Crisanta Knight: The Lost King

by Culbertson, Geanna;

  Over the next hour, I told Pietro everything that had happened since my friends and I left Midveil. It was a long story, and at times a shameful one, but I did not leave anything out to protect my character in his eyes. He needed to know everything that had ocurred to understand where I was coming from.

  I recounted every un-queenly action and decision I’d made. How I handed over Excalibur to Arian in exchange for my friends. How I woke the dragon in Century City to save Kai and by extension Daniel. How I lost control and nearly murdered all those magic hunters who killed Paige.

  By the end of the story, I felt sure that Pietro would never again see me as his sweet and feisty younger sister. I didn’t even know what I was turning into. How could he recognize my new skin any better?

  But his reaction was a total surprise. He laughed.

  He actually laughed.

  “How is any of that funny?” I protested. “I’m scared, Pietro. I’m scared of the things I’ve done, the things I still have to do, and the person that Lenore and Merlin—and even my own friends—wonder if I’m turning into. I don’t care if I would inherit the crown a year from now or a decade from now, my future is so up in the air that it would be safer to offer the throne to a goat. You’ve made a terrible mistake. You need to contact Mom and Dad and tell them you’ve changed your mind and that you want to be king. For all our sakes, please.”

  Pietro put his hand on my shoulder. “Crisa, listen to me.” His voice was calm and steady—the trademark tone he used on King’s Guard new hires who were freaking out. “I am not going to get you out of this because my choice was not a mistake. And I didn’t laugh because I do not respect you or have compassion for what you’ve been through. I could not respect a person any more than you, and as my younger sister I have all the compassion for you in the world. I laughed because you are being foolish and don’t even realize it.”

  He signaled for me to get up and follow him. My limbs felt heavy and numb, but I did. We walked up the hall, nodding to the occasional attendant and guard who passed us.

  “You see your story a certain way because you are the one telling it,” Pietro said. “But your take is harsh and unfair. It’s not surprising. It’s human nature to look at yourself with less love and consider your actions with less empathy. People are masochistic in that way—always focusing on the fault and dwelling on the shortcomings. But that is why the universe gave us love for others. Because where we cannot see, the ones we love can step in and point out the obvious. The good, the strength, the wonder we suppress. That is what I want to point out to you, little sis. You’ve made choices that have gotten people hurt. We can’t deny that. But you’ve saved lives and have sacrificed yourself time and again for the benefit of others too. You have to take those moments of error and those moments of valor into account, and in doing so, realize what every person must accept for themselves: you are not perfect. What counts is that you are learning and striving to be better.”

  Pietro paused at a particularly large mirror that had just been installed. “Look in the mirror, Crisa. Look at the girl there and accept the truth. You are not powerful because of your magic, but because of the very heart you claim is a liability. It’s not a liability. It’s an asset and it has made you a queen in character long before the title was on the table. Your heart makes you fight fiercely for what you believe is right, it causes you to run into the line of fire and protect what’s good, and most importantly, it inspires others to do the same.”

  He put his hands on both my shoulders and stared into the reflection with me. “Just look.”

  I did look. I studied my reflection as if it were unfamiliar. Maybe in a way it was. There wasn’t much time for vanity on quests. I saw the girl before me—the girl with the shoulder-length hair, torn jacket, and scraped-up skin—for the first time in a while. I took her in as Pietro’s words sunk in. Then, for the moment, I let myself be kinder to her. I let myself believe that maybe my brother was right.

  “Pietro!”

  A female voice echoed through the hall and I pivoted away from the mirror to see Pietro’s girlfriend approaching. I was happy to see Evette upbeat and full of life. Last time I’d seen her had been the day her sister was murdered. The memory of her bloodshot dark-brown eyes and tear-stained cheeks had haunted me. I was grateful to replace it with this new image.

  Evette reached us and I started to extend my hand, but she went right in for a hug, catching me by surprise.

