**Long chapter. XD Thanks for the reviews Ara, SweetLee, SomeDude and 'Codex, I really appreciate them. And, traditional Frei style, I'm managed to mess up the chapter order. :P Sorry about that; hopefully it's sorted out now. Cheers for pointing it out to me. ^_~ And… there will be pairings, if all goes to plan. ^_^ **
Damare returned, bearing soft white night-robes made of a smooth, warm material that was common in Styricum. Yuka changed, and placed her clothes in a bag that was left outside the room.
"Would you like to go to bed, right away?" Damare asked her. "I would greatly like to talk for a while with you."
"If it is your wish, my Lady, I will remain here," Yuka murmured politely.
"My dear Yuka. Please, enough with the formalities. We are sisters now. Please do call me simply 'Damare'."
"My Lady… I have been brought up addressing the older and wiser politely. It seems wrong to me to call someone as wise as you by their first name."
Damare laughed, her laughter high and beautiful. "Oh, sister! I may be old, but I do not think I am any wiser than you. But, I don't mind, if you really wish to address me formally." Yuka smiled.
"I do, my Lady Damare." Damare laughed again, then settled into a chair.
"Are you the girl chosen to travel with the Champions of the Four Orders?" she asked softly. Yuka nodded nervously.
"I was only told today," she said hesitantly. "I've never been on a big quest like that before."
"You'll be fine, dear sister," Damare said kindly. "I know of the Four Rings of Zemoch, though truly they belong to Styricum. Would you like to hear about their appearance? I take it you know the story of their past." Yuka nodded eagerly.
"Well. One of them, the First Ring, is a male, forged from silver. His stone is blue, and a wonderful royal blue at that. His powers concern water. The Second Ring is female. She has a bright red stone, her band is. pure gold, and her powers are fire. She is said to be the most beautiful Ring of all. The Third Ring is a male, and he is made from white gold, with a wonderful, lustrous green stone- his powers are of the earth and all that grows. And the final, youngest Ring is the Fourth Ring. She was made last, and so her powers are weakest. Her stone is yellow, and her band made of an odd metal found only in Styricum, that has no name in the Elene language. Its name in Styricum is 'eneiaea' which Elenes have trouble getting their stiff tongues around." Yuka giggled nervously. Indeed, the language of Styric, which the two women were still speaking, was much more flexible and complicated than Elene. "It is the colour of black, which makes the Fourth Ring's lovely stone stand out greatly. Her powers concern the air, and the sky, and the stars at night. She is the kindest Ring."
"M-my Lady," Yuka faltered, "you speak of them as if they have personalities of their own…"
"But they do, sister dear," replied Damare. "The First Ring is short-tempered, and when he is angry, he is cruel. The Second Ring is stiff and formal, but she has a kind heart underneath the icy exterior. She is also very fair and just. Her personality seems like that of a Queen. The Third Ring is very soft-hearted, and possibly slightly weak. He is forgetful, and lenient, and he deplores violence of any kind. I am certain he will be willing to help with our quest. And the final Ring, the Fourth Ring, the youngest Ring, is sweet and kind, and very gentle. It appears to us nowadays that the First and Second are the rulers. They have the most power, and their personalities are that of monarchs."
"D-do you, by any chance, know where they are, my Lady?" Yuka asked hesitantly. Damare laughed.
"No more than the rulers of Eosia do, sister. It is believed the First Ring lies in the bay near Gaka Dorit in Zemoch- although he always expressed a dislike for salt water. However a contrasting legend says he rests in Lake Verka, on the border between Zemoch and Cammoria.. The Third Ring is rumoured to sleep in a small forest that surrounds the spring where the River Ganda wells up. Nobody knows the exact whereabouts the Second Ring, or where the Fourth Ring lies either, though there are a few obscure legends concerning the Second. The females have hidden themselves well."
"Themselves?" asked Yuka curiously.
"Yes, sister. They hid themselves, after the destruction of Otha. You know Zemoch was totally ravaged by the death of their ruler? Well, the Rings used that as an excuse to hide. Perhaps one day they will decide to return. Until then, we will need to hunt them out ourselves. Tell me, sister," she said suddenly, "which God do you worship?"
