"I love this part," he said, and then he whistled again. Immediately, the basket rose from the ground and headed straight up for the opening in the castle's base.
Cryssa held tightly to the basket's edge as she and Grandpa Po were lifted into the treetops. A bright green bird with red stripes watched curiously from a branch as they passed.
"It's the next best thing to being a bird," said Grandpa Po, reaching out to rustle bunches of leaves on the way up.
Cryssa had climbed trees before, but never so high. She got goose bumps as she marveled at the view of the jungle spread out below...and then the view slid away behind dense clusters of leaves.
When the basket rose up through the opening in the castle's base, Cryssa finally understood how she and Grandpa Po had been brought up from the ground. Two muscular men turned huge cranks that dragged the basket's ropes through pulleys mounted from overhead branches. With each turn of the cranks, the basket rose higher, and more rope rolled through the pulleys and wound around the reels attached to the cranks.
When the basket was high enough, a third man closed the door in the floor beneath it. Then, the other two men turned the cranks in the opposite direction from before, slowly lowering the basket until it came to rest on the closed door.
The man who had shut the door gave Grandpa Po a hand climbing out of the basket. "Hello, Elo," said Grandpa Po, clapping him on the back.
"Welcome, King Po," said Elo, bowing his head.
"Acting king," Grandpa Po said with a friendly chuckle. "Here's the true royalty," he added, waving at Cryssa.
Elo bowed in Cryssa's direction. "Welcome to the castle," he said solemnly.
"Um, thank you," said Cryssa as one of the other men helped her out of the basket.
Grinning, Grandpa Po took Cryssa's hand and led her away from the men. "Right this way," he said. "We're going to the throne room."
As Cryssa walked over the wooden floorboards alongside Grandpa Po, she gaped at the castle before her. She couldn't believe that such a grand and beautiful building perched in the treetops so far above the ground.
Four towers surrounded a boxy central structure, one tower at each of the corners. Everything was built of wood, and the wood was engraved with elaborate carvings. In many places, the carvings were inlaid with gold and silver and glittering gemstones. The conical tops of the towers were covered with gleaming gold leaf.
Everywhere, flowers grew in pots and planters, blooming red and yellow and pink and purple. Flowering vines twined around the towers and clung to the walls and roof of the central building.
Here and there, what looked like leafy, green shrubs poked through holes in the floorboards...but they were really the tops of trees emerging from below. Many of them were decorated with strands of tiny shells that tinkled in the breeze.
Wooden statues of a Sylva man and a leaping Kee stood in front of the castle, each one taller than Cryssa. When she approached them, she could see that the man had red gems for eyes, and the Kee had blue ones.
"Alo and Cha," said Grandpa Po as they walked past the statues. "The founders of our kingdom."
When Grandpa Po led Cryssa through the opens doors of the castle, she was even more dazzled and breathless than before.
She and Grandpa Po entered a long corridor streaming with shafts of sunlight from rows of windows. Between the windows, the walls were hung with stunning tapestries, huge sheets of cloth on which scenes were portrayed in wildly colorful stitching.
"The history of our people from the beginning of time," said Grandpa Po, gesturing at the tapestries. "Each panel tells a story from our past."
As Cryssa walked with him through the chamber, she gazed at the brilliant panels along the walls, mesmerized by the images of Sylva and Kee in various poses. She drank in every detail, trying to imagine the stories surrounding each scene.
Then, at the end of the corridor, Grandpa Po released her hand. He opened a set of double doors and ushered her forward with a bow and a sweep of his arms.
When Cryssa walked through the doorway, all thought of the marvelous tapestries flew from her mind. Immediately, her eyes locked on the two huge chairs at the far end of the chamber in which she now found herself.
"Those are the thrones," said Grandpa Po as he stepped up beside her. "You will sit on one of them when you become queen."
