Isle of Wysteria: The Reluctant Queen (44 page)

“Who is Flossy?” Captain Evere asked, scratching his mutton chops.

Setsuna reached into the purse and started groping around, plunging her arm in all the way up to her shoulder. “He’s my widdle morass, but I thought he ran away years ago.”

“You have a morass lizard as a pet?” Privet asked. “I thought they were dangerous.”

“Only when you don’t feed them enough,” Setsuna groaned as she tugged and yanked on something. From within the purse, she managed to pull out a thick-skinned green foot, but it would come no further.

“Oh grubs,” Setsuna cursed.

“What?”

“He’s too big to fit through the gate. Don’t worry buddy, I'll get some food and dump in down in there for ya.”

Spines grew out from the lizard’s skin and it thrashed about. It kicked free of her grip and disappeared back down into the coin purse.

“Ouch! Bad Flossy, naughty!” Setsuna scolded as she looked at her hand.

“You okay?” Privet asked, slurping down another spoonful of her soup.

“I think I may have a problem,” Setsuna admitted as blood trickled down her arm and dripped off her elbow.

“Go get the doc, woman,” Captain Evere ordered. “She’s been cursed.”

Mina sprinted out of the room. Setsuna looked around, her eyes growing unfocused. “I...can’t feel my legs.”

Her legs gave out and she crumpled to the floor. Privet ran to her and helped her sit up. Yanking a tablecloth free, Captain Evere wrapped up her bleeding arm as best he could Already, her whole body was beginning to shiver.

“What’s going on in here?” Athel yawned as she walked in. Her red hair was wild and frizzy.

“I’m not sure how, but somehow she managed to get herself poisoned,” Privet explained as he got up. “We sent Mina to bring the doc.”

“No, he won’t have the right anti-venom,” Setsuna supposed, her lip trembling. “Privet...you have to help me.”

“What can I do?”

Setsuna’s shaking hand reached up to her neck and pulled a chain free. Two silver rings hung on the end of it. “When the venom reaches my heart, it will stop beating...”

“But how will...”

“These are Senndaisian oathbands,” she explained weakly. “When two people wear them, their hearts beat as one. Their magic will keep my heart beating as long as you’re near me.”

Privet looked down at the rings as she dropped them into his hand. Blue and green wisps of energy coiled around their surfaces. “But, aren’t these also...

“Yes, they are binding wedding bands,” she said, her breath growing cold.

“Don’t do it,” Athel warned, stepping closer.

Privet hesitated. “Look, you deserve to be married to your true love. I just met you.”

Setsuna looked up at him, her eyes distant. “Don’t you believe in love at first sight?”

Privet raised an eyebrow at her condescendingly. “You tried to kill me.”

“Yes, don’t you see how much passion we have already shared?”

“I don’t think passion is the right word.”

Ryin stepped forward. “If you won’t save her then I will,” he offered, grabbing for the rings.

“No,” Setsuna groaned, barely above a whisper. With a wave of her hand, a gate passed over Ryin and he vanished. “It has to be with someone I love or the spell won’t work.”

Privet held up the ring before him, soaking in the gravity of what he was about to do.

Setsuna’s eyes glazed over, cold as ice. “Hurry...”

Setsuna wasn’t moving and she wasn’t breathing.

Everyone was quiet as they looked at her lying there.

Privet swallowed hard and moved the ring towards his waiting finger, but Athel stopped him.

“I said, don’t do it,” she repeated.

“But, I can’t just let her die,” Privet argued.

Athel snatched the rings from his hand. “I won’t let you do this.”

Privet couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He turned back to look down at Setsuna lying before him.

“You guys are terrible,” Setsuna complained as she opened her eyes. “I can’t believe you just let me die!”

Privet blinked. “You...you’re alive?”

“Of course I’m alive, no thanks to you,
hero
,” Sersuna denounced as she sat up.

“I knew she was faking it,” Athel criticized, tossing the rings back to Setsuna.

Setsuna turned to look at Athel with savage eyes. “And you...I’d have had him if it wasn’t for you. Just what kind of Queen lets a person die like that?”

Athel shrugged. “You're not one of
my
subjects.”

Mina and Dr. Griffin ran in, carrying armloads of medical supplies. “H...how are you still alive?” Dr Griffin asked.

