by Mike Shelton
During the duel, Shaeleen moved around the balcony, closer to her brother. A few other onlookers—all young men—scowled at her but said nothing. Soon she stood merely twenty feet above him.
In a flash, the other young man moved more quickly than Cole and brought his sword up toward Cole’s chest. Shaeleen’s hand went to her mouth as her brother seemed to stumble back. But then she smiled at this ruse, for her brother had pretended to lose ground, only to come back at the last possible moment and bring up his practice sword inside of his opponent’s, knocking it out of his hand.
She wanted to yell out praise to her brother, but she stopped short just as his opponent turned—Prince Basil, the heir to the throne of Galena!
Shaeleen gasped out loud, and all three men turned and glanced up in her direction. Shrinking back behind a column, she hoped they hadn’t seen her there, for it was not proper for a young woman to watch the young men practicing. She peered again around the column slowly. The older man was congratulating her brother, then turned and had a few words with his opponent.
The young prince would soon be seventeen—and upon that day would become king in his own right, his father having passed away five years previously. Prince Basil’s uncle, the current regent, would step down then. And, if rumor held true, the prince would also announce his betrothal then to a princess from one of the other nearby kingdoms, thereby creating a stronger alliance.
The prince continued to smile while talking to Cole and the older man. His dark eyes sparkled with strong intelligence. He pushed his black hair out of his eyes, and Shaeleen noticed a dimple on his right cheek. The prince was talked about favorably in Galena.
As Prince Basil turned toward Cole, his eyes flicked upward and found Shaeleen’s. He held them for a mere moment, gave a twitch of a smile, then spoke to her brother.
“You are a fine swordsman, sir,” the prince said. “We need good men like you in the Stronghaven Guard. When you are eighteen, come and see me.”
Shaeleen smiled. Her heart lifted, and she felt the truth of the prince’s words. She was happy for her brother. This was what their parents had wanted for Cole. They would be overjoyed to hear the news. Looking down at her hand, she realized she was holding the stone once again.
Cole bowed his head to Basil, his face serious, showing little emotion. “Thank you, Prince Basil. I was lucky today, that’s all.”
As Shaeleen felt the wrongness of her brother’s words, her chest tightened and her stomach turned. This will not do. Pushing the stone back into her pocket, she shook her head, trying to clear away its effects on her. Cole must be lying in telling the prince he was only lucky today. It was a small lie, though, the kind she told to her mother and father all the time.
Why would such small lies cause me so much pain? They are just part of life, aren’t they?
Her brother had walked off the practice field and now stood to the side, cooling down. He cupped his hands in a barrel of water and brought some up to his mouth.
“Cole,” Shaeleen whispered from up above on the balcony.
Cole surveyed the practice yard around him and then looked upward. His mouth turned down, and his eyes darkened. “Shae, what are you doing here? You know Father does not like you sneaking around. And it’s not proper anyways.”
Before Shaeleen could answer, a young noble caught Cole looking up at her.
He pointed and said, “Hey, you there, girl, what are you doing here?”
Shaeleen tried to move back, into the shadows, but others had followed the young noble’s pointed finger, and too many eyes were now looking her way.
“Get down from there,” the young noble said, a frown creasing his forehead under his blond bangs. “No girls allowed.”
“I was lost, sir,” Shaeleen said. Then she grimaced in pain. It was all she could do to keep herself standing straight. The stupid stone! I can’t even lie myself without feeling pain. She wasn’t even holding it this time. She wanted to take it out and throw it down at the noble.
Cole turned to the noble, with his hands out wide, and said, “I’m sorry, sir. It is my sister. She likes to watch me practice.”
Shaeleen nodded at Cole’s admission, glad that he hadn’t lied about this.
“Well, take her away from here, and make sure she doesn’t return,” the noble said. “Next time, she will be fined or put to work.”
“Yes, sir,” Cole said as he motioned Shaeleen down with a crooking of his finger.
