Vankara (Book 1) (9 page)

Sometime later, I
noticed the speed of the airship decrease.

“You’ll need to
change out of those clothes,” Gabriel said to me, looking at the plain blue
dress belonging to Sarah Harker.  “There is a red dress in the wardrobe.  Emma
picked it out for you to wear.  She’s been wearing black since her husband
died, but she said you should arrive at the palace wearing the red one.  It
will mark the end of her mourning and give you the opportunity to choose a
husband when the time is appropriate.”

“A husband is the
furthest thing from my mind.”

“Well, you never
know,” Gabriel said with a gentle smile.  “The right man might sweep you off
your feet before you even realize it.”

“Are we there?”
Fallon asked, finally leaving his post beside the Queen.

“I believe we are
getting close,” Gabriel informed him.

I went into the
bedroom careful to keep my eyes averted from the Queen’s sheet wrapped body
lying on the bed.  I changed out of my simple cotton dress as quickly as
possible and donned the red silk gown hanging in the Queen’s wardrobe.  The
dress was simple in cut with a full bodied skirt and tailored matching jacket
which fit snuggly across the waist but had sleeves which seemed to bloom at the
shoulders and taper down to the wrist.  A small matching top hat decorated with
with black feathers and gold jewelry was also in the wardrobe but I didn’t have
the courage to try and figure out how I was supposed to wear it on my head.       

I felt the airship
come to a complete stop as I was lacing up my black leather boots.  When I
stepped out of the bedroom, Inara, Gabriel and Fallon were huddled together discussing
the best place to cremate the body.

Inara was the
first to notice me standing in the doorway.  I wasn’t sure what to do.  How did
the Queen act with her best friend?

“What are you
doing out of bed?” Inara demanded before stalking up to me and slapping her
right hand against my forehead.  “Hmm, you don’t have a fever anymore and you
definitely look a hundred percent better than you did.”  She grasped me by the
top of the arms and laid her head against my chest with her ear pressed against
me.

I looked up at
Gabriel for some sort of guidance in how to handle the situation.  Gabriel
simply shrugged his shoulders offering no help in deciphering what Inara was
doing or how I should react to it.

Inara finally
lifted her head from my chest and looked at me. 

“I don’t hear that
faint rattle anymore either,” she eyed me up and down.  “Why are you wearing
red?  Not that I’m complaining.  I thought you should have ditched the black a
year ago.”

“I decided you
were right,” I said as brightly as I could.  “I’ve mourned my husband long
enough, and I’m feeling well.  It’s time to make a fresh start.” 

“Does this change
of heart have anything to do with Fallon being in your service again?” Inara
whispered to me with a sly grin spreading her lips.

“No,” I whispered
back quickly, “absolutely not.”

“Ri-ight,” she
drew out the word like she didn’t believe me in the slightest and covertly
winked.  “Anyway, like I said, you look a hundred percent better than you did. 
I wish I’d gotten the chance to thank that girl for healing you before she
died.”

Inara turned back
to the men.  “What do you say we get this over with so we can get back home?”

Fallon and Gabriel
carried the body of the Queen as her only two pall bearers.  It was pitch black
where Inara landed the airship.  Even the small sliver of the new moon hanging
in the sky couldn’t seem to slice through the darkness.  The only light to see
by was from the soft glow emanating from the Queen’s compartment.  Once we were
a safe distance away from the ship, Fallon and Gabriel laid the Queen’s body on
the ground.

“I would like to
say a few words since I knew Sarah best,” Gabriel said to us.  He cleared his
throat before beginning.  “Dear father, I pray for you to take care of our
friend as she makes her ascension into your heavenly arms.  Protect and guide
her as she journeys to her next life.  Please watch over those of us she has
left behind. May we make her proud in our deeds to come. Amen.”

Gabriel placed the
grey stone etched with runes of enchantment on the Queen’s chest.

“Requiescat in
pace,” he said, signaling the stone to ignite.

A series of blue
flames quickly enveloped the Queen’s body.  Inara and John stood on the
opposite side of the Queen from Gabriel and me.  I felt a pang of guilt for not
telling Inara the body in front of her was that of her best friend, her Queen. 
It didn’t seem right to not let her grieve over the loss of someone she loved.

