He moved to the empty windows and looked out to the front gates and the Dark Forest beyond. Heavy black clouds raced across the sky and piled in great heaps over the Grey Palace. Grotto’s nose twitched at the smell of ice in the air, its cold clear scent stabbing at his sinuses.
What was his Master up to now?
Grotto cleared his thoughts and quietened his mind to listen to the wind. His long, bony fingers gripped the jagged edge of the windowsill as he leaned out over the edge.
She comes! She comes! Whispered the North Wind. She comes with the breath of a beast behind her. All men be afraid. The Queen is coming!”
Grotto frowned and pressed his thin lips together. The North Wind was fickle and often spoke in foolish riddles, but the ‘breath of a beast’? What new darkness was this? Most likely, it was the Spider Empress of which the wind spoke.
So, the Queen was close and his Master was finally doing something to bring her to his side, where she could fulfill her part of the Prophecy. Grotto looked forward to events unfolding as they should, but he couldn’t calm the disquiet in his soul. The Empress would have her vengeance on the Queen and Grotto feared that his Master was underestimating the strength of the Empress’ hatred. This Prophecy was not going to end well for the Queen and Grotto did not want the Prince in the way when it did.
The Spider People were an ancient and primitive race, but they had long memories. Their ancestors had walked the Above Lands a thousand years ago, nesting in the trees of the Dark Forest and eating all the fresh meat they could catch, Animal and Human alike. They had been a powerful race, feared by all and nearly unstoppable because of their ability to walk in the light of day, as well as at night. Not many of the Dark Entities shared this ability. But it was the very thing that made them so dangerous that had been so fascinating to the Marchant Kings of the day.
The Spider People were a long-lived race. Though not technically immortal, they still maintained their bodies for hundreds of years in perfect health. It was the Spider People who had exchanged the knowledge of the Gift of Life with the Marchant Kings for protection from the Goddess Serena when she returned to the world of Evendaar. They had made the Under Lands their permanent home, hiding in nests, on the promise of the Marchant Kings that one day, they would be able to return to the surface of the world. For when the Spider Empress and her kind covered the land, other Dark Entities would also rise from the shadows, where they had been hidden for so long. A new era of darkness would cover the world and the Goddess Lune would have dominion over the Goddess Serena, as she had in the days of old, before the Humans had even come to this world.
Grotto gritted his teeth and gazed sightlessly out at the billowing clouds. He didn’t even notice as the first flakes of snow drifted in and fell softly about him.
All that imposter Queen has to do is marry my Master and put him on the throne as the rightful King of Unisia. Then when the Dark Entities take back the lands of the other nations, Prince Rainere will finally rule all of Evendaar. The Marchant Blood will once more hold the Throne and my oath to Rainere’s late father will finally be fulfilled. Grotto almost smiled at the thought of it, but the moment passed quickly. The task was not yet done.
What we need is more time to get the Queen to marry the Prince, but the Prophecy is being moved to the will of the Spider Empress and she is far too impatient for a resolution. If only the Hidden Child was not this Abomination that has trapped my Master in her terrible Magic, binding him to her with filthy wiles. The quicker he puts her and her mixed blood children aside after the marriage, the better.”
A loud sniff alerted him to the presence of one of the servants who made up the meagre staff at the Grey Palace. The man had slunk into the room and hovered by the door, wearing a dirty apron and a surly expression.
“Barren, call for the glazier,” Grotto ordered, pointing to the empty windows behind him. “We will need these windows repaired immediately.”
The man Barren sniffed again and wiped his nose with the back of his hand. The smell of cheap whiskey hung about him like a fog. “The glazier say’d ‘e wasna’ gonna come agin if ‘e’s bill wasna’ paid from the las’ time.”
Grotto stared hard at the unkempt servant as he struggled to come up with a cure for the last repair bill, and this expensive new one. “Take the pewter candlesticks from the High State Dining Hall. There are six of them there. Give them to the blacksmith and then take what he pays you to the glazier. They should both know that the order came from me, so there will be no haggling. Am I understood?” Grotto snapped.
