by Laura Abudo
Glory and Mother curtsied sweetly but Coral just stood with her mouth hanging open, staring behind the woman. She let escape a strangled gurgle, startling everyone. Mother looked in the same direction and screamed in horror. Glory staggered and then the woman spun, covering her head instinctually, expecting the worst.
Approaching was King Fredrick carrying Pearl belly-down over one shoulder and a boy of the same age over the other, trailing a boy of approximately fourteen years who looked bored.
“Does this scoundrel belong to you?” He called out to Coral as Pearl’s puffy skirts blew over her backside in the most indecent way.
“Oh, yes, I believe she does,” Coral apologized, lifting Pearl off the King’s shoulder. “I’m sorry if she disturbed you.”
“I was the one who disturbed them!” he laughed. “Let me introduce you to my sons, Tomas and Jimm.”
“Prince Tomas, Prince Jimm,” Mother and the older woman breathed in unison and curtsied deeply. Glory, reviving from her shock, followed their example.
“I hope you are enjoying the gardens. Pearl tells me you have a lovely garden in Wickton,” he said to Mother.
She blushed and nodded, curtsying again. She remembered her manors and stated, “I’d like to introduce Glory Beca Filomen Strenn, Your Majesty.”
Glory curtsied again, perfectly.
“Strenn? Are you relation of Duke Strenn of Brynntown?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. My father is Franc Benn Isha Strenn, brother of Duke Strenn.”
“Ah, then you are kin! This is wonderful news. I look forward to seeing everyone tonight at dinner.”
With a motion of his hand he beckoned Coral to him as he moved a few steps away from the others.
“Yes, Your Majesty?”
“Jimm and Pearl were getting along quite well. Will you permit him to call on her for dinner? She could sit with him. And perhaps I’ll send Tomas for Glory, though I’d say he will be rotten company. He’s been gloomy lately.”
“It’s the age,” she told him. “I remember that age.”
He chuckled his agreement. “May I have your permission as guardian?”
“Of course, Your Majesty.”
“See you tonight, then, Brother Karl,” he said with a bow and to her grimace he laughed. “Lady Marden then if you prefer.”
“Thank you,” she smiled.
Later, Mother told Coral she was going to be thrown into the dungeons if she didn’t show a little more respect and curtsy and say ‘Your Majesty’ every second breath. Coral waved off the warning but inwardly kicked herself for being so informal with King Fredrick and his sons. She hadn’t had the formal training Ruby had had growing up. She had never been expected to be at court or presented as a bride to a nobleman. And now that was exactly who she was going to be.
Before dinner Glory begged Pearl to remember all her manners and appeared so nervous she’d be sick. Jimm came to the door with two guardsmen in tow to escort Pearl to dinner. Pearl and Jimm bowed to each other then exploded in peals of laughter and ran off to the great hall, to Mother’s dismay. Glory’s escort, Tomas, had arrived at the door in a formal jacket looking bored and forced.
When Glory looked back at Coral, not knowing what to do, Coral called out, “Prince Tomas, have you heard the stories of our trip north and how Glory defeated a Sister all on her own?”
“You did?” he asked, sizing her up.
Glory blushed. “Oh, she was awful.”
They walked out together, Tomas fully attentive as Glory kept chattering down the corridor.
Glory and Pearl had been invited to sit with the princes at either side of the King at his table at the head of the room. Mother was appalled that Jimm and Pearl giggled and played with their silverware during dinner. Glory was a perfect lady, who now had the admiration of the prince. He kept turning to her and asking questions or offering her dishes to sample. Coral noted with interest that King Fredrick kept glancing at the pair during dinner, often listening to stories too.
Captain Amias didn’t arrive. He did not attend the dinner; he didn’t send a letter to the King. Coral couldn’t help but look at the door all night. She caught Fredrick’s eye several times and on one occasion he frowned and shook his head. He had not arrived before they left for home a week later, and still hadn’t arrived by the time the King wrote her a letter a week after that. In it he said he was demanding Doran’s appearance or there would be consequences.
She started to worry that something had happened to him. Something was wrong. Kel assured her Amias was probably just busy but she knew from the look on his face at times that he was worried too. He also sent messages that had no response. If they didn’t get word from him within the week, Kel would seek him out he assured Coral.
Chapter 14
Amias
By the time he left Danyc for home, three days after the King had dismissed him, his men had not yet arrived to report. He worried about them, the girls and Karl. Had they met danger that delayed them? Was someone ill with fever? It took all of what he had not to turn west and rush off to meet them to ensure all was well. But he knew if he did that he’d likely meet with her and he was still not ready for that.
Amias wasn’t as angry as he’d been. He reasoned that he’d over-reacted. She had no obligation to him so she was free to be with anyone she wanted. She could have bedded his entire squad and it should mean nothing to him. He had plans to marry another. She would have been a fool to fall for him or expect anything from him. He was a fool for expecting her to.