Setsuna looked over at them. “What? Oh that. My people are immune to most forms of poison,” she explained as she stood up, cradling her injured arm. “Comes in handy when you live in a toxic swamp.”

Everyone groaned and shuffled away. “Will someone get her back in the brig?” Captain Evere pleaded.

A couple of minutes later, after Dr. Griffin secured her bandages, Setsuna looked up and saw Privet staring at her accusingly.

“So, that means that even if you really had put poison in my food...” he began.

“...tasting it wouldn’t have affected me. Boy, you leaf-eaters are quick, aren’tcha?” she teased, thumping him on the head with her fist. “Now, sign my cast.”

Alder walked back in, carrying the struggling Stonemaster golem in his hand. Bunni Bubbles sat on his shoulder triumphantly, as if she had just returned from a successful hunt. Despite the fact that he was doused in both syrup and feathers, Alder’s face was morose and concerned.

“What in the world happened to you?” Athel said, plucking a sticky feather off of him.

“There were some complications in the pursuit and capture,” Alder trailed off, his mind elsewhere.

“What I want to know is, how the lad managed to get himself tarred and feathered when we have neither tar nor feathers on board,” Captain Evere chuckled as he took a bite of his sandwich.

Athel placed her hand sympathetically on a spot on his back that was less sticky than the rest. “What’s wrong, Aldi?”

“They were making some announcements on the prism stream when we chased by. Apparently, Queen Forsythia has collapsed. She is not expected to recover.”

“Oh no,” Mina said, covering her mouth.

Athel stood, stunned. Her mind refused to accept the information. Her mother couldn’t be gone, she was always there and she always would be. Her mother was a redwood, a kind of monolith of existence. Something like that doesn’t just go away.

“That means Solanum is reigning in her stead,” Athel said quietly, as if trying to convince herself that this was really happening.

“We must go back immediately,” Alder encouraged. “There is no other option at this point.”

At the mention of returning, Athel’s face pinched. Her mouth opened slightly, but she did not protest aloud.

“I don’t understand,” Privet said. “If Solanum is in charge, what does that have to do with us?”

Athel froze, her eyes flicking back and forth as she fought wave after wave of conflicting emotions. She didn’t know if she should feel sad, angry, worried, or scared, so instead of feeling any one of those things, her heart just drifted back and forth among them without ever really settling into place.

“Is Solanum Athel’s sister?” Mina asked sympathetically.

Again, Athel did not answer. Alder stepped up to offer an explanation. “What I’m about to tell you isn’t well known outside the royal family,” he began, glancing over to Athel for consent, but she did not respond. Taking her hand gently in his, he continued. “Athel’s older sister Solanum was born with a rare disorder. You see, normally when a woman links with the forest, she partakes of the emotions and thoughts and memories of everyone else connected to it. When she removes herself from the link, those things that were not originally hers fade fairly quickly, allowing her to retain her individuality and sense of self.”

“But Solanum can’t do that?” Privet guessed.

Alder shook his head. “No, every time she links with the forest she is unable to expel it all. Over time, all those foreign memories and emotions built up and polluted her mind. It’s fairly safe to say she is far from sane at this point.”

Alder took Athel’s other hand and looked into her eyes. “Have I got it right so far?”

Athel slowly focused on his tender gaze. “Um...It’s different...quite different for the Queen, but yes, you have the gist of it.” Athel tilted her head. “How did you know about all this?” she asked.

“Deutzia told me.”

Athel’s face became angry and she pounded her fist against the ceiling above her. “Traitor!” she yelled.

“Coward!” Deutzia yelled back, thumping her roots on the deck beneath her in response.

Alder turned to the others. “Returning to Wysteria will be very dangerous right now.”

“That’s putting it lightly, lad,” Captain Evere appraised. “Running a blockade is as dangerous as it gets.”

Alder nodded. “But we'll have to if Wysteria is to survive. With Solanum on the throne, they won’t stand a chance when the Navy attacks.”

Alder turned and looked his wife in the eyes. “We must go back.”

Athel’s eyes flickered with defiance. She wanted to run, she wanted to hide; she wanted to do anything to delay this moment, to avoid this decision. But, try as she might, she could not find another way. Now, more than at any other point in her life, she felt utterly and completely trapped.

Defeated, Athel lowered her head. Her shoulders slumped, her frizzy auburn hair fell down in front of her face.

