The Unexpected Heir: A Tale of Alus

by Wigboldy,Donald

  "Greetings to our Malaiyan guests!" the man proclaimed with a smile. His entourage had set smiles on their faces, but Anna could tell the look of men sent to carry bags. Polite smiles appeared the best that they could muster in the cold. "The message returned accepting the king's invitation stated that they were sending a couple royal visitors as well. Would you beautiful ladies be them?"

  Ryan moved beside her answering, "Lady Annalicia de Malef Eremia and Lady Xerese de Malef Serkash, nieces of King Orlaan accompany our chosen wizards."

  Letting her guardsman announce her wasn't Anna's favorite thing of being a royal, but it was expected in such situations. The wizard part of her wondered why she couldn't just answer for herself. With that out of the way, she spoke to the man, "I am also competing as one of our wizards. Arrangements for an inn were made, I believe."

  The man nodded, but added, "Rooms have been seen to in one of the most prominent of Hala's inns. Ambassadors and royalty stay at the Two Circles Inn regularly, but if you ladies wish, the king has kept a suite reserved at the castle for you also."

  "I am sure one of your most prominent inns will do, unless we would be insulting his highness by declining," Annalicia replied sounding very formal to her ears. She was a young royal, but had been raised in proper etiquette since she was a child. Xerese, even though farther down the royal line in number, was similarly schooled but let her cousin speak for them.

  Giving a chuckle as if her answer was amusing, the greeter answered, "No, the offer was more because we were afraid any less would offend you. With rooms being at a premium in the city because of all the visitors for the tournament, it would only be possibly a help to someone looking for a place to stay; but since the Two Circles is a little more expensive than the average guest can afford, I would guess giving up your rooms would help few looking for a place to stay. Even so, if you change your mind, the offer stands."

  His responses weren't typical of those used to handling ambassadors or royal guests, at least for Malaiy. Annalicia moved towards the waiting carriages and asked, "We have introduced ourselves. Who might you be? Do you work for King Alain?"

  Again the man laughed as he strode just ahead of her in order to open the door for the women. "Well, in a way. With the tournament demanding so much attention from his usual staff, others were brought in and trained to work with the wizards coming to Hala. I would guess that I haven't made as good an impression as I should have. Unfortunately, I am not sure the exact words to use greeting both a lady and a wizard.

  "I am Geynith, my lady. I guess my title would be assistant greeter or liaison."

  "You did well enough, Geynith" Annalicia said with a sympathetic smile. She pointed with her free hand as her left still interlocked with her cousin. "Geynith, is that the only route up to the main city?"

  Assuming a slight look of surprise at the change in topic, the man looked over his shoulder before returning his gaze to the ladies before him. "It is the only route for carriages, wagons and horses; but there is a path that winds a little tighter. It is also more direct, but only those willing to walk the route use it."

  Annalicia wanted to ask to walk the route, but Xerese's hand tightened on hers. It was an unspoken response and likely not even truly thought out by her cousin. At the man's questioning look, she smiled and shook her head, "Perhaps another time. I suppose we should ride there first to see just how far away it is."

  "It is also too cold with the wind from the sea twisting towards us now," Xerese noted to her cousin though she was sheltered inside of the wizard's air shield.

  The wind had shifted and the air wizard had noted the conflicting patterns caused by the sea and highlands above them. Being called a weather wizard in some circles, it was a fascinating phenomenon for someone used to the winds and weather of Yalan.

  Riding the carriage up the incline wasn't as interesting for the wizard. Xerese wanted warmth more than a chance to watch their progress. Lights glowed inside of the closed up rolling room. Windows were closed to the cold and Annalicia could feel the magic in the lights as well as more that helped keep the inside of the carriage warm despite the cold weather.

  If it was a show to impress their visitors, Southwall had done well enough. Only wizards could truly comprehend the inventiveness and ingenuity of magic that could last without constant attention from other wizards. She wondered if they had to recharge the magic regularly or if this was some sustainable spell that Annalicia had never heard of before.

