“You will never believe who came by our house today!” Quena announced.
“You won’t believe who came to ours,” Ashna countered.
But Quena just shook her head. “Oh, Ashna. You’re the Bookdaughter. Everyone comes to your house.”
Ashna sighed. The Doorkeeper wasn’t just anyone, but Quena had a point. More people came to visit the Bookholder for advice than came to see a herdsman in a cabin in the corner of a wood. “So who came to see you?” she asked.
Quena glanced about the room, then leaned closer, prompting Ashna to do the same. Even so, it was several moments before she whispered, “Queen Amber.”
Ashna jerked back, and her eyes went wide. “The Lady Dragon?”
Quena nodded. “Yes, she was here.” Then she shook her head, apparently amused by Ashna’s shock. “Oh, she’s not like the legends at all. Well, perhaps she was, but she’s not anymore. She was so kind. She shared her food with us, told us wonderful stories about herself, even offered Marno a job at her castle.”
“I hope he turned her down!” cried Ashna, aghast.
“Well, he’s still considering yea or nay,” Quena admitted. “But honestly, she’s not as evil as the legends portray. Indeed, you know how it’s suddenly taken a turn for the cooler – even though it’s still early autumn?”
Ashna slowly nodded.
“It’s her doing. She used her magic to help us.” Quena leaned forward.
“Did she tell you that? Quena, think! She could be lying! Saying what you want to hear to sway opinion in her direction.”
“Or she could be telling the truth,” said Quena. “Look, Amber admits that she was less than nice to Klarand – but she says that she feels completely differently about Rizkaland. She says she wants to bring us back hope – and you know full well that that’s something that the people have been sorely lacking of late.”
“Tickling your ears…” Ashna whispered.
“I mean, you and your parents do your best,” Quena continued, oblivious. “But even that doesn’t make up for the neglect of the kings and queens—”
“They do their best, too!” Ashna cut in.
Quena gave her a pointed look. “Do they? What have they done to help us through our droughts? Our terrible winters?”
“Everything they can,” said Ashna. “You don’t sit through the long hours of council meetings when they search for solutions to impossible problems. They can’t magically produce food, you know.”
“But Amber can! And she has corrected the winds to bring us cooler weather and shorter winters. She can do more, so much more than just sit in long council meetings where nothing is decided, much less done.”
“Alphego chose the kings and queens. Do you question His wisdom?”
Quena was silent a moment, and Ashna almost thought she had brought sense back to her friend’s head. Then she shook her head. “But what if their time is done? He did promise Amber the rule of Rizkaland.”
“Quena, listen to yourself – this is the Lady Dragon we’re talking about!”
“Aren’t you the one who’s so quick to say ‘do not judge’?”
Ashna stood up and paced the room, her thoughts jumbling in her head. “But she’s the Lady Dragon – her record is in the Legends – Legends I have memorized. She turns people to ice for fun. How could anyone ‘good’ do a thing like that?”
“It has been a thousand years since she left her island. That is surely enough time for her to have changed.”
Ashna shook her head. “When I read the prophecy of her coming to Rizkaland, I’ve always pictured her as the fiery dragon that terrorized Klarand in the Legends. But this…”
“So who came to see you?” Quena asked, apparently taking delight in Ashna’s conflict. “Klarand’s handsome young prince? A delegate from Rintae Island?”
“No,” said Ashna, slowly bringing her thoughts back together. “It was the Doorkeeper.”
“Oh.”
“Yes, the self-same Doorkeeper of the Legends, who knew Amber personally, raised her in her childhood. She’s not happy about Amber being here. Can’t do a thing to change it, but she doesn’t like it. Amber is not the answer to Rizkaland’s problems! Once she’s in power, you’ll see a different side of her – just you watch. I – I’d better get home. Mother and Father will be worried about me.”
