The Whispers of Shadows (The Fifth Kingdom Book 1)

by Lisa M. James

  “Seasons are changing Lucinda. Your time with me has come to an end.” Lucinda had dreaded the day. Geenessa had taught her so much in one summer and she would miss her instruction, but most of all she would miss her friendship. She didn’t have to hide who she was with Geenessa. Geenessa understood, and though she claimed not to be as powerful as Lucinda they shared the same gift.

  “Will you come visit me sometime in the East Kingdom? Perhaps you can convince my father that I am not cursed? That there are others like me.”

  Geenessa laughed softly. “No one is quite like you Lucinda. A time will come when I will visit you in your kingdom, if that is what you wish. Do you remember the stories I told you of the Ancient Queen?”

  “Yes of course.” Since the night of Lucinda’s dream, Geenessa had shared her bits of stories of a past queen. One that most only believed to be legend, but Lucinda knew that she was seeing the Queen’s memories in her dreams, and that she was real.

  “Don’t forget them. Her life and her mistakes will guide you in your journey. A time will come when her story will be of much importance to you, do you understand?”

  Lucinda didn’t really understand what Geenessa meant but she nodded. Geenessa smiled and they spent the rest of the session reviewing every lesson Geenessa had with Lucinda since the beginning of the summer.

  That evening, the seamstress met Lucinda at her bedchambers. “Your dress is almost ready my lady! Come now, let’s see it on you and I will add my final touches.” The dress was a beautiful combination of green and gold lace and silk.

  “Do you like it, my lady?”

  “It’s beautiful.”

  “It was your favorite. I was trying to remember the style just right.”

  Lucinda looked at her in confusion. “What do you mean it was my favorite?” Lucinda did not own a dress anything like the one she was wearing. Though if she had, there was no way for Ashlen to have known it. Before Ashlen could respond, there was a knock on the door and Lady Gwendolyn entered.

  “Lady Gwendolyn, what do we owe the pleasure?” Lucinda eyed her suspiciously.

  “I’ve come only to talk to my dear friend Princess Lucinda. You are having a party dress made for the celebration tomorrow?”

  “A birthday party dress,” The seamstress answered. “And a farewell dress. It’s quite tricky to capture both elements in one dress.”

  “Well, you’ve done well. The dress is beautiful, but I suppose the Princess looks beautiful in all she wears.” She smiled with only her mouth. Her eyes were set. “It will be sad to see you leave. I have enjoyed you being here with us. Maybe your father will allow you to come back next summer? Or maybe visit sometime?”

  “That’s kind of you to say, but my father likes to keep us within his reach. It was difficult for him to agree to send me here but it was my mother’s wish.”

  “I’m sure the Prince will miss you then. “ She took a seat by Lucinda’s bed. No one said anything for a while. Lucinda finally dismissed Ashlen and turned to Gwendolyn.

  “Lady Gwendolyn, may I speak frankly to you?”

  Gwendolyn looked surprised. “Yes of course Princess.”

  “You are to be Queen. Prince John is a wonderful man like his father, and will be a just King. So tell me why do you desire Matthew so much? Certainly the prospect of Queen is more appealing to you then the wife of the commander of the Western Guard?”

  “You don't understand Princess.”

  “I understand many things. I understand that you have isolated me because you feel that Matthew has grown fond of me and somehow that has stolen his affection from you.”

  Gwendolyn got up from where she sat and faced Lucinda. “I have to marry for duty when I desire to marry for love. Matthew and I are one in the same. We were inseparable since birth, but since I’ve come of age he’s distanced himself from me and soon I will be betrothed to his brother and I will completely lose him.”

  “Perhaps that is for the best. You could place yourself in great danger if you continue to pursue him.” She looked at Gwendolyn with pity. “You love him. Has he told you the same?”

