by Tina Silvens
“To hell with that spoiled prince!” said Leido—a man in his fifties with a rough voice. “Don’t you see how happy he is, while we’re sitting here in this pothole watching all of his daily moves? I say let’s not wait for our master anymore, but let’s attack them right today! Don’t you remember when our master was telling us in days of yore: Attack whenever there’s a chance? And now, look what a great opportunity we have: they’re all crushed after so much war. On top of it all, they’ve got no idea about magical weapons! It’s perfect! Let’s attack the royal family!”
Everybody turned their faces to him, with much approval. Their eyes lit up with desire and excitement. It was as if he’d said aloud what they’d been keeping hidden in their minds.
“You said it!” exclaimed one of them. “Let’s make them our prisoners tonight!”
“That’s right!” approved another. “If we attack them tonight, we certainly won’t fail. Let us impress our master! It’s been a day already since he should have arrived here with the so-called new weapons. I say we’re strong enough just the way we are. Vittria, you ready to launch the night spell?”
“Are you still asking?” replied the young redhead ironically. “All we need is just a small plan and this night...”
“Let’s attaaack!” shouted the fiery crowd.
“But what if our master doesn’t come back soon? What are we going to do?” came the questions of a wary one.
“We’ll manage; why are you so scared?” answered Leido. “Once they’re captured, it won’t be so hard to keep them tied up until Masta’ Bardan comes.”
“But why not wait for our master? He said we’d attack as soon as he came,” insisted the wary man.
Leido pondered a little, then added, “Because later they might restore their protection system, just like it was a year ago, when we couldn’t even monitor them through the Magical Eye. Didn’t you see how quick that general was to move? We already can’t pass through the front forest of the palace without being detected!”
“And let’s be honest,” interrupted another. “Who hasn’t gotten bored waiting? If Masta’ Bardan came, we’d attack them today. Why postpone our prior plan because of his being late?”
Everyone looked at him with agreement, glad that they’d found all the arguments to justify their rash decision.
Vittria elegantly moved towards the magical screen. She stretched her hand out for the hair on the projected image of the prince, as if she wanted to touch it. She said in a low voice, “Oh, I can’t wait to meet...”
Chapter 6
Selunia sat alone, deeply plunged into her thoughts. The car had been stopped at a crossing because the general had something to verify nearby.
She, at least for that moment, didn’t long for the White Castle, the place that had been her home for twelve years and, in fact, even more—taking into account the years before she’d temporarily stayed at the Aridens’ Palace. The idea of not getting to see Elis and Ryan anymore wasn't yet believable to her.
After all, I don’t see why I wouldn’t be able to visit them, at least sporadically, until they receive the Initiation Mission. I’ll ask the general!
That wasn’t the only question she wanted to ask. In her mind she’d gathered a pile of questions, whose answers she knew very well it wasn’t possible to get in just one day. The general was a good-hearted person whom she had known as a child. He was generous to answer her questions, but he was also very busy with palace matters. He didn’t have the time for long conversations, aside from those regarding the well-being of the kingdom.
The Arid Kingdom was one of the ten regions that divided the entire continent of Centeralum. It was called “Arid” not because of the relative small portion of desert that bordered one corner of the kingdom, or because it was poor, but because of the many attacks and military clashes. Crowds of barbarians from other continents, or isolated tribes from the neighboring kingdoms, were eager to control this prosperous region of fertile lands, rich in resources and ores. Word had it that the abundance wasn’t the only reason; there was also a mystical one, deeply connected to the palace.
Not everyone knew that the present palace of the Aridens had been built on the foundation of an older and smaller one—whose history wasn’t well known, even by the king—and even less known was that part of the mysterious building had been kept, maintained, and protected until the present by all who led the Arid Kingdom. This wasn’t a tradition, but an order of the Central Palace.
All Selunia knew about this Central Palace was that it represented a very small territorial formation, compared to the kingdoms of the continent, but by whose leadership everyone had to abide, aside from the White Castle—an independent neutral zone which was an enclave on the Aridens’ land.
The main purpose of the Central Palace was to maintain peace between the kingdoms; in other words, to supervise the entire continent. General Waltario had once told her that as soon as this institution had been established, not a single war had been carried on. They had all been prohibited, blocking the possibility of territorial expansion through battles.
Selunia couldn’t understand how the Central Palace imposed order so well that all ten countries were so obedient to it; on the contrary, they feared to breach any of its rules. She also couldn’t understand why the White Castle was kept independent from the Central Palace and implicitly from the Arid Kingdom—on whose land it was built. They all fight for peace, a noble cause; therefore, why don’t they collaborate? Why am I being sent here undercover? she wondered, then decided, once she arrived at her destination, to go find out as much as she could about all three formations and about those who attacked the Arid Kingdom.
She felt a slight unease in her soul. Something was strange. Not only were her surroundings a mystery, but so was her life itself. She knew her parents were keeping something from her; they had hesitated to tell her for a long time, giving her the reason of not being the appropriate age.
