The Girl at the Well Page 5

  “No, they aren’t impostors. They have a callous disregard for those who are not like them and you should know better than to make up fantastical excuses to explain their behavior.”

  Liralexa sulked through two more rounds of the Strages and refused to take her mother’s hand as they made their way out of the viewing stand.

  The king and queen waved to the crowd as their carriage rumbled through the city streets. Their strained smiles and Liralexa’s appalled expression were not obvious to their jubilant subjects. When they reached the city limit, Stella took her daughter’s hand.

  “You’re upset.”

  “How can you allow such a horrible thing?”

  “It’s how we keep order,” Cameron sighed. “We don’t like it either.”

  “You were clapping and cheering.”

  “I wish we didn’t have to do it.”

  “You don’t though. You’re the king. Issue a decree and ban it.”

  “Liralexa, we have several ambitious projects we’re working on. The craftspeople from the Mason Region have to be provided for. We’ve tripled the size of our military. We’re expanding the palace staff. Everyone needs to be paid. The demand for our goods by neighboring kingdoms far exceeds what we can supply. The lesser regions have been slacking and aren’t providing the amount of resources we need. Exports are down and things are happening more slowly than we want because they aren’t pulling their weight.” “But what about…” began Liralexa. She was about to say weal disease and caught herself in time.

  “What about?” Stella asked.

  “Right and wrong.”

  “My dear,” Cameron said. “Our family has ruled this kingdom for a thousand years. I bet you can name just a few of those kings and queens. Who do you know? Not the ones who were fair and benevolent rulers. They got nothing done because they didn’t want to pressure and drive the people to be their best. Look at King Jasper. Does anyone remember the many massacres he committed? No. They remember him for bringing the nine regions together into one kingdom. King Theobold isn’t remembered for imprisoning and executing thousands when he put down the Lake Region Rebellion. He’s remembered for creating the portals, which made the Golden Region rich. What about Queen Marsha? She’s remembered for building Golden City, not for enslaving thousands to do it. No one remembers you for being good. And they don’t remember you for being evil. They remember you for what you have accomplished. For what you leave behind when you are gone. The good accomplish little. The tough accomplish great things and are remembered by posterity.”

  “But grandfather and grandmother were kind and fair rulers and all the regions loved them.”

  “Yes, but what did they do? Nothing of note.”

  “They made people happy. Does that count for nothing?”

  “It counts, yes. But no one remembers it.”

  “Everything we have built and will build ensures we will leave a lasting legacy,” the queen said.

  Liralexa couldn’t believe these were her parents talking. The parents who loved and provided for her. Who tended to her when she was sick. Who listened to her stories, poems and songs. How could these people who loved her so much be so callous toward the children of others?

  “How would you feel if I was on the field in that stadium, having to kill or be killed?” she said softly. “You do it to other people’s children. Imagine it being done to your own.”

  “That will never happen, so there is little need to imagine it,” Cameron said, seemingly confused by the point of the question.

  “I know this is hard to deal with. When your father first started the Strages, I had difficulty accepting it. But I see the value of it now. You will too someday. If we aren’t tough with the regions, they will walk all over us.”

  “They didn’t walk all over my grandparents,” Liralexa said.

  “I’ve traveled to many other kingdoms, Liralexa,” Cameron said. “They are enormous, thriving and powerful. And they’re incredibly cruel. I want our little kingdom to rival them in wealth and power. Not in cruelty though. I wouldn’t do half of what they do. Despite what you may think at this moment, I am a fair and caring ruler.”

  Chapter Five

  “Sleep no longer brings peace

  Sleep brings dreams

  And all my dreams are nightmares of the worst kind

  As are my waking hours

  Every second a moment of terror

  So it doesn't matter whether I slumber or stir”

  — Journal entry by Liralexa Abbingdon

  Liralexa lay on her bed staring at the ceiling. She felt numb and empty, a shadow of her former self. The fear and sorrow on the faces of the thirty-three dead children and the three traumatized “winners” was seared into her brain. They were all around her age, and they all suffered or died as punishment for something their parents couldn’t control. She wanted to cry but what good would that do? It wouldn't bring those kids back. It wouldn't ease the sorrow of parents, who had to live with the horrendous scenes of their child’s terrifying death replaying over and over in their minds.

  How could she have been so blind? She recalled conversations with her parents, which didn't seem problematic at the time. Like the one where her father complained about the location of their house. Why choose this hilltop when there was a taller hill nearby? And why build a house and not a palace? Liralexa didn’t see why it mattered. Their house was big enough. But it was clear to her now. All her father cared about was his public image. It didn't matter to him that his desire for excess caused hardships for so many of his subjects.

  Her life had turned into a nightmare she desperately wanted to wake from. Would she someday come to accept the awfulness like her mother had? No, she had a choice. She would be a fair and benevolent ruler. She didn’t care if no one remembered her. At least, she could be proud of herself. No longer able to take pleasure in anything, she wandered outside and roamed among the trees and bushes in the orchard.

  “Princess,” Aldrin called. She turned to see her tutor seated on a wooden bench under a sprawling tree laden with juicy green apples. A book was open on his lap. “What did you think of the Strages?”