  Tears started to drip down from Gwendolyn’s beautiful blue eyes. “He’s never said so much. I always knew it in my heart though. He was always so kind. He considered me. Yet since you have come he doesn't give me a passing glance. I can’t help but observe. I always thought he looked at me special, but it doesn't compare to the way that he looks at you or the way that he talks of you. It’s not just the maidens who talk of you being betrothed; everyone has grown so fond of you while you have stayed here. Even the common folk talk of how wonderful it would be for you to stay and be betrothed to the prince.” Lucinda only responded with silence. If word came back to her father that the people were talking this way, he would surely blame her for becoming a distraction in the West Kingdom. Gwendolyn grabbed her shoulders. “All I wanted was a last few moments with my Prince before I was betrothed to his brother. Why shouldn’t I have that chance?”

  “If you’ve come to me for sympathy, you will not receive it.” It was harsh words and the hurt in Gwendolyn’s eyes made Lucinda regret saying it, but she felt the anger rising in her. “You have every advantage. You will be the next queen!”

  “Yes but I would gladly give up that title to be with my prince!”

  “You are a fool then. Prince John doesn't deserve this insolence.”

  Gwendolyn opened her mouth wide and dropped her hands from Lucinda’s shoulders. “A fool? Is it foolish to want to be happy? To be with the person you love?”

  Lucinda stepped closer to her. The girls were about the same height but Gwendolyn cowered slightly as Lucinda approached her. “Perhaps you can’t marry for love, but be thankful that your future husband is not a cruel man because royal men can be cruel. Peasant, maiden, queen, it doesn't matter to them. They will rip every form of happiness out of your life until you want to feel no more. They can make it as if you didn’t exist. So you should mind your tongue, it could very well get you killed.”

  Gwendolyn’s voice shook. “What are you talking about?”

  “Or more so, it can get the innocent man you love killed. Yet, I won’t allow it. They won’t hurt him again. I won’t break like I did before. No, I am stronger than they even know now. In their desperation they took my life and his, but our spirits can’t be killed. They will soon learn. The time is near.” The room shook. Pictures fell from the walls and the torches hanging from the ceiling fell causing little pools of fire around the chamber. Gwendolyn screamed but Lucinda raised an open palm to the fire and they disappeared.

  “How? How did you—“

  “Lucinda!” Geenessa rushed into the room followed by two guardsmen. She wrapped her arms around her. “Are you alright, my dear? What happened?”

  All the blood had rushed out of Gwendolyn’s face. “She! With her hand! How—“

  “Take the girl out of here! Please! Go inform the King that the Princess had an incident! He will need reason for that quake.” Geenessa wrapped Lucinda in her arms and rocked her gently. “What happened darling?”

  “Nothing, she angered me. That’s all.” Lucinda felt Geenessa still, but she didn't allow herself to feel sad. She thought about the Green Sea. She couldn't remember exactly what happened after Gwendolyn entered the room. She was speaking to her, but she couldn't make sense of what she was saying or why she was saying it. Yet, she had nothing to be sad about. For the first time in her life, she felt powerful.

  Chapter Nine

  “Please, I don't know anything else! I swear it!”

  “Liar! Perhaps his wounds aren’t deep enough, your Majesty?”

  “Fire! I told you she hates fire. That’s all I know. Father, Please! How can you let them do this?”

  “You’ve betrayed your kingdom by choosing her.”

  “How have I betrayed the Kingdom? She is not an enemy! You don't know what you’re doing! You don't know what she will do!”

  “We are hoping to find out. That’s
enough. Kill him, and send her his head.”

  “Nooooo!” The room was dark. Matthew ripped the bed sheets from over him. He expected to be covered in his blood but there was nothing. It was a dream; only a night terror. In truth, he knew the man being tortured wasn't him. The same light hair and dark eyes he shared with Matthew, but the man in his dream was older; older in age and older as in another time, another century. Yet, the pain was real. Matthew climbed down from his bed and collapsed on the floor. His whole body ached and he was breathing heavy, but he dragged himself up to his chamber door and opened it.

  “Did you have a bad dream, my lord?” Standing outside his door was Lucinda’s governess, Geenessa. She was dressed in a tan sleeping gown and her green eyes sparkled at him through the darkness. She leaned against the wall directly across his bedchamber.

