Excitedly, Kristina made her way to the stern to get her first glimpse of Tezerel, and as soon as she set eyes on the rocky shoreline, a chill ran down her spine. It was lined with hundreds of Tezerelians in brightly colored clothing. They reminded her of the multicolored flowering meadows in Bernovem. While soaking in the picturesque scene, she felt a hand gently touch hers. She spun around quickly, her hair blowing about her face.
"Whoa! Great reflexes," Werrien said.
Kristina pushed her hair out of her eyes. "I guess I've been more than a little stressed lately," she said.
"I've got the perfect remedy for that," Werrien said brightly.
"Oh?" Kristina smiled. No matter how bad she felt, Werrien seemed to have a way of lifting her spirits. "And what might that be?"
He took her by the hand and pulled her along with him. "To get you off this ship, and go and have some fun."
When they arrived at the dock, Taysha and Lisheng were already there, bridled, saddled, and raring to go.
"It's about time you two showed up," Taysha said. Both horses were in frisky moods.
"I hope you're planning on giving us a good workout. My legs feel stiffer than wood from being cooped up so long," Lisheng said.
"Trust me; by the time we're finished riding you two, you both will be begging to get back in your ship stall."
Werrien mounted Lisheng, and Kristina mounted Taysha, and with an abundance of stored energy the horses made their way down the dock toward the land.
Riding Taysha and feeling her strong silver-white body prance effortlessly beneath her helped melt all Kristina's anxieties and fears. To her, it was one of the best feelings in the world—other than just simply being with Werrien.
The closer they got to the crowd, the louder and clearer the Tezerelians' voices became. Many of them were holding signs above their heads. Kristina caught sight of a few that read, "Welcome Back, Royal Family." Three young human children—two girls and a boy— probably under the age of ten, held one up that read, "Prince Werrien Is the Greatest!"Another one read, "We Love Our First Family."
Once Werrien and Kristina were off the dock, the crowd divided itself in two, like a long zipper unzipping the upward sloping land, allowing a pathway for Werrien and Kristina to ride through. The spectators hollered, cheered, and reached out with their hands, trying to touch the two attractive youths as they passed.
When they finally passed by the last admirer, Werrien turned to Kristina and said, "Race you to the top of the hill?"
Kristina smiled and nodded, feeling regenerated and more than ready to take on his challenge.
Lisheng reared up onto his hind legs, and as soon as his front hooves hit the ground, the horses took off at full speed, up the green slope, their back hooves kicking up the dirt behind them.
At the top of the hill, the horses came to an abrupt stop, panting heavily through their nostrils. Below them lay the spectacular city of Ezeree, with its many houses and buildings in a variety of pastel colors—pinks, greens, beiges, and blues—and their rooftops adorned with bright copper shingles that reflected the sun's hot rays.
"What a beautiful sight," Kristina said to Werrien.
Werrien agreed with a smile. "Follow me," he said. Then he tapped Lisheng with his heels and the black stallion descended the hillside, with Taysha following close behind.
The streets of Ezeree were crowded with gnomes, dwarfs, and shamels, going about their daily lives, some selling merchandise, others buying it, others transporting it, others leisurely strolling the streets, while others hustled and bustled through them, seeming to be in a hurry to get to where they needed to go. A little way into the main street, Werrien and Kristina dismounted the horses, and as soon as Werrien's boots touched the cobblestone, a dwarf dressed in an orange robe, a shimmering royal blue belt, and a royal blue fez hat, stood before him, then humbly bowed.
"Lonkin, my dear friend," Werrien said to the chestnut-haired dwarf. "You're just on time, as usual."
"It's always an honor to have you visit us here in Ezeree," the dwarf said. Though his mouth was covered by a red mustache, his friendly green eyes gave away that he was smiling beneath it.
Werrien dug into his pocket and took out a few gold coins. Seeing him do so, Lonkin bowed again, holding out his cupped hands. Werrien dropped the coins in Lonkin's hands.
"You're always so kind, dear prince," Lonkin said. "Shall I inform Zalya that you are here?"
