by Kelly Carr
Valeria was shocked. “Sir, I’ve never met this woman, only heard her referred to by her servants, but if she controls the Genvu, there can be no good in her,” she said vehemently. “These things have not only killed many of the Trevi, but some of your own people as well. Perhaps the name of the person responsible has been somehow mistaken, but regardless, whoever is behind this must be stopped! Please take action before it’s too late!”
Elias laid a firm hand on her shoulder and gave her a warning look. With an effort, she stopped and tried to rein in her temper.
The king pursed his lips but looked thoughtful. “I will need some time to discuss this matter with my advisors,” he said. He rang a bell, and a servant appeared at the door. “Escort these visitors to the library,” he instructed, then turned back to Liana. “I will call for you when I’ve made my decision.”
Valeria, Liana, and Elias reluctantly followed the servant down several hallways to a pair of large oak doors, which opened into a massive room with a high, vaulted ceiling. Bookshelves lined every wall, some so tall that one needed a ladder to reach the upper shelves. Valeria had never seen so many books in one place before, even in the ancient archives of the Trevi.
Though her stomach was twisting into knots with equal parts of frustration, anger, and anxiety, Valeria couldn’t resist browsing through the books as they waited. Those in the Torvinian language she found difficult to decipher, but many were in the Common Tongue.
Liana and Elias were also taken with the vast collection of knowledge contained in the room. Together they strode along the rows of shelves, picking out books at random and perusing their contents. Valeria quickly located a shelf full of books packed with maps and information about the other kingdoms and pulled down as many volumes as she could carry.
A long time passed before the servant returned to bring them back to the king’s council chambers. By that time, Valeria, Liana, and Elias had all become thoroughly worried. The decision to help them should have been an easy one.
“So?” Liana asked as soon as they sat down. “When can we get started?”
The king shook his head regretfully. “I can’t help you,” he said.
“What?” Valeria said before Liana had a chance to reply. “Why not?”
The king glanced at her, appearing irritated at the interruption.
“Answer the question,” Liana said.
The king sighed wearily. “You have no proof to support your claims and, apart from minor trading disputes, there has been peace between the kingdoms for many years now. I won’t be the one to upset that peace on nothing but the word of a girl I hardly know, who is no older than my children,” he said.
Liana was silent for a moment, and Valeria could see that her temper was bubbling dangerously close to the surface, despite her attempts to conceal it. Her eyes blazed with anger as she said, with deliberate calm, “I am the Mother of Magic, and I am asking for your help. For the sake of everyone in the five kingdoms, please reconsider.”
The king shook his head. “If you really wish to reunite your people with mine, I would be delighted to discuss trade opportunities with you. Your coming here could still mean great things for the future, but with regards to taking military action against our northern neighbors, I’m afraid my mind is made up on the subject. I won’t do it without irrefutable proof that my kingdom is in danger.”
“There could soon be none of the Trevi left for you to trade with if you leave them exposed to this threat,” Elias pointed out.
“He’s right,” Liana agreed. “And anyway, I don’t think we would like to trade with a kingdom who won’t even help us when we’re in danger.”
The king shrugged. “I’m sorry you feel that way. Perhaps you would like to take some time to consider the matter further. There’s a ball after the harvest, just over three months from now. The leaders of all the kingdoms always come to pay their respects and discuss trade matters. Perhaps you, as the leader of your people, would like to attend. If the journey back to your home is too far, you’d also be welcome to stay with us here in the castle until then. I’m sure everyone would be fascinated to learn more about the Trevi and their magic.”
Valeria laid a hand on her friend’s shoulder before she could deliver a scathing reply. Liana looked up at her in bewilderment.
“Accept it, Liana,” Valeria said quietly. “You can change your mind later if you like, but accept it for now.”
Liana frowned, but Valeria knew her friend would trust her judgment. “Thank you for your kind offer, we accept,” she said through gritted teeth.
The king appeared surprised but pleased. “Wonderful! Well, I look forward to getting to know you all better at dinner tonight. For now, I’ll have someone show you to your rooms while I see to the rest of my subjects. I’ve kept them waiting quite a while.” He laughed as though it were a good joke and rang a bell. A servant appeared immediately, and Valeria shook her head at the casual way he ordered people about. He gave the man some instructions and, with a cheerful nod of the head, disappeared back into the throne room, while Valeria and her friends were led back out into the hallway.
Chapter eleven: liana
“This is ridiculous,” Liana said, looking around her at the lavishly furnished bedroom. She had just been informed that it was hers for the duration of her stay. “I don’t need all this.”
Valeria and Elias had been given equally grand accommodations down the hall, but all of them could have comfortably fit into just one of the rooms.
“What have you gotten us into, Valeria?” Elias said. “If the king isn’t going to help us, we should return to the Erean Forest and help the Trevi get south safely.”
Liana looked expectantly at her friend, waiting for an explanation.
“We could do that,” Valeria said, “but what then? Unless either of you has a new plan to stop the Genvu, we’d be in exactly the same position we were before.”
