Legend of the Swords

8: Erilyn

I had somehow managed to navigate through the halls without anyone noticing and eventually made it to a garden that overlooked the kingdom. My breath caught in my throat when I looked at its majesty and beauty. The flowers were all in full bloom, the night birds were singing, and a white gazebo in the middle of the garden welcomed me to its view of the kingdom. I took my time walking over to it, delicately examining each of the different types of flora around me. It was the roses though, that I turned my full attention to. They drew me in as if they themselves knew that they were my favorite flower. "Aren't the roses marvelous this year? Even though it's been foggy the past two years, this year the roses fought through and bloomed magnificently." I was caught, half reaching out to touch one of the petals of a rose before me when the queen approached me.

"I suppose they have fought this year. Then again, who hasn't been fighting this past year?" I looked at the flower and an image of Peter drifted through my mind. He had been so full of life, yet like this flower, had struggled to bloom and survive.

"What has you down dear?" The queen asked, coming up to me and putting a hand on my shoulder. "I can take one look at you and can tell that something is eating away at you." I sighed, grateful to have someone to talk to, but also knowing that opening up to these people wasn't what I wanted. I didn't want to become accustomed to this way of life, being spoiled as those around us struggled. But at the same time, I also knew that talking about Peter would help me feel a little bit better and that, in the end, was what I needed right now.

"One of the children I look after died from an animal attack today." I finally did touch the petals of the rose and was surprised by its softness. "What makes me feel worse is that I could have helped him if I had known. If I hadn't been here I may have even been able to stop it from happening. I taught them to be careful, to never go close to animals. I still don't know what got him. He was like a son to me. They are all like my own children." The queen nodded, then sat down on the stones that lined the flower beds.

"Do you know how happy I was when your sister, Lord Izen, and Dimitri brought you in to us? I couldn't contain how happy I was to have you back. But that doesn't cover the pain I felt when I lost you. We searched, but did so discreetly as to keep from causing an uproar. Eventually word got out anyway of your disappearance. And because of that I knew you were probably dead. See, there are many people in our kingdom who would give anything to slaughter our house, and the fact that you were out on the streets was just an opportunity for them." The queen looked at the papers in her hand with such sorrow I genuinely felt bad for this woman. But I also knew she could understand, I could relate to her.

"What did you do? When you lost... me?" I struggled to get the wording out as I sat beside her, adjusting to the fact that this was the best I could do to accept who I apparently was.

"I cried. I didn't eat for an entire week. I got ill and was bedridden. Everyone thought I was going to die, but then I realized that I had your sister to look after. She became the rope that I used to pull myself out of the abyss. You just have to find your rope now." She smiled kindly at me, looking at me steadily. "I know this is a hard transition for you, and that there are a lot of unknowns. But looking at you I know you are my daughter Erilyn. And I hope in the future we can grow closer and you can come to me when you need to speak to someone." I was taken aback by her words, and her overall kindness. I wasn't expecting this, of all things.

"I just need time to get used to everything, but I think there's a lot we need to change with the kingdom before I'll be happy here. Our kingdom's economy is suffering right now, the townspeople are struggling to go about their daily lives with the prices of things climbing and the Hummingbird Kingdom limiting their trade with us. The aristocrats are overconsuming at this point just for the sake of flaunting their wealth. We need change." The queen nodded, taking in my words and considering them.

"I think, you'll find that although you're not comfortable here, you'll be able to have more of an impact being a royal. However, you are right, and your father has been working with his advisors to come up with a solution. Still, a letter came in I want you to consider that I think might be the best solution to the kingdom's troubles with the Hummingbird Kingdom, and I want you to seriously consider it." Her soft smile grew into a grin as she turned back to the papers. "We have received a number of suitors reaching out for the opportunity to court you. In them, was a letter from the queen of the Hummingbird Kingdom, along with personal notes from the eldest son. The queen used to be a close friend of mine who would come to court often when we had times of peace. She seeks to end the feud and the eldest son, Varen, wants to follow her ideals and overthrow his father." I turned to her, surprised.

"What? He wants to overthrow his own father?" The queen handed me the paper on this Varen guy and eyed me, telling me to read over it. I looked at it suspiciously, then saw what was in scripted and pulled the paper closer to face, just to make sure that I wasn't misreading what the paper said. "His father is suspected of being involved with Devil's Judgment?!" I didn't know what to say about that. Devil's Judgment was a group of savage men who would do anything they could to bring down the peace in countries they sought to conquer. They even went as far as killing and raping the people of royal families, or worse mark them as their own targets for future attacks. I had been offered a few jobs from them in the past, and while the pay had always been good, there were only a few I had been willing to accept due to their intentions.

"Yes, we've been keeping an eye on him of late and his movements have been very suspicious to say the least. But that isn't the only reason Lord Varen wants to overthrow his father. The youngest brother is said to be corrupted by his father's ideals and if it were to keep going like it has, we might have a line of tyrants to look forward to. Lord Varen recognized this, so he and his mother are seeking assistance to stop that from happening. I'm guessing they're hoping whatever talents you may have picked up while you were away from us, just might be able to help push the king off of the throne. Especially since you seem to understand the people of the kingdom more than the average royal." I nodded, understanding how that would get around. Being on the streets had enabled me to understand what the people wanted from a ruler.

I thought hard on the proposal. I was in no way in a position to court anyone, let alone get married. But our people did need peace with the Hummingbird Kingdom, we needed our economy to recover. Trade with them was vital if we were going to maintain a healthy environment for our people to dwell within. Plus, the queen was right. Growing up we always had a good relationship with them. If the king was involved in Devil's Judgment, he needed to be stopped. The higher-ups at Saint's Domain had been working for years to try to get a handle on who was involved in Devil's Judgement, but the Hummingbird Kingdom to my knowledge had never been a serious target of interest. This could help them as well. "Very well." I stood, in work mode now that I could make a plan. "I guess you should send a letter to them telling them that I have accepted their requests and that I will be waiting for their assistance." The queen looked happy yet confused, as she listened to what I had to say.

"What do you mean 'their assistance'?" I smiled gently, taking one more look at the roses.

"They will need to help me with the arrangements in how they want me to overthrow the king. I can't simply do it in the middle of the day where the people will not be heard. Otherwise all efforts will be futile. The best place to do so would be in a ball or peace meeting. Whichever one will work." The queen nodded, pondering my words and she reorganized the documents in her hands.

"Have you ever overthrown people before? You sound well informed," she joked. I frowned, not willing to admit my involvement in our underground societies.

"Let's just say that if change doesn't come soon, we may experience a similar situation within Marie's lifetime." The queen abruptly looked up at me, shocked by the words that had come out of my mouth, but before she could ask another question I already started moving away from her and headed back into the castle.