Edge of Chaos

by Des Pensable

  Miranda, Darkmantle and Prendergrass sat around depressed, all sadly looking at Aquitain. They believed he had just received a death sentence from some sort of Power. It was just a matter of time and there was little any of them could do to help. The fact that he was Warden of Moonmist didn’t seem to enter the conversation. Gizel on the other hand had faith in her Warden.

  Rule one in any magic users handbook was never ever have anything to do with a being of Minor Power status or greater. Unless of course, you could call on a being of Greater Power to protect you, which Aquitain couldn’t as he prayed to no god.

  Aquitain showed no emotion. He pointed out that while Adonis seemed powerful no one would really know unless they met face to face. He wasn’t prepared to tell them that he was an Agent of Chaos and that he thought his father might be powerful enough to offer protection.

  Perhaps he would have been scared witless if had he been in an organic body but in his crystal body he simply couldn’t feel fear. He wondered how Adonis knew who he was as he had his pure heart shield active. Regardless, Adonis would have to join the queue to get at him as he wasn’t planning to wait around. He was trying to decide which problem was the most appropriate to tackle next.

  The problem was solved when a guard came to tell Darkmantle that a Newman with a strange small talking spider wished to see the Lord Warden. They were reluctant to let them into the stronghold so they were kept under guard out the front. They all went out to see who had arrived and were surprised to see Garret with Yllandril.

  ‘Hello Yllandril, Hello Garret. I’m surprised to see you two together.’ said Aquitain remembering Garrett’s fear of spiders.

  ‘Which one of you is Aquitain.’ said Garret a little confused. ‘I’ve seen him as a gnome and a spider. None of those seem to be here at the moment.’

  ‘Sorry, Garret I’m the little green statue.’ said Aquitain.

  ‘The Trixies found him locked in a room in the guest wing of the palace making quite a noise since he hadn’t eaten for a couple of days.’ said Yllandril.

  ‘It wasn’t a difficult choice.’ said Garret. ‘It was either stay with those hideous Trixies or come with a small spider to where some real people were camped.’

  ‘Who is this person?’ asked Darkmantle.

  ‘It’s the artisan whose family originally made the Sceptre of Lordly Might for Queen Aurora to give to the Queen’s Champion. I accompanied him to Moonmist from Mudrun a few weeks ago. The Queen has been keeping him at the palace as a house guest.’ said Aquitain.

  ‘More like a prisoner.’ said Garret.

  ‘Is there any way I can get back to Mudrun. I’ve already been away for months of Mudrun time.’

  ‘Possibly.’ said Aquitain ‘but you will have to wait a little longer, we have no way of getting there at the moment.’

  ‘Take this man to the kitchen and give him a good meal.’ said Darkmantle to one of the guards to get him out of the way so they could talk to Yllandril.

  ‘Is that really you, Yllandril?’ asked Darkmantle as if seeking some reassurance.

  ‘Yes Wyvern it is. You might recall out talks about the ghosts haunting you and your worries about Sindel.’ she replied.

  ‘and perhaps your disease after that unfortunate liaison with the …’

  ‘That’s enough!’ said Darkmantle.

  ‘I believe that you are Yllandril. Now what news do you bring?’

  Gizel stepped out from behind the others and said

  ‘Hello Yllandril. I heard you were resurrected by our Warden.’

  ‘Is that really you Gizel? Here with the Warden and Miranda.’ She asked as if she was somehow surprised then said

  ‘We need to talk later but I must first tell them the news.’

  She quickly told them that Bellen was missing. Aquitain was quite upset at this as he remembered he had told Bellen that he would be back to investigate the problem with the sentient book days ago. It seemed highly likely that the book had somehow coerced Bellen to return to see it and had either captured or even killed him.

  He suggested that he should go after the Bellen alone but neither Miranda nor Yllandril would accept that. If he went, so too would they. Prendergrass also offered but he was considered too important as he was the main magic defence at the stronghold.

  Darkmantle tried in vain to talk Miranda into staying using the argument that if she was lost then so too was the whole of Moonmist. He also pointed out that Tigerlilly needed a mother. She told him her mind was made up, that Gizel would look after Tigerlilly and she would be at Aquitain’s side regardless.

