Tal went up to the violet tower cathedral. As he walked down the corridors everyone he met stopped and shot a few violet sparks from their sunstones as a sign of respect. As he entered the hallway that led into his throne room he heard shouts come from up ahead.
"But I HAVE to see the emperor!" An unfamiliar voice cried.
"Sure you do kid." Another voice laughed. He recognized the voice as his head guard Leon.
"But I really do!"
"Oh yeah right let me see then!" Leon yelled. Tal peeked into the room that the noise was coming from. A young girl with stringy blond hair and green eyes was kneeling on the ground pleading with Leon while Leon looked through her things.
"JUST AS A SUSPECTED!" Leon yelled pulling a dagger out of her belongings, "A WEAPON! YOU'RE AN ASSASSIN!"
"Way to go Leon." The voice of another guard said, "You caught her."
"As the crones would say: 'let's give her to the ice'." Leon snapped coldly.
"NO PLEASE!" The girl cried.
"Hold it right there!" Tal yelled bursting into the room. Leon stopped dead and bowed.
"Emperor Tal!" He cried, "I caught this assassin trying to force her way into your chambers!"
"I needed to speak to him!" The girl cried, "My name is Jade of the Violet order as you can see from my robes! The dagger is simply a way to protect myself if my sunstone should fail!"
"Ya right." The second guard sneered. "You'll rot on the ice for this!"
"FORGET THE GIRL!" Tal yelled. "TWO ICECARL SHIPS COMING IN FOR TRADES JUST COLLIDED! YOU'D BETTER GET DOWN TO THE LOWER LEVELS EVERYONE'S REALLY MAD!" He lied.
Leon dropped the girl. "Let's go!" He yelled to the rest of the guards. They ran from the room leaving the girl on the ground shaking. Tal froze. He'd recognize that face anywhere. He knelt down and looked her in the eye.
"Milla?" He whispered. But then he noticed that this girl's eyes were green. Milla's were gray.
"Trying to look clever huh?" Tal snapped, "But...you're her mirror image though. My friend Milla..."
"What?" The girl said frowning.
"You look exactly like her." Tal sighed standing up, "Except for the eyes. Milla has gray eyes."
"Did that guard call you Emperor Tal?" The girl asked wide-eyed.
"He didn't call me that for his health now did he?"
For a moment the girl looked stunned. Suddenly she stood up and threw her arms around his neck and embraced him.
"Thank the light I found you!" She cried happily not caring that she was strangling him, "It really worked!"
"Who are you?" He asked pushing her off of him.
"My name is Jade of the Violet order." She said bowing. Tal sighed. She looked like Milla but she acted nothing like her. Milla would never have hugged him like that.
"What did you mean by: 'It worked!'" Tal asked puzzled.
"It's like this. I'm from the distant future." Jade said like it was no big deal.
"The future...?" Tal said frowning.
"Yeah. In the future the Veil no longer exists, that's how I knew."
Tal blinked in amazement. This girl was obviously crazy but he'd humor her until the guards returned.
"And why did you want to talk to me?"
"Well...I don't know how to put this father..."
"Why'd you just call me father?"
Jade lowered her head and looked at her feet. For a moment she was silent. Then she looked up and blurted it out. "Because that's what you ARE! I'm your daughter from the future!"
At that moment Tal's world seemed to stop spinning. All the questions he'd ever had: Was Milla coming back? Is this girl crazy? Am I a good emperor? All the answers to those questions didn't seem to matter. All that did matter was this one fact.
His daughter...
"I don't believe you." He said firmly. "That story is a load of garbage."
Jade smiled like she'd expected that response. "You know mother told me you'd say something like that. That's why I brought proof."
She fished her hand into the front of her violet robes and brought out a large sunstone. Suddenly the sunstone in Tal's own robes began shuddering violently and was glowing brightly.
"What is this magic?" He cried.
"No magic but the sunstone spirit." Jade said smiling as she held up her sunstone. "When a sunstone meets itself then the energy inside of it will go wacky. This is YOUR sunstone. You gave it to me."
Tal was stunned. He reached into his robes and pulled out his sunstone. He held his up to Jade's. The tips touched and sparks flew from them.
"WHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Both of them screamed pulling the stones away from each other.
"I used the sunstone to go through time." Jade explained. "It's a new kind of magic that will be discovered several years from now." She looked around nervously. "Let's go into your chamber. We don't know who might be listening."
Tal didn't know what she meant but he followed her into his room.
"I came here to warn you." She sighed, "There's a really bad guy chasing me. In the future he attacks the castle. I came to prevent that."
Tal was in shock. He was still absorbing all this.
"Now if you'll excuse me," She said yawning, "I'm exhausted. Traveling through time takes a lot of energy. Wake me up later." With that she collapsed on Tal's bed and fell asleep before he could say another word.
