Vankara (Book 1)

by S. J. West

  Inara was the first to notice me standing in the doorway. I wasn’t sure what to do. How did the Queen act with her best friend?

  “What are you doing out of bed?” Inara demanded before stalking up to me and slapping her right hand against my forehead. “Hmm, you don’t have a fever anymore and you definitely look a hundred percent better than you did.” She grasped me by the top of the arms and laid her head against my chest with her ear pressed against me.

  I looked up at Gabriel for some sort of guidance in how to handle the situation. Gabriel simply shrugged his shoulders offering no help in deciphering what Inara was doing or how I should react to it.

  Inara finally lifted her head from my chest and looked at me.

  “I don’t hear that faint rattle anymore either,” she eyed me up and down. “Why are you wearing red? Not that I’m complaining. I thought you should have ditched the black a year ago.”

  “I decided you were right,” I said as brightly as I could. “I’ve mourned my husband long enough, and I’m feeling well. It’s time to make a fresh start.”

  “Does this change of heart have anything to do with Fallon being in your service again?” Inara whispered to me with a sly grin spreading her lips.

  “No,” I whispered back quickly, “absolutely not.”

  “Ri-ight,” she drew out the word like she didn’t believe me in the slightest and covertly winked. “Anyway, like I said, you look a hundred percent better than you did. I wish I’d gotten the chance to thank that girl for healing you before she died.”

  Inara turned back to the men. “What do you say we get this over with so we can get back home?”

  Fallon and Gabriel carried the body of the Queen as her only two pall bearers. It was pitch black where Inara landed the airship. Even the small sliver of the new moon hanging in the sky couldn’t seem to slice through the darkness. The only light to see by was from the soft glow emanating from the Queen’s compartment. Once we were a safe distance away from the ship, Fallon and Gabriel laid the Queen’s body on the ground.

  “I would like to say a few words since I knew Sarah best,” Gabriel said to us. He cleared his throat before beginning. “Dear father, I pray for you to take care of our friend as she makes her ascension into your heavenly arms. Protect and guide her as she journeys to her next life. Please watch over those of us she has left behind. May we make her proud in our deeds to come. Amen.”

  Gabriel placed the grey stone etched with runes of enchantment on the Queen’s chest.

  “Requiescat in pace,” he said, signaling the stone to ignite.

  A series of blue flames quickly enveloped the Queen’s body. Inara and John stood on the opposite side of the Queen from Gabriel and me. I felt a pang of guilt for not telling Inara the body in front of her was that of her best friend, her Queen. It didn’t seem right to not let her grieve over the loss of someone she loved.

  Fallon remained somber as he watched the flames engulf a woman he had tried his best to avoid the past few years but who finally won out in the end. He looked up from the blue arching flames which were consuming Emma Vankar and met my gaze. I didn’t like what I saw in the depths of his eyes: undisguised scorn. I knew in that moment our relationship would not be a congenial one.

  After the flames extinguished themselves, we walked back to the airship in an uneasy silence.

  Once Inara was back in the navigational compartment and had us on our way to Iron City, Gabriel, Fallon and I sat down together to discuss what would be expected of me when we arrived at the palace.

  “Unfortunately, this is all happening at a bad time,” Gabriel began.

  “Well I’m sure the Queen wishes she could have picked a more convenient time for you to die,” Fallon quipped.

  Gabriel gave the captain a scathing look of reproach. “That’s not what I meant and you damn well know it, Fallon. We’re all hurting over her loss. Making snide remarks to one another won’t change the fact the Queen is dead. We have to carry on. We have to implement her plan as smoothly as possible.”

  Fallon turned his eyes to me. “I don’t know if I can help you,” he told me honestly. “I’m having a really hard time just making myself look at you,” he snorted. “Pretending you’re Emma is rubbing me all the wrong ways.”

