by Rachel Angel
“Splendid, my child. Splendid.” She sat opposite Ally and smiled. “And who is this young lady?”
“Allotrope.”
“Ah yes, the girl warrior. I hope you are showing those boys what girls can really do.”
“I’m doing my best.”
Queen Mother Jasmine laughed which instantly brought on a severe cough. She reddened and pulled a handkerchief from the inside of her gown’s sleeve.
Ally couldn’t help but notice the tiny droplets of blood on the pristine white of the handkerchief.
“Here, Mother,” Queen Jade said when the fit was over. “Have a sip of tea. I’ve stirred in a nice spoonful of honey. It should help clear your throat.”
Ally watched the two and was warmed by the tenderness and affection Queen Jade showed her mother. For some reason, she had expected Queen Jade to be cold and calculating; heartless and cruel.
“I think it may be time to show Ally to her room,” Jasper said, startling everyone with his sudden statement.
“I suppose you’re right,” Queen Jade said. You both must be exhausted after riding out here in the midday sun.” She stood and looked at Ally. “I hope you’ll enjoy your room.”
Ally stood and curtsied as best she could, once again feeling clumsy and awkward. Clearly she was better suited to fight than bow.
Jasper led the way down a long corridor and turned to the right. Ally admired the walls that were hung with tall tapestries depicting various events from the past; wars, births, weddings, deaths. A recurring aspect in every tapestry were the tall and thin whippets who accompanied the kings and queens throughout the ages. The elegant and regal dogs were constantly at their sides.
Unexpectedly, Ally bumped into Jasper with a thump when he suddenly stopped. He glared at her then opened the door to her suite.
“It might help if you watch where you’re going.” With a simple and cold gesture of his hand, her urged her inside the room, and closed the door behind her. And he was gone, just like that.
Not so much as a word.
“Well thank you for showing me to my room, Jasper,” Ally said sarcastically to the door. Then she turned to inspect the room. As masculine as her room at the Academy was, this one was almost too feminine. Everything was delicate lace, porcelain figurines and ornate furnishings.
The pink flowers, pink linens, pink curtains and lavender cushions were definitely too much, but she enjoyed the spirit of the room all the same. It said, ‘Welcome. You are wanted here.’
She made her way to the French doors that opened onto a private balcony and gasped in awe as she took in the grandeur of the palace grounds. Rich forests greens, glistening emerald greens and fresh lime green blended together for form the perfect backdrop. Below her were more gardens, filled with an abundance of flowers in every color of the rainbow.
A perfect place for a stroll, she thought, hoping she’d have time to walk the grounds. But for now, she suddenly felt sleepy. The ride to the palace had been longer than anticipated, and the sun that had beat down on them had drained her.
She kicked off her shoes and lay back amidst the countless cushions on the huge four-poster bed. Within seconds she drifted off to sleep and was awakened by a persistent knock on the door.
“Just a moment.” Ally sat up, looked around the room and suddenly remembered where she was. Quickly readjusting her wig, she hurried to the door and opened it.
“Dinner was served ten minutes ago. We’ve been waiting for you.”
She wanted to remind him that she’d not been informed of anything regarding her stay at the palace. No one had mentioned when dinner was served. Instead, she pulled her shoes on and followed him to a small dining room.
On the way, she had noticed a large banquet hall and had thought dinner might be served there but was pleased to see Queen Jade and Queen Mother Jasmine seated at a table for four in the smaller dining room.
“My apologies,” Ally said. “I must have dozed off.”
“It’s perfectly understandable,” Queen Jade said. “Jasper, did you forget to tell our guest when we dined.”
“I may have, Mother.”
“Mother?” Ally said, quickly looking from Jasper to Queen Jade. “You’re…” Gaping she once again looked from one to the other. “You’re her…”
“Son,” Jasper finished for her. “Yes. Why so shocked?”
Why so shocked? Ally thought. Let’s see. Why don’t we start with how warm and lovely she is, while you’re colder than a glacier. How about she’s kind and caring, while you’re a true brute. How about she’s regal and refined, while you’re… you’re… well, you’re anything but regal and refined.
“I…” she stammered. “I just wasn’t aware. You never told me you were bringing me to your mother’s home.”
“I thought it quite inconsequential.”
“I suppose it is,” Ally conceded.
“Children. Children. Let us talk about more pleasant things,” Queen Mother Jasmine said. “I didn’t come down to dinner to hear you young ones bickering.”
“Forgive me, Grandmother. I suppose I’ve been a little out of sorts lately.”
“Get over it, Jasper,” Queen Jade said, and while she smiled, her tone left little room for compromise.
“I shall.”
After that snappy reprimand, Jasper seemed to become an entirely new person. He chatted openly about his classes, his professors and his friends. He thoughtfully questioned his grandmother on her activities, and showed great interest in the small, if not mundane details, she put into many of her stories. Every once in a while she was overcome with a coughing fit, but it never kept her from resuming her story right where she’d left off.
He was immensely patient and even laughed a few times, something Ally had come to think impossible.
Had she never met him before, she might think he was a good and caring man; the kind of man who cared for his mother, who cared for others; who might care for her.
