“It’s the Fire Prince again, isn’t it?”
“Among worse things.” Like her best friend suddenly in her forties, and the chief culprit in shoving the two of them together. She held up her left hand a moment to glare at the sapphire ring.
“He cares for you,” said Jill Anna, then let out another cry as she killed another bug. “It’s hurting him to have you hold him at arm’s length.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Because you care for him as well, but don’t want to admit it?”
“I don’t know him well enough to like him yet,” Clara countered. “I highly respect him. I’m willing to work with him. But I wasn’t ready for this.” She gave the ring another glare.
“Respect is not so different from love,” said Jill Anna. “And he’s a young man quite worthy of it. I’d rather hear that you respect him, and don’t love him, than love him, and not respect him. Love can grow from respect, but love without respect will crumble away.”
“Point taken,” said Clara. “I don’t want to talk about it. As I said, I’m willing to work with him, but I’m not ready for this. Not yet.”
Jill Anna didn’t answer, busy with another bug. Clara decided to take this opportunity to change the subject.
“So, what’s with the ah-ing you do every time you kill a bug? Are you supposed to do that?”
Jill Anna stiffened, then laughed and shook her head. “Oh, no. I’m supposed to be absolutely silent. A good Bugslayer can sit in the corner of a crowded room, and no one will know that she’s there. It’s actually the reason why they allowed me to become a seamstress. I kept getting seen. It’s a bad habit I picked up while I was training, and I’ve never been able to shake it.”
“Oh,” said Clara, nodding slowly. “So, it’s Bugslayer now? I’ve noticed your change in dress.”
A small blush came to Jill Anna’s cheeks. “Well, that’s what we’re called here in the Kastle. Phillip and Sarai have promoted me to third in command since several more of us have come here in the last several hours. The dress, though, is actually the customary outfit for female Bugslayers. We must keep our movements quick and still preserve our modesty.”
“Third in command?” Clara repeated, a grin pulling at the corner of her mouth. “Sounds pretentious.”
“It’s because of you, really,” Jill Anna admitted. “If you hadn’t chosen me to come with you, then I would still be back in Upper Klarand, plying my needle.”
“And if I hadn’t chosen you, where would we be? It’s thanks to you that we survived the Mountain.”
“Well, yes,” said Jill Anna. “But there were also two former Bug Children among the soldiers sent to escort you. They knew you would be going through the Mountain and that the Ia beetles were a threat to consider, so they did take precautions.”
“Ah, but only you made it into the mountain,” said Clara, tilting her head to the side. “And to think, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to ask you if it weren’t for the fact that you were also a seamstress.”
“There is someone calling for you,” Jill Anna observed.
Clara blinked and glanced towards the door. Sure enough, there was someone calling her name, faintly. Her real name.
“It sounds like the Leaf Princess,” Jill Anna added.
“It would be,” said Clara, bitterly. “I’m not exactly supposed to be here right now.”
“Oh,” said Jill Anna. She didn’t ask questions.
There were a few long, painfully silent minutes, broken only by Jill Anna’s cry when she killed another of the bugs, and the sound of Kath calling out her name. It grew louder each time. At length, Kath stepped into the room, glanced about quickly, and called out Clara’s name one more time. “Are you in here?” she asked. “Jill Anna – I know you’re in here. Have you seen the Water Princess?”
Clara met Jill Anna’s eye, and the girl stood up and approached Kath. “I have,” she admitted. “But I’m not sure she wishes to talk to you right now.”
Kath sighed deeply. “I don’t blame her. But she’s needed in the council room. She’s the Water Princess, after all.”
“She is also young and scared, misses her home, and is unsure of her own heart right now,” Jill Anna added.
Clara sighed, realizing that Kath wasn’t going to give up the search, and since Jill Anna had information, she would find a way to get it out of the girl. She stood up. “I’m right here. What do you want?”