  “I can’t say I blame you for the way you feel,” I replied, trying not to take Fallon’s words to heart. “If I were in your shoes, I’m sure I would react much the same. As it is, I’m having a difficult time thinking of myself as a Queen because the simple fact is I’m not. But, if you can’t do what the Queen asked of you, perhaps you should go back to the outpost. Though, I sort of doubt that’s really the kind of life you want to lead. Queen Emma has given us all a great responsibility and I’m not sure I can pull it off without your help. She obviously thought your advice was something I would need. But if you don’t feel as though you can assist me in keeping Vankara safe, perhaps we should have Inara turn the ship around and return you to the Outlands.”

  “I can’t leave,” Fallon said begrudgingly. “I made a promise to Emma and I plan to see it through.”

  “Then I would suggest you stow away your grief and your dislike of me for now. We have a mission to fulfill and that should be our top priority.”

  When I turned my attention back to Gabriel, I saw a gleam of pride in his eyes as he gazed at me. A small smile of satisfaction played across his lips.

  “As I was saying,” Gabriel began again. “Now is a difficult time for this to happen. We are about to begin the next session of parliament. As Queen, you will have to officiate the opening session. Other than that you will only be required to attend when a bill is being voted on.”

  “The Queen tried to tell me about the bills being discussed but I’m afraid a lot of what she said was lost on me,” I confessed.

  “Don’t worry. I’ll fill you in on the important ones. Most are just things which have been in the works for a while now. Emma already made her revisions to them. Now, shortly after we return to the palace, you will have to entertain Aleksander Chromis.”

  “Chromis is coming? Why?” Fallon asked, clearly suspicious of the man’s intentions.

  “It’s nothing more than a social call,” Gabriel said, trying his best to reassure us both that Chromis’ visit was benign in nature. “Dena’s second birthday is tomorrow and he wanted to be at the celebration we’re having for her, nothing more.”

  “Are you sure that’s all he’s coming for?” Fallon asked somewhat convinced there was an ulterior motive behind Chromis’ seemingly innocent visit.

  Gabriel looked over at me with a touch of apprehension. “No, I’m afraid there is more to his visit. He’s been trying to persuade Emma into accepting his proposal of marriage for over a year now. I’m afraid you’ll have to find a way to deal with any amorous overtures he makes to you, Sarah.”

  “Can’t I just avoid him while he’s at the palace?” I asked, desperately hoping my suggestion was acceptable behavior for a Queen.

  “Not if you want him to believe everything is normal. Emma never seemed to consider his offer seriously, but that didn’t stop her from enjoying Aleksander’s playful advances.”

  “They weren’t lovers were they?” I asked

  “The Queen never said anything to me about their relationship progressing that far. I’m sure she would have mentioned it before her death.”

  “She didn’t have a lover I’ll have to deal with, did she?”

  Gabriel hesitated before saying, “No, there won’t be anyone you will have to deal with.”

  I silently expelled a sigh of relief. I wasn’t the type of person who had illicit affairs. Truth be told, I had never even been kissed by someone of the opposite sex except for the chaste kisses exchanged between a daughter and her father. Living in the small community of Peony didn’t afford me much in the way of romantic liaisons.

  “Now, let me tell you what the Queen’s routine at the palace is.”

  As Gabriel ran through the duties o
f the Queen, I listened intently, trying my best to memorize what would be expected of me. He told me the names of a few servants I would have contact with but the only one I tried to remember was the name of Dena’s nanny, Emily Andrews. I was sure she would be the one I had the most intimate relationship with. It was just past midnight when I became too exhausted to listen anymore and begged for some rest.

  “Of course,” Gabriel said chagrined. “I shouldn’t be keeping you up like this, especially after a transformation. Please go to bed and get some sleep. You will definitely need all of your strength for tomorrow.”

  I stood and hesitated. I didn’t want to sleep in the Queen’s bed. It didn’t seem right.

  “She would want you to make yourself comfortable,” Gabriel reassured me, reading my hesitation with an accuracy which surprised me. “It’s your bed now, Sarah.”

  I looked at Fallon who had remained conspicuously quite while Gabriel explained the Queen’s routine to me. His eyes were averted to the floor, either unable or unwilling to look at me.

