The Destiny of Amalah (37 page)

‘You will all see each other tomorrow,’ Michael reassured them but the six still felt sad to be going their separate ways and they hugged each other tightly before saying goodnight.

The five boys left the palace and went home with their parents and Ellora stayed in the palace with Amara and Michael.

‘You must be tired,’ Michael said to Ellora.

‘I am – very,’ she said yawning. ‘I have so much to tell you,’ she said happily but sleepily; ‘but I am so tired.’

‘You can tell us after you have slept,’ Amara said to her sister. ‘Your bed is made up for you now Ellora.’

‘Oh good she said dreamily.’ She bent forward and hugged and kissed her sister and then hugged and kissed Michael. ‘Good night,’ she said before she turned and made her way to her room.

When Ellora arrived in her room, she wasted no time getting ready for bed. She took a long shower, found her nightclothes and changed into them and then climbed into bed. She smiled and laughed with pleasure at being back in her luxurious night clothes and big comfortable bed and when she closed her eyes, she fell asleep dreaming of the adventures that she and her friends had undertaken and what a happy dream it was.

Chapter 16

When the sun rose that morning on Amalah the six young friends rose with it. They awoke in their own homes and it was strange for them to be alone and under shelter on such a warm and beautiful day. They each spent time with their families unpacking and reliving their adventures, starting with the last place that they had been to.

For the six, in the next few days, Amalah seemed like the foreign land and it was difficult for them to return to some semblance of normality but after a week had passed, they began to settle down slowly but surely.

One evening, Amara held a dinner at the palace for Ellora and the five boys. Michael, Häkan, Garrick, Raynor and Thaddeus were also in attendance. The evening started so well and Amara began by recounting what had taken place in Amalah while they had been away, then the six began to talk of their times together.

‘I think the hardest part was climbing Qomolangma,’ Kalon said, quite by accident.

As the words left his lips, the room went dead silent and the other five shot irked glances at him. Kalon realised what he had just said and he bit his lip and immediately looked at Rakan, who was shaking his head in annoyance and disappointment.

‘You climbed Qomo?’ Häkan asked incredulously.

‘Yes we did,’ Kalon replied sheepishly and the room went silent once again.

‘You climbed Qomolangma?’ Garrick asked, his voice low but he was clearly seething.

Rakan knew his father was angry, he could tell by the expression on his face, the sound of his voice and the posture he was in; his father was rarely angry but he knew it when he saw it.

‘Well?’ Garrick snapped.

Still the six remained silent as they watched Garrick and the other adults in the room change their mood.

‘Rakan I am waiting for an answer,’ Garrick said, glaring at his son.

‘We climbed Qomolangma father, we climbed Qomolangma from the west and reached the top and then we descended to the east,’ he said simply.

‘Why?’ Michael asked.

‘We wanted to see it,’ Rakan replied.

‘You could have seen it without climbing it,’ Garrick said, as even more of his anger continued to surface.

‘Father...’ Rakan began.

‘There is nothing you can say to me that will abate my anger at this moment in time,’ Garrick said cutting his eldest son off.

‘We climbed Qomolangma and survived,’ Rakan said. ‘We are all safe and well.’

‘You are lucky,’ Garrick said aggressively. ‘I have seen much of the world and I have seen those mountains in Santeb and been to the edge of Qomolangma. I’ve lived among the people and they all said the same thing – no one has ever climbed Qomo and returned. You must have known that,’ Garrick said, his voice rising and still glaring at his elder son.

‘We did, but we knew we could climb it and it was worth the risk. What we saw when we were up there…’ Rakan said passionately, as he tried to find the words to recount his experience.

‘I don’t care what you saw when you were up there!’ Garrick exploded. ‘I care, that as my eldest son, you risked your life and Kalon’s life and the life of the princess and everyone else’s in a reckless journey that could have killed all of you and I’m guessing the only reason you survived is luck – sheer luck,’ Garrick said angrily.

‘But father…’ Rakan said, trying to alleviate his father’s anger by explaining.

‘But father nothing,’ Garrick replied, cutting Rakan off again. ‘I trusted you Rakan, out of all of you I trusted you the most. I know that the six of you do everything together and make decisions together but you were the leader – not by much – but still the leader. I am extremely angry and disappointed in you, in all of you for being so
bloody
stupid and reckless,’ Garrick finished.

The six sat at the table in complete silence, they looked straight ahead of themselves and stole glances at each other; Rakan who had taken the brunt of his father’s anger simply looked nowhere. He felt completely ashamed, not because of what he had done but because his father had blamed him and had done so, so publicly and he knew – in public or in private – he could not answer his father back. He had also felt crest fallen and wretched that his father had reacted the way he had.

‘Ellora, why did you go?’ Amara asked her sister but Ellora could not answer her sister, she could only look at her and hope that she did not push the matter: she did not – but Michael did.

‘Princess did you forget the conversation we had with you before we let you leave on this journey?’ Michael asked his face and tone dead serious.

‘No,’ she replied feebly.

‘So why would you undertake such a life threatening venture?’

‘Because we all decided that where one of us went, all of us would go,’ Kalon said, trying to come to Ellora’s defence.

‘So which one of you decided to climb Qomo?’ Michael asked, staring at each and every one of them in turn, but no one answered.

Rakan sighed and raised his eyes in exasperation at his brother’s ability to keep dropping him in it.

‘You must have known it was wrong,’ Garrick said in a calmer tone but obviously still very angry. ‘All of you must have known it was wrong, because before you left Amalah on your travels, not one of you mentioned it and you have been in Amalah for over seven days and you only mention it now, and I think that was quite by accident.’

