The Flame of Wrath

by Christene Knight

  **************

  Dawn crested over the mountains with purpose alight inside her coming. This would be the day, the morning promised. This would be the day to mark the beginnings of all their united dreaming.

  By morning's true conception, the Queen felt a sense of companionship and belonging which had long escaped her. For the first time in her entire life, she knew she was not alone. For the first time in her entire life, she did not fear loneliness' approach because she knew that from then on, Autumn's love would never allow it.

  They reluctantly parted only long enough to bathe and dress for a new day. It was their hope that they would speak to the High Lord before happily taking their talks for a wedding with them to a celebratory breakfast.

  Hand in hand, they entered the castle courtyard. The beautiful haven was enclosed within ancient stones forming grand arches. The ceiling overhead was that of Nature's design. No sky had ever been more brilliant or more eager to please.

  The sky was a blue of soft abundance. It loomed above them, accentuated by airy wisps of cottony white. And yet, its beauty paled in comparison to the sunlight which flooded the area.

  The air was thick was romance, made fragrant by the overabundance of roses. Rain fell from the sky in the dreamy downpour of pale cherry-blossoms. Those petals peppered the women's hair as if to bestow Nature's blessing upon their engagement.

  Aurea looked away from the swirling storm of petals just long enough to glance in the direction of her betrothed. Her thoughts played noticeably across her face. She had never witnessed such loveliness as she did whenever she looked at Autumn.

  Long ribbons of rippling cocoa were loosely restrained. Autumn's hair fought to be free of the carefree ponytail. Those strands fell as airy silk around her glowing face and down along the length of her spine.

  She wore a pale blue toga which she thought matched the color of Aurea's flaming pupils, but in truth the elegant garment's greatest accomplishment was bringing out the contented blue of Autumn's azure-gray eyes.

  Autumn smiled gloriously in the blonde’s direction. She could only blush darkly as she realized that her every movement had been closely studied by the watchful Queen.

  Aurea wrapped both her arms and her cardinal red cape around the happy noble. She nuzzled at the broad waves of brown, breathing in their scent. She allowed both, it and autumn’s very presence to envelope her. The racing of her heart at her love's caress threatened to inspire it to burst from the ivory chiton housing her body. It clapped softly in the winds, tickling against her thighs.

  With the thin golden circlet resting against her forehead, it appeared to be a halo fallen from grace. It glinted in the light as brightly as her sapphire eyes.

  “You will be a Queen to inspire the envy of the world,” Aurea whispered softly.

  Autumn found the blonde’s eyes. She parted her lips to say the words looming in the air, the words her heart had been aching to say so badly.

  “Your Highness.”

  The women, both sensing the moment lost to them, turned their heads in the direction of the voice.

  Angelos IV rushed into the courtyard to greet the interwoven couple. He embraced them both with a broad smile upon his lips. He could scarcely restrain his excitement. With Autumn in the royal family so many doors would be opened to their family.

  “Congratulations are in order,” he said as he pulled away. His brown eyes shined brightly. One might have thought he, himself, were marrying into the royal family. “Welcome to the family, sister.”

  Aurea smiled happily. She was amazed at how profoundly being addressed as 'sister' had affected her. She had never had siblings nor did she ever mourn the loss of them, but she suddenly found herself part of a family and savored each new experience it brought.

  “Thank you,” Aurea said. She stammered slightly at the word to leave her lips next though she genuinely felt an urge to speak it. “Brother.”

  Angelos' chest puffed proudly. He was about to speak when the sound of his sister's voice called for their end.

  “You may be a bit premature in congratulations, brother,” Autumn said softly. Her eyes searched the entrance to the courtyard beyond her brother. “Where is father?”

  Crossing his arms with a curious expression, Angelos watched over his sister. “Premature? Why is that?”

  Autumn blushed slightly then favored Aurea with an apologetic look. She was not trying to be pessimistic, only cautious. “Father, hasn't come back with news of blessing,” she explained. “That's all.”

