"What did you do!" the sorcerer cried.
The king closed the distance between them, his soldiers stood immobile as they watched their counterparts writhe in pain at Ronald's feet. Without his instruments his spell was useless and from the look on his face he knew it, yet a slow maniacal smile spread across his lips.
"You are a native of Aldor, your ancestors served the kings before me. How did you come to learn this art?" the king demanded; his sceptre aimed at the man's splotchy face.
The man chuckled, "how long did you think you could keep us from this power? You hoard it for yourself so you can lord it over us! Well no more, no more!"
The king reached out and wrapped his large hand around his wiry neck, lifting him off the ground. The action put an end to his fitful threats. As his feet dangled in the air and he gagged, the king held his gaze.
"You call that power?" his voiced boomed as he tossed him to the floor with a disgusted sneer, "your kind has no place in this kingdom."
He turned and marched back to his throne where he sat once more, ignoring the fearful stares all around the room.
"I declare Ronald Aim, guilty of all charges," he pounded his sceptre against the floor, "under the laws of Aldor, you Ronald Aim are to be banished from this kingdom on a day set by the king."
“All hail Maldeev, the true king of Saharia!” the man shouted as he was dragged out of the throne room, kicking and screaming.
“The darkness is coming! The darkness is here!”
The king turned to one side of the room where his old friend Sir Drafer was sitting and their eyes met in mutual concern.
The king stomped to his chambers with Lord Drafer at his heels. He shrugged out of his long coat and tossed it aside angrily.
“We have to find the source of light!” he said through gritted teeth.
Drafer was the image of control as he perched himself on the edge of a chair. He chest rose and fell on a deep sigh.
“We have been seeking the source for a long time. Since Enol, your father has been searching, we have runners all over Saharia. We have lost countless men to the search. Could it be that the prophets were wrong?”
The king glared at Drafer, “do not despise the prophets of El,” he warned, “the source of light is real, I believe it.”
“You said it yourself, Enol told your father that it was already here, but yet nothing has changed. The darkness is still expanding and now the people are more disenchanted than ever.”
The king turned away, his hands on his hips, his expression troubled.
“Then what do you suggest?”
“We need to prepare for the possibility of war, without a fabled light source on our side to help us.”
The king started to protest and Drafer stopped him with a lifted hand. “I know how you feel about that. You have managed to maintain peace in Saharia for a long time and for that I give you your due respect. But… without this mythical source of light we have no weapon against our enemies and if word gets out that the light stones are losing power, we will be sitting ducks against these mountains. You heard that man, an Aldorian publicly pledging loyalty to Maldeev. How much more like him are out there, walking our streets, congregating at the temple.”
“Well I believe El and I know the source of light is real.”
Drafer sighed, “well alright. Then you need to find your prophet. If he is true, he should be able to direct you to it.”
The king looked at Drafer from the corner of his eyes, his faithlessness was troubling to him. He had learned from Enol himself to never trust a man whose faith was wavering, for he is a man in search of a comforting truth and those are the moments when any truth would do.
“You are right,” Kalgary said, “I need to find that prophet. In the meantime, I must ensure our men are ready and our defenses ready to face anything.”
“Good idea,” Drafer arose from the chair and stood upright, “well then. After all I have seen today, there is much I must report to the North. We too must prepare for what seems to be coming.”
“Please tell Pearl to increase patrols throughout the territory, especially the farmlands. We need to find and contain any sign of a breach and the farm lands are our least secure area. If she requires more men, tell her to send word to me.”
Drafer bowed, “as you wish your majesty.”
✽✽✽
The prince rubbed his hands together like a child on gift day as he paced behind his three minions. Their grotesque frames hunched over a large book, quills in hand.
"So?"
"My lord it is almost ready," one of the creatures crooned.
"Do we have the lock of a traitor’s hair?" another asked.
The prince reached into a small pouch at his side and removed a jet-black lock of hair, it was Serin's. He had taken it from him long before most of it had fallen off. The prince smirked at the thought, that was the easiest thing to obtain. All he had to do was inject just enough malice in the heart of the youth and convince him that everyone he once trusted was against him and just like that, he had a traitor. A long bony finger plucked the lock of hair from his hand and laid it aside on the table.
"What about the blood of one who has died for a cause?"
Haddin withdrew a vial of dark blood and placed it on the table. The young lady soldier who had helped his enemies into his palace and cost him his prize. He was glad she could help him with his goals in her death, having fought against it in her life.
"The heart of your strongest warrior?"
With that the man who had been watching silently from the far corner of the room, bound to the wall with chains and gagged, started pulling against his bonds and grunting. The prince winked at him.
"You are doing your prince a great service," he said, the panic in the man's eyes warmed his heart.
To be honest sacrificing this man would mean a huge loss to his army. He was one the best warriors Dravia had, but finding his mother and setting her free was at the top of his priorities now. Now that he was king and the council trembled to question him, he was well on his way to accomplishing the task he had dreamed of completing since his youth.
