"The demoniacs have torn through many of the outlying towns, and are advancing further into the city. We need reinforcements." The Elven King demanded. King Alik slammed his hand down upon the table.
"I have an official royal decree here that each kingdom must supply soldiers to hold back the demoniac attack. The Caliburn stones have weakened significantly and the wards are not strong enough as they once were. I suggest every Kingdom to watch its borders for a possible demoniac attack as well, there's no clue where they will strike next."
"What about the Caliburn stones? Isn't there a search group?" The Faylinn Queen asked, and the King sighed.
"Yes. There is, they have a lead and are pursuing it now."
"What about the Icer? Shouldn't her presence here at the palace been keeping the stones in check?" Alatar's King questioned, and the rest of Counsel nodded their heads, murmured agreements reaching the King's ears. The King scowled. He did not wish to tell them that the Icer was no longer in the palace. He hated seeming weak in front of them. He was supposed to be a leader, and mistakes could not be made in this line of work, he knew that.
"She has become part of a different search party." The King admitted, and the room gasped.
"We were there when you firmly told her no!"
"Are you saying she snuck out of the palace?"
"You can't even keep track of the people in your palace, how do you think you are fit to handle the tracking of the stone?"
"That search party won't do a blasted thing. You're letting them search for it?"
"Who is even part of this search party?"
The King's hands balled into fists as he was bombarded with questions. He chose to answer only one. He looked at the Briar Queen, the one who asked the simple question. Who. Who was all included in the search party; sometimes Alik really dreaded Counsel meetings. It made him question whether the Goddess had been right choosing him to lead Asonia.
"The two assassins, the Icer, and my own son and daughter." He grimaced, waiting for the onslaught of voices. But they were silent. The entire room was silent.
"We are doomed. Even the Goddess cannot help us now." The Ethereal King muttered, and the King faced them all.
"We are not doomed. Not if we work together. We must hold the demoniacs back and not let them cross into any more borders. Asonia is our world, and we mustn't let it be overcome. Now leave, and by the day after tomorrow I expect your soldiers to be in Erline to hold the front. May the Goddess's wisdom and guidance assist you." The King left the room and stalked across the hall. Servants rushed to follow him.
"Prepare my bath. And find the Queen, tell her I wish to speak to her." He demanded, and a couple servants vanished from his side, scurrying off to do their tasks. The King looked at the last servant next to him.
"You, go fetch some wine from the cellar. I have a dreadful headache." And with that the King was alone. He thought as he walked. He had let things get far out of hand. The stones were powerful, so powerful and able to hold the force field together and he was lost on its capabilities. Sometimes he did not know if he was fit to be King. When times like these came about, when he was called to do questionable things and make tough decisions was his most frustrating time. He knew this would happen, he could not run a peaceful land forever. There would always be people trying to destroy everything he had built, everything that he had made. The King gripped his staff tighter, he could not let them win. Not this time. The Goddess had chosen him for a reason, and he would uphold that honor until last breath.
"My Queen? Miss Ashley is here, as you requested." A maid announced to the Queen. She waved her hand, her eyes never leaving the view. She was standing on a balcony, her long dress hung up inside. Her hair was pooling around her shoulders, pulled up in a half ponytail to reveal her face. Her neck and ears were bare, the jewelry locked away. She was wearing a silk night gown, a robe tied overtop.
"I'm sorry, mi' lady, I did not mean to disturb you." Ashley said. She herself was dressed in a nightgown, her own robe keeping away the chill wind.
"Oh, you aren't at all Ashley. I am the one who invited you after all. Come, look out here. What do you see?" The Queen's voice trickled like a stream to Ashley's ears. Ashley cautiously approached the Queen, her eyes scanning the landscape. The sun was setting, casting a deep glow on the land, the mountains far in the distance black and creating a long shadow.
"I see mountains, and towns." Ashley admitted.
"That's because you're not looking hard enough. You see what's literal, what it could only be. The world is bigger than that, even this world. Far beyond the bustling towns, and the ranging mountains there's unknown things. Places not yet explored, or searched. It's a lot like a book, the cover gives you a glimpse of what's inside, but the actual story is why you want it."
Ashley looked back out the scene, but she honestly couldn't see any difference. She had never been one to dig deeper into the literal of things. And she couldn't fathom why the Queen has asked to see her. "I don't understand what the point is." But it her mind, it could only be good things. She had grown used to the palace life, and she couldn't imagine going back. Her parents, her old life, was gone, it was filthy and undeserving of the one she had now.
