When Aurelie arrived outsideâagainst the advice of every guard she passed who soon filed into a row behind herâValice had been asleep. The bucket of Vera's opium concoction lay emptied and overturned on a patch of grass beside her head. The skin of her damaged wing had been surgically snipped, and patched up with what looked like a white, linen bed sheets.
With a lip that twitched to the side, Revin told Aurelie that he would have preferred his visit to occur when Valice was awake, but shadowed her anyway since all the excitement within the castle dispersed once the smoke no longer rose from roofs of houses. Aurelie was inclined to send him back to the castle since Valice bored him so, but he found fascination elsewhere.
"Who's the man that made these?" Revin asked.
Long silver contraptionsâshaped like the bones of Valice's wingâlay covered with the same thick material that the guards used for tents, a good distance away. The man responsible for the work, she was told, had left urgently to check on his house and family once the guards had secured the town square.
"I don't know his name," she answered.
Revin lifted the cover and inspected them again. "Do you think it will flap?"
The joints of the silver prosthetics were made to bend against the wind when the wing rose, and straighten while pushing against it. A binding solution for between the prosthetics, to keep the leather from tearing or sliding up was still needed. Last Aurelie heard, the man was still trying to figure out what would hold best while also being light yet durable.
"Yes, but there is no way for it to fold when she's on the ground, and he's yet to figure out what to put between the pieces," she answered.
"And the little shadow, how's she doing?"
The question caught Aurelie off-guard. Revin had a way of doing that. Her eyes broadened. Shout it, won't you? She was unable to speak, the corners of her mouth contracted. "Are you mad?" she finally said between clenched teeth, in a tone that even she was barely able to hear.
"Oh calm yourself, dearest, no one knows what I mean." His chin reached toward his shoulder in an awkward shrug.
"I wish you'd stop toying with me on the subject. The King already knows."
"Ah! Good."
While they were on the subject of shadow walkers, Aurelie thought she'd take the time to ask whether he knew anything about the Dream Realm. If Kirin was somehow trapped in there, she'd have to find a way to access it without having to rely on dreams. The Dream Keeper was, of course, her first choice, but they seemed to miss each other daily.
"How do you know that my mind was protected, was it just the cards?"
"Yes," he replied, a frown of suspicious arising. "Why, might I ask, are you curious about that?"
"Because the Dream Realm fell with the curse." She wasn't sure how much Niendry had shared with him. Both of them had a piece of the puzzle. One knew that a spirit had disappeared, and the other that the Dream Realm still existed. Though, she didn't want to share her thoughts with anyone just yet.
"Not all of it apparently," he said.
"But are we sure that it is the Dream Realm that blocked your visions?"
"We can never be certain, but that would be my guess," he said.
Aurelie swiped her tongue over her front teeth and picked at the scab that had formed over the remains of a pimple. "I think he's trapped in the Dream Realm."
"That doesn't bode well for his survival. God knows what they did to that poor boy." Revin frowned, lowering his eyes to hide the pity that would shine through them.
Aurelie sighed. The only people who would truly believe her would be Orken and Daerious, and only because they had missed most of the chaos that she caused, and her weeks of utter helpless madness. "I'll kill them all," she said in the same tone that she would have used to greet one of her friends or to order breakfast.
They left the conversation there, walking back to the castle once darkness completely surrounded them. The guards panicked long before that. Aurelie saw a cloud of relief settle over them as they turned away from Valice.
"She doesn't do much, you know," a young guard walked up to her bravely and said. "She just sleeps all day and night." His face was filled with enthusiasm and sprinkled with freckles from the bump in his nose to his plump cheeks.
"Is that so?" she asked, holding her hands behind her back.
"I thought it would be more exciting." His narrow shoulders slowly rose in a shrug.
"It will be," Aurelie said, her lips rising up into a smile. "Just you wait!" Low whispers rang through the guards. She hoped he wouldn't get into trouble for talking to her. The boy, no older than fifteen, had more courage in him than the grown men that were supposed to defend the castle. She remembered the one that quivered at her presence and couldn't mouth a single word in reply. "What's your name, warrior?"
"It's Robert, but people call me Bobby," he said, looking up.
"The Princess has no interest in your nickname, Robert. Get back in line."
