The Black Shard

by Victoria Simcox

  "Who poisoned him?"

  "My parents are pretty certain that he did it to himself."

  "Did it have something to do with his wife's disappearing?"

  "Yes. I think it was all to do with her." Werrien sighed. "It was said that he loved her more than life itself."

  Kristina couldn't help but stare into Werrien's eyes, entranced by his words: 'He loved her more than life itself.'

  Feeling slightly awkward, Werrien broke eye contact and stood up. "I should go check on the crew," he said, starting for the door. But Kristina reached out and touched his hand.

  "Please, tell me a little more about the kings and queens, and what happened in the past," she said, taking her hand back again.

  For a moment Werrien didn't answer but stood still. Then slowly, he turned around and said, "I suppose that I have a little time to spare." He sat down again and went on. "Like I said before, the man in the portrait—the one not paired with a woman—is Prince Raspue. He was Sentiz's husband."

  Kristina looked surprised. "Really?"

  "Yeah, really," Werrien said. "Many years ago, the two of them ruled Jalmara—a faraway land northeast of Bernovem. At that time, my parents were the rulers of Tezerel, which is west of Bernovem, and Sirus and Navesa were the rulers of Bernovem." Werrien cracked an uncertain smile. "You may find this hard to believe, but back then, my parents, along with Sirus and Navesa, were very good friends with Sentiz and Raspue."

  "That is hard to believe, at least that they were friends with Sentiz."

  "Three times a year, all of them would get together in Bernovem to discuss their kingdoms, as well as celebrate special occasions. All the royals loved Bernovem because of its lush green forests, tall mountains, and rugged coastline. Bernovem was also the only land to have the Rainbow Tree. Whenever it was time for my parents and Sentiz and Raspue go back home to their lands, Sentiz would always try to coax Raspue into staying longer in Bernovem."

  "Why?" Kristina asked curiously.

  "I assume it was because she loved how the people of Bernovem treated her—with great honor and respect."

  "I'm guessing that they didn't know her very well."

  "You guessed right—she was never in Bernovem long enough for them to get to know her very well. The short time that she did spend here, she made sure that she was on her best behavior, especially when she was in the public eye."

  Kristina's eyebrows rose. "She must've been quite the charmer."

  "You could say that, but I think 'bewitcher' suits her better. Anyhow, Raspue and Sentiz would have great arguments because she always wanted to stay longer in Bernovem, but Raspue, being loyal to his own land, knew his people needed him, and for that reason he didn't want to be away too long. He would always end up convincing his reluctant queen that they needed to go back home to rule their own land."

  "Didn't Sentiz like her own land?"

  "No, apparently she couldn't stand it."

  "Do you know why?"

  "It became too cold, and her people began to die off." Werrien lay down on the bed, and Kristina lay down beside him, and both stared up at the ceiling in silence.

  "Go on," Kristina urged him.

  "Jalmara, once had four seasons—spring, summer, autumn, and winter—but one particular year, for some unknown reason, all the seasons except winter, disappeared. The weather became unbearably cold, and a great majority of the people began to die. It was during this same time that Navesa disappeared from Bernovem, and not long after her disappearance, Sirus was found dead in his bed."

  "So, are you certain that he killed himself?"

  "Yes, my father said that his death was confirmed a suicide, and my father thought Sirus did it because he didn't want to live without Navesa."

  Kristina sat up and looked somberly at the portraits again. "Did Sirus and Navesa have children?"

  Werrien thought for a moment and then replied, "Actually, yes—they had a baby boy, but unfortunately, while still a very young infant, he died. I was at his burial, and I remember it being a very sad day."

  "How did he die?" she asked cautiously.

  "They said it was some sort of rare disease."

  "I wonder where Navesa is now, or if she's even still alive."

  "To this day, no one knows. Bernovem was left without a ruler, and when Sentiz received this news, inside sources said she wasn't in the least bit unhappy. On the contrary, she seemed delighted. Soon after Sirus's death, there were rumors that Sentiz wanted to become the new ruler of Bernovem."

  "But what about her own land?" Kristina lay back down on the bed.

  "She figured Raspue could rule it himself."

