The Fifth Queen

by Ali House

  Kit took the paper and skimmed the article. “Why would anyone want that? What purpose would that possibly serve?”

  “It’s because of you,” Frederick said bluntly. “The writer argues that if this system had been in place decades ago, we would have known who you were and what you could do, and then the Second Invasion would never have happened, because you’d have been safely on our side.”

  Kit lowered the paper. “But Erikson had been preparing for an invasion for... forever. I was just…” she trailed off, unsure how to continue that sentence.

  Frederick shrugged. “You have to admit that the writer has a point. If we had known about you, we would have been able to intimidate Erikson into backing off.”

  “But you don’t know that for sure. It might have put a giant target on my head. Erikson might have killed me and then invaded. There’s no guarantee that it would have stopped him.”

  “I know, but you have to remember that we didn’t tell the public everything that happened during the Second Invasion. Some people have formed their own opinions from the facts that were released, and some of those have been slightly misguided.” She took a sip of tea. “And it’s not like we’re actually planning on implementing this kind of thing. It would be much too difficult to regulate.”

  “So why is the paper printing this kind of thing?” Kit found herself growing annoyed at the piece and whoever it was that had written it. It was a terrible thing to think – forcing people to out themselves as Elementals. She hated to think of what it would be like to live on Briton if this was ever enforced.

  “We won’t suppress anyone’s ideas, as long as they don’t incite hate.”

  “But the idea of registration–”

  “Kit,” Frederick interrupted, “it’s not really about registration. It’s about you. The point of the piece isn’t about the danger of Elementals, it’s about the danger of the Six-Elemental existing without anyone’s knowledge. It’s about that power being put into the hands of someone who could abuse it.” She took another drink. “Honestly, it’s an old argument at this stage. I’m not sure why it’s being brought up again, other than the fact that some people have nothing original to talk about.”

  “So, if it’s an old argument, why are you telling me about it?”

  “Because it’s about you. You should keep up on that kind of thing, so that if anyone ever mentions it to you, you’ll know what they’re talking about, and be able to defend yourself.”

  “Defend myself? Do you think it’ll come to that?”

  Frederick shrugged again. “Let’s hope not.”

  Ϟ

  The meeting didn’t last very long after that. It had fallen into the usual format after the strange beginning, with Frederick reminding Kit that there was still a place for her within the ISS. There was a new angle to the question this time, with an allusion to the fact that if Kit worked for them, they’d be able to handle any controversy around her, such as the opinion piece. As wonderful as it would be to not have to defend herself, she didn’t like that the ISS was resorting to bribery.

  On her way into her apartment, she checked the mail, finding another letter from W. Eon-Sun. Shoving the letter into her pocket, she sighed. The logical part of her brain told her to throw it straight into the garbage, but the part of her that was annoyed by the mystery of it all was hoping that this letter would finally be the one that explained what the point of all this was.

  Vaughn was in the living room, cleaning his camera, when she entered.

  “How’d it go?” he asked, putting the camera down.

  She leaned in the doorway. “Well, they asked me to join them again, as usual, so they’re staying consistent.” Then she recounted the information about the opinion piece. She didn’t bother mentioning the offer from the ISS to handle the media because she didn’t want him thinking that she should take it.

  “Oh, yeah. I read that piece this morning,” he said.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Because it’s nothing that you haven’t heard before. And the ISS wouldn’t let that kind of thing happen – it’d be a total invasion of privacy.”

  Kit thought back to when Vaughn first told her about his dishonourable discharge from the Cambrian Forces, and how it had been because he didn’t want to tell anyone that he’d Accepted his element. If he had, the Forces would have made him sign up for elemental training, and he’d wanted to go into weapons training instead. The deception had worked for a while, but eventually he was found out. He’d taken a dishonourable discharge instead of staying and adhering to their rules. It was one of the things they had in common – they’d both lied about their elements.

  She slumped on the couch next to him. “Frederick wants me to start reading the opinion pages so that I can be prepared if anyone brings it up.”

  “Why would anyone bring it up?”

  She shrugged. “Apparently I’m back to being a hot topic. I wouldn’t be surprised if reporters started calling again, asking my opinion on everything.”

  “Well, hopefully someone else will write into the papers, rebutting the opinion.”

  A laugh escaped her lips. “That would be pretty great. A bunch of people fighting through the opinion page, talking about something that they have no control over.”

  “Everyone needs some kind of hobby.”

  She sighed and stood up. “I need to change into more comfortable pants.”

  While she was changing out of her meeting clothes, she remembered the letter in her pocket. Before opening the envelope, she tried to guess what the paper might say this time. If it wasn’t some kind of explanation, then it would probably be something stupid about not trusting herself or about the entire world being a lie. Maybe it would be a repeat of something she’d received before. There were only so many dumb ways a person could write about truth and lies.

