The Courier's Conflict

by T. S. Valmond

  “What a delightful idea!” Her mother clapped. She clapped. What was she doing? Rasha looked at her father, who was watching her with an intensity she had never seen before. He would say something she wouldn’t like. She held her breath waiting for it.

  “How will you preserve the royal lines?”

  “If you mean the pure races, that’s an archaic idea that I’m happy to see fall to the wayside. We are now eleven united kingdoms. It’s time that we started to act as one empire.”

  “Making yourself the emperor. You are ambitious.” Her father sneered.

  “Rasha and I need to continue to work out more of the details later. I promise you’ll be informed of the official changes. Let’s enjoy our lovely breakfast for now.” Bashir lifted his orange juice in salute. Chiza looked at Rasha. Her eyes seemed sad. Why did she look so defeated?

  A guard entered the room and leaned over to speak in Rasha’s ear.

  “Princess, your beastie.”

  He didn’t need to say any more. Temi’s behavior was often beyond description. He hadn’t followed her inside, and she’d assumed he’d needed to take care of necessary business. The only way the servants could handle him was to call on her to interpret his strange behavior.

  Rasha stood up from the table to follow the guard. Jak had a strange expression on his face when she bowed to her parents and the incumbents. She couldn’t read him. Was she just tired, or was everyone giving her strange looks that morning? The guard directed her to the front steps of the castle, but before he turned away, she had a message for Chiza.

  “Please give Princess Chiza the discreet message that I will meet with her this evening in her rooms.”

  The guard nodded.

  Temi was at the castle steps, whining and spinning in circles. The minute he saw her, he wiggled ecstatically. Then he dashed for the trees.

  “Temi, wait!” Rasha ran into the wood after him. She realized her mistake after she’d tripped for the fifth time. Why had she worn the pumseed slippers instead of her boots? It wasn’t as if her feet could be seen underneath the layers, anyway. She stumbled through the trees, using her sleeves to ward off the branches that threatened her face.

  Rasha stumbled out of the trees into a clearing. Temi howled into the air. They both listened until, for the first time, she heard an answering howl. She retreated back to the edge of the tree line and waited to see what would happen.

  Temi was almost vibrating with emotion when the undergrowth parted and Temi’s friend, the beast of his kind they’d met near the palace, appeared. Temi seemed a little small in comparison, but he might not be full grown yet. Isn’t that what Chigo had said?

  Temi and the other beast circled each other for a moment, and then walked away together. Rasha started to go after him, but stopped herself. When he reached the opposite edge of the clearing, he sat down. He growled at his companion, then turned back to Rasha. He trotted to her and nuzzled his head against her thigh.

  “That’s all right you rotten beast. Go on.”

  Temi sat in front of her and whined.

  “No, I’m fine. Go.” She ran a hand through his fur and pushed him toward his new friend.

  Rasha reached up and touched her amulet as she watched him walk through the opposite line of trees with his companion. Her face felt hot and tears stung her eyes as she turned back to the castle.

  37

  LADI WATCHED RASHA get up from the table, and her eyes met Jak’s. Why couldn’t he look at her the way he looked at Rasha? She sighed. It was clear he didn’t have those kinds of feelings for her. Then there was Ebere, who wouldn’t take his eyes off of her. Where did that come from? Had he been that worried about her? What the yahtz was happening around here?

  “I’m planning on attending the training at the Courier’s Keep myself,” Chigo said, interrupting her thoughts.

  “How old are you?” she asked.

  “I’m thirteen.”

  “They’ve never accepted anyone younger than fifteen,” Ebere said without looking up from his plate.

  “Yeah, and I’m sure they told her the same thing, before she became the youngest.” Chigo grabbed his third piece of bread. “They may not let me work right away, but they’ll train me.”

  “Well, maybe I’ll see you there,” Ladi said. She waited less than a heartbeat for Ebere to look up and make eye contact. Why hadn’t she noticed that smolder before? She reached up and put a hand over her exposed neck and suddenly felt underdressed.

