The Four Kingdoms

by Maryam Durrani

  “But—”

  “Hush,” Isabel said to her brother, pushing him back into his seat.

  “So, according to Prince Theo, if someone were looking

  for something important, they should look there. And he also knows Cyprian is alive.”

  “How did he figure that out?”

  “I don’t know,” I shrugged, playing with the hem of my long sleeve. A girl walked in, two auburn braids on either side of her face. She took our silverware and exited, silent as a mouse.

  “Even the servants here are pretty,” Jax said to Xavier, who nodded agreeably. I cleared my throat.

  “Tonight, then?” I asked them.

  “Uh-huh,” Xavier said with a nod. Jax and Isabel hummed in agreement, patting their full stomachs.

  “But first,” Isabel said, getting to her feet. She gave us a covert smile, “I have a date.”

  “Theo?” I asked curiously.

  “No, Alaric—he’s quite handsome.”

  When she was out of earshot, I lowered my voice, “I don’t think it’s a good idea to let her go off with Alaric.”

  “He’s a prince,” Xavier shrugged, “maybe something good will come out of it. She’ll help him get the older three out of the way, and she’ll get her place as queen.”

  “That does sound like something Isabel would do,” Jax said agreeably. “I, on the other hand, have my eyes set on someone else.”

  “And who might that be?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “Princess Zinovia,” Jax said dreamily. Xavier’s eyes widened, and he laughed.

  “She’s half your age.”

  “She’s going to be a queen soon, and she’s not half my age,” Jax blushed. “Oh, and how about you two?” Jax said, annoyed. “We all see what’s going on there.”

  “We’re not talking about this,” I got to my feet, stepping

  behind my chair.

  “No, let’s,” Xavier said slyly, leaning forward. He rested his chin on his palm, elbow on the table.

  “Let’s not.”

  “Come on, Adalia,” Jax said, crossing his arms over his chest. “Why don’t you go ahead and explain to us just what you—”

  My face turned red. “Find some weapons,” I ordered, cutting him off. “We may need them tonight.” I turned to leave the room. Halfway to the door, I spun around, only to catch the two of them with their heads bent, whispering to each other. “Don’t talk about me.”

  They snickered.

  “Five days ago, you were punching each other in the faces. I liked you better that way.”

  The boys smirked, unaffected by my words.

  The kitchen was a busy place. Tiles lined the floor. Fires were lit and cakes baked. Large cauldrons hung over the hearth, boiling with delicious-smelling soups. A skinned goose rotated on a skewer above the fire. The aroma of all the food made my mouth water, even though I’d eaten but an hour ago.

  Servants rolled out dough, kneading it with their hands. Their sleeves were rolled up to their elbows, streaks of white flour decorating their cheeks and foreheads.

  They didn’t recognize me, of course. It was my second day in the castle. But they noticed the way I was dressed and everyone took a small bow immediately, then resumed, as if they’d never stopped. I scanned the room for blades, noticing a couple lying beside three skinned chickens.

  Walking discreetly, I swiftly picked two knives and slipped them into my sleeve, nicking myself in the sudden

  haste.

  I walked straight out of the kitchen. To my horror, I came face to face with Prince Valentin.

  “Your Highness,” I curtsied, suddenly grateful I wore a dress with sleeves this long. He gave a small nod.

  “What is a girl like you doing in the kitchen at this time of day?” he asked coolly, his deep brown eyes strongly resembling Cyprian’s.

  “I was giving myself a tour of this grand castle,” I said.

  “Well, I don’t think you know where anything is. Let me give you a tour.” He offered a bent elbow. I looked down at my arms, feeling a rise of panic. The knives were hidden in my right sleeve.

  “I’ll be fine,” I assured him, turning away. As I did, with my back towards him, I switched the knives to my left sleeve.

  “I insist.”

  Feeling calmer now that the knives were switched to my other sleeve, I hooked my arm in his. I looked up; he was nearly a foot taller than me.

