This chapter is another one that I had a lot of fun with, which ultimately meant I had to cut out a good chunk to keep it in format for publication. This is a new draft, made from my first draft and a few of the best bits I added in.
It took the Royal Guard almost an hour to force open the trapdoor to the lower chamber of the Storehouse. Angelo waved back his men. Instead, he prepared to descend with Manny. "Excuse me," said a bystander. Lemmia stepped forward. "I would like to accompany you." When the Guard frowned, she added, "You know that, by the Treaty, the Empire can access the Storehouse and its relics for friendly inspection, as Ajax and his ambassadors have done with Naam's Armory. In the event of a breach or disturbance, we have a further and immediate right to complete an independent inventory. As a member of the Royal Family, I can speed the process." Manny nodded, and Angelo led the way.
As they descended, they heard sobbing. Angelo himself still did not credit who it was until he reached the landing. From there, he could clearly see Mel huddled beside the cabinet. The Orb hovered over her, its form an eye, as if trying to comfort her or see what was in her arms. Angelo advanced, still not doubting his guess that she held the body of the King. It was only when he stooped beside her that she held up the Mirror. "It has taken my King," she said.
Lemmia leaned down for a glance at the still-rippling surface. She said with a sigh, "You should have called us a lot sooner…"
Ajax found himself on a stone floor no different than what he had left behind. He heard voices that seemed hopelessly distorted, clearly raised in anger. When he raised his head, he froze in fear. He was once again at the feet of a female Lindorm, only one of three who stood around him. He chilled at the sound of Persephone's voice.
"I got you the Mirror, now you have him," she said. "We agreed, we would share him, once he has overthrown the Queen."
"No," said another voice that he could not identify, despite a vague sense that it should be familiar. "We have the Mirror now. We can go into his world and conquer it."
"Fool!" Persephone answered. "That is where Xaja is!"
"Stop," said a third speaker. "Yes, we have him, only because another deprived him of his strength. We must first see if it will return."
At last, Ajax raised his head, already nearly sure of the voice. He spoke one word: "Pruna."
Pruna placed him in one of the lesser Relics, the Seat of Truth. Its magic made it impossible to lie. Ajax looked her over. Her transformed form was little different than what he remembered. He realized with awkwardness that without the wide skirts he remembered, she looked a good deal like Meliboia, tall and boyish. The chief difference was her mane, the exact same reddish-brown he still knew on sight. "Hello, Ajax," she said. "I suppose you're glad to see me. Just remember, I'm not your Princess."
A much shorter, stouter creature leaned in. She was barely taller standing than Ajax was seated, with a broad, low head and stout horns on both her brows and cheeks. He considered her features, almost masculine by the standards of the Lindorms save for a receding beak, and again felt elusive familiarity. "I am glad to see you," she said in a painful effort to be flirtatious.. "And know this, I'm in charge!" She lashed a whip at Pruna.
Finally, Ajax made a connection. "Daffy?" he said. The short creature snarled and prepared to lash him. At the last instant, she struck instead at Persephone, who had reached for his hand.
"Ow, that was my eye!" the Maiden exclaimed.
"Nobody calls me Daffy!" the creature that he could no longer doubt was Lady Daffodil snapped. "I am High Queen Narcissa of the Mushroom Empire! I will have this Ajax for my own!" The King only shook his head.
"You are High Queen of nothing," Persephone countered. "Besides, you have your own King!" She snapped at Daffy, who answered her with a jet of flame.
"Stop it!" Pruna said. She knelt before Ajax and started doing what she could to remove the shackles still around his ankles. When he looked down, she raised her head to meet his gaze. He read her expression well enough to recognize a smile.
"You are under the Castle of Emperor Ajax, whom you know as Xaja," she said. "He razed the original Palace, but kept the Lower Storehouse and certain other substrata. He arrived 12 years ago. I was conducting peace negotiations with Naam, but there were malcontents who opposed any treaty. My half-sister joined them, at first."
"Yeah, sure I did," Daffy said. "Then he married me off to his lousy, lazy brother." That jarred Ajax more than seeing her transformed.
"I was the one who proposed marriage to Naam, so our armies would be united," Pruna said. "It was too late, if we ever had a chance at all." She wiped a tear from her eye, "My Emperor fell at the final battle, while I was with child."
