Elvangar

by Richard S. Tuttle

  “No,” Volox shook his head. “Tamar declared last night that they must be the lost princesses, but I could not imagine them surviving the catastrophe that the queen went through. I guess it is just asking a lot to believe such a miracle is possible.”

  “I will not fault you for those feelings,” smiled Garl. “I felt that way myself two days ago. That is why I snuck into the royal vaults yesterday to review the Prophecies of Kieran. I had to be sure.”

  “You snuck into the royal vaults,” gasped Volox. “That could cost you your life.”

  “It could,” nodded Garl, “but what is the worth of my life compared to the fulfillment of the Prophecies of Kieran?”

  “I could have told you what was in the scrolls without you risking your life,” declared Volox. “The Council of Elders recently researched them when we discussed the fate of the boys. Some of us believe that Kaltara is requiring the elves to join with the humans because of the rebirth of Angragar.”

  “Those are the earliest of the prophecies that you are talking about,” countered Garl. “There were later prophecies that are more pertinent to the situation within Elvangar. Interestingly enough, someone has removed the copies of those scrolls. I had to access the innermost vaults to gain access to the originals.”

  “You are truly crazy,” remarked Volox. “I do not want to know how you accomplished what you did. What is so important in those scrolls that someone would steal the copies?”

  “They prophesize the return of the lost princesses in the Time of Calling,” declared the old man.

  “Merciful Kaltara,” gasped the elder. “Can you prove this?”

  Garl reached inside his cloak and pulled out the copy of the scroll he had made. He only unrolled it slightly as he held it before the elder. Volox read the scroll with interest and reached out to expose some more of it. Garl drew the scroll back and placed it inside his cloak.

  “It is a copy that I penned myself,” admitted Garl, “but I will guarantee its accuracy. The Council of Elders can access the original and compare it.”

  “Your evidence is overwhelming, if not proof positive,” declared Volox, “but it hardly matters now. If the girls have been arrested, it will be out of our hands.”

  “Is it?” asked Garl. “You are a member of the Council of Elders. What if you present this evidence to the Council? Will it be enough to convince them?”

  “Most of them,” nodded Volox, “but not all of them. Malid and Amber agree with the queen’s stringent policies on avoiding the humans. I doubt they would recognize the sun at the height of the day if it interfered with their agenda. Besides, the Council of Elders is merely an advisory board. We cannot overrule the queen.”

  “The Council of Elders can isolate the queen,” suggested Garl. “If you can possibly unite them on this, they can appeal to the citizens directly. If that happens, I doubt the army would move against the people or the girls.”

  “That is a long shot,” frowned Volox. “My own son is a high ranking officer, and he is being followed daily by agents of the queen. He has been restricted to the city. That is why I am making the trek to Etta.”

  “Things are even worse than I imagined,” sighed Garl. “Let’s walk while we talk. We must find a solution to this problem before it is too late.”

  “Do the girls know who they are?” asked Volox as the four elves began walking towards Morada.

  “No,” answered Garl. “They do know that they are of the Kieran line, and they do know that they have a relative here.”

  “How do they know that?” asked the elder.

  “Mistake was given a magical carozit from the Sage of the Mountain,” explained the old mage. “It indicates the relative distance from the user’s current location of the nearest relative. When Mistake and MistyTrail both held it, it indicated a relative a few hours walk away. That would be Morada.”

  “Well at least they will not try telling anyone that they are the princesses,” Volox sighed with relief. “That would be the worst thing they could do right now. Where will you go when we reach the city?”

  “We have no destination,” answered Garl. “We will need a place to hide while we determine how we can free the girls.”

  “Come to my house,” offered Volox. “You can have my spare room. The boys can sleep on the floor with Tamar. Together we can plan our next moves.”

  * * *

  A key was inserted into the door lock again. Mistake and MistyTrail jumped to their feet. One went to the left of the door while the other went to the right. They tried to position themselves to see as much of the corridor outside the cell as possible. The door opened and an officer marched in.

  “You have a meeting with the queen,” declared the officer. “If you have any weapons hidden on your bodies, leave them in this cell. I cannot be held responsible for your safety if you ignore this edict. You will be searched before you meet the queen.”

  Mistake and MistyTrail glanced at each other. MistyTrail sighed and released the two knives from her arm sheaths. She placed them on the floor. She reached around to her back and removed a hidden knife under her belt and added it to the growing pile that Mistake was creating. MistyTrail then removed two knives from her boots, and unstrapped a pouch at her waist that held Sakovan throwing stars. The officer’s eyebrows rose comically as he watched the girls disarming. Mistake completed the disarmament by placing the blowgun given to her by the Qubari on top of the pile.

  “Is that all?” asked the officer as he tried to hide a smile.

  The girls sighed and nodded. The officer ushered them out of the cell and into the corridor where a dozen soldiers were waiting. The soldiers immediately surrounded the girls and waited for the officer to leave the cell and lead the procession out of the prison.

  Mistake’s eyes took in every detail as they were escorted out of the prison. MistyTrail counted the steps and memorized the path taken to the exit. She was surprised to see that the paths outside the prison were blocked off with ropes. She had been in this area of the city before when they stayed with Volox and Anija, and she had never seen any paths blocked off. She wondered about it as she saw curious citizens craning their necks to see whom the soldiers were escorting.

