BOOK ONE
CHAPTER TEN
Cicero watched from the sky as everyone came out of hiding, masked figures all around corralling them like cattle. The assailants resembled highway robbers, but clearly had no intention to rob anyone. They gestured with their crossbows for the group to start walking away from the direction of the Queen. Flori cast spells subtly, disarming three of them and knocking two more unconscious with nothing more than a wave of her hand. Attacks started coming at her from all directions, but weapons had no effect on her metal frame. She easily defeated one assailant after another, but the onslaught stopped all too soon. A dozen new men had appeared out of nowhere, and each one held a knife to one of the more important arteries of Sasha, Mo and the Prince. Flori froze, knowing she couldn’t do anything fast enough to save them all. She felt trapped and angry, and it showed on her pulsating body. Before she could do something she might regret, Cicero came out of nowhere, grabbed her and flew the both of them out of there in a blur.
The kidnappers walked Sasha, Mo and the Prince to a fort on the outskirts of San Crosette, where an eclectic assortment of dangerous looking people had created a thriving community. Even the children, Sasha noted, had threatening looks in their eyes. It reminded her of home. They imprisoned Sasha, Mo and the Prince in three jail cells, the floors of which featured those carelessly abandoned skulls and femurs that festoon all places of this kind.
“This doesn’t make sense,” said the Prince. “Why didn’t Orion hear them? Why didn’t he know they were there?”
“It doesn’t work like that,” explained Mo. “He has to choose to listen. He can keep an ear out for someone specific, but he doesn’t automatically hear everyone all the time.”
As they waited, the full realization sank in that their attempt to save San Crosette, Mo, the Queen and the kingdom had failed before it had even begun. They sat in depressed silence until finally, a pair of guards entered followed by a man who bore that unmistakable, unassuming countenance of great power. Around his neck, sat the amulet that had brought them all here.
“Welcome to my home,” the man said with a menacing politeness. “Sorry to have kept you waiting. I know these accommodations are not ideal, but here in Holder’s Deep we have no hotel. And I couldn’t have you running away, now could I. What would the Queen think then?”
“What’s going on? Why have you brought us here? Who are you?” the Prince asked.
“What is going on is that I have taken you from the forest to thwart your plan to injure the Queen, and I have brought you here so that both she and you may be safe. As far as who I am, I am Nico, mayor of this town, friend to thieves, pickpockets and conmen everywhere, and, my young Prince, quite possibly your father. Now, is anyone hungry?” Nico smiled a dashing grin. Sasha and Mo looked back and forth between the Prince and Nico before falling into silent agreement that the resemblance was uncanny.
The kidnappers walked Sasha, Mo and the Prince to a fort on the outskirts of San Crosette, where an eclectic assortment of dangerous looking people had created a thriving community. Even the children, Sasha noted, had threatening looks in their eyes. It reminded her of home. They imprisoned Sasha, Mo and the Prince in three jail cells, the floors of which featured those carelessly abandoned skulls and femurs that festoon all places of this kind.
“This doesn’t make sense,” said the Prince. “Why didn’t Orion hear them? Why didn’t he know they were there?”
“It doesn’t work like that,” explained Mo. “He has to choose to listen. He can keep an ear out for someone specific, but he doesn’t automatically hear everyone all the time.”
As they waited, the full realization sank in that their attempt to save San Crosette, Mo, the Queen and the kingdom had failed before it had even begun. They sat in depressed silence until finally, a pair of guards entered followed by a man who bore that unmistakable, unassuming countenance of great power. Around his neck, sat the amulet that had brought them all here.
“Welcome to my home,” the man said with a menacing politeness. “Sorry to have kept you waiting. I know these accommodations are not ideal, but here in Holder’s Deep we have no hotel. And I couldn’t have you running away, now could I. What would the Queen think then?”
“What’s going on? Why have you brought us here? Who are you?” the Prince asked.