Fallon remained
somber as he watched the flames engulf a woman he had tried his best to avoid
the past few years but who finally won out in the end.  He looked up from the
blue arching flames which were consuming Emma Vankar and met my gaze.  I didn’t
like what I saw in the depths of his eyes: undisguised scorn.  I knew in that
moment our relationship would not be a congenial one.

After the flames
extinguished themselves, we walked back to the airship in an uneasy silence.

Once Inara was
back in the navigational compartment and had us on our way to Iron City, Gabriel, Fallon and I sat down together to discuss what would be expected of me when
we arrived at the palace.

“Unfortunately,
this is all happening at a bad time,” Gabriel began.

“Well I’m sure the
Queen wishes she could have picked a more convenient time for you to die,”
Fallon quipped.

Gabriel gave the
captain a scathing look of reproach.  “That’s not what I meant and you damn
well know it, Fallon.  We’re all hurting over her loss.  Making snide remarks
to one another won’t change the fact the Queen is dead.  We have to carry on. 
We have to implement her plan as smoothly as possible.”

Fallon turned his
eyes to me.  “I don’t know if I can help you,” he told me honestly.  “I’m
having a really hard time just making myself look at you,” he snorted. 
“Pretending you’re Emma is rubbing me all the wrong ways.”

“I can’t say I blame
you for the way you feel,” I replied, trying not to take Fallon’s words to
heart.  “If I were in your shoes, I’m sure I would react much the same.  As it
is, I’m having a difficult time thinking of myself as a Queen because the
simple fact is I’m not.   But, if you can’t do what the Queen asked of you,
perhaps you should go back to the outpost. Though, I sort of doubt that’s
really the kind of life you want to lead.  Queen Emma has given us all a great
responsibility and I’m not sure I can pull it off without your help.  She
obviously thought your advice was something I would need.  But if you don’t
feel as though you can assist me in keeping Vankara safe, perhaps we should
have Inara turn the ship around and return you to the Outlands.”

“I can’t leave,”
Fallon said begrudgingly.  “I made a promise to Emma and I plan to see it
through.”

“Then I would
suggest you stow away your grief and your dislike of me for now.  We have a
mission to fulfill and that should be our top priority.”

When I turned my
attention back to Gabriel, I saw a gleam of pride in his eyes as he gazed at
me.  A small smile of satisfaction played across his lips.

“As I was saying,”
Gabriel began again.  “Now is a difficult time for this to happen.  We are
about to begin the next session of parliament.  As Queen, you will have to
officiate the opening session.  Other than that you will only be required to
attend when a bill is being voted on.”

“The Queen tried
to tell me about the bills being discussed but I’m afraid a lot of what she said
was lost on me,” I confessed.

“Don’t worry. I’ll
fill you in on the important ones.  Most are just things which have been in the
works for a while now.  Emma already made her revisions to them.  Now, shortly
after we return to the palace, you will have to entertain Aleksander Chromis.”

“Chromis is
coming?  Why?” Fallon asked, clearly suspicious of the man’s intentions.

“It’s nothing more
than a social call,” Gabriel said, trying his best to reassure us both that Chromis’
visit was benign in nature.  “Dena’s second birthday is tomorrow and he wanted
to be at the celebration we’re having for her, nothing more.”

“Are you sure
that’s all he’s coming for?” Fallon asked somewhat convinced there was an
ulterior motive behind Chromis’ seemingly innocent visit.

Gabriel looked
over at me with a touch of apprehension.  “No, I’m afraid there
is
more
to his visit.  He’s been trying to persuade Emma into accepting his proposal of
marriage for over a year now.  I’m afraid you’ll have to find a way to deal
with any amorous overtures he makes to you, Sarah.”

“Can’t I just
avoid him while he’s at the palace?”  I asked, desperately hoping my suggestion
was acceptable behavior for a Queen.

“Not if you want
him to believe everything is normal.  Emma never seemed to consider his offer
seriously, but that didn’t stop her from enjoying Aleksander’s playful
advances.”

“They weren’t
lovers were they?” I asked

“The Queen never
said anything to me about their relationship progressing that far.  I’m sure
she would have mentioned it before her death.”

“She didn’t have a
lover I’ll have to deal with, did she?”

