10. HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF

Queen Valda had been having lunch with her father when the messenger arrived.

Angela, having finished eating, had been freed to play in the other room. Valda knew better than to try and get her six-year-old daughter to sit still for very long anything. Though so far, the Queen was not budging on the magic lessons. It would be four or five years yet before Angela would be able to cast any spells, but both her teachers and her mother could already tell that her potential was enormous. When it was finally unleashed, Valda wanted her to be ready.

"Your Highness," the messenger intoned, "Prince Richard and Sir Loki of Forcena, have arrived at the castle, and await you at your convenience."

Valda and Kayen looked at each other with identical nervous expressions. Why this visit? And even stranger still, why had the Prince of Forcena arrived unannounced? It hadn't been good news the last time he showed up without warning. The similarity was not encouraging.

Valda shot a glance to the doorway of the room in which her daughter played, then at her father, who caught her meaning. "I'll keep her entertained here, daughter, she's probably due for a nap anyway." Valda turned back to the servant.

"Please tell Prince Richard I will greet him in my throne room in an hour's time, and see they have received adequate refreshment. Have rooms prepared for them. In the other wing, I think." Best to keep her unexpected guests as far away as possible.

--

It was a calm and composed Queen of Reason who greeted her guests an hour later.

Loki seemed to have changed. He had been always the more silent of the two, but as she had gotten to know him, he had become more friendly and jovial. Now, he seemed more subdued than ever. Despite his insistence that he had chosen the Dark path for good reasons, there definitely seemed to be more of a dark streak to him, now more than ever.

Richard had not changed a bit, however. He still had the dignity that was somehow not marred by his charisma, and he greeted her with a wide smile that might have seemed out of place on any other man of his height and build. Strictly speaking, it was not necessary for him to kneel before her, but he did anyway, taking her hand to kiss it.

"Prince Richard," she greeted him. Better to at least start formally, even if having him near her was bringing back all sorts of memories. "What brings you to Altena after all this time?"

Richard leaned close, and his expression was no longer laughing.

He leaned to whisper close to her ear. "We have news that the Dragon Emperor has returned once again."

Valda only allowed herself the tiniest flick of an eyebrow, but suddenly she wanted to scream inside. When their enemy had escaped them the first time, she had hoped that it would be a long time before they faced him again.

It was all so familiar. This is how so much had began, these two men showing up in Altena to find a dangerous enemy. But so much had changed as well. The ironies did not elude her.

Loki spoke up then. "No one knows what happened last time, Valda. We never told; I can't imagine what would happen if people were to find out the truth. Best keep it between only those who already know. Even if we'd rather pour in with armies, I don't know it would even tip the balance," he said. "But your help was so vital last time, we don't think we can make it without you."

Valda was torn. Loki was right, she knew. But she had much more to leave now. The spells on her country, the rule of the kingdom. And the daughter she could not tell them about.

--

Valda escorted them herself to their ocean-facing rooms in the west wing of the castle. Though the rooms were fine, certainly suitable for royalty, they could not possibly be farther from her own apartments, unless she put them up in the inn in the city.

This did not elude Richard, as she entered his suite with him, having already left Loki. "Valda, I thought for sure you would have missed me more than this." He shut the door behind him, and wrapped his arms around the Queen of Altena in a very familiar way.

Valda was slightly taken aback. Presumptuous man. "I did miss you, Richard," she replied, careful to keep her voice even. Actually, she had thought she had pretty much forgotten about him, but now she was not so sure.

"Well, then," he lowered his voice, "it's a long walk, but I think I might find my way to your apartments later tonight."

Dear Goddess. He wasn't even asking. Think, Valda, think, she told herself.

She shifted into her best seductive voice. It didn't take much, once a man was already looking at her. "But you see, Richard," she practically purred, "that's where I do all of my work. It's so difficult to relax there. I thought that if I came here to see you, it would be that much more enjoyable."

She had him. She could see it in his eyes, now bearing a familiarly suggestive look, but she decided she had better make sure her took her seriously.

For good measure, she pushed against his chest as hard as she could, throwing him backwards onto the bed. Let it never be said that Queen Valda would deny her guest a royal welcome.

--

"So whatever happened to the fairy?" wondered Valda.

A couple days later, and all Valda had decided for sure was that she had to go. Even if they hadn't yet decided where. The rest of her days had been a busy whirl of research, preparation, and fucking Richard to keep him from thinking about anything else. She was worn out.

"I think she's still in there," Loki said, knocking his head. "I'm trying not to think about the implications of that."

"I wonder if all the fairies are like this, or if the others are chattier," mused Richard.

"But it's the Elementals that have been buzzing around," continued Loki. "After our last adventure, they're pretty well attuned to sense the Mana signatures of the Dragon Emperor, but they can't exactly explain what he is doing."

"The logical place to find him would be Dragon's Hole," Richard said, puffing up his chest like he expected a prize for this amazing leap of deduction.

"Great," Valda said, the sarcasm dripping from her voice. "So we think the Dragon Emperor has returned home, repairing his injuries and probably gaining more power to boot. There's good reasons we didn't follow him there before; he is at an advantage on his own turf, even without factoring in all the dragons to be found there, and the mountain itself is a maze where we could be lost for years. We have no plan and little information other than agitated Elementals, and if we try to stride in there right now, we will probably be crushed like bugs. Would that be an accurate assessment?"

The men look abashed. Finally, Loki spoke up. "Any better ideas?"

Valda pondered for a moment. "Perhaps a stop in Pedan? Legends say the Dragon Emperor was once a citizen there, many years ago."

