Chapter 24
1942 Words
24
The inside was no less reflective. I stared at myself through normal mirrors, and others that were more fun-house-like. “Does your dad like to look at himself?” I asked my cousins.
Niell shook her head. “Not exactly. He wishes for everyone to reflect on themselves, and in some instances-” she gestured to an exaggerated mirror image of herself that made her look skinny and fat, “-to laugh at one’s self.”
I leaned toward Roisin and lowered my voice to a whisper. “As if I wasn’t funny enough.” I cringed when my voice echoed around the wide halls.
Niell looked over her shoulder at me and smiled. “There are no secrets in the halls of my father, and I would never consider your handsome features to be repulsive in any light.”
I rubbed the back of my head and sheepishly grinned. “Thanks, but you’re just being nice.”
She shook her head. “No, I speak the truth, and we are here.”
A pair of white stone doors some twenty feet height stood at the end of the hall. Niell pushed them open and presented us with a view of a grand throne room. The design was circular like that of the humans, but there were no guards. Instead, citizens like those on the seaweed roads loitered along the walls. Their attention fell on us as we entered, but my attention was before us.
In the center of the room stood a tall platform. The pedestal was twice the size of the one that belonged to King Cathal, and the steps that led up to the top were twice as wide as I was tall. At the top of the steps was a large throne, and on that throne sat a towering man. His skin was of a bluish tint, and he sported a seaweed-like beard that traveled down his naked chest. He was clothed in seaweed shorts, but atop his green-haired head was a crown of coral.
The crowned man, who I assumed was Valtameri, had one elbow atop an arm of the throne and leaned his cheek against his balled hand. He raised his head as we entered.
Niell pushed off from the floor and landed well ahead of our party and close to the foot of the tall throne. She bowed her head. “Father, I have brought guests.”
Valtameri arched an eyebrow as he looked at his daughter. “How did you come to meet them?”
Niell gestured to her brother who hung back with us. “Aearion found a way into the ancient pool and stole the sheep of the humans,” the young woman explained. She nodded at Roisin and me. “They disguised themselves as sheep and were mistakenly taken into our realm.”
Valtameri’s heavy gaze fell on the quivering form of his son. “How did you find your way to the pool? The earthquake blocked the path long ago.”
Aearion hung his head. “I found a narrow path through the rumble.”
“And why did you steal the sheep?”
The young man shrank into himself. “I-it was a game, Father. We wished to see how many sheep we could capture without being caught by the humans.”
His sister glared at him. “Have you no decency? Did you not think of the humans you were harming? Or the sheep?”
He raised his head and shook it. “We did not harm the sheep.”
“Then where are they?” she questioned him.
He sheepishly grinned. “We placed them on the Goat Islands.”
Her mouth dropped open. “But those are on the other side of the world! What did you expect to do with them there?”
He shrugged. “Let them have some fun with the goats?”
His sister opened her mouth, but a long, low chuckle interrupted her. All eyes fell on the stoic figure on the throne. Valtameri stroked his beard as he studied his son. A smile was partially hidden beneath the long, seaweed-like hair. “You sought to solve their population problem?”
Aearion grinned and nodded. “Yes!”
I stepped forward. “He solved one problem and made a whole bunch of new ones for humans and dragons.”
Valtameri arched an eyebrow. “How so?”
I glanced over my shoulder at Roisin and smiled at her. “Now’s your chance to really help your people.”
Roisin shuffled to my side and lowered her eyes to the floor. “Y-Your Highness, o-our sheep provide us with-”
“Speak up, young one,” Valtameri gently scolded her.
Roisin swallowed the lump in her throat and lifted her eyes to meet his chest. “My people need our sheep to provide us with food and clothing, and we trade them for other goods.” Her voice grew louder. “Many people suffered. Without our sheep we had to invade the coast and attack dragons with whom we had had a long peace.”
“And you would say that was your only choice?” he asked her.
She straightened and looked him in the eyes. Her eyebrows pushed down as she frowned at him. “Many of us prayed for guidance. I prayed to you, and received nothing but more stolen sheep.”
I winced and leaned toward her where I lowered my voice to a whisper. “Whatever happened to not insulting gods?”
Valtameri leaned back in his throne and studied Roisin. His head slowly nodded. “You speak the truth, young one. I and my own have failed your people in many ways, and for that you have my sincerest apologies.”
Roisin shook her head. “I cannot accept your apology, Your Highness. My people would rather have their sheep returned.”
He chuckled. “And you shall have it, but not all at once. I shall have my sons return your sheep to you themselves, but that is not a quick task, and-” his eyes flickered to Aearion, “-I hope not easy. Meanwhile-” Valtameri reached into his skimpy shorts and drew out a small, smooth stone. He flicked the stone to Roisin who caught it in both hands and opened them. I leaned toward her and saw a small mark in the shape of a trident on the front of the stone. “Have your people mark their bows with my symbol, and they are guaranteed to have a bountiful harvest of fish,” he assured her.