“Unner-stood, sir.” Barren attempted a bow, but just sort of fell to the side and stumbled out of the door, instead.
Grotto clenched his hands into fists of impotent rage and bit off a curse. How low the Marchant Family has sunk! They were reduced to selling off priceless heirlooms, just to keep their crumbling home whole. Grotto was not a greedy man and gold held no personal attraction for him, but he did like things to remain as they should. Despite Prince Rainere’s willful destruction of the palace’s windows, mirrors, and the occasional chandelier, Grotto was determined to keep the palace in good working order until the Prince was King and the doors of the Unisian Royal Treasury flew open to him.
He remembered so clearly when the Grey Palace had been the most elegant and opulent of all the Marchant houses. It did not share the ostentation of the Golden Palace, but had been decorated over the years by the Marchant monarchs in an elegant and formal way. From the smallest details in the gold leaf frescoes adorning the walls, to the exceptionally rare ice marble that lined the floor of the entrance hall in great square slabs, the Grey Palace had been a vision of wealth and good taste. Of course, there had always been hundreds of servants to clean and polish the rooms in the past. Now there was just Grotto left to care for it all, and his small staff of drunken buffoons from the local village.
“One day soon, I will return things to the way they were,” Grotto promised himself aloud. “This palace will again become the beauty that it was and those pewter candlesticks and everything else shall be brought home. May the Goddess Lune bless my efforts.”
Newly energized, Grotto knelt down to sweep up the rest of the broken glass with fresh vigor, muttering to himself. “Though that Abomination has stolen my Master’s senses, her marriage to him will give him back all that is rightfully his—his throne and his home.”
Grotto caught a glimpse of his reflection in a shard of glass and paused. His vivid green eye glinted back at him. All he had to do was to keep Prince Rainere from doing anything foolish until that could happen. But neither Rainere nor the Spider Empress could be allowed to discover the Queen’s true nature until after the marriage. If Empress Ka-kik found out who Adelena really was, then the Prophecy would be nothing more than a happy fantasy and all their lives would be forfeit.
Chapter Four
“Shelter From the Storm”
They had not been riding the King’s Highway for long when Adele took a moment to pull up the collar of her riding jacket. It had been hot on the beaches of Sandar and the sunny days of late Spring in Unisia were hardly cold, either. Now the turn in the weather seemed ominous after all that had happened today.
Adele glanced over at General Ohrig as he cast a worried look up at the sky where heavy grey clouds were gathering above their heads.
‘There is a storm coming. It’s going to be bad.’
Damn Ripenzo and his cryptic message, now that it didn’t seem so cryptic anymore. This had to be the storm he warned them about in his letter.
“What is it, Ohrig?” asked Adele as she pulled her horse up beside the General.
“Hear that?” he asked Adele.
Adele cocked her head to the side and listened hard.
“I hear nothing, but the wind,” she replied.
“Exactly,” frowned the General. “The birds have stopped singing.”
Adele’s stomach dropped. That couldn’t be good.
“We should take shelter,” said Ohrig. “We will
be too vulnerable on the road when the weather breaks. I suggest you ride in the carriage with the children, Your Majesty. It’s going to get uncomfortable out here.”
Adele jumped when a peal of thunder rumbled through the sky and made her horse start. She had only started riding a couple of weeks ago and being on a nervous horse was not yet something she knew how to deal with. A gust of wind blew at them head-on, raising puffs of dust on the road and sending grit into their eyes. Captain Lucky rode up just as Adele’s horse shied, making her yelp in fear.
“Easy girl, easy my girl. It’s alright. Just a bit of wind,” the Captain crooned, as he reached over to take the reins from Adele, so she couldn’t jerk them anymore, soothing the nervous animal as it shook its mane and pawed at the ground.
Adele felt the hairs on her body rise and a shiver wiggle its way down her spine when a flash of lightning cracked the sky, illuminating the densely-packed trees of the forest lining the road to their left. The Dark Forest was unlike the green and sunny forests that were common in Unisia. The trees here were gnarled and ugly, their dark green leaves crowning the forest in a dense canopy that didn’t let in any light to the forest floor. There were no paths through the trees that Adele could see.
