The Magics of Rei-Een Box Set

by Georgina Makalani

  ‘Death,’ the emperor said.

  ‘But she is with child,’ the empress said quickly, glancing at him as U’shi started to sob.

  The emperor glared at her. ‘Take him back to the cell. At first light, he shall be beheaded before the people for the disservice he has done the Hidden Princess of Rei-Een.’

  The empress gulped down her fears and nodded.

  ‘You, girl, are determined to be in the palace, to be a part of the royal family.’ U’shi glanced up at him. ‘You shall be locked in your own palace; there are many empty ones near where you were discovered with your lover. You shall be guarded day and night, and a midwife, healer or the like will be with you at all times. They shall eat with you, bathe with you, sleep with you so that you will never be alone.’

  U’shi’s eyes flashed towards the empress, but she knew he would not allow her a reprieve. She had gone too far.

  ‘The moment your child is born, you shall both be put to death.’

  ‘The child is innocent,’ U’shi blurted. ‘Please have mercy, Your Eminence.’

  ‘Mercy,’ he scoffed. ‘A child who would grow to hate me for sentencing his parents to a death they deserved.’ He shook his head. ‘The child will die. Our customs may not allow for me to put to death a pregnant woman, but there is nothing to stop me once the child is born, and the people will understand. The hidden princess must be protected.’

  U’shi burst into sobs, falling from her position to lie on the floor. ‘Say something,’ she spat at the man beside her.

  ‘You said we would be safe,’ he murmured, maintaining his position. ‘There is nothing I can say.’

  ‘Guards,’ the emperor called, and they appeared to take the prisoners away.

  As they lifted the sobbing U’shi from the ground, she gulped down her tears. ‘Please,’ she begged, her eyes on the empress.

  The empress held her head high. She would give her nothing now, for the emperor had decreed it and she would never see the girl again. She only hoped she was not wrong about the current hidden princess. And what would they do if they never found her? Would they choose another? Would there be time to give her son what he needed?

  Remi felt something off as soon as he entered the building. It wasn’t magic, but it was a sense of something dark. He ran towards Lis’s cell to find her standing against the wall, her hand to her throat with the High Priestess standing before her.

  ‘How did you get in?’ he asked, looking around for the guards.

  ‘I walked,’ the priestess said, turning to him, her face calm and smiling.

  Lis gasped as though she could breathe again, and Remi moved quickly through the cell to stand between them.

  ‘Why are you here?’ he asked.

  ‘I searched for the hidden princess and found her,’ she said softly.

  ‘This building is hardly in use, nor in need of a priestess.’

  ‘It is strange, is it not? The prince looking for the hidden princess has had her locked away. Do you not trust her?’ The priestess’s voice was sweet and calming, and he blinked away the feeling of darkness he had felt when he entered.

  ‘I am keeping her safe.’

  ‘From what? The whole Rei-Een Empire searches for her, and you have her locked away.’

  He could feel Lis’s fingers closing around the back of his clothes, as though to keep him between them. ‘She is not locked up.’

  ‘The girl was alone in a cell. What was I to think?’

  ‘The door was open,’ he said, then silently cursed himself. He didn’t need to explain himself to these people. ‘Why are you here?’ he asked again.

  ‘To talk, to offer my understanding.’

  ‘Your understanding?’

  ‘We have talked before, the princess and I. She has struggled with her position. When I found her, I thought I could assist in the transition back to the hidden palace.’

  ‘I don’t think it is safe there,’ Remi said quickly.

  ‘So, you will keep her here.’ It wasn’t a question, and she laughed. ‘I think your father might think differently on that. As will your mother. She has just lost one princess; she will not want to lose another.’

  ‘What?’ Lis whispered behind him.

  ‘U’shi is no princess. She was a maid who neglected her duty.’

  ‘For that she deserves to die.’

  ‘And she will.’

  ‘What?’ Lis asked again.

