, at the Great Council, Queen Yuma announced that she would not be marrying Grino, the heir of Groix. Then, King Gorr promised to send Aveduk, an ancient curse. Obviously, he'd kept his word by the fact that the Queen had lost her memory.
- "Did Tina surround me with smoke to remove the curse?" guessed Nastia.
- "Well yeah, all the people of Lemuria carry protective amulets made of qi herbs. And also the mirrors on our clothes reflect evil thoughts from sorcerers. But qi is powerless against Gorr..."
- "Doro, let's try to get my memory back. Let's do it simply- you tell me about everything and maybe I'll remember."
- "Yuma, have you also forgotten Aleur?" asked Doro.
- "I'm sorry to disappoint you, boy, but I don't know what that is."
- "Aleur is your fiancée! Don't tell me you've forgotten him too?!"
- "I don't remember anyone. Except you," said Nastia, smiling kindly at the boy. "So, let's not waste any time, and get my memory back."
- "Let's go," sighed the prince. "I'll tell you everything I know."
***
Guria drew the curtains and lit a candle. On the table lay an ancient, half-decayed tome. Guria walked up to in and stroked the cover as if it were a living creature. She found the manuscript in an abandoned hut in the woods. She had found an amazing curse in the book! Guria danced in joy when she discovered just what she'd found. No living sorcerer had every seen any part of this book! Otherwise someone would have taken advantage of the opportunity. To find the elixir of power and immortality! Any sorcerer would give his life to have it! But it was she who found it, the princess of Groix. The book had gotten dusty, sitting all those years in that old shack in the forest. Guria had determined by several pieces of evidence that the place where she'd found it was the lost laboratory of Lucifer, in which, according to legend, he carried out unbelievable experiments.... If she could only get her hands on the Chintamani from Olmolungring! She could find the Stone of great use! Of course, the Chintamani is a Great Stone, and there is nothing scarier to a sorcerer. It is forbidden to even approach it. They'd drilled this into her since childhood. But Lucifer had found a way to make the Chintamani his ally! It was no small task to steal the talisman from the Lemurian capital. He had to hide his plans from the all-seeing Gorr. And put forward all his effort until the full moon. Because on the fifteenth day of the moon, a curse is placed on the Stone…
Guria smirked, imagining her father's face when he finds out that it is she who possesses the Chintamani. Her eyes lit up, her cheeks filled with a rosy hue. She stretched dreamily and sighed. There was a knock at the door.
- "Sheila, is that you?"
- "Your highness, lunch time has arrived. Wouldn't you like to join her majesties and his highness in the dining room?" came a female voice from behind the door.
Around the table were sitting the seven wives of Gorr, the king himself and his fifteen heirs. They were all swarthy, with black hair and eyes. Guria's mother, queen Yala sat among the royal family. She looked like a goddess among savages with her angelic beauty and enormous height. “Why do these Lemurians grow into such rails?” Thought Guria once again without envy. The princess was a head taller than her half-brothers and sorcerer-sisters, but all the same she was much shorter than her mother. Guria took a seat at the table.
- "Guria has decided to honor us with her presence! I sense a change in the winds today." quipped Gorr.
- "Hello, little bunny!" proclaimed Yala in joy. The princess's sisters giggled.
- "I'm not a little bunny!" steamed the princess.
- "Forgive me, Guria, I cannot get used to the fact that you've grown up!" Yala smiled guiltily.
- "What've we got for lunch?" asked Gorr.
- “For appetizer- an assortment of meats, shark fin in pan sauce, and shrimp eye salad," answered the small, bald chef, standing at a distance. - "After that will be a soup of the royal mushroom 'puri,' gathered at full moon, steaks made from rut bird, mapule chops, and ocean fish, baked in twing liver, with spices. As a garnish, Jerusalem artichoke hearts, and grains of rice in a blood sauce. For desert, whipped cream from sea cow milk, and cake with berries and nuts from the Lemurian forests. Seeds of the bread tree, fruits, nuts and berries for Queen Yala.”
- “Bring us wine from the black mileoki berries. And palm vodka.”
- “Yes your majesty," the chef bowed and clapped his hands.
After a few minutes, the table was crammed with food.
Guria glanced at her mother, stuffing her cheeks with the assortment of meats. Yala didn't change. There was nothing on her plate but nuts and fruits. She didn't drink wine either.
