Edited on August 24, 2014. I'm currently working through this story and making slight adjustments to the story in order to fix certain inaccuracies that started popping up later in the story.
I own nothing of the Black Jewels Trilogy or any following novels. All rights go to Anne Bishop. Thanks for reading!
BJT:ANW
Chapter 8
The Queen's residence in Glacia was undeniably beautiful. The sprawling mansion was made of white marble, and the gardens were all in flower as spring progressed towards summer in the realm, bright colors scattered across the grounds. Of course, being in one of the coldest territories in Kaeleer, the temperatures were still not nearly as warm as they had been even at the Keep, let alone in her home state back on Earth, Missouri. It got very warm there, very quickly once spring began. Not so much here though, Arina thought as she stood in front of the mansion, shivering slightly in the breeze.
She tilted her head back to see the mountains that appeared to cradle the Residence between their peaks, the white marble blending with the snowy caps in the distance. Arina couldn't help but compare it to the Keep, the only other place she had really seen in this world. Karla's home was more graceful, and lighter, while the Keep was strong and imposing with an almost oppressive sense of darkness in its aura. She had no doubt that if the Keep didn't like someone, they would get a lot more than just oppressive though. But both places felt nice to her, and homelike. Despite the cold here.
Inside the mansion was equally as impressive as the outside. A large fireplace in the entrance hall lent warmth to the air, even as warming spells did, only with a more welcoming feel. The group of young women around her led her through the hallways to the residential wing, pointing out the views from the windows and the tapestries in the halls with the air of long experience.
Rose showed Arina into what would be her room for the next week or two, then left quickly to go talk to her mom while Arina settled in. It was a nice room, Arina thought as she called in her bags and unpacked into the drawers and wardrobe. She lay the blanket she had taken from the Keep over the bed, revealing a complex red and black design on the gold background. The room was not as nice as her room at the Keep, but then, what could possibly be? Unpacking done, the young woman laid back on the bed and closed her eyes. The lessons that she had learned in the past week flowed through her mind in snippets as she slowly relaxed.
"A poison sac under your ring finger…"
"Warlord Princes are highly volatile and require a Queen to balance their natures out so they are not destructive…"
"Queens are the moral center of the Blood…they rule in order to protect all their people…"
"Black Widows weave webs that can do almost anything…glimpse the future, create shadows, ensnare minds…"
"This is how you weave an illusion web…"
"You are our dreams to unite the realm for good…"
A knock at the door threw Arina forcibly out of her recollections. She struggled into a seated position on the bed, thankful for the interruption, as her thoughts had begun to go in directions she wasn't altogether pleased with. "Come in," she called. The door opened, and Lady Karla stuck her head in, smiling at the sight of the young Queen looking slightly lost on the bed. The older women stepped carefully into the room and walked slowly over to an armchair, sinking down gratefully and leaning her cane against the wall. Arina looked between Karla and the cane for a moment before shrugging. She didn't comment on it, knowing that the older Queen would tell her if she wanted.
"I was wounded by poison," Karla said, catching the glance, her voice quiet. "A long time ago. Betrayed by my court. It was Witchblood, and I almost died; even Jaenelle can't do everything."
Arina nodded slowly.
"Nobody is perfect," Karla added with a slight smile. Arina had to smile back at her, if only slightly.
"Did you need something?" Arina asked, absently stroking the blanket. "I mean, you didn't need to come to my room, Alexandra said she would show me around."
"I know. I told Alexandra that I would take care of showing you around though." Karla gave her a wicked smile. "Jaenelle went back to the Keep to tell the boyos that you are fine, and now I have you all to myself for the afternoon. I intend to make the most of it, darling."
"Why?" Arina asked curiously. "Wouldn't you have other things to do?"
"They can wait," Karla said calmly. "You are important to us, Arina. Not just because you are Witch, either." She smiled gently at the younger girl. Karla looked at the blanket that Arina was sitting on, and smiled. "Where'd you find that?" she asked, smirking.
Arina looked at her warily, glancing between the older Queen and the blanket. "It was in one of the rooms at the Keep," she said, adding defensively, "I'm going to return it, I just thought it would be nice to have something for warmth." Karla started to giggle quietly. "What? Do you know whose it is?"
"Why did you really take it?" Karla asked, her eyes dancing in amusement.
There was a pause as Arina looked down and squirmed slightly. "It smelled good, and it made me feel safe," she finally muttered. "I don't see what's so funny," she grumbled.
"Lucien got that blanket for Winsol when he was young. It's one of his favorite possessions."
