Goldest and the Kingdom of Thorns (12 page)

Goldest, who everyone knew had a real sneaky tart mouth, smiled at Lowilla’s distress, which was starting to show.

“What are you to do with us, Goldest, now that you know we are here dwelling in your kingdom? Are you to ban us? Why, we have no place to go – and with a newborn baby, yet!” Lowilla exclaimed with fear and apprehension mounting within her.

Aparicio put a loving arm around his distressed wife, trying to comfort her. They both looked at Goldest, waiting for her to reveal what she would do with the discovery of them in her kingdom.

“The King, Queen and Augean have been a part of my life, as of lately. I owe them more than gratitude for helping me restore my kingdom. I could not have done it without them. Ushi is my protector, as I am to his heart. Aside from the fact that you tried to overthrow your own father, I would not be a Queen if I turned away the son of the King and Queen whom have brought back my kingdom, with their granddaughter referring to myself as her friend,” Goldest informed them in a royal manner. Goldest was
surprised at herself for her splendid performance and correctly chosen words. She felt majestic and stately at that moment. Her coat of gold gleamed resplendently with her amour propre.

Lowilla and Aparicio breathed a sigh of relief.

“Your secret is now my secret, guarded within my golden heart. You may dwell here until I decide what I am to do with you, because you both belong back in your own kingdom, and Augean does need to be with her mother and father, and her baby brother should be made known to her… all this will take away her loneliness; because, she is very, very lonely,” Goldest informed them.

Aparicio bowed with understanding and respect to Goldest. “Your kindness is greatly appreciated, Goldest. You are truly a Queen in our hearts.”

“Humph! I will do whatever I have to do for the best of all, at the proper time for you both. You all belong together. I will be back. Croak! Croak!”

Goldest turned and hopped away with an air of arrogance about her. She stopped and turned around. “And if you stay within the shadows of my castle, Aparicio, no more eavesdropping on me!” she shouted to him.

She turned and hopped away, back to her castle. She had seen enough for one day. She needed to go back to her castle and do some thinking. She hopped over the bubbling brooks and back through the forest. A feeling came over her that she was being watched. She looked around and could not see anyone, but the feeling would not leave her.
I am not alone
, she thought to herself. Suddenly, she felt spooked. The creepies
started to crawl over her golden coat. She quickly hopped back to the castle, not being able to overcome her creepy feeling.

It so happened that Octagon, Onion, Ebrix, Xnug and Imbecile were cautiously riding through the ladybug forest, not wanting to be seen. They were out on a day’s ride of exploration anywhere throughout the Domain. Since this was a part of the Domain they had never bothered to visit, they decided to ride through it. They were all very much taken by surprise at all the activity going on in the Kingdom of the Ladybugs, which was supposed to have been laid to rest. They dismounted as they got closer to the castle and hid their horses. They watched the people tending to their land, fields, gardens and herds of animals. The flowers and fields were magnificent! It was a new land with a new smell. The growth was so young and full of promise – a new sprung kingdom!

They hid behind thick shrubbery and wandered from one location to another and watched, careful not to be exposed. Ebrix snickered sinisterly, which sent a chill up Octagon’s spine. The perspicacious Octagon had seen through Ebrix’s laughter. Octagon had seen enough, and turned away and walked back to the horses with the rest of the Monks following. Imbecile tripped over a fallen log. Onion picked him up by his hooded cloak and dragged him over to his horse. They all mounted quietly and rode away.

This is not good
, thought Octagon to himself
Ebrix will surely inform Theo about this chaste, beauteous kingdom
. They rode back to their own kingdom in silence, each contemplating what they had seen.

Later that night, the Queen, Augean and Ushi, with some of the Queen’s Court that she had brought with her to help in the restoration of the castle, were at the long table conversing and dining on corn chowder, stuffed pheasant and sweet potatoes with white wine. Servers gave them their food and stood at attention. They were all quite pleased with themselves; the restoration was complete and no other could have done it better. Ushi smiled at the women present. They were all so gloriously happy and content.

In hopped Goldest. At once, they all stopped eating and conversing. Silence had taken over the room with the entrance of Goldest. It was so quiet that you could hear a bug fart. They all stared at her, courteously giving her the chance to say the first words. She looked back at them all, feeling very superior.

