Despite her elegant appearance as a Samarian Queen and leader of this great country, butterflies filled her stomach, and Evangeline felt more nervous than she’d ever felt in her entire like. Even if she wasn’t planning on telling the whole truth of the matter to loyal citizens of Samaria, deep down she knew her own pride was to blame for the situation they were it. But she couldn’t let her country know that. She’d say or do anything to show them that she could live up to their expectations as King Edgar’s daughter. A knock at the door caused Evangeline to pull her blue eyes away from the mirror.
“My Queen, are you ready?” a muffled voice asked. “It’s nearly time.” The voice was Vincent’s, and he was here to accompany the Queen to Center Market. Evangeline sighed but refused look back in the mirror, knowing there was no time to reflect on anything else. She grabbed her royal Samarian scepter on the way out, feeling the gold rod cool her flushed hands.
In the vestibule, Vincent paced back and forth, his wrists crossed behind him and resting on his lower back. His eyes were swollen from fatigue, and his skin was ruddy from sunburn, but his anxiousness told the Queen that Vincent was still alert and ready to move. He led her out of Mizra in silence, their tandem footsteps the only noise echoing through the stone hallways. All the occupants of the fortress, save for a few Guards, had been released from their duties for the day and ordered to gather at Center Market, along with the rest of the citizens, for Queen Evangeline’s speech to her people.
Once they were outside the protective walls of fortress, the scent of Mizra’s gardens surrounded Evangeline as she and Vincent continued on to the gate. Blooming shrubs of yellow jessamine exploded all around her, and their fragrance reminded Evangeline of Zora, who’d spent her days planting, harvesting, and tending to the beautiful things that grew from the earth. Evangeline rarely thought about her daughter; there was no reason to mull on things one couldn’t change. She’d practiced, for a long time, disassociating herself from Zora in order make the loss of her less difficult. She kept the pang of regret from transforming into sadness by telling herself that the decision to send Zora to Montanisto was carefully thought out, and once the decision was made, it could not be undone. After all, it was the right thing to do, for everyone.
Evangeline squinted her eyes against the brightness of the sun as the massive iron gate leading into the gardens came into view. She blinked several times when she thought she saw a group of Samarian Guards, who were mounted on horses, crowded in a circle around something on the ground inside the gate. Vincent’s eyebrows furrowed heedfully when he also saw this. He grabbed Evangeline’s arm to slow her pace, but she shook him off.
“My Queen, stay back,” Vincent pleaded. “Let me go ahead and see what the situation is. It could be dangerous.”
“Nonsense. We are still inside the castle gates,” Evangeline replied as she dug her heels into the soft dirt and increased her pace. As Evangeline neared, the crowd of Samarian Guards took notice and quickly fell back, saluting their ruler as they formed a line of shinning armor against the black gate. Revealed before her were Brutus Bludworth and Lee Atwater, both covered in sweat and filth, their armor dented and scratched from recent battle. Brutus’s entire nose and mouth was encased in dried blood, as was Lee’s hair and forehead. Evangeline felt fear seize her chest when she caught sight of them.
“What happened!” she gushed as she gingerly touched her hand to Brutus’s swollen face. He winced in pain from her light touch, his brown eyes boring into hers and telling the Queen everything she needed to know.
“They’ve taken the border, My Queen,” Brutus whispered, his voice as grainy as sand. “Olger Guttensen had his raiders attack the outpost at Sugarpine Pass and left only Lee and I alive.” He gulped hard and looked around, unsure if he should say what he wanted to say in front of all the Guards listening in. Brutus took Evangeline’s hand away from his face and squeezed it hard till pain shot through her arm.
“My Queen, they’ve taken over Cliff’s Landing and infiltrated the Northern mountains. They are heading this way as we speak. Captain Kingsley is dead…along with his entire company.”
Brutus’s words chilled her to the bone. Not now. I just need a little more time, the Queen though morosely.
