Disclaimer: No, I still don't own the Black Jewels trilogy, but I'm
working on the legal rights.I wish.
My characters are obvious!
Chaosti escorted his wife through the crowd and down the landen town's main street. They were going to see the Queen of Hymar, the eastern Province of Dea al Mon. The Queen had sent an urgent message to Gabrielle's Master of the Guard the week before. This was extremely important.
Chaosti, of course, had known since the message had gotten to Gabrielle. They didn't, however, tell Shayna. Unless it was something that could in some way affect her, they didn't want to trouble her. She would have enough to worry about in the next few weeks. He knew it was hard for her to be back and away from the people she'd called her family her entire life.
He returned his attention to the duty at hand. They were in a rural inn, which had been cleared out on account of their arrival and the pressing matter at hand. Which was still a mystery to the First Circle.
He took the position at Gabrielle's left hand, her Master of the Guard at her right. The Province Queen entered and without the traditional greeting ushered them to a table. Chaosti sat to the left but behind his wife. The Province Queen seemed a little flustered and upset. That couldn't be good.
"My Queen.we've encountered a problem. Well, not exactly a problem, but a paradox. I sent my Master of the Guard and a few Warlords on a routine inspection of the landen towns, as Witch decreed a few years back. We've done this once a year every year since that policy was implemented, but my guards never discovered anything- at least until now. I had to replace my Master of the Guard last spring, so the new one hadn't ever inspected this town before. But.he found a young girl- a very powerful young girl. She is a witch. Not just a witch." The Queen paused.
Chaosti was a little worried. What did this mean? A hidden witch living in a landen town for fifteen years. Why wasn't she registered? Why had she been hidden for so many years? And how exactly had she been hidden for that long? His mind was racing. The first thing he thought of was Terreille. That Realm still wasn't as clean as it should have been, but it was better than it had been before Jaenelle's time, a thousand times over. He had so many questions to ask, but he waited for the Province Queen to finish.
"When my guards came for the annual inspection, my Master of the Guard immediately sensed an inconsistency, and went to check it out. It led him to this girl. He could sense that there was something muffled in her, but he couldn't figure out what it was. He tried to break the spell or whatever it was that had been hiding her for so long, and he did, but." she broke off and gulped. "He died. As soon as the spell was broken, he just.keeled over. Dead before he hit the floor.
"But the girl was revealed. She's a Red-Jeweled Black Widow Queen. Like your daughter. She seems Dea al Mon enough, but there's something a little off about her. I-I don't know what it is," she finished. "I contacted you as soon as I found out."
"Thank you," Gabrielle said calmly. "What is so off about this girl?"
Chaosti was trying to keep his cool as well as his wife. How could she be so calm and collected? There were a million things that could be wrong with this girl! He was fidgety, but Gabrielle laid a hand on his arm, and he tried to sit back and keep his anxiety under control.
"I'm not sure," the Queen replied, casting a nervous glance at Chaosti. "She has a very powerful mind, and she hasn't yet made the Offering, so that may be what's giving me the odd feeling.but I don't think that's it."
"May we meet her?" Gabrielle asked.
The Queen nodded, then motioned to a guard, who left the room. A few minutes later, he returned with a young Dea al Mon girl. She physically appeared to be a normal, seventeen-year-old girl. But once Chaosti had gotten a whiff of her psychic scent, he was immediately repulsed. She had an air of cunning and deceit, but it was hidden enough that he was sure no one wearing a Jewel lighter than the Green would sense it.
Gabrielle seemed to have a similar impression of the girl, because she sent to Chaosti on a spear thread, *I don't like this girl.*
*Me either,* he replied, and stood up along with his wife. Gabrielle pursed her lips, then said, "Greetings, Sister."
"Sister," the girl replied courteously.
"My name is Gabrielle. I'm the Queen of Dea al Mon. Who are you?" Gabrielle asked, sounding completely neutral.
