The guard on duty greeted them with a bow. “Your Majesty,” he said, directing his words to Rose. This was going to take some getting used to. Unless Rose outlawed the bow as well as the curtsy.
“We’re releasing all the prisoners,” said Rose. “Please open all their doors immediately.”
The guard snapped to his full height once again, his eyes filling with fear.
“You’re afraid they’ll turn on you?” asked Aurelia.
The guard nodded. “My position at the palace hasn’t been one of compassion, I’m afraid.”
“Then return home to your family,” said Rose. “We’ll give you a few minutes as a head start. Tell the other guards.”
The guard shuffled his feet.
“Your keys please,” said Rose, stretching out her hand. “Quickly now.”
The guard threw his keys at their feet and ran.
“Bloody women,” he could be heard muttering under his breath, as he disappeared from sight.
Aurelia stifled a laugh. “I think the men in Forte Cadence have a little bit to get used to, don’t you think.”
“Not all of them,” said Jeremiah, with an exaggerated look of offense on his face.
Aurelia laughed gently.
“It’s true,” Micah said to Aurelia. “My brother is the most honorable man you’ll ever meet. I want you to know that.”
“Of course.” Aurelia nodded. It took a good man for his sister to speak up for him like this. It seemed her daughter had chosen well.
Rose stooped to pick up the keys. “Are you ready for this?” she asked them.
They all nodded.
“My people,” said Rose, projecting her voice so it echoed off the stone walls of the dungeon. “King Virtus is dead.”
“Good riddance!” one voice called.
“May he rot in hell!” called another.
Aurelia was surprised. She’d never heard the prisoners so vocal before.
“My name is Rose and I am your Queen,” she continued. “I’m also your friend. I believe that respect goes both ways and I’m sorry for the way you’ve been treated. Some of you may be guilty of crimes worthy of punishment, but I believe you’ve already been punished. Others here are innocent. I have therefore decided to release you all. Every one of you will be free in just a moment. However, before I turn the key in your locks, I need you to do something for me.”
“Anything!”
“Thank you, my Queen!”
“Please, let us go free!”
The voices of the prisoners were desperate yet filled with hope. This was a moment that surely they’d never forget.
Rose cleared her throat and Aurelia wondered what her one request would be. “I’d like you to leave in peace. Just as I’d like you to live the rest of your days in peace. If you have families to return to, then please go home to them. If you have nowhere to go, then I’ll find you work in the palace. Work where you’ll be treated with respect, fed, paid and given a warm bed to sleep in. Never again will you go hungry. Never again will you be kept hidden from the light. Do you understand?”
“Yes, my Queen!”
“Thank you, Your Grace!”
“God save the Queen!”
Rose looked at Jeremiah, as if needing his strength to continue. He smiled and nodded at her.
“Forte Cadence has been built with lies,” Rose said. “Murder and evil have ruled this kingdom, but it will thrive on freedom, trust and respect. I apologize to each and every one of you for the crimes that were committed against you. If you do right by me, from this point on, then I will always do right by you.”
Aurelia felt ashamed for having doubted her daughter. She was ready for this job. Far more ready than Aurelia had realized. She wasn’t just going to be a good Queen. She was going to be a great one.
Rose went to each cell and turned the key in the lock.
“I’m sorry,” she said, opening the door and bowing her head. “Go in peace.”
Some prisoners scurried past before she changed her mind. Others took their time saying thank you and bowing before the woman who had their total love and respect.
They reached the cell of a woman with a birthmark on her face. Aurelia recognized her as the server from the royal dining hall.
“There she is,” Micah said to Jeremiah.
He nodded.
Rose handed the key to Jeremiah and he put it in the lock.
“I’m sorry,” he said to the prisoner. “Please, go home and find Samson.”
“Don’t be sorry,” the prisoner said, clutching at Jeremiah’s hand. “I’m sorry.”
Micah stepped forward and the prisoner let go of Jeremiah to reach for her.
“Thank you for offering to take my place,” she said.
“I hope your son is well,” said Micah. “You’re a good mother.”
“May God forgive me,” the woman said.
Aurelia wasn’t sure what had taken place between them, but something powerful had obviously occurred. It made her wonder if instead of waiting for the bad to turn to good, she should’ve done more. Except Gabrielle had been clear with her. She’d needed to wait.
It was a surprise to see that the prisoner in the next cell was the other server from the royal dining hall. The male one. What on earth had happened while she’d been busy giving birth? Rose had a lot to fill her in on.
She watched her daughter turn the key in the lock and the prisoner stepped forward.
“I’m sorry it took so long,” said Rose. “Please forgive me.”
He knelt at her feet and looked up at her.
“My Queen,” he said. “I was right to place my trust in you.”
“You’ll be rewarded for your part in our victory,” she said, putting out her hand and urging him to his feet.
“Thank you, my Queen.”
He took the hand of the Whisperer with the birthmark who was still standing in front of her cell.
“I’ve worked beside you for a year now,” he said to her. “And I don’t know your name.”
“Jane,” she said, shaking his hand.