Kath met her eye and heaved a sigh of relief. “There you are, Clair. I’ve been looking all over for you.”
Clara folded her arms against her chest and leaned against the wall. “I know. I heard you.”
There was a moment of awkward silence, broken when Kath turned back to Jill Anna. “I assume that the bugslaying has been going well?”
Jill Anna nodded. “Yes, Leaf Princess. Especially in the last few minutes. The Water Princess has served as excellent bait.”
“Really?” asked Clara.
“The Ia beetles hunt by smell,” Jill Anna explained. “However, Bugslayers smell dead to them, so they avoid us.”
“Oh,” said Clara. “I guess we’ll leave you to it. Kath and I should probably get back to Camelot, shouldn’t we?”
“I was about to suggest that,” Kath admitted.
“Very well,” said Jill Anna. And with that, she melted into the shadows.
“So, back to Camelot,” said Clara.
“Yes,” said Kath, leading the way out of the room. They were both silent. Kath had something on her mind. Clara knew her friend well enough to know that.
“You’ve changed, Clara,” she said at length.
“You finally noticed?” Clara asked. “Yes. I’m a year ahead of you, even though you’re older. There’s no logical reason for me to be in the same place as you remember. People change. It’s a fact of nature.”
“Yes,” said Kath, sighing. “But, you see, we’ve been here thirty years, and when you compare it to that, it can sometimes be hard to remember how much one year can change things, especially when you’ve spent fifteen years with nothing changing. And when I think of that, you must find us so confusing…”
“That’s just it,” said Clara. “You are the Kath and Rich I remember. You look different, older, but you’re still them. You’re going back to the Clara you know, and she’s not going to understand why you’ve changed, why you’re suddenly teasing her about redheads and one in particular. You are the Kath I know. The only difference is that now I know why you changed.”
Silence again.
“Clara, I’m sorry about that, I really am,” said Kath. “But we can’t help that we fell into this world and spent thirty years here. I’m not even sure why we were chosen – we’ve done so little, in the grand scheme of things. Just as we were starting to feel useful, we received the prophecy and were stuck here in the Kastle for fifteen years.”
“You could have helped the fact that you teased me incessantly about redheads,” Clara pointed out.
Kath sighed. “Oh, but you see, now I can’t. You just told me that I will, and now I must. If I don’t, what might I change?”
Clara’s heart clenched, as she realized that Kath was right. “Well, for one, I might be more open to the whole Andrew idea.”
“True enough,” Kath admitted. “But, still, I would rather not risk it.”
Clara frowned, not liking the sound of that.
“But you have to admit, the two of you are awfully cute together,” Kath continued. “Just think what your kids are going to look like…”
“Kath!”
Kath sighed again. “Okay, okay, I’ll stop. And really, I’m sorry that we neglected to tell you about the Tying part of the ceremonies. Partly, we assumed that someone else would have told you, or that you would have figured it out – you seemed to have a good grasp on Klarand customs already. But … we were scared.”
“Scared?” Clara repeated.
“Yes,” said Kath. “We’ve been in
this Kastle, Amber in our front yard for fifteen years, and we knew that the next step couldn’t be taken until you legally prepared to take our places. And to do that, we had to Tie you together. But we do know you, Clara. We know how you felt about romance and could see that your opinions hadn’t changed in the last year. We didn’t want to give you the opportunity to refuse.”
“I still could have,” Clara pointed out. “I almost did.”
“And yet you didn’t,” said Kath, quietly, thoughtfully.
“You put us on the spot,” said Clara. She gave a heavy sigh. “Well, it’s done now, and I have to live with the consequences. My life was already off-track, and so was his.”
“And you have to admit, you could have ended up with a worse fellow,” Kath pointed out. “From what I’ve seen of him, the Fire Prince is a wonderful young man with Klarand’s best interests at heart – and yours.”