  "So, did Sentiz become the next ruler of Bernovem?"

  "She didn't realize that Bernovem's people would vote to see who their next ruler would be."

  Intrigued with their conversation, Kristina turned on her side to face Werrien. "Who were the candidates?" she asked.

  Werrien was still on his back staring up at the ceiling. "It was between my parents and King Raspue and Queen Sentiz. Both couples already had lands of their own, so the people of Bernovem voted to determine which of the two couples would be the new king and queen to rule over two lands."

  "Stop right there!" Kristina said eagerly. "I want to guess who won the vote."

  Werrien suddenly turned on his side to face her, his face now only a foot away from hers. "Okay, go ahead," he said.

  Kristina suddenly found herself speechless, totally captivated by his eyes staring into hers. In her entire life she had never been so close to a boy, and this wasn't just any boy; this was a prince—a prince so handsome that it was hard for her to look at him, yet at the same time hard to take her eyes off of him. He began to move his head closer to hers.

  Oh, my gosh—he wants to kiss me, and even though I really want him to, I'm not ready for this. She quickly turned on her back again to stare up at the ceiling, leaving the cabin to fill with an awkward silence. She immediately felt very stupid and regretful. Wow! Could I be a duller tool? I just forfeited my first—and who knows, maybe my last—chance of being kissed by Werrien, she thought bleakly. "Your dad and mom of course won the vote," she suddenly said, answering Werrien's last question.

  "Actually, it was Raspue and Sentiz who won." Werrien seemed unaffected by her rejecting his assumed advances.

  So, maybe he wasn't trying to kiss me. Why is he so hard to read? she wondered. "You've got to be kidding. As I recall, the last time I was in Bernovem, you told me it was your parents who were the rulers, and it was Sentiz who took over by force after them."

  "There's another part of the story I haven't told you yet. During the days when all three lands had their own Royals—"

  "You mean before King Sirus and Queen Navesa were gone?"

  "Yes, when they were still ruling as well, each land had its own great wizard, a spiritual guide, who was an adviser to each pair of king and queen. Bernovem's was Rupert Sorsiro, Tezerel's was Azaril Crimson, and Jalmara's was Hector Mysteria. It was said that during the same time that Bernovem's people were voting, Azaril Crimson discovered the Book of Prophecy on Mount Bernovem."

  "And ... since the Book of Prophecy records all that has happened, that would mean the whereabouts of Navesa must be written in it," Kristina guessed.

  "Very observant," Werrien said.

  "Okay, go on," Kristina said, feeling a little surer of herself again.

  "Whatever Azaril found written in the Book of Prophecy must have been of great importance, for it was said that he was seen with Hector, hurrying through the city of Salas. Azaril had the Book of Prophecy with him and they were probably heading to where the election was being held."

  "Where were your parents at that time?"

  "In Bernovem, along with Raspue and Sentiz, awaiting the results of the election."

  "So what did the Book of Prophecy reveal?"

  "No one ever found out, because Hector and Azaril never made it to the city center."

  "What happened to the
m?"

  "It's not known for sure, but witnesses who claim to have seen them in the street that day, say that they saw them board a carriage."

  "What about the other wizard? Did he see them?"

  "Rupert said he knew nothing of what happened to them, but my father thinks he was most likely lying. Rupert actually became Sentiz's personal advisor, just after she banished her very ill husband, Raspue, to Treachery Island, off the south coast of Bernovem."

  "I remember seeing that small island when I was standing near one of the cliffs of Bernovem. Isn't it a very horrible place?"

  "Horrible hardly describes it. It was more like a small version of hell. Most of its prisoners would go insane if kept there too long."

  "Is Raspue still there?"

  "No. Even though he was unwell, the poor soul tried to escape by sea, but unfortunately, his accomplice, who was waiting for him in a boat near a rocky cove in the island, was actually a traitor, working for Sentiz. He supposedly killed Raspue and then fed his body to the sharks."

  "Who was his accomplice?"

  "No one's quite certain, but some of the other prisoners, at the time, said it was Rumalock."

  "That creep!" Kristina said, scowling at the thought of Rumalock. "He was the first one I met in Bernovem. I still can hardly believe that he was working for Sentiz. I was so shocked when I found out."

