by Riley Tune
8
It took a moment for us to get my mom calm enough to a point where she could tell us what happened, and have it make sense. Apparently, according to her story, they were walking from the market as they normally do, when one of their guard escorts noticed an odd shimmer in the air.
From this shimmer exploded the orb. From what mom says, the orb only hovered there for a moment and then expanded around Kula and Luka. The orb encased them for a brief time, and then faded away, leaving the twins to fall to the ground.
The guards picked them up and they all rushed here to the palace. Mom found me, a short time later.
“I have the best people in the Thera watching over them, Mrs. Norcross. I promise you.” Jolin said, as he placed a hand on my mother’s back. We were all in a room similar to the one I woke up in just earlier today.
The twins were in a bed much larger than the one I had. They both were dressed in white, and seemed to have something wrong with their skin. From what a guard told me, they first looked as if they were sleeping when they were brought in. Then a layer of transparent, goo seemed to leak from their skin.
This goo quickly began to harden into a thin layer around them. They looked like they were frozen in a very thin layer of ice. We couldn’t get much from them in this state. Lucky for us, we could still see them perfectly through their transparent tomb.
Their eyes would move here and there, and that was enough for us to know they were still alive. Just how alive, was a mystery. My mom and Cloud both were in the bed with the twins. Mom was still barely holding it together, and Cloud was holding her in her arms as she rubbed my mother’s hair. “It’s going to be okay,” She kept whispering in my mom's ear, as they watched over the twins.
Cloud was proving more and more that she was a good person. Our lives inside the palace were far from normal, and she seemed to be adjusting to it all rather well. Especially since, according to her, her life was far from one of wealth before she met our King.
Jolin gave Cloud a slight bow, and mouthed the words Thank You to her, but the words couldn’t be heard.
Remy stood at the entrance to the room, while Vida was still by my side. We all looked tired as this day seemed to go from bad to worse. Inside, my emotions were at war with thoughts of some of the worst things that could happen. I held it together, only because my mother was falling apart.
I remained strong for her as I looked at my siblings. I didn’t know what was going to happen, but I needed it to happen quickly. I knew the twins were tough, but when everybody else in this same situation has died, it was hard for me to keep faith up.
Faith. That single thought gave me an idea. “We need to figure out how to proceed,” Remy said. “I want the twins to get well, but we still have the newly- formed issue with Galcon.” Jolin nodded his head as he rubbed his chin.
He stood silently for a moment as he allowed his thin chin hair to wrap around his fingers. “He looked up to Cloud. “Would you stay with her?” he asked her softly. “Of course, my love.” she stretched her hand out to Jolin, as her other arm stayed wrapped around my mom. Jolin grasped the hand and placed a kiss gently on the back of it.
He really did love her. There was no hiding that. I could very well be looking at the next Queen of Thera. Assuming there will be a Thera to be Queen of. If Galcon, and their demands, were not resolved or met, then everything would change for Thera.
“Please, follow me to my personal quarters,” Jolin said to the room at large as he walked by Remy and out the door. I could hear his worry. He spoke slowly as he instructed us to follow him, as if he didn’t know exactly what to say.
Likely he didn’t. Being a King for him was new enough, and in his first few months, he had learned a lot. Had he learned how to deal with an impending war? Not that I knew of. He was moving so fast that his cape was making a loud noise as it got caught in the momentum he created as he walked down the corridor.
“I’ll be right there. I just have something I need to do, really fast.” The remaining people in the room looked at me. Even my mother, resting in Clouds arms looked up at me in shock. “It’s okay.” I said to the room, but I was looking directly at my mother.
“Make haste. No doubt you will play a large role in what’s to follow.” Remy said as he turned and followed after Jolin. “Warps,” Vida said as she looked at me. “What’s going on?” “I need answers. Too much is happening at once and I hoping The Keeper can shine some light on this.”
