Royal Rebellion, page 13
“We did it, Leatha. Now, don’t forget you agreed to share the paperwork.”
She said it as a joke, but the truth of it made my bones ache.
Then Billy and Aaron joined us, standing at our sides and the weight of my responsibilities fell away.
Billy took my hand and Aaron Mercy’s as we gazed out.
As we stood there white feathers came from nowhere, appearing to fall from the sky. They fell around our feet in a thick carpet.
“You are seeing this too, aren’t you?” I could feel my brow furrow as I wondered if I was going crazy.
Mercy smiled. “It is a sign I asked for from our parents, that they are happy together and happy with our plans for Andlusan.”
I looked to the sky. “We love you and will make you proud.”
“I have no idea what you women are wittering on about, but would you care to dance, Queen Mercy?” Aaron held out a hand.
“I thought you’d never ask.” My sister mocked him and they headed off into the crowd of villagers, aware that within the crowd male and female guards looked like other villagers while they kept watch.
“I’m aware that we haven’t had much time together, but right now, I would also like to take the hand of my Queen and eat, drink, and be merry.” Billy said. “What say you?”
I guffawed at him talking the way the villagers did. “Goddess, yes, please let us have some fun.” I followed him to the dance floor where we danced the night away until my feet burned with pain. With a quick kiss to my lips, Billy left me before I took my carriage back to the castle.
Mercy had left with Aaron a while earlier. I did not want to think about what they were doing, but at the same time I envied them. I had been going to give my virginity to Billy on the night of the crash. Now I didn’t know what the future held for us. I could only pray to the goddess that my sister was right when she said that everything that had happened had brought the brothers back to us, back to where they belonged.
Ramona helped me prepare for bed; though I would barely recall it, being merry and exhausted. Sleep claimed me in mere seconds.
“I’m here and I’m waiting, watching, for an opportunity to unleash my hell on Andlusan.
Your return to the past will give me my future.
Enjoy your reign, Queen Leatha, while it lasts.”
I woke, panting, my hands clutching at my chest. My clock said it was nine minutes past three. I’d been back again in the nothingness, the disembodied voice around me. Something was here? My return to the past gave it its future? While I’d been trapped in the planes what had I done?
I no longer felt like this was merely a dream. Come later in the morning, I would speak to my sister and Isaac. For now, I got out of bed, gathered my grimoire and supplies and spent the next couple of hours performing and repeating protection spells and placing wards.
Afterwards, I dozed on and off, but every time I woke, a feeling of foreboding washed over me.
Then a fast knocking came at the door and Mercy ran in.
“Leatha. You must rise. I heard a commotion and I sent Saira to see what was happening. A villager was left at the gates of the palace. Her eyes were white, Leatha. I called Lord Thomas. He said she had been drained of her soul.”
And there it was. Confirmation in my sister’s panicked expression and with her words uttered shakily, that I had possibly brought something with me, back from the planes within which I’d been trapped and already it had brought death to Andlusan.
Worst of all, it appeared that despite my protection spells, I was powerless to stop it.
Chapter Six
Leatha
Ramona helped me dress quickly and then I hurried, following my sister to our medical suite in the main palace. We had our own private facilities, but this was there should any of the palace staff become ill.
“So how was she found? Was she collapsed at the gate?”
“No.” Mercy’s voice softened. “She was hung on one of the gates by her chest.”
“Oh Goddess.” I cried.
“Thankfully, no-one appears to have seen anything except Uncle River and a security guard. They’d done a last walk around last night to ensure all revelers had left and that’s when they saw her.
“Do we know who she is, and who she’d been with?”
“Yes. Her name is Cassie and she lives near Isaac. She was a witch. Isaac is on his way now. She lived alone. Had no family here that anyone knew about.”
“Do we know who she was with yesterday?”
“No. Isaac is going to make some enquiries before he arrives, but he must be careful because at the moment we don’t want to make a huge fuss over what has occurred. Uncle River is just meeting with the guard from last night to go over what they saw and ask him to keep a close eye on the palace entrance today lest another body be left there.”
I gasped. “You think it might happen again?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “It’s hard to know what’s going to happen. All we know so far is that someone left us a body. Was it a warning? A protest at our announcement of a return to the old ways? A protest at our rule?”
I nodded towards the door where the body was. “Is Lord Thomas in there?”
“Yes. He is waiting for Isaac and erm…”
“And?”
“And a necromancer.”
I gasped. “They’re going to raise her spirit? Here, in the palace?”
“Keep your voice down.” My sister scolded. “What else are we to do? She is dead and we know not why or how.”
“Maybe we could investigate the normal routes before we mess with spirits?”
“There isn’t time. We have to do it before the day is passed.”
“Mercy, I need to talk to you urgently.”
The door to the suite flew open and our uncle dashed through it.
“Right. Allward is positioned along with other guards to watch the gate and perimeter. The others just believe we are raising security for our new rulers. Has Lord Thomas come out yet?”
“No, he is still in there.” Mercy answered.
“I will go and see what’s happening.”
