Yalek walked close to me, his face covered with only his eyes visible. He hadn’t spoken a word all morning. As usual his eyes were enough to communicate his feelings. They remained fixed in front in a fierce glare. I ignored him, but every time I tried to move away, he only closed the distance between us. Why? I did not know, but it caused a knot of worry to form in my stomach. Would he attempt to stop me if I tried to leave?
The sun shone down fiercely. I pulled at my vest, the same vest that Rayon had given me. I was hot but had opted for the clothing I had worn on the first night as the trousers and boots were far more practical than a dress. If I needed to sprint, I would be able to.
The city went past in a blur. Already, it was less of a shock. I still stared at the different faces of the beings walking along the dirt streets, however I wasn’t filled with such shocked wonder. There was enthusiasm in my step. I was on my way back to Shane, Nate and Arina. I knew where the dagger was and I was going to be able to help them. I just hoped I wasn’t delusional, for Maxim’s warnings continued to tug at the back of my brain.
Similar to the first day when I left Rayon’s compound and had been surrounded by Rayon’s men, today we were encircled by Maxim’s soldiers. Civilians stepped aside as Maxim strode down the wide street. He had said he didn’t want to cause attention but from the stares, bows and calls of greetings, I didn’t think he was very successful. It was somewhat comforting to know that the everyday folk did like him. After about thirty minutes of walking, we stopped outside a tall compound wall and half of Maxim’s soldiers marched inside with their weapons drawn.
“What are we waiting for?” I asked, clenching and unclenching my fingers.
“They are ensuring our safety,” Maxim replied. He turned to face me and when he spoke, his voice was low intended for only Yalek and my ears. “If for any reason we get separated today or you go back with Rayon but later decide to come and find me again, go to the palace and tell the guards on the gate ‘peace doesn’t come to those who wait.’ They’ll let you in.”
I tried to swallow down the lump in my throat, but nodded to acknowledge his words. If I had my way though, I would be back on Earth with my friends by the end of the day. A breeze hit the back of my sweaty neck and I wondered if it had been Yalek’s breath. I gritted my teeth, but before I could snarl an insult, a soldier returned at the entrance with a positive announcement that it was all clear. Satisfied, Maxim stepped forward and we followed him across the threshold.
The teahouse was a large wooden building five stories high with winding balconies that looked down on the courtyard below. Small bridges attached the main building to two other smaller ones creating a u-shaped space at the back. On the ground, a large pond with decorative rock features, spread out across a large proportion of the courtyard. It was filled with gold and purple fish that swam lazily without any seemingly purposeful destination.
Off to each side, gardens with private enclaves had been created where overhanging trees and bushes provided shade from the heat of the day. Men faced one another over tables playing games and drinking tea. I sensed that the atmosphere had previously been calm yet joyful. Maxim’s soldiers might have been responsible for the current stillness and wary glances.
I was captivated by all the greenery around me. It was a sensory overload. Had it really been only a couple of days since I was in the middle of the bushland? I breathed in deeply, my shoulders dropped and I could feel the smile tug at my lips.
A server guided Maxim towards the back of the garden where a large pagoda had been erected. There were so many trees and branches that it was virtually invisible from the main building where only mere glances of brown of the roof poked through the greenery.
Three stone stairs took us up into the pagoda. Two long wooden tables had been set up at each end with an empty space where people could mill about in between them. I was in such amazement at seeing all the trees that I didn’t notice that Arina was already sitting at one of the tables.
I heard her yelp and I spun. She was already up on her feet and running around the table to the middle, her red hair bouncing around her shoulders. Stopping for only a second as if to assess whether I was really standing before her, she threw her arms around my shoulders. I never thought I would be so happy to see her and I brought my arms up as well.
“Where have you been?!” she cried, rocking me back and forth. My gaze went over her shoulder to Rayon. He had taken a seat near the centre of the table beside where Arina had been sitting. Eyes blazing with anger or frustration, his fierce gaze was fixated on me. I looked away. He was the one who had deserted me.
Arina pulled out of our embrace. “Rayon has been going frantic looking for you! I’ve been going frantic! I was so scared something terrible had happened to you.” Before I could respond to her questions, she looked over my shoulder and frowned. “Who’s that?”
I turned my head a fraction and found Yalek had not relented in being my ever-constant shadow. He didn’t say anything. He was too busy glaring at Rayon. Maybe Rayon’s expression hadn’t been directed at me after all. I glanced up at Yalek again. He had not mentioned any of his interactions with Rayon, and it now had my intrigue.
