Vankara (Book 1) (4 page)

I felt an
inexplicable sense of doom as the legion of mechanical people walked past us,
never moving their otherworldly faces or missing the perfectly timed rhythm of
their strides.  I wanted to follow the machines to their final destination but
my mother wouldn’t allow it.  As soon as the last of the automatons passed
through our neighborhood, she quickly drew me back inside our home and locked
the door.  I had never seen her so frightened before.

We later learned
the machines walked all the way up to the palace and only stopped once they
were standing outside the palace gates.  One of them asked to speak with the Queen
and when she came out, the automaton told her they were Dracen’s answer to her
country’s dilemma and to use them as she saw fit. 

The mechanical
people soon became commonplace, doing menial jobs such as washing clothes,
cleaning the streets, working in factories and replacing common house
servants.  They were forged from iron and had faces that were incredibly
life-like, made out of a red substance none of us had ever seen before.  Truth
be told, they scared me at first with their almost human facial expressions and
voices.  I suppose that should have been my first clue the automatons were not
as artificial as they seemed.

The free labor of
the automatons helped replaced a work force the plagues had all but destroyed
and ended up pushing other people out of their jobs entirely, like my parents. 
Conditions became so intolerable my father decided it was time to leave Iron City and move to a smaller town where automatons were not commonly used.  So, we moved
out of Iron City in the summer of my fourteenth year.  It was one of the wisest
decisions my father could have ever made for us.

We traveled west
and settled near the quaint village of Peony.  My parents were lucky enough to
find a farmer who was looking to move closer to his daughter and her family in Iron City.  He sold his small cottage and farm to my father for a penitence of what it was
worth in exchange for our small city home.  Being one of the few vegetable
farmers for the residents of Peony, my father and mother were automatically set
up with a business of their own.  That summer they made so much money we were
able to buy a horse and cow with enough left over to repair a small barn on the
property which had gone into disrepair from years of neglect.   Eventually, we
were able to make almost everything we needed and barter with the merchants in
the village for anything else we might want.  My mother and father thrived in
their new environment.

Living so far out
in the countryside ensured we didn’t have much contact with the outside world. 
I didn’t mind our solitude.  I reveled in it.

My father would
often take me deep into the woods and show me how to hunt for wild game and
fish in the stream not far from our home.  He gave me more than just a mere set
of survival skills.  He helped me forge a sense of self-confidence which only
comes from knowing you have the ability to survive by your own wits and
talents. 

We were a happy,
content family until the winter of my eighteenth year when a third plague
ravaged our world.

This time my
family wasn’t spared.

Chapter 3

My mother was the
first to succumb to the plague.  Not even two days after showing the first
symptoms, she was dead.  I thought my father would die of a broken heart holding
her hand as she exhaled her last breath.  The anguish which consumed his being seemed
to fuel the sickness which had been lurking within him unseen until that moment. 
I tried to be strong and brave in the face of losing both my parents only days
apart from one another, yet there were times I couldn’t keep my tears dammed up
behind a wall of will alone.

In my greatest
moment of weakness, my father took me into his arms and gave me what comfort he
could in the warm, loving sanctuary of his embrace.

“Death isn’t the
end, cherub” he said to me.  “We’ll see each other in the next life.  Never
doubt that.”

But who would he
see in the next life?  Would he be able to recognize me as his daughter or
would I appear to him as April Pew, not Sarah Harker?  And what of the real
Sarah?  Would she be kind to me in the retelling of her death to him or paint
me as a villain who was only looking out for her own best interest?

I almost divulged
the truth to my father in that moment.  I had been hiding my secret for so long
it had come to feel like a disease slowly eating me away from the inside out. 
I yearned to share the truth of who I was but knew that would just be a selfish
act on my part to clear a guilt ridden conscience.  So I let my father slip
away into the afterlife, hoping he would be able to find forgiveness in his
heart for my deception.

