I coughed as I tried to talk, “I’m sorry. Um, thank you. Why-…?”
“Enough of your questions. I do not have the patience to explain it right now. Our priority is to arrive in Mineraltir on time.” Luke turned from me instantly and began to walk again.
Sniffling like a little kid, I rose and brushed myself off, noticing a nice scrape on my leg. No magic to heal it right now. I checked to ensure I still had my locket secured in my bag and my feather around my neck before following Rachel’s brother in silence.
The hours passed on again, the sun warming our faces as it fell toward the western ocean, lighting up the sky in purples and reds. All I could smell was mountain now. It seemed so clean, yet my nose was beginning to repulse it. I wanted out of these forsaken mountains. Luke hadn’t said a word to me since the mishap, which I figured was halfway warranted. It still made for a dull journey.
When we came around another bend, I finally saw it. Mineraltir. My first impression was simply this: green.
As we got closer, I began to make out a ruffled appearance to this green. Then, I could make out individual tops of trees that dominated the ground. Earth could not be seen there were so many trees. The leaves and needles were all mixed in together. All completely green even though all the leaves in Lunaka had long colored and dropped dead. They were all a type of tree I had never seen before. They seemed so wide from far away. I knew that if I was up close, there would be no way that less than five people could join hands and create a ring all the way around one of the ancient trunks.
The forest was so beautiful and strange compared to what I knew, and I realized that this world held many things I’d never encountered before. At the Spring Festival as Sam and I sat eating our little Mineraltin dish, I never dreamed I would be in Mineraltir less than a year later. Now that I was an Allyen, my world was expanding by leaps and bounds, in good ways as well as bad.
Night began to fall. By the time we neared the bottom of the mountains, about to touch down on earth rather than these cursed rocks, the trees had come to tower above us. They weren’t as tall as the mountains, but they dwarfed Lunakan trees. They had to be at least a mile high! If I hadn’t seen the sun disappear above the tree line, I would have thought the leaves were blocking out the daylight, the foliage was so thick and the dark they created so deep a shade.
Luke kept on ever forward ahead of me. This guy was a workhorse. We hadn’t so much as taken a break at all! My knees were aching, and my lungs burned, glad for some thicker air now that we were at a lower altitude. I wanted more than anything to jump the last fifty feet or so, ready to feel my magic coursing through my veins again, but I knew that would probably result in at least one broken bone. No need for that right now.
I stopped mid-step. Something seemed off. Luke kept going ahead of me, but instead of continuing to follow, I couldn’t help but strain my ears for the smallest sound. My magic hadn’t come back yet, so I knew there was no way I was sensing anything. But I could not shake the feeling that there was a pair of eyes on my back.
I only heard Luke’s steps slapping the rocks, and the rustle of the leaves in the weakening wind, nothing else. I couldn’t make my feet move, and yet I couldn’t find the courage to turn around. Ice slid down my spine.
My guardian noticed that I wasn’t following him anymore, and when he turned around, his reaction told me everything I needed to know. Instantaneously, his reprimanding look became one filled with adrenaline. His eyes widened and flashed several colors before he sprang into action, sprinting toward me. Luke moved like lightning, yet his energy spurred me to turn at last and see what was making me so fearful.
Not twenty feet away from me, perched on a rock with his leg up like some great conqueror was the very man who frequented my nightmares. Rhydin. His cloak billowed in the wind, obscuring his form for the most part, his black hair caught in the breeze. His amethyst eyes burned like fire deep into my soul, but it was the smirk holding his pale lips and the flare of his nostrils that were emblazoned onto my memory before the whole world went white.
When my vision cleared, I found myself sprawled in the grass between two massive tree roots thicker than my own shoulders. As soon as I gained my bearings, I was on my feet, the adrenaline still pumping from seeing Rhydin. Yet, after a quick look around, I found myself alone. My breaths went from loud and heavy to small and quiet.
