House of Enchanted

by Sarah Noffke

  Queen Emeri smiled, but it didn’t reach all the way to her eyes. Something was wrong.

  That’s what this whole meeting is about. I wish I were anywhere but here, thought Azure.

  Azure wanted to be off experiencing her last bit of freedom with Monet, berating him for being a worthless toad-brain or whatever other insult came to mind. However, royal duties had been sucking up all her attention lately. Monet had taken it upon himself to inquire around Virgo about Charmsgood’s whereabouts. The Potions Master’s absence was creating more and more problems, as witches and wizards ran out of ingredients or potions or just his clever expertise.

  “You don’t have to wear the shoes at the coronation,” her mother finally allowed, standing and striding around her large desk, which overflowed with books, papers, and quills. “Azure, I’ve been explaining how you will lead the Virgoans for quite some time. However, now we need to discuss how you will protect them.”

  The younger witch turned to face her mother directly, putting her back to the large fire to warm herself. “I’m listening.”

  There was a ton of chatter begging for her attention in her head. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to ascend the throne, it was just that she didn’t want to do it now. She was such a young witch, and this was all being pushed on her so early.

  “The emotional climate might shift when there’s a change in the monarchy. I suspect that the humans from the Land of Terran might try something.”

  “But the treaty and Emperor Richard won’t allow that,” Azure stated. The Emperor, from everything she’d seen, had worked hard to keep the peace between his people and those of Virgo, although not always successfully. “I know that humans hold themselves as superior to most, especially witches and wizards. And the people of Virgo are never keen to put up with prejudice, sometimes even revolting against the abuse…” Azure’s voice trailed off. She wasn’t sure what else to say.

  “There are things he can’t control. The prejudice humans have for us is deep-seated, inherited from the earlier generations. They learned most of it from the previous emperor, Richard’s father. Witches and wizards are already being attacked when they cross a Terran human’s path. Hate is taught rigorously in their realm, and that is a very hard thing to unlearn,” the queen said.

  “Well, then maybe we should delay the coronation, at least for another year or two, until you’ve had a chance to mend relations. Maybe if we implement a goodwill campaign—”

  Azure’s mother held up a hand to silence her daughter. “Those humans don’t want anything we have to offer. I’ve already floated the idea of a trade with them, but they refused to purchase any of our goods. They don’t need them. It’s unfortunate, because we could have used the exchange.”

  Virgo was rich in many ways; its people were happy and had incredible powers. However, the one thing it lacked was something both valued and stable enough to serve as a currency. The Crystals had vaults overflowing with their medium of exchange. The Light Elves were said to throw gold around like it was confetti. But the witches and wizards of Virgo struggled to maintain a healthy economy and relied mostly on a barter system, which wouldn’t work very well if no one outside their borders would trade with them.

  “I want you, once you are queen, to recruit allies to our side, creatures who can be our ears and eyes. We will need strong soldiers to defend Virgo if we’re attacked. The Kilomeas make logical sense, although I have no idea how to recruit them,” Queen Emeri said.

  “The Kilomeas? You want me to saunter over to the Chief of the Kilomeas and devise some sort of agreement? You have heard that they are pretty unreasonable creatures, right?”

  “Yes, Azure. I’m well aware that they are violent and volatile. But I’ve gotten word from witches and wizards who have passed through the mountains and close to the Land of Terran that traps are being set for us. And Virgoans have gone missing. Even now Charmsgood is nowhere to be found. I must insist that you take an aggressive approach. It’s the only way.”

  Azure threw herself down on the embroidered loveseat set next to the fire, her corseted dress rising up on her chest as she did. “Mother, this is increasingly sounding like a horrible time for me to take the crown. I don’t understand.”

  Queen Emeri strode over to her, her long gown gliding over the floor, and knelt so she was even with her daughter’s face. “Azure, the reason you must take the crown is the same reason I believe we are in such danger from the humans of Terran. I’ve had a team of alchemists working, and they are sure that a virus has infected the witches and wizards of Virgo. We think it was created by the humans with us as their target and aimed specifically at Virgo.”

