“Whatever you decide, you know I will always be here for you.” His breath tickled her ear and he hugged her tightly.
“No, you won’t,” she said. A tear slipped down her cheek, and she wiped it away quickly. “If I decide to be Queen, you know we cannot be together.”
“I do not care what any council says, Piper. You are my best friend, and I…I lo…” Dimitri’s heart was racing. He hoped she could not feel it through his chest. His words caught in his throat and he swallowed. He knew the moment he said those words he could never take them back. He couldn’t believe he had never said them to her before. He breathed deeply. He didn’t want to take them back.
Piper had been his best friend since the day they met in Fortress Kelsii over ten years ago. Since he was neither Dwarvik nor Human, the other children had shunned him. But not Piper. She was the first to see him as an equal. They had played tag in the tunnels of the Tutarian Mountain, and picked flowers along the mountain path. Their friendship had blossomed into something much deeper three summers past. He had not seen Piper or Kaytah visit Tutaria or Fortress Kelsii for some time. He begged Nefiri to tell him where she was. Nefiri would not say, so he left to look for her on his own. Gran directed him to the little path Piper often took to and from her trips to the village. There he had found her. Alone, afraid and hungry. He had taught her how to hunt and how to fight. She confided in him her magical abilities, and what had happened in Outland Post.
He taught her how to control her magic, and promised her he wasn’t afraid. They spent days, weeks together, when he could get away from his duties to Nefiri. One day, beneath their gnarled beech tree, she had fallen asleep on his shoulder. She looked so peaceful, so beautiful. He kissed her. Her eyes fluttered open, and she had kissed him back.
Now, as they stood facing each other, his hands resting on her hips, that moment seemed so long ago. They were older now, even if it was only by a year. There were things far greater than the trivial matters of hunting and fishing that governed them now.
Piper wanted him to say those words. She wanted to feel his arms embrace her forever. She could have it, she thought. She could have everything she had ever hoped for if she left the fate of Chartile behind. She had yet to decide if her happiness was more important than the happiness of the people. Her people. She looked into Dimitri’s dark brown eyes, and in that moment, she was not a queen. She was just Piper, and she kissed him, feeling his warm arms wrap around her back.
They broke apart, and Piper smiled at him. She fixed the lay of his neck line, and kissed his cheek. Dimitri held out his arm for her, and she took it, her face still flush and lips still tingling. Since she was Elven not Dwarvik, her status permitted her an escort to the pre-banquet. Nefiri had granted Dimitri the time away to do so. Two guards waited outside the door, ready to escort them to The Crystal Quarter. It was a short walk from the Sapphire Quarter, though both secretly wished it would have lasted just a little longer.
The two double doors to The Crystal Quarter opened into a high ceilinged room. Panels of painted glass and carved gems on the ceiling and outer walls allowed rays of sunlight to pass through, casting a rainbow of colors on the guests inside. The perimeter of the room was lined with tables of food and wine. In the center of the room was a long wooden table with chairs. A slightly raised platform with five chairs stood at the head of the room beneath a giant griffin, carved from sapphires and citrine. The creature looked as if he were breaking through the stone into the room below, ready to pounce on the five smaller chairs that stood in front of the platform and faced the wooden table in the center.
Those already in attendance hushed and whispered in hurried voices and behind hands as the two entered. Piper had been assured that none but she, Nefiri and Valar, and of course Dimitri, knew of her true lineage. She hoped their stares and whispers were from the elders remembering her as a child. She said nothing, but held her head high and smiled. Queen or no, she was still the honored guest of Empress Nefiri, and an important piece during today’s negotiations.
From across the room she saw Valar and Nefiri. They waved to her, and she and Dimitri crossed to join them. The room parted before her, and each person bowed as she passed. She hoped such fuss over her would soon end. It was one thing she could never get used to, she thought.
Valar reached out an arm to embrace her, and Nefiri bowed as Piper stopped before them.
“You look just like your mother,” Valar whispered in her ear. Piper pretended not to have heard, and accepted a glass of pearl wine from a passing beck-and instead. The little bubbles caught in the back of her throat. She coughed and became instantly light headed. She handed the remainder of the drink to Dimitri, who was still at her side. He winked at her, and finished the glass in one swallow.