Chapter 5
It was exhilarating, the speed with which things were coming together. Amber was almost disappointed in how quickly the Rizkans succumbed to her persuasion. Still, it made her job so much easier, so who was she to complain about a quicker path to power?
Now, just a mere two months after she first set foot in Rizkaland, Amber was ready to move on to the next step of her plan – a visit to the kings and queens of Loray.
Humming an old tune, she gathered together the various trinkets and stars and such to use in her show. She had never been one to turn down a bit of flair and dramatics.
“You know, I’m actually rather impressed with you, Amber. You haven’t transformed into the dragon even once since you set foot in Rizkaland. At least not when I’ve been watching, and I rather suspect that word would reach me if you had…”
Granite was standing in the doorway again. She sighed. “Can’t you be doing something useful?”
“Unfortunately, you don’t trust me to do any of your dirty work,” answered Granite. “Which is fair enough, because I refuse to do it anyway. So I’m making an observation instead.”
“Granite, I’m very busy at the moment.”
“Clearly. You’ve been busy for the last few months. I’ve barely seen you.”
Amber shook her head. “Oh, go bemoan your fate somewhere else. I’ve things to do.” She scooped up the last item, a small vial she’d been keeping for many long years, and tucked it into her pocket. Head held high, she exited the room, holding her breath as she passed her husband, hoping he wouldn’t try to restrain her, as was his wont.
He didn’t. She passed him without trouble. Yet, she had only taken three steps past him when he spoke again.
“I was just thinking how much easier and faster it might be if you used your dragon. Less time spent scrambling over the countryside whispering lies.”
“Don’t tempt me. The dragon is difficult to control, and you know that.” Amber turned back to stare at him in disbelief. He was normally so quick to ask her if the dragon was truly necessary back in Klarand. “It will teach the Rizkans to fear me, and I don’t want their fear. I want them to love me. I want to be their choice.”
“A choice based on lies is not a true choice,” said Granite.
She stared at him, not trusting herself to answer, for she knew he would misinterpret anything she said.
Before she could move, his arm hooked around her waist, his other hand tangling in her hair as he stared into her eyes. “Is my love no longer enough for you?” he continued. “Is Alphego’s?”
She closed her eyes. “It’s not like that, Granite. I want what’s best for Rizkaland, and I want them to appreciate me. Now I really must go.”
But he didn’t release her, just dug his hand deeper into her hair and pulled her closer. “Where are you going?” he whispered in her ear.
It was no use fighting him. She leaned forward and laid her head against his shoulder, not wanting to look him in the eye or for him to see that she was avoiding it. “I have to deal with the kings and queens of Rizkaland. I doubt they’ll surrender to me easily, but I must try.”
“What was that I saw you pick up from your desk?”
Amber pursed her lips, knowing that he’d never approve of its purpose and that he’d see through any lie she gave him. “A last resort,” she said at length.
His arms tightened a moment, and then he drew back to place a hand under her chin and force her to make eye contact with him. “Please keep it as such.” A muscle in his jaw tightened, as though he were about to say something else, but instead he turned and walked away.
Amber drew in a de
ep breath and shook her head. No matter, she would do what she must, and she wouldn’t stray from the path set before her.
As soon as she left her castle, she withdrew the star Ulint from her pocket, twisted it, and then tapped it against her shoes. That accomplished, she walked to Loray within minutes. Another twist of Ulint restored her shoes to normal, and she returned it to her pocket and withdrew Elina in its place. With invisibility on her side, it was but a simple matter to slip into the castle unnoticed and wind through halls until she found herself in the throne room where the eight kings and queens sat listening to the requests of their people.
Or, that’s what they would be doing if there were people there to ask the requests. Alas, it seemed that the people had so lost faith in their kings and queens that they no longer trusted them with their problems. Only a few guards stood at key positions in the room.
Ah, well, it just made Amber’s job easier.
With another twist of Elina, she appeared. As expected, there were gasps of surprise from the kings and queens.