  We started to walk. Prince Valentin stopped by every door, explaining what was inside and when the rooms were used.

  “This is the Great Hall.” He motioned for the doors to be opened, which two guards did quickly. Inside was a long, narrow room, with four long tables laid out. People sat there, finishing up their breakfasts.

  Next was the buttery, boudoir, and then he took me to the solar in the leftmost part of the castle.

  “These are the royal quarters, I believe?” I asked, and he glanced at me warily.

  “Yes. You seem interested?”

  “Actually, in Astodia, they’re located in a separate tower,

  Your Highness,” I said with a nonchalant shrug—dismissing

  his indirect accusation. “It’s better guarded that way.”

  “These section of the castle is heavily guarded, if you must know,” he said. “I understand you’re still bitter about the alliance, which is why you’re picking at petty things.”

  How dare he!

  “Lives were lost,” I said in a deadly calm—even though sparks were starting to pop inside the pit of my stomach.

  “All for good cause.” He stopped walking, turning around to face me with five feet of space separating us. Valentin held his hands behind his back. Good cause? I felt the cool metal blade slip down my sleeve, landing between my fingertips. “Think of it this way: now you can go back empty handed, knowing you did all you could, but you still lost the war.”

  “The war hasn’t happened yet,” I said, setting my jaw. “I’ll find a way to prevent it.” Prince Valentin gave a humorless laugh.

  “We all know it’s coming, and to be honest, everyone knows the little queen-to-be has no chance. You might as well raise your white flags now.” I stared at him icily. “Shall we resume the tour?”

  “I think I’ve seen enough for today, Your Highness,” I said, bending into a mock curtsy. I didn’t bother walking back with him. I let the prince stand by himself in the middle of the hallway, and finally realized why his brothers didn’t enjoy his presence.

  TWENTY FOUR

  Night fell upon us faster than I realized. I waited in my room, packing up important necessities. I’d asked for a fresh pair clothes, ridding myself of the long dress. The door to my chambers were knocked on twice.

  “Come in.”

  The door creaked open, Xavier stepping in. He shut the door firmly behind him.

  “Are you nervous?”

  “Nervous to steal from a king?” I let out a laugh. “Please. You may not believe me, but sneaking around was what I did for a living once upon a time.”

  Xavier smiled. “Do you know where to look?”

  I kept myself from throwing my arms around him.

  “I have an idea.”

  “Oh, an idea.” He crossed his arms over his chest, dark hair curling against his cheekbones. He’d shaved when we arrived here, but hadn’t bothered cutting his hair.

  “Yes.” I tossed him a knife, which he caught, slipping it into his boot. “Ready?”

  “I was born ready.”

  “Are Carac and the rest of the crew by the ship?” I asked as we met outside of my chambers. Jax nodded.

  “Just in case something happens, they’ve already prepared

  the ship.”

  “Do we have supplies?”

  We were headed towards the left wing . . . the “heavily guarded” section of the castle.

  “Do you know where this so-called study is?”

  “It’s guarded, so we must be discreet. Isabel, did you get the mixture?”

>   “I always carry a vial with me.” She reached into her shirt, pulling it out. The clear glass glinted as she twisted it between her fingers. “Close to my heart.”

  It was a mixture of henbane, opium, hemlock, mandragora, and ivy. She’d learned how to create the anesthetic from a few monks she met years ago.

  “Isabel, you’re up,” Xavier said to her as we stood around the corner. Four guards sat in the middle of the hallway. We pressed our backs flat against the wall as Isabel took the pitcher from Xavier, and the cups. Slowly, she approached them, pulling up a chair.

  Please accept it. If they rejected, we’d have to pull out our weapons in the middle of the corridor, and that would attract more attention than we wanted.

  Jax let out a breath as we heard the guards laugh—Isabel had told a joke. I peeked over to see her set down the cups, pouring a brownish liquid inside. She set hers aside, and as she poured it into the four other cups, I saw the vial glint in the bottom over her sleeve as she slipped drops into every one of them.