Ironically or not, now that she was the right age, they were away in a lengthy mission, from which she didn’t know when they would come back. At least I know I’m their child, she contented herself to say. I’m matching them in many aspects, and from what I’ve heard at the Castle—even from people who didn’t favor me—it’s clear that they’re my real parents.
Her thought got interrupted by a discussion between the general and a subordinate. She could clearly hear them through the cracked-open window at her side.
“So the prince doesn’t have a personal guard right now? Do I have to open a contest for this job again?” went the inquiring voice of the general.
Selunia pricked her ears. Maybe I could become—
“No, I don’t think it will be necessary,” came the subordinate’s answer. “The Aripini Kingdom has already sent us a replacement.”
Selunia’s hopes dropped significantly.
The subordinate added, “Even if we were to hold a contest—although I doubt we’ll have any other candidates—it’s a matter of course that we let him be the winner; we’re not going to send him home. The Aripini army has supported us a lot in winning this long war.”
“That’s right. There’s no doubt that we’ll continue to solidify our alliance with them, especially now, when we’re still on alert. We’ll have the one they send, but not without making him go through a contest, even if it’s only for show,” said the general in the end. He beckoned for the soldiers to go back to their positions, and to resume the ride to the palace.
Selunia’s heart beat fast. I’d like to take part in the contest. If I show that I’m stronger than that candidate, I don’t see why they wouldn’t accept me. It’s the prince’s safety, after all...
She remembered Soris and their short childhood together. She could see right before her eyes that joyous and lively little boy who would’ve come to her rescue at any moment, who wouldn’t have allowed anyone to do or say something bad towards her.
She couldn’t understand, e
ven at this time, why most people from the palace looked at her with reserve, as if she was some kind of animal, and some others had quite scornful attitudes. The few children who were to be found at the palace would run away as soon as they saw her. Soris was the only one who’d dared to come near her, and had invited her to play. He was the one who took her by the hand and showed her the beauties of the yard and of the building.
Those wonderful moments made her smile even now. I hope he’ll recognize me. I’d like to be good friends again. But in the usual sense, not how Elis was implying. I mean... Oh, well, that’s true. I did like him a little back then, I think. But that was just because he was so kind to me, not because... not because I loved him.
I know that for a long time, as gratitude, I wanted to become his protector. When I realized I couldn’t do that, because he’s from the Arid Kingdom while I’m from the White Castle, I said I’d follow the course of the stronghold. But I wasn’t able to qualify in any way.
With each year I failed to awaken my inner power, my parents consoled me with the idea that I’d become Soris’ protector. They said they’d intended for me to go there anyway, for who knows what reason of theirs that they don’t want to uncover at all—another mystery!
Or maybe they know why I can’t awaken my inner power.
The general returned inside the car. The shutting of the door jarred Selunia from her dilemmatic thinking. The huge and heavy vehicle went on again on its solid wheels. The general made himself comfortable on the backseat of the spacious compartment.
Feeling that her silence was suspicious, Waltario turned an inquiring face towards her.
Selunia, with eyes as sweet and pleading as she could make them, pressed her lips. She wanted to ask him if she could take part in the contest for the prince’s personal guard.
He read the request in her eyes. He cleared his voice a little and said, “Don’t even dream about it!”
Selunia slid backwards, leaning disappointed against the backrest. “Just let me try,” she insisted like a child.
“Selunia, please, be reasonable! Putting aside your unusual skills, I can’t let you because you’re a girl.”
“But why? Is there any law that says girls can’t participate?”
“No. There’s no such law. But until now, not a single woman has ever taken part in war with us. For us, we from the Arid Kingdom, it’s a great absurdity, what you want to do. Do you realize what sort of dangers you could put yourself in? The battlefield isn’t a playground.”
“I know that, too, you don’t have to tell me!” she said indignantly. “Do you have any idea what beasts and creatures I’ve fought at the Castle? I’ve defeated some beings ten times stronger and more dangerous than a man!”
Pouting, she took her eyes from the general. Staring into space, she continued to talk, as if she thought aloud. “It was my main activity at the Castle: to protect it from any creature that tried to attack it, or that wanted to trespass the barrier to get on the kingdom’s territory. That’s why I first learned how to fight with the crystal-gloves, and later on, how to make shields that can cover any person. Most of the time, I went all alone to exterminate the attackers before they’d get too close to the stronghold or to the barrier. I was hoping that, in this way, my inner force would awaken and protect me just like it did then, once, when I was only five years old. But it didn’t happen, no matter how much I tried. And so, no matter how much I fought for the White Castle, I couldn’t get any rank. Not a single contribution of mine to the stronghold’s security has been recognized.”
She rested her elbows on her knees, getting her temples between her hands. Upset, she sighed deeply. The general watched her in silence, surprised by her words. He didn’t know what to say to console her. Everything she’d said to him didn’t make sense; it seemed something fantastic.
Shortly after, he noticed her long slightly wavy hair tied into a ponytail, spread on the back of her costume. “Selunia, you’ve forgotten to hide your hair,” he said lightly.
