wife’s and nearly as long. His eyes were a pale green and his cheeks red from working outside. He wore a rough, white tunic and two large ruby rings. Gemmeth was only an inch or two taller than Celestine.
There wasn’t much room on top of the mountain, but they had managed to build a house down inside of it. They brought the girls inside where they descended twenty steps into a room with such a low ceiling, they had to hunch over. The room contained a bed, a small kitchen, bathroom, and sitting area. The bed and sofa were stuffed with flowers, leaves, and grass that were changed every 30 days to keep them soft. Years ago the queen tried to bring them feather stuffed pillows, but they disintegrated at the top of the mountain. The curse they lived under would not allow any help from those that lived below.
Gemmeth made the girls a cup of Uji berry tea which came from a huge Uji plant outside, while Celestine dug through a closet looking for their special gift for the young princess.
Celestine pulled out a silver medallion with seven gems. Before Celestine and Gemmeth were bound to the mountain, King Angus of Yantra left them this medallion that had been passed down for hundreds of years. Gemmeth placed a protection spell on the medallion so that whichever royal to wear the medallion would be protected from witchcraft and evil intentions.
Celestine placed the medallion around Astrid’s neck, “You must always take care of yourself Astrid. This necklace can offer certain protections, but there are dangers beyond its power. The medallion won’t guard you from the threat of Vovros… or from your corrupted brother.”
“So you already know.” Astrid said.
“Yes we lost Maddox several years ago. Some of us aren’t meant for power.” Celestine placed a gentle hand on the girl’s shoulder.
“But what can I do?” Astrid’s eyes welled up with tears thinking about her older brother and feeling helpless.
“You stay strong and follow your own path.” Gemmeth said.
Astrid thanked them and headed up the steps that lead to the mountaintop with Stella close behind. It took them two hours to descend the perilous path down the mountain. Astrid couldn’t help but worry about the abilities of this medallion and she didn’t want to take any chances, so she continued very slowly, tossing stones ahead of them to ensure they wouldn’t be burned to a crisp or thrown to their death from the force fields ahead.
By the time the girls reached the bottom of the mountain, it was growing dark and billowing clouds filled the sky on the arduous journey back to their village. It began to rain and a pungent lavender scent filled the air. They trudged through the muddy path, starving and tired. Astrid and Stella finally made their way back towards the river where they found Spectralus flowers to take the edge off of their hunger. Drenched and muddy, the girls arrived back at their village an hour later.
Astrid knew she would need to talk to her mother about Maddox and the witch from Tulim. With so many unanswered questions, Maddox inviting a Tulim witch into their village was clearly dangerous and the Queen needed to be warned. Astrid kept thinking to herself about the peculiar circumstances. Why was he meeting a witch by the river? Did she have a hand in killing the Seraphi royals? All of the evidence seemed to tie Maddox to their demise, but not clearly enough. The girl who served the poisonous tea was being held as prisoner by Zurina and her story implicated Maddox. However, Zurina was convinced that someone else played a role in the assassination.
Just as Astrid and Stella arrived home, the sky seemed to clear. The village builders were helping set up the party with long banquet tables, lights hanging from every tree, and a canopy over a makeshift dance floor. The village musicians were setting up their instruments and the cooks were filling the tables with beautiful centerpieces and delectable, exotic food brought from Seraphi.
After their long, arduous journey, Astrid and Stella looked as though they just climbed from a swamp. Their boots were covered in mud, their matted hair was peppered with flower petals, tiny stems, and leaves, and their once flowing dresses hung flat. Just as they were making their way towards the treehouse to get ready for the party, an all too familiar voice called to Astrid. Zander was flying from tree to tree, hanging the white lights all around, but he stopped the moment he saw her. She turned and looked up into his gorgeous blue eyes, and she began to blush with embarrassment at her disheveled appearance. Zander took no notice.
“Astrid! How does this look?”
“It’s perfect.” She said just above a whisper.
Reluctant to say more, Astrid rushed inside with Stella to tell her mother that Maddox might be in some kind of danger. They headed up the stairs and heard Maddox talking. Ordinarily Astrid would have been afraid to confront him, but she felt in her heart that this new friend of his might be the source of his trouble. Astrid and Stella burst into the kitchen and stood in silence, dumbfounded by what they saw.