  “I am so pleased to see you again, Crisanta,” Evette said warmly, her muscular arms holding me tightly and her dark hair brushing against my face. “Your brother has been so worried and I have too.” She pulled away from the hug and looked at me with genuine affection.

  I barely knew the woman, but her concern was sincere. I guess when you love someone their family becomes your family. Also, she knew what it was like to lose a little sister; maybe her heart ached to keep Pietro or anyone else from experiencing the same thing.

  I felt the urge to hug her again and leaned into it. “Thank you for looking after my brother,” I said.

  When I released her, Evette took Pietro’s arm. Evette wore chocolate brown leather pants and a matching vest over a peasant top with quarter-length sleeves. Her skin was naturally tan, her jaw was sharp, and she had a healthy amount of boob. She was pretty exotic-looking overall, making me wonder about her genetic makeup.

  “We looked after each other,” she said, rubbing Pietro’s arm. “I hope you had the same blessing in your travels. I’m told you’ve been with friends?”

  “Yes. They’re upstairs now. Resting. We’ve had a long few days.”

  “I can only imagine,” Evette replied. “I do hope you’ll stay for dinner tonight.”

  “We’re actually staying until tomorrow.”

  “Oh, that’s great. Pietro is scheduled to work through lunch today, but we always meet at six o’clock for dinner and we should have a proper send-off for you before you go so we can all reconnect properly.”

  “That would be nice,” I replied. “Pietro and I were just reconnecting now, though I’m not sure me babbling on about myself counts as reconnecting. It’s been a pretty one-sided conversation.”

  Pietro let out an amused half-laugh. “It’s been an interesting hour,” he said. “A lot to digest. But come to dinner tonight and I promise to tell you about what’s been going on here in exchange. Deal?”

  “Deal,” I said.

  “Good,” he said. “Now, little sister, I’m sorry to have to do this, but I told Evette to come get me before my meeting with the senior members of the castle staff. I’ve got to go. See you later?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Are you going to be okay?” he asked, a bit more seriously.

  My eyes flicked to my reflection in the mirror for a beat before I looked back to him. “Absolutely.”

  Pietro smiled kindly and patted my head. He and Evette bid me goodbye and headed up the corridor together. I watched them go arm-in-arm. When they’d turned out of sight, I realized I was alone in the hallway. There were no passing guards, attendants, or staff. It was just me and the girl in the mirror.

  I faced her one more time. Pietro’s counsel was like faint background noise that whirred in the corners of my mind and hummed in the crux of my conscience. As it played, my thoughts became clear and my judgment became fairer.

  I had done a lot of bad, but I had done a lot of good too. At the end of this chapter, my character was very much like the dilemma of taking life I’d struggled with up till this point—a gray area. But . . . perhaps that was a good thing.

  Maybe the gray was not where people went to get lost. Maybe it was the perfect place to be reborn. For in that gray was the potential to be anything, to become anyone.

  Maybe even a queen.

  nother dinner. Another night without dreams. Another goodbye.

  Before I knew it, my friends and I were riding Lucky over the clouds on our way back to school. My heart had bloomed with joy to be reun
ited with the dragon. The reunion had also caused the development of several potholes in the castle’s main lawn. When Lucky saw me, he’d bounded over with such excitement he’d dented the ground with the gusto of his footsteps.

  I noticed he had gained a bit of weight, but I knew he would work it off soon. At Lord Channing’s—his home when we were at school—Daniel and Jason flew him regularly and the other male protagonists used him in their different hero training drills. They would let Lucky chase them around, and he would giddily try to destroy them with fire and his massive tail. It was a mutually beneficial form of exercise for both parties.

  My friends and I took turns riding up front to steer the dragon. Those of us who weren’t driving sat in the saddle on his back, talking about how we would deal with our headmasters once we got back. Overall, it was a pretty low-key journey. There were only two peculiarities. At a rest stop before the final stretch to Lady Agnue’s, Jason insisted that he steer the remainder of the way and I thought it was weird how readily Blue agreed with the idea. Then, for for the last ten minutes of the journey, Blue and Daniel seemed to have an unending list of questions about Pietro, my parents, Alex, Lenore, and other sensitive topics. It kind of felt like they were trying to distract me.