“He’s bluffing,” Evangeline argued. She was so close, so close to having her country ready for war. Vincent had recruited an ample amount of new soldiers, Talan had reengineered his fire powder to be more explosive, and they had a plan that involved intelligence, strategy, and pure brawn that was fail proof. Brutus’s face had gone ashen, and he gulped hard again.
“My Queen, it’s true. Olger’s man, Alvard…he brought me proof of Captain Kingsley’s death…” It was then that Brutus nodded towards the bloody sack that was the nexus of the men’s conversation before she’d arrived. It was sitting all by itself on the dirty ground where Brutus had just left it. Evangeline silenced him right there. She knew how the Nomans fought; they were a brutal, savage people who took joy in their conquests by violently killing and dismembering those who opposed them. Her hand still clutched in his, Evangeline pulled Brutus a little further away from the group of Samarian Guards.
“General Bludworth, I am truly sorry for what you and Captain Atwater have been through. As soon as we are finished here, I will send my healers immediately to your chambers to tend to your wounds. But we mustn’t let anyone know this has occurred. It is imperative that we present Samaria as a strong, powerful country, and me their confident ruler. Not as a country that can be so easily attacked by a masochistic tyrant.”
Brutus shook his head thinking maybe he had heard the Queen incorrectly. Was she so arrogant that she’d ignore that fact that hundreds of innocent Samarian’s had just lost their lives, just to save her own face? Lee was exactly right in what he’d said about her, and suddenly Brutus didn’t care anymore about pleasing Evangeline. He wasn’t going to fight for her, not if she wouldn’t own up to the consequences of her actions. But he was going to fight for all of the men whose lives were taken and all those who would die in the coming war. Brutus averted the Queen’s oppressive gaze. He couldn’t look at her; her very presence made him sick.
His silence must have been taken as accordance because Evangeline dropped his hand. “Round up two healers right now!” she called out to one of the Guards waiting by the gate. “Take these men inside and tend to their wounds. And you!” She stopped and pointed at one of the Guards closest to her. “Remove that item and see it’s taken directly to the undertaker.” The young man looked repulsively from the Queen to the burlap sac that carried Gerod Kingsley’s decaying remains, but nodded anyway. “And Vincent!” Evangeline called out again. “We ride for Center Market.”
***
Evangeline arrived at Center Market several minutes later via her rarely utilized royal carriage, which was surrounded by a dozen Samarian Guards on horseback. True to his word, Talan had had the laborers erect a large stage for her, fenced off and barricaded from the crowd so that the Queen could safely keep her distance from the swarms of citizens coming to see her speak. Already the masses were gathering, and the overflows of people spilled out from Center Market into the dirty alleyways and streets that fingered out into the grassy valley. Evangeline hooked her index finger through the curtain covering her carriage window and peaked out anxiously. All she could see an endless ocean of nameless people surrounded by monochromatic stone buildings that rose high into the sky.
To the east a summer thunderstorm had quickly formed and was moving into the valley, obscuring the faraway mountain peaks in veils of rain. Evangeline couldn’t worry about the storm, though. Even the weather couldn’t postpone what she had to do. Seconds later, Vincent opened the door to her carriage and thrust his long neck in.
“My Queen, all is ready to go. I suggest commencing before the rain hits the valley.”
“Has everyone been summoned?” Evangeline asked.
“Aye, “ Vincent replied. “The Guards have rounded up all those with
in the city and the city limits, and all the households are confirmed vacant.”
“What about the advisors? Are all present.”
“There are only two advisors now, My Queen, but yes. I saw Master Leatherby. Even General Bludworth insisted on coming, despite his injuries.” Evangeline nodded. That didn’t surprise her.
“It’s time then,” Evangeline muttered to herself, barely hearing it over the deafening sound of her pounding heart. Outside the air was misty and wet with summer rain, and the Queen was lead up several steps to a large wooden platform. An army of three hundred Guards stood behind the platform, in formation and at attention, more for her protection, Evangeline convinced herself, than to intimidate the citizens.
Talan, Vincent, and Brutus stood to the right of the platform. The buzzing of people talking and moving within the crowd quieted when they saw the Queen ascend the platform, and instantaneously all her subjects went to their knees in a deep bow for their ruling monarch. Evangeline didn’t miss a step before she began her speech.