I reached for my locket and found it still safely tucked away in my pouch, but my breathing quickly gained energy again as my thoughts took flight. Rhydin saw us. He saw Luke and I traveling to Mineraltir. He knew now that we left some people behind. That we split up. Nothing good could come from this!
“Look at that. She awakes.” A voice sounded, slightly irritated.
My head snapped in that direction, afraid to see Rhydin, but only seeing Luke bearing a bundle of firewood. I reached for my head, beginning to feel it pound. “Where are we? What happened with Rhydin-…?”
Luke cut me off as he dropped his load next to a smoldering campfire that I had yet to notice. “We’re in Demora, Mineraltir. I had to transport us away rather abruptly, so I couldn’t control where we landed very well. You got knocked out by a tree trunk. Sorry ‘bout that.”
I let that sink in for a minute before responding, “Were we off the mountains? I thought nobody could use magic on the mountains and I’m pretty sure we were still several feet up.”
The young man shrugged, his eyes focused on the fire. “Sometimes magic is more powerful when you’re in danger. We were close enough. Anyway, you’ve been out for a couple days so the Royal carriage should be here any minute. Don’t get too comfortable here.”
At that, I looked around. The trees were even more impressive up close than they had been from the top of the mountains. They were giant umbrellas, stretching miles tall and miles wide with their leafy canopies. The bark of the trees was the richest brown I had ever seen. Nothing could even compare to it back in Lunaka, and the huge roots spread out in every direction, tangled into knots bigger than my wagon back home. There were so many, it seemed that you were walking on more roots than dirt.
I’d had a faint idea of what Mineraltir smelled like from the stand that was always at the Spring Festival, but that little booth couldn’t even compare to the real deal. The air was laden with scents of a million different herb varieties and the heavy odor of this new species of tree that was both coniferous and deciduous. The scent was like oak and pine had reproduced, which was the best way I could possibly describe it. The sun peeked through the foliage miles above our heads creating spotted patterns on the ground while the wind made it sparkle. This country was gorgeous.
Apparently, Luke was watching my breath being taken away. He called out to me from a knoll several feet away. “Hey. Want to see something truly amazing?”
I nodded and bounded over to him like I was a child again. Following Luke’s gesture, I saw what I had initially missed from behind a giant tree. A few miles away was Mineraltir Castle, an enormous structure formed from a myriad of stones and woods. It seemed to be as large as Lunaka Castle; however, it appeared more grand and wonderful because it was if the castle had been built around the trees that were there first. Some of the spires hugged massive trunks as they reached for the sky, but only the main tower actually achieved the same height as the canopy. Two isolated trees rose out of the courtyard, and another supported the drawbridge over a small moat that encircled the expansive hodge-podge building. With lights burning in most of the windows, it seemed a very cozy place despite its size and stature.
At that moment, the comparatively tiny Royal carriage pulled up to the drawbridge, its Lunakan crest emblazoned door swinging open to reveal King Adam. He rubbed his goatee as he stared up at the castle himself. Luke put his hand on mine, and I knew it was time to move.
The gigantic wooden drawbridge began to lower slowly at the sight of King Adam, and Luke and I crept ever so carefully, but promptly, over the gigantic roots that threatened to trip us at every t
urn. There was one knot that Luke stealthily helped me down because it was nearly the size of my house back home.
With an echoing thud, the bridge landed in the mossy overgrowth in front of the carriage. Servants began unloading, among them I could see Rachel with her bright red hair, but as soon as the bridge was secured, the nearly empty carriage jetted inside, leaving Rachel and the others to carry in the Royals’ luggage.
As we reached the last line of bushes before crossing into the road, Luke turned to me and grunted quietly. “Put your hood up, we need to wait for Rachel’s signal.”
I did as I was told, watching carefully as the servants divvyed up their loads and began to carry them on foot across the bridge. Rachel purposely took longer with Princess Mira’s trunk so that she was the last to leave the area where the carriage had unloaded. As soon as the rest of the other servants began to stride across the bridge, she reached up and gave a hard pull to her ear. Needless to say, I didn’t need Luke to tell me that was the signal.