  Liralexa’s downcast expression answered his question.

  “Have you ever been?” she asked. She sat next to him.

  “Just once,” he sighed. “It isn’t for me.”

  “It’s horribly cruel,” she thundered.

  He had no answer for that. She suppressed the urge to cry though a few stray tears broke through her defenses.

  “When did this horrible thing begin?”

  “Ten years ago. Two years after your father came to power.”

  “What did my grandfather think?”

  Aldrin looked around to make sure they were alone. “He didn’t approve. He tried to talk your father out of it but to no avail. Honestly, I think it broke his heart and hastened his death. Losing your grandmother was a huge blow. This on top of it was too much.”

  “I miss him so much,” Liralexa lamented.

  “He was a great man.”

  Liralexa let out a deep sigh. “Tell me about the portals. How did they come about?”

  Aldrin put his book into a leather satchel.

  “Well, it was about six hundred years ago. King Theobold levied excessive taxes the regions couldn’t afford to pay. He wanted all trade to go through the Governing Region, to monitor it for taxation. But it was easy to move goods across borders and bypass the tax collectors. Smugglers made a killing illegally trading between the regions and with neighboring kingdoms. Outlaws became wealthy and powerful. The king sent hundreds of soldiers to enforce the tax laws but many accepted kickbacks to look the other way. Theobold arrested, tortured and executed hundreds but couldn’t stop the illegal trade.

  “At that time, an unusually powerful magician named Asher the Magnificent became the head of the Sigils Guild. His kind only come along once or twice in a thousand years. No one, since the beginning of the Abbingdon dynasty, has come anywhe
re close to having his powers. He was so powerful the guild didn't bother to hold a leadership challenge. You see, whenever a leader of the Guild dies, anyone who has been a member for at least twenty years can apply to take his or her place. All applicants compete in a challenge to determine who is the most powerful. That wasn't needed with Asher. They handed the leadership to him an hour after his predecessor passed.”

  Liralexa was enthralled by this tale. There was so much she didn't know.

  “King Theobold went to the new Guild leader the following morning and bowed before him.

  ‘Your Majesty, it is I who should bow before you.’

  ‘I respect magnificence,’ Theobold said. ‘It should always be honored and respected. And like me, you are magnificent.’

  ‘Yes, Your Majesty.’

  ‘Magnificent is in your title, after all,’ said the jealous king.

  ‘But no one is as magnificent as the king and queen,’ Asher said, with an air of humility. ‘I am here to serve you.’

  “Having such a powerful sorcerer at his disposal should have delighted the king, but he was wary. It was a supposedly unbreakable magic spell, which kept the Guild loyal to the Abbingdon clan. All individuals with the power of magic born in the Nine Regions are bound by the spell from the moment of birth. No matter how a magician may feel about the treatment of peoples in their home region, they are compelled by the force of ancient wizardry to obey them. But here was a magician greater even than Attilus the Great, the author of the spell. He had the power to override it and take the reins of power for himself. Theobold had created many enemies in the regions and feared having the powers of dozens of angry conjurers unleashed on him. But Asher respected tradition and remained loyal to the royal family.

  ‘I can put an end to the illegal trade,’ Asher told the king, hoping to win his trust. He explained what portals were and how they could be used. The king was intrigued and ordered their immediate implementation. Now the regions, closed off by walls of magic, were no longer connected to each other. If the Druss Region wanted to buy fish from the Lake Region, they had no choice but to exchange them through the Governing Region. The area became so wealthy due to the taxes on travel and trade, the king and queen renamed the area the Golden Region.”

  “Was this super magician the one who created the detestable golden stripe and shield knot, which blemish our necks?”

  “Yes, the stripe and shield knot mark the people of the Golden Region as a special and protected group.”

  “Protected from what? The wrath of the people we exploit?” she fumed.

  “Well, that was the point of the portals. To ensure the Golden Region would always dominate the others and prevent them from doing anything about it.”

  “If a person with a mark marries someone without it, will their children have the mark?”

  “Yes, always.”

  “I don’t believe we’re superior,” Liralexa sighed. “We’re lucky, that’s all.”

  “Yes, I agree.”

  Aldrin was proud his charge was giving so much thought to these issues. She had always appeared superficial and flighty to him, but she knew little about the kingdom, so he didn’t fault her for it. Now that she was learning about problems within the realm, he was proud she was on the right side. He detested the king and queen and only remained in their employment because he hoped to have a positive influence on the princess. Unable to have kids of his own, she was like the child he never had.

  “How many portals are there in each region?”

  “There are four in the Golden Region but just one in each of the other regions. It’s easier to manage that way. Only a select group of people know where they are located.”

  “How can a whole army or carts filled with goods go through a portal and not be seen?”

  “They use a magic spell to freeze everyone in the area.”

  Liralexa was so astounded her words momentarily became stuck.

  “Magic!” she gasped.

  “Yes, a member of the Sigils Guild is always present when the army or a wagon train goes through a portal.”

  “Are the people frozen as they go through?”

  “No, that would be dangerous. Only people around the portal are frozen.”

