Beauty's Quest

by C. S. Johnson

  Rose winced. “I didn’t see you there,” she said. “You surprised me.”

  “I’ll be sure to avoid it in the future,” Theo assured her. “I know how you hate surprises.”

  Rose arched an eyebrow at him. “You know I have legitimate reasons for that.”

  “I’m teasing you, Rosary.” He reached out to tweak her hair, like he’d done innocently so many times, but he faltered when she recoiled.

  “Well, don’t. I don’t want you to.” Rose then turned away.

  Theo sighed. “I’ll be happy to go and talk to him for you,” he offered.

  Rose was silent for a moment. Theo could see she was mulling it over, and he made no attempt to stop her. He hoped that once they were on the road, she would feel better. Or at least, she would relax some. Her restlessness was understandable, but hardly like her.

  “Maybe it would be better for Philip to go,” Rose said. “He’s the one carrying the money, after all.”

  “I’d be happy to,” Philip said, stepping forward. He grinned at Rose. “Although I hope you know I’m not acting as your royal announcer.”

  Theo frowned. Was Philip trying to make him upset by teasing Rose, especially in a manner he would have done himself?

  He relaxed a bit when he saw Rose roll her eyes and send him off. But the question of Philip’s intentions gnawed at him.

  During the trip from Maltia, Rose and Philip had easily conversed on different kingdom topics at mealtimes, sparred diligently together on their mock battlegrounds, and had studied with Theo and the others over the manuscripts from Thad and the Abbess.

  He’d listened to her stories about growing up with Isra and Ronan, fought with her about sending letters, and accepted chastisement for frequently checking for Virtue or any other hawks carrying messages.

  Philip had done nothing overt to suggest that he was angling for Rose’s hand, or even her heart.

  But he was still a candidate for both, wasn’t he? Theo knew he was only kidding himself if he thought Rose wouldn’t have to worry about marriage at all, especially if she was able to break her curse. And as each day passed, he realized, Philip was becoming more and more of a clear match for Rose.

  A dark shadow crossed over him, interrupting his thoughts.

  “You’re the ones who are wanting to go see Lady Amalia, are you then?”

  Nikolai’s voice carried the weight of duty and the strength of certainty.

  Theo and Rose looked at each other. He gave her a small smile, despite his mood. He knew when she looked for his support.

  “Yes,” Rose spoke up, turning to face the mountain of a man before them. “We’re looking for the Serpent’s Garden.”

  “Trying to get some Thorneback blood, are you?” Nikolai asked. “That’s what most of them want when they come. I’ve never had anyone win over a dragon to give them blood.”

  Rose frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “Dragon’s blood is rare as they come,” Nikolai said. “And that’s for good reason. Do you know how many people die trying to get it? That’s the reason I ask for my pay upfront. There’s no point in getting half of a sale of a drop of dragon’s blood if you don’t survive getting it in the first place. And that’s just half the nuts I talk with.”

  “Surely the rest of them are more fiscally minded?”

  Nikolai’s chest rumbled with muffled laughter. “The other half are worse. They never even plan for getting there. The mountains are rough and the trails can be dangerous. Then there’s Amalia herself,” he said, his voice caressing the name with reverence. “If you can stop staring at her and survive the dragon, there’s still the matter of getting the blood itself. If you get it, you’ll need to carry it. I remember this one fellow ... ”

  Rose watched as the man continued his tales, talking of the different ranges of ignorance and poor preparation his clients had displayed.

  “Why do you still take people, if you’ve never had anyone get the blood?” Theo asked Nikolai. “Especially when you don’t seem to believe anyone ever will?”

  “There’s good money to be made in doing what you can for what you love,” Nikolai replied. “Speaking of which, you’ll be paying me now.”

  “You’ll take us then?” Rose asked.

  “Of course.” He grinned down at her. “I’m not a believer in destiny perhaps, or much else, but I am a believer in good business.”

  “I can’t argue with that,” Rose agreed. “Philip, pay the man.”

