The Emery Chronicles: The White King's Woman (FIRST BOOK)

Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty Six- The Future

Finnian came into the Hall, guards following him.

"My King?" He asked looking at the little family huddled together on the floor. Gavin ground his teeth and handed the baby prince back to Arwen. He stood and turned to face his most trusted advisor.

"Yes, Finnian?" He seethed. The advisor glanced at Arwen and the baby expectantly. "For your information, the gods have blessed us with our first son. Isn't that marvelous news?"

"Oh, yes," Finnian blinked, confusion, defeat, and anger all flashing in his eyes at once. "Marvelous, m'lord."

"Yes, I'm sure you think so." Gavin spat. He paused before continuing, "What are you going to do now, Finnian? Tell me my wife used her witch powers to make sure the baby would be a son? What excuse will you conjure up now?"

"Sire, it was all for your well-being, I--"

"Don't!" Gavin's voice rumbled like thunder. "Enough is enough, Finnian! I trusted you, and you could not bring yourself to trust me at all. All you did was question my actions and blame the love of my life for everything."

"I just thought of the good of the realm--"

"I know the good of the realm! I am the ruler here, not you! I know what is good for the kingdom and what is good for me, and you are no longer good for me." Gavin looked deadly, almost poisonous.

"My Lord?" Finnian's voice was weak. For the first time since she met him, Arwen saw a truly frightened Finnian.

"Finnian, Lord of the White Spring realm of Emery, server of the ruler of Brigantia," Gavin stated, calmly and matter-of-factly, "I, King Gavin, ruler of the White Spring realm of Brigantia, charge you with accusatory actions against your Queen--"

"No, no m'lord!"

"--an act punishable by death." With that, the guards behind Finnian grabbed him and dragged him to his knees in front of Gavin, who drew his sword. "If you have any last words, you may speak them now."

"Please, My King, please! I'm sworn to protect and serve you, I simply did my duty! Please!" He tried to make eye contact with Gavin even as the guards held him down by his shoulders. When he saw Gavin had no resolve in him, Finnian simply said, "Forgive me," and bowed his head.

Gavin raised his sword and in the next blink of an eye, Finnian's head rolled away.

***

"Let us all welcome the new Spring child, the Prince Jarek of the White Kingdom Brigantia of the realms of Emery! Long live Prince Jarek! Long live the prince!" The godsman cried, raising Arwen and Gavin's perfect little prince so all the guests could see.

Gavin had his arms wrapped around Arwen from behind her, and he squeezed her in joy at the sight of their child. He bent his head down to kiss her shoulder and whisper in her ear, "I love you."

"I love you, too, My King." Arwen smiled, loving the feeling of his arms around her.

"I hope you are ready for tonight, my little witch." Gavin mischievously whispered.

"Oh, and why is that?"

"Well, now that we have one son, we must work on our next." They both giggled and Arwen playfully slapped his arm.

"You are too energetic, m'lord."

"And you're not? My little witch, you are quite devious in the bedchambers."

"Shh," Arwen laughed quietly, "Save it for later." She said with a wink that made Gavin chuckle and bow his head into her shoulder.

The godsman handed them their child and they both held their perfect little prince.

***

Once Arwen was sure Gavin was asleep, she rolled out of bed, her muscles pleasantly sore. She found her nightgown on the ground and threw it over her head. She slipped her arms into her silk robe and tied the sash around her waist. She went over to the bed and kissed Gavin's warm forehead before leaving the room.

She made her way through the halls, down staircases, and out into the garden. She walked through the darkness to the center of the garden, where a dark figure waited.

"You took awhile," Bianca said, her dark hair loose over her shoulders that were covered in a robe similar to Arwen's.

"Gavin and I were reconnecting," Arwen whispered happily.

"Good, I'm glad. Another prince will soon follow our little Jarek, I believe." She smiled at her daughter, squeezed her shoulder, then bent to the ground. "But now is not the time for that."

Bianca opened a little sack that was lying on the ground and took out a vial of ground chalcedony for protection, a vial of thyme for courage, a vial of ground hematite for strength, a vial of crushed hazelnuts for wisdom, and a vial of blessed thistle to purify and amplify the powers of the other ingredients. She poured all of the ingredients into a mortar and began crushing and mixing them together with a pestle. The powder that resulted she split into nine smaller vials, each hanging off of a gold chain. She encircled the vials into her hands and stood. Arwen took her mother's hands in hers and they clasped each other and the vials strongly. Together they chanted:

"Sisters from the North, sisters from the East, sisters from the South, and sisters from the West. Send us your power. Help your fellow sisters. Protect and watch over King Gavin and his Queen. Watch over their descendants. Protect their children and keep them strong for the coming war. Help your sisters, who live to help you."

After they had blessed the vials, Bianca put one of them around Arwen's neck and another around her. Arwen knew the rest would go around Gavin's neck and each of her children.

"But mother," she stated, "there are three extra necklaces."

"No, there isn't," Bianca replied as she placed the remaining necklaces and other ingredient vials into her sack, giving Arwen one of the necklaces to put on Gavin.

"Mother, the necklaces are for Gavin, the children, you and I. But that's only six where there are nine necklaces. There are three extra."

"I know how to count, my dear. Those three are purposeful."

"For who? We only asked for blessings for us and the children. Who else would they..." Arwen trailed off, coming to conclusions. "Three more children? We'll have three more?"

"Yes," Bianca curtly replied, smiling at her child.

"But how are you so sure it's three?"

"I have my ways. And you know, I'm always right." Bianca winked, and the two witches laughed into the damp night air.

"Yes, you are." Arwen agreed as her laughter tapered off. "I'm scared, mother. This war... will we be ready?"

Bianca sighed and straightened up, looking at her daughter like a teacher to a wise student. "I cannot tell the future. I have ways of knowing how many children you'll have, I have ways of knowing when a storm is coming, or when a war is coming. But I cannot tell how the war will end. No one has that power. All we can do is take precautions to protect ourselves and those we love, which we did tonight. We may be powerful witches, but even our power has its limits. But you don't let that bother you. Just use what you have, use it well and use it wisely. I cannot tell how the war will end, but I know we have done what we can now, and we will continue to use our powers when we must. And we will know when that is, because we are Darkwhites."

"We are Darkwhites," Arwen repeated, letting her family name roll off her tongue with all of its power and prestige.

"Yes, we are. And we must never forget." And with that, Bianca threw an arm over her daughter and the two witches walked through the gardens, the air filled with magic and power around them, for they were Darkwhites.

~THIS IS NOT THE END~

EXTREMELY IMPORTANT: THE STORY DOES NOT END HERE! I HAVE ALREADY PUBLISHED THE BEGINNINGS OF THE NEXT BOOK IN THE EMERY CHRONICLES: THE BLACK KING'S BEAUTY. PLEASE CONTINUE ON TO THAT NOVEL TO ENJOY MORE STORIES OF EMERY AND FIND OUT HOW IT ALL ENDS! PLEASE COMMENT AND ENJOY! :)