Chapter 3

“Remember, be gentle. Skate over the mind but do not penetrate it. We don’t want to mind-lock the poor animal,” King Nikoliad said to his daughter, Melina. She was sitting cross-legged in the grass with her eyes closed.

“Okay, I’ll be careful Father,” she said.

Nikoliad had been teaching his daughter how to control her mind entry powers ever since she had mistakenly entered his mind while floating on her back in the old fae pool. He looked back at the memory fondly. She had been clumsy and ignorant of her power and nearly mind-locked and killed him. He could hardly believe it at the time and he had expected Elisandre to be as ecstatic about the development of their daughter’s powers as he had been, but it seemed Elisandre had decided who and what Melina was and she was determined to keep believing her conclusions rather than reality.

“What do you see?” Nikoliad asked his daughter.

“The rabbit, it’s a she!” she said with a sweet toothless smile.

She has some kittens. I can see her burrow and I see the meadow where she finds her food. But her mind’s slipping away.”

“That’s good, very good. When her mind starts slipping you have to let go. Go beyond that and you will reach the point of no return.”

She opened her eyes.

“What if I show Mother what I can do? I can prove to her that I am as strong as Kelli, in my own way!”

“Proving yourself is a trap,” he said in reply.

This is how all lessons started with King Nikoliad. He would casually say a cryptic statement and wait for Melina to ask him to explain further.

“What does that mean?” she asked.

“When you try and prove yourself, you do the opposite. You are strongest when others think you are weak. You are very strong Meli, Which is why we must keep the secret of your power for as long as possible.”

Melina didn’t think that this made any sense. After all, if others think you are weak and you never show them that you are strong, then you might as well have no power at all for all the good it will do you.

“If I am so strong, why does mother think I am weak?”

“Your mother values strength she can see. That is how society viewed our various powers for a long time. In times of war, many fairies preferred to marry and have children with powerful men and women who were physically imposing. They believed they were better equipped to protect and to fight. The preference for stronger, taller, larger, and faster mates resulted in more subtle powers such as yours all but disappearing. Many fairies don’t even believe that such powers still exist. That is what makes them your greatest weapon. Your mother may not see that, but I do.”

Even after all his lessons and explanations. Melina still did not see the use of hiding her powers. Wasn’t it something to be celebrated? That the powers that most fae had considered lost had survived somewhere in their blood passed down from generation to generation? Still, she had obeyed his wishes and kept her powers secret, even from her twin sister. Now she understood why her father had been so adamant about hiding the full extent of her powers. There was a lot that she could learn about people when they thought her weak. When they did not know that she could become invisible at will, or search their mind for answers.

Yes, she had taken her father’s advice to heart, but now she had had enough of being shooed away and treated like a glass figurine. She was not made of glass, she was the Queen of Aureus and she was gold through and through. She was hard, glorious, strong, and relentless and she would be damned if anyone was going to keep her from the evil creature that had taken her father’s life with a cowardly arrow shot from a high and hidden place. Her father’s life had been taken without honor, and for that reason, the assassin would pay.

As she stood in the dark and dank underground passageway that held the dungeons for the most lawless and villainous transgressors, she could hear Kelliara ranting and raving in the dungeon. It had been weeks since the elf had been captured, and still, Melina had not been given any useful information. Kelliara’s method of interrogation was not working. It was just that simple. Melina ordered the guards to open the dungeon door, and although they were hesitant, they obeyed and she was glad that she did not have to remind them of her rank once again.

Kelliara swiftly blocked Melina’s view before she could get a good look at the bound prisoner.

“This is a closed interrogation your majesty you cannot be here.”

There it was again. Kelliara seemingly could not help but say Melina’s title as though it was a joke instead of reality and Melina was no longer interested in being polite.

“Get out of my way Kelli.”

“With your sensitive…disposition, coming face to face with a murderer may prove difficult for you.”

“The entire royal family, here just to see poor old me. I’ve never felt so special,” a low husky voice said from the dark cell.

“What does he mean ‘the whole family? Is mother here?” Melina asked but she already knew the answer.

The Kingdom falling apart, King Nikoliad’s funeral, Melina’s coronation – all this had not been enough to bring Queen Elisandre out of her chambers, but this prisoner had gotten the honor of the queen mother’s presence. It should have come as no surprise to Melina that her mother’s hatred was far more powerful and far greater than her love, but it did. Melina's capacity for hope in the redemption of her mother’s character never ceased to amaze her, but she felt something shift within her. Where she would have been hurt and broken-hearted in the past she only felt anger, nay not anger, rage, rushing through her veins like hot molten lava.