Bobby winced at the man's voice and slipped back into position. Looking back, Aurelie found him in the third row. His chest bulked out and his neck extended, adding to his height and weightâwhich were both lacking. She thought about defending the boy but decided against it. That would cause more harm than good among the men.
***
Aurelie prepared for the council meeting by sitting on the bed with her arms folded on the thick, wooden backboard and her head resting on them. Carvings of rose bushes decorated both sides of it. Staring at them, she drifted in and out of sleep as the ladies gathered her clothing. Dark, she told them, and plain to match the uniforms of the men. She thought about moving to the couch, to keep herself awake, but her legs wouldn't follow the instructions.
The King's council met before dawn itself woke up, and Aurelie wasn't particularity accustomed to being awake before the sun. The only time that's happened while she stayed at the castle was when Daerious and Orken came back and she spent the night explaining all that had happened while they were separated.
The air felt cleaner. Her lungs found it much easier to breathe the fresh, cold air of morning. Something fell on the bed next to her. Aurelie's head rose, her eyes half open to see a black, velvet dress hanging over the backboard, next to her.
"Too fancy," she said and lowered her head again, yawning.
The girl who picked up the dress, inhaled deeply, catching Aurelie's yawn. The door opened, letting in the chatty sound of servants as they walked the halls, preparing the castle for the morning. A soft clicking of heels approached her. Aurelie didn't need to look up to see who it was. She had heard Cassandra's step enough to know that she was the one who entered and whose prickly dress pressed against her fingers as she came to stand next to the bed.
"Lacey, you bring that frock back," she ordered in a stern voice. Wind passed Aurelie's arms as Cassandra raised her own to gesture for the girl to come back. "And why is her head still a bird's nest?"
Aurelie grunted and raised her head, wiping the sleep from her eyes. "Morning." Her nap had come to an end. Cassandra was in one of her chatty moods and overly bossy as usual.
Cassandra's hands jumped up to her hips. "Well, morning, dear Princess," she said, beaming all too enthusiastically at Aurelie. "How does it feel to be with us at this hour?"
Aurelie's lips curved up in defeat. Sighing, she fell back on the bed, almost instantly feeling Cassandra's hand tapping her foot.
"Come on, we don't have all day."
The dress was too tight, and way too low cut for the occasion. It looked like Aurelie was on her way to a fancy funeral rather than a meeting with the King's council. Nonetheless, Cassandra refused to let her change on the off chance that she be the last one to arrive at the meeting. Being overdressed, she had said, was far better than being late.
***
Aurelie climbed the stairs to the War Room, barely able to bend and lift her knees enough to take a step. Four men, in uniform, had passed, looking back questioningly in her direction. Redayran ladies fashion had more sense and purpose to it. She was going to ask for pants, may they even be fluttery and resemble skirts, but by God, Aurelie would not be bound again.
She grew nervous as the last steps became visible; imagining the room filled up and growing quiet once she was seen.
What if there's no chair open?
A murmur of voices sounded, there was no order, making Aurelie think that the meeting hadn't started and hope that it wasn't due to her absence. Bracing herself, she steadied her step and summoned the vision of Queen Alorahâneck lengthened and shoulders pulled back in confidenceâand mimicked her to the very expression.
Servants held up large chandeliers at the end of the stairs. It was still pitch dark outside. The glass made it look like the walls had been painted black, some stars were visible, but the sky was mostly clad in darkness. Candles stood all around the table, papers were spread and conversation soared.
Five chairs were open. Some people glanced up at her and then turned back to their groups, continuing their conversations. Aurelie relaxed and looked for the King who sat in the middle, facing her. He pointed his eyes to a chair on his right, and she approached him, sitting down and pulling her chair closer to the table.
"Morning," she greeted, her eyes jumping from face to face to see if she had recognized some of the men. A single woman other than her was present. Though, even she fit more with the men, dressed in uniform with muscular shoulders and short hair.
"Morning, we're just waiting for Kaiden and Louis Reddon and we can start," the King said. There were more than two chairs open, but she didn't ask who they were meant for, also noting that General Donahue wasn't present at the meeting. Today, she was prepared to only listen and familiarize herself with how affairs were handled.