The chase was over.

“All right, you win,” she said sternly, her voice shaking. “We'll finish up what we came here to do, and tonight we fly to Wysteria as fast as we can.”

Alder breathed a sigh of relief.

Athel turned her head to Captain Evere. “Is that all right with you?”

Captain Evere inhaled. “Well, technically you should have asked me first before making such an announcement,” he groused.

Athel glanced at him in irritation.

Captain Evere smiled. “But we're with ya, lass.”

“Thank you,” Athel said sincerely.

“Um, Ho!” came Margaret’s voice through the call tubes.

“Ho?” Ryin said, looking around.

“Ho! Ho!” Margaret said again.

“Ho Ho?” Captain Evere repeated in confusion. “What is she...?”

“Ho Ho! Land!” Margaret said again through the call tubes.

Mina placed her face in her hand. “Ugh. She’s trying to say land ho!’“

Rushing up to the deck, they looked out at the Dragon Isles before them—harsh, rocky terrain carved out by ancient glaciers, rock formations jutted up from the ground, their smoothed surfaces looking vaguely like dragons diving in and out, swimming through the ground.

Further inland, strange totems jutted out of the ground at odd angles. Frowning faces and foreboding hands carved from natural pillars of rock. Everywhere, an otherworldly mist clung to the cold landscape.

“Why did you stop?” Captain Evere asked.

“I...I didn’t stop,” Margaret defended. The winds just...went silent all of the sudden.”

“What does that mean?”

Setsuna stepped forward. “It means that we take the longboats from here.”

Ryin and Hanner manned the oars of the longboat. Each one was tipped with a stone edge that cut into the air, allowing them to propel the longboat along without sails or on an ethereal wake like the airships used.

“So, tell me,” Setsuna said, leaning in close to Privet. “What kind of woman do you like?”

Privet lowered his spyglass and thought for a moment. “I like the kind that don’t talk very much.”

Setsuna laughed. “Oh, you are so coy. It’s adorable.” She leaned in close, her lips nearly touching his neck. “But I know what you really want.”

Privet raised an eyebrow. “Do you?”

Setsuna nodded, a wicked smile on her green lips. “You may think you are complicated and mysterious, but I can gate straight through all that.”

Privet moved his money pouch to the other side of his belt, away from her. “Fine, I'll bite. What do I want?”

“You don’t want to be a doormat any more,” she whispered against his neck. “But, you don’t want a doormat to step on either. You want someone who will stand beside you. Not in front of you, and not behind you either. An equal, someone who can match you in every way, who also sees you as her equal.”

Privet said nothing, but from the way he reacted, it was obvious that she had hit the nail on the head.

“You must know,” Setsuna whispered, “that Athel will never see you that way. Not in a thousand years.”

Privet turned to protest, but Setsuna had already walked away to the other end of the longboat.

“So, what were you talking about?” Athel asked coldly as Setsuna sat down.

“I was just asking him to sign my cast,” Setsuna teased. “I saved a spot right here for you to sign it as well,” she offered, lifting up her sling as best she could.

Hanner passed his oar over to Privet and unbundled baby Strenner to check his diaper. Taking out a cigar, Hanner snapped his fingers, but it didn’t light. Frustrated, Hanner snapped again, and again, but there was no spark or flame.

Unable to hold back, Alder leaned forward and interjected himself. “You know, you really shouldn’t smoke in front of the baby.”

Hanner turned his large bald head towards Alder and licked his lips. “Just what kind of father do you think I am?” he groused defensively.

Alder leaned back a little. Hanner was easily four times his size. “I...I was only...”

Hanner smiled, revealing a mouth full of wide, stubby teeth. “I’m not going to smoke in front of my son.”

“Well, then why did you...?”

Hanner pulled out a second smaller cigar. “I got one for him too. “We're gonna’ smoke ‘em together.”

Alder was speechless.

“But, Strenner’s an infant,” Athel interjected.

“Sure is,” Hanner boasted, rubbing his sleeping baby on the head. “And it’s high time he learned how to smoke black root. On Iber, if a father doesn’t teach him how before his first birthday, then the son will be taken away and given to someone manlier to raise.”

Now it was Athel’s turn to be speechless.

“I just can’t seem to get ‘em lit for some reason,” Hanner complained, snapping his fingers again in vain.