  Gizel was almost screaming in frustration. She wanted to be with the Warden to defend him but she had no fighting skills. She felt useless and terribly afraid for him. What if he never returned to her?

  Yllandril was watching Gizel carefully she could feel Gizel’s emotions in turmoil and wondered about the cause so using mindspeak she said.

  ‘Gizel this is Yllandril may I mindlink with you.’ And she saw Gizel nod in agreement.

  ‘What’s up my child?’ she said and Gizel poured out her heart about her fears for the Warden.’

  ‘Oh dear. Oh dear. Fate is strange indeed. I must talk with the Warden.’ And she formed a mindlink with Aquitain.

  ‘There is something important that you must now know Aquitain. This is an image of me at Gizel’s age.’

  Aquitain felt the mindlink form, saw that it was Yllandril and stopped talking in mid-sentence when he saw the image.

  ‘Gizel is your daughter! I knew I had seen her likeness somewhere but couldn’t place it. It was when we were trapped in the soul crystal together. You have a secret. Will you share it with me?’ he said excitedly and she agreed.

  If she could have cried she would have cried her eyes out but she simply and carefully told it to him in cold hard facts.

  ‘By all the powers, what a terrible tale! If I wasn’t in this body I would be mad with rage. I would want to kill the bastard involved. Thank you for telling me. It must have been very hard. You know that you will always have a place in my heart Yllandril. I promise I will fix the problem but it will have great repercussions. I love your daughter and know you love her too but I know how she will respond to this knowledge.’

  Aquitain felt Gizel’s love and fear and frustration through their mind link and said privately to her.

  ‘Gizel you and I are bonded by fate. There are things that we must talk about. I can feel your heartbeat, your fear and your anguish. I may be fighting enemies but they will be visible. Your job is harder. You will be fighting an invisible enemy called the fear of the unknown. You fear that I might be hurt and fear that I might not return. I am fighting to keep you and Tigerlilly safe. It will give me great strength to know that you two are safe and facing that fear bravely.’

  ‘Oh Tain, I feel you too. I’ll try to be strong and I’ll protect Tigerlilly with my life. Please come back to me.’ she cried.

  He returned his attention to Miranda and saw everyone looking at him as if expecting an answer.

  ‘They want to know who you will take with you.’ said Yllandril.

  ‘Certain information has come to my attention which may influence my decision. I wish to spend some time alone with Miranda , Gizel and Tigerlilly to discuss it with them before I decide.’

  ‘Miranda, Gizel and Tigerlilly. We need to go for a walk and talk together. Something urgent has come up. You can carry daddy Tigerlilly.’ he said.

  They agreed and all left the stronghold together. Neither Miranda nor Gizel spoke, as they knew he had something important on his mind.

  ‘Gizel would you mind carrying Tigerlilly she’s about to go to sleep.’ He said so Gizel promptly picked her up and Tigerlilly fell asleep still holding him tightly in her little hand. They continued in silence until they had travelled a few hundred paces. Then he asked them to stop and created a hardened air dome over them the colour of the ground on the outside and lit with white light on the inside.

  Miranda
had never seen him this serious. Gizel was numb with apprehension. He created a small couch of hardened air and asked Gizel to lay Tigerlilly upon it and then turned to them.

  ‘Mandy, Gizel I know you could feel something special about each other even before today. As you know Yllandril was the Royal Healer for many years and during that period she learnt many secrets and a little earlier she decided it was time to share a very important one with me. This secret will affect all of us and may explain why you feel the way you do. It seems that you are half-sisters. You have the same father but different mothers.’ he said.

  ‘Oh. By the wondrous Lady.’ said Gizel. ‘You’re my sister and that makes Tigerlilly my niece and Tain you’re my sister’s chosen! We really are family. By all the Powers Miranda I love Tain too.’

  ‘There is nothing to be embarrassed about Gizel. It’s wonderful. I knew from the start we were connected by fate somehow. I never imagined it was something as incredible as this. I was always lonely. Oh. It’s so wonderful to have a sister.’ replied Miranda and hugged into Gizel with tears in her eyes and both women cried.

