by Dyan Chick
I hoped that was the case, thinking that maybe if I did something wrong, she would speak up. Imagining that she was there to guide me if needed, gave me the confidence to allow my instinct to take over. Cormac had encouraged me to follow my instincts when we were chasing monsters. According to him, intuition was stronger with Autumn magic. Taking a deep breath, I pressed one fingertip onto the top of the stone feeling the smooth, cool texture for a brief second before lifting my hand away quickly, testing to see if anything happened.
I had dealt enough with magic in the last several days to be wary of it. I knew it was something you shouldn't take lightly and I knew it was something that could just as easily harm as it could do good. I waited for a moment and looked down at my finger. It seemed to be normal, touching the stone had no impact on me so far. Feeling braver, I reach my hand out again and wrapped my fingers around the stone, getting a good hold of it before gently lifting it out of the box.
It was heavier than I expected, taking effort for me to hold it despite its small size fitting easily in the palm of my hand. The surface was incredibly smooth and it was cold like ice. It was a fitting stone to represent the magic of the Winter Court. As the thought crossed my mind, the stone seemed to warm in my hand. The stone began to glow, giving off a puddle of light like a lantern.
I narrowed my eyes and lowered my face a bit closer to the rock so I could study it. Interestingly, I could see my reflection almost perfectly staring back at me. It was as if I were holding a tiny mirror. Suddenly, a small shock broke through the stone into my fingertips, but I didn't pull my hand away. Something told me this was what I was meant to do so I continued to stare at my reflection and then I closed my other hand around the rock, sandwiching it between both hands until it was completely encircled by my palms. For a moment everything in my head seem to spin and I felt as if I was turning in circles as fast as possible. I squeezed the stone tighter, not wanting to risk dropping it at the sensation even though I knew I was still standing still.
As the spinning sensation subsided, the room around me began to shift. The darkness bleeding away to reveal a well-lit sitting room. This was familiar, it reminded me of when Tristan had shown me his memory. Seeing as how I was holding the stone that was the embodiment of Winter magic, I supposed I could be inside anyone's memory.
I looked around the room I was standing in and realized I was alone. Wood paneled walls met a glossy wood floor. Dark red velvet curtains were drawn allowing sunlight to pour in through a series of large windows along one wall. Across from the windows was a double doorway and the doors were closed. The room had no furniture, just me standing in the center of it waiting for something.
Just then, the doors swung open and two guards in Winter uniforms entered the room taking positions on either side of the doors. Behind them, came four females in fine gowns. The fabric whispered across the floor as they walked into the room. Each female wearing one of the four colors that I had come to associate with each of the courts. One in gold, one in green, one in pink, and one in silver. The females in the dresses took position standing in a row with their backs to the windows. I moved to the side, getting against the other wall so I could watch them without interruption. As I stood waiting, the females adjusted their dresses smoothing wrinkles and tugging on sleeves until a sound from outside in the hall made them all stand at attention. I turned to see who the newcomer was. I was greeted by a slender, blonde female in a flowing silver gown. She didn't look older than the others, but in the way she carried herself I knew she had wisdom beyond theirs. As she entered, all of the waiting females dropped into low curtsies.
"Rise," the female in silver said.
The others stood and fixed their gazes on the speaker.
"Welcome to the Winter palace, today is the first day of the second part of Queen's Trial. You four have been selected out of the original twenty-four candidates to advance to this round. One of you will replace me as Queen. From this moment on, you are not friends. Any alliance you had prior to your arrival here should be dissolved. While I encourage fair play, there are no rules in Queen's Trial. You would be best served to use your skills to your advantage without worrying about how others will be affected. Queen's trial will separate you, showing us the true leader who is meant to rule the land. Being Queen is not an easy position. And only the strongest can survive wielding the magic of all four courts. I will be available for one hour each week to meet with each of you privately. Other than that, you are on your own." The Queen looked at all of the candidates, her gaze lingering on each of them for a few seconds before moving to the next. Then she spun on her heel, silver skirts swishing in her wake as she exited the room. The doors remained open, but none of the candidates moved. After what seemed like several long minutes, someone spoke. "I suppose that means we go back to our rooms?" I looked along the line to identify the speaker and had no trouble realizing that of all the candidates, my mother was the one who broke the silence.
The scene blurred then returned me to the same room. Only this time, there were two females. My mother, in trousers and a torn, bloody tunic was facing the other female. Her clothes were similar, and just as destroyed as my mother's. The second female was crying. My mother walked over to her and placed her hand on the other candidate's back. "It's going to be alright," she said. "You made it through. You can't give up now, Maya."
Maya sniffed and looked up at my mother. "Why would you say that to me? If I quit, you have one less candidate in your way. One less threat to your crown."
"That's not how I want to win," she said. "You can't let her get to you. What she did had nothing to do with the trial. You did everything correctly. She's the one who should quit. We can't have a Queen on the throne who stoops to betrayal and hate to win her crown."
"I don't want this bad enough to die for it, Samira." Maya wiped her tears. "None of us are Queen yet and we've already seen candidates die. Why must they make this so brutal?"
