Chartile: Prophecy (19 page)

One. Two. Three. A dozen flaming arrows flew
over her head and landed in Dimitri’s chest. She tried to scream.
She tried to turn her horse back. Dimitri fell to the ground,
completely engulfed in the fire. The front gates of the palace
opened before her, then shut again just as quickly. She leapt from
her horse and ran to the closed gates. She cried out for Dimitri
and demanded the gates be raised. She pounded against the metal
over and over again, until her fists pounded in sync with the sound
of a tiny bell.

Piper came to enough to realize someone was
ringing the little bell by the main door. She smothered the pillow
over her head, ignoring both the bell and the tears that had made
her face sticky. The ringing soon ended, and Piper shifted in and
out of dream and nightmare.

The smell of fresh bread filled Piper’s room
several hours later and managed to penetrate through the pillow she
still held over her head. She sat up, her hair still clinging to
her face, and hurried to dress. She chose a style that was neither
Dwarvik nor Elven. The wardrobe held a fitted tunic that had been
too long for her. She grabbed this and pulled on the black linen
pants she had worn while living in the mountain. She tightened a
jewel encrusted belt over the tunic, and hurried to pull on her
boots.

She had decided last night that it was too
difficult to balance the ways of her allies, the dwarves, with the
culture of her own people. And figuring out how her own personality
would work with how an Elven Queen was expected to behave would be
an impossible task. Therefore, she decided that as a queen, she
would do as she liked, dress as she liked and act as she pleased.
At this moment it pleased her to be comfortable, and to stuff her
face with that delicious smelling bread.

She opened her bedroom door and found
Dimitri lounging across her fainting sofa, a plate of golden brown
biscuits in hand. He smiled when she crossed the room in three
strides to snatch a biscuit from the plate. She stopped, the sweet
smelling bread inches from her lips. She dropped her hand and
asked, “Wait. How did you get in here? I locked the door.”

Dimitri laughed. “I hope your instincts for
safety soon override your love of food now that you are the
Queen-To-Be, he said. Piper scowled at him. She placed her hands on
her hips and sent little crumbs of biscuit scattering across the
floor. “Honestly, I picked the lock.”

“
Dimitri!” Piper
scolded.

“
As Empress Nefiri’s
retainer I have been sent on some errands that have required
certain…skills is all. I wanted to surprise you. Especially since
you were so kind to tell Valar where to stuff it last night. I
thought you could use some cheering up this morning.”

Piper shook her head and sat on the sofa
beside Dimitri. She finally bit into the blissfully delicious
bread, and sighed, a smile spreading across her face. “He’s angry
with me, isn’t he?” she asked after a moment.

“
Surprised, yes. Angry,
no. I believe I heard him mutter something about “Just like her
mother” and “a woman of few words.” He does wish to meet with you
as soon as possible. Before the strategy meeting, if
possible.”

“
You been speaking to
Valar without me? What is Nefiri up to, Dimitri?” Piper moved on to
a second biscuit. It was as tasty as the first. Soft, and subtly
sweet with its honey glaze and buttery center. She took another
bite and sighed again.

“
Nefiri is, to be
forthright, furious at Jayson, Jack and Leo. She was bent on
forcing them to live with the Black Diamonds. I was able to talk
her out of it. I cannot say I blame her. It is hard to dismiss the
grudge you have had for so long in a heart’s beat.” He ran his
fingers through his black hair and shrugged. Piper had forgotten
how much she enjoyed his company and his little quirks. He always
fidgeted with his hair when he was nervous.

“
Well, I do thank you for
that. Though their methods may at times be rather unusual, I do
believe it will be best for everyone in the end. Now, exactly why
does that matter in regards to you speaking with Valar?”

“
Seeing as you and I have
been friends for so long, Nefiri has asked if I would be the
liaison between you four — I suppose five if you were to consider
Valar — and the dwarves. After you shut yourself in here last
night, Valar asked to speak with me. He thought I could coax you
out of your shell and convince you to meet with him. He has an
alternate plan regarding Taraniz.” Dimitri pulled the last bite of
biscuit from Piper’s hand and tossed it in the air, catching it in
his mouth with a smug smile. “Have I succeeded?”

