Chapter One
The Book
Rubbing her hands to keep the warmth
circulating, Queen Thayet hurried down the hall towards the palace library, her
hazel eyes flashed over the tapestries hung throughout the corridors. She
thought back to when she had first come to the castle, how large and vast it
had seemed. After being there a few weeks she had grown accustomed tot eh
comings and goings of the people around her, she new when the pages would be at
their rowdiest, and when the horses would need to be groomed. Her favorite
place to go, had to be the library, in the evenings when the sun had gone, she
would sit emersed in the smells of the old pages and the stories of other Kings
and Queens who had ruled so nobly over Tortall.
Trying to keep her feet
from clicking on the marble floor, she approached the library. Miles, the
history scholar had left the door unlocked so that she could gain entrance
without the worries of bothering a guard. She glided quietly through the door,
the soft swish of her soft green dress being the only noise as she headed for
the back row of the books. As she approached the last row, she noticed the tiny
shaft of light from a candle, slowly move across the book titles. As quietly as
a mouse she cast her eyes around the corner, nad drew back quickly as the hilt
of one man's blade caught the light of the candle.
"Have you got it?"
"Keep quiet would you?"
"What? Are you scared
the daft Miles of Oleau will catch us? He's so daft he left the door unlocked."
Thayet wanted to confront
them and defend her friend, but she was more curious as to what they were
looking for.
"Why is it we had to
fetch the book anyways?"
"Don't question the
knowledge of the Dark Squire! He knows what is best and can decide who does
what."
Thayet's breath lodged
in her throat. The Dark Squire's were a group as powerful mages who stole and
seiged castles throughout the land. But she had not heard of tehm for over two
hundred years. Could it be that they were coming back?
"Did you hear that?"
"What? Do you mean that
coughing sound?"
The Queen closed her
eyes and preyed that they would not look around.
"What if someone is
listening in?"
"Don't be such a coward,
concentrate on finding the book!"
"I would feel much
better if we made sure their was no one here."
"Fine, but don't take
long, we still have to get back to our rooms."
Thayet glanced down at
her hip, her dagger was perched their glinting, as if waiting for a fight. She
looked back up, her eyes set and steely. The first man rounded the corner, she
spun around and kicked him in the stomach, he had not been prepared and was
bowled over in shock. Turning she rand towards the next row of books and
glanced at her skirt. If anything it would be the reason she would have to slow
down, sighing, she bent over and ripped the skirt part off, her legs instantly
felt lighter in just the breechs she was now wearing. The second man was
rounding the corner, he wqas prepared with his sword held in fighter's stance.
Saying not one word,
Thayet ducked, rolled and lept over his swinging blade. The man was angrey, and
aiming to kill. Seeing a slip in time Thayet gave a quick punch to his eye and
then stepped with all her might on the foot of her oppenent, he shriecked with
pain and stabbed his knife at her with all his might. Thayet swerved away, but
not in time, she felt the sharp sided sword graze the side of her head as the
mans assistant grabbed his companion and fled.
***
Thayet sat eghausted in
a chair by the fire as she watched her husband pace angrily. His ice blue eyes
shot to the door as two men entered, it was Miles of Oleau and Gareth of naxon,
to of the Kings most trusted advisors. Miles rushed quickly to The Queen's side
as Gareth and Jonathon conversed quietly.
"Goddess bless that you
are not badly injures Thayet."
"Yes," Thayet winced as
the pain from her cut seared. "If only I had been able to identify those men!"
"You did well, my lady,"
Gareth condoled, joining by the fire, "after all with a punch to the eye will
not easily be hidden come the morrow."
"For now, that is all we
have to go on," Jonathon kissed Thayet on the cheek. "I have sent for Alanna,
she will be hear by dusk tomorrow, after her battle with those spidrens in the
yamani's she returned to Bazhir to rest
but I mentioned that you had been injured Thayet, and she is on her way."
Thayet felt a little
pain in her stomach as her husband said the lioness's name. Johnathon and
Alanna had been lover's for many years but she had rejected his hand in
marrige, and though she shouldn't be, Thayet couldn't help being just a little
jealous of her husbands old feelings to the lady knight.
King Johnathon smiled
down at her and brushed a loose strand of jet black hair, much like his own out
of her face. "come now darling, there's not much left to be done in the night,
when morning has come we will set about looking for our imposters. She looked
up at his firm set jaw line and strong features and knew it would be all right.
She sighed and rose to her feet, picking up a lantern of blue fire the king had
conjured up for her she headed down the darkened hall to her room.