All the nobles from Lun, the northwestern city of merchants, would be up at the castle celebrating with all the Royals, whose “Royal” festival started an hour or so after ours. All three of the Royal families usually gathered for events like this, seeing as the majority of them were interrelated by now. It was slightly strange to think that the three ruling families of Nerahdis were less than a mile away. Not many people trusted them. I knew I didn’t.
By the time Sam and I reached the square, our three charges had completely disappeared. I began to worry for their safety, not only because Rosetta was on a date but because of Rhydin. I actually began to hope that Rosetta and Keera being separated from me would make them safer.
Sam didn’t notice my worry, but was turning his head like an owl’s to see all the booths that had been set up around the square. They were decorated with a myriad of colors, and that was saying something for Lunaka. Only Auklia had colors, so seeing such rainbows never failed to dazzle my eyes every year. There were booths for little games like bobbing for corn or throwing little rings onto different pegs nailed to a big wooden board. There were stands with food prepared from Mineraltir and Auklia, and Lunaka as well if one wasn’t keen on trying new things. Personally, I always got something small from both of the other countries because I had never been there and probably would never get to.
I looked up at Sam to distract myself, and he smiled down at me. His presence was comforting. Besides, I was on my first date. I needed to enjoy this the best I could, especially considering the person it was with. We began to walk around the square in a circle, so that we could make it to every single stall. It was the same route we had walked year after year since we were kids.
I’d never been very talented at the bobbing for corn game. It was almost embarrassing really, at the end of every attempt I just ended up with water all over my face and the ears of corn scattered to the edges of the miniature cow tank. The ears of corn all still had their husks on and you weren’t allowed to pick them up by the ends. You had to grab them with your teeth just like the way you’d eat them, lengthwise. Sam, however, of course had an ear of corn within five minutes, looking almost like a loyal dog who had brought the stick back.
On the other hand, I was pretty good at the coal throwing game. That was a different one where you were given three good-sized lumps of coal and had to throw them at a hay bale painted like a bull’s eye. The coal lumps always left a black mark where it hit, and I liked to think I had pretty good aim. Mine were all within the smallest two rings, but never a perfect bull’s eye. Sam didn’t make any rings, though. He always threw them too hard and caused them to ricochet strangely off the hay.
We played a few other games, and by then we had come around to the food side of the square. There were only three big booths in a row for each of the countries. Sam had always been skeptical of Auklia’s food, simply because it was slightly less traditional than Mineraltir and Lunaka. Auklia was known for its concoctions of raw fish, crab, and different clams that I couldn’t name. Along with other seafood, Auklians were also known for their generous helpings of rice with every meal. I didn’t like rice much, but I always liked getting at least a little something from the Auklian stand. I always enjoyed the foreign feeling of eating something entirely different, as well as trying to be Auklian for one meal.
To save money, Sam and I shared a fried fish roll with some kind of sticky sauce on top, and, of course, a bowl of complementary rice. The flavor of the fish was strong yet tasteful. After checking to see if the fish was actually cooked, Sam ate his entire half.
Mineraltir’s stand was completely different, exuding the odor of hundreds of spices paired with unfamiliar meats. The most popular meat in Mineraltir was venison, which was gamy, but the small piece Sam and I shared was well-rubbed with a flavor that made your mouth water for more. I wished I knew the names of all the herbs and spices.
We skipped the Lunakan stand because our stash of extra cash was dwindling quickly. Bread, cheese, beef, and chicken. Not much spice, and definitely no raw fish. Most of their wares were normal to a noble’s diet, but every so often we farmers would get lucky.
Sam and I moved on with our circle to the next game stand, and in that moment my heart dove into my stomach. Beyond Sam was a booth where you try to throw the leather ball so perfectly that it begins to spin on its axis on top of a little funnel. The game was not the issue. The man running the booth was. He was in disguise, yet I instantly recognized him. It was the same Auklian noble that I had run into the night I had gone to Grandma’s, but tonight he was dressed in regular Lunakan clothing. His big glasses were what gave him away. There was no one else on this continent that I knew who wore such thick lenses.
