“Who are you?” Clara asked.
“Does it matter? I’m just one from your mass of nameless subjects, after all,” the girl continued, in her thick accent. “But I noticed you out here, thought you looked upset, and wondered if there was anything I could do to help you. It really isn’t fair of them, you know, expecting you to fight the dragon.”
“Apparently I’m the only one who can do it.”
“No, the only one who can win against her is the Tela Du, and even then, it’s only about a fifty percent chance. You, Water Princess, have no chance at all.”
“Others have fought against the Lady Dragon and won before,” Clara pointed out. “Maybe I can’t kill her, but I can send her back to her island where she came from.”
“Oh, a noble sentiment, a noble sentiment indeed.” The woman’s voice was as sticky as syrup, and Clara decided she didn’t like it. “But then what? They expect you to become their queen.”
Clara wondered if this girl was the personification of her negativity, her internal demon come to life as people liked to portray in cartoons. She wouldn’t put it past this world to have them, even though she hadn’t read anything about anything resembling them. She glanced to her other side, half expecting to see a girl in white to refute the claims. There wasn’t one.
“But they don’t have anyone else,” Clara answered, slipping into that role herself. “As much as I would like to turn this place into a democracy and get out of here, it seems that the place runs on a monarchy. Besides, it sounds like I’ll have a Fire Prince to help me, so I won’t be completely alone.”
“Have you met him yet?”
“No.” She growled out the word harder than she liked to admit.
“Poor thing. You have no idea what sort of man he’ll be.” The girl sighed and shook her head. “Terrible affair, worse than an arranged marriage, in fact. You don’t even know that he really exists.”
“I’ll find that out when I meet him. For now, I may be only human, but from what I’ve read, so was every person who fought and won against the dragon before me,” she countered. “Whether I like it or not, I am the Water Princess, and there are thousands of people who are looking to me to save them from the Dragon. I can’t let them down.”
With that, she spun around and marched out off of the balcony. She didn’t catch another glance of the woman the rest of the night. However, there was a corner of her that was grateful that she had been confronted. She found herself believing her own words. Maybe she wasn’t ready to tell them about her skills just yet, but she would fight for them.
And she would win.
Chapter 9
Back in the room of things from other worlds, Clara searched more diligently for things that she could use against the Lady Dragon. Despite the fact that she had permission and the time, she hadn’t been back here since that first day with Jasmine. But with thoughts of the night before and the conversation with the mysterious young woman floating through her head, Clara had decided that it was time to return and finish scavenging for potential weapons.
The first thing she did was give the shelves a second, more thorough examination. There were several items on the higher shelves that she hadn’t been able to look at properly because of her height, and this time she had brought a stool. On this second examination, she was thrilled to find a package of army-issue glowsticks. Having something that would enable her to see in the dark was always a plus in this line of work. Now if she could just find a ring of invisibility … no, scratch that. They tended to have bad side effects.
Even though she had overlooked the books the first time she had been through this room, today she pulled all of them off of the shelves and gave them a quick glance through. Most of them were in languages she didn’t recognize – many in scripts that didn’t even look familiar – so she put them right back on the shelf. She ended up with the abridged version of War of the Worlds; what she suspected was an original copy of David Copperfield, though it was still almost new; and a book she didn’t recognize called Fairly Fun Short Stories. After putting the first two books into the basket she had brought with her this time, she carefully cracked open the last one to see what it was about.
The first story was about a princess and a sort of goblin who needed to work together to save his mountain from a troll. Clara found herself giggling the whole way through. At the end of the story was a page that was blank save for a thick black line running from the top to the bottom.
Her thumb brushed against this line as she went to turn the page, and instantly, pain shot through her jaw as though she had been punched. And she had been punched in the jaw a few times, so there was no denying what sort of pain it was.
As soon as she recovered from the ringing in her ears, she shoved the book back onto the shelf. It certainly had not come from her own world; and while it might have made a good weapon, she didn’t know if she could get Amber to read the book.
There wasn’t anything else she recognized on the shelf, so she turned back to the pile, where she found the wad of money that she had also tossed aside the other day. “Still can’t use it here,” she muttered, tossing it in the basket. “And who knows how long it will be before I go back home, but maybe, just maybe, I’ll be able to take it with me. You never know, after all.”
She came across a box of firecrackers that looked like they were in good condition and took them. There were a couple cans of pepper spray, which could also be useful. She also found a pair of nerf guns still in their package. Not actual weapons, but could probably do something in a pinch.
There were a couple packages of AA and D batteries, which she also grabbed. She didn’t have anything to use them with yet, but it never hurt to be prepared. She found an unopened 1000-piece puzzle of the Eiffel Tower, which she took to remind her of home.
When she came across a long, black velvet box, she almost left it there, under the assumption that it was a magic wand or something of the sort that she wouldn’t have the slightest clue as to how to use. But something kept her from passing it by, and instead, she opened it up to find that it contained a beautiful sword of the exact style she preferred using.
