Lady Dragon, Tela Du

by Kendra E. Ardnek

  “You shall hold this responsibility as long as you live. Once you step upon this path, there will be no turning aside. Are you prepared for this commitment?”

  Petra glanced down, shuddering at the weight of those words, made even heavier by the silence that followed. Were they prepared? She was quite certain that they were absolutely not.

  “If that is what You ask of us, then we shall take it one day at a time, as You guide us,” answered Reuben. “Stringing those days together, we’ll end up at the end, eventually.”

  “What about the Dragon?” Petra asked. This was the more pressing issue, after all. They couldn’t rule if Amber wasn’t defeated first.

  “The Final War looms ahead of you, Tela Du. Prepare for it, but do not give yourselves worry. The end has been decided even before it began. Rise and stand, and hold out your hands.”

  They did as they were instructed. Two beams of light shot into the room and solidified in their hands, hardening and dimming into two staffs. Petra’s was about her own height and as thick as her wrist. Reuben’s was a bit larger.

  “These shall be your weapons and the emblem of your rule, and with them you shall perform your signs before the people. Remember the purpose you have set in your hearts this day, and never forget the love that shall make your task a joy rather than a burden.”

  Those words said, Alphego spread His wings wide, and He seemed to grow, the light becoming whiter as it gathered about Him. Then He was gone, at least so far as eyes could see. A sweet scent still hovered in the air, and Petra could feel His voice echoing in her heart. He wasn’t truly gone – she knew He never would be. He had just withdrawn, and the air felt lighter once more.

  Tightening her grip on her staff, she turned to Reuben, doubt boiling in the pit of her stomach. How could He expect this of them? They were just kids! This wasn’t even their world. They had plans and a life back home!

  Before she could open her mouth to voice even one of these negative thoughts, he took her staff from her and leaned it and his against one of the thrones. Then he put his arms around her, pulling her close and holding her tight. She let loose a long sigh and laid her head against his shoulder. They stood there for a long moment, neither saying a word, before he released her and took a step back.

  “You put back together now?” he asked, taking her staff and handing it back to her.

  She nodded. “Thanks. You?”

  “We should do that more often, yes?”

  “We’ll see about that.” Petra frowned as the Tying Ceremony came to mind once again. Had he read about it, as he had the boxes, gifts, and all the other stuff in Rizkaland? She couldn’t bring herself to ask. Even if he did know, as long as he didn’t know she knew, things still didn’t have to change. He would continue to wait until she was ready, as he had since he’d first asked her to marry him nine years before, when she had first told him that she would consider it and to ask again when they were older.

  “We should return to Rintaya and her husband,” he said. “They’re probably worried about us by now.”

  “What about the crowns?”

  “They probably involve a public ceremony or something,” Reuben answered. “I think we ought to just leave them here for now. If Rintaya says that we have to come back for them, we can.”

  She nodded. Tightening her grip on her staff, she turned and walked back around the thrones and back through the door to the spiral staircase, Reuben just a step behind her. The rhythmic thunk of the sticks against the floor was surprisingly therapeutic.

  Neither said a word to the other as they made their way back to the library. Though Petra wasn’t sure how, they managed to find it again. It was such a relief when they finally left those abandoned, dusty halls and could breathe deeply of the scent of books and life again.

  “Ah, there you two are, I was wondering when you’d wander back here.”

  Petra drew up short as she saw Ritis standing at the other end of a row of bookshelves.

  “Oh, we’re sorry. We can explain—” she began hastily, but Ritis shook his head.

  “Child, I’m quite aware of where you and your friend were,” he informed her, smiling disarmingly. “I’m the Bookholder, so when I have a question I consult the Book. Besides, the boxes that once belonged to David and Jane are hanging around your necks. Hope has indeed returned to Rizkaland this day. Come now, you must be hungry since you missed lunch. I believe that Rintaya should have supper ready by now.”

  “It’s nearly supper time?” asked Petra.

  “I thought Rintaya said that you’d forgotten that you’re the Bookholder,” said Reuben.