“I know,” said Clara. “But that doesn’t change the fact that everyone keeps pushing us to go faster than we feel comfortable with. He doesn’t like it any more than I do – I’m just the one who’s louder about it.”
“I’m sorry.” Kath was silent again for several seconds. “But I have missed you, Clara, so much over the last years. Yet, I fear that our friendship will never be what it once was. We’ve both changed so much.”
“Agreed,” said Clara. “But I guess we can start over and begin it anew, as two new people. Just no more teasing me about Andrew.”
“I’m afraid I can’t make promises there,” said Kath, “for as you said, I have to once I get back to our world, and once you return, who knows? You might like it. In fact … I think we should wait until then to discuss starting over.”
Clara didn’t respond at first, as she thought about the fact that she and the Fire Prince, like Kath and Rich, were likely going to be here in Klarand a long time before they saw home again. “I guess that’d be a good idea,” she admitted. “Hard to think about though. How long am I going to be here?”
“Rich and I have been here thirty years,” said Kath.
“That’s just cruel,” said Clara, shaking her head. “By that point, we won’t want to leave. Especially if…”
No, she wouldn’t let herself think about that. Not yet, anyway.
“Neither do Rich and I, but we will,” said Kath. “But tell me, Clara, do you want to leave now?”
“No,” Clara admitted, without hesitation. “I miss home, desperately, but I don’t want to leave Klarand, either, for I know I’ll miss here, too. And it’s not like we can email our old friends when we’re gone.”
“The pain of living in two worlds,” said Kath. “I pity Laura, traveling through so many worlds, forming so many friendships, and yet having no home, no real family. It must be really hard for her, and yet every time she comes by, she still has a smile on her face.”
Andrew had little to contribute to the conversations that were tossed about the table. Abraham and Lord Erik seemed to be renewing an old friendship. Laura was talking to the elves about various legends – and at one point accidentally referred to one that had yet to take place. Kiona was talking to Lady Miriam of Ea Klarand, who had come in her husband’s stead because he was still busy organizing troops. Stephan was, of course, being quiet. the Wind Prince was still in the room with the Hill. Jakob had not been invited to this conversation, apparently.
So, Andrew spent his time leaning with his elbows on the table, glancing towards the door, wondering when the Leaf Princess would return with the Water Princess. Clara had been so upset. Andrew wished that he’d gone after her, but … he didn’t know the hallways as well as the Leaf Princess did, and to have both of them go after her might have made the Water Princess go completely ballistic.
He didn’t want that.
At last, the door opened again, and the Water Princess and Leaf Princess entered the room. The Water Princess was still glaring at nothing in particular, but the Leaf Princess was smiling, so maybe that was a good sign.
The Water Princess took a moment to glance around the table, saw Andrew, and promptly stalked over and claimed the seat next to him. Andrew raised an eyebrow, but didn’t dare say anything, lest he set her off again. She probably only did it because they had an audience and that was what was expected of her.
“Ah, Water Princess,” said Lord Erik, pressing a fist to his heart and dipping his head, “it’s good to see you again.”
“And it’s good to see you,” said the Water Princess, returning the greeting, though she didn’t dip her head. “How has Upper Klarand been in my absence?”
“As well as can be expected, considering the Dragon’s threat,” answered Lord Erik. “So, this is your Fire Prince?”
“Yes.”
“He seems like a fine young man who will do a wonderful job of setting all to right, and all those details,” Lord Erik commented. “Much quieter than you are.”
The Water Princess almost smiled. “He’s not as comfortable with strangers,” she admitted. “Once he gets used to you, he’ll have enough to say.” She turned to Andrew, the smile turning mischievous. “Isn’t that right?”
“Ah, I guess so,” said Andrew.
She had already turned away, her attention on the Leaf Princess who sat at the opposite side of the table. “So, what are we here to talk about today? I’ve a feeling that it’s about more than just laws.”
