“Look what I’ve got to complete.” I said with fake enthusiasm. Patrick laughed, heartily at my sarcasm. “I’ll just finish this up. Go ahead and talk.” The sheet was pretty simple. It just asked for the name at the top, and then asked questions below. It wouldn’t take me too long. I quickly signed my name at the top and started to rack my brain for information about myself. The sheet looked like it had been printed, even though printers probably didn’t exist here. James had probably used magic to make it look so professional.
I finished the interview, a bit surprised. I had been expecting one of those sheets that asked you questions about where you had lived, your gender, or things like that. It was not a bit like that. The sheet had gone straight to the important questions, skipping all of the ones I had expected. I finished the sheet in minutes and handed the sheet and pencil to Shay, who was standing beside a table talking to another member. She was the only person I could remember that had been sitting next to James.
“Thank you, Natalie.” Shay said formally, her gaze drifting away from my face. Her body language was tense and cold, very unlike the Shay I remembered. A deep frown was plastered on her face, and I couldn’t help wondering again what had she been talking to Emilie about. Part of me wanted to ask her, but I knew it wasn’t my place, and I doubted anything would come of it. Besides, I needed to focus on training and getting stronger with my new group. I walked back over to them, trying to ignore the nagging feeling telling me I was missing the big picture.
Chapter Thirteen
Lucia walked swiftly through the long, narrow passageway, footsteps echoing about the corridor. The people in the hallway cowered to the sides of the rocky passageway as she passed by. Many of them fell on their knees and kneeled before her, showing her superiority over them. Lucia scowled at their shoddy, dirt-covered attire. She was in an elegant royal blue dress of blue velvet, and her hair was done in beautiful plaits. Her maid, Zaratha, had done it this morning. Lucia had even given her a few coins for her work.
Near her chest, the dress was form-fitting, while it loosened down by her hips. Pearls and diamonds covered the top half of her dress, making her look elegant and powerful. The top of her dress was bordered inexpensive, intricate white lace. A pearl necklace hung around her neck, each pearl the size of a raspberry. A diamond ring glittered on her ring finger, sparkling in the torchlight of the passageway. Her raiment surpassed anybody’s clothes in possibly all of Aughmortor. Lucia knew that spending so much money on her finery didn’t help the cause, but she found herself moved by beautiful things. A leader had to look like a leader, right? She knew that her people loved and feared her, a balance that kept her crown on her head and kept them from becoming complacent.
No one could mistake the cruel beauty of Lucia for anyone else; whether it was her clothes or her fierce features, her people recognized her when she passed. Lucia muttered something under her breath fluently. A few coins hit the palm of her hand. She threw them at the ground to her people were kneeling. They grasped for the coins, shoving each other out of the way and scrambling over them. When they settled down, they looked up at Lucia, eyes wide.
“You are so beautiful and so kind, your majesty.” They stared at her, awed at her presence. These little signs of compassion also helped her cause.
Lucia inclined her head ever so slightly, acknowledging their words before walking away without a reply. They were not good enough to take up any more of her attention; it was a busy day, and she was on the move. Her royal blue dress swung around her legs as she hurried through the doors in front of her. There were two doors in front of her. One of them was made of rough aged wood while the other was made of unbreakable steel. Magic encircled the door, teasing at any foolish enough to try to open it. Very few people were able to get into this door, and without a certain object, trying to get through the door would kill them. Glowing glyphs covered the door, warning any foolish enough to try to open it.
A person who could not read Jakost would have opened the door without a second thought, but as a well-practiced user of Jakost, she could read the letters with ease. Lucia glanced at her hand, confirming her ring was still there as always and then opened the door. She let the heavy door slam behind her, locking out the rest of her people in Lybrazil. Beyond the door was a passageway, but unlike the ones that had been outside the door, this one did not have walls of rock. Lucia had made sure that the parts of Lybrazil that contained the most important people in the Larta were not so dirty.
