Temperance (2 page)

Sera pulled her hands from hers and turned away. “That’s easy for you to say, Maeve. You aren’t the one who is marked or the one who lives with the stigma of a crazed Empress. You know that mortals fear my kind. That’s why we hide from them what we are.”

The silence that hung between them was heavy and full of so many unshared emotions that neither really knew where to go from there. Maeve wanted to offer encouragement and support, but she wasn’t sure it was what Sera needed.

“Are you nervous for tomorrow?” Sera asked.

Tomorrow… She’d managed to push it aside for a few minutes.
 

Maybe that was why she was so excited to hear more of Sera’s newfound love, because tomorrow, she would be given hers.
 

A man chosen by someone other than herself.
 

Decided by the Guardians, fate, or whatever you wanted to call it.

Tomorrow, the Hierophant would name her ayon.

“Yes,” she finally answered. “I am nervous. But this is what has been done for years, and it’s my duty to be next as the firstborn female.”

Her sister nodded but said nothing, so Maeve kept talking.

“Sera, I think you should tell him how you feel. I know, if I had the choice and felt as you do, I would. If he is meant to love you, and you him, then the Guardians would not let him ridicule you.”

Maeve watched her as she mulled over her words and then stood.

“Perhaps you are right,” she agreed, beginning to pace across the grass. “I will tell him after the ceremony. He’ll be there.”

Maeve stood also and, once again, clasped both of her sister’s hands in her own. “I think that’s a wonderful idea. Just think—by tomorrow eve, we shall both know what our fates will be.”

Sera sighed, seemingly more relaxed now that her decision was made clear, as they walked over to the Sequoias. “Indeed, sister. I believe we shall.”

* * *

The time was upon her.
 

It was the night of the Ascension.

Maeve looked herself over in the full-length mirror and wondered what the night would bring. Her raven-black hair had been gathered in a loose, knotted bun at the nape of her neck and had varying shades of turquoise sapphires pinned throughout. The blue and green hues sparkled under the glow of the firelight and matched the jewel-colored tones of her elaborate gown.
 

Every panel had been intricately stitched by the handmaidens of L’Mere. They took great pride in their work and the fact that they were touching the next Empress’s attire.
 

A crisscross of lacing held the bodice together and was secured at the base of her spine with silk ribbons, which were tied in an elaborate bow. The back of the garment was a flourish of the finest materials, decorated with the feathers of a peacock and gemstones of their land. Altogether, the ensemble was breathtaking.

She gently ran her hands down the front of the material and wondered again if she would feel different come tomorrow. But there’d be no way of knowing until the night was over, so it was best to go and do what needed to be done.
 

There was a soft knock at her bedroom door, and as she looked at it in the reflection of her mirror, she spotted her sister Sera poking her dark-haired head inside.

“Good eve to you, Empress.”

Maeve turned and gave her younger sister a smile. “Don’t call me that, Sera. It’s not my title to use.”

Sera made her way into the room and ran her eyes down over her gown. “Maybe not yet, but in several hours, you will be the crowned Empress of Arcania, and standing beside you will be your Emperor. Your ayon.”

Maeve clasped her hands in front of herself and nervously twisted her fingers. It wasn’t so much the ruling of the land that had her worried, but that of her ayon being named.
 

As the firstborn female of the Imperial Family, she was destined to ascend and rule.
 

She was also destined to be paired.

“Oh, come now, Maeve. You know as well as I that the Empress is paired with her ayon because they are two halves of a whole—they are one. That’s why they work to rule the land. The second he is named, your connection will be forged.”

She did know that. It was common knowledge throughout Arcania, documented in the scrolls. But learning about it and knowing it was to be her fate were completely different experiences.

“Mother did not have an ayon.”

Sera reached out to her and touched one of the curls bouncing by her cheek. “Yes, but Mother was selected to once again purify the bloodline. The Guardians chose her to have the four of us. She made that sacrifice, and in the end…”

“I know,” Maeve whispered, thinking of their mother, who had just recently passed. “She went mad.”

There was a somber air about the room as they reflected on all that she had gone through. It was believed that she had played an integral role in their race’s survival by sacrificing herself—a role they had yet to understand or see as necessary.

All they knew was that the Hierophant had recently begun talking of change, and people were starting to wonder what exactly it was he could see. But no more information was forthcoming—only time would reveal all.

 
“I do not believe that he would have allowed her death to be in vain,” Maeve stated, turning back to the mirror.

“I agree. He must know of something that we do not for such a sacrifice to have been made.”

Maeve nodded and closed her eyes, taking a calming breath. She could do this. She just had to think of everything her mother and each Empress before her had gone through. It gave her the strength, the fortitude, to step into her own destiny and take it by the reins.

Opening her eyes, she noticed Sera watching her with a soft smile.

“I have a present for you.”

“Sera,” Maeve admonished. “You shouldn’t have.”

“Oh, it’s nothing elaborate,” she assured her as she handed over a beautiful silver circlet with a cerulean-blue stone in the center of it.

“It’s beautiful,” Maeve whispered.

“It will only enhance your beauty tonight as you take the crown.”
 

Maeve saw the way Sera watched her as she placed the headpiece on. “There. How’s that?”

Her sister’s eyes almost glowed with pleasure as she looked her over and replied, “Simply stunning, Maeve. Come now, sister. Let’s go. It is time that you met your ayon so I can tell the man of my dreams what is in my heart.”

After Sera took her hand, they both left her chambers to find their other two siblings and make their way to the palace.
 