  Before I could figure out why, we landed at the main gate of Lady Agnue’s as planned, not crossing the threshold of the school’s In and Out Spell. Lucky could get inside without a problem because the Lady Agnue’s spell did not stop animals from passing through. And Daniel, Jason, Blue, and I were immune to this spell. However, Kai was not, so if we tried to land on the main campus with her on board the force field would electrocute her to death.

  The guards on the other side of the gate were startled, but they quickly recognized Lucky and the rest of us. I slid off Lucky’s left wing and approached the ornate gate—a beautiful construct of iron and bronze with a golden leaf design.

  “Princess, no!” one of the guards shouted.

  “Relax,” I responded. “Immune to the In and Out Spell. Remember?”

  While Lady Agnue had wanted to keep this fact a secret from the student body, the guards were aware. They’d all been clued in last semester when my friends and I returned from our Author quest.

  Five feet from the main gate, I made contact with the In and Out Spell. It fizzled when I crossed it—a small patchwork section of light revealing itself in my wake and then sealing up like a shut curtain behind me.

  “My friends and I are back,” I said to the guards inside the gate, talking to them through the bars. “Before they come in, I need to speak with Lady Agnue. Can you bring her out here please?”

  “Princess,” one of the guards responded, “the headmistress is in the banquet hall for dinner service with the rest of the staff and student body.”

  “Just go give her a message. Tell her Crisanta Knight is at the main gate. Trust me, she’ll come.”

  The guards sent one of their men to deliver the communication. We waited in silence. The woods around the school brought back bad memories, keeping me on my toes. After the magic hunters’ kidnapping attempt, this whole area had been searched thoroughly, but I remained vigilant because A) bad stuff had a bad way of sneaking up on you and B) my least favorite magic hunter, Parker, had escaped the night of the kidnapping. He was the only one of my attempted kidnappers who’d made it out of the fire that torched the Lady Agnue’s barn and stables and desecrated my beloved practice fields.

  I hated that. Why couldn’t he have burned to death like all the others?

  After ten minutes, Lady Agnue walked across the lawn with the guard who’d conveyed my message. Her violet dress stood out against the green grass and paired nicely with the changing pink and purple hues of the sky. She strode over with purpose. I put my hands on my hips with the same inflection.

  “Miss Knight. You came back,” she said through the gate.

  “Yep. I said I would,” I replied.

  “You are a week late for classes.”

  “We’ve been busy. There have been a lot of battles to fight.”

  “So I have heard. Which is why I warn you, despite what you may hope for, you will experience no break in battles here; you will only be facing another kind. The landscape you return to is different than the one you left behind, Miss Knight,” Lady Agnue said. “Much has changed since you were sent home after the magic hunter attack. You never properly dealt with the fallout of the student body and staff finding out about your powers when it happened. But now time has passed, most of the students went home over break and spread the word, and plenty of commons, protagonists, and higher-ups witnessed your powers the day of the attack on your castle. The magical cat is out of the bag, as it were. And with so many people clambering for more information on the subject, the Godmother Supreme made a tough choice. She had a press release go out to every kingdom this past Sunday, notifying them that you have Pure Magic.”

  Lady Agnue reached into the pocket of her dress, removed a folded set of stapled documents, and passed it to me in between the bars. Jason and Blue came through the In and Out Spell to stand next to me; Daniel took a few steps forward but stayed on the outside with Kai as I read parts of the document out loud.

