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CLEARSIGHT
The way in which Clearsight found herself living in the palace and working for the queen was mostly the same as the way it had happened in the first timeline. She had a vision of an IceWing invasion at North Beach on the night that she and Listener set the scavengers free, and set up a meeting with the queen the next day.
The only difference was that this time, she wanted to keep Darkstalker out of it. She wrote the message to Queen Vigilance herself, rather than having Darkstalker arrange the meeting on her behalf. When the meeting took place two days later, Darkstalker was off hunting for elk with Fathom in the Veteran Forest, just north of the Great Diamond.
There were a couple of reasons why she wanted to do this by herself. The first was that she wanted to keep her matters with the queen isolated from her matters with Darkstalker, at least until she figured out what she wanted to do with the Night Kingdom.
But she also wanted to let Darkstalker spend some more time with Fathom. There was something wonderful about watching him rediscover his friendship with the SeaWing prince, and she didn't want to spoil that by taking up any of his time.
Despite this, the outcome of the meeting was the same. Clearsight became head seer and was invited to live in the palace. A couple months later, Darkstalker got his own living chambers in the palace too.
She and Darkstalker spent a lot of time together with Fathom and Indigo — much more than in the previous timeline. Before, Indigo tended to keep Fathom away from Darkstalker, and Clearsight tended to be occupied with writing her war reports to the queen. But this time, Clearsight didn't care nearly as much about these reports, since she'd already done all of the same work in the previous timelines.
As for Indigo …
"There you are, Dorkstinker!"
Something definitely changed about her.
The SeaWing found her and Darkstalker walking down a corridor in the palace. "What are you up to right now?"
"I'm heading back to my chambers to grab my gift for Fathom," Darkstalker said. "I know I'm a little late for the party, but I didn't forget."
"Okay, good." Indigo trotted ahead of them. "By the way, you're still down to do some crab scavenging with me down by the tide pools this afternoon, right?"
"Of course."
"Great. I'll meet you there after the party when it's low tide. Bring a big basket. And don't skimp on your work like you did when we went fishing."
"I wasn't skimping, I just don't know how to fish!"
She turned a corner and trotted away.
Darkstalker sighed. "Sometimes it amazes me that she and Fathom are supposed to be childhood friends."
"I don't know what you did to her, Darkstalker," Clearsight said, "but it's honestly kinda creeping me out."
Darkstalker gave her an innocent grin. "What are you talking about?"
"In the first timeline, you two hated each other. In the second timeline, you were a bit better, but she still never totally trusted you. Now you're like, best buddies! What happened?"
"I'm sure I just said the right things this time," Darkstalker said. "Though it's a pity we never connected in the other timelines. We have quite a bit in common."
They made it to Darkstalker's chambers, and Darkstalker collected his scroll and his gift for Fathom. It was the soul reader — the same one he'd made in the previous timelines. Once Darkstalker had these things, the two of them made their way to see Fathom. Indigo had insisted on throwing a party for him, and she and Darkstalker had been spending the past few days preparing for it.
In Fathom's room, all of the SeaWings — including Wharf and Lionfish — were there. There was a big poster hanging from the ceiling, and written on it in scraps of sea shells were the words, "Happy 7th Hatching Day!"
Fathom was in the middle of the room, looking a little bit trapped. "Hi, Darkstalker," he said with a wave and a small smile.
"Hey, Fathom!" Darkstalker said as he walked in. He set his gift down on a low table and brushed his wings with Fathom. "Happy seventh."
"Thanks," he said. "I, er, appreciate all this, but don't you think it's a bit much to be throwing a big party like this?"
"I think it's fair that we make this hatching day celebration a little bit special, since you didn't get to celebrate your last one," Indigo said.
"Besides, this is hardly a big party," Darkstalker said. "There's only the six of us here."
"Actually, it may only be four of us," Indigo said. "Wharf, Lionfish: we have an important announcement for you."
The two SeaWings gave each other lopsided looks. "Did you do something?" Wharf murmured.
"No, did you?"
Wharf shook his head. He looked back at Indigo and said, "What happened?"
"Well, it's looking like Fathom's stay here in the Night Kingdom is going to be lasting longer than Queen Pearl or Queen Vigilance had anticipated," Indigo told them.
"Yeah, we noticed," Lionfish said. "Weren't we supposed to be back by now?"
"The truth is, I'm starting to like it here," Fathom told them. "I'm becoming good friends with Darkstalker, and I don't want to go back home any time soon. But it wouldn't be fair to keep you trapped here with me. So, I've been writing to Queen Pearl, explaining the situation, and she agrees that you two should be allowed to go back without us."
Indigo produced a scroll with a broken wax seal. "This arrived from the Kingdom of the Sea just a few hours ago." Clearing her throat, she unfurled the scroll and read it.
