Usha always dreamed of one day sitting in that seat, at the height of power, ruling over all her faithful subjects, even controlling the twelve Minor Nations of Grey. And, being the heir to the Royal Grey, one day she would.
Confident Usha swept though the richly embroidered curtains covering the entrance to the great hall, Drake trailing swiftly behind her like a shadow.
"Council," she addressed the gathering of twelve various men and women, seated on the velvet chairs and hollow looking in the light of a few dimming candles. Then she turned to the great lady perched atop the Archaves Throne who looked like an older, wizened version of herself, "Mother."
Taking one of the plain wooden seats directly to Queen Leila's right, she faced the Council of Chosen regally.
Drake, being the natural slob that he is, plopped into a seat to Leila's left, levering his feet up onto the table that the royal servants had so tirelessly worked to polish. He put his hands behind his head and grinned at the shocked faces of the congregated Council as he levitated the leather-bound Book of Rulings all around the room. If he was required not to speak during meetings, Drake did his best to entertain silently.
Usha and Leila rolled their eyes in unison.
"Today," the Queen began, pulling everyone's attention away from her strange son, "Today, we celebrate a special day. A day that will go down in history and will forever be remembered as a wondrous becoming, especially for my eldest daughter, Usha." She smiled at Usha then who was by now overflowing with elated joy.
Today is the day, she thought, when I get my first trip with my spirit-self, my Ishtar power develops and now Mum finally hands over the throne to me in front of the whole Council! I'll be so powerful and everyone would bow down to me. What should my first decree be? Maybe to banish that disgrace of a brother, Drake...
Queen Leila continued speaking, "Usha, beloved of me, your Queen and her loyal consort, Damp, wish to bestow upon you a present worthy of your turning of twelve years and manifestation of your true shaman powers. Brun, come out."
Before Usha had a chance to wonder who this "Brun" character was, the covering curtain was ripped open and in stepped a tall boy, more on the lanky side with large hands and feet and extremely long limbs. He had shoulder-length, greasy, thin white-blonde hair and sallow black eyes. His complexion, if possible, was even paler than hers. However, he was dressed nobly in a tunic spun of silver, a belt of gold, leather gem-encrusted boots and carried himself with dignity and arrogance, noting him of higher birth.
Usha continued to stare belatedly at him, not even completely registering it when he knelt in front of her and kissed her hand. It can't be said that he was happy to finally meet the wife he'd be spending his life devoted to, but he did have some sort of respect for this young Queen-to-be.
"Usha." the Queen's commanding voice snapped Usha out of her momentary lapse. "Darling, say hello to you're new husband, Brun. His parents were graciously honored to present him to you at your birth and I thought he was a fitting match for your developing inheritance."
Usha, finally understanding the height of the matter suddenly stood up, knocking the poor boy to the floor. She was back to her old selfish and impulsive way.
"Mother, I don't want a husband! I'm too young!" Her voice had taken its natural shrill shrieking state and grated on everyone's ear. Usha couldn't help it. She couldn't accept that all her hopes and dreams would not come true on her special day and that her mother instead found it fit to pair her up with a walking toothpick and not grant her what she really desired: control.
"Nonsense," Leila scoffed, upset at her daughter's lack of enthusiasm, "I was merely ten when I found out I had been betrothed to Damp. I did not act like such a child." Well look where that got you, Usha thought smugly. "Now sit and be silent. Afterwards, you are going to prepare for your Turning celebration.
"Now then," Leila addressed the council, "On to other, more oppressing matters, the mine cave-ins and such..."
The boy named Brun, only about a year or so older than Usha, kept staring at her like a hurt puppy as he got up and slid into another wooden seat next to the distressed princess, who was staring straight ahead.
"What is it?" Usha whispered, harsh and exasperated. She lowered her voice when her mother glanced quickly in her direction, "Why are you staring at me like I just killed your pet rabbit?"
"You don't like me," he said it matter-of-factly.
"No, I don't," she replied just as neutrally.
"Well," Brun's lips curved up into a mischievous grin, "I bet I can change your mind."
Before he could say more or Usha could question him, the red curtain suddenly parted again, interrupting the heated discussion between the Council.
This time, there was another boy, but bearing unusual garments. He had curly, sand-colored hair and --- never known in the sunless dephs of the Greylands-a tan. He also wore a strange and worn-out outfit: some sort of hat on his head that had a flap sticking out of the front, coarse blue slacks (definitely not velvet or silk), a white cotton T-shirt and weird leather shoes that went flip-flop every time he walked. He was also holding a large white square perhaps two inches thick that also had the strange characters on it. P-I-Z-Z-A.
Drake was wondering what P-I-Z-Z-A meant and where he could get those flip-flop shoes.
Usha and Brun stared at the guy in quiet, dignified shock, but the adults had quit whispering about cave-ins and, when caught sight of the new occurrence, started jabbering gibberish that the young kids could not understand.
"Humans?!"
"...never, in more than two thousand years!"
"...happens when the people find out?"
"...must secure this secret..."
"...call the Senka to attack and hold this one for ransom!"
Finally the Queen's big voice cut through the murmur of angry, frantic Councilmen and women, "Enough!" The room quieted.
Usha's glaze glided over to the strange boy as he quivered in his other-worldly shoes and flicked his eyes nervously. Finally seeming as if he had just swallowed his fright, he stood up straight and erect and uttered his next words in such a voice that the Queen stopped her speech mid-condemnation and turned to him.
"Pizza's here!"
Jethra's Discovery: Prolouge
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