Cam thought that the palace appeared much different in the night. It was still very much majestic, but looking at it now, without someone to go in with, she felt threatened. The structure held an air of intimidation. Cam compelled herself to shake off the feeling. She did not bother to knock on the front doors, but instead, tried to turn the brass handles. "Locked, of course" she muttered. With a sigh, she dropped her hand to her side.
"The servants' door!" In her former home, the servants’ door was always unlocked, just in case there was need of an emergency evacuation.
Cam searched the perimeters of the palace and realized for the first time how colossal the structure really was. It seemed to take an eternity before she discovered the door. A smile spread across her face when she turned the knob and the door swung open. She stumbled into a narrow hall, flanked by doors leading into storerooms, bedrooms, and kitchens. She tiptoed quietly through the hall in search of a staircase. She found one of stone, contrasting to the normal marble stairs found on the upper floors.
As she expected, the main floor of the palace was completely dimmed, except for moonlight pouring through the parted windows. At first, Cam thought everything was silent and that everyone had gone to bed. She realized she was wrong when soft murmuring echoed from the throne room.
Cam crept to the door, which stood slightly ajar, and peered in. She could not be seen from where she stood with shadows enveloping her. Moonlight was cast over the marble floors while in the shadows of a throne were four figures. A large candle was held between them.
Cam recognized two of them as Joanna and a man from Imber Fel. The other two were men clad in dark capes and hoods. “What are his orders to you?” Joanna snapped at one of the hooded men. Her tone was icier than Cam had ever heard even her have it.
“To slay the doves…” the man murmured. The voice was clearly feminine, and Cam made the assumption that this was the same person who had crept into the room at the inn.
“Yes! And she is a dove…the entire company is!” Joanna pressed in a voice almost louder than a whisper. The woman seemed to shrink from her.
“I-I left a warning!” Joanna observed her quietly for a long moment.
“Fine. It will have to do. They will no doubt flee quickly. Follow them and if you have to…kill them.”
A gasp echoed from Cam’s mouth before she could force it back down her throat. She forgot Peter and backed hastily into the shadows. A cry nearly erupted from her throat when a hand fell upon her shoulder.
"Cam…" the voice was quiet. "W-what are you doing here?" She whirled to face Peter whose eyes were glazed with sleep and hair ruffled. He dragged a hand across his face before dropping it to his side.
“Apollyon’s accomplice,” she thought and jerked from his touch. Cam fled back the way she had come. She attempted to keep quiet as she clambered down the stairs and through the hall of the servants’ quarters. Was it truly possible that Joanna believed her to be both a Spirit Follower and on Apollyon’s side? One thing was clear. If the dove was a symbol of the Spirit Followers, Joanna assumed them to be aligned with Apollyon and wished them to be slain. And no matter how much Cam desired not to be a Spirit Follower, she was seen as a dove. And the hunted dove had to fly.
“I remained in Imber Fel the longest. I studied the poisonous water that acts as a base for three incredible poisons until Shael and I had to flee for our lives. The poisons are fascinating. Although Shael was quite interested in them as I was, he had already suffered from warts, turning deep purple, and having a love potion slipped into his tea by our third month there. He was not sorely disappointed when we made our departure.”
-From the writings of Daniel Adriel on his travels in Mirabelle, written during the Third Age.
Sixteen
Riah dreamed of his mother for the third time that month.
The dream was haunting him more frequently. Each time was the same.
He knew he did not wish to be here at the border of the Forbidden Forest where people went mad like his mother. He knew she would not recognize him; that she would only peer at him through glassy eyes. She would snarl and then melt into the shadows, leaving him to hurtle through the darkness before he himself was seized with insanity. And yet, he remained if only to capture a glimpse of her.
In the dream, she was not beautiful as she had once been. Her tattered, purple robe hung from a frame of bones with little flesh. Her face was sunken and infested with wrinkles she should not have. Her once ebony hair was a tangled mass fit for a bird’s nest.