“My loyal citizens of Samaria,” the Queen began, using steady breathing to project her voice feminine. “I’ve gathered you all here today to bring truth and clarity to the trials our beautiful country now faces. All Samarian citizens know the history of our lands: from the ancient Cliff Dwellers who first dug underneath the Anion Mountains, to the foreign race who rode the sea swells over from unknown lands, attacking our peaceful nation, to the great country we are now. We all take pride in the fact that our ancestors fought bravely against the oppressive Sea Dwellers and reclaimed Samaria for their own.”
Evangeline stopped, allowing her recitation of Samaria’s proud history to bring thoughts and feelings of patriotism and unity to all her subjects.
“But alas,” she continued sadly, “not every nation is as great and flourishing as Samaria, and there are those out there who would try and destroy our beautiful motherland.” Evangeline paused and looked down at her feet, bringing her knuckles to her eyelids as if tears were about to flow freely at any moment.
“The fact of the matter is that the Overlord of Nomanestan has threatened to invade our country out of the evil in his own heart. Samaria has done nothing to warrant such hatred, I assure you. We have only ever been a peaceful neighbor. But this Overlord is greedy and wants to take from us everything we’ve ever worked for! Our land, our gold, our power, and our freedom! He will stop at nothing till everything we know and love is taken from us!”
Outbursts and curses of anger erupted from the crowd before Evangeline could even finish. She let them yell their contempt and hatred of the Nomans for as long as they wanted, nodding her head in agreement as they did so.
“But I, Evangeline Winnser, Daughter of King Edgar Winnser, your faithful Queen, refuses to let some block-headed bully threaten Samaria!” Evangeline yelled into the air with as much passion as she could manage, and a huge shout of support exploded from the crowd.
“I will not lie to such faithful citizens as mine,” Evangeline promised in a softer voice, “and I cannot deny that Olger Guttensen’s army is several times larger than ours and more equipped to fight. I hate to place this burden on an already burdened people, but I need any and all volunteers to go fight! Who is valiant enough to fight for Samaria?”
Already several young men had broken through the crowds and were pressed up against the wooden barricades. They waved their arms and cried out, begging Evangeline to let them join her fight so that they could honor their fathers and their families. Only seconds passed before the Samarian Guard was on them, scooping them up and sending them off to their untimely deaths as inexperienced recruits.
“I ask only this of my people; be brave and trust me during these hard times. And I promise you, Samaria will never again be ruled by the Noman people. We fought for too long and too hard to be enslaved by them again!”
Behind the Queen and the company of three hundred soldiers, of deep roll of thunder rumbled through Alumhy, vibrating the glass windows of the surrounding shops and even the platform on which Evangeline stood. Dozens of people in the crowd glanced up at the sky nervously as heavy hanging clouds moved in fast on the wind. The day had suddenly darkened, and the air had turned cold.
Evangeline cleared her throat. If she wanted her citizens to support her in this war, she needed to keep talking, coaxing, and convincing them of Olger Guttensen’s unsubstantiated reasons to attack Samaria. She needed, as much as she desired, their unyielding faith in her as their Queen. If only one sliver of doubt slipped into the mind of even one person, it would spread like wild fire, and its effects could possibly be her undoing.
Evangeline scanned the crowd, watching contentedly as their original solemn faces had turned into scowls of hate and disgust for the Nomans. The Queen opened her mouth to continue her oration, but a flicker of movement in the farthest back reaches of the crowd caught her attention, rendering her silent. Above the bobbling heads of her people, a concentrated mass of maroon and yellow moved quickly in towards her, rapidly gaining shape as it grew closer in her eyesight. Already people were moving to the side, pressing their bodies tightly against the shops that lined the cobblestone streets so that this entity could move smoothly past them.
Evangeline felt her ire quickly ignite at the thought of someone interrupting her moment on the stage, and she wasn’t going to let some insolent protestor fill her citizens’ heads with hostile thoughts. She was about to send a handful of Guards out to intercept the potential rebel but stopped when she recognized the family crest on the banners blowing in the rainy wind.