  “And what if he doesn't?” Angelos IV asked flatly.

  Those words sent Autumn's heart crashing down into her stomach. “Don't even joke about that,” she scolded quietly.

  “Answer the question, little sister.” Angelos' dark eyes were focused intensely upon his sister. “What will you do then?”

  Autumn opened her mouth to speak but found that the words did not come.

  “Just as I suspected,” he grouched. “You cannot defy father; can you, sister?”

  As Aurea struggled to read her face, Autumn felt herself squirming beneath united gazes. She ultimately slipped out of her beloved's arms. Turning her back to them, she tugged nervously at the littlest finger of her right hand.

  “When are you going to grow up, Autumn?” Angelos moved to stand behind his sister. “You cannot be the golden child forever.”

  With a wounded expression alive inside her eyes, Autumn turned to look at him over her shoulder. “Golden child?” she repeated hoarsely. “I've never tried to be---”

  “That's the point isn't it?” His eyes revealed the first telltale glimpses of a long-held resentment. “You've never had to try. You've always been the favorite. Mother adored you. You were going to be a Guardian just like her. When we lost her, father doted on you. He spoiled you and sheltered you from any kind of hardship.”

  Autumn felt nauseous. She swallowed, conscious of the salty taste rising within her mouth.

  “The time for that has passed,” he continued. “You must do things for yourself now. Not for her or him or anyone else!”

  Aurea looked between the siblings in her frustration. “Autumn,” she began. “Do you or do you not wish to marry me?”

  “Of course I do,” Autumn answered without hesitation. The certainty within her eyes, swore of her feelings for Aurea.

  The Queen took a trembling breath. Her heart trembled inside her chest with the relief racing toward her. It came while looking deeply into Autumn's eyes. What she saw in them was undeniable. Autumn did wish to be with her. She moved to stand near the dark-haired woman. She wore her concern with unabashed vulnerability because if Autumn did in fact wish to be with her then what had caused the conflict in her eyes. “Then what is the matter?”

  “This is the life you've always dreamed of, Autumn,” Angelos IV spoke earnestly.

  His intentions began to part like a fog. Autumn could see through them now. Her body tensed as her eyes narrowed on him. “No,” she said in a rasp. “This is what you have always wanted. Do not try to tell me to stop living my life for mother or for father so that you can force your desires for this life onto me!”

  The young Lord attempted to look affronted which only furthered his sister's suspicions. “Autumn,” he soothed nervously, “I'm only attempting to help you realize what is best for you.”

  “Then I suggest you leave her to her own decisions,” Aurea warned in such a voice that the young man immediately took a step back.

  Angelos IV bowed respectfully to his Queen. “My apologies, Highness.” He turned to leave then paused. “It's just that I know for a fact that my Father’s blessing will not come,” he murmured.

  Autumn's face blanched horribly. “What?” she rasped.

  “I saw father with the druid last night.”

  “Druid?” Aurea's eyes sparked with the fuels of hatred. “He consulted a druid?” The disgust she felt was clearly heard weighting her every words.

  Angelos IV nodded his head. He h
ad heard of Aurea's dislike for the druids, Soren in particular, through gossiping mouths among the court. It would seem, he thought as Aurea fumed, that they had been right.

  “It is our custom to consult a druid and the Oracle regarding all marriages,” Angelos explained. He turned to face the sovereign, whom he knew offered up her full attention. “When I saw my father with the druid...” He offered a small smile which appeared more like a sneer. “Well,” he huffed, “it didn't appear as though he and Soren were discussing plans for festivities in your honor.”

  The Queen clenched both her jaw and her fists. “Soren,” she breathed hatefully. Oh how she hated him.

  Angelos IV nodded sadly. “Yes, that druid has bewitched my father for years. It began after my mother---” He stopped then cleared his throat, forcing away those childhood memories. “It was never as evident as it was last night. Why else would he not bless the marriage of his only daughter to our Queen?”

  Autumn's eyes dulled to a weary gray. “How dare you! Have you no shame?”