  *22*

  ҉

  PHILIP LEANED DOWN close to Rose as they took another break. “I didn’t think we would be leaving right away,” he admitted.

  “It’s better if we keep going,” Rose told him. “After all, we had plenty of time to rest while we were sailing over here.”

  “Not that you took the time actually to rest,” Philip reminded her.

  She glared at him. “I had enough,” she said. “And if we don’t keep going, I might get even more after my birthday.”

  “Enough for a lifetime, I’d imagine,” Philip replied with a laugh.

  Rose punched his arm. “You wouldn’t like it if you were in my position,” she snapped.

  “I am not in your position, Rose,” Philip agreed. “But humor is a good way to defend yourself from despair. I’m not trying to make you feel bad.”

  Rose decided it was best to ignore him. She turned away from him as Ethan and Theo finally came back into sight, and Sophia plunked her bag down on the ground next to her.

  “Whew!” Sophia murmured. “I never thought I would say this, but I almost envy the guards we left behind.”

  “They’ll be fine in Poiyana for the next week or so,” Rose said, brushing the issue aside. She’d left Roderick, Lannister, and Captain Locke behind, under orders to look for Virtue, and to gather information and make plans for the return trip to Rhone.

  It would not be easy getting back to Rhone, Rose thought. Even though she had not needed to spend the winnings they’d earned on Maltia to get to the Romani territory, the cost of lodgings for several days, supplies, and Nikolai’s services were going to be hard on them.

  And while Rose knew traveling by boat would be quickest, she was more than determined to find a trade route over the land. Battling the elements on the road was easier than getting tossed around on the turbulence of the sea.

  “Maybe Ethan was onto something earlier. I could have used a day to get my land legs back, especially if I’d known I’d be scaling up a mountain today,” Sophia said, nodding over to where her brother was, as Theo took Ethan’s pack and fastened it around his own waist.

  “The mountains only get higher, too,” Nikolai called back. “We’ll walk up and down them for three days, before we arrive at the mountain spine. And there, tucked into a small valley, will be the garden.”

  “Three days doesn’t sound like a long time,” Rose said. “So that’s some good news.”

  “It’ll be the longest three days of your life,” Nikolai promised her.

  “It won’t be my hardest,” Rose shot back, standing up tall. “I can guarantee you that.”

  Nikolai gazed at her. “You’ve known heartbreak before, then, haven’t you?”

  “What?” Rose narrowed her eyes quizzically. “What do you mean?”

  “Your heart has been broken,” Nikolai said, stating it rather than asking. “I can tell. It’s a rare one who has the ability to suffer greatly without having been tried before.”

  “I have no heart to break anymore,” Rose answered. “Now, let’s get on with the journey, shall we?” She eyed him pointedly. “If these are going to be the longest three days of my life, then let’s at least get on with it already.”

  Nikolai nodded and directed them toward the next part of the journey. “We’ve got several hours yet till sundown,” he said. “Hopefully they, and we, will go fast.”

  As Rose continued to press on, Theo managed to catch up to Rose and Nikolai at the front of the group.

  “What ar
e you doing up here?” Rose asked. “I thought you were helping Ethan.”

  “He’s tired of my company,” Theo told her. “Sophia’s taking a turn watching him. Although I do still have his baggage.”

  “Not feeling rejected, are you?” Rose asked with a half-smile. “Or used, maybe?”

  “Not at all,” Theo assured her. “He’s mooning over Penelope still, and while working through some of the song lyrics he has planned was a novel experience, I’m more than happy to hand the task over to Sophia for a bit.”

  Nikolai laughed. “You must have had your own heart broken, too.”

  “All hearts are broken,” Theo replied.

  “Spoken like a man of the cloth,” Nikolai snorted.

  “I grew up in the care of the church and I have been educated in various creeds and catechisms, and found them to be true. My brother is going to be taking his priestly vows soon as well.” Theo shrugged. “So you would not be far off.”