And she still manages to keep power with that diet? The Princess looked at her mother. Yala smiled. All the same, these blue-eyed giants are an impossible riddle! Guria could read every thought that her mother had. But she was not able to understand these thoughts. It's impossible to remain good after having lived more than twenty years in Groix! In Groix, where everyone is always trying to prank each other. Where cheating, thievery, pride and envy thrive. Where you have to expect a mean trick from anyone- be they your most loyal servant, or your own husband or son, which is not to speak of the ruler's other wives. But no, queen Yala remained calm, good-willed and wide-grinned. How she was able to do this, Guria had no idea. And in her heart, she admired her mother. At the end of the day, Yala was her only friend in Groix. And thought Guria was suspicious and cautious, like all sorcerers, she was absolutely sure that her mother presented no threat to her. In contrast to her brothers and sisters, who's mothers were all Groisillons, the Princess could depend on Yala.
Guria caught a puzzled look from her father. He's reading my thoughts! – she caught herself and began to think about the fish lying on the platter.
- "Yala, you simply can't refuse the "pa" sauce, it's great!” said Gorr, and thrust his plate at his wife, "just try it!"
"It's beginning," thought Guria. There had never been a lunch where Yala wasn't told to try some new delicacy. She always refused. But father tried to break her tenacity every time.
- "But, Yala, this sauce is really very good," said Grino's mother, Didana, "especially with twing liver!"
- "Yes, yes, and with shrimp eyes! And with rut bird! - everyone present agreed.
A barely noticeable shadow ran across Yala's face.
- "Thank you, but I'm already full," she answered.
- "Leave the queen in peace!" interrupted Guria. "She eats what she wants."
Gorr
chuckled.
- "You are right, my girl! Your mother is the the most stubborn of my wives! She always does only what she wants."
Guria glanced at her father, but fell silent. She knew, that despite all the jeers and taunts, which he always threw at her mother in the presence of family, Gorr was very attached to Yala. He didn't like when they were seen standing next to each other, because he was much shorter. But he was very proud of her beauty, wit, and loyalty. And Yala became the first Queen of Groix, not only thanks to the ancient pact with Olmolungring. She couldn't read thoughts, or see the future, so she didn't know conspiracies, or in general, anything of that which was valued in Groix. But she could mend an ache with one touch or kind word, without any spells. She had the gift of being nearby, and bringing peace and calm wherever she went. When he listened to Yala's thoughts and speeches, Gorr was at peace- they were always the same, and never contained poison.
- "Your majesty," called out Gorr's secretary, appearing at the doors, "a messenger has arrived from Olmolungring."
Gorr threw away his golden fork and wiped his mouth.
- "Take them to the reception hall," and sitting at the table he added, "I must leave you now, my dears! Guria, you're in charge," he added, winking at his daughter. Grino the heir squirmed when he heard these words, but the king, satisfied, left the dining room.
Chapter 10. The Prince's Tale
“Long, long ago, in far away times, Lemuria was a beautiful country, where happy, beautiful wizards lived. They could see long distances, read thoughts, fly, move objects by looking at them, and tell the future. They used their gift for good. The Lemurians were very wise. They recorded all their knowledge on golden tablets, so their descendants could make use of their knowledge. They lived this way for many centuries in peace and agreement. But one day a meteor fell on the sea coast. It brought the tidings of God, who was to be born in Lemuria.
- The foretold day arrived, and He was born. The Son of God was met with great ceremony. The little boy, the son of the king of Lemuria, was a good boy, but didn't look much like a Lemurian. In distinction with the native residents- white-skinned blonds, the little prince was born a swarthy, black-haired, hazel-eyed boy. He was called Lucifer the Bringer of Light. He was born in luxury, he was bowed to, and they waited until he would become adult and share the Wisdom of God. The boy grew and became a king. But instead of Holy Knowledge, Lemuria received a cruel ruler. Greatness, glory, luxury and riches had burdened Lucifer's soul. He thirsted for more power and more riches. He began to use magical powers for evil. He brought one thousand concubines to the palace- the most beautiful girls of Lemuria, taken from their parents by force. The concubines bore Lucifer hazel-eyed descendants. The children became spiteful and envious sorcerers. Years passed. King Lucifer became old. And when it came time to die, he moved his soul to the body of one of his sons with magic. And began to rule Lemuria once more. It was this way for centuries. The joyful residents of Lemuria ceased to sing and look at the stars. The offspring of Lucifer had made life unbearable. The cruelty and magic of the sorcerers, far exceeding the powers of the Lemurians, turned the residents of the sunny island into slaves. And it was then that the Great Rigden Djapo, God the Father, sent help to Lemuria.. He gave them the Chintamani- the Stone of Wisdom. It isn't just your everyday stone. It's from the planet Orion. It can take away a sorcerer's powers. In return, God asked them to never use magic. The Lemurians who remained alive, resettled on the neighboring desert island and built the city of Olmolungring. The very same where we live today. And magic was forever forbidden by law. Every-day Lemurians aren't even allowed to converse with sorcerers. From that time on, a legend has grown about how Lucifer left his Spirit when he left his earthly life. And the sorcerers live in the marble city of Groix, on the largest island and try to harm us in various ways.”