Shadows of the Realm (The Circle of Talia) (9 page)

“
How much further do we have to walk tomorrow?” Bronwyn asked.

“Until about
mid-morning, if I remember correctly. It’s been a while since I’ve been there.”

“
You’ve never been there as far as I can remember.”

“
That’s what I was saying. It’s been a while.”

“
What’s it like? How big is it? Are there many people?”

“
Bigger than you can possibly imagine and many more people than you’ve ever seen. In fact, because of the number of people, I find it too crowded for my liking, and it’s very smelly with pollution.”

“
What’s pollution?”

Avruellen bobbed her face forward, eyebrows inching towards her hairline. Then she remembered she had never taken her niece anywhere too far from nature.
“Pollution is all the mess and rubbish that builds up around big cities. With all those people going to the toilet and throwing away food scraps, not to mention all the industry, such as tanners, it makes it a less-than-pristine place.” The two girls wrinkled their noses, now unsure of how impressive the city would be.

“
Don’t worry. There’s still a lot to see. Lots of shops with many wonderful things, dress makers, jewellers, confectioners.”

“
That’s sweets isn’t it?” Bronwyn perked up at the possibilities.

“
Yes.”

“
Well I suppose a little smell is a small price to pay for all the other stuff.” Both girls were smiling again.

“
We won’t have too much time to wander around I’m afraid. There are things I have to do.  Sorry to remind you again, but when we’re there it is very important that you listen to everything I say. You must pay close attention to each other, too, because it will be very easy to get separated and lost in the crowds. I don’t have to tell you that if I have to look for either of you, when I find you, you’ll wish you were never born.” Both girls nodded impatiently. 

Corrille quietly wished they could leave her friend
’s aunt and go to the city by themselves. The woman never stopped telling them what to do and had a bad habit of expecting to be obeyed. How Bronwyn had put up with it her entire life was a mystery. As much as Corrille wanted to rebel, she had to admit to being frightened of the old woman, who was a lot stronger than she looked. It was probably safer for her to go along with what Avruellen wanted. For now, at least.

The girls tossed and turned through the night. Bronwyn dreamed of ladies in beautiful dresses, red, violet, gold, and turquoise. They strutted around the city, attracting the attention of all passers-by, their dainty shoes covered in the pollution her aunt had spoken of—golden shoes sullied by stinking dirt. A gentle mist shrouded everything; nothing was as clear as it should be, and she strained her eyes trying to see. In the dream, she was walking through city streets, not dirt as her village street had been, but cobbled with stones. 

She walked ever upward through the main thoroughfare, where houses were little more than crooked pieces of timber barely held together. Poor people spilled out onto the street to talk, their ratty children played in the grimy soil with even rattier dogs and cats that should have been starving, but were not, due to the ample supply of mice and rats. She wasted no time, her muffled steps increasing their speed. She trotted past modest, but tidy, houses, some built with stone. She resisted the urge to sprint to the castle she knew would be at the top of the hill. 

Even here the mist embraced all. Her journey led her past elegant homes, some of which were two story, now three, attached together, row upon row, ornate façades peeking through the fog, marble stairs beckoning her as she passed. There were few people now. Bronwyn brushed past a pretty
, young woman in a pale blue dress, her eyes blank, feet walking a determined path in the opposite direction. The higher she climbed, the thicker the mist. The houses became freestanding, of neatly-cut timber, bricks and large slabs of stone. Soon she reached the castle’s outer walls. She looked up and saw … nothing.

Dense fog embraced the castle like a jealous lover. The mass looked solid and unmovable, rendering the castle invisible. Although she couldn’t see it, she knew the castle was there. Bronwyn was drawn to the structure despite the fear that germinated in her belly. She heard a woman sobbing, each sob muffled by the muddy gloom. Bronwyn could hear the anguish in the woman
’s voice. “I miss you. Where are you? Can you hear me?” Her voice was broken, devastated. Bronwyn took a step forward, her legs moving slowly as if pushing through thick porridge. She wanted to speak to the woman, to tell her not to cry, that she was here and would help. Her lips parted but her voice would not emerge. The woman continued weeping. 

Bronwyn was almost there and thought she could feel the warmth of the sorrowful lady reaching out to her through the damp air. She tried to take another step, but the resistance was too much. She couldn’t move.

“Turn around.” The voice behind her seemed familiar. “Come on, Bronny. Come here.”

She turned and saw a tall, thin woman. Her shoulder-length black hair was shot through with dramatic lines of white. The face was old, yet not. Few wrinkles lined her face. A niggling thought told her she knew this woman, but she couldn’t remember, no matter how hard she tried.

“Come on, dear. We have to get back to the markets. We haven’t much time.”

Bronwyn
’s feet moved of their own accord, toward the stranger who was not a stranger. The closer she came to the woman, the easier her legs moved. The haze in her mind cleared gradually, as they made their way down through the city to the markets. Halfway down, in front of the modest terraces, Bronwyn realised who the stranger was. 

“
Aunt?”

“
Yes, dear. Who did you think it was?” She embraced Bronwyn. “It’s almost time to wake up now. When you wake you won’t remember any of this.”

“
Why not?”

“
Because I said.”

“
Oh.”

They continued down the cobbled streets and reached the market. Avruellen embraced her niece and bade her farewell.

Avruellen woke shortly before Bronwyn. In order to make sure her niece forgot the dream, she had to tamper with her memory, which she didn’t like to do. The dream was not a normal dream, but a Realm dream. (Realm dreams were real, although to what extent nobody knew). It appeared Bronwyn had been pulled into someone else’s dream; Avruellen was afraid she knew whose. Avruellen wasn’t ready to answer the questions Bronwyn was sure to have, so she did the safest thing and hid the memory from her. She would have to be more careful from now on, warding their sleep every night. The further they travelled, the more tiring it became. She realised she would have to take her niece aside (away from Corrille) and teach her how to ward her own dreams. Avruellen should have taught Bronwyn before, but hadn’t seen the need. Oh well, the first moment they had alone would have to do.

