The next morning came swiftly. I arose to the twilight fading out my window, feeling the dead of early winter embracing me just as tightly as the layers of sheet and blanket were. I cast them off and rolled out of bed, already alert. The Princess still lay there, slumbering just as hard as she ever had.
I had no time to think about her right now. A plot had formed in my head, almost as though it had come to me in a dream. The thought of those floating words haunted me last night. An army that could bring countries to ruin? Death and destruction were hardly my forte, politicking in foreign lands to prevent such a thing seemed more akin to my abilities. If it was fate pulling me down this path, I would fight it to the bitter end. I would not see Telbud laid to ruin because of some prophecy. I would not give up my birthright to appease some ancient stonemason’s visions of the future.
I would seek out Etrigol, the court Mage, for advice on magic spells. I didn’t know how to perform the mystical arts nor did I care to, but now I had a reason to at least care about how it was done, and how easily it could be replicated. Assuming it wasn’t some hoax, my destiny seemed to be laid out before me. Destroy the world? I hardly thought myself capable of that. I had goals, and they did require there to still be a Telbud left to rule. This prophecy could ruin that.
Dressing quickly in the same undergarments and robes I wore yesterday, I strode out of my chambers. From here, it was a short walk through a pair of hallways, down a flight of stairs, and into a door to arrive at the Dining Hall. The journey had been filled with passing by servants and officials alike. If Etrigol were anywhere, her reputation precedes her more than enough for me to guess she’d be eating at this hour.
The room I entered was as large as a theater, floors of polished marble, matching pillars reaching into the sky, holding aloft a well-lit ceiling mural of the night sky. Stars twinkled down, casting light on the entire room as though it were midday. A long table demanded the attention of all who set foot here, the height of a woman in width and at least fifty meters long, chairs lining it on both its sides. A few women sat eating, though the types to take their morning meal now were either gluttons or busybodies. My quarry was the former.
It didn’t take much to spot her. She was a fat old thing, almost requiring two of the ornate wooden chairs that surrounded the grand table. As I approached, I could hear her audibly chewing from a disgusting distance away. I sat next to her, watchful of debris from the deluge of food washing down her throat.
“Madame Etrigol, I have a request.” I said. I fished inside my pockets for my money pouch. A woman’s time in the castle was valuable, most required compensation for their words.
“I may have an answer.” She said, barely giving me a side eye as she tossed an entire muffin into her mouth, chewing loudly, crumbs flying outward in nearly all directions. It made my stomach turn, but I stayed my course.
“This may persuade you.” I put a pair of Gold Cubes down on the table, a Silver Flat resting atop them. A Gold Cube was worth forty times what the Silver Flat was. Eight Flats were equal to a Cube, gold worth five times as much as silver. The inhabitants of the castle were far too wealthy to even be seen holding any copper money- the least valuable of the three denominations.
“Double what they usually give me, you must be desperate, Grand Archivist.” She said.
“I’ve either had the best day or worst day of my life yesterday. The money is to tell me which.”
“Money talks.”
“I need a spell. Writing on a sheet of parchment, a cipher that can only be read by the one I choose.”
“Sharing secrets now, are we?”
“Can it be done or not?” I asked, my Birth Hand balled up into a fist on the table, my left sitting in my lap doing much the same.
“Well…” She paused to take a slice of pie, shoving the entire thing in her mouth as though it were a piece of candy. Bits of crust and cherry juice splattered the table in an arc in front of her. I felt sick, but I waited. “It can be done. However there are two restrictions.”
“Go on.”
“For one, the spell will fade in a week. Any longer is not possible by any means known or forgotten. Two, if you happen to suffer an untimely death before that week is up, the spell will break, and the true message will be lost to time.” Etrigol said. Luckily for me, she didn’t immediately shove her face with more food.
“I understand.” I pulled out my notebook and ripped a blank sheet out of it from near the back. In order to keep up appearances, I wrote out a letter to Penelope Knass, wishing her a lonely life and a cold bed.
“I would ask which of the days you experienced yesterday, but given the gossip to be had at table last night, I’d wager the best. Congratulations, it’s not easy to woo a Princess, especially one as friendly as Princess Stephanie.” That slow voice drug on, haunting my imagination more and more with every word. I looked up at her, dropping my quill onto the table. I was done with it, anyway.
“Excuse me?”
“It was all the rage. King Mona was drunk as a prostitute's hands, proclaiming she finally had the possibility of grandchildren. Princess Stephanie informed her of an initiation of courtship with you. I’m surprised I’m the first you’re hearing of this.”
“Was the King told of this before or after she became drunk?”
“It was the reason why. The feast had been glorious, I’ve hardly seen the King so thrilled in all my life.”
“Thank you, Etrigol. I’ll be on my way.” I said, standing up. At least there was some good news that had come from the embarrassment that happened last night. Etrigol gave me a slow wave of my hand as I walked away, headed to the Throne Room.
If what she said was true, there should be no risk of anyone else activating the spell. However, that meant that it was definitely for my eyes only, or at the very least for my eyes first. Like it or not, those stone tablets seemed to be speaking directly to me.