“
Succeeded in what?
Annoying me? Yes.” Piper’s voice was firm, but she smiled as she
spoke. Dimitri leaned in, pushing her tangled mess of hair out of
her eyes.

“
Have I succeeded in
coaxing you out of your shell, you uptight little fireball?” He did
not wait for a response. He kissed her warmly. He pushed her back
into the corner of sofa and wrapped his arms around her
back.

Piper kissed him back. She allowed herself
to become lost in the familiarity of him. She felt his strong,
knotted muscles encircle her, and felt his breath in her ear. He
moved to kiss her chin, and she leapt from the sofa.

“
Dimitri, this has to
stop,” she said, her voice shaking. “I told you, now that I will be
Queen, we cannot be together. My — my marriage will be arranged by
the Elven Council. There is nothing to be done about it.” She
turned back towards her bedroom, ready to shut herself away once
more. Dimitri’s grabbed her wrist, and instinct over took her. She
twisted, stepping on Dimitri’s foot, ready to elbow him in the
stomach. This was a trick he had taught her. As soon as her foot
came down on his, Dimitri spun her around. He pressed her back
against his chest and crossed her arms in front of her.

“
Let me go!” she cried.
She fought the tears ready to slip down her face as much as she
fought against Dimitri. Dimitri said nothing. He simply held her
there. She struggled against his body, but it was no use.
Eventually she gave in. She gave in to his strength and to her
tears. She slumped to the floor, holding her face in her hands. He
still held her, more gently now. He let her cry and let her hot
tears splash against his arm like he did three years ago beneath
the beech tree. Finally, her crying subsided to little hiccups, and
he wiped her face with his tunic sleeve.

“
I do not care what any
council says,” he whispered to her. “I am never going to stop
loving you. Stop fighting this. You know we’re—”

“
I don’t want to lose
you,” she breathed through her hands. “If anything ever happened to
you because of me, I—” Dimitri pulled her hands away from her face.
Even when she cried, she was beautiful. He wiped the tears from her
face again. “Dimitri, you are my dearest friend. I love you more
than anyone I have ever known. I cannot bring myself to let
you—”

He pressed a finger to her lips. “That is a
burden for me to carry, not you. I will never force you to do
anything against your will. But you cannot stop me from loving
you.” He kissed her fingers softly, and left the room, leaving the
empty plate of biscuits sitting on the sofa.



The sun outside the boys’ window had begun
to turn the sky from black to dark gray. Shades of red and gold
streaked through the clouds, diminishing the grandeur of the
Dwarvik gem murals. Jack, Jayson and Leo had slept through most of
the day and night. When they awoke, it had still been dark. They
sat in the common area, playing checkers with a strange board game
they had found in one of the cabinets as the sky outside their
window grew brighter.

“
Hey, let’s go visit
Piper!” Jayson cried, startling them out of their bored
stupor.

“
Yeah!” Leo cried. Then
his face fell as quickly as it had brightened. “Uh, does anyone
know where her room is?”

“
Gemari told me how to get
to the Sapphire Quarter a few days ago. I’m sure there are enough
people around that could help us too,” said Jack.

Jayson and Leo nodded in agreement and
hurried off to their respective rooms. They dressed quickly in the
original clothes they had arrived in. Jack was thankful to wear
jeans again, but he still kept the boots Piper had traded for them.
Soon, they found themselves walking the familiar corridors and
tunnels of Fortress Kelsii. Word had spread about the boys’
involvement with the Black Diamonds. The news seemed to have made
the citizens nervous. They moved aside and turned their faces away
as they walked past. Some even turned the opposite direction to
evade an encounter all together.

Jayson, Jack and Leo spent fifteen minutes
wandering the tunnels aimlessly with no help from passersby. They
slumped against a nearby wall, looking rather defeated and
considered their options.

“
Well, that didn’t go
according to plan,” said Jack. His shoulders sagged and he began
fidgeting with a hole in his jeans.

“
I guess we aren’t exactly
the most popular at the moment. I didn’t think about that,” said
Leo.