“Ohrig, where can we shelter? The forest looks impenetrable from here.”
But the General didn’t answer her. He was looking over into the forest, then back up the road ahead of them. Adele knew Ohrig well enough now to know he was making a serious decision. She waited until he was done, as her own anxiety mounted.
“There is always bad weather over the Dark Forest, but with the densely-packed trees, we will have more protection than if we continue on the highway. It will be much easier without this wind, too.” He frowned, as he looked at Adele, but she knew his concern was only for their safety. “As I mentioned before, there is an old road not far from here, which will take us along the back roads to the Belvoir Estate, but without good visibility, it is easy to get lost in the Dark Forest. If we took the wrong turn, we would end up at the Grey Palace instead of Belvoir, and that wouldn’t be wise.”
Adele dropped her eyes to her saddle to hide the thrill of excitement that shot through her at the idea of seeing Rainere again. She’d had no idea that they were so close to his home at the Grey Palace. “Wouldn’t the Prince give us shelter?” she asked, trying hard to sound innocent, instead of eager.
“He would,” agreed Ohrig slowly. “But if we can avoid asking for it, so much the better. Let’s just pray to the Goddess Serena that this is just a passing summer storm and move as fast as we can to Belvoir.”
“Through the Dark Forest, General?” asked Captain Lucky, confirming his orders, but Adele didn’t miss the anxious look he gave his superior.
The General gave a curt nod and pulled his horse around to face the three slowly-moving carriages behind them. “Take the Queen’s horse for her, then tell the men to prepare for a hard ride. Cloaks on and keep swords at the hip. I want you to take QG Pepper and ride on ahead to scout the trail for us, but not too far ahead. Shouting distance only.”
“General,” nodded Lucky, who dismounted to help Adele slide off her horse.
“Scouts? Are these woods dangerous, Ohrig?” asked Adele. They all looked up, as the sun was suddenly covered by a thick bank of clouds, plunging the countryside into an early twilight.
“The Dark Forest borders Marchant lands, Your Majesty, and have been left wild for thousands of years. I’m not sure what, or who, lives in these woods, but without a bright sun or a Wizard in our party, I think it’s better to be safe than sorry.” Ohrig’s voice was grim and Adele could take no comfort from it.
Adele headed back to the carriages. She heard her little daughter, Stella, call out for her and felt anxiety tighten its grip on her lungs, pulling her breath in short bursts. She and her children were in constant danger in this new world and she just couldn’t seem to make it stop. The Chime Voices sang Magic commands softly in her ears, but she ignored them. She had no need of her odd power right now. It certainly couldn’t control the storm or tell her what she needed to do to keep her children safe. She thought briefly of insisting that they head to the Grey Palace, but a powerful need for secrecy prevented her. No one could know that she and Rainere were involved with each other. Not yet.
So instead, she plastered a bright smile on her face and pulled herself into the crowded carriage filled with her three children, their nannies, and puppies. Squashing herself into a seat, she took the baby, Stella, into her arms and cuddled her eldest daughter, Natalie, close to her. Aaron was curled up in a corner of the carriage, his little face white with worry. The sight of his expression made Adele want to weep, but she stayed resolutely cheerful.
“Come on, everyone! It’s just a little storm. Nothing to worry about at all. Now, how about a song? Five fat frogs sitting on a log….”
The carriage picked up the pace considerably and they were all getting jumbled around as Adele kept the singing going, her own voice the loudest, drowning out the noise of the storm.
Suddenly, the carriage almost lifted off two wheels when they sharply took the corner onto the forest road. Caitlin, the youngest nanny, cried out in fright and all the children started whimpering. Trying to slow her own racing heart, Adele had just started on another nursery rhyme when Natalie called out. “Mummy, look! What’s that?”
Everyone looked out of the windows of the carriage as soft, white flakes spun and whirled in the wind outside.
“My God, it’s snow,” whispered Adele. She looked over at her little son where he lay curled up on the carriage cushions.
