The Goddesses Throne

by A. Kingsley

  The information was a lot to take in at once. Clare was sure she must have heard this somewhere in a magic book she had read, but had forgotten. Magic books were banned in most public places to help protect magic users safety, but there were plenty of magic books locked away in the royal library. Most of the magic books in the royal library focused on stories where magic had been used for better or for worse, they often didn’t go into detail on how magic itself worked because only those who used magic truly knew and a lot of magic users had been murdered. Only a few remained.

  When she had finally processed the information, Clare made a mental note to write what she had learned down in the sketchbook she had brought on their journey. “Yes, I would like to try,” she looked over to Antoine and Cassius who were messing with the flowers. “I can’t hurt either of them.” She wouldn’t be able to control herself if Antoine got hurt, he was soft, fragile and she swore to protect him. As for Cassius, she wasn’t sure if he would impact her as much, but she had a feeling she would protect him with her life too. He had a place somewhere in her heart, but figuring out where that place was, was the hard part.

  Natalia offered herself instead. “I’m sure you care too much for both of them, so you wouldn’t be able to control yourself. Let’s start with me. We need to see if your compassion is stronger with humans or animals.” She took out a small switchblade and cut the back of her hand, she showed no signs of pain. “You need to control yourself. Imagine I am a stranger and you can not heal me in public or you could possibly expose yourself to a dangerous person who wants to steal your magic. I’ll take care of healing myself, in fact my body is going to heal this cut when I let it. For now, your mission is to walk away from me and go sit with the boys on the opposite edge of the clearing.”

  The burning, hot sensation that rushed through her body at the sight of blood, amplified when the blood belonged to a human. When she saw animal blood, her fingers would twitch and her skin would go warm, but now, Clare felt like she was on fire. She forcefully turned her head to the boys, but something inside of her turned it right back around. She closed her eyes and tried to think of the magic, behind a damn, but it wasn’t working, she needed something stronger. She thought of her sister’s voice, her sister calling her name from afar. She imagined Sage sitting near Cassius, yelling at him for existing, her foot moved in the opposite direction. As Sage’s voice became clear and more distinct inside of her head, she turned away from Natalia and walked towards the boys, she began to sprint.

  The two looked up in alarm. “Is everything alright?” Antoine asked as he saw her running towards them.

  “Did that woman hurt you?” Cassius questioned angrily. She fell to her knees and brought them both into a hug. The burning sensation left her body and the smell of blood faded, the sweet smell of flowers and the tang of Cassius’s cologne filled her nostrils. Cassius peered down at her awkwardly, moving his body off of Antoine’s, to ensure that the contact he had was only with Clare.

  She pulled away from the both of them and her lips spread out into a smile. “I’m alright. I did it, I walked away.” The two of them gave her a high five and she turned to Natalia who was giving her a thumbs up. The blood had disappeared from her hand and she was walking back towards the group of teenagers.

  “The urge is stronger when it comes to humans isn’t it? I experience the same thing myself, but I have had more years to practice concealing what I feel. Some magic users feel a strong connection to animals, but I was not sure if that was you. It wasn’t. What helped you turn away? You’ll need to remember that thought for the next time you are in a troublesome situation and you know you can control yourself.”

  “My sister,” Clare said triumphantly. “She was calling me and I ran to her. I ran as fast as fire spreads.”

  “Good job,” Natalia replied.

  “How did your skin not heal within seconds?” Clare asked. “When I get injured my body doesn’t wait, it heals me immediately.”

  “I didn’t let it heal me right away,” Natalia said, “magic is all about control.”

  Through the trees the leaves rustled and there was a frantic shout. “Mrs. Pax, Mrs. Pax!” came a voice from the trees.

  Clare stood and ran towards the noise, Cassius followed after her, he didn’t plan to lose her anytime soon. Clare darted through the trees until she reached the voice. A man on a horse who looked half dead, extended his hand out into the air, there was a letter dangling from his grasp. Clare took the letter in her fingers and turned it over to see the wax seal that belonged to her kingdom.

  “Thank you,” she smiled. “Finally a letter from mum and Sage,” she told Cassius happily.

  Cassius faked a smile and then turned around to roll his eyes. “Why did you have to make such a big fuss about it?” Cassius said angrily to the man who was turning his horse in the other direction. “Your highness I was told that the contents of this letter were important and to deliver it as quickly as I could.”

  Clare was still smiling, “well thank you, I appreciate your service. Maybe it has to do with Sage and Julius’s wedding, they might want us to come home for it. I will open it up later,” she told the horseman. “Tell my sister that in a few days a letter will reach her.”

  “But your highness—“

  “She said she would read it later, you prick,” Cassius said angrily, “you are dismissed.”