  With wizards being among their visitors, it would be a lasting impression indeed.

  Her time inside the closed cabin of the carriage seemed interminably long. They had waited only a short time for extra luggage to be brought down and placed. Since there were extra wagons, they didn't wait as long as they could have, so the ladies with Reynolvan and Ivanor riding inside opposite them drove off for the city above. Annalicia felt bad for the guardsmen riding outside the cabin, but the four men wouldn't allow the ladies to be separated from them, while the two wizards were equally protective of the women.

  When the angle of the carriage finally leveled out, Annalicia felt like she had been pressed against the back cushion for hours. Not long afterwards, a knock on the door surprised them as the carriage stopped. It was too soon to have reached the walls of Hala. Geynith stood outside the door as Annalicia used her magic to hold the cold at bay while opening the window.

  Geynith gestured behind him drawing the girl's eyes to a view of the sea stretching out as far as she could see.

  "My lady, I wasn't sure if you wished to see the view from the top of the cliffs before entering the city. Unless you go to the walls or the upper towers of the Grimnal, you won't be able to see this view inside the city."

  Xerese frowned at Anna's back, but it was too late. The door opened as the petite blonde haired wizard stepped down onto snow covered stone. Though covered, it wasn't too slick, she thought as her eyes remained on the view in front of her. Begrudgingly her cousin followed as Annalicia's new air shield followed her.

  Stepping close enough to look down, other traffic moved past them further inland. Geynith had obviously chosen a spot out of the main path to the city gates. Such thoughts were in the back of her mind as Annalicia looked at the lower city.

  The broken ice in the harbor was echoed by more white sheets floating beyond the stone break. Looking gray under the clouds above, the North Sea and harbor had a beauty that was very different from anything she had seen in Malaiy. Her home was warmer and brighter, but there was still a magnificence to this world as well.

  Her eyes pulled away and Anna looked at the white walls of Hala to the north. They were tall with towers standing up along the line and beyond the outer wall also. The taller inner wall was still not as tall as the black stone of the king's castle.

  Geynith noted her gaze and said, "Castle Grimnal is the heart of Hala. Its black stone has never been pierced by an enemy. The white walls were never broken, though the stories say High King Merrick lost his city and empire to his queen and the immortal lord even so."

  "Gerid Aramathea, I believe he was called," Annalicia responded looking away from the castle to the sea again. "My grandfather knew him once."

  Taken aback, Geynith stammered, "Your grandfather knew him? He has been lost for centuries."

  She shrugged. It wasn't considered lady like, but the temporary liaison didn't know that. Annalicia responded, "My grandfather is quite old, so I tend to believe him."

  Only twenty-two, the wizard looked too young to have such an ancient grandfather, but Geynith didn't question the lady of Malaiy again. He knew that wasn't his place and eccentricity wasn't unknown among the lords and ladies of Southwall as much as anywhere else.

  Though the strength of the view didn't wear off quickly, they returned to the carriage and the ride into the city continued.

  Too much of the sights of Hala were lost in the ride thanks to the closed windows of the carriage. It was difficult to maintain the balance of wind over the win
dow that would keep the warmth inside while pushing the cold away. Even for a talented wind wizard, it was challenging; but the other concern of showing her power was that they were now inside a city looking to defeat her in the tournament. Perhaps a little exaggerated in her mind, Annalicia didn't know how many wizards would see her magic in use and she didn't want to start revealing any secrets to her competitors before she needed to do so.

  They stopped at the outer wall and had to show papers, though Geynith was there to facilitate the matter. Even so, they had to exit the carriages long enough to verify their number and identities.

  It reminded her of the earlier conversation held by Reynolvan and Ivanor. The need for heightened security made her wonder just how safe the city actually was, but then again she could see the heavy flow of traffic trying to enter the city and supposed they were simply being cautious. If they didn't watch out for the safety of the competitors brought from all over the world, how much worse would be said?