  They’d always fought, and now all of a sudden, he filled her stomach with fluttering piko wings. Ladi thought back on her own behavior. She’d been obsessed with Jak. She glanced over at Jak again, who stood up from the table to follow Rasha. He was in love with her. Ladi hoped for his sake that Rasha had forgiven him. She stood up from the table and faced the royals.

  “It was a lovely breakfast, Your Highness.” Ladi gave a short curtsy.

  “Where are you going?” Ebere blurted out the question.

  “I have some packing to do.” Ladi turned on her heel, not waiting for him to say anything more.

  * * *

  Ladi had reached the stairs before Ebere caught up to her.

  “Ladi, wait,” he called. She stopped, and before she turned, took a deep breath. She might only be fifteen, but she wasn’t completely inexperienced.

  “Yes?” She crossed her arms over her chest.

  Ladi saw it coming. His eyes bore into hers. His lips slightly parted. She steadied herself, expecting something soft and sweet. Ebere wrapped his arms around her and kissed her senseless. His warm lips were forceful and sure. When he stepped away from her, she felt her arms drop. When had she wrapped her arms around his neck? She couldn’t remember. Ladi swayed from being let go and had to take a step back.

  “What was that all about?” She asked, trying to catch her breath. Her fingers lifted to her lips, tracing the outline of where his had been.

  “A lapse in judgment.” He backed away and then turned to go.

  Ladi giggled before she called out after him.

  “Can I hope there will be more lapses in judgment in the future?”

  38

  THE NEW INCUMBENT ceremony for Prince Bashir took place on the steps of the castle in Chilali. And it was not what anyone had expected. Rasha’s parents had insisted it was the best place. That way they could sit in their balcony as usual and watch over the proceedings. Rasha stood beside Chiza and Jak stood beside Bashir. The council was behind them in a semicircle of support. Tarrik of Ishola stood among them, not yet an official member of council. It turned out they’d been reluctant to accept the Wola for that very reason, but things would get resolved. Rasha didn’t have any control over how things went forward. She’d done all she could.

  Rasha looked out over the crowd, most of them Chilalians. She caught her Aunt Sochi’s eye, and her wink bolstered her to nod and square her shoulders with pride. There would be a vid recording sent throughout the kingdoms with the announcements in the following order:

  The war against the beasts was won. The enslaved and abused beasts were granted asylum. The traitor Gungbe would be prosecuted for his crimes against the first kingdom and for the death of the princesses. The eleventh kingdom of Ishola was established, and would be the future site of the palace of royals. Prince Bashir’s survival of the beasts’ first attack, along with one other princess named Chiza from the tenth kingdom of Sidoa. Rasha and Jak, were thanked for their service in protecting the royal family line. Finally, the Choosing, in its new form, would begin as soon as the Ishola palace construction was complete.

  The new Choosing caused a stir among the kingdoms. All the eligible princes and ladies would be invited to live at the palace, a building that promised to be double the size of the former with gardens four times the size. Due to the desert conditions of their new location, Bashir demanded a shaded pool near the palace for easy access in the hot summer months.

  Everyone seemed shocked that the prince hadn’t chosen Chiza
or Rasha as the last available princesses. No one looked more disappointed than Chiza herself. The other evening, when Rasha went to meet with Chiza in her rooms, the doors were locked and there was no answer from inside.

  What had happened to them while they’d been in hiding? Did her mourning for Lu keep Bashir from wanting to even attempt to be with her? Rasha watched the prince carefully. His attention had veered toward her at one time. Was he hoping to win her heart? She prayed that wasn’t the case. The last thing she wanted was to become queen. Besides, hadn’t she already picked Jak? Before she’d learned the truth, she was sure she had. Now, she wasn’t so sure.

