Chapter 1: In the Soil
Pierland was a beautiful place, whether in the rolling hills of the southern district, the flat plains of the west, or the heavily forested, mountainous land that swallowed up nearly half of the country as it extended from beyond the northeastern border. Scattered throughout the forest were clearings, some no larger than half a square mile in area and others so large that were one to stand in the direct center of an open space, knowledge of the surrounding forest could completely escape the mind. It was in these clearings that towns sprouted up, usually finding location along one of the many rivers or streams that spiderwebbed out of the mountains further north. Situated in one of the larger clearings, a few miles north of the center of the forest within the borders, dusted with lightly wooded areas and bisected by a deep and moderately wide river, was the capital of Pierland, Royal Wood. In the center of Royal Wood on the east side of Royal River, was positioned Kings Quarter. This quarter was home to the court house, the Council of Royal Affairs Office, Kings Marketplace, and Royal Manor, the royal public court and residence of King William Schuester of Pierland.
Rushing down the steps of Royal Manor towards the center of Kings Quarter was Brittany Pierce. As she hustled she scanned the crowd searching for the girl one of the king's guards had been nice enough to inform her of. She finally spotted the black hair, brown skin, and green peasant gown the guard had described to her walking on the north side of the quarter through the marketplace hurriedly picking out and paying for small food items as she made her way towards the north exit of the quarter.
"Excuse me! Pardon!" Brittany offered the words to people she shoved past in her attempt to reach the girl. "Sorry! Sorry!" She was usually never so forceful, but she needed to reach the other girl. When she was within a few paces outside of reaching distance she addressed her. "Ms. Lopez!" While the practical reason for Brittany to shout was to be heard over the noisy buzz of the marketplace, it was done not out of a conscious effort to be heard, but a gut reaction to her sense of urgency.
Santana Lopez heard someone call to her, but it took her a moment to respond as her thoughts were more focused on the cheap food she needed to purchase for her coming journey. When she did respond she looked up to see a girl a few inches taller than her, blue-eyed with long blonde hair and a dark blue farmers gown, looking at her with wide eyes that were frantic in their focus on the girl she had pursued.
Santana kept her attention on the other girl for a moment longer than she felt she could afford, surprised by how clearly the girl was out of her element in such a bustling place, and went back to selecting her goods as she spoke. "I would half-decently inquire as to whether I could assist you were I not so pressed for time. State your business."
Brittany's eyes softened and her brows furrowed upon hearing Santana's words. "What?"
Santana meant to only spare this girl a moments glance, but again found herself giving just a little more time than what could be considered a glance. This time she noticed how exceptionally beautiful the girl was. Had it been only a few years ago she would have chided herself for having such thoughts. Not anymore. She turned back to the stand owner she was purchasing food from and asked for the price of her selected items before rooting through her pack for money while she spoke to Brittany again. "I'm in a rush; what do you want?"
Brittany's brows popped up in understanding and she got right to the point. "You're going to Algonquin. I want to come with you."
That halted all of Santana's actions including that of searching her pack for money which the stand owner was quick to remind her of with an impatient snap of his fingers. Santana ignored him and quickly complied the questions she wanted answered by the girl immediately. "Who are you? How do you know that? And why?"
Brittany had opened her mouth to respond when the stand owner snapped his fingers at Santana again along with saying, "Talk to her later, pay me now."
Santana shot her head in the direction of the stand owner and the ferocity in her eyes made him lift up his hands in surrender. She then turned back to Brittany and couldn't help the way her eyes softened upon looking at her. She just looked so innocent. "Go on."
"I'm Brittany Pierce. One of the guards told me where you're heading and I need to go there as well. I need to make a request to the Queen of Algonquin."
"So you want to...?"
"Travel together. It's a long trip and I'm not the best with directions."
"And you know I'm going to Algonquin because a guard told you?"
"Yes. He heard your request to King Schuester."
