Chapter Two

Chapter Two

 

 

M

alinna waited in her study for Chrisha to return with a message from her father.  She stared absently out the window.  She could hear the wind rustling the sheets and the birds in the distance.  Then there was a sudden burst of color on her balcony.  She gathered her skirts and ran out the door.   She slowed to a walk as she approached the edge of the balcony.  She felt someone watching her. 

She turned quickly and found herself face to face with a small blue fairy.  She looked at it for a little while in silence.  She determined that it was a female messenger fairy.  She waited for it to speak, she obviously had a message.  She bowed her head in Malinna’s direction.  Malinna acknowledged her and then Chrisha burst through the door to her study. 

“Princess, your father says he will be here as soon as he takes care of an urgent matter that just came up,” Chrisha said, breathlessly. 

“Thank you Chrisha.  You have been so helpful today.  You don’t have to use my title when we are by ourselves or with my father,” Malinna smiled, “I need you to do one last thing for me, then you may rest.”

“What is it, Malinna?” Chrisha asked eagerly. 

“Will you go get my dinner from the kitchen?” Malinna queried. 

“Yes, ma’am,” she curtsied and left the room. 

Malinna closed her eyes and took a deep breath.  She turned back to where the fairy was and looked around.  She searched up and down for the fairy, but she was gone.  Malinna looked out at the countryside, anxious for it to be morning.  There was nothing more that she wanted than to avoid her mother’s betrayed glare.  She knew that look almost as well as she knew her father’s face.  It was the look she got every time she brought up Carmenta.  She was tossed from her thoughts by a soft knock at the door. 

“Come in,” Malinna said, not bothering to turn to see who it was. 

Cole entered the room, then walked out onto the balcony and took a seat on the rail in front of Malinna.  Neither of them said a word until they heard Chrisha setting up Malinna’s dinner. 

“You should eat before it gets cold,” Cole said gesturing to the doorway. 

“Certainly, after you, Father,” Malinna said, looking around for the fairy one last time. 

They stepped into the study and Cole addressed Chrisha, “Would you leave us please, and make sure that we are not disturbed by anyone.” 

When Malinna nodded her assent, Chrisha promised, “Yes, of course Your Majesty.  Not a soul will make it past me.”

“Thank you,” Malinna and Cole said in unison. 

After Chrisha left the room and shut the door behind her, Cole spoke, “Malinna, there is something that your mother and I need to tell you, but she couldn’t bear to face you with the news.  So I must tell you myself.  Brianna is not your mother.” 

“What do you mean?” Malinna asked puzzled. 

“Brianna didn’t give birth to you.  Someone else did, and we thought that it would be better for you if we didn’t tell you until you became of age and could decide for yourself if you want your mother to be a part of your life,” Cole said. 

“I want to know everything.  Don’t leave a single detail out,” Malinna said, starting to eat her meal. 

Cole began to tell Malinna everything, but he didn’t realize that he went the whole story without telling her the name of her mother until Malinna finished eating and asked, “Who is she?”

Cole took a deep breath and said, “This is harder than I thought it would be.  Your mother is Carmenta.”  He lowered his head in shame, waiting for the outburst that he thought was coming, but it never came. 

All Malinna said was, “Is that why she was exiled?  Brianna found out the truth and got rid of her because she thought Carmenta was going to steal you from her.”

“Yes, I hope that you can forgive me,” Cole said, his eyes glistening from the tears that were starting to form. 

“There is nothing to forgive.  Father, you did what you thought was best for me.  Isn’t that what a father is supposed to do?” Malinna said. 

“Yes, I suppose it is, but that doesn’t make me feel any better.  Are you still going to go to the DragonLands?  I think it would be best for you to go and learn how to use your powers, before Brianna tries to stop you.  She knows that if you don’t go before your nineteenth birthday that you could lose your powers or worse,” Cole said. 

“Or worse?” Malinna queried. 

Cole tried to avoid her questioning glare. 