  Jak removed the incumbent necklace from around his neck and handed it to Bashir. Rasha, with help from Chiza, removed the leather band from around her wrist. Chiza passed it to Bashir, who stood beside her. Then, Bashir held them both up in front of the crowd.

  “The old ways served us well, but now with our tragic losses and our triumph in war, it is time to usher in a new way. We are the eleven kingdoms of Bolaji. It is time to unite our empire in a way it never has been before. Our kingdoms have been allowed to mix for hundreds of years. Shouldn’t our royalty also represent that same unity?”

  The crowd erupted in cheers, and Bashir smiled back.

  “Then I, along with the other royals, will guard these symbolic bonds until the future queen of the empire has been chosen, whoever she may be.” The crowd cheered, and Bashir led the others to the palace.

  When the ceremony ended, the council was buzzing with excitement over Bashir’s new approach to the Choosing.

  “Thank you for your support, everyone, and I look forward to seeing you all in Ishola for the new Choosing once the palace is complete.” He took Rasha by the hand and leaned in, “Don’t even think about disappearing. I need you.” Then he released her.

  Rasha looked around for Chiza. She was alone for the moment, and Rasha wanted to talk to her, but Jak stepped in her path, blocking her way.

  “May I speak with you?” he asked.

  Chiza departed quickly, making her way up the stairs to her rooms. Rasha would have to run to catch her. In her slippers she’d probably fall in front of them all, so instead she turned to Jak.

  “Of course.”

  “I saw your face during the ceremony. You looked disappointed to be losing your title.”

  “I admit, I was getting used to it, but I don’t mind leaving the weight of the responsibility behind,” Rasha said. She realized in that moment that she meant it.

  Jak took her hands. “I hoped that—,” he didn’t get to finish his thought.

  “You were brilliant,” Sochi interrupted, rushing forward to throw her arms around her niece.

  Xeku came up and gave Jak a slap on the back. He seemed to be better around his father now. He wasn’t overly friendly, but more civil.

  “Thank you,” Rasha said. “I guess now I get to be whatever I want to be again.”

  Her aunt eyed her with some confusion. “I doubt that, since the prince has told the world you’ll be living with him in the palace as one of the Choosers, as he’s called you all.”

  Rasha almost exploded. She wanted to strangle the prince. How dare he commit her to this thing? She had no intention of being paraded around or having others paraded in front her.

  “Don’t worry yourself about it now, it won’t be for some time. I think you ought to see to your dragon. He’s been pacing around the grounds, wearing a path outside your window.”

  “He’s not my dragon, we just sort of helped each other.”

  Her aunt leaned in and said in her ear, “Well, don’t tell him that, it looks like he’s attached.”

  After an hour of shaking hands and speaking with the subjects of Chilali, Rasha wanted her bed. She was halfway to her room before she remembered Chiza. She ran up the steps and down the hall to where Chiza slept the night before. Rasha tapped on the door of the suite.

  “Come in.”

  Chiza was sitting on the vanity chair staring out at the window.

  “I’m sorry if I’m disturbing you.”

  “You’re not,” Chiza said without turning around.

  Rasha joined her at the window. The sun was climbing. It warmed everything, but the snow remained.

  “You seem unsettled,” Rasha said after two minutes of complete silence.

  Chiza sighed. “I tried.” She didn’t look at Rasha. “I did. I wanted to like him—to love him as I’d planned, but I couldn’t. He’s not Lu.”

  Rasha watched as a tear ran down Chiza’s face. Rasha reached out and touched her shoulder. She debated whether or not patting her back would be appropriate, but then Chiza continued.

  “He tried too. I’ll give him that. We both did. There just isn’t enough love in my heart to give him. Especially when he deserves so much.”

  “I’m sure he understands.”

  “I don’t think he does.” Chiza turned to Rasha at last. “He fancies himself in love with you.”

  “What?” Rasha’s hand dropped from Chiza’s shoulder as if she were on fire.