“Get out of my way,” she said to Kelliara.

“Melina-”

“I will not ask you a third time!”

Kelliara frowned and stepped out of her way.

Their mother sat in the corner of the room, smoking the cornupias root and drinking a strong wine that Melina could smell from the entryway.

“Your bad habits seem to be multiplying”, Melina noted

“It sounds like you mistakenly believe that your opinion means anything to me” her mother retorted without taking her eyes of the prisoner.

“I suppose this was worth leaving your chambers for,” Melina said

“You suppose right,” her mother replied.

The prisoner had one of the most handsome faces Melina had ever beheld. He also had the darkest skin that she had ever seen. Her mother's skin was the darkest she had seen before. However, this man’s skin was decidedly a midnight black color and it contrasted markedly with his shockingly white hair and his bright blue eyes. Melina guessed that he had not gotten much sleep since he had been taken captive. He looked tired and was seated low in his chair a slight smile dancing on his lips. He also looked very tired.

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“What information have you garnered?” Melina asked Kelli.

“A confession. That’s it. He has given us no motive or reason and he refuses to even give us his name.”

“You have had him for weeks Kelliara!”

“Why don’t you try to get something out of him then? If you think it is so simple.”

“Well, if you insist,” Melina said striding forward.

Kelliara grabbed Melina’s shoulder and Melina promptly shook off her hand.

“Wait, Meli, I didn’t mean-”

“Touch me again. I dare you.” Melina said.

Kelliara looked at their mother, who shrugged in response.

Melina bent down so that her face was only a few inches from the elf’s face. The smile that had been tugging at his lips widened and then abruptly he snarled and snapped his teeth. Melina, startled, fell back in fear.

He started to laugh again.

“Alright, that’s enough”, Kelliara said as she rushed to help Melina up.

“Is this your queen? She is even more pathetic than your precious Nikoliad! We will have her, we will have you all!” the elf said.

Melina slowly stood up.

“You will have nothing, and you will have no one” Melina she said to the elf.

Ignoring her sister’s protests, she walked up to the bound prisoner. Once again she brought her face close to his. He snapped his teeth at her once again, but this time she did not move a muscle.

“Yes. I am the queen. Frankly, I am glad that you have been so uncooperative. I am happy that you just insulted my father to my face.” At this, she smiled.

“You see, you just removed any guilt I might have felt about what I am going to do to you. Today, you will regret the day of your birth, you will feel pain like you have never felt before, and before I am done you will beg me to stop.”

The elf’s smile faded.

“I am not afraid of you and I am prepared to die,” he said with determination.

“You should be afraid of me,” she replied, and then bending down to whisper into his ear she said, “There are worse things than death.”

“Torture does not evoke reliable testimonies, your majesty,” Kelliara said. She could not believe that she was explaining this to her quiet, weak sister. She barely even believed that Melina was capable of following through on the lofty threats she was making, and Kelliara certainly would not be torturing anyone.

“I will be collecting information. His pain is only a side effect, but it is one I am happy to let him endure,” Melina said sitting cross-legged behind the elf. She closed her eyes and focused on her breath. Ignoring whatever else Kelliara was saying, Melina felt her mind transform and leave the confines of her form. She pictured her mind as a hand drifting on a plane, different but in contact with the physical plane. She saw her consciousness now in her mind’s eye. The hand was silver and transparent as though it was made of interwoven spider web threads. She propelled the hand forward, into the elf’s head. First, she felt his soft hair, and then she felt his smooth, warm skin and the veins that were pulsating with life. Next, she felt his skull. It was much thicker than any skull she had practiced on before. With some concentration and a strong push, she permeated through even that barrier.

There it was; the soft tissue of the elf’s consciousness. She had been gentle with the animals when she practiced in the forest with her father, only gliding over the surface of the tissue. Peeking into a crevice now and again to see what images she could find. She felt no need to be so kind now. She imagined the hand separating into two. She curled the fingers of her consciousness so that they resembled claws and placed them on either side of the elf’s head. With all the strength and power she plunged her consciousness deep into the elf’s brain.

“Stop! Please I will tell you everything you need to know,” she heard him scream in his mind.

She withdrew her consciousness and opened her eyes. Stretching out her wings and transfiguring in the process she rose and hovered in front of him.

“Speak,” she said.