"My name is Riana."
"Well, Riana, I would like to know why you've been hiding your identity from the landens here for so long," Gabrielle said, with a hint of disapproval in her voice.
"I had to. I had to hide myself from the landens because they would kill me if I was found out," the girl said a little plaintively.
Chaosti saw right through it. It was an act! There was something else going on here, but it took all of his self-control not to jump out and begin interrogating her.
"That's not true," Gabrielle replied sharply. "The Dea al Mon landens have always gotten along with the Blood here. What made you think that they would try to destroy you? And why didn't you try to contact one of the Blood?"
This was not good. Now Gabrielle was getting panicky. And Chaosti knew that she only got panicky when things were really, really bad.
"I was told when my family left me here that I should do everything in my power to hide my true self from the landens. And I didn't think the other Blood would help me," Riana replied.
"When did your parents leave you?"
"They left me here a few years ago, ten years after Witch's reign," she replied quietly.
"I don't follow. The Realm of Kaeleer has been perfect since Witch's reign. What would make them leave you here? There wasn't any danger."
"My parents had lived in Terreille for a few years before Witch came to power. They were afraid that the rest of the Dea al Mon would try to kill them, or kill me, because of that."
That's a lie! Chaosti thought angrily. The Dea al Mon were warriors, true, but they would never hurt a fellow kinsman without good reason. What was going on here?
"Well, Riana, I'd like you to come back to the capital with my husband and I. We can give you shelter until your story is revealed," Gabrielle said firmly, turned around and walked out of the room. Chaosti followed her, and behind him he heard Riana protesting her story.
When he got out in the hallway, Gabrielle was leaning against the wall and rubbing her hands over her face. Chaosti walked over to her and drew her into his arms. "What is going on here?" he whispered into her hair.
Gabrielle shivered. "Chaosti.something bad is going to happen."
Chaosti drew back to look into his wife's blue-gray eyes. "What's going to happen? To who?"
A tear slid down Gabrielle's cheek. "To our daughter."
My characters are obvious!
Chaosti escorted his wife through the crowd and down the landen town's main street. They were going to see the Queen of Hymar, the eastern Province of Dea al Mon. The Queen had sent an urgent message to Gabrielle's Master of the Guard the week before. This was extremely important.
Chaosti, of course, had known since the message had gotten to Gabrielle. They didn't, however, tell Shayna. Unless it was something that could in some way affect her, they didn't want to trouble her. She would have enough to worry about in the next few weeks. He knew it was hard for her to be back and away from the people she'd called her family her entire life.
He returned his attention to the duty at hand. They were in a rural inn, which had been cleared out on account of their arrival and the pressing matter at hand. Which was still a mystery to the First Circle.
He took the position at Gabrielle's left hand, her Master of the Guard at her right. The Province Queen entered and without the traditional greeting ushered them to a table. Chaosti sat to the left but behind his wife. The Province Queen seemed a little flustered and upset. That couldn't be good.
"My Queen.we've encountered a problem. Well, not exactly a problem, but a paradox. I sent my Master of the Guard and a few Warlords on a routine inspection of the landen towns, as Witch decreed a few years back. We've done this once a year every year since that policy was implemented, but my guards never discovered anything- at least until now. I had to replace my Master of the Guard last spring, so the new one hadn't ever inspected this town before. But.he found a young girl- a very powerful young girl. She is a witch. Not just a witch." The Queen paused.
Chaosti was a little worried. What did this mean? A hidden witch living in a landen town for fifteen years. Why wasn't she registered? Why had she been hidden for so many years? And how exactly had she been hidden for that long? His mind was racing. The first thing he thought of was Terreille. That Realm still wasn't as clean as it should have been, but it was better than it had been before Jaenelle's time, a thousand times over. He had so many questions to ask, but he waited for the Province Queen to finish.
