“You don’t have to transform it. I learned how simple it was to control and utilize my gift. I believe you can do the same.”
“And what if I cannot?”
“Have you ever tried?”
“No. It’s a curse—not something I wanted to cultivate.”
“Turning things to gold is not a curse, Fredrick. It is wonderful—as wonderful as my gift. Just look at what I can accomplish! Now, you’ve seen how this sword amplifies my voice? I think, or I rather hope, my song can carry your gift to the beasts.”
He chewed at his lower lip as he stared back at her, considering. Finally, he tore off his glove. “I’ll try it, but I’m not touching your hand.”
“Very well, just take hold of the hilt already.”
Apprehensively, his fingers stretched out.
The sword sparked, striking his hand He swiftly tore it away. “It is too like the rubies of King Nielsas. It rejects me.”
Hazel rolled her eyes at the weapon as if it was a misbehaving child. She was not giving up so easily. “Try again,” she directed.
He did so but was burned once more.
“Ach!” she growled. “Place your hand over top mine then.”
“Hazel, I’m not taking that chance…”
“I’ll channel it forward before it can change me.” It sounded simple enough, but she really had no idea what she was talking about.
He eyed her, then held out his hand, gently laying it atop hers. For a moment, she felt his gift attempting to work its way into her skin. With her unsteady hum, the sword glowed and she felt the gift flow into and then out of the weapon. Now, she had only to focus it.
Her breath was stolen by how promptly the procedure took effect. Almost instantly, the dragon writhed. It sickened her. She felt cruel. After all, she’d met dragons who had not been cursed by a sorceress. They were astounding. But it was this or the destruction of Bashtii.
As the transformation persisted, the dragon’s flight faltered. With skin so hot, molten drops of gold sprayed upon those below and cries sounded.
“Pull back!” Fredrick roared to his people.
Many recognized the voice of their king and searched for him upon the roof, likely working to understand his part in what occurred. Hazel knew they would never guess and, as the hot drops descended, they swiftly obeyed his command.
At last, the metal solidified and the beast plunged, landing with an earth-shattering crash as the Deep Southerners scrambled for safety.
Hazel and Fredrick released the sword and drooped to catch their breath. Everyone in the streets and courtyard seemed to follow suit as silence overwhelmed the district. All were in shock of what had just occurred. It was not an occasion witnessed in every lifetime, that was certain… even if it wasn’t a moving castle.
At the sound of a horn, Hazel crawled to peek over the wall. Rakutan had pulled the remaining dragons from the battle. Apparently, they were more valuable to him alive than as statues. She breathed hard as she watched him speaking with his generals. Was it enough to make him turn tail and run, as he had in Kierelia?
Seeming to read her mind, he peered straight up into her eyes. Then, he pointed behind him. Maera emerged from the shadows. So, she would keep her word to aid the Deep Southerners. Infuriatingly, Hazel shook with fear. As before, there was something about the sorceress that got under her skin. This woman considered herself Hazel’s personal enemy, but Hazel could not imagine why. Maera had called her a prophet… Was it that she hated prophets?
“It is me she loathes,” the wind whispered.
Hazel looked about her as if she could see the Entity’s spirit. Why should Maera hate the Entity? What could she have against him? He was wonderful.
“I chased after her the whole of her life, but she, knowing all, made her choice. She has gone after my people again and again. I have been driven to scorn her. Yet, if she turned to me even now, I would rescue her. But she will not.”
Hazel nodded. It made sense. Still, she had to wonder what precisely Maera had done to cause this wonderful spirit to scorn her.
More to the point, Maera hated H.S. It was Hazel’s understanding that prophets heard from the Entity. That had to be why Hazel was her inevitable adversary.
Instantaneously, Maera appeared over Hazel’s shoulder. The singer yelped and scrambled to her feet, causing Fredrick to leap to her defense. Standing between the ladies, he pointed his sword to the newcomer.
“Who is this, Hazel?” he asked.
