After telling him several times that my feet hurt, Gediyon starts giving me a history lesson on Arriscyal. That's a nice way to distract me from the pain.
"The kingdom used to be called the Coastal Lands of the Gifted."
"Is that what Arriscyal means?"
"Actually, Arriscyal is a compilation of the first two kings' names. They were brothers."
He goes on, reminding me that anyone native to these lands is born with the power over a single element.
"What, is there something in the water that makes everyone hokey pokey?"
"It's genetic, but abilities can vary greatly from father to son, or mother to daughter. At birth, an infant is bestowed with that single ability, but they must grasp it within the first minute of life, or the mother cannot pass on another ability until her next conception."
Now he sounds like a biology teacher. Well, I know that if Gediyon taught history at my school, none of the girls would fall asleep in class, and if he taught biology, girls would stay late for help with homework, whether they need it or not.
"So if they get a single element," I ask, "how come you have a bunch?"
"That, I do not know. My mother couldn't even explain it to me."
Ah, well, it doesn't make him any less cool if he doesn't know why he's cool.
When we reach the end of the bridge, I'm ready to dance and sing, and then I see the miles ahead of fields, farms, and spiking out of the ground every now and then, windmills. Farthest in the distance is a gleaming spire, and before that, a thin line of white running from as far as I can see from the left all the way to the right. I guess those are the city walls.
I sigh as we continue down a paved path that cuts between the farms, but I won't say any more. I've tortured Gediyon enough with all my complaining.
"Do you see that tower in the distance?" Gediyon asks. "It's the center of the ArriscyleanPalace. It's also where our healer sleeps."
I spit hair out of my face. I almost forgot that we're here to recruit the healer, and it turns out that she's a princess too? I bet she also has a menagerie of beasts that she can summon in battle—probably in a closet along with ridiculously flashy gowns. Let's see you defend yourself in that hoopskirt, Princess!
I'm making faces to myself, gazing away over a farm with animals that look like walking mops, when I hear rattling in the distance. I look straight down the road and see something headed directly for us. Whatever it is, it's going to run us over!
I dash off the road onto some plush grass. I look back at Gediyon, but he's still standing in the middle of the road, watching me with a smile.
I wave my arms. "Gediyon, watch out!"
"It's the kingdom escort," he says.
In a flash, the silver carriage stops a yard in front of him without even a screech. Two large, muscular cats lower themselves into a sitting position, like lazy sphinxes. They're striped white and silver as shiny as the carriage.
The coachmen step off. They're dressed a lot like Gediyon, wearing the same emblazoned white cloak, and one of them also has long hair. Both of them are wearing an engraved, golden chest plate.
They salute us. "Good morning, Sir Gediyon Raidyne." They face me and bow. "Your Serene Divinity."
The one with longer hair says, "We have orders to escort you to the palace at once."
"You're certainly punctual," Gediyon says with a twang of amusement.
The other coachman says, "Madam Manasa informed Her Highness of Our Divine Creator's return."
I sigh and step back onto the road. "You mean I don't have to walk all the way to the castle? Thank God!"
They swing the carriage door open for me and help me step inside. Plush red velvet seats! Awesome! I squeal out of relief and fall back into them, but leave enough space for Gediyon. Ah, my throbbing feet! I rub my hands all over the seats and scratch happy faces into the pile.
The coachmen close the door again, and before I can call for Gediyon, the carriage is already speeding down the road.
"Hey!" I yell, pushing aside heavy red curtains and sticking my head out of the front window. "What about Gediyon?"
"Another carriage will come for him shortly."
"Why don't you let him ride with me? We're going to the same place, aren't we?"
"Sir Gediyon must report directly to Her Highness. On the other hand, Your Serene Divinity, we would like to treat you to some hospitality."
I gasp and pull back into the carriage. Oh God, how could I have been so stupid? My feet are tired, and a carriage conveniently appears out of nowhere? These guys aren't Arriscylean soldiers!
"You're kidnappers!"
Both of them are silent. Oh God! Why did I have to leave Gediyon's side?
I expect them to laugh or something, but they both gasp.
"Good Goddess, no!"
"That's preposterous!"
"We're such idiots!"
"We apologize for coming off as so hasty—"
"Miss Goddess, we would never—"
"One kidnapping is enough—"
"How could we present ourselves as such?"