“Dorian.” He smiled at her, then looked toward Jeremiah and Micah, who approached and told them their names and shook their hands.
“Would you walk with them?” Rose asked. “I’d like to unlock this last cell with my mother alone, if you don’t mind.”
“Of course,” said Jeremiah immediately.
Aurelia liked the way he was so quickly prepared to bend to Rose’s wishes, trusting that she had her reasons for asking, without even knowing what they were.
Together, the four former Whisperers walked out of the dungeon. Four people who’d been stripped of their names but not of their will to survive. With their names and their freedom firmly back in place, they looked as if they’d grown two feet taller. Dignity was so important in life.
Aurelia tried to stop the feeling of shame washing over her. Had she been responsible for this? Sitting at the dining table each night, being served by two people who didn’t even know each other’s names. But she hadn’t had a choice. To speak up would have only made things worse—for her and them. Gabrielle had been right. They’d needed to wait. Wait for her incredible daughter to grow old enough to turn the bad to good.
With the last of the prisoners released, there remained only one more cell. The cell at the end of the row. The cell without bars. The one that held the last prisoner to set free. This was the cell that held an angel who was perhaps the most important prisoner of all, for she’d been the one who’d saved them. If it weren’t for her visions, none of this would have happened. The King would still be alive with his army of soldiers, and they’d all be trapped in his evil game, suffering and starving in their homes and watching their loved ones perish.
Rose handed the key to Aurelia. “This one’s for you,” she said.
Aurelia put the key in the lock and turned it, keen to see her friend, to tell her that they’d done it. All that waiting hadn’t been for nothing. Gabrielle’s s
uffering was over. It was time for her to be set free.
Only Gabrielle wasn’t lying on her mattress like she normally was. Aurelia’s heart sank. Was she too late? Had Gabrielle waited all this time, yet was unable to wait long enough?
“Gabrielle,” Aurelia gasped, tears blinding her, as she scanned the darkness of the cell.
It couldn’t be true. Her friend just couldn’t be dead.
“Aurelia,” came a voice from the darkness, as Gabrielle stepped toward Aurelia with arms outstretched. The cloud in her eyes had cleared, like a storm had passed, and she looked directly at Aurelia in a way she hadn’t done since she’d come to the palace.
“The good is here,” she said to Aurelia. “I told you the good would replace the bad.”
“The good is here,” repeated Aurelia, taking her friend in her arms and holding her close. She was so frail, surely she couldn’t have lasted much longer. “I couldn’t see you at first. I was afraid that…”
“I made it,” said Gabrielle. “I made it.”
“You made everything,” said Aurelia, releasing her from her embrace, and wiping her eyes. “You made everything so much better.”
Gabrielle shook her head. “Your daughter made it. And her friends here. And all the Whisperers together. And you. And me. We all made it. Together.”
“Together,” said Rose from the doorway. “Thank you, Gabrielle.”
“You’ll be the greatest ruler any land has ever seen,” said Gabrielle, reaching out for Rose. “For you will rule with kindness and peace in your heart. The universe has heard us.”
Rose took Gabrielle’s hands in her own. “Will you sit by my side as an advisor?”
Aurelia smiled as she waited for Gabrielle’s answer. Her husband had locked Gabrielle in a dungeon, afraid of her power. Her daughter wanted Gabrielle by her side, so she could make use of her gift.
“Of course, Your Grace,” said Gabrielle. “But first could I trouble you for a hot meal and an even hotter bath?”
“Which would you like first?” Rose asked, laughing.
“Why not both at once?” Gabrielle winked. “I’ve waited a long time for today.”
“I think we can arrange that,” said Aurelia. “Let’s get you out of here.”
Aurelia wrapped one arm around Gabrielle and the other around her daughter, the other angel in her life.
And she knew for sure that not only was this the happiest day of her life, it was likely to be the happiest day of many, many other people’s lives too.
MICAH
THE NOW
Micah stretched out on the soft grass and looked up at the sky. She’d forgotten how blue it was. And the air was so fresh.
She was with several other Whisperers, including Jeremiah, having watched Dorian and Jane walk out of the palace gates and begin their descent down Mount Allegro to the Valley of the Blessed, both keen to return to their families. Micah hoped that Jane’s son was still alive. If he’d been unwell, his chance of survival was slim without his mother to fend for him. Samson. His name was Samson. Jane had been keen for them to know that and Micah was determined to think of him like this. Names had never been so important before.
The Whisperers they sat with now were those who were unsure about what to do next. Or rather where to go next. Although some Whisperers had marched directly out of the palace gates, just like Jane and Dorian, others had nowhere to go, so had remained behind to see if they could be of assistance to the Prin— the Queen. She’d told them that they would always have a home and a place inside the palace and as much as that’d once sounded like a terrible idea, right now it sounded quite appealing.
Micah thought about the Before and the After and realized that now she’d finally arrived at the Evernow—the life she’d live when she no longer pined for the Before or the After. A life when she was happy to live in the Now.
“How many of us do you think are left?” asked Jeremiah.
“Not sure,” said Micah, turning to look at him. “Half maybe? However, more and more are leaving all the time.”