* * *

The Palace of Ascension had been built high over the Gorge. The enormous structure arched from the East bank to the West, and the monolithic pillars supporting it appeared to emerge from the mountains on either side. The bridge-like palace that stretched across the expanse boasted two watchtowers, which stood so tall that it was often said that those inside could touch the sky.

Maeve and her three siblings—Seraphine, Li’Am and Rhiannon—made their way to the West entrance and stopped once they reached the massive double doors. Maeve was to be the one who opened them. Then she was to be followed inside in order of birth. Since there were only seconds separating them, it wasn’t as if being the oldest meant she was the wisest. It merely meant that she was the one bestowed the heaviest obligation.

She walked up the three wide steps to the large, wrought-iron gates and could see the light from inside beckoning her forward.

Come in, Maeve, firstborn of Iona.
 

She knew it was he who was calling her—the Hierophant. It was time.

She looked above the gate where it arched, just like the palace itself, and saw the coat of arms for Arcania.

At the highest point in the center was their world, and below it, the shield was divided into four intricate quadrants. Each one represented a key component of what made Arcania thrive. The moderation and balance of man and animal, the strength of one’s convictions, and true judgment and justice for all. The moon, which hung in the right-hand corner and seemingly watched over all below, was a symbol of their greater Gods. Those of the sky.
 

The sun, the moon, and the stars—the three Guardians.
 

They were the ones who had come together to purify their line after many years of inbreeding and adulteration. They were once again aligning the Imperial Family with their direct descendants, the Guardians.

After reaching above to the handles, Maeve slowly opened the double doors. She took a deep swallow of air and then let it out as she made her way inside. She walked across the large, stone balcony and then stopped in front of the man who stood in the center of the raised dais.

He was dressed in a pure-white coat that had a stiff, raised collar to his chin and was buttoned down the left-hand side of his chest with ornate, brass buttons. His pants matched the color of the coat and had golden seams that ran down the outside of each leg. Draped around his broad shoulders was a red cape that was lined with white furs spotted with black and decorated with hundreds of diamonds to match the crown atop his head.

He looked to be no more than a man in his late twenties, but the four of them upon the balcony, and the hundreds below, knew better.
 

They were standing before greatness. Before a being who had seen a hundred more years than each of the siblings combined. They were standing before the Hierophant.

Maeve lowered her head as she knew was custom and waited to be addressed. Then she heard her three siblings take their places directly behind her, and the palace became so quiet that she could have sworn no one was inside.
 

“Maeve, firstborn to Iona, last Empress of Arcania. Please step forward.” The voice that filled the silent space was commanding and hypnotic as he beckoned her to do as he instructed.

She gathered her skirt in her hands and took one step forward, keeping her eyes on her feet as she did so. Once she was in place, she dropped the gown and clasped her hands together in front of herself.

“Tonight, as you reach your twenty-fifth year, you will be crowned the new Empress of Arcania, and your Emperor shall be named.”

Maeve closed her eyes and prayed to the Guardians that she would be happy with whomever was chosen—and that he be pleased with her. But she knew it was for naught, as her fate had already been decided. Once he was named, the connection would already be solidified.

She could hear the hushed whispers from the spectators below who'd come to watch their new Empress be betrothed and their Emperor be named.
 

“Raise your eyes to me, child.”

Maeve lifted her head and let her eyes finally meet those of the most powerful being in all of Arcania. It was said that he was over one thousand years in age, but no one knew the exact number.
 

His face was flawless, with porcelain-like skin and pale-blond hair. He had light-blue eyes that seemed to be the oldest thing about him, and when he looked down upon her, Maeve felt her entire body relax as he put it at ease.

“Tonight is the beginning of a new era. The throne is to be taken over once again by a daughter of pure blood, one who will rule the land and all that inhabits it.”

Maeve kept her eyes fixed on the ones regarding her.
 

“Once the crown is upon your head and your ayon is named, you will be given the amulet, and the keys to the Tower will be passed to you and your siblings. With these, you shall have access to all that is needed to rule Arcania.”

Maeve remained silent as his words penetrated her mind and sank into her subconscious.

“Step forward and kneel in place before me while I seek the oath of witness from your siblings.”

Whispered words were muttered throughout the palace as Maeve took one step up to where he stood and knelt upon the second. As he moved behind her to her siblings, she didn’t dare look at him, the air around her vibrating with his power.
 

He was handing over the Keys of Knowledge.
 

Each of them would hold a key to the Tower, but it was only she who would possess the amulet. She waited silently as he spoke first to Seraphine.
 

“Seraphine…”
 

When her sister’s name was spoken, the voice that had seemed unshakable only seconds ago took pause. Several seconds passed before he started again.
 

“Seraphine, second daughter of Iona, last Empress of Arcania. Do you assent to bearing witness for your eldest sister, Maeve?”
 

“I do,” Sera answered clearly and precisely.
 

All remained silent as the key was handed over, and she felt the air change in the room as if an icy breeze had somehow shifted inside. She shivered where she was kneeling, and then she heard the shuffling of feet, realizing the Hierophant was moving on to Li’Am.

“Li’Am, only son of Iona, last Empress of Arcania. Do you assent to bearing witness for your eldest sister, Maeve?”

Maeve wished she could turn. She wanted to see the pride she knew would have been on Li’Am’s face as he replied, “I do.”

But this time when the key was handed over, a bright light illuminated the entire palace—as if lightning had struck. Maeve’s breath left her on a gasp as she wondered,
Is that normal?

Once the thought had entered her mind, she got an unexpected response.