Selunia took off her helmet, bored. She turned her face to him and asked him as an aside, “Was that the big concern now?”
Then she rapidly pulled up her hair in an improvised bun, over which she carefully put the helmet back. She slumped on the backrest again. “Pleased?” she asked ironically.
“Selunia, please understand that I do all of this for your own security. It’s best you look like an ordinary soldier; don’t get all eyes on you. Even so, I’m still worried whether you’ll be accepted at the palace. There are so many problems... But, if your parents have insisted so much for you to come now...”
Selunia had a sudden spark of inspiration. She caught an idea. “But what if I pretended to be a soldier all the time? If no one knew I was a girl, I could participate without any fuss!”
“Selunia, leave those crazy ideas! How long do you think you could go on like that? Give up!”
“Pfff, but I’m able to fight. I could be of help,” she muttered, tucking her chin to her chest disappointedly.
The general watched her compassionately. He told her in a calm voice, “Eh, now, don’t be so sad. I’ll probably get to find you a position within the army, but have some patience. First, let’s see if you get accepted by the royal family. Until then, please do only what I tell you.”
“Fine,” she agreed resignedly.
Waltario thoughtfully sat silent for a few seconds, then said, amused, “It’s so strange that you want to become the prince’s bodyguard when most people keep away from that job. I’ve seen brave soldiers with dignity who said they had no fear of death, but who, after getting injured, couldn’t wait to get away from that position. And that, to their great joy, happened quite soon. Soris dismissed them as soon as they got a serious injury. There were fiery battles whose main target was him. Many relied on the fact that he was young, that they’d capture him or kill him more easily and therefore get to the throne faster.”
Waltario became serious. “His first bodyguard died quite soon. Soris was deeply marked by that incident, especially as the mother of the deceased tried to get revenge on him.”
Selunia, surprised, raised her eyes to him. “What do you mean, she tried to get revenge?”
“She tried to kill him by poisoning him a few years later. Soris got through a very difficult time back then, poor him. Anyway, since that death, Soris has been changing his guards often. When he sees them injured, critically or not, he dismisses them. He says that he’s trying his best not to let that accident happen again. That’s why he’s become a better and stronger warrior. I confess that even for me, he’d be a difficult opponent at the present moment.”
Selunia listened, amazed. She felt both compassion and admiration for Soris. Now I want to help him even more.
For a few minutes after this discussion, the only thing to hear in the car was the noise of the wheels on the well-trodden road, covered here and there with gravel.
Meditative, Selunia suddenly broke the silence. “Still, how will I pretend to be your daughter? I’d been there when I was five, and I stayed for a while. Do you think no one will remember me?”
“I know you had. It was then that your parents left you in my care, because of who knows what matter they had, and at the White Castle—for a reason completely unknown to me—they couldn’t leave you. At that time, as it was hard for me to explain the entire situation, everyone thought you’d be an orphan. Therefore, if I say I adopted you, it won’t sound too suspect.”
“An orphan? That was what they thought about me? Well then, was that enough reason for them to look so frightened at me?” Selunia asked incredulously.
“It wasn’t that reason,” he replied, a bit disturbed by a reminiscence. “Those who got the idea that you were from the White Castle spread the word that you had doubtful origins... You know, for the great part of our kingdom, the White Castle is a queer place where unusual, strange people, sort of like monsters, live. And, you see, there’s a little
truth in that, considering what you were recounting to me earlier.”
Selunia turned her head, hiding her anger. Those “doubtful origins” were pointing directly towards her parents, whom she dearly cared for. Even the White Castle considered me strange because of my parents. Oh, I don’t want to remember that again.
The general, feeling that she had dived into a kind of sorrow, asked her, to bring her to talk again: “I heard you saying something about some creatures? Where do they come from? How do they look?”
Selunia, with her mind made up, turned to him and answered calmly, “They come from the nearby islands and hide in the forest-barrier of the stronghold. It’s because of them that I couldn’t ever see the sea. It’s said to be way too dangerous there for those who don’t have their inner force awakened. The creatures I’ve told you about look very much like the common forest animals, only bigger, and in place of fur, they’ve got a sort of layer of smoke.”
“Sounds so fantastic and incredible to someone like me, who hasn’t gotten to see anything in battles but people and barbarians,” the general remarked, bewildered, staring long at her. “Had I not met your parents before, to see their extraordinary powers with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed a word from what you said now. It’s terrible if something like this exists on our lands.”
“Rest assured, the beasts I’ve told you about don’t stand a chance of getting here,” said Selunia, amused. “Their extermination is one of the main activities of the Castle.”
“That’s the only trouble we’ve missed so far in our kingdom,” Waltario said with a light laugh.
A few minutes later, looking through the window, the general remarked, “We’re almost at the palace. In a few seconds we’ll be in the yard.”
Selunia shuddered inside her soul. We’ve arrived! It will be fine—I hope!
The car went through the entrance gates. She took a long breath, trying to control the emotions that accelerated her heart beats. She had finally arrived at the Aridens’ Palace.