She bit her bottom lip at the thought as she watched him smiling at his grandmother. His green eyes were soft and the curl of his lips made him incredibly alluring.
“I tell you,” Queen Mother Jasmine was saying. “They had everything you could want for breakfast. They had boiled eggs, and fried eggs, and omelets and scrambled eggs. They had bacon, and ham, and sausage. They had every kind of jam you could imagine; strawberry, blueberry, blackberry, even apple jelly and orange marmalade. And, oh, the breads; rye and pumpernickel and onion loaf. A true feast.”
“Did they have salt and pepper?” Jasper said, teasing his beloved grandmother.
Unsuspecting, she nodded. “They had salt and pepper, and other spices, too.”
Ally smiled at the tender exchange.
When dinner was over, and dessert and coffee gone, Ally was saddened to see the evening come to an end. Jasper rose, nodded to the three women and quietly left the table.
“I suppose it is getting late, Mother,” Queen Jade said.
Ally took the hint and rose from her chair. “Thank you so much for the lovely meal, and the exquisite company.”
Queen Mother Jasmine smiled. “You are too kind, my child.”
Ally nodded and left to return to her room.
The evening had been almost magical, sitting at a table with so much noble blood. It’d gone too fast and she now realized that she’d barely spoken a word. In awed silence she’d listen to the everyday conversation of royals.
Smiling, she shivered and wondered if it was due to the darkening night sky or because of the thoughts of Jasper that constantly invaded her thoughts. The transformation in his demeanor had been incredible to witness. Could there really be a kind soul somewhere in that cold hard shell?
Shaking thoughts of him from her head, she picked up the poker and stirred the small logs in the fireplace, bringing the flame back to life.
Just about to change into her nightclothes, she heard resounding footsteps in the garden below. Inexplicably, her heart pounded as she made he
r way to the balcony.
And there he was, his teal hair glistening under the full moon of the dark emerald night. His head hung low as he paced back and forth, his hand intermittently clasped in front of him then behind him. He was clearly nervous about something.
Ignoring common logic that told her to let him be, and return inside, she climbed down the trellis that hugged the palace walls.
Chapter 10
At the sound of her light footsteps, he instantly turned to her, sword in hand. “Who’s there?”
“I’m sorry I startled you,” Ally said. “It’s me; Ally.”
“Great. It’s not enough I have to ride out here with you, sit and have tea then dinner with you, but now you invade the time I’ve set aside for myself?”
“I saw you out here, and thought…”
“No. That’s just it. You didn’t think. You didn’t think that I might want to be alone. You didn’t think that I might have a lot on my mind. You simply didn’t think at all.”
How could she have been so foolish? The kind and sweet man who’d taken such interest in his old grandmother had vanished just as quickly as he’d appeared. The Jasper she knew was back.
“All right. I’ll leave you alone, then.” She turned to reenter the palace but stopped. “Would you allow me to ask you just one question?”
“Sure. You’ve already ruined my peaceful stroll in the moonlight. Might as well make it worthwhile.”
“You weren’t strolling, you were pacing.”
“Do you want to ask me a question, or simply argue with me?”
“Well, it’s just that if I’d seen you strolling peacefully, I would have respected your time alone, but…” She glanced up at her balcony. “From up above, your pacing seemed filled with worry and concern. You fidgeted nervously and seemed troubled, and I thought…”
“Yeah. Here we go again with what you thought,” he said in an annoyed tone. “Do you have a question or don’t you?”
“Yes. I couldn’t help but notice your grandmother’s persistent cough. I didn’t want to say anything during dinner, but I couldn’t help but wonder if it was something serious.”
Jasper looked up at her, his brow furrowed with pain. His eyes narrowed angrily, then closed just as tears swelled in his eyes.
Ally instant felt horrible. Clearly it was a painful subject. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered as she dared take a step closer to him. “It is something serious, isn’t it?”
Instead of answering, he turned away. “Go.”
“Jasper, I just want to…”
“I said go!” he shouted.
When she didn’t make a move to leave, he turned to face her. “Don’t you get it? You’re just some peasant girl from the land of nowhere. I have nothing to say to you; nothing. The Queen Mother’s health is none of your concern.”
“Jasper, I can help.”
“No, you can’t. No one can.”
Ally could have sworn she’d heard a painfilled cry somewhere in that statement. She stood looking at him as his anger slowly subsided. She knew better than to take his harsh words to heart. He was lashing out at her to release some of the pain.
After a long silent moment, he sat on the nearby wrought iron bench and buried his face in his hands. “No one can help her,” he finally said, choking back the tears. “No one can even figure out what’s wrong with her. We are royals and we have access to the best medicine in the land, and still…”
“Perhaps traditional medicine isn’t what she needs.”
“I don’t care what kind of medicine. I just want her to get well.”
Ally put her hand to his shoulder and was surprised when he didn’t move away. “She means a lot to you, doesn’t she?”
