Chapter 12:
It was near the tenth year of Pamela's exile. She had been living in a small cottage far from the Castle with it bring constantly protected by guards. Every year a rumor would spread that her followers were looking for her so she would be ordered to change her place. It had become a habit. Her newest place had become her favourite as it was near the see.
People always visited her. First from curiosity and then they would come to her hear her opinions on different life matters. Even though not being able to leave the place she lived in, she was so busy that the reminder of her being in exile only haunted her at nights. Pamela was tired of waiting for her plan to unfold so she could escape her prison.
The worst part was that she actually was missing some of the people whom she only thought to be weapons and nothing more. It had been a month since she finally contacted the Fearless after nine years of gaining experience on how to capture people's heart. Her meeting with Tertius Fume wasn't pleasant since he was still mad at her for turning herself in and hardly talked to her.
However, after a little old fashioned bickering he had agreed to secretly bring one of her people from the Castle there, except for Brian. She still wore his necklace and bracelet but stopped talking to him with the communication ring. Pamela had tried to use the ring a week after her exile but only could talk to Brian for few minutes just to hear his angry voice and then was forced to give up when he was about to get caught.
The Queen had planted spies near each one of her people so she had to go through a lot just to convince Tertius Fume to risk contacting one of them. "Madam Pamela, please come out." the voice of her guards who had become her friends came in the middle of the night and tore her string of thoughts.
Groaning she got up and wore her robes while hoping that it wasn't another argument she had to solve. She always did that with pleasure but the habit had become annoying when they came in the midnight. Pamela opened the door slightly and jerked her head out.
"What is it?" she asked but the answer came with two figures jumping on her that pushed her back as the door burst open. "Hey, what is this?" she tried to break free that the two figures sat back to give her space. "James." Pamela exclaimed. Surprised to see him after such a long time and to see he had grown more mature and now could actually be considered handsome with his tanned face. Her eyes shifted to the other figure and her mouth fell open from shock. "Cerys!" she would have to congratulate Tertius Fume on his choice of people. Among all the people he had picked Cerys who was the Castle's princess for this illegal act.
Cerys was crying and laughing at same time. "Why did you suddenly go away?" she punched Pamela on shoulder. "You sent for us now, after all these years. Did it really take you so long to miss us?" she embraced her again but James pulled her back.
He laughed as well which was odd for Pamela with his new serious face. "Let's go inside." he stood up and looked out. "Coming Milo?" he shouted but no answer came. James shook his head with pretend disappointment. "Cerys, your fiancé is amazing. If you want to keep him, you just have to stay away from any kind of water." he talked as if it hadn't been so long and went in sit alongside Pamela and Cerys.
Their laughter ceased as they looked around her cottage. It didn't have any room and its only decoration were piles of books. Pamela rolled her the mattress she was sleeping on and pushed it against the wall to make room. "I never thought you would come." she told Cerys who sniffed as if being offended. Her gesture drew laughter out of Pamela. "No I meant, I'm happy that you are here but didn't think that you would come. Because, well you know..." her voice drifted at the mention of Queen Mathilda.
"Hey, you must give me some credit here." James snapped his fingers to get her attention. "I was the one in charge of your crazy lover." he extended his legs and snored.
The mention of Brian made Pamela sad. "Was he angry?" she had to force herself to ask the next question. "How long it took him to move on?" she hoped he did and didn't at the same time which was selfish of her but she had grown numb to any feelings.
James sighed and glanced at her. "He's the kind of man I hate the most." he then laughed at the confused look on their faces. "Unfortunately he hasn't moved on but became crazy enough break everything apart."
As if suddenly remembering something, Cerys's eyes became wide. "Brian Beetle is your lover?" her side of information was obviously different from James's. "You wouldn't believe what happened. For a month I was told that you are on a trip and not exile so I didn't know anything. One day I bumped into him and he told me everything that happened since he recognized me as your friend." she cleared her throat proudly. "I told him that you were on a trip but it only made him angrier so he immediately resigned from the Manuscriptorium and became a story teller."
"A story teller?" their every word amused Pamela as it was far different from the Brian she knew.
"Yes, he was quite talented in it as well." James continued Cerys's talk. "Now there is no one who doesn't know you. At first people pitied you and pressured the Queen to bring you back but then everything got chaotic. Out of blue rumors spread against you to turn people's opinion." when he said that Cerys nodded rapidly in agreement of the situation.
She placed her hand on James's mouth to continue herself. "Mom was so angry that she wanted to imprison him and if it weren't for James she would have done so. For a long time, you became the symbol of mystery. No one knew what had really happened but the good thing is that people let the subject drop." she smiled to comfort.
"That's a relief." Pamela answered without thinking as her mind had drifted to Brian's actions.
"Relief? They let the subject drop because we are handling a feminine right now." he shook his head with dismay. "Everyone are dying for a day of rain. It actually came once but since we are never prepared for it, we cannot absorb any water." just as he said those words an idea came to Pamela. It made her laugh with great joy. "Did I say something funny?"