She looked around wildly. “Is he here?” She asked the question as if I could see him and nobody else could. “No,” I replied slowly. She looked at me and narrowed her eyes. “So then how are you going to speak to him?” “He usually just knows when I need him and then shows up. I don’t have a way to call him.” She backed away from me with her brow raised.
“Whatever you do, just make it fast. I try not to say this out loud often, but Remy is right. We are going to need you.” She made her way to the door then stopped. She looked at the twins on the bed once more. My mom had her hand on the portion of whatever it was that encased them.
From here it looked like she was trying to touch Luka’s stomach. Vida forced a slight smile at Cloud who return the favor. Suddenly, Vida ran to me, and kissed me. “Where did that come from?” I asked her.
“Just in case.” she said. “Now hurry up.” She gave me a slight slap on the cheek and then turned and left the room. I walked to a window and looked out of it. I could see a tall building not too far away. “Thank you, Cloud.” I said without even looking at her.
I reached inside myself and warped to the building close by.
I felt bad instantly as I appeared. While I had warped, a part of me wanted to hear the voice of the other god. I had hoped that maybe, just maybe, he would tell me what was going on. That warp, like many others, was clear.
I looked around the rooftop I stood on. The orbs continued to fall around me as the day continued. “Where is he?” I said out loud. I really, thought he would be here. He always seemed to know so much about what was going on. Didn’t he know how serious this was? How much I needed him now.
Maybe if I prayed to him. Maybe that would alert him to my needing him now. So, I did. I prayed, and prayed, and then prayed a little more. Still the young boy, who wielded the powers of a god did not appear.
My impatience boiled up inside of me and slowly began to transform to anger. “Where are you?” I shouted as loud as I could. My words began to echo around me as if Thera was hurling them back at me. I needed him. He told me I would play a part in things to come, and now, when I needed him the most he wasn’t there.
I wanted to cry. I could feel the pools of water forming in my eyes as my vision became blurry, but I held them back. He may not have thought I needed him, but I was certain that my family and friends needed me.
They needed me to be strong, and I refused to cry. Not here, and not now. I warped to the room from which I had left only minutes ago. My mom had cried herself to sleep, and Cloud had her eyes closed as well.
I walked by them gently and made my way to the door leading out. It was time.
I didn’t know why, and I wasn’t even sure if it was the right thing to do, but it was time to figure out what was going on, and we only had five days to do it.
9
I couldn’t seem to stop thinking about Kula and Luka being trapped in that transparent tomb. The last time I felt fear like this was when I fought those two assassins a few nights ago. I didn’t want a war, but that didn’t bother me nearly as much as seeing the twins like that.
I knew it came off as being selfish. Putting my family's well-being above everybody else’s in the entire kingdom of Thera, but how could I not? I couldn’t downplay what was going on with the twins, or the agony it was putting my mother through, just to appease the royals of Galcon.
I found the others at an entrance of the palace. The orbs were still falling as Jolin stood atop of the gray stone steps that l
ed down into the lower courtyard. The palace had a few entrances, but this one in particular, if you crossed the green courtyard, led to the marketplace.
He me move back and forth on the stone steps, Jolin’s boots continued to make a loud clicking sound. Finally, he stopped and prepared to address a crowd of his guards gathering in the courtyard. There were about two dozen of them moving into position in front of him, near the palace entrance. While his guards all formed lines at the bottom of the steps below him, Jolin began to swallow and allowed his eyes to move rapidly over the crowd.
As I came up on them I could see that not only Jolin stood on top of the stairs, but he was accompanied by Vida, Remy, and Cloud. Cloud was grabbing Jolin’s hand while Vida and Remy stood to the side and listened.
I warped and reappeared on top of the steps beside Vida. Some of the guards listening, gasp as I appeared. “Show off,” Remy whispered with a smile. “Thank you for joining us, Mr. Lox,” Jolin said, as he nodded in my direction and then looked back to his guards.