  I knew I was going to have to find a way to connect with him if he was going to be of any help to me at all. I just wasn’t sure how to make such a miracle happen.

  “Good night then,” I said to the men.

  “Sleep well,” Gabriel replied, through a strained smile.

  I went to the Queen’s bedchamber and leaned against the door as I closed it behind me. I stared at the bed for some time before making my decision.

  Chapter 6

  “Sarah?”

  Gabriel’s voice pierced through my dream as an unwelcome visitor, awakening me just as I was about to touch the doorknob of my family’s cottage, hearing the laughter of my parents within. When I opened my eyes, the reality of my life crashed down around me like a wave on the ocean, pulling me into a bottomless pit of suffocating hopelessness. I closed my eyes again desperately wanting to recapture the joy I felt from the dream, simply wanting to return to the safe confines of home.

  “Sarah?”

  Gabriel called again, reminding me home wasn’t within my grasp. It was just an illusion, a dream.

  I sat up and looked over the mattress of the Queen’s bed from the pallet I made for myself on the floor. I watched as Gabriel cautiously peaked around the edge of the door to find me.

  His eyes flicked from me to the un-slept in bed and to me again.

  “Why didn’t you sleep in the bed?” He asked, his forehead creased in lines of confusion.

  “It didn’t feel right,” I admitted. The mere thought of sleeping in the death bed of the Queen seemed in poor taste.

  I saw Fallon’s face appear over Gabriel’s shoulder quickly taking in the situation with one glance. His eyes rested on me but he remained mute on the situation. His opinion of me choosing not to sleep in the Queen’s bed was indecipherable by his expression.

  “We’ll be arriving in Iron City within the hour,” Gabriel informed me. “You should take the time to prepare yourself.” Fallon dropped his gaze from my face and walked away as Gabriel closed the door letting me have some privacy to prepare not only my body but my mind for what lay ahead of me that day.

  I quickly took off the nightgown I had found in the Queen’s wardrobe the night before and carefully laid it out on the bed. I donned the red dress I had worn to her funeral since that was the way Queen Emma envisioned me arriving back to the palace. I found a hairbrush in the Queen’s nightstand and brushed out my new long black hair with shaking hands. I had no idea how to style it in the latest fashions and assumed the Queen usually had a maid do that sort of thing for her when she was at the palace. Since I lacked such simple luxury, I brushed it up into a simple bun and fastened it with a few pins I found in the nightstand. Feeling brave, I took out the small top hat from the wardrobe and used the remaining pins to secure it at a slant on my head. I refused to look in the mirror on the wall beside the wardrobe. I feared I would loose what little nerve I had built up that morning if I had to come face to face with a reflection of the new me.

  I sat on the edge of the Queen’s bed for a while thinking through what I knew I had to do that day. The most troublesome item on my list of duties was entertaining Aleksander Chromis. Gabriel said Aleksander was expected to arrive in Iron City sometime around noon since Dena’s birthday celebration wasn’t until that evening. Gabriel wasn’t sure how long Aleksander would be staying which was just another item to add to my list of concerns.

  Of all the duties of the Queen, dealing with the King of Chromis was the most worrisome. From what little I knew about the history of the Chromis Empire, the country had once been governed by a free parliamentary system much like the one in Vankara. About one hundred years ago, greedy politicians and bad policies stirred up so much discontent among the people the Chromis family was able to stage a successful coup.

  Since then, the nation had lived under the rule of the Chromis family. Its government was a farce because everyone knew whatever the king of Chromis decided was law. Their society had turned from democratic to socialist in less than a generation. No one owned private property in Chromis because everything belonged to the greater good of the empire. At least that’s what the propaganda tried to brainwash its citizens into believing.

  I felt the airship slow down and come to a stop. There was a soft knock on the door.

  “Sarah,” it was Gabriel, “we’re here.”