Ushi broke the silence. “I have been concerned about you, Goldest. Where have you been?”

“I have a secret that I cannot tell or else it will not be a secret anymore! Croak! Croak!”

Goldest turned and hopped out of the main hall, just as abruptly as she had come. The Queen and Ushi were quite peeved at the frog’s response. Augean giggled, knowing what a relentless, saucy smart-mouth Goldest could be like.

“Well, I wonder what that was all about?” the Queen asked, confounded.

Later that night, the pounding of horses’ hooves could be heard under a cloudy, doom-laden sky. Octagon, Onion, Ebrix, Xnug and Imbecile rode relentlessly as the howling of the wind seeped through their blowing,
blackened hooded capes, with their grayish woolen socks keeping their feet warm inside their sandals of bark. The persistent, boisterous outcry of thunder fell harsh upon their ears; yet stimulation of sensation by external cause was of no significance to them. The flashing of platinum lightning was brutal to their hollow eyes; that too was an inconsequentiality. They rode into the courtyard before their frightful, uninviting castle.

Lesser Monks waited for them in the courtyard, waiting for their return so that they could tend to their horses. These lesser Monks were taught to be obedient and silent – never questioning a command or an order. Someday, they too would be of greater worth, as Theo’s favorites were.

The riders silently dismounted and headed to the main dining hall to have an audience with Theo.

The dining hall was as eerie as ever with shadows cast from the many burning candles, which were hand-made and scented with essential oils. The candles burned feverishly with red flames, with the flames resembling burning blood. The scent of ripped tomatoes filled the room. A steaming cauldron with bowls and spoons next to it held recently made cream of tomato soup. Loaves of spinach bread lay next to the soup. Theo, Meek, Alme, Oxon, Pentangle, Emm, Uhl and Sooth were seated at the long main table preparing herbal medicines, the dried herbs and oils scattered about the table with spring water in jars, and a cauldron of steaming spring water and old, yellow papers bearing their secret recipes. The hot soup was there for their hunger, waiting for them to nourish
themselves whenever their hunger called for it. They had planned on it being a long, long night.

Octagon, Onion, Ebrix, Xnug, with Imbecile tripping over his cape, rushed up to Theo, who stood and bowed his head in respect to his approaching Brothers. The Monks took off their blackened hooded cloaks and handed them to Radish and Asp, who approached them to help with the removal of their outer apparel.

“And what exploratory news do you carry for us all to hear, Brothers?” Theo asked.

“We have found the right kingdom to strike at and take as ours!” an excited Ebrix informed them.

Theo raised an eyebrow, knowing they all had already agreed on a kingdom within the Domain. “Oh? And what kingdom might that be? I thought we had all agreed upon the Kingdom of the Pillars?”

“The Kingdom of the Ladybugs!” Xnug replied.

Chuckling arose from the long main table. Octagon was silent as he watched them all with a straight face. He was motionless, with no reaction showing on his face. He did not want anyone to read into his thoughts of foreboding for the Kingdom of the Ladybugs. The inevitable was taking hold, and he stood dispirited in the face of what was to come.

“Why, that kingdom is nothing but an unkempt, overgrown refuge for the weeds and the unwanted,” Meek remarked.

“Not anymore!” Onion exclaimed.

Theo squinted his eyes suspiciously, “What mean you?”

Onion smiled.

“
Speak
!” Theo shouted. Then quietly he said, “You waste seconds.”

Octagon thought it was best that he took over. “It appears to be that the Queen from the Kingdom of the Willows and her granddaughter have mended and beautified the red castle, while Ushi and his warriors have mended and beautified the land.”

“I might add the people of that land, from once long ago, have come back and replanted,” Onion put in. “With the land lying dormant all these years, the soil is revitalized.”

“Everything about that kingdom is new growth. Think what we could do with expanding our Thorn Army!” Ebrix exclaimed. “The soil there is full of vigor. Our vengeful herbs would grow mighty and powerful in that soil!”

“More powerful than us?” Emm asked, quite riled. Lately, Emm had taken on a feeling of distaste for most of the Monks, with their minds filled with power that would eventually cause the destruction of others, as well as themselves. He had developed the same foreboding that Octagon had felt. He now had misgivings about themselves.

