Chartile: Prophecy (13 page)

Leo couldn’t see the usual oil lamps or even
torches. He wasn’t sure if the tunnel simply turned and he just
couldn’t see it. He stood, debating whether to take the dark tunnel
or continue the way he had been going. In the end, he chose to stay
where there was light, and turned down the first tunnel with lamps
he came to. He always said the horror movies had it all wrong. It
was human instinct to stay in the light when people were scared.
Not that he was scared.

He walked for what seemed like miles. The
last lamp he had passed was at least five minutes back. The
darkness was pressing in around him, and the air was becoming
stuffy. Leo stopped and leaned against the rock wall to collect his
thoughts. He could simply turn around. He knew the tunnel gave way
to light again if he went back the way he came. He couldn’t
understand why being alone seemed to bother him so. How he wished
there was a fast way out!

A door clicked open on Leo’s right, and a
sliver of light shown through. He could hear muffled voices just
beyond. He breathed a sigh of relief, thankful he had finally found
people. He cautiously stepped through the door, and stopped short.
The door clicked closed behind him.

Leo had stopped at the top of what appeared
to be an old mine— but a mine it was no more. The winding path that
led to the heart of the mine once held a track with carts operated
by magnetized hematite. Now, a fence stood between Leo and the
straight, vertical drop below. Tiny homes dotted the outskirts of
the path, and a make shift market square bustled at the center
below.

He stood transfixed by his unexpected find.
A firm hand gripped the back of his collar and threw him face first
into the dirt floor.

“
How did you get in here?”
asked a gruff voice. Leo felt his arms pulled behind his back and
pinned together.

“
I’m sorry! I didn’t
know!” Leo tried to yell, but his cheek was still pressed hard into
the dirt. He dared not struggle against his captor.

“
Who are you? An elf-spy
for Nefiri? Or maybe a rogue slave trying to run? Eh? Which is it?
Spy or coward?”

“
My name is Leonardo
DeHaven. I’m a guest of Empress Nefiri. I was just trying to get to
the pre-banquet. I got lost. I’m sorry.”

Rough hands pulled Leo to his feet, his arms
still pinned to his back. “Honored guests of the Empress shall be
granted the grandest holding cells. This way, my Lord.” Leo was
pushed forward down the narrow path. Below, faces turned to watch
his decent into what he knew could be nothing but trouble. For a
fleeting moment, he had a pain of sympathy for Jayson and his run
of bad luck.

Chapter Nine

The Pre-Banquet

Dimitri knocked softly on Piper’s door.
“Enter,” he heard her say. He pressed the latch on the door handle,
and swung the door inward.

Piper’s room was small for The Sapphire
Quarter, but one of the most luxurious. Tightly woven linen rugs
adorned the floor in an array of blues and grays. The entire
ceiling was a many colored mural of some of the greatest scenes in
Chartilian and Dwarvik history. The chairs were carved of black
walnut with deep blue cushions and embroidered with silver thread.
Dimitri sat in one of these and watched as Piper finished tying her
hair back with the help of Nefiri’s personal coiffeur. Together,
they had tamed her curls into a twisted braid set with little green
gems. It cascaded around the side of her neck and down her
shoulder, setting off her sharp jawline. She turned to the man and
bowed, offering him a silver coin. The man smiled, and turned to
leave.

Piper’s dress was fashioned in the elven
style and had been gifted to her from Valar. It was her mother’s,
and hugged her delicate curves in just the right way. She shrugged
and fidgeted with her braid until she nearly stabbed her finger
with one of the tiny stones.

“
Well?” Piper performed a
quick pirouette. “Do I look alright? I have not worn such things
since I was travelling with Gran, and they were never so luxurious
as this.” The thought of her grandmother, however fleeting,
immediately took what little confidence she had. She looked at the
floor, still fidgeting with her fingernails. She closed her eyes,
and willed herself not to cry.

Dimitri stood. He was almost afraid to touch
her. “You look like a queen,” he whispered, and tilted her chin up
to kiss her.

Piper pulled away quickly. “Please don’t say
that.”