Mercy shook her head. “He said he should not be disturbed and would come out in due course.”
“But-”
“No, buts. That’s what he said and that’s what we will do.”
It was the first time since our coronation that Mercy had sounded like the Queen she now was and I saw our uncle’s shoulders drop as he acquiesced. “You are right. This is not my area of expertise.”
“Nor mine, Uncle River.” Mercy shook her head. “The first day of our rule, I expected us to be lying in bed with sore heads, exhausted from dancing; not dealing with a threat to our safety.”
“It frustrates me. Threats with swords and pistols I can manage. Sorcery, I cannot.”
“You have dealt with the guard who witnessed the incident, put extra security at the gate, and you are here now, Uncle River. We can’t ask for any more.” I told him.
I needed to tell Mercy about my dreams and fears but I didn’t want to do it in front of our uncle, so for now I would have to once again bite my tongue.
For now, we could only wait.
“So I told Aaron last night that he was to become staff of the Royal Court, managing the stores and bringing them up to date, and I may have let slip about Billy being given a post as a historian.” Mercy looked at her feet.
“Mercy! That was to be announced in the coming days!” River scolded her. “We haven’t even fully agreed it with the council yet!”
She put her hands over her mouth and widened her eyes before dropping her hands to her lap. “I know. I’m so sorry. It was the celebration and drink. It all made me too giddy and I couldn’t help myself.”
“So, what was his reaction?”
Her blush told me far more than I needed to know. Luckily, our uncle didn’t seem to notice it.
“He was very pleased. Especially with it meaning more time spent at the palace.”
Our uncle didn’t miss that insinuation though.
“He will be here to work, and you will be doing your duties as ruler of The Winter Court. Any time spent at the palace together needs to be outside of working hours, young lady.”
Mercy looked at him, schooling her face into an icy expression although her eyes twinkled with mischief. “What I decide shall stand as the Queen.”
River laughed. “Nice try, niece, but while you are queen and I will bow to your official role, I am still your uncle. You might be an adult and eighteen now, but I will always be your overprotective uncle and I don’t intend to change.”
“That’s you told.” I laughed.
Mercy’s expression changed to one of amusement and she looked at River fondly. “Good, we don’t want you to change.”
“I’m glad. You have both embraced the Wiccan arts. You might turn me into a hound or something.”
“Hmmmm, now there’s a thought.” I joked.
The jovial conversation had given us a welcome reprieve from the events of the morning, but then the door to the room containing Cassie and Lord Thomas opened and Lord Thomas stepped out closing the door behind him.
“Are we able to talk freely?” He looked around.
“Yes, there’s just us.” River nodded.
Lord Thomas nodded back in acknowledgement, moved forward and took a seat beside us. “It is as I feared. There is nothing at all to suggest a death of natural causes, or for that matter, one of poisoning, or any other murder. The body shows all the signs of a soul draining.”
“But why would anyone do such a thing?” Mercy asked.
Lord Thomas shook his head, “I don’t know. That’s why we need the necromancer.”
River’s forehead creased. “Is this connected with the return to the old ways? We only announced it yesterday and we’re already having to summon a necromancer and raising dead spirits in the palace. I must note my reservations at all of this.”
“I understand completely.” Lord Thomas said. “But you must understand that magick has been practised since the ban, just behind closed doors. It has never gone away. So I find it hard to believe that this is connected to the lifting of the ban. It could be a protest at the new queens, but again, why after the coronation? Surely a protest would have been better beforehand?”
There was a knock at the outer suite door and River went to open it. Isaac followed him back in.
“Have you learned anything?” Lord Thomas asked him.
“Just that she was seen in the village until early evening and then she told her friend she didn’t feel well and was going home. I’ve told her friend that Cassie was taken ill near the palace and we are treating her. I don’t want to announce her passing yet, not until we have more information.”
We all agreed.
“So, Tor, the necromancer is outside. Personally, I think the sooner we get to ask questions the better.”
And this was it. Once this Tor person spoke to the spirit of the deceased, I might know whether I was connected to the problem or not.
“Then let’s begin.” I told him.
Tor was a small wisp of a man. He looked around sixteen, but was actually a decade older than that. His hair was short and bright red, his skin pale. Indeed, he dashed around in a way I imagined a mischievous pixie would. We stood at the back of the room containing Cassie. When I’d first walked in, I was pleased to find that Lord Thomas had closed her eyes and she just looked asleep. My heart went out though to the young woman whose life had been ended by another within my kingdom. I would do all I could to avenge her death once I knew what we were dealing with.
Tor moved with haste around Cassie’s body, muttering incantations under his breath and moving his hands in the air over the top of her body.
“What is he doing?” I whispered to Isaac.
“Ensuring that the body and anything within it stays on the bed.” Isaac responded, making an icy shiver travel down my spine.
When Tor stopped, he nodded his head at us. “It is time. I will ask the spirit to come and indicate when you can ask your questions, but ask wisely because the spirit will not be able to stay for long.”
“Lord Thomas. You ask your questions first, in case the spirit tires.” I told him.