"Oh," Arina murmured. "Oops. I guess I should really apologize to him then…"
"Oh, don't even worry about that, he'll be thrilled to know why you took it."
"Don't even think about it," Arina cried. Karla just laughed. Arina growled under her breath, fisting her hands in her lap and no longer touching the blanket.
"Come on," Karla said after a moment, standing up again. "I'll show you around the gardens. By then, Jaenelle should be back for your lessons."
"Yay," Arina said with a slight smirk. "And here I thought that in a new world, I could at least get away from school." The two women walked down the corridor towards a door at the end that led out into the inner gardens.
"No such luck," Karla teased. "How was your time with the spiders?"
"Interesting," Arina said simply.
They walked out into the gardens at that moment, and Arina caught her breath at the beauty around them. Flowers of every kind and color bloomed in every direction the eye could see, and behind them, large pale roses climbed a trellis by the doorway and arched overhead, framing the doors. Karla looked pleased at Arina's expression.
"This is amazing," the younger girl breathed. "I would have thought it was too cold here to have so many flowers." Almost unconsciously, she reached for one of the large white roses, stopping just short of actual contact. "Glorious," she murmured.
"It took a long time to breed them here, many generations. I like to think they have improved the most recently, under my hands. Of course, Jaenelle helped as well, but they have really been my pet project recently." She smiled ruefully. "I have been able to give them much more attention than I did when I first came here."
"This isn't where you grew up?" Arina asked curiously.
"No, this is the Queen's Residence. It's where the ruler of Glacia lives, always. When I give up my position as Territory Queen, then the next Queen will come to live here, and I will leave."
"That seems like such a shame," Arina said, tilting her head to the side as they continued walking. "All that work, and you won't get to keep it?"
"It's tradition. Besides, I'm almost expected to take seeds, and even clippings. In fact, it would shock everyone if I didn't. It's what Queens do. Then they continue the gardens in their new homes. Sometimes, if they find a good new plant, they will send the seeds to the current Queens. It's a cycle."
"Is it always that way? The Queen moves to a different house, stays there and makes it her home while she rules, but then has to leave when it's over? Leave everything behind?" Arina looked troubled. "Is that something that I will have to do?"
"No, not necessarily. For instance, Jaenelle ruled from her family home, only going to the Keep when necessary. You will be able to do the same thing. You won't be expected to live in the Keep." Karla settled on a white bench below a towering oak tree and patted the seat beside her. Arina sank down with an appreciative smile, before frowning in thought.
"But I don't have a family home. Or any home. And while I certainly am glad for the welcome that I've been given, I'm hardly one to live on the charity of others. I want my own house. Then I won't be so worried about where I live." She smirked slightly. "That sounds rather redundant, doesn't it? But then, I can't get a house, because I don't have any money. Well, I do have money, but it's not actual cash, just on credit cards, so it isn't real. Which really doesn't help me. I'm rambling, aren't I."
"Yes. But I got the gist of it. You want to earn your own way, here. In order to do so, you need a job. As a Queen, then the job you would naturally get would be ruling, which involves living in the Queen's residence, and growing attached to a place you cannot keep for yourself."
"Yes," Arina said in relief. "That's exactly it."
"You know that Uncle Saetan will exchange your "credit card" money for gold and silver marks. All you have to do is work out what the currency exchange would be. If it makes you happy, you could even give him part of it back as a fee. But it is our fault that you are here, where your money is ineffective. It would only be fair to give you funds equal to those you lost when you came here," Karla explained.
Arina's eyes lit up, but she still hesitated. "You wouldn't get anything in return, though," she muttered after a pause.
"It's only fair," Karla said, raising her eyebrows. "And don't say that to the boys or Uncle, they would be highly insulted. They would take it as you thinking them unable or unwilling to serve, and that is not a good thing."
"Oh, believe me, by now I know that, if nothing else." Arina said wryly. "I have to say yes. Absolutely, and thank you."
"Good!" Karla said brightly, getting up. They walked back into the mansion, and Karla quickly told her that she and the other girls had been settled in her family wing. The floor below their rooms was where her lessons would take place, some fast and dirty Craft lessons, and also politics and learning how to be a Queen in a short period of time. The other girls would stay here as well. "And you'll have free time to visit the realm, as well," Karla was explaining as they walked into the dining room. "You can visit different Territories, and go shopping, after your money is converted."
"Oh, shopping?" Titian asked brightly. "Sounds fun, when do we go?"
"At the end of this little trip of yours," Karla replied tartly. "First Arina has to get her money changed into our money. And she really does need to get some of her lessons out of the way."