“Father, what could happen to me?  I need to know so that I can prevent it,” Malinna whimpered desperately. 

“There is a possibility that your magic could...” Cole paused and took a deep breath, “Kill you.” 

“How could Brianna allow that?!  She wouldn’t let me die, would she?”  Malinna said, her voice quivering. 

“She would rather have you dead than become a sorceress.  Her mother was murdered by a witch that had gone insane.  She blames every witch for that.  I’m afraid that she may turn on you if you stay in the castle to learn magic.  Witches, even the most powerful, are vulnerable when they are learning,” Cole whispered, gently stroking Malinna’s cheek, “You must leave no later than an hour before dawn, so that Brianna can’t try to stop you.”

Tears began to swell in Malinna’s eyes.  She tried not to cry but the tears wouldn’t stop coming.  She knew that once she left that Brianna wouldn’t allow her to come back.  She would be an exile from her own home.  Brianna would make sure that the entire kingdom was turned against her.  She would become no better that the assassins.  People would shun her, fear her, and probably try to kill her. 

“Father, will I be able to return here, or will I have to live elsewhere?” Malinna sniffled, now that the tears had stopped.

Cole gently wiped the last tear from Malinna’s cheek and said, “Not until you have completed your training.  I wish I could tell you otherwise, but unfortunately I can’t.”  Tears started to form in his eyes as he saw how much he was hurting his precious baby girl.  “Queen Lira has graciously invited you to stay with her while you are apprenticed to a sorceress.  I don’t know if your mother will be able to teach you or not.  I doubt she will have the time.  It is just as hard to be a regent when there is no monarch as it is to be the monarch.”

“Doesn’t the DragonLands have a queen or king?” Malinna asked. 

“There has been no monarch for over three centuries.  They don’t decide on a monarch the way we do.  Here it is a birthright, but there the queen must be imprinted with the gold dragon, and the king must be imprinted with the black dragon.  The golden egg and charcoal egg that were laid by the last queen have yet to hatch.  They can go many centuries without hatching.  The dragons choose the monarchs, not the other way around.  That is all I know of their customs.  It was all that Carmenta was able to tell me.  That is the one good thing about you leaving.”

“How can me leaving the castle be a good thing?” Malinna asked, intrigued about her father’s meaning. 

“When you finish your studies this fall, it will be time once again for The Festival of Dragons, I don’t what it is exactly, but it should be an amazing experience for you,” Cole said, with a smile on his face. 

“Why do you say that?” Malinna stated. 

“Your mother has great powers and you will most likely have them.  The festival has something to do with the strength of a person’s powers,” Cole explained. 

“How will I ever understand all of what is happening.  I don’t know anything about the customs in the DragonLands,” Malinna said. 

“You will, don’t worry.  You’ll be fine,” Cole said, lovingly, “I’ll go now, so that you can rest and prepare for your trip.”

The king turned to leave, but Malinna asked, “Father, am I to go alone?” 

“No.  I am sending a few guards with you.  Chrisha will also be with you.”

Malinna nodded, and turned toward the window.  Cole took one last look at his daughter.  ‘My! How fast she’s grown,’ Cole thought.  When he left the room, Malinna walked over to the balcony and stared out until night fell.  When the moon was high in the sky, Malinna noticed that while she was watching the sunset, Chrisha had come out to the balcony and fell asleep in the sun chair.  Malinna grinned, walked quietly back into her room and grabbed a warm quilt.  She covered Chrisha up and went to start packing. 

She put all of the quilts in a trunk with her sewing stuff.  With all of that packed, she went to move all the dresses closer to the wardrobes until she decided which ones to use. 

She walked out of her closet and went to check on Chrisha.  The young girl was sleeping soundly with a smile on her face.  Malinna couldn’t remember the last time she had slept as soundly as Chrisha did now.  She tucked Chrisha in a little better so that she wouldn’t get cold.  She walked into the study and was about to take her plate down to the kitchen when she heard a rustle in the hall.  She went to see what it was.