There sat Maddox, Preta, and Queen Lisette together around the kitchen table. Each were sipping tea and calmly discussing politics. Astrid felt like she had just stepped into an alternate universe. How could her mother trust this mysterious witch after everything the witches had done to their family, friends, and advisors? Was it all in the name of diplomacy?
Stella excused herself and headed up to Astrid’s room to get ready for the party. She had brought her dress over the day before to show Astrid, and left it behind since they would be doing each other’s makeup anyway. “I’ll be right up…,” Astrid could barely speak. Astrid tucked the medallion under her neckline, just in case.
“Would you like some tea, little sister? You must be freezing.” Maddox was never so cordial. He was obviously putting on a front for his new friend.
“Thank you. That would be nice.” Just then Maddox did something strange. He took the tea bag from his mother’s cup and placed it into hers.
“There’s more tea in the cupboard, Maddox.”
“This tea was a gift from Miera. Don’t worry, you’ll like it.” His voice reminded her of simpler times when he was kind and gentle. They used to ride their fazro, Canope, throughout Yantra and fly through the trees, dreaming of a day when they would have wings of their own. If only she knew then that his freedom would result in so much pain, she would have talked to him more. Maybe she could have made a difference.
“How rude of me! This is Preta. She is a blessing witch from Tulim and we’ve decided to marry.” Blessing witches offered cures for ailments, fed the poor, and granted relief to the penniless and exhausted. Astrid was unfamiliar with how blessing witches did this, but she was fairly certain Preta wouldn’t have needed Maddox’s money for her work.
Looking over to her mother, who was faintly smiling, Astrid said, “Congratulations. It’s a pleasure meeting you. Thank you for coming. I’m terribly sorry but I must get ready.” She headed upstairs and the queen slowly rose from the table and hugged Maddox, kissing him on the head. “I knew you’d come around,” she whispered in his ear. A tear came to Maddox’s eye. Had he gone too far? Was it too late to redeem himself?
Maddox held Preta’s hand and said in a somber tone, “Since we have all of our beloved friends and family gathered this evening, we actually would like to wed tonight.” Astrid’s mind was reeling. How long had he been seeing this woman? They would commonly hear about his dalliances from someone in the village, if not directly from him. Maddox’s thirst for attention crippled his judgement, but this seemed to be more of a calculated move. Or had this Preta put him under a spell? Astrid’s stomach started to ache as all of the unanswered questions churned through her mind.
“Maddox… This is the first we’ve heard of this new love. Don’t you think your new bride deserves her own special day?” The queen tried to calm his impulsive urges to no avail.
“Mother, you know what happens to people from Tulim after they leave. I don’t have to tell you what will happen to her if we wait even one more day.”
Sorcerers of Tulim were often recruited by the queen of Yantra to work as advisors or for medical care. Some good
witches and warlocks would sneak across the Yantra border to live because the dangers in Tulim were too great. Yantra let them stay for short periods until they interviewed with the royal advisors who would grant or deny them citizenship. The foulest coven created blood demons, barbaric ogres, and orcs to guard the Tulim borders, making the country much easier to leave then to enter. Trespassers and those who failed to gain citizenship in Yantra would be sent to Mt. Naga. Prisoners often jumped from the tiny boat and into the sea, where they would meet a quicker demise by blood thirsty, ravaging kyhas.
Moreover, Maddox wanted everyone to believe that he had matured and that HE was the one ready for the throne. This desperate girl would give him that opportunity. Marrying Preta would show everyone that mattered that he was a mature humanitarian, not a cold- blooded killer.
His mother was well aware that Preta would run the risk of being returned to Tulim and sent to Mt. Naga. Even though she barely knew Preta, it pained her to see anyone put in such a position. She looked to Astrid, who was sitting back in her seat, carefully digesting Maddox’s nonsense.
“You have my blessing.” The queen knew it was pointless arguing and he wouldn’t come into power, so all she could hope was that perhaps this would settle him
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