Bronwyn woke to a clear, crisp day. She could hear birds chirping their good mornings before she opened her eyes. Her head was fuzzy, as if she hadn’t slept, and she felt confused. Slowly she sat up and peered around the camp through grainy eyes. After satisfying herself as to her whereabouts, she disentangled her body from the blankets.
“You’re finally up.” Corrille took a closer look at her friend. “You don’t look so good. Are you OK?” She led her friend to the campfire and breakfast. 

“
Mmm, I’ve got a bit of a headache. I don’t think I slept very well, although I can’t remember waking up in the night.” Corrille sat her down on a log, and Avruellen handed her a cup of tea. 

“
I’ve put some herbs in there that should get rid of your headache. It shouldn’t taste too bad.”

“
I’ve heard that before. How did you know I’d have a headache?”

“
You woke me a few times last night with all your tossing and turning. I knew you’d be tired—and this remedy also happens to be good for clearing a foggy head.”

Bronwyn placed the cup to her lips, screwing up her face. Amazingly it didn
’t smell too bad, and when she sipped the brew she relaxed. “This is actually not too bad.”

“
If we made cures taste good everyone would drink them just for fun, and we can’t have that.”

After breakfast, of which Bronwyn ate little, they packed up. By the time they started off, Bronwyn
’s headache was gone. They resumed their positions, Avruellen leading, Corrille and Bronwyn behind her, and Flux at the rear. Traffic had been building gradually over the past two days. This close to the city was busy, and the group had taken to walking by the side of the road so as not to have to jump on and off for the horses, carts, and carriages. Avruellen was tense but could sense the girls’ rising excitement.

The nearer they walked, the more they could see, although at this stage it was mostly the towering wall surrounding Bayerlon. A faint outline of the structures within hinted at the city’s magnificence. The buildings gradually rose above the walls as they hugged the hill that led to the castle, which overlooked all. They were close enough for Bronwyn to make out archers standing at equally spaced posts around the top of the wall. Toward the centre of the city, two golden spires gloriously interrupted the predominately grey backdrop of many buildings. Here and there, narrow trails of smoke rose up against the blue sky. Tendrils of city odours tickled her nose, although it wasn
’t as bad as her aunt had made out. 

“
Auntie, how long do those men have to stand up there?”

When the realmist looked at the city, she was reminded of the secrets she still kept from her niece, secrets that would break Bronwyn’s heart but also, she hoped, bring her joy. These long-held secrets would have to be divulged one day; she was thankful that day was certainly not today
, and Avruellen was relieved Bronwyn’s question was easy to answer. “Which men? Oh, you mean the archers? They stand up there from dawn until dusk, when they are replaced by men who stand there from dusk to midnight, then different men stand there from midnight to dawn. Rather boring job I imagine, although I’m glad to see Edmund has been keeping up the security. We’ve had peace for so long, I doubt any of his army have actually been in a real war. It’s easy in times like these to get complacent.”

“
Do you know the king?”

“
Don’t be silly, dear. How would I know the king? I just don’t like titles. A bit pompous don’t you think? Oh, don’t pull faces; you would have thought I had just blasphemed. The king, whilst he is royalty, is nevertheless, only human.” Avruellen turned away from the girls and kept going. She had to remind herself to be more careful. She still felt the less Corrille knew, the better. 

There were things Avruellen should be teaching her niece about what could and couldn’t be done in the Second Realm, but they couldn’t take any chances that her friend would find out. The problem now was their enemy almost certainly knew The Circle was a great part of Talia
’s defence. This put them in even more danger. Avruellen had no doubt there would be large amounts of gold circulating for the capture, or worse, of anyone who claimed to practice realmistry.

They were close now and could see a large crowd jostling at the gates. The guards were yelling at everyone, trying to make a space through the centre of the mayhem. Avruellen stopped.
“Girls, I think this is close enough. There seems to be some sort of commotion. We’ll wait here for it to pass.” She bent down to talk to Flux, mind to mind.
Go and have a look, but when you’ve finished I’m afraid you’ll have to stay out here. If anything would stand out in the city, it’s a fox. We could all use a night in a proper bed for a change, and I’m meeting with Hermas tonight. I’ll speak to you in the morning
. Flux nuzzled her cheek and trotted off.

“
What was your aunt doing?”

“
Just saying goodbye to Flux. I suppose foxes and cities don’t really go together too well.”

“
How does he understand what she wants when she doesn’t even speak to him?”

Bronwyn wasn
’t about to divulge the nature of a creatura. “Ah, yes, well, he’s well trained. Didn’t you see her hand gestures?”

“
No.”

“
Well, you just have to know what you’re looking for. Anyway, who cares about some silly fox; we’re about to go into Bayerlon.” Both girls grinned and had to force themselves not to start running toward the gates.

Flux found himself a spot a few feet from the gates, under a dark blue carriage whose occupants were waiting for entrance into Bayerlon. The carriage had been forced off the road by the guards and was sitting to one side of the gates. Flux crouched low and could see the entrance to the city through the large spokes of the wheel.

One of the guards shouted for everyone’s attention. “All make way for Prince Leon. All make way for the prince to pass.” Flux relayed the information to Avruellen. With the crowd waving, cheering and straining to see the prince, no one noticed the small red fox sneak from under the carriage and head for the distant trees.