A chair scraped over the stone and I turned back to Rayon.
“Queen Olesya will be here soon,” he said, nodding to the table behind us. “We will begin as soon as she arrives.”
No greeting? No how are you? No what happened to you? No words to say sorry for leaving you alone to fend for yourself in the middle of a dark religious alien temple that smelt of death and decay?
I glared in his direction. He didn’t even look my way.
Arina took my hand, turned back to her table with Rayon and tried to pull me. I remained on the spot. Rayon didn’t care where I had been at all. Arina tugged on my hand again and a heavy hand landed on my shoulder. “Wait,” Yalek said into my ear. “Hear what she has to say first.”
Surprising even myself, I nodded. I thought I was going to go running back to Rayon to tell him I knew where the dagger was. That I was going to take him to it straightaway. But his expression when his eyes finally did land on me… and then, I stopped.
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She?
Footsteps echoed over the stone-tiled floor coming towards us. I guessed there were about four or five people approaching. The courtyard had gone still once again. The only other sound I could hear was the babbling of the water in the pond trickling down one of the rock features. Before I could respond to Yalek, he pulled me back towards where Maxim had taken a seat at the opposite table. I stumbled over my feet as I tried to spy Queen Olesya. I was sure it was her who was approaching.
Rayon and his men all rose to their fee and Arina sauntered back to his side. “What are you doing?!” she mouthed and waved for me to join her.
I shrugged and with resignation sat down. Maxim’s facial features had gone stoic and his upper body stiff. His usual friendly and open disposition had been covered with a mask of cold collectiveness. I swallowed deeply and tried to remain calm as a tall woman dressed in a white flowing dress stepped up into the pagoda.
Flanked by two large soldiers covered in shiny white armour that glinted whenever a splice of sunlight hit its surface, Queen Olesya did not look at us or grant any other acknowledgement to our presence. On top of her long black hair, she wore an interwoven metal crown with what looked to be a bird sprouting its wings into the sky. Silver motives hung down, decorating various parts of her hair. It looked heavy, but she moved with a grace and fluidity that I was immediately jealous of. Her eyes, similar to Rayon’s, were large and blue, her nose was strong and prominent, and her lips full and dark red. She walked with her shoulders back and her head held high.
Without a word, Queen Olesya sat in the middle of the table and only then did she allow her eyes to fall on us. One after the other, her gaze fell to Maxim, then Yalek and then, to me. We locked gazes and I knew it was a test. She wanted to see if I was going to shy away from her fierce stare.
“So, this is the girl who has caused so much trouble over the past couple of days,” she said, her voice cool and tainted with the same accent as Rayon’s.
“I thank you for taking the time to meet with us, Queen Olesya,” Maxim said. She didn’t look at him but kept her eyes on me instead. I tried not to swallow or squirm. From across the other side of the pagoda, the top of her lip twitched in a sly smile. Maxim continued, “We’re hoping to solve this misunderstanding.”
Queen Olesya tutted. “Misunderstanding? Is that what you call it? This girl, who promised to get me the Ruby Dagger and then vanished with it instead. And I,” she pulled her hand out from her robes and placed a small blue phial on the table, “had gone to all the trouble and expense to get her the antidote for her friends.”
She didn’t blink. My stomach churned. I had not expected this. This was not a woman I was going to be able to reason with, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to disagree with her.
“I, I, I did not run away with the dagger.” I took a deep breath, not wanting my voice to shake. “I was chased and attacked by the Phalean.” Queen Olesya crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head to the side. “Rayon said he was going to follow me into the temple but he wasn’t...”
“From what I’ve heard,” she said, cutting me off, “you didn’t follow any of Rayon’s instructions.” She reached out for the phial and toyed with it in her fingers as it sat on the table. My eyes could not stray from it. “Rayon told me you looked him straight in the eyes after you took the dagger and then ran in the opposite direction.” She leaned forward in her seat. “You fled and took the dagger for yourself, or for Maxim and Yalek here.”
“What?! That’s not true!” I looked at Arina and shook my head. “Don’t believe her. You can ask Yalek. I only met Yalek in the temple. He helped me.”
Maxim’s hand came to rest on my forearm and he gave it a soft squeeze. Whether he was warning me to be quiet or to be calm, I didn’t know. I couldn’t believe she was telling such lies. Surely, Arina wouldn’t believe her.