  ‘After the child is born,’ the priestess continued, and he wondered how she could know so much when his father had only just made the announcement. It hadn’t even been announced to the public yet. Maybe his mother had talked with her, but then she had been with his father when he had left them. She couldn’t have known. ‘Will he let the child live?’

  Remi shook his head and heard the sharp intake of breath from the woman behind him as she closed her fists tighter around his coat.

  ‘You will leave. I will ensure my parents are told of the princess. I alone am responsible for her safety.’

  ‘Then you should not leave her alone.’

  The priestess turned and glided from the cell. Her white robes dragged across the ground and yet appeared to pick up none of the dust. The odd feeling of darkness disappeared with her, and Remi turned to the woman behind him. Her throat was red despite the sunburn fading.

  ‘What happened?’ he asked.

  ‘U’shi is to die? She’s with child?’ the princess asked, looking up at him.

  He nodded once.

  Anger creased her brow. ‘Always telling me I didn’t know how to be a princess,’ she murmured, moving to the table and sitting down. ‘Always so righteous. The tutor is the father,’ she said, looking back at him. Then she suddenly dropped from the table and held her arms out, bowing her head in respect. ‘Forgive me, Your Highness, that I do not greet you appropriately.’

  ‘Lis,’ he said. Stepping forward and taking her by the arms, he lifted her up and back onto the stool.

  ‘Maybe she was right,’ Lis murmured, looking at the table.

  Mu-Phi appeared, a tray in her hands, and she bowed to the prince before sliding it onto the table.

  ‘Where have you been?’ he snapped.

  She dropped to her knees on the earthen floor and bowed low. ‘The high priestess wanted time alone with the princess,’ she said. ‘How could I refuse?’

  ‘You are not to leave her alone with anyone.’

  Mu-Phi nodded and bowed again.

  Lis stood slowly from the table and joined the maid on the floor.

  ‘Please,’ Remi said, ‘stand up.’

  ‘I am ready to return,’ she said softly, a catch in her voice.

  ‘No,’ he sighed.

  ‘You want to keep me locked away?’ she asked, sitting up.

  ‘I want to keep you safe.’

  ‘I don’t think it is as safe here as you think.’

  ‘Clearly, if the priestesses can wander in. Guard,’ he called.

  The man appeared at the bars.

  ‘I want you watching closer to the entrance.’

  The guard nodded and disappeared.

  ‘You,’ he said sharply to the maid. ‘This is not enough for a princess. Prepare more.’

  ‘I’m not hungry,’ Lis said, but he ignored her and waved the girl away.

  Lis surprised him by sighing and sitting back at the table. ‘Are you to train me yourself?’

  He looked up then and shook his head. ‘The tutor is gone.’

  She nodded once.

  ‘You ran away, didn’t you?’

  She bit her lip and looked down at the table before nodding again.

  ‘How?’

  She shook her head.

  He took a deep breath and tried to calm the anger building in him. ‘Where did you go?’

  ‘Home,’ she whispered. ‘But there was nothing there, and I didn’t want to bring shame to my father.’

  He didn’t want to ask the question, but it was formed on his lips before he co
uld stop it. ‘Peng?’

  ‘Is with my sister,’ she said. ‘It does not matter.’

  He could see the hurt she tried to hide from him. She had lost everything.

  ‘How did you know?’ she asked.

  ‘You were worried that I had killed him, and I knew he lived. I guessed.’

  She nodded then. ‘I found some people I thought would help me, but they only wanted more from me than I could give.’ A large tear tracked down her cheek, and he was tempted to reach out and brush it away. ‘This is my life. I must accept it. I do you dishonour by running away, and I am sorry.’ She looked up at him then, and he nodded. ‘I am ready to return to my studies, although…’

  He reached out for her. ‘What is it?’

  ‘I am not bright enough to be what you need me to be. I cannot learn all that is needed in three years.’

  ‘Less than three years now,’ he reminded her.

