As the rain poured down even harder, I looked up at Briar from under my
hood. Briar was wearing a similar cloak, and his hood, like mine, covered
enough of his face to make it indistinguishable. He had his head down, and
was looking either at the ground or his horse's mane. We were both riding
to Harja, our hometown, with Daja, Tris, Sandry, Niko, Rosethorn, Lark and
Frostpine. Some other mages from Winding Circle traveled with them, but I
only know a few of them. I regret coming here already, even though I wasn't
given a choice on whether I was going or not.
I didn't know the exact purpose of our journey when we had started out, Niko had only said something about the king and the Count wanting to know something. That alone was enough to scare me away from Sotat for a good number of years. Nobles thinking.
I had left Sotat seven years ago, and had never once wished to return. But that is another story entirely.
A great tragedy occurred in Sotat nineteen years ago, when on one hot summer day, two pairs of twins were born. It was a joyous happening for the four young parents, all of whom were great friends and greatly in love. The parents were of course, Benjamin and Faith Crelant and Earn and Lira Dubosse. The Crelants were a relatively normal couple, save the fact that Benjamin was the crown prince of Sotat and was to assume the throne when his father chose to relinquish his reign of the country. The Dubosse couple was to be the next Count and Countess of Sotat. The Count/tess's main job was to be the royal advisors.
I disgress- the birth of their children, on the same day, even, was a cause of great joy for them. That was, until reality hit them. Sotat had just ended a long streak of depression and black magic, terrible murders and superstition. Though it was said that all of this had ended, it had really just begun to end, and it would take years for the country to fully recover. One superstition that had caused much trouble was the one about twins that now sobered the once-exuberant parents' hearts. When there were twins, it was said that the first child was the real one and the second one was an evil copy of it, and therefore should be killed.
Decisions about the children's futures had to be made, and quickly. Most of the servants had strong superstitions still and would not hesitate to tell the public if they found out that the children the Count and prince had were twins, causing the death of the younger babies. Only the nurses could be trusted, and there were only two of them. Besides, they were only human- it would be only too easy for them to accidentally let something slip.
Faith was fighting with her husband in the throne room, whilst the king discussed some trivial matter with an envoy of Emelan's. "Ben, we can't let Delaree be the one taken away," she whispered to him. "She would never survive; she's too weak- the younger twins are always weaker for the first few years."
"So you suggest we throw out our firstborn? Remember, the throne can only be assumed through the firstborn children. If Relissa dies without first relinquishing the throne to Delaree, no one will be able to claim the throne after me. Do you know what that would do to the country?" he demanded, his voice low also.
"So you suggest we sacrifice our daughter for the country?" she hissed at him.
"Isn't Relissa our daughter too?" he hissed back. "And it's not like we're putting Delaree on the streets; she'll be in a safe environment and she'll be cared for."
"I don't care- Delaree will never survive away from me! She needs more care than Relissa!"
"But what if something happens to her?"
"Are you saying that if Delaree gets killed then it wouldn't matter, but if Relissa gets harmed the world will end?"
"Hardly the world- just Sotat." Faith made a disgruntled niose, and then once again began to pay attention to the happenings in the throne room.
The next day two children were bundled up and taken to an inn- keeper, who would be paid to raise them. Everything worked as planned for four years, until another incident changed the fate of Sotat forever.
The inn, which prospered greatly after the 'royal' additions, was robbed, the inn-keeper was killed, and the children were kidnapped and no one ever found them.
Jesse had one sister- Lita, and Relissa had a sister and a brother- Sura and Jeki. Since their families were so close, they all grew up together, and they did almost everything together. As Jesse and Delaree were leaving an etiquette class in their sixteenth year, they heard some nobles who were in the class with them talking- about them.
"My dad said that Relissa isn't the real heir to the throne," one girl informed the others. They gasped.
"Why's that?" a brave one asked her.
"Poppa said that she don't have a speck of magic in her and that every ruling Crelant was a mage. You can ask anyone- as far as the history books go, every oldest Crelant had magic." Relissa stepped back, and gasped softly.
"They're lying Lissa, it's not true," Jesse told her quickly, but she ran away. She ran to her father, who could only tell her the truth. Earn and Ben told their children the real story of their past, and it cannot be said that Eton was not angry and that Relissa did not cry, but it can be said that they got over it. Three years later, when Relissa (who was actually Delaree) turned nineteen, and after the king was finally assured that his child would not be harmed if the truth about her came out, the king announced his search for his lost daughter, and the Count his search for his lost son.
And this is why I was stuck in the middle of a rainstorm which would not let up until after we reached Harja (Tris had already told us so, so we wouldn't get our hopes up for dry weather). I was stuck in a wet hell so some king could hear me say that I didn't know anything about his child. Which, of course, would be a lie, but he wouldn't know that. I only hope Niko won't notice.