"You read my mind," Werrien said, dropping a few more coins into Lonkin's hand and handing him the horses' reins.
Lonkin led the horses in one direction, and Werrien led Kristina in another, down a crowded street so jam-packed with Ezereens that, at times, they had to turn sideways to weave themselves through the crowd. They came upon a clear section in the street where small children were playing—a mixture of gnomes, shamels, and humans. Filled with joy and excitement, six of them ran up to Werrien to greet him.
"Werrien!" they cried. "Come and play with us." They tugged on his shirt and pant legs. One little human girl kept her distance, standing a few feet back from the other children. She was around seven or eight years old, with dark brown, wavy hair. Timidly, she gazed with amber-colored eyes at Werrien, seeming totally infatuated with him.
"Please, Prince Werrien, come and play with us," the other children insisted.
Werrien crouched down to be at their level. "I will, but only on one condition," he said.
"What, Werrien? What is it?" the children said, giggling and jumping up and down. He put his arms around them, and they huddled together—all except the shy little girl, who stood quietly, waiting for them.
Kristina smiled at her, and the little girl smiled back, but only for a split-second. Then the little girl stared at Werrien again. Kristina knew exactly how she felt being around Werrien. At least she has good taste, Kristina thought.
Werrien whispered to the other children, "I will play with you, but you must first go up to my friend Kristina and give her a very warm welcome."
They broke out of the huddle and right away, all five of the children ran up to Kristina. "Hello, Kristina," they said in unison. "We welcome you to our city." The two boys bowed and the three girls curtsied.
One little human girl whispered to a shamel girl, "She's very pretty."
Then they all hurried back to Werrien.
"Now can you play?" a boy gnome said.
"Run on ahead to the fountain, and we'll meet you there in a few minutes," Werrien said.
All the children, except for the shy, little girl, raced off. Then Werrien walked up to the little girl, picked her up, and held her in his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him, smiling at Kristina as she did so.
Werrien turned to Kristina and said, "Kristina, I'd like you meet my little friend Jabela."
- 30 -
Déjà Vu
With her chin leaning on Werrien's shoulder, Jabela smiled sweetly at Kristina and reached out her little hand to her. Kristina took it and ran her thumb over the top of it. Although soft, as she would have expected of a small child's hand, it was also cold, which seemed kind of odd to Kristina, particularly because it was a very warm afternoon. If you were older, I know that I'd be jealous of the affection Werrien has for you, Kristina thought.
Jabela pulled her hand out of Kristina's grip, almost as if she'd heard Kristina's thoughts, and the little girl turned her face toward Werrien's neck. Jabela closed her eyes and smiled. When she opened them again, she twirled a strand of Werrien's wavy hair around her finger.
Werrien turned to face Kristina. "Come with me," he said to her. "I want to show you the fountain where I used to play as a child."
The fountain in the town center was even more stunning than Kristina had seen it in the Black Shard. It was made of a brilliant copper, and the circular water pool surrounding it shimmered like quicksilver under the sun's rays.
A few women sat on the waist-high stone retaining wall that surrounded the fountain, and insid
e the fountain's pool were at least ten children, happily frolicking under the cool, spurting water.
Werrien greeted a gnome woman, and of the ten children in the water—the five with whom he had said he would play, snuck up behind him and began splashing him.
Werrien quickly turned around. "I see!" he said. "You want to play dirty, do ya?" He placed Jabela on the ground, and then quickly took off his boots and rolled up his pant legs. Then he promptly jumped over the wall and into the water pool. While he chased the children around the fountain, Kristina stood beside Jabela, looking at her out of the corner of her eye and wondering how a mother could be so cruel to such a sweet little girl.
Jabela looked up at Kristina, her amber eyes shining like citrine gems in the sunlight. "Will you take me in the water to play?" she asked Kristina in a small voice.
Kristina's eyes widened with surprise. "I'd love to," she said. She took off her shoes and rolled up her pant legs, and Jabela took off her dirty worn-out sandals.
