48.

A King, and Heji

There was a bald-headed man atop the throne, with deep-set, dark-rimmed eyes and a sinister, crooked smile. He was somewhat fat, plump like he hadn't stopped dining since he'd been crowned king some few moons ago. His robes were lavish white and gold, his crown was transfixed with a bright and brilliant platinum crystal in the center.

But more important than that, Cedric knew immediately that he recognized the man: the man was none other than Vol Krynn. The Northern Axe – a named killer who had spent decades in Kylinstrom carving out the Hunters' control until they'd opened a gap wide enough for the Deadline to be set, and for the continent to become embroiled in a heated war.

And his sinister smile, the one that showed all of his pristine white teeth, seemed to imply that he was reading Cedric's exact thoughts. There was an instant, wordless recognition between them. An understanding that can be reached only by having fought alongside a man… and then against him.

"King Lorik!" he hissed, "I am so glad to welcome you here to my throne!"

"I am no king." Cedric said punctually, standing from his bow to let the coattails of his white-red jacket fall around his sharp boots.

"You are Lorik, yes?"

He narrowed his eyes. "I am. I was. Once upon a time."

"And the Calamoni people… do they not bow down to you?"

"We've come here for a reason, Krynn, not to be disrespectful. I'm not a king, but I do intend to speak for Calamon. That should be enough."

Kogar's face showed just a hint of interest, of doubt. Then he stepped before the duo and waved his arm at them like a presenter at an auction. "These are your prisoners, Teller Heji. Your people were able to capture them by their willingness alone, but your torturer Alzos was killed in mere seconds within their presence. The power of the Etherian is the power of infinite death, of everlasting pain and sorrow."

"Your ability?" asked the king with a twist of his lips, an implication in his tone.

Kogar's eyebrows scrunched. He continued, "These two must be executed. Immediately, else we risk all hells breaking loose in this place, and across Caloria."

Heji pressed his ringed fingers to his lips in thought. He said, "No. Not yet, the fates have not yet called for their deaths."

Faunia let a held breath escape. Cedric nodded at her. Then it was his turn again, "Your messages were conflicted, Heji. Did you want me here or not?"

"It matters not what I desired, my friend – the important thing is that you came. You showed your conviction, you made fate bow to your own call. Or, you fell into fate's trap. That's the beauty of this mistress; who can say what is a subversion of her design, and what is predefined destiny?"

Kogar rubbed his hands anxiously. He was growing impatient, and Heji noticed. The king said, "Sit, my friend. Your time will come, and the time for their heads to roll will come. But not yet."

And Kogar nodded, walked with loud steps through the chamber to one of the polished thrones beside Heji, and sat down imposingly.

Cedric wondered, the other seat is empty… the queen is absent? And why has Kogar been given a throne…?

"Can I ask what's at play here?" Cedric asked with a wave toward the thrones.

Heji held up a dismissing hand. A woman in a white gown entered through the grand doors behind them, presented a tray with glasses of semi-gold liquid. The king asked, "Please, would you like some wine?"

"I'd like to get down to the point –" though, hopefully not the point of someone else's pike, "– you threatened us, told us not to come here. Now you're welcoming us, and Kogar is sat upon your council. So... what are you hiding?"

Kogar turned to the king as well. But he did not appear dismayed, merely chuckled at the question. "I brought you here to exchange pleasantries in this dangerous time, to impose upon you a treaty."

"A treaty? With what terms?"

"I'd like to proctor an Aeon-Calamoni pact – that's alphabetized, for the record – a pact that would allow both of our countries to continue to support each other. There is a physical document I'd have you look at and sign, should it be satisfactory. And, I believe, it already includes the barrier which you intended to offer me."

Cedric's own face became surprised. "How did you…?"

The king laughed again, "I'm a Teller, boy! I know the truth, I know the future!"

And yet you allow Kogar to sit here, the one breeding this destruction that you're asking me to help you save yourself from. Cedric eyed the two-tone man. He's threatening him, no doubt. There's something strange going on between them. But if being here will give me an opening at Kogar…

"We'll take a look at your treaty, Krynn."

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"Why does he call you that?" asked Kogar impertinently. "Why in all hells does he call you a name that is not your own?"

Heji laughed somewhat more suspiciously. "What is a man if not all the names he goes by?"

Kogar went to rebuttal, but thought better of it. He turned from the conversation dejectedly.

Then Heji turned back to the two with a smile. "I offer you both lodgings for the duration of this month, should you need them. All else that you need will be taken care of by the palace, and this accommodation will be made permanent once the treaty is signed, once our countries are sworn to allegiance."

