The Magics of Rei-Een Box Set

by Georgina Makalani

  But she would have to try. She could build on the relationship that had formed before. Although she was a very different person now. The high priestess rose from her kneeling position and walked into the main part of the temple. She bowed her head to a few of the worshipers, and without a thought she was in the street. She could possibly work out where the hidden princess was hidden, but it would be better to get permission.

  She needed to talk with the empress, who was the key to the hidden princess even if it was the crown prince who had taken control of who could visit. It should be as it had always been.

  The empress looked up at her with surprise when she entered the room. Likely in part because she had not been summoned.

  ‘I wish to visit with the hidden princess,’ she said, without invitation to speak.

  ‘Do you?’ the empress asked, slowly standing from her small throne. ‘And why is that?’

  ‘It is time,’ she said. ‘Her training has been halted. The following years will disappear, and I am sure you hope she can be all she can be.’

  ‘I would think her spiritual training would continue, as mine did.’ The empress stepped forward. ‘Only your high priestess had her own agenda.’

  ‘I am High Priestess now. And the world is different,’ she said with the authority of her position clear in her voice.

  The empress remained unmoving.

  ‘I have visited with the hidden princess before and talked with her at length. It may be that she could use a friend,’ she said kindly.

  The empress sucked in a deep breath. And when she let it out, she nodded almost imperceivably. The priestess gave a shallow bow in thanks and left the room. She needed to see this girl far more than she needed to appease the empress.

  If there were any fears of the priestesses, the soldiers and the hunters would have turned over the temples. But they respected the gods too much for such a venture, so the priestesses were safe.

  She walked quickly and then slowed her pace. She had not been told where the princess was, so she was unsure what they would think of her if she were to appear in her rooms. Then, as though the gods had placed him before her, the crown prince walked towards her. His mind was clearly somewhere else, for he didn’t appear to see anyone around him.

  She stepped forward quickly, blocking his path. He stopped, looked her over and stepped back.

  ‘Your mother has granted me permission to visit with the hidden princess. But I’m afraid that I don’t know where she stays,’ she said, without introduction or addressing him as she should.

  He chewed his lip as he considered her.

  ‘I am not what the other was,’ she said softly. She looked down in what she hoped was a disappointed manner, but she was sure she was stronger already than the high priestess who had gone before her.

  He sighed and turned. ‘I shall escort you,’ he said, but there was a hesitancy in his voice, an uncertainty as to who she really was. They walked in silence, but there were times when she looked over and found him watching her as they walked. He shook his head as they continued.

  She was surprised by the distance from the centre of the island and how close she was to the history of the hidden princesses. The gate was just the same as any other when they pushed through it. Although the number of soldiers filling the garden was not. Does he not trust her? she wondered.

  The girl herself looked at her with anger when she made it into the small palace. And then her look softened as she recognised the priestess for the woman she had been before.

  Healer Yang sat close while the little princess hovered in the background. The other maid had been removed, it appeared. It may have been that she was elsewhere, but the priestess had felt hatred in the girl once she’d found out what the hidden princess was. Although there had also been something else she couldn’t quite put her finger on.

  ‘Your maid has healed after the attack so long ago?’

  The princess nodded once and gracefully folded the artwork she was working on, calling the other princess forward as though she were the maid. She cleared the table quickly.

  The priestess wondered for a moment what the princess might be doing that she didn’t want her to see. But then it could simply be that she wanted to be a good host.

  ‘You have little room here,’ she said, looking about and taking in the small space.

  ‘I don’t need much.’

  ‘Your maid remains with you.’

  Lis nodded once.

  The healer looked her over and then nodded. ‘I need to visit with the healers,’ he said, and after bowing again he left the room. The prince remained by the door, but the princess didn’t even look his way. What do they have? the priestess wondered.

  ‘Your prince has forgiven you,’ she murmured, leaning in closer.

  ‘For what?’ Lis asked, and the man stepped into the room.

  ‘I heard of difficulties,’ the priestess whispered.

  They then looked at each other.

  ‘I may have been misinformed,’ she said.

  ‘So it seems,’ the prince said, coming in and sitting beside his princess at the table.

  ‘I had heard that you had re-entered the hidden palace,’ the high priestess said.

  ‘I have, in a way.’

  ‘The magics are still out there,’ the prince continued for her. ‘We need to keep her hidden. The public think her back in the palace.’

  ‘Will no one see you here?’

  ‘I don’t go out,’ the princess said.

  She was stronger than the priestess expected. More confident in herself. She may not get what she wanted from the girl. ‘Are you having any trouble since the attack?’

  The girl shook her head.

  ‘No strange dreams or sleepless nights?’

  The princess shook her head again and looked to the prince. ‘What are you searching for?’ she asked when she turned back.

  ‘I have had a strange dream of you as a child.’ The priestess risked part of the truth to try and draw her out.

  The woman opposite her leaned forward and drew a deep breath.

  ‘It was somewhere unknown to me. With a black gate.’