She winked and snapped her fingers. "All they need is a little magyk and all I need is to go back." Pamela gazed at Cerys's amazed face. "Can you find me someone who is perfect at calculations and knows a little science? Someone trust worthy." when she said that, Cerys's fiancé Milo entered the room.
Cerys laughed at his sudden entrance. "Found one." she stood up and pulled Milo to sit with them. "Let me introduce my fiancé Milo Banda. An experienced sailor with mathematical mind."
"Mr. Banda, we have a lot of work to do." said Pamela and giggled. She was going back and more powerful this time.
"You think they don't have a sailor?" exclaimed James after hearing Pamela's plan. "It doesn't work that way." he glanced at Milo who was standing with Cerys in the sun. "He's all talk, I promise you." he whispered.
Pamela took a small book from her drawer and showed it to James. "They didn't have this. It's the most accurate calendar in the country. With a few calculations that a bit of Milo's sailor's knowledge we can do a big thing." she poked her head out and called Milo and Cerys.
Still uncertain, James took the calendar from her. "You sure this works?" he feared the failure of their plan but when Pamela nodded he brightened up. "Let's give it all. I kind of missed your risky plans." he laughed and handed the calendar to Milo.
"What shall I do with this?" he opened it to take a look and his eyes widened from surprise. "Where did you get this? It's a treasure that we never could find." his comment made Pamela smile from seeing the value of the calender. She had spent a lot time and effort to figure it out after she recieved it as a gift from one of the villages she leaved at.
Pamela clapped her hand to get their attention. "Now, what I want is for you to calculate the days of the month that have the possibility of raining." she then turned to James, feeling energetic to get up again. "You go and spread the rumor that there's a person who can predict rain. Use Brian's story telling but don't tell him about me." Pamela became worried when James stared at his hands. "What? You're not really the down to earth type." she tried to joke to ease her anxiety of the unknown.
"We hadn't really told you what happened after Brian became story teller." he exchanged glances with Cerys and Milo indicating that they had discussed this before. "After the feminine, the people had so much at hand to forget you. So naturally whatever Brian did no one made any attempt to bring you back." he shove his head at Cerys, telling her silently to continue.
She seemed trapped but said it any way. "He shouted about you until they were really going to arrest him. Brian came to us for help but since we wanted him to stop for his own good. We..." Cerys's voice drifted.
Seeing them like that was torturing for Pamela. "You did what? Come on answer me." she voiced desperately.
"We told him that you are dead." her answer made Pamela speechless. "Only to have him stop for his own good. We were searching for you anyway so it didn't seem to make any difference." she seemed ashamed of what she had done. "Brian went missing for days until Alther found him but he had... he had lost the ability to speak." such information made Pamela catch her breath in shock. "Pamela we are so sorry but we had no idea that he would turn out like that."
James came to Cerys's aid. "He couldn't be in our search team because we were doing it quietly and he had gone completely mad and _" his words were caught by Pamela who brought her hand up for him to stop and went to the door.
She wanted to go and run until her last strength but the guards reminded her of being in house arrest. Pamela resorted to stumble out and close the door behind her. No one said anything to stop her.
Tears started to wet her cheeks at the realization of the damage she had caused but they dried up quickly as something came up in her. It felt so hot that she had a burn feeling in her stomach. At dusk she finally went back into the cottage. They stopped talking when seeing her enter. "Milo, how long will it take for you to calculate by the calendar?" her voice had become hoarse but she stood straight.
Milo smiled cautiously. "With my abilities a week is more than enough. I'll start right now." he built a small table by piling some books on each other and sat behind it.
"You okay?" asked Cerys and became a little worried when she saw Pamela smiling.
"I'm great as long as we succeed." she answered fast and came to sit next to them. "We must succeed."
After a week of Milo being swamp with calculations he finally found something. "Got it. Got it." he laughed from happiness at doing this big job. He ran to show it to them. "By the end of this month which is in four days there will be raining." he said proudly and winked at Cerys who giggled at his actions.
Pamela smiled and took it from him. "Great. Thanks, really." she still had hard time laughing with Brian's condition repeating in her head. "James did you find the right spot?" she inquired to see if the plan was going well. He nodded and handed her a map of the Castle.
"Oh geez, I forgot something." Milo hit his head with the back of his hand. "The date of the rain can vary between Monday to Wednesday. Is that okay?" he had finally understood the amount of seriousness in the plan.
Going to the door, Pamela nod her head. "That I can manage." she had to convince the guards to let her go out.
Not long after preparing everything accordingly the day came. Cerys tied a piece of fabric over Pamela's head to have it cover her face other than her eyes. "Cerys you need to go back first. It's dangerous for a Princess to be seen with us." said Pamela as she released her hair and let it loose on her shoulders.
"I know, I know." Cerys mumbled and tilted her head to see Pamela was recognizable or not. "Now that it's settled there is something I want to ask you." she took Pamela's hands. "Are you doing this to become Queen?" she went straight to the point that was shocking judging by her calm character.