The stand owner interrupted the conversation."Please just pay me so I can tend to other customers." He held out his hand, ready to accept the money.
Santana narrowed her eyes at him, not appreciating his impatience despite herself being in a magnificent rush only moments ago, but looked back in her pack before pulling out the appropriate amount of currency and shoving it into the man's hand. She then turned to Brittany, her black eyes looking straight into the other girl's but not actually seeing them as she pursed her lips and let her mind form her next plan of action. This took all of four seconds before her eyes refocused and she tilted her head to the side and behind her, silently asking Brittany to follow her.
XXX
The local jail of Royal Wood was situated on the outskirts of the town. Marco Lopez sat on the cot in his cell, his elbows resting on his knees and his head resting in his hands, waiting for his sister to arrive, hoping that her request from King Shuester would bring him good news. Unbeknownst to him, his sister was already at the jail; however, she, and the person that had come with her, were ordered to wait outside of the cell block for a guard to escort them inside. She had fervently insisted that she didn't need a guard to escort her to see her own brother, but to no avail. She had to wait. In the meantime, she spoke to her companion.
"Marco is innocent. He would never hurt anyone, let alone kill them!"
"I know," Brittany spoke softly, her eyes wide and sincere.
"I have to find this knight. I have to. He's the only one who can prove Marco's innocence," Santana said.
"And you will. I'll help you," Brittany assured her. She had thought her situation was bad, but she couldn't imagine what Santana was going through. Sure, her family's livelihood depended on her, but not their lives.
Santana in return, was trying to find a way to express her sympathies to Brittany, but she was never very good at showing emotions that weren't anger or annoyance. But she liked Brittany. She was nice, if not a tad simple. Probably most importantly though, she was the only one who believed her when she said her brother was innocent. When Santana had first told Brittany that Marco had wrongly been accused only twenty minutes ago, Brittany just said, "I believe you." Just like that. I was nice to be believed.
"And I'm going to help you," Santana assured Brittany. "We'll do all we can to get your family's land back."
"Thanks." Brittany smiled, but kept her lips pressed together. "I'm going to need all the help I can get." While she had hopes for her talk with the Queen of Algonquin, they weren't high hopes.
Finally, a guard emerged from behind a door directly opposite of where Santana and Brittany waited. "Marco Lopez?" was all he said by way of greeting.
"Yes, yes, I'd like to see him," Santana affirmed.
"I'll need to have a look into your packs if you wish to bring them into the cell block."
Santana didn't have anything to hide, but she also didn't like the idea of someone rummaging through her things. Brittany on the other hand immediately handed her pack to the guard. As he rifled through it, it occurred to Santana that Brittany intended to go in with her.
"You're coming?" Santana asked.
Brittany's brows rose up a little and her jaw dropped just enough to separate her bottom lip from her top. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to assume. I'll wait here."
"Well, you may come if you wish," Santana said, not really sure if she meant it. She liked Brittany, and it wasn't as if she hadn't already told her the purpose of her travels, but she would like a moment with her brother.
"No, it's fine." Brittany meant it, but she also hoped Santana wouldn't take too long, though she felt bad thinking it. It's just that she's been so lost and alone ever since leaving her family. She knew she had to. Her mother had passed and her father, with his steadily declining health, was not fit for such a journey and she was the oldest of the four children. Of course it would fall to her to travel to the capital and request the help of King Shuester to save her family from losing their land. And then when the king informed her that Queen Sylvester of Algonquin was the only one who could possibly be able to help her, the thought of continuing on an even longer journey, to a country she had no familiarly with no less, had dampened her spirits. But the thought of having to go alone made it seem even more dreadful. But since having gained an acquaintance with Santana, brief as it has been, she felt better. Not so alone and lost. And she felt safer. Santana was clearly very independent and capable. She could get along easily, and as long as she was with Santana, Brittany felt she could get along, too. Now with the thought of being separated from her, short-distanced as it may be, she dreaded that the loneliness would come back. Still, Santana needed to speak to her brother and she would give her that time. "You go on. I'll be okay. Promise."