"Do not remove the heart until we get the most important piece. The purest stone forged by the purest heart," he said.
“That one is especially important. Bonded with the light stone we got from the ring, this will make my weapon impervious to the pull of the dark forest and capable of moving past the border.”
"But master where will you get such an ingredient?”
“Have you ever heard of an Eastern Strider?”
“But those are extremely rare, almost extinct.”
He grinned, "Oh do not worry, my most dangerous warrior has assured me he knows just where to find me one. I have it all under control. I want that stone; I won’t have it any other way."
He turned to a picture on the mantle of his lair, an older woman looked back at him with a cruel sneer, looking back at him with cold dark eyes.
“Do not worry mother, I will set you free. Once we locate the key, we will just have to find out where exactly they have hidden you away and together, we will finish what you started.”
Chapter 11
“Good morning little ones,” Ruby greeted cheerily, her wide smile contradicting everything she was feeling inside. But she had to put on a brave face for the little ones, they always seemed to be so attuned to her emotions.
She directed Sir Stafford to place the basket of toys she had brought for them in the center of the room as the group of eager children bounded toward her. She giggled as the tiny hands reached for her, desperate for her attention.
“Alright, everyone will get their hug,” she said sweetly, kneeling down to hold as much as her arms could embrace; she managed to bear hug all seven of them.
“We missed you princess!”
She smiled at the toothless boy dancing on his toes in front of her, “me too Daly, I have missed all of you dearly.”
“What did you bring us?�
�� another asked.
“Getting straight to the point as usual Katrina,” she said.
She stood up and pointed at the basket, “as promised I got you some new toys. The stuffed dolls I sewed myself and the crafted ones that I had specially made for you children”
“I want a doll,” Merrissa shouted, this incited an uproar as they all rushed towards the basket. Ruby sighed.
“No fighting!” she said sternly, stopping their excited uproar immediately.
“Everyone gets one,” she continued, “and there is no rule that says you cannot share. So do not fight over these good gifts made especially for you.”
“Sorry Princess,” said a puppy eyed Daly.
“Miss Pringle,” she turned to the manager of the orphanage who was standing towards the corner of the room watching the children enjoy their new toys.
“Yes Princess?”
“Who has been on their best behavior this week?”
Immediately, silence enveloped the room as the children froze. Ruby smiled at the effect that question always had on them. They had a long-standing rule that the best behaved got a special gift. Ruby’s eyes found Dent, as usual he was sitting by himself in a corner, pouting and avoiding eye contact. Despite his quiet demeanor in a crowd, he was quite the trouble maker, he was disobedient, mischievous and brutally honest.
Ruby hoped to get through to him but he never tried to earn any one of her special treats. Ruby had fought hard for them to be placed in a place like this instead of being bonded off as servants to affluent Aldorian families. Many still believed that refugees should earn their stay here in Aldor and so families had refused to adopt children such as those Ruby had found a home for with Miss Pringle. After Merissa and Anna were rescued, more children were brought to them to take in, Dent included and now Miss Pringle had a full house and Ruby had a great responsibility to keep the small refugee orphanage running.
“We have had quite a few this week your majesty,” Miss Pringle replied, “Anna and Merissa got all their chores done and went to bed on time, Galy has stopped writing on the walls and learned to spell his name, Katrina has been her very best as usual and despite a small tiff with Dent, Millie has been a big help to me.”
“Very good everyone, I am very happy to hear that. What about Dent?”
Miss Pringle sighed, “Dent is his usual troublesome self.”
“No improvement?”
“None.”
“Oh Dent,” Ruby crooned.
He looked up at her and then back down again at the toy he now held in his tiny hands. He was Dravian and reminded Ruby so much of Deswald. The golden hair, blue-grey eyes and fair complexion, he even had that stubborn pout and grumpy brow slant. She smiled. Dent was like the other five of them; a refugee orphan. When she had been rescued from Dravia, a portion of the Community there had taken her father’s offer of sanctuary before he permanently withdrew all aid from them. Dent had made the journey with his ailing grandmother, who had died along the way. It was Deswald who had drawn her attention to the young boy, knowing about her work with them and hoping the distraction would serve her well during his absence. Ruby had taken him in, feeling a strong sense of obligation, knowing that it was her actions that had forced her father’s hand. But she would get through to him eventually. Though she had grown up in Aldor as a princess, she understood what they were experiencing; they all just wanted to find a place where they belonged. That is what she was working to give them.
“Princess,” Miss Pringle said, “a word?”
“Of course,” she turned to her knight and winked at him. She knew how he hated being left alone with the children, yet she always did it to him anyway.
“I will be right back Stafford.”
Once Ruby and Miss Pringle were alone, the older woman’s expression turned sour with worry.
“Your highness, I did not want to alarm you but… we may have a problem.”
Ruby frowned, “Okay, I am listening. But please Miss Pringle call me Ruby, you know I cannot stand being called that.”