  Natalia and Antoine emerged from the trees. She dipped her head towards the royal guard. “Now, we can not let this handsome man embark on a large journey without a cup of tea can we? Why don’t you three go clean yourselves up. We are done for the evening, the sun is almost set. I will continue your training tomorrow if time allows me to and I’ll let you know who may help you on the rest of your journey as well. There is a room for each of you, so do not fret, my home is plenty big. I will fix this dashing man up a meal. How does that sound?” The man jumped off of his horse and followed her into her home.

  Antoine moved forward, a flower crown in his hand. “I know you already have a crown, but we both made you another one. Well I made you one and he sort of helped,” Antoine said as he extended the crown to Clare.

  Clare beamed, “It’s lovely! A letter and a crown all in one day, I am so spoiled!”

  Clare and Cassius took one bedroom and Antoine took another. Clare was going to get undressed to bathe, but instead she decided to open the letter. “I should probably open it now,” she told Cassius. Though they didn’t have to share a bedroom, they had chosen to, to strengthen their bond. Clare sat down on the royal blue bedding and carefully lifted the tip of the envelope up from the wax seal. After pulling off his boots, Cassius kneeled down and unlaced hers.

  “Go ahead, I’m just trying to treat you like the princess that you are.” He looked up and smirked at the bright blush that appeared on her face.

  While she read the letter, he removed her boots and set them by the door. On his way back he noticed a change in her facial expression. She seemed panicked, she had one hand placed over her heart and her other hand gripped the letter tightly.

  “Is the wedding that soon?” Cassius asked her as he joined her at the foot of the bed.

  She turned to him, a lump in her throat, she was unable to formulate the words, her hands were trembling and a chill up her spine sent shivers down the rest of her body. She pushed the letter in his hands and he took it, quickly reading over what was written on the page.

  “No,” he whispered in denial. His thoughts were running wild, ‘did she fancy Antoine?’ No. That wasn’t important. What was important, was that his father was going to send a man hunt to look for the three of them and once they found Antoine they would try to kill him. He angrily set the letter down and tugged at the strands of black hair falling in his face.

  Clare had finally found the words to speak, her voice shaky and almost numb. “Why would he do that? And before you get angry at me, Antoine and I were just hanging out as close mates. There is no reason for your father to kill
him. Please write your father Cassius, please,” she begged. She stood up from the bed and began to rummage through her luggage. She pulled out her dusty brown sketchbook and ripped out a page, handing him a quill and a sealed pot of ink.

  He bit down on his lip and set the items down. “I will write to him, but first I need to hear the truth. I know the truth doesn’t seem urgent when you hear something like this, but it is something that I need to know. I will write to him either way, but please tell me first. What is it that he saw that made him so angry?”

  “I don’t know what he saw because nothing we have done justifies his death. On the day of Sage’s birthday, we went down to the stables to look at the horses and then we went to the library. On the day of the event, he escorted me back to the castle and that is when he found out about my powers, but there was no way a spy could’ve been in the castle, they could’ve only seen what happened outside. The event and the stables.”

  “Is Antoine here with us because you fancy him?”

  She was quiet and unable to answer.

  “Right, well I believe I have my answer. I am going to write to my father. I don’t like this situation, but I would never wish death upon someone who makes you smile so big.” He grabbed the quill, pot of ink and parchment. “If you’ll excuse me, I would prefer to be alone.”

  “Cassius, I'm sorry,” she called, but he was out the door.

  Cassius went to Natalia’s office and set down the items. He messily tossed his hair around and let out a disappointed sigh. ‘How was he to ever win her over?’ Maybe her heart did not belong to him. After all she was sad when they were told to get engaged, he wasn’t the love story that she wanted, but Antoine could give that love story to her. He could give her flower crowns and paintings and poems. He was sweet, intelligent and caring. ‘What was Cassius besides good looks and anger?’ He had always thought so highly of himself, but Sage had proven he wasn’t that great with a sword and that he wasn’t a prize to be won. He was damaged goods, that’s what he was. The product of a child who was verbally and physically abused, a child who constantly tried to one up any other boy. He attempted to put his arrogance aside to make Clare happy, yet still she refused him. ‘Maybe this was what he deserved for being a dick all of those years.’ He shook the thoughts from his head and dipped the quill in ink. He pushed away his selfish desires and wrote in defense of the boy who stole from him.

  Father,

  Your anger has gone too far. Keep it directed towards me and me only. You can punch me when no one is looking or call me worthless, or botched, but keep your wrath far away from my fiancé. If you kill the boy, who has done nothing wrong, then you slowly kill her. She is to be my wife one day whether she is in love with me or not and I want her to be happy. So call off your guards and your troops or the next time I see you, I won’t hesitate to release years of pent up anger. I’m done bowing to you.

  Cassius

  He set the quill down and folded the piece of parchment up into a tiny square, placing it in one of the spare envelopes lying around. He addressed the letter to his father and then carefully peered down the stairs.

  Natalia and the guard were bonding over a cup of tea.

