Mantle: The Return of the Sha

by Gary Bregar

  ****

  When Bella and Zander stepped out onto the main balcony overlooking the courtyard, Bella’s breath was taken. There were Fories everywhere—the courtyard was filled, as well as the balconies and rooftops. A sea of people, she thought.

  They stood for a moment, hands clasped and raised over their heads. The crowd had begun chanting “Bella” in unison. Zander took a step back and motioned with his hands as if presenting her to the people. The volume of the crowd rose, and when he kissed her, the sound of the cheers was deafening.

  After the crowd had made their cheers, Zander motioned for Jonattan and Lizabet to join them. The crowd raised the level of their praise even higher. They knew who Lizabet was; not only was she the queen’s own sister, she was also the girl who had saved the king’s smile. Lizabet realized at that moment that she was loved before they even knew her…they all were.

  ****

  The whole of the kingdom rejoiced. Every village and every rural outlying post reveled in the king’s marriage. They had a queen, the first that most had known, and the memory of a queen in Forris had faded for those who could remember Zander’s mother.

  No party was greater, though, than those at Obengaard and Bannister Castle. Zander knew that they would likely be going to war soon, and he intended for the celebrations to be lavish. So when Arthur Steed had approached him with concerns of cost, and asked for authority to spend on this or that, Zander had finally stated simply, “My answer is ‘yes’ to every question. We will pinch coin for nothing.”

  He had ordered the firemakers to display crackers throughout the night, and implored the fairies to enhance the party in any way they saw fit. After all, the fairies were the most elaborate in their style of celebration, and he was excited to see what they would bring.

  As the sun was setting, and Bella was working away with her maids to prepare her for the events, she glanced from her window to find the streets filled with people. Children ran in every direction, chasing each other with fire sticks. Other people walked together, singing old Forie melodies that she hadn’t heard since her own father had sung them to her as a child. She also saw that some were stumbling, obviously too many with their drinks—or unable to handle the few that they’d had. They were being navigated through the streets slowly, by others, who she suspected, would be in the same position soon.

  In the courtyard, where the main celebration would be held, she saw that the musicians had already begun their own melodies. And although the dancing had not yet officially begun, she saw that there were children flaying about in the center of the courtyard, making as if to dance. Soon, she would have children herself, and a smile immediately consumed her face.

  But then she imagined how the party would play. She would be on full display for the length of the night—every eye focused on her and most words whispered would be about her. She thought it odd that she was anxious for the celebrations, but not at all nervous for what would come after. Her things were being moved to an apartment that adjoined Zander’s, and she would share his bed that very night. Although she had never been with a man before, she knew that, with Zander, it would be lovely—he would make it so.

  ****

  Their entrance into the party was similar to that of the ceremony, only without the announcements. Kings Ekkill and Cergio walked from the castle into the courtyard and took their seats on the wooden stage that had been erected for the occasion. A long wooden table had been placed, covered by an assortment of fruits, vegetables, and other dishes of various foods. Carafes of wine were placed among the dishes, and three large flower centerpieces were placed equally on the length of the table.

  Once the kings of Bore and Tongar had taken their seats, the king and queen of Forris entered to roaring applause. They took their seats at the center of the long table next to Cergio and Ekkill. Jonattan, Lizabet, Arthur Steed, and some of Zander’s councillors followed behind to take theirs.

  When the crowd continued to cheer, Zander stood and held out his hand for silence. The crowd immediately became quiet.

  “My dear subjects, please allow me to introduce to you my wife, Queen Bella.”

  The crowd roared once more, and Zander once more held up his hand for silence.

  “Please celebrate your queen throughout the night. But before you do…”

  Zander held out his hand to Bella and when she took it, he led her from around the table and into the center of what would now be considered the area for dance.

  “Musicians, play us a love melody!” he yelled.

  The musicians began playing a love melody of the old days that Bella had never heard. Their instruments sounded softer than she could have imagined, and even the drumming that accompanied sounded as soft as light rain on tree leaves. It was the most beautiful thing that she had ever heard, and before she could consider the music any longer, Zander had picked her up by the waist and twirled her around to begin the love waltz.

  When it was over, Zander led her back to the table and the musicians began an upbeat melody that would bring the guests out to dance themselves. Fireworks began bursting above (this would take place off and on throughout the night), and men walked through the crowd with barrels of malt, topping the cups of those along their way. Some had arrived carrying their own bottles of homemade concoctions.

  When the musicians had played five melodies, the musicians became quiet. Bella noticed that a man was speaking with the musicians for a moment before they began to play the traditional Forie marriage song. It was a beautiful song that Bella recognized immediately, although she hadn’t heard it played in years. The melody began low, and would work its way up to higher notes, only to fall once more.

  In the opening low tunes of the melody, there came twelve sets of fairies flying overhead. Each set if fairies carried a bowl-shaped crystals attached to silver chains. They flew down into the courtyard, synchronized to the soft beat of the music until they reached a height of about twenty feet above the crowd. They then formed a perfect line in front of the stage where the royal party sat, hovering in perfect form in front of Zander, Bella, and the others. From this distance, Bella could see that there was a liquid in each of the crystal bowls, and at first she wondered if it wasn’t a gift of some kind. After all, she had been receiving extravagant and sometimes odd gifts all week.

