“We’ll … find a way to make this work,” he whispered in her ear, as he guided her to the nearest set of stairs and sat down, drawing her into his lap as he would Parker when he came to Andrew with a cut knee or a complaint about bullies. Again, she didn’t fight, though he fully expected it. She just kept crying – soaking his shirt, but that small detail didn’t matter.
Rubbing her shoulder and caressing the hand he held, he tried to console her. He talked, he wasn’t sure what exactly he said, but about how they could do this, find a way to make this work. Maybe they were now Tied together, but they could still wait to take their relationship past friendship if that was what she wanted.
Slowly her sobs quieted, grew further apart until they stopped altogether. Glancing down, Andrew realized that she’d fallen asleep. She’d finally relaxed, only a slight frown on her brow and some puffiness about her eyes to tell that she’d been crying.
A small smile pulled at a corner of his mouth as he shifted them into a more comfortable position. She truly was a beautiful, courageous girl. He just wished that she didn’t consider him half of her problems.
Clara woke up in the Fire Prince’s arms again. This time, she was in his lap, with their arms tied together. Her head was pounding from having cried herself to sleep the night before, and she was thoroughly annoyed at the fact that her friends had taken it upon themselves to Tie them together the night before.
She hated how comfortable she was in his arms. Hated how safe, yet vulnerable he made her feel. Safe from the world, but utterly exposed to him. She turned a glare to their hands, which were right in front of her face – she could feel the beating of his heart under her hand – and then her eyes widened, and she shot up straight in surprise.
The cords were gone!
Her eyes narrowed as she stared at their hands suspiciously. It certainly felt like they were still there. She could still feel the pressure of the cord against her skin, and when she tried to pry her hand out of his, she met with their invisible resistance.
Her other hand agreed with her eyes. She could feel no cords surrounding their hands. She tried to pry a finger between their arms, but couldn’t get it in.
She felt the Fire Prince stir, and her cheeks grew warm as she remembered the fact that she was in his lap. Before she could move, however, she felt his arm slide around her waist as he used her as an anchor to sit up.
“Remind me to never sleep on stairs again,” he muttered. “Clara, what are you doing? I thought we were supposed to be leaving those things alone and that we couldn’t untie them.”
She shoved their hands into his face, for a moment sheepish as she realized that she’d had the far more comfortable end of the sleeping arrangement.
“I’m not messing with the cords,” she informed him. “They’re gone.”
“Gone?” he repeated, frowning, as he pushed their arms out of his face and stared at them. “It certainly feels like they’re still there, though.”
“I know,” she bit out. “More Klarand craziness.” And with that, she hopped out of his lap before he could stop her.
He pushed himself to his feet, and they were quiet for several moments, as he just stared down at her.
“I probably look terrible,” she muttered, glancing down to get out of his gaze. She wanted to run away and hide from him, to put last night out of her mind, but their arms were still stuck together. She felt like screaming.
“You look beautiful.”
Her chin jerked up, and she leveled a glare at him, hating how earnest he sounded. “I feel terrible,” she informed him. “Crying oneself to sleep is not very good for the eyes.”
He was silent a few moments, then came that look he always got when he was about to spew some strange science fact. “Yes,” he admitted, “but I’ve heard that tears are good for the skin.”
She frowned harder, decided to ignore the comment, and glared at their hands. Now that the cords were invisible (that’s the only thing she could guess happened to them), she could see her sparkling sapphire ring.
Her frown turned thoughtful. “Kath made a vine come out of her ring the other night,” she mentioned.
“Well, yes,” said the Fire Prince, slowly. “She’s the Leaf Princess.”
Clara ignored him and focused instead on glaring at the glittering sapphire that was lit purple thanks to the lighting of the room. She had no idea how to make it produce water, but since she hadn’t seen Kath use any magical gestures, nor had there been any magic words, she guessed that it had to be something mental.
So, she did the obvious and pictured water squirting out of the ring. Purple water, since that was the best thing for washing one’s face after a good cry.