  ‘Oh. By all the Powers you don’t mean to say my father is Wyvern Darkmantle?’ cried Gizel suddenly.

  ‘He’s always trying to touch the women in the stronghold. He must have already had half of them in his bed.’

  ‘Does he know that I’m his daughter?’ she asked.

  ‘No he doesn’t yet.’ replied Aquitain.

  ‘Has he touched you?’ asked Miranda a little worried.

  ‘Of course not! He’s scared of what Tain might do.’ she replied then asked who her mother was.

  ‘Well that is my real problem! You have both been victims of a particularly nasty plot. Neither of you will like what I have to say as it will affect all our futures. I rather regret what I’m about to tell you but you deserve to know and it must be said.’

  ‘I’ll kill you if you drag this out any longer.’ said Miranda suddenly feeling apprehensive.

  ‘Okay here goes. Gizel your mother was the High Druidess Sindel of Mudrun now known as Queen Snowbelle of Argenta.’

  ‘What! That was my mother.’ said Miranda. ‘How could we both have Darkmantle as a father and … are you saying that my mother was not Sindel?’

  ‘Yes Mandy that’s correct, your real mother is Yllandril. That is where you get your Llanllean heritage from and your nanny is Yllandril’s sister.’

  Miranda was shocked speechless. If Snowbelle wasn’t her mother then she wasn’t really a princess. Gizel was shocked as well. If Queen Snowbelle was really her mother then she was the princess.

  ‘I’ve been robbed!’ said Miranda.

  ‘So have I!’ replied Gizel.

  ‘Perhaps you might both look at the positive side. You’ve both gained a mother.’

  ‘That can’t be right. I look like Sindel.’ said Miranda.

  ‘That’s true and Gizel looks like Yllandril at the same age. So how was the deception done Miranda?’ asked Aquitain.

  Miranda thought about the possibilities then said

  ‘I can guess. Gizel and I both have the same birthday. Someone switched our spirits to the body of the other at or near our births.’

  ‘Yes that is Yllandril’s secret that she has held all your lives. It’s possibly also why she was discredited and her spirit imprisoned. It was supposed to remain a secret to use against you in the future.’ He replied.

  ‘Who did it? I’ll kill the bastard!’ said Miranda malevolently.

  ‘Now is not the time for vengeance Mandy but we’ll make sure that the person does pay.’

  ‘How could you tell me this Tain? I love you and you’ve just ruined my whole life.’ said Miranda tearfully.

  ‘Mandy nothing has changed. You’re still my first chosen. I didn’t pledge to you because you were a princess. You are still the same person. I want you to be with me. I am the gatekeeper of Astaria. When we recapture it, I will declare myself King of Astaria and you will be my Queen of Astaria but we have plenty to do before then.’

  ‘Thank you Tain. I really love you. It’s just this Tempest thing. I feel like it’s forcing us apart. It worries me. I need to think.’

  ‘Gizel may I speak to you in private!’ he asked and she nodded still reeling from the news.

  ‘Miranda has talked with me earlier and suggested that you might wish to be my second chosen but I’m unsure that you are fully aware of the reality of the situation. Miranda is no longer the princess of Argenta. You were born to be princess of Argenta but will not be recognized until Snowbelle accepts you and that is unlikely to be soon. If she does it is a hollow title as she is Queen in name only unless she can recapture her domain which will be very difficult.’

  ‘I am the Warden of Moonmist but it is also a hollow title unless it is accepted by the Lords and the Warden’s residence is currently occupied by the Mentarin Dark Lord. I am the Gatekeeper of Astaria, which is a hollow title as someone else currently occupies Astaria. I have no wealth or even a warm body to lay with you at the moment. We all have a hard road ahead of us.’

  ‘I am suspicious that Miranda may have tricked you into a bonding session with us earlier today. If you wish to travel a different path to Miranda and me then I will understand it and I offer to erase any memories, which you might feel embarrassing. On the positive side I can offer you danger, excitement, love, companionship, protection and possibly Moonmist itself. Gizel I would be honoured and extremely pleased if you will become my second chosen. I will love you and honour you and share everything I have with you.’