"Boo-hoo," Daffy said. "So you squeezed out one little brat. I have to deal with six of them."
"Well, I could have been Empress myself, if I had bloomed yet," Persephone said.
"By Cocytus, be quiet!" Pruna said. She rose and turned to her companions. "Hurry! We must get him to a hiding place before we are discovered!"
Their heads all jerked upward in fear at the bang of the trapdoor. "Before what is discovered?" a voice called from above. There was a laugh and a clicking of heels as the newcomer descended. "Did you think I did not know of your plot? I only let you alone to see if you accomplished any more than I did. And now I see you have done a good deal indeed." Ajax managed to turn his head as the newcomer reached the landing. He already knew the voice all too well. It was, of course, Cerasa.
"Take him to the Throne Room," she said to the guards who followed. "Bring the Mirror, also."
By the time Ajax's strength truly returned, he was already chained up in the Throne Room, a chamber much larger than the counterpart that he had long since turned into a game room, enough that it was it was somewhat difficult to see or hear from the corner where Ajax was suspended. It did not help that there were two loud and quarrelsome little creatures in cages on the other side of the entryway. They had both fur and scales, which he guessed made them distant kin of the Lindorms. He gave the matter no further consideration.
As he watched, a dozen guards lined up Persephone and the Princesses in front of the throne. Manny hung the Mirror on the wall to one side. Cerasa flopped down on the throne. Ajax tried to remember what he had done with his, and belatedly remembered that he had put it in the Library because it was comfortable to sit in during his infrequent visits. The Queen evidently did not think so, as she had added at least one cushion. She still shifted several times before settling at a strange angle, almost sidesaddle. She tapped her carefully styled nails on the armrest. "You accomplished my purposes," she said to Pruna. "But do not think I have forgiven you."
"Excuse me, Empress," Daffy said. "Obviously, I monitored the progress of the plot so I could report and intervene. Could you, to show your gratitude, give me a little time with one of the kids?" Ajax realized in horror that the creatures in the cages were indeed very young Royal Lindorms.
"You are a treacherous worm," the Empress said, "but I suppose you would be worse if you did not have your little ones. Steward, bring her the little one."
A Mushroom Man in heavy leather armor approached the cage of the smallest and loudest Lindormling. He held a set of keys in one hand and a drumstick in the other. "Want go walkies?" he said with a very wide smile. He opened the cage of the smallest and loudest creature and thrust the drumstick inside. He promptly grabbed the creature, virtually wrapped around the drumstick, and brought it to Daffy at arm's length. She squealed and cuddled the raging, squalling thing, grooming it with her beak and jowl horns as it strained to break free.
The Empress smiled. "Now," she said, "bring the Mirror Ajax over here. I have just gotten comfortable and I do not wish to rise."
"Your Highness," said a Guard, whom Ajax realized was Angelo, "can you not come over here? I believe his strength is returning. If his prowess is as great as the Emperor's, I am not satisfied we can secure him."
"Then call more Guards," the Empress said.
"Pardon me," Angelo said, "but we have been over this. The Palace is large, larger than is practical, and we have been understrength for some time. I have already had to leave a number of positions unmanned to strengthen the defenses on the South Wall against an incursion from Persicus. Their forces are marching openly up the Scarlet Coast. There are reports that High King Hector has landed Sky Marines to support them."
"Call back the Azure Kingdom's Fleet," Cerasa said. At her side, none other than Manny started to object, but she silenced him.
"I know you in my own Kingdom, Destroying Angel," Ajax said to Angelo. "I give you my word I will not try to harm your Queen. I will not say I may not attempt escape, but as far as I know, there may be nowhere for me to go." The Guard removed the shackles from Ajax's feet and unhitched the chain that held him suspended. He was marched to the foot of the Throne. The Empress stroked his cheek.
