Rebecca stares at the people around her perplexed. She has no idea what to say. She hears the rumors and straightens herself slowly. She folds back the helmet of her arcane armor and it disappears into the rest of her armor.
"Greetings to all the citizens of Crowridge. I know many of you are wondering why I have not shown my face for twenty years. I am also certain that you wish to know what I have been doing in that time. When my parents died I was too young and too naive to rule a kingdom. Leticia organized that the advisors ruled in my stead. Unfortunately due to a lack of leadership, the castle vaults have been raided by pirates. Whatever the truth may be. This kingdom is in a deep economic crisis that needs the right guidance to get it back on its feet. I want us to work together to bring this kingdom back from certain doom. I hope that I can count on your cooperation to rebuild what has been lost and insure that this tragedy does not occur again. Please excuse us. Earl, lead the way please."
Earl makes a path through the crowd of people towards the archway in the square. He stops in front of the arch.
"Due to unrest in the city, both gates inside the castle courtyard and the square markets are shut. The only open gateway is through the commoner's fountain square. Winterfall City!" The gate before Earl shimmers like a sheet of glass and the scene through the gate changes from business shops in the background to disheveled and broken down wooden homes.
Earl's steps through the gate holding the reigns of his horse. Rebecca follows and as she passes through, it feels like walking through a thin sheet of water. Her horse follows her as she gently tugs on its reigns. Once her horse clears the gate. It shimmers and returns to an empty arch standing alone.
"I suggest you mount your horse and follow me. Keep your armor active. It will help. Trust me," says Earl.
Rebecca mounts her horse and Earl leads them past a heap of something that reeks of death. On closer examination, she notices a dead dog in the middle of the street.
"Why is there a dead animal in the middle of the street?" she asks.
"They do this to keep noble lords from staying too long and also to try and keep the tax collectors away. The stench alone is enough to ensure they do not linger in this place too long. This way." Earl replies and he steers his horse around a corner.
After another right and left they end up in a wide dirt street. Horse carts, carriages, people, and riders travel back and forth on this road in a constant stream of movement. Earl falls in behind a carriage that has a raven symbol engraved on its side. Earl urges his horse into a trot and Rebecca follows his example.
"Rebecca, I need you to take the lead from here. You are about to draw a lot of attention with that cape hanging from your arcane armor. The Fiery Dragon has claimed you queen of the land and it is proclaimed by the royal crest emblazed in gold on a blood-red full-length sleigh. Keep this speed and stay on this road. It leads straight to the castle." Earl falls back to flank her from her right side at the same pace.
The hooves of their horses clop rhythmically on the dirt road. The second defense wall comes into view. She looks over her shoulder and notices that another armor-clad soldier has joined on Earl's left. She looks back to the front and notices the portcullis in front of them is shut. As they come closer a blue ruin lights up on the wall above her. The closed portcullis comes to life and opens by raising from the ground.
The change as they pass the gate is dramatic. The buildings are in better condition as she sees more stone structures than wooden structures. She realizes that these are middle-class residents. The road continues in a straight line. She starts to notice people pointing and staring at her. She decides to keep her eyes on the road and cranes her neck as she tries to see the castle.
She sees the mountain jutting out of the ground to her right. Right in front of her in the distance, the castle towers are visible over the city. As they come closer to it the castle becomes more defined. Its bulk is still hidden from her point of view.
The first and main defense wall comes in front of her. Archers on the wall are running to their position and aim their weapons at her. But at the sight of her armor, they lower their weapons and stands on attention. As she passes through the portcullis they salute by crossing their right arm over their chest and lower their heads in submission.
A man with a hand and a half sword shout at his men. The moment he sees her and salutes red-faced with embarrassment. From where she is he looks a lot like a wrestling star named John Cena she used to see on the television every Saturday.
On the other side of the gate, she notices exclusive estates and mansions of local noble lords from across the kingdom. The streets are clean and every noble lady walks the streets in corset dresses of every shade of pastel to bright colors.
A galloping horse makes her look over her shoulder and she sees Mr. Cena look alike fall in on her left next to Earl.
"Your majesty, I would like you to meet your captain of the guard, Guss Guildheart," says Earl. "Guss, our queen has come home. Her majesty, Rebecca of Blackmountain."
"Greetings your majesty," Guss greets her respectfully. His voice is deep and gruff and reminds her of a bear.
"Hello, Guss. Nice to meet you. We will talk more once we reach the castle," Rebecca replies. Hoping she sounds friendly to him. A better work relationship with him will help her in her task. She needs both these men to keep her soldiers in line and keeping law and order in the kingdom.
"I am sorry your majesty. I thought my men were allowing Adele Braxton to infiltrate the castle," replies Guss.
Rebecca laughs heartily. "Captain, how can you not recognize your knight commander from the description given? Adele Braxton never existed. I created her to see how my soldiers would retaliate and if they are smart enough to identify Earl. He is the easiest to recognize with the scars on his face and unique amethyst eyes. I doubt that he has a twin with the exact same scar on his face. As I said we can talk at the castle," says Rebecca and faces forward again.
The mountainside behind the castle reveals that it has many caves. From her childhood memory, she knows that these caves are the dragon holds of the dragon knights. It is in those caves that Lila was born. By now the castle's battlements that have been build into the side of the mountain come into view.
The castle gate comes into view along with the rest of the magnificent marble white castle with its thatched blue roof. Not even the Disney castle can compare to the grand structure before her. She is certain that even the Queen of England would envy this castle. It is huge. It tells of a mighty kingdom. It is a pity the economy of her kingdom does not reflect the might and beauty of this castle.