Jolin cleared his throat loudly, and the guards stopped moving. “You have until tomorrow morning to bring back results. Time is something the kingdom of Thera doesn’t have in this matter.” A different guard ran from somewhere and approached Jolin. Cloud let go of his hand and stepped back closer to where the rest of us stood.
The guard bowed slightly and then slowly walked to Jolin and whispered something in his ear. I couldn’t hear what he said but it was clear from the hand gestures, that Jolin didn’t like what he heard. He finally nodded and sent the guard back on his way.
Jolin turned and addressed the guards waiting once more. “Look around you. The guards you see beside you are your brothers. Not only are they your brothers, but they join you in holding a level of trust with me that no other guards in the kingdom has achieved. I trust each of you almost as much as I trust the Royal Court.”
With these last words, some guards visibly smiled while other poked their chest out a little, beaming at Jolin as he praised them. “I need you all to spread out. Search every corner of Thera, and find me anybody who says they have been beyond our waters.”
The look of pride from the guards was replaced with confusion now. The guards, like many people in Thera had always been told that this was it. That there was nothing else but The Prime Sovereignty. That the rest of the world was destroyed by a war fought between gods and men.
“I know,” Jolin said. “It sounds crazy, but trust me as your king. Trust that I know what I am doing, even if what I ask seems unlikely. Find anybody who says they have been beyond the waters, and bring them to me. If they truly have been beyond our waters and returned, then you will be rewarded with double pay until you leave or go on to meet The Keeper.”
Grumbles and whistles erupted from the crowd of guards. Jolin had just agreed to double their earning until they quit the guard, or died. Enough yolars to change their lives, and family’s lives forever. Surely such an incentive would yield results.
I could see it in the faces of the men in front of us. Some had clenched jaws, while other had tight grips on their weapons. Many of the guards shook their heads in agreement, as they hung on to every word Jolin said. Determination was evident in each and every one of them.
“This,” Jolin paused. “This task, is of extreme importance, and thus caution must be kept. Find out what you can, but be as covert as possible. Return here tomorrow morning with your findings, and Keeper watch over you all. Dismissed.”
With Jolin’s final words, all of the guards clicked their heels together in unison, a sound that echoed around the courtyard, and then hastily ran off in all directions. “Good speech,” I said to him as he walked towards Vida and I.
“Thank you, Mr. Lox,” Jolin said as he looked around the courtyard. “Yes. I must say I didn’t know you had it in you.” Remy chimed in as he placed a hand on Jolin’s shoulder. “I’ll hold off on the compliments, until I find out what that guard said that made you upset,” Vida said as she looked at me and Remy.
Remy cleared his throat and avoided Vida’s gaze. I too had forgotten about the guard who whispered into Jolin’s ear. “Yes, my love, what was that about?” Cloud asked as she grabbed Jolin’s hand and grasped it with her own. “It seems that we may have a larger problem.”
“A larger problem, than my brother and sister being trapped in that thing? A larger problem than the war?” I asked. I tried to keep calm, but I could feel myself losing it. I couldn’t think of too many things that could have been worse.
Jolin exhaled. “Possibly. It seems we have another visitor in the kingdom.” I moved my mouth to ask what he meant, but before I could I, like the others, saw what was clearly a trio of carriages approaching.
The courtyard may have led to the marketplace, but these carriages came from the distance. From around the palace.
As we stood on the steps in the, three carriages slowly came to a stop. Each carriage was huge. They all had a cream white color and were trimmed in bronze. Not a color of bronze, but actual bronze was used to trim the carriages.
Each driver was wearing white from head to toe, and the caprongs that pulled the carriages were white also. Joining the fleet were several men that appeared to be guards. Each of which rode their own fully mature caprong that surrounded the carriages. They weren’t guards like the ones that protected Thera, though.
While Thera guards usually wore uniforms specific to their role, these guards all wore golden battle armor from head to toe. Some had large broadswords on their Caprongs, while others had thin double swords on their backs. A few even had bows and arrows. They looked menacing, and, visually, looked like they would give the guards of Thera a fight for their lives. Even the Caprongs they rode, were not normal. They were fully aged, mature Caprongs.
