The Black Shard (10 page)

"Actually, it was Raspue and Sentiz who won." Werrien seemed unaffected by her rejecting his assumed advances.

So, maybe he wasn't trying to kiss me. Why is he so hard to read?
she wondered. "You've got to be kidding. As I recall, the last time I was in Bernovem, you told me it was your parents who were the rulers, and it was Sentiz who took over by force after them."

"There's another part of the story I haven't told you yet. During the days when all three lands had their own Royals—"

"You mean before King Sirus and Queen Navesa were gone?"

"Yes, when they were still ruling as well, each land had its own great wizard, a spiritual guide, who was an adviser to each pair of king and queen. Bernovem's was Rupert Sorsiro, Tezerel's was Azaril Crimson, and Jalmara's was Hector Mysteria. It was said that during the same time that Bernovem's people were voting, Azaril Crimson discovered the Book of Prophecy on Mount Bernovem."

"And ... since the Book of Prophecy records all that has happened, that would mean the whereabouts of Navesa must be written in it," Kristina guessed.

"Very observant," Werrien said.

"Okay, go on," Kristina said, feeling a little surer of herself again.

"Whatever Azaril found written in the Book of Prophecy must have been of great importance, for it was said that he was seen with Hector, hurrying through the city of Salas. Azaril had the Book of Prophecy with him and they were probably heading to where the election was being held."

"Where were your parents at that time?"

"In Bernovem, along with Raspue and Sentiz, awaiting the results of the election."

"So what did the Book of Prophecy reveal?"

"No one ever found out, because Hector and Azaril never made it to the city center."

"What happened to them?"

"It's not known for sure, but witnesses who claim to have seen them in the street that day, say that they saw them board a carriage."

"What about the other wizard? Did he see them?"

"Rupert said he knew nothing of what happened to them, but my father thinks he was most likely lying. Rupert actually became Sentiz's personal advisor, just after she banished her very ill husband, Raspue, to Treachery Island, off the south coast of Bernovem."

"I remember seeing that small island when I was standing near one of the cliffs of Bernovem. Isn't it a very horrible place?"

"Horrible hardly describes it. It was more like a small version of hell. Most of its prisoners would go insane if kept there too long."

"Is Raspue still there?"

"No. Even though he was unwell, the poor soul tried to escape by sea, but unfortunately, his accomplice, who was waiting for him in a boat near a rocky cove in the island, was actually a traitor, working for Sentiz. He supposedly killed Raspue and then fed his body to the sharks."

"Who was his accomplice?"

"No one's quite certain, but some of the other prisoners, at the time, said it was Rumalock."

"That creep!" Kristina said, scowling at the thought of Rumalock. "He was the first one I met in Bernovem. I still can hardly believe that he was working for Sentiz. I was so shocked when I found out."

Werrien's eyes grew wide. "You think that you were shocked—I'd known the deceitful dwarf most of my life, and until I knew he was a traitor I had the utmost respect for him."

"So ... what happened to Rupert, after he became Sentiz's personal advisor?"

"According to Ugan, Rupert was living at the palace at the same time that he was."

"Where is Rupert now?"

"Ugan said Rupert became really sick and ended up dying while still in Sentiz's service."

Kristina looked sullen. "That's too bad," she said.

"Well, actually not. I guess he was heavily involved in a forbidden evil practice."

"What was it?" Kristina asked, her expression changing to curious.

"Black magic."

Kristina frowned. "That's disturbing."

They were both silent for a moment, then Kristina went on, "So, you were saying that Raspue and Sentiz won the vote. How long did they rule Bernovem before your parents did?"

"Well, that's another thing. They won the vote, but very soon after, and before they had a chance to be sworn in as the next rulers of Bernovem, is when Raspue became too sick to fulfill his duties as king, not even for his own land, let alone Bernovem, so the people of Bernovem instead chose my parents to rule."

"Wow! I bet Sentiz was upset."

"No doubt about that, but there was also an advantage to Raspue's getting ill. Because he became too frail to reign over their land, Sentiz proclaimed herself the solitaire ruler over her people. She even changed their status of its being a democratic society to a dictatorship, with her being the sole dictator over the people."