Santana looked at her companion a moment longer to make sure she was truly okay and found nothing but sincerity in her eyes. She nodded. "Thank you. I'll..." She didn't want to say she would hurry back because she would like to take at least some time to bid her brother goodbye and assure him that she would return with proof of his innocence, but she also didn't want to leave Brittany for too long. She was an innocent and trusting girl and had Brittany not told her that she had hitched a ride on a coach that was delivering goods to the capital from out west, Santana would have never believed she could have made it here alone. "I'll be back," was what she settled with.
When the guard reached out, intending to take Santana's pack from her to inspect it, she pulled it back away from his grasp and extended it towards Brittany, all the while looking back at the guard with her eyes narrowed, her top lip raising in the slightest sneer. Brittany took the pack wordlessly, swinging it over onto the opposite shoulder of where her own pack hung.
The guard rolled his eyes at Santana's behavior, but said nothing, motioning for her to follow him as he walked towards a rusting iron door at the far end of the room which lead further into the center of the building where the cell blocks were found.
XXX
The moment Marco saw his sister on the other side of the thick iron bars that kept him in his cell, he nearly cried. Santana did cry.
"No, no, Santana Claus, don't cry," Marco begged her as he stood from his cot and rushed to her. He reached through the cell bars and took both of Santana's hands in his. "My precious baby sister, please don't cry."
Marco was the only person in the world who was allowed to see Santana when she was vulnerable. Since their mother died and their father up and left, Marco was the only one she truly trusted to see the part of herself that wasn't strong.
"I'm scared, Marco Polo," she cried. She didn't want to cry. She wanted to be strong for him. But he was always strong for her. He always told her that was his job, to be the strong one so she didn't have to be.
"Did...did King Shuester deny your request?" Marco asked slowly. He dreaded the answer.
Santana's head shot up immediately and the first words out of her mouth calmed his fears, but then stirred other worries. "No, he didn't. I'm to go to Algonquin to find Sir Finn Hudson."
"You're to go? Why would the king not send one of this men to retrieve the knight who shall my provide my alibi?"
"He does not believe in your innocence. I must go if we wish to produce the knight."
"But that's absurd!" Marco let go of Santana's hands and grabbed onto the bars of his cell, pouring all of his strength into gripping the iron, releasing his anger. "Has he at least ordered a guard to escort you?"
Santana only shook her head in response.
Marco threw himself away from the bars and began pacing angrily in his cell.
"Ridiculous. Absolutely preposterous." When he finally stopped, he looked at his sister, his brow set in a hard line. "You're not going."
"What?!" Santana shouted. "How can you suggest such a thing?"
"There is only one route to Algonquin. Straight up the mountain through the forrest. You wish to make that journey alone?"
"I do if it will save you!"
Marco's eyes widened at that, his face softening. "My baby sister."
"Besides, I won't be going alone," Santana asserted.
"No? But you said there would be no guard to escort you."
"There isn't. I'm traveling with a girl. She has her own business to tend to in Algonquin."
"Who is this girl?"
"No one you know."
"That's comforting," Marco said dryly, rolling his eyes.
"Her name is Brittany and she comes from out west, from the farming lands."
"And what business does she have here? What of that in Algonquin?" Marco demanded.
"She lives just within the boundary lines of Pierland, and it seems documents have been produced that state her family's land is actually a part of another family's property. In Gernova."
"Gernova is taking her land?" Marco asked for clarification.
"A family in Gernova, yes. They are neighbors across the boundary lines. She came to the capital to try and involve the king in the matter to return her land to her family, but because of the Great Fire..."
"...All those documents regarding boundary lines have been destroyed, so there's no choice but to assume Gernova's documents are accurate."
"But King Shuester directed her to speak to the Queen of Algonquin. Her sway over the King of Gernova may help her get her family's land back."