Her eyes were more frightening than all. They had lost all recognition and stared blankly at all they beheld. They stared at her bare feet as she walked and at the trees as she passed them. Only when her eyes snapped to meet Riah’s did they blaze with that look of immense appetite when he knew she meant to make himself like her.
Even while he missed his mother, he fled from the prospect of being possessed by that forest, and she was gone from his grasp once again.
He woke panting as he normally did. With sweat trickling down his brow, he sought the cold floor with his bare feet. On nights such as these, he would awaken, shudder for a moment, and then escape from his room. After pulling a shirt over his head, Riah roamed the length of the castle alone.
The castle glowed white with moonlight through the glass. All persons had departed hours earlier. The servants had gone to the lowest levels of the castle. Saffira too had left following a meal Riah had asked her to share with him.
When he turned another corner to enter the throne room, Riah found he was not alone. “What brought you from slumber this night?” he questioned.
Apollyon turned from a map which lay on a table before him. Riah peered over at it, noting that it was a map of Mirabelle and that blotches of ink dotted the paper in the pattern of a trail. It was Camaria’s trail. His father was watching her every move. “They are heading in the direction of Imber Fel and will most likely stay for a lengthy period of time,” Apollyon said without answering Riah’s question.
Before Riah had formed an answer to his father’s seemingly irrelevant statement, he realized that is was not him to whom his father had addressed.
The mysterious guest Apollyon had called Leviathan could only be seen vaguely from the shadows. Riah edged away, noticing that the figure had been standing quite close to him since he had approached his father.
“I will take my select warriors and vanquish the realm myself.”
Riah was surprised to discover that the figure’s voice was very much human. The voice did not cackle as he had imagined but drifted from him in a disarmingly charming, smooth tone. His previous statement was said in a manner as if Leviathan was merely mentioning that he would do Apollyon a small favor.
Apollyon nodded. "The realm by the sea is quite cut off from the rest. We will attack them first and then move on to the south with their poisons in tow."
“Very well. Have you informed our allies of these plans?” “It was the queen’s idea in the first place.”
Riah, who was slightly confused concerning the content of their conversation, spoke up. “What must I do?”
Both heads turned as if noticing him for the first time. “Ah, the young prince,” Leviathan murmured through his dark hood. From the way he had turned to observe Riah, the latter could not distinguish the left side of his face. This was the side not obscured by both a hood and eyepatch. The figure’s skin was ivory and smooth except for a single, jagged scar which ran the length of his cheekbone.
Leviathan turned towards the map, observing once more Camaria’s trail. “I have informed our guest ofyour desire to become one of the Master’s selected seven,” Apollyon told his son without making eye contact.
“And?” Riah stepped forward.
“And I believe you are completely inadequate for the job. Your behavior has proven a level of insolence and irresponsibility. You are not the sort of person my Master is searching for,” Leviathan said.
“My behavior?”
Riah thought of how he had acted at his birthday party. “Why did you flee when I approached you?”
“I did not flee. I simply did not desire to be in your presence,” replied Leviathan with a cold smile.
Riah took one more step and braced his hands on the table. With gritted teeth he said, “Thevery reason I wish tobecome oneof the seven is so I can change my behavior. I can change my entire life! There is no opportunity for me to thrive here.”
Riah had expected a scowl and snide remark from his father. Instead, Apollyon merely nodded in agreement. “The boy will prove worthy if he truly sets his mind to it.”
“Grant me one round of the Trials to prove myself!”
Leviathan considered him for a seemingly unending moment. He shook his head. Riah released an exasperated sigh.
"I cannot grant you such a thing with so little respect. In addition, whatever position you may be offered as one of the seven would require unwavering loyalty. Loyalty you do not seem to have for anything, not even for your own realm."
“Perhaps in time he can prove loyalty,” Apollyon said.
Leviathan's eye moved between the father and son. He shrugged. "I will consider it. But I warn you, boy. The Trials are no game. They are no small challenge and being one of the seven is even more difficult. Your loyalty will be tested in ways that will cause you suffering."