  “I speak the truth,” he countered self-righteously.

  “You are speaking treason.”

  “Against whom?” he huffed.

  “Against the High Lord of Angels,” Autumn fired back. She glared at him with unrelenting fury.

  “And what of your Queen?” a voice queried gently.

  Autumn froze. She turned to gaze into the blue eyes glistening with tears.

  “Two men were conspiring against not only your Queen, but the woman you intend to marry,” Aurea whispered. “Does that not warrant the term 'treason'?”

  Autumn took the smaller woman tenderly into her arms. She held her close then spoke softly into the satiny golden curls. “My Love, you have my loyalties,” she vowed. “You know this, but this is my father. He and Soren would never---”

  “Perhaps your father wouldn't,” Aurea argued, “but Soren would. He hates me.”

  “Soren hates no one. He is a good man.”

  Her revulsion was clear as Aurea pressed her hands against Autumn's chest. She wriggled and pried herself from the woman arms, suddenly not wishing to be held.

  Angelos IV placed his arm around the shaken Queen. Gently he ushered her toward the stone archway leading out of the courtyard. “I will speak to her,” he said quietly. “Don't worry. The wedding will happen as you wish, Highness.”

  Aurea nodded wordlessly. She left the courtyard almost aimlessly. Her face was blank. She stopped suddenly within the east wing. Though no one seemed to linger about, she spoke aloud. Her eyes continued to stare forward. “Find the High Lord,” she commanded.

  “As you wish, my Queen.” Galen's voice responded in a whisper somewhere from the shadows.

  Aurea’s fist tightened with rage as if to seal around the life she wished to quell.

  ********

  The siblings stood as separate isles amidst raging seas. They were silent, thrashed by all the chaos moving around them.

  Breaking beneath the might of silence, Angelos IV moved closer to his sister. “Do not anger Aurea,” he warned. He leaned forward speaking in a hushed tone. “It's obvious that she has some kind of hatred for the druids. Your love of them could ruin what you two have.”

  “Don't pretend to care about my happiness, brother,” Autumn uttered. “Or even to presume you know how to nurture it. As I look at you now, I don't think you've ever known a day of it your entire life.”

  The nobleman winced at his sister's words. “That's not true,” he said. He took her into his arms and held Autumn close. “I've known so much happiness.” He embraced her more tightly. “Much of it with you.”

  At first, she seemed to be made of ice and stone. Then slowly, his sister began to thaw within his arms. He caressed the back of her head, gently smoothing her hair.

  “You're wary of me now, I know,” he said. “I understand. I have shown an ugly side of myself and you don't like what you have seen, but your sheltered life ends today. I think that very soon you will see the world you prayed for—-” He watched over the woman in his arms as if she were Djidjiga, herself. “The peace you were given.... it is because others granted it to you. It's false.”

  Autumn stared into the bubbling waters of the fountain. She watched as they pitched high into the air then fell with graceful splashes into the pool below. This courtyard, second only to her beloved lake, had always been a place of serenity for her. It had never ceased to remind her that there was a certain bright hopefulness in the world around her. And now for the first time, she found herself terribly frightened of what might exist outside of her sanctuary.

  ********

  The General sat quietly beneath a tree. He was a beautiful statue of tragedy and loss with something broken in the blankness of his cold eyes. With a lowered head, he stared down at his hands. A vision of them stained by his own blood raced across his eyes. He blinked rapidly, attempting to banish the sight from his mind. He swallowed hard at his fears. He forced them away causing them to compress inside his abdomen. They gathered there, knotting with great heaviness.

  “You are a hard man to find,” he heard, realizing that he was no longer alone within the royal gardens.

  Angelos lifted his eyes. They were pale and weary. “Find implies that I was lost,” he answered in low voice. “Clearly as you see me sitting before you, I am not lost. I am within the comforts of my own home.”

  His eyes watched over the petite young woman moving gracefully to sit upon a stone bench near to him. With the sunlight washing over her, she appeared almost surreal. Still, he saw her for what she was. He was not fooled by the outward splendors of her face.