A young maid came up the stairs, holding a silver tray. Aurelie could make out grapes and a steaming drink. There was certainly not enough food for everyone. Jugs of water accompanied by triangular patterned, iron mugs stood on the table by every chair, but snacks were certainly not involved. Aurelie's mouth watered for the food. She had skipped breakfast because she took much too long to get dressed.
The girl lifted herself up by her toes, her neck stretching to find whoever she was serving. Her eyes fell on Aurelie, and she made her way around the table to place the tray down by Aurelie's seat.
The glances of the council followed the tray. One edge of the woman councilor's lip jumped up in a judgmental smile. She turned to the person closest to herâa grey-haired fellow, wearing thick manacles and holding a smoking pipeâand put her hand over her mouth and whispering something. Aurelie's cheeks heated in mortification.
"I didn't call for someone," Aurelie explain quietly, pushing the tray away. This had Cassandra written all over it, but it still shocked her that she would be so careless. Being a womanâone that was to be the first ruling queen Highfire's would have in about 500 yearsâcame with a lot of proving and conquering. Having a lady's maid run after her with a platter of food and a hot drink while the men, including the damn King, stared down a jug of water, was not the way to start.
I'm going to kill her.
"General Donahue's orders, Your Highness." The girl picked up a white plate with a golden rind, containing a warm buttered scone, and placed it in front of Aurelie, followed by the grapes, a cooked egg, strawberry jam and the cup of tea. There was also bacon, but Aurelie's stomach turned as soon as she saw it. She stopped the girl before she could put that in front of her too, holding her breath to avoid the greasy smell to come any closer. "Please, not that!"
The King took the plate instead. "I'll have that then." He smiled, looking at Aurelie's expression, and placed the plate the furthest from her that he could. "Your mother couldn't stand the smell of it either when she carried you." He bit down on a slice of bacon. A layer of grease left by the bacon made his lips shine.
"You should eat," the King added, sounding overly concerned, and broke off a grape from her plate, propping that into his mouth along with the bacon. An odd combination, but Aurelie was grateful to him for doing it. The attention had slowly shifted away from her.
"I can't eat if they don't," she whispered as the girl walked away with the tray.
"Molly," the King called the girl to a stop, "tell the cook to send breakfast up here for us today, we have a lot to discuss."
***
Kaiden and Louis, otherwise known to Aurelie as the Keeper, were rather late. The food had arrived and was almost finished when they made their way up the stairs, talking to each other with scowls on their faces and carrying parchment. Servants started to empty the plates just as they approached their seats.
Without looking up, Kaiden walked over to where Aurelie was seated. Taking a curious step back when he noticed that a pair of legs dangled down his chair, he looked up, raising a curious brow.
"Kaiden, my boy, come sit here," the man with the monocles and pipe called him over, pushing out a chair for him to sit in.
He smiled and waved at the man, making his way. "Sir Alfred, how are you this morning?"
"Well, my farm and accommodations were destroyed," he raised his hands, flipping them over so that the palms faced up word, "but other than that, in good health." Alfred bared his yellow teeth in a wide smile. For someone who had just lost a fortune, he didn't look much bothered.
"We'll help Henry sort it, don't you worry," Kaiden replied as he sat down.
"Og," Alfred waved a hand, "please don't. This'll give him time to leave my poor seamstress be."
The table roared with laughter, having quietened down to listen to the conversation almost as soon as the old man started talking.
"He still chasing Joanna around then?" the King joined the conversation with a smile.
"If only it were just Joanna, he's after the sister now too," Alfred leaned over his table, slapping his hand down toward the King. Laugher sounded again, quieter than earlier, but jolly nonetheless.
Aurelie felt the King's hand fall on her shoulder. "Just as long as you keep him away from this one, Alfred, he can have all the girls he desires," the King said and turned to Aurelie, winking.
"Your Majesty, why do you think he's not allowed to accompany me anymore?" The old man burst into a fit of laughter and held onto his belly.
"Alright," the King said, his smile briefly fading as he prepared the room for more serious matters. "What news have we gathered on the attacks?"
Aurelie moved her hands off the table as a servant came to pick up the last few of her plates, and strode to take the King's. She pulled her chair closer, resting her arms on the table, and turning to the dark-skinned, heavy general across from her.