"When my guards came for the annual inspection, my Master of the Guard immediately sensed an inconsistency, and went to check it out. It led him to this girl. He could sense that there was something muffled in her, but he couldn't figure out what it was. He tried to break the spell or whatever it was that had been hiding her for so long, and he did, but." she broke off and gulped. "He died. As soon as the spell was broken, he just.keeled over. Dead before he hit the floor.
"But the girl was revealed. She's a Red-Jeweled Black Widow Queen. Like your daughter. She seems Dea al Mon enough, but there's something a little off about her. I-I don't know what it is," she finished. "I contacted you as soon as I found out."
"Thank you," Gabrielle said calmly. "What is so off about this girl?"
Chaosti was trying to keep his cool as well as his wife. How could she be so calm and collected? There were a million things that could be wrong with this girl! He was fidgety, but Gabrielle laid a hand on his arm, and he tried to sit back and keep his anxiety under control.
"I'm not sure," the Queen replied, casting a nervous glance at Chaosti. "She has a very powerful mind, and she hasn't yet made the Offering, so that may be what's giving me the odd feeling.but I don't think that's it."
"May we meet her?" Gabrielle asked.
The Queen nodded, then motioned to a guard, who left the room. A few minutes later, he returned with a young Dea al Mon girl. She physically appeared to be a normal, seventeen-year-old girl. But once Chaosti had gotten a whiff of her psychic scent, he was immediately repulsed. She had an air of cunning and deceit, but it was hidden enough that he was sure no one wearing a Jewel lighter than the Green would sense it.
Gabrielle seemed to have a similar impression of the girl, because she sent to Chaosti on a spear thread, *I don't like this girl.*
*Me either,* he replied, and stood up along with his wife. Gabrielle pursed her lips, then said, "Greetings, Sister."
"Sister," the girl replied courteously.
"My name is Gabrielle. I'm the Queen of Dea al Mon. Who are you?" Gabrielle asked, sounding completely neutral.
"My name is Riana."
"Well, Riana, I would like to know why you've been hiding your identity from the landens here for so long," Gabrielle said, with a hint of disapproval in her voice.
"I had to. I had to hide myself from the landens because they would kill me if I was found out," the girl said a little plaintively.
Chaosti saw right through it. It was an act! There was something else going on here, but it took all of his self-control not to jump out and begin interrogating her.
"That's not true," Gabrielle replied sharply. "The Dea al Mon landens have always gotten along with the Blood here. What made you think that they would try to destroy you? And why didn't you try to contact one of the Blood?"
This was not good. Now Gabrielle was getting panicky. And Chaosti knew that she only got panicky when things were really, really bad.
"I was told when my family left me here that I should do everything in my power to hide my true self from the landens. And I didn't think the other Blood would help me," Riana replied.
"When did your parents leave you?"
"They left me here a few years ago, ten years after Witch's reign," she replied quietly.
"I don't follow. The Realm of Kaeleer has been perfect since Witch's reign. What would make them leave you here? There wasn't any danger."
"My parents had lived in Terreille for a few years before Witch came to power. They were afraid that the rest of the Dea al Mon would try to kill them, or kill me, because of that."
That's a lie! Chaosti thought angrily. The Dea al Mon were warriors, true, but they would never hurt a fellow kinsman without good reason. What was going on here?
"Well, Riana, I'd like you to come back to the capital with my husband and I. We can give you shelter until your story is revealed," Gabrielle said firmly, turned around and walked out of the room. Chaosti followed her, and behind him he heard Riana protesting her story.
When he got out in the hallway, Gabrielle was leaning against the wall and rubbing her hands over her face. Chaosti walked over to her and drew her into his arms. "What is going on here?" he whispered into her hair.
Gabrielle shivered. "Chaosti.something bad is going to happen."
Chaosti drew back to look into his wife's blue-gray eyes. "What's going to happen? To who?"
A tear slid down Gabrielle's cheek. "To our daughter."