If the court Mage didn’t have information on a spell that could last a month- let alone a millenia or two- in giving secret messages to women, I’d have to look elsewhere. The Eastern Provinces were mostly farmland, they had little in the way of Mages, and those they did have could not be persuaded to leave their crops for any reasonable amount of gold. My only option then- if I had as strong a desire to remain within the borders of Telbud- was to travel north, back into the Hinterwastes from where the tablets came. The women living there were a nomadic quartet of tribes that stayed stationary during the winter. Their religious duties required it of them on one front, practicality the rest. While they were technically living on Telbian land, they considered themselves independent of us. It suited the Kings of Telbud just fine, as they were a peaceful lot, only concerned with their way of life and their own problems.
I walked towards the Throne Room, my mind spinning with possibilities and a plan forming in my head. I needed so much to go right here. I needed the cooperation of all four Tribes of the Alihjn Nation. Communication was rare, recent news of them even rarer. However, they always managed- whether by magic or by impossible luck- to have at least one visitor per tribe per winter.
I reached the Throne Room, taking a moment to pause to consider myself. If Mona had taken Stephanie’s news badly, I would have hardly been excited to visit, but visit the King all the same I would. It was by royal decree that vacations of high-ranking officials such as myself needed to be approved by the King. While this wasn’t a vacation, it was still proper to make such a request in person.
“Well if it isn’t my future daughter-in-law!” King Mona roared out from where she stood near the throne. Much like the Dining Hall, the Throne Room was a grand, ornate area of the castle filled with no small amount of gold statues, paintings, and performances. The King stood with a trio of advisors- I recognized the Royal Treasurer and the Vizier of Produce among them before they were shooed away by a wave of King Mona’s hand.
The King was a tall woman, not quite elderly just yet but had seen the better half of her years go by. She wasn’t so old as to decry the pomp and circumstance of the Hourglass Crown, however. It still sat shining and regal on her head as it had for the past thirty two years of her reign. The robes she wore were various shades of blue, threads of gold intertwined in them to create imagery of grains of sand fluttering in the wind. The images of Resarm and Resawn- the Goddesses of the Sun and Moon, desperately in love with one another yet cursed to chase one another around the earth for eternity, never able to hold her love again- on opposite sides of the robes. It had been the traditional dress of Kings for centuries. Mona saw no reason to change it, neither would I.
“How did you do it?” She asked.
It was by some stroke of luck that my courtship of Princess Stephanie was cause for her to rejoice. I stood a meter or so from her before a spry step in from Mona had me wrapped up in a tight hug, crushing my arms to my sides. I rolled my eyes, looking away from her while the embrace continued.
“Do what?”
“Don’t play games with me, Carla. I know she’s fancied you for years but she’s not the kind to settle down. How’d you trick her into it?” For matters such as the prolific sex life of her daughter, the King spoke fast and excitedly.
“I promised her a harem, or at the very least the ability to continue her current friendliness.” I said. I had known the King ever since I was a little girl. I had no choice but to tell the truth- she always seemed to know when I was lying to her. She nodded, her excitement faded.
“I was afraid that might be the case.” She said, “Well, in any event, it is an important first step toward succession. The law might have required you to give up the duchy, but in return you’ll be Queen! A fair trade, I’d say, considering it comes with my pride and joy!”
Joy, joy. I sighed internally.
“The fairest of trade for the fairest of women.” I said. “She’ll build her harem and I’ll keep studying my rocks. Though, that is why I’ve sought you out this morning, Aunt Mona.”
“Ah, I vaguely remember something about the letter you sent me. Begin courting my daughter promptly to place her in independent study for a month for the sake of some rocks?” I wasn’t really related to the King. She wasn’t my aunt. Living in the castle from such a young age, the King gave me everything I needed and then some. She insisted I call her that. Failing to do so would be a direct insult to the crown- the Crown I so coveted and therefore needed to stay in the good graces of.
“Not just some rocks. The oldest rocks with the oldest writing on them the world has ever seen.” I explained. “However, my preliminary research has hit a roadblock. I’m afraid I may need to take a leave of absence, take a smaller expedition crew and tour the Hinterwastes in search of the Tribes of Alihjn.”
“For what purpose?” Mona asked.
“Their Mages may hold an ancient magic that may be able to translate the tablets. Our current knowledge on what’s written on them is insufficient. Rather than risk bringing the tablets, I’ll be returning with a Mage from each of the four tribes. I’ll also be leaving a small team here to begin attempts at translations, volunteer only, it could be an impossible task.”
“I see, I see…” Mona said, thinking for a moment, looking up at the ceiling. A second later and her head snapped back down, looking directly at me. “You have my blessing. On one condition.”
“That is?”
“That my daughter is not denied the presence of her suitor for such a long time.”
“You mean for me to bring her with me?” I asked. Mona nodded her head. “Very well.”
I turned away, beginning to walk out of the Throne Room, my mind set on going back to the Archives to take volunteers and hire recruits. Mona called after me.
“I trust you’ll take good care of her!”
Good care, indeed. I thought, smirking, my mind wandering for a moment to the excitement to be had in between the sheets of a travelling village. She’ll have her own fun, too. I’m sure the exotic cuisine I’ll be picking up along the way will be of great interest to Stephanie.