  ‘Do you have visions?’ the prince asked.

  ‘Why do you ask? Have you had a vision?’

  The prince scowled at her, and she wondered just what they may have experienced that she wasn’t aware of.

  The princess put a hand on his arm. He jumped at the touch, and she withdrew her hand again quickly. ‘I have had a similar dream,’ she admitted.

  ‘Of a black gate?’

  Lis shook her head then. ‘There are no black gates.’

  ‘Perhaps the dream meant something else,’ the priestess said. ‘I am glad you are safe and well. Could I call again?’

  The princess looked to her prince.

  ‘She has much to do,’ he said.

  ‘I would like to try to replace the old priestess, to teach you what I can of the gods.’

  Lis nodded once, and the priestess pushed up from the table and left them. She may have had the same dream, she thought, heading back to the temple. And with some more time, she may tell her just what that was.

  Chapter 17

  Lis looked at the prince as the priestess left the little palace. ‘What do you think she wants?’

  ‘I don’t know, but I don’t think it is as simple as she says.’

  ‘She wanted to know if we dreamt of the black gate,’ she said.

  ‘What do you think it means that she has had the same dream?’

  ‘I don’t think it was the same—not exactly the same. We have dreamt different things from that same place.’

  ‘What do you think the message on the gate meant?’

  ‘Only the chosen may enter,’ Lis said, remembering the faded symbols on the black paint. ‘I would think it had something to do with the Choosing and the princesses in training.’

  ‘Although,’ he added, ‘they weren’t really chosen, were they? They were training to be ch
osen.’

  ‘Did they have to have some skill to enter the yard?’

  ‘What did you see in your dream that you haven’t told me?’ he asked.

  She wanted to trust him. And after the night they’d had and the magic he had used, she had promised to help him. ‘They had magic.’

  ‘Who did?’

  ‘The hidden princesses.’

  ‘But there was no magic in the royal line. Why would they allow some with magic to enter as hidden princesses?’

  Lis shook her head. ‘Not some of them—all of them.’

  The prince fixed her with a hard stare. ‘I didn’t see a single child with magic,’ he murmured.

  ‘You did; you just didn’t see them use it. What did you see?’

  He shook his head. ‘Do you think the women in white were priestesses?’

  ‘Or teachers. I don’t know who can do what anymore,’ Lis said softly.

  ‘Teaching them magic?’

  ‘Perhaps. You still haven’t told me what the children were doing.’

  ‘There was one girl—she didn’t want to go through the gates with the others. I think they had teased her. The woman, whoever she might have been, told her she was strong. And it was as though she knew her future, and it didn’t connect with the time they were in.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ Lis prompted.

  ‘She said she was meant to help another prince.’

  Lis smiled at the idea. ‘Like this hidden princess is helping you?’

  He shrugged then. She felt the new connection that had been forming between them falter. She wasn’t sure what it was that they had, other than a dream that had led them to the same place, a hidden world they hadn’t known existed.

  ‘You think you are that hidden princess,’ he said.

  ‘She looked familiar, but it was the painting on the wall that unnerved me the most.’

  ‘She did look like you,’ he said quietly. ‘I don’t know what any of this means. Who would have the history to tell us exactly what went on, and how do we ask?’

  Lis shook her head. ‘Tutor Nizen talked to me of the histories of the hidden princesses, although nothing about the compound or palace or whatever the place is, nor the fact that they had magic. What if no one knew what they could do?’

  ‘But they were chosen from the Empire.’

  ‘What if…’ She trailed off, unsure how to tell him what she thought.

  ‘What do you think?’ he asked gently. She looked up into his earnest face.

  ‘What if everyone had magic—they just had to be taught to use it?’

  ‘But we can sense them,’ he stammered.

  ‘Not all of them. And why is that? Why can I detect some that you cannot? Why could I feel magic in that place, but not sense it?’

  The prince studied his own hands for a moment. ‘How could you sense it if there was nothing there?’

  ‘I knew there was magic there. I knew magic hummed in the walls, I just couldn’t feel it humming.’

  ‘I had no such sense. Perhaps you look for it everywhere.’

  She tried not to sigh.

  ‘This is because you know it is everywhere,’ he added, his eyes falling back to his own hands. ‘What do I do with this?’

  ‘You haven’t told Mu-Phi?’

  He shook his head without looking up.

  She chewed her lip. This had impacted them both. They had dreamed of the same place; they were both in the same danger. ‘The magics are coming.’

  He nodded then and rose slowly to his feet. Lis looked around the empty room wondering why Wei-Song would have allowed them to be alone together for so long. But then perhaps she hadn’t gone too far.

  ‘I would like a better look at this, in the daytime,’ the prince said.

  ‘Should you take someone with you?’

  ‘You don’t think I will be safe?’

  ‘You don’t know who might follow.’

  ‘I don’t want anyone else knowing what we have found. If the priestess has dreamed of the black gate, maybe she is searching for it also.’

  ‘She may be able to understand more of it than we could,’ Lis suggested.