'How do I know about the princess?' you ask? I'll tell you, but you'll never believe me. It all started a very long time ago, when I had gotten caught a third time (already having two Xs). I guess that's when everything started, but I can ever really be sure. Things happened all the time- like the moss and the fires- but I'll tell you all of that in good time.
I didn't know the exact purpose of our journey when we had started out, Niko had only said something about the king and the Count wanting to know something. That alone was enough to scare me away from Sotat for a good number of years. Nobles thinking.
I had left Sotat seven years ago, and had never once wished to return. But that is another story entirely.
A great tragedy occurred in Sotat nineteen years ago, when on one hot summer day, two pairs of twins were born. It was a joyous happening for the four young parents, all of whom were great friends and greatly in love. The parents were of course, Benjamin and Faith Crelant and Earn and Lira Dubosse. The Crelants were a relatively normal couple, save the fact that Benjamin was the crown prince of Sotat and was to assume the throne when his father chose to relinquish his reign of the country. The Dubosse couple was to be the next Count and Countess of Sotat. The Count/tess's main job was to be the royal advisors.
I disgress- the birth of their children, on the same day, even, was a cause of great joy for them. That was, until reality hit them. Sotat had just ended a long streak of depression and black magic, terrible murders and superstition. Though it was said that all of this had ended, it had really just begun to end, and it would take years for the country to fully recover. One superstition that had caused much trouble was the one about twins that now sobered the once-exuberant parents' hearts. When there were twins, it was said that the first child was the real one and the second one was an evil copy of it, and therefore should be killed.
Decisions about the children's futures had to be made, and quickly. Most of the servants had strong superstitions still and would not hesitate to tell the public if they found out that the children the Count and prince had were twins, causing the death of the younger babies. Only the nurses could be trusted, and there were only two of them. Besides, they were only human- it would be only too easy for them to accidentally let something slip.
Faith was fighting with her husband in the throne room, whilst the king discussed some trivial matter with an envoy of Emelan's. "Ben, we can't let Delaree be the one taken away," she whispered to him. "She would never survive; she's too weak- the younger twins are always weaker for the first few years."
"So you suggest we throw out our firstborn? Remember, the throne can only be assumed through the firstborn children. If Relissa dies without first relinquishing the throne to Delaree, no one will be able to claim the throne after me. Do you know what that would do to the country?" he demanded, his voice low also.
"So you suggest we sacrifice our daughter for the country?" she hissed at him.
"Isn't Relissa our daughter too?" he hissed back. "And it's not like we're putting Delaree on the streets; she'll be in a safe environment and she'll be cared for."
"I don't care- Delaree will never survive away from me! She needs more care than Relissa!"
"But what if something happens to her?"
"Are you saying that if Delaree gets killed then it wouldn't matter, but if Relissa gets harmed the world will end?"
"Hardly the world- just Sotat." Faith made a disgruntled niose, and then once again began to pay attention to the happenings in the throne room.
The next day two children were bundled up and taken to an inn- keeper, who would be paid to raise them. Everything worked as planned for four years, until another incident changed the fate of Sotat forever.
The inn, which prospered greatly after the 'royal' additions, was robbed, the inn-keeper was killed, and the children were kidnapped and no one ever found them.
Jesse had one sister- Lita, and Relissa had a sister and a brother- Sura and Jeki. Since their families were so close, they all grew up together, and they did almost everything together. As Jesse and Delaree were leaving an etiquette class in their sixteenth year, they heard some nobles who were in the class with them talking- about them.
"My dad said that Relissa isn't the real heir to the throne," one girl informed the others. They gasped.
"Why's that?" a brave one asked her.
"Poppa said that she don't have a speck of magic in her and that every ruling Crelant was a mage. You can ask anyone- as far as the history books go, every oldest Crelant had magic." Relissa stepped back, and gasped softly.
"They're lying Lissa, it's not true," Jesse told her quickly, but she ran away. She ran to her father, who could only tell her the truth. Earn and Ben told their children the real story of their past, and it cannot be said that Eton was not angry and that Relissa did not cry, but it can be said that they got over it. Three years later, when Relissa (who was actually Delaree) turned nineteen, and after the king was finally assured that his child would not be harmed if the truth about her came out, the king announced his search for his lost daughter, and the Count his search for his lost son.
And this is why I was stuck in the middle of a rainstorm which would not let up until after we reached Harja (Tris had already told us so, so we wouldn't get our hopes up for dry weather). I was stuck in a wet hell so some king could hear me say that I didn't know anything about his child. Which, of course, would be a lie, but he wouldn't know that. I only hope Niko won't notice.
'How do I know about the princess?' you ask? I'll tell you, but you'll never believe me. It all started a very long time ago, when I had gotten caught a third time (already having two Xs). I guess that's when everything started, but I can ever really be sure. Things happened all the time- like the moss and the fires- but I'll tell you all of that in good time.