  “But your heart hasn’t merely been broken,” Nikolai said. “It’s been smashed.”

  Rose glanced over at Theo, watching him as he went into silence. There was the matter of his parents, she thought. And the hardship of being away from his only brother while he was with her.

  “God seems to like working with broken people best,” Theo finally remarked, although Rose wondered if it was somewhat forced.

  Before she could examine her claim more clearly, Theo changed the subject. “You seem to know a lot about broken hearts. Has yours been shattered, too?”

  “Yes.” Nikolai nodded. “And mine is destined to keep breaking.”

  “Is that why you’ve given up on the fur trade?” Rose asked. “And that’s why you only take people up to see the garden now?”

  “Heard about that, have you? It seems like you’ve done your research on me.”

  “We had to,” Rose assured him.

  “I’ll take it as a compliment, then.” He turned his face into the fading sunlight. “But no. I stopped trading a long time ago. There’s no need for me to do any more than I have to. Traveling to the Serpent’s Garden earns me enough of a living. If you don’t need something, you don’t need it. Pure and simple.”

  “Is that why you don’t believe in God?” Theo asked. “You feel like you don’t need him?”

  Rose was a bit surprised by Theo’s forwardness, but after a moment she reconsidered. Nikolai had a forthright personality, and he seemed to like discussing the darker sides of life. As soon as she saw his face light up with the challenge, she knew Theo’s instincts had been spot on.

  That is just like him, though. Rose recalled other times when she had relied on Theo’s skill for reading others. It was not just useful in battles, but in everyday life, it seemed.

  “Oh, I’m sure that he’s real enough,” Nikolai said. “I even admire him, from time to time. But I have no loyalty to him.”

  “Why?” Theo asked. “That’s a more uncommon position to take on the matter.”

  Nikolai frowned. “He is the one who broke my heart, and he is the one who keeps breaking it.”

  Theo went silent for a moment, while Rose almost laughed. “That explains the obsession with that particular topic,” Rose muttered under her breath.

  But, as much as she hated the scraggly guide’s intruding questions, she sympathized with him. Was she not in the same category as he, when it came to belief in a higher power?

  She had grown up, before learning of her curse, in the church. Rose could remember being enthralled with the story of God, and how he loved his children even though they were rebellious and proud and stubborn; how he’d loved them so much he’d sent his son to die for them all, even after all the terrible things they’d done.

  But then she’d grown up. It was one thing to die for someone, Rose thought. But she had little evidence that he was still alive and still cared. After all, if dying for the sins of the world was so easy for him, why was it so hard to remove a vengeful sorceress’ curse? What kind of loving god would allow her curse to remain?

  Yes, Rose thought, I can definitely see where Nikolai is coming from on that matter.

  She only half-listened to the rest of Theo and Nikolai’s conversation, as she wondered what kind of curse Nikolai had on his heart that made him declare his own form of sovereignty from God and society.

  Rose allowed her curiosity about her new guide to drift to the back of her mind as they continued on their journey to see Amalia, the Dragonkeeper guardian.

  Nikolai was patient enough with them as they made their way up and down the mountain trail, but at the end of their days, he would look off into the distance with impatience in his eyes.

  Rose wondered at his stamina, and began to envy him more and more as they continued. The mountain weather was cold and impassive during the day, and even more frigid at night. Tempers were hot and short, and more than one yelling battle ensued. Rest became an elusive end, and Rose had, more often than not, to shut out her thoughts by focusing on her plans.

  Over and over she repeated them to herself: Slay the dragon, get its blood, go back to Rhone. Free her mother, and then herself.

  On the morning of the third day, she woke up while it was still dark. The eerie silence of the night just before it turned to morning unnerved her. The stillness was just as disconcerting.

  Rose found comfort at once, as she found Nikolai looking off into the distance once more. It was then she recalled her initial question. What is Nikolai’s curse?

  Before she could move to ask, he glanced in her direction. His large eyes were expressive and joyous, even though the bags under his eyes hinted at a lack of sleep.