He met her at the bottom of the steps. Pushing his hair out of the way, his light blue eyes smoldered in her direction.
“What are we going to do with you, little sister?”
Shaeleen smiled sweetly, shrugged her shoulders, and then broke into a laugh. “I saw you sparring with the prince. You did well.”
“I did, didn’t I?” Cole said, the small twitch of a smile forming at the corners of his mouth. Shaeleen knew he couldn’t stay mad at her for long. “But I do think he was holding back.”
Shaeleen braced herself for the pain, but it didn’t come. Was the prince actually better than her brother? The power of intelligence ran through the royal family in Galena more than strength.
“That is something he would do, isn’t it?” Shaeleen said. “I have heard he doesn’t like to hurt anyone’s feelings.”
Cole nodded and motioned Shaeleen forward, away from the practice yard. “If he is as smart and kind as they say he is, he will make a good king—not like his twin brother, Calix.”
Shaeleen nodded. She pulled Cole back to the marketplace and toward a fabric shop—she couldn’t forget what she had told her father she came here for.
“I have heard that Calix beats his servants and would like nothing more than to be the king instead of his brother.”
Cole’s face darkened. “I’m glad, then, that Prince Basil was born first.”
Shaeleen yelled out in pain and fell to the ground. Her gut retched, but she did all she could to not throw up the sweet roll she’d eaten earlier.
Cole dropped to the ground next to her, concern written all over his face. “Shae, what’s wrong? Are you all right?”
A few shoppers turned in their direction, but most continued walking on when they saw that Cole was helping her. One young girl stood and stared at them a few moments longer, but then her mother pulled her back into the crowd.
Shaeleen stayed silent for a moment, trying to figure out what had happened. Her stomachache had subsided, but a dull ache now lingered in her head. Her brother had been talking about the two princes, and something he’d said had triggered the pain. So her brother had lied about something—whether intentionally or not—and, knowing her brother as she did, it would not have been on purpose.
“Stupid stone,” Shaeleen muttered under her breath.
“What did you say?” Cole asked, still down on his knees next to her.
“Nothing.” Shaeleen shook her head and tried to stand back up.
Cole put his hand under her arm and helped her to stand up. She smiled weakly at him, but his eyes continued to show worry.
“I’m fine,” Shaeleen told her brother. Then something caught her attention. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw one of the men that had been looking for Melindra still lingering around the marketplace.
“Quick. We need to go.” Shaeleen grabbed Cole’s hand and pulled him away from that stranger from Verlyn.
“Shae, what has gotten into you?” Cole asked as he tried to pull his hand away from hers. “You’re acting strange—well, stranger than usual. Slow down.”
Shaeleen continued to pull her brother through the crowd and away from the marketplace. Soon they found themselves on a smaller street leading from the marketplace to the merchants’ quarter. Their shoes slapped against the cobblestones as men and women alike turned to look at the two young people running down the street.
Turning a corner, Shaeleen ran into a couple, a man and a woman dressed in fine clothes, who were arguing as Shaeleen plowed into them. The man put a
hand out, against the side of a building, to keep from falling over. But the woman fell to the ground, her wide silk skirts tearing on the rough ground. Shaeleen jumped and barely avoided falling on the woman. And Cole pulled his hand away from Shaeleen’s and stepped to the side.
“I’m—I’m sorry,” Shaeleen stuttered after she had found her balance. She leaned down to help the woman up. The woman had tears in her eyes as she stood up, smoothed down her skirt, and then adjusted her blouse.
“See what you did?” the man said to Shaeleen and Cole. “You have made my lady cry.”
Shaeleen’s gut tightened up again. “I wasn’t the one making her cry. That was you.”
The man glared at Shaeleen. “How dare you?”
Cole walked up next to Shaeleen and said, “Let’s go, Shae.” Turning to the man, he said, “We are sorry. My sister was in a hurry.” He dug a few coins out of a satchel at his side and offered it to the woman. “Please accept our apology for ruining your dress.”