  Standing before the outer walls, Anna had to look up at them towering over her and felt impressed. Such massive walls would have been intimidating enough for an enemy facing them, but she could feel magic in the defense as well. Wizards had been treating the white walls with magic for centuries most likely making them stronger with each new generation and use of power. It was no wonder that they had remained unbroken in spite of the wars which had beset the city over the last millennia.

  Riding through the streets towards the inner city and their inn, Annalicia's curiosity eventually got the best of her and the wizard opened the right window as she used her spell hold the heat inside for Xerese. Her curiosity had defeated her need to maintain secrets, but she easily convinced herself that this spell wasn't something that she was likely to use in battle anyway.

  Buildings ranging from single story dwellings up to four stories could be seen. From the carriage it was hard to tell one from the other unless she bent her head low enough to look up. Since she was a lady, Annalicia resisted doing that, however, and hoped that she would have time while they were there to see more of Hala without the limitations of the carriage window.

  The inner city wall had token guards, but unlike the outer walls there was no line to wade through or papers to show. Soon enough they were in a courtyard behind a five story building, the tallest she had been able to see, and leaving the carriage to enter the Two Circles Inn. While the outer building was impressive in size, it was the interior that sought to amaze its guests.

  Four tall columns too wide for one person to reach around held up the ceiling high above their heads. The floor glistened like it had been polished only moments before they had arrived. Black and brown stones were set in patterns throughout the otherwise golden tan squares making up the floor. The colors complimented the look of the dark wood tables and the rich wood panels lining the outer walls. It felt expensive and the girl was sure that it was.

  Reynolvan took the lead and moved to check them into the inn. When she and Xerese heard that they were on the fifth floor, their hearts sunk as one. The thought of climbing five flights of stairs everyday as many times as was likely, sounded like torture not prestige until the concierge took them to a special set of doors. A rectangular room was beyond them and once they were inside, he merely touched a button sending the box filled with her people moving upward. She could feel the shift in her body as she stood in the room, but wondered how it could move like that. Southwall was showing off for her once more.

  It brought them to the fifth floor and they had exerted only as much energy as it took to walk to the box. They were shown their rooms and Xerese waited only until the guards checked the place for possible dangers before throwing herself back onto one of the heavily stuffed beds.

  "It's like being on a cloud. Well, at least what I guess a cloud would feel like anyway," the dark haired girl said with a laugh to her cousin.

  "I'm glad that you like it, though I've touched the clouds with my magic and I would have to say that it is not. If it were a real cloud, you would fall through it onto the floor; but I am glad that it is soft enough for your approval," the girl so opposite in looks replied.

  Frowning at Annalicia's response, Xerese complained, "Don't be so literal, Anna, and come try it out. I wouldn't have thought that an inn would have such rich tastes."

  "The guide did say that the Two Circles Inn hosts ambassadors and lords quite often. I guess that they must charge enough to make sure to have the best." The young woman said as she joined Xerese on the bed. Lying onto the comforter covered mattress, she had to agree that it was one of the most comfortable beds that she had ever tried, though her list was short in truth.

  The girls didn't take too long to relax, however, though it was Annalicia who spurred her cousin to move for the most part. She rose and found her bedroom attached through a joining door. Both suites had two rooms. One was for the ladies, while the second would be shared by their bodyguards.

  Security had been a big concern for their families. Even being thirteenth and twenty-second in the royal succession was close enough to make the guild very careful in their choice of inns and rooms. All that had been discussed away from the two girls, and Anna only knew that her father had worked with the guild to set up their reservations with the distant kingdom. Their ships had connections with most of North continent and Philip had used those ties to properly take care of his daughter and her cousin.

  When Annalicia knocked on Xerese's door looking ready to investigate the city, she had two guards with disapproving looks at her back.