“
I’m sorry,” he said. He
placed his hands on her hips and turned her to face him again.
Piper had told him what Nefiri and Valar had said to her the day
she had woke from her poisoned sleep. Even now he could sense she
struggled with her decision.

“
Whatever you decide, you
know I will always be here for you.” His breath tickled her ear and
he hugged her tightly.

“
No, you won’t,” she said.
A tear slipped down her cheek, and she wiped it away quickly. “If I
decide to be Queen, you know we cannot be together.”

“
I do not care what any
council says, Piper. You are my best friend, and I…I lo…” Dimitri’s
heart was racing. He hoped she could not feel it through his chest.
His words caught in his throat and he swallowed. He knew the moment
he said those words he could never take them back. He couldn’t
believe he had never said them to her before. He breathed deeply.
He didn’t want to take them back.

Piper had been his best friend since the day
they met in Fortress Kelsii over ten years ago. Since he was
neither Dwarvik nor Human, the other children had shunned him. But
not Piper. She was the first to see him as an equal. They had
played tag in the tunnels of the Tutarian Mountain, and picked
flowers along the mountain path. Their friendship had blossomed
into something much deeper three summers past. He had not seen
Piper or Kaytah visit Tutaria or Fortress Kelsii for some time. He
begged Nefiri to tell him where she was. Nefiri would not say, so
he left to look for her on his own. Gran directed him to the little
path Piper often took to and from her trips to the village. There
he had found her. Alone, afraid and hungry. He had taught her how
to hunt and how to fight. She confided in him her magical
abilities, and what had happened in Outland Post.

He taught her how to control her magic, and
promised her he wasn’t afraid. They spent days, weeks together,
when he could get away from his duties to Nefiri. One day, beneath
their gnarled beech tree, she had fallen asleep on his shoulder.
She looked so peaceful, so beautiful. He kissed her. Her eyes
fluttered open, and she had kissed him back.

Now, as they stood facing each other, his
hands resting on her hips, that moment seemed so long ago. They
were older now, even if it was only by a year. There were things
far greater than the trivial matters of hunting and fishing that
governed them now.

Piper wanted him to say those words. She
wanted to feel his arms embrace her forever. She could have it, she
thought. She could have everything she had ever hoped for if she
left the fate of Chartile behind. She had yet to decide if her
happiness was more important than the happiness of the people. Her
people. She looked into Dimitri’s dark brown eyes, and in that
moment, she was not a queen. She was just Piper, and she kissed
him, feeling his warm arms wrap around her back.

They broke apart, and Piper smiled at him.
She fixed the lay of his neck line, and kissed his cheek. Dimitri
held out his arm for her, and she took it, her face still flush and
lips still tingling. Since she was Elven not Dwarvik, her status
permitted her an escort to the pre-banquet. Nefiri had granted
Dimitri the time away to do so. Two guards waited outside the door,
ready to escort them to The Crystal Quarter. It was a short walk
from the Sapphire Quarter, though both secretly wished it would
have lasted just a little longer.

The two double doors to The Crystal Quarter
opened into a high ceilinged room. Panels of painted glass and
carved gems on the ceiling and outer walls allowed rays of sunlight
to pass through, casting a rainbow of colors on the guests inside.
The perimeter of the room was lined with tables of food and wine.
In the center of the room was a long wooden table with chairs. A
slightly raised platform with five chairs stood at the head of the
room beneath a giant griffin, carved from sapphires and citrine.
The creature looked as if he were breaking through the stone into
the room below, ready to pounce on the five smaller chairs that
stood in front of the platform and faced the wooden table in the
center.

Those already in attendance hushed and
whispered in hurried voices and behind hands as the two entered.
Piper had been assured that none but she, Nefiri and Valar, and of
course Dimitri, knew of her true lineage. She hoped their stares
and whispers were from the elders remembering her as a child. She
said nothing, but held her head high and smiled. Queen or no, she
was still the honored guest of Empress Nefiri, and an important
piece during today’s negotiations.

From across the room she saw Valar and
Nefiri. They waved to her, and she and Dimitri crossed to join
them. The room parted before her, and each person bowed as she
passed. She hoped such fuss over her would soon end. It was one
thing she could never get used to, she thought.