The Leaf Princess laughed and nodded. “You’re correct. Actually, the main reason we’re gathered in this room is that it’s a convenient place to put everyone while we waited for you to arrive. But you’re all here now, and I think you’ve all been introduced, and if not, you’ve had the time for it.”
“Yes, we’ve taken care of that, and there isn’t anyone in the room who hasn’t already met the Water Princess, so we’re good there,” said Laura.
“So there’s really only one order of business left for us before we go on to more important things.” The Leaf Princess turned to the elves and the king and queen of Rizkaland. “If I’m not prying, what are your gifts? I need to know so we can take them into consideration for the upcoming battle, and while I’ve met you girls before, you hadn’t received your gifts yet.”
“Fair enough,” said Tnika, nodding. “Mine is healing touch. It’s not strong, but I can cure minor injuries, even fairly major ones over time, as long as they aren’t immediately life-threatening.”
“Well, we have a war coming upon us,” said the Leaf Princess, “and I’m sure it will be much appreciated. Also, since I noticed that Alith did not return to us, I’m going to assume that you’re her replacement and you have the customary gifts of a Bookdaughter.”
“I do.”
“Lovely.” The Leaf Princess turned her attention to Upsilon, who sat beside Tnika. “And you?”
“Strength,” said he.
“That will prove useful,” said the Leaf Princess, nodding. “War, after all. And you, Kiona? Oh, I can remember well the mischief you could get yourself into. What gift did you end up with?”
“Perfect aim,” said Kiona, ducking her head a bit. It was clear she considered the Leaf Princess to be one of her heroes and was awed to actually be in her presence.
“Are you good with a bow?” the Leaf Princess asked.
“I consider myself so, and with perfect aim…”
“Wonderful, archers are always appreciated in this situation,” said the Leaf Princess.
“And Stephan’s gift is commanding speech. That’s why he doesn’t talk much,” Kiona continued, before the Leaf Princess could turn her attention. “He’s good at telling people what to do.”
The Leaf Princess nodded slowly. “Well, I’m sure we can find a use for him.”
“Don’t worry,” the Water Princess spoke up. “Kiona does enough talking for the both of them, most of the time.”
Kiona laughed, and Stephan looked amused. “I have to,” she admitted, with half a shrug. “Otherwise, people might forget that we exist.”
“Such as ‘begin fighting the dragon’?” asked the Water Princess, though Andrew had no idea why she was so eager to do that.
“Not quite,” said the Leaf Princess, shaking her head. “We would want to begin the fight in the morning, with the light on our side. Tonight is much more important than that.”
“Let me guess,” said the Water Princess, “more ceremonies.”
The Leaf Princess smiled. “Not exactly. Tonight is connected to the ceremonies of the other night, but it’s not a ceremony in and of itself. Ideally, this would have been held two nights ago, but no one was here then, and you two weren’t even here last night. So we had to wait for today.”
Kiona clapped her hands excitedly. “You mean that you’re having the ball tonight? Oh, how I do enjoy those.”
The Water Princess looked absolutely flabbergasted. “We have a dragon at our gates, and you’re going to throw a ball?”
The Leaf Princess nodded. “Of course. This is Klarand after all. We do enjoy our balls.”
“There is a dragon at our gates,” the Water Princess repeated.
“Yes,” said the Leaf Princess. “But the Kastle’s gates are strong, and this ball must be held so that Klarand and Rizkaland can recognize you publicly as the Water Princess and Fire Prince. However, if it makes you feel any better, you may both wear your swords tonight. As the Water Princess and Fire Prince, they are your official weapons, and it is your right.”
“Small miracles,” the Water Princess muttered.
“However,” the Leaf Princess continued, “in the meantime, might I suggest that you work on the Fire Prince’s training. He doesn’t have the grace you have from training your whole life. We don’t want him to fall out of practice, you know.”
“Now that’s the first sensible thing you’ve said to me all day.”
Chapter 9
Water Princess, Fire Prince Page 33