Children of the Sun and Moon (8 page)

Gillock watched
as she ran out of the tent. “It would appear her magical abilities
are developing faster than I had thought,” he stated to his
companion.

“Yes, she felt
the same disturbance as we did in the room,” he responded.

“Well, Glavlin,
when do you think she will have to leave?”

The elf smiled.
“I think we can wait until after the festival. I do not want anyone
suspecting anything.”

Gillock nodded.
“Yes, we definitely don't need any more rumours about...” Gillock
stopped mid-sentence and was staring. Glavlin followed to see
Robyn, who had gotten up and was leaving in the direction of Koral.
“Now I wonder what he is up to.”

Glavlin started
to rise. “Don't worry,” Gillock said, placing his hand on his arm.
“Korben is watching the princess,” continued Gillock. “Nothing ever
gets by him, she will be fine.”

Glavlin sat
back down. “It would appear someone has something planned. I only
wish we could figure out what it was.”

Gillock nodded,
“Knowing Malena, her plans will be made clear soon enough.”

Back in the
palace, Jeremy and Elizanne were preparing to start their festival
rounds. Both had needed to bathe after the morning meal. Some of
the local children had decided to start a food fight. It only took
a look from the king for them to stop, but by the time he had been
able to do so the hall was a mess. It had taken much longer than
expected to clean things up, but both stayed to help.

Elizanne put on
her favourite blue gown, finished fastening a necklace made of
pearls and moved over to the window. So many people flitting about,
but so far the castle guard has not had to break up a fight or
major disagreement.

“Things are
going well so far,” noted Elizanne, moving away from the window. “I
hope it lasts.”

Jeremy smiled
and held her hand. “Things will be fine. We are taking every
precaution we can.”

Elizanne smiled
back. “I guess you are right.” Laughing, she added, “There is a
festival waiting for us and we should attend.” Arm in arm they made
their way to the festival site. Everyone stopped what he or she was
doing to greet the royal couple, as was custom. Koral, seeing
everyone stop, knew her parents had arrived and decided to go and
join them.

Brin had waited
until this moment to make her move. With the arrival of her
parents, no one would notice her. It was her only chance to make
her way over to the tents of the Maget. Slowly and carefully, she
moved toward the general's tent, making sure not to draw any
attention to herself. She could only hope the general was still
inside. If he wasn't, it would only be a matter of time until he
returned. He rarely showed himself at these festivals, usually he
would make a round to let his presence be known, and then would
head back to his tent. Brin was not even sure what she was going to
say to him. Over the last week, Brin had seen many things she
wanted to forget. Going to see him was the only thing she could
think of doing in order to protect the town. Tonight, things were
going to change and she knew it was for the best.

“She is within
my grasp my queen,” communicated Robyn.

“Just place the
spell on her,” Malena responded. “Do not attempt anything
else.”

“As you wish,”
he replied.

Koral sensed
something out of the ordinary. Glancing around, she noticed Robyn
coming towards her. “Good day your highness,” he said.

“Good day,
Robyn. Are you enjoying the festival?”

“Oh, very much
so.”

Just then, a
group of children ran past pushing Koral into

Robyn. Taking
this opportunity, he placed his hand on her back and spoke a single
word. Koral felt something wrong immediately, but it went as fast
as it came. She apologized to Robyn and quickly left to find her
parents. Robyn watched as she ran away. He could see the talisman
spell was leaving a trail of pale green mist. Soon it would be on
all of her belongings and she would never be able to hide from
them. He smiled and decided to go and enjoy himself at the
festival.

Korben also
watched the princess run away and immediately suspected something
was out of the ordinary. For a moment, he considered following
Robyn but decided to keep an eye on the princess. Things appeared
to be involving her quite a bit lately.

Koral spotted
her parents near the tavern she had run out of earlier. Ignoring
her thoughts on the matter, she ran over to them and gave her
father a big hug.

“What is this
for?” Jeremy asked.

