Plague of Mybyncia (17 page)

“Yes…” Maris nods, following my stare. “He
will not let her go. He still believes they will be joined.”

“He is vastly mistaken,” the princess says, a
combination of anger, sadness and guilt rushing over her face. “I
am so very sorry we were not able to procure any additional
information. I fear the visit was a waste… nothing more than
useless drivel and threats on poor Fallon.”

“How did he threaten you?” Clarence asks.

“Besides calling me a plague, he said I was a
dead human. Also told the princess that if she let him out, he’d
dispose of my ‘putrid presence.’”

The others look around at each other.

“He’s really bent on killing everyone not
Mybyncian. Dofinikes, humans and anyone else who doesn’t belong in
this
World.”

Again, the others look around at each other,
silently communicating through worried expressions. Finally, after
a solid minute of silence passes, Clarence speaks again.

“Okay,” he places a gentle hand on my
shoulder, “we should probably get you back to your quarters to
change for the feast. I hear there’ll be a surplus of Jiji,” he
smiles down at me.

“Very good,” Ariana smiles, “now our guests
will actually be able to eat at our feasts.”

“Come along, Princess,” Maris and the fleet
of guards start to walk her away. “We need to get you ready.”

“I would like to arrive with Fallon and the
other female humans. As a testament to last night’s events, that
our lives are not valued over theirs.”

Maris and the guards stop at this, Chancellor
Keller exchanging nervous glances with the lot. Hesitantly he
approaches, keeping his voice light, “But Princess, it
is
.
You are
royalty
. You must be last to arrive, with your
sisters and mother.”

“If it bothers you so much, I will have our
guests enter the hall before me. But I will be arriving with them,
not
behind Varille.”

“Princess…” Maris starts. “I am not sure how
your mother…”

“I have already discussed it with her. She
thinks it shows good faith. To reassure our people that we continue
to honor the Way. She thoroughly approves, I assure you.”

Maris nods, retreating to allow passage for
Ariana. The princess takes a few steps, her guards beginning to
follow but then she stops, throwing me a glance over her shoulder.
“Fallon, I will see you in a bit.” With this she leaves, Maris and
her guards behind her.

Once they’re gone, the rest turn to me,
Sampson sparing no time in explaining.

“It is
imperative
that you, Mae and
Pratt enter before she does. Anything else would be a great
disrespect and right now, we can’t afford that. I’m sure it took a
long discussion with the queen to agree to this, but I’d rather not
push her if we can help it.”

“I’ll make sure we’re in the hall first.”

“Thank you,” Sampson nods, obviously
comforted by my assistance. I head for the tunnel to the Great Hall
when Sampson goes on. “The princess has taken quite a liking to
you. It’s very important to keep this relationship strong.”

“What do you mean?” I face him.

Clarence exhales, running his hand through
his hair. “Several Mybyncians support the Muskos and what they
stand for. With their imprisonment… there’s fear that a civil war
could spark here, especially if any foreigners are granted higher
honors than the queen and her daughters.”

“Like entering the hall last?”

“Precisely.”

I look from Sampson to Clarence to Chancellor
Keller and finally Qippert. “Are there enough Mybyncians who would
strike against the throne just to stand behind Perio?”

“Not right now…” Clarence starts.

“So let’s not give them a reason to,” Sampson
continues, locking eyes with me. “I’m sure by now you realize we’ve
come to a very dangerous place. The last thing we want is to divide
Mybyncia as Dellapalania has been. We need this ally to stand
strong and united, especially since they’re a target for the
Vermix.”

“Well… wouldn’t it be best for us to just
leave?” I ask. “If Mybyncia has recouped from the Vermix’s attack,
shouldn’t we be joining up with Blovid?”

“Yes…” Sampson eyes Chancellor Keller. “I
think tomorrow evening is most likely when we shall leave. Possibly
the following day. But before we can depart, we need to make sure
we leave on the
right
terms with her majesty and the
kingdom. I’d also like to visit with the captured Vermix… see if I
can get anything useful from them.”

“It is not just Blovid they are after. It is
the Shadow Bag, as well,” the chancellor admits, his sage face
growing pale. “No foe has every retrieved it, but I fear this
search will be unlike any other.”