Pamela didn't meet her eyes. "Yes." she knew that sooner or later Cerys would find out but always dreaded the moment.
"You know that I'm meant to be the Queen?" asked Cerys and Pamela nodded. "And you still want it?" she sighed when she saw her nod. "I'm okay with it since I really hate being a Queen and prefer to live the rest of my life with Milo but you can never imagine how much Artemis wants it. She is from the royal blood so her chances are higher than you and not to mention she'll fight you to death." Cerys grew silent when James and Milo came in to announce the time.
They silently followed them out. Cerys's conclusion had made Pamela doubtful but she shook her head to get rid of such doubts. The guards had been persuaded to let her out but only if they could accompany her. Cerys sat on the horse behind Milo and they strode off faster.
James and Pamela walked not to just arrive later than Cerys but to draw attention by the mask on James's face. Pamela was wearing a simple black gown that matched with James's coat. He also wore a mask but it was different from hers as his face was covered with makeup that made it unrecognizable.
At evening they finally could see the palace. "Over there is perfect." James pointed to a spot in between the palace and the Manuscriptorium. "I have arranged with the Wizards that Tertius Fume said, they'll go according to the plan." he reassured her who was suddenly feeling anxious. Pamela nod her head and started to go in the opposite direction that he grabbed her hand. "You're sure about this?"
She smiled and gently freed her hand. "I am but you don't have to do this. If anything happens I may not be able to save you." she felt a little worried to let him take such risk.
"I have my reasons for doing this." he answered flatly and shrugged.
Pamela smiled at him. "Be careful." she muttered to him before he went off. After almost ten years of confining her anger and hatred to Peter, Artemis and the Queen, she was finally back and her future rested on James's shoulders.
James sat on the ground and stayed that way. He didn't say anything but as more time passed, people started circling him. She saw James look at her from the corner of his eye but he remained oblivious to all the questions around her. She had two days that in between them it would rain and he had to keep people interested.
His eyes were wide open to show everyone it's natural colour and that he wasn't a Wizard. James extended his hands and touched the ground as planned with the Wizards. The heat forming underneath his hands was a sign that they were doing their work. He raised her hands and flames of fire flew up.
Normally people weren't amazed to see flames magykaly fly up but to see a non magykal do so was something different. James stood up and circled his hands in the air that drew more attention. He slammed his feet and ice started building at his sides as he extended his hands further.
Pamela eyed people and was happy to see the impressed look on their faces. James was doing his part perfectly so she slipped into shadows and waited for it to rain and finish her plan. She saw James close his eyes and crouch down. He suddenly opened them sharply in time for few small explosions around him.
This part wasn't planned so it even took Pamela's interest as he looked up with arrogance. A large stone emerged from the ground that had a prophecy written on it.
When the Castle is shadowed the false rules.
The one true ruler shall appear to vanish the shadow.
He twirled his hands to let fire and ice mingle without disappearing. As planned with Carys, the Queen came to them followed by her, Milo, Artemis and Brian's brother who always seemed to be protecting Artemis. They stopped next to the fire and read the stone. James remained quiet and smiled at them.
Artemis had changed the most and as she drew closer to the fire, Pamela saw her cold eyes and stern face that showed her determination in what she did. "Remove his mask." she ordered instead of Queen Mathilda and a guard took off James's mask. He didn't object for he was confident of the makeup on his face and the darkness. He even grinned through the makeup. "Put it back on. It's hideous." Artemis said as if disgusted from seeing his face.
"Why are you spreading lies and poisoning our people's minds?" inquired the Queen who fortunately hadn't recognized James yet as well.
"Lies? I am merely trying to share my knowledge with others." James smirked knowingly. "Is that a crime?" he stared at the Queen who cracked into mocking laughter and started to dismiss him that Artemis stepped forward. Pamela wished that she had kidnapped Artemis first and then went on with their plan.
Artemis lifted the corner of her lip that seemed like a smile. "If you are telling the truth then predict a thing for me." she glanced around to see if everyone were listening, forcing Pamela to go deeper into the shadows so that she wouldn't be seen. "Tell me a little about your future? Like the day you'll die. When is it?"
James tried to smirk again but shake was visible through his voice. "These predictions are from a poor man such as myself so how dare I disturb your grace with my_"
"Then I'll assume that you're a charlatan." Artemis cut through harshly and gazed directly at James who was trying to deny her statement. "You must predict your death for me to prove that you are not. If you say today, then I'll behead you tomorrow and if you say any later then I'll behead you right away." she motioned at Ethen Beetle to bring her his sword. Cerys was biting her lips to not say anything and Pamela was frozen on spot from surprise at Artemis's brutal way of ruling.
James was pressing his lips and forced himself to not look in Pamela's direction. Artemis crouched down to look at him. Her every move reminded Pamela of herself. "Tell me, when are you going to die?" she asked with a giggle and everyone stared at James whose one world would determine his fate.
So I was supposed to post sooner but the editing took some time. Can't wait to see how you guys like it.