"You know that every death has been because the candidate either wasn't paying attention, like Fawn in the woods. She shouldn't have gone off the trail. We were all warned." Samira, my mother, lifted the other female's chin. "Or they were sabotaged. We can't give in. Can you imagine what it would be like to live under her reign?"
Maya wiped her nose and nodded. The tears finally gone. "You're right."
"I know what they told us," Samira said. "But there is no reason to stoop to their level. One of us can win this without playing dirty."
"Why are you helping me?" Maya asked. "Not that I don't appreciate it, but you don't owe me anything."
"No, I don't," she said. "But I want what is best for all of us. And I could see you on that throne and I would celebrate your victory. You have integrity. And that matters most of all."
The room faded around me returning me to the dark cave. I could hear my breathing and feel my heart thundering in my chest. I looked down at the silver stone and my brow furrowed. Why did it show me that? I thought the Queen had brought me here to help me learn how to use my powers. Instead, I was getting memories long past that didn't help me at all.
The dizzy feeling returned, and I grabbed hold of the rock tighter and braced myself to keep from swaying. Taking slow, deliberate breaths, I prepared to see another memory. Maybe this one would show me how my mother had learned to control her Winter magic.
I was thrown into another room, this time it was a bedroom that I didn't recognize. A simple bed stood against one wall covered in luxurious fabrics. Across from the bed was a fireplace surrounded by a few chairs. At first, I thought I was alone in this room as I had been in the previous room, but a sound made me turn. My eyes widened in surprise as I realized I was looking at myself and I wasn't alone.
My cheeks heated and my muscles tensed as I watched a different version of me running my fingers through Cormac's long dark hair. Our mouths were pressed together our bodies pressed even tighter. We both still had our clothes on, but this was far too intimate a moment for anyone to be wi
tnessing even if it was myself.
I turned away, trying to give this version of me some privacy. This wasn't a memory because this had never happened. I had never been with Cormac.
Flutters filled my stomach as a little voice in my head told me it wasn't because I didn't want to be with Cormac. I looked back at the couple and a small thrill ran through me as Cormac slid his hand up my tunic. I pressed my lips together trying to maintain control of myself as I grappled to discover what was happening. This wasn't the first time I had seen myself with someone I hadn't been with. Then it clicked, this wasn't a memory, this might be the future. As soon as that thought entered my mind, the scene faded and I found myself once again holding the stone in the middle of the dark cave.
Chapter Five
Quickly, I set the silver stone back into its box and moved my hands away from it. My breathing was heavy. I was conflicted about what I had just seen. Of course I was interested in Cormac, but he had always been so careful with me to keep me at arm’s length. My fingers trembled as I guided the lid back on top of the box closing away the stone from the Winter Court. It hadn't shown me what I wanted. Instead, it had shown me two memories and a flash that might be my future. How was that supposed to help me learn how to harness my magic?
I wondered if I was missing something or if I was supposed to have selected one of the other stones. I turned to look at the three remaining boxes just as I was going to reach for one, they slid from view in the wall that had previously existed closed over them encasing them behind stone.
The ground trembled. I took a few steps back, away from the place where the boxes had been. Did I anger the goddess? Suddenly, light appeared in the room I turned just as the torches were relighting and once again, the cave was sparkling as if millions of stars danced above me and around me. Leaving me confused and reeling from what I had just seen.
"You can't share what you learned here today," the Queen's said. I turned to find her emerging from the shadows. As I had suspected, she'd likely been there the entire time.
"I don't think I learned anything," I said.
"You did, but sometimes the goddess speaks to us in ways that aren't so obvious. Whatever she intended for you to learn was passed on to you today."
I wasn't so sure about that. In fact, I worried that I had made the wrong choice and that my inexplicable fascination with Tristan, even after everything he'd done, was costing me more than I bargained for. I should've selected a different stone then maybe I would be standing here with answers instead of standing here feeling more helpless than I had before I arrived.
"Come," the Queen said. "I have one more thing to show you." She turned and walked out of the temple room back into the twisting tunnels of the cave.
I followed, feeling nothing but dread seeping in to my very core. My arms and legs felt heavy and my mind was foggy. What I had seen didn't make sense and wasn't going to help me. Disappointed in both myself and the situation, I resigned myself to focusing on whatever it was the Queen was showing me next. Perhaps there was still a way I could benefit from this excursion.
After several more twists and turns, a cool breeze blew past me and I inhaled the sweetness of fresh, clean air. Ahead, I could just make out the opening for the tunnel and with each step more and more sunlight filtered in, washing away the dark, damp, gloom of this place.
I followed the Queen out of the mouth of the cave, emerging into a grassy meadow surrounded on all sides by steep rock formations. We were in a valley surrounded by high, craggy mountains. The cave we'd come through seemed to be the only way in or out. How had anyone even found this place?
Soft green grass was dotted with white and red wildflowers. Somewhere nearby there was water as I could hear the gentle bubbling of the stream. If I were a goddess, this would be my sanctuary. Not that dark cave deep underground. No, I wouldn't want to be trapped under all that rock. I would want to be out here where I was free.
