CHAPTER 3: The Emperor of Industry
Esther opened her eyes and felt as though she had been sleeping for an age. Her limbs were heavy and her muscles limp. Her head felt as though it were stuffed with smelly plainswort weeds, but then it occurred to her it may have been because she had been traveling for days without a decent inn's bath in sight, and she wrinkled her nose. Her upper body was propped up on a pile of fluffy pillows as she lay in a bed with beautifully embroidered blankets. The room was richly furnished and the gas lamps on the wall were turned low to give her a peaceful, ambient light. This place was certainly in the style of Hamelin and if she was not mistaken, and this particular decor was distinctly found in the palace. The last thing she remembered was the Emperor's face just before everything went dark.
It paid to have friends in high places. Perhaps now, she might have that bath…
Esther sat up in bed unsteadily and wondered how long she had been out of commission. She wondered what had happened to Derwin, and if the poor fool was still stuck in a tree on Tombstone Trail. Her eyes lingered towards the blue green colored glass lamp on the bedside table and her memory brought back the color of the Darkwing's eyes.
"That's right," she said softly to herself. It had submitted to her but she had not had the chance to name it. Esther distinctly recalled an exchange of feeling between her and the dragon and in that moment she felt its sorrow and its anger. It reminded her of the time she had her mind broken by the Dark Wizard, Shadar. Tears came to her eyes knowing that the Darkwing had lived like that for centuries. That level of rapport had never happened to her before while taming. She wondered if there was a name for that trance-like state where she actually shared the emotions of the creature and vice versa. In a way, she wondered if the Darkwing had submitted to her will because it realized a kindred spirit in her. They both shared a darkness in their hearts.
Esther's thoughts were quietly interrupted by the sound of a knock, a pause, and then the door handle turning and the sound of someone clearing his throat at the door.
She looked up to see Prince Marcassin, Emperor of Hamelin, informally but still finely dressed, staring at her inquisitively with his gentle azure eyes. A smile returned to her face at the sight of him. It had been a few years since she saw him last. He had grown a bit more, and filled out with a bit more substance than when they parted three years ago. He had always been shorter than his brother, Gascon, but his soft facial features had certainly become more pleasing to the eye with age. That familiar coif of neatly cropped, dark hair still hung loose about his face
"It's been a while, Your Majesty," said Esther politely. "You look well."
"That is my line," said Marcassin with a casual smile. "I was wondering if our sleeping maiden would ever wake up from her slumber on her own, or if I was supposed to do something about it."
Esther wondered at his words but a warm flush came to her face when she realized he was referring to a fairy story hailing back from the time of ancient Nazcaa, where the spell of a sleeping beauty could only be broken by the kiss of a true prince. She unwittingly pulled her covers up closer to her chest. His formal mode of speech was not the only thing she was not accustomed to.
"How long have I been sleeping?" she asked, nonchalantly changing the subject.
"For about three days," he said, pulling up a chair and sitting beside her.
She looked at him an wondered out loud, "Have you been watching over me all this time?"
"Of course," he said matter-of-factly. "I couldn't be certain if you had been cursed or overtaken by the fury of the Darkwing. I felt it my obligation to stand by with light magic in case it was needed. I read in a tome of the History of Magic once that very few would dare to tame such a creature, as they are usually spawned from darkness and hatred of the world. Only the purest of intentions could possibly hope to lure them into submission as the light of their hearts would naturally draw in the darkness."
"I don't know about that," she responded, thinking back to her encounter with the beast. Marcassin waited patiently for her to explain. "I don't know if the purity of my heart was what led the Darkwing to submit to me. I think it was my shared feelings and the darkness within my own heart that led us to understand one another."
"That is fascinating," he said after a moment of thought. "But I still believe it takes a pure heart to empathize with such darkness and not be overcome by it. If your heart had not been balanced with light and darkness, perhaps you would not have prevailed and the attempt at taming the Darkwing would have taken your life instead."
"This is true," sighed Esther with a little self-deprecating laugh. "It was not something I had planned to do. When I was younger, my father would scold me for leaping without looking. But taming is my only talent. I knew there wasn't enough time for you to cast another light spell. Fighting with you and Oliver taught me that timing was the most important in magical duels. This was the only thing I could try."
"You can imagine my surprise when you sprung out of nowhere to stand between me and the beast. I had already prepared to weather the hit but you spared me and my soldiers from that. I have to thank you for your bravery, and please believe me when I say you have my heartfelt thanks." He made a small bow from the waist as he placed an open hand over his heart.
"Please, Your Majesty. Don't be so formal."
"Then I would ask that you too, should not be so formal."
"I beg your pardon?" she asked.