The long, narrow blade was blue-tinted silver. The hilt was wrapped in blue leather, and the pommel was glass colored with all seven colors of the rainbow, the seven colors of Rizkan water. Several sapphires were embedded in the cross-guard.
Carefully, she removed it from the case, marveling at the perfection with which it fit in her hand. The balance was perfect, the swing was exquisite, and under the sword laid a scabbard of the exact same blue leather as was wrapped around the hilt.
She pulled that out to find a silver belt that, upon examination, fit perfectly around her waist. She slid the scabbard into it, and then the sword into the scabbard. It was like they were made for her.
“What are they doing in here, though,” she observed, after a moment’s thought. “I would think that they would take a sword to the armory. Does it have a magical power or something that makes it dangerous?”
“Nothing that your own skill doesn’t give it.”
Clara spun around to see a silver-haired old woman, frail as paper. She wore a simple pale blue dress.
“Where were you last night?” Clara asked. Clearly, this was the voice of virtue that had been missing during her conversation with the red girl.
“I’m not sure what you mean, Water Princess,” the woman answered. “I came here as quickly as I could, though it was frightfully hard to get out of the Kastle, even with my gift.”
“Who are you, and don’t evade the question.”
“I’m Bookdaughter Alith, advisor to the Wind Prince and Leaf Princess,” the woman explained.
“You’re an elf.” Only elves could be Bookdaughters or Bookholders, Clara had learned that from her reading.
“I am,” Alith confirmed. “It was my gift, invisibility, which enabled me to get out so that I might bring you your sword. Do you like it?”
Clara’s hand wen
t instinctively to the sword she wore. “You mean … it’s mine?”
“Of course, Water Princess,” said Alith. “There are other tools waiting for you in the Kastle. You must meet with the Fire Prince, and my husband has been sent to him with a similar message, at the foot of the mountain. Together, make your way through the Mountain as has been only accomplished in the legend, and come to us.”
“Okay … why can’t you just give them to me now?”
“Because there are special ceremonies required. I must return to the Wind Prince and Leaf Princess, but I expect to see you shortly. Good luck to you, and may Alphego guide you.”
And before Clara could say anything else, the woman winked out of sight.
Clara rubbed at the goosebumps that rose on her arms, took a deep breath and turned back to the pile. “Right,” she muttered, unsure of what else she could say. Carefully she drew the sword again, to take another, better look at it.
It truly was a beautiful weapon. The only swords she had ever seen that equaled it were her mother’s favorite twin blades, silver swords of about this build called Honesty and Loyalty. She wondered if this sword had a name, or if she was expected to name it herself. Did they even name swords here in Klarand?
Glancing about to make sure no one was watching, she vaulted into one of her favorite sword routines, glad that she had chosen to wear one of her new outfits today, rather than a long dress. The sword already felt like part of her arm. Perhaps a room full of potentially deadly items wasn’t the best place for her to practice her swordplay, but right now, she was in the zone.
She was in the middle of a backflip when she heard another voice.
“So you’re finally catching onto swordplay as well?”
She caught the sword and spun around.
“Jakob. How long have you been watching?”
One of his eyebrows flickered, but no other emotion was betrayed by either his face or voice. “Long enough to realize that your sword skill is a lot better than you let on. Backflips?”
“Ahh … my mother believes in mixing sports. You should see her sword fight on a trapeze bar.”
“I see. So … your mother swordfights as well?”
“She was my teacher,” Clara admitted.
Jakob was quiet for several minutes, and then said, “Come with me.”
“But…” she started to protest, pointing in the general direction of her basket of collected stuff.
“I’ll send a servant along with orders to take it to your room. Come on.”
Clara didn’t have any other valid arguments, so she followed Jakob out of the room. He led her through the hallways and out to the archery field, where he handed her a bow and an arrow.
“There isn’t anyone watching at the moment,” he informed her.
“Are you sure?” she asked, fiddling with the bowstring.
“I’m fairly certain. If you have any skill with the bow you’re not telling us about, I’d like to see it.”
“What makes you think I have any skill?” she asked. “I’ve run out of parents.”
“Because I know you’re not the type of girl who’s content with second-rate,” he countered. “The only reason that you wouldn’t be making progress is that you have skills you don’t want us to know about. I’ve been suspicious for a while, but haven’t had an opportunity to prove it.”
Realizing he wasn’t going to let her off of the field until she had come clean, she fitted the arrow to the string, pulled it back, and then let it fly. It landed firmly within the bullseye. Then, before he could say anything, she grabbed another arrow and sent it flying into the bullseye of another target even further away.
“My best friend’s dad teaches archery,” she admitted. “I’m not amazing with it, but I can hold my own.”
He was quiet for a very long time. She was awkward for an equal amount of time.
“Why don’t you want us to know about it?” he finally asked.
She shrugged. “I don’t know. But, you’re still held to secrecy, you understand?”
He nodded slowly. “You still don’t trust us,” he observed, taking the bow away from her and putting it back away. “So … that’s a nice sword that you found in the room.”