“
Hey, I don’t know what
their mad at Jack and I for,” Jayson leaned forward to look at Leo
who sat on the other side of Jack. “It was your idea to conspire
with the enemy.” Leo glared at Jayson, who laughed and nearly hit
Jack in the head as he tried to punch Leo in the arm. “I’m kidding!
I’m kidding!” he chortled. “Looks like we’re in this together
whether we planned it that way or not.”

“
Yeah, anything one of us
does, it’s like we all did it,” said Jack. He leaned away from
Jayson who was still recovering from his laughing fit.

“
I guess I didn’t think
what would happen after the council decided,” said Leo. “I just
assumed everyone would get along and work together. I guess even
adults from another world can’t grow up sometimes.”

“
Hey, they got the job
done. Mostly,” said Jack. “And you did that, Leo. Believe me, I
wouldn’t have had the guts to do what you did, man. That was
definitely righteous!”

“
Word!” Jayson agreed,
giving Leo the rock and roll sign this his hands. A middle aged man
passed by and stared over his shoulder at the boys before hurrying
on. They all started laughing into their hands.

“
What do you think will
happen after Piper’s Queen?” Jayson asked, still giggling and
rubbing his chin. After seeing the dwarves’ magnificent beards, he
had been determined to will his facial hair to grow. So far, he had
only managed to make his chin itch when he went to bed at
night.

“
I thought maybe we’d keep
trying to find a way home,” said Leo. “But I’m worried people will
start to think we’re a threat if we stay together.”

A large group was making their way down the
hall. Leo stopped talking when he saw them. Jack and Jayson turned
to look. The party did not shy away as the others had. They walked
determinedly forward, their footfalls almost perfectly in sync. It
was Nefiri, Una and Gemari with an armed guard. The boys scrambled
to their feet. Leo and Jayson attempted a proper Dwarvik bow until
Jack elbowed them in the ribs. Commoners did not bow to royalty. It
was an insult that put them on the same level as everyone else. The
troupe slowed as Nefiri narrowed her eyes at them.

“
My Lady,” whispered Jack.
Nefiri broke from the group and the soldiers stopped. Una rolled
her eyes, and Gemari refused to look at them at all. “I—we…we
wanted to visit Piper. Could someone show us to her room?” Nefiri
squinted at the boys a moment longer, then nodded to one of her
guards. The Empress gave the smallest of bows to them, and the
group continued their trek down the hall.

“
Follow me, if you
please,” said the guard. His tone was polite, and a smile pulled at
his lips beneath his dark brown beard. He led them down two long
tunnels then stopped before of the magnificent bejeweled doors.
“The Lady Piper,” he said, and winked before walking away. Jayson,
Jack and Leo stared after him for a moment before pulling on the
little bell string beside the door.

“
That was weird,” Jayson
whispered.

“
Guess Nefiri must be
pretty mad,” said Leo.

“
You could say that,”
Piper said, opening the door. The redness in her cheeks and eyes
said she had been crying, but she smiled warmly at them. “Please,
come in.” She stood aside, and they paraded inside, each hugging
her in turn. “I apologize I did not stay to celebrate with you,”
she said. She glanced at the fainting sofa then took a seat in a
chair across the room.

“
You didn’t miss much,”
Jayson lied, “We—uh, we’ve pretty much slept all day.”

Piper nodded. She looked from the floor to
the window, and took no notice of Jayson’s forced tone. “I am sorry
I have been neglecting you.” she said, and began twisting her hair
between her fingers.

“
Neglecting us? What do
you mean?” asked Leo. He picked up the biscuit plate beside him and
ate the remaining crumbs.

“
I have shut myself away.
I was afraid. I see that now. You needed me, and I have not been
here for you. You are…my friends, like my brothers, and I have been
thinking only of myself. I should not have left you alone for so
long. I am sorry.”

“
It’s okay,” said Jayson.
“Dimitri took pretty good care of us.”

Piper smiled weakly. “Yes, he is good at
that.”

An awkward silence fell between them. The
only sound came from Jayson shuffling his feet and the whistling
wind outside Piper’s window, indicating a storm on the way.