I buried my father
next to my mother in our apple orchard.  I sat down next to my father’s freshly
dug grave, yearning to lie against him in the quiet earth.  I might have been
breathing but I felt completely dead inside.  I didn’t force myself to hold
back the warm flow of tears which fell.  I allowed myself time to mourn the
loss of my parents finding succor in the knowledge that I had been given the
chance to learn what it truly meant to be loved unconditionally. 

Exactly a week
after my father’s death, I received an unexpected visitor to my door.  The
knock came just as I was finishing my breakfast.

When I opened the
door to reveal the identity of my guest, I couldn’t prevent the low gasp which
escaped between my lips.

It was Gabriel.

Five
years
had passed since I last saw him.  My childhood friend and protector had to be
in his early thirties by now.  He seemed shorter than I remembered but I
quickly chalked that small discrepancy up to a comparison with a child’s
memory.  He was dressed in a blue waist coat suit with a black silk lapel, a
crisp white shirt with a starched white collar standing just below his chin
line, and a white cravat wrapped securely around his neck.  A well tailored black
woolen cape hung in elegant folds across his shoulders.  He wore a top hat
which he quickly pulled off.

“Gabriel?” I
asked, not quite sure my eyes weren’t deceiving me.

Gabriel’s hair was
still as messy as ever, made even more so as he nervously ran his fingers
through it making it stand on end.

“Hello, Sarah,” he
said with a small uneasy smile playing at the corners of his lips.  “How are
you?”

The small question
was innocent enough but quickly made naked my sorrow.

I burst into tears
and went to Gabriel. As when I was a child in the Pew household, he enveloped
me into his arms, not asking any questions but simply allowing my heart to rid itself
of pent up emotions in the safety of his embrace.  After a while, I was able to
calm myself enough to tell Gabriel about my parents’ death.  He was genuinely
sympathetic of my loss but I could see a certain amount of relief behind his
eyes.

The look prompted
me to finally ask an obvious question.

“Why are you
here?  I thought I would never see you again.”

Gabriel took one
of my hands into his saying gently, “The Queen needs your help.”

“The Queen?  How
could I possibly be of any use to her?”

“She’s dying of
the plague, Sarah.”  Gabriel allowed his revelation to sink into my psyche
before saying, “When it happens, we need you to take her place.”

“You want me to
take on the Queen’s form?  But why me?  Wouldn’t you be a better choice?”

Gabriel slowly shook
his head.

“I can’t transform
into the Queen when she dies.  Our power doesn’t work that way.  I can only
change into another male form.  I can’t switch sexes.”

“But why would the
Queen want an imposter to sit on the throne?  I’m a farmer’s daughter,
Gabriel.  I don’t have the slightest idea how to be the leader of a country!”

“She’s scared of what
will happen after she dies,” he began.  “It will be the catalyst of a terrible
power struggle.  Parliament will try to take all of the privileges away from
the royal family to gain complete autonomy over the country.”

“Can they do
that?”  I asked, flabbergasted a group of politicians would have the audacity
to stage such a coup against a family who had led Vankara for generations.

“The people who
want the legislation to pass are already counting to see if they have the house
majority required to win.  They know the Queen is ill but I’ve been trying to
mislead them by saying she has scarlet fever, not the plague.  Most of them
assume I’m lying so they’ve already started making arrangements to take over at
the moment of her death.”

“Why are they so
determined to get rid of the royal family?”  I asked.  “We’ve been lead by a
Vankar since this country was founded.”

“They want to
steal all of the power for themselves under the guise of trying to protect
Vankara from Aleksander Chromis.”

“What does the
King of Chromis have to do with this?” I asked.

“When the Queen
dies, the mantle of power would normally fall to her first born.  But since the
Queen’s daughter is only two years old, Chromis would be within his rights to
assume the position of Royal Regent and rule in her place since he is her only
living relative. If that happens, Chromis will essentially be King of Vankara,
just not in name.  If we allow that man to gain a foothold in Vankara, I can
assure you he won’t let go of it easily.  With the automaton workforce we have,
Vankara has become the most prosperous nation in the world.  Chromis isn’t
going to relinquish power here once he gets it, at least not without a fight.  I
deeply regret having to come here and ask this of you, especially now
considering the circumstances, but there is simply no better solution to our
problem.  Your country and your Queen need you, Sarah.  I need you.”