“An elf gave it to me,” she answered, as the two of them left the archery field. “Bookdaughter Alith. She’s gone now, but she gave me this sword and told me that she had other items waiting for me at the Kastle and that I need to find the elusive Fire Prince.”
“That was what we had assumed,” Jakob admitted. “It’s good to hear it confirmed. We’ll be leaving for the Kastle as soon as the spring thaw has set in; otherwise, there are passes that are unmanageable.”
“Okay, makes sense.”
“Speaking of which, I’m going to be taking a trip this next week,” Jakob continued, “and I was wondering if you might want to join me.”
“Are we going to be alone?” was her automatic question.
“Of course not, we will have proper guards to accompany us. I wouldn’t dream of making such a journey without them in our current situation. You’ll have nothing to fear.”
“Okay, sounds acceptable … where are we going?”
“To visit my sister.”
Clara paused. “Your sister? Do you mean Essua? The one who was frozen by the Dragon?”
“Yes, Essua,” he confirmed. “Though the statues melt when exposed to the Dragon’s Fire or spring’s warmth, during winter they refreeze, and I try to visit her when I can.”
Thoughts ran through her head as she wondered why he brought this up now, of all times. “So why do you want me to go with you? Do you think you need extra protection?”
“No, it isn’t that,” he said, with a shake of his head. “I just thought you might want to meet my sister.”
“Who is an ice statue,” Clara stated. “Look, I’m aware that Amber is a serious issue, and I’m going to do my best to get rid of her for you. You don’t need to wave more evidence in my face.”
“I still think you need to come meet her,” he repeated. “I’m not trying to prove anything, and I would have much preferred that you could meet her in flesh and blood. I think the two of you would have liked each other. It’s not far, about a half-day’s journey. If we leave early, we can have lunch with her, and then be back in time for supper. It won’t take that much from your lessons which, may I point out, you don’t really need.”
“Lunch with an ice statue?”
“Well, she won’t be eating with us, granted, but it’s for nostalgia’s sake.”
“You’re going to pester me until I agree, aren’t you?”
“I wouldn’t put it quite like that, but yes.”
“Fine, I’ll go with you. I was starting to get a bit stir crazy anyways.”
Chapter 10
“Are we there yet?” asked Clara, using her most pathetic voice.
“No, not quite yet,” Jakob tossed back over his shoulder.
They had been traveling for hours already, and the whole time, Clara had done her best to make Jakob feel her inconvenience. She wasn’t used to riding horseback for such long hours, after all, and certainly not in this cold. She had been bundled up from head to toe, to be sure, with only her eyes to face the cold unprotected, but still.
“I’m frightfully cold.”
“Yes, so you’ve informed me already. Seriously, Water Princess, I had thought you were more resilient than this.”
“Well, in my world we take journeys in cars or airplanes, and they have heating so we don’t freeze off our noses,” she countered. “I’m cold.”
“How’s this: we’re almost there,” Jakob informed her. “I’m glad we aren’t going to need to make camp this trip.”
“Yeah, that would have been truly horrible, what with the mood I’m in and all that,” Clara agreed. Honestly, this trip to visit an ice statue that had once been a girl didn’t quite make sense to her, and she wasn’t sure why she had consented to it. She had hoped, even expected th
at someone would protest him taking her, but no one did, so here she was, all bundled up, riding a horse, and thoroughly frozen.
At last, Jakob called a halt and announced that they would make the rest of the journey on foot. Everyone dismounted, and, leaving two of the guards with the horses, they continued.
Thankfully, it wasn’t far. Just beyond a turn in the road, they were confronted with a collection of ice statues. It would have been pretty if it weren’t for the expression of pure terror on every face and the fact that they all had swords drawn to fight a long-gone foe.
“It’s terrible,” she observed.
“I know,” Jakob agreed. “Do they watch us through their frozen eyes, aware of their state, or are they oblivious?”
“Where’s your sister?” She wanted to get this over with.
Taking her gloved hand in his, Jakob guided her through the statues. Clara shrunk from their unseeing eyes, aware that every one of them had once been a living human being.
“Here she is,” he announced, stopping in front of the figure of a girl.
Essua’s eyes held no fear as she faced the long-gone enemy she had been fighting. She glared intensely, her sword held ready to meet that of her foe.
“That’s your sister,” said Clara, unsure of what else to say.
“Essua was always a rather unconventional girl,” Jakob explained. “She wasn’t content with a girl’s education and insisted on accompanying me when I learned the various arts of warfare. Father let her. As he said, we lived in dangerous times when you never knew when such a skill might be useful. Alas, it did not save her from Amber’s magic.”
“You brought me here to show me that she used a sword,” Clara realized, fingering the hilt of her own sword. “You’re still trying to get me to admit my skill.”
Jakob didn’t seem to hear her, absorbed as he was looking at his frozen sister.
“I always found it annoying, how she insisted on joining my lessons, half the time showing me up at the skills I should have been the best at. Then, without warning, she was gone. Never thought I would miss her, but I do. She was my sister.”
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