by Jaxon Reed
STIN CLIMBED up into the driver’s seat of the old wagon. Horse looked back at him and snorted, seemingly eager to get on with the trip. Stin smiled down at Kirt next to him, then at Bellasondra sitting on the far side.
She smiled back.
“You’re going to love the Ageless Isles, Stin. They’re so beautiful!”
“If they’re as beautiful as you, I will agree.”
Kirt rolled his eyes.
From the back of the cart, Bartimo called out from his comfortable position sprawled atop bags of oats and other supplies.
“Don’t let my sister fool you, Stin. Two days aboard a boat and the loss of everything in your stomach will make you wish for the mainland again!”
Stin smiled, and snapped the reins, urging Horse forward. They fell in behind the royal retinue from Coral, with King Keel and Princess Margwen in the lead. It appeared that Trant would accompany them to Coral City, as he rode alongside Margwen’s repaired carriage in the thick of several Coral guardsmen.
One good thing about sticking close to a royal retinue, Stin thought, is that all the guards will surely protect us from trouble on the road.
Behind them, the dwarves were starting to make their way home, too. Battlepigs fell into step behind Horse, with two or sometimes three dwarves riding them. Other dwarves followed along on foot, most of them singing a traveling song.
The long, strange procession marched through Greystone Village, then took the road for the gate to Coral. One by one, the travelers disappeared through the gateway.
A LARGE HAZY globe appeared in the Crystal Kingdom’s throne room, startling everybody. Several members of the Royal Guard rushed forward, swords and halberds ready to meet whatever threat might come through. Everybody else backed away. A handful of guards surrounded the dais in order to protect King Aldwald and Queen Etta, seated on their thrones.
Everyone held their collective breath in expectation. Then Mita stepped through the globe and apparated into the room.
“Hi Papa. Hi Mama.”
She was dressed in the same simple white outfit and shoes she wore when she left, all those months ago. The only difference, if anyone had stopped to notice: now she also wore a thin black leather bracelet on her left wrist.
Aldwald and Etta stood up, and the three moved at once, meeting on the steps of the dais in a big family hug.
As the hazy globe disappeared, and everyone in the room realized what was happening, cheers and applause went up from the crowd.
Etta beckoned to a court scribe who came running forward.
“Make a pronouncement. We’ll have a special feast in honor of our daughter!”
“No, Mama. Don’t hold a special feast for me. Just let me sit in the place of honor at our usual Winterfest feast.”
The king and queen stared at their daughter in surprise. Aldwald spoke first.
“Very well. Make a pronouncement that our daughter, Princess Mita, has returned from her training with the Wizard Oldstone. She will be celebrated as the guest of honor in the royal feast for Winterfest.”
The scribe nodded, and began writing furiously.
Later in her room, Mita shooed the servants out. They had bathed her and dressed her in a luxuriously soft white robe. Then they worked on her neglected fingernails and toenails, and someone called for a hair stylist. Finally they covered her in lotions and sprayed her with fine perfume. At long last, she began to resemble a princess again.
Finally she managed to get rid of them all. She climbed into her bed and sighed in contentment. It felt good to be home, and she enjoyed the luxuries offered by the palace.
But, she reflected, if she had to choose one life over another she would go with the battlemaiden’s without hesitating. Even with no servants and minimal luxuries, the opportunity to do something meaningful with her life proved too strong to ignore.
She heard a knock at her door. Atta opened it and walked in. She rushed up to the bed and gave Mita a hug.
“Look at you! You’ve changed, Mita. You look beautiful!”
Mita laughed.
“Do I? I haven’t done anything.”
“Look into the mirror. Don’t you see it? You look all wise and mature now.”
Mita stared at her face in the ornate mirror, and recalled the lack of mirrors in the wizard’s floating castle. She had not seen her reflection in a long time.
The face staring back at her indeed seemed starkly beautiful. It reminded her of the portraits of queens and princesses long past, painted by Fulton and other masters.
“What’s happened? What made you change?”
Mita thought about all that had happened the last several months. She smiled.
“Well, if you must know, Atta, I started while I was gone.”
Atta’s eyes grew big.
“Finally!”
Mita laughed, and hugged her sister again.
ALL THE OTHER wizards were gone, apparating back through the gate Oldstone conjured. Only Greystone remained, lingering behind for some private conversation.
When they were alone, Greystone said, “I think that went well.”
Oldstone nodded.
“I want to thank you for everything.”
“Thank me?” Greystone said, surprised. “What have I done?”
“Even though you’re younger than me, in many ways you have more wisdom than I do. Thank you for not being afraid to share it with an old man when necessary.”
Greystone smiled, and clasped Oldstone’s shoulder.
“No one is older and wiser than you, my friend.”
They smiled at each other. Greystone brought his hand down and headed toward the hazy globe to be sent back to his village.
He turned at the last moment and gave the other wizard a serious look.
“You should face your past, old man. We all make mistakes. We all have to live with them. But there’s no use ignoring the past when you can conjure it up at will.”
He gave a formal half bow and walked into the globe, disappearing.