“We could be there to help protect everyone if there’s another attack,” Liana said.
“Perhaps,” Valeria said, “but we still need a plan to get rid of the creatures. We can’t just fight them off forever.”
Liana had to admit that this was true. “So, what, then? Do you have a plan?”
“Not yet,” Valeria said. “I’m working on it. There’s a lot of potential for a plan here. We have an opportunity to talk to the leaders of the other kingdoms, we have the possibility that we may be able to change the king’s mind, given time, and we still have your potential ability to convert Humans into Trevi. If we all give it some thought, we may be able to use these things to our advantage somehow.”
Liana considered it and had to acknowledge that her friend had a point. “I want to scry Jina before any decisions are made,” she said, already pouring water from a pitcher at the bedside into an elaborately painted porcelain dish. She waited in silence as the water grew still, then waved a hand across its surface.
The image that appeared before her was hazier than she was used to, and she found she had to exert a large amount of power to hold it steady. She had never before attempted to scry from such a distance.
She saw Jina, walking amongst the Trevi, stopping here and there to speak with them. They all appeared ragged and weary, but they were moving steadily south, casting frequent glances over their shoulders into the trees, as though the Genvu might jump out again at any moment.
Liana let the spell go with a sigh. The Trevi seemed to be handling their journey well enough without her assistance. Next, she attempted to scry Davu. This proved even more difficult. Peering at the hazy image, she saw him sitting in a room with many people in brightly colored robes, but she couldn’t make out their expressions. She attempted to increase the power of the spell, but only caused the water in the bowl to ripple, making the image even more unsteady. At last, she gave up. At least he was safe.
“Alright, we’ll stay here, for now,” she said. “But at the first sign of trouble, we fly back immediately, and Elias, you’
ll just have to catch up later.”
“I’d expect nothing less,” Elias said. “I suppose I’ll go get our things from the inn, then. I’ll be back before dinner.”
“Thank you,” said Liana.
Elias left the room, and Liana turned back to find Valeria looking around in disgust. “You’re right about this place,” she said. “It’s much too extravagant. What do you say we go explore?”
“Gladly,” Liana said. “As soon as I find something else to wear.” She went over to an ornately carved wardrobe and opened it, tentatively. Inside were at least a dozen different outfits, both suits and dresses, in a variety of sizes. Liana snorted in disgust at the gaudy dresses and turned her attention instead to the handful of suits. Each was composed of a loose white shirt, a pair of well-fitted trousers, and a long coat that came down to the knees. Valeria looked very dashing in hers, and Liana was heartily tired of dresses.
“It looks good on you,” Valeria said when Liana finished tucking her shirt into her trousers.
Liana glanced in the mirror and turned from one side to the other examining her reflection. It was more comfortable anyway. Together they left the room and went to learn more about their new temporary home. They wandered the halls, without going in any particular direction. Within an hour, they had found a dozen empty bedrooms, the armory, the kitchens, and a music room.
“Enough of this,” Liana said when they encountered yet another empty room. “It’s stuffy in here. Let’s go outside. I’m sure they’ve got lots of interesting things out there too.”
“You go,” Valeria said. “I want to look around a bit more.”
Liana hesitated, torn between her desire to get outside, and her reluctance to leave her friend, then shrugged. Valeria could take care of herself.
The late afternoon sunlight cast long shadows across the ground as Liana strolled out of the castle. She breathed in the fresh air gratefully, enjoying the strange salty tang of it, and decided to go get a better look at the sea.
As she came around the side of the castle, her ears caught the familiar clang of metal on metal. Her step quickened in anticipation. There was a group of small buildings clustered near the edge of the castle grounds. In their midst, she found a wide training ground where several men were sparring. A few others sat on the fence around them, laughing and cheering them on by turns. Liana joined them, and they made room for her with barely a glance.
For a while, she watched the men practice. Before long, her lips curled upwards in amusement. The knights wore heavy metal armor, presumably to protect themselves, but it made them slow and clumsy and limited their movements.
Liana turned to the man next to her. “Can anyone take part in the practice?” she asked.
The man looked at her doubtfully. “I suppose so,” he said, “but you haven’t got any armor.”
Liana laughed and hopped gracefully over the fence and into the ring. “I won’t need it.” She walked confidently over to two men who were resting after a sparring session. “Excuse me, gentlemen, mind if I join you?” she asked.
One of the men removed his helmet to reveal the features of a man a few years older than herself, with short red hair and a scruffy beard. “Move along, lad. You’ll get hurt standing in here without armor,” he said dismissively.
Liana almost laughed as she realized that with her short hair and men’s clothing, she’d been mistaken for a boy, but she chose not to correct the man for the moment. “I don’t know about that,” she said. “You may be better protected, but I’m faster.”
Without warning, she drew the sword from the other knight’s sheath and spun it around her hand skillfully. It was heavier than she was used to, but she was strong and held it with an easy grip. The redheaded man raised his eyebrows but still looked doubtful.
