The Black Shard (14 page)

"I see that you've made your famous crab dumplings in cream sauce," Werrien said to Leacha.

"Of course; only the best for my prince and his lovely friend," Leacha said proudly, taking the time to smile at both of them. Then as she descended the stairs, halfway down she said, "I know it is your favorite."

"She thinks everything's my favorite," Werrien said softly to Kristina. Then he went to stand behind Kristina's chair again. "Let's eat before it gets cold," he said.

When Kristina was seated, Werrien took up her napkin, shook it open, and placed it on her lap. Then he sat down across from her again. They watched Leacha walk back to the galley, with Kurdy trailing behind her, stepping lively to the beat of his accordion music—this time serenading Leacha.

As the two ate under the calm, starry sky, Werrien told Kristina about Tezerel and its city, Ezeree, with its colorful marketplace—a booming metropolis—and of its inhabitants, which were humans as well as dwarfs, gnomes, fairies, and even another race called
shamels.
These folk were taller than the gnomes and dwarfs, having a stature more like a humans but with pointed ears, the same as the dwarfs and gnomes. Hearing this, Kristina's eyes lit up.

Werrien chuckled at the sight of her. "What are you surprised about?" he asked.

"That there are humans living in Tezerel, and, that there's a whole other race as well. So what do these shamel folk look like?"

"Like Heerzek and Sepel," Werrien said casually, just before taking a bite of his food.

"That's why I thought those two looked a little different."

As the dinner date went on, Kristina continued listening to Werrien, trying hard not let herself stare too hard at his handsome face, set aglow in the flickering candlelight. She felt like the luckiest girl in the world—even if she wasn't in her world. And though she had been in Bernovem before, it was still hard for her to fathom that she was back again.

When Werrien was done talking, he noticed for the first time the way she was looking passionately at him. For a brief moment their eyes were locked together, the candle glowing softly between them, but then the sound of a crew member whistling a tune down below on the main deck caught their attention. They snapped out of their stares. Feeling slightly uneasy, Kristina quickly took up her napkin and patted her mouth with it, while at the same time Werrien calmly placed his knife and fork neatly beside his plate. Then he looked again at Kristina. "You missed a spot," he said.

"What?" Kristina responded, not understanding what he had meant.

"Right there." He pointed to her face. "On the left side of your mouth—you have a great big glob of sauce."

Kristina felt like shrinking in her chair. "Thanks," she said flatly, lowering her eyes toward her plate and wiping her mouth again.

Werrien just stared at her, smiling confidently.

Why does he have to relish my embarrassment?
Kristina thought.

"You don't have a blob of sause on your face. I'm just toying with you," Werrien said smiling, the younger boy she used to know coming out of him.

"Aren't you funny," Kristina said under her breath.

"There's a time and place for everything," Werrien said, crossing his arms behind his head and casually leaning back in his chair. He stared up at the stars and then said, "By the way, my father would like us to join him for dessert in his cabin. Are you up for it?"

"Sure!" Kristina said, perking up. Even though she was full already, she surely wasn't going to pass up having dessert, especially with the king.

The wind suddenly changed from the warm breeze to a gusty gale, coming from the east. It blew Kristina's hair about her face and lifted the ends of the tablecloth, as well as extinguishing the candles.

"I guess that's our cue to leave," Werrien said.

Both stood up, and as they did so, the
THE KRISTINA
listed to the right and picked up speed. As soon as they climbed down the stairs, it began to rain heavily, so Werrien quickly took off his jacket and held it over Kristina. As they walked the short distance on the main deck, heading to King Warren's cabin, they suddenly collided with someone. Kristina's foot slipped on the slick deck, but the one who had crashed into them quickly caught hold of her arm and steadied her.

"Whoa!" a voice said. "I'm sorry—I didn't see you." It was Heerzek, carrying a fair amount of ship gear.

"Sorry, Heerzek. I should have been paying attention to where we were going," Werrien said.

"Where are you heading?" Heerzek asked.

"To meet with my father," Werrien said.

"We're playing cards later. You're welcome to join us," Heerzek said as he continued walking backwards away from them. Werrien looked at Kristina, and she smiled enthusiastically.

"Sounds like a plan," Werrien said to Heerzek, and they continued on their way.

Fairly wet but nevertheless in good spirits, they reached King Warren's dining cabin, one deck below the main deck, at the stern. Werrien knocked on the door and waited for a response.

"Who is it?" the king's voice came from the other side of the door.

"It is your one and only wonderful son," Werrien said cheerfully.

"Come in, Werrien," the king responded.

They entered the dining cabin and found the king sitting at the end of his meeting table. His mood was somber and definitely not what Werrien was expecting.

A
s soon as Werrien shut the door, the king stood up from his chair, turned around, and went to get his servant bell off a dining hutch directly behind him. When his back was toward the teens, Werrien gave Kristina a curious look—one that meant he had no idea why his father was acting so indifferent.

The king picked up the bell and vigorously jingled it. A moment later, a small knock came at the door.

"Come in," the king said. The door opened and a stout, old dwarf with a short, pointed beard entered the cabin. "Where is Elzwur?" the king asked, looking puzzled at the dwarf.

"I gave him the rest of the night off," Werrien said, before the dwarf could answer.

King Warren let out a discontented sighed.

"Is something wrong, Father?" Werrien asked him.

The king didn't answer but instead addressed the dwarf. "Dargin, you may bring in the desserts now."

"Right away, Your Majesty," Dargin said in a gravely voice. Then he bowed and left the cabin.