“Everything,” he mumbled. “Absolutely everything.” He raised his face out of his hands and stared straight ahead. “I love my mother, but she wasn’t around much when I was young. She had a kingdom to run. My earliest memories are of my grandmother playing with me, laughing with me and teaching me what I needed to know to be a man. And then there are the vague memories of my mother; of a beautiful and regal woman who came to say a few words to me every day.”
He rose suddenly and walked away. “I don’t know why I’m telling you any of this.”
“Maybe because there’s no one else you can tell. I imagine your mother would be heartbroken to realize how much you missed her presence younger in life. And I imagine the boys at the Academy aren’t the type to be sensitive to this type of conversation.”
Poking his tongue into his cheek and swallowing hard, he looked at her, his head bobbing back and forth in a vague nod.
“There’s nothing wrong with showing concern for someone you love.”
“I know that.”
“And there’s nothing wrong with shedding a tear for a loved one who is not well.”
He glared at her. “You’re pushing it a bit too far.”
“At the Academy, you boys are shown only how to fight, how to battle, and how to kill. Did no one ever teach you how to love, how to care?”
“Yes, and she’s lying up there in her room, probably coughing up blood as we speak.” His face streaked with pain, he walked away into the night, leaving Ally determined to do what she could to help.
The next morning, she asked to speak to Queen Jade in private.
“I’ll admit, I’m not accustomed to being summoned to meet with my guests in my own home,” Queen Jade said, though without a trace of anger.
Though they’d met in the throne room of the palace, Queen Jade chose to sit on a common chair and gestured for Ally to sit beside her.
Ally sat down. “It’s only because it is so vitally important that I dared, Queen Jade.”
“I’m listening.”
“It was obvious last night that Queen Mother Jasmine is quite ill. And though her room is a considerable distance from mine, I still could hear her coughing throughout the night.”
Queen Jade nodded. “Yes. She hasn’t been well lately, but she does put on a brave face. I’m sure you noticed her coughing spells don’t prevent her from regaling us with stories of her youth.” She smiled and looked down at her hands. “Every respectable doctor in the land has seen her; lung specialists, throat specialists. Each with the same conclusion; there is nothing they can do for her.”
“I don’t know how much of my background you’re aware of, but I have great knowledge of alchemy.”
“So did some of the doctors who saw my mother,” Queen Jade said.
Yes, but I know more, Ally wanted to say. “Many of the lessons I’ve studied are new and mostly untried by doctors. I’m sure they would not want to risk their reputation by experimenting on the Queen Mother.”
“No. I suppose not.” She turned to Ally. “And what of your reputation. Are you not concerned?”
Ally laughed. “I have no reputation to protect. If anything, I think I have everything to prove.”
Queen Jade nodded.
“I’ve read about tonics that can help clear passageways. There are also various mists that can be administered directly up the nostrils to bring vital medicine where it is needed. There are balms, and salves and ointments.”
“You seem quite sure of yourself.”
“Give me a few days… a week at the most, to find what will truly help her get better.”
“And what if she gets worse after your experimental treatments.”
“She won’t,” Ally said with self-assurance.
*****
Bright and early the nest morning, Ally headed to the grounds that surrounded the palace, hoping to find everything she needed.
She’d spent over an hour going through her small alchemy booklet to find the best remedy and added what she’d read to what she remembered learning about the lungs and throat.
First on her list was water hemlock. She quickly found the large wildflower and plucked it out, roots and all. Then deadly nightshade. She spotted the colorful berries in the distance and added a handfu
l of them to her basket. And finally some oleander. The striking flowers lined the back wall of the palace grounds. She snapped off a branch and added to her pile.
With the toxic part of her list complete, she headed to the herb garden outside the kitchen door.
Rosemary was her first pick, then a little thyme. She pinched off a bay leaf, plucked a fistful of dill weed and topped it off with a dozen mint leaves
She knew the concoction would have a vile taste and mint was simply to help poor Queen Mother swallow it down without gagging.
“There you are!”
Startled, Ally dropped her basket and a few of the berries she’d picked rolled out.
“Yes, here I am,” she said.
“You should have your bags ready and be out saddling your horse, not out here playing gardener,” Jasper bellowed.
“I’m sorry. I assumed your mother had told you. We’ll be staying a few days longer.”
Glaring at her, he took a step closer. “What the hell are you talking about.”
Ally could smell him, he was so close. He smelled fresh and clean, yet masculine and so alluring. Once again, she was taken aback by the perfect features of his face. His teal hair fell over his face, adding to the sensual energy he exuded.
Damn, why did he have to look so good?
“I spoke to Queen Jade and asked if we could stay a few more days.”
“This isn’t a holiday, Allotrope. There’s important business to attend to back at the Academy.”
“Jasper, I want to try to cure your grandmother. I think I can make…”
“There you go, thinking again. Well here’s what I think. You’re going to go up to your room, grab your bag and meet me in the stable. You got that?” He turned on his heel and stepped away.
“No.”
“What did you say?” He slowly turned back to face her.
“No,” she repeated. “I have your mother’s permission to do this. Last time I check a queen had a little more power than a prince.”
If she wanted to get under his skin, she succeeded. Clenching his fists, he marched back to her and grabbed the basked out of her hands.
