NaNoWriMo2005: 50185 Words I WIN!

Niama rode beside Belan and Herel through the rain. It was Corbin's turn to remain in the litter with the baby. The whole situation was ridiculous, in her opinion, and she tried to convey this message to the two priests via her stony silence. Judging from their nervous looks in her direction, they were getting the message.

"Is it much further?" she asked pointedly.

"Only a few more hours, m'lady," Herel replied with what seemed like an effort at cheerfulness.

She did not respond with anything other than a snort. Of course, it wasn't the fault of these poor men that the high priestess had summoned them, of all people, to the Temple. They were simply carrying out orders. But ever since the attack at the Palace when the prince had gone missing and Corbin had been wounded, she had been on edge, just waiting for something to happen. This was that something, and for too long she had intended to meet it with claws bared. Being passive now was not an option.

What made it all worse was that they were going to the Temple. Niama had been there once before, when she was a very little child. There they had told her parents that she had a gift with the old magic, a gift from the Gods, and that in due time she would be sent for to become a priestess in the Temple with the Wise Ones. She had been frightened by this news at first, but for four years she'd prepared herself for it. For four years she'd adjusted to the idea, and had even come to like it in some ways. She would be powerful, she would be respected, she would not be sold into marriage young-- purchased for her dowry-- as so many young brides were. She had a chance to do something else. Still, being away from her home and her family was not something she was looking forward to. To become a priestess was her duty, that was all, and so she would do it.

But the day before she was to depart for the Temple, at twelve years old, she had wandered off into the border forests to say goodbye to the trees and paths which had become her friends. Somewhere, somehow, she had gone off her normal path and come upon the border and there... there she had seen something most peculiar.

They'd searched for her for days, she learned later, but not the slightest trace had been found. At last they determined that she'd been taken away by the fairies, who would love her for her beauty and her magic. The fairies were jealous, and did not want to give her over to training in the Temple, the people said. It was an easy story to believe, for those who lived near the borders of the Kingdom, where the knights guarded against no one knew what. It had even happened before, though scarcely within living memory. A little girl, much younger than Niama, had been taken by the fairies and come back so many years later that all of her family were dead, though she had not aged a day. Brigid was her name, and within a few months she had died of sorrow.

Niama did not die. She had spent four years in Dybera, trying to figure out how to get back. When she finally did return, her mother was dead, her youngest sister grown up and married with little children, her father married again and with a new young family. Nobody wanted her, and she was too old then to go to the Temple and be trained. She retreated back into the forest and might have killed herself there, had Corbin not found her.

She did not regret these things now. She loved Corbin with all of her soul, and she loved her little daughter, Nieve. She would not have traded them for anything, and when they had come to her she had ceased to be sorry that she had never come to be a priestess. Still, the old sense of duty, of four years resigned to her fate only to have that fate denied, weighed on her now. She had not wanted ever to return to the Temple again. But now she was going, bound just as these two priests were to follow the orders of the high priestess, the Lady Celwyn, a woman whom she had never even met.

"Stop here," she ordered the two other riders. "I will go back into the litter now."

They halted obediently as the rain poured down, soaking them to the skin. Herel, at least, was glad of the change. Sir Corbin was an easy man to get along with, always cheerful, always good-natured. The wife made him nervous. She had been much easier to get along with back at the manor.

***
Bhodi peered around the corner, then silently motioned Pearl forward.

"This is it," he whispered as she tiptoed up beside him. "I told you I'd find it."

"I didn't say you wouldn't," she retorted. "I only said it'd take you all day, which it did."

It was dusk now. They had spent all day prowling the halls, lobbies, suites, and nooks of the Palace in search of this one area. Having no comeback for the truth of Pearl's statement, Bhodi pressed the conversation forward.

"There are some guards, but luckily we're both pretty small. They might not see us."

"And if they do see us?"

Bhodi shrugged. "Run?"

Pearl shook her head. "I still don't know if this is a good idea. What if we get in trouble? They'll punish us."

"No, they won't," Bhodi explained patiently. "'Cause we're just kids. See? Just kids playing around. The worst they'll do is take us back to our rooms and that'll be that."

"Are you sure?" Pearl still looked doubtful.

"Trust me. I've done this before."

The girl drew a deep breath. "Well, then," she said. "All right. Let's go."

Together, holding hands, they crept around the corner, ducking low to the ground. All around them were rows and rows of the dragon ships. The people around her might not be Gods, but after the horrifying night of Bhodi's rescue, the ships would always in some fundamental way be dragons to Pearl. She felt like they were staring at her out of their blank, glazed eyes. Guards were posted here and there throughout the vast, airy room, but they were all staring straight ahead, not down where Pearl and Bhodi were. Pearl did not see any swords, so maybe they weren't even armed. Or, a small voice in her head whispered, they don't even need swords. She tried not to think of what this might mean. Bhodi pulled her along, soundlessly, for they were carrying their shoes, to one of the dragons which stood near the arched entryway of this place which Pearl suddenly realized was like a cave. A cave full of dragons. The boy let her hand go and motioned for her to follow him up the ramp which served as this particular dragon's entryway. Pearl pulled back in fear. Bhodi motioned more emphatically.