“This is the Sorceress Maera from the vicinity of the southern tribes,” Hazel replied darkly.
“My beautiful fellow,” Maera cooed, “I would like to offer my friendship to your flourishing kingdom. I can protect your people from all that mayhem below.”
The scent of roses overwhelmed the rooftop. Maera looked at him the way she had Dorian and Armond. Hazel’s stomach turned as she feared the worst. Would he be drawn in as they had been?
“We don’t need you,” he spat. “We’ve got Hazel.”
Hazel’s brows shot up.
“But she has saved you from nothing, my boy,” Maera countered. “There is still a whole army below, ready to storm Illuminas Palace as soon as I have completed my business here.”
“And what business is that?” he questioned.
“Hazel will come with me. She has much to learn if she is to become all she might.”
Hazel stepped forward. “There is nothing I wish to learn from you, witch!”
“My dear girl, you have got this all wrong. You think these people will ever love you for the gift you possess? Indeed, I believe you have experienced otherwise. If you come with me, I will introduce you to powerful people like you. You will finally be accepted, even admired, for all you are.”
Fredrick shook his head. “You don’t know her at all if you think she’ll fall for that.”
Maera stepped back as Fredrick approached. Hazel looked between them. Was the sorceress afraid of him?
“She fears anyone she cannot control,” H.S. whispered into her ear.
Hazel made ready to urge Fredrick onward when Maera lunged for her. But in another moment, the sorceress cried out. Instantly, she disappeared from them. Hazel looked about for Fredrick and discovered he lay sprawled against a far wall.
She fell to her knees beside him. “Fredrick!” she shouted, experiencing flashbacks of the horrible scene when he’d been so near death. “Are you all right? What has she done to you?”
Chuckling, he sat up and accepted the hand that pulled him to his feet. “I’m all right, Lady Fortune. She merely pushed me when I attempted to transform her into a golden effigy.
“Aaah!” That was why she’d retreated so suddenly. Hazel had to admit she’d flee as well if it came to it. As it was, Fredrick was holding her hand and she remained flesh.
“Fredrick.”
“What is it?”
She pointed to his hand in hers.
“There’s no law against wooing a woman in the midst of a war, is there?” he asked with a grin.
She shook her head. “I’m not gold.”
His brows shot up and he attempted to pull his hand away, but she held him there. “You’re gaining control over it. Probably been developing it your whole life.”
Cheers sounded from below and the two scrambled to the edge.
“I can’t believe it,” Fredrick whispered.
“They’re pulling out,” Hazel croaked with relief.
“I really had nothing left. That whole turning a dragon to gold thing was taxing. I don’t know how you do what you do.”
“Do we go after them?”
He waved a weary hand. “Let them leave. I just want my people safe.”
A roaring chant rang out below. Hazel couldn’t make out what they said and looked to Fredrick questioningly.
“They are shouting your name,” he said with light in his eyes.
She shook her head. “That sounds nothing like my name.”
He laughed. “My p
eople call you Fortune. That is what they’re cheering.
Feeling self-conscious, she ducked behind the wall.
With a chuckle, he crouched beside her and stroked the hair from her face. “You are an exceptional human being, Lady Fortune.”
Hazel swallowed and knew not what to say as she searched his face. She recalled how she’d felt when he’d been so near death. She’d known then she would let him in, yet when he was before her being all… him, it was much more difficult. In the end, she realized it was not her guardedness that kept him out so much as her discomfort in the fact that, well, she really quite liked him.
Suddenly, she took in what he’d meant, what the people were thinking, and swatted his hand away. “Oh, for pity’s sake! Without the profound favor of the Great Entity these last few days, we’d all be Deep Southerners by now.”
“So, your part counts for nothing then?” he asked with a raised brow.
She considered. Then, with a wink, she answered, “I was his gift to you people.”
* * *
Hazel raced to the door of her chambers. Throwing it open, she threw her arms about Dorian. “It certainly took you long enough to get here!”
“Well, it took some doing to get this lady out of her suite, let alone the castle.”