Once again the six young friends remained silent and it was for the adults to speak and elicit information.

‘Just how did you survive Qomolangma?’ Thaddeus asked, to which three of the six became alarmed and their eyes widened as the questions became more prickly.

‘Well?’ Garrick asked impatiently.

‘With great skill,’ Rufus replied, refraining from sarcasm on this occasion.

‘What skills would they be?’ Thaddeus asked inquisitively.

‘The skill of being able to live off the land,’ Waldon answered.

‘I know you can all live off the land,’ Garrick said; ‘but living off the mountains of Qomolangma is a completely different story. The nomads have survived many a winter on the dead grounds and the lower mountains and they are experienced travellers living in the harsh winters year in and year out, but none have ever returned from Qomolangma: so the question is: how did six young children survive the treacherous mountains of Qomolangma – a place where there is no food or plant life to live off?’

‘They used magic,’ Raynor said, shaking his head.

Rakan winced at the accurate guess and the six shuffled uncomfortably.

‘Is that true?’ Garrick asked, looking at Rakan.

‘Yes father,’ Rakan replied feeling extremely hot under the collar.

‘Despite me telling you, that you could not use magic unguided?’ Garrick asked, his voice rising once again.

‘Yes father,’ Rakan replied meekly.

Garrick shook his head trying to contain his anger and he looked down for in that moment he could not look at his sons without feeling even more furious.

‘Empress, if you will excuse me, I can no long sit down to this meal. I am awash with anger and have lost my appetite, not to mention that after hearing this disturbing news I no longer think it appropriate to continue with this evening.’

‘Very well Garrick I understand,’ Amara said.’ Please feel free to leave us.’

‘I bid you goodnight Empress. Friends I bid you goodnight also. Rakan, Kalon
get up
and leave this table and wait for me at the palace gates,’ Garrick snapped.

The two boys stood up, they looked at their father and each other and then at their friends before they left the table and exited the room. Garrick followed them out and the dining room still remained a tense atmosphere after he had gone.

‘Rufus, Kenaz and Waldon, I think that now the meal is over the best thing you can do is leave. Go home and I will tell your parents in the morning,’ Michael said.

The three boys stood up, said goodnight to those at the table and left the palace with their heads bowed down. It was the first time they had ever been asked to leave in their lifetime and they felt truly devastated. They rode home in silence and wondered how Rakan, Kalon and Ellora were faring.

Back at the palace, Amara asked to be left alone with her sister and the four men excused themselves from the table and wished them goodnight. Amara and Ellora were left alone and Amara stared intensely at Ellora for the longest time before she spoke.

‘Do you remember when father died and then shortly afterwards we lost our mother?’ Amara asked.

‘Yes,’ Ellora replied.

‘How did you feel?’

‘Sad,’ Ellora answered; ‘and bereft,’ she added. ‘I was lost and alone and I wanted to cry all the time.’

‘And do you remember when you thought you were going to lose me?’

‘Yes,’ Ellora replied.

‘How did you feel then?’

‘Scared, I lost mother and father and I didn’t want to be all alone. I didn’t want to lose you.’

‘Why?’

‘Because I love you and you are all I have left.’

‘Then you must know the same is true for me and yet, you risked your life so foolishly. You know you could have lost your life. When we let you travel with the other five we knew there would be risks. But for the life of me, I cannot fathom why you would embark on such a dangerous journey. You know you could have easily lost your life in those mountains.’

‘I’m sorry Amara,’ Ellora said humbly.

‘I don’t ever want to lose you Ellora and I couldn’t bear it if I did. You are all I have left in this world. I need you - we need each other.’

‘I didn’t think,’ Ellora said feeling rather ashamed.

‘No you did not.’

‘I’m sorry Amara, truly sorry.’

‘Answer me this. Was there ever a time when anyone of you nearly lost their life on those mountains?’

‘Yes – Rufus and Waldon. Rufus got his foot caught in a crevice while we were scrambling to a cave from an avalanche. Waldon jumped down to save him and they got caught in it.’

‘How did they escape?’

‘Rufus somehow managed to send a message to my mind, he levitated himself and Waldon up through the snow and we caught them and dragged them out of the snow and into the cave.’

‘Good grief,’ Amara said horrified yet strangely enthralled by the story.’

‘I was safe Amara, the boys looked after me, and we looked after each other.’

‘You’re safe
now,
’ Amara said, correcting her. ‘I’m not going to punish you Ellora because in this instance I don’t think there would be any point. Luckily you or the five boys did not come to any harm and you are home safely; but that was a very stupid thing you did. Not only could you have lost your life but I would have lost a sister, and Amalah and the nations would have lost a princess or a future Empress – needlessly may I add?’

‘Amara…’

‘No, I do not want to hear anymore, I think the best thing you can do now is go to bed and think hard about what you have done,’ Amara said firmly.

Amara stood up and left her sister alone at the table, she made her way out of the room and Ellora stared at the empty chair where her sister had been sat. She could not believe dinner had ended this way considering how well it had started. Everyone had brought their good cheer and there was a pleasant atmosphere until Kalon mentioned Qomolangma and then she remembered the faces of the adults; all bearing looks of horror and then Garrick’s thunderous anger and Amara and Michael’s sheer disappointment in her.

Ellora felt gloomy and sad and she stood up and ran to her room, she had not felt this bad in such a long time and she thought about what she had done; she knew she had taken a huge risk and she knew she had let down Michael and Amara, but deep down she knew she could not and did not regret climbing Qomo. It had changed her, changed her life and although she was sorry for letting down Michael and Amara she was not sorry for climbing the great mountain and she knew that neither were the five boys.