Shaeleen didn’t move to go with her brother but turned to the woman. “Are you all right? Did he hurt you?”
“Shae!” Cole said. Then he whispered to Shaeleen, “Let’s go. This is none of our business.”
“He’s right,” the man said. “This is none of your business. Go home.” He then reached over and grabbed the woman’s hand. “My fiancée and I are quite fine.”
Shaeleen felt the effects of a lie once again and tried to control the pain. Through gritted teeth, she said, “She is not your fiancée, and she is not fine.” Turning back to the woman, she continued, “This man is a liar, ma’am. You would be better off without him.”
The man jumped forward to stand in front of the woman, facing Shaeleen. His eyes bulged with anger, and she could smell strong drink on his breath.
“Shae!” Cole said again and grabbed her hand to pull her away. But she stood her ground for a moment and then let Cole pull her away. As they left down the street, she could hear the woman telling the man to leave her alone and that their relationship was over.
Shaeleen and Cole walked in silence another block. His shoulders seemed tight, and his eyes were dark. But he did not let go of her hand. Finally, she pulled it free and put it up to her head. The pain was killing her. Her head was pounding so loudly she wondered how Cole couldn’t hear it too.
“What has gotten into you, Shaeleen?” Cole turned his head to the side and peered down at her. He stood about ten inches taller than her and had seemed to grow an inch a month for the past few months. He was now six feet tall, the same height as their father.
“Just don’t say anything,” Shaeleen said. “Don’t talk. I can’t handle it right now.” Tears filled her eyes as she stomped ahead of her brother.
She couldn’t live like this: every time someone lied—including herself—she felt pain. What kind of life was that? Everyone lied. It was how life was. You lied about how someone looked in new clothes. You lied when you were asked if you’d been hurt. You lied when haggling over prices for goods at the marketplace.
“You’re crazy,” Cole mumbled from behind her.
CHAPTER THREE
A few streets later, after continuing to walk in silence, the two siblings came to their home in the merchants’ quarter. Their two-story home was made of stone and held a woodworking shop in the back. Their father had done well for himself in recent years. And he had been gaining recognition more recently for his skills as a carpenter in making custom furniture.
Shaeleen and Cole walked through the side gate and toward the back door. Their father was outside, planing a long board. He stopped and followed the pair with his eyes for a moment. Shaeleen tried to ignore him and headed toward the house.
“How did you two end up together?” Their father stopped his work and stood up, stretching his lean body. He wore a long, burlap apron over his serviceable cotton clothes. And his dark brown hair was full of sawdust.
Shaeleen groaned inside. In the last hour, she had learned to regret questions. She opened her mouth to tell her father that she had found Cole on the road home. But her brother seemed to have other ideas.
“She came to watch me practice,” Cole said.
“Shaeleen!” her father called out and took a few steps forward.
Shaeleen turned to Cole, narrowing her eyes in anger. But at least she hadn’t felt any pain. She cocked her head at her brother, but he shook his head at her as if to tell her to be quiet.
“I do better when Shae is watching me. She helps me to know my weaknesses,” Cole said, stepping in front of Shaeleen. “She isn’t feeling well now. She almost fainted in the marketplace. She needs to lie down.”
Their father stopped mid-stride and glared from Cole to Shaeleen. Shaeleen opened her mouth again to speak but stopped as she realized that none of Cole’s words had caused her any pain. He had explained everything in a way that was true.
She turned her head to look up at him. “Thank you, Cole,” Shaeleen said, more for his foresight to not lie than for helping her get home. Turning back to her father, she said, “I do have a horrible stomachache and headache, Father. It could be the heat, I suppose.”
Pain! She couldn’t help her lies. She leaned over and grunted. So her father and Cole moved to her sides.
“Let’s get her in the house,” their father said to Cole. “You’re right. She doesn’t look well.”