Oldstone sat in silence for several minutes, thinking about what he said.
Finally, he raised his eyebrows, having made a decision. He stretched out his arm, and a stream of black smoke billowed from his hand. It coalesced into the facsimile of Theena.
She looked at him and smiled, love in her eyes.
He smiled back with affection and sadness.
“I know you’re not her. I know you’re not real. But I’ve been missing her for a long time now.”
The facsimile nodded, and walked over to him. She gave him a hug, then kissed him on the lips.
EPILOGUE
Dirt tromped through the woods with a bag over his back and a song in his heart. He felt like he must be the richest man alive.
He had been called “Dirt” as long as he could remember. He thought maybe, in the far reaches of his memories, his mother might have named him something different. But no matter. Someone called him “Dirt” at an early age, and the name stuck.
He had wandered the Hidden Woods since childhood. He couldn’t remember what happened to his mother, or how he wound up here. But this was his life.
Life had not always been good. Many times he had gone hungry. But lately things had been better. He found berries and fruit, and on rare occasion he obtained bread and meat, although usually these were from charitable travelers along the road.
As befitting his name, he was dirty. Perpetually so. According to some he met on the road, he smelled too. Perhaps that’s why small animals ran away from him in the woods. That and the fact that, if he ever were fortunate enough to catch one, he twisted their heads off and ate them raw.
But he didn’t worry about how other people said he smelled today, for today he felt rich. Rich beyond his wildest dreams. He had stumbled into a giant clearing, one that had not been there earlier. The clearing had evidently served as the location for a large battle. Dirt had missed that, too, but he had been quite fortunate to partake in the battle’s aftermath
.
First he found a large bag from an abandoned supply wagon, and he filled it with food from the same wagon. It was more food found in one place than he could ever remember, and the bag strained under the weight.
Next he searched among the strange and broken metal statues, and the corpses of soldiers and horses. He saw many fine weapons including pikes, halberds, and lances. He decided it would be good to obtain a sword, but just as he was prying one from the hands of a dead soldier dressed in bright green, an angry dwarf began yelling at him.
He dropped the sword and ran away. Why a dwarf would be wandering around the battlefield was beyond him. He didn’t think of himself as a thief, no matter what the dwarf yelled.
As he neared the trees where his large bag of food was stashed, he came across the body of a lancer and a horse. The body was horribly mutilated. It looked like several people had contributed to the man’s death.
He glanced around for any more dwarves nearby, and saw none. Then he looked down on the ground for weapons. Nothing. But, on the lancer’s body, an ornate dagger’s sheath stood out. It was attached to the dead man’s belt.
Dirt looked around again for dwarves. Then he reached down and unbuckled the dead man’s belt. The sheath was heavy, made of leather, gold, and silver. It even included saddle loops so a rider could easily lash it to his horse’s tack.
What a fantastic find! He took the ornate sheath and stuck it in his own belt.
Now as he trudged through the woods with his bag of foodstuff, he reflected on how fortunate the day had been. He had lots of food, and a silver and gold sheath that might be traded for even more food someday with one of the many caravans driving through the woods.
Then he tripped over something and his bag fell open, scattering foodstuff everywhere.
Dirt stood up and dusted himself off. He looked down to see what had snagged his foot.
A dagger stood up in the ground, attached to the tip of a lance by a cord. Dirt reached down and pulled them up out of the ground. He took the cord off, threw aside the lance tip, and wiped the dagger off on his tunic so he could study it closely. It seemed ornate, with odd markings, and the metal looked finely made. The blade glowed softly in the diffused forest light.
This is a fine dagger, Dirt thought. It’s much nicer than the sword that mean dwarf made me drop.
Dirt stopped suddenly, and his brain churned. He knew there was something relevant that he should be able to recall. He thought about it for several minutes.
Finally it came to him, and he smiled. He pulled out the gold and silver sheath he had found on the battlefield. It was so beautiful. Surely, these two were meant to be together.
He slowly inserted the blade into the sheath. A perfect fit!
He stuck them back in his belt, and started humming tunelessly while he gathered up all the supplies he had dropped, putting them back in the bag.
When he finished, he hoisted the sack over his back and continued walking through the forest toward his hut.
THE END
Author’s Note:
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DRAMATIS PERSONAE
Aldwald - King of Crystal, husband to Queen Etta, father of Princess Mita, Princess Etta, and Crown Prince Aldwald II.
Aldwald II - the Crown Prince of Crystal, sixth born child of King Aldwald and Queen Etta, brother to Princess Mita and Princess Etta.
Altor - a lancer in the traveling guard protecting Princess Margwen of Coral.
Anabella - Nanny to Princess Margwen of Coral, and her Lady in Waiting.
Artereo - from the Ageless Isles. Long dead, but widely regarded as the greatest swordsman who ever lived.
Atta - a Princess of Crystal, seventh born child of King Aldwald and Queen Etta. She is the youngest of Aldwald and Etta’s children. Sister to Princess Mita and Crown Prince Aldwald II.