  “What is it that you wish of me, Highness?”

  Aurea smiled beautifully. “I've come for your blessing of course.”

  “Oh but you will never have it,” the High Lord answered calmly. He lifted a bottle of wine to his lips and drank heartily from its contents. When he had finally pulled the bottle away, he stared at the manner in which the light danced against the colored glass.

  Thoughtfully, he mused aloud. “I have seen enough serpents in my lifetime to know when one is preparing to strike.” He looked away from the crafted glass to the Queen. “You already know that you don't have my blessing so what is it that you really want from me?”

  Aurea's smile fell away like a mask no longer necessary. It crashed to the ground at her feet. Her eyes were ruthless and burned with a white-hot flame. “What promises did the druid make to you?”

  Angelos III frowned. “What promises?”

  “Don't play me for a fool, Angelos,” she hissed.

  The man rose unsteadily to his feet. He laughed under his breath, fanning the flames inside of furious eyes. “I know why I am making little sense. I haven't slept or eaten and I've had far too much wine.” He took another long swig from the bottle, hoping to drown out the screams of war found in his vision. Cautiously, he began to stagger away. “What is your reason?”

  “Don't turn your back on me,” Aurea warned.

  Angelos released a bellow of dark laughter. He turned to face the Queen with a sad smile. “Or what? What will you do to me in my castle, in my province---?”

  “In my land,” the Queen interjected. She rose to her feet with a dangerous slowness. Her eyes held him relentlessly. “I was attempting to give you a means of salvation because you are Autumn's father, but clearly you don't have sense enough to accept my kindness.”

  The General returned her gaze. He found his hatred for Aurea rising to levels he had not thought he could possess for anyone other than an enemy upon the battlefield. He knew better than most that while locked in mortal combat, one could experience the deepest kind of hatred.

  His thoughts cleared. Was this not precisely what was happening now? This woman was threatening to destroy his life as he knew it. This was mortal combat.

  Aurea found herself unnerved by Angelos’ eyes. She realized that his eyes said that he saw through to something deep inside of her. They said that they knew f
ar too much for her liking.

  “I will not forget this...” Aurea said, beginning to tremble with rage. She continued on through gritted teeth. “---Any of this!” She inched forward with tightening fists. “Now, I am leaving this cursed place and I am taking Autumn away from here. I will not give you the opportunity to turn her away from me.”

  Angelos III froze. His face blanched. Then he suddenly began to smile. That smile did something the others did not. It actually reached his eyes, tainting them with hope.

  The Queen felt herself growing leery of the General's nonsensical actions.

  “Take her from here?” he repeated. The High Lord smiled knowingly. “Oh but that implies stealing and stealing from a High Lord is a crime... even for you, Highness.”

  Aurea's eyes flashed. “What?”

  “You should have taken the time to study the old laws which you have spurned,” he answered lowly. Angelos' voice rose to a mighty boom. “Guards!”

  From every direction men burst into the gardens. They wore crimson kilts which flashed but never as brightly as their swords. Their impassioned eyes scoured for their enemy but saw only their Lord and the Queen of Pyros.

  “Your time in my province has ended,” Angelos III warned clearly enunciating each word.

  “Knights!” Aurea cried desperately.

  The royal guards leapt down from the garden walls with weapons drawn. The three siblings looked alive in a way that they had not since arriving within the province. This was where they excelled: in battle. Their blue eyes were alight with the prospect of it.

  The guards and the royal defenders looked from one another, waiting in wonder as they longed to see who might falter first.

  ********

  “Guards!”

  “Knights!”

  Autumn lifted her head in unison with her brother. Each sibling paled fearfully. They knew those voices. Together, they sprinted in the direction of the cries, hearing the sounds of steel on steel growing louder in the clash of battle.

  ********

  The guards of Angels were falling with a speed that left their comrades speechless. The warriors of Shadow Reign, though few in number, were plucking their opponents off one by one.