  She covered her mouth with her hand and the tears spilled freely down her cheeks.

  ‘It will be fine,’ he tried to reassure her, but she shook her head.

  ‘What shall you do?’ she asked, sucking in another sob.

  ‘Watch over you myself.’

  ‘To ensure I don’t run away again.’ She wiped the back of her hand across her nose.

  He reached out and brushed his thumb over her cheek. How had this woman captivated him so completely? ‘To keep you safe,’ he said.

  Chapter 23

  Lis stood before the emperor and empress and tried not to chew on her lip. The prince stood at her side, but he had promised not to mention her running away. They would maintain the story that she had been taken, and that she was hazy on the details. And she was hazy. She wasn’t sure of anything that had occurred while she had been away, and she tried not to shiver as she held her arms out before her and bowed low.

  She made to kneel on the floor, but the prince took her arm and shook his head.

  ‘Remi?’ the empress asked.

  ‘The princess is not yet well enough to get on the floor. It would be awkward for her to climb back to her feet. I think, given her experiences, you would allow this small deviation.’

  The empress sighed, and the emperor nodded sagely. He waved her forward and she took a careful step towards him, noting that the prince did not step with her.

  ‘I understand you are nervous to enter the hidden palace,’ he said, and then he looked back to his son. ‘The crown prince feels there is someplace more secure where we could house you.’

  ‘I think she should remain at the royal residence.’

  Lis tried to remain focused ahead of her. He had told her he had a plan, but she hadn’t realised it was that.

  ‘The royal residence?’ the emperor asked, standing from his throne and walking around her towards his son.

  Lis gulped down the fear building in her chest. What was he thinking?

  ‘It has a guard at all times, and everyone passing can see who enters. So if anyone attempts something they should not, we will know of it.’

  The empress opened her mouth to speak, but bit quickly on her lip, and Lis was sure that they had the same thought. It hadn’t protected the former crown prince, and it was certainly someone with magic who had killed him.

  ‘She will be upstairs, by me.’

  ‘This isn’t proper,’ the empress snapped.

  ‘She will be in her own room where the tutors can come and visit. I need to know she is safe. It is my duty,’ he asserted, and Lis had to turn to see how serious he was. He was face to face with his father. ‘She is to be my empress. It is my duty to keep her safe, and as a hunter I am the only one who can.’

  ‘There are other hunters,’ the emperor said, turning back to Lis and then climbing to his throne. ‘But I know you will not be swayed in this.’

  ‘I have lost my brother, and I will not lose my wife before she has the chance to be what we chose her to be.’

  Lis gulped down the threatening tears. She had hardly given him a reason to look after her as he did.

  ‘You have the room prepared?’ the empress asked.

  The prince came to stand beside Lis and bowed to his mother. ‘And you have replaced the tutor more carefully than you selected the last?’

  She gave him a dangerous look. Lis wanted to warn him, but instead he took her arm.

  ‘This is too much; I shall escort her back to rest.’

  ‘She cannot stay alone, and you cannot visit her as though she were…’

  ‘I understand that, Mother,’ he said quickly, cutting her off. ‘I have found a replacement for U’shi I know I can trust.’

  Lis looked at him quickly, and he gave her a small smile.

  ‘How do you know she can be trusted?’ his mother asked.

  ‘I know.’ His tone was just as dangerous as the empress’s had been.

  He bowed low to both of his parents, and Lis repeated the movement. The prince backed out of the room, his hand tight around her arm, pulling her along behind him.

  She looked at him carefully once they were outside the throne room, but she said nothing. She wondered who the maid may be and why the prince was so sure he could trust her. The guards at the doorway bowed to them, and then two of them broke away from the others and followed. She thought one was familiar, but she wasn’t sure, and she tried not to look back at them. As they left the throne room, two more men joined them. Lis recognised one as a man who had stood outside her gate. Someone she had walked past invisible not so long ago.