“Reuzkimpart is relentless,” Sampson says
with confidence. “He’ll continue to come for it. He’ll continue
until he sees his master plan achieved.”

“What
is
his master plan?” I ask.

“No one knows exactly,” Clarence shakes his
head, with the same worry and fear as the rest, “…but best we find
out soon.”

“Are you excited for the feast?” Mae asks,
tugging up her scarlet floor-length skirt. With it clinging to her
hips, she gets nowhere and after a minute, gives up completely.

“I’m excited to
eat
,” I admit,
adjusting my shelled bra, trying to cover as much as possible.
“Seriously,” I glance between her and Pratt, “we have to enter the
hall first. If we don’t, it’ll be a huge slight on the
princess.”

“But
she’s
the one that wants to go
with us,” Pratt plops down on the bed, already dressed for the
feast. “How come
we
have to be careful?”

“We just have to prove our respect for her
position. We go in first, she goes in last. Simple as that.”

“I just hope tonight will be less eventful
than last night,” Mae mutters to herself.

“Let’s eat, do a bit of socializing and be
done. We have another big day tomorrow…” I pace the room, brushing
the petals on Reid’s Callix around my wrist. “I’m sure Maris and
Qippert have loads more to show us.”

“Think you’ll pick up where you left off with
Reid earlier?” Pratt wiggles her brows.

“I think you should…” Ariana’s soft voice
says from the tunnel. “He is very much in love with you.”

“What?” I spin.

“Oh it is more than obvious,” Ariana walks
in. She’s draped in the similar scarlet apparel, her long lavender
hair plaited with pink pearls. “Everyone can tell.”

“Oh…” I blush. “Um…”

Ariana sits next to Pratt on the circular
bed. “You are lucky to mean so much to someone…” her thought drifts
as her smile turns to a defeated frown.

“Well what about you?” I ask. “There’s got to
be someone you care for. Someone who cares for you?”

She begins to smile but stops herself, moving
to a stand. “There is no one.”

“No one?” Pratt giggles. “Not
even…Tucker?”

Ariana spins to her. “Why do you say
that?”

“Come on, Princess, don’t play dumb! He’s
interested! Although…” and now she taps along her chin, “I’m still
trying to figure out whether you are.”

“I…” the princess stumbles, eyeing the
ground.

“Would that even work?” Mae asks. “Could you
be with someone not Mybyncian? Or even royal?”

“I am allowed to select whomever I deem
worthy… but yes… my mother would expect a miyon.”

“Would she be totally pissed if he wasn’t?”
Pratt raises a brow.

“Well…” Ariana sighs, pacing the room, “she
would need to know
why
I made the choice and what it would
mean for the future of the kingdom. I am very lucky, you see. Sansa
is the future queen, so her marriage is already selected. Varille
and I have more flexibility in our choices.”

“So it’s a possibility?” I ask.

She shrugs, “… It is conceivable.”

“So?” Pratt refuses to give in. “Tucker
then?”

Ariana blooms a lovely crimson, her eyes on
the ground. “He is
handsome
,” a shy smile grows, “and seems
strong and honest. But he does not say much…”

“No,” I agree, trying to remember the handful
of times I’ve heard him speak. “Tucker’s not a big talker. But he
gets scared stiff around you. Maybe Jace and the boys will give him
some Hunnis tonight. Loosen him up a bit.”

“Oh, and your friend Jace,” the princess
grins coyly. “I have heard
several
mayans speak of him.”

“Oh yeah?” I laugh, already knowing where
this is going. “What’re they saying?”

“Well, as you know, he is
very
attractive for a human male. Many noticed him among the humans as
soon as you arrived. And apparently,” she blushes, “Caryen spent
some time with him last night—for only a few minutes as I have
heard it—and she cannot stop talking about it. If I did not know
any better, I would think she is in love.”

“She’s in
lust
,” I explain, “happens
with most girls around him.”

“She hopes to see him tonight…
most
of
them do.”

“Princess,” Salva arrives at the tunnel’s
entrance. “It is time to depart.”

“Yes, of course,” Ariana beckons us to move
ahead of her and as practiced, Mae, Pratt and I head straight for
Salva. Ariana is behind us in an instant, walking next to Salva. A
few minutes into the tunnel and Ariana breaks up the stark silence.
“I believe it will be Brekin tongue and Wigwig again. Oh and
Jiji.”

