Winged Warrior

by Richard S. Tuttle

  “Have you ever thought about it?” Princess Alahara asked seriously. “Getting married and starting a family, I mean?”

  “I used to,” admitted Alastasia, “but that was when I was MistyTrail. The Sakovans were like one big happy family. I don’t get the same feeling here, although I know it will take time.”

  “I never thought about it until I met Rejji,” confided Alahara as they reached the edge of the forest and found the trail to Florentia.

  “Do you still miss him?” asked Alastasia.

  “I do,” Alahara nodded. “Rejji treated me nice when no one else cared about me. We became very close.”

  “And now you are heir to the elven throne,” Alastasia pointed out. “I doubt the elves would take kindly to you marrying a human.”

  “Maybe that is why Kaltara blessed me with a sister?” grinned Alahara. “You could become Queen of Elvangar.”

  “Do you think the humans would accept an elf as Queen of Fakara?” frowned Princess Alastasia. “Don’t forget that Rejji is now the king.”

  “I hadn’t thought about that,” frowned Alahara as the princesses made their way along the forest trail. “Why must everything be so complicated? I don’t want to be the queen of either country.”

  “I don’t care much for the idea either,” shrugged Princess Alastasia. “Mother almost never leaves the palace. I would go mad living like that.”

  The princesses lapsed into silence as they walked along the forest trail, each lost in thoughts of their future. It was that silence that saved their lives.

  Alastasia heard something rustle along the trail ahead. Her arm automatically snaked out and gently caught Alahara’s hand. Alahara needed no verbal command to stop. The two princesses halted in the middle of the trail, their ears straining for sounds that were foreign to the forest. They heard a hushed voice, but the words were inaudible. The princesses looked at each other and nodded with suspicion. Normal travelers would have no need to speak in hushed tones.

  Alahara silently moved to the right side of the trail and slipped into the forest. Alastasia went to the left and slid behind the trees. They both remained frozen for several minutes as they waited for another noise. They heard nothing. Finally, Alastasia wove an air tunnel to Alahara.

  “I want you to create an air tunnel on the trail behind us,” Alastasia instructed. “Talk normally into it as if you are lecturing me on something. Walk the air tunnel along the trail until it passes us by. I will create another air tunnel to listen up ahead. Let’s see if we can find out who is up there and what they want.”

  Alastasia did not need to hear a reply from her sister. She knew that Alahara would already be weaving the air tunnel. She changed the pressure in her own air tunnel and moved it forward along the trail. She listened intently as she moved the air tunnel around, trying to gauge the location of the hidden voices.

  “Quiet,” a voice whispered. “Someone is coming.”

  “Are they coming for the cart?” asked another voice.

  “I said to be quiet,” reprimanded the first voice. “Just get your bows ready, and keep your mouth shut. Fire on my command.”

  Alastasia frowned as she listened to the male voices. She heard Mistake’s voice pass along the trail near her and keep going. She waited patiently.

  “Where are they?” asked a frantic voice. “I just heard them pass, but I did not see anyone.”

  “Quiet!” urged the first voice.

  “Quiet yourself,” said a third voice. “I am getting out of here. I think they are invisible.”

  The third person turned and ran noisily. A moment later, the first voice cursed and also fled, followed shortly by another person. Alastasia still waited patiently as she tried to follow the noise of the retreating ambushers. Eventually, she lost the sound of them retreating. She redirected the air tunnel towards Alahara.

  “I think they have all left,” she told her sister. “I am going to go forward along the trail, but I want you to move forward through the forest. Be ready for anything.”

  Alahara nodded and waved to her sister. Alastasia stepped onto the trail and moved slowly forward. As she rounded a bend in the trail, she saw the broken cart, one of its wheels resting at an odd angle. The horse appeared to be sleeping. Alastasia walked very slowly, her eyes scanning both sides of the trail. She reached the cart and knelt beside it. The wheel had come off the axle, but it did not appear to be broken. Alastasia waved to her sister to help her. Alahara exited the woods.