“Oh, I am sorry your…. Princess Ruby.”
Ruby smirked, “Please sit. Tell me what is going on.”
The woman nodded shakily and sat down on a bench in the room Ruby often used as an office when she came by. Ruby poured her a glass of water and sat down next to her. She handed her the glass of water and waited patiently for the woman to reveal to her what had her so shaken up.
“Princess, I know you have given much to keeping this place running. Those children are surely worth the sacrifice and I thank you for inviting me to serve El in this way. But I am afraid I must ask for something more.”
“What do you need, just tell me and I will make it happen.”
The older woman sighed, “we need protection.”
Ruby frowned, “protection? What do you mean? This is the safest part of Aldor, there are guards walking these streets all hours of the day.”
“Well I still do not feel safe and I do not think that those children are safe.”
“What has happened?”
The woman shook her head, cupping the glass of water and holding it up to her lips but not drinking of it.
“We have been… receiving threats.”
“What kind of threats?”
Miss Pringle put down the glass and got up, “I will be right back.”
Ruby waited patiently for the woman to return. All the while her mind was racing, running through various reasons for why this was happening. She knew alot of people did not like her father’s Refugee law. She also knew that of late even more did not like her and what she meant for the kingdom, being the orphaned child of an extinct people and sitting at the king’s table as his child.
Miss Pringle came back with a box and sat down again beside Ruby. She opened the box and removed some slips of paper. She handed Ruby a note.
“This one came with a dead bird.”
With a troubled frown Ruby read the note.
You and your orphan children and your orphan princess do not belong here. Leave or we will make you.
Before Ruby could finish processing what she had read, Miss Pringle handed her another. This one was stained with drops of blood.
“This was the most recent one. I found it stuck underneath the door and when I opened the door to look outside, the stench of blood rose to my nostrils. They had bathed the front steps with the blood of an animal.”
A look of horror crossed Ruby’s face, “I cannot believe that people could be so cruel. These are children!”
Miss Pringle shook her head, “I do not think it is just cruelty princess. These people, whoever they are really believe that what we are doing… who you are has brought a curse upon us.”
Ruby looked down at the note she held in her shaking hands, written boldly were the words.
Your tainted blood has brought a curse to our land. Aldor must be cleansed of this disease, you corrupt our kingdom and our name. Leave our kingdom or die!
Ruby felt sick to her stomach, she had no idea such darkness dwelled in Aldor. In Stone Vale of all places.
“Princess, I did not mean to upset you…”
“No, I had to know. You were right to tell me about this.”
“What are we going to do?”
Ruby took a deep breath, “I will speak to my father about assigning guards to your home and I must show him these dark notes. He needs to know what is going on in his kingdom.”
She turned to the older woman, “Historically, Aldorians have separated themselves from anyone who isn’t like them. My people have always confused them, we were never like them, we served El in our own way and were entrusted with the guardianship of the light stones. They met us in these parts, yet many hated us for it, they envied my people’s place in El’s heart. It would seem that many still hold this attitude. But not my father, he had a greater vision of spreading the knowledge of El to those he considered to be in darkness. Many share that vision with him, others do not. They believe that El
cannot be shared, that those whose hearts have been born in darkness can never know and serve El. What do you think?”
Miss Pringle smiled sadly, “I think that we fool ourselves into believing that merely being born in this kingdom makes us born of El. A person who can harbor this hatred and evil in their hearts can never be a servant of the source of all that is good and right and true. But someone like you, someone who sees the darkness in this world and fights to inject El’s love into it, regardless of the consequences, while serving him openly must be someone born of El. That is how I understand it.”
Ruby nodded, feeling her throat tighten with emotion. She reached over and placed a hand over the hand of the old woman.
“Thank you, Miss Pringle. I believe you are right. I have looked evil in the eye and I dare say, if the darkness in this world should invade the hearts of Aldorians then we are all lost. I will do my best to keep that from happening.”
Chapter 12
“You are getting better,” came the voice he had come to associate with a certain stern looking stranger.
Jahreed looked up from his lute and smiled, “you know you can just come right out and tell me I play well.”
“We would not want premature compliments to get to your head, would we?” she countered, a hint of a smile playing on full beautiful lips.
She wore the hood of her short coat over her hair as usual, with a single braid hanging over her shoulder, entwined with her dark hair was a golden string that seemed to shimmer in the midday sun. He assumed that she was a handmaiden, most likely to one of the princesses. He gathered as much from the confidence with which she spoke about being able to get him an audience with the princess. In addition to that, her manner of speaking was of someone who had extensive learning or interacted with those who had, not to mention her flawless brown skin. If she did not stomp around like a disgruntled man or wear scuffed boots and loose trousers, he might have mistaken her for a Royal herself.
He smiled at her, “I guess I will take what I get for now.”
Kingdom's Darkness (Gemstone Royals Book 2) Page 9