  The walk to the palace was not long. The girls saw it as they approached. A huge magnificent tree grew out of a wide park-like square. The branches of the tree were high off the ground and spread out in a great circle encompassing the whole square below. The group marched onto a large platform and the officer pulled once on a small rope. A distant bell could be heard ringing far above them. Instantly the large platform began ascending.

  MistyTrail admired the view of the city as they rose high into the ancient tree. They rose up into the branches and passed several platforms before coming to a stop in the upper reaches of the tree. As soon as the platform stopped, the soldiers herded Mistake and MistyTrail along a corridor and into a large room. Several guards stood sentry in the room. The officer immediately approached the guards.

  “The foreign girls, Mistake and MistyTrail, as the queen requested,” announced the officer.

  Two guards separated from the others and approached the girls. They searched for hidden weapons. One of the guards found Mistake’s lock picking tool hidden in her belt and frowned at it.

  “What is this?” he asked.

  Mistake forced her face to turn red by holding her breath and forcing her facial muscles. She smiled weakly at the guard.

  “I use it to clean my toenails,” she answered softly. “I get infections a lot from running in the jungle.”

  The guard grimaced as he handed the tool back to Mistake. MistyTrail almost burst out laughing when the guard subconsciously ran his hand over his own clothes as if to wipe it clean.

  “Follow me,” said the other officer as he led the girls away.

  He walked them along a short corridor and into the throne room.

  “Touch nothing,” advised the guard. “The queen will be with you shortly.”

 
Mistake and MistyTrail gazed around the empty room. It was simple and clear of unnecessary furniture, yet held an air of importance. They walked to the railing and gazed downward. A whole section of the city spread out before them, and they marveled at the view.

  Mistake turned around to view the room and then reached into her pack and extracted the carozit. She held it upside down and watched the balls clang together. MistyTrail immediately reached out her hand and placed it on top of Mistake’s. The balls moved almost imperceptivity apart. There was hardly room for a hair between the balls, but they could both see that they were not touching.

  Suddenly the balls clanged together, and the girls looked up and saw a woman enter the room. Mistake and MistyTrail looked at each other knowingly. The woman approached without greeting. Mistake and MistyTrail remained frozen, unsure of what to say or do.

  “What is this you have?” asked the woman as she reached for the carozit.

  As the woman touched the carozit, the balls flew upward. All three of them reacted to the unexpected movement of the balls by letting go of the carozit. It tumbled to the floor. The woman stepped back a pace and stared at the girls.

  “It is customary in Elvangar to bow when you meet the queen,” the woman said sternly.

  “We will,” promised Mistake as she bent down and picked up the carozit. “Is she nice?”

  “I am the queen,” replied the woman, frustration seeping into her voice. “Queen Alycia. Which of you is which?”

  Mistake and MistyTrail immediately bowed. Neither of them had to force an embarrassed look to their faces when they rose.

  “I am Mistake,” answered the Fakaran, “and this is my sister MistyTrail. I apologize for not knowing that you were the queen.”

  “That is excusable,” smiled the queen as she seemed to warm to the girls. “I guess living in the human world you are used to more extravagant clothing. The elves believe in simplicity. Someone should have already given you some elven clothes,” she added as her nose crinkled at the animal skins that the girls wore. “I am sure that we can rectify that when you leave.”

  “Why have we been imprisoned?” asked MistyTrail. “If we have broken any of your laws, it has only been through ignorance. We certainly have not meant to.”

  “You have made certain statements,” frowned the queen. “Statements that in Elvangar have special meaning. I have come to understand that a crazy man poisoned your minds. He will be dealt with, and you will be released. It is nothing to concern yourselves with.”

  “If you mean Garl,” replied Mistake, “I don’t believe that he is crazy. I wouldn’t want to see him harmed either. He is about the only one here in Elvangar who has really befriended us.”

  “What you believe is irrelevant,” snapped the queen. “It is what I believe that matters. He tried to tell you that you are from the Kieran line. False representation of your ancestry in Elvangar is a serious offense. As I can tell after seeing you that you were not aware of this offense, I can hardly punish you for it, but Garl knows better. He was banished from Morada and stripped of his membership in the Society of Mages for previous offenses. He has obviously not learned yet how to behave.”

  “But we are Kierans,” protested Mistake. “Garl proved it with a magic spell.”

  “I was told that you recanted such foolish statements,” scowled the queen. “If you persist with such nonsense, I will have no choice but to punish you.”

  “We will stop,” promised MistyTrail before Mistake could say anything to further anger the queen. “I guess we are still ignorant of the elven ways. We do hope to learn more about the elves. Do you have children?”

  The queen’s forehead creased as she stared at MistyTrail. She tried to determine if the question was asked innocently or not, but she could not.

  “I did have children at one time,” said the queen, “but we no longer discuss such things. It is considered rude in Elvangar to pry into the background of royalty.”

