Empress of the Underworld (6 page)

Abbey shook her head. “I don't think that is exactly right, Prince Lothar. The followers of Goél would do anything for him, but none of us are afraid of him—oh, maybe as a child is afraid of a father. But there is love there too.”

The conversation went on for a long time. Abigail finally grew weary, and the empress, appearing to see this, said, “Well, we will have time to talk later. We are agreed that the truth is what we must have, are we not, Abigail?”

“Oh, yes. We must have the truth, always.”

A smile touched the empress's lips. “We will talk more of this.”

Abbey finished her meal, and then was fascinated by the entertainment. Acrobats turned fantastic flips, magicians made things disappear and reappear, so that she could not believe her eyes. There were dancers and singers, and she was utterly enraptured with the scene.

At length Abbey was introduced to the leading members of the Council—tall, stately men, some with hard eyes but all strong and wearing the sign of the serpent on their chests.

After the empress introduced Abbey, she said to the men, “She will be of great help to us in our struggle against the enemy.” Then she looked at Lothar and whispered so softly that Abbey barely heard. “And a prince needs a princess, does he not?”

Lothar glanced over at Abbey and smiled. “Yes, My Empress,” he said.

After the music and dancing, the empress said, “Now let me show you more of the palace.”

It was a royal tour with just the empress and Abbey going through the passages. She saw marvelous things during the trip and said, “I could never find my way around, Your Majesty.”

“Yes, it is a large palace. It took the labor of thousands and thousands to carve it out of solid stone. Others are busy finding the precious gems, but you have not seen the half.”

Then Fareena said, “You must be tired. Let me take you to your quarters.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty. I could never find my way alone.”

When they were inside Abbey's room, the empress sat down for a moment. “I enjoy banquets,” she said. “But a little quiet talk is sometimes much better, is it not?”

“Oh, yes, Your Majesty.” Abbey still felt somewhat nervous in the presence of this beautiful woman. Her green eyes were so strong and powerful that she could not meet them, and she dropped her own gaze.

“Now I have a little gift for you.” The empress reached into a hidden pocket and brought forth a small golden box. “My own special incense. I make it myself,” she said proudly. Rising, she walked over to a table where an incense burner sat. She lit it from one of the candles, opened the golden box, and poured some of the incense
into the bowl. “Come—we will enjoy it together,” she said.

Abbey came to sit beside her, and soon the smoke from the incense rose from the burner.

“That is pleasant, is it not?”

“Oh, yes, very nice.” Abbey actually thought the scent was rather strong, but she did not want to displease the empress. She continued to breathe the scented air, and for some reason it made her very sleepy.

She confessed this to the empress. “What is in it? It seems to make me drowsy.”

“It's my own special formula,” she said. “Better than any sleeping potion you will ever have. But it makes you feel very good, does it not?”

Abbey was sleepy. She had difficulty keeping her eyes open, and the empress's voice seemed to come from far away. But it was a rather delicious feeling.

“Have you noticed my pendant?” Empress Fareena asked softly, her voice no louder than a spring breeze. “It's beautiful, is it not?” The empress held it before her eyes.

Abigail stared at the green stone with the carving. “Yes,” Abbey murmured. “Very beautiful.”

“It was made for me many years ago by an expert craftsman. It's the only one of its kind. Do you see the carving?”

As the empress slowly let the pendant sway, Abbey tried to follow it. The deep green seemed to be magnified and the carved serpent almost alive.

“Very—very beautiful, Your Majesty,” she muttered. It was growing harder and harder for her to stay awake.

The empress was speaking, and she tried desperately to keep her mind on what was being said. But that was more and more difficult. She did hear the empress say, “You have come to us to learn the truth, Abbey. You want the truth, do you not?”

“Yes—” Abbey nodded “—the truth.”

The empress continued to speak about the Kingdom of the Underworld and its enemies the Underlings and how difficult it was to win the battle against them.

“But we must win, mustn't we, Abbey?”

“Yes, we must win.”

“We can't let the evil ones take over the kingdom, can we?”

“No, we must not.”

Again and again the empress spoke of truth and of the right way. Then she began to speak of what was to come. “If we can only defeat our enemies, you would receive great honor.”

“Great honor?” Abigail echoed.

“Yes, more than you ever thought. These little trinkets that you wear—why, they're nothing. You love diamonds and jewels, do you not, Abbey?”

“Yes, I love them.”

“They will all be yours, if you come to the truth.”

“To the truth,” Abigail recited obediently. On and on, the voice of the empress seemed to seep into her, and the green stone seemed to grow till it filled the room.

“I will make you strong, Abbey—and even more beautiful than you are now. You must trust me. You do trust me, don't you?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The scent of the incense, the flashing of the green stone, and the rhythmic voice of the Empress of the Underworld continued until Abbey's mind seemed to float and she was aware of only the empress.

How long this went on, she later had no idea. She woke to find herself in the bed with no memory of having undressed. She was wearing a beautiful nightgown, and the covers were pulled over her.

She raised her head, slightly sick from the odor of the incense, and called out, “Luna, are you there?”

Instantly the door to the chamber opened, lights came on, and the old woman whispered, “Yes, my lady, is there something you want?”

“Where is the empress?”

“She is gone. Shall I call her for you?”

“No, I feel a little sick, Luna. May I have a glass of water?”

“Yes, my lady.” Luna returned soon with a glass of cool, sparkling water. She helped Abbey sit up and gave her the drink.