“Just glad to
see you,” she replied.

“Have you been
enjoying yourself so far?” asked her mother.

“There are so
many different tents set up this year. Fruit and vegetables I have
never seen before, not to mention all the different cheeses. It has
been amazing.”

Jeremy saw the
glow in her eyes and felt guilty. So many times, he travelled to
the south and not once had he taken his children.

“Maybe we can
go and visit the south sometime,” he stated and saw Koral’s face
light up.

“That would be
wonderful, father,” she said, hugging him again.

Elizanne
grabbed Koral’s hand. “I think it is time for some dancing.”

Koral ran with
her mother to where the minstrels were playing a bouncy merry tune
about adventure and excitement. Forgetting all about her strange
feelings and questions, Koral danced away with her mother. Other
people from the town joined in and Koral and Elizanne laughed as
they were spun from partner to partner. Coming out of a spin, Koral
came face to face with Gillock’s companion. “May I have this dance,
princess?”

Koral gasped
when she saw who it was. “I would be honoured,” she responded, then
whispered, “Elf King.”

Koral could not
believe how graceful he was. The stories of the elven people were
definitely not exaggerated. Glavlin moved with such ease, Koral
felt as if she were floating.

“Why are you
here?” she asked.

“I told you I
would be coming. In truth, I am here for you.”

Koral was
stunned. “Why for me?”

“You are very
important. I need you to come back to the Cyprian Forest with
me.”

“What!
Why?”

“It will all be
explained to you soon, right now you are to have fun. It is, after
all, your day of birth.”

Koral laughed.
Of course, she was to have fun today, no worries, and absolutely no
problems. They danced together for three more songs until King
Jeremy asked to cut in.

“Have a good
day, princess,” Glavlin said before disappearing into the
crowd.

Turning to her
father, Koral held out her hand. “I would be honoured to have this
dance,” she declared.

Elizanne
watched her husband and daughter with delight. With Eric being gone
and Brin alienating herself, she was not sure if Koral would have
been in the mood for the festival. Everyone appeared to be enjoying
themselves, save for Baron Lychen and his men. Elizanne just
smiled. “That man will never be happy,” she thought to herself.
When she turned to walk towards a tavern tent her smile faded.
Ahead of her, she saw Brin, walking with determination towards the
palace, with General Traug and two Magima in tow.

Lakin had been
observing the festivities as well. He was quite upset when he
noticed the green mist following Koral around and knew at once that
Malena had done something.

“That stupid
witch,” he muttered to himself. “If she keeps this up, she will
ruin everything.” Deciding to put off dealing with her until later,
he turned his attention back to Brin. He could tell by her
determined walk, she was going to see General Traug but was
somewhat confused about it. “Surely she is not going to tell her
families secret,” he stated to the air. It would be quite
interesting if she were. He had thought, as did everyone, she had
no significant magical abilities. They were all wrong. Lakin had
witnessed her little temper tantrum after seeing her sister use
magic. It had intrigued him. The way she incinerated her night
table with a mere thought had him enthralled with her. “It must be
quite confusing for you, my princess,” he purred, stroking her
image in the pool. “Do not worry, I will guide you and then maybe I
can be rid of Malena forever. Besides, it would be much better if I
were king when I take over this world.” He was daydreaming about
Brin when Malena’s voice pulled him back to reality.

“I know you are
watching, Lakin. Come to the mirror.”

He moved from
the pool and withdrew the cloth on the mirror. “What is it?” he
snapped.

“Well, we are
testy today,” Malena snapped back.

“I am tired.
What is it you want?”

“Koral will be
easier to follow now. I thought you would be pleased.”

Lakin sighed.
“I am going to send Traug after her when she leaves. I did not want
to make it easy for him to catch their little group.”

He could see
Malena’s face change. “I am so sorry if it interferes with your
plans, but we are in this together.”

“Not for long,”
he thought then smiled. “Yes, I’m sorry. I didn’t want to give him
too much information is all. I guess it would make things easier if
he knew the truth of things.”

