by Alex Alcasid
“Your Grace.” A soft voice said, accompanying the creak of the War Room door. The Spellmaster entered, his face looking gaunt and drawn, and his robes hanging off his thin frame.
“Spellmaster! Come, sit. You look more haggard than usual. What has happened?” King Jorrne asked, motioning for the Spellmaster to take a seat beside him.
The Spellmaster sat heavily, and looked far older than his years. He was a good man, and a talented mage, but his aura felt weary and ancient. It showed on his face and voice, which had gone pale and reedy. “Your Grace, I pray you can find a cure for the Queen’s poison soon. I am doing what I can, but I can only do so much. I’ve spoken with all the healers of Aldoran, visiting mages and folk medicinal practitioners alike. We’ve all come to the same conclusion, Your Grace.”
“And what would that be?” Jorrne asked. He dreaded the answer.
“Your wife, the queen…” The Spellmaster took a breath. “The poison that coated the assassin’s blade was drawn from a basilisk’s fang.”
“I know people who have used such poisons before. Can an antidote be created?”
“One can be, Your Grace, but not in this case. The process of the antidote is the find the animal from where the poison came, extract it, and brew counteracting agents from it.”
“Yes, yes, I have heard. So what is the problem? Simply send soldiers to find a basilisk!”
The Spellmaster wrung his hands. “Your Grace, it is not that simple. Basilisks have been found to nest in the Kilrough Mountains, and it would take an expedition to rout one, but even if we captured one…”
“Spit it out, man!” The king was starting to loose his patience.
The Spellmaster winced. “There are traces of magic on the poison, Your Grace. I suspect it would be Queen Haedria of Sagna’s own magic, tying the poison to one singular creature. The only way to create the antidote now is if we capture Queen Haedria’s personal basilisk.”
“That would be tantamount to declaring war.” The king said. His gaze fell on the carving of the map, where Sagna lay at the base of a great mountain. “She is forcing our hand with every step. From the attempt on Katarina, to Gaturr, now even to save the life of my beloved.”
The sound of the king’s armored fist smashing into the carved wooden table echoed throughout the room.
Chapter Ten
The princess was instructed to stay within the castle for a few days. She supposed it was punishment for her leaving on her own, but the energy within the castle itself had gotten frantic. Soldiers were rushing about, the king and the Masters spent more time within the War Room, only emerging from it to shout orders down the hall at waiting soldiers. Loren felt like she was confined to the castle only to be kept out of the way while the adults focused on more important tasks.
Loren kept the queen company in the latter’s chambers, frequently asking for stories about Queen Katarina’s trophies and her childhood. Loren always found herself enamored by the Queen’s tales of hunting and adventure from her childhood. She pictured herself in her mother’s place: trapped in a tower within a tower in the Plaguelands after having been placed there by people trying to force her father the king to abdicate the throne. She was a young girl then, just a few years older than a decade.
It took a few years, but Queen Katarina escaped her captors and left the castle on her own with only a bow she fashioned herself, and a pack of the barest provisions. Along the journey back to Markholme, she took refuge inside an inn, and found a young knight downing ale as if tomorrow would never come to still his nerves.
The knight was Jorrne, the future king. The two were childhood friends, and when Jorrne received word that Katarina had been taken, he disappeared. He left to train for years till he was confident and strong enough to storm the tower, slay any guardians, and rescue the princess. His princess. When he explained his story to the disguised Katarina in the roadside in, she could only laugh. He didn’t know that his princess had already saved herself, and she didn’t have the heart to tell him his adventure would have to end before it began.
“I’m sorry Loren, do forgive me.” The queen said after a while. She had been telling the tale of her childhood for about an hour. “I never thought speaking would be so tiring.”
Loren’s eyes, filled with awe, grew concerned. Queen Katarina looked more tired than the day before. “No mother, I should be the one saying that! I kept you up, you should be resting. Is there anything you need? Can I help?” she asked.
Queen Katarina shook her head. “No need, no need. I’ll just lie down a while.” She groaned, easing herself back down onto her pillows. Loren rushed over to help. “I’m sorry, Loren.”
“For what?”
“A parent is supposed to protect and care for their child.” Queen Katarina said matter-of-factly. “I can’t do that in this state. If I was stronger, I could have dissuaded you from going off on your own.”
“I left so I could find a cure for you.” Loren said softly.
The queen chuckled, and reached for Loren’s hand. Loren took it, and was shocked at how cold her mother’s skin had become. “You’re a brilliant girl, I’m sure you’ve realized by now that it isn’t as simple. Spelled basilisk venom, I heard it was. Retrieving the basilisk, or the antidote itself, would be a declaration of war at this point.”
“What would it matter?” Loren said suddenly, standing. “They started this! Haedria started this, she sent assassins after you! Attempting to dispatch the ruler of another kingdom is a declaration of war! Why shouldn’t we retaliate? They came after us!”
Queen Katarina listened to her daughter’s outburst with surprising patience. The queen herself was quick to anger and impatience, but the poison had sapped her energy. “That is all true, of course. We must avenge our ruined pride, the unjust treatment of our allies, all that. But Loren…”
“What is it, mother?”