"I am a child of Setras," she said, a tone of defence in her voice. Damare smiled.
"As am I, sister, which makes our bond ever stronger," she said, sounding very happy. "He will aid you in your quest." Yuka nodded.
"I will pray he does. I have been loyal to him from birth." She yawned suddenly, and apologised.
"That's alright, sister. You need rest. It is getting late. Go to bed now, dear Yuka." She motioned with her hand towards a door to Yuka's left. "You will find a bed and washing things in there, dear. Sleep well, my sister." Yuka yawned again.
"You too, dear sister," she said quietly. Damare smiled.
"Good-night, Yuka."
"Good-night, Damare." And the door closed as Yuka went into the room, washed, fell onto the bed and slept deeply.
She awoke the next morning to dull sunlight and a knocking on her door. Running her fingers through her long black hair, she got up and opened the door.
Lady Damare stood there.
"Sister dear," she said. "Good morning. The Preceptor wishes to see you as soon as possible- he has news for you about the quest." Yuka nodded sleepily. The Lady handed her the bag containing her clean Styric robes. "Get dressed quickly, sister." Yuka nodded again and closed the door.
She washed and dressed in a hurry, and was wide awake when she was done. Placing the night-clothes in a bag which she laid on the bed, she left the room. Damare waited.
"Good morning," she said again. "Did you sleep well, sister?"
"Very well, thankyou, my Lady," replied Yuka. "Does the Preceptor want me now?"
"Yes," Damare answered. "Someone will escort you to his rooms, if you need it?"
"I- I would like that," she replied nervously. "I think… I would get lost if I had to go there alone."
"Alright. One moment." Damare went to the main door of her chambers and opened it. "You! Excuse me…" Outside, Yuka saw a knight turn around. Damare flushed slightly. "My apologies. I did not recognise you by the back of your head." The knight laughed.
"I don't mind, my Lady. Can I help you at all?"
"Yes. Would you mind terribly if I asked you to take this young lady up to the Preceptor?"
"Not at all," he replied. Damare turned to Yuka.
"Go ahead, sister. He'll take you." Damare stepped out of the doorway and let Yuka through. The large knight laughed again.
"If it isn't the Lady Yukana!" he exclaimed. "Fancy seeing you again." After a moment, Yuka recognised him as the first Alcione knight she had met, the night before. "This way, ma'am." Yuka smiled a goodbye to Damare and followed the knight again.
"Please, sir…" she said, hurrying to keep up with his long strides, "you can call me Yuka. I'm not used to being referred to as 'lady' or 'ma'am'."
"I'd feel awkward," he replied. "Perhaps when I know you better, I'll be able to do that, but not right now." He led her along the corridor.
"I- I won't be staying long," she said quietly. He turned to grin at her.
"I know that. But we'll have plenty of opportunity to get to know each other, seeing as I'll be coming with you when you leave."
She stopped dead in her tracks. The knight laughed at her expression. "Well, don't look so horrified. I'm not that offensive, am I?" Yuka blinked a few times then shook her head.
"N-no, it's not that," she stumbled. "I just didn't know…"
"Should've told you." He nodded to her. "Sir Tynian at your service." She flushed.
"Oh, please don't do that. I absolutely hate it when people tell me they're at my service."
"Alright, if you don't like it. I'm Tynian, the King's Champion." Yuka smiled shyly.
"It's nice to meet you… again, Sir Tynian."
"And you, Lady Yuka. We'd better get going," he noted, "or the Preceptor's going to have my head, no matter what the King says." Yuka giggled nervously and followed him up the long stairs. Then she recognised the corridor that led to the Preceptor's rooms. Near the end, Tynian stopped and knocked on the door.
"Lady Yukana is here, Sir," he called.
"About time too, Tynian!" the Preceptor replied, sounding annoyed. "Well come on, send the girl in!" Tynian opened the door and motioned for Yuka to go in. She smiled timidly before entering, and the door shut softly behind her.