"There was a time when we traveled, slept, ate and fought together as allies. Yet here you are, addressing me by title when we are friends, are we not?" His sincerity caught her off guard. When she looked at him Esther noticed how disarming his gaze was.
No wonder Queen Cowlipha is still infatuated with him, she thought was something about the way he looked at her that made her feel as though she was very important.
"I think your subjects would have something to say about me addressing their Emperor by his first name," she grinned.
"My subjects are not present at the time," he responded with a mischievous smile. He took her hand gently and checked her pulse. "It appears your heart rate has become regular again." Without releasing her hand, he reached up with his other and felt her forehead. His sudden proximity and the fact that he was holding her hand so unabashedly made her heart jump. She wondered if he noticed.
"You had a slight fever but it appears gone now." Marcassin looked at her and furrowed his brow. "Why do you look at me like that?"
His question caught her off guard and for a moment she was fumbling for words.
"Y-Your Majesty," she managed to mumble.
"Marcassin," he said sternly.
"I'm sorry?" she asked.
"Mar-cas-sin," he insisted. "Miss Esther, I would like you to call me by my name." It was Esther's turn to furrow her brow at his stubbornness.
"How about Prince Marcassin?" she volunteered after a moment's pause, as a compromise. He pursed his lips and thought about it.
"That will do for now," he answered. Before she could ponder what he meant by "for now" he posed a series of questions to inquire how she had come to Autumnia and why she was on the Tombstone Trail.
When she told him about her commission from the Queen, as well as the identity and purpose of her traveling companion, he seemed rather displeased by the explanation.
"That was a dangerous task for you to take upon yourself alone," said Marcassin, correctly guessing that her traveling companion was essentially useless in a pinch.
"I am a graduate of the Royal Academy of Weapons & Wizardy in Al-Mamoon and a familiar tamer of the highest rank," sulked Esther. "I can take care of myself."
"Does your father, Sage Rashaad, know that his daughter is being so foolhardy?" he asked incredulously.
"Of course he does!" she insisted. Esther thought about her response and realized she had just acknowledged her own foolhardiness. Her face grew warmer. "He knows I am commissioned by the Queen. I am not a child anymore," she huffed as she crossed her arms over her chest in a very child-like manner. "I chose to go without an entourage. It makes traveling quicker when I don't have to tow people and equipment behind me."
"I would not have let you go without an entourage," he retorted but after looking at her expression, he was resolved to let the subject drop. After a pause, Marcassin spoke again.
"How you came to travel in Autumnia during the wet season astonishes me. You dislike the darkness, do you not?" he asked straightforwardly. The question was so forward that she hardly knew how to answer.
"Well, I…. H-how do you…?"
"You forget that I have been acquainted with you since I was ten. Though, to you, you have only been acquainted with me since a few years prior."
Esther thought about his remark, and realized it was true. When she and her companions had traveled back in time to retrieve the Mornstar for their quest they had met the young prince of Hamelin and his older brother Gascon. Even back then, Esther was impressed that Marcassin had all the potential to be a Great Sage at such a tender age.
"I had traveled with you when I was a child. We traveled the Tombstone Trail together. I have also traveled with you as an adult, when we faced Shadar together. Both times I heard you say you disliked the darkness as it reminded you of unpleasant memories. I refrained from asking why when I was a child, as it was inappropriate for a young boy to ask a young lady such a question without appearing rude. When we traveled again with Oliver after the onslaught of falling ash I also refrained from asking…as it seemed something of a personal nature. But I could tell you were enduring as best you could, through sheer power of will."
Esther recalled Marcassin as a boy who followed his older brother everywhere and hung about in Gascon's shadow. She had no idea he was so observant, even at such a young age. It was no wonder that he had grown to be one of the world's Great Sages renown for his foresight and planning. Her train of thought was interrupted when Marcassin's hand moved gently to brush against her chin and their eyes met.
"When I see that wistful reflection in your violet eyes I think I can understand now why the Darkwing took an affinity to you. It seems quite natural that you would be the only one capable of taming it."
A moment passed before Esther realized that they had been staring at one another in silence. She was the first to look away.
"The chill of darkness reminds me of when I was broken by the Dark Wizard and my mind was clouded by a meaningless void. Though my father was always doting and kind, it also reminds me of my mother who passed through the veil of death without leaving me any memory of her love. The darkness makes me lonely and reminds me of unpleasant things," she explained softly, without looking up. Again he touched her chin softly to draw her gaze back to him.
"I understand what that's like, having been broken by Shadar myself. But let me tell you, from your sun-kissed hair and winning smile, you are a child of the light. This will never change. The darkness can never contain you," he smiled.
The faint hint of a smile spread into a heartfelt grin across her face. "Since when did you have such a way with words? You started out as such an awkward boy," she gently teased as a blush rose to her cheeks and Esther looked away in slight embarrassment. She had to remind herself that he was a boy no longer, and, since meeting in the present timeline, he was a handful of years older than she was.