Only Lucia’s most trusted people came in here. Her generals were allowed in here as well as a handful of guards, her maids, and a few other assorted people. The walls of the passageway were white and smooth, covered in drawings. Most of them were of Lucia, but a few were of her most important generals. Not a single one remained of the previous Larta leaders- in Lucia’s opinion, the past should stay in the past. She brought the Larta back from destruction brought forth from previous Larta leaders, so they didn’t deserve mentioning.
She knew that she had never been a modest woman or a particularly kind one at that, but she had brought the Larta from the brink of destruction and that deserved recognition. Lucia had always been ambitious, covetous, and strong-willed to a fault. She had been born to lead, and she did what she was meant to do. Dissent caused disharmony amongst her people, so she stifled it with a hard hand. Lucia led hundreds and hundreds of people in Lybrazil, the hidden city of traitors, or so it was called by the Ones of Within. The problem with this world was that everyone here believed anyone with contradicting opinions was a traitor. Who deemed the Ones of Within better than the Larta? In Lucia’s opinions, they were just the same as her, trying to shut down anything that opposed them. Somehow, her people were branded the traitors when the Ones of Within didn’t have the cleanest slate themselves. Everyone would see that soon though.
Lucia had been born upon Aughmortor to two poor farmers, who never dreamed she would reach this height. From the day she was five, Lucia had been worked hard in the fields of her parents. She had done everything they bid, but she ignored their wishes. They told her she was meant to be a member of the Ones of Within when she was older. Lucia did not want to be one of them, however. She had known all along that she had been meant for something much more than that. And now, years later, here she stood, the leader of thousands of people.
At first, Lucia had been nothing in the Larta. Lörashin was the one recognized for her work as the former Larta leader. But, at that time, Lucia was in her young twenties. She was too young to be viewed as an acceptable leader in those times. So Lörashin ruled for years, and Lucia was his personal attendant, his minion. She did all he asked and helped build the Larta. But, Lörashin was a foolish leader; he spent his money on things that gave him no promise of success. He spent excessive amounts of wealth trying to form an alliance with the elves. Lörashin had been under the assumption their leader would honor their trades and join his cause. Unlike Lucia, however, Lörashin didn’t know how deceiving people were. After building it up, piece by piece, Lörashin also was the one that brought it down. Lucia was the one to restore her life’s work, her cause. And nothing would keep her from restoring it to its full potential.
The drawings upon the walls had been created by only the best of painters. They had been rewarded greatly for their gorgeous drawings and amazing talent. Those lucky painters had a life of luxury waiting for them. Of course, Lucia could not hide from her faults. She did squander money, but not the same way Lörashin had at least. Lucia gained every little leftover penny that her people had. The money was for the Larta, but there were always things that Lucia needed. No matter how much money she squandered, there was always more than enough to pay for the costs that her cause had. What would her people do if she were dressed in filth? Besides, the wealth Lucia spent all stayed in Lybrazil; it didn’t travel to other places like Lörashin had foolishly done.
No, her people understood why she used the money the way she did. But not even they knew the full extent of
the way Lucia squandered money. For how would they know how much money she collected in taxes? Most of her people supported the cause with their lives while some people hung by a thread. They could not determine if they supported her cause or not, but were afraid to go against her. Lucia knew everything. She posted hidden eyes among the people to figure out who were the weak ones.
Yet she was not the only one who posted hidden eyes in her people! For many months, she had suspected the involvement of the Ones of Within in her people’s lives. Small rebel groups formed every now and then. They were small and easy to weed out. However, the rebel groups were starting to come once again and more frequently. Lucia knew she would have to weed her lawn well unless she wanted to face outright rebellion. Lybrazil was a very large city, and there were many people that lived there. It was hard to find the traitors among the innocent, but she was confident that she could find these rebels.