Riah gulped but managed to compose himself and state with a coldtone, “Iwill begin now. What must I do to progress this revolt of yours?”
“You can begin by searching all of Gnosi for those we are attempting to vanquish and slay each and every one of them. Kill them as you wish,” Apollyon stated.
“Kill our own people? Kill?” Riah thought. Outwardly, he gave no reaction other than a curt nod.
“Andbringyour son tothecastlesothatImaybegin training him as my heir since my own son will not fulfill the duty.”
Riah clenched his jaw at his father’s stinging words. With a turn of his heel, he marched from the room, leaving the two schemers behind.
“Wewill take a longer, safer route through a forest,” Caleb
reminded his three companions the following morning. After returning from her secret, seemingly unsuccessful getaway, Cam had had little sleep. Cam decided for the time being not to relate the previous night’s events. Her stomach churned, knowing Peter knew she had been in the vicinity in recent hours.
“The Medulla Realm as you already know, Camaria , values order,” Terra was saying. They had dismounted from their horses and were walking among the trees of a sunlit forest. They had been on the road for nearly an hour. The trees were slowly undressing for winter, scattering their leaves about in the calm wind. Cam was trying her best to distract herself from the revolt.
She considered all of the negative and positive values the Medulla Realm offered. The Medulla Realm possessed strict rules, customs, and expectations Cam did not always quite agree with. But they valued family, firm foundations, and unbreakable relationships. Cam certainly agreed that family was valuable and that without firm foundations, she could never have fruitful relationships with her sisters. “Having people around you, likeyour family, helps one grow,” Terra was saying. Cam’s heart ached for a moment, reflecting upon the fact that she had hardly any knowledge about her true family.
“How does everything the Medulla Realm value connect to using its magic?” Cam asked, turning her mind back to the matter at hand.
“Theearth andeverythingin it was placedin a certain order. Everything connects to one another. If anything is out of order the rest falls apart. With the power of healing, we can keep those pieces in place if they should be broken. There are many who will try to change the course of the earth. It is our duty to keep it in order, to keep the weeds out. That is why we have traditions and rules in place.” Terra smiled and Cam nodded, trying to understand her explanation. It made perfect sense to Cam. She just wished the rules were not as strict, limiting many possibilities life has to offer.
The travelers journeyed two more days through the forest,
sometimes walking, other times on horseback. Fiera and Caleb continued to rival over who was the better hunter, and Cam was left to her thoughts. It seemed like only yesterday when she felt as though her life was normal, that she belonged somewhere, that life wasn’t full of difficult decisions. Now, that had all changed.
Cam awoke one morning on a patch of dying grass, covered in her cloak. Terra and Fiera slept on either side of her, breathing lightly. She sat up, her dark hair in a tangled mass about her shoulders. The sun was rising slowly and filling the forest with silvery light.
All was quiet, except for the distant chirping of birds. Cam jumped when she heard a sharp squawk of a bird and witnessed one fall from a nearby tree, an arrow protruding from its neck. Cam glanced up to see its killer. Caleb couldn’t have slain it, for he was still fast asleep on the other side of their small encampment. Slowly, Cam stood up, keeping her eye trained on the forest in anticipation that someone would suddenly emerge.
A figure did not appear but retreated as rapid as lightning. Cam only caught a glimpse of a black cape and hood. “We are still being followed,” she thought grimly. The bird and the arrow were gone, but now Cam knew their shadow was armed, ready to slay them if his or her need be. Hopefully, the person was alone. If it came down to it, Caleb and Fiera could take him. With no sign of the figure, Cam returned to her spot where she had slept. She did not go back to sleep but sat quietly, keeping her eyes wide and mind alert. Caleb, Fiera, and Terra awoke almost half an hour later. Instead of starting a fire, they consumed leftover rabbit that Fiera shot and stewed the previous day.
Later on, as they continued their journey, Terra placed the gleaming emerald in Cam’s necklace to the left of her diamond.