“What is going on is that I have taken you from the forest to thwart your plan to injure the Queen, and I have brought you here so that both she and you may be safe. As far as who I am, I am Nico, mayor of this town, friend to thieves, pickpockets and conmen everywhere, and, my young Prince, quite possibly your father. Now, is anyone hungry?” Nico smiled a dashing grin. Sasha and Mo looked back and forth between the Prince and Nico before falling into silent agreement that the resemblance was uncanny.
The Story of Nico and the Queen
When still very young, Nico had achieved status as a skilled and infamous thief respected by crooks throughout the Kingdom. An ambitious boy, he worked to create a tight-knit community of thieves in order to organize bigger and bolder capers, and for a while they grew quite mighty. One day, during what Nico planned to be his crowning achievement, hijacking the royal carriage and robbing the King’s own pockets, his thief cohorts betrayed him in a most thief-like manner, and the King threw him in prison to await execution. All this by the age of 18.
One day, a beautiful, finely-dressed girl in a great amount of distress chose the hallway outside Nico’s cell to cry her eyes out. He asked her what was wrong, and she told him that her father the King had given up her life for forfeit (as if it was his to volunteer), had sacrificed her to appease the terrible Purple Dragon; therefore, she had decided to live out her life here in death row surrounded by others whose days had been numbered by the state. Nico pointed out that people here had done something to deserve death, had she? The Princess looked at the thief and wondered how someone so young and handsome could be guilty enough of anything to deserve death. She told him her only sin was her virginity. He smiled sardonically. “Only here are the virtuous and villainous punished alike,” he said. The Princess visited Nico every day and night after that. They engaged in lengthy conversations about the nature of dying and lives not lived, forming the kind of intense closeness only teenagers facing certain death can understand.
One midnight, the Princess swiped keys from the sleeping guard, and entered Nico’s cell with a serious expression on her face. She declared her intention to lose her virginity, believing if she did, the Purple Dragon would not want her. Nico obliged. All night long, he obliged. The Princess then gave him the uniform of a palace messenger, and helped him escape the castle. Nico returned to his home, hunted down those who had betrayed him, and continued to build his criminal empire. When word reached him that the Purple Dragon had taken the Princess just like it had all the other virgin sacrifices, Nico mourned her loss more deeply than anyone knew.
Years later, after the death of the King, royal guardsmen travelling through the Forest of El discovered the Princess, or rather the Queen, alive and well and raising a son! The kingdom rejoiced at the reinstatement of their monarch, none more so than Nico, and one night, he breached the castle walls, sneaking into her bedchamber. The Queen raised no alarms at his coming. He asked if there was anything he could do for her. She asked him to hold her. He obliged. All night long, he obliged. When morning came, she retrieved a necklace from her night stand and gave it to him. She told him it held the power to take another’s life. Put it on and think of them dying and they soon will. He stole a kiss, then stole away, like thieves do.
In the years between that moment and this, many adventures came Nico’s way (life is interesting when you make enemies like he did), but those are another set of stories.
One day, a beautiful, finely-dressed girl in a great amount of distress chose the hallway outside Nico’s cell to cry her eyes out. He asked her what was wrong, and she told him that her father the King had given up her life for forfeit (as if it was his to volunteer), had sacrificed her to appease the terrible Purple Dragon; therefore, she had decided to live out her life here in death row surrounded by others whose days had been numbered by the state. Nico pointed out that people here had done something to deserve death, had she? The Princess looked at the thief and wondered how someone so young and handsome could be guilty enough of anything to deserve death. She told him her only sin was her virginity. He smiled sardonically. “Only here are the virtuous and villainous punished alike,” he said. The Princess visited Nico every day and night after that. They engaged in lengthy conversations about the nature of dying and lives not lived, forming the kind of intense closeness only teenagers facing certain death can understand.
One midnight, the Princess swiped keys from the sleeping guard, and entered Nico’s cell with a serious expression on her face. She declared her intention to lose her virginity, believing if she did, the Purple Dragon would not want her. Nico obliged. All night long, he obliged. The Princess then gave him the uniform of a palace messenger, and helped him escape the castle. Nico returned to his home, hunted down those who had betrayed him, and continued to build his criminal empire. When word reached him that the Purple Dragon had taken the Princess just like it had all the other virgin sacrifices, Nico mourned her loss more deeply than anyone knew.