  “What? How is that possible? Who is sick?” Azure leaned forward, noticing a shadow that danced across her mother’s eyes for an instant.

  “There have only been a few cases, dear. It isn’t serious yet, but that’s why I’m encouraging you to take this position. For your people,” her mother stressed, standing, smoothing the long swaths of navy blue material that made up her elaborate dress as she did. It moved like the waves of the ocean when a storm was approaching.

  “How do we know that it was made by the humans?” Azure asked.

  “The alchemists have a way of determining epidemiology, and the timing of the first case of the virus is key in all of this,” the queen said.

  “Which was?”

  “We believe the virus was first contracted by the last Virgoans who were allowed inside the borders of the Land of Terran before they implemented their new laws.”

  Azure stood at once, her neck and chest flushing with heat. “But, mother, that would have been you!”

  Her mother turned to her, eyes full of regret. “Yes, Azure. Me, and my top cabinet officials. We were the first to contract the virus. Somehow we were poisoned.”

  “The humans gave this to you? Infected you with a virus? Was it the Emperor?”

  Queen Emeri shook her head. “We don’t know. It’s hard to tell who was behind it. My cabinet members and I were in contact with so many while we were there, and then the Terrans voted to close the borders afterwards. The timing was truly suspicious.”

  “Mother, are you all right? Have the alchemists been able to…”

  “No, they haven’t found a cure. Charmsgood was the closest of anyone, and now he’s missing. But Azure, I…” Her mother turned to the desk where she’d been working when Azure entered, pointing to the stack of papers where she’d hidden the piece of parchment. “When you came in, I was trying to magically alter a record. A simple spell, one I’ve used thousands of times. But the virus, it is robbing me of my magic.”

  Azure’s face fell as understanding dawned on her. “That’s why you’re insisting I take the crown now.”

  Her mother’s cold hands reached out and gripped Azure’s tightly. “My child, I can’t lead the people of Virgo if I don’t have magic. It wouldn’t be right. But you are ready. You have your power.”

  “But I don’t have my soul stone,” she said.

  The queen turned and strode behind her desk, not sitting but staring at the stacks of books and papers with a confused expression, as if she’d lost something and was trying to find it. “No, but you will soon. Bring it to me right away when you do dislodge it.”

  “Mother, this virus… How does it spread?” She wondered if the entire population would soon have their magic stolen.

  Biting her lip and close to tears, her mother shook her head. “We don’t know. So far it hasn’t spread past myself and my cabinet members. However, that’s why I’ve insisted that you elect your own cabinet members.”

  “You really believe the humans are trying to take us out?”

  “I think that some of them, maybe a lot of them, are doing what they can to sabotage us. It’s been a long time coming, and nothing I’ve ever tried has worked to repair relations. That’s why your first order of business needs to be protecting our people.”

  Azure shook her head, her bluish-gray hair swaying o
ver her bare shoulders. “My first order of business will be to seek a cure for this damn virus, Mother. There’s no way I’ll sit by and watch you suffer.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  The sunlight streaming through the stained-glass window danced across the old wooden floor as Azure hurried down the hallway. She didn’t know where she was going or who she was looking for, but if she poked her head into enough rooms in the House of Enchanted, maybe she’d find someone who could give her answers. Her mother was sick, ill in the worst way. A witch without magic was nobody. Almost everyone on Oriceran had magic. Even some of the humans, the ones with a rare genetic mutation, although only a few used it for darker purposes.

  Azure poked her head into a sitting room where a wizard stood tall, his hands over his head, eyes wide. “The dragon was this tall, I tell you,” he caroled to the crowd of witches and wizards sitting in front of him. Shaking her head, Azure pulled back into the arched hallway. Maybe she ought to try the first floor. But that was where the staff was cleaning and decorating for the coronation and its accompanying festivities. She’d heard that just cleaning the spider webs from the ceilings had taken a whole day. Spiders weren’t native to Oriceran, but had flourished once they got here.