Apparently, she did something right, since she ended up with a face full of water. However, judging by the smell and taste – some got in her mouth – it was blue water, not purple. Well, it was water.
She rubbed it at her eyes, thankful for the cooling wetness, wishing she had two hands and that the Fire Prince wasn’t watching her. He made her feel self-conscious. Not to mention short. Why did he have to be so ridiculously tall.
At that moment, they heard the heavy doors at the other side of the room open, and normal white light streamed in.
“Ah, I told you that they’d be awake,” came Kath’s voice.
And there she was, with Rich beside her. Clara shot them a glare. “Did you glue our arms together?” she demanded. The sensation of there being cords around their arms was rapidly wearing off, but they still couldn’t pull their arms apart.
“No,” said Rich. “We just Tied the two of you. Why do you ask?”
Clara rolled her eyes. “Because the cords are gone, but we still can’t get our arms apart. Where did they go, anyway?”
“Ah,” said Kath. “Actually, they’re not gone. Tylith cords can be broken only by death.”
Clara flicked an unsure glance up at the Fire Prince. “So, you’re saying that we’re going to be stuck to each other until one of us dies?”
Kath laughed. “Oh, no, whatever gives you that impression? After all, you don’t see Sarai and Philip stuck to each other, or Alith and Dular. Your cords have already disappeared physically, haven’t they? The nature of the cords changes.”
“How long does it take?” asked Clara.
“It depends on how hard you fight it,” said Rich. “But you should be able to let go of each other by nightfall.”
“Good,” said Clara. “It’s already awkward.”
Kath and Rich laughed this time. “Well,” said Kath, “would the two of you be interested in some breakfast?”
Clara was about to make a scathing reply, but the Fire Prince gave her hand a hard squeeze, and he spoke instead. “Ah, yes, breakfast sounds good.”
“Well then,” said Rich, “follow us.”
Walking was, once more, awkward, since either they both had to walk sideways, or one of them had to walk backward. It ended up with her going backward, since she was shorter and he could see over her head.
Again, frustrating.
“So, you said that the nature of these cords changes,” Clara mentioned, trying desperately to ignore the fact the Fire Prince was looking right at her. “Please explain.”
“That’s complicated,” said Kath. “And since neither Rich nor I have ever been Tied, we aren’t exactly qualified to explain.”
“And yet you were allowed to Tie the two of us together?” Clara pointed out. “Against our consent?”
“Again, complicated,” said Kath. “Ideally, it would have been your father and the Fire Prince’s mother who Tied the two of you together.” Clara saw something flash in the Fire Prince’s eye, so she gave his hand a tighter squeeze. “However, since they were unavailable, Rich and I, as the Wind Prince and Leaf Princess, and your preceding rulers, could stand in for them.” She sighed.
“We’re actually the only two in the history of Rizkaland itself to have ruled untied,” Rich continued. “And the only way we�
��ve gotten away with it is the fact that we’re siblings.” He flashed his ring. “That’s why we wear our rings on our right hands, to signify that our Tying is yet to come.”
“They nearly made us choose spouses from the general populace,” Kath added, her eyes sparkling with humor. “However, Alith Spoke a prophecy that said that our Tying would happen in our own world, so we’ve had to wait.”
“Oh,” said Clara. She didn’t feel like saying anything else.
“Besides which,” Kath continued. “You must have been willing enough, since you agreed to the promises, and the Cords worked with Tying you. They don’t work if the two are unwilling, nor if the Tying isn’t in Alphego’s will.”
“How convenient,” Clara growled.
At that moment, Kath announced that they had arrived at the kitchens.
Andrew directed the Water Princess through the kitchen door, then paused as he took in the table where they were apparently expected to eat.
Noticing his stare, the Leaf Princess sprang forward and turned two of the chairs so that they faced each other. “It’s been a while since we last observed a Tying ceremony, so we’ve forgotten how inconvenient it can be for the first few hours after they’ve woken up.”
The Water Princess muttered something under her breath as she and Andrew sat down in the chairs she provided. A moment later, two plates and forks were set beside them.