Roisin smiled and bowed her head. “Thank you, Your Highness. My people will be most pleased to hear they have your blessing once more.”
Valtameri smiled. “And I will be glad to be among your people again after my son has made recompense.” He turned his attention to me. “You have helped the humans much in their troubles, but I sense you have your own reason for coming here.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I do. Beriadan told me you could tell me about myself like who my parents are.”
He arched an eyebrow. “Can you not remember them?”
I shook my head. “No. I was really young when I was found in an alley.”
He smiled. “Any age is old enough to have some memories.”
I snorted. “If I did I’ve forgotten them.”
Valtameri raised himself to his feet. His full glorious stature of nearly seven feet made dwarves of everyone else. I gawked at his formidable form as he floated from his high perch and landed in front of me. Roisin and Aearion instinctively stepped back, but I was mesmerized by his soft blue eyes.
Valtameri pushed his hand through my bubble without piercing it and set his palm over my forehead. His soft, soothing voice echoed around me. “Perhaps you need only a little help to remember them.”
I gasped as a pleasant dampness penetrated my skull. A blinding flash of light swallowed the room, and when my vision returned I was somewhere else. The world was a blurry mess, but I could make out a ceiling above me. There were wooden walls on all four sides.
A baby cried. It took me a few moments to realize it was me. A shadow appeared over the walls. I could make out hair as black as mine, but the facial features were too blurry to see.
“What is the matter, Estelwen?” a soft male voice asked me as the person picked me up.
He cradled me against his chest and set a rattle in my hand. “We’re going to see Mommy soon. Would you like that?” I heard my own cooing voice. He laughed. “I’m glad you feel the same way.” He paused and looked ahead of him into the distance. His face fell and his smile slipped off his lips. “I just wish it was for a better reason.”
Another flash of light blinded me. When I could open my eyes the scene had changed. Colors of green and blue mingled together. A bright blue light hovered over me. Smooth, warm hands picked me up and I was cradled against a cool, soothing body. The person rocked me back and forth.
“She has grown,” a melodious woman’s voice spoke up.
“She has, and one day she’ll be as beautiful as her mother,” the man replied.
The woman stopped rocking me. Her voice changed. There was tension in her words. “Have they learned?”
“No, but I believe he suspects that she is not my adopted daughter,” the man answered.
“What will you do?”
The man moved into my vision and looked down at me. There was a dark aura around him that made me fuss. “I don’t know, but I promise you that whatever happens she’ll be safe.”
The scene flashed to another one. This one was shrouded in night. The man’s head was hidden by the hood of a dark cloak. His labored breathing and the breeze over me told me we were running. I could hear shouts from behind us. They were angry voices.
“Over here!”
“They went this way!”
“Quickly!”
I cried. I couldn’t stop myself. I was terrified.
“They’re over there!”
The man slid to a stop and cradled me in one arm. He thrust his other one out in front of him. A portal opened before us. Through the fuzzy doorway I could make out an alley. It was raining.
He raised me up and looked at me. I could see blurry tears stream down his face. “Goodbye, little Estelwen. May you live up to your name.”
The man pressed a kiss on my forehead and threw off his cloak. He wrapped me tightly in the cloak and clasped me in both hands before he drew back his arms.
“Stop!” a voice yelled behind us.
The man tossed me forward and through the portal. I landed neatly on my back and faced the gateway. The man drew his hand across the portal and turned his back on me. The entrance began to shut. I saw a group of men confront the single man.
One of them stepped forward. In the dark I could make out red eyes. “You are more trouble than you are worth, human.”
The other man scoffed. “Wait until my daughter returns.”
The first man chuckled. “You will not live to see that day.” He raised his hand and snapped his fingers.
The crowd behind him lunged at the man who saved me. They fell upon him just as the portal shut.
“Dad!”
I stretched out my hand. My foot stumbled on the stone floor of the ocean palace and I fell forward. Roisin caught my shoulders and slowed my fall so I crumpled to the ground. Tears stained my cheeks.
I cupped my face in my hands and sobbed. “He’s dead. They killed him.”
“Your father?” Roisin guessed.
I raised my head and nodded. “Yeah. He. . .he died saving me.” I tilted my head back to look into the concerned face of the ocean king. “But why couldn’t I remember his face? Or my mother’s?”
He closed his eyes and shook his head. “A magic hangs over your memories and keeps them hidden from even my powers. It was cast with love, and nothing but one’s own realization can break such powerful magic.”
I climbed to my feet and wiped my nose with my sleeve before I gazed into the old eyes of Valtameri. “What does Estelwen mean?”
“Hope.”
- Writer