Sunlight warmed my skin and I could practically taste the sweetness of honeysuckle in the air. A gentle breeze rippled the fabric of my dress, reminding me that I was in the tattered and dirty remains of what I had worn when I fled from Tiana. Despite her regal appearance and her position, the Queen had never once flinched at how I was dressed. I had a feeling she was more like me than I could imagine and wasn't much impressed by exterior appearances; facades that some might don to impress her.
The Queen paused in front of the stone that was nearly as tall as her. It was part of many stones that formed a circle in the center of the meadow. These had not grown from the hills in this pattern accidentally, they were placed here. As I moved to her side, I joined her in quiet reflection. I felt the weight of this place. An honest and somber feeling settled over me as my eyes traveled across the spiral of tall rocks. This was a sacred place, an ancient place. Deep down, I knew I was one of the few who had ever seen it.
"When I die, the current Queen will bring my remains here and a new stone will be summoned for me. This is a place of great power and great contemplation. Every Queen since the beginning has been laid to rest here when her time comes to an end."
I stared at the circle of stones, in awe at the sheer number of them laid out in front of me. Dozens of Queens had ruled in Faerie. Each of them giving their time to rule and care for the lands I had just learned existed.
How was I going to pull this off? Even if I were to win whatever it was that was expected of me during Queen's Trial, how could I live up to these expectations? I had only just discovered I was Fae.
I felt small, overwhelmed and unworthy. "I don't even know the first thing about Faerie, or how to use magic, or the traditions and expectations of this place." I could almost feel the accusations rising from the spirits of the Queens who had come before me. I felt like a fraud. "I shouldn't be here. I shouldn't be participating in Queen's Trial. Self-preservation isn't the reason you rise to become a leader."
"No, it's not," the Queen said. "But knowing that is not the reason, is one of the things that will give you strength. You weren't raised for this job. And in some ways that's a blessing. You will be able to look at problems with fresh eyes, unencumbered by the moral constructs and social institutions that have plagued Faerie for generations. That's why I hid you away."
"I thought you had me away so they wouldn't kill me," I said, confusion causing my brow to furrow.
The Queen turned and looked at me. "Any female who can control her magic is very good at understanding her body. I could feel you growing inside me within the first few days of conception. I could have stopped it right then and there, but I didn't. I'm not sure why I let it happen in the first place, but now I'm starting to think that maybe this was what I wanted all along. Maybe I hoped you would return. The Winter Court was the first to leave, but if something doesn't change, they won't be the last. If the four courts are severed, we will be weak and it will be easier for the creatures of the Under to find their way to us. There were dark times once before, in the times before the Queens. The creatures of the Under passed between worlds without care. We keep them in check now, sending our best warriors, like Cormac, to defend everyone. But if our borders are closed down the way they are between Faerie and the Winter Court, resources will dwindle and the Under will rise. We maintain balance and peace by working together. We were never meant to be divided."
"And you think I'm the one who's going to help keep the peace? I don't know anything about diplomacy."
"You spent the last several days getting Cormac and Tristan to travel together and work toward a common goal. You know how they feel about each other. Clearly, you have a gift for diplomacy," she said.
"That doesn't count." I shook my head. "Tristan was using me. He wanted something from me, he still does. He went along with it for his own purpose not because I compelled him to be nice to Cormac."
"You don't see it yet, how much power you actually have," she said. "But you will." She turned away from me, her gaze focusing back on the circle of stones in front of
us.
I swallowed, and turned away from her to look at the reminder in front of me. These were the past, the legacy left by the Queens who had come before my mother. There was an energy vibrating around me and it made me feel connected to the very fabric of nature. I couldn't explain the sensation, but I welcomed it. I grappled with my thoughts, trying to think of words powerful enough to explain how this place made me feel.
My arms and legs hummed with gentle electricity, a charge that reminded me of the feeling I got right before I used my magic. Only this time, it wasn't clawing, it wasn't painful. It was ever present, and somehow soothing. I wondered if that was how magic was supposed to feel. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, forcing the sensation to memory. I wanted to take this back with me, every emotion, every thought, every sensation. I knew this was meant to be a lesson and I wanted to learn.
Slowly, I opened my eyes and glanced over at the Queen. She was looking at me again, a smile on her lips. "You can feel it, can't you?"
I nodded.
"We should get back," she said. "Speak of what you've seen to no one. But think on it often, as these are the best lessons I can give you. When we return, we will not be able to speak again until you make it back in the top four. And even then, all of our conversations must be in an official capacity."
I nodded, my heart already aching at the thought of departure. I'd been so lonely in the human realm, even when I was surrounded by people. With my newfound companions, that ache in my chest had vanished, replaced by a sense of fulfillment and peace. The thought of leaving them behind to return to the frozen Winter Court left me feeling hollow.
The Queen began to walk toward the cave and I followed with heavy footsteps. The Queen paused in front of the entrance to the cave. "Stay close, as soon as we are out of the sacred space, we can slide back to the palace." Her tone was formal and stiff. Returning to the voice of a Queen to her subject rather than that of a mother to her daughter.