  “You’re going to have to drink first, lassie,” one of them said. She raised it with a smile, taking a sip. They waited for a reaction, and when nothing happened, they grabbed their own cups, taking swigs.

  It was a matter of minutes before the four of them slumped forward onto the tables. Their drinks sloshed everywhere.

  The cups crashed to the ground.

  “Nice work,” I said, stepping over the bodies. “So much for ‘heavily guarded’.”

  “It was easier than I expected,” Isabel shrugged. “Now what?”

  “Jax and Xavier stand guard,” I ordered. They split up, taking watch on each end of the corridor. “The King and queen are in one of the rooms, and the princes and princess are in five others. Try not to infiltrate those,” I instructed, prompting Xavier to roll his eyes.

  Isabel started checking each door, trying to peek through the cracks.

  “This won’t work,” she stepped back, “we have to break in.”

  “There must be some way to tell . . .” Isabel stood back, clearing her throat. I turned to her. “What?”

  “The patterns,” she pointed. I followed her finger towards the raised wood. Some of the doors had two headed drakons with their necks intertwined on top, and the others bore just one. “I think we know which ones are the royal chambers.”

  “So the study will be two headed. We’ll have to pick randomly.”

  “Or just count down,” Isabel offered. “This one belongs to the king and queen.” She pointed at the door the guards sat closest to. “It’s either this or this.” She pointed to the doors on either side of private chambers.

  “Pick one and go with it,” I whispered. She nodded. Isabel knocked on the door.

  “Isabel!” I hissed, horrified. “What are you doing?”

  “Wait.”

  Nothing.

  “It’s this one,” she said. “If there were someone inside, they would’ve opened the door.”

  She grabbed the golden knob, pushing the door open.

  Isabel was right. By chance, we ended up in the right place.

  The room was circular. A large mahogany desk sat in the center, rows of cabinets and shelves on the surrounding walls. Isabel stuck her head out.

  “Come on in,” she said in a loud whisper. Her voice echoed off the walls, and soon, the four of us stood alone, door shut behind us.

  “Start looking.”

  “Avoid the books,” Jax said. “Trust me, they hold no important information.”

  “Really, Jax?” Isabel raised her eyebrows. He shrugged.

  We split up. I started shuffling through drawers, Jax standing in the doorway on watch. Isabel yanked open cabinets, sliding a polished wooden stool over to climb up on.

  Adrenaline surged through me as I pulled pages out, scanning each of them quickly. As a one-woman job, this would’ve been easy. But there were four of us and a higher risk of getting caught. Anything here would get your head cut off—especially breaking into the king’s private study.

  Sitting behind the desk, I looked through documents older than the king’s grandfather. A map was laid onto the table, a drawing of the four kingdoms. Pieces were strewn about the diagram.

  As I glanced over it, I frowned, coming around the desk to get a better look at the map.

  “I can’t believe this.”

  “What is it?” Xavier asked without looking towards me.

  “Dystalphi and Trella have had an alliance for years.”

  Xavier stopped, turning towards me. “Come again?”

  “The signatures . . . they’ve been planning to overthrow Crea for years!” I set the papers down in disbelief.

  “Didn’t we know that?”

  “Xavier, try to keep up. I bet their army is already thrice the size of ours.”

  “But the king of Trella only died a year ago. How would they know Zinovia was going to be a queen so soon?”

  Maybe it wasn’t about Zinovia being unfit to be queen. Maybe there had been a feud between King Adrean, Tarquin, and Zinovia’s father, one that nobody had known of.

  “King or not, they were prepared to fight for Trella,” I said, rubbing my face. “It’s not only that.”

  “What more could there be?”

  “Not only did the king lie to us . . . they’re planning an attack on Astodia.”

  Xavier came to stand beside me, his fingers tracing the map. “We’ll fight back. We’ll have enough time to build a stronger offense while they focus on Crea.”

  I pointed at Astodia, set between Dystalphi and Crea. Then, I dragged my finger across the water towards Trella, where ship pawns stood waiting halfway across the sea.