We strode rapidly over to her, keeping Mira’s baggage between us and the castle. Luke spoke first, “How was the trip?”
Rachel scoffed and rolled her eyes. “You owe me one, to be stuck in that carriage with him for a week!” She slammed the trunk shut and proceeded to lift it all by herself, not showing much strain. “Hurry, we need to get across before the bridge closes.”
The three of us promptly shuffled across the bridge, trying to be fast yet inconspicuous at the same time. When we reached the stone mouth of the castle, Rachel put down Mira’s trunk beside the small side door to the servant’s entrance. She then moved us toward the main courtyard where King Adam and Mira had disappeared with their carriage.
I pulled my hood farther over my head and nearly squealed as I whispered to her. “Rachel, what are you doing? We’ll get caught if we go that way!”
Rachel’s blue dress swished the ground as she turned back to me. “We might not be too late to see how the king greets Queen Jasmine. It might give us a clue if she’s working with him for Rhydin or not!”
Luke and I glanced at each other for a split second before following Rachel through the carefully manicured courtyard. Aside from the two giant trees, everything else had been painstakingly sculpted for optimum elegance. The roots had been buried in feet of soil in an attempt to make it look like real ground with normal grass. Pink flowers dotted the outer rim of the yard and the trees. Thankfully, the main door into the hall of the castle was still open a crack because, from the look of the ancient wood, there would have been no way to open it without letting out a screaming groan.
One by one, we slid through the thin opening and hid behind a big marble pillar that looked as if it had once been covered with ivy. The floor was checkerboard, black and white every few feet, and at the far end of the room, I saw the thrones and all the people. There were four thrones, all made from carved wood although bedazzled with gold trimmings and many gems. The largest throne in the center was speckled with emeralds and peridots, all gleaming green, the Mineraltin Royal color.
Sitting upon its cushion, however, was not a man, but a woman. She was tall with black, curly hair pulled back in an unruly ponytail. Rather unlike the few parts of the castle I had seen, her immaculate dress was completely covered in gold. Gold beads, gold tassels, gold coins, and gold drops. The crown she wore was also gold, although it also sported the only green on her person. It didn’t make sense. Who was this woman?
King Adam bowed like the gentleman he wasn’t before this golden woman and proceeded to present her with a gift. Mira seemed to be trying not to throw up as the woman accepted the parcel. King Adam spoke elegantly, “Your Majesty. It is an honor to be in your kingdom once again.”
The woman chuckled. “Thank you, Your Majesty. I am glad to see you and your daughter have arrived safely. I am sure Xavier will be here momentarily.”
King Adam elbowed Mira in the ribs. She sputtered slightly, “Thank you, Queen Jasmine. It is nice to see you again.”
Queen? This lady was Queen Jasmine? I’d heard of her, and had even seen her at the Spring Festival, but I had never paid much attention. She looked greedy what with all the gold glued to her from head to toe. Where was King Morris? Why was she sitting in his throne?
Jasmine rose from the wooden throne, looking completely out of place in her golden attire. “I apologize for my husband’s absence. As you know, he does not get out much anymore. Only for very special occasions.” A queer smile was on her heart-shaped face.
“I understand perfectly.” King Adam replied, matching her eyes as he walked to her and offered his arm. She took it, and they began to exit the room with Mira trailing them.
“What was that all about?” I whispered to Luke and Rachel. “It doesn’t seem right.”
“Jasmine mostly controls the kingdom.” Rachel breathed back. “King Morris hasn’t been the same ever since his first wife died, Xavier’s mother. He probably doesn’t even have a clue who Rhydin is.”
“Seems like they get along pretty well. Think she’s working for Rhydin, too?” I whispered again as I watched the two disappear behind giant wooden doors.
A new voice responded, “I say, the Allyen must be pretty desperate to get killed in order to wind up in my castle.”
My heart hammered right through my chest as Rachel immediately pushed me behind her and Luke drew his long sword.
