Clash Of Worlds (36 page)

Auron looked puzzled. He didn’t quite know what to say. “I’m sure he had his reasons, my lady.”

Kara, who had great abilities of thought and mind could sense nervousness about the man. The General of the Alexandrian armies had never come across as nervy to Kara before. Quite the contrary, Auron, as the most revered warrior in Alexandrian history, had always been confident and sure of himself.
He is hiding something.
“What is it Auron? Why has my father been avoiding me?”

“Avoiding? I’m sure that’s not the case your highness. He loves you dearly.”

“I don’t doubt that, however, you must not take me for a fool. He hasn’t set eyes upon me since I awoken in my chambers four days ago. Ever since I mentioned a name to him…Valentine.”

Auron remained still; his facial expression giving nothing away. Kara could sense an inner panic from his soul however. She knew that the warrior was aware of her sensing abilities and the princess could feel him trying to bury his emotions deep within himself, so deep that she could not follow.

“I’ve never known you to be afraid Master Auron,” said Kara.

“Afraid? I know not what you speak of my lady!” replied Auron, trying to remain calm.

You ARE afraid.
“Why is it that you fear that name, much like my father?” Kara said, referring to the young boys name, Valentine, the name that had sent her father rushing away from her bedside that day.

“I fear no man,” answered Auron.

“On the battlefield yes. You are indeed a powerful warrior, perhaps the most fierce that this realm has ever known. But…there is something about this name. Valentine…”

“Your highness, I have some urgent matters to attend to, if you would excuse me.” Auron began to walk off.

“You were there too Auron!” She shouted. Even a few of the palace servants nearby stopped what they were doing and stared. Auron stopped in his tracks, but he didn’t turn around. “You were in my dreams, with my father. You took the boy Valentine away. Why? Who is he?”

The man sighed. He had been sworn to secrecy many years ago by the king. He could not reveal the truth, even if he wanted to. “My lady, all you must know is whatever has been done, was for the good of Alexandria.” With those words, Auron walked out through the large doorway from which he had entered the castle. As he walked into the courtyard he could hear the princess shouting from inside.

“I will find out the truth Auron! You cannot keep it from me!”

The doors closed in front of the princess, leaving her unable to see the Alexandrian warrior anymore. Kara was breathing heavily. It was rare that the princess would ever raise her voice. She felt a number of eyes upon her. Several of the maids and guards had stopped what they were doing and had begun watching her and Auron’s exchange. They quickly went about their business once they realised the princess became aware of them watching. Kara stormed out of the hallway as several maids looked on in confusion about what had just transpired.

During the late hours of the day, Kara lay in her bed. Light from the outside still filled her room for Alexandrian was a realm of eternal daylight. Even during sleeping hours, the sun lit the sky. Kara was not asleep, however. She had waited for the residents inside the castle to retire for the day to enable her to instigate her plan. With the late hour upon Alexandria, Kara opened her eyes. Like all Alexandrians, Kara possessed acute hearing and she listened attentively for movement in the hallway outside of her room. All appeared still and the coast seemed clear. She removed her bed robes, revealing her to be still fully clothed. For her plan to be a success she needed to use haste, and dressing again would have taken up valuable time.

The princess slowly opened the door to her chambers and popped out her head. Looking both ways she realised just what she had suspected.
The hallway is empty.
Kara walked as silent as a shadow along the corridors of the castle, being careful to avoid any of the late day guards who would likely be on patrol. Upon turning one corridor, the girl was almost spotted, however, she leaped behind a statue of the Queen of Alexandrian, her late mother. As the guard passed, Kara looked up at the face of the statue and smiled. Although her mother had died when she was very young, she still had faint memories of her, and the statue of the queen filled the princess with warmth.
Are you watching me now mother? Do you know the truth too?

Realising her mind was wondering, Kara quickly refocused on what she had set out to do. The girl had guessed that since the vision she had seen of her dreams was of her and a boy named Valentine at a young age, the events must have happened sometime during the past. She knew that the palace library contained all archives of Alexandria’s history. It was here that the princess hoped to shed some light on this mysterious Valentine character, whose very name unnerved her father and Auron.
What are they hiding?
Kara had kept asking herself. She felt a strange connection to this boy named Valentine and she had to find out whom he was.

The girl had reached the eastern corner of the palace and entered a large tower, which was located at the far eastern wing. Inside the tower was a circular stone staircase and Kara ascended up it with great haste. The library was located in the higher regions of the palace and the eastern tower was the only direct route known. However, she knew that this route was likely cut off to her. The princess had wisdom enough to realise that if her father wished to keep such a secret from her, the area of the castle that would reveal answers to this riddle would likely be heavily guarded, even at this late hour.

Kara also had a plan for how to combat this. Within the walls of the castle were secret passageways, the like of which only a few people had knowledge of. Only Kara, the king, Auron and the warlock Rokk knew of their existence. She would use the passageways to slip past the likely guarded library entrance and enter her destination undetected. Kara proceeded up a circular stairwell within the eastern tower of the castle and drew to a halt around halfway up it. She looked down towards her feet and kicked the bottom brick on the tower wall beside the step. The wall directly to the side of her began to move and an opening appeared from within the stone. This was the entrance to the passageway. The king’s father had built the tunnels long ago to protect the royal bloodline in the event their enemies ever seized the castle.

The passageway covered many areas of the castle. From the king’s chambers to the ancient weapons vault, located in the depths of the palace. However none of these interested Kara today as she moved her way through the tunnel. The girl shuddered as a chilling cold filled the narrow passageway. Spider’s webbing filled the narrow openings and Kara did well to avoid them, as this was the only area in the castle that suffered from poor lighting. In fact, due to the lack of light inside, the princess could only find her way about the passageway due to memory. You see, her father had taken her through the secret pathways as a child, and had taught her to remember every part of them.