  “Yes, it is,” confirmed Ritis, nodding towards Petra. “And yes, I had forgotten. But something about Petra’s face – I’m not entirely certain what, as it’s the same as Amber’s and I’ve seen her many times over the last fifty years – returned that memory, as well as a few others, to me.”

  “Oh, awesome,” said Reuben. “That’s a good thing, right?”

  “It’s a good thing, and yet it isn’t,” answered Ritis, with a shake of his head. “Yes, I can remember it again, and so can everyone else, including some in whose head the memory is dangerous indeed.”

  “Oh.”

  “But you’re here now, Petra, and things are changing for Rizkaland,” he continued. “A better day is coming for us. A dawn at last to end the terrible night. Change is painful, and I’m sure there will be people who shall resist, but it’s an inevitable part of life. And you, Reuben, no one expected you, a companion to the Tela Du, sharing the face of Amber’s husband. But rest assured that you are no less important than your friend. The box you wear around your neck should alone be proof enough of that.”

  Ritis guided them out of the library, and they actually weren’t very far from the kitchen door, much to Petra’s relief. She hadn’t gotten them that terribly lost after all.

  Rintaya was just setting the pot of soup on the table. “I hope you don’t mind, but I thought we’d just have what we didn’t eat for lunch,” she explained, as they entered.

  “As long as you don’t mind, we don’t,” said Petra, shrugging. “We didn’t get to eat it at dinner time.”

  “Precisely my thought,” Rintaya agreed.

  They all took their places at the table and joined hands. Ritis prayed, thanking Alphego for the events of that day, and asking for his guidance in the days to come. As he prayed, Petra relaxed.

  “Rintaya prepared rooms for the two of you while you were exploring,” Ritis announced after they began to eat. “Tomorrow I shall take you to the Isle of the Talking Beasts.”

  Petra paused with her spoon halfway to her mouth. “Talking Beasts?”

  “The name is a bit of a misnomer,” Ritis admitted. “In truth, the only Eliue there are the Steeds, and they can hardly be considered beasts. But the Book has instructed me to take you there tomorrow, and there I shall take you.”

  “Why?” asked Reuben. Then he hastily added, “Not that I’m complaining, mind you. It sounds awesome.”

  “We are to request companions for the two of you,” Ritis explained. “Now, the steeds of the Isle would never consent to being called pets or anything else that could denote property, but occasionally one will agree to a sort of partnership with a human or elf and will allow this person to ride them when he or she has need, so long as the steed retains their freedom when they aren’t needed. As you can clearly guess, this is a delicate business, especially since only twice before has the Sentaur honored such a request.”

  “Oh. So, do you think he’ll do it for us?” Reuben asked.

  “I rather think he shall,” Ritis answered with a nod. “Petra is the Tela Du, after all, and represents the hope that we haven’t had in a long time. Then there’s the fact that the Sentaur knew your parents very well, since his life stretches back even to Rizkaland’s very beginning, and I’ve no doubt that he remembers them fondly. No, the question is, ‘Will one of his subjects honor it?’ for he can only grant the reque
st at their consent. We’ll see what happens tomorrow. I’ll tell you more at breakfast, but I expect the two of you to read for the rest of the evening. I fear that time is short, and the two of you must study while you can.”

  “You know about our parents?” Petra asked. “Did – did you read about it in the Book?”

  “Perhaps so, but I’m not certain,” Ritis answered. “It’s one of the few memories that has surfaced surrounding Sarah. That she was the daughter of King Ralph and Queen Jane.”

  Chapter 8

  Upon awakening the next morning, Reuben sprang immediately out of bed. It was insane to lie around exploring dreamland when you were in a real new world, had been declared a prince … a king, perhaps something in the middle, and were about to visit an island where animals talked and there was a centaur that had known your parents when they were younger.

  A shirt and a pair of pants were folded on a shelf at the end of his bed, next to a pair of thick socks and his hiking boots. He quickly changed. Noting that the shirt had a pocket, he tucked his glasses away in case he needed them later. Then he grabbed his stick and flew out of the room to see if anyone else was awake.