At long last, she sees the drawbridge. As they approach the gate she sees a nobleman shouting at one of the guards and pointing in her direction. The soldier shakes his head defiantly. A woman steps in between and seems to have the desired effect as the noble whips around and walks back towards the castle. She notices by his stride that the man is livid.
Her horse nickers tiredly. "We are almost there." She pats the horse encouragingly. "Just a little more, Smoky." The white and black spotted horse snorts and slows down. No longer able to keep up the trotting pace, the horse slows down. His sides are heaving for breath. "Earl, Smoky is too tired. He can't keep up the trotting pace anymore. I don't want to push him."
"That's alright. The old horse has done its duty," Earl replies.
Smoky slow down to a walking pace as they start to cross the draw bridge. Now she can hear the clatter of armor on the soldiers behind them. Smoky follows the cobbled stone path. She sees Lisa on the front steps of the castle entrance. She pulls Smoky to a halt and dismounts immediately.
"You did a great job Smoky. Thank you, big guy. Now of to the stables with you for some fresh water and hay." She removes the duffel bag strapped to his side.
A stable boy steps forward and guides Smoky to the stables. Rebecca can hear the sea waves breaking against the rocks while the castle's high walls keep the seawater out. Seagulls circle and weave constantly among the castle towers, creating a peaceful atmosphere. Several seagulls have decided that the best place to rest is on the wall closest to the sea.
A servant offers to take the duffel bag, but Rebecca refused to entrust her bag to a servant that smells and looks like he has been sleeping in a sewer. She ordered him to get washed before coming near her again.
She notices a translucent small girl running up the steps past her into the castle hallways in front of her. "Hello, Rebecca."
Rebecca draws her friend into a hug. "Lisa, I missed my best friend a lot."
Lisa giggles and returns Rebecca's hug. "What do you think of your home now?"
"I think even the Chinese Emperor will be envious of this grand hall. I still can't believe this is my home. It feels so unreal. I am waiting for my alarm to go off at any second to wake me up," she replies.
"I have had two weeks to memorize some of the castle's layout and I still get lost regularly," she replies.
Rebecca extracts herself from their embrace and looks down at her watch. It is just past three o'clock in the afternoon.
"There is still time to take care of a few things. Earl, Guss, Lisa. I need to speak with you someplace private. I need you to carry orders over to the soldiers. I will speak to them as soon as time allows for it," Rebecca says.
"I have just the place. Follow me," Earl replies. They followed him through grand white marble hallways. Deeper into the castle. After several minutes of following him, he comes to a halt in front of one of three doors in a short hallway.
"This is the heart of the castle. Every passage and hallway leads to this door. Beyond it lies your father's office. An office that is now yours. To your left is your scribe's office and to your right is Leticia's office," Earl informs her.
He steps out of the way. A door porter made to open the door and she holds up her hand and the porter stops. She slowly approaches the door. She takes in a deep breath and opens the door. A large room as big as a university classroom greets her. Furs cover the floor like a carpet.
She walks over to her father's mahogany desk. Now her desk. Unfinished scroll work lies strewn across the desk. Dust covers everything except for a small desk in the corner. A fresh new scroll lies waiting to be written on.
Rebecca sees hundreds of rune marks on the table. She walks over to it curiously. "What does this table do?"
"The table is the royal seal. Every decree declared by the ruler of the Golden Valley is magically written on this desk and sealed. If the document is long. It can be written and placed on the desk for sealing. The dragon pendant must be placed on the document for the final seal," another familiar voice speaks from the door. Harold walks into the office. "That is where I found your decree that prevented the council from declaring any further decrees. Welcome home, your majesty. Do you want me to notify the council of your arrival?" He asks her.
"No. I have no desire to be drawn into their current council meeting. I have more pressing matters that can not wait. Since you are here. I am going to need your help as well. The next tax collection season is closing in very fast. I am going to undermine current tax laws. Taxes are only to be collected from the medium and high society groups. You will only collect from the medium class what people can afford per household to give at this time. Take soldiers with you that can read and write and have them take a survey of the people's income where you are collecting taxes and what they can afford to pay. I want an average of what the middle-class household receives in income. I do not want to hear of arrests being made for none payment of taxes. If someone is willfully undermining tax laws you will have my fullest support to have them arrested. I need to determine what wage medium is classified as, pauper, merchant, and baron. This will help me set up the new tax laws. If they can not pay in money, find out if they will be willing to pay their taxes with resources. At this point it is more valuable than silver or gold. When the council disperses for the day please ask my financial advisor to deliver the financial records for the period before and after the pirate raid. I will also need the latest records. I will check on them tomorrow. Also, ask someone to please clean this office. The dust is twenty years thick in this office," Rebecca says.
"My apologies, your majesty. I have asked the staff and according to the lady of the castle. Your father has strictly ordered that his desk must remain untouched until his return," Harold replies.
"No need to apologize. You will have to introduce me to the lady of the castle," Rebecca replies.
"Of course. You shall meet her in the dining hall this evening." Harold turns on his heels and leaves.
"Lisa, how do ships pass through the lions' gate?" Rebecca asks her friend.
"Blue amber crystals must be infused into the hull of the ship. If not the sea serpents will sink the ships, only merchant ships and our military ships are allowed to infuse the crystals in their hulls," Lisa replies.
"My next question will determine whether the story of the pirate raid is true. Is it possible that pirates have gained control of one of our ships?" Rebecca asks the question that now hangs in the air. Rebecca knows what the answer will tell her. She has a gut feeling about what happened to the castle's money.
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New Character;
The captain of the Guard is Guss.