“Hey, Aaron! You were right, sweetheart.” She reached over and squeezed Aaron’s little leg. “We do have snow today.”
Aaron returned her smile with a worried frown. “Hero Boy told me, didn’t he?”
“Well, then, clever Hero Boy,” replied Adele, as she reached down to give the puppy a scratch behind his ears. Adele felt it was important that Aaron didn’t see how freaked out she was that his earlier prediction had come true or that he kept saying his dog had told him.
The wind howled ferociously and the carriage shuddered as the wheels bumped and rolled over the pitted road. Soon the delicate flakes of snow had turned into a heavy white cloud and Adele could only presume they were looking at a blizzard. She’d never seen one before on Earth, as they had always lived near the beach. Occasionally, she heard the shouting of her men and the carriage drivers over the howl of the wind, but mostly, she tried to drown it out, singing silly songs and telling stories to keep her children calm. One of the nannies, Seraphina, managed to find a firelighter to light the two tiny lanterns in the carriage. It would have been very cozy, if it wasn’t for the demonic screeching of the wind outside.
“Wow! Thunder, lightning, and snow! Aren’t we the lucky ones?” Adele told her children, as yet another peal of thunder rattled their teeth.
Stella whimpered and cuddled into her mother.
“It isn’t right, Your Majesty,” whispered Seraphina. “We must be awfully close to the Marchant palace to be getting weather this bad. It is a magical storm. I’m sure of it.”
Adele silently raised her eyebrows in a warning gesture to the young woman. She didn’t want the children getting more upset than they already were.
Time passed slowly in the carriages and it felt like an age before the carriage slowed and lurched to a rude stop. Stella had fallen asleep in Adele’s arms and Natalie was cuddled into her side. There was a knock at the door and Adele heard General Ohrig shout her name. She passed the baby over to Caitlin and stepped out of the carriage carefully, not wanting to let in the frigid air of the storm.
Jumping down, Adele could only just make out General Ohrig and her Queen’s Guardsmen through the billowing snow standing in front of an enormous set of gates. Holding her arms up to protect her face, Adele approached the General just as a huge gust of wind almost blew her over. Panicking, Adele reached out and threw herself at the nearest Guardsm
an before she was blown away.
Captain Lucky wrapped his arms around Adele, holding her tight. Adele squirmed as the snow blew into her eyes and Lucky’s tough leather armor pressed into her back.
“Your Majesty!” General Ohrig had stepped up behind her and shouted in her ear. “We have… a wrong turn, the storm (something, something) … Grey Palace…(something) too dangerous… road (something)…”
Adele nodded, though she couldn’t catch half of what he was saying. Looking over Captain Lucky’s protective embrace and through the large wrought-iron gates, a break in the swirling snow lasted just long enough for Adele to see a huge building with warm yellow lights shining in the upper windows.
The Grey Palace.
Despite the cold wind and the icy flakes dripping down her neck, Adele felt a flush of heat.
Rainere lived here.
Adele pushed out of Lucky’s arms and reached out to touch the black metal of the gates. The flash of green sparks was almost lost in the flurries of snow as General Ohrig gave a warning shout and threw himself in front of Adele. The three of them gazed in wonder as the gates slowly swung open by themselves. Adele smiled as a deep sense of familiarity settled over her as comfortably as a blanket.
She had been here before.
Chapter Five
“There’s No Place Like Home”
Adele stepped through the gates of the Grey Palace with General Ohrig on one side of her and Captain Lucky on the other.
“Your Majesty! Look!” said Ohrig, pointing ahead of them. “The storm stops at the gates.”
“That’s impossible,” whispered Adele as she gazed about her at the thick snow covering the grounds. Not a breath of wind disturbed the tiny glittering icicles that hung like jewelry from the trees lining the wide driveway. Even the sky above them was clear and black, littered with sparkling stars and a half-full moon, heavy and white above the turrets of the palace.
“General, this is just too strange,” muttered Captain Lucky. “It must be the dark Magic protecting this place. I don’t like it.”
The Queen Revealed Page 3