"I...actually-" he began haltingly, but he was interrupted by a slight knock on the door. Several servants came in, one after another. The first servant curtseyed to the Emperor and announced that the time for supper had arrived and inquired whether the lady would like a bath. The second did the same and presented two gowns for Esther to choose from. The third man bowed and presented a pale green orb sitting atop a velvet cushion to her.
"Oh," said Esther reaching out to take the orb into her hand. It was warm to the touch and pulsated faintly in response to her.
"I read once that if you do not name a familiar, it has a high probability of running off. If you wish to keep it, I would recommend you give it a name. I really do not need a Darkwing stalking the halls of my palace," smiled Marcassin. He paused and studied the orb as it glowed faintly in her hands. In these few days he had not observed it doing that. "It seems though, it has been waiting patiently to meet you again," he added.
Esther smiled and closed her eyes and reached out her mind to the soul within the orb. Her immediate thoughts recalled the color of its eyes, the color of a pale leaf, luminescent with the light of the sun and sky behind it, and she uttered the name, "Xantus," after a species of hummingbird, bright green and friendly, that was found in the outskirts of the desert. Immediately the orb glowed stronger, as if it approved. She placed the orb back onto the cushion and stared at it.
"I will have to learn summoning magic if I am to coax its true form out again. It is not exactly like a familiar in that it will do my bidding with a simple strum of my harp. It doesn't even exist in this reality plane." She frowned. Esther had not thought to learn summoning magic at the Academy since her forte was taming.
"We have an extensive library in the palace on summoning magic. After all, I and all of my predecessors before me have always been Sages. Surely there is something in there you could use as a reference guide," he suggested. Esther's eyes lit up like glowing amethysts at the first mention of books.
"You'd let me into your library?" she asked incredulously.
"Of course," he answered. "Why would I not?"
"Well," explained Esther, "Not everyone can just waltz in and read the Emperor's collection, right?"
"You are certainly not 'just anyone' to me," answered Marcassin. It seemed everything he said to her tonight was catching her off guard. Again, Esther was at a loss for words and at at a loss as to how to take that remark.
"I think I'll take that bath now," she said to the servant still waiting for a response. The servant nodded and went into a side door which led to a smaller, adjoining room with a bath and turned on the hot and cold water pipes.
"Will the lady be joining Your Majesty for supper?" asked the second servant. Esther looked at Marcassin who smiled back at her.
"Only if it pleases the lady," he answered and turned to her. "I would enjoy it very much if you would sup with me." His sudden turn of stiffened speech reminded her that he was still the Emperor of Hamelin.
"I am a bit hungry," she responded shyly.
"Then I will see you again, soon, Miss Esther," he said as he stood up to leave the room.
"Oh, if I may ask, Your Majesty," she interjected. "Does anyone know where Derwin is?"
"I invited him to reside within the palace as a courtesy to Queen Cowlipha's commissioned researcher, but he declined saying he had some papers to finish and would be housed at the Cat's Cradle Inn." Esther could tell from his tone that Marcassin did not think very highly of her traveling companion. When he left the room, she found herself missing his company but also gratefully felt her tension fade from her body. For some reason it was both exhilarating and exhausting being in such close proximity with him though she had not felt this way before.
She looked over to the side settee where the two dresses had been laid out. The pink one with ruffles was made of a material that had the feel of Al-Mamoon. The deep purple one looked more of something a courtly lady of Hamelin would wear. She wondered if Marcassin had picked these out himself. He certainly had princely taste.
But, all of his actions tonight puzzled her. His words were also a bit confusing to her. Though they travelled together in a group in the past, they were seldom alone together. This was perhaps the first time she had actually conversed with him in depth. It was awkward for her since she had known him as a boy in the past, but also as a young man and Emperor of a powerful country who was driven nearly mad by a spell Shadar had cast upon him, as well as a commander in the war against the White Witch. She had seen many sides of him.
Tonight's Marcassin was a different character still. Esther was at a loss at how to react to some of the things he said, and as she thought about this her hand would unconsciously move to her chin where his hand had brushed against it gently.
Esther was not accustomed to any man, let alone an Emperor, being so attentive to her. There was something disarming about his gaze that unsettled her. It was different from the way a friend like Oliver would look at her, and different still from the way her doting father would look at her. She had no explanation for it, and the more she thought on it the more confused she became. After soaking in the scented bath water for a short while, she resolved to forget about it altogether.
As soon as the servant helped her dry and put up her hair she decided to be herself and ran her fingers against the long desired Al-Mamooni silk to feel the texture of the dress she would wear for dining.