"Hurry up," he mouthed, glancing nervously at the guards, none of whom were looking in their direction.

When you've climbed very high, Pearl told herself, don't think about how far it is to the ground.

Who cares if you live or die?

Rushing forward, she followed Bhodi up the ramp, into the belly of the dragon.

***
They had made good time, and had to wait several hours in the cover of the Temple orchards for night to truly fall. The night air was filled with fireflies and the sounds of birds in the whispering trees and Niama's lullabies to Nieve. Belan found it truly beautiful, joining in every now and again with Niama's singing. Herel might have found it beautiful, too, if the whole thing hadn't been so ridiculous. He hadn't become a priest for this-- sneaking around in the dead of night with women and babies, acting under a Lady's orders, possibly committing treason or blasphemy or both. He'd become a priest to avoid exactly these things. He'd wanted to enjoy a life of simple leisure. Was it so much to ask?

Belan gave a contented sigh. "You have a beautiful voice, my lady," he whispered, so as not to wake the baby.

"As have you," Niama acknowledged.

"Yes," Corbin agreed. "I feel quite privileged, meeting the Lady Celwyn and being serenaded by a bard, all on the same night."

"Thank you," Belan bowed in gratitude.

"I think we can go now," Herel inserted gruffly, pointing up at the moon. Belan nodded, and the small group got to its feet.

At the gate of the Temple, the priestess who guarded the way that night asked who they were.

"Visitors at the urgent request of the Lady Celwyn." They were admitted at once and brought, without pause, up to Celwyn's chamber. Little Nieve, as though sensing the importance of the moment-- or, perhaps, entirely failing to sense anything-- was completely silent, sound asleep.

Celwyn was waiting for them; she ushered them into her chamber, greeting each by name as they bowed or curtseyed to her. Then she shut the door.

"I thank you, Corbin and Niama, for coming when you do not even know why it is that you are here."

"The high priestess commands and we answer," Niama answered softly, placing her infant daughter gently into a cradle which had been prepared in anticipation of their coming. Celwyn looked at her, and she suddenly had the disconcerting feeling that the high priestess knew everything about her, knew not only exactly who she was but exactly what she was thinking at that moment and why. Then she set that feeling aside. No. It is only a priestess trick. There is no way she could ever know...

"Do not answer simply because I command; that is the way of sheep, not men. What I have to ask of you tonight is not the sort of burden which should be accepted with reluctance." They all nodded their understanding, and Celwyn and Niama exchanged a look. A look that said, Whatever you decide, I will stand beside you. It was always so between them. "A dangerous time is ahead. The two of you have known this was coming for some time. This was only reinforced by what has happened in the past days-- the boy, the crash... and the girl, as well. And now the attempt on the life of the prince."

"Do you know where he is, Lady?" Corbin asked eagerly. "Can you find him? Can you help him?"

"I know where he is, yes," Celwyn answered. "But I cannot find him or help him, for now. He is beyond my sight."

"He is in Dybera, isn't he." Niama's voice held a quiet conviction.

Celwyn nodded. "He was taken there by the Lord Talwyr, and is therefore safe. What concerns us now is what is to happen when he comes home." Niama opened her mouth to speak, but Celwyn answered her thoughts. "The power of the boundaries has diminished so that time now runs evenly between the Kingdom and Dybera. Yes, Belan?"

The young priest looked apologetic for the interruption. "What is Dybera?" he asked.
"I'm sorry, Belan." Celwyn's tone was genuine. "I'm afraid I can't tell you that at this point."

"Then why," Herel exploded, "are we here?"

"What concerns us tonight is very much within the realm of the Kingdom; we will speak of these secret things no more. Someone plots against the life of the young prince. When he returns, he must be protected. Corbin, this task is the primary thing I would ask of you."

"Of me?" Corbin repeated, disbelieving. "Lady, I am honored." Niama's expression flashed from surprised and proud to worried, but she remained silent.

"There is more," Celwyn continued. "I am being kept from council; Lord Maddeg is usurping the entire rule of this Temple for himself. The Mother, then, demands her justice. I will not see her put aside in her own Temple. As the Wise Ones of the myth, many here have forgotten the Gods and worship only themselves. The Kingdom will be divided, this has been foreseen for a long time. I will stand beside Prince Emryn, the new king, and I will call for unity. I ask you... for your shelter, and for your aid. I wish to build a Temple for the Mother, the Great Goddess Gwenna, out among her trees and creatures in her forest."

"You are asking us to let you use our house as a Temple?" Niama asked incredulously.
"No, not at all. Only your land. And your help with building a shelter."

"That is not difficult," said Corbin. "We would give you use of our land gladly."
Niama nodded her agreement, though she did not give it altogether so gladly as her husband did.

"Niama, I will need your help," Celwyn said then. "I know that you were to be a priestess. You need not be now, but you can still be of help. You know the healing arts, you know the forest ways, and you are young. I grow old, and there is no one to take my place or stand beside me, none I can be sure of save you alone. Once you were called to the Temple out of duty. The Goddess did not turn her back on you. She has not ceased to call you. Only this time it is not duty which binds you to a strange land. Of your own free will, you may choose... to go home. Or, should it be the case, not."