We were sitting at
the small wooden dining table across from one another.  I stared into Gabriel’s
grey eyes as they silently pleaded with me and knew in an instant what the next
step of my life would be.  I couldn’t let Gabriel down, not after all he had
done for me.  If it hadn’t been for him, I would have never known what it meant
to be loved.  I might have grown into a hollow shell of a person, mirroring
what I saw in Mrs. Pew.  I physically shuddered at the mere thought of becoming
anything like that woman.

My chair scrapped
against the wood floor as I stood.

“I owe you more
than I can ever repay,” I told him.  “I’ll do my best for you Gabriel.  But I’m
not sure how you intend to make a Queen out of me.”

Gabriel’s smile
was tinged with sadness.  “You don’t have to be raised in a palace to become a
leader of people.  Don’t sell yourself short, Sarah.  I believe Imogen and Liam
taught you all you’ll need to know.”

I didn’t take
anything from my home except a cloak to chase away the winter chill.  I left
everything in its place for when I returned.  I had no intention of
masquerading as Queen Emma forever.  I would fill my indebtedness to Gabriel
and do my duty for my country.  It was something I knew my father would have wanted
me to do.    

As we made our way
around to the back of the small cottage I called home, I saw the Queen’s
airship for the first time since leaving Iron City.

Only the royal
families of each nation could afford the oblong ballooned ships.  It was a
faster and more luxurious way for them to travel long distances.  The Queen’s
ship was maroon in color with a gold threaded image of the family seal
embroidered on the front: a crowned phoenix, flaming wings spread wide holding
a mage’s scepter in one clawed foot and a hammer in the other. Large, twin
metal propellers were mounted on the back end of the balloon to control its
speed and direction. Attached to the underside of the gas filled balloon, was
one large cabin banked with windows and a smaller cabin with no apparent route
of entry.  Both were made of a dark varnished wood.  I knew from what my father
had taught me that the smaller cabin was where the navigational controls were kept
and the larger compartment was where the royal family and their entourage
traveled.

As we approached
the steps leading up to the Queen’s compartment, I saw a woman walking down the
steps towards us clad in a chestnut brown leather jacket, pants and matching
knee high boots with gold buckles on the sides.  She wore her long, blonde hair
in a plaited ponytail which hung over her left shoulder to her waist.  An
aviator’s cap with a pair of goggles was perched snuggly on her head.  The
woman descended the stairs with a feminine swagger which had a masculine gate
to it. As we approached each other, I noticed a pair of gold wings pinned to
the front of her cap signifying her rank as Commander of the Queen’s Airship.

She tugged her
leather gloves on as she stood waiting for us at the foot of the stairs.  Two
balanced daggers hung in sheaths from the belt on each side of her hip. Her
features were strong with penetrating blue eyes and full red lips.  There was
no doubt she was physically pretty but it was the aura of confidence
surrounding her which made her beautiful.

“Is this her?” she
asked, her bluer than blue eyes settled squarely on my face. She stood before
us with her legs slightly apart and arms crossed over her chest.

“Sarah Harker, I
would like to introduce you to the Queen’s airship captain, Inara Irondale.”

I held out my hand
to Inara.  “I’m pleased to make your acquaintance, Captain Irondale.”

Inara’s mouth
twitched like she wasn’t used to being addressed by her military designation. 
I could well imagine other’s mocking her rank since she was a woman.  Even
though men said they saw us as their equals, there were always those who only
said it, not truly believing it.

Inara shook my
hand with one swift motion then let it go.

“I hope you’re the
miracle worker Gabriel says you are,” Inara said, completely baffling me as to
the meaning behind her words.  “Emma’s sleeping.  Should we go to the outpost
and get the dog now?”