  “It was recently discovered that Princess Crisanta Katherine Knight of Midveil is a carrier of Pure Magic. This specific type of magic, also known as Pure Magic Disease, is rare and can be dangerous. Wielders of such power are often sent to Alderon as part of preemptive safety measures. However, given circumstances, Princess Knight is not currently deemed an immediate threat. A formal investigation is underway as to how to best handle her case and a ruling will be reached by means of a formal trial during the Century City Summit next month. In the meantime, the best recommendation is to proceed with caution when interacting with Princess Knight, as the extent of her abilities—which stem from the power of life—are not presently certain. See page two for details regarding Pure Magic and Pure Magic Disease. See page three for updates on the commons rebellion. Visit your local authorities for weekly updates regarding new kingdom safety measures and missing persons reports.”

  I paused to absorb. Lady Agnue was right—the secret of my magic and my life before it were gone the second those magic hunters attacked. I’d just been running for so long since it happened that I guess subconsciously I wanted to believe I’d outrun having to deal with it. Sadly, life wasn’t that easy, and it was impeccably fragile. I knew that better than anyone.

  “It seems like a dumb move,” Jason commented. “I get that Lenore would have to own up to the revelation of your magic. But she didn’t have to tell people it was Pure Magic. With everything that’s happening—the commons rebellion, the attacks—people finding out that there is someone with Pure Magic walking around freely isn’t going to help. The second they understand the details of the disease it’ll add more panic to the mix, or at the very least unnecessary anxiety. This press release saying Crisa’s not an ‘immediate threat’ isn’t going to lessen that.”

  “I think it may have been a calculated risk,” I said, looking up. I met Lady Agnue’s eyes through the bars. “We told you about the antagonists’ plot to kill all protagonists at the end of the year. Lenore knows too. And after the attack on my castle, we told my kingdom ambassador with the intention of her finally warning the other higher-ups. Do you know if she did?”

  “The kingdom ambassadors, their rulers, and a few other higher-ups like myself and Lord Channing are caught up to speed, yes,” Lady Agnue admitted.

  “But they haven’t warned the rest of the population?” I said.

  Lady Agnue stood straighter. “The Godmother Supreme felt that such information would result in the very realm-wide panic Mr. Sharp alluded to. We could not have that on top of the unease being caused by the rebellion; however, the situation has changed and people have been asking a lot of questions regarding the antagonists. The higher-ups thought the news of your Pure Magic would cause much less uproar and alarm than revealing the truth about the antagonists,
so the truth about you—scandalous and unique as it is—is being used to distract people, keep them from digging into a different topic.”

  “So the higher-ups chose the lesser evil,” Blue summarized.

  A funny notion, considering what Pure Magic turned most people into.

  I calmly folded the document and thought on the matter. Our realm’s citizens deserved to know what was at stake. At the same time, I didn’t want extra panic in the realm either. And people in general were much better at panicking than assessing threats coolly. SJ had been right about us needing to move forward with more truth and less evasiveness. But maybe the scope of the commons rebellion and my Pure Magic were enough for now.

  My friends and I didn’t have a clear, foolproof plan for how to beat the antagonists. At the moment, we were buried under a mountain of anxiety-causing questions with the whole Mauvrey thing. So perhaps the higher-ups—jerks that they were—had the right idea in this situation. Maybe it wasn’t time for the realm to know about the antagonists. Still . . . I was not thrilled to be the sacrificial lamb being used to prevent this revelation.

  “Not the worst notion given the fear caused by the rebellion,” Blue said. Then she turned to face me. “And not a bad idea where Lenore’s specific agenda is concerned either. She hates you, Crisa, and would be happy if you were thrown into Alderon. But she doesn’t have concrete evidence that you’re dangerous, which means her case is weak. You’ve done too much good with your magic and have too many people on your side. If the Century City Summit is going to be when the higher-ups decide what to do about you, I think stuff like that press release is also Lenore’s way of using her influence to sway the public’s perception of you before then.”

  “It’s a win-win for her,” Daniel commented. “Lenore is going to make everyone wary of you before we can even make a proper case, alter the court of public opinion before you make it to the real court.”

  Hm. It was a smart move. And Lenore had a head start. This press release had been circulating in all the kingdoms for a full workweek while my friends and I had been traveling through the Wonderlands.