I slide the curtains back. "So you guys aren't kidnappers?"
"No!" they say in unison.
They go on apologizing but I pull back and sigh. "Don't scare me like that! Still, you coulda let Gediyon come along. He did a lot of walking too, you know."
"We apologize, Your Divinity, but it isn't proper for our Creator to ride with a commoner."
"What's common about him?"
"In fact, we're hardly fit to escort you, ourselves."
I smack my forehead and groan. These people!
With the carriage speeding down the road, everything outside is a blur. A flash of feathery fields passes by, and then the carriage comes to a sudden halt. I nearly fly out of my seat.
The coachmen open the door for me, and as soon as I step out, they kiss the ground I walk on and spit out apologies.
"It's okay! Really!"
I pat them on the heads, then hear a flourishing fanfare to my right. We made it to the city gates, and closing in the space between the carriage and the other side of the wall is a lineup of heralds, blasting their lungs into their trumpets. Inside the city walls, the people that I do see are kneeling in a bow or flaring their skirts in curtsies.
A man dressed no different than the two men at my feet marches down the road and bows. "Your Serene Divinity, it is our greatest pleasure to welcome you back to the Kingdom of Arriscyal. If you will, we shall escort you to your chambers in the palace. Please follow me."
As I pass, the heralds bow one by one. The city is silent as I walk through the gates—the only thing I hear is running water. Straight ahead I see a carved silver gondola adorned with blue, green, and white gems. A young man stands in the boat, and though he wears a hat to protect him from the sun, his uniform doesn't look like a typical Venetian gondolier. He wears stunning coattails that glimmer with silver embroidery.
The channel of water in front of me stretches to the left and right, and I spot arching bridges cutting over them to the opposite street. Even on the bridges, people silently bow, and I look overhead into windows and see the tops of people's heads. Just looking at them sends a chill through my bones.
Before the guard can lead me all the way to the boat, I stop, take a deep breath, and make sure that everyone can hear me.
"Hey! Just 'cause I'm here doesn't mean that y'all have to act hella stiff, okay? Quit bowing and do what you normally do!"
The guard standing beside me looks like he wants to run away, but he stays in place, his eyes darting nervously from one person to another. It takes them a while, but a few people lift their heads and ask others if it's all right. They look at me—smirking with my hands on my hips like I'm Peter Pan—then decide that it's okay to move about.
I nod. "There ya go!" I start toward the gondola, then add, "Happy day to everyone!"
When I step onto the gondola, it doesn't wobble. I dump my things at the bottom of the boat and take a seat.
"This will take you directly to the palace," the guard tells me. "Good day to you, Your Divinity."
I wave after him. "Thanks man!"
The gondolier stands at the back of the boat, but he isn't holding a paddle. He angles his right arm toward the water and, like Gediyon, uses his water magic to propel the boat forward. It's an amazingly smooth ride.
I look over the side and peer into the water. It's clear, like the water at Lereli, but the water here is tinged green like it's supposed to be. Gray pebbles line the bottom of the bank and long, narrow fish swim in the current.
Even as I pass through the city, I don't think everyone is acting normal. Everyone bows or curtsies as I pass, and some of the women look stiff, but their tight corsets might be to blame. Girls and younger women, who are only wearing loose sashes around their waists, move a lot more gracefully. Their light, flowing skirts billow in the wind, exposing their strappy sandals that tie above the calves. I don't really know how the men manage in the heat, because most of them are wearing vests and boots. Their shirts seem to be made out of the same material as the women's skirts, though.
The gondola curves into a shopping area, and now I see the real magic. People exit shops, carrying glowing jars of some bright white jelly. Some rich-looking women, who have bought too much, lead their servants, who use their levitating powers to tow bags and parcels of merchandise. I stand up to catch a glimpse inside a restaurant and jewelry shop, where several people shoot fire out of their hands into ovens at the same time. In another shop I see two people simultaneously shaping enormous glass vases with fire and wind, and with a wave of her hand, a florist blooms flowers to the size of balloons on request.
"This is so cool!" I turn myself back and forth, facing one side of the street and then the other.
"Your Divinity, please have a seat. You may fall overboard."
Within five minutes of sitting in the boat, my stomach growls. All the oven-fresh bread, roasting meat, and tea shops we pass make me hungry, and I don't have any more flat bread, fruit, or nectar in my bag. I could really do with some more of those red spiders.