"How did she treat her people?"

"Even worse than she treated the Bernovians when she took over them. Every year, as the weather grew colder, the fairy blossoms, which were so vital to the gnomes' and dwarfs' health, stopped growing, and they had to resort to growing them in pots, indoors. But this wasn't very successful because the herb doesn't grow well indoors, and its healing power was diminished, to say the least."

"Why didn't it grow well indoors?"

"It gets its power from the rays of the Rainbow Tree. Indoors, the rays are, of course, blocked."

The wheels in Kristina's mind kept turning. "If the fairy blossom gets its power from the Rainbow Tree, where did it get it when the Rainbow Tree wasn't here, the first time I was in Bernovem?" she said.

"That's a good question, and it has been asked before."

"Oh? By whom?"

"Actually, I asked my father that same question. With the wizards no longer around to share this knowledge with my father, my father had to assume that even though the original Rainbow Tree was gone, the Great Spirit, Yolen, that dwelled in the Rainbow Tree was still there, supplying enough healing power to the fairy blossom."

"Hmm ... I guess that makes sense."

"So, back to what I was saying; Sentiz also rationed the people's food and wood-burning supply to almost nothing, and as the cold became unbearable, the people began to die off. Then, when there were no more Jalmarians left alive and the land was nothing but a solid sheet of ice, Sentiz apparently conjured up a scheme with Rupert to take over the rule of Bernovem." Werrien paused and a smirk crept up on his lips. "It was also said that Rupert was having a secret affair with her—if you know what I mean."

"Oh? If it was secret, than how do you know about it?" Kristina said, now smiling slyly.

"You don't miss a thing, do you?" Werrien said, still lying on his side. He took a chunk of her pale, blonde hair in his hand and began playing with the tip end of it.

"My father thinks that I'd make a great lawyer someday," Kristina said, turning on her side to face him.

Werrien's eyes were fixed on her hair between his fingers. "I can see why he'd think that," he said, and then he looked at her and tapped the tip of her hair on the end of her nose. "Now, will you let me go on?"

"Of course," Kristina said, just before pulling her hair out from between his fingers.

"First, I'll explain how Rupert betrayed my family. I can remember a particular day, back when I was very young and my parents were still ruling at the palace. My folks and I were sitting in the dining room, eating dinner, when we suddenly heard a very loud explosion. The palace shook like an earthquake had taken place. My father hurried to check on Rupert, who was in his room at the time. When my father arrived at his door, smoke was billowing out from beneath it. He knocked, but Rupert didn't answer, so being concerned for his well-being, my father broke into Rupert's room. At first, he couldn't see anything, due to the smoke in the air, but as he began to walk forward, his foot hit something. It was Rupert, lying on the floor, unconscious. Hastily, my father went to aid him, and while he was checking his pulse, he caught sight of a black notebook, lying open on the ground near Rupert's limp hand. My father flipped through it and found formulas for spells and hexes. Then he looked into the open closet and could see that from inside it was where the smoke was originating. Quickly, he rose to his feet and went into the closet and found a dresser, and on top of the dresser were all kinds of different shaped glass jars, containing unusual substances."

"Like what?" Kristina asked, listening closely.

"It was hard for him to tell what was in all of the jars, but he did recall seeing in one, a raven's head floating in a thick, orange, gooey substance, and fangs and animal hairs in another. He's now pretty sure that the fangs and hair were that of a wolf. He figured out what Rupert had been up to during all those long hours he spent in his room, where before he spent more time socializing with us, or studying in the palace library, or strolling the gardens, or hiking to the Rainbow Tree. Rupert constantly made excuses to my father that he was ill and that was why he preferred to stay in his room most of the time. Finding out that Rupert was lying made my father both sad and angry at the same time—sad because it was so hard for him to believe that his honorable and trusted adviser, who was like one of our own family, was involved in the dark arts, and angered because Rupert had betrayed our family."

"Were the wizards supposed to be so pure?"

"Yes." Werrien looked a matter of factly at Kristina. "The wizard's sole purpose was to gain wisdom and knowledge from one and only one source."

"What source is that?"