He had to tell someone about this. But who? Milla wasn't there, his head guard would probably kill her, and he couldn't tell his parents either.
Then it hit him. His Great Uncle Ebbitt.
"UNCLE! UNCLE! WAKE UP! YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE ANY OF THIS!" Tal cried bursting into his uncle's room. He was asleep in a chair as usual.
"What is it now Tal?" He moaned sitting up rubbing his eyes.
"We've got a problem Ebbitt!" He yelled, "Follow me and I'll explain!"
They made their way back to the upper levels of the castle. As they walked Tal explained what had happened.
"...So then she says she's my daughter from the future! She had my sunstone and everything! She said that I gave it to her!"
"The story sounds kind of fishy though." Ebbitt said frowning.
"I know but how else could she have my sunstone? I've got mine with me so it must be from the future, otherwise I wouldn't have it!"
They entered Tal's room. Jade was still asleep with the blankets pulled up to her chest. Tal tapped her on the shoulder. She stirred and sat up. Sweat poured from her forehead. She was panting in terror.
"How scary." She whispered, "I was having nightmares...about him."
"About who?" Tal asked.
"It's a matter of little importance." She sighed dejectedly. Then she noticed Ebbitt.
"Great-great uncle Ebbitt!" She cried happily.
"Oh come on I'm not that great." He laughed. Then he became serious. "Are you really from the future?"
"For the last time yes!"
"You swear?"
"Every damn day." She said smiling at her own joke.
"She's your kid alright." Ebbitt sighed looking at her closely. "She even looks a little like you. She's got your eyes you know."
"Yeah I can tell." Tal sighed. "So what's the future like anyway?"
"Well it's very peaceful, the icecarls and the chosen live together in harmony. An invisible screen that keeps the shadows out but allows the sun to shine through has replaced the veil. You're a good strong emperor and basically everyone is happy."
"But you said something about somebody chasing you..."
"We've got to find Milla." Jade said standing up.
"But..."
"NOW."
"I don't even know where she is!"
"She's with the Far-Raiders."
"We'll never find her ship!" Tal cried gesturing out the window at the ice-covered wasteland outside the castle.
"Oh yes we will." Jade said grinning. "We'll just sneak onboard one of the icecarl ships in the lower levels. You know, the ones used for trade."
She grabbed his arm and pulled him out the door. "Come on daddy! It'll be an adventure!"
Adventure. A new journey is about to begin...
"But I HAVE to see the emperor!" An unfamiliar voice cried.
"Sure you do kid." Another voice laughed. He recognized the voice as his head guard Leon.
"But I really do!"
"Oh yeah right let me see then!" Leon yelled. Tal peeked into the room that the noise was coming from. A young girl with stringy blond hair and green eyes was kneeling on the ground pleading with Leon while Leon looked through her things.
"JUST AS A SUSPECTED!" Leon yelled pulling a dagger out of her belongings, "A WEAPON! YOU'RE AN ASSASSIN!"
"Way to go Leon." The voice of another guard said, "You caught her."
"As the crones would say: 'let's give her to the ice'." Leon snapped coldly.
"NO PLEASE!" The girl cried.
"Hold it right there!" Tal yelled bursting into the room. Leon stopped dead and bowed.
"Emperor Tal!" He cried, "I caught this assassin trying to force her way into your chambers!"
"I needed to speak to him!" The girl cried, "My name is Jade of the Violet order as you can see from my robes! The dagger is simply a way to protect myself if my sunstone should fail!"
"Ya right." The second guard sneered. "You'll rot on the ice for this!"
"FORGET THE GIRL!" Tal yelled. "TWO ICECARL SHIPS COMING IN FOR TRADES JUST COLLIDED! YOU'D BETTER GET DOWN TO THE LOWER LEVELS EVERYONE'S REALLY MAD!" He lied.
Leon dropped the girl. "Let's go!" He yelled to the rest of the guards. They ran from the room leaving the girl on the ground shaking. Tal froze. He'd recognize that face anywhere. He knelt down and looked her in the eye.
"Milla?" He whispered. But then he noticed that this girl's eyes were green. Milla's were gray.
"Trying to look clever huh?" Tal snapped, "But...you're her mirror image though. My friend Milla..."
"What?" The girl said frowning.
"You look exactly like her." Tal sighed standing up, "Except for the eyes. Milla has gray eyes."
"Did that guard call you Emperor Tal?" The girl asked wide-eyed.
"He didn't call me that for his health now did he?"
For a moment the girl looked stunned. Suddenly she stood up and threw her arms around his neck and embraced him.
"Thank the light I found you!" She cried happily not caring that she was strangling him, "It really worked!"
