Folding the Sky

-6-

"Guys," Jem interrupted. "The gates are opening."

Zuri turned, because Jem was right. A hoarse squeal, thunderous enough to regress the cacophony of the city around them to faint background noise, split the air as the gates slowly swung open. A wave of floral scent hit them in the face, as if beckoning them inside. Zuri was instantly awake.

The gates groaned to a halt, and for a moment, the world seemed to hold its breath.

Behind the gates, a lone figure stood at the beginning of a long, limestone path, arm raised in an obligatory salute. As he walked closer, Zuri recognized him as the royal soldier that had first come to visit her.

"Zuri Ayim," he said. "You have done as the Queen asked. Her Majesty is pleased."

Zuri coughed, ducking her head. "Um. Of course, sir."

"Please follow me, all of you," said the soldier, pivoting on his heel. "Her Majesty awaits your presence in the throne room."

It wasn't everything Zuri had imagined. It was so much more.

She tried to keep her gaze straight ahead as the soldier marched the four of them through the gates, but her eyes could not help but wander around the garden, a blooming artwork of baby pink chrysanthemums and roses of the deepest reds, tulips in orange and yellow and irises a profound purple. She dipped and ran her fingers through the brook, the water cold and clean. All around her was spring condensed: the sort of spring one read poems about.

Soon, the castle loomed above them: a meticulous meshwork of white stone and glass, as if it were half greenhouse, half estate. The sweet, earthy aroma of the gardens trailed them as they followed the soldier up the grand front stoop and to the entrance. A pair oak doors towered over them, nearly four times Zuri's height. She gaped.

Two guards stood at either side of the doors. They nodded at the soldier, then at the four Celestials, and grabbed hold of the brass handles, pulling them open with ease.

"This way, please," said the soldier, and started forward again, his hands interlaced behind his back.

A lavish marble rotunda opened up before them, a broad pool of yellow-white sunlight raining down from a circle of glass at its apex. Their footsteps echoed arrhythmically as they walked, the doors squeaking shut behind them. It was over, Zuri thought. There was no going back now. She was really in Celandine Castle.

She glanced around at the others to see if the same realization had hit them, which, by the tense set to their jaws, it had. Only Aldric seemed calm, the look in his eyes glassy and faraway.

The soldier led the group through the rotunda and into a wide, rectangular room with paneled glass for walls, the roof slanted inwards so the sun hit its clear surface at a shimmering angle. Lining each wall was an array of diverse foliage, tropical bushes and trees, some with vibrant flowers with petals the width of Zuri's torso. In the hush, she could hear the faint trilling of birds somewhere in the canopy.

Jem let out a gasp, and that's when Zuri looked up and saw her.

The Queen of Naino sat at the front of the room in a marble throne of white and gold, two more guards stationed on either side of her. Her gown was long and gossamer, pooling across the floor like a solution of stars, the corseted bodice high-necked and disappearing into two bell-shaped sleeves. A bejeweled headpiece, carved into the shape of sun rays, rested upon her honey brown curls; matching earrings glinted as the Queen tilted her chin into her hand and smiled.

There was a ruffle of noise as the soldier lowered himself to one knee. Awkwardly, the four Celestials followed suit.

"Your Majesty," said the soldier. "I present to you Miss Ayim, Miss Okiro, Mr. Finck, and Mr. Lee. As you requested."

"Thank you, Enzi," said the Queen, and Zuri fought the urge to shudder. Even her voice was beautiful, as sweet and smooth as buttercream. "You may leave us."

The royal soldier stood, saluted, and walked out. Zuri didn't dare move until the Queen told them, "Please, rise. Thank you for coming here today."

Zuri did as she was told, dusting off her skirts once more for good measure. Did her hair look okay, she wondered? No sense in worrying about it now. She sighed and straightened her posture, clearing her throat. "Of course, Your Majesty. It's an honor."

"Certainly an honor," Jem choked out, and the boys ducked their heads in agreement.

The Queen studied them in complete silence then, the faintest of wrinkles around her blood red mouth, before she exhaled and straightened up, clasping her hands in her lap. "Let me assure you of this first," she said. "I have not called you here to kill you."

Everyone relaxed, Chike the most noticeably.

"I do know what you are, of course. Children of the meteor, blessed with mystical abilities ever since its fall all those years ago. I wouldn't have called on you if I weren't aware of what you can do," said the Queen, a careful smile at her mouth, slightly lifting the dark beauty mark on her chin. "In fact, the reason I have brought you all together is because I need you to do something for me. Something no one else can."

Zuri asked, her voice small, "And what is that, Your Majesty?"

"I need you all to find someone for me," said the Queen, and now she stood, her gown shifting to pool around her feet as she descended the dais and approached them, the guards not far behind. "I need you to find someone and bring him back here."

Find someone. The words echoed over and over again within Zuri's mind. Before that soldier had arrived at her doorstep, she had never searched for lost people before. Now it seemed that was all anyone wanted her to do.

Before Zuri could ask, the Queen had already begun to elaborate. "His name is Vernon Schmitt; he's a Celestial, much like you. One of the few adults who gained powers, when mostly children received the meteor's effects."

"Vernon Schmitt," Aldric repeated, as if tasting the words. "Who is he, Your Majesty?"

"A weaver," she replied, her regal gaze switching towards Aldric. "It is said that whatever he weaves into his tapestries will come true. A power like that would mean wonders for our military prowess and diplomatic success, and considering relations have been tense between Naino and Sinje for weeks now, I can think of no better time to seize it."

Zuri jolted. She didn't keep up with the news all that much—she found her life much more peaceful when she turned her eyes away from the violence and suffering of the headlines—but that, at least, she had known about. The two city-states had been quarreling over a mutual territory since the start of the month. Instead of petering out, however, the conflict was only worsening.

"So you want us to find this Vernon guy and bring him back here for you," Jem summarized. "That's it?"

The Queen frowned. "Well, there is a little more to discuss, but that is the bottom line, yes."

"More to discuss?" asked Chike. "Like what?"

The Queen looked at him, before her face blossomed into that same, reticent grin. "Before we discuss the details," she said, and turned to Zuri, "there is one more person who is still missing from our meeting."

"What?" Zuri's mouth fell open; she coughed, regaining her composure. "I don't understand. There were only three names on the list, Your Majesty, and I've brought them all here."

"Correct," said the Queen. "But there is one more Celestial here to help you."

Heels clacked against the marble at a slow, graceful pace. Zuri and the others whirled as a woman walked in: tall, slender, her skin a radiant dark brown and her hair in several brown-gold braids down her back. A smaller version of the Queen's headpiece rested behind her ears, a similar high-necked gown adorning her lissom figure.

"Everyone," said the Queen, proudly. "This is my daughter, Princess Kalindi."