"When my Ajax first came, he was in a fury," she said. "He searched the Kingdom and the territories he occupied for a woman he had seen in the Wishing Mirror. When he found me, he said I was a dim reflection of the one he sought, but still fairer than any in this dim, distorted world. He married me and made me his Empress. I aided him in his conquests. He won half the world, and brought the other half to its knees. He did not care. Even in the midst of battle, he would have the Mirror brought to him so he could look upon her. He was convinced she would summon him. He brought in a troop of Mages and hundreds of Relics to gather enough magic to cross over to her. Before he left, he declared that I could rule as Empress, and his idiot brother could be High King of the Mushroom Realms. For six years since, I have ruled on my own. Some say I have not had my heart in it. Some say I am mad. But I have you, don't I?"
"What is it you wish?" Ajax asked. "To go to my world, to bring your Ajax back? He is already with the other Cerasa, on one of the Moons of the Disc."
"Why would I try to bring him back?" the Empress said. "Are you not stronger than him? If he conquered this world, you can restore my Empire and crush those who rebelled against my rule. Then you will reign by my side, and who will dare to defy me? We can start with a small thing, lead out my Royal Army and crush Persica and Hector, too."
"Ah, my Queen," Manny said urgently, "the Second Army is still engaged suppressing the revolt by Agaric. The 1st, 3rd and 4th Armies are with the Azure Marines fighting the Biarmamen in the White North. In fact, they have twice requested reinforcements. The Front has been going quite badly. The 5th Army is still recovering from their defeat in the Black Mountains. The 6th and 7th Armies are invested holding back Hector from the borders of the Lavender Kingdom. The 8th is, ah, apparently out of communication…"
"So?" Cerasa said. "There are Twelve Armies of the Red Realm. Don't we have one of them at my command?"
"Ah, it is complicated," Angelo spoke up.
"An army is a hard thing to lose, is it not?" Cerasa snapped.
"Yes, but each army is many parts, prone to break apart under strain," Angelo said. "We are still gathering reports. The fact is, as matters stand… we have only the 10th and the 12th, both heavily depleted by attrition and the Purge. There are reliable reports that at least half of the remaining troops of the 12th have deserted or joined Persica. We can only oppose the incursion with the Palace Guard."
The Empress literally curled up on the throne, her legs over the armrest. Abruptly, she pounded and clawed at the padded leather back, which Ajax saw was already torn in several places. "No, no, no! It's just not fair!" she said. "My Ajax conquered this World. I told him, and I told him, then what? And what did he do? He left me for my own image! How was I supposed to rule half the World and hold back the other half without my Lord? But I did it! I contained Hector's rebellion, and I still aided Lemmia against Biarma and her own mother's Realm. When the Biarmamen turned on me, I made them pay tenfold for every gain. Now I am undone, only because Persicus dares to rebel!" She tugged at a thread of stuffing. "But I will make them pay. I have weapons that will destroy their armies and their realm, even if I turn my own to rubble. And if they should prevail, let them see how long they fair against the enemies that my hand has protected them from."
She righted herself and looked to Ajax, a bright smile on her face. "But it need not come to that, now. I have you, and you will be my King and champion. You have heard my cause, how greatly I am wronged. Surely, you will aid me."
"Wait," Ajax said. "Let me speak to Pruna."
"Of course," Cerasa said. "If she is a condition, I will accommodate."
Two guards escorted the Mirror Pruna to Ajax's side. He looked intently at mirror of Pruna. "I can see my Princess in you," he said. "These others, I do not know and cannot comprehend."
"No," Pruna said. "Everyone here is as they are in the world you know; they were not corrupted or made evil by the Mirror. The only difference was Xaja. He, too, was the same as you, save for the wish that made him mad. I finally understood when I read a book from your world on psychology. Folie a deux, contagious insanity. Even now that he is gone, his madness lingers and spreads."
Ajax turned back to the Empress. "Your Majesty, from all that has been said, I cannot aid you," he said. "Nor would I, if I could."
The Empress only smiled wider. "Oh, it is no matter," she said. "I have ways to change your mind. I remember my Ajax's favorite games. Oh, I can see you know them. Perhaps we can include Lady Pruna, too." The King could not hide a shudder.
Then, suddenly, there was a blast from the rear wall. As the dust and smoke billowed, a Bombadger and two Lindorms scrambled through. Behind them came another…
"I have come, false Empress!" the Mirror Hector shouted. He lumbered forward in what appeared to be a steam-powered combat exoskeleton. "Your rebellion is at an end! I am the rightful Emperor! I have come to free my children and my Queen!"