“Haedria, Queen Haedria Dagan of Sagna…” The queen paused, glancing at the dragon amulet that hung around Loren’s neck. “She didn’t send the assassin after me. I was not the target.”
Loren’s eyes were wide. “What?”
“She wanted you, your amulet, and your dragon.”
“Mother, what do you mean?” Loren’s tone was pleading. “She was supposed to have me killed?”
“I’m afraid so. But I’m sorry, Loren. I will explain it all to you in due time. Just let me rest my head for a while.” Queen Katarina’s smile was faint. Loren took her mother’s hand, gripping it tight.
“Promise me you’ll wake up, okay?” Loren said. She tried to sound sure and nonchalant, but her voice cracked and betrayed her.
The queen chuckled softly. “Do you doubt me? I’m every bit the daughter of dragons that you are, Loren. Lady Ylfair’s descendants are made of stronger stuff. Basilisk venom? Hah!”
Loren laughed with her mother, and helped get the heavy blankets over her. The sea breeze was chilly, and it wouldn’t do for the queen to catch a cold. Loren didn’t share in her mother’s confidence, but what else could she say? The only way to save her mother was to bring Haedria’s basilisk from Sagna.
The princess muttered soft words of love, and promised that she would be around to help nurse her back to health. As soon as the queen’s eyes fluttered closed and her breathing turned slow and deep, Loren stood and wiped her eyes. She turned away from her mother, heart set in a lie.
Evading the guards proved to be even harder the second time. The king had doubled the guard at each shift, so there was always at least one pair of eyes looking down the hallway at any given moment. Soldiers in full regalia strode up and done the stone corridors of the castle, swords and halberds at the ready, even if they were met with the sounds of sleeping servants and the caws of night birds.
Loren never realized how hard it was to move silently till she had to sneak out of her heavily fortified home with a pack full of supplies and wearing riding boots. The princess kept herself to the shadows, pressed against the cold stone of the cas
tle’s walls. She snuck out of her room, creaking the door open just the barest fraction. Two guards were stationed just past the door, standing sentry on either side of the dark wood. Loren closed the doors again, as softly as she could, and slid the latch shut. Leaving from the front door would be impossible to do on her own. Her mind racing a mile a minute, Loren rushed back to her own chambers to think and plan. She looked around her room. Her eyes fell on the moonlight streaming in from her window.
The princess’s room in the castle faced the sea. It was a wonderful sight to see, with the full moon’s light reflecting off the quietly rolling waves. But when Loren opened the window and looked down, all there was beneath the window was a sheer drop and jagged rocks. Her side of the castle had walls that were flush with the cliff. Loren took a step back and thought long and hard about her situation. She was never a very good climber. Rider and swordswoman, perhaps. She thought herself a poet, and fairly decent with a quill. But with a peg and rope?
Perhaps staying in the castle while her father dealt with the issue of Sagna and the antidote was a better idea.
A thick rope made of braided strips of curtain, bed sheet, and whatever other long bits of fabric Loren could get her hands on were thrown out of the window. The princess set to cutting the fabrics in her room as quietly as she could, running a hunting knife down sheets made of Kespian silks, trying to keep the guards posted outside from hearing the ripping noise they made. Once the entire length of the makeshift rope was hanging out of the window, Loren peeked outside again. The end of the rope barely touched a little outcropping in the rocky hill, but it would have to do. She would have to scale the whole hill to get back out past the gates of the castle. The princess took a breath, took hold of the sheets as tightly as she could, and climbed out of the window.
The sea winds buffeted her as she scaled the wall. Every time she looked down to try to find the next foothold in the rock, she would see the silver of waves and jagged rocks slick with sea foam waiting for her far below. Her stomach felt like lead, and bile threatened to scorch her throat. Loren shut her eyes tight and, heart hammering away in her chest, slowly continued down the side of the wall. Her travelling pack was heavy on her back, her boots slipped on the wall, the cold winds whipped her face.
She thought again that maybe waiting for her father to fix everything was the better idea.
Time seemed to blur together and Loren descended slowly. Her thoughts wandered, unable to be kept focused on one task due to the utter panic. Loren thought of her mother and father, what would happen if her mother died and the throne was passed onto her. She thought of Kaiten, lost in the world, and of Kae. Loren’s movements slowed as she thought. What did happen to Kae? And Ma’trii, and Cassendir? A pang of longing shot through her heart as Loren realized that by now, her friends would have moved on without her, and returned to her daily life. With dread, Loren realized that she would have to restart her adventure all alone.
A loud rumbling in her ears startled the princess, and her eyes flashed open. The first thing to meet her eyes were the knots tightly done in the mix of silks – miraculously holding her weight – and the slick stone of the castle wall. The rumble sounded beside her ear again and she looked, and was face to face with Lind’s shimmering golden eyes. Loren’s yelped and almost lost her grip on the rope.
“Lind! What are you doing here?” She hissed, her words drawn away by the wind. The dragon seemed to laugh as he rumbled again, deep in his chest. Loren looked, and saw the great lizard was flapping slowly, keeping himself suspended in the air. She didn’t hear the sound of his wingbeats over the howl of the sea breeze. And, perhaps, neither did the castle guards.