Niama, for a time, could say nothing. So many emotions she thought she'd forgotten... so many hopes so long held in secret... the chance to prove that she could fulfill the task which had been laid before her. There had been a time when she'd thought the Goddess had called her. And though she was more happy with Corbin and Nieve than she could ever have been as a priestess, still the longing had remained to know that the Goddess had not forgotten her. And all of this, somehow, Celwyn knew.

There was only one answer she could give.

Kneeling before the high priestess with tears in her eyes, she said, "How can I refuse my Mother's calling me home? My Lady, my priestess, I thank you."

Now it was Corbin's turn to look proud, as Celwyn extended her hands over his wife in blessing.

"My leaving the Temple, you must understand, will not be a simple thing," the high priestess said then. "It will mean conflict at least, and possibly civil war. I do not know how low Maddeg will stoop. He will say now that the prince is gone and dead because the Gods are angry and have been denied a sacrifice."

"The child," Belan murmured, and Celwyn nodded.

"Maddeg wants that child dead. But it is of the utmost importance that she remain alive. Everything depends on it. That is the reason Maddeg has denied me my rights as high priestess, that is the reason I am leaving the Temple. I would even allow a civil war to break out if it means keeping this child safe. That is where Maddeg and I differ, I suppose. He says, maybe even believes, that the fate of the Kingdom depends upon seeing this child dead. I believe it depends upon keeping her alive."

"But why?" Herel asked.

"She is the child of the Gods," the priestess answered simply. "She will save us."

Belan went pale, and Herel whistled under his breath. "And he was going to kill her..."

"When I go, will you follow me, my priests?"

Belan responded at once. "Lady, I would follow you anywhere." He bowed low.

Herel was silent for a moment. At last, he said, "I am not a religious man. This may seem odd in a priest, but there it is. I took on this profession to be comfortable, not to start revolutions. I'm not even sure I believe in these prophecies." He sighed. "I won't betray you to Lord Maddeg, but... the Temple... the Temple itself is as close to religion as I come. I'm sorry."

Belan looked angry, as though he might have hit Herel, had Celwyn not taken his words so calmly. She only nodded. "Very well. Our task is not for the faint of heart. I thank you for your frankness. You may leave, Herel. You may go as well, Belan. There are further matters I must discuss with Corbin and Niama alone."

The two left together, a hostile, frigid silence between them now. Belan, slighter in build, quickly darted ahead and the two priests parted ways.

"Disappointing," Celwyn remarked when they were gone. "I was sure he would agree to join us. Well, perhaps with time... Or perhaps, with time, I have lost my judge of character." She sighed. "But you have something more to say to me, I feel, Niama."

"And so you are asking us," Niama said slowly, "to turn our lives upside down, even risk our lives and many others, to protect this one girl?"

"She is the only hope I can see of bringing Dybera and the Kingdom together peacefully. You know the time is coming when the boundaries will fail. You know this better than anyone, that is why you are here."

"Yes, but surely there must be some other way," Corbin said.

"No." Celwyn shook her head sadly. "She is the child of the Gods. Only she can bind them both. It was ordained before she was ever born. It will not be easy, not for her, not for any of us."

And the only thing Niama could think of to say to that was, "That poor little girl."

***
Talwyr kept to his room all that day. There he sat, and stared into space, and brooded. He had not expected the girl to turn on him like she had, only now he wondered why. It was obvious that she should feel the way she did. She was perfectly justified. And she was right.

Celwyn had tried to tell him then, and she had tried to tell him only days ago, placing Pearl in the Temple was not acceptable, it was dangerous. He'd thought he knew better. Well, now the girl hated him, and there was nothing for that but time. In time, perhaps she would see that he had meant it for the best. In time, when she knew everything, perhaps she would understand that there was no other way-- had there been another way? If he had looked harder, would he have found it? In time, perhaps she would see that he had only wanted to protect her, keep her someplace where she could be watched.

But even so, that time would not come soon. And in the meantime, what was he to do? Send her back to Celwyn? Or would she mistrust Celwyn now, too? The girl was clever, after all, she might suspect that Celwyn had been his accomplice in the matter of Pearl's keeping from the beginning. He should have listened to Celwyn. It made little difference now.

And why in the names of all the Gods should he be so affected by the hurt feelings of this girl? Was it because she had proven him so wrong where he had thought that he could never be?

Yes, it was that. But more than that, he had possibly just lost the only hope they had of saving the Kingdom.

What would Celwyn say to that? Perhaps she would leave him, too.

He had gone about this all wrong, it was becoming more clear with every hour of every day. When Pearl came back he would apologize, but would that be enough?

As the light in the chamber faded with the dusk and Talwyr's thoughts grew ever darker with it, a furious knocking came at his door.

It was Prince Emryn, and Queen Silvara with him. Their expressions, he noted at once, were identical in worry and fear.

"What has happened?" he asked at once. What he meant was, What has happened to Pearl? He feared the answer.

"They've gone!" Emryn exclaimed. "No one knows where, they could be anyplace!"

"Don't be silly. They are somewhere in this Palace," Talwyr stated.

"No, Lord. They are not," Silvara informed him.

"Pearl didn't come back last night, so this morning Bhodi went to look for her," Emryn explained. "They didn't come back."