Barley - a dwarf, son of Wort, of the Clan Nugget. He is known as one of the best brewers in Norweg.
Bartimo - a young merchant from the Ageless Isles, twin brother to Bellasondra.
Beet - from an old and respected merchant family, Beet is a lancer in the traveling guard protecting Princess Margwen of Coral.
Bellasondra - a young merchant from the Ageless Isles, twin sister to Bartimo, and Stin the Thief’s love interest.
Borrel - Assistant Captain of the traveling guard for Princess Margwen of Coral.
Breen - a duke, serves as High Councilor to King Aldwald of Crystal.
Brightstone - a wizard. His specialties include light of all kinds.
Cook - a generic nickname given to those serving as cooks. Stin and Kirt met one working with a caravan at the crossroads outside Ruby City. Stin traded a “tasty stone” for food with Cook, who is something of a simpleton.
Cookie - a facsimile servant for Oldstone, working in the kitchen of his flying castle.
Cutie - a facsimile servant for Oldstone, working in his flying castle.
Darkstone - one of the twelve wizards, he has gone rogue from the Council of Magic.
Deedles - a wizard’s cat, she chooses to accompany Princess Margwen, mostly.
Dirt - a simpleton thief who lives in the Hidden Forest.
Dudge - a dwarf, son of Nudge of the Clan Ore, Prince of Norweg. Dudge is the second born son of King Nudge and Queen Frum, and second in line to Norweg’s throne.
Dunken - butler to the Duke and Duchess of Windthorn, serving in their townhome in Ruby City.
Endrick - usurper of the throne of Emerald, Endrick murdered his cousin King Tren and all the royal family save for young Prince Trant, who was rescued along with his nanny Isabeth by Wizard Greystone.
Etta - Queen of Crystal, wife to King Aldwald, mother of Princess Mita, Princess Atta, and Crown Prince Aldwald II.
Felway - known as “Felway the Fence,” a pawnbroker in Ruby City.
Fret - a dwarf, son of Barley, of the Clan Nugget.
Fulton - a painter of great repute, he was murdered at the Battle of Hest.
Greystone - one of the twelve wizards, the creator of Greystone Village. He is generally more concerned with royal affairs and people in general than the other wizards. His specialties include area manipulation.
Isabeth - nanny to Prince Trant of Emerald, she was saved along with the prince by Greystone before Endrick’s men could murder them.
Jeskins - foreman of the Emerald Royal Iron Works.
Jostin - a prophet in Kathar, Emerald Kingdom, he was martyred after prophesying against Endrick and Darkstone.
Keel - King of Coral and the Ageless Isles, married to Queen Kita, father of Princess Margwen.
Kirt - an urchin from the streets of Ruby City, he joins Stin after the thief stole the Forlorn Dagger.
Kita - Queen of Coral and the Ageless Isles, wife of King Keel, mother of Princess Margwen.
Lancet - a captain in the Battle of Hest who betrayed the wizards and murdered Theena.
Lemmeck - a rogue court mage from Sapphire.
Loadstone - a wizard. His specialties include manipulating the weather. He is capable of producing powerful storms which can last indefinitely as long as he can stay in one place.
Malterry - Queen of Sapphire.
Margwen - Princess of Coral, fifth born to King Keel and Queen Kita of Coral.
Mita - Princess of Crystal, fifth born of King Aldwald and Queen Etta. She serves under Wizard Oldstone as a battlemaiden-in-training.
Nessa - niece to the Duke and Duchess of Windthorn in the Ruby Kingdom.
Oldstone - the oldest wizard, chair of the Magic Council, he makes his home in a flying castle. His specialties include advanced facsimiles and levitation.
Otwa - nanny to Princess Mita of Crystal.
Redstone - a wizard. His specialties include nature magic. He is particularly interested in manipulating the ground, as well as mines, shafts, caves and tunnels.
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Robrigo - a priest, originally from the Ageless Isles. After an affair in Coral, he escaped to Greystone Village where he earned a second chance serving as priest for the community.
Stella - daughter of Felway the Fence in Ruby City.
Stin - originally from Coral, Stin is a thief. He has used several aliases including Hemphnor and Diebster. As a child, he apprenticed under the master criminal Syphon in the Royal Dungeon under Coral Castle. Wanted for stealing the Forlorn Dagger from the Duke and Duchess of Windthorn.
Stumpy - the leader of a caravan and its guards, on the road from Kathar. He wears a wooden peg leg.
Sullio - a powerful court magician in the Coral Kingdom.
Syphon - a master criminal purportedly in the dungeons beneath Coral Kingdom.
Theena - reputed to be the greatest battlemaiden of all time, Theena died in the Battle of Hest.
Tomlin - Captain of the traveling guard for Princess Margwen of Coral.
Trant - firstborn son of King Tren and Queen Karla of Emerald. The “Lost Prince,” Trant and his nanny Isabeth are the sole survivors of Endrick’s coup, in which King Tren’s family and loyal nobles were murdered.
Volden - widely considered the greatest swordsman in the Crystal Kingdom. Served as one of Mita’s early tutors.
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