  Now the only time anything got through was when an illegal portal was opened. When spiders had invaded the House of Enchanted, they had taken on some of the magic and built spider webs that instantly rebuilt themselves when destroyed. Continuous spells kept the spider webs away, but nothing worked permanently. And cleaning spells were not generally used in the grand ballroom, since it was only for special occasions like the upcoming coronation.

  “There you are!” Monet’s voice rang out as he came around the corner. “I’ve been meandering around this place for ages trying to find you.”

  “One doesn’t meander if they are trying to find someone,” Azure corrected, realizing her voice was a bit too high-pitched. Must be nerves.

  “What’s wrong?” Monet asked, his face turning serious.

  He knew. He always knew when something was bothering her. It had been like that from the beginning, since the first time they played in the gardens of the House of Enchanted. Azure had been wishing that her mother would be more available, not always off on the business of the realm. She’d felt like she was missing something that day, a part of herself.

  Monet had strolled up to her, run his hand through his light-green hair and said, “You look lost, but that’s a pity for you, because I’m the one who gets to be found. You’re it.” He tagged her shoulder and sprinted off through the topiaries and rosebushes in an impromptu game of hide-and-go-seek. They had been eight years old.

  Now she was closing in on the age when witches dislodged their soul stones. She felt so much older, and yet the one thing that marked a witch and wizard’s full maturity hadn’t yet happened to her.

  “Do you want to go down to the artisan market?” Azure forced the corners of her mouth into a smile.

  Monet moved his jaw to the side, studying her. He nodded, not wanting to push her. “Fine. We need another deck of Elements cards anyway.”

  “You need them, since you’re the one who loses all the damn time.” Azure picked up her dress as they made their way down the carpeted stairs.

  ***

  Smoke wafted from an open pit where chicken legs were suspended in the air and twisted on an invisible rotisserie. The artisan market brought in witches and wizards from all over Virgo, who traded their handmade soaps that erased freckles, candles that induced laughter, and bread that always tasted fresh-baked no matter how old.

  “Any word on Charmsgood?” Azure asked, her eyes on a cart that was hung with various crystals. A witch in cream-colored robes that matched the streaks in her black hair lifted her chin as they passed, trying to draw them to her cart. Azure pulled her hood higher and kept her head down.

  “No sign of him around his shop. Doesn’t look like he’s been there in days,” Monet told her, tugging on Azure’s arm and making her pause in the middle of the dirt lane. The look in his eyes was serious, a strange expression for him. “Actually, Finnegan said one night when he was checking his moonflowers to see if they were blooming, he saw Charmsgood hobbling toward the Dark Forest.”

  “He disappeared on the night the moons were full, then,” Azure mused.

  “That’s what I figured, since those flowers only bloom in full moonlight. But we need to remember that Finnegan-Gone-Again supposedly eats the blooms from those flowers because he thinks they make him more powerful,” Monet said.

  “When in actuality they only make him battier,” Azure agreed.

  “Moonflowers have their purposes, but now isn’t the time to educate you, little witch. My point is that, if the old man is telling the truth, then the question is why Charmsgood would go into the Dark Forest at night.” Monet said, turning and continuing down the lane.

  “Maybe to retrieve ingredients that only bloomed at night, like moonflowers?” she offered.

  Two booths down Monet found a wizard wearing robes the color of lemons, who sold Elements decks. He also sold other games and toys, like dolls that could really play and told on their playmate if they misbehaved. The old wizard with his cat-like yellow eyes wasn’t impressed by any of the things Monet offered to trade for the cards, telling him it was all rubbish.

  “No one wants a dumb gray stone you say is from Earth or to hear a joke in payment for their goods.” Azure scoffed.