The new group of imbeciles called themselves the Coalition. For several weeks she’d gotten their message through the Coalition’s destruction of several caravans bringing Lucia important materials. They’d also killed at least thirty soldiers with poisonous darts and had left no witnesses. The Coalition’s leader called himself the Conspirator. Lucia still hadn’t met the ‘Conspirator’ head-on, but when she did, he’d be a very sorry man. Of that, she was sure. Already, the Coalition had left ties to the scenes and not cleaned up properly. The poison from the darts came from an extremely rare plant only found in Slâva. Obviously, this Coalition got its resources from there somehow. Lucia would find this Conspirator soon enough and destroy him, but she had more important things to deal with at the moment than pesky flies. She slipped through another door, unlocking it with a certain magical verse. Finally, she was among her closest again. Instead of being among filthy street workers, she was among well-dressed maids and guards.
A maid with dark ginger hair approached her. Her hair was pulled back in a tight bun to keep her long hair out of her face. She had olive green eyes that stood out against her pale features. She wore a dress with a floral rose print with a maroon hem. The maids knew better than to wear filthy clothes around her. The maid curtsied in front of her, lips opening to speak.
“My liege,” The maid said. “Cadvair has requested your presence in your quarters. He waits there in your parlor with Mara and her guard. Hona made them each a cup of your finely brewed jasmine and honeysuckle tea while Cadvair sent me to fetch you.” She curtsied again, waiting for her response.
Lucia thought carefully about the message. Cadvair was one of her two commanders. He led her human troops under her strict orders and the Shadow Bringers. If he needed to speak to her, it was urgent, for he rarely ever came to her to discuss something. He must have brought Mara and her guard with him for a reason too. “My thanks, Leia. You have proven again to be useful in your service, and I shall reward you.” Lucia used magic to bring a few coins from her vault to her hand and placed them in Leia’s outstretched.
She curtsied one last time, proudly raising her chin. “Now, I would like you to hurry to the training cavern where Gruid will be training my best soldiers. I would like you to tell him this message: In two days, I want him to take a sweep of Lybrazil with his troops and begin recruiting males and females at the age of thirteen. We need to do our yearly recruit so that we can be prepared for our next actions. Also, tell him I want some spies set up to weed out this Coalition. We don’t have time for their stupid little antics.“ Lucia knew that if they were to win this war, they needed to continue training more troops.
“Yes, ma’am. Shall I come back to your quarters after I deliver your message?” Leia asked.
“Of course. Now, I must hurry.” Lucia swept by her maid, whipping through the halls toward her rooms.
About ten minutes later, Lucia had finally entered her quarters after getting through many cursed doors to keep certain people out. She hurried into her parlor where Cadvair, Mara, and her guard were waiting. Lucia entered the parlor, looking around. Even though she had entered her parlor many times, its splendor still amazed her. Lucia had designed it herself, of course. Sometimes, she could not help wondering how nice it would be to live upon Earth and be an interior designer.
The parlor’s walls were a deep golden color with a cream ceiling. There was a soft brown wooden coffee table in the center of the room. On one side of it was a cream loveseat with gold and crimson pillows. There was another sofa meant for two that matched the loveseat. On the ground, the carpet was a deep, luscious red color. A mirror with a gold frame hung on the walls with an engraved lions head at the top.
Cadvair sat upon the cream sofa, his cup of tea lying upon the coffee table. He had ruffled dark brown hair with blue eyes and tan skin. He was in his early forties and a handsome man. He was wearing a simple white shirt and brown pants made of fine material. The moment Lucia entered the room, he stood up and bowed deeply.
“My liege.”
“Cadvair,” Lucia replied, dipping her head ever so slightly.
She turned to Mara, who did not follow the same respect. She was wearing a deep scarlet dress with a necklace of rubies and diamond earrings. Mara was giving her a disdainful look as she always did. Despite Mara’s dislike of her, she still managed to follow some of her house rules, such as dressing in finery. Lucia hoped Mara had not given her maid trouble today with the clothes, though.