Years later, after the death of the King, royal guardsmen travelling through the Forest of El discovered the Princess, or rather the Queen, alive and well and raising a son! The kingdom rejoiced at the reinstatement of their monarch, none more so than Nico, and one night, he breached the castle walls, sneaking into her bedchamber. The Queen raised no alarms at his coming. He asked if there was anything he could do for her. She asked him to hold her. He obliged. All night long, he obliged. When morning came, she retrieved a necklace from her night stand and gave it to him. She told him it held the power to take another’s life. Put it on and think of them dying and they soon will. He stole a kiss, then stole away, like thieves do.
In the years between that moment and this, many adventures came Nico’s way (life is interesting when you make enemies like he did), but those are another set of stories.
The Queen came to the front of her caravan to see what the holdup was about. An enormous banner blocked the road, beside which stood two horsemen. It read, “My Most Beloved Queen, I have found what you’ve been looking for. Please allow my servants to escort you to my home so I may deliver them safely into your hands. A night of festivities awaits! Your Loving Admirer and Subject, Nico.” The Queen ordered that the invitation be taken down and burned. One part of her could hardly wait to see Nico again, but his presumption infuriated the other, much larger part, and she planned on letting him know. The horsemen led the way.
Nico went back to his room to get ready for the Queen’s arrival. He wanted to look his absolute best for her and had ordered his servants to draw him a bath. He threw his dirty clothes into the corner and placed his necklace on the table beside him. He had laid back in the tub and closed his eyes, when he heard a voice whisper in his ear. He opened his eyes but found he could not see. He sat up in a flash, brought his hands to his eyes rubbing and blinking and, miraculously, his sight came back. He sighed in relief, then looked to the table where he had placed the necklace, only to find it missing.
When the Queen arrived at Holder’s Deep, servants escorted her in along with Stellan, as her army set up camp outside. Despite the rustic nature of the city, Nico had certainly done well in his life of crime. The life she gave him, she thought. He had spared no expense to make the Queen’s welcome memorable. Every person in the town seemed focused and committed to pleasing her…which pleased her. Nico waited outside the jail, and when she saw him, the Queen’s heart performed a gymnastic routine in her chest. Gods, he even looked better with the grey at his temples. Men.
“Hello, my love,” he murmured to her softly as he bowed.
“Where is he?” she demanded.
Sasha, Mo and the Prince heard the commotion of the Queen’s arrival just before Stellan the Hyena walked into the room (decidedly NOT dead, they noticed) accompanied by two guards. He opened Sasha’s cell, and gestured for her to go with the guards, which she did reluctantly. Stellan opened the door to the Prince’s cell and invited him into the next room. The Prince clasped the North Star in his pocket, and exchanged a fearful glance with Mo before leaving.
Upon seeing his mother, the Prince broke into a cold sweat. So much had changed since he last laid eyes on her. So much had gotten out of control. He felt a pang of guilt, knowing if he had never left her side a lot of people might not have suffered at her hands, but he reminded himself they were her hands, not his. He wondered if he should try to use the North Star here. Was it too risky? What if he failed? Would he ever get another chance? What if something completely unexpected happened? He knew the chances of that were pretty high. He decided to wait for a message from his instincts, that had served him well with the Star in the past.
“What have you done with Sasha?” the Prince asked.
“Son, she kidnapped you. She must be punished,” the Queen explained apologetically.
“Don’t forget your promise.”
“I have not.” The Queen considered his reaction and frowned. “I hoped I would not find you so completely under her spell.”
“I’m not under any spell, mother, I love her. And she didn’t kidnap me, I snuck off to be with her.”
“Has she convinced you of that? Does she have so much power over you?” the Queen said horrified. He could feel the North Star heating up in his pocket. There was a memory there, or something he would be able to return to her. Maybe the North Star would do the rest, he thought, and this whole ordeal would be over. If he could get her close enough, he’d be able to connect.