“I’ll be fine,” Shaeleen said. Then she pulled away from her father and brother and raced to her room—a room she shared with her younger sister, Alva, who was not there at the moment, luckily. She slammed the door, sat down on the edge of her bed, and then sobbed.
Shaeleen berated herself for lying again. She knew full well where the pain had been coming from. How had Cole told the truth so easily? Come to think of it, her brother was the more truthful one between the two of them.
Maybe he should have the stupid stone!
Shaeleen withdrew the stone from her pocket and threw it against the wall, chipping a piece of wood off and into the air. A light green glow came from the stone as it rested on the floor. She let it sit there, for she hated the way it had made her feel.
Scooting back, to lay her head against the wall, she felt something hard in her pocket. The package. She had forgotten about it. After having experienced the effects of the stone, she was hesitant to look at anything else the keeper had given her. But she untied the white string and slowly removed the brown cloth.
Inside was a small book. It appeared to be ancient, its leather cover cracked and fading. She ran her fingers over the cover and took a deep breath. Then she opened the cover and began to read the first page. The book was entitled TruthSeers’ Journal.
As she flipped through the first few pages, she wondered what was happening to her life. She’d been perfectly happy just helping her mother out at home, being with her friends, and watching Cole practice with the sword. Anger welled up inside of her, and she brushed away a few stray tears.
Then she came to a chapter entitled The Founding of Wayland. Everyone knew that story. They had learned it early in school. King Wayland had had five children: two daughters and three sons. He had split up the continent between them and had given them each rule of one land—Shema and Althea to the two daughters and Gabor, Antioch, and Galena to the three sons. Each was also given a gemstone from Verlyn that was endowed with its own special magic.
Shaeleen tossed the book aside without turning any farther into its pages. It landed on the floor, its cover facing up. TruthSeers’ Journal. She shook her head at the idiocy of it all. Could she be a TruthSeer? It seemed ridiculous—only one Truthseer per kingdom existed.
A soft knock sounded on her door and in walked her brother. She tried to kick the book away, into a corner.
“Shae, what do you have there?” Cole asked as he took a step toward her. Then he turned his attention to the wall.
Shaeleen cringed and jumped off the bed, diving for the TruthStone she had left so carelessly on the floor. She scooped it up a
nd closed her fingers around it.
“Shae?” Cole’s eyes went wide.
Shaeleen ran around him and closed her door with a bang, moving a chair behind it to make sure no one else could come in. Then she turned and glared at her brother, almost daring him to say anything else. When he stayed quiet, she huffed and sat back down on the bed.
“Why did you tell Father?” Shaeleen asked.
“I had to, Shae. It was the right thing to do and the only way to protect you.” Cole walked closer and sat down on the edge of a small table next to the bed. “It worked, didn’t it?”
“But how did you know?”
“I’m not dumb, Shae.” Cole glared at her. “You know I can figure out things rather quickly.”
Shaeleen grunted. “You definitely have some of the noble intelligence in you. Are you sure you’re not hiding any Labradorite anywhere?”
Cole shook his head. “You know I don’t have any. I’m not a noble. But you…” He stared hard at her hand. “You do have something there, don’t you?”
Shaeleen opened her hand slowly. “Something that has only brought me trouble since the old woman gave it to me.”
Cole started to reach his hand toward it but then pulled it back. “Is it…?”
Shaeleen nodded her head and then said in a quiet whisper, “Yes, Cole, it’s Moldavite, a TruthStone.”
“That’s why you were hurting every time you heard or told a lie?”
Tears welled up in Shaeleen’s eyes, and she brushed them away. “Oh, Cole, what am I supposed to do? You know me. I don’t tell the truth very well. Maybe you should be the one to have it.”
Cole stood up and shook his head. “Oh, no, Shaeleen. You have been given a great gift. Each kingdom has handed out bits of their gemstones for two hundred years, so magic abilities can pop up almost anywhere nowadays. But the TruthStone—there are only five of them, one for each kingdom. Whose do you have? And how did you get it? We have to tell Father.”