Silvara took over. "Just now I received an urgent report from my security team in the hangar bay. A small ship has been stolen."

Talwyr's eyebrows shot up. "By them?"

"By two children, Lord. It could only be them. The guards didn't even notice them until they were already taking off. And they disabled the homing beacon. We don't know where they've gone!"

If he and Pearl had parted on better terms, Talwyr might have laughed. Of course, if he and Pearl had parted on better terms, she would probably still be in this Palace, safe. Still, he hand to maintain the semblance of calm. Monarchs though they were, Kama Silvara and Emryn were only two frightened young people now, and they were looking to him.

"It's my fault," Emryn was saying. "I should have been watching them."

"No," the Queen cut him off sharply, "it's my fault. This is my Palace, and it was my security team which should have been keeping track of them. I should have made sure that they understood--"

"No," Talwyr held up a hand to silence her. "You could not have said anything that would have made anyone behave any differently. And you, Emryn, are not hear to babysit mischievous children. This is my fault, and mine alone. Those children are my responsibility, no one else's. And I will find them."

"How?" Kama cried.

Emryn looked at her, astonished. "Don't you know who he is? Lord Talwyr, the great wizard, the Wise Ones, the messenger of the Gods? He will use magic, of course!"

"The first think I will need," Talwyr said, ignoring this outburst, "is to be alone for a while. It may take some time. I am sorry." He made to close the door. "I am deeply sorry."

***
Pearl, seated now inside the dragon and secured to her seat, had not yet stopped shaking. Her eyes remaindd tightly shut. For the second time in only a few days, she had been certain that she was going to die. They had run to the front of the ship, and Bhodi had started pulling and turning and pressing things, and then the ship had started to make horrible noises. Looking through the eye, the window of the ship, Pearl watched the guards on duty notice that something was wrong. She watched them all turn in her direction, and then start shouting and running toward the ship. Then bright flashes of light had come from the devices they held in their hands, and Bhodi had sworn under his breath.

"Get down! They're using blasters!"

"They're using what?" Pearl had shrieked.

"Get down!"

She did, and that was when she closed her eyes tight, covering them with her hands for good measure, and sent a fervent prayer to the Goddess Gwenna that she might somehow get out of this alive. Then things had started flashing and the ship had started to shake...

There had been the stomach-churning sensation of movement.

"Yes!" Bhodi exclaimed, and for the most part the ship stopped its shaking. But Pearl refused to open her eyes. She sat rigid in her seat, not sure she would be able to move if she tried.

"We're in the clear," she heard Bhodi say.

She said nothing.

"You can open your eyes," he added.

She did not. "Bhodi, are you sure you know how to work this... this ship?"

"Yes. I told you, I've done it lots of times."

"But... but last time you did it, Bhodi, you crashed..."

"That wasn't my fault. It was the ship." Pearl said nothing. "Okay, so this is probably the farthest I've ever been on my own. Happy?"

"No."

"I know what'll make you happy." She could hear Bhodi's signature grin, even if she couldn't see it.

"What?"

"Open your eyes."

"No."

"Oh, come on! Look, we're not crashing, we're flying perfectly. Just open your eyes." The boy's voice was exasperated enough that Pearl decided they were not in any immediate danger.

Slowly, she opened first one eye, then the other. The scene before her took her breath away.

"We're flying!" she gasped. "Look at all the birds! And the clouds! We're really flying!"

"Of course we are. That's what ships do. But look down."

Pearl looked doubtful. "I don't know if that's a very good idea."

"Well, how are you going to see Dybera if you don't?"

It was a good point. Through the eye of the dragon, Pearl looked down. They were higher, she thought wonderingly, than the top of the very highest tower in the Temple was. Pearl had been there a few times, and looked down over nearly all of the Kingdom below her. The trees and villages in the distance were so small it had looked as though she could have picked them up between two fingers. The buildings below them now were much, much smaller. Even the Temple would have looked small from this height. They passed over huge, glowing masses of towering buildings all clumped together to form the bigger cities. Then there were much smaller clusters of lights which indicated towns. There were some small areas of trees, but nothing like the forests of the Kingdom. And it seemed that there was no empty space of land in Dybera-- every field, every hill was occupied by someone or, more often than not, a whole group of someones. She remarked on this to Bhodi, who nodded.

"Yep, Dybera isn't one of the city-planets or anything. It's not important enough. But it's kind of a cultural center, and the world's mostly city. It keeps a lot of nature preserves, though. Those are the trees and everything."

There were winding rivers, too, and other ships-- some below them, some above them, some beside them. Pearl was surprised to find that she was not at all afraid. She was aware that very little separated her from the open air, and the memory of Bhodi's rescue was still fresh in her mind. She knew what such a long fall could do to a ship, and could easily imagine what it would do to a person. But she felt not only safe here, but also free. For the first time, she did not have to answer to anybody. She, like Bhodi Ajinna, could go anywhere she wanted to, anywhere even beyond the limitless horizon. This was what she had dreamed of during all of those stolen hours on the hillside over all of her years in the Temple.

"We're flying," she whispered again. "Just like the birds do."

She was flying in the land of the Gods, her best friend in the world by her side. Never had she dreamed it could be as wonderful as this.