"There doesn't always have to be a point my dear. Although, I will admit now it not one of those times. You were thrust into this world with someone you could not imagine parting with. Tell me now, have you thought much about her?" Ashley looked down at the balcony's edge. Guilt swirled in her stomach at the mention of Claire, but she answered anyway.
"I do worry for her safety. She was horribly clumsy back on Earth, I can't imagine what she's doing now. It's just," Ashely hesitated for a moment, unsure if she wanted to continue. She decided she did, her fingers tracing patterns into the stone. "It's just she's different. She would never go off on some mission. She's not like that. Since I've known her she would always be on some sort of furniture with a book grasped in her hands. I know she's different than who she was before. Even though she used to be a thief. I'm not sure I like the new her." The Queen laughed, the sound like soft bells.
"Her life has been changed. She came here thinking she was merely human; only to find out she's the last creature in an endangered species. She changed to adapt to this world. Do you not think that you have changed also? It is not every day that we allow mere humans to stay in the palace. Well, above servants, but even they were once Ameliorates."
"Why should finding out she's like Elsa from Frozen change her personality?" Ashley scrunched up her face, purposefully ignoring the fact that she was a mere mortal, and her fate in this world rested in the hands of the woman in front of her and her husband.
"I do not understand your reference, but finding out about her power changed her entire point of view. She realized that everything she had once thought about herself was a lie. You aren't connecting the dots my dear Ashley, Claire Alina is like the world. She was given a cover, one that she often looked at and thought one thing and one thing only. Yet when she came here, it was like she opened the book. And now she is reading the story." Ashley looked at the Queen.
"You're comparing Claire to your book analogy from earlier?"
"Why do you think I made that analogy? I do not say things without reason."
"But Claire isn't anything like a book." Ashley protested.
"Dear Ashley, you are still caught on the cover. You, unlike everyone else here, knew Claire Alina before she came here. You knew her as she once was. All of us simply had to adapt to the fact that what we once thought was dead was alive; you had to adapt to the fact that your best friend would never be the same again. You continue to see your friend as the one before all of this, yet she is not the same girl."
"Of course, she isn't. I'm not either. Everything used to be simple, I used to fit in. Here I don't..." Ashley stopped, looking back at the sunset. The jealousy of it all still snagged at her gut. The fact that Claire was wondered and awed at. She was placed on a pedestal and fawned over. That had always been Ashley, Claire could never afford such a public life with her career as a thief. With it switched, it made Ashley feel left out, abandoned by her best friend. Ashley had forced herself into the political light, educating herself on palace etiquette and implanting herself with the Queen and her ladies in waiting. Of course, they had always considered her an outcast, so she had thrown herself at the Prince. If she could win his heart, become the Princess, she could make herself fit in. But he had left with Claire, and it had destroyed Ashley's chance at winning his love.
"And here she does? You and she are very different, I have noticed. While she spends her time in the library reading up on the history of this world, you spend it lounging in the pool or talking with duchesses and ladies about the latest Gossip. While she shied away from politics you dived in. Everyone has a way of changing, maybe you should think about how you have changed."
"It's different. I had to change because I am not like anyone else here, Claire didn't get a choice. I am not from here, and I will never belong."
"What you fail to realize is that Claire is not like anyone else here either. She might have a similarity that connects her to us, but she is vastly different from anyone. And you claim you do not belong, is that why you chase after my son?" Ashley's head snapped to the woman beside her. Embarrassment coursed through her and her face flamed with heat even though the evening was cool, and the wind was chilled.
"Is it that obvious?"
"It is painfully obvious. You yearn to become part of this world, it is much more leisurely than your past one. There are no troubles when someone waits on you hand and foot. Yet I fear you are much too comfortable with this life style. You follow after the Prince like a dog chases after a bone. And while you have come to be very well treated here I think you are forgetting your place. I have heard every girl dreams of being a princess, and it is no surprise you fell for my son, but he is a prince and you are simply a human. You may pine for him all you wish but it will never be allowed. Trei will marry someone of the Goddess's choosing and any flings he may have before that are to be disposed of. He knows this." Ashley's face turned redder, whether it was because of embarrassment or rage she did not know. It was quite possibly a mixture of them both.
"Why can't he have me if he chooses me? Do you not believe in love?"
"He cannot have you because he is a prince. The Goddess chose me for my King, and the Goddess will choose the woman for my Trei. The Goddess will pick an Ameliorate, for she did not create mere mortals. And you would do wise to watch your tone." The Queen had not looked at Ashley once, and that began to make her feel inferior, as if she was a simple human toy that was about to be discarded. Her confidence from earlier faded, and worry began to gnaw at her.