“Thank you, Queen Leatha.” He turned to look at us. “If you could all stay at the back and observe.”
Lord Thomas walked to the foot of the bed standing to the right-hand side. Tor was at the left towards the top of the bed. “Okay, Tor. Let’s begin.”
“Spirit of the deceased. We now call you here to this protected room. We wish you no harm. Cassie Louisa Raglan please wake.”
Cassie shot up in the bed, her eyes shining white orbs and I swear I almost died myself of fright. Judging by the fingernails currently half-embedded in my arm, my sister had had a similar reaction. Pale blue light shone around the body showing where the wards were keeping her in place.
“Cassie. Could you tell us how you died?” Lord Thomas asked simply.
The voice that came out was monotone. “I took a drink and felt unwell. I decided to return home. Then voices. Voices told me to let go. To give my body up to-”
Her eyes turned black as night and bloody tears ran down her face. The wards flashed as she leapt from the bed and hit them.
“I will return.” She stared right at me. “I grow stronger.”
Mercy was being comforted by our uncle, but I stood stock still staring at the figure. I moved closer. I could feel Isaac’s hand at my elbow.
“Who are you?” I asked.
“Leatha, you know exactly who I am. You were the one who brought me here.”
Cassie laughed, an unholy malevolent screech and then her eyes closed, and her body fell to the floor.
Chapter Seven
Leatha
“What just happened?” Mercy’s voice was an anguished squeak. “What did it mean ‘you brought me here’?”
“Let us allow Tor to close the spirit rising and then let Isaac and myself perform some other magick. After, might I suggest we meet in the ballroom on the East Wing and discuss all this further?” Lord Thomas said.
“Yes. That sounds wise.” River answered. “Come on, my nieces, we shall make our way there now.”
From my uncle’s tone it was clear that he wanted answers from me, and he wanted them right now.
“Why didn’t you tell us any of this earlier?” River’s tone was full of frustration.
“I tried to tell Mercy, but you entered the room.”
“Since when did you start keeping secrets from me, Leatha? How am I supposed to protect you, look after you, if you don’t tell me when there’s a problem?”
I slumped in my seat. “I’m sorry, Uncle River, but I didn’t know then that there was one. I was just going to raise my concerns with Mercy and ask her advice, but I did think what I was experiencing was just a bad dream, a flashback to my time trapped, a time I can’t recall. It wasn’t until Cassie, or the entity within her, said it was me that I knew for sure.”
“So now Andlusan has upon it an evil entity and we don’t know what it wants.” River sighed, rubbing at his temple.
‘I’m here and I’m waiting, watching, for an opportunity to unleash my hell on Andlusan’. The words ran through my mind, but I decided I’d wait until Lord Thomas and Isaac were here before I shared this nugget of information.
Thirty minutes later we were joined by the others. “Tor has left and assures us that Cassie’s body is now free. What was within has now moved on. I have arranged for the body to be collected and burial shall be arranged in the usual Andlusan way.” Lord Thomas said. Our way was to take the ashes of the deceased to the Great Mountain of Ice where they were sprinkled in a lake at the top, so that the deceased could pass back to Winter and its elements.
“Now, I suggest, Queen Leatha, that you tell us everything. As much as you can remember.”
So I did. I told them that I still remembered nothing about being trapped within the planes, except that feeling of unease which passed after bathing, but that since then I’d had the dreams of the unknown entity who told me I’d brought it here. That it was watching and waiting to unleash hell on Andlusan.
“So you see, it said my return to the past gave it its future.”
Isaac sighed. “It would appear, in my opinion, that whatever was in the planes with you hitched a ride. The problem we have is that we don’t know who or what it is.” He stroked at his chin. “Lord Thomas and myself are going to need some time to study this and to come up with a plan of action.”
“So what do I do?”
Isaac looked at me. “Just rule your kingdom as normal. Until we come back to you.”
“You heard the man.” Uncle River rose to his feet. “We need to call a council meeting and then tell those boys of Lord Thomas’ that they have new roles in the palace. Officially.” He side-eyed my sister who looked contrite. “You have learned one important lesson about the rule of a Queen, and that is that whatever happens, life as the ruler goes on.”
And with that, we left.
Days passed. I had no more dreams. Billy and Aaron had been given their new roles and were settling in to daily life at the palace. I knew my sister had seen Aaron on a couple of occasions in an evening, but tonight was the first night since our coronation that I was getting to spend any time with Billy. He arrived at my chambers after his working day was finished, looking awkward and not at all like the Billy I knew on Earth.
“Come in.” I beckoned him.
He shook his head vehemently. “It is not within royal protocol for me to enter the Queen’s chambers.”
I huffed exasperated. “Billy. It’s just you and me. Please can we just act like we did before?” By before, I meant on Earth, but it wasn’t something I could say out loud. The rest of Andlusan thought Dawn and her children had been banished to another court, not another place entirely. Earth was a thing of myth, with gossip and the appearance of items purported to being from there, but with no actual proof as to its existence.
