Beyond, I found myself in a foyer of sorts, in the middle of which sat an oblong, ornate table with eight equally gorgeous chairs. A gray-haired woman with a soft gaze of blue eyes and a welcoming smile sat at the table's head. She wore layers of robes in the deepest purple shades. She stood as we entered.
“Welcome to my home. I am Queen Linara, and I thank you for agreeing to join me for breakfast.” The queen motioned to the chairs to her right and left with either hand. “Won't you sit down? I have much to ask you, and I'm sure you have many questions, as well.”
After a quick bow, River sat at her right, leaving me to sit at her left. Uniformed servants appeared out of nowhere to push our chairs in and place plates and utensils before us. A parade of servants came in carrying tray after tray of the wildest assortment of little food bites I had ever seen, each presented beautifully on gold-inlaid plates that looked like glass, but weren't, nor were they clay. They looked almost as good as the food that sat on top of them.
Having already sampled the delicious palace cooking the night before, I was eager to tuck in. I planned to wait until the queen took her fill, but a servant, using tongs, took small pieces of the food and began to heap them on my plate.
“Thank you so much for your hospitality, Your Majesty,” I said, trying to keep the nerves out of my voice. Speaking to the prince had been one thing, but this was the ruler of the whole West Kingdom. She was also our only hope of getting Opal out of the dungeons below us.
“A fine meal with new friends is always a delight, do you not agree? James told me you were looking for his grandmother. My mother was a very private woman, so I am most eager to hear what tales you know of her.”
“I’m sorry to tell you that we know little of the former Queen of the West Kingdom.” I said, hoping not to disappoint her. We only just found out that she had owned the pendant we are looking for last night when Prince James told us.
“My son said you seek my mother for an artifact. Not just a pendant but a key. Tell me of this artifact, won't you? My mother and I were close. If she was your ally, then I am as well and will do everything in my considerable power to assist you if I can."
I hadn’t wanted to tell anyone about the reason we were here, but she was the queen.
“Your Highness, the tale begins over a century ago, when three sacred unicorns were born. Each was assigned a very special artifact in the form of a key that comes apart into four pieces. These were Diamond, Sapphire, and Ruby, both the stones and the unicorns' names. One, Diamond, resides in the east, in my lands, protected by a powerful fae queen named Cassiopeia. Another, we believe is here, and a third may be found in the South Kingdom.”
“I see.” The queen peered over the tips of her steepled fingers. “May I inquire as to why you need these keys?”
I took a deep breath, wondering how to tell her about the ancient curse. It sounded insane to my ears, and I’d been in the thick of it for months.
“There was a curse...”
“Of course.”
“That threatens us all...”
“They always do.” The queen smiled wanly through tight, thin lips. “To be honest, this was, in part, a test of your character. You see, my mother told me much the same thing when I was just a girl. I would not have helped you had I doubted your sincerity.”
“You are as cunning as you are graceful, Your Majesty," I replied, grateful not to have to say anymore. Every time I spoke of the keys, it felt like a betrayal of sorts.
“You flatter me,” she said with a grin.
“Who are you to Cassiopeia?”
“My Grandfather was a guardian of one of the diamond pendants. His name is Seth Roman.”
She nodded. “I have ill tidings and good ones. Which do you prefer to hear first?”
“The bad news,” River said, speaking for the first time since we’d sat at the table.
I raised my eyebrows at him.
“What?… I like to know what problems I face before I hear the silver lining.”
Linara said, “Amusing. But I tend to agree. In any case, the 'bad news,' as you call it, is this—I lack pieces of the unicorn's key.”
My stomach lurched. She didn't have the key, after all. A wasted journey and worse, wasted time. My mind turned to Jet. We were still no closer to finding him than when we set off all those days ago.
“The good news,” the queen continued, “is that the one part I do possess is in the royal vault, perhaps the most secure place in the known world. My mother bade me never to give it to anyone save for Cassiopeia or someone called Adrienne. If there truly is a war on its way, my heart is telling me you are the key to this battle, in a war fought not with guards on a battlefield but by people like you and your companions. However mighty I may be as Queen of the West Kingdom, my armies will not save us. I pray you can.”
I tried to think of something to say, some reassurance to give the queen, but nothing came to mind. What else was there to say?
“You may have access to my library if you wish to know more about my mother. Her journals are there. The custodian of the library will show them to you. I ask that whatever you find, you understand that they were her private journals. Normally, I don’t allow people to read things of such personal value, but I understand your plight. My mother told me that a day would come when Cassiopeia or Adrienne would show up for the pendant. I was told to only give it to them or their trusted guardians.”
I was just about to thank her when the double doors opened, and two winged guards in light lavender hues entered. They parted and stood to attention at either side of the doorway. An attendant entered into the gap they created. He cleared his throat, then spoke in an authoritative tone. “His Highness, Prince James, Protector of—”
The prince himself strode into the room and clapped his hand on the attendant's back, grinning. “Knock it off. My mother knows who I am, thanks.”
Behind him, I saw something that made my heart soar. The hint of pink and purple hair could only belong to one person.
“Opal?”
