Chapter Four: The Invitation

Introducing the Cloud King! Zari and Alexander make an entrance at a court interrogation.

It was that particular time in the morning where the bronze and brass mechanical birds that sat in the kingdom's light posts began to fill the air with simulated trills informing the morning hour to the Castle citizens. 

The people in the kingdom began to stir from their warm beds to carry out daily chores and duties of the day. In the castle, the servants and house keepers prepared the morning meals for the King and his entourage or heated the water for the ladies bathes. In the Iron Building that housed the Shadows, Zari and Kuma were doing no such chores. 

 Instead Zari was hard at work cranking the gears that circulated in a metal box in Kuma's abdomen. The poor automaton wailed loudly and flailed his little metal paws in the air as Zari tugged mercilessly on the wires and screws that connected to a gold colored heart. She replaced plugs that had burned out and filled a little vial full of water to generate steam that helped power the little mountain cat automaton. 

With a sound of metal screeching on metal, Kuma struggled out of Zari's grip and shook himself all the way up to his pointed ears until he was satisfied. "Zari, was that really necessary?" Kuma scowled enunciating his words indignantly, nose twitching in the air. 

Zari crossed her arms and scowled right back at him. Her dark brows knitted together. "Don't complain to me if your gears start falling apart. Now fetch me my cloak, I believed we will be getting a message from the Majesty any time now." 

Kuma harrumphed and proceeded to climb the shelf to a small closet that held a variety of black, white and scarlet brocades and dresses. As well as thigh high laced leather boots, riding boots, various chain mail shirts and wide brim dark hats. He selected a red dress with white stitching that resembled the King's white stag emblem. The bottom of the dress resembled a water fall pattern of layers in dark red velvet. The front stopped short just above the knee and the back end trailed into coat tails. Kuma also presented Zari with a thin fitted chain mail top and a black cloak.

While Kuma was busy selecting her outfit, Zari went to the mirror that sat adjacent to her and pressed on a small turquoise tile in the design at the base of the mirror. The wall swept open with a hiss of steam to show a hidden armory. Zari stepped into the small room. There was an assortment of stilettos and crystal clear blades made of sky stone as well as hefty silver short swords, a cross bow, and an array of different medium to small sized brass guns. On a little wooden pedestal there were three pairs of black glasses. 

Zari chose the sky stone blade and fitted it into her leather garter that was wrapped around her thigh and a stiletto which she hid in a silver metal cuff the length of her forearm. As Kuma helped her dress, Zari braided her long black hair and hid her unsettling red eyes behind a pair of round black spectacles. 

Once she was dressed for court, Zari was allowed to partake in breakfast. While she dined on a loaf of fresh bread, meat, and fruit, the light of her message box lit up. A clear cylinder resembling a bottle dropped from the pipes in her wall. Kuma retrieved the cylinder and read the message allowed in