  “Lady Geenessa, why are you up at this hour?”

  Her eyes looked far away. “I didn’t mean to frighten you. Perhaps a story will help you fall asleep my lord. Have you heard the story of the fifth kingdom?”

  He looked at her oddly. Perhaps she was not truly awake. He stepped a little closer to her. “The fifth kingdom, my lady?”

  “Have you heard it my lord? Oh, don’t spoil it please. The shadows do love this story.” She smiled but her eyes were away from him. “There once was a powerful queen who built her kingdom amidst the Green Sea,” Geenessa started. “The Kingdom of the Green Sea was the only kingdom ever ruled by a queen. The queen was a sorceress. Her people were so loyal to her, but the Kings of the four kingdoms surrounding the Green Sea feared her. She was more powerful than them and they feared that she would overtake their kingdoms and rule over them. They sought to find her weakness.”

  She grabbed Matthew’s hand then. “And the sweet queen did have a weakness. She would come and visit the four kingdoms often. Give them gifts, show her love, she only wanted their trust. The people of the kingdoms loved her, but the kings wouldn’t trust her. Yet, she had won the heart of one of their sons; a kind prince from the West kingdom. He was sweet to her and she quickly fell in love with him.”

  Matthew thought of the man in his dream. “Did he betray her to the kings?”

  “No, just like all of her followers he was fiercely loyal to her. Perhaps he loved her too. Some people believed it was her sorcery that made so many love her so, but we know the truth of it. They were destined to be together, to bring an end to the kingdom until such a time came for it to be restored, stronger than it had ever been.

  Matthew’s eyes widened. “The kings tried to use the prince to bring down the queen, and when he wouldn't tell them her secrets they tortured him. That’s what I saw in my dream.”

  She smiled at him. “I told you not to spoil the story my lord. Yes, the kings plotted against the queen and used her love to find out her fear. He refused, but there is only so much pain his human body could endure. He finally revealed her weakness to them.”

  “Fire,” Matthew whispered. That’s what the tortured man said in his dream. The Queen didn’t like fire.

  “Yes, my lord. Fire. She always hated fire.”

  He thought about another dream then; the dream that Lucinda had, about a woman being consumed by fire and surrounded by cruel men. “They killed her, and her prince.”

  “Sadly, yes my lord. Her whole kingdom was lost with her. She said she would return, and her followers have been waiting. The shadows never forget my lord, although we have forgotten.” She smiled at him again. “I told Lucinda this story, but she doesn't understand. You must understand my Prince, because the time is coming.” She turned away and walked back toward her chambers.

  “John wake up!” Matthew pounded on the door of his brother’s bedchamber and pushed the large stone door open. His brother was sitting up in bed, rubbing his eyes.

  “Matthew, what’s wrong? It’s still dark, you can’t be that eager to start your birthday celebrations are you?” John’s face hardened looking at Matthew’s. “Tell me, what’s happened?”

  “I had a dream.”

  “You are a little old for night terrors.”

  “It was more than that. It felt real. Like it wasn't a dream at all, like I was witness to something that happened. There was a man, a prince. He looked much like me, and I could feel his pain. He was in a dark place, a dungeon perhaps. He was tied by ropes and hanging from the ceiling. There were three men around him. Two were guards and they were whipping him, and stabbing him and demanding him to answer questions about a queen. They wanted to find her weakness, and I, I mean the man refused but they kept beating him until he answered them.”

  His brother wrapped an arm around him. “What else?”

  “The third man there was older, and the man that was being beaten called him father. He commanded that his son be killed and his head sent to the queen. That’s when I woke up.”

  His brother looked at him intently. “You felt what this prince was feeling? Did you hear a name? Did they call the Prince by name?”

  “Thomas. The man’s name was Thomas and it was not the first time I’ve seen him John. I have been seeing his face sometimes when I just close my eyes. Sometimes when I pass my reflection for a moment it doesn't look like me at all, it looks like him. I am going mad, I know it.”