“Show off,” she whispered to him. He winked again and smirked.
From a throng of elders huddled close by, a thin, wispy haired woman in a midnight blue dress approached them. Empress Nefiri bowed low, her braided hair forming a curtain over her face.
“Lady Piper, allow me to introduce myself. I am Frejah of Tutarian’s Cobalt Quarter. It is an honor to meet you, my dear. We have indeed heard so much about you.”
“From whom, I wonder, my lady?” Valar asked. His smile was polite, but his raised eyebrow spoke volumes.
“Only rumors, I suppose!” Frejah dodged the accusation. “No one in particular, but we are all wondering—”
“Frejah, dear, none of that. It is the pre-banquet. All in good time.” Empress Nefiri nodded her dismissal of the woman. Frejah’s smile vanished. She stuck her chin out with a “Yes, Empress,” and left back to her cluster of whispering women before Nefiri could bow a dismissal.
Piper looked around and noticed the many pairs of eyes watching her, or looking away quickly. Some whispered behind their hands. Others blatantly pointed at her and whispered to their friends. Whether she accepted the Elven crown or not, Piper realized she would always be looked at this way. She would be fussed over, doted on. Some would even attempt to use her as a pawn. She suddenly felt very lightheaded, and it had nothing to do with the wine.
“I cannot do this.” She turned to run for the door. Dimitri stepped in front of her, catching her around her waist with his single free arm. Had she continued to run, she was sure he would have simply lifted her from her feet.
“Yes you can,” said Valar, resting his hand on her shoulder.
“You will be fine,” Dimitri said in her ear. “You are not here to impress anyone.” Piper nodded for Dimitri’s sake as she fixed the wrinkles in her gown. She still wanted to run, but stood her ground. She took a glass of pearl wine from another passing tray and took a long drink. This time, she welcomed the small head rush. It calmed her, if only briefly.
The double doors creaked open, echoing around the large room. Jayson and Jack entered with Princess Gemari. Piper wondered where Leo may have been, then realized he had probably stopped to speak with a tunnel architect. She smiled at the thought, and a small bit of relief washed over her as she went to join her friends. The recognition caught her slightly off guard. Friends. They were her friends. She had no friends, save for Dimitri, even as a child. Friends. The thought brightened her, or perhaps it was the sudden consumption of the pearl wine.
“Greetings, my lady—oh! Piper! It’s you!” Jayson hadn’t recognized her at first. She looked so mature. And cleaner. He threw his arms around her, and squeezed her so tight he lifted her from the ground. She laughed and hugged him back. It was something she never would have done a week ago. “I’m so glad you’re okay,” he said, “Freak, man, I am so sorry I…well, I guess I nearly got you killed, huh? Sorry about that.” He scratched his head, making the hair at the back of his head stand up at an awkward angle.
Piper giggled again, and reached up to smooth his hair. She was thankful to finally be away from the formalities of the elders, Nefiri and Valar. Here, she could be herself.
“Jack,” said a sweet voice behind them. They turned
to see Gemari smiling her brilliantly white smile at them. “This is my sister, Ketari.” The Princess addressed the tall girl standing beside her. Ketari, who seemed much older than Gemari, nodded to them in greeting. Jack bowed low, attempting the proper Dwarvik way, and Jayson followed suit. Ketari could not have been more different from Gemari. She was very thin, her clothes adorned with beautiful blue and amber beads that reflected the gold in her eyes. She stuck her chin out and never smiled. She looked down her long nose at Jack, her eyes sweeping from head to toe and back again. Her golden-brown eyes narrowed slightly, and Jack took a step back.
“So you are the one filling my baby sister’s head with rebellious ideas.” Her accent caught in her throat with a menacing rasp. “As my sister’s retainer, it is my responsibility to keep her from such dangers, but I can see why she fancies you so.” Dimitri nearly choked on his pearl wine, and both Gemari and Jack blushed scarlet.
“My lady,” Jack stammered, “I…I simply wish to help your sister attain what will make her most happy. She seems to believe you would be far more acquainted to her role than she. Might I inquire as to your interest in such a…uh…venture?”
The group quieted and stared at Jack with varying degrees of awe.