  “We do not mean to be rude,” interjected Mistake, “but this magical carozit indicates that we are relatives of yours. Neither of us knows our parents so we were wondering if you know who they are. Did you ever have daughters around our age?”

  “You insolent whelp,” snapped the queen as she stepped forward and slapped Mistake hard across the face.

  Mistake reeled from the blow, her carozit falling to the floor. Tears came to Mistake’s face and her fists closed in anger. She bent down to get her carozit, and the queen swung her leg to kick Mistake while she was bent over.

  “Don’t hurt my sister!” shouted MistyTrail as she cast the spell of compulsion on the queen.

  The queen fell to the floor and screamed as her hands flew to her head and clasped it tightly. MistyTrail stood in a trance staring at the queen as Mistake leaped to her feet.

  “Stop it,” shouted Mistake. “Release the spell. You are hurting our mother.”

  MistyTrail snapped out of her trance and shook her head just as the guards raced into the room. She immediately dropped the compulsion spell.

  Chapter 25

  The Patriots

  The guards raced across the floor of the throne room. Two of them immediately drew their swords and moved between the fallen queen and the two girls. Four other guards continued onward to seize Mistake and MistyTrail. The queen stopped screaming and began to groan.

  “What is going on here?” one of the guards asked.

  “They attacked me magically,” moaned the queen.

  The guards holding Mistake and MistyTrail viscously tightened their grips on the girls. They dragged Mistake and MistyTrail from the throne room and turned them over to the waiting squad of soldiers with orders to return them to the prison. Word spread quickly that the queen had been magically attacked.

  Back in the throne room, the guards were just helping the queen back to her feet. Her head throbbed with a dull pain, and she swayed when she stood, so the guards gently carried her to her throne and set her down.

  Within minutes Karaza entered the room. He moved swiftly to the queen and knelt next to the throne. He dismissed the guards with a wave of his hand, and they dutifully retreated to the adjoining room.

  “What happened?” inquired Karaza. “I heard that you were attacked magically.”

  “The foreign girls,” the queen said weakly. “They used magic on me. My head throbs with pain. Make it go away.”

  Karaza wove a calming spell and a healing spell together and cast it on Queen Alycia. Almost immediately the throbbing dimmed and then disappeared altogether. The queen sighed with relief.

  “Why did you have them brought before you?” Karaza asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice. “I said that I would take care of them. Tell me all that transpired.”

  “You led me to believe that they were innocent,” scowled the queen. “You said that they recanted their statements that they were of the Kieran line. You said it was all Garl’s fault. You lied to me.”

  “I did not lie,” retorted the mage. “I put them under a truth spell. They stated that they were not of the Kieran line. You must tell me what transpired here.”

  “They acted all nice and innocent,” recalled the queen. “It was almost a pleasant conversation until they asked about my children. First they insisted that they were Kierans and stuck up for Garl. Then they inquired about my children and claimed that they were related to me. They had this stick with balls attached to it and claimed that it proved that I was their relative. Then one of them had the boldness to directly ask if my daughters would be around their age. I could not stand such audacity. I slapped the insolent whelp. That is when the other one attacked me magically. Why was I not told that they were mages?”

  “Our reports indicated that their magical talents were practically nonexistent,” frowned Karaza. “Perhaps they used magic to counteract the truth telling spell I used during the interrogation. I will see that they are moved to the mage cells.”

  “I am disappointed in you, Karaza,” frowned the queen.
“Those girls could have killed me. You cannot imagine how upset I am over this incident.”

  “I can imagine,” frowned Karaza. “Let me help you to your chambers. I will cast a spell of tranquility on you so that you can rest. You will feel much better when you awaken.”

  The queen nodded and allowed the Head of the Society of Mages to escort her to her sleeping chamber. Karaza cast a spell over the reclining queen and watched as she fell into a deep sleep. He smiled inwardly as he left the queen’s chambers and summoned the guards.

  “The queen is in shock,” Karaza announced. “Your allowing of dangerous visitors into her presence is most disturbing. You should review your procedures to determine where the failure in security occurred.”

  “We had no idea that the girls possessed magic,” complained the Head Guard. “It was the queen herself who asked for the foreigners to be brought before her.”

  “I am not placing any blame on you,” soothed Karaza. “I am just pointing out that others very well may. The queen was close to death today. Do you not think that will arouse some passions from the citizenry?”

  “I understand,” nodded the Head Guard. “We will double our presence immediately.”

  “That is not good enough,” Karaza shook his head. “She is to have no visitors until I approve them. I have put her to bed so that she may rest and heal from the effects of the magical attack. I will be by periodically to check on her. Let no one else enter.”

  “The palace will be sealed,” promised the Head Guard. “What will happen to the foreigners? I had them taken back to the prison.”

  “What should happen to assassins?” retorted Karaza. “I will arrange for their executions immediately. I suppose that there will need to be some hearing among the elders before they are executed, but I think speed is essential here, especially where magic is concerned. I suspect that you and your men may be called to testify before the Council. That may prove to be embarrassing for you. Perhaps it would wiser for you to prepare a statement declaring that the foreigners tried to assassinate the queen. That would alleviate any need for your men to be questioned. I doubt you would want anyone else to know how lax your security was.”