  “Apparently not. Thanks for paying.” Monet dropped the cards into the inside pocket of his mint-colored robes. Something crinkled, and he jerked his head up. “Actually, I forgot! I’m out of gold because I bought these.” He took out a shiny orange bag with a cat of sorts on it, but not like the refined animals they had in Virgo.

  “What are those, and where’d you buy them?” she asked

  “I bought them from a wizard on my way over to get you. He got them in the Dark Market. They aren’t like my rock, they’re really from Earth. They’re called Cheetos.” Monet pulled on either side of the bag, which made a small popping noise as it opened.

  Azure twisted her head around to watch over her shoulder. Luckily most of the witches and wizards were busy haggling over things like self-cleaning dishes or herbs. “If those are from Earth, then you’d better be careful. However they got here, they’re illegal,” she said in a disapproving hiss.

  “Duh, Azure. That’s why it’s the Dark Market,” Monet said, looking down into the small bag with keen interest. He withdrew a small orange object that was oblong and irregularly shaped, about like their wands. “Never seen anything like it, have you?”

  Azure shook her head. Today she wore a midnight-blue robe that was speckled with silver half-moons, and its hood covered the head she was shaking. “What are you supposed to do with it?”

  “I think you eat it,” Monet told her, sniffing the Cheeto. His light-green eyes lit up in delight. “It smells kind of good, like cheese.”

  “If it kills you, then it’s your own fault,” she warned. The worry over her mother and the virus rushed back, flooding her stomach with nausea.

  Monet’s expression drooped. “There it is again—that look on your face. What’s going on?”

  Azure shook her head as she stopped herself from speaking. She always said there was nothing wrong when the opposite was true. She always pretended to be happy when she was sad. She was always trying to be something she wasn’t, even with Monet. And that wasn’t going to stop when she became queen.

  “It’s my mum,” she said, her voice breaking. She rarely called her that.

  “What is it?” Monet asked, still gripping the Cheeto between his fingers.

  Azure was just about to tell him when an old witch bowed at her side. She turned to the woman. “Princess Azure, you’ve come to the market. What an honor!” the woman exclaimed too loudly. She was wearing tattered robes, but her dark purple amethyst soul stone was as bright as ever and set into a barrette at the back of her hair.


  Azure leaned over her, encouraging the woman to rise. Inside the House of Enchanted things were casual, but at the artisan market it was different. “Really, it’s no big deal,” she said in a whisper.

  “No big deal?” the old witch almost yelled, rising to a standing position. “Our soon-to-be queen has come to patronize our market. This is the highest honor. You, who could have anything, choose to buy from the traveling witches and wizards.”

  The fucking soon-to-be-senile witch had attracted the eyes and ears of vendors and shoppers nearby. Azure scanned her brain for a spell that would knock the old bag out and possibly cause mild brain damage.

  The crowd moved in, all their interest now centered on the young witch in midnight blue robes. She pushed back the hood to reveal her face. Might as well embrace the mob before they devour me, she thought.

  “Good to see you all,” she said while backing up, all too aware of the smirk plastered on Monet’s face. “We were just heading back with our treasures. Take care!” Her words made the witches and wizards stare in awe. Most probably didn’t know if they should rush forward and offer their hands in greeting, or if that would be rude now that she’d taken her leave. Still, a few dozen witches and wizards kept their gazes fixed on her, looking hungry for Azure’s attention. Soon they’d have requests for her to fulfill and disputes for her to settle. Soon every moment would be filled with the business of the people of Virgo. Afraid she was about to step into a puddle, Azure stopped walking backward and turned to hurry down the path to the House of Enchanted.

  “You’re so fucking bad at accepting attention,” Monet said through a laugh.

  “And you’re so fucking forgetful. You’re still holding onto that Cheeto-thing.”

  He looked down at the bag he was carrying and the Cheeto pressed between his fingertips. “So I am,” Monet agreed, and popped the thing into his mouth. He suddenly halted, not taking another step, which Azure found unacceptable since the horde of witches and wizards were still too close, some of them looking like they might rush her at any moment.