Cryssa stared speechlessly. Each of the thrones was built of dark, reddish wood covered with intricate carvings and studded with glittering gems. The throne on the right was draped with a beautiful cape, bright yellow with rich, red swirls; atop the headrest perched a half-moon helmet of the same colors, its high, red crest curving over a yellow headpiece. The throne on the left was draped with a red cape decorated with yellow swirls.
Grandpa Po placed a hand on her back and slowly guided her forward. "This is the room where you will hold court as queen of the Sylva and Kee," he said. "This is where you will issue edicts and proclamations to the people."
Cryssa couldn't take her eyes off the thrones. "Is this...is this where my mother and father sat?" she said in a hushed voice, almost a whisper.
"Not in this room," said Grandpa Po. "Their palace was below, in the crystal caves. We built the Tree Castle after the Sharkites invaded, to better protect our rulers if there was another attack.
"However," he said, "these were your parents' thrones. Some brave souls managed to hide them from the Sharkites, and we moved them here when this castle was complete."
Cryssa and Grandpa Po stopped and stood in front of the thrones. As Cryssa gazed at them, she was overwhelmed with feelings of wonder and longing...wonder at being so close to the thrones that her parents had occupied and longing to see them sitting there once more.
Grandpa Po hobbled over to the throne on the left and propped his cane against it. Gently, he lifted the red and yellow cape that was draped over the back and arms of the throne.
"This was your mother's," he said, unfurling the elegant cape. "She wore it for special ceremonies and whenever she was in the palace."
Gingerly, Cryssa reached out and brushed her fingertips over the shimmery, soft garment. Up close, she could see that it was made of countless tiny feathers, woven tightly together. The vibrant colors brought to mind the bright red and yellow birds that flickered in the jungle on Kee Island, flashing through sunbeams like airborne jewels.
Grandpa Po limped over and wrapped the cape around her shoulders. "Here," he said. "Try it on."
Cryssa's heart beat faster. She got goosebumps as she felt the elegant cape enfolding her...the very same cape that her mother had once worn.
Grandpa Po hobbled around in front of her and smiled warmly. "You favor your mother," he said. "You remind me of her when she first became queen."
Looking down, Cryssa saw that the bottom of the cape touched the floor at her feet. "How old was she then?" she said softly.
"Just a little older than you are now," said Grandpa Po. "A year or so. Your father married her on the same day he became king."
"I wish I could have seen her then," said Cryssa.
Grandpa Po smiled and held up an index finger, meaning that she should wait for a moment. He hobbled behind the thrones to a jewel-encrusted chest and lifted the lid.
When he walked back to her, he carried a glittering tiara in his hands. The tiara was fashioned from
mother-of-pearl, its silvery sheen shot through with all the colors of the rainbow. It was studded with giant diamonds and sapphires that sparkled in the light streaming in from the windows.
Without a word, Grandpa Po raised the tiara and gently placed it on Cryssa's head. He returned to the jeweled chest and brought over a flat square of polished silver metal.
"Here," he said, holding up the square of metal in front of her. "This is what she looked like on her wedding day."
As Cryssa gazed at her reflection in the metal mirror, tears welled in her eyes. A lump caught in her throat. The goosebumps returned.
The sight of herself staring back fro
m the mirror, wearing the glittering tiara and luminous, red-and-yellow cape, was like something out of a beautiful dream. The thought that she was wearing her mother's things, and that she looked the way her mother had on her wedding day, was so wonderful and sad that she couldn't bear it.
The image blurred, and then the tears ran freely down her face.
"Oh, dear," said Grandpa Po, lowering the mirror. "I'm so sorry." He put the mirror down on one of the thrones and hurried over to remove the tiara from Cryssa's head. "I shouldn't have done that," he said, pulling the cape from around her shoulders. "I didn't want to upset you."
"No, no," said Cryssa, sniffling and wiping tears from her cheeks. "It's all right. It's just...I'm just..."
Grandpa Po returned the tiara to the jeweled chest and draped the cape over the back of the throne. "I know," he said. "It's hard sometimes."