“You do know that I’m staying, don’t you?” His hand flew to his head and Micah remembered how he used to run his fingers through his hair when he was nervous.
“I know,” she said. “There’s nothing for us left in the valley now.”
She realized this wasn’t entirely true. Tallis was in the valley. And the longer she’d been away from him, the more she was starting to miss him.
“So, you’ll stay with me?” Jeremiah’s eyes were filled with a hope she was unwilling to dash.
“Of course,” she said, not certain that was a promise she could keep. Maybe she could convince Tallis to come to her instead. Her feelings for him were so confusing. She’d felt them develop over the years, but was unsure how he felt about her. Did he still see her as his friend’s little sister? Maybe he’d found himself a wife by now and all these confusing feelings were for nothing. This wasn’t a thought she relished.
Queen Rose approached with her mother, both wearing broad smiles.
“I’d like to talk to you all,” Queen Rose said, raising her voice. “Please gather and sit down so I can see you all.”
The crowd came closer and tilted their heads to their new Queen.
“I want you to know that you’re free to leave whenever you wish. You’re no longer prisoners here, just as those trapped in the dungeon have also been freed. However, you’re also free to stay. I need an army to protect Forte Cadence and ensure a peaceful life. I need you.”
A murmur went through the crowd as people tried to imagine what that life might involve.
“Things will be different. You’ll be well fed. You’ll clothe yourself in whatever you desire and be permitted to grow your hair. You’ll be called by your name and we’ll build a new section of the palace to house you in privacy. You’ll be able to visit your families. You’ll be allowed to speak and your words will be heard. In other words, you won’t be my slaves, you’ll be my paid workers.”
Micah noticed people were nodding and smiling.
“I’ve just been speaking with my advisor. A woman named Gabrielle. In time, I’d like all of you to meet her. She’s strong. And she’s kind. She was the one who dreamed of an army of Whisperers, although it was my father who built the rules around how you should live. Gabrielle has advised me that we’ve only just begun to tap into your power, for it’s when you’re happy and whispering with your hearts, as well as your words, that the true power is harnessed. We witnessed that in the arena today.”
Micah smiled. The Queen was right. The power in the arena as they’d whispered for the King’s death had been almost visible, it was so thick in the air. A happy and fulfilled army of Whisperers would truly be unbeatable.
“Who stands with me?” the Queen asked.
Jeremiah was the first to stand, raising his hand high in the air. “Long live the Queen,” he called out.
He was quickly followed by several more Whisperers, who also stood and raised their hands, signaling their praise for their Queen.
It took only a few minutes more for the entire crowd gathered on the lawn to be standing, united, each and every one of them prepared to serve their Queen for the most important reason of all. Because it was their will.
Except for one person, who remained seated, unable to stand.
Micah.
She looked up at Jeremiah to see him staring down at her in confusion. He reached out his hand.
“Micah?”
A hush rippled across the crowd as they looked at her, waiting for her to join them.
“I can’t join you,” said Micah, standing to address them. “Not through lack of will, for I have plenty of that. But because I’m not like the rest of you. I’m different.”
She drew in a deep breath as she tried to explain.
“I cheated on my Whisperers’ test because I wanted to join my brother here. I knew what I had to say and I said it. I pretended to see things that I couldn’t. I pretended not to
see things that I could. Do you even know what it is that makes all of you special? The thing that you have in common that I don’t possess? The reason I’m not one of you?”
People looked at each other, shrugging their shoulders and raising their eyebrows.
“You’re color blind,” said Micah. “A rare form of color blindness, where you see every color of the rainbow, apart from one. When we see the color orange, you see gray. The fruit that was used to lure you here was the King having a cruel joke. Those balls of fruit that you see as gray, the rest of us see as something bright and vibrant. Those paintings we looked at were simple color blindness tests. The last painting—the one of the bowl of oranges—was painted in color, with the oranges painted in gray. When you were asked what the difference was to the bowl on the table beside you, not one of you could say what it was. They looked the same to you.”
She noticed the confused look on the people’s faces and knew she was right. They’d had no idea what was so different about them.
“Then the cruelest joke of all,” she continued. “These robes we wear. They’re not gray, like you think they are. When you look across this crowd, you see a sea of drab misery, but I see the color of the burning sun.”
People were looking down at their robes with furrowed brows, wondering if what she said could be true. She had no way to convince them.
“It’s true,” said the Queen Mother stepping forward. “What your eyes lack in their ability to see all the colors that we do, your voices have gained in their ability to reach distances as far as the stars. For some unknown reason, this is what gives you your power. The universe hears us all, but for some reason, it hears your voices the clearest of all.”
“So, to answer your question, my Queen,” said Micah to Rose. “I do stand with you. Not as a Whisperer, as I’m not gifted enough for that privilege, but as your servant. You saved my life and that of my brother and every person who stands here before you right now. I’m deeply grateful.”
“You’re not my servant, Micah,” said the Queen, reaching out and placing a hand on her cheek. “You’re my friend, and if your brother will have me, I’d like you to be Princess Micah, my sister.”
The Kingdoms of Evernow Box Set Page 20