"Who are you?" He asked pushing her off of him.
"My name is Jade of the Violet order." She said bowing. Tal sighed. She looked like Milla but she acted nothing like her. Milla would never have hugged him like that.
"What did you mean by: 'It worked!'" Tal asked puzzled.
"It's like this. I'm from the distant future." Jade said like it was no big deal.
"The future...?" Tal said frowning.
"Yeah. In the future the Veil no longer exists, that's how I knew."
Tal blinked in amazement. This girl was obviously crazy but he'd humor her until the guards returned.
"And why did you want to talk to me?"
"Well...I don't know how to put this father..."
"Why'd you just call me father?"
Jade lowered her head and looked at her feet. For a moment she was silent. Then she looked up and blurted it out. "Because that's what you ARE! I'm your daughter from the future!"
At that moment Tal's world seemed to stop spinning. All the questions he'd ever had: Was Milla coming back? Is this girl crazy? Am I a good emperor? All the answers to those questions didn't seem to matter. All that did matter was this one fact.
His daughter...
"I don't believe you." He said firmly. "That story is a load of garbage."
Jade smiled like she'd expected that response. "You know mother told me you'd say something like that. That's why I brought proof."
She fished her hand into the front of her violet robes and brought out a large sunstone. Suddenly the sunstone in Tal's own robes began shuddering violently and was glowing brightly.
"What is this magic?" He cried.
"No magic but the sunstone spirit." Jade said smiling as she held up her sunstone. "When a sunstone meets itself then the energy inside of it will go wacky. This is YOUR sunstone. You gave it to me."
Tal was stunned. He reached into his robes and pulled out his sunstone. He held his up to Jade's. The tips touched and sparks flew from them.
"WHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Both of them screamed pulling the stones away from each other.
"I used the sunstone to go through time." Jade explained. "It's a new kind of magic that will be discovered several years from now." She looked around nervously. "Let's go into your chamber. We don't know who might be listening."
Tal didn't know what she meant but he followed her into his room.
"I came here to warn you." She sighed, "There's a really bad guy chasing me. In the future he attacks the castle. I came to prevent that."
Tal was in shock. He was still absorbing all this.
"Now if you'll excuse me," She said yawning, "I'm exhausted. Traveling through time takes a lot of energy. Wake me up later." With that she collapsed on Tal's bed and fell asleep before he could say another word.
He had to tell someone about this. But who? Milla wasn't there, his head guard would probably kill her, and he couldn't tell his parents either.
Then it hit him. His Great Uncle Ebbitt.
"UNCLE! UNCLE! WAKE UP! YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE ANY OF THIS!" Tal cried bursting into his uncle's room. He was asleep in a chair as usual.
"What is it now Tal?" He moaned sitting up rubbing his eyes.
"We've got a problem Ebbitt!" He yelled, "Follow me and I'll explain!"
They made their way back to the upper levels of the castle. As they walked Tal explained what had happened.
"...So then she says she's my daughter from the future! She had my sunstone and everything! She said that I gave it to her!"
"The story sounds kind of fishy though." Ebbitt said frowning.
"I know but how else could she have my sunstone? I've got mine with me so it must be from the future, otherwise I wouldn't have it!"
They entered Tal's room. Jade was still asleep with the blankets pulled up to her chest. Tal tapped her on the shoulder. She stirred and sat up. Sweat poured from her forehead. She was panting in terror.
"How scary." She whispered, "I was having nightmares...about him."
"About who?" Tal asked.
"It's a matter of little importance." She sighed dejectedly. Then she noticed Ebbitt.
"Great-great uncle Ebbitt!" She cried happily.
"Oh come on I'm not that great." He laughed. Then he became serious. "Are you really from the future?"
"For the last time yes!"
"You swear?"
"Every damn day." She said smiling at her own joke.
"She's your kid alright." Ebbitt sighed looking at her closely. "She even looks a little like you. She's got your eyes you know."
"Yeah I can tell." Tal sighed. "So what's the future like anyway?"
"Well it's very peaceful, the icecarls and the chosen live together in harmony. An invisible screen that keeps the shadows out but allows the sun to shine through has replaced the veil. You're a good strong emperor and basically everyone is happy."
"But you said something about somebody chasing you..."
"We've got to find Milla." Jade said standing up.
"But..."
"NOW."
"I don't even know where she is!"
"She's with the Far-Raiders."
"We'll never find her ship!" Tal cried gesturing out the window at the ice-covered wasteland outside the castle.
"Oh yes we will." Jade said grinning. "We'll just sneak onboard one of the icecarl ships in the lower levels. You know, the ones used for trade."
She grabbed his arm and pulled him out the door. "Come on daddy! It'll be an adventure!"
Adventure. A new journey is about to begin...