  Werrien's eyes grew wide. "You think that you were shocked—I'd known the deceitful dwarf most of my life, and until I knew he was a traitor I had the utmost respect for him."

  "So ... what happened to Rupert, after he became Sentiz's personal advisor?"

  "According to Ugan, Rupert was living at the palace at the same time that he was."

  "Where is Rupert now?"

  "Ugan said Rupert became really sick and ended up dying while still in Sentiz's service."

  Kristina looked sullen. "That's too bad," she said.

  "Well, actually not. I guess he was heavily involved in a forbidden evil practice."

  "What was it?" Kristina asked, her expression changing to curious.

  "Black magic."

  Kristina frowned. "That's disturbing."

  They were both silent for a moment, then Kristina went on, "So, you were saying that Raspue and Sentiz won the vote. How long did they rule Bernovem before your parents did?"

  "Well, that's another thing. They won the vote, but very soon after, and before they had a chance to be sworn in as the next rulers of Bernovem, is when Raspue became too sick to fulfill his duties as king, not even for his own land, let alone Bernovem, so the people of Bernovem instead chose my parents to rule."

  "Wow! I bet Sentiz was upset."

  "No doubt about that, but there was also an advantage to Raspue's getting ill. Because he became too frail to reign over their land, Sentiz proclaimed herself the solitaire ruler over her people. She even changed their status of its being a democratic society to a dictatorship, with her being the sole dictator over the people."

  "How did she treat her people?"

  "Even worse than she treated the Bernovians when she took over them. Every year, as the weather grew colder, the fairy blossoms, which were so vital to the gnomes' and dwarfs' health, stopped growing, and they had to resort to growing them in pots, indoors. But this wasn't very successful because the herb doesn't grow well indoors, and its healing power was diminished, to say the least."

  "Why didn't it grow well indoors?"

  "It gets its power from the rays of the Rainbow Tree. Indoors, the rays are, of course, blocked."

  The wheels in Kristina's mind kept turning. "If the fairy blossom gets its power from the Rainbow Tree, where did it get it when the Rainbow Tree wasn't here, the first time I was in Bernovem?" she said.

  "That's a good question, and it has been asked before."

  "Oh? By whom?"

  "Actually, I asked my father that same question. With the wizards no longer around to share this knowledge with my father, my father had to assume that even though the original Rainbow Tree was gone, the Great Spirit, Yolen, that dwelled in the Rainbow Tree was still there, supplying enough healing power to the fairy blossom."

  "Hmm ... I guess that makes sense."

  "So, back to what I was saying; Sentiz also rationed the people's food and wood-burning supply to almost nothing, and as the cold became unbearable, the people began to die off. Then, when there were no more Jalmarians left alive and the land was nothing but a solid sheet of ice, Sentiz apparently conjured up a scheme with Rupert to take over the rule of Bernovem." Werrien paused and a smirk crept up on his lips. "It was also said that Rupert was having a secret affair with her—if you know what I mean."

  "Oh? If it was secret, than how do you know about it?" Kristina said, now smiling slyly.

  "You don't miss a thing, do you?" Werrien said, still lying on his side. He took a chunk of her pale, blonde hair in his hand and began playing with the tip end of it.

  "My father thinks that I'd make a great lawyer someday," Kristina said, turning on her side to face him.

  Werrien's eyes were fixed on her hair between his fingers. "I can see why he'd think that," he said, and then he looked at her and tapped the tip of her hair on the end of her nose. "Now, will you let me go on?"

  "Of course," Kristina said, just before pulling her hair out from between his fingers.

  "First, I'll explain how Rupert betrayed my family. I can remember a particular day, back when I was very young and my parents were still ruling at the palace. My folks and I were sitting in the dining room, eating dinner, when we suddenly heard a very loud explosion. The palace shook like an earthquake had taken place. My father hurried to check on Rupert, who was in his room at the time. When my father arrived at his door, smoke was billowing out from beneath it. He knocked, but Rupert didn't answer, so being concerned for his well-being, my father broke into Rupert's room. At first, he couldn't see anything, due to the smoke in the air, but as he began to walk forward, his foot hit something. It was Rupert, lying on the floor, unconscious. Hastily, my father went to aid him, and while he was checking his pulse, he caught sight of a black notebook, lying open on the ground near Rupert's limp hand. My father flipped through it and found formulas for spells and hexes. Then he looked into the open closet and could see that from inside it was where the smoke was originating. Quickly, he rose to his feet and went into the closet and found a dresser, and on top of the dresser were all kinds of different shaped glass jars, containing unusual substances."