“There are those among you-” he said breathing heavily, “- who hate you. There are those some among you who have the least to lose and the most to gain. These are the ones who seek your life.”

“I am surprised that you still feel as though you have the freedom to speak in riddles.” She said her voice dangerously low.

“I mean the pixies. They are not to be trusted. They resent their servant status, that they are treated as second rate citizens.”

“But they love to serve. That’s why they exist,” Queen Elisandre interrupted indignantly

“If you believe that then why do you not allow them to move from your kingdom to the elvish kingdom if they please? In Elverira they could be tradesmen and earn an honest living. Why is it that only one pixie in the past 100 years has risen beyond ‘servant’?” he asked.

“They cannot leave because they are citizens of Aureus. Citizens of Aureus and Elverira are not to have any interaction unless on official business.” Kelliara said.

“I would like to know what you, an elf has to do with a possible Golden Kingdom pixie insurrection,” Melina asked, cocking her head to the side inquisitively.

“As the adage goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend”, he said with a sardonic smile.

“So you killed my father because elves and fairies hate each other and some pixies are rebelling?”

“Yes.”

“There is something you are not telling me.

“I’ve told you everything! I swear it.”

“Then tell me. What is your name?” Melina asked.

The elf opened his mouth and closed it. He frowned, and then shook his head slightly.

“You choose to withhold information?”

“My name is irrelevant. I have told you all you need to know,” the elf said.

“Let no one say that I do not have mercy,” Melina said before returning to her cross-legged position.

When she plunged the fingers of her consciousness into his mind once more, she ignored his protests. ‘Nikoliad, Nikoliad’ she searched and in answer to her calls she saw flashes of images,

an old castle in the woods, a scroll sealed by leaves and golden wings, a gathering of hooded figures, and all kinds of images she could not understand. She felt the elf’s mind slipping from her grasp and knew she was reaching the point of no return. She knew he would be writhing in pain now, screaming and shouting for a reprieve. If she kept searching she knew the pain would effectively trap his mind, and eventually kill him. She might have stopped, but she saw a glimpse of her father in the elf’s mind, an arrow in his heart. She remembered the elf’s insults, ‘pathetic Nikoliad’, he had said. She might have stopped but instead, she tightened her grip and felt the tissue squelch between her fingers.

The image of her father became much clearer. He stood hovering in the air, his wings extended and his skin golden but there was something unusual about his transfigured state. His heart was on fire, and a chain engulfed in flames joined his heart to a door.

She saw the elf pulling the arrow back, and felt his joy as it struck the King’s heart. The flaming chain broke and the door opened. Figures in white stood in the doorway. Finally, the elf’s mind folded in on itself and shrunk from her grasp. Melina retreated into her mind and opened her eyes.

“What did you do to him?” Kelliara whispered, horrified.

“It is less than he deserves,” Melina said, standing to her feet.

“Meli, this is barbaric, did you- did you mind lock him?”

“The elf is alive, but he will never be able to speak, or move or function. He is trapped in his mind. You will leave him in this cell, without water, and food until he dies. That is the punishment for killing the King of Aureus, our-” her voice broke for a second, “-It is less than he deserves.” She finished

“But Mel, to do this to a person, I know you, this is not you, you cannot live with this, you should have-”

“You think you know me Kelli, but you don’t. You will no longer challenge me. You will tell no one what you saw today. You will no longer be my sister. You are the commander of my armies and my head guard. Act like it or I will find someone that will. Understand?”

“Who knew she had it in her?” Queen Elisandre asked as she walked up to Melina and kissed her on her cheek.

“What did you see?” The Queen mother asked.

“It was all flashes and images. It was confusing, but I think this goes much deeper than simply a pixie rebellion. I will need some time to write it all down, I need to think and perhaps consult with Esmerelda.”

“It gave me great pleasure to watch that elf writhe and scream and it gives me pleasure to know that he will suffer a little while longer. I think I remembered why I love you” Queen Elisandre said holding Melina’s cheek for a moment.

Melina did not know how to respond to her mother’s affection, which was tainted by. It felt wrong. Everything felt wrong. She left the dungeon and walked a little way before she felt ill and bent over. Although she had not eaten, that did not stop her from retching and heaving. Then the sobs came, fast and hot. She had just killed a creature. An elf. She had never considered herself capable of it and yet she had done it.

Kelliara was right. She could not live with this, and yet she would have to. There was only one place she could go to find some peace. She hoped she would not find the elf Dilwyn, there, and if she did, maybe she would have to deal with him too.