Faunia asked, "You're saying we can have a permanent lodging in this palace?"

The king nodded excitedly. "Exactly."

Cedric added, "The same is open to you in Calamon, of course. Once Calamity is over, that is."

Kogar slammed a fist down onto his armrest. "Calamity has no end, Calamity is–"

A scream shattered the quiet of the room, broke through Kogar's rant. A woman's scream.

"Arobella!" Heji held his forehead suddenly, his face contorted into pain. "I foresaw this, I–"

Cedric barked as he rushed the window, "Ithlo!"

Time froze around him. He kept his sprint, saw Kogar locked in place rising from his chair, saw Faunia turning in alarm with her rapier drawn, saw Heji's smirk hidden within his facade of pain.

Krynn. We'll talk in private. Later.

Serkukan opened a clean hole through the window as Cedric leapt at it. It repaired just as he plunged through, and the stained glass visage of a golden god was once again made pristine.

Then Cedric saw the princess falling from the open window, a thin woman in a flowing dress, likely not much younger than him. Her hair was deep black like Heji's, her face was round and puffy like she'd been stung by a bee or two, but somehow did not detract from her otherworldly beauty. She bore the unmatchable beauty of a noble-blooded woman, an air of power and elegant poise.

He threw his arms beneath her. Time unfroze, she became heavy again as they fell.

Her scream pierced his ears. His back stung as his wings ripped through his skin, splattered blood into the air. Then they caught the wind, the princess let out a shocked grunt of the impact into his arms, and their gentle descent toward the panicking gardeners and nobles began.

"Arobella! Arobella!" cried one of the workers. "Are you alright?"

The princess clung to Cedric's chest. Her eyes were teary. Her breath was shuddering. "Thank… you." she wheezed.

"Of course." Cedric answered, nodding. It was a horribly awkward feeling, especially with everyone watching him. His feet soon touched down, and he noticed his legs were shaking. He cleared his throat as he released her, let her fall into the arms of the plump, aproned caretaker who ran forward to aid her.

"Thank you, thank you!" cried that caretaker, caressing the gentle princess with tears in her eyes.

Cedric rubbed the back of his neck and finally turned to leave the garden, only to be blocked by Faunia and Heji suddenly running in from the open doors of the palace.

"Cedric, are you alright?" Faunia blurted, panting.

Heji clapped, "Oho! I knew it! I knew you'd save her!"

But Cedric did not respond in kind – his eyebrows sank fiercely down over his darkened eyes. "Vol Krynn. We're going to have a few words, now that Kogar's not here."

The king's guise slipped a hair, his smirk grew too sinister before returning to the polite grin they'd been fed since their arrival. "We will, we will. But first, a royal ball is in order, isn't it?"

"A… ball?" Faunia muttered.

"Oh, yes! You've just saved the queen's daughter, did you not? It seems entirely fair that I'd treat you both to some lovely Aeonic hospitality, though I was hoping to whether that premonition became true or not. There are many things we have to discuss, Lorik."

And the king turned and left with a wave over his shoulder.

Faunia asked, "Who is that?"

"Vol Krynn. He was a Sylvet. A bad one."

Her eyebrows shifted into dismay.

"He was friends with that one we fought, Rog. You said we fought him, right?"

She nodded. "It was tough, but we won. He had an Etherian as well, one named Ozzod."

Cedric pressed a hand to his head. I just hope one day I'll remember.

"And Vehk is where we met Kag'thine."

She nodded.

"Good. I want to learn more before things get out of hand here. Let's go find this chamber he was advertising; we'll have some time before the ball begins, anyway."

"Woah, hold on." Faunia waved her hands at him in concerned protest. "What about the ball?"

"What about it?"

"We need outfits, Cedric. And not to mention, you don't even know how to dance, do you?"

"I…" he trailed off. That much hadn't occurred to him, not when there was so much else to be worried about. "You make a fair point. We'll multitask. You can teach me how to dance while we go over what happened in Vehk once again, and in the middleland forests."

He thought she might have blushed slightly at that. "Me? Cedric, I'm hardly capable enough myself…"

"I can teach you." came another voice. They turned to see the princess Arobella leaning away from her caretaker. Her shakes had all but stopped. "I take classes here in the castle. I could show you the Aeonic style of dance."

Faunia nodded. "That would be great–"

"I was only offering an invitation to the prince, to Castelbre."

His own eyebrows came up in surprise. Faunia's face contorted in annoyance.

And much to her chagrin, he looked to the princess and simply gave a sigh before saying, "I accept."