  He cleared his throat and the two looked his way. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but this is an urgent letter that must get sent out immediately. Do you know of anyone who could take it?” His eyes flickered to the guard who seemed intrigued. “I will pay you greatly for your sacrifice if you choose to take this letter to my kingdom.” Cassius moved closer to them and set the letter down on the table. The guard frowned at Natalia. “I would hate to leave you, but I need more money and,” she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder to let him know that it was alright.

  “It is okay darling,” she said kindly. “Just let me pack you some food to go.” She stood up and paused to stretch out her limbs and then made for the kitchen. “You three may start a fire out back if you wish to. I have plenty of wood.”

  Cassius nodded and then turned to the guard. “Thank you and please go as quickly as you can, this letter is urgent.”

  He made his way back up the stairs, he would have to go back and talk to Clare. She was waiting for him in the hallway, he sighed, it was hard to stay mad at her forever. “She says there is a fire out back that we can sit by, I would prefer it if it was just you and I, but we can invite him too.” He peered down the hallway to Antoine’s room. “We aren’t telling him this, not yet,” he said stubbornly, thankfully, Clare agreed with him.

  “I will go just with you if that is what it takes to fix things between us, I don’t want you to be upset with me forever.”

  Cassius pondered the idea, “No, I feel bad leaving him alone, just try to look a little more interested in me.” He stalked past her and knocked on Antoine’s door.

  The blonde stumbled out in his night clothes and laughed when he saw Cassius, “What exactly do you want from me? Don’t you despise me?”

  “I never said that,” Cassius scoffed. “Clare and I are going to build a fire, we want you to come.” His eyes flickered away from Antoine who looked rather cheerful.

  “Well if I am invited, then I will be there, count me in.” He turned around and slipped on a pair of boots before walking out with Cassius.

  Clare was smiling, she stood at the end of the hall, “well come on then.”

  The three of them went down the stairs and out the back door where they wouldn’t disturb Natalia. There was a cluster of logs around a pile of wood just outside of the house. Cassius found a box of matches on the ground. He carefully took one out and struck the match, bringing light to the night sky. The match fell from his fingers and hit the wood, sending the wood up in flames.

  “How easy, we didn’t even have to use your magic,” Cassius pointed out, taking a seat on one of the logs. Clare sat next to him, figuring after his reaction to the news, she should bond with him. Antoine sat across from them.

  “I don’t have fire powers,” she said, half annoyed.

  Cassius shrugged, “anything seems to be possible with you, so I am just leaving our options open. Who knows, maybe you’ll discover that next.”

  “Natalia said she would point us in the right direction, but she got too busy with the guard.”

  “Well that shouldn’t be a problem considering I sent him off.”

  Antoine tilted his head, “Why?”

  Both Clare and Cassius met eyes, trying to hide the shocked expressions from their faces. “I had to write back to my sister,” Clare lied. “Cassius gave it to the guard to deliver.”

  Antoine leaned closer to the fire and pressed his hands together for warmth. Third wheeling with a couple when he had feelings for one member in the party was rather awkward, he had to think of something to say. He had an idea.

  “I want to get to know you guys better, so let’s ask each other some questions, or at least let me ask them.” He laid down on his log and looked up at the night sky. He didn’t give them a chance to say no, he went down the list of questions in his head and picked one at random to start with. “Favorite color?”

  “Blush pink,” Clare said.

  “Black,” Cassius said bluntly.

  “What’s yours Antoine?” Clare questioned.

  “Orange cream, it's odd, but I love it. Okay next question. If you could live in any kingdom, which one would you live in? I really like it with the Demetrias’s, but think I would live in the kingdom of Kōun. The king, Akira is so nice and it is one of the happiest kingdoms.”

  “That’s a good answer. I think I would live somewhere in one of the African kingdoms because I love their goddess and I have heard that the people are kind and that they can practice magic more openly there,” Clare said as she laid herself down on Cassius’s lap. He seemed surprised, but he made sure that she was comfortable in her current position and didn’t move.

  “I would pick somewhere in South America to get in touch with my routes,” Cassius grinned. “I guess something in the family tree twisted, I w
ish I would have been a prince in one of their kingdoms instead.”

  Antoine acknowledged both of their responses and then moved onto the next question, “Favorite dessert?”

  “Strawberry tart,” The two of them said in unison. Cassius and Clare raised an eyebrow at one another, they finally seemed to have something in common.

  “Ah look at you two,” Antoine smiled softly, knowing that this was how it was supposed to be, “mine is a lemon tart.”

  Before he could speak again, Clare interrupted, “I think it is my turn to ask the questions if you don’t mind.”

  “Well of course not, go ahead princess.”

  “Favorite hobby? Mine is painting.”

  “Reading,” Antoine said and Cassius went next, “fighting.”

  “Come on, fighting can not be your favorite hobby,” Clare pouted.

  He shrugged his shoulders, “I didn’t really have a childhood where I was allowed to pick another hobby. Anyways, next question,” he said awkwardly.