by S R Ahuja
She made to take her first step toward the voice, but her feet had stopped working. Some other force was controlling her limbs. She could not seem to make up her mind to move her feet. She just stood there, frozen.
Jade heard footsteps behind her, and soon the woman walked into her field of vision. She knelt down in front of Jade so they were on the same level and, taking Jade’s hands in her own, looked meaningfully at her. The woman’s blue eyes sent stabs of cold through Jade’s chest.
“Amalthea, I am your mother. Do not run from me.” Her voice was quiet and calm, but something was simmering just beneath it, something that made Jade’s skin crawl.
Behind the woman’s head, something yellow started to sparkle. It drew Jade’s attention, and when she looked away from the woman, she saw that the sparkling yellow light was Lali and behind her came the hooves and then head and body of a horse. The King dismounted from his horse, and as soon as his feet hit the ground, Jade felt the ability to move return to her limbs. The woman rose and dropped one of her hands but continued to hold Jade’s right hand in hers as she turned towards the King.
Within moments, an entire crowd of guards on horseback was surrounding them. The mist seemed to clear a bit, and Jade could make out many faces she knew from the castle. These men had come to rescue her.
Cadwr stood on the woman’s other side, and Jade suddenly realized that Hugh was standing behind the three of them. She couldn’t remember when he had gotten there.
“Fay…” the King began, but he was cut off by a huff of anger from the woman holding Jade’s hand.
“Do not address me so informally.”
The King paused for a moment, and then tried again. “Queen…” when the woman did not interrupt him again, he continued, “Queen, it has been a long time.”
The Queen smiled at him, and it was as though her teeth were pointed. “Yes, and in all those long years, you never once came to visit your wife, the love of your life.”
She paused to let him respond, but when he did not she continued. “I always assumed it was because you didn’t really love me or your boys, but now I wonder; was it perhaps that you cannot cross the threshold? Do you wish me harm, husband?”
“I wish for peace.” He stepped forward with his hands held up in surrender, but a flash of her eyes made him stop.
“Yet, you never asked for it. You never asked me to return. You never asked to see your boys. You never asked if I still loved you. You do not want peace; you want power.”
“Well now I am.”
She stared coldly at him. “You are what?”
“Asking…”
“If I still love you?” She smiled sweetly at him and her teeth flashed just the same way the wolf’s had done. “Of course I do, husband, as every wife must.”
“I am asking you now. Return to the castle with the boys. Let us have peace once more. I can make you happy again; I swear it.”
She tilted her head to the side as though really considering it. “No, I don’t think so. I have grown to adore my freedom and my own power, and there is no chance of me giving it up to become your doting wife again.”
The King’s face began to burn red with anger, but his voice remained calm. “Release Amalthea then, and the boys. Let them return with me to the home they actually want.”
“Why, husband, you hurt my feelings.” She placed her free hand on her chest over her heart. “Do you think they do not love their mother, the woman who raised them when their father abandoned them?”
“That is not what…”
“Why not let them choose? I’m sure they know who truly loves them. Let’s start with your darling princess.”
The Queen knelt down again and gently turned Jade’s face with her slender index finger. “My Princess Amalthea, I know you believe your father loves you, but see how he mistreats you. Has he ever once read you a story or tucked you in at night or wiped away your tears when you woke from a nightmare? Did he even tell you that your own mother was still alive? I’d wager he has not. He has kept you from me all these years. I am your mother, and I will always love you more than anyone else ever could. I will love you no matter what you chose, but my heart will ache if you leave me now as it has ached every day since I lost you those nine years ago.”
The Queen’s words held everything Jade had dreamed of her entire life: to live with someone who would love her and take care of her, the mother she had never known but always longed for. But a feeling rolled off this woman in waves. Jade could practically taste the hatred as it hung in the air between them.
Jade took one step toward her father, and when she discovered she could, she was not held by any magic, she ran to him. He did not embrace her, but he did hold out his hand to her, which she grabbed and held with both of hers.
Jade hid behind his arm as best she could, peering over to the Queen. There was the faintest of pink blush behind her pale, white cheeks, and her eyes narrowed. The look was only there for a moment before she smiled with sickly sweetness again.
“I want only happiness for my daughter,” she simpered. Then she turned to Cadwr, kneeling down once. “And what is this young prince’s decision? Will you go with your sister, or stay here with your mother and brother?” She caressed his face with her hand as she spoke.
While all of the adults’ eyes were trained on Cadwr, waiting for his decision, Jade was watching Hugh. Although he had been standing behind the Queen a few minutes ago, he was now standing quite far off to the right. Because the Queen was looking at Cadwr, she couldn’t see Hugh continue to sidle toward Jade and the King, and no one else in the clearing had noticed he was moving. He didn’t pick up his feet; he just very slowly slid them across the mist dampened earth.
After a minute of quiet, the Queen started to get impatient. “Cadwr?” she demanded more sternly.
Cadwr had noticed what Jade had, and he too was now watching Hugh who had by now practically reached Jade. The Queen followed Cadwr’s glance to Hugh. He froze when she looked at him, practically close enough to touch the King’s horse.
“Hugh, not even enough courage to say aloud what you wanted?” the Queen asked. Her tone was calm once again. She didn’t even try to sound upset.
Hugh’s eyes widened, and he looked quickly from the Queen to Jade, back and forth, unsure of what to do. He clearly wanted to be with Jade and the King, but he was petrified.
“Go, dumb one,” the Queen said. “You needn’t speak. I’ve no use for a child such as you.”
Hugh walked quickly to Jade’s side. Jade grabbed his hand. “Don’t call him dumb!”
The Queen glared at Jade, who shrank back behind her father’s arm. Her gaze was at once ice cold and burning hot. Jade felt like she was face to face with the giant wolf once again.
“A young princess should learn to hold her tongue when it is not her place to speak,” the Queen said calmly.
“It means mute,” Hugh whispered under his breath barely loud enough for Jade to hear him.
“I choose you, Mother,” Cadwr suddenly spoke up. When the Queen turned back to him, he bent at the waist, right arm in front of his torso, left behind, in a formal bow.
He straightened as the Queen moved closer. She stroked his face gently and lifted his chin with her index finger. “I knew I had one son of whom I could be proud.” She placed her arm awkwardly around his shoulders and faced the King and his men. “I have no doubt we will see each other again, Henry. Amalthea, I anticipate the day when you and I might have the relationship I always longed for with my daughter.” She turned with Cadwr and walked away into the distance without even a glance for Hugh.
End of Book I
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
S. R. Ahuja is currently living with her two sugar gliders (Dobby and Kreacher) in the Illinois Quad Cities area. She graduated from Augustana College in Rock Island, IL in 2014 with a degree in English and Secondary Education. Since then, she has been working as a high school English teacher. She has always fostered a love of sto
ries and storytelling, which is something she tries to pass on to her students. Avalon is Ahuja’s first book.