“So,” said the Leaf Princess, sitting down at the opposite side of the table and resting her chin on her fist, “anything you’d like to talk about?”
“No,” said the Water Princess, as she dove into her food.
“Aw, come on,” she coaxed. “Not a single shred of anything for your poor single friend?”
“No.”
“Leave her alone,” Andrew spoke up. “Can’t you tell she’s upset?”
The Leaf Princess arched an eyebrow, but was silent. The Water Princess shot Andrew a glare, so he didn’t think she was grateful.
“Well,” said the Wind Prince, filling the awkward silence, “I noticed that the Water Princess seems to have figured out how to work her ring.”
“I figured out how to make it squirt me in the face,” the Water Princess admitted, her voice dangerously level. “However, I wanted to make purple water, but all I produced was blue.”
The Leaf Princess giggled. “Oh, I remember well when I first received mine,” she declared, holding up her ring and flashing it in the firelight that lit the kitchen. “All I could summon were half-dead green leaves. You’ll get the hang of it quickly enough. But, for now, since your ring is blue, I imagine that blue would be easiest for you.”
The Water Princess made an unimpressed grunt.
“I’m willing to say that you’ll master purple – and green – quickly enough. Just keep trying,” the Leaf Princess finished.
“One word of caution, though,” said the Wind Prince. “These rings are tools, not toys.”
“Heard that one before!” cried the Water Princess.
“I suppose you may have,” the Wind Prince admitted. “Now, as I was saying. Alphego gave them to you to assist in your protection of Klarand. They’re not for your personal gain. If you misuse their power, you may find yourselves without them.”
“Thanks for the warning,” said the Water Princess. “Define misuse.”
“Use them for your own personal gain, use them to torment your people rather than protect them,” the Leaf Princess explained. “Though when it comes to providing necessities for yourself, such as getting down a wayward arrow,” she gave her brother an unamused glanced out of the corner of her eye, “or a glass of water, lighting a torch, say, that’s fine.”
“Makes sense,” said Andrew, before the Water Princess could offer up something scathing. “We’ll make sure we’ll never misuse them, then.”
“Quite noble of you,” said the Wind Prince. “Now, as it seems that the two of you are done with breakfast, may I suggest a tour of the Kastle? It will be your home now, and it’d be best if you know your way around enough that you won’t get lost. Phillip and Sarai would be happy to show you and your friends about if you’d like.”
“Oh, a tour would be fun,” said the Water Princess, her voice dripping with sarcasm, as she held up the hand that was still stuck to Andrew’s. “I’ll memorize the whole Kastle walking backward.”
But at that moment, there was something like a pop, and their arms came apart. Hands were still stuck, but now it wasn’t nearly as inconvenient.
“Ah, there, what’d we tell you?” said the Leaf Princess. “The two of you are making excellent progress to be sure!”
Chapter 5
Clara was glad that she could now walk forward without it being too terribly awkward. True, she still held the Fire Prince’s hand, but at least no one seemed to be making an issue out of it. Kath and Rich were off somewhere with Alith and Dular preparing for whatever it was they needed to do the next day. It apparently involved Rizkaland. Clara hadn’t really been paying attention.
Instead, she was with all of her new friends (with the exception of Lord Abraham, who was possibly with the other four, though she wasn’t sure), who weren’t trying to push her and the Fire Prince together with every ounce of energy they had. Well, Sarai and Phillip were there, giving the tour, but they didn’t make any issue of Clara and Andrew’s Tying, and Clara decided that she didn’t mind them.
Jill Anna, it seemed, had become pretty good friends with Sarai already, which Clara supposed was natural, due to their shared profession. Sarai brought out a bolder side of Jill Anna that Clara had only glimpsed before, and for that, Clara was grateful to the woman.
She tried to organize the Kastle in her mind and memorize all the passages and rooms as they were shown them, but she had the feeling that, were she to be tested, she’d fail miserably. Oh, well, at least she had an idea now.
“Who knew you could cram so much Kastle into a mountain,” she muttered.