  I took a deep breath in a futile attempt to calm my nerves. How was I going to convince people I was Queen Emma? The fact I looked exactly like her would help a great deal but there was so much more to a person than just their outer appearance. Every individual possesses a unique set of characteristics which most people don’t even recognize until a contrast is presented. Just because I physically looked identical to the Queen didn’t mean I could conjure up the subtle nuances which made her who she was.

  I walked to the door and opened it, stepping out of the safe confines of the Queen’s bedroom with as much confidence as I could muster.

  When I looked out the windows of the ship, I could see we were now perched on a landing pad at the top of one of the four glass towers of the palace. It was a flat iron platform about ten feet long with an ornate three foot safety railing running along the edges. Standing on the platform awaiting our arrival was the woman I presumed to be the nanny Gabriel told me about, Emily Andrews.

  Emily was young and plain looking with red-orange hair pulled back in a neat bun at the nape of her neck. She wore a plain cotton maroon dress with ruffle edged white apron on top and held Princess Dena in her arms.

  Dena looked just as innocent and full of life as she did in Queen Emma’s memory during my transformation. Her angelic face shone with excitement and her head full of blonde ringlets danced in the wind. She watched the airship expectantly, waiting for her mother to appear.

  I felt a pang of sadness for the little princess. Dena would never be able to truly know her mother. She was far too young to have developed any lasting memories of her. It was then I first felt a need to become the mother she deserved even though I was still plagued by doubts I would be able to teach her how to be a great leader of people. It was a lesson I still had to learn for myself.

  They must have seen me through the windows of the compartment because Emily pointed a finger straight at me and said something to Dena. Dena waved and I saw her mouth move forming the word, “Mummy.”

  Standing beside Emily and Dena was a dark skinned gentleman of average height and weight wearing tan trousers and vest with a black tailcoat and white cravat tied in a bow around his neck. His rough textured hair was styled in a short crop mostly hidden by the black top hat he wore. He looked to be in his late fifties with a face which bore the lines of a man who worried about things far too much. He nervously tapped a small black leather notebook against his leg waiting for the Queen’s arrival.

  “Who is that man?” I asked Gabriel.

  “That’s Thomas Gaines, your personal secretary. He takes care of scheduling your meet
ings and keeping you informed about the goings on of the members of parliament. He’s a good man, just a bit uptight most of the time.”

  “We better go,” Fallon said, not looking at me, just staring out at the people waiting for us to disembark. “I’m sure Emma wouldn’t wait so long to see Dena again,” his eyes cut towards me quickly before looking back out the window. “She would probably already be off this ship holding her daughter by now.”

  The captain’s rebuke wasn’t lost on me. His inconsiderate words made me feel like I was already failing in my mission.

  I saw Gabriel’s eyes narrow on Fallon. “Everyone knows the Queen has been ill. They won’t consider it odd if she’s a bit slower than usual.”

  Gabriel came to me holding out his arm for me to take. “Shall we go meet the others?”

  My heart was hammering so hard inside my chest I felt sure my two companions could hear the audible manifestation of my fear. I inhaled deeply and held it for a few seconds before releasing it, hoping it would calm my nerves. I kept reminding myself I couldn’t let the three standing on the platform suspect something was wrong with me. Fainting was not an option even though I felt on the verge of falling into that black abyss.

  I fell in step with Gabriel’s slow, measured pace. I knew he was giving me the gift of time to get my emotions under control. When we passed by Fallon, I noticed him watching me carefully, as if he were expectantly waiting for me to make a mistake. I quickly looked away from him, not finding any comfort in his negative appraisal of my charade.

  When we made our way out of the airship, Inara was patiently waiting for us at the foot of the steps on the platform. She fell into step behind me and beside Fallon as Gabriel escorted me to meet Princess Dena.

  “Your majesty,” Emily curtsied to me slightly still holding Dena on her hip. When she stood back up, I noticed her curious pale green eyes studying my face carefully. “You look so much better, your majesty,” she said in amazement. “I presume the healer you went to see was able to cure your scarlet fever?”