The Preceptor stood up and bowed his head to her. "Good morning, Lady Yuka. Do sit down." Her chair from the night before was still there by the fire. Yuka complied.
"Good morning, sir," she said quietly.
"And the same to you, Yuka." He used her first name, and what's more, her nickname. That put her more at ease. "I see you've met your travelling companion?"
"Yes," she replied, slightly breathlessly. "Does that mean the King has decided to send his Champion along?"
"It does," responded the Preceptor. "Sir Tynian is to ride with you to Chyrellos, the meeting place. This quest has been authorised by the Church, but only just, and there has been some opposition, so you will not be stopping long in the Holy City. You will meet the other knights privately, in an designated inn, and you will set out as soon as everyone has arrived and has rested a short time. Some of the Knights have quite a way to travel, you understand. Don't worry," he added reassuringly, "Tynian is a very good man. He'll look after you."
She smiled nervously, not entirely reassured, although Tynian seemed very nice. The Preceptor sighed. "I also have some bad news. The first daughter of our King, the seven-year-old Princess of Deira, has fallen sick. Reports suggest it was our mystery poisoner again." Yuka stifled a gasp. "This person is very slippery. Now, four lives hang in the balance, one for each of the Four. How he- or she- managed to get into the palace to poison them is beyond me. He must be a genius- or at the least, extremely small."
"The poor child…" Yuka breathed. "What is her name?"
"Minele," replied the Preceptor. "She was taken sick yesterday night, and the symptoms are identical to those of a Jalenum poisoning. There is nothing anybody can do until the antidote is extracted from Princess Kaijia."
"Nothing? Nothing at all, no way to ease the suffering of those inflicted with the poison?"
"Physicians in Elenia are the best in Eosia. Reports say that the King of Arcium is having his wife moved to the Elene Royal Palace so that Queen Ehlana's physicians can care for her. Apparently Thalesia is considering moving Prince Kenelm too. The King is debating with himself whether to move Princess Minele, but I expect he will."
"Doesn't it strike you as odd," Yuka said after a thoughtful pause, "that three of the four Royals who have been taken sick are children under the age of ten? Kenelm is nine years old, isn't he?"
"He is indeed. It does seem strange. But then you look at Morwyn- she's young, but not a child. I think the poisoner is targeting the most important person. Morwyn is the heir to the Arcian throne, since at the moment she has no children. Kenelm, as the oldest son, is the heir to the Thalesian throne, and Minele is the heir to the Deiran throne, since the Crown Princess is incapable of having any more children. Our mystery poisoner managed to take the most important Royal in each country, and until those rings are found, we cannot do anything about it."
"Then there is no time to lose," Yuka said determinedly. "When do we set out?"
"The Genidian Champion set out yesterday," replied the Preceptor. "If you and Tynian leave today, he'll catch up with you and you can travel together- it'll be much safer with the three of you. The three Elenians won't start for a few days, while the Arcian Champion will leave tomorrow if not today. All in all, you should arrive at about the same time. Do you have a decent horse?" Yuka nodded firmly, thinking of the small horse she had ridden hard to Acie.
"Yes," she replied, "she was taken and stabled when I arrived."
"Is she a war-horse?"
"Of course not!" exclaimed the half-Styric. "She's my own. She knows when to run and when to stay, and she's fast, but she's no war-horse."
"Ah, well. I know for a fact that Tynian's new horse is a vicious brute in a fight. He apparently took a dislike to a stablehand, and neatly nipped off his little finger."
"Oh, my," Yuka said anxiously. "Was he alright?"
"The horse or the boy? The finger was lost, and the horse wasn't well for the next few days. But they're both fine now."
"I'm staying away from that horse," she muttered.
"Good plan. I wouldn't go too near it, either. Well, that's all I have to say today. If you can find Tynian, consult with him, and aim to leave after the midday meal some time, alright?"
"I understand, sir," she replied, standing up to leave.
"Tynian shouldn't be too hard to find," the Preceptor added. "He's big enough. Just ask the nearest knight." Yuka nodded.
"Goodbye, my Lord. Thankyou."
"Goodbye, Yuka, and good luck."
Yuka left the room.