  “There is no one in the woods,” remarked Princess Alahara. “What happened?”

  “You walked your voice right past them,” explained Princess Alastasia. “That spooked them. There were three of them, but they fled because they thought we were invisible. Help me raise the cart so I can put the wheel back on.”

  “Who were they?” asked Alahara as she lifted the cart. “What did they want?”

  “There were three males,” answered Alastasia as she maneuvered the wheel. “They had planned to ambush us with bows.”

  “With bows?” echoed Alahara. “Do you mean they were going to kill us?”

  “That is what it sounded like,” nodded Alastasia as she pushed the wheel onto the axle. “I do not know if it was particularly us that they were waiting for, but they planned to ambush whoever came for the cart.”

  “Bandits?” frowned Alahara as she let the cart down. “I wonder if they stole anything from the cart?”

  Alastasia rose and brushed her hands off. She shrugged and peered into the back of the cart at the chests and packs piled there. Frowning, she climbed onto the cart and tried to open one of the chests.

  “It’s locked,” Alastasia reported. “It doesn’t look like anyone tried to pry it open.”

  “This makes no sense,” frowned Alahara. “If they were bandits, why not just take the cart and be done with it?”

  “Maybe they weren’t smart enough to fix the wheel?” shrugged Princess Alastasia. “I don’t mind pondering on this, but I am loathe to do it here. Let’s get this cart into the city and worry about the ambushers later.”

  “I agree, “ nodded Princess Alahara. “You take the cart for a while. I want to shadow you from behind. When we enter the city, I will catch up.”

  “I am on my way,” declared Princess Alastasia as she grabbed the reins and woke the horse.

  The horse started and began moving along the trail. Alastasia reached into her pouch and extracted a Sakovan star. She held the star in one hand as she led the horse with the other. When they reached the city of Morada, Alahara moved forward and walked alongside her sister.

  “Would you recognize their voices again?” asked Princess Alahara.

  “I think so,” nodded Alastasia. “The first voice I would definitely recognize. The other two did not say much, but I still might know them if I heard them again.”

  “So,” pondered Alahara, “were the bandits poised to kill Aunt Kanis, or us? Or did they not care as long as they killed someone?”

  “I don’t know,” Alastasia shook her head. “I do not know how bandits work in Elvangar. Maybe we should ask Avalar?”

  “I am hesitant to mention it to our father,” frowned Princess Alahara. “He might think that we sound disrespectful to Aunt Kanis. Let’s ask Tamar.”

  “Alright,” agreed Alastasia.

  Neither sister spoke for the rest of the trip to the Royal Tree. When they reached the lift, they unhitched the horse. One of the guards took the horse and led it away while two of the other guards pushed the cart onto the lift. Alahara and Alastasia got on the lift and rode it upward. The lift stopped halfway up, and two guards pulled the cart off. The princesses stayed on and rode the lift to the top. They started walking to their chambers when they heard the shouting from the throne room. They looked at each other curiously. Without a word spoken, both sisters turned and crept along the corridor towards the throne room. They halted before entering the room as they heard their father’s voice.

  “She is not what we ne
ed to deal with at this time,” yelled the king. “Why did you invite her to the palace?”

  “I didn’t invite her,” answered the queen. “She just arrived. Kanis is like that. She only shows up when you don’t want her to.”

  “Well tell her to leave,” scowled Avalar.

  “I can’t do that,” retorted Alycia. “She is my sister after all. She claims that I refused to see her years ago when she visited. I cannot now tell her to leave.”

  “That refusal was probably the work of Karaza,” replied the king. “It was perhaps the only sane thing that mage ever did.”

  “It probably was Karaza,” conceded Alycia, “but she will still think that I refused her entry. If I tell her to leave now, she will surely believe that I hate her. I don’t want her to feel that way.”