***
Talwyr quickly discovered the flaw in his plan or, rather, the flaw in his magic, for no other plan had even the glimmer of a chance of working properly. Looking inward, meditating, he could see Bhodi and Pearl. He could see that they were safe, and that they seemed to be enjoying themselves, and that they had not left Dybera's atmosphere yet. That, at least, was a comfort. The only problem was that he could not tell where they were. He could see that they were in the cockpit of the ship they had stolen, true enough, but where was that ship? It was impossible to tell. The could be anywhere in the world and, until they landed and gave some indication of where they had landed, they might as well be at the opposite end of the galaxy. There was next to no chance of finding them, though random sweeps of all spaceports and landing pads could be made. Queen Silavara was already taking care of that. But what then? What if they decided to leave Dybera or, worse, crashed somewhere? Their pilot was, after all, only eight years old; he was doing well so far, but what would happen when he became tired or made some inexperienced mistake?

Emryn entered the dim room and cleared his throat nervously. Talwyr turned to him. "Any news, Lord?"

"Nothing new yet. They are still in the air."

Emryn nodded. "Very well, sir." He hesitated. "Kama is worried."

"Ah. You are on a first-name basis now with the Queen?"

Emryn was trying valiantly to hide the reddening of his cheeks, but Talwyr saw it. "Yes." He drew all of his princely air unto himself. "Is that a problem?"

"No," Talwyr replied, amused. "No, not at all."

"Good." The young prince turned and strode out of the room.

Talwyr smiled to himself. He had learned it years ago, and now he felt he was learning it all over again. Hope for the Kingdom sprang up in the most unlikely of places.

***
They landed the ship in a grassy area near the outskirts of one of the towns. Normally, Bhodi explained, they would find a landing platform, but he didn't have any money for parking. Or a license to fly.

"So it's a good thing that we're fugitives from the law who are hiding out anyway."

"We are?" Pearl asked sleepily, lying down on the grass. They could sleep inside the ship, she knew, but that made her more nervous than they idea of sleeping out under the stars, even if they were in a strange place.

"Sure we are. We stole a ship from the Palace's royal hangar!" Bhodi shook his head and stretched out on the ground beside her. "Oh, man! Wait till the old crew finds out. They're never going to believe I did it. I hardly believe I did it."

"What are we going to do now?" Pearl asked.

Bhodi shrugged. "I don't know. Tomorrow we can go visit some places here. Tomorrow we can go anywhere you'd like. Anywhere in the whole galaxy."

"Really?"

"Sure. We'll be a team, you and me. I'll teach you to fly, and you can be my copilot. We can just wander around all over the place, causing trouble, or... fighting crime. Whichever you want."

Pearl smiled. "Like a knight and his lady."

"Yeah, I guess so. We'll be famous. And rich, of course."

"Good." Pearl felt herself drifting off to sleep. "I'd like that."

"Pearl?" Bhodi's voice drifted into her waning consciousness. "Why did we run away from the Palace? I mean, why did you want to go?"

"Because nobody cares about me," she murmured.

"I do."

"I know. That's why I ran away with you."

"Oh."

***
Kama thought very hard for several moments. She even got out a map of Dybera. Talwyr and Emryn, meanwhile, watched her anxiously.

At last, she said, "I think I know the place you're talking about." She pointed to the map. "It's called Merylia, one of our old, small villages in the lake region. The buildings and the monuments you describe, and the geography... I think they're somewhere around there."

"Do you know anyone in that village?" Talwyr asked.

Kama raised an eyebrow. "I'm the Queen," she said. "I don't need to know anyone. If I order everyone in that village to get out of bed and go looking, they will do it."

"No," Talwyr snapped, with a sharpness that neither of the young monarchs had heard him use before. "We will not do it that way. We cannot draw so much attention." At their expressions, his face softened. "It is dangerous for you, to behave so," he said to Kama. "Chasing after two children who claim to have visited the Lost Lands? Do your want your advisors to think you insane?

"Why not?" Kama retorted bitterly. "They think me incompetent already."

"No, in fact I believe you competence has quite disheartened them in recent years, Your Highness. But incompetence is another matter altogether; that they would welcome from you. This incident may cause unwanted questions to be asked. And so, do you know anyone in Merylia? Someone who would be willing to help us?”

Kama sank into thought again. After a moment, she said, “No. No one I can think of. I have been there only on visits either with my mother or relating to state matters. It is beautiful and I like it there, but I cannot claim to have friends... indeed, I cannot claim to have friends in almost any place at all. I have lived my whole life here, in Taseed, in the Palace.”

“Very well.” Talwyr’s expression was taut with solemnity. “Then we shall have to go ourselves. Tonight. Now.”

Kama hesitated. “I... I don’t believe I can.”

“What?” Emryn cried. “Why?”

“I am Queen here, Emryn. I cannot neglect my duties to go running off... I cannot leave my people that way. I am sorry.”

“Oh.” Emryn kicked at the flagstones. “All right, then.”

“Then Emryn and I will go,” Talwyr stated firmly. He stood and walked toward the door.

“Oh.” Emryn jumped up. “Right now?”

“I will give you one of my best ships and a pilot I trust,” Kama said, following after them.

“The pilot won’t be necessary,” Talwyr informed her.