“I’m fairly certain I could beat you even without a sword,” she goaded him, “but just in case I’m wrong…” She shrugged and lifted the sword to the guard position in invitation.
The redheaded man suddenly laughed. Several of the onlookers joined in. “You’re a determined one, aren’t you?” he said, still chuckling. “Very well, if it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get. I’ll do my best not to hurt you too badly.” He set his helmet aside, as though sure he wouldn’t need it, and lifted his sword. He struck at Liana, who spun out of the way, got behind him, and kicked him firmly in the backside, sending him crashing to the ground under the weight of his ridiculous armor. Within seconds, she had her sword at his throat and a satisfied smirk on her face.
Laughing at his dumbfounded expression, she leaned down and helped him to his feet. “Anyone else?” she asked, looking around at the small group of men that had gathered around them with interest. Several of them volunteered, clearly eager to put her in her place. She bested them all within minutes.
By that time, she had caught the attention of the entire ring. Pretty soon they were all waiting their turn to test their abilities against hers. Some even had the good sense to take off their armor before giving it a try, but nevertheless, she beat them all. It was both satisfying and immensely worrying. If they couldn’t last two minutes against her, how would they fare against the Genvu?
At last, when everyone was panting from exertion, including Liana, there came a low chuckle and the sound of a single person applauding. A young man, of roughly her own age, came striding through the ring towards her. He had shaggy brown hair and warm brown eyes that twinkled with amusement.
“Would you care to test your skills against me?” he asked.
“What makes you think you’ll fare any better than they did?” Liana replied, gesturing at the dusty, exhausted soldiers around her.
“I never lose,” the man said confidently.
Liana arched an eyebrow. “Is that so? Excellent. I could do with a challenge.”
The man unsheathed his sword eagerly and held it at the ready. Liana raised her own sword in expectation.
He struck so swiftly that Liana had to duck to avoid the blow. Clearly, he was much more skilled than his comrades, but he was overconfident. Liana parried and struck back, their blows taking them back and forth across the ring. Their audience scattered. Liana found herself grinning even as she began to tire. The man was as good as anyone she had practiced with in the Erean Forest. They were almost equally matched…almost.
Finally, Liana saw him going in for a thrust that would overextend his arm. She dodged it, grabbing his wrist with her free hand and bringing her blade up to his throat with the other.
The man laughed in surprise, dropping his sword in defeat. She released him, and he swept her a graceful bow. “Prince James of Torvain, at your service,” he said. “May I have the honor of knowing your name, sir? I am surprised I have heard no word of a warrior as talented as yourself in my kingdom.”
Suddenly there was an outburst of hysterical laughter from behind them. Liana turned and found, to her surprise, Sarah and Valeria, leaning on the fence, tears of amusement running down their cheeks.
“Susan!” James snapped. “What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be confined to your rooms!”
“Susan?” Liana said, confused.
“Yes, please excuse my sister, sir. She’s just given us all quite a fright by running away from home.”
“Ah,” Liana said, beginning to understand. “Valeria, did you know about this?”
Valeria, still wheezing with laughter managed to reply, “Well, I had a hunch when some soldiers found us at the marketplace and dragged her away, and then it was clearly her that sent us the clothes.”
Susan grinned.
“Susan, you know these men?” James said in confusion.
Susan burst out laughing again. “Honestly, James, you shouldn’t be so focused on appearances. These two are as female as I am.”
Prince James’ eyes went wide, and his cheeks flushed. He looked back at Liana, as though he were seeing her for the first time.
Chapter twelve: james
James looked a
t the strangers again. Now that his sister had pointed it out to him, it was clear that their features were distinctly feminine, but their suits and short hair had thrown him off.
The young woman who had just bested him grinned and bowed. “To answer your question, Your Highness, my name is Liana. I’m the Mother of Magic to the Trevi. This is my friend Valeria. We met your sister on our journey south, though we had no idea who she was.” She shot what appeared to be an accusatory look at his sister, who merely shrugged.
The other young woman, Valeria, finally recovered from her fits of hilarity. “I would have told you,” she said to Liana, “but I wanted to be sure, first. I went to find her and then we came to look for you. We didn’t expect to find you so...busy.” She pressed her lips tightly together, apparently suppressing another laugh, as she looked around at the battered knights, their jaws slightly ajar as they learned that they had all just been defeated by a woman. “However, if you’re done here, Susan tells me that we should dress formally for dinner if we want to continue to make a good impression.”
James’ eyebrows rose. “You’re having dinner with us?”
Liana turned back to him, with a friendly smile on her face. “Yes, we’re staying with you for the time being,” she said. “I hope that’s alright.” She handed her sword to him calmly, and he took it without thinking. “See you at dinner,” she said, and jumped over the fence to follow her friend.
James stood there, a sword held loosely in each hand, trying to wrap his mind around what had just happened, until Susan pinched his arm to get his attention.
“James! It’s rude to stare,” she said. “Honestly!”
James mentally shook himself and turned back to his sister. “You have some explaining to do,” he said.