After feeling around in the dark for what seemed like an eternity, Kara slipped through an exit, which led into the library within the castle. Due to the late hour, the library was unattended, however, Kara could sense the presence of several men outside the large wooden doors that were the entrance to the room. Kara thought it strange that her father would not have the passageways cut off from her, to avoid using them to gaining access to the library. However, the princess put this to the back of her mind and began her search. The library was huge in size, with shelves overflowing with books in all directions as far as the eye could see.

From spell books to books of learning, everything anyone would ever need to know was encased upon these bookshelves. Shelves stood over thirty feet in height and one would need to use the large wooden ladders that were scattered around to reach the books located on the upper levels. It was the historical wing of the library, which would have the books that Kara was looking for. It had been some time since the princess had last visited the great library and it took her a while to locate the correct aisle way that contained the books that would aid her.

And so, the princess began reading. She read for hours, taking a seat on the floor next to one of the bookshelves. She read all sorts of tales. Most of the archives spoke of the Great War between Alexandria and Underworld. The tale that intrigued her the most was the story of an Alexandrian named Vincent Xavier. Once a loyal follower and respected knight, Xavier betrayed the Alexandrian realm and turned informer for the Underworld. His actions enabled them to strike at Alexandria, resulting in the birth of the Great War. The book stated that as punishment for his sins, Xavier was cursed. He was transformed into a dark creature, and forbidden from ever setting foot on Alexandrian soil again. If he were to do so, the curse would take his own life.

As much as Kara read, she could not find any records of the child named Valentine whom she had seen in her dreams. There was also no mention of the events that had taken place in the castle’s garden maze, in which King Zeris and Master Auron had taken the boy away, never to be seen again. It was almost as if the boy had never existed.

Suddenly Kara sensed another presence inside the Library. She began to hear small movements behind the bookshelf she was sat next to. She jumped to her feet and looked around. “Who’s there?”

Silence…

A book was pushed through the shelf and fell down next to her feet. Kara could make out the outline of a small figure, not much taller than the size of a child, from the other side of the bookshelf. “Who goes there?” Kara asked.

The small figure began to run. Kara gave chase, running around the side of the bookshelf until she reached the end of it. She looked down the aisle to where the small figure had been standing, but the person was gone.

Kara looked around cautiously but could no longer sense anyone else inside the room.
I must not linger her much longer.
The princess walked back to where she had originally been stood and spotted the book that had been left by the unknown figure. Thinking it wise to leave the library in case the person came back, Kara took the book and left the room via the secret passageway.

The princess arrived back to her chambers with great speed. She was weary of the unknown person she had encountered in the library and also of being spotted by one of her father’s guards. However, more than this, she was very curious to see the contents of the book that the strange figure had revealed to her. She sat down on her bed, crossing her legs to make herself comfortable. She placed the book on her lap and opened the cover. The first page was empty! Confused, Kara quickly turned the next page, and then the next. All empty! “What is this? She said to herself. Something then began to happen on the empty page of the book. Words began to appear. The words read:
This is the book of knowledge. Those who possess this, have great power
. The book was clearly enchanted.

The princess thought for a moment.
It must be
! The book had answered the question she had spoken just a moment earlier. “Who is Valentine?” said Kara to the book. Words began to form within the pages once more.

“
Valentine…the banished son of Alexandria
,” read the book.

“The banished son of Alexandria? What do you mean banished?” asked Kara.

“
The banished son of Alexandria, banished by order of the Creator Of All Things, Trenkenth
,” read the book.

Kara gasped. Her father had told her tales of Trenkenth. He was a god-like figure known to both Alexandrian and Underworld realms. Both worlds knew and feared him. According to her father’s words, the creator had formed all of the worlds with simple thought alone. He watched over the realms, like gods do, making sure things went along as they are meant to. However, it had never crossed the princesses mind that Trenkenth could be in someway involved with this Valentine character.

“Why was he banished?” said Kara, directing her words towards the book.

“
He is a victim. A scapegoat for the foolish actions of this realm, and its king
.”

“He was banished because of my father?” asked Kara, who was becoming more disturbed with the more she learned. Clearly, the king had been hiding something from her, something he never wished to be found out. “
Not all of the events of the Great War can be told. Some are forbidden, even in this book.”

“Forbidden? What is forbidden? You must tell me!” said Kara.

The girl waited for a few moments for more words to appear on the page, but none came. A look of confusion filled her face. She couldn’t understand why the words were no longer appearing. “Why is it forbidden? Why!” Kara said, raising her voice slightly. After a few moments, words began to form once more.

“
The whole truth cannot be revealed within this book.”

Kara sighed. Before she could finish, however, more words began to appear.

“
However, there is one who has the answers that you seek.
”

“One? Who is it?” asked the princess.

“
There is one currently on the boundaries of this Alexandrian fortress. In order for you to find the one who has the knowledge that you seek, first you must go to the one who would take you to where you need to be.”

Kara didn’t quite understand what the book was telling her. “I don’t understand, how do I find this person?”

“You don’t,” spoke a voice from the far corner of her chambers. The voice startled the girl. She jumped up off her bed and turned to face the person who now stood inside the room. She had to look down to see him. He was a small man, around four feet in height. The man wore chain mail armour made of Mythril, a small helmet, and small leather boots. The man looked fairly old, so much in fact that the grey in his beard outweighed the dark.

“How did you get in here?” Kara demanded.

“Charming, and here’s me thinking I was going to get a royal welcome!”