There, standing in the shadows, was a young man. He was dressed primly in an emerald green suit coat, his sleeves trimmed in the politically correct amount of gold while a leaf pattern was etched onto his shirt pocket. His face was wide and angled, his skin very pale and dotted with freckles, adding a boyish quality to his grown-up features. His eyes were a brilliant blue as they stared intently at us from underneath a swath of the reddest hair I’d ever witnessed, even redder than Rachel’s, pulled back in a stout ponytail at the base of his neck.
Stupidly, I stammered, “Who are you?”
The red-haired man chuckled, a small rat-like grin appearing on his freckled face. “Xavier Rollins. Crown Prince of Mineraltir.”
Chapter Eighteen
I stared at Prince Xavier wide-eyed, unsure of whether to run or spill all my guts. Rachel quickly intervened, her voice calm and mystifying. “My apologies, Your Highness. We are merely servants of the Lunakan princess.” She added in a deep curtsy for effect.
The Mineraltin man’s red eyebrow quirked sharply, and then his white teeth appeared again in that crooked grin that made him look like a rodent. He lifted his hands to his hips as he spoke. “If you think I’ll believe that, you must think me an unobservant fool. I see things nobody else sees in this palace, but even an idiot could see that you three didn’t come in with the rest of the servants.”
Luke and Rachel peeked at each other hurriedly. I might have missed it if I wasn’t desperately penetrating them each with my eyes for a clue as to what I should be doing right now.
Xavier cleared his throat. “Now. If my assumption is correct as to why you have risked your lives into coming here, I believe it best if we find somewhere more private, to converse. Madam Allyen?” The prince turned to me and offered me his green-clad elbow, bowing to me.
This was either really good, or really bad. When I turned to Rachel in question, another smart remark reached my ears.
“You can make your own decisions, Allyen. Do not forget. They serve you.”
I gulped hard and fought the urge to look at Rachel or Luke once more. It suddenly occurred to me that he was right. I was soon to be given the responsibility of saving the entire continent. I needed to start acting like it.
Xavier paused patiently, looking down at me from his height of perhaps six feet. His eyes grew dark under his red hair, yet his long arm remained outstretched in front of me. He was waiting for me to decide if I was going to trust him or not.
Remembering Sam’s fierce words not to trust anyone, I was hesitant. Yet, I closed my eyes and reached deep down inside of myself as I allowed my magic to
flow freely. Xavier’s presence was quite different from ones I had sensed and read in the past. I could feel a fiery strength in him, perhaps a temper, and a frightening amount of boldness.
However, as I searched deeper, my senses became overwhelmed with the feeling of loss. It was as if Xavier’s presence was sitting in a black hole, eternally waiting. Waiting for someone to reach out to him where he had been isolated for so long. There was no evil in this man. Just heartbreak. Sam would understand.
When I opened my eyes again, he was still in the exact same position, possibly even evaluating me as well with those piercing blue eyes of his. Without hesitation, I took his arm, leading Luke and Rachel to both drop their jaws. I smiled slightly at their reaction and then turned to my escort. “We have matters to discuss, Your Highness. Please, lead the way.”
Xavier nodded, and I could tell that he was slightly surprised that I had chosen to trust him. He hid it rather well though, as he walked us away from the throne room. The interior of the castle mirrored the exterior, in that it was just as jumbled up. There were sections of wall and hallway that were made of rectangular rock carefully sectioned together, ancient wood that decorated the space with spirals and rings, and cobblestone that lent a variety of colors and textures to the areas we walked through.
I saw several tapestries as well of the Mineraltin Royal family and their ancestors. Most of them depicted Queen Jasmine, making my stomach churn in apprehension. This woman became a Royal by marriage. Why was she so heavily present in these portraits? There was another young woman that featured highly in them, who looked to be a much younger version of the queen. Instead of gold, she was bedecked in every shade of my least favorite color. Pink.
The Allyen (The Story of the First Archimage Book 1) Page 20