"There are reports of cat's turning into men and some melting creatures from around the city square. The first incident was of them tying five women to a tree in the city square and throwing them with rebel cocktails, while the others attacked the houses."
The King nodded. "Any captured?"
The man nodded, rubbing his shining head. "We captured two. One was found this morning, his head bashed in, and the other covered in his bed, his own head badly bruised, but it seems he couldn't go through with his own death in the end. We have him tied up, but I'm not sure what we'll get off him. He's been throwing up all morning, and Vera doesn't think he's going to make it with all the blood he's lost."
"Has anyone described these melting creatures, Roland?" the King asked once the heavy man stopped speaking.
Aurelie cleared her throat. "The melting creatures are men," she said.
"What?" Alfred asked. "Speak louder, girl."
"The melting creatures are men. They have been turning back to normal since the curse was broken."
"But that was weeks ago," another man said, his blonde hair was scattered with patches of white, and his long, sharp-ended beard was white entirely.
"It broke from the castle," Ronald said. "The far eastern side would be affected last."
"Roland, we need to call back the men from Jon Long's castle and have them here. Isma," the King turned to the woman, "how are the training camps coming along?"
"They're fine for now, but before we start the draft we'll have to extend and build more across the country."
"How many more?"
"I'd say five to start with if we can spare the gold."
The King turned to a scrawny looking man, who had his head buried in a stack of pages. "Clifton, can we afford five?"
The man had more hair on his fingers than on his head. He pulled his lip to the side, his finger sliding down a list of sorts. "We can do three unless we want to delay the funds for the repair of the cathedral."
"We cannot ignore the cathedral they will riot in the streets," Isma said.
"Have plans drawn up for Berillian, Folkswood and Crawer Hill. That way we'll have the border surrounded by training soldiers and veterans. We'll talk about more once those have been built."
Ronald pointed toward the map, to the Northern Sea that Highfire shared with the Icelands. "We need one here, it's close enough to Berillian, but a beach base would cover them coming by boat and reduce travel for training sailors."
The King gave one quick shake of his head, and Isma scribbled something down in her leather-bound notebook. Kaiden took hold of Louis' papers and put them on his own, then gave them to Alfred to pass along to the King.
"What is this?" the King asked, his eyes already moving past the words.
"We've discovered that Orken Leanf has been sending messages from the castle to Halbrook," Kaiden answered, with a sharp glare in Aurelie's direction.
Aurelie caught her breath, as her heart took a dive to what felt like her intestines. "When?" she asked.
"Last night."
Aurelie relaxed. "I asked him to do that."
"Do you know what the letter contained?"
Aurelie shook her head. "No, but I advised him to open a conversation with them. We don't want them as our enemies, and if famine spreads, we'll be glad to have one or two on our side."
"Under whose approval did you grant an unknown wizard the power to make direct contact with our enemy? A wizard, who I might add," he turned to the council, trying to sway them to take his point of view, "has killed our men."
The King attempted opened his mouth, after a slight roll of his eyes at Kaiden's comment, but Aurelie spoke first, smiling, "Under mine." She wasn't sure what he wanted to achieve with the stack of papers. If they all concerned Orken, then both he and the Keeper wasted their time.
"The Princess has a point, Kaiden," Isma said, leaned against the table with her head turned to Kaiden. "If the witches were to come back, we could train them in the castle again. What the worst that can happen if the old wizard sends them a letter?"
"And after the letter?" The veins in Kaiden's temples hardened. "Will we allow him to go there once he has surveyed the castle enough times to know exactly where all the exits are?"
Isma's head rolled to the side as she contemplated his comment. "That's a risk we're should be willing to take. So far only half the blood shaman clan is on our sideâthat's it. The Western Kingdoms are all quiet, and so are the Woodsmen. What if the other side gets to the Halbrook witches first? We're already well on the way of losing Redayrah to them."
"Redayrah?" Aurelie asked.
Isma turned to Aurelie and nodded. "Yes, Princess, they have established trade and are discussing marriage prospects of the young Nicolai and one of the princesses. Once that happens our enemy will be right on our borders. Our contacts say that Nicolai is stalling, but we do not know why and for how long."
Aurelie's curiosity peaked too. Why was young Nicolai stalling?