  But, as the melody continued in its low notes, large bubbles began to form in each of the Fairy’s bowls. As each bubble formed, it rose and separated from the bowl, revealing a Fairy inside each bubble. Lizabet began clapping in excitement, and Bella couldn’t help but join. The fairies inside the bubbles were smaller in size than those who carried the bowls, but neither Lizabet nor Bella were sure if their age had anything to do with it.

  The bubbles continued to form until four had come from each crystal bowl. Each bubble contained a Fairy inside, and once they were all released from the crystals, which were now free of liquid, they began to pair up as couples. Two bubbles with their fairies intact would collide to create one larger bubble with two fairies now inside.

  One of the fairies in each bubble took the other’s hand and bowed as if beginning a dance. All of the twenty-four couples were perfectly coordinated in this effort, and when the melody began its ascent in tone, they began to dance slowly—the bubbles now moving throughout the air above the entire crowd.

  And just when the spectators thought they couldn’t be more impressed, the melody began to hit its high notes, and in unison all of the bubbles burst and the fairies went into a full waltz, their wings now glowing white and blue. When a note in the melody was particularly sharp, they would emit falling specs of colors by hitting their wings together at their backs, which also created a clapping sound—adding to the music. The whole performance came together perfectly, and when the music began to fade and they had finished, all of the participating fairies flew over to Zander and Bella and lined up before them to make their bows. They were under no obligation to do so. The fairies and the Spiers alike had no obligation
to recognize Zander as their own direct ruler, but they were part of Forris nevertheless, so they gave their respects and recognized his position—and now, Bella’s.

  ****

  When the fairies had finished, Zander and Bella began a sweep of the crowd, talking with as many of the revelers as possible. They were already hours into the celebrations, and worn to near exhaustion by the day’s events, but the people desired to meet their queen, and Bella would not disappoint them on her first day in the position.

  She was particularly fascinated by the Spiers and after a long and laughter-filled conversation she took the small hands of two of them and led them to the dance area. Others followed, and eventually she found herself with eight dance partners—the Spiers attempting to mimic Bella’s style as they had done when she first met them in Terra.

  Zander had noticed and stood off to the side watching her dance with the small Spiers. It brought back memories of the day they had met, when he had found his smile. He was so enthralled with the sight of it that he hadn’t noticed Balki, who had walked up from behind and was now standing next to him. When Balki spoke, he was pulled from his thoughts.

  “Majesty, please let me offer my congratulations.”

  “Thank you, Balki,” Zander replied, turning to look at him.

  He nearly gasped at the sight of him. Balki looked particularly pale, and somehow older. At first, he couldn’t see it, but then he noticed that lines had formed at the corners of Balki’s eyes, and he even appeared to have a few strands of gray hair. He looked years older than when they had first met.

  “Are you feeling well?” Zander asked, now leaning in closer to be sure that it wasn’t a trick of the light that was making Balki appear so worn.

  “Yes, Majesty, how could one not be well on such a wonderful occasion?”

  He saw that the king was inspecting him closely, so he continued.

  “Sir, might I have a word in private?” he asked.

  “Certainly, what would you discuss?”

  As they walked into a clearing, away from anyone who might eavesdrop, Balki said, “Majesty, I am concerned for the safety of the Skite skull.”

  Balki was now cloaked, and he focused all of his power on making his influence particularly hard to resist.

  “You have no reason to be worried, Balki. I assure you, it is safely under my protection.”

  Now Balki focused and said, “Majesty, surely you understand my concern. Nothing in our world has ever been so critical. My mind would be at ease considerably if I only knew how it is being protected.”

  Without any hint of hesitation in his voice, Zander said, “It is protected by the secret of what it actually is.”

  Balki was frustrated with this response, but he masked his impatience with a look of confusion.

  “And what is the secret?” Balki asked.

  There was no consideration on Zander’s part before he spoke. He was under Balki’s influence and spoke as freely as if talking to himself.

  “The skull is and always was, the Crown of Forris.”

  Balki’s eyes lit up—he had what he needed. As anyone would know, the Crown of Forris was kept beneath the king’s throne.

  ****

  With the moon beginning its decent, Zander and Bella rose from their seats. Zander had no intention of speaking again, but the crowd noticed them rising, and burst into one last round of applause. As Zander led Bella away toward the castle doors, he wondered for an instant when they would applaud him next. His coming appearances would not be so merry.

  Deception and Despair

  THE DAY THAT JONATTAN was set to return home was a difficult one. Although Bella and Lizabet had both pleaded with him to stay, he insisted that, for the near future at least, his home was in Terra. He would not be swayed. Zander, whose mother had died before she would grant him siblings, had become attached to Jonattan as a brother might, and although he had offered him permanent residence at Bannister Castle, he would not be deterred by him either.