“Goodness, Jack,” said Piper. “May I take you on as my head advisor?” She laughed, hiccupped, and took another drink.
“Gemari may be young,” Ketari continued. The side grin that had tugged at the corner of her mouth vanished, “but she is the rightful Princess and heir. She may have much to learn, but it is the way of things. And I will be here to guide her. It is my duty.” Ketari nodded, and Gemari smiled at her adoringly.
“So, you have absolutely no interest in being the Princess?” asked Jayson, “Even if Gemari were willing to just give it to you?”
“I do not see how this can be done,” Ketari said frowning. “Gemari is Princess, not I. Your customs must be written in the clouds that they can be changed with the direction of the wind! I appreciate your concern for my sister’s happiness, but I can assure you, she is where she is destined to be.”
“And what of Orctkar?” asked Jack.
“What of him?” Ketari asked. It was hard for Jack to imagine the young woman’s tone could be more serious and sinister. Gemari stood behind Ketari, and shook her head vivaciously. “They are friends. You would not imply the Princess has been having romantic relationships, would you?”
Gemari’s eyes widened and she continued to shake her head.
“As if,” said Jayson. “But, let’s say she did like him, or someone else. As Queen or Empress, she can’t get married. That’s so not fair. Doesn’t everyone deserve to be happy, and find true love and all that stuff?”
“No.” Ketari turned on her heel and glided away, leaving everyone to stare at her back until she faded into the crowd.
“I see what you mean about her,” Jack murmured turning back to his friends.
“Jack, you nearly ruined it all!” Gemari shrieked, and gave Jack a shove.
Jack took a step back. “I’m sorry! What did I say?”
“Orctkar! Everyone knows we are only friends.”
“I’m sorry, Gemari. I’m really not that good at this stuff, honest!”
“Oh! Look! There he is!” As quickly as she had angered, Gemari’s voice brightened back into its high pitched sweetness. She pointed to a doorway in the far corner of the room where a boy could be seen standing and speaking with someone. They couldn’t make out his face, but he seemed to be slightly older than Gemari with a muscular physique nearly as strong as Dimitri’s.
“He works in the kitchens,” said Gemari. “Come! Please meet him. He is my best friend!” She pulled on Jack’s arm, leading him through the crowd. Jack turned wide eyed to his friends and mouthed help me. Jayson, Dimitri and Piper stifled laughs as they followed.
They walked across the room, the crowd parting before them. Princess Gemari had to stop often to bow to the elders. She hurried through the throng as quickly as she could, pulling Jack behind her as she went. Jayson attempted to grab as much food as he could along the way, but there were too many elders between him and the tables that lined the walls for it to be of any real success. He dared not interrupt the half intoxicated Dwarvik women in the middle of their gossip.
“Hello, Orctkar,” said Gemari sweetly, and tapped the boy on the shoulder. He turned sharply, pushing a pretty young girl behind him, who took off into the kitchens. Gemari was mid bow when she stopped. She stood, trying to peer around Orctkar’s shoulder into the kitchens beyond. “Who was that?” she asked, her voice dropping its sweet demeanor and sounding almost exactly like her sister’s. Jack tried to back away, but was blocked by Piper, Dimitri and Jayson. They stood shoulder to shoulder behind him, sipping pearl wine and eating stuffed mushrooms.
“Greetings, Princess. Uh…that was Avantria. She is new to the kitchens. I have been…helping her.”
“How kind of you to be so friendly,” said Dimitri. Piper elbowed him and half snorted into her glass.
“Orctkar, what is happening here?” Gemari asked. “The kitchen is no place for a woman. She cannot possibly work here.”
“It is nothing! I promise, Princess!” Orctkar was turning redder by the minute.
“What do you mean nothing? Isn’t that what you said about her?” This time, it was Avantria. She must not have disappeared into the kitchens very far. Jack tried to back away again, but Jayson pushed him forward again. Jack stumbled into Gemari, slipping on the smooth stone floor in his unfamiliar shoes. He reached out, catching Gemari’s arm to steady himself. Gemari turned to him, and pulled him to her, pressing her lips to his. Still off balance, Jack had nowhere to go but forward. He pinned Gemari against the wall, still kissing her. Piper nearly dropped her drink as her hand clasped to her mouth. Jayson gasped and tried not to laugh. Dimitri grabbed Piper’s and Jayson’s elbows on either side of him. He pulled them close to him, keeping their shoulders together to hide the scene from the view of the elders.