  “He kept every single report from you. Then, when that wasn’t enough, he wanted more. I overheard him speaking with one of the servants. He’d been asking for more intimate details about you.”

  “Intimate?” Rasha’s mind raced over the past months as she wondered what Bashir had been told.

  “He wanted to know what you liked to eat. What you wore was always a question. He asked about your relationships with your family, Ladi, Ebere, and Jak.”

  Rasha couldn’t imagine anyone ever thinking of her in that way. Anyone other than Jak.

  “I think it’s the real reason he’s changed the Choosing. He’s hoping to convince you to stay.”

  “I’m not going to the Choosing, so he’ll have a hard time of it,” Rasha scoffed at the idea.

  “You can’t take this so lightly. He’s named you as one of the Choosers. Other than me, that is. We must attend. It’s a royal command, and since he’s announced it to the entire world, it’s law.”

  If Chiza had said that she had a hidden eye on the back of her neck Rasha couldn’t have been more surprised. But forced into the Choosing? She’d rather die, but if she defied the future king of Bolaji, her death wasn’t in question. It was certain. Why couldn’t Bashir and Chiza have just fallen in love with each other while in hiding? Was it so much to ask to be free of the whole thing?

  “You would make a fine queen.”

  “Queen?”

  “Did you know that when you’re nervous you answer questions with questions?”

  “What—” Rasha stopped herself.

  “The only good I can see is that at least we’ll be there together.”

  “If he doesn’t love you, and you don’t love him, why is he forcing you to stay?”

  “I am to choose one of the other princes.” Chiza rolled her eyes. She looked as enthusiastic as Rasha felt. “I know nothing about any of them. All of my study and focus was on Bashir and the other princesses. This whole thing will be a disaster.”

  Rasha felt that too, but she didn’t want it to be her fault. She’d have to find something else to keep her busy and far away from the Bolaji palace.

  “We’ll get through this,” Rasha heard herself say, although she had no practical idea how.

  39

  RASHA HEARD THE scratching as soon as she entered her room. She went to the window and looked down. Below her, the dragon with the amber eyes and scarred tail had ruined the flowering bushes under her window and worn through the snow and into the dirt in a large circle.

  “What in the world do you want?”

  The dragon sat down and tilted his head.

  “Go on, you don’t have to stay here anymore, you’re free.” She flapped her arms and pointed at the sky. The dragon misunderstood her. He flapped his massive wings, kicking up dirt and leaves into the window and right in her face. He perched himself on the edge of her balcony. It pulled away from the window under his weight,
but held.

  He was offering her a ride. Rasha looked down at her gown and thought about changing, but decided it hardly mattered to the dragon if she were in a dress. She grabbed her cloak and pulled it tight around her neck. Despite the changing of the seasons, it wasn’t quite warm enough to go out with only a dress. She used his leg to help lift her onto his back. Before she adjusted her seat, he launched himself into the sky. Rasha struggled to hold on as he swooped up and back down again. She screamed with delight and wondered how the dragon would respond if she saddled him.

  * * *

  Rasha was standing in the gardens overlooking the pond when Ladi found her. The water was no longer frozen, but still very cold.

  “I don’t like goodbyes,” Ladi said.

  “Nor I.” Rasha looked up into the sky where the dragon had disappeared. “Besides, we don’t need to say goodbye. We’ll see each other again.”

  Ladi gave her a brisk nod and tossed her bag over her shoulder. She didn’t get two feet before she turned back to Rasha and threw her arms around her waist. Rasha had gotten used to her showy displays of affection. She could even hug her back. Ladi let go, and, without another word, walked away. Rasha hoped she’d go straight to the Courier’s Keep and get her training. The sooner she was legitimate, the better.

  The cold night air was starting to seep under her cloak and dress. She rubbed her hands over her arms and tightened the cloak around her.

  Jak came out before she could go in, and she wanted to crawl into a hole. In all the commotion, she’d forgotten they’d been interrupted.