  “You are not going mad. What was the Queen’s name?”

  “Nycilla. The Queen’s name is Nycilla, or was Nycilla, I don't know. The past days I have been waking up with her name on my lips.” He repeated the story then that Geenessa told him about the fifth kingdom.

  His brother dropped the arm that was around him and looked at Matthew with consternation. “Yes, I’ve heard this story about the Ancient Queen. It’s the one legend that travels through all the four kingdoms”

  “What do you mean?”

  “No one knows the truth of it. Yet, just as the governess told you, legend says there was once a fifth kingdom directly in the sea. No one could travel to it without a ship and it was the only kingdom ruled by a queen. Her people loved her and she was said to be very beautiful with rare abilities. The kings of the four kingdoms began to fear her and her power. People were so loyal to her they were afraid she would become powerful enough to overtake all the kingdoms.“

  “They used Thomas to learn her secrets.”

  “It might be so. The kings overtook her kingdom and killed the queen. It is said that before she died she said her and her love would be avenged and her kingdom would be resurrected. When she died the whole kingdom crumbled. The kings’ men escaped, but it is said that the sea swallowed the kingdom whole. There were neither bodies nor debris. It had vanished.”

  Matthew sighed. “It’s just a legend. The story was told over centuries. Who knows if it holds even a bit of truth?”

  “The one truth is this. One year later, all of the four kings who ruled in the North, South, East and West died mysteriously. All found in their beds as if they were sleeping. All covered with white roses. I’ve checked the royal accounts Matthew. It dates back centuries. There was one year where a king from every kingdom died.”

  “Why have you never told me this?”

  “I heard this story first in the North but it was repeated in every kingdom and when I returned I presented it to father and he told me to never speak of it. It may be just a legend but people believe it’s true. Even after all these centuries, across all the kingdoms the Queen has followers, waiting for her return. Many believe she has finally returned.”

  The shadows never forget, Geenessa had said. Matthew looked at his brother in confusion. “What do you mean she has finally returned?”

  “Have you ever seen the queen in your dreams?”

  Matthew thought back to the evening Lucinda kissed him. The image of Thomas and the young maiden that came to his head; the maiden with the long black hair cascading down her back and her olive skin, and her eyes; her beautiful green eyes. He gasped. “Lucinda!” It all made sense to him now. Why Lucinda was hidden away by her father for so long. Why her mother f
eared for her life. Why the common woman gave him the poisoned flowers. It wasn’t just her powers they feared. They feared that she was the reincarnation of the dead queen, coming back for her revenge on the kingdoms. It wasn't possible. This was all a legend. Lucinda was just a girl with a special gift. “But why am I having these dreams? What does the Queen want with me?”

  His brother stared at him for several moments. “Perhaps she is looking for her prince again.”

  As dawn broke, Matthew washed his face and got dressed trying not to think of the dream and trying to push what his brother revealed to him to the back of his mind. It is just a legend, a fable, a fairytale. He repeated to himself. I will not fall into the hysteria. She is just a girl who has suffered her whole life because of these hateful tales. She trusted him and he cared for her and he wouldn't allow her to be hurt by these stories. He had the servants lay out a spread of food. Lucinda never ate that much, but she enjoyed fruit cakes and jam and he had eleven types of cakes brought in and eight jams.

  “Who will eat this much cake and jam? What if the Princess desires meat or fruit?” His brother had laughed when he saw the display.

  “She likes cake and jam. If she desires something else, I will have something else made. It’s her birthday. She will have what she wants.”

  When Lucinda appeared for breakfast, she was clothed in a white dress that fell to her ankles and a blue sapphire pendant around her neck. “Happy Birthday my Prince.” Her eyes were tired and her voice strained but she smiled brightly at him.

  “Happy Birthday, my lady.” He bowed awkwardly.

  “Is something wrong Matthew?”

  “No,” He said too quickly. “I didn't sleep well. I had a dream.” He regretted it as he said the words fearing she would ask what the dream was about. “I have something for you.”