Gemari pushed Jack away from her. He stumbled back into Dimitri who caught him, and placed a hand on his shoulder to keep him from running.
“Your untrustworthiness to the Royals and Elders has been noted, Orctkar,” Gemari said. She turned swiftly, and though completely flushed, looked exactly like Ketari as she pushed past Jayson and back into the room. Orctkar tried to run after her, but Jayson stepped in front of him.
“Dude, I think you should just refill the wine, okay?” He said. Orctkar looked into the stern faces of Princess Gemari’s friends, and turned back toward the kitchens.
“Avantria! Wait!” he called, and the kitchen door closed behind him.
Jack stood frozen, staring at the kitchen door before him. That wasn’t the way he had imagined his first kiss. Dimitri pushed a glass of pearl wine into his hand. “Come, Jack,” he said and placed his arm around Jack’s shoulder. “Believe me when I say this sort of thing happens more often than any elder or royal would care to admit. Especially early in their career. These are the secret matters of state that no one discusses. By the time you’ve finished that, it will all be over.”
“It’s all peachy-keen, jellybean!” said Jayson, who had obviously begun to feel the effects of the pearl wine. “Let’s go get some food,” he said, headed for the table piled high with cream cakes.
Chapter Ten
The Black Diamonds
The gems on Leo’s cuffs dug into his wrists as his captor twisted his arms behind him. The glint of a sword hilt caught Leo’s eye. He watched it sway back and forth at the man’s side. Leo knew if he could get it in his hands, he could fight his way out and escape. Not that it would do him much good. He still had no idea where he was. The dwarves knew their mines far better than he did. They’d have him recaptured in no time. No, Leo needed to be patient. He needed to bide his time. He needed to explain his case, find out who these people were and what they wanted with him. Now he wished he had Jack’s gift of words, or even Jayson’s sense of h
umor and wit. He wasn’t so sure logical reasoning would get him very far with the dwarves.
A horn sounded somewhere, and the activity in the center square below him ceased. The people below stared up at the new, pale skinned prisoner they had never seen before. As one, they all moved quickly to the houses around the perimeter. Doors slammed shut. Curtains were pulled over windows. Leo wondered which Quarter he had stumbled into. It wasn’t anything like the other Quarters he had visited.
For one, these were the first houses he had seen in the entire mountain. The other Quarters were designed more like motels. And, he had never seen anything like a village square before either. The hasanas worked for other merchants who did their trade and work from the common area at the front of their homes. Except for the kitchens. Everyone was supplied with basic food necessities every week. They paid for anything extra or extravagant. Leo thought it was a good system. No one had to worry about being hungry. But the few people he glimpsed did look hungry. They were thin and bony, and their eyes looked sunken in.
The man holding Leo’s arms walked him toward a door at the far side of the mine. It opened, and Leo was blinded by the bright light of the outdoors. It had been days since he had seen proper sunlight. Leo stopped and closed his eyes before the man shoved him out the door.
There was a small ledge with a straight drop down to the forest below. Leo realized he was at the far eastern side of the mountain closest to the Belirian Forest. The man pushed Leo into a cage woven from ropes and branches, and locked the door. He watched as the man unwound a rope from a nearby rock, and the cage began to rise and sway as it was lifted up and out over the sheer drop below.
“I swear, I didn’t do anything! I’m really sorry! I just got lost!” Leo exclaimed. He clutched at the rickety ropes of the cage, and tried in vain to keep his voice from cracking.
The door to the mountain opened and two men stepped out onto the ledge. Their curly black beards sparkled in the sunlight, decorated with tiny black gems. They did not wear the armor of the Dwarvik guards, but pure black metal and leather. A realization began to form in Leo’s mind, and he stopped struggling against his prison. The tallest of the men walked slowly up to the cage, and gave it a gentle turn. Leo could hear the ropes creaking, but stayed his hand from grasping at the bars in panic. He had to show no fear in the face of these adversaries.
Chartile: Prophecy Page 10