“What?” I scoff. “No Glippis eye or
heart?”

“I am pretty sure my mother and sisters
finished that off earlier. I hope you are not upset…” she
grins.

“No, Princess,” I smirk back. “Not at
all.”

Once we near the opening to the Great Hall, I
slow and turn to Ariana and Salva. “We’ll enter now. Give us a few
seconds so everyone can see.”

“I will count to thirty,” the princess grins.
She understands—like I do—the importance of this. But she still
keeps a playful manner, much more than Salva who looks
uncomfortable with the situation.

“See you in a bit,” I say, nodding to Mae and
Pratt.

We make our way into the filled hall, most
watching with keen interest as we head for Sampson, Clarence and
Qippert, who are waiting in the room’s center. Holding my breath, I
find the boys are already there, clad in loin-cloths of the same
scarlet hue.

My heart races at the sight, especially over
Reid, who’s gnawing his thumbnail raw. He doesn’t see me, only the
ground where his eyes are focused, as he paces behind Tucker, also
twitching anxiously. Jace is grinning to the side of them, laughing
with Booker and Werzo who seem to be fully enjoying some
Hunnis.

“Good evening,” Chancellor Keller’s voice
breaks my stare, “may I present Queen Ravan and her daughters,
Princess Sansa, Princess Varille, and Princess Ariana.”

The queen and her two eldest enter from the
same entrance as last night, but Ariana arrives through our tunnel.
Most do their best to conceal their surprise but some still can’t
help it. Several jaws drop as the youngest princess makes her way
through the tight crowd to join her family atop their golden coral
thrones.

Tucker watches with uninterrupted focus as
Ariana floats up the steps to peer out into the hall. She dutifully
scans her people, but pauses over our center lot, especially
Tucker’s conspicuous gaze. A large lump rolls down his throat and
in return, a deep scarlet blooms in her cheeks.

After the chancellor advises that the queen
and her daughters have sampled their food, he announces for the
feast to begin. Bodies move around, passing out the food but I
don’t see any of it.

I only see Reid.

He’s drowning me with his intense stare and
I’m locked to it, my heart pounding away in my chest. Tucker shifts
back to whisper something in his ear, but Reid doesn’t flinch. His
eyes are set on mine, but as his mouth drops to say something,
Clarence shifts forward, blocking our view of one another.

“Did you see Tucker?” Mae grasps my elbow,
pulling me toward her. “He can’t keep his eyes off Ariana. Think
they’ll talk tonight?”

“The real question,” I turn to her, “is which
lucky lady will win the Jack of Hearts.
That’s
the
unknown.”

She frowns, “You don’t think it’ll be
Caryen?”

“Hell no!” Pratt laughs, folding her arms
over her shell bra. “Jace plays around. In fact, he’s been known to
hook up with different girls in the same night.”

“Ew…” I wince, trying not to think of how
many girls on Harrizel actually slept with him. And what’s worse,
how many he might’ve gotten pregnant. Shuddering at the thought, I
narrow my eyes at Pratt. “What else do you know?”

“What do you mean?”

“You seem to have the ‘in.’ Anything you know
about Tucker? Booker or Werzo?”

Pratt inhales, rolling her eyes to the top of
her head as she tries to recall something. “Tucker not so much. He
was always wrapped up with Reid on Rogue business. Booker never
said anything and everyone wanted to kill Werzo at some point.”

“Pretty much what we know,” I glance up,
finding Clarence gone. My stomach drops as I find Reid and Tucker
have also disappeared somewhere in the crowd, probably going for
some Jiji or maybe a bowl of Hunnis. Jace, Booker and Werzo still
chuckle nearby, their red eyes slightly glazed over as they pass
around another bowl of the relaxant. I turn to Pratt and Mae. “You
guys hungry?”

After downing a hearty helping of the
rice-like mush, Pratt and Mae take off to explore the Great Hall
with the princess but I decline the invite, needing a moment to
myself. I’m not alone for more than a few minutes when I hear his
voice over my shoulder.

“Hey.”

Reid’s one word sets a fire loose. Spinning,
my heart races at his overwhelming proximity and his bare, stone
chest. He’s grinning devilishly and I can’t help but mimic his
excitement. “Hey…”