Kristina crouched down beside Jabela. "I have an idea," Kristina said, and Jabela smiled timidly. "Since Werrien and the other children aren't paying attention to us, why don't you and I run around to the opposite side of the fountain, and get in there. Then we'll sneak up on them and splash them."
Jabela's face beamed with excitement, and she vigorously nodded her head.
"Come on," Kristina said, taking her hand.
The water was cold and felt like icy bands where it hit Kristina's shins. There's no time for being wimpy, she thought, and she ran with Jabela to the opposite side of the fountain, where Werrien and the other children were playing. She poked her head around it and caught a side view of Werrien, still chasing the children—the lot of them soaked from head to toe.
Kristina and Jabela stood like tin soldiers against the fountain.
"Okay, when I say go, we'll rush around to the other side of the fountain and then let them have it," Kristina said to Jabela. Tensing up with excitement, Jabela giggled. "Are you ready?" Kristina whispered to her.
"Yes," Jabela whispered loudly back.
"Go!" Kristina said, and she and Jabela hustled to the other side of the fountain.
Kristina's plan didn't go quite as she had expected, for they were greeted by all the other children, including Werrien, who splashed them excitedly. Kristina gasped as the water hit her directly in the face. Jabela ran and hid behind Kristina.
"Why, you sneaky—" Kristina began, but she got a mouthful of water. With the water flying everywhere, it was hard for her to see, but she readily joined in the water fight, splashing her opponents. Jabela even mustered up the courage to join in the frenzy.
Laughter from the mothers sitting on the retaining wall could be heard as they ducked the splashes that reached them as well.
When the water war finally ceased, Kristina stood with her back leaning against the fountain, breathing heavily. Werrien stood directly across from her, his army of drenched rug-rats at his sides, and his sopping-wet hair strewn about his face. He smiled, trying to catch his breath.
Kristina tried to scowl at him but ended up laughing. "How'd you know we were on the other side of the fountain?" she yelled to him between breaths.
"My little buddies snitched on you," Werrien said, flipping his dripping bangs out of his eyes.
"Yeah, right! A moment before you bombarded us, I'd peeked around the fountain and not one of you had noticed Jabela or me."
"Ah, but I have friends in higher places. Look up," Werrien said.
Kristina tilted her head to look up at the fountain's inside rim. Astonished, her mouth fell open. Huddled together like bees on a honey comb were a multitude of fairies, all dressed in a rainbow of colorful outfits. There were girls and boys—blond, brunette, and all other hair colors in between. Some sported curly hair, while others had straight, spiked, short, and long, and there was even one boy fairy with dreadlocks. There were light-skinned as well as dark-skinned ones. But the one that Kristina's eyes gravitated toward was her little friend Looper, who was huddled between two very pretty teenage girl fairies. All the fairies burst into laughter, sounding like a symphony of squeaky toys.
"So, you guys are the culprits!" Kristina said. She stuck her hands under one of the strong streams of spurting water to redirect it up at the fairies. The water hit many of them, sending them flying in and out of the sprays, resembling the changing color patterns in a kaleidoscope.
After paying back the fairies for snitching on her, Kristina sat on the edge of the retaining wall, ringing out her wet hair and sun-drying her clothes.
Werrien said his good-byes to the children, and Kristina stared at him, smiling, impressed with how popular with the children he was. She sighed, and then tilted her face up toward the warm sun. When it became too hot on her fair skin, she shielded her face with her hand and looked at Werrien. As she did so, she caught sight of something blindingly bright coming from the bottom of the fountain's water pool. Before she could tell what it was, Werrien called out to her, "Hey, Kristina?"
She turned around quickly. All the children had left except for Jabela, who tugged on his pant leg. He turned around to acknowledge the little girl, and at the same time, Kristina looked in the water pool again, toward the blinding light.
When she caught sight of it, her stomach seemed to do a cartwheel inside her—it was the stone from her necklace, lying at the bottom of the pool—the clear water gently rippling above it. The stone's color had changed again, from green to steel blue, and the sun reflecting off it made it painful for Kristina to look at it.