  His hope of being the first one up died when he found Rintaya and Petra already awake and fixing breakfast. He shrugged. Oh well.

  “Morning, sleepyhead,” said Petra, as he set his staff against the wall where hers already leaned. “I was wondering when you’d smell the bacon and come running.”

  “Bacon? They have bacon here?”

  “Well, it’s similar,” she admitted, shrugging. “It smells delicious, and it’s meat. And there are eggs that came from birds, so we’ll call it close enough.”

  “Sounds good to me,” said Reuben, nodding.

  A good night’s sleep seemed to have done Petra a world of good, as she seemed to be in a much better mood than the evening before. Then again, it might have been the fact that she was in her natural habitat – a kitchen – and the Tela Du business wasn’t the topic of conversation. Even so, she was clearly deep in thought as she stood at the stove, scraping at a skillet, though the cloud on her brow wasn’t nearly as heavy as it normally was.

  She wore a dress this morning, a rich purple as usual, and from the way the skirt swished around her ankles every time she turned from the stove, he could tell she was enjoying it. Her hair was confined in its customary braid – she never wore it loose, except on special occasions.

  Ritis joined them a few minutes later. “Ah, good morning. It seems I’m the last to awaken this morning. Rintaya seems to think I need more sleep than she does.”

  “You’re a good bit older than me, mind you,” said Rintaya, pausing to give him a fond kiss on the cheek. “Everyone laughed at me and declared that I’d soon regret marrying a man old enough to be my father and so set in his ways, but have I? Never.” Her eyes glittered, and Reuben could tell how much she loved him. He glanced towards Petra. Perhaps someday…

  “How you do everything you do around this place I shall never understand,” said Ritis, shaking his head.

  “Lightning-quick speed, remember,” said Rintaya, with a wink. “Petra, dear, how are those eggs coming? Done? Good, good, put them on the platter and take it to the table. Ah, but even my speed pales in comparison to having a second set of hands about. There are days that I regret that we never had a daughter. Not that I regret Ruklow and Delta, mind you, but I think there’s something in every woman that desires a daughter so that she can pretty her up, and have a fellow ear in the kitchen, an extra shoulder to bear the housework.”

  “But if you had a daughter, she would be Bookdaughter, even if the Book was forgotten,” said Reuben, remembering what he’d read the night before in the Legend Through the Mountain. Bookdaughters served much the same role as their fathers, though they Spoke prophecies directly, rather than reading them in the Book. They were usually sent to advise the Kings and Queens of Klarand, the island between Amber’s Isle of Banishment and the mainland which was where they were now.

  “Indeed,” Rintaya agreed. “And that is precisely why we never had one. It would have been too risky. She would have drawn the Dragon’s attention, and everyone would have suffered.”

  “I had a daughter,” said Ritis.

  Everyone turned to stare at him in a disjointed chorus of “What?”

  “I’m still sorting through the memories that seeing Petra brought back,” Ritis explained, shaking his head. “And when you mentioned a daughter … the memory is still incomplete. I just know I had a daughter. And … I think it was before I even met you, Rintaya.”

  “Oh.” Rintaya’s face became very blank as she retrieved a bowl of steaming rolls from the oven. “Does that mean I’m…?”

  “My second wife,” Ritis finished. “Yes, I supposed you would be.” He shook his head. “I haven’t any memories of my first wife, though, unless … no, that couldn’t be – ‘twould be unthinkable. I guess they’re locked behind some other trigger.”

  “Well,” said Rintaya, recovering some small bit of a smile, “I suppose, now that you mention it, you did seem a bit broken in when I married you. I guess this is why.”

  “Was your daughter’s name Ashley?” Petra put in. Reuben narrowed his eyes, ready to jump in for the girl’s defense if need be, but at that moment, she glanced his way and met his eye with a sharp glare and a hiss of, “Hear this out.”

  “Ashley,” Ritis repeated, closing his eyes. “No … yes … no. The name sounds right and wrong at the same time, but it’s not a name typically given to elves. Tell me, what makes you suspect that name?”