So he rode east instead of west, hauling with him the best stonemasons, planners, builders, and other tradesmen needed to build his new bride a stunning home. He was going to use the granite found along the coast, a beautiful pale stone with flecks of black, greys and pink. He would build it near the vineyards like the King asked. There was a spot at the crest of a hill overlooking the sea in the distance that would be perfect.
He had to get his mind off of that troublesome woman and onto more practical business like getting to his father and building this new house. He’d go get his bride when he was ready. He again hoped she was homely and less than intelligent. Perhaps the King would give him duties that would take him away more often. He didn’t mind being on the road with his men, unless they meet up with pretty Brothers in distress. And again his mind wandered to Brother Karl and he sighed to himself in disgust as they rode on.
Amias Doran threw his attention and back into building the new house. His planners and builders worked with him to design a grand estate home. Teams of horses were enlisted to haul stone from the shore and they spent months laying the foundations and building the outer walls. He worked right along with everyone else, long hard days of back breaking work cutting and shaping stone. His father oversaw the work with him, unable to help due to his weakened condition, but he stood back watching his son become a man he could admire.
Letters came from the King asking his progress and requesting an estimate on when he expected to be done. Amias kept delaying saying it was not yet suitable for living. The King wouldn’t be put off forever. It was perfectly fine for him to live in his father’s house with his new bride. He just couldn’t bring himself to make the decision to go get her yet.
He started to leave the King’s letters unopened until his father found them and became enraged. One was an invitation to court, the date of which had passed weeks before. In the invitation it mentioned Coral Marden would be there. His father practically disowned him for not attending. The King had probably arranged an engagement party and gift. The next morning an apology had to be sent to the King along with a letter stating Amias would be on his way within the week.
Amias left the construction of the house to the builders he had hired and walked up a steep embankment to a small copse of trees. He stood looking out over the glimmering water of the ocean in the distance. It was a beautiful spot, one where a woman would like to go to read and daydream. He turned around to find it reminded him of the hilltop wh
ere they’d found the well and discovered the gods as they truly were. Inspiration led him to rush back down the hill, pick up a shovel, bark orders at his stone cutters and then return to start digging. He spent hours and hours throwing soil out of the middle of the clearing until he struck stone and couldn’t dig any longer. Satisfied, he returned to his men.
The next morning he hauled shaped granite pieces up the slope to the clearing and started arranging them in a circle around the hole. He built a square arch and lined the hole with stone pieces mortared into place. It would be a quiet secluded spot dedicated to his gods where he could come and think and remember the time he’d spent with the girls and his Marshalls and Brother Karl.
A sadness swept over him as it began to rain and he turned once again to go back to the home he was constructing. In the temporary smithy on the grounds he requested thin metal tubes of different sizes and lengths be made. He asked the glaziers if they had any coloured glass remnants from the pieces they were using for the house’s stained glass windows. Carrying a box of parts, he walked into the half finished master bedroom, lit the fire in the hearth and listened to the pouring rain outside while he constructed the glass and metal chimes that he’d hang among the trees.
It took three full days of pouring rain for the gods to fill Amias’ well and to sanctify the ground and trees around it. It took Amias three days to return and hang his wind chimes in the tree and discover, to his great pleasure, the pool filled with brilliant blue water. His heart quickened.
Amias stepped, barefooted, onto the edge of his pool. He waited and listened to his chimes hanging in the tree nearby. He waited, begging the gods to come to him again. He needed to know he was on the right path. He did what they had asked. He was home, taking care of his father and the estate. He was building the house he and his wife would occupy, constructed his own well so he could communicate with and worship the gods.
He had forsaken his feelings for Karl…
At the thought of her, his world tilted, sliding him forward and to the side into the grey world he now recognized. They stood around him, watching.
“I hoped it would work,” he said, free to move his body and mouth. He remained relaxed.
They nodded in greeting. They stood simply watching him.
“Is there something else you need of me?” he asked. “I feel troubled. Unfinished. But I’ve done what you asked for the girls and my family.”
“That can be disputed,” one of the male gods said, walking forward. “You left the girls behind. You have not followed your heart.”
“My heart is with my family. I must do what is right for them. I am building a grand home for my future bride.”
“And yet you are sad and unfinished. Why?”
“I don’t know,” he mumbled, lying to the gods. He could imagine Karl, the way she looked at him in fear when he was so angry. He had gone over it in his mind dozens of times.
“You have left something behind. You are not true to your heart.”
“That life is over. You told me to come here, to follow my duty to my family.”
“What about your duty to her?”
“What duty to her?” he demanded.
“Things are not always what they seem. You must follow your heart.”
“I am to be married. I have a duty to my wife. In my heart that is the right thing to do.”
“Why have you delayed going to get your bride?”
“I am building a house.”
“You are hiding.”
“I am not!” he replied.
“You must follow your heart to satisfy your obligation to yourself, your father and your King.”
“I would not expect you to ask me to take both women into my life.”
“Go get your bride,” he told him. “Go get your love.”