They were maroon with off-white edges and proudly displayed a bald eagle with its wings spread wide. Those holding the banners were a line of five men, riding horseback, with a coterie trailing so close behind that Evangeline couldn’t tell how deep the rows of newcomers ran. The riders wore little protective gear, only a hauberk covered by a purplish red surcoat emblazoned with the same eagle as their banners. Capes were attached to their necks forming a pillow of fabric behind them, and small, flat hats were perfectly positioned on their heads.
Evangeline immediately called out Brutus. “General Bludworth! Front and center. Now!” The bruised and beaten General came to stand before her.
“I insist on knowing how these unwelcome outsiders have managed their way into Alumhy, completely unchecked and unquestioned! It is your job to secure our borders, is it not? No one enters Samaria without my permission.” Her hands were curled into fists and jammed into her sides. She reminded Brutus of a child about to throw a temper tantrum. But Brutus just stepped up obediently before the platform, an almost dismissible smile passing across his mouth before he spoke.
“My Queen, the Southwestern border is currently vacant,” he deigned. “You ordered me to respond urgently to the threat of Noman invasion, therefore I was given no choice but to redistribute my men where they were needed most. Captain Atwater himself claimed the eastern pass was undermanned, so that is where the squadron of men originally stationed along Rienne was relocated. Besides,” he added flippantly, “Samaria is at peace with Rienne. I didn’t see the need to have it guarded, considering other adversities we are facing.” He stepped back to his position next to the stage after stating his case, knowing Evangeline would be unable to retaliate.
With her lips twisted into an ugly sneer, Evangeline did a left face turn and marched down the stairs to confront the group of foreign visitors who’d stopped just short of the barricade separating her from the crowds. Already conversation was racing among the Samarians witnessing this spectacle, which infuriated Evangeline even more. One of the leading men on horseback, who looked nearly double Evangeline’s age, jumped down to the ground and raised his hands into the air.
“Queen Evangeline!” Leonardo Santini cried. “My dearest neighbor! It has been far too long since I’ve been inside the mountains of Samaria and welcomed in this enchanting city.” He stopped and looked around, frowning the whole time. “Although I don’t remember it looking so dismal
.” Evangeline ignored the man’s insults as she shoved a barricade out of her way and came to stand right in front of him, the top of her head only coming up to his chest.
“How dare you come into my country UNINVITED, Leonardo, and toss aspersions around!” the Queen yelled. “This is not the time nor place to pick at my nerves. I demand you and your group of men leave these borders willingly at once, or I’ll have my Guard do it for you.”
She glared at him, but Leonardo ignored her, taking a second to readjust the hat on his head and flick some lint off of his velvet surcoat before addressing Evangeline’s threats.
“From my understanding, Evangeline, you don’t have enough troops as it is to secure even your most dangerous borders, so don’t be foolish enough to waste your resources on me. I’m not your enemy.”
Evangeline’s chest suddenly felt heavy and constricted. She couldn’t fathom what the Chancellor of the Sovereign Alliance could possibly want with her, so much so that he would enter Samaria unannounced. Evangeline closed her eyes tightly and breathed deeply before speaking again.
“Leonardo, forgive me,” she said to her peer. “If it is shelter you seek, then of course Mizra will welcome you. Let me have my men escort you out of the rain and inside to warm hearths. Whatever your reason for being here, it will be addressed later this evening. But now is not the right time.”
“But it is the perfect time!” Leonardo cried out gaily, lifting his hands towards the sky again. “And to make things clear, I was invited to come here to Alumhy. By one of those closest to you,” Leonardo disclosed. All the color drained out of Evangeline’s face as the Chancellor of Rienne taunted her. The crowd of anxious Samarian citizens had somehow grown more compact, pressing closer and closer to where Leonardo and Evangeline stood so they could here every word the two were exchanging.
Azurite (Daughter of the Mountain Book 1) Page 39