Emryn was incredulous. “You can fly these sky dragon ships?”

“There is much you do not know about my Prince Emryn. Yes, I have learned to fly tolerably well. We most likely will not die.”

The look that Emryn threw Kama over his shoulder as they walked away was an expression of very near panic.

***
The whispers and rumors of a growing dread were beginning to spread throughout the Kingdom. Prince Emryn was gone. There was not one person who did not know it. And most were beginning to fear that Prince Emryn was dead. That was what the prophecy had said, wasn’t it? First that the old king would die, and then that the Prince would soon after follow his parents. Well, that wasn’t exactly what it had said. It had said that Prince Emryn would go into the land of the Gods, but everyone knew what that meant, though there were some of the philosophers among them who were puzzled by the unclear wording. What do you mean, “unclear?” shouted the rest. Everyone knows that the land of the Gods means death, and even if it didn’t, who has ever heard of someone returning from the land of the Gods?

No one had. And while some lit candles and prayed, others turned their minds to who could be the land’s next king. Emryn had been the last of his line. The king had had no brothers, no cousins, no living relative. The prince’s nearest relative would be on his mother’s side, and the only living relative of the Queen’s was her uncle, who just so happened to be Lord Maddeg, high priest of the Temple.

Well, that was right out, some said. He was the high priest. He couldn’t be the high priest and the king at the same time-- it was unheard of, and probably illegal. No one man should have so much power.

But... others said... why shouldn’t Lord Maddeg have so much power? He was a religious man, and would not turn it to wrong ends. Lord Maddeg was respected, a leader, and he was after, all, the nearest person to the throne. He was the only person in the Kingdom that perhaps every council member would vote for. Why shouldn’t Lord Maddeg be king?

And some of the first group began to say, Well... when you put it like that...

The prophecy said that chaos would reign and that the Gods were angry. That destruction might come to them all.

But the prophecy also said that a new leader would arise, one led by a child of the Gods. If Maddeg was taht leader, the people reasoned, then let the child of the Gods-- whoever that was-- bring him forth. That would prove it beyond a shadow of a doubt.

But the Wise Ones who had been at the Speaking after Queen Lilien’s death glanced at one another and muttered, “Didn’t the prophecy say that the new leader would be a woman?” A Queen would come, she had said. And something about a boy and a dragon, and another child who was the child of the Gods... Who was the child of the Gods? Where could they find such a child? Where would they even begin to look?

No, the prophecy could not be referring to Lord Maddeg.

Maddeg heard these whispers, and he cursed himself. What a fool he had been! What an utter fool to have lost that child! She would have been more useful dead than on the run, but most useful of all if he had controlled his rage and kept her here. He could have used her so easily, if only he had seen it then. The child of the Gods was his passport to the throne, and he could have had her at his immediate beck and call. He could have made her trust him and taught her what to say and how to behave. And he would have been in power in the blink of an eye.

If the child had been dead, he could have found a replacement “child of the Gods” who would have done just as well, of course. Provided he could find some poor woman to lie convincingly enough. There were plenty who would, for the right price. But with the child out there, somewhere... and Maddeg did not doubt Celwyn’s Sight... out there, she was dangerous. Out there, she had a chance of actually finding this prophesied Queen-- the “Queen Star of Peace,” whatever that was supposed to mean. Celwyn’s Sight he trusted, but Fianna’s he was less sure about. Something about that girl made him nervous. Perhaps it was the strength of her absolute devotion. Maddeg had none of that, now.

Celwyn had been right about him in one respect, he knew. He did not believe in the Gods. He believed only in himself. He held no qualms about this, because he knew the truth. Few others did. That is, few knew of it, and even fewer understood. There were no Gods. There were only men. So why should he not be seen like a God as well? He knew that he existed, and that he alone controlled his destiny.

Celwyn would not tell him where the child was, he knew that well. But did she think that he had not ways of his own? Staring into the fire, he turned his gaze inward.
After a time, his mouth turned up in a grim smile.

So. The girl had found out the secret as well? There was nothing for him to do now but arrange for a leave of absence from the Temple and take off... to commune with the Gods.

***
Pearl and Bhodi held hands as they walked through Merylia. That is, when they weren’t chasing one another through Merylia. They had stolen breakfast, an idea which had scandalized Pearl at first. But when Bhodi informed her that it was either that or starve, and also that she was a coward, she gave in.

“I used to steal from the kitchens in the Temple,” she informed him.

“Well, then. What’s the problem, then?”

“The problem is that it’s... just not the same thing. At least somebody honestly bought the food I stole from the Temple.”

“Someday, if you want, when we’re rich, we’ll come back and pay them.”

This plan suited Pearl, who had maybe never enjoyed a day so much. In the afternoon, though, it started to rain, and since they were on the outskirts already, they decided to make a dash for the ship rather than beg for shelter which, Bhodi admitted, was not so easy to steal. It was as they were running down a muddy, crowded street that Pearl saw Talwyr and Emryn. They were peering around, searching, but the rain made it hard to see. She shouted for Bhodi to hurry and, ducking into a side street, doubled her pace. The boy had to struggle to keep up.

“Fly away!” Pearl cried as soon as Bhodi followed her up the ship’s ramp. “Fly away right now!”