  “Then I will tell her to leave,” stormed the king. “I don’t care if she hates me. I do not want to have to deal with her with everything else that is going on right now.”

  “Why let her bother you at all,” sighed the queen. “She is living lower down the tree. You will never run into her. Forget that she is here, and concentrate on winning support for the war. How is the council leaning today?”

  “You are trying to change the subject,” replied the king.

  “Yes, I am,” the queen said with a hint of humor. “Still, I do want to know how the council sits on this issue.”

  “They vacillate,” sighed Avalar as his voice lowered to a normal speaking tone. “The citizens’ demonstrations are not helping any. Just when I think I have won a few converts, the demonstrations sway them back to an undecided position.”

  “Who is behind the demonstrations?” asked the queen.

  “I wish that I could find out,” replied Avalar. “I am sure that if the demonstrations stopped, the council would support the war.”

  “I have never seen you in a dither like this before,” commented Alycia. “You always were calm and purposeful before. Why is this time any different?”

  “Because I feel like we are running out of time,” admitted the king. “My opponents will win not only if I lose the council vote, but also if they can delay the vote long enough for Vand to attack the humans. We will need time to get our armies in place before Vand strikes. If we are too late, we might as well stay home and prepare to defend Elvangar.”

  “You could force the council to vote,” suggested Queen Alycia.

  “I could,” agreed the king, “but I will not leave their vote to chance. Too much is at stake. Besides, I have not gotten the ships ready yet. We don’t have enough ships to get our armies to the battle.”

  “Use human ships,” shrugged the queen.

  Avalar stopped pacing and stared at the queen. Slowly his face split into a large grin. He crossed the room and hugged Alycia and then kissed her.

  “Of course!” exclaimed the elven king. “Why didn’t I think of that? There were quite a few ships in Angragar, and I understand that the Torak has a fleet of his own.”

  “That will require human seamen to sail through the gates of Elvangar,” warned the queen. “Maybe that is not such a great idea after all. It might harden the council against this war.”

  “It might,” conceded the king, “or might show them that the humans already know where Elvangar is and have no plans for its conquest.”

  “Or you could sail for Angragar with a shipload of seamen to pilot the human ships back here and then load your armies,” suggested the queen.

  “That would also work,” nodded Avalar. “I must make contact with Emperor Marak. His advice would be most welcome on this subject.”

  “Who will herd the council while you are gone?” asked Queen Alycia.

  King Avalar released his wife and walked to the railing. He gazed down upon the city of Morada in silence. Finally, he turned and faced the queen.

  “I must talk with our daughters,” the king stated. “Have they returned from their lessons today?”

  “I have not seen them,” answered the queen. “Shall I go look for them?”

  “No,” Avalar responded. “I will go myself.”

  Princess Alahara and Princess Alastasia did not want to get caught snooping on their parents. They immediately turned around and sped silently away from the throne room. When Avalar finally found them, they were sitting casually in Alahara’s room talking. They looked up in surprise as their father entered.

  Chapter 9

  Spies

  King Avalar entered the chambers of Princess Alahara. The two princesses were sitting on the floor in a meditative state. The king closed the door and walked to the bed. He sat down and gazed adoringly at his two precious daughters.

  “Father!” exclaimed Princess Alastasia, as if just coming out of a mediation trance. “How nice of you to stop by.”

  Avalar merely smiled.

  “You do not often come by to just stare at us, Father,” stated Princess Alahara. “Is there something on your mind?”

  “There is,” replied the king, as if lost in his own thoughts. “I need to speak with the Torak. I understand that the Khadorans have a spell that allows this. Is that true?”

  “It is true, “ answered Alahara. “It is called an air tunnel.”

  “Will you create one for me?” asked Avalar.

  “Alahara didn’t say that we knew the spell,” frowned Alastasia as she gently laid her hand on her sister’s arm to halt any verbal response. “You assume a great deal.”