"The Great Spirit, Yolen, whose dwelling place is the Rainbow Tree. With the wisdom and knowledge the wizards gained from Yolen, they were to help advise, guide, and direct the kings and queens of the lands. But it was obvious that Rupert was not gaining his wisdom and knowledge from Yolen."

"So ... where was he getting his wisdom?" Kristina said, looking inquisitively at Werrien.

"Well, I wouldn't call it wisdom, but whatever he was getting, it was from the spirit Resucca, who is only pure evil, and whose only purpose is to kill, steal, and destroy. Because my father has a kind heart, he decided that instead of imprisoning Rupert at Treachery Island, he would only banish him from Bernovem. Rupert was allowed to live in exile in either of the other two lands, and so he chose Jalmara. Of course, my father regrets his decision now."

A chunk of Werrien's bang fell in front of his eye, and without giving it a thought, Kristina moved it aside with her finger. Werrien lifted one eye brow at this gesture.

"Were you close with Rupert?" Kristina asked overlooking his reaction.

"Yes, he was part of my family and like a grandfather to me. When he was no longer with us, I was very sad, but that was because I was too young to understand what was going on."

"Sorry to change the subject, but I still can't understand why Bernovem's people chose Sentiz and Raspue to be their rulers to begin with, instead of your parents."

"Like I said before, Sentiz had a way of bewitching the people. You know, she was quite attractive, in a dark sort of way."

This comment surprised Kristina. "Did you think so?" she asked.

Werrien frowned, for he found this question strange, but after a brief pause, he said, "As far as looks go—I guess so, but again, like I said, in a dark sort of way."

A knock came at the door. "Who is it?" Werrien asked.

"It is I, Elzwur, Your Highness," a voice sounded from the other side of the door.

"I'll be right out, Elzwur," Werrien said, then he turned to Kristina. "I must go now, but why don't you get situated, and after meet me on the main deck in half an hour."

"Okay," Kristina said. Then Werrien stood up and left her cabin.

A
lone in her cabin, Kristina stared out the porthole at the Citnalta Sea; its water had turned to a navy blue instead of the lighter blue near the shore of Bernovem. The sun was still high in the sky, shimmering down on the water, and while listening to the choppy waves sloshing against the outside of
THE KRISTINA's
hull, Kristina couldn't rid her mind of the sad images of King Sirus and Queen Navesa. She thought of how tragic it must have been when they lost their infant son, and how Sirus's heart must have broke when his wife disappeared. It made Kristina feel gloomy as well. But her melancholy thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a loud crashing noise from just outside her cabin door. She quickly went to stand by the door to listen.

"You clumsy ox!" Hester's shrill voice snapped.

"How was I supposed to know that the dumb ship was going to sway right as we were going down the ladder?" Davina barked back.

There was also a discontented sigh, followed by the sound of a key going into a lock.
The guest room,
Kristina thought. She heard a door squeak open, followed by steps toward it.

"This is where you will be staying," Elzwur's unenthusiastic voice said. Then a moment later, the door squeaked closed again, and footsteps descended the hall.

The guest cabin was next to Kristina's cabin, and through the wall Kristina could hear Davina and Hester conversing.

"Wow! This sure is a dinky little cabin," Davina said.

"And plain," Hester added, discontentedly.

"I bet the spoiled brat has a cabin fit for a
queen,"
Davina said.

Kristina swallowed nervously, knowing quite well that Davina had meant that she was the spoiled brat.

"Elzwur said she was in the next cabin. Let's go check it out," Hester said eagerly.

"Give me a minute, would ya? I want to check things out in here first," Davina said in an annoyed tone of voice.

Hester glanced around the clean, yet plain, small cabin. It consisted of a bunk bed, a night stand, and a set of drawers built into the wall. "There's hardly anything in here to check out," she said flatly.

Kristina heard a loud plunk. It was Davina throwing herself down onto the bottom bunk.

"First of all ... my bed," Davina said, "and then the drawers."

"Oh, come on," Hester griped, stomping her foot loudly. She acted like a spoiled brat whenever she didn't get her way. "This cabin's boring, and there's nothing in here worth snooping around for. Let's crash Kristina's!"