“Why? What’s wrong?” he shouted back.

“They’re here! Talwyr and Emryn are here! They’re looking for us!”

Bhodi closed the ship’s door, but he did not move toward the cockpit.

“Hurry up!” Pearl pleaded.

“No. You need to tell me why we’re running from them.” Bhodi crossed his arms and waited.

For a moment or two Pearl only stood there, listening to the rain drumming on the metal hull of the dragon ship. Finally, realizing that her standoff with Bhodi was not getting them away from this place any faster, she told him.

“Talwyr knew my mother. He told me they day before yesterday. And he knew I was in the Temple. He put me in the Temple and left me there all that time and didn’t even come and just let them do all of the things they did. He let them hurt me. And I think Celwyn might have known about it, too, and...” She felt like she might start to cry. “I don’t know anymore. I thought they liked me, but... What if they’re going to take me back there? Why would they take me there? Why?”

Bhodi didn’t say anything. He just stared at her. Then he gently took her hand and led her up to the cockpit and started up the ship’s engine.

Only then did he speak. “Come on,” he said grimly. “We’re getting out of here.”

“Where are we going?”

“Where they aren’t every going to find us. Strap yourself in. We’re leaving this planet.”

***
In Merylia, at Emryn’s insistence, he and Talwyr had taken shelter under an awning until the rain abated. The prince thought he had never been so miserable in all his life-- cold and wet and trudging around in the mud with an old wizard.

It was Talwyr who saw the ship take off. He had been anxiously scanning the sky as often as he had been scanning the streets. Not a mile away, the ship lifted off and blasted far up into the sky, beyond the sky, into open space. Talwyr was sure of it. Yet he did not shout, he did not curse, he only sighed.

“What? Do you think that was them?” Emryn asked him.

“I know that was them. They are not on Dybera any longer. This will make our search more difficult.”

Emryn’s heart sank at the thought of more time in one of those dragon ships with Talwyr at the helm. The ships themselves probably would not have agreed with him even with an experienced pilot. With Talwyr, who was a wizard and therefore slightly mad in any case, it was a stomach-churning, terrifying experience.

“How far do you think we’ll have to go?” the prince asked weakly.

“I don’t know.”

“Perhaps,” he tried not to sound to eager, “perhaps we should go back to the Palace. Wherever they are, Kama’s more likely to know about it than us, isn’t she? I mean, I know I won‘t be any help. But Kama... she‘s very smart.”

To his surprise, Talwyr replied, “Yes. I heartily agree. I am told that Queen Silvara,” his emphasis on the formal name made Emryn blush again; the wizard was discovering that it amused him greatly to do this, “is extremely well educated in matters of galactic affairs.”

“She would have to be, I guess,” Emryn muttered. “Being Queen and all.”

He somehow couldn’t shake the feeling that in some way Talwyr was winning. And he didn’t even know what game they were playing.

***
Fianna’s screams were heard throughout much of the Temple. In the courtyard, people stopped what they were doing to stare up at Lady Celwyn’s chamber. The Wise Ones who were advanced enough to attend the Speakings were familiar enough with these screams to recognize them.

“It’s the prophetess,” they whispered.

This comforted no one. What vision could have been so horrible as to induce this young woman chosen by the Gods to scream like this? What in Gwyddon’s name was to befall them now? Could things get very much worse? With Prince Emryn dead, no one on the throne, Lord Maddeg taking his solitude... What could this portend?

“She’s mad anyway,” Herel muttered to all those who would listen, and some nodded and went about their business. “It doesn’t mean anything. She’s just a poor maddened thing.”

They all tried to agree. But the piercing horror in those cries left their blood running cold for a long time afterward.

Belan had been coming up to meet with Celwyn about Lord Maddeg’s sudden departure when he heard Fianna screaming. He immediately sprinted up the rest of the steps and burst into the Lady’s chamber without so much as a knock. The door to Fianna’s room was open, and Celwyn was already attempting to comfort the girl, but Fianna was struggling, flailing and clawing and trying to keep the high priestess back. Celwyn looked up and saw Belan in the doorway.

“Don’t just stand there! Help me!”

And before he knew it he had a hold on Fianna’s small, delicate wrist and was trying to prevent her from striking him in the face. He desperately didn’t want to hurt her in any way, but she fought like a wildcat. Finally, he got a firm grip on both of her arms and pinned them to her sides. It was at that moment that she met his grey-blue eyes with her flashing green ones, and she stopped struggling. She only glared at him, like a wild animal caught in a trap. Celwyn had retreated to the back wall when Emryn had come in, and it seemed to Belan as if he and Fianna were the only two people there. He looked into her eyes, and tried to make her understand that he would not hurt her, that he thought he might love her, and that he wished that there was something he could do to ease her pain. He had temporarily forgotten how to use his voice.

After what seemed an eternity spent like that, his voice came back hoarse. “It’s all right,” he said. “I won’t hurt you. You’re safe. You’ll be all right. I promise you will. Nobody’s going to hurt you.”

And, like sunlight breaking through rain clouds, her face softened. The change was so slight that Belan doubted anyone but himself would have noticed it, even had they been closer than Lady Celwyn was. Then Fianna leaned her cheek against Belan’s shoulder and sobbed. He held her gently, rocking her as he would a little child. For so she was, he realized, in some ways. Celwyn came and knelt beside them.