He stepped aside to reveal Dianna, heavily veiled and cloaked. In fact, Hazel would never have known the woman had she not summoned her to Bashtii herself.
Silently, Dianna stepped into Hazel’s chambers. “This had better be worth it,” she said quietly, as if at any moment someone might discover who she was and rip off her concealments.
Hazel merely smiled at Dorian.
Turning back to Dianna, she said, “Remove the head covers, please.”
Dianna’s gaze dropped to the floor. “Hazel, I don’t understand what you think you can do for me, but I’d really rather not.”
Hazel looked to Dorian again. “You saw her just after the dragon attack, correct?” she asked of him. “She was as bald then as she is now?”
He stepped up to the ladies and nodded, looking to Dianna reassuringly.
Dianna huffed. “Very well. I hope you two get some enjoyment out of this.” Dropping the cloak and veils away, a shiny head was revealed. Just as Hazel had conjectured, she was a beautiful woman even without hair. Even so, she believed she had the means to reconcile Dianna’s insecurity.
“Do you think you can bear to hear me sing?” Hazel asked with a smirk.
Dianna’s eyes grew wide and she sank into the nearest chair. “By all means, if that is all you summoned me here for, I suppose I may as well endure it. I don’t suppose you plan to strike me down with your lightning bolts, do you?”
Hazel laughed perhaps too jovially. “Not today.” Taking a breath, she sang out. No lyrics, just a melody. She focused on what she wanted. When her song was complete, she directed Dianna to gaze into the mirror on the wall behind her.
With the narrowing of Dianna’s eyes, the slightest glimmer of hope betrayed her as she stood. Turning as directed, stillness followed. With a sob, she crumbled to the floor, giving way to unconsciousness.
Hazel chuckled. “Did that girl just faint?”
Smilingly, Dorian went to the lady on the floor. He did not seem to relish the joke. “To her, this means freedom. We all began our new lives the day the castle was completed. But she’s been trapped in the realm of those dragon attacks as long as she’s been confined to her rooms.”
Hazel drew near to where he held Dianna’s head in his lap, eyeing him curiously. “Yes, but she imprisoned herself.”
He shrugged. “A prison is still a prison.”
She raised a brow. “So, did you fall for her before or after I asked you to set her up with Armond?”
His eyes darted to her. “How did you find out?”
“Find out what?”
“W-well, she made me promise not to tell anyone.” Though, he dearly looked as if he would like to speak.
She folded her arms. “You had better not then.”
He pressed his lips together, then patted Dianna’s cheek as if to make certain she was yet unconscious. “We’re…”
“Oh, for heavens,” Hazel interrupted, “don’t you dare tell me you’ve gone and engaged yourself to Dianna of all people!”
He grinned up at her like a small boy.
“Dorian, this is Dianna we’re talking about. Couldn’t you at least fall for Stacia?”
“There’s more to Dianna than you’d think.”
Hazel merely laughed. “I certainly hope so. In any event, I cannot blame her for loving you. And I hope the two of you will be happy.”
“It’s your fault, you know. I tried to do as you requested. I dropped the hints to Armond, but she refused to see him. So… I had to visit her in an attempt to follow through on my mission. After a while, things… shifted.”
“I told you…” Dianna grumbled quietly from the floor, “not to tell anyone.”
Dorian patted her shoulder. “It’s all right. Now your hair’s back we can be openly married instead of living in that dark cabin in the woods we talked about.”
Dianna actually smiled docilely and let him help her to her feet before peering into the mirror again.
Drawing up behind her, Dorian said, “I don’t suppose you’ll want Armond after all, now you’ve got it back?”
Her eyes grew wide and she spun to throw her arms about his neck. “You’d better be joking, my darling criminal.”
Hazel snorted but neither seemed to notice. And as the two remained fixated on one another, she went to the door to call for the nearest servant to have them shown about the palace.
Not long after, another knock sounded at her door. As she was engaged in a riveting tale about the birth of the Bashtiian empire, she huffed and shouted, “Who is it?”