  ‘Thank you my Lord. You honour me greatly and have given me much to contemplate. I am grateful for your honesty but I must have some time to think. I will give you my word very soon.’ She said with an incredible feeling of importance and a feeling of disbelief. The Warden really wanted her!

  He unsealed a part of the dome and both Miranda and Gizel left and he called for Glammer, who showed up immediately and created a mindlink with him. For the first time he could see her spirit aura. It was strange and powerful like his.

  ‘Do you know about Adonis?’

  ‘Yes.’ said Glammer. ‘He is an elemental dragon . It was bound to happen sooner or later. You are a child among adults.’

  ‘What are my chances of survival if I were to fight him.’ asked Aquitain.

  ‘Very poor, unless your father decided to intervene.’ she replied. ‘you must run and hide until you know your own strength and power.’

  ‘Why is Snowbelle pregnant?’ said Aquitain.

  ‘Because of your daughter! The gods ordain which creatures shall live or die. If they do not, then the gods have no control over them. Tigerlilly was not approved by a deity therefore none have power over her. You caused Snowbelle’s condition. I suspect her unborn was created to counter your daughter’s influence in the future.’

  ‘Can you protect Tigerlilly?’ asked Aquitain.

  ‘I will help where I can but you created her and only you can really protect her.’ replied Glammer.

  ‘Please, may I look at her spirit aura, Aquitain. It may be important.’

  ‘Okay you may but I want you to reveal yourself to her and don’t go making her forget anything.’

  Glammer appeared and he watched her use her power to examine Tigerlilly’s spirit aura as he awoke her.

  ‘Tigerlilly this is Glammer. You met her before at the sanctuary and she grew you bigger. She is a truth fairy. She will try to help you if bad people try to hurt you. You can call her name and she will come to you.’ said Aquitain.

  ‘Please consider the controls you have placed on her carefully. She will need all the resources that she can muster just to survive. Snowbelle’s son will have no such bounds. I truly hope you will survive.’ and she disappeared.

  Aquitain felt no emotion as Glammer had said it all. She was such a little pessimist. Then again, perhaps she was trying to tell him something. Her advice was usually more cryptic than her blatant warning about restricting Tigerlilly’s min
d. He could certainly do something about that.

  ‘Well Tigerlilly it seems like it’s down to you, little girl. I have an hour to teach you everything I can and he hypnotized her.

  An hour later he said.

  ‘Always remember, your mother and I love you more than anything.’ then woke her from the hypnosis.

  He called for the Rat Catcher and said using mindspeak.

  ‘From this moment I command you to guard Tigerlilly, she is the key to protecting me. I specially want you to teach her how to hide and stay hidden. I also wish you to watch over Gizel. I think that she somehow has a part to play in the greater puzzle.’

  ‘As you command.’ said the Rat Catcher.

  ‘Tigerlilly I’ve got you a pet. His name is Ratcatcher. You can talk to him and he’ll talk into your mind. If there are bad people or monsters around you must listen to him and he’ll help you hide from them.’

  ‘Oh thank you daddy!’ she replied and picked up Rat Catcher and cuddled him in her arms.

  He removed the dome and they returned to Miranda, Gizel and Yllandril in their room in the stronghold who seemed to be chatting together amicably. Miranda was in her Llanllean form. She looked magnificent.

  ‘Mummy Gizel! Look daddy’s got me a pet cat called Rat Catcher.’ she yelled excitedly.

  ‘That’s nice darling. Tain can you go somewhere else please. We are discussing important female business here. You may leave Tigerlilly with us. I will call you when we are finished.’ said Miranda.

  Aquitain left feeling a little rejected. He was becoming surrounded and controlled by women. He needed to find some male companionship but that was going to be hard until he could get a bigger body. So he found a small niche in the wall crawled in and sat wondering how Featherdown, Quab and Chantalot were faring.

  Chapter 20 Pledging Presents

  Aquitain sat in the crack in the wall for several hours. It was pleasant to have time to himself to think again and his mind wandered over many things. So much had changed in his life. He thought of how carefree his life had been until just a few months ago. Now a world depended upon him to save it. Women wanted to love him and be with him. Powerful creatures wanted to kill him. He wondered again was it all a dream.