She moved out from behind James and gave me a thumbs up. I rushed forward and took both Opal's hand in my own. She looked good. Not at all beaten up or tortured as I had feared. She was wearing brand new clothes, cut in the robe-like style of the guards, the fabric white as snow but edged in a faint purple.
Opal couldn't seem to stop smiling, which was just… weird. Her beauty radiated out from her when she was happy, and I didn’t think I’d ever seen her so beautiful. She should smile more often. She must have seen something in my expression because she laughed. “Your face! You'd think I'd been on the chopper's block, or something. You worry too much. I'm good, I swear.”
I shook my head. Incredible. Opal, talking about too much worry? No one could do "pensive" the way Opal did on a daily basis.
“I take it Prince James has been taking good care of you…” I said.
Opal's cheeks flushed as she flicked her eyes up at his. “Oh, yes, he's great. He's been great to me, that is. You know what I mean.”
She blushed deeper still as she stumbled over her words.
Did I detect the beginnings of a crush? Prince James was certainly crush-worthy, but I never thought I’d see the day when Opal succumbed to something so trite as a crush. It was beneath her. Or at least, that was what she’d always said. It was with glee that I realized I was going to be able to poke fun at her the same as she had done with Jet and Kaida and with River and me. Oh, I didn’t envy her at all. I was going to be positively shameless. I gave her a wink and flick of my eyes to James. I delighted as she positively squirmed in embarrassment. Oh, today was shaping up to be a very good day indeed.
Chapter 15
“Are you going inside, or are we going to stand here all day?” River asked from the corner where corridor and entryway met.
I ignored him. I was too busy being awe-struck, taking in my view of the palace's library from the doorway. It was three times the size of the public library in Anchor.<
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Lush carpeting stretched across the entire floor—there would be no clicking boot steps to interrupt readers here--and bookshelves stretched in orderly rows across the library's entire width, rising from floor to ceiling. Spiral stairs led to three more floors, each with a balcony overlooking the main library. These, too, were full of dark wood shelves stuffed with books.
At the back of the room stood a large desk made of the same stained hardwood. Behind the desk, face buried in an open tome, sat a wingless, robed woman of advanced age, her only adornment a set of simple spectacles.
River nudged his way up behind me, wrapped his arms around my waist, and then pushed me through the open entryway. He let out a low whistle, earning him a glare from the woman I assumed was the library custodian.
“Shut up,” I whispered. “You'll get us kicked out, and we’ve only just come in.”
I made my way to the desk and its robed custodian, who rose to her feet as we approached.
“Esteemed guests, how may I serve?” The custodian's voice quailed with age, but she seemed happy to have visitors to the library.
“Thank you. We're looking for personal journals from the time of the queen's mother.”
“So I hear. I have had word from the queen to assist you in any matter, though I must say I’m surprised she is opening the palace’s family collection to the eyes of strangers.” The elderly woman coughed into her sleeve, her wire-thin frame shaking. She cleared her throat before pointing to the nearby spiral staircase. “What you seek can be found along the eastern wall on the second floor. It is the only shelf not labeled for its contents.”
“No signs?”
“No, child,” the custodian replied. “You’ll see why when you get up there. Here’s a key.”
My heart lurched at the sight of the key, and for a second, I harbored a hope she was giving me the piece of unicorn key. I took it from her with shaky fingers and saw that it was way too small to be a unicorn key. It was pretty unremarkable apart from the fact it had what I assumed to be the royal crest imprinted on it.
It turned out to be a key to a glass cabinet filled with journals.
By mid-day, both River and I sat at a long table between shelves, surrounded by journals. I’d hoped Opal would join us, but she’d appeared for about two minutes to let us know that she was going out to look for Kaida. She also mentioned that the prince had offered to give her a tour of the palace gardens. I’d told her that she might have to take her eyes off the prince if she wanted to find Kaida, but she’d stuck her tongue out at me and waltzed out of the library. Blu and Ivy had also disappeared at the first mention of work. I had no clue where they had gone, but I was pretty sure they’d both show up at lunchtime.
So far, none of the journals contained the information we sought. It hadn't helped that there were more journals than I had anticipated. James's grandmother had been a prolific journal writer, and because of that, the piles of books for us to wade through were overwhelming.
“What happens if we find where the other pieces are hidden, but it's not someplace we can get to?”
River looked up from the journal he was reading. “It depends. If it means the enemy can't get to it either, that is good enough. We don't have to actually get the key ourselves. We might not even have to bother tracing the other parts. If one piece is safe in the vault here, then the key will never be put back together.”
“But what about Jet? Whoever took him might not know that there is a piece here. They might keep him forever.”
River sighed. “You’re right. We’ll keep going until we find any information. The more we know, the better our chances of finding him.”
Sliding both hands together behind his head, River leaned back in the chair until it creaked.
“You’ll break the chair!” I whispered, peering over the balcony at the custodian who’d not noticed the creak.
"Oh, right. Sorry. As my mother says, 'four legs on the floor or two feet out the door.' It's a bad habit.”
I cocked my head and forced myself not to narrow my eyes. I tried to sound nonchalant as I said, “She's home a lot to see you messing up her furniture?”