I had seen fully mature Caprongs before. Jolin, Ember, and I had encountered them months ago when we ventured into Pradeep. While normal Caprongs were usually gentle creatures of beauty, fully mature Caprongs were horned beasts capable of giving a person nightmares.
Lastly, leading this fleet, was a single man on a bicycle. He, like the carriage drivers, was completely dressed in white. He rode in front of the guards and in front of the carriages. His bicycle seemed to be made completely out of bronze, as opposed to the wooden frame of normal bicycles.
A normal bicycle was considered the highest symbol of wealth. To see one made out of bronze was one of the few things in my life that had left me at a loss for words. The man got off of his bicycle and quickly ran to the middle carriage and opened the door.
“What’s going on Jolin?” I asked as he and Remy stiffened. Clearly Remy knew just as well as Jolin who this person was. “Be quiet,” Vida said to me without looking at me. I looked at her. She was as rigid as Jolin and Remy.
It seemed Cloud and I were the only two who were lost as to who this person was. Whoever he was, he was wealthy. From the way he traveled and how he used bronze as a tool for decoration, he had massive amounts of yolars at his disposal.
A man finally stepped down from the middle carriage. He was a tall, thin man, dressed in red with a bronze crown on his head. He had a stern jaw, and pronounced cheekbones. In honesty, ,his face looked almost too perfect. Nothing seemed out of place, even his hair that could be seen under his crown, seemed to be set in just the right areas.
As he stepped out, the man shut the door behind him, and then motioned for the middle carriage driver to come down.
The carriage driver came down, and ran to the bicycle as the original bicycle driver sat on the carriage.
“Your majesty,” The thin man said as he began walking. He had a smooth and low voice that made him sound very sneaky, as if he contemplated every word as he said them.
Jolin cleared his throat, and removed his hand from Clouds grasp. “Royal Court,” Jolin said loudly, “I give you King Noel Walden.” Walden? I thought to myself. “Lord and ruler of the Walden kingdom.”
No wonder Remy and Vida
knew this guy. Remy as a high noble no doubt knew many people of wealth and power. More so in his case, because his family worked closely with the emperor before he was killed. Vida, as much as I could guess, knew this man because she was originally from the Walden Kingdom.
“To what do I owe this honor? This unexpected, and unannounced honor.” Jolin said as he clasped his hands behind his back. The king of Walden casually ignored his question and continued to walk up the steps in front of us.
His Caprong riding guards followed behind him and rested on their beasts at the bottom of the steps. They all looked at us with bland, emotionless faces, as if they were trying to figure out what purpose we served.
“Can we talk in private?” Noel Walden asked. “King Walden,” Jolin slowly responded, “You travel from Walden to Thera without warning and now you request a private meeting?” I -”
“Very well,” the king said, as he cut Jolin off. “I’ll say what I have to say in front of everybody. I am aware of your issues with Galcon, and I am aware of the threat of war.” “How-” Jolin began to ask but he was once again cut off.
“I have more wealth than any two kingdoms combined. After the fall of the emperor, I have made it my business to know things that are going to happen before they actually happen. Queen Sumina is as predictable as I am handsome. As soon as I heard of her intentions, I set travel for here at once. So, I apologize for arriving unannounced.”
Jolin nodded slightly as he turned to glance at us behind him. “You seem to be well informed indeed King Walden. Queen Sumina has indeed made the threat of war as well as accusations to Thera.”
King Walden shook his head. “Not threats. Sumina is many things, but a threatener isn’t one of them. She will go to war, and I want to help aid in your defense.”
“Why?” Vida asked.
The King allowed his eyes to glance to Vida and then back to Jolin. “My family was one of the first to even step foot on Walden lands, hence the name and the title. I refuse to allow Galcon to destroy Thera and control its lands. I care about the Prime Sovereignty too much to let that happen.”