  “She’s here.”

  At those two simple words, spoken in such lovely expression and vivid voice, Rose knew all at once why Nikolai suffered so.

  He was in love with Amalia.

  Rose was almost tempted to watch Nikolai’s face as the dawn brought forth the cherub who guarded the Serpent’s Garden. His beard seemed to still along with his breathing, and his gaze never wavered despite the brilliant light.

  But as the light sparking and pouring into her vision from the deepest part of darkness caught her intrigue, once Rose saw Amalia, she could no longer look anywhere else.

  Amalia was a dazzling beauty; she wielded power without moving a finger, even as she tamed the world around her. Her long hair was dark at the top, its long length flowing easily into gold, crowned by a tiara of wings and light.

  As Rose adjusted to seeing the bright light around Amalia, she saw the angel’s gaze drift to Nikolai. Rose had a feeling they were having their own silent conversation, much like the ones she shared with Theo.

  Rose took advantage of the moment to study the Dragonkeeper. She was tall and stood at ease; there was nothing to suggest she would engage Rose in battle. While power and light seemed to swivel around her, Rose felt no threat coming from her. And she had no weapon, or at least none that Rose could see. Like Nikolai, she carried a staff with her. Seeing the similar designs in Amalia and Nikolai’s staffs, Rose had to wonder if it had been a gift from Nikolai.

  “My Lady,” Nikolai finally murmured, his voice warmer and softer than Rose ever believed possible. Especially after three days of having him yell at me and the others, Rose thought with a smile.

  “I’ve been waiting for you, Princess Aurora of Rhone.”

  Even Amalia’s smile was perfect, Rose noticed, as she turned to meet Amalia’s gaze. “I hope I haven’t been keeping you long.”

  “Not at all,” Amalia assured her. “Indeed, I have been stationed here for many lifetimes by My Lord. I serve as a guard, keeping the serpent dragons inside, should they be tempted to escape the thorny, fiery gates of their home.”

  Rose felt her hand on her sword tighten instinctively. “I would hope that, given your expectation of my arrival, you would allow me access to see them.”

  “There are other gardens which are blocked from human passage,” Amalia said. “But this one is only for keeping t
he dragons inside. Many men and women have come to seek the power dragon’s blood has to offer.”

  “Nikolai told me no one has succeeded in slaying the dragon.”

  “Should it matter?” Amalia asked. “You will not be deterred with that knowledge. You learned at a young age not to listen to the crowds, instead choosing to take your own path and seek out counsel from those closest to you.”

  “When you put it that way,” Rose muttered, “I guess you’re right.”

  “In here, as a condition of your entrance, you will face your greatest challenge, which, for you, is also your greatest weakness.” Amalia glanced down at Rose’s hand, still clenched tightly around her sword. “I see you are more than ready to go in.”

  Rose nodded.

  “I’m prepared to go as well,” Philip spoke up from behind.

  Rose nearly jumped. She’d forgotten about her friends; Amalia’s presence had overwhelmed her senses.

  “Me, too.” Theo’s sword clanged by his side.

  Amalia looked amused. “You are all allowed to pass,” she said. “But the promise applies to you as well: You will face your greatest challenge, and greatest weakness.”

  “I accept,” Theo said, taking his place beside Rose.

  “I do as well,” Philip said.

  “I must inform you, Sir Theo,” Amalia warned, “if you go, you will not be able to kill the dragon.”

  “What do you mean?” Theo asked.

  “While revenge hides in your heart, fear still plays a deeper game.” Before he could ask another question, she turned to Philip. “You, Prince Philip, are also allowed the right to go, even though your biggest fear is misplaced in this instance. You can still help, of course, and your virtue in this matter commends you.”

  Philip glanced over at Rose, who shrugged and stepped forward. “We’re ready.”

  Fear gripped her briefly, but years of battling had taught Rose to use it to sharpen her senses. “I’m ready to slay the dragon.”