“Is my lady busy, then?” Fredrick called in mock offense.
With an unconscious grin, she raced for the door and invited him in. “Where have you been?”
“None of your business,” he said, leading her to sit with him before the windows.
“Oh, so we’re keeping secrets now, are we? What about breaking our walls down and getting to know one another?”
He merely smiled. “I heard you restored a woman’s hair today.”
“I did.”
“Is there anything you can’t do with that voice?”
“That is a good question.”
He took her hand and began fidgeting with her fingers. “Well, this gift makes you rather formidable, doesn’t it?”
“Oh, indeed.”
“That could certainly come in handy for a queen.”
She raised a brow. “…Too bad I’m no queen.”
“But you could be...” He held up her left hand to reveal the ruby circlet he’d slipped onto her finger. “Would you?”
She looked up to find his eyes on hers. “Would I…?”
“Technically, you would become my wife.”
She bit her lip to suppress a grin. “Your people really got to you, didn’t they?” Hopeful rumors of their engagement had been circling since the day of the battle.
He shook his head. “I had this ring made the day after the Bashtiian ball.”
“You… what? You’ve wanted to marry me since—”
“Clearly, the notion hadn’t occurred to you,” he said with a laugh. “But I can overlook that if you will claim affection for me and agree to marry me.”
35
It was Fredrick's fault. He had insisted she sing for the ceremony. She'd tried every which way to excuse herself from the request, but in the face of those pleading, golden eyes and deep dimples, she'd acquiesced. Had he suspected what might happen?
She was overcome with emotion as Dorian walked her down the aisle. After all, Fredrick awaited her at the other end and he was... genuinely lovely. Never upon meeting him that initial evening had she suspected how deeply fortunate his future wife would be. After all, she'd thought him a pig looking t
o purchase a Kierelian bride. Now, she had willingly become that bride. His toothy, irrepressible smile upon seeing her in her gold gown made her gasp with pleasure. He was a rather beautiful man. Moreover, he knew everything about her and loved her more for it.
When it came time for her to sing her love ballad to him—one she'd written herself—she ought to have known it would be too much for her. Reaching into the rafters with her efficient soprano, Fredrick—along with everyone in attendance—raced to the rafters with it. She nearly dropped them in her dismay. With a humiliated smirk, she gently returned them to solid ground.
Astonishingly, the room erupted with applause as she swiftly concluded the song. Fredrick was bent over with hands on his knees—actually laughing. When he finally looked up at her admonishing eyes, his own were full of tears. Somehow, they were not merely of laughter but of wonderful emotion: bliss. He strode toward her with intent, took her hands into his own bare ones and urged the priest to complete the ceremony.
Afterward, he turned to the attendees with, “Well, we've done it, everyone! We've filched the Lady Fortune from the Kierelians! Long live Queen Hazel of Bashtii!”
AFTERWORD
Hazel awoke to the song of rubies. Looking to her sword in its sheath on the table beside her, she listened on. Her gaze turned to the starry scene outside her windows. This was the song of the Cave of Nielsas. Tossing off her coverlet, she swiftly changed and ended by strapping the crimson blade about her waist.
To her surprise, she had no trouble getting up a horse from the stable lad. She was queen of Bashtii—had been for many months. Even so, she’d not realized she could spirit off in the middle of the night without question. Then again, she supposed it was not the lad’s place to do so.
“Can you keep a secret?” she asked.
He nodded eagerly, if timidly.
“I’m off to meet with the Great Entity. Do you know him?”
He shook his head.
“Try The Book of Ancient Law and the Entity’s Remedy. You’ll find it in the library. I am certain he would wish to meet you if you seek him with your whole heart.” With that, she leaped upon the horse and started onward.
Entering the cavern, she found her torch was unnecessary. The ruby walls glowed in welcome as their song resounded. Drawing before the hand-stones, she stared down at them a moment, stealing her breath for where they would send her.
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