  I swallowed, fixing my eyes on Xavier’s gold ones, feeling a wave of nausea rise up.

  “They’re attacking Astodia first.”

  TWENTY FIVE

  There had always been wars between three of the four kingdoms—Astodia, Dystalphi, and Crea. But they’d always been mini-wars, sometimes over a bit of land, and sometimes over resources. These wars never lasted too long: the matters were easily mended. Somewhere in the future, when I’d become part of King Sadim’s army, Dystalphi and Astodia formed an alliance which kept Crea away.

  Trella, on the other hand, never interfered with anyone from the beginning, so the kingdoms never had anything to worry about.

  This war was not a small one. It could not be mended easily. This had been planned years ago, kings plotting together against two kingdoms.

  We couldn’t just change their mind.

  “We have to get back,” I said, pulling open drawers. “This isn’t just a small fight anymore. People will die, more than we ever thought. Astodia is the target,” I said, feeling frantic. “Find the missing page, and we’re leaving. Tonight.”

  “Adalia, calm down,” Xavier said, but I held up a hand.

  “This is no time to be calm. Unless you want two horrible rulers in charge of four kingdoms, you will act fast and help me find that paper.”

  Xavier didn’t push any further. He knew he couldn’t say anything to keep me calm.

  We spent over two hours searching.

  “Nothing,” I finally concluded, sitting back, putting my face in my hands. “We found nothing.”

  “I’m sorry,” Isabel sighed, standing on the opposite end of the desk.

  “We can keep looking,” Jax offered, stepping away from the doorway. He entered the room, bending down to look through a cabinet.

  “That one is full of ancient manuscripts,” Xavier interrupted. “Don’t bother.”

  Frustrated and discouraged, we stood around the table, staring at the map in defeat.

  “This means we have to go home empty handed.” Isabel’s shoulders slumped.

  “Without the weapon, we have no army.”

  They were right. And who knew if we would even make it back alive? With all those dangers out at sea, there was a fifty percent chance we would even make it with such a small crew.

  Out of
spite, I kicked the leg of the desk. Something rattled. My head snapped up and as a thought hit me like a brick.

  Secrets, King Sadim had told me. When you’re at a dead end, always look for secrets.

  The desk.

  I fell to my knees, sliding under the table. I let my hands wander, the tips of my fingers looking for something: a latch, a lever. A button. I searched around the inside, my hands brushing against the edges. Again, nothing.

  Letting out a frustrated sigh, I grabbed the leg, trying to stand up.

  That’s when I felt it. A click. There, right where the table and leg connected was a small switch. Below the drawer in a small space no one would ever notice unless they were look-ing for something. A little, flat surface popped out.

  Sure enough, there it lay. The missing piece. The excitement that filled me at that moment was unexplainable. I grabbed the piece, jumping to my feet and hitting my head in the progress.

  I didn’t even care.

  “Read it,” Xavier urged.

  I read the black, scribbled cursive out loud. “It’s nested in the heart of the darkest mountain; undisturbed for as long as mankind can remember.” I looked up at their mirrored confusion, feeling the same look on my face. “That’s all it says.”

  “One line?”

  “We’ve got the paper,” Xavier said, interrupting, his amber eyes distraught. “We have to go. Now.”

  Jax and Isabel nodded, quickly taking a run around the room, fixing whatever looked out of place. I tried to make sense of the words. Darkest mountain? The only dark mountains that existed in all the four kingdoms were the mountains of Amghadon. So the weapon was located in a mountain, but which one? There were hundreds.

  “A-Adalia,” Isabel said, breaking the silence.

  “What is it now?” I asked, annoyed.

  “Adalia.” This time, the voice belonged to Xavier. I looked up at him, the fear in his voice making me realize the seriousness of whatever the issue was. He jutted his chin towards the entrance of the study.

  Someone was watching us.

  Slowly, I turned around.

  What I saw nearly made me jump out of my skin.