  A big smile crossed her face like sunshine in the gray of the day and she had to work quite hard to get her cousin to follow with equally disappointed looking guards quickly pulling on jackets to join the others in Hala.

  "I can't believe that you want to do this, Anna," Xerese complained as they took the magical elevator down to the first floor. "It is so cold here. I am seriously contemplating staying inside this inn the whole time until this tournament is over and we can sail home."

  "Don't be so overdramatic," the silver haired blonde chided setting her spell to trap heat for the girls as Welden held the door for the group to exit the lobby. "We're in a foreign city. It isn't as large as all of Yalan, but it is still quite large from what I could tell from inside the carriage. This will be a bit of an adventure and when will you ever get to see a city covered in ice and snow again?"

  Snorting derisively, the other woman replied, "Hopefully never."

  Chapter 9- The High Wizard

  Annalicia was up at an early hour, though not terribly early in the young wizard's opinion. Her body had been able to adjust to the change in the rise of the sun as they moved eastward on the ship; but the shortening of daylight, not to mention the many hours of gray thanks to the clouds often overhead created by the weather fronts of northern mountain air or sea, was something that Anna had not considered at all before traveling had begun.

  Southwall had weather patterns that were nothing like Malaiy. Both were on the ocean, though the North Sea was to the east and Malaiy had water to the north and west; but her home didn't have mountains to affect it. Southwall had two ranges from her studies. One lay to the west nearly a thousand miles away, while the Dragon Spine Mountains were much closer, though not within the country's borders.

  It was interesting to an air wizard, also referred to as a weather wizard by the other magical arts; though Annalicia found it was much less interesting to those who couldn't see how the world of air worked. They merely wanted to know if it would rain or snow to plan their days and didn't care to know how the wizard could possibly know.

  Xerese, though a bit more understanding than some about her care for how the world worked, was not so forgiving about being awoken this morning. Her guard, Dillon, who answered the door and passed along her invitation, was one that the girls had enjoyed looking at as discretely as they thought they could get away with on the ship. He was handsome and easily Annalicia's taste. With brown hair and gray eyes, the tall gu
ard had a jaw that somehow always seemed to have a five o'clock shadow without ever becoming a full beard.

  The girls had often had discussions on it when he was far enough away not to hear. It was perplexing; but gave him an amazingly rugged appearance, the cousins had agreed. If he was of even remotely royal lineage, they also agreed that they would have wished to have a husband as handsome. Of course that was purely superficial on their parts; but when he wasn't being so sober in his duty to protect Xerese, Annalicia had noted his charm was not lost on other women as well.

  Returning from the door to the sleeping lady's chamber, Dillon smiled ruefully, "Her ladyship has respectfully declined your request to accompany you at this time."

  He used words that would be unlikely to come from a guardsman as he cleaned up the snarled rebuke that they had all heard from the hall. Trying not to laugh in her face, Dillon proved he had charm and a sense of humor as well.

  Sniffing at his message as a smile revealed her fighting a similar laugh, Annalicia nodded. "Let 'her ladyship' know that I will see her later in the morning then. We're going to reconnoiter some of the local shops we were told about by the concierge desk. If I find anything Xerese might like," she spoke louder as the girl finished, "I'll buy it for myself!"

  The guard nodded in agreement smiling at her. Anna felt her heart jump and quickly turned away to walk down the hall before Dillon or her guards could catch her blushing. It wasn't very ladylike and she didn't need the men talking about her response between them. Being both a royal lady and a wizard, it would be hard to be seen as a leader if she was caught fawning over the man like some childish school girl.

  By the time they arrived at the elevator, Annalicia was composed enough to avoid being caught and the trip down in the small box was spent in silence. The guards were used to being addressed before speaking to her, though the wizard was hardly as strict in such treatment of the men she also considered friends. They had to become friends with as much time as they spent together, or Anna would probably have driven them away to find more suitable companions.