"To Fathom, Indigo, Wharf, and Lionfish. Fathom, it is good to hear that you and Darkstalker have become friends. Just make sure not to forget the reason you're there. As long as you're able to curb Darkstalker's use of animus magic, I see your friendship as a welcome development in our endeavor to keep his powers at bay. Seeing as you have been incident-free for the past three months now, we agree with your assessment that Wharf and Lionfish are no longer needed as your bodyguards. Let this letter thus serve as a formal command by me. Wharf and Lionfish are to return to the Deep Palace, where they will await further instruction. This is to be done within one week of your receiving this letter."
Indigo handed the scroll to Lionfish. "How does that sound? It looks like you got your wish."
Lionfish's eyes glided over the words on the page. "Wow," he said, looking up at Indigo. "Thank you."
Wharf walked up beside Lionfish and read over his shoulder. He looked at Indigo. "Are you going to be staying here?" he asked.
"It looks like it," Indigo said. "But I don't mind. I'm enjoying the Night Kingdom as well."
As the SeaWings continued discussing amongst themselves, Clearsight leaned in, speaking quietly to Darkstalker. "I assume you had something to do with this development?"
"Well, Fathom did all the work," Darkstalker whispered back. "All I did was tell Fathom that he should probably convince Pearl to bring Wharf and Lionfish back."
"You know that in the last timeline, you kind of owed our ascension to the throne to Lionfish, right?"
"Yes, I know. What, were you expecting me to try keeping him around so that he would eventually force me to kill the queen?"
"No." Well, maybe a little.
"Hey, I heard that," he whispered with a wink. "Nah, even if I was that conniving, it would be too risky. We'd need a more foolproof plan if we want to become king and queen."
"Slow down, Darkstalker. Don't forget that I'm still not all that interested in being queen in the first place."
"You sure? Your thoughts tell me otherwise."
Clearsight wanted to accuse him of making that up, but she knew exactly what he was talking about. She did occasionally wish that she was queen again, that was true. But it wasn't a real wish, just a thought that entered her mind from time to time. Now that she'd already been queen, it was a lot more frustrating when she was given an order she didn't want to follow.
"Let's not talk about this now," she said, bringing her attention back to the SeaWings.
"I guess I should start packing once the party's over," Wharf said. "Let me quickly check to make sure I have everything in my room."
"I'll do the same," Lionfish said. "Happy hatching day, Fathom!"
Fathom waved at Wharf and Lionfish as they disappeared into their private chambers. "Thanks, you two."
Darkstalker bounded forward. "Fathom, are you ready for your gift?"
Fathom smiled and softened his eyes. "Ready as I'll ever be, I guess. But you really didn't need to do this."
"No, I actually really did," he said, gathering the soul reader in his talons. "Now, don't freak out, but I did use some magic to make this."
"You did what?" Fathom's face fell. "Darkstalker, you promised!"
"I know, I know, but I promise you're going to like this," Darkstalker said. "It's a soul reader: it will tell you how much good is in your soul and how much evil is in there. It will tell you exactly how much your soul has been corrupted by animus magic."
He gave the reader to Fathom, who held it nervously in his talons. He kept it a distance away from his body, as though it might suck out his soul if he held it too close.
Indigo pinned her ears and soured her face. "This is nice, Darkstalker, but you really shouldn't have used your magic. I know you have your scroll to protect you, but you don't know what it could be doing to your soul."
"Oh contraire," Darkstalker said, pointing to the soul reader with a beam.
"How does it work?" Fathom asked.
"Point the spyglass part at the dragon whose soul you want to read," Darkstalker explained. "The hourglass on top will start spinning. When it settles, there will be white sand in the upper bulb, and black sand in the lower bulb. The white sand represents how much evil is in your soul, and the black sand represents how much good is in it. If you want, I can show you where the spell is on my scroll, but first, try pointing it at me."
Fathom did. He jumped a little when the hourglass started spinning, but he held still as it did its reading. When the hourglass settled, there was about three times as much black sand as there was white sand.
"See?" Darkstalker said. "I'm still mostly good."
Fathom now pointed the spyglass at Clearsight. She stepped forward, feeling more nervous than curious. She remembered Fathom telling her that her soul had apparently gotten slightly more corrupted during her time as queen. Was that going to follow through into this timeline?
The sands settled, and Clearsight got her answer. There was about twice as much black sand as there was white sand.
"Well, well, well," Darkstalker said with a sinister smirk. "Looks like I might actually be better than Clearsight!" He approached her and gave her an affectionate nuzzle. "I didn't know you had a dark side to you. How come you never showed it to me?"
"Ew," Indigo said as Clearsight's face lit up like a fire.
Embarrassed as she was, his remark did distract her from the bad news that the soul reader gave. She appreciated him for that.
Darkstalker let go of Clearsight and took a couple steps towards Fathom. "What do you say, Fathom? Want your soul to be read? If it makes a difference, I'm pretty confident about what it's going to say for you."