"I'm hungry," I mumble.
The gondolier tells me there will be plenty of food prepared for me when we arrive at the palace. It's nice having worshippers.
It takes about half an hour more to snake through the city, and we finally reach the base of the palace. From the channel, the palace seems to be in the sky. Water pours from underneath, so it looks like it's floating on top of a geyser. I think this is the source of water that cycles throughout the city channels. The gondola floats closer to the base of the waterfall, and I'm afraid we'll be pulled under, when the gondolier switches something on the boat. It seals us in a bubble of air before the waterfall even sprays us. The gondola slides into the waterfall and ascends.
The waterfall provides relief from the sun, but now I can't look around the city anymore. Watching the water spill over the sphere surrounding us is pretty mesmerizing, though.
When the gondola reaches the top, the last of the water spills over the side, and the gondola pops onto a calm stream. The gondolier pulls into a small cove at the base of the palace steps and he helps me step out.
As soon as I step foot on the pavement, I hear squealing and see three women running down the steps to greet me. One has graying hair, another is as old as my mom, and the third is a girl in her twenties. They're dressed more conservatively than the women in the city and wear blue pinafores over their dresses, but these are embroidered gold with what I guess is the royal family's crest. It's circular, with six crescents orbiting a single, six-pronged star set on a shimmering backdrop of a sea.
"Miss Goddess is here!" the women say, then curtsy in unison.
"This is wonderful!" the middle-aged one says. "Allow us to take you to your chambers at once!"
"Everything is prepared!"
"Whoa, I have a room here?"
"Of course! We always have a room prepared for when our Creator returns!"
"We've had to refashion it several times since Goddess Saei's time, but it's still as magnificent!"
They surround me and pull me up countless stairs. Wow, I can see the entire kingdom from up here—I can even see a forest and the Highbridge in the distance.
When we finally reach the top of the stairs, the first room that we enter looks like it can be part of any house. It's a spacious square room with a high ceiling, trimmed with more gold and silver, but there are no windows, paintings, or even tapestries. The most ornate decoration in the room is a chandelier that hangs over the center. The crystals themselves seem to be made of light and they float in a spherical formation.
I gape at it when the women lead me to the center of the room and touch another sphere. This one is blue and is about the size of a classroom globe. It floats above the center of an elaborate design etched into the white marble floor, and it glows when one of the women touches it. She prods it around in a few places, and then I see blinding light rise out of the floor design. I shield my eyes, and not a second later, the women lead me down an entirely different corridor. The sphere still sits behind us.
"Whoa! It's like Star Trek!"
The women just smile at me but continue down the corridor. More guards stand watch, standing on either side and bowing as we pass, but every other pair carries a halberd or saber.
As we continue down the hall, I notice that the walls aren't completely solid. They look like intricate, floral lacework and allow the sun to pass through, but I have a feeling that no ordinary sword can damage the carved stone, and the gaps are so small that I don't think a fly can squeeze in.
At the end of the corridor is a set of large glass double doors, with similar lace stonework. The last two men at the end bow to me and open the doors for me and my escorts.
The first thing I see is a fountain of food. I gasp and run toward it, but I don't know where to start. Fruit floats next to bonbons next to small pastries. Long tables on either side of the entrance hall support platters. The left has all kinds of meat dishes—breaded, stuffed, roasted, rare. On the right are vegetable and grain dishes, steaming and piled on top of each other with colorful garnishes. Some kind of broth calls to me. Standing around the room are young, stoic-looking boys holding pitchers of different drinks.
I hop from one side of the banquet to the next, but the first thing I bite into is a chocolate bonbon. The inside cream oozes into my mouth, and in the very center is something chewy.
I prance around the vanilla-scented fountain, pick up a flaky pastry, and make my way to the vegetable table. I scoop out something that looks like rice—reminds me of home—and I munch on tiny bread bowls full of what I think is broccoli cheddar soup.
The three women who come with me smile as I stuff my face, so I ask them, "You guys aren't going to eat any?"
"This was prepared only for you, Your Divinity."
"Well, you guys can have some. I don't mind!" I nudge the boy standing beside me, who carries a pitcher of what smells like root beer.
They don't move; I feel like a pig eating like this in front of them, and some sauce, cream and juice dribbles down my front. I have a feeling the only way they'll eat any food is if I feed them myself, so I take a white bonbon from the floating sweets fountain and hand it to the youngest woman.