“She doesn’t have power over me, Mama, not like you think,” the Prince told his mother reassuringly, earning her attention. “She couldn’t get me to stop wondering how you were, or talking about you. I apologize for my disobedience. I hated knowing that I made you worried, but I wanted an adventure, you know? And I acted hastily.” The Queen swallowed the Prince’s words like fine chocolates, stepping closer to ingest some more. “There were so many times on our trip that I wished you had been with me, so much that I wanted to share. I even got you something. I understand if you don’t want it,” he finished, winning his mother’s forgiveness and closing the gap between them. Stellan stepped aside so the Queen could embrace her son. The Prince hugged her dearly, then took her hand in his and put the North Star in her palm.
Instantly, the world around him disappeared. The Prince found himself back in the same field where he had met Sasha before, the light mimicking dawn. A ways off he saw a freakishly shaped figure with two heads and torsos emerging from one middle – one part human, one dragon – writhing in anguish due to its unnatural state. Slowly, the two parts merged with one another, and in the end formed a person with dragon wings and smattering of scales. When the transformation completed, the person’s agony ceased. The Prince examined his own skin and found a similar dappling of shimmery scales. He inhaled to call out to the figure when a great force knocked him back into reality.
The Prince and his mother looked at one another. Stellan laughed awkwardly. “You alright?” the Hyena giggled. The Queen looked astonished.
“I am,” she said to her son, then pulled him to her. “I am fine,” she clarified, the words crossing her lips for what seemed the first time. A flash of optimism ran through the Prince’s body. Had he done it? Was his mother healed? “It’s quiet,” she continued, tears filling her eyes. “It’s been so long since it’s been quiet.” She opened her hand and gazed upon the giant diamond there. “The North Star. What a beautiful item. So many have tried to retrieve it from the cave with no success, and yet you, my son, you achieved such a feat. Amazing.” The Queen turned pensive, then lifted her gaze to the room that held Moriandra and lingered there. A dark feeling came over the Prince. “You saved me, my son. My beautiful, beautiful son. We have to celebrate. Stellan, take the Prince to Nico, and get ready for the evening’s fun. Son, I have so much to acquaint you with, I’ll be with you soon.”
“Wait, what about Sasha? And my friend?” the Prince asked, foreboding filling his heart.
“Don’t worry, I’ll see to them. I promise,” she beamed. Stellan led the Prince from the room, and the Queen went in to visit her son’s travelling companion.
Moriandra stood as the Queen entered. She definitely recognized in this woman the girl who had mysteriously changed her life.
“You’re the Purple Dragon, aren’t you?” the Queen asked amazed. Moriandra nodded. “I can’t believe you’re here. I can’t believe I’m seeing you again. You know what’s strange? If I had seen you this morning, I might not have even recognized you. I had no recollection of our time together until just a moment ago when it all came back to me. Now it sits there as if it had never left. Isn’t that something? An amazing trinket, this,” she said referencing the North Star. “But then, you know that. Tell me, have you missed me?” Moriandra did not respond. “You’re not going to talk to me?” Something about the Queen’s elatedness felt wrong. “We certainly had some times together, didn’t we?” Moriandra decided to give away nothing. The Queen’s brow furrowed. “Answer me,” she ordered; the North Star glowed.
“Hello, my love,” he murmured to her softly as he bowed.
“Where is he?” she demanded.
Sasha, Mo and the Prince heard the commotion of the Queen’s arrival just before Stellan the Hyena walked into the room (decidedly NOT dead, they noticed) accompanied by two guards. He opened Sasha’s cell, and gestured for her to go with the guards, which she did reluctantly. Stellan opened the door to the Prince’s cell and invited him into the next room. The Prince clasped the North Star in his pocket, and exchanged a fearful glance with Mo before leaving.
Upon seeing his mother, the Prince broke into a cold sweat. So much had changed since he last laid eyes on her. So much had gotten out of control. He felt a pang of guilt, knowing if he had never left her side a lot of people might not have suffered at her hands, but he reminded himself they were her hands, not his. He wondered if he should try to use the North Star here. Was it too risky? What if he failed? Would he ever get another chance? What if something completely unexpected happened? He knew the chances of that were pretty high. He decided to wait for a message from his instincts, that had served him well with the Star in the past.