Alexandra made a face, then brightened. "You have to see the big cities. I mean, you saw Riada, but that's a really small town, nothing like the cities. Amdarh, for example is the capital of Dhemlen, and that's where Titian and her family lives. Aunt Surreal is definitely a city girl, and it passed down to her daughter," she whispered conspiratorially. Titian stuck her tongue out at Alexandra.
"But we're avoiding Dhemlen for another two weeks," Arina pointed out with a grin as she slid into a seat. "And for that matter, anywhere the boyos—that's what you say, right?—might show up."
"Well, I have to say, none of the boys are really city types," Rillian countered. "In fact, I know that my brothers both consider going to the city and—Darkness have mercy—actually shopping—are activities that should be ranked right up there with the worst forms of torture, and the rest of the boys aren't that far behind them." She paused and considered. "Well, Jasper might be an exception to the city thing, if not the shopping aversion. After all, he's Surreal's kid, too," she said fairly.
"Hello, witchlings," Jaenelle said cheerfully as she entered the room. She was followed by footmen carrying the lunch dishes, and the girls all chorused a "Hello, Aunt Jaenelle/Mom" back, before digging into the food.
The girls dropped the topic of shopping. Jaenelle started Arina's lessons right there, telling her stories about the history of the three realms, starting with the recent altercations with Terrielle. The others caught up with the latest news from Karla, already knowing the history.
"Yay, more lessons," Lauranna teased as they separated when they were done with lessons. "Fun, fun."
"Not," everyone else responded in union.
BJT:ANW
The next two weeks fell into a pattern. In the mornings, Jaenelle and Karla would teach Arina separately about the history and customs of the Realms. In the afternoons, all the girls would have Craft lessons, all of them in the same room but Jaenelle usually working more closely with Arina to make sure that she had the basics down. To her amusement, Arina seemed to almost skip most of the basics entirely. She didn't start off at the really hard stuff and not be able to do the easy stuff, she just didn't seem to need to practice the more basic things, able to work with more advanced things with only a little coaching.
"I'm a fast learner, that's all," Arina said simply to their confusion. "I pick things up quickly, and I have never had to be told something more than once. You say that these things are basic, and that explains why I picked it up quickly."
In the evenings, the girls would play games and just talk, relaxing after the lessons. The two older Queens were setting a grueling pace for Arina, trying to teach her everything she needed to know as quickly as possible. Four days into the first week, a letter came from Jaenelle's father, with about a hundred gold marks, and credit for a seven hundred more.
Titian grabbed the letter and squealed. "Yes! Now we can go shopping!"
"Only when all the lessons are done," Karla said flatly. "And let that be an encouragement to work better, because the better you do, the more money you get when you go—next Friday."
The girls were torn between complaining at the long wait, and being excited for the money that they would be given as gifts when they did go. Excitement won, if only partly because they really didn't want to lose the money. A loud chorus of "Thank you, Aunt Karla" ran around the room. Arina laughed happily.
"And think, all of this started for me due to a shopping trip," she said thoughtfully a moment later. "I have a feeling that going this time is going to settle things for me."
"Then all the better," Jaenelle said easily in reply.
BJT:ANW
That weekend, Jaenelle took Arina on a walk in the woods near the Residence. The older Witch went ahead, leaving the designated path and moving into the unmarked forest. Arina looked around curiously as she followed slowly, noticing the silver white flowers that marked the direction that they were following. Without warning, the woods opened up to reveal a small pond of perfectly clear water up ahead. Jaenelle was standing calmly on the shore of it, waiting.
"Please don't tell me we're going swimming," Arina joked as she emerged from the trees, scanning the scene. "I'd turn into an Arina-cicle."
Jaenelle laughed. "No," she assured. She sat down cross legged on the air, and patted the space beside her in encouragement. Arina chose to fall forward, lying on her stomach next to Jaenelle. "Do you understand what it means to be Witch?" Jaenelle asked quietly, her smile fading into a more serious expression.
Arina tilted her head to the side, and then shook it slowly. "Not really," she responded. "I know that I was 'made' by the people of Kaeleer, to unite the realm, but not much else." She smiled wanly at the older woman. "No pressure, right?"
Jaenelle looked sympathetic. "You are who you are," she said. "You are Witch. I know that you have to be wondering if you are the way you are because you were made to be that way, or if you are going to change now that you have come here."
"Yes," Arina murmured quietly. Her voice grew sharper as she continued, and louder. "Of course I think that I've changed. Ever since I came here, nothing is the same. Everything I do is different than what I would have done at home. I actually talk to people, and I—I don't know—"
"Would you give it up though?" Jaenelle interrupted. Arina stared at her, nonplused. "If you were given the chance to return to your former life and leave all of this behind you, would you? Would you be willing to forget everything that has happened and just go back?"