  “Because my parents adopted a girl named Ashley the same day Sarah disappeared,” Petra explained. “Ashley could fit in quite well among you elves. In fact, that was my first thought when we met Noraeto yesterday. And … she has your eyes, Ritis – that was my first thought upon meeting you. And she knew who the Doorkeeper really was when we met her yesterday. I mean, I knew the girl, but as Alyce, the kid I used to babysit, Ashes called her Laura and specifically asked if she was going home.”

  “Ashes. Perhaps your Ashley is my daughter,” said Ritis, “There’s Robert to think of – now his is a distinctly uncommon name for an elf. Stranger things happened. Ah, if I only I could meet her. Her face is almost sure to bring back memories…

  “However,” Ritis snapped back to the here and now, “let’s pray and eat this lovely breakfast. There is a long day ahead of us. We can discuss my past some other time.”

  They prayed, and Reuben noted that Ritis made a point of mentioning Ashley. When he finished, he resumed his lecture on the Isle of Beasts as he had promised the night before.

  “Besides the Sentaur, four different kinds of steeds live on the Isle,” he began. “There are Rowandas that most resemble the ordinary horse, save for their bright colors and great speed. Hinequas have mighty wings. Kiandas are practically invisible. Harandas have spiral horns in the middle of their foreheads.”

  “The standard ‘pegasus’ and ‘unicorn’ and such weren’t good enough when the Eight named them, I guess,” Petra commented, taking a bite of egg.

  “I’m not entirely sure what you mean, but I suppose not,” said Ritis, nodding slowly. “Moving on, the rowandas are the most open and friendly. Hinequas are for the most part tolerant, though very vain creatures on the whole. Don’t dare approach a haranda unless you want to gravely injure our peace with that Isle. They’re a proud tribe. If one does deign to speak to you, you are honored indeed.”

  “And the kiandas?” asked Reuben.

  “You probably won’t see one. They’re shy.”

  Petra helped Rintaya clean up after breakfast when they were finished. Rintaya claimed that she had visits to make so that she couldn’t accompany them on this trip. She did fuss over Ritis, muttering how she wished he wouldn’t go and that he would look after his health, until she shook her head with a cluck of her tongue. “Ah, but you must go, it’s for Rizkaland, after all.”

  “And we must all make our sacri
fices for Rizkaland,” Ritis agreed. He took Rintaya’s hands and looked her very seriously in the eye. “I hope you don’t think that since I had a wife and family before you, I love you less.”

  “Oh, I’m not worried about that,” Rintaya said, shaking her head. “It’s just that sometimes I forget that you had a life before me when the forty years we’ve shared together seem so long. If and when your daughter returns, I assure you that I can’t wait to meet her.”

  She kissed him, patted his cheek, and then waved them off, promising that she would be just fine on her own.

  Ritis lead Reuben and Petra through the hallways of Loray, and down a few flights of stairs. They did have to pause and let Ritis catch his breath several times. Reuben offered the elderly elf the use of his staff, but Ritis merely shook his head. Eventually, they came to a small door which Ritis unlocked, and they emerged outside and stood before Alphego’s Hill.

  Reuben had read about this Hill in its Legend, and he had caught glimpses of it through windows while exploring Loray the day before, but even after having stood in Alphego’s presence the night before, he found himself unprepared for the pure energy that this Hill produced. It drummed against his skin, permeated his soul, and soothed his fears.

  They climbed the set of stairs nearest them. When they all stood in the center, Ritis closed his eyes and prayed, asking for a safe journey to Isle of Talking Beasts.

  As he prayed, the energy of the Hill rose, and the light around them brightened until it was all Reuben could see. He could feel Alphego’s presence about them, almost hear the flap of His wings, smell that glorious scent. It was exhilarating.

  He felt almost disappointed when the light died down again to normal, but then he saw that they stood on top of another Hill, smaller than the other by half and made of solid stone, painted green with golden steps. This Hill stood in the center of a large circular clearing, but beyond rose a wall of thick, brightly-colored jungle.