Alme jumped up from his seat. “Why, I would rather live among beautiful pillars and monuments than with ladybugs!”

“Hush, Alme. Let me meditate on this for several seconds,” Theo told him.

Theo sat next to the steaming hot cauldron of tomato soup. With eyes closed, he took in the aroma of the ripe tomatoes and pondered on the present news and what course of action to take, or change, as the
steam rose up into his face. The rest watched or poured more wine into their goblets. Radish and Asp took it upon themselves to pour wine in pewter goblets for the returned Monks and offered it to them.

“W-w-what is T-T-Theo d-d-doing?” Imbecile whispered to Onion.

“He’s meditating,” Onion whispered back to Imbecile.

“Oh,” Imbecile stated flatly, like he understood; but his facial expression showed that he did not.

“Shut up, Imbecile! Drink your wine!” Ebrix told him.

“Be silent, Imbecile. The decision Theo makes could very well change our plans and turn things for the better or the worse,” Onion told him kindly, as he gave Ebrix a dark look of disgust. The air was turning stale with the cold and unkind treatment shown towards Imbecile by certain Monks all the time. Imbecile was their Brother too, just like the rest.

Theo looked at Ebrix. “You are right, Ebrix. New dwellings, new growth, new land, fresh soil – perfect for our culturing Thorn Warriors to continue to grow and learn…”

“…And new people, which will make it easier to strike out at, seize the kingdom and make it ours,” Ebrix remarked.

“And full of bounty for our vengeful herbs,” Xnug reminded them all, repeating Ebrix. “Think of what the layers of soil could do to them. They will love it!”

Theo’s eyes looked for the responses from the rest of the Monks at the table and they nodded their heads one by one in agreement, some with reluctance.

Pentangle had sat silently through all this, and it was
unusual for him to be this quiet for so long. He always wanted in on something, or made some crude remark. He finally spoke out. “All is spoken and agreed upon. Our thorns are getting stronger every day. Let them rid us of Savagio forever!”

Here we go with Savagio again
, Octagon thought irately to himself. Maddened, he stepped forward, always prepared to defend Savagio. “I promised Savagio a safe return and my word be kept! He shall leave without any discord. We shall see no more of him,” Octagon sternly informed the Monks. “I will stand firm on this subject. If any Monk should so challenge me, then I will meet that challenge and challenge him back,” Octagon muttered to himself, not caring if the other Monks heard his remark.

Theo raised an eyebrow at Octagon, who normally kept his defiance quietly to himself, not wanting his Brothers to really know his innermost secret thoughts. Theo had taken note how Octagon had become more removed and clandestine these past few months.

“Bah! What of words! Savagio could easily turn our thorns against us if he wanted to! To be rid of that pestilence forever is in our best interest!” Pentangle stated heatedly.

Imbecile, who had also taken a liking to Savagio, whom he looked up to, admired and respected, started to hyperventilate. “B-b-but, but I-I-I like S-S-Savagio. H-h-he, he is a p-p-proud warrior and h-h-honest.” Imbecile, who usually hid in the shadows, now boldly defended Savagio. He did not want any harm to come to this great, supreme warrior, and was most concerned for his safety.

Onion noticed that Imbecile was having trouble breathing. He put a hand on his shoulder.

“Calm down, Imbecile, or you’ll start falling all over again,” Onion told him gently. He then stared hard at Theo as he stated, “Let Theo make his decision without any influence from amongst us.”

No wiser words could have been spoken
, thought Theo to himself.
Onion has given me the chance to take the blame myself regarding what is to be done with Savagio, and none other. I shall have to outsmart him and the other Monks with wisdom
. “Very well, Octagon, your word shall be kept – otherwise, we would not be known as Monks,” Theo stated cleverly, bringing Octagon in on the decision by saying that it was Octagon who had granted Savagio a safe return by his very own word.

Pentangle snickered at Theo’s words so cunningly put. The other Monks found no humor in this situation. All were torn by what decision to make.

Theo was silent for several seconds and then raised a finger to Octagon as he informed him, “But Octagon, heed my words: if Savagio turns on us in any way, you shall be the one to draw your sword and take his life. He may be a powerful warrior and one of the best swordsman in the Domain, but you have trained yourself to be a strong, skilled swordsman yourself.”