Valar reached out an arm to embrace her, and
Nefiri bowed as Piper stopped before them.

“
You look just like your
mother,” Valar whispered in her ear. Piper pretended not to have
heard, and accepted a glass of pearl wine from a passing beck-and
instead. The little bubbles caught in the back of her throat. She
coughed and became instantly light headed. She handed the remainder
of the drink to Dimitri, who was still at her side. He winked at
her, and finished the glass in one swallow.

“
Show off,” she whispered
to him. He winked again and smirked.

From a throng of elders huddled close by, a
thin, wispy haired woman in a midnight blue dress approached them.
Empress Nefiri bowed low, her braided hair forming a curtain over
her face.

“
Lady Piper, allow me to
introduce myself. I am Frejah of Tutarian’s Cobalt Quarter. It is
an honor to meet you, my dear. We have indeed heard so much about
you.”

“
From whom, I wonder, my
lady?” Valar asked. His smile was polite, but his raised eyebrow
spoke volumes.

“
Only rumors, I suppose!”
Frejah dodged the accusation. “No one in particular, but we are all
wondering—”

“
Frejah, dear, none of
that. It is the pre-banquet. All in good time.” Empress Nefiri
nodded her dismissal of the woman. Frejah’s smile vanished. She
stuck her chin out with a “Yes, Empress,” and left back to her
cluster of whispering women before Nefiri could bow a
dismissal.

Piper looked around and noticed the many
pairs of eyes watching her, or looking away quickly. Some whispered
behind their hands. Others blatantly pointed at her and whispered
to their friends. Whether she accepted the Elven crown or not,
Piper realized she would always be looked at this way. She would be
fussed over, doted on. Some would even attempt to use her as a
pawn. She suddenly felt very lightheaded, and it had nothing to do
with the wine.

“
I cannot do this.” She
turned to run for the door. Dimitri stepped in front of her,
catching her around her waist with his single free arm. Had she
continued to run, she was sure he would have simply lifted her from
her feet.

“
Yes you can,” said Valar,
resting his hand on her shoulder.

“
You will be fine,”
Dimitri said in her ear. “You are not here to impress anyone.”
Piper nodded for Dimitri’s sake as she fixed the wrinkles in her
gown. She still wanted to run, but stood her ground. She took a
glass of pearl wine from another passing tray and took a long
drink. This time, she welcomed the small head rush. It calmed her,
if only briefly.

The double doors creaked open, echoing
around the large room. Jayson and Jack entered with Princess
Gemari. Piper wondered where Leo may have been, then realized he
had probably stopped to speak with a tunnel architect. She smiled
at the thought, and a small bit of relief washed over her as she
went to join her friends. The recognition caught her slightly off
guard. Friends. They were her friends. She had no friends, save for
Dimitri, even as a child. Friends. The thought brightened her, or
perhaps it was the sudden consumption of the pearl wine.

“
Greetings, my lady—oh!
Piper! It’s you!” Jayson hadn’t recognized her at first. She looked
so mature. And cleaner. He threw his arms around her, and squeezed
her so tight he lifted her from the ground. She laughed and hugged
him back. It was something she never would have done a week ago.
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” he said, “Freak, man, I am so sorry
I…well, I guess I nearly got you killed, huh? Sorry about that.” He
scratched his head, making the hair at the back of his head stand
up at an awkward angle.

Piper giggled again, and reached up to
smooth his hair. She was thankful to finally be away from the
formalities of the elders, Nefiri and Valar. Here, she could be
herself.

“
Jack,” said a sweet voice
behind them. They turned to see Gemari smiling her brilliantly
white smile at them. “This is my sister, Ketari.” The Princess
addressed the tall girl standing beside her. Ketari, who seemed
much older than Gemari, nodded to them in greeting. Jack bowed low,
attempting the proper Dwarvik way, and Jayson followed suit. Ketari
could not have been more different from Gemari. She was very thin,
her clothes adorned with beautiful blue and amber beads that
reflected the gold in her eyes. She stuck her chin out and never
smiled. She looked down her long nose at Jack, her eyes sweeping
from head to toe and back again. Her golden-brown eyes narrowed
slightly, and Jack took a step back.