Lakin could
tell by Malena’s expression she was not pleased by this. “If you
think it will help our cause, Lakin, then do it. Just be careful
what you tell him. Remember, he believes you wish to destroy all
magic not help bring it back.”

“Yes, I am
aware of his beliefs. I think he will understand.”

Malena just
shook her head and disappeared from view. Happy she was gone; Lakin
went back to his pool to watch Brin.

CHAPTER SIX

Eric was not
having as much fun as the festival goers. On their second day
travelling, a small village had chased them away. Although he
announced who he was, the town folk had thought Eric and his
companions were raiders. With no letter stating who he was under
the royal seal, Eric could not convince them otherwise. Having to
move off well-travelled roads and take the smaller trails through
the forest bothered him. He was the Prince of the Central Lands,
and was reduced to slinking through forests to go around villages.
It was absurd and getting quite frustrating. They also appeared to
be travelling in circles. They had started out heading west, turned
south and had since turned back eastward. He did not want to
question his companions because they knew what it was they were
looking for but he was getting curious. They had divulged very
little information and Eric did not like secrets. There was too
much at stake, with the prophecy, to keep secrets. Then again,
maybe it is just the way of goblins.

As they rode
on, Eric realized what day it was. The Festival of the Moon. It was
the celebration for the Allorethna, goddess of the moon and his day
of birth, and he was not with his family.

He had been
gone almost a week and Koral was probably still mad at him. The
festival did work in their favour though. It kept the roads pretty
empty, which made it easier when they had to cross them. He had
expected a search party to follow, but knew they would not be able
to track him. Even if Payton or Korben were leading, it would have
been impossible. The goblins were very good at hiding their
trail.

Eric really
wished Koral was here with him, but was also glad she was not. This
was not the world they thought it was. Their father hadn’t let them
travel very far from home, and Eric realized this fact made them
very naive about life outside their little town.

He could not
believe there were so many people living in such sordid conditions.
It was revolting and it amazed Eric they could survive like this. A
week of travelling brought them into Baron Lychen’s lands. The area
was the worst yet. There were sign’s posted everywhere proclaiming
tax increases and longer work hours due to the fact that his lands
were not bringing in enough for the king’s liking. It bothered Eric
to read this, and was sure the baron just made it up. He could not
believe his father would order such things. They had kept off the
main trails so he could only see what was happening in the fields.
When they got close to towns, you could see it in their dwellings.
In some areas, people did not even have enough money to farm their
lands and they were going to waste. Eric did not know why his
father was allowing this to happen but decided he was going to have
to discuss this with him when he returned.

They were
currently riding through the forest between Regrit and Lissal, five
days from the Destiny River. This forest was full of game yet the
people living in the town they had passed yesterday were living in
squalor. They appeared afraid to leave the protection of their town
even if it meant starvation. Eric decided he needed to find the
underlying cause of this. There were just too many things happening
and it was somehow connected to them.

Eric rode to
where Nak, the head of the tribe, was riding.

“Where exactly
are we going?” he asked.

Nak turned,
“Wez is goings toz eastes.”

“Why are we
travelling in a circle?”

“Wez nots,” Nak
answered. “Goins toz Destiny Rivers. Thens wez goeses downs Rivers
Rage tos Tranquil Rivers tos Keenleyz. Gots businessz theres.”

“It seems to
me, we are avoiding something,” Eric stated.

Nak turned to
him. “Theres somethings wrongz inz woodses. Somethings bads.”

Eric looked
around. Everything appeared normal. “I do not see

what you are
talking about.”

“Animals wez
seez werez runnings fromz somthings. Listens toz woodses.”

Eric shook his
head. Listen to the woods, what good would that do? Sighing, he did
as asked. What he heard was silence. No birds chirping, not even a
wind whispering through the trees. This perfect forest immediately
became very forbidding. Eric had a sense of trepidation. “There is
something you are not telling me is there not Nak?”