As Abbey lay back she said, “I don't remember the empress leaving. I don't remember much of anything except the green necklace she wore and the incense.”

“Shall I sit by you for a while?”

“Please. I'm a little—a little lonesome.”

Luna sat down and said quietly, “You are a long way from your home and friends. It's natural for you to be lonesome.”

“Tell me about the empress.”

“What do you want to hear, my lady?”

“She's very strange.” Something about the last audience with the empress disturbed Abbey. “I don't—I don't know what to think about her. She kept talking about the truth.”

Luna hesitated and said, “Yes, she talks a lot about the truth, the empress does.”

“What does she mean by truth, Luna?”

“That is hardly for me to say.”

Something in her tone caught at Abbey, and she turned her head and saw the lined face of the old woman. “Does it have something to do with the Underlings?”

Luna smiled slightly. “Yes, it does.”

“Please tell me.”

Luna hesitated again. “We are not allowed to speak of such things. If I were to tell you, and the empress found out, I would be sent to the mines. To the lower mines.”

“What is there?”

“Some of the stones that you wore tonight were dug from deep, deep underground. People who are sent there are never released. They're chained to stakes and dig their lives out in darkness like moles.”

“How awful! But what does that have to do with Empress Fareena?”

“I cannot tell.” For one moment, the eyes of Luna gleamed, and then she said, “There are many who go around proclaiming that they have the truth, but many of these are false.”

Abbey was growing sleepy again. “Then how am I to know what is the truth?”

“You must be very careful, Lady Abbey. Not all that glitters is gold.”

“I've heard that before,” Abbey said sleepily. “One of my friends told me that I like to look on the outside of things too much and not enough on the inside.”

“That was a wise friend,” Luna said quickly. “I would hold onto that if I were you.”

“But what is the truth? Can't you just tell me?”

“Truth is hard to find. You know Goél?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Then keep what he has told you in your heart. Others will tell you that they have the truth, but believe them not if it violates what you have been taught by him.”

Then Abbey could stay awake no longer. Luna was a shapeless form as she began to drift off into sleep. She fell back into the soft bed, and her mind closed as if the sun had gone down. It was a warm darkness, but during the night she had dreams once again, mostly of a green stone with a snake carved in it and of the Empress of the Underworld.

6

Abbey Sees the “Truth”

O
ne day faded into another for Abbey. She had never seen such fabulous things as Lothar showed her. Almost every day there was an excursion, once to a sapphire mine, the next day a thrilling trip to an underground river, and—more than once—visits to the homes of the lords of the Underworld, all very thrilling to Abbey.

Every evening the empress would send for her or would sometimes even stop by her quarters. This surprised Abbey, for she had assumed that empresses did not make private calls.

But the empress seemed to be fond of her. Daily she would bring a new gift. A pair of exquisite shoes made of some sort of leather, softer than any she had ever seen. A bracelet of purple stones that seemed to glow with fire deep inside.

“These came from the deep mines, my dear. Some of our finest stones come from there.”

“The deep mines?” Abbey recalled hearing of these. “Could we go there, Your Majesty? I'd love to see stones like this being dug out.”

“Oh, it wouldn't be at all entertaining or amusing for you.” The empress laughed. “Down there it is very dirty and hot. There are much more interesting things to see on the upper levels.”

Abbey often wondered about the other Sleepers.

One night when the empress came, Abbey said, “I'm worried about my friends. I left them a note, but their
journey may have taken longer than I'd thought. Do you suppose I could write them another letter?”

“Of course you could, Abbey.” Empress Fareena smiled. She had very red lips, and her greenish eyes rolled as she nodded. “You have paper and pen. We'll send them by special courier.”

“Oh, thank you, Your Majesty. That would be very kind. I'm—I'm a little lonely.”

“Only natural, I'm sure. After all, you seven have been very close, haven't you?”

“Oh, yes. We're a family really.”

“Tell me some more of your exciting tales,” Empress Fareena said. She sat down in a chair across from Abbey and listened as the girl told her more of the adventures of the Sleepers.

Even as she was speaking, however, Abbey touched her temples. “I don't know, Your Majesty. It all seems a little vague now. I—I seem to be losing my memory.”

The empress reached over, as she did every night, and lit the incense burner. At once the air began to carry its sharp, aromatic fragrance.

Now she turned to Abbey, and her voice grew soft. “Perhaps it's because you are learning more about the way things really are.” She took up the gold chain that held the green jewel and began to let it swing slowly. She waited till the girl's eyes were fixed upon it, then said, “We have been happy to have you with us, but time grows short, doesn't it?”

Abbey nodded, her eyes fastened on the stone. “Yes, Your Majesty.” She sounded as if she were in a deep sleep—which indeed she was.

For a long time the empress spoke of many things.

Something like this had happened for several nights, and each time she had awakened to find herself in bed.

Tonight she heard the empress's voice coming from far away. “My dear Abbey, you will be a princess, for you are coming to know the truth. You do know the truth, Abbey.”

“Yes, I know the truth.”

She awakened sometime later. As usual, she was in bed. Her head hurt, and her thoughts swirled. Tossing the covers back, she stepped out onto the floor and began to walk back and forth.

“If there were only a window I could look out of, I might see the stars or a tree,” she whispered, knowing she would not. She stopped abruptly, for this was a longing that she had not expressed before. For all the beauty of the jewels and the richness of her surroundings, still she missed the green grass, the blue skies, and the touch of soft wind on her cheek.