“Fianna,” she spoke in that gentle voice Belan had only ever heard her use with the young prophetess, “Fianna, what is it you have seen? Please, tell me.”

“She’s gone,” Fianna wept. “I do not know where she is now. Lord Talwyr has lost her. I cannot find her. She is gone.”

“Who?” Belan could not stop himself from asking. “Who is gone?”

Fianna answered in a dull, hollow voice. “The child of the Gods.”

Belan’s breath caught in his throat. “Pearl?”

“Yes. Pearl.”

Over Fianna’s head, Belan met Lady Celwyn’s eyes. They were grim. She motioned Belan over to the corner. He disentangled himself from Fianna and joined her there.

“What does she mean?” he asked desperately. “Is the little girl dead?”

“No,” Celwyn answered, in deep thought. “No, I don’t think so. She did not say ‘dead.’ She said ‘gone.’ There is a difference. Some time ago Pearl was taken beyond the realm of Fianna’s Sight, but she was still able to sense her somehow, to know what she was feeling. I believe the girl may now have gone farther still. Fianna says Talwyr has lost her. I might be able to contact him.” She studied Belan a moment. “You are the first man Fianna has allowed a man to touch her in four years. I do not know why she is not afraid of you, but you managed to calm her just now, where even I could not. You will stay with her now, for a short time. I have business to attend to.”

Belan started. “You will leave me alone with her.”

“For goodness’ sake, she will not bite you.” Celwyn made him a gesture of blessing. “Only stay with her. Do not betray my trust. Or hers.”

And with that, she was gone, and Belan and Fianna were alone in the room together.
Belan had expected Fianna to go mad again once Celwyn was gone, but when he turned around her saw her staring at him in open curiosity. The tears were fast drying on her cheeks.

“Your name is Belan?” she asked, in a voice so normal that it surprised him.

“Yes,” he answered cautiously.

“Mine is Fianna.”

“Yes, I... I knew that.”

“Oh.” She looked down shyly. “You are a good priest.” He did not know what to say to this. “You are,” she insisted. “I can tell.”

“Thank you,” he finally ventured.

“Do you think Lady Celwyn will find the child?” she asked him.

“I do not know. I hope so. If anyone can do it, the Lady can.” He had not moved away from the door. He was afraid to come too near to her. She seemed to find the distance a comfortable one.

“Yes, I suppose you’re right. Only...” Fianna bit her lip. “I’m afraid the Gods have shown me terrible things to come, and if the little girl can’t be found... well, they will come. I have never been afraid of them before because always there was the chance, even if it was a small one, of the child of the Gods...”

“What?” he asked, fascinated.

She gave a little shrug. “Helping. I don’t know. I cannot remember much of my visions after I’ve had them, only the general things. Lady Celwyn tells me the rest, afterward. But I’ve always felt that we are safe while she is here.” She corrected herself, with a shudder. “Was here.”

Belan asked himself if he dared to take a step closer. He decided that he did. “She will be back,” he reassured her. “I am sure of it.”

“But Belan,” she looked up at him. “What if she isn’t?”

“Then I will protect you.” He said it quite spontaneously, and he found that he meant it. So he repeated it. “No matter what comes, I will protect you.”

“How? You are a priest.”

“Well...” Belan thought about it. “In the old times, so it is said, the priests were the warriors of the Kingdom. We can surely become so again. Or, at least, I can.”

“Only to protect me?” Fianna appeared puzzled.

“Yes. To protect you. I promise. I swear it.”

“Do not swear,” she said softly.

“I do! I swear!”

“Don’t!” she shouted with a sudden forcefulness. “You mustn’t!”

Belan paused. He did not want to question her about her insistence. It was always best not to question a prophetess. Quietly, he said, “All right. I do not swear. But I do promise. Will you allow me to promise?”

She thought about it. “Yes,” she answered at last. A very small smile crept onto her face, timid, for it had so very rarely been presented in public. “But Belan, who is going to protect you?”

Utterly enchanted, the young priest could only laugh.

***
Pearl looked down through the dragon’s eye once again. Only this time, it did not merely seem as though the whole world was laid out beneath her. It really was. Pearl looked down at the glowing blue and green orb in the blackness of space that was Dybera. There were no words to describe the beauty and the incomprehensibility of this. Bhodi, she knew, was impatient to go, but she could not tear her eyes away. He had seen this many times; he ought to show some understanding for the first-time space traveler.

“Are you ready to go?” he asked again. “Come on; they’re going to find us.”

“It’s so beautiful,” Pearl sighed one last time. “Do you think this is what the Gods feel like? Do you think this is what they see?”

Bhodi considered this. “Probably not,” he answered. “There’s a whole lot more than this for the Gods to look down at. The view the Gods get is probably a lot more impressive. Now, come on. Let’s go.”

Pearl finally forced herself to look away from the little planet. But no matter how many more worlds she was to see like this, Dybera would always be the first, and it would always be her home, and she would always remember it, and... and love it.

Yes. Though for most of her life she had only known a tiny piece of it, she decided then and there that she loved all of Dybera, every inch of it, and always would.


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