“I cannot have both,” he mumbled, shaking his down turned head.
The gods looked upon him with pity. “Go get her,” one said as he slid back into the real world of colour and substance.
“Who?” he cried.
Chapter 15
Encounters
Coral decided to take it upon herself to get a response from Amias. Early, just before dawn, she prepared a horse and slipped out to head east. She would hit the crossroads garrison by sundown and they could have her message to him within two to three days. During her ride she composed the letter over and over in her mind. She couldn’t tell him who she really was for fear of spoiling the King’s fun.
She didn’t believe Coral Marden would get a response from him and yet was fearful Brother Karl’s letter may get thrown into the fire without being read. So she composed two letters, one from each woman. She grumbled at herself for continuing to deceive him but didn’t know what else to do.
The outpost welcomed her and arranged for her overnight stay. In the lantern light she wrote and re-wrote her two letters multiple times before being happy with the result. The messenger left with both in the early morning hours with the promise to find her at her father’s home to confirm the delivery had been successful or if there was a response. He was promised extra coin upon his arrival.
It began to rain when she was barely a quarter of the way home. The sky was dark, the cloud cover low and showed no signs of clearing. She wrapped her cloak tighter around herself as the weather steadily got worse. She was soaked through, water running off her head, falling from her nose in annoying drips and there wasn’t any shelter around for ages.
Farther to the west a lone figure, tall and slender walked hunched over in the road with a cloak wrapped around it for protection from the elements. As Coral approached she noted it was a woman in long skirts. Her pace and posture told Coral the woman was exhausted and had probably been walking a long time. She slowly turned to face Coral when she heard the horse on the road behind her.
Coral’s world seemed to go solid. She couldn’t move and that suffocating feeling pushed in on her. The horse stood mid-stride in the road. The woman came next to Coral and looked into her face. With a shove she pushed her off the horse. Coral took that opportunity to go limp and get her body control back as the woman lifted herself up into the saddle.
She prayed hard she could find a way to stop her from stealing the horse. She didn’t know how to use the power the girls had shown. She was never told by the gods what to do. But she knew one thing. She knew what it felt like to be unable to move. So as she reached up to grab the woman’s arm, she thought of that lurching, shifting feeling at the edge of the well and yanked hard on the woman, toppling her off the horse as both of them spun into the grey world of the gods.
Chaotic noise erupted around her as the opaque nine figures yelled at her in fear and anger and surprise.
“Noooo,” one screamed.
“Get it out, now!”
“How did…”
And, “Don’t do…”
The woman dissolved with a shocked look on her face as the grey world once again jolted and turned, throwing Coral back into the road. The horse grazed on wet grass. The strange woman was nowhere to be found. What had she done? Where did the Sister go? How had she done that? Coral sat in the wet grass shaking in fear. She had angered the gods. She sat shivering and crying, praying over and over, “I didn’t mean to, I’m sorry.”
“Look at the poor child,” the goddess with soothing voice said, as they all watched Coral through the stone archway.
“How did she do that?” asked another and got no answer.
“The well chooses what to teach. It blesses each differently.”
“We did not give it that power to bestow,” one said with concern. “Who is she to bring people here?”
“What is she,” the goddess said, “…may be a better question.”
They all watched her through the arch as she stood and unsteadily got back onto the horse, and with a kick she galloped home in the pouring rain. A rain that lasted three entire days.
That night, after Mother and Father, Glory and Pearl, and even Kel raged a
t her for going off on her own, she sat in front of the fire with a blanket around her and hot tea to drink. She was still chilled from the rain and the experience she’d had. Kel entered the library and sat down without saying anything. She hadn’t been herself since she’d arrived and he was worried about her. He lit his pipe and waited for her to talk, if she was going to.
It was a long while before she looked over to him and said, “I met a Sister in the road.”
He leaned forward, his eyes searching her face. “You live. I am thankful.”
She nodded. “But I’ve made a grave mistake. It was an accident.”.
Again he waited while she adjusted her blanket in nervousness. “They don’t know where the girls are, do they?”
She shook as she lifted her mug to her lips. “No,” she breathed. “She tried to steal my horse. She froze me like they do. I got out of it but …I tried to freeze her too but instead I pulled her…”
“Like Glory did? She smashed the Sister against that tree.”
“No. I pulled her into the grey world. Where they are.”
He gasped in shock. “How did…”
“I don’t know,” she cried, tears rolling down her face. “They all yelled at me, they were so angry. The Sister just vanished and I found myself back in the road. I’m so scared.”
He nodded and sat back, sucking on his pipe again. “I should have been with you. I wish you’d have told me you were going.”
“You wouldn’t have let me,” she told him.
“You are right.”
A soft tap at the door brought Pearl in her night dress into the library. She was half asleep. Yawning, she stumbled into Coral’s arms. She wrapped the girl in her blanket as she settled into the warm hug.
“What are you doing up?” Coral asked and kissed her on the forehead.
“I have to tell you something.”