“Who are you!” cried one of the kings, springing to his feet. “How did you get here?”
Amber stared at the man a moment – he wasn’t old; none of them were – then she smiled and shook her head. “And you call yourselves clever.”
She walked up to the youngest of the queens, a girl not yet fourteen from what Amber had heard. “But you are all so young. I couldn’t believe my luck when I found out that none of you had yet produced an heir.”
The girl shrank back, her eyes wide. “Amber? How did you get in – we’ve had guards!”
“Guards are truly pitiful, I’ve found from long experience,” said Amber, stepping away from the girl. “Good for decoration, but if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.”
“Why are you here, Amber?” asked the eldest of the kings, who was only twenty-four himself.
Amber drew herself to her full stature as she folded her arms at her waist and stared the man in the eye. “To negotiate terms of surrender.”
“You’re surrendering?” asked one of the queens.
Amber shook her head and turned away. “Oh, no, that would be silly. You will be doing the surrendering. I’m giving you the opportunity to do it now, peaceably. Because otherwise, I’m not sure you’ll get another chance, at least not unless at great cost.”
“We will never surrender to you,” said the eldest king.
“Oh, you won’t? But Alphego has promised me fifty years reigning over Rizkaland.” Amber pulled the vial out of her pocket and fiddled with it, not quite ready to open it yet. “A true reign, at that, not a mere occupation as I had to content myself with in Klarand. You children can either surrender peacefully, and I’ll allow you to keep your shiny crowns and a share of power, or else I’m afraid I’ll have to play nasty. And I can get quite nasty if I have the need.”
“We will never give the people of Rizkaland into your cruel hands,” the eldest king declared.
“Really?” asked Amber, arching an eyebrow. “Because if you take a vote of popularity on the streets, you’ll find that you’ve sadly fallen out of favor. They’re crying for me to rescue them from your negligence.”
“You’ve whispered your lies in their ears, and they fail to remember the legends,” said one of the queens, one who had not yet spoken.
“The fact remains that they no longer trust their leaders,” said Amber. “Now, we were discussing terms of surrender – or are you so proud on your thrones that you think you can ignore a direct prophecy from Alphego? Whether you surrender now or not, I shall have my fifty years.”
“We must consult the Book,” said one of the kings.
“You’re stalling,” said Amber, sighing. “I will have your surrender now, or let me assure you, your ends will not be pleasant. However, I will give you a few minutes to come to your decision.”
And with that, Amber withdrew to the back of the room, seating herself on one of the decorative chairs.
She paid little attention to the conversation, though she caught snatches here and there. The youngest queen thought they ought to accept Amber’s terms so that they might “moderate her,” but her fellow rulers all declared that they could have no compromise.
At length, Amber tired of their prattle, so she stood again and approached them. “So, yea or nay? Shall you join me?”
“Never,” said the eldest of the kings. “We would die before we saw you ruling over Rizkaland.”
A sneer twisted Amber’s lip as she stared at each of the young royals in turn. They were but children, thinking themselves more important in the grand scheme of things than they truly were. They honestly thought that they could win against her! How adorable.
She threw the vial to the ground before the thrones, and it shattered, releasing invisible vapors into the air. Not even Amber knew for certain what they would do, save the end result.
“You wish to die before I take the throne of Rizkaland? Then so you shall.”
Death was such a final word. She hated using it, but … what’s done was done.
With that, she turned, sweeping her skirts behind her majestically, and vanished with a twist of Elina.
Chapter 6
Ashna glanced up from her book as her mother entered the library. “Is…” she let the word dangle, not wanting to voice the terrible thought.
Mother shook her head grimly. “Queen Ellen lost the child.”
“Oh.” Ashna sank back into her chair and let the bleakness of the situation wash over her. “But since King Roland … this means that Helen’s line…”
“Is to die out, yes,” said Father, not glancing up from his desk where he was scratching out a letter to the king and queen of Klarand. “All of the lines are to die out, and they know it. King Roland’s death during the kirat attack last month was just the beginning. Queen Nia’s life is sapped away by her fever as we speak. There’s nothing that anyone in Rizkaland can do.”
