Checkmate
A sequel to the Mallorean
Disclaimer: They're not mine. Duh. All suggestions, comments, compliments, and ideas are appreciated and ensure the promptness of the next chapter *hint hint*
Chapter 1
Garion pushed back a strand of hair in his eyes as he admired his new daughter. The royal nursery now had three occupants; Geran, Beldaran, and Ce'Vesta. He hadn't been too pleased with a Dryad name, but Ce'Nedra has insisted, saying that their first two children had inherited names from family members on his side of the family. There really wasn't anything he could say after that. Ce'Vesta was born a year after Beldaran, but the two were identical, both possessing their mother's wavy red hair and piercing green eyes.
Most of Aloria had held their breaths when Ce'Nedra's pregnancy was announced. Nobody dared to raise voice against the long-awaited Rivan King, but after the centuries of a Kingless country and the latest adventure with the abduction of Prince Geran, most Alorns all preferred another heir to the throne, just in case. Despite his undeniable sorcery powers and the accuracy of the Mrin Codex and the Darine over the eons, Garion simply could not persuade his people that there wouldn't be another son. The passage was quite clear; "Guard well the seed of the Keeper" him being the keeper, and Geran being his seed, "for there shall be no other." Nevertheless, he himself could not help but wish for another son, for the mystery of females was undecipherable, and the though of him and Geran in a crowd of red-haired girls often made him wince.
"Congratulations, Garion," a voice behind him called. It was the tawny-haired Poledra, her arm around her daughter Polgara. Both of them had helped deliver the baby. He smiled, and all that needed to be said was said.
Belgarath and Durnik came in then, both stumbling under the weight of the water buckets they were ordered to carry.
"Five pails of water," Belgarath grumbled, "Is that enough for you, Poledra?"
She and Polgara smiled at each other, while the men shared a look.
"Alright," Garion said finally, unable to bear the silence any longer. "I'm the youngest, so I'm just going to say this and you ladies can all laugh at me. What's with the boiled water required during every pregnancy and must be done by us and not a servant?"
Ce'Nedra, resting contently at the bed next to Garion, suddenly burst out laughing. He turned to Belgarath and Durnik with a hurt look in his eyes.
"My own wife, the first to laugh," he said in a feigned sadness. The three of them chuckled merrily. The mysterious water boiling and the secretive looks were all a traditional part of the deliverance of a baby, started by women, no doubt.
Polgara's eyes suddenly went distant, as always when searching a place with her mind.
"Oh, dear." She murmured distractedly, then rushed out of the room without an explanation.
Garion looked around, suddenly alert physically as well as mentally. A look with the others confirmed his fear; somebody had tampered with Polgara's mind. Garion felt his grandfather send out a probing thought. A wave of furious heat matched the angry look on Belgarath's face.
"Zedar," he growled, and Durnik jerked towards him, a curious look on his face.
"Are you sure? I mean, did he find his way out?" Garion asked in astonishment.
"Yes." Belgarath's reply was short, "I don't know how, but he did." He scratched his beard, "The only way out would have been nearly impossible, but there was no way he could have known about it. Even if he did, I don't know how he did it." Seeing the questioning look on everyone's face, he added, "He could have become an Ulgo zealot, and walked through it. Either that, or one could have rescued him. Both would have required UL's agreement, and I can't for the life of me know why UL would do that."
"Garion," the dry voice in his mind that he hadn't heard for years suddenly rang in his mind, "Tell your Grandfather that everything is going wrong!"
"Grandfather!" Garion said in urgency as well as surprise, "He's back!" he tapped his head, and his Grandfather's expression of fury increased.
"What? Goodness, Garion, do you have any idea what you're saying?" The voice took over.
"Relax, Belgarath. We're not divided again. Although, if my opposite gets his way, we're going to be."
"Why would he – it – want division?"
"There was a time before Torak became the Child of Dark when my opposite went into some uncharacteristic rage and insanity. Our problem could not be solved while he was like that, so we had to transfer his insanity into Torak, with the consent of UL, of course. To do that, we had to drive this spirit into an enclosed box and wait until it was weak enough to be fed to Torak. Somehow, that spirit managed to find how to travel forward in time – to cause some chaos, no doubt."
"Wait, let me see if I'm getting this right. Torak never really went mad, you fed madness to him so that he could be eligible for the role of the Child of Dark, am I right? Now, somehow, that spirit has found a way to travel forward in time, to no doubt possess some other soul. In this case, I'm guessing, Zedar. So, just as the possibility of you winning before the Choice visited us, now the spirit of the past is visiting us? Then, technically, you are divided again, aren't you?"
"No, Belgarath. My opposite is trying to do that. So right now there are three awarenesses abroad; me, my opposite, and us joined. Time travel has before been only allowed backwards; and then only for utmost urgency. Somehow, since my opposite has found a way to travel forward without destroying himself, I, too have been allowed the possibility. So although we are divided, our division has not yet affected the people."
"So to get this spirit back where it should be, we have to catch it. And right now, it is possessing Zedar, am I right? But why," Belgarath mused, "Why would it want Polgara?" He looked at Garion, who shrugged helplessly.
"He's gone."
"Why does he always have that most infuriating habit of disappearing whenever I'm on to something?!" Belgarath raged.
Durnik spoke up, "Belgarath, if you don't mind, I don't really see a reason in fuming over what already happened. The best thing we can do now is look for my wife."
Belgarath's face softened, seeing the love and concern on the smith's face. He beckoned to both Garion and Durnik, his hands outstretched.
The powerful force of the combined wills of the three swept through the palace, searching for the lost sorceress.
A/n: The next chapter will be up tomorrow, since I'm already done with it, unless for some terrible reason I am unable to go online tomorrow.