  When she opened the paper and read the words, her eyes widened and her breath caught in her throat. She looked around the room to make sure that she was alone, even though she knew that no one else was in there. As she looked at the letter again her mind raced back to the memory of a dark room and a tall person with white hair and white eyes. She was so tired, but the person wouldn’t stop asking her the same question over and over – the same question written on the paper in front of her.

  Where did you grow up?

  Kit felt ill. Back when she was being held by Tecken soldiers, they’d tried to convince her that she’d grown up on Tecken and that her life on Briton and Stanton was a lie. They had asked her that very question over and over, waiting for her to give the answer they wanted. Whenever she said Briton, Wes, the person in charge of her reassignment, would explain why she was wrong and ask the question again. Kit had no idea how long she’d spent in that room, but it felt like years. She’d been so exhausted and confused, and eventually she didn’t know what was real and what was fake.

  That one sentence brought everything rushing back so fast that she had to sit down. All she could see was the image of Wes and her black and white tie with the swirls that seemed to move on their own. Kit quickly repeated the truth to herself – that she was born on Briton and lived in Stanton – and tried to force the memory away.

  The person who wrote that letter had to know what that question meant, otherwise, why would they spend days building up to it with questions of not knowing what was real? It had to be some kind of game, but what was the purpose? What were they hoping to achieve? Kit took a careful look at the envelope, hoping that maybe she’d be able to find some kind of clue. The name still didn’t ring any bells, but she noticed that the initials spelled out WES. Was it a coincidence or was Wes back, playing with her brain from a distance? Kit had told the ISS about the brainwashing, but they had been unable to find Wes anywhere on Tecken. Not only was she nowhere to be found, but there were no records of her ever existing. The ISS thought that Kit had hallucinated this person while under duress, but Kit knew that she was real.

  Was Wes out th
ere, somewhere, watching her? Seeking revenge for Kit breaking the reassignment and betraying Tecken? Was it possible that she had gone into hiding after the war, waiting for the right moment to resurface? But if that were the case, why now?

  Kit took in a deep breath and tried to chase the questions away with her mantra. She was in her apartment on Stanton, she was surrounded by friends, and she knew who she truly was. She wouldn’t let this get to her. She knew what the truth was.

  Ϟ

  That night Kit dreamed that she was trapped in a dark room. There were no doors or windows, or any way for her to escape. There was some kind of light in the room, but she didn’t know where it was coming from. It was just enough for her to make out the walls and herself, but nothing else. Suddenly the walls started to move, twisting themselves into spiral patterns that spun on their own accord. She tried to shut her eyes, but the spirals were still there, imprinted on the back of her eyelids.

  Suddenly she heard Wes’ voice calling her name, but when she opened her eyes there was no one else in the room.

  Where did you grow up? Wes’ voice asked, repeating the question over and over, growing louder each time until it was deafening.

  When she finally woke up it felt like her ears were ringing. The room was dark and there was a moment of panic as she wondered if she was still inside the dream, but then she realized that the sun hadn’t risen yet. This was her bedroom on Stanton, and she was safe. Vaughn was sleeping beside her, so at least she hadn’t woken him up.

  She sighed but didn’t bother lying down again. There was no way she’d get back to sleep now, not after that dream. It was her own fault. She never should have opened the envelope – her stupid curiosity was going to be the death of her. At least now she knew why these letters were being sent to her, and she could ignore any more that arrived.

  Her mind calmed and eventually she drifted off to sleep again, but her dreams were haunted by images of black and white spirals and questions about her past.

  Ϟ

  Although Kit had managed to convince herself that she was done with all this letter nonsense, when she got home from work that day and saw another envelope waiting for her, she couldn’t bring herself to leave it alone. She wanted to crumple it up and shove it in the garbage, but something was stopping her. What if there was more to it than she thought? What if there was a reason that this was happening now? Something that she couldn’t see yet?

  Ignoring the part of her that called her an idiot and a traitor, she ripped open the envelope and took out the letter. It read: I need you to realize what’s real and what’s not. This line helped confirm Kit’s suspicions that Wes was behind it all, as this was another phrase that had been said many times during the reassignment.

  Looking down at the letter, Kit heard the previous words echo in her mind. Where did you grow up? Was it possible that Wes was hoping that these letters would trigger something inside of her and make her think that she was with Tecken again? Was Wes trying to brainwash her through the mail? That couldn’t be possible. A person couldn’t be brainwashed by letters. Could they?

  A cold shiver went up her spine.

  Chapter 18

  The envelopes didn’t stop, but Kit could no longer bring herself to open them. She wanted to throw them away, but every time she stood over the garbage can she couldn’t do it. What if they weren’t garbage? What if they were important? What if they held a terrible secret that might come in handy some time in the future? Instead she hid them in her sock drawer with the other letters, tucking them all under a pile of socks in the back so that she wouldn’t have to look at them. She was hoping that they’d be ‘out of sight, out of mind’, but whenever her gaze fell on the drawer, she could hear the letters calling out to her.