Gabriel hesitated
before saying, “No, there won’t be anyone you will have to deal with.”

I silently
expelled a sigh of relief.  I wasn’t the type of person who had illicit
affairs.  Truth be told, I had never even been kissed by someone of the
opposite sex except for the chaste kisses exchanged between a daughter and her
father.  Living in the small community of Peony didn’t afford me much in the
way of romantic liaisons.

“Now, let me tell
you what the Queen’s routine at the palace is.”

As Gabriel ran
through the duties of the Queen, I listened intently, trying my best to
memorize what would be expected of me.  He told me the names of a few servants
I would have contact with but the only one I tried to remember was the name of
Dena’s nanny, Emily Andrews.  I was sure she would be the one I had the most
intimate relationship with.  It was just past midnight when I became too
exhausted to listen anymore and begged for some rest.

“Of course,”
Gabriel said chagrined.  “I shouldn’t be keeping you up like this, especially
after a transformation.  Please go to bed and get some sleep.  You will
definitely need all of your strength for tomorrow.”

I stood and
hesitated.  I didn’t want to sleep in the Queen’s bed.  It didn’t seem right.

“She would want
you to make yourself comfortable,” Gabriel reassured me, reading my hesitation
with an accuracy which surprised me.  “It’s your bed now, Sarah.”

I looked at Fallon
who had remained conspicuously quite while Gabriel explained the Queen’s
routine to me.  His eyes were averted to the floor, either unable or unwilling
to look at me.

I knew I was going
to have to find a way to connect with him if he was going to be of any help to
me at all.  I just wasn’t sure how to make such a miracle happen.

“Good night then,”
I said to the men.

“Sleep well,”
Gabriel replied, through a strained smile.

I went to the Queen’s
bedchamber and leaned against the door as I closed it behind me.  I stared at
the bed for some time before making my decision.

Chapter 6

“Sarah?”

Gabriel’s voice
pierced through my dream as an unwelcome visitor, awakening me just as I was
about to touch the doorknob of my family’s cottage, hearing the laughter of my
parents within.  When I opened my eyes, the reality of my life crashed down
around me like a wave on the ocean, pulling me into a bottomless pit of
suffocating hopelessness.  I closed my eyes again desperately wanting to
recapture the joy I felt from the dream, simply wanting to return to the safe
confines of home.

“Sarah?”

Gabriel called
again, reminding me home wasn’t within my grasp.  It was just an illusion, a
dream.

I sat up and
looked over the mattress of the Queen’s bed from the pallet I made for myself
on the floor.  I watched as Gabriel cautiously peaked around the edge of the
door to find me.

His eyes flicked
from me to the un-slept in bed and to me again.

“Why didn’t you
sleep in the bed?” He asked, his forehead creased in lines of confusion.

“It didn’t feel
right,” I admitted.  The mere thought of sleeping in the death bed of the Queen
seemed in poor taste. 

I saw Fallon’s
face appear over Gabriel’s shoulder quickly taking in the situation with one
glance.  His eyes rested on me but he remained mute on the situation.  His
opinion of me choosing not to sleep in the Queen’s bed was indecipherable by
his expression. 

“We’ll be arriving
in Iron City within the hour,” Gabriel informed me.  “You should take the time
to prepare yourself.”  Fallon dropped his gaze from my face and walked away as
Gabriel closed the door letting me have some privacy to prepare not only my
body but my mind for what lay ahead of me that day.

I quickly took off
the nightgown I had found in the Queen’s wardrobe the night before and
carefully laid it out on the bed.  I donned the red dress I had worn to her
funeral since that was the way Queen Emma envisioned me arriving back to the
palace.  I found a hairbrush in the Queen’s nightstand and brushed out my new
long black hair with shaking hands.  I had no idea how to style it in the
latest fashions and assumed the Queen usually had a maid do that sort of thing
for her when she was at the palace.  Since I lacked such simple luxury, I
brushed it up into a simple bun and fastened it with a few pins I found in the
nightstand.  Feeling brave, I took out the small top hat from the wardrobe and
used the remaining pins to secure it at a slant on my head.  I refused to look
in the mirror on the wall beside the wardrobe.  I feared I would loose what
little nerve I had built up that morning if I had to come face to face with a
reflection of the new me.