Richard looked doubtful. "Pedan? That backwater jungle village?"

Valda gave him a look. "You forget, Richard, that once upon a time that 'backwater' was the magic center of the world. Parts of the city remain, and I believe much of the old knowledge is still there. Besides, they use some of that magic to keep the town hidden and difficult to find, so we really don't know what is out there anymore."

--

Kayen waited in the doorway as Valda bent over her daughter in the early morning light to give her a quick kiss. "I have to go away for a little while, Angela."

Angela woke up just enough to mumble something noncommittal. She was getting sadly used to not having Valda around much, but the Queen had no idea what to do about it. Besides the ordinary running of a kingdom, it was taking more and more of her time and energy to keep the kingdom warm. And still, the reports from the edges of the kingdom indicated cold was creeping in. How long before the capital itself was vulnerable?

She made one last check on the seals that held the warming spells. Where before she had merely to adjust every week or so, now it was practically a daily endeavor to feed more of Salamando's magic into them, the magic of the seals leaking, melting as Mana no longer held together. Kayen assured her he could maintain them for a brief period of time while she was gone, but after that, Valda did not know what she would do.

With that her departing thought from the castle, Valda joined her two familiar companions outside the castle gates. In her pocket, she grasped the familiar Eternal Rod. She still didn't know how to use it, but somehow, it let her believe everything would be okay.

--

Her insulated carriage bore them through the frozen fields of Altena. Although Valda did not mind the cold, exactly, this was still much more comfortable. And in this season, it was dangerous to travel without. Though the two men had arrived before in summer, now it was the dead of winter, and survival outside for long was limited.

She sat next to Richard, holding herself slightly away from him, their renewed intimacy of the past few days notwithstanding. As for him... she wasn't sure what she felt, exactly... She could remember the way they felt together, so in love, so long ago. But they were both different people then. She knew she had his daughter, she saw him in her every single day, but... somehow when she looked at him, now all she could think of was Angela, growing further away with every mile.

Quiet dragged through the ride. How had they been so cohesive, so many years ago? She couldn't put her finger on it, but something about them all had changed.

"So, what is a Grand Divina?" Richard asked, breaking up the silence.

"It's our Light-Light class," Valda replied tersely. How she got there, was not something she wanted to reflect on at the moment.

"I know," the Prince of Forcena told the Queen of Altena curtly. "What I'm asking is, what does it mean?"

What did it mean, indeed? Most days, she wished she knew. "You know the way we worship the Goddess is different here. We worship the Mana more than the being. The Grand Divina is a High Priestess, in a way; perhaps you could call her the Priestess of Mana." Even as she said those words, something tore at her, the fear that there might not be Mana left to worship. She wished things could remain as they were, but she hoped that Altena would survive however it could.

Richard listened to her every word, but caught her mood as well, he returning to the silence that permeated the carriage.

Valda forcibly turned her mind away from Richard. That particular line of thought was only sending her to brooding. With the composure that gave the Queen of Reason her regal presence, she coaxed herself to turn her attention to Loki.

She remembered the way he had been. More reserved than his liege lord, but underneath, a willing friend with a ready sense of humor. He just kept more of himself underneath, not terribly unlike Valda herself. Of necessity, or of personality?

"So, did you marry Simone?" she inquired. The grin that suddenly crossed his face was the most positive sign she had seen in days.

He had, as it turned out, and not terribly long after they had parted previously. As he spoke of them, of their life together, she remembered their many private conversations, a great comfort to her, especially when Richard was spinning her head around in circles.

"I just had a daughter," Loki told her proudly. "I had a son, Duran, almost five years ago. He's already trying to pick up my sword and follow in my footsteps. He'll probably be turning five while we're gone..." Loki's voice trailed off.

Valda felt for him, having to leave his children behind that way. If only she could share how she had to leave her daughter.

--

Less than a day, and they found themselves in Elrand. Valda strode towards the port purposefully, eager to accomplish the next objective.

She wrapped her cloak around her with a shiver. Nowhere near as cold as the snowfields, but definitely more chill to the air than she had expected. It had been awhile since she had been to the outlying regions of her country. Where she could only fear the seals were weakening, in castle Altena, here, so far away, she could feel the difference. Guilty, she wondered what the people her must be thinking of her. For centuries, the royalty of Altena had been keeping the inhabited regions temperate. Would it be worse for them to think the Queen had abandoned them, or to start to understand the truth?

It was Loki that pulled her out of her ruminations, grabbing her arm as she moved towards the town. Richard stood back; even after having been with her in Altena, he seemed to realize that all was not as it should be, and Valda was not as she was.

"We won't need a ship, Valda," he told her.

"How else are we getting to Pedan?" she replied.

"Just come with us to the beach," the Swordmaster told her. The Grand Divina looked at him quizzically, but acquiesced with a nod. Better to find out what he was up to, she thought.

Richard seemed to know what his friend was about, as Valda followed them down to the beach, a strip of cold sand with little to offer now, with winter encroaching. It was abandoned as far as the eye could see. She lifted one eyebrow towards Loki in inquiry.

Loki only gave the smallest of expressions in return. He pulled a flute out of his pack, and blew it with a flair.

Nothing happened for a long moment, until Valda heard the sea rustle from beyond. The waves churned, splattering the trio with sea spray, and when it cleared...

A giant turtle nestled just on the tide's edge.

"Well, Valda, this is where we hop on," Richard joked, forcing the jovial manner that once came naturally.

Valda's look was flat. "You must be kidding."

"No really, Valda, it's quite a bit faster," Loki told her. "Just give it a try."