“Do you really think I am ready?” Cam asked, remembering how Riah had told her it usually took longer for someone to earn the right to the realm’s magic.
“I think you’ve always been ready,” Terra replied with a small smile.
“I’ve been thinking,” Fiera said in a sudden, cheery voice. “I’ve been thinking about that sword Apollyon gave you, Cam.”
“What about it?” Cam asked, releasing a yawn. She realized that she had not brought the weapon with her for any thought of Apollyon was dismissed at the earliest convenience.
“Oh, I was just thinking that you might be mad at me for taking it.” Fiera looked over her shoulder at Cam and flashed agrin.
Shaking her head Cam replied, "I do not know if I'll be able to use it anytime soon. You brought it with you didn't you?" Fiera smirked, and they both turned their eyes to the sword swinging from her hip. Cam patted her cloak pocket, remembering the slingshot she kept there and the three stones which weighed in a fold in her black dress.
A rustle sounded from the nearby underbrush. From there, a low growl emitted, followed by a vicious snarl. They halted. Fiera and Caleb drew their bow and arrows while Cam and Terra stood next to their steads in tense silence. The sound of growls continued to drone in the silent air and Cam spied a pair of inhuman eyes peering from behind the brush. “Why doesn’t it attack?” she wondered.
“It is being reigned in,” Caleb observed in the smallest of whispers. The four travelers took a few steps forward with their eyes still fixed on the sharp gaze of the creature. Maybe it was held back enough to let them pass unharmed, but Cam doubted it.
They were out of sight of the scene when the animal lunged into view. He had the shape of a wild cat and wolf mutation with bristling, stiff fur colored shades of blue and gray. Drool dripped from menacing fangs. His growls cause the horses to rear, creating a terrible commotion. It took all Cam had to keep hers under control. This creature wasn't like any other animal she had seen before. Before she could form further thoughts, the beast was upon Caleb, his teeth snapping inches from his transfixed face. With
a sweep of his arms, Caleb shielded his face as the menacing claws of the beast punctured his clothing and flesh.
“Caleb!” screamed Fiera, releasing her frantic horse. With arrow in hand, she lunged head-long at the animal, plunging her weapon into its skull. With a groan the animal rolled over, and Caleb gasped for breath. He sat up on his elbows looking astonished at the dead beast.
Cam’s heart ratedecreasedto its normal pace. Fiera grasped Caleb’s arm, pulling him up roughly. “I-I could have done that,” he stammered.
“Youcouldhave donewhat? Killedit?” Fierascoffed, pulling the arrow from the beast’s head. Caleb fell silent, and Fiera pushed past him as he stood. It wasn’t until Cam ripped her gaze from the beast did she notice Terra who was standing behind her, panting heavily for breath. The sword given to Cam from Apollyon was in her hand and dripped with blood so dark it was almost black. Before her was a heap of dark clothing. Fiera, Caleb, and Cam stood with jaws dropped. While they had been preoccupied by the bear, the hooded man attacked Terra from behind and somehow she managed to get the sword from Fiera and defeat him.
After a moment of staring at her sister in awe, Cam bent next to the corpse and slowly pushed a mass of dark hair from the person’s face. Their attacker was no man. Cam gasped in astonishment, realizing that this woman was a Royal from Imber Fel. Emotions of near death, fatigue, and shock escaped her through a few single tears which trailed down her face. Cam rolled the body over with a push of her foot. There were Royals who wanted her dead.
Terra acted as if nothing had happened. She cleaned the sword upon the grass and returned it to a gaping Fiera. During the next few moments, they calmed the excited horses. "Are we going to take some meat?" Caleb asked.
“I am hesitant to eat the animal,” Terra said, eyeing it with suspicion. Fiera nodded in agreement with her sister; something she was seldom known for doing.
Even after Terra’s surprising act of defense, Fiera wasn’t finished lecturing Caleb. “Do not think for one second you could have killed that beast. You were about to die and you couldn’t have reached your”
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