  At the idea of the crowd, she stopped, worried that she wasn’t as hidden as she had been. The crown prince seemed to be breaking every tradition. He had surprised her by ordering a sedan chair to carry her from the prison to the throne room. He placed his hand over hers, and she looked up into his smiling face.

  ‘It is not far,’ he said. ‘Do you not want to go back in the sedan? It will keep you from the sun, and I think you have had enough of that.’

  She smiled her thanks and nodded.

  ‘Perhaps a hat or the like rather than the veil when you leave the residence.’

  ‘Do I need to leave?’

  ‘To attend the temple or the baths,’ he said, and she squeezed her hand closed tightly. ‘There are expectations,’ he continued, and she could only nod.

  Her guards, as the prince had told her they were, carried the sedan chair towards her and set it down. When she climbed aboard, the curtain was dropped across the opening and she was surrounded with red light from the little sun that made it through the curtains. She put her palms together without touching them. She was tempted to disappear, but they carried the weight of her, and she knew it wasn’t possible. It would give her away if the prince were to look in on her.

  He walked directly beside her and she wondered if he would ever leave her side again. She shook her head as she jostled around. In a strange way, she did feel safer with him watching over her, for he was the only one who appeared to care what might happen to her. And yet he had his reasons, and she wasn’t sure if it was simply that she was the hidden princess and destined to be his wife.

  He was also the most dangerous person to be around, for he could discover her and kill her without a thought. She remembered waking in the cell, the fear that had thumped in her chest before he had closed his arms around her and held her tight. It had been such a comfort, and she wondered if he might hesitate were something to happen. But she couldn’t rely on that, she reminded herself, remembering his reaction when she had mentioned the idea of him caring for her.

  She sucked in a deep breath as the chair came to a halt. He was protecting himself and what his Empire would be when he was Emperor and nothing more. The curtain was pulled back, and Lis found herself in the ornate hallway of the royal residence. She was keen to enter her room, but she wanted the chance to look over the place again. She stepped out carefully, taking the prince’s offered arm.

  ‘Welcome home,’ he said softly.

  She bowed to him, unsure what she could say
—unsure if this would keep her safe from those who wanted her. She looked around carefully, taking in the beautiful colours, and she paused before the former prince’s room. His name and rank above the door.

  ‘You are upstairs,’ he said, his voice a little gruffer than it had been. She nodded and turned back towards the stairs to find the maid from the cell standing before her.

  The girl bowed low, and Lis smiled at her. The maid had been a silent member of her time in the cell. She had done much to help, although Lis vaguely remembered her chiding the prince. She looked back at him, and he nodded. Was there something there between these two? Would she care if there was?

  She stepped forward, running her hand carefully over the smooth banister as she followed the maid up the stairs. She paused and looked back to find the prince was watching her go, but not following. He nodded again and then turned back to the soldiers.

  Lis tried not to look at the other doors and wonder who else may live so close. Would the empress visit with her more? U’shi had been too much like the empress, she realised, and she wondered what she would be by the end of this training, if she survived. Would she too be such a woman?

  The room itself was similar to that of the crown prince next door. And she saw his door as she followed the maid into her own room. It was much larger than the hidden princess’s palace, with a large bed sitting in the middle of the room. There was a desk to one side, already covered in papers and texts along with beautiful brushes and ink.

  Lis sat at the desk and lifted the first document, a history of the Empire. She glanced through it. It was a history she knew well. It detailed the beginning of the Empire, the first emperors of Rei-Een and the world as it had been so many years ago.

  The next one she selected was of the magic war, an overview with nothing of the detail she had learnt before. It didn’t mention the visitors her mother had told her of, and it didn’t mention her father killing children. She sighed as she glanced through it. Her father’s name leapt from the page, and she read hungrily.

  She sighed. It only mentioned him being the saviour of the war, bringing an end to magic in Rei-Een. She closed it and threw it back onto the pile.