Next to him was a red-haired man, one that I had definitely seen before, yet I couldn’t quite remember where. Rachel had said that one of the men they were sure was one of Rhydin’s Followers was Mineraltin, who was named Terran. Terran and Eli were the ones who Luke and James had to protect me from. I had forgotten about everything going wrong in my life while I laughed and played with Sam, but at the sight of them together, I nearly keeled over right then and there.
Sam looked over at me, and his expression changed immediately. “You okay? You’re as white as a sheet.”
“Y-Yeah, I’m fine.” I took a deep breath. “Totally fine.”
Sam quirked his eyebrow. “Y’know Lina, I really do hate it when you lie to me.”
And, as if it hadn’t been possible before, my heart sank even further into my gut as adrenaline kicked in. I couldn’t bear to have Sam think me a liar. I stared up at him helplessly. “Sam, I-…!”
“You’ve been hiding something from me. I’m not stupid, Lina. I can tell you’ve been different ever since Keera was ‘sick’. You know you can tell me anything, don’t you?” Sam’s eyes turned into a puppy’s, and it was killing me. I couldn’t do it! I couldn’t keep it a secret anymore. But could I really trade Sam’s life for my weakness?
“Sam…” My throat began to clog up. “Trust me, I’d tell you if I could. But if I told you, you could be killed.”
His brow furrowed, his hand tightening on mine. I hadn’t even realized we were holding hands until this moment. It was most likely the only reason I had not dropped to my knees yet. Or worse, fainted.
“Killed by who? What’s going on, Lina?”
My knees felt like they were going to give out at any second, so Sam led me over to a bench. He promised that he’d go back and get some Auklian punch until I found the words to tell him what was going on. I straightened my skirt as I waited for him to come back, trying to slow my heart rate. I couldn’t see Terran and Eli’s booth from here. That fact was adding immensely to my anxiety, although it did mean they couldn’t see me either.
What was I going to tell him? About being the Allyen? About Rhydin wanting to kill me and steal my locket? That all of Nerahdis was in danger, and it was my and some brother-I’d-never-known-existed’s job to protect it? If anything, Sam would think I’d gone looney. There was no easy way to tell him, and certainly not in public where anyone with a set of ears could hear us. I decided to tell him that the instant he came back.
When he returned, he gave me the punch carefully, as if I would drop it, and I gulped the fruitiness greedily. I hadn’t realized how thirsty I was until now. When I was finished, I looked up at him, and he took my hand. “Do you want to go up to the castle? Their festival is just starting.”
“Why?” I asked with a little more attitude that I probably should have. Why would we crash a Royal party?
“Oh, I know a few others who are headed up there now, and I just figured it’d be something different.” Sam smiled innocently.
“I thought you wanted me to tell you…?” I looked up at him quietly.
“Oh, we can save that for later when there’s fewer people. C’mon, let’s go, it’ll be fun.” He smiled, and I decided not to question it. Maybe, he’d forget about it and I wouldn’t have to tell him!
He was right, there were a few people on this path to the castle. There were lanterns up here as well, seeming a little less bright all alone in the dark landscape, but they were necessary to lead us along the almost invisible road.
In only minutes, I was standing in front of the castle for the first time in my entire life. It was gigantic. Each stone measured nearly half of my height, and there were so many towers that I couldn’t even count them. It was hundreds of years old; its age read in the cracks of the mortar. Sam began to lead me toward the light of the front steps, and I held back, beginning to worry.
Part of me was a little excited. I had never been inside the castle before, yet at the same time I couldn’t help but be frightened. This wasn’t right. Royals and commoners hated each other. They didn’t mix. That’s why they were up in their Royal Castle, and we were down in the square. Most of the people we’d walked up here with seemed to be nobles, ones who could play both sides since they lived in Soläna but could were rich enough to rub elbows with the Royals. The nobles had already disappeared inside the big, wooden front door. I began to give in to my anxiety.