  It was Lizabet, though, who was pained the most by her brother’s departure. During her time there, it had become clear to her that Bannister Castle was not a suitable home for Carlotta. She had struggled with the decision ever since Jonattan’s arrival, but kept arriving at the same conclusion: Carlotta would be happiest on their farm in Terra.

  It would be a difficult goodbye.

  The morning of Jonattan’s departure, Lizabet sat cross-legged on her bed with Carlotta resting in her lap. She was already beginning to cry.

  “You know that this is hard for me also, but you simply cannot stay. You will be happier at home with Jonattan,” she said in a whisper.

  Carlotta only shook her beak slowly from side to side, as she usually did when Lizabet was speaking to her.

  “Since we’ve been here I have grown and made many friends, but none as good as you, Carlotta,” she said. “But it would be greedy of me to keep you here. There are places where I cannot take you, and it isn’t fair that you should remain cooped up in the stables all day.”

  She was now choked up so that she could not continue for a moment. Carlotta, sensing her distress, rested her head on Lizabet’s arm.

  “I hope that you will understand and forgive me,” she continued. “I will be sure to visit as often as I can. After all, Terra will always be my true home.”

  As if to confirm that she understood, Carlotta raised her head and seemed to nod, bringing her beak up and down. This caused Lizabet to smile, and she knew that all would be good between them.

  ****

  When the kings of Bore and Tongar departed Obengaard for their travels home, they left with agreements intact. It was decided among them that they would make announcements to their subjects at the same time, or as close to it as possible. There would be rumors running rampant in the three kingdoms, should news be spread across borders.

  They also agreed on the most pressing issue at hand—they did not yet know their enemy or its capabilities. They were in preparation only, and could not so easily advance an offensive attack until the enemy had shown itself. If they could keep the final skull piece from reaching the other two pieces, the whole affair might be avoided altogether, but they all believed that fate would not allow that to happen. It felt inevitable, as if the war itself was only lurking around the corner, waiting to jump out at them. And even if they could protect the skull, it felt as though that would only be a temporary solution, not eliminating Menagraff, but only crippling him. It was as the Sovereign Trees had said, “Neither good nor evil can ever truly be eliminated.”

  Now one week since the wedding, they felt that they’d planned as well as could be expected. Some gaps needed filling, but they would communicate among each other by Grey Eagle at least twice weekly, sharing news as it came in from the Outlands. Zander, of course, would continue to guard the skull.

  And he had felt that the skull was protected, until he had passed Balki in the castle and had been overcome with a sense of urgency with respect to the skull’s safekeeping. He wasn’t sure why Balki had prompted such a feeling in him, but as he passed he broke the conversation he was having with two men in order to wish Balki a fair morning. He had some recollection of speaking with him at the wedding celebration, but after only a week, the memory was already faded, and he couldn’t remember the conversation—or if there had even been one. The feeling was not unlike that of a person who has a memory dangling at the edge of their mind. He couldn’t quite touch it.

  ****

  Queen Bella quietly made her way from Zander’s apartment. The apartment belonged to them both now, she supposed, but she also had adjoining quarters of her own. She found that she preferred staying in Zander’s apartment, and they had been actively trying to make an heir, but she still found peaceful meditation in the Throne Room.

  At just over one week since her becoming queen, she found herself there once again in the early-morning hours, the castle draped in silence. She had gone there to collect her thoughts and be alone. It might
have only been a short time since she and Zander married, but she was already with child. She knew it—as any Forie woman would. She would wait for the right time before telling her husband, but she knew. Now she could think of nothing else: imagining her new child and picturing the little prince or princess running through the castle halls.

  She was sitting on a small bench in the shadow of a large wooden beam that stretched up to become one with the arches of the ceiling. The room was as quiet as death itself. Most of the king’s official rooms were protected from escaping noise in order to safeguard against spying. The Throne Room was no exception, so along with other sound-protected rooms such as the king’s private quarters and Council Rooms, this was one of the quietest places in the entire castle. Other rooms might have been charmed in this way, as well, but the magic had been cast so long ago that people had lost track.

  So when Balki entered through one of the two main double doors, the noise made by the door cut sharp through the silence. Bella peered around the wooden beam to see who it was, and when she saw that it was Balki Touro, she pulled her head back and froze. She wasn’t sure why, but she did not like Mr. Touro. Although they had traveled together on her first trip from Terra to Obengaard, she hadn’t really gotten to know him. In fact, the times when she had noticed him in the castle, she had purposely changed course to avoid him. She could not say why.

  Balki walked from the main doors, across the length of the room toward the elevated stage where Zander and Bella’s thrones rested. As he got closer, Bella could see that he was carrying a large iron mallet in his left hand. His right hand rested on the hilt of his sword. The room was clear of chairs and benches now and so it seemed vast in its size. It was rather dark, with only two candles lit in their iron cradles behind the thrones. The clack of his boots on the floor was deafening in the silence, but Bella could easily hear her own heart beating over it.