Mara lay upon the loveseat, one of her legs falling off its side lazily. Behind the loveseat stood her guard, fully dressed in hard, steel armor. An hourglass was etched in the center of his armor’s chest. His hands laid over the loveseat, resting a little too close to the sides of Mara’s face for Lucia’s liking. It appeared Mara’s guard might have started taking a liking to her and would need to be replaced. That didn’t surprise her for Mara was a beautiful girl with flowing black hair, high cheekbones, and strong blue eyes with a lean, toned body to match. Still, it was a hassle that annoyed Lucia, and she didn’t like being annoyed.
“I see you have been enjoying my tea,” Lucia commented to Cadvair, trying to be pleasant, as she walked by the coffee table. The teacup beside him was empty, so Lucia helped herself to an untouched one beside it.
“Yes, thank you,” Cadvair said, “But let me explain my visit. It is for two things.”
Lucia nodded briefly, eyes flickering between Mara and Cadvair. Mara gave him a loathing look; she might dislike Cadvair even more that Lucia if that was possible.
“And what are these subjects you wish to speak of?” Lucia asked, ignoring Mara’s expression.
“We sent Yolen, a Shadow Bringer to bring one of the Ones of Within’s recruits to us before it got to Sybra, remember?”
“Surely, you would not expect me to forget such an important event, Cadvair!”
“No, I expected not. However, there has been an issue.”
“An issue?” Lucia’s gray eyes darkened.
“Not exactly. At first, Yolen kept us updated every few hours. His communication ended when he was connecting himself to the recruit’s transport to Aughmortor. He was captured by the Ones of Within.”
Lucia’s hands clenched into fists, her temper rising. She forced herself to calm down, but her hand was shaking, and she was tempted to throw the glass of tea. She wasn’t used to things not going her way. “Are you sure that there is no possibility that anything else has happened?”
“Wait, I’m not finished. He was captured but sprung from their prison the same evening by one of our best spies before he could be interrogated.” Cadvair gave Lucia a pointed look, keeping the name under wraps in the presence of Mara. “Yolen just arrived back in Lybrazil, and I have him in the waiting room. He might have some important information about the Ones of Within. I haven’t had time to question him yet and was waiting for you to do so.”
Lucia took a deep breath of air and released it, putting the cup back down on the table. “I almost believed you failed me, but, alas, I am mistaken. This is actually good news. The Ones of Within didn’t
get anything out of Yolen, and he might have information. This shows that the Ones of Within is starting to lose control if we can easily spring a Shadow Bringer from their prison.” Lucia clapped, delighted at the realization.
“Lucia… the recruit is still with the Ones of Within.”
At those words, the expression on Lucia’s face froze and contorted back to an expression of uncontrolled fury. She picked up the teacup from the table and flung it against the wall in one sleek motion. The cup shattered, chips of white littering the floor of the beautiful room and tea seeping into the expensive carpet.
“They shall pay for this Cadvair; I promise you that. I think that it is nearly time that we give them some of our own medicine for a change. Hurt them right where it really hits home.” She put her hand pointedly over her chest, as though the new knowledge pained her. Lucia took a deep breath, composing herself.
“You’re crazy.” Mara laughed, watching the whole scenario with cold eyes. “After all, we both know the Ones of Within are going to win this war. The prophecy says so. So what are you going to do, hide against the inevitable? Live in blissful denial?”
Lucia turned to Mara, swiftly motioning for her guard to back up. He did as she bid, shuffling a few steps backward and almost tripping his hurry. She had told Mara the truth about being her mother, but it hadn’t seemed to get anywhere with the girl. While Lucia wanted to be a good mother, she had never meant to have kids, and she didn’t want to be a mother. I had never wanted to be one. Mara, in particular, had to be the most annoying, disobedient child to ever grace the world. Despite Lucia’s desire to win her over, she was rapidly starting to give up on Mara.
“I think I know what I am going to do…” Lucia murmured, smiling at Mara with perfect white teeth. She grabbed Mara’s chin with one hand, pressing a little too hard and causing the girl to grimace. She raised her other hand and slapped Mara with full force across the face.
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