"I saw you eyeing it," I say. "Eat it. It's delicious."
I stare at her until she puts it in her mouth, and then she smiles at me. "Thank you, Miss Goddess."
"Michelle, okay? My name is Michelle."
I break off the wing of a roasted bird, take a pitcher away from one of the boys, and hand him the meat. I do the same with another, but I hand him a long roll of bread. It takes them about ten minutes to loosen up, and by then they're enjoying the food as much as I am, and chat about the latest gossip.
"Then it's true that the prince has been kidnapped?" the youngest maid asks.
I almost choke on a fish tail. "The prince has been kidnapped? Is anyone doing anything about it?"
The middle-aged maid responds, "Why yes, Michelle, the troops are searching the Arakid Jungle as we speak, so you mustn't worry yourself about such matters!"
The oldest says, "Now let's clean you up before we show you around the kingdom!"
They shoo the boys away and then lead me into the rest of the Goddess suite. I take a few steps up into the bedroom: beautiful and mossy green. Curling, fragrant vines hang from baskets on the walls, and a carpet as soft as clouds cushions my feet as I walk toward the bed. It's the largest bed I've ever seen, practically the size of my whole room at home. It's green with specks of gold flowers. I brush my hands over the comforter. Cool and smooth silk. All of the cushions at the head of the bed look like a pillow fight's dream.
"Geez, and I can sleep in this?" I say under my breath.
"This room is only reserved for the Creator when she returns to our kingdom."
The women stand in front of a large mirrored door, with their hands folded in front of them.
"And how many times has she come back?" I ask. I guess it's more appropriate to ask, "How many times have I come back," but it sounds weird to me.
"Three times, since Goddess Saei. But your return is a mystery."
"How come?"
"Our Creator is reborn on Starrs every two hundred years or so, and her last incarnation left this world about only eighty years ago."
"Yeah, I guess that is pretty weird. Maybe my brother's invention messed up time on this world? Haha. Tyme."
I walk past the bed and push aside sheer cream-colored drapes that lead onto the balcony. These doors also have the same lace stonework, but they aren't as heavy as they look. With a single touch, they pull open, revealing a circular balcony as wide as my backyard. I run to the end and look over the railing.
I'm maybe fifteen stories high and I can see the palace gardens below. A pond cut into four parts lies directly below, and in the middle stands a statue. Smaller ponds are scattered here and there, but instead of a straight path from one to another, the paved walkways curl around each other. Some of the pathways look like fireworks, with bursts of colorful flowers and trees trimmed like stars. Another path is completely hidden beneath a vine archway that leads to a gazebo on top of a hill, where I see a couple walk hand-in-hand. Aw, that's sweet.
I bounce on the balls of my feet when I say, "I have to go down there later!"
"Yes, Michelle, but first let's clean you up."
They pull me back inside and lead me into the mirrored door. It's a bathroom! It smells like a florist's, and steam rolls around the top of a large, glowing pool. A small waterfall feeds it. Like the rest of the room, it looks like it belongs in a garden, but I think I'd prefer my bathroom to look like this than something super high tech or something that should belong in Versailles. The floor beneath me looks like pebbles, but it's as smooth as glass.
I feel awkward when the women undress me, but I melt in their hands when they lead me into the pool and give me a shoulder rub. Ah, being Goddess is amazing!
Their backs are turned to me as I wash off the travel of the past two days, wading around in the pool and sticking my head under the waterfall. After a moment of silence, the oldest one is daring enough to ask me why I've returned to Starrs. I don't know if it's a taboo subject, but her voice shakes. Without hesitation, I tell her about the virtual reality game. They probably don't understand, because they change the topic.
The women chat about taking me around the kingdom so I can help the farmers prepare for the impending famine, and then make speeches or something like that. The older women, whose names I learn are Simmy and Mirra, leave to pick me an outfit, but the youngest stays to keep me company. Her name is Canaria.
"Do you know where Gediyon is?" I ask her, swinging my leg back and forth underwater.
"Oh, have you met Gediyon?" She's smiling. Guess that's another one that has a crush on him. "I think I heard Mr. Baas say that he was sending him off to search for Prince Jaysonn as well."