For the first time, Queen Olesya’s gaze turned to Yalek. “Hello lover,” she said. “It’s been a while since you decided to leave me. You are so good at helping young women, aren’t you? And now you have another vambrace.”
I recoiled. Yalek had been intimate with this woman? From the corner of my eye, Yalek’s reaction was almost imperceptible, but underneath his layers, he tensed at her words.
She turned her head back to me and this time she looked me up and down. “Be careful with him,” she said. “He’ll show you a wonderful time for he knows how to please a woman, but he will betray you in the end. He’s only out for himself.”
I shook my head and her coy smile returned. I was reacting too much and this was all a game for her.
“Or maybe I’m wrong, maybe you’re after the prince instead.”
“Neither is true,” I spat. “These two men have helped which is more than I can say for Rayon.” I gave him a quick hateful glance. “I have not asked or wanted anything from either Maxim or Yalek.
Yalek did not come to my assistance at all. He remained still with his mouth shut. Maxim, on the other hand, moved to squeeze my forearm again. I ignored his gentle touch. His actions did not go unmissed by Queen Olesya whose smile only went wider.
“Hmm,” Queen Olesya purred, her tone still coy. “There’s that vicious display of anger. She’s not the weak little girl that she’s trying to portray. From what we’ve heard, she slaughtered the Vetlan Clan’s leader’s daughter. It’s all across the city. The Phalean’s most wanted.” She glanced at Yalek. “Maybe the two of you would make a good pair after all.”
Arina’s mouth dropped open. “What have you been doing?” she mouthed to me.
I frowned and shook my head. “I didn’t kill anyone!” I said to Arina. “It’s a lie. She’s lying. Don’t believe a word she is saying.”
“How about instead of you trying to mess with everyone’s heads,” said Maxim, “why don’t you tell Jaliyah here why you really want the dagger.”
“It does not matter,” Queen Olesya sighed, appearing bored already. She ignored Maxim suggestion, and said, “I’m more than happy to give you the antidote in exchange for the dagger and then you can head back on your way to Earth where no Phaleans will be able to get you.”
I paused. It was what I had set out to do all along. Was it too good to be true?
“I’m sure Prince Maxim here and Yalek have filled your head with stories about myself and Rayon. We do all have a long history, that much is true. But let me assure you, give me the dagger and you’ll be back on your way home this evening.
Arina leaned forward in her chair and nodded her head up and down.
There was the antidote right in front of me, and the Ruby Dagger, I knew from the scenery I had taken in as we walked, was not that far from the teahouse. In my gut, danger and deception swirled. I doubted that I could trust Queen Olesya, but if I did what she asked, if I made her hand over the antidote at the same time I handed over the dagger, what could go wrong? All I had to do was take Queen Olesya to the fountain and then Shane and Nate would be free. As soon as we got through the gate, I wouldn’t have to have another conversation with her.
“Tell me,” Maxim suddenly spoke again. “Is the gate to Earth even still open?”
I held my breath. I hadn’t even thought of that.
It was Rayon who answered, “Yes. With our advanced technology,” he stressed ‘advanced’ harshly, “we have kept the gate open. The four of them will all be able to go through.”
I couldn’t look at either Maxim or Yalek. Home was so close. I could be there within hours. Taking a big breath, I nodded my head and placed both of my hands onto the table and rose to my feet. All I wanted to do was go home. Beside me, I sensed Yalek shift in his seat, but he did not touch me. “Okay,” I said. “I will take you to the dagger and then, you will give me the antidote.”
Queen Olesya smiled revealing straight white teeth. “Lovely,” she purred. “You see we can come to an amicable agreement.” With scorn, she glanced between Maxim and Yalek. “Let’s not waste any more time. You do not need these two men anymore.”
My chair scraped over the stone and I started to walk around the table, my heart pounding with excitement. I was going home.
“You’re just going to let her go?” Yalek asked.
I turned back, giving them one last look.
“You know I’ve always been a person of diplomatic methods,” Maxim said, his eyes filled with sadness. “I will not hold a person against their will. She will learn within her own time, just as you did.”
I couldn’t look at them any longer. Yes, they had been nice to me, but they couldn’t save Nate and Shane and they couldn’t get us home. I turned away and gazed at Queen Olesya.
“Let’s go,” I said. “It’s not far from here.”