  ‘She may not share that knowledge.’

  ‘Do you think they are all like the former high priestess and could do what they did to your mother?’

  ‘And to you,’ he said softly.

  She looked up at him, wondering what he had seen.

  He shook his head.

  ‘Tell me,’ she said.

  ‘When you were first found and we had you secured in the prison, I had gone to my father. When I returned, the priestess was with you, and it appeared as though she used magic on you.’

  Lis’s hand went to her throat. She only realised she had made the movement when his eyes settled on it, and he raised his eyebrows.

  ‘You knew what she was,’ he said.

  ‘Not exactly, but I knew she had some magic. She also thought I did, although she couldn’t sense it, and it appeared to confuse her somewhat. As though she knew it to be true but couldn’t see it for herself.’

  ‘Perhaps because you are a Hidden.’

  ‘I don’t know any more. I wish I could see the palace in the daytime.’

  ‘You could come with me.’

  She laughed before she thought about it. ‘You would let me out? What if I ran away?’

  ‘What if you were able to hide us both?’

  She stood quickly. Yang had managed to hide her when the prince had burnt her, to get some distance between them. Yet it was not something she had tried herself, other than with the kettle. It might be something she could do, but she wished she had more opportunity to train with Wei-Song. Despite the truce that had developed between them since he had discovered her in the night, she still wasn’t sure how long it might last or what might scare him enough to change his mind and run her through.

  ‘Lis?’ he asked, standing beside her. ‘Could you?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ she murmured. Am I strong enough?

  He waited while she looked at him.

  ‘I would have to hold…’ She drifted off as the uncertainty of what they were washed over her again.

  He held out his hand without hesitation, and she sucked in a deep breath as she took it. She hadn’t practiced hiding without the physical gesture, and she wasn’t sure if she could do it. She closed her eyes and blew out her breath slowly, calming her heart rate and thinking as she did when she hid.

  ‘Oh,’ the prince murmured.

  She opened her eyes to find the two of them a shade of what they had been. She clutched his hand tighter. ‘I don’t know how long it will last,’ she murmured.

  ‘You can see me?’ he asked, waving a hand in front of her face. She laughed.

  ‘I can. I just hope no one else can.’

  They made their way out slowly and quietly into the garden. The small stool was still against the fence and Lis pointed it out, but as they were required to hold on to each other, she wasn’t sure how she would manage to get over it.

  The prince stepped up and then pulled her up to stand beside him. As they pressed together on the narrow stool, she sensed his excitement, yet all she felt was worry. Being taller than her, he managed to climb using one arm and unseen footholds in the wall. Once he was lying on top of the wall, he pulled Lis towards him.

  As they moved around each other, Lis was sure her skirt caught on the rough stone. She should have thought this through a little more; she should have changed. Only it was too late now, and she would need to let go of the prince to do anything about it. They were perched at the top of the wall, so chances were if they appeared suddenly, they would both die before the soldiers realised who they were killing.

  Then they were jumping down, and she heard the rip of material.

  She pulled him against the wall, pressing her back to it. She looked up, hoping the material wasn’t fluttering in the stonework. But it appeared to have only torn. It had seemed so loud to her. She could only ho
pe the guards hadn’t heard it.

  He opened his mouth, and she pressed a finger against his lips. He scowled for a moment before nodding, and she pulled her finger back. They headed quickly towards the other compound. Lis only hoped that when they reached it, they would discover that no one else had found it and she could do something with the material that was dragging along the road behind her.

  Chapter 18

  Lis pushed the gate closed and was surprised by the squeal of the hinges and the echo of the latch throughout the courtyard. The prince still held her hand tight, pulling her towards the black gate as she tried to take in the space around her. So much had happened here, and she was desperate to see if she too could make magic happen.

  She pulled him to a stop and held her hand over the weeds growing through the pavers. They thickened until a lone narrow blade worked its way towards her hand. Just before it reached her, it bloomed into a bright yellow flower. The prince dropped her hand and reached for it. As he did, he must have realised his mistake, for he stopped and looked at his hand. Then he turned.

  ‘I haven’t moved,’ she whispered. Then she wished herself visible again.

  ‘What have you done?’ he said, his voice heavy.

  She shook her head and let her hand drop. The disappointment washed over her. She hadn’t created the flower for herself, but still.

  ‘Your skirt,’ he said, stepping forward.

  ‘I caught it on the wall,’ she murmured, looking down at the tattered mess. It was far worse than she realised. ‘I can change,’ she added. Lis closed her eyes and turned on the spot. When she opened her eyes, he was grinning at her.

  ‘Aren’t you supposed to be concerned by what I can do?’

  ‘Despite my earlier fears, you can make the flowers grow and change your dress.’

  She looked down over herself and smoothed out the simple material. Again, she had dressed similarly to the maids. There was less material to catch on the world around her.

  ‘I thought you worried about what I can do.’

  ‘I would have thought you were more worried about what I can do,’ he murmured.