"I have been treated like a member of the royal family for months. I think I might as well be of enough importance to be suitable for Prince Trei. Put us through the test with the Enchanted One. See if the Goddess agrees with what I know." At this the Queen turned to her and regarded her with a cold gaze.
"I must admit I have gotten sidetracked in why I asked you here. You are right. You have been treated like a member of the royal family. That was a mistake. And one we will no longer make. Considering you are human you have two choices, either we wipe your memory and send you back to your world or you become a servant in the palace. You have the night to decide." Ashley's hands were balled into fists. She wanted to scream but two servants had appeared at her side.
"The King wishes to see you my Queen." One said, and the Queen nodded before leaving Ashley on her balcony, her nightgown flowing behind her. The other servant placed a light touch on her arm. She shrugged it off, storming out and back to her room. It was all pink lace and satin, something she had spent weeks decorating. Her window was open, the last sights of the sun had disappeared under the horizon and she closed the curtains in anger. She sat down on the edge of her bed.
The Queen was right that she had gotten comfortable with this place. The lavish feasts and the servants coming at her every beck and call. Did she really want to become one of them? Have to answer to someone else's needs every second of the day. Or did she want to go back to her old life? With no memories of this place or Claire or Trei? She had grown to love him. Desperately love him. More than she had loved anything. And she didn't think she could survive living in the palace as a servant with him there. While he married some princess or duchesses and forget about her except when he needed food delivered or his room cleaned. She shook her head, heading to her closet. She was going to make a third choice, she was not going to live like that.
*************
The Queen entered the room. It was a normal living room, one of the hundreds they had. This one she knew was the King's favorite. It had deep green walls and cream carpet. The Queen's slippers left no sound on the floor. All the furniture was a dark black velvet, the King slouched on a chair, his feet propped up on the glass table in front, a glass of wine held in his hand. His suit was off, he was simply in trousers and a white t-shirt. The Queen came and sat down on the couch next to him, picking up the full glass of wine on the table and taking a sip.
"You asked for me, my love?" The King regarded her with his ever-changing eyes. She noticed his staff resting in the crook of the chair at his shoulder.
"I did. Did you talk with the human girl?" He asked. She nodded, running her hand along the velvet arm of the couch.
"Yes. She knows her choice. I gave her till tomorrow morning to decide."
"Good, good," The King took a large drink of his wine. "I think you had played with her long enough, my dear. I know infinity is a long time to live, and I know you do enjoy your distractions."
"I agree. That it was time for her to leave of course. She was simply becoming a bore." The Queen lifted the glass.
"Do you remember when we met?" The King asked, and the Queen froze, her lips paused at the edge of her glass. The King's eyes shifted from a light brown to an ocean blue.
"That was such a long time ago."
"As it was. I was a Prince, about to be King. You were a maid in my palace, sent to work directly for me. I remember seeing you for the first time and knowing that right then I had finally felt what real love was." The King sat up. "All my life, for however long it has been, I have always known what to do. With you I knew I had to give up being a Prince, and I did. I did for you and now look at where we are. The Goddess made an exception, allowed us to become married even though you were not of royal or high blood. Before you I made reckless decisions, mistake upon mistake, but you made me sensible. You made me a good King. And now, with our world in danger, I fear I don't know what to do. Demoniacs have breached the borders; the Counsel don't see me fit as King after the group snuck out to search for the stone themselves. I pray the Goddess with help us in this time of need." The Queen leaned over and placed her hand over his.
"You have given me everything I could ask for and more. And I have been more than happy to stand by your side all these years, and I will be honored to do so for many more. You were always a leader, and you were always sensible. Whatever you choose will be the best choice for the people. I know that, and they know that. Is there any news about our children?"
"Jeremy sent word he believes he has found them at Root Cliff. A group of soldiers is meeting him there. I was worried that they wouldn't make it back from this. They are our heirs to the throne."
"They are also our children." The Queen leaned back against the cushions. The King sighed and looked at his wife.
"You are right. Come along now my dear, it is late, and I will need the utmost attention for these upcoming days. I wish to pray to the Goddess before we go to bed. Will you join me?" He stood up and exited, his wife's hand placed on his elbow. They were rarely ever allowed to be alone in the hallways, but the King made sure they were not disturbed. They did not speak, simply walked in silence around the palace. The Queen leaned her head on her husband's shoulder. After a lifetime of being Queen and following the proper etiquette she enjoyed being able to relax with the man she had fallen in love with. She feared the next few days and she wanted to enjoy this peaceful moment. No distractions, no duties, just her and him like it used to be.