  “So the portal could be right in front of us, and we would never know it?”

  “From our perspective, nothing would seem out of the ordinary. I could start a sentence, be frozen for a length of time, then finish my sentence and never know it had taken a few minutes to do so?”

  “So, they stop time?”

  “No, that's not possible, as far as I know. Even magic has many limits. People in the immediate vicinity are temporarily frozen.”

  “When you went through portals, you never knew where they were?” Liralexa asked.

  “No, I was blindfolded for much of the trip.”

  “What happens if the member of the Sigils Guild makes a mistake?”

  “A mistake?”

  “Yes, let's say they recite the spell incorrectly.”

  “Members of the Sigils Guild are very well-trained and highly disciplined. They study for hours a day for a decade before they are assigned to oversee portal travel.”

  “But they could theoretically make a mistake, couldn't they?”

  “The portals have been in use for hundreds of years and that's never happened, as far as we know.”

  Liralexa wrinkled her brow. “As far as we know,” she said thoughtfully. “As far as we know.”

  “Is something wrong?”

  “Maybe we’re less safe than we believe we are. If a mistake is made in a spell, then someone could see the location of a portal and travel through it.”

  “Yes, I suppose. But in hundreds of years, no one who shouldn't be here has entered the Golden Region.”

  “As far as we know.”

  Aldrin narrowed his eyes. “Why is this of concern now, Princess?”

  Noting his expression, she affected nonchalance. “No reason. Other than wanting to know the ways of the kingdom.”

  “There's no need to worry. Anyone who travels through the portal without a Sigils Guild guide risks being seen.”

  Liralexa was already well aware of that. She correctly assumed the portal on palace grounds was solely used by palace representatives and General Hackett. Due to conversations at breakfast, she always knew where they were traveling each day.

  “And I suppose a magic spell uttered by a member of the Guild is required to travel through the portal itself, anyway?” she asked, knowing perfectly well that wasn't true.

  “Well, you would think, but no. All someone has to do is recite the incantation. They don’t need special powers.”

  Aldrin didn’t seem to remember discussing the portal spell with her before. She was relieved he didn’t recall.

  “It seems strange a spell recited by a Guild member is not required to travel through the portal.”

  “King Theobold was always wary of the powers of Asher the Magnificent, so he didn’t want to give too much power to the Sigils Guild. He didn’t want them to have one hundred percent control over access to the portals.”

  “Yes, that was wise.”

  “It takes extraordinary powers to create a spell that those who lack the power of magic can perform,” Aldrin said, his tone contemplative. “It was unfortunate such power was available to such a despicable king and queen. Imagine what a royal couple with a sense of decency could have accomplished with Asher the Magnificent at their disposal.”

  “They could have left a legacy which would benefit generations to come.” Liralexa wondered if she could make changes that would benefit the people of the kingdom long after she was gone.

  The portal system, which prevented the subject regions from trading directly with each other or with other kingdoms, had made the Golden Region extraordinarily wealthy. The government taxed all goods going through the region. Trading companies made large profits transporting those goods. People couldn’t walk or ride horses acr
oss borders. Instead, they were blindfolded and transported in dark and uncomfortable box-like carts. And they had to pay for that humiliation and discomfort. Residents of the subject regions believed the system was exploitative and demeaning. But there was nothing they could do. Most saw no point in rebelling because they were trapped by walls of powerful magic. They were completely at the mercy of the king and queen. Some kings and queens, like Liralexa’s grandparents, were concerned for the welfare of all their subjects. They kept taxes, transportation and travel fees at reasonable levels. Others, however, were happy to squeeze the people in the regions for every penny they had.

  Chapter Six

  “What would you do to right a wrong?

  Kill?

  Die?

  Both?

  If a wrong is wrong enough,

  Does doing wrong become right?

  I ponder this as I prepare to take a life”

  — Journal entry by Malthus West

  Liralexa knew she shouldn't, but she had an uncontrollable desire to travel back to the Step Region. She hoped to meet the same kids and admit she was wrong. The fact they hated her ate her up inside. She desperately wanted to let them know she wasn't like her parents. Her previous behavior embarrassed her, and she wanted to apologize. At breakfast that morning, she determined it would be a good day to go because the army and palace officials didn’t have plans to visit any of the regions. Liralexa packed her bag with food from the breakfast table.

  “You're going out into the woods, dear?” Stella asked.

  Liralexa gave her mother a forced smile. “Yes, I'm going to read for a while. I won't come home for lunch.”

  “Have a good time.”

  She threw the strap of her bag over her shoulder and headed out the door. Every so often she looked around, fearful she was being followed. When she reached the well, she stopped and stood still for a long time, straining her eyes and ears for signs of danger. Her heightened senses only picked up the sights and sounds of nature. Still, she couldn't shake off the feeling she was being watched. After carefully surveying her surroundings one last time, she recited the incantation. The glowing arch opened, and she jumped through it. The mesmerizing lights and colors stilled her troubled mind. Calm and peace had become rare feelings for her but this moment of tranquility ended all too soon. She jumped out of the portal, right into Malthus. He gave her an ice-cold stare. In her haste, she didn't notice.