  The smartest thing to do would be to tell Vaughn about the letters and have him throw out any more envelopes that arrived, but she couldn’t do that. It was stupid that she’d let herself be so affected by words, and he’d probably be upset that she’d let it go on for so long. Maybe she could lie and say that they were from a Follower of Six, but he probably wouldn’t understand why she was so wary of them. No, the best thing to do would be to continue hiding them away and hope that she never became curious enough to open them.

  It managed to work until the next Sunday, when she noticed that the envelope was heavier than usual. The previous envelopes had been small, containing one sheet and one sentence, but this envelope definitely had more than one sheet of paper within. Although she knew that she should hide it away with the others, curiosity began to overwhelm her.

  “Are you all right?” Vaughn asked her at supper. “You seem nervous.”

  “I’m fine,” she said, smiling. She hoped that the smile looked natural and not forced.

  “I could forgo my plans and stay home, if you’d like. It’s supposed to be just as clear tomorrow night.”

  She shook her head. “It’s just those stupid opinion pages that Frederick has me reading. I keep thinking that I see personal attacks in everything.”

  “Well, if they make you feel that way, maybe you should stop reading them.”

  It sounded so simple when he said it. And so relevant to what was actually going on.

  “I’ll get over it,” she said. “Don’t worry. You go out and take your fantastic photos, and I’ll try not to let that kind of stuff bother me.”

  Her smile came easier this time, but she could see that he was still concerned.

  “You know that you can talk to me about anything,” he said. “Right?”

  Her smile faltered. “I know, Vaughn.”

  He nodded to himself and finished eating. Kit tried to eat, but the conversation had ruined her appetite. She should tell Vaughn what was going on, but the words stuck in her throat.

  After he left, she sat in their bedroom, looking at the envelope. She made a bargain with herself – if she opened this envelope, then she would tell Vaughn about everything that had been sent to her. However, if she put the envelope with the others and didn’t look at it, then she could keep her secret, because there would be nothing to say.

  Taking a deep breath, Kit opened the envelope.

  The paper inside was yellowed with age, folded to fit inside the envelope. When she unfolded the stack of pages, she saw that the top paper was white and had one line typed on it: It’s time for you to learn the truth.

  A shiver went up her spine and she was struck with the feeling that she should put the pages away, that she had gone down this stupid path long enough, but for some reason she couldn’t stop. Putting that page to the side, she looked at the yellowed pages underneath. There were five of them. Kit took a deep breath and started to read.

  Report 4249. Sources have confirmed that the Council is behind the kidnapping of the Six-Elemental, A.K.A Katherine Tyler. They have moved her to Stanton for reassignment, but the location of their base is currently unknown. Our agents are trying to find the base and bring her back, but no results so far.

  This event happened mere weeks after Tyler’s twenty-first birthday, when she was revealed to be the Six-Elemental. Suspected Council spies have been detained, but we have yet to uncover the traitor behind this or learn how Tyler was removed from the island without our knowledge.

  The search will continue.

  End report.

  She turned to the next page.

  Report 4328. Sources have confirmed that the Six-Elemental is on Stanton. We are too late - she has been brainwashed into thinking that she is on the Council’s side. In order to keep a close eye on her, she has been hired as part of a ‘Civilian Team’ for the ISS and surrounded by ISS employees.

  Nathan Roane has made contact with Tyler and confirmed that she did not remember him. She appears to be completely on the Council’s side, although her Tecken beliefs have not been buried too deeply. We have assigned Roane to make further contact with her, as he is our best chance at bringing her back.

  End report.

  Her hand was shaking as she
turned to the next page.

  Report 4339. The rescue mission to bring Tyler back from the ISS was successful. She had to be taken by force as she was still deep under the Council’s control, but we are confident that our operatives will be able to bring her mind back to us.

  See attached report for more details.

  She quickly moved to the next page, which was a medical report about her state of mind. It detailed how she couldn’t remember anything about being born and raised on Tecken, and how she was absolutely convinced that she had been born on Briton.

  Her breath caught in her throat. It was fake – it had to be. But why would someone write something like this? The pages could have been manipulated to look aged, but why would someone go to so much effort? Why try to trick her with such a blatant lie?

  Hesitantly, she turned to the last page.

  Report 4344. Tyler’s mind has proved tougher than initially anticipated. Even Wes has admitted that this will be a harder job than she would like. We do not know what method the Council has used for their reassignment, but it has effectively erased Tyler’s memory. Trying to call her real memories back will take much longer than originally thought, and that is if we are able to bring them back at all. Our only option at this point is to try to overwrite her current conditioning. There are no guarantees that this method will work, and many have raised their concerns that it may fail and she may turn against us, but we have no other choice. Hopefully being around all of her friends and colleagues will be enough to bring the truth back to her, and Tyler will be on our side, where she belongs.

  End report.

  The page fell from her hands, fluttering onto the floor. She couldn’t believe what she’d read. This was too much. There was no way that anyone in their right mind could possibly think that she’d believe it was real.