“Sam, I think we should go back down-…” I tried to say, before all my breath was taken away.
In front of me, Sam’s body began to morph. He grew shorter and the reddish hue was taken out of his brown hair. His clothing changed from a simple farmer’s best to bright colors and sashes, with what I guessed to be an Auklian medallion hanging around his neck. His face went from being the angular one I knew to one that was more circular, his eyes changing from brown to blue.
When the man who stood in front of me unfolded a pair of glasses and set them on his bony nose, I spun on my heel and tried to sprint, but a long arm caught me around the middle. I began to scream until Eli’s hand covered my mouth, pulling my head back until my feet were off the ground. He whispered into my ear, “Quiet, young Allyen, or you’ll regret it.”
I felt a sharp point in my back, hidden underneath his cloak. I was in so much trouble. “I hate pink” wasn’t going to fix this one.
I bit my tongue to keep from making a sound, and Eli put me down. His hand was becoming excruciatingly tight on my arm. He thrust me toward the open gates, and led me through a labyrinth of rooms until we reached the ballroom. Inside were no paper lanterns or streamers, but the finest flowers and plant decorations to honor our finish of the planting, Lunaka’s main export other than coal.
I stood out like a sore thumb among all the nobles, their clothing all made of silk, cashmere, and other foreign and expensive materials. All I knew of fashion was that all Mineraltins wore green head to toe with gold accents, and Auklians were walking rainbows just like Eli was now. Lunakans seemed to be more of a mix between the two, wearing colors but not nearly as vibrant.
I swallowed hard when my eyes glanced across the golden thrones at the head of the room. King Adam sat there with his wife, Queen Gloria – Frederick and Mira’s parents. I had never seen them before, only heard their names and had been taught long ago to fear them.
The king had dark curly hair similar to Mira’s, his stocky structure lazily arranged on his big golden chair. The queen had a pleasant expression on her face, and I immediately thought her the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. She had long golden hair and sparkling blue eyes, the same coloring as Frederick’s, but her skin as pale as a doll’s just like Mira’s. Lounging in front of her was a young girl, maybe eleven at the most, who was the spitting image of Queen Gloria. I knew she must be Frederick and Mira’s younger sister, Princess Cornflower.
On either side of their two gold thrones were two silver ones. On King Adam’s right was a couple dressed immaculately in greens, both light grassy greens and dark emeralds, and decked out in gold. These I assumed to be Mineraltir’s monarchs, King Morris and Queen Jasmine. They were Prince Xavier’s parents.
To Queen Gloria’s left was a much younger couple, a man my age with deep blue hair like the ocean and a girl with unnaturally orange curls, both dressed in the rainbow. They had to be from Auklia, which meant that Prince Daniel had finally ascended the throne with his new wife, whose name I had yet to hear of. His blue hair matched the description that Keera had given me of the Daniel helping Evan, so I knew it was him. I looked up at them in awe. There were Three Kings of Nerahdis once again, as legend dictated. Nerahdis hadn’t had three kings for some years since Queen Maria ruled alone after the Auklian king died.
I didn’t dare making a move now that Eli and I were inside. There were too many Royal mages that could strike me dead any minute.
At that precise moment, the ballroom cleared in the center. King Adam stood from his elegant throne and straightened his deep black vest. He held up his hands, and for the first time, I was going to hear the king speak. His voice was gravelly, but strong. “Attention! Thank you all for coming tonight to celebrate the end of Lunaka’s planting season! As an extra matter of celebration, I dedicate the first dance of the night to my daughter, Princess Mira Gloria Dorothy Tané, and her new fiancé, Prince Xavier Morris Josip Rollins of Mineraltir. As of this moment, they are engaged to be married! Let the dance begin!” A sneer was on King Adam’s lined face.