River smiled at me. “She's home most of the time. Getting older, harder for her to get around. Which is too bad, because not only does she gripe at me for leaning back in my chairs, she stands over me giving directions when I go to make a new one or fix the old one. Thanks, Mom, but I know how to make a chair. Goodness knows, I've made enough of them over the years."
He spoke as though he was telling the truth. He mentioned her a lot, and nothing he said of her seemed particularly out of the ordinary, but I still couldn’t shake the feeling he wasn’t being honest about her.
Sooner or later, I'd figure out what it was. I only hoped it wasn't something terrible, but why else hide it?
On that thought, my stomach flipped. It was an unpleasant feeling, in my belly and in my heart, so I put those thoughts aside and focused on going through the journal in front of me, eager to clear my mind.
Shortly after lunchtime, the door opened, and Opal came into the library. She had a bounce to her step as she climbed the spiral staircase and bounded over to us. When she sat down, she had a faint smile etched into her face.
“You seem happy,” I said with a grin of my own.
Opal's thin smile broadened “I am, indeed. I only wish Jet were here to share the news with. As it is, I’ll have to tell you two.”
“Set a date for the wedding already, have you?” I smirked. Beside me, River snorted.
“What?” Opal's smile faded somewhat. “Which wedding?”
“You and the prince are hitting it off rather well, and don't think we haven't both noticed.”
Opal looked at River, who nodded to affirm it. Her cheeks flushed again, but she couldn’t keep the soppy smile from her face. “That's not what has me so excited. You're imagining things. I'm happy because of him, though. He has unicorns living here. I got to meet them. They are beautiful. Diamond would be so happy.”
I felt the corners of my mouth turn upwards half an inch. “You certainly do seem to be in good spirits. I'm happy for you.”
Opal's eyes seemed to dance in the library's lights. “Oh, there's more to it than that.”
“More than meeting new unicorns?”
“Oh, yes. Much more. You see, the prince—isn't he charming?—is going to let some of them come home with me. Both male and female. Diamond can have a mate, and I’ll have unicorns to talk to, unicorns to prance with. Unicorns to weave magic with. It'll be so grand, don't you think? You think the forest looks good now, wait until a bunch of unicorns get done with it.”
I hazarded a glance at River, who was beaming with amusement at this new Opal. I’d certainly never seen her like this. She’d been sitting with us for more than five minutes without insulting us for a start.
Opal continued her speech about the unicorns, sucking me in with her enthusiasm and dropping Prince James’s name every other sentence. I thought she would have gone on all day if River hadn’t shot up from his chair like something had bit him on the ass.
Opal and I looked over to him as he shouted. “I found it!” Then, looking around sheepishly, he said in a quieter tone, “I found references to a key. It's in the grandmother's journal, but not her day-to-day one. It's just a diary of visiting diplomats. He sat back and read it out loud. “One commented on my ruby amulet, and I finally got around to splitting it up and hiding the pieces because of it. Dear Cass told me to do it years ago, but I was so fond of it. I’ll keep one of the pieces. The others will have to be hidden.”
I forgot all about Opal and James. “Are you serious? Of course, you are… Where did she hide them? Does it say?”
“I'm getting to it. Hang on…” River continued to read, his lips moving but with not even a whisper. Then, he grinned and looked up at us. “Yes, it does.” he continued to read, his voice quiet for fear of the custodian hearing us and throwing us out. “I was smart, too, and hid one in
plain sight, embedded into the scepter of the kingdom's Royal Seneschal, who handles the day-to-day business of running the realm. There, I could keep it under my watchful eye. Another was hidden in the Anorian University vault.” River looked up over his book. “And of course, there is the one that's still in the palace vault, where I thought it'd be more secure than all the rest.”
Opal's expression fell. "That's only three. What of the fourth? Did she say anything of it?"
River went silent and brought his face closer to the book as though it might help him read it faster. I waited, tense, for his response.
After a minute in which he looked like he read and then re-read a couple pages, he looked up as his smile faded away. ” She said she hid it with a distant relative. Someone without the titles and money of royalty.”
“Problem solved,” Opal said, and let out a relieved breath. “We go to this relative and ask for it back.”
River, however, continued, “I don’t think we can. She wrote that the relative’s house burned down in a terrible fire, killing her. This is dated over twenty years ago.”
“What? No. So, where is it now?” Opal's evident relief vanished as her shoulders hunched forward and jaw clenched, her gaze locked onto River.
“She wrote that she believed the key fragment was destroyed in the fire as well. If that's true, we'll never be able to use the Ruby key…”
Opal's posture straightened, and she rolled her shoulders back. “We don't need to use it. We only need to keep anyone else from using it. I also think whoever took Jet will be seeking the pieces, so we may find him when we find them. We should start with the most vulnerable one.”
I replied, “The Sene… Seneschal?”
Opal nodded. “It's the only one that isn't in a vault and isn't lost to history. Anyone trying to steal the key would likely start there, since if they know what they're looking for, someone may have recognized it.”
“What’s a seneschal,” I asked. I’d never heard the term.
The Unicorn Quest Page 9