"Yes, it is," said Cryssa, and then she took a deep breath to steady herself.
"Are you sure you're all right?" said Grandpa Po, looking at her closely through narrowed eyes.
Cryssa took another deep breath and nodded. "I'm fine," she said. The truth was, she couldn't get the image of herself from the mirror out of her mind...but the tears had stopped, and the wave of overwhelming emotion had passed.
"All right, then," said Grandpa Po, and then he hobbled over and lowered himself onto the empty throne. "Let's get started, if you're up to it."
Cryssa nodded. Though she knew that Grandpa Po was the acting king of the Sylva, it was strange seeing him sit on the king's throne. In everyday life, he rarely acted like a king, and Cryssa never thought of him as anything but her lovable old grandpa.
"As acting king," said Grandpa Po, "it's up to me to teach you what you need to know to be queen. At least, I'll teach you what I know, which I admit isn't everything."
"How long will I have?" said Cryssa. "Until I'm queen, that is."
Grandpa Po shrugged. "It depends on how well your lessons go," he said. "When I think you're ready, and the other elders give their blessing, I'll step down and you'll take over."
"So until then, I'm a princess," said Cryssa.
"Exactly," said Grandpa Po. "A queen in training."
"What will I have to do as queen?" said Cryssa.
"That's a good question," said Grandpa Po. "What do you think a queen must do?"
Cryssa folded her hands behind her back and tried to remember the things that her substitute mother, Perza, had done as queen of Shark Island.
"Well," she said slowly, "I guess the queen tells the servants in the palace what to do. She organizes feasts and celebrations. She sits or stands beside the king at ceremonies." Cryssa's voice trailed off as she ran out of answers.
Grandpa Po nodded. "Very good," he said, leaning forward to gaze thoughtfully at Cryssa. "But what if the queen has no king? What would her duties be then?"
Cryssa frowned. "I don't know," she said. "We always had a king on Shark Island."
"If you don't marry before you become queen," said Grandpa Po, "you won't have a king. You'll be the sole ruler of the Sylva and Kee. In that case, what do you think you'll have to do?"
Cryssa thought for a moment, staring at her mother's cape draped over the throne. "Everything a king would do," she said finally.
"That's right," said Grandpa Po, nodding. "That's why I'll be teaching you so much. I have to prepare you to rule alone. In a way, I'll be training you to be a queen and a king."
Cryssa wasn't sure if she liked the sound of that, but she nodded agreeably.
"You must learn to lead your people in all ways, at all times," said Grandpa Po. "In times of peace and times of war. In times of plenty and times of need. In times of joy and times of sorrow.
"You must learn to fight...and learn to negotiate. You must learn to resolve disputes among your people. You must learn to anticipate problems and take action to solve them.
"It will not be easy," Grandpa Po said grimly, "but I am confident that you can do it. Are you willing to try?"
"Yes," said Cryssa, though she felt uncertain of her ability to succeed. On Shark Island, she had never had training like what Grandpa Po had described; the list of things that she would have to learn seemed intimidating to her.
"Good," said Grandpa Po. "Then we'll meet here every morning for your lessons. We'll only cancel if one of us is sick or there's a special occasion. All right?"
Cryssa nodded.
Grandpa Po clapped his hands together and smiled. "Today, we'll start with something easy," he said. "Let's talk about the right way for a queen to address her subjects."
*****
Chapter Seventeen
As Cryssa began the lessons that would prepare her to become queen, she started to receive other lessons, as well. Though she had been terrified of the water for most of her life, she soon found herself taking swimming lessons from her best Kee friend, Seek.
The lessons were Seek's idea. He wanted Cryssa to be able to play with him and the other Kee in the lagoon, and he wanted her to experience the underwater world with him. He promised that she would be amazed at the wonders of the reefs and rock formations and seaweed forests. Since she would be queen of it all someday, Seek said that she ought to know what her future kingdom looked like.