“What have you done with Sasha?” the Prince asked.
“Son, she kidnapped you. She must be punished,” the Queen explained apologetically.
“Don’t forget your promise.”
“I have not.” The Queen considered his reaction and frowned. “I hoped I would not find you so completely under her spell.”
“I’m not under any spell, mother, I love her. And she didn’t kidnap me, I snuck off to be with her.”
“Has she convinced you of that? Does she have so much power over you?” the Queen said horrified. He could feel the North Star heating up in his pocket. There was a memory there, or something he would be able to return to her. Maybe the North Star would do the rest, he thought, and this whole ordeal would be over. If he could get her close enough, he’d be able to connect.
“She doesn’t have power over me, Mama, not like you think,” the Prince told his mother reassuringly, earning her attention. “She couldn’t get me to stop wondering how you were, or talking about you. I apologize for my disobedience. I hated knowing that I made you worried, but I wanted an adventure, you know? And I acted hastily.” The Queen swallowed the Prince’s words like fine chocolates, stepping closer to ingest some more. “There were so many times on our trip that I wished you had been with me, so much that I wanted to share. I even got you something. I understand if you don’t want it,” he finished, winning his mother’s forgiveness and closing the gap between them. Stellan stepped aside so the Queen could embrace her son. The Prince hugged her dearly, then took her hand in his and put the North Star in her palm.
Instantly, the world around him disappeared. The Prince found himself back in the same field where he had met Sasha before, the light mimicking dawn. A ways off he saw a freakishly shaped figure with two heads and torsos emerging from one middle – one part human, one dragon – writhing in anguish due to its unnatural state. Slowly, the two parts merged with one another, and in the end formed a person with dragon wings and smattering of scales. When the transformation completed, the person’s agony ceased. The Prince examined his own skin and found a similar dappling of shimmery scales. He inhaled to call out to the figure when a great force knocked him back into reality.
The Prince and his mother looked at one another. Stellan laughed awkwardly. “You alright?” the Hyena giggled. The Queen looked astonished.
“I am,” she said to her son, then pulled him to her. “I am fine,” she clarified, the words crossing her lips for what seemed the first time. A flash of optimism ran through the Prince’s body. Had he done it? Was his mother healed? “It’s quiet,” she continued, tears filling her eyes. “It’s been so long since it’s been quiet.” She opened her hand and gazed upon the giant diamond there. “The North Star. What a beautiful item. So many have tried to retrieve it from the cave with no success, and yet you, my son, you achieved such a feat. Amazing.” The Queen turned pensive, then lifted her gaze to the room that held Moriandra and lingered there. A dark feeling came over the Prince. “You saved me, my son. My beautiful, beautiful son. We have to celebrate. Stellan, take the Prince to Nico, and get ready for the evening’s fun. Son, I have so much to acquaint you with, I’ll be with you soon.”
“Wait, what about Sasha? And my friend?” the Prince asked, foreboding filling his heart.
“Don’t worry, I’ll see to them. I promise,” she beamed. Stellan led the Prince from the room, and the Queen went in to visit her son’s travelling companion.
Moriandra stood as the Queen entered. She definitely recognized in this woman the girl who had mysteriously changed her life.
“You’re the Purple Dragon, aren’t you?” the Queen asked amazed. Moriandra nodded. “I can’t believe you’re here. I can’t believe I’m seeing you again. You know what’s strange? If I had seen you this morning, I might not have even recognized you. I had no recollection of our time together until just a moment ago when it all came back to me. Now it sits there as if it had never left. Isn’t that something? An amazing trinket, this,” she said referencing the North Star. “But then, you know that. Tell me, have you missed me?” Moriandra did not respond. “You’re not going to talk to me?” Something about the Queen’s elatedness felt wrong. “We certainly had some times together, didn’t we?” Moriandra decided to give away nothing. The Queen’s brow furrowed. “Answer me,” she ordered; the North Star glowed.
See what happens in Chapter Eleven...