“Lind…” Loren started sheepishly. “Can you please help me?”
A spark of mirth shone in the dragon’s golden eyes. Lind powerfully flapped his wings, bringing himself another foot closer to Loren. The princess was tiny compared to the dragon, and was easily enveloped in his large claws. His claws were sharp enough to shear the rope clean through, and large enough to cage Loren completely. Without feeling the tension of the rope, Loren’s heart leapt in her chest, and expected to feel the horrible sensation of falling. But Lind held her fast, and the touch of his rough blue and gold scales reassured her.
Loren peeked through the gaps in Lind’s claws as he carried her off. She saw slivers of the sea lit by the silver light of the moon, rolling plains of green and gold from the Garruchian Plains and the packed walls of Rhodia, and a large blank space seemingly ripped out of the earth. The princess was curious. She tapped at Lind’s claws, a signal for him to open them a bit.
The dragon climbed higher in the sky, and flapped his powerful wings. Lind hovered in place, opening his claws so Loren could see out of them. The princess leaned forward, the upper half of her body exposed to the cold night winds. She kept one hand on Lind’s claw, but knew in that moment that he would not let her fall. She gazed out, hand to her face to shield her eyes, and saw more clearly the blank space just past what she knew were the Garruchian Plains. The space was barren, with no trees or discernable life anywhere. The land looked scorched, but in the moonlight Loren could not be sure. There were two structures in the space, both jagged shapes of rock so dark they seemed to leech the light around them.
“Lind?” Loren called to the dragon, her voice being carried off by the wind. “What is that? That space; it feels dead.”
Lind rumbled again, and his claws closed around Loren as if to say that was enough peeking for now. His powerful wings beat once, and the dragon began a slow, spiraling descent towards Markholme. As Lind flew, Loren felt something in her stir. A new knowledge came to her, or perhaps she already knew the answer in the back of her mind. The barren space abruptly ending the golden Garruchian Plains like a spill of ink on a piece of parchment were the Plaguelands of Yureun.
Lind circled above a thick patch of forest. Judging from the roads leading to and from it, Loren assumed it was the Kilrough Forest. She felt a pang of regret when she saw the thick canopy. Kae and Ma’trii must be somewhere in the Forest by now, returning to their own lives. The dragon landed in a clearing in the forest, his wings kicking up huge clouds of dust and scattering terrified animals in his wake. He set his claws on the ground and opened them, letting Loren easily climb out.
Loren pressed her forehead to Lind, whispering her thanks to the dragon for helping her away from the castle. She caught sight of the dragon’s shimmering golden eyes as she spoke, and her’s began to change as well. Words were shared without being spoken, and the dragon rumbled.
“Loren!” a voice shouted, out of breath and panicked.
Startled, both the princess and the dragon looked to the source, identical golden eyes scanning the dark gaps between the trees. Loren saw the arrowhead first, glinting in the moonlight. Then the bow being held with shaking hands, ready and drawn. Then the huntress.
“Loren?” Kae said again, stepping into the light of the clearing.
The princess couldn’t believe her eyes. Her hand slowly fell to her side as she left Lind to take cautious steps towards Kae. Behind her, Lind seemed to smile.
“Princess!” Kae’s nervousness disappeared. She dropped her bow, letting the precious weapon fall uselessly to the dirt floor of the forest, and ran towards Loren with her arms outstretched. Kae crashed into the princess, almost knocking her over. She hugged the princess tight.
“I thought I’d never see you again! When the king came and took you away, I tried to follow but guards held us back.” Kae’s voice was close to breaking, but when she held Loren at arm’s length, she beamed. “And here you are, sneaking out of Markholme all over again!”
“Kae…” Loren muttered. The princess’s golden eyes swept over Kae’s form, taking in every little detail. She saw the way strands of Kae’s unkempt hair clung to her face, saw every speck of dirt and the callouses on her hands, the bulge of muscle in her arms as she held her. Then she saw the emotion in the huntress’s eyes: worry, concern, admiration,
and fear. “You’re scared.” Loren said simply.
“Scared?” The huntress scoffed, letting go of Loren. She bent to retrieve her bow. “Of what? The dragon? I guess a little bit; he does look like he could snap me and Ma’trii up easily for a midnight snack. But you’re not going to do that, are you? I know you saved Loren and Queen Katarina, and you’re benevolent and all…”
Lind rumbled with a light laugh in response. The blue and silver dragon nodded his large head, nudged Loren with his nose, and took off into the sky, leaving flurries of dust in his wake. Loren knew the dragon would return to the cave in the cliff to rest. Then she realized she was alone. With Kae.
The huntress shielded her face from the wind and dust kicked up by Lind’s wings. When the swirling dust and leaves settled, she looked back at Loren and smiled.
“Alright, you were right. I am scared. Or was.” She said slowly. A blush came on her cheeks and she looked away, chuckling awkwardly. “You’re looking at me with gold eyes…It’s weird. But it’s still you, so I don’t have anything to worry about there, right? I was scared that you’d be locked up in the tower or whatever stone rooms are up in your castle, and I would never see you again.”