The Fire Prince laughed. “Especially once you take into consideration all of that tunnel we had to go through to get here.”
“Yeah,” agreed Jasmine, who was walking on Clara’s other side. “I thought we’d never get out of those tunnels.”
“And yet, we did,” said Clara.
“Ah, here’s a room you’ll be interested in,” said Phillip. “We don’t usually show this room to visitors – not that we get very many these days – but since you, Water Princess, claim a prior friendship with the Wind Prince and Leaf Princess, we thought you’d be interested.”
“Really?” said Clara, with no idea what they might be talking about. “Let’s see it, then.”
They were led through a pair of large doors into an even larger room that had nothing in it save two hang gliders in the center. Hang gliders she knew and recognized, for they’d haunted her nightmares for over a year.
“Oh,” she whispered, unable to force any other sound out of her throat.
“It was in these contraptions that the Wind Prince and Leaf Princess came to us thirty years ago,” Sarai explained.
“They almost died!” Clara protested, nearly shouting to cover the roar in her ears.
Everyone turned to stare at her, except for the Fire Prince who gave her hand an extra squeeze.
She closed her eyes, took a breath, trying to compose herself. “It was a year ago for me,” she explained, forcing her eyes back open, though she took care to look away from the hang gliders.
There was a giggle, and Clara turned to see Laura sitting beside one of the hang gliders. “That’s world traveling for you!” the girl declared. “Oh, my, but the last time I saw my parents, they were younger than me and hadn’t a clue who I was. They’re funny like that.”
Clara and the Fire Prince both cried her name at the same time as Laura hopped to her feet, a broad smile spreading across her face.
“Let’s see, what portion of Rizkan history have I stumbled into this time?” she asked, glancing about the room. �
��Hang gliders that belong to the Leaf Princess and Wind Prince – oh, and the Water Princess and Fire Prince holding hands! Must be getting ready for that big battle against Amber, am I right?”
Clara and the Fire Prince shared a glance. “Uh, yeah,” said he.
“Who’s this?” asked Phillip, assuming a defensive position. “How did you get in here?”
“She’s the Doorkeeper,” Clara explained. “I guess there was a door in the room.”
“Right you are, twelve doors in fact, although three are on the ceiling and hard to get to,” Laura declared. “Now, if I’m guessing right, at the moment, there are only the thirteen of you in the Kastle right now?
“Yep,” said Clara.
“Terribly unlucky. Good thing I’m here to make it an even fourteen, you know. Now, what were you guys doing, and may I join?”
“A tour of the Kastle,” said the Fire Prince. He met Clara’s eyes a moment. “And I don’t see any reason why you couldn’t.”
“Oh, good,” said Laura with a clap of her hands. “I was just thinking about how terribly long it’s been since I last was in this maze of a Kastle, and how I could seriously use a refresher when it comes to its twists and turns. Oh, honestly, there are days when I wonder why it can’t be straightforward, like Loray, but I guess that’s how Alphego chose to do things here.”
Andrew felt the Water Princess relax as soon as they were out of the hang glider room.
“So, Doorkeeper,” said Phillip, “Legend states that you raised Amber as your daughter, is it true?”
Laura’s skip faltered a moment. “Yes,” she admitted. “Well, it’s more like I was her caretaker. She never called me mother, and neither did Granite, her husband, who I raised with her. But they are like a daughter and son to me, it is true. And, please just call me Laura. Doorkeeper is just my title, and there is far too much of that in the Kastle right now, Bugslayer.”
“And yet you fight them?” Jasmine spoke up.
“Amber has abandoned the straight and narrow way I set them on,” Laura explained, with a shake of her head. “As much as it pains my heart to do so, I must play the good mother and chastise her properly. I always knew she would end up on this route, but that didn’t lessen the pain one bit when it happened. She lasted three thousand years, longer by far than any of the Immortal Queens before her. Ah, my poor Silver – that’s what I call her sometimes. He’s Gold. I think that they’re prettier names than Amber and Granite.”
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