Marco nodded, understanding the other girl's situation. "And this girl..."
"Her name is Brittany," Santana interrupted. "Brittany Pierce."
"Okay, this Brittany," Marco continued. "Is she..." He drifted off with his sentence, not sure how to ask what he wished to know.
Santana understood what he was asking immediately. While she had been unable to stop herself from thinking of Brittany in a romantic nature, (after all, she was kind and beautiful) that didn't mean Brittany was interested in her. She wasn't going to damage her relationship with a trusting girl who would be traveling with her for days by revealing her difference in sexuality. While there was nothing considered wrong or illegal about different sexual preferences as it was declared by King Shuester's father, which the current king upheld with great vigor, not everyone agreed with the King's decision.
"No," Santana informed her brother, her cheeks reddening at his assumption. "She's not a girl like that. She's just a girl I'm traveling with."
Marco smiled, enjoying embarrassing his sister. "For now she's just a girl you're traveling with. Until you bring out the old Lopez charm." He wiggled his brows for effect.
Santana's cheeks reddened even more and she swatted at her brother through the bars, the act of which made them both remember the current predicament Marco was in.
"Marco," Santana stated, looking directly into her brother's eyes. "I will find the knight Sir Finn Hudson of Algonquin and he will return with me to give the court your alibi. I will not allow you to be wrongfully sentenced. I will not allow you to be put to..." She was unable to finish her sentence, the thought of her brother being put to death too awful to verbalize.
"I know you will, Santana Claus." Marco had small doubts in the back of his mind, but he would never burden his sister with them. He gripped her hand through the iron bars of his cell.
They did not untangle their hands until it was time for Santana to leave.
XXX
When Santana returned to Brittany after having spoken with her brother, they simply exchanged small smiles while their eyes remained wide with worry and left the jail house.
They began walking northeast, through the town, the large tree-covered mountain separating Pierland from Algonquin looming ahead of them.
"Is there anything else you need to do before we head off?" Santana asked, just to be sure.
"No. I have everything I need but courage," Brittany responded.
"Well, until you find some, I'll be your courage," Santana said with a sharp nod.
Brittany giggled, which Santana found adorable, and the two continued on, the mountain getting larger as they got closer, reminding them both just how difficult their coming journey will be.
XXX
Duchess Roz Washington had few goals in life that did not involve acquiring massive amounts of wealth and power. Whatever she had, she wanted more. Always more. Luckily for her, she had King Figgins of Gernova under her thumb. Actually, that had less to do with luck and more to do with a long standing agreement between the Washington's and the royal family that dated back more than a century. Of course she herself knew nothing of any agreement. She was simply raised to understand that her family had been recognized as nobility immediately upon their arrival to Gernova from Algonquin, and that such high standing nobility came with certain allowances.
"Artie!" Roz called out to her assistant as she entered his chambers without knocking.
"Yes, Miss Washington?" He was currently examining soil samples he had recently obtained on the order of his mistress.
"What have you found?"
"Nothing yet, Miss. I've only just started."
"Well work faster," Roz demanded.
Artie straightened his back and looked up from his work. "I wasn't aware there was a time limit on this project." Having been practically raised by Roz since he was a young boy, Artie could speak to her in a way few else could without getting a slap to the face and a demand to the king to be thrown in jail.
"Just because there is no time limit doesn't mean you can't work faster."
Artie rolled his eyes and hunched back over his glass scope."Faster work means sloppier work." He added a small drop of a clear liquid that looked like water but certainly didn't smell like it to the soil sample. Looking through the glass again, he smiled at what he saw. He straightened up and grinned at Roz.
"What are you doing? Keep working."
"I don't have to. My work is done."
Roz's eyes widened. "It's there?"
"It is," Artie confirmed. "There are gold deposits in the soil, which means there is gold to be found on that land."
Roz's eyes brightened and she suddenly felt everything she ever wanted was within her grasp.