“Nothing that Rizkaland will do,” said Mother. She pulled off her cape and draped it across a chair, a frown pulling at her brow. “The Dragon has most of the people deluded with her pretty words and fancy tricks, and those who are wise to her just sit back, fold their hands, and say ‘Alphego’s Will be done.’”
Father smiled slightly, though it was a grim smile. “Alphego’s Will be done.”
“And those who would do something will only meet with death at Amber’s hand,” Laura spoke up from the corner where she sat reading. Ashna had almost forgotten she was in the room, the girl was so quiet. “Guard yourself, Austila – you are not the Tela Du.”
“And only the Tela Du can kill the Dragon,” said Mother, sighing. “But surely we can do something in the meantime.”
“We can. We can trust Alphego,” stated Father.
“Austila?” Ashna repeated. It wasn’t her mother’s name, and she was unfamiliar with the term.
“Oh, that’s just the Doorkeeper’s name for me,” Mother replied. “She’s used it for me for almost as long as I’ve known her.”
“It means ‘sister’ in the Estat tongue,” Laura explained. “You were a sister to me at a time I needed it, and so I think it incredibly fitting. Also, Estat is a beautiful language. I don’t know why more people don’t speak it. Probably because the people of that world have never strayed through any of my doors, much less colonized any other worlds.”
“Probably,” agreed Mother, nodding.
“That aside,” said Laura as she stood. “I must be going. Now that Amber has enacted that stage of her plan, I can return to nullify her poison as best I can.”
“To try to save the kings and queens?” asked Ashna.
Laura shook her head, dashing Ashna’s hopes. “There is nothing I can do for the kings and queens. That is why I came here during this time – so I couldn’t try. I’m so sorry, Ashna. I hate death as much as anyone, and I know that Queen Nia is your especial friend. But such is my curse as Doorkeeper. I know the future, and must tie my
own hands so that I cannot change things already set in place.”
“But … what if you could make things better?”
“What if I can’t?” Laura replied. “There are things at work here that you can’t begin to fathom, things that I only glimpse. When you know the future, your choices are always limited, so severely, because you never know what little change might destroy the fabric of reality. As for the big changes – oh, I wouldn’t dare, even if I possessed that power.”
“But the queens and kings are dying!” cried Ashna. “How can that possibly be good?”
“It isn’t good, but good will come of it.” Laura shook her head. “Rizkaland will soon see a new day under the Tela Du, but a new day can’t come unless there is night first. One word of caution, however. Queen Ellen will not recover from her miscarriage. Nia is appointed next to die, but Ellen won’t be long in following. Austila, you must not attend Ellen’s funeral.”
“Why not?” Mother asked.
“And, Ritis,” Laura continued, addressing Ashna’s father, “I’ve no doubt that, when the time comes, you will receive word from Alphego to confirm my words.” She turned back to Mother. “Because Amber will choose Ellen’s funeral to appear before the people and spread her lies. But it won’t yet be the time appointed for you and her to meet. That time is to come quite at chance and do not hasten it!”
“And why does it matter when I meet the Lady Dragon?”
“You’ll find out when you meet her.” Laura shook her head. “It is twilight now; don’t hasten the night. You are not the Tela Du.”
And with that, Laura stepped onto the nearest doormat, spoke its word of farewell, and vanished from sight.
“Just like her to speak in riddles like that,” said Mother, with a shake of her head. “Still, if there’s one thing I’ve learned in all the years I’ve known her, it’s that, when she gives a direct order, it’s best to follow.”
“How long have you known her?” Ashna asked, curious.
“I was younger than you when I first found out who she was,” said Mother. “Now, no more questions. Best to put it out of your head entirely – unless I need to ask your father to forget it?”
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