Arina looked down at her reflection in the clear pond. "No," she finally whispered. "I wouldn't. I couldn't." She looked up again, a steely light in her silver eyes, making them look like unsheathed blades in intensity. "I'd rather die than go back to that place."
Jaenelle spread her hands apart. "Than does it matter if you have changed by coming here, if you are happier here than you were there? In the end, does it matter?"
"It matters to me," Arina said at last, though her voice was a lot softer and lighter. "No matter how ridiculous I know it sounds, I still don't like the thought that some part of me changed fundamentally by coming here."
"Janos doesn't think you've changed, though," Jaenelle pointed out gently. "And he would know better, don't you think? As an outside perspective who has seen both sides of you."
"And what does Janos think?" Arina asked, smiling reluctantly.
"He thinks that you have always been this way, only because of your parents there, you had to hide it. He says that you haven't changed at all with him, the only difference is that here you can open up to the other people around you and that you are over all happier. Although his exact words were that you finally "are making your pack," which in canine speak is exactly the same thing."
Arina stared at the water and her reflection. She looked confused, and vulnerable, and her feelings were equally confused. She wavered between confusion and hope, frustration and understanding. There was a long silence as Jaenelle let her work things out.
"So basically you are saying that I'm actually more myself here than I was there, because here I don't have to hide myself like I did there."
"In essence, yes," Jaenelle replied. "After all, if you had never come here, I believe fully that you would still have been this person once you escaped from your house."
"I haven't changed at all then," Arina said, to herself. She smiled in relief. "I can't tell you how good that is to know," she told Jaenelle. "It was unnerving to think that I was almost someone else."
Jaenelle smiled at her. "I'm glad you have been put at rest," she said simply. "But we have gotten off topic. I want to know what you think it means to be Witch."
Arina went back to staring at the water as she thought about it. "I know that it means that I am someone that others will depend on, and look to for advice and knowledge," she admitted, reaching down to touch the cold water. Ripples covered the surface, blurring the image of the two women.
"To be Witch is to be alone," Jaenelle said flatly. Arina looked up. "You are not a part of any of the races, but all of them. You are expected to be a part of every Territory, and to care equally. You have a relationship with the Darkness unlike everyone else. In the end, you will be alone." Jaenelle smiled sadly. "We both realized that early, but you more so than I. It wasn't until I was twelve, and left my body to walk paths that no one else would ever see that I truly realized that. When I woke up, I knew that I was alone. Before that, I hadn't really understood, because my friends had loved me, and so did Papa."
"But they didn't really know you, and when you looked at them after, you couldn't ignore that fact," Arina guessed.
"Yes," Jaenelle agreed, looking pensive. "You had it much harder than I did, all alone in your world. You have learned that lesson already."
"I never expected anything different, truth be told."
Jaenelle looked at the younger Dream sharply. "You may be alone, but you will always have love here," Jaenelle said firmly. "Friends and those who love you. You will be alone, but not."
"Does that even make sense?" Arina asked weakly.
"Are you happy here, despite knowing the costs of being Witch?" Jaenelle asked simply.
Another long pause. Then, "Yes."
"Than it does make sense, and you know it." Jaenelle studied Arina, laying next to her on air. "There is another aspect to being Witch that you should know about."
Arina noted the look on Jaenelle's face and sat up, sitting across from the older woman and mirroring her position. "I'm listening," she said quietly.
Jaenelle smiled grimly and revealed the Dream beneath the Flesh. Arina's eyes widened in shock before she regained control. Hesitantly, her gaze rolled over Jaenelle, cataloging her changed appearance. The tiny horn on her forehead, the pointed ears. The cat claws, and the hooves that her legs ended in. The deer tail. After Arina saw everything, Jaenelle slipped beneath the Flesh again, and appeared completely human again. "Is that what I really look like?" Arina asked faintly, shock still evident in her eyes. But no matter how hard Jaenelle looked, she did not find fear in the silver orbs. Her expression softened.
"I don't know what your true appearance is, what your Dream is. Every Dream is different, after all. But what I do know is that, like me, not all of your Dreamers who shaped you were human, so I would not be surprised if you did change." There was nothing but hunger in Arina's eyes.
"When will I know?" she asked eagerly.
Jaenelle smiled at her enthusiasm. She had been worried that Arina would be horrified. "Not tonight, nor tomorrow," she decided quickly. "You all go shopping tomorrow, and you need your rest tonight. Saturday, I promise. You will know yourself then."
BJT:ANW
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