  "Like what?" Kristina asked, listening closely.

  "It was hard for him to tell what was in all of the jars, but he did recall seeing in one, a raven's head floating in a thick, orange, gooey substance, and fangs and animal hairs in another. He's now pretty sure that the fangs and hair were that of a wolf. He figured out what Rupert had been up to during all those long hours he spent in his room, where before he spent more time socializing with us, or studying in the palace library, or strolling the gardens, or hiking to the Rainbow Tree. Rupert constantly made excuses to my father that he was ill and that was why he preferred to stay in his room most of the time. Finding out that Rupert was lying made my father both sad and angry at the same time—sad because it was so hard for him to believe that his honorable and trusted adviser, who was like one of our own family, was involved in the dark arts, and angered because Rupert had betrayed our family."

  "Were the wizards supposed to be so pure?"

  "Yes." Werrien looked a matter of factly at Kristina. "The wizard's sole purpose was to gain wisdom and knowledge from one and only one source."

  "What source is that?"

  "The Great Spirit, Yolen, whose dwelling place is the Rainbow Tree. With the wisdom and knowledge the wizards gained from Yolen, they were to help advise, guide, and direct the kings and queens of the lands. But it was obvious that Rupert was not gaining his wisdom and knowledge from Yolen."

  "So ... where was he getting his wisdom?" Kristina said, looking inquisitively at Werrien.

&nb
sp; "Well, I wouldn't call it wisdom, but whatever he was getting, it was from the spirit Resucca, who is only pure evil, and whose only purpose is to kill, steal, and destroy. Because my father has a kind heart, he decided that instead of imprisoning Rupert at Treachery Island, he would only banish him from Bernovem. Rupert was allowed to live in exile in either of the other two lands, and so he chose Jalmara. Of course, my father regrets his decision now."

  A chunk of Werrien's bang fell in front of his eye, and without giving it a thought, Kristina moved it aside with her finger. Werrien lifted one eye brow at this gesture.

  "Were you close with Rupert?" Kristina asked overlooking his reaction.

  "Yes, he was part of my family and like a grandfather to me. When he was no longer with us, I was very sad, but that was because I was too young to understand what was going on."

  "Sorry to change the subject, but I still can't understand why Bernovem's people chose Sentiz and Raspue to be their rulers to begin with, instead of your parents."

  "Like I said before, Sentiz had a way of bewitching the people. You know, she was quite attractive, in a dark sort of way."

  This comment surprised Kristina. "Did you think so?" she asked.

  Werrien frowned, for he found this question strange, but after a brief pause, he said, "As far as looks go—I guess so, but again, like I said, in a dark sort of way."

  A knock came at the door. "Who is it?" Werrien asked.

  "It is I, Elzwur, Your Highness," a voice sounded from the other side of the door.

  "I'll be right out, Elzwur," Werrien said, then he turned to Kristina. "I must go now, but why don't you get situated, and after meet me on the main deck in half an hour."

  "Okay," Kristina said. Then Werrien stood up and left her cabin.

  - 11 -

  Gnomes and Soup

  Alone in her cabin, Kristina stared out the porthole at the Citnalta Sea; its water had turned to a navy blue instead of the lighter blue near the shore of Bernovem. The sun was still high in the sky, shimmering down on the water, and while listening to the choppy waves sloshing against the outside of THE KRISTINA's hull, Kristina couldn't rid her mind of the sad images of King Sirus and Queen Navesa. She thought of how tragic it must have been when they lost their infant son, and how Sirus's heart must have broke when his wife disappeared. It made Kristina feel gloomy as well. But her melancholy thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a loud crashing noise from just outside her cabin door. She quickly went to stand by the door to listen.