Ritual

Chapter 6

It was night, and I waited for Trystan in the solar room, on the second floor. It was a big and wide room, and a long table with several chairs was behind me, where royal meetings would be held on the occasion. With the moon in the sky and the fire on the hearth burning, I stood before the windows that looked over the castle front, waiting for a young man wearing black a black robe to walk towards the castle. My thought goes back to what I've read in the book about the hybrids. The creature that I saw in the forest was similarly described in the book by Queen Henrietta. Was the creature that I found a hybrid? And if so, I survived an attack from a very lethal creature, who was right in my heels as I ran for my life. And if that were true, it means that hybrids are real, and I already saw one.

A knock on the door startled me, and I turned around to see Mr. Farko enter, with a tray carrying a teapot, a cup, and a plate of biscuits. "You've been waiting for quite a while for your visitor," he said and put the tray on the table.

"Thank you, Mr. Farko. He's really important. I need him for the... resurrection." I said. Saying the word "resurrection" sounded stupid and silly. Mother's words rang in my head while she was on her bed, some things don't sound right with the way things are in this world.

I looked back down, and I saw him walking down the street. "He's here," I said. I headed outside to meet Trystan downstairs. I poured myself a quick cup of the tea Mr. Farko served and ate some of his biscuits before I did. "These are scrumptious," I said, my mouth still filled with biscuits, and I headed downstairs.

I descended the stairs and met Trystan in the foyer, walking aimlessly all around the huge space. "Trystan," I said, greeting him. "You made it."

"Uh, yes, Your Majesty," he said and bowed.

I noticed he carried some books with him. "What are those for?"

"Oh, I've been studying these alchemy books. I didn't want to let you down," he said. He was even timider than he was at the dome, which I understood, the castle can be overwhelming even to me, sometimes.

"I'm sure you won't," I said. "Trystan, this is Mr. Farko, my butler." Mr. Farko nodded his head to him, still holding the tray in his hands.

"Your Majesty, I will see you both in the alchemy room. I need to deliver this to the kitchen," he said and walked away.

Trystan and I walked to the alchemy room. a savant's superior intelligence is highly respected in Krurian, and when we passed by the sitting area, the maids who were cleaning it greeted me and Trystan. It shone brighter at night with the lamp and light fixtures on. Everything was gleaming in white, so clean and polished-looking.

We entered the alchemy room, and I could tell that Trystan was as interested as I was when I first entered here. He gazed the room up and down and felt the rich wood of the center table.

"I know, it's not something you see every day," I said.

"It's much better seeing an alchemy room than just reading about them," he said.

I pulled out my book and put it on the table. I flipped it to the first page with the mysterious symbols and showed it to him. "So, how do we do this?" I asked him, and I squirmed at how nonchalantly I spoke about resurrecting the dead.

"These are the ingredients for the ritual," he said, and ran his finger down along the symbols, and read it aloud:

A broken bone and a bone that's whole

A skull that lies among the stones

Petals of roses, and an amethyst gem

The silver beast's blood in red

Blend to conjure worlds and chant

To make what's dead alive again

"So, the ingredients are, two bones, one broken and one whole, a skull, rose petals, an amethyst, and hybrid blood."

"What is hybrid blood, Your Majesty?" Trystan asked.

"It's the blood of a creature that lives outside the walls. It's very dangerous, and its blood has abilities beyond what's natural."

Trystan didn't say a word and continued reading the book. "There's a spell in here to chant when the ingredients are blended, written in these symbols but when read aloud, it sounds like nonsense," Trystan said.

"So we need to find these ingredients," I said.

"It appears so. This seems like a very powerful spell, and it must be done carefully, Your Majesty."

"Don't worry about that, I'll be as careful as a flower."

There was a knock on the door, and Mr. Farko came inside. "Your Majesty, I have some very important news that you should know," he said, closing the door.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Krurian needs a king. And as of now, nobody is ruling over the people, nobody is commanding the guards, and nobody is on the throne to keep the power," he said.

"And, that means..." I said, trying to figure it out, even though in the back of my mind, I knew what was going to happen.

"A coronation needs to be done. To you, Your Majesty. And based on what I've heard the council has been speaking about, it needs to be done tomorrow, because you have a competitor to the throne." he said.

"A competitor? Who?"

"King Petar's brother, Nodi. Queen Elisabetta does not have any other relatives to take over her place on the throne of her ancestor's kingdom, Krurian, but King Petar has a brother that has been waiting on a throne all his life. It was said that he left his family's kingdom on horseback, a Prince, and it might be that he will arrive here a king."

"Is that even possible? I am of the right age to rule and be a king." I said. Uncle Nodi was notorious for being cruel to everybody, and having someone like him take over my kingdom was unacceptable.

"You might be, but as of now, your uncle is exactly what Krurian would need. He has a power that's greater than yours, and is experienced in the knowledge of ruling a kingdom."

"My claim is stronger, I am my mother's child! I can't let this happen." I said, and it only gave me more reasons to have mother resurrected. I need her to come back while I learn to be a proper king.

"We're going to look for the ingredients for the resurrection spell first thing tomorrow, and we will do this quickly before uncle arrives. It's a long way from heir kingdom to ours, we have time." I walked out of the room. "I'm going to the gates, I'll tell them to keep Krurian locked for now, not to let anybody else enter unless I say so."

"What about the coronation, Your majesty?" Mr. Farko asked.

"My crowning as king will be tomorrow." I said, and closed the door behind me.