  “I assume little,” grinned the king. “You girls think as I do. Curiosity is at the core of your being. There is no possibility of you not knowing how to cast the spell. Do you not trust me?”

  “We trust you with our lives,” Alahara answered quickly.

  “But that does not mean that we won’t test you to understand you better,” chuckled Alastasia. “Are you planning a trip to Angragar? Alahara and I would like to go with you if you go.”

  “I should be going to Angragar with armies of elven archers,” frowned the king, “but I fear that the people are not behind me on this. I need to let the Torak know of my difficulties. He must be aware that our arrival may be later than expected.”

  “You do not sound as though there is any doubt about the elves joining in the war,” stated Alahara. “Is it wise to promise the Torak that our armies are coming if you are unsure?”

  “I am not unsure,” countered the king. “The elves will join the Torak in this war, whether the people want to or not, but I will take the extra time needed to sway their opinions. They must understand that we have no choice.”

  “Or you will lose your throne,” Alastasia nodded sadly. “Will the army refuse to march if the people don’t want this war?”

  “Some of them might,” Avalar nodded, “but most of them will follow me. I should not trouble the two of you with such thoughts. You need to concentrate on your lessons. You will rule Elvangar one day. You must be ready to accept that responsibility.”

  “Not trouble us with such thoughts?” echoed Princess Alahara. “How can you say that we need to be prepared to lead our people one minute, and that we should study magic the next? If you truly want us prepared to rule, then you need to start preparing us.”

  “Alahara is right,” interjected Princess Alastasia. “We are not without talents of our own. Why are we not involved in your plans to prepare Elvangar for war? You do not confide in us when you should.”

  King Avalar stared at the princesses for a long silent moment. His brow creased as if weighing some weighty decision. Finally, he smiled and nodded.

  “You are correct,” Avalar said. “I have been treating you as if you were small children, yet it was the two of you who rescued me from the Island of Darkness. I guess that I have been trying too hard to protect you, but that is not the wisest path. You have both shown great intelligence, and you know how to handle danger properly. I must have more faith in you.”

  “So you will tell us all that is bothering you?” prompted Princess Alahara, hoping to learn more about A
unt Kanis and why her father was at odds with her.

  “I shall,” nodded the king. “Some people have an uncanny sense of danger. I am one of them, and I suspect that the two of you are as well. The reactions of the elven people to this coming war are stronger than they should be. While some elves can always be expected to voice support for continued isolation, I do not believe the current numbers that have been demonstrating against this war are anywhere near what they should be.”

  “You think someone is riling up the people?” asked Alahara.

  “Exactly,” nodded the king.

  “We could help you find out who it is,” offered Princess Alastasia.

  “You already are,” grinned Avalar. “One of the reasons for you attending the Society of Mages is to find out if anyone is acting against me. I felt it was better if I did not plant seeds of doubt within your minds, but time is running out.”

  “You suspect mages of this?” asked Alahara.

  “I suspect that spells of compulsion are being used,” confirmed the king.

  “For what purpose?” frowned Princess Alastasia. “That sounds rather nefarious just to avoid a war that they will probably not partake in.”

  “You are perceptive,” smiled the king. “I have dwelled on that question for some time now. The only gain that I could think of makes no sense at all.”

  “To seize power in Elvangar,” interjected Princess Alahara. “Why do you think it makes no sense?”

  King Avalar’s eyebrows rose in surprise. He shook his head as his lips split in a grin. “You two always amaze me. It makes no sense because there is now a clear line of succession. If they wanted to seize control of the country, they should have done it before the two of you rescued me. Their battle is that much harder now with four of us.”

  “They did try it before,” Alastasia pointed out. “Just because they failed when it should have been easier does not mean that they will quit when the going gets harder.”

  “They?” frowned the king. “You are talking as if Karaza had confederates. Have you discovered something at the Society of Mages?”