At one time, no matter how persuasive someone was in trying to talk her into swimming, Cryssa would never have considered it. Now that things were different, however, and she had spent time on and under the sea, Cryssa agreed to try. The more Seek told her about the underwater world, the more she wanted to see it.
At first, she had trouble just getting in the water...but not as much trouble as she had expected. Ever since the day when she had met her Kee family and realized what had caused her fear of the water, she had been able to get close to the lagoon without flying into a panic. Entering the lagoon, it turned out, required just a little more willpower...and patience.
With Seek's encouragement, Cryssa stepped into the fringes of the surf and let the water cover her feet. It wasn't much, she supposed, but it felt like a major victory. Certainly, it was more than she had ever been able to bring herself to do on Shark Island before her escape.
The next day, Cryssa walked into the water until it was up to her ankles. Seek cheered and did a backward flip to celebrate.
The day after that, Cryssa kept walking until the water touched her knees. The bottom of her dress got wet and stuck to her legs when she walked back out.
A few days later, she was in up to her waist. Cryssa was so proud and excited that she playfully splashed around and stayed longer than usual in the warm, sparkling water.
It wasn't long after that that she took her biggest step yet.
While Seek swam alongside and coached her, Cryssa walked into the water until it was up to her waist...then her chest. She hesitated, feeling twinges of her old fear, and then she moved forward until the water reached her shoulders.
"Now take a deep breath," said Seek. "Just like when you rode on my back. Take a breath and go under, just for a second."
Cryssa took a deep breath and held it but couldn't get herself to go under. She bobbed up and down on the balls of her feet, trying to work up the nerve, but she held back and eventually had to release the breath.
Seek nudged her gently with his snout. "That's okay, Cryssa," he said. "Try again. Take a deep breath, slip down, and come right back up."
Cryssa smiled sheepishly. "I'm still a little scared," she said. "I know you took me under lots of times on the way here, but I'm still a little afraid."
"You're doing fine," said Seek. "Soon, you'll be swimming circles around me."
Again, Cryssa held her breath and made up her mind that she would go under. She bounced up and down once, then twice, determined to drop below the surface on the third bounce.
Still, she couldn't quite bring herself to do it.
Yet again, she released the breath she had been holding. "I'm sorry," she said.
"No need for apologies," said Seek. "Maybe we sh
ould try again tomorrow."
Cryssa shook her head. She had come so far today, walking into the water up to her shoulders, but she had her heart set on a bigger victory. She was impatient to prove to herself that she could conquer her fear, that she could cast aside her past and see the undersea wonders that she had been missing for so many years.
"All right then," Seek said brightly. "I'll tell you what. How about if we both go under at the same time? Maybe that will help."
Cryssa thought it over for a moment, then nodded. "Okay," she said nervously. "And we come right back up, right?"
"Right back up," said Seek. "We'll go under on the count of three and come right back up."
Cryssa was still shaky, but she wanted to do it. She felt as if the fear of water was a connection to Ikaz, because he had caused it...and she wanted more than anything to destroy every link between her and the evil Shark King who had murdered her brother.
It was time to forget about Ikaz and Raka and Shark Island. It was time to become Cryssa, daughter of Sho and Seela, and swim like a Kee.
"One," said Seek, tipping his snout upward.
Cryssa bounced on the balls of her feet, summoning every bit of willpower she could find.
"Two," said Seek, tipping his snout up higher.
Cryssa inhaled deeply, drawing in the biggest breath yet.
"Three!" said Seek.
For the tiniest fraction of a second, Cryssa started to surrender to the fear again. Then, determination rushed through her, overwhelming the fear, and she dropped.
She plunged straight down, letting the warm water close over her head.
She didn't come right back up, either. With plenty of breath in her lungs, she lingered for a few heartbeats under the surface. She kept her eyes closed, afraid to let in the stinging salt water, but she moved her head from side to side as if she were looking around.
Then, she felt something bump her. Automatically, she popped her eyes open to see what it was.
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