King Warren frowned at Werrien. "You should know by now that before you hand out orders, you are to ask me first," he said sternly to his son.

"Yes, I am well aware of that Father, but as I recall, that was for major orders. Do you really think that giving Elzwur the night off, when I made sure he had a replacement, is considered a major order?"

The rain beat hard against the outside of the hull, and even though
THE KRISTINA
swayed to and fro over the high seas, the king stood firm and silent, with no response to his son. In his blue eyes, there was a hollowness that gave Werrien the impression that he was bothered by something more substantial than Werrien letting Elzwur have the night off.

Feeling awkward, Kristina stood silently, keeping her gaze down, as the tension in cabin seemed to reach into every nook and cranny. The overly humid air was making her feel sticky, and tiny beads of sweat began to form on her upper lip and forehead. Then, to top things off, she felt her stomach spasm again.
Not now,
she thought,
especially when I'm in the presence of the king.

"What's really the matter, Father?" Werrien asked, but before his father could respond, the door opened and Dargin stepped back into the cabin, carrying a tray with three, wobbly, chocolate puddings, topped with whipped cream and cherries. Kristina glanced up at the desserts. Due to the humidity, she wished they were ice cream instead.

The rolling sea caused the pudding to slide from one side of the tray to the other. Kristina was impressed by how Dargin was able to maneuver the tray, not letting the desserts fall from it. He placed them on the table. "Will you be in need of anything else, Your Majesty?" he asked.

"No, but you may take mine away. I don't have any appetite," the king said.

Dargin did as King Warren wished. Then he bowed and left the cabin.

"Please, sit down and eat," the king said kindly to Kristina and Werrien. After they sat, the king sat down in his seat as well. He brought a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped the beads of sweat from his brow.

Werrien lifted his spoon and gestured to Kristina to do the same. Kristina did so, and took a bite of her very chocolaty pudding. Even though it tasted delicious, she wasn't sure if she could keep it down when the ship was swaying like a seesaw.

"I have been informed of some troubling news," the king said to his son.

Finally, the real reason for his mood,
Werrien thought, laying his spoon down. Kristina did the same.

"What is it, Father?" Werrien asked. His carefree demeanor had turned ridged.

"It's to do with something that you probably have no knowledge of, Werrien," the king said, "so first of all, before I go any further, I want to apologize to you both for any discomfort I have caused you. I've been under a lot of stress lately." He looked at Kristina. "Please, enjoy your dessert," he added. Kristina smiled, and though she didn't feel like it, she began to eat her pudding again. "A couple of items have gone missing from the palace," King Warren went on.

"Really? What are they?" Werrien asked.

"The first one is the golden goblet, though, I'm fairly sure that your mother took it to Salas to have it refurbished. I'm actually not too concerned about it."

Kristina's eyes lifted off her pudding to look at Werrien.

"When did she leave for Salas?" Werrien asked, just before taking a bite of his dessert as well.

"Early—before dawn, before you were even awake."

Maybe it was Queen Lafinia that turned the doorknob on the room we were in last night,
Kristina thought.

"The other item is something that I am quite concerned about, son." King Warren laced his fingers together, clenching them tightly and causing his knuckles to turn white. "The Black Shard is missing."

"The Black what?" Werrien said, looking confused.

"The Black Shard—actually a chunk off of the Seeing Crystal." Werrien raised his eyebrows and he looked curiously at his father. "The original Crystal was a sacred gift from Yolen. It was used by the wizards to show them the whereabouts of whatever they needed to see, and it was meant for the sole purpose of keeping our lands safe."

Werrien flipped his bangs out of his eyes, crossed his arms, and sat straight in his chair.

"Unfortunately," the king went on, "Rupert Sorsiro was the keeper of the original Crystal, and when I banished him from the palace, I told him he must not take it with him. I trusted that he would honor my wishes, but he was defiant, and at the last minute, without my knowing, he took it anyway. It has not been seen since that time."

"The Black Shard is a chunk off the original Crystal?" Werrien said, still trying to get things straight.

"Exactly," King Warren said.

"Was the original Crystal black?" Kristina asked.

Werrien smiled at Kristina, impressed with her inquisitiveness.

"No," King Warren said. "Let me explain to you, a little about the original Seeing Crystal. It was never a piece or chunk from any other stone. It was created as a whole by Yolen and was found by Rupert Sorsiro, half buried in the ground, under the Rainbow Tree, many years ago. Yolen told the wizards that the Crystal was to be used for the sole purpose of good, for seeing things that were out of the eye's reach."

Kristina looked at Werrien's pudding, now sinking in its bowl from the humidity. She was about to take another bite of hers, but the ship suddenly slammed into a huge wave, and her pudding went sliding across the table toward Werrien. With precision reflexes and without even looking, Werrien caught it and slid it back to her.

"So, why would a piece from the original Crystal turn black?" Werrien asked his father.

"Well, that's a good question," King Warren said. "To start with, because the Crystal was a gift from Yolen, it was to be delicately cared for and treated with the utmost respect and caution. And it was only to be used with a clear conscience, as well as a true concern for the well-being of what was being viewed through it. If someone used the Crystal for evil or any sort of selfish gain, the one using it would be cursed and die, or be cursed and grow even stronger in his or her evil ways. I'm afraid Rupert fell by the first consequence when he used the Crystal to find things or people for the evil Sentiz. Ugan told me that after Rupert died, Sentiz tried to manipulate the Crystal for her own selfish and evil purposes, but when it wouldn't work for her, in a fit of rage, she hurled it on the floor, and it shattered into hundreds of pieces.