My jaw nearly dropped open. Mira was engaged to Prince Xavier? Did they even know each other remotely well? At that moment, I decided I was completely disgusted with the Royals’ system of marriage, and we didn’t even know if Xavier was on our side or not.
I saw Mira head to the empty center of the room, her long dark hair elegantly curled with pearls laced through it. A light green and purple dress flattered her form beautifully. From the opposite side of the room, a young man, apparently caught off guard, slowly made his way toward Mira. I stared at him harder when I realized it was Xavier, trying to put a face with the name. He was red-haired like all Mineraltins, but it was long in back, tied in a stubby ponytail. He wasn’t as decorated as the other people who were around him, which made me respect him a little bit, but he still looked nice.
When he reached Mira, he took her hand and kissed it, like a gentleman greeted a stranger, but Mira looked like she was about to faint. He led her in an extremely slow dance, both their sets of knees weak. As if from a hidden cue, everyone else then began to join the slow dance in pairs.
The point in my back got a little sharper, and I gritted my teeth to keep from yelping in pain. Eli’s lips brushed against my ear as he whispered, “Now, young Allyen, onto business.”
The knife was removed, and he pulled me onto the dance floor towards where I saw all the Royals dancing in the middle. Was he nuts? Everyone was going to see me! I didn’t blend in with their satin and jewels in my mother’s cotton dress! Unless that was what he wanted? He wanted me dead. I suddenly could not decide whether to escape and be run through with Eli’s dagger or stay put until someone recognized me and shot me with magic. Either way, I was a goner.
Eli turned me and placed a hand on my waist to begin to dance, and I saw Xavier and Mira dancing awkwardly together, not a word passing between them. The blue-haired man that I assumed was King Daniel twirled with his young queen, bright smiles on their faces, ignorant to my plight.
When Eli swung me around as part of the dance, Frederick landed within my sights. He was all dressed up in a white suitcoat with a Lunakan emblem around his neck as the crown prince. He was dancing with a dark-haired noblewoman I recognized from my childhood. Her name was Cassandra. I had known her in school before she moved away to Lun. She had been one of my best friends as a child, and it was surreal to see her with Prince Frederick now.
As we passed dangerously close to them, I made sure to step on the long blue trail of Cassandra’s immaculate dress. She became confused when it happened,
and when she looked at me, I saw recognition in her eyes. Frederick turned to see what she was looking at just in time to see the most terrified expression to ever cross my face.
Instantly, he dropped Cassandra’s hands and tapped Eli on the shoulder, apparently the proper etiquette to ask for someone’s partner. Cassandra’s deep blue eyes were still confused, trained on me as her hands gripped each other now.
Eli dropped me instantly, Frederick taking his place, one hand holding mine and the other barely touching my waist. Eli looked at us for a few seconds. His smile was so wide I thought his face might crack open, and then he ran off toward a dark hallway.
I let myself sigh in relief and relax from the tension that I hadn’t even known was gripping me. A brief thought about dancing with the heir to Lunaka’s crown crossed my mind, but at that point I really didn’t even care. I looked up into Frederick’s light blue eyes, his blond hair neatly combed, and felt completely safe for that moment.
Frederick slowly and inconspicuously danced me over to the side of the room. We wedged our way through people until we reached the pillars and crossed into a dark hallway. Immediately, his voice was louder than necessary. “What the heck happened, Lina?”
“I don’t know, I thought he was Sam…” I choked on his name, all the tears starting to come out now as I shook with fear.
A shadow stepped away from the next set of pillars, and I saw James, Rachel’s younger brother. He was also decked out in clothing I’d never seen before but vaguely Lunakan. He promptly put a strong hand on my shoulder. “We need to get out of here.”
“Where were you?” I turned on him fiercely. “I thought you were supposed to be my bodyguards, well, where on Nerahdis were you?”
“Lina, I was following you the entire time. I was trying to get through the ballroom, why do you think I’m dressed like this?” He gestured to himself and his fancy outfit. “But that’s not the problem.”
The Allyen (The Story of the First Archimage Book 1) Page 8