"Kristina?" Werrien called to her again. Kristina quickly turned to acknowledge him, and he instantly noticed her face had anxiety written all over it. "What's wrong?" he asked, his face revealing his confusion, which Kristina was now getting used to seeing.
"I'm great," Kristina said brightly, even though she was really stressed out. "I just got a little blinded by the sun."
Werrien's confused look changed into a smile. "You know not to stare directly into it, don't you?"
"Yes, of course," Kristina sighed.
"Hey! I'm going to quickly walk Jabela back to where the other children are. I'll only be a few minutes. Do you want to come with me, or wait here?"
"I'll wait here for you," Kristina said without hesitation.
"All right. I'll be back in a few minutes." Werrien picked up Jabela and disappeared into the crowded street.
At least I'll have a few minutes to get the stone and put it back on, Kristina thought. She knew that sooner or later, she would have to tell Werrien that the necklace was broken. But now just isn't the time, and besides, nothing bad has happened yet—at least not so far. I'll just keep hoping that nothing will.
As Kristina went to scoop the stone out of the water, it pulsated, and bubbles surged around it. Its steel-blue color glistened under the warm sun. Relieved to see that the chain was still attached to it, she placed it around her neck and tied its ends. Then she sat back down on the retaining wall to put on her shoes—that was when she noticed a red spot on the inside of her right leg; a sore, about the size of the head of a thumbtack. Hmm ... I wonder how that got there. I don't remember hitting or scraping my leg on anything. She glanced up and saw Werrien wending his way through the crowd toward her. Quickly, she put on her shoes, rolled down her pant legs, and stood up. She took the stone in her hand; it was slightly warm but cooler than it had been a few minutes earlier. She tugged gently on the chain to make sure it was secure around her neck, and when she was satisfied that it was, she tucked the crystal under the neckline of her T-shirt. Then she smiled and waved to Werrien.
As Werrien drew nearer and the crowd around him thinned, Kristina could see that he wasn't alone. He was walking and talking with a shamel who was pulling a rickshaw. The shamel was a trim, muscular-looking man with long hair—brown but graying—that was tied back in a braid behind his head. His face was very tanned and leathery-looking, probably due to spending long hours in the hot sun. Noticing Kr
istina looking at him, the shamel grinned at her. Kristina smiled back at him, and then she gave Werrien an unsure look, wondering what in the world he was up to this time.
When they arrived at the fountain, Werrien said, "Kristina, I'd like you to meet a friend of mine. This is Tor."
"Just as I pictured her," Tor said. "As lovely as this fine, sunny day here in Ezeree." He walked a little past Kristina so that the rickshaw's entrance was directly in front of her when he stopped.
"Hi, Tor," Kristina said.
"I'm honored to meet you, young lady," Tor replied.
The inside of the rickshaw had an emerald-green, velvet bench, and on each side of the bench were cup holders. In each holder was a fluted long-stem glass containing fizzing fairy blossom cider. Werrien stood beside the entrance of the rickshaw and, with a slight bow, waved his hand toward it.
"After you, my lady," Werrien said, acting debonair.
Kristina smiled, her shapely eyebrows lifting curiously as she entered the rickshaw. She sat down on the comfy seat and ran her hands over the plush, velvet bench.
"Are you hungry?" Werrien asked as he sat beside her.
"Actually ... " She paused for a brief moment, as if she needed to think about it, then she said, "I'm starving!"
"Getting pummeled in a water fight really does work up a great appetite," Werrien teased.
"Uh, don't you mean unfairly pummeled?"
"I guess it was unfair but nevertheless very fun."
A canteen hung from Tor's belt, which he detached and lifted to his lips. After guzzling its contents, he smiled at Werrien and Kristina. "On a day like today, I really need the energy of the fairy blossom," he said. His eyes squinted away from the hot sun. "Where to, Your Highness?"
"Zalya's, my good man," Werrien said. He handed Kristina one of the fluted glasses, and before Werrien could acknowledge her, she had downed the bubbling cider in a few gulps.
Werrien looked at her with a surprised expression on his face.
The Black Shard Page 19