"What?" I scream. I jump out of the pool at once, and my naked body spills water all over the floor. Ah, this is weird! But at least Canaria has her back to me. I wrap myself in a towel and say, "He's leaving without me?"
"Why yes, Michelle. It's best if you stay in the kingdom, where it's safe and you can help—"
"Screw side quests and mini games! I want to save the princess! I-I mean, prince!" I put on the same clothes that I came in. A costume change can wait!
I tie the sash around my waist as I ask Canaria, "Can you take me to Gediyon?"
"He may be in the throne room. Then you can speak with Her Highness!"
With wet feet, I march toward the door and Canaria follows. The other two women emerge from the opposite mirrored door, holding a pink gown between them, but I say, "I can get fancy later!"
Canaria excuses us. "I'm taking her to the throne room."
I pick up my mallet and bag off the floor in the entrance hall, which has already been cleared of the food, and we continue into the outside corridor. The men outside bow to us as we pass, and I don't care enough to tell them not to. I'm on a mission! I march to the floating sphere on the other side of the walkway, Canaria presses a few places on the orb, and we both appear in a bright room. It doesn't look like Gediyon is here, though.
Like everywhere else, the palace guards stand all around. The entire wall to the right is missing, and in flows a warm breeze from the gardens. At the opposite end of the room are two thrones; the taller one is empty and sits on the floor, while the other levitates high. I guess the person sitting in it is the queen.
Canaria and I step forth off the circular etching, and she curtsies. "Your Divine Highness Queen Trissa, may I present to you, Her Serene Divinity, our Great Creator, Goddess Michelle." What a mouthful.
I can't help but curtsy as well. This is my first time in front of a queen! What else can I do? When I lift my head again, I see that the queen's throne has descended to the floor. As she walks across the silver carpet toward us, her heavy, dark metallic blue gown trails behind her like an ebbing tide.
"You bow to no one, Miss Goddess," she says. Her voice is strong enough to echo throughout the hall, but still warm and soft. As I rise, she leans herself into a lower curtsy, and everyone else in the room follows her lead.
I walk down the carpet and kneel in front of her. I take her hands, which have the smoothest skin I've ever touched, and she raises her head to look at me. Gosh, she's beautiful. Her almond-shaped eyes, which are the same color as her dress, are wide with surprise at my gesture. Pale blond curls frame her face, while the rest of it twists around her head in an elaborate updo. A crystal tiara sits on top of her head, but it looks like it could be made of water frozen in time.
"I may be Goddess," I tell her, "and I appreciate everyone's awesome hospitality, but this is too much. I was born a normal girl, and I never thought I'd ever meet royalty, so for someone as...honorable as you to bow to me, it's really weird. Can we all be a little more casual?"
The queen smiles. Wow, she's pretty! She has the kind of face I've only seen in movies.
"And before you start on that 'Miss Goddess' stuff, my name is Michelle, so call me that."
She nods. "I am Trissa. What brings you here?"
"I want to save the prince!"
"Oh, do you?"
"Yeah! I'm not gonna sit around and let everyone else do it! I want in on the action."
"Well, I'm not one to stop you." She looks at Canaria and says, "Canaria, dear, I don't want to burden you, but will you escort Michelle to the port?"
"Certainly, Your Highness!"
Wow, that was easy.
I stand up and the queen rises with me.
"By the way, you came here with Gediyon, correct?"
"Yup!"
"Interesting."
"He's saving the prince too, right? I can go with him, right?"
"Yes, yes you can."
I jump in place and punch my fist into the air. "Woo hoo!" I start toward the sphere when I remember something. "Oh, Your Highness? Gediyon and I came here looking for the healer to bring back to Lereli. Do you know where she is?"
Both Canaria and the queen laugh, but the queen says, "Michelle, my son is the healer."
"Oh," I say, then the meaning of her words sinks in. "Oh! I guess I don't have to deal with some perfect chick then!" I laugh and skip back to the sphere.
Yes! The healer is a boy! If he's not a pretty princess, then he must be a magical kindergartener and super adorable, considering how beautiful his mom is.
As Canaria punches away atthe sphere, I can't help but think that something was a little off about thequeen. She didn't seem too worried abouther son, and there was something rather vacant about her eyes.
Author's Note
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The Starriest Summer, the first book in The Cycle of the Six Moons trilogy, is available in its entirety here on my website: https://adelleyeung.com/books/csm1starriestsummer/