"Well … I guess I should know," Fathom said. He fidgeted nervously with the soul reader, then gave it to Darkstalker.
But before he could point it at Fathom to get a reading, a knock came from the door to the palace corridors.
"That's probably the cake," Clearsight said. "I'll go get it."
Clearsight opened the door, but instead of being greeted by one of the palace's chefs, she was greeted by one of the queen's secretaries — a short NightWing by the name of Silverstar. "Good day, Clearsight," she said. "The queen requests your immediate presence."
"Right now?" Clearsight asked.
"That's what immediate means, so yes."
"But I've already given her my report. What does she want to see me for?"
"I don't know," she said. "You'll find out when you see her."
Clearsight let out a frustrated sigh. She looked back at the others and said, "Guys, I'm sorry but I have to go."
"Aw, and then there were three," Darkstalker said. "Okay. We'll leave some cake here for you if you're not back soon."
Clearsight followed the secretary to the other side of the palace. She was expecting to be taken to the throne room, but instead they ended up going to the east wing of the palace, where many of the conference halls were.
Queen Vigilance was inside of a smaller conference room, with thicker walls, a marble table surrounded by six velveted seat cushions, and a blackboard with old chalk in the tray below it.
The queen was standing beside a mind reader who looked about ten years older than Clearsight. She had silvery grey eyes and starlike scales along the edges of her wings.
"Clearsight," Vigilance said with the same frown that she always wore. "This is Keen Eye. You'll be reporting to her from now on instead of me."
Clearsight knew that name from the last timeline. She was one of the queen's head counselors. She gathered intelligence and managed affairs from numerous branches of the royal court. She'd stayed on the court when she and Darkstalker took the throne, but she ended up playing a more passive role, so Clearsight didn't know very much about her.
But why was she going to be reporting to this dragon now? Clearsight had always reported directly to the queen, both in this timeline and in the others. Something must've changed, but she didn't know what.
"Why won't I be reporting to you anymore, Your Majesty?" she asked.
"It appears I've been relying too heavily on you," Vigilance said. "I received word today that we lost a battle in the Valley of Shadows. You never reported that there would be a battle there, so we weren't properly prepared for it."
"Oh," Clearsight said, lowering her head. "I'm sorry."
"Since you failed to see this coming, I decided that I'll be having Keen Eye weigh your reports with the rest of the reports of other dragons. You'll be following orders from her now."
"O-okay," Clearsight said, glancing at Keen Eye.
"I'll let Keen Eye fill you in on her new duties for you, Clearsight. Good day, you two." Vigilance then left the room and disappeared down one of the palace corridors.
"Pleased to meet you, Clearsight," Keen Eye said. "Please, don't be nervous. I'm not nearly as stuffy as the queen, or half of her other counselors."
Clearsight shook her talon. "No, I'm not nervous, just … surprised by all this."
"Didn't see it coming? I thought you were supposed to be a future seeing prodigy." She gave Clearsight a friendly smirk.
"Well, if I saw everything that could possibly happen, I'd probably get a bit overwhelmed. There's always a few things in my future that remain a surprise."
"Of course," she said with a nod. "Between you and me, I think Queen Vigilance actually carries more blame than you do for our recent defeat. If she was under the impression that things would happen in the war if and only if you reported on them, then I think that says more about her competence than it does about your abilities as a seer."
Suddenly, Clearsight felt something enter her mind. It wasn't a vision, as she couldn't see anything. But rather it was an omen. A promise that this dragon was important. Keen Eye was a powerful dragon. She had influence in the palace. And if she became an ally, then Clearsight could use that influence to her advantage. This could be the dragon that helps her become queen.
She blinked. Where on earth did those thoughts come from?
"You'll need to arrange your schedule so that you're free every weekday at two o'clock," Keen Eye said. "That's when I have my council meetings. You'll be participating in them from now on."
"And that's starting tomorrow?"
"Yes. Be sure to have a report ready by then. I don't know how flowery you like to make your prophecies, but if you could do me a favor and just be straightforward with them, that'd be great. I'm pretty no-nonsense when it comes to managing a kingdom, and we don't have time for cryptic riddles these days."
"I like to avoid cryptic prophecies myself," Clearsight said with a nod. "It can't always be helped, though."
"Well, I'll let you get back to whatever it is you were doing." Keen Eye started for the door, but looked over her shoulder at Clearsight before leaving. "I'm looking forward to working with you, Clearsight. I have a hunch that our recent successes in the war have been because of you. I hope you prove me right."
A/N: Not the most exciting chapter I've written, I know, but hopefully it compensated with a bit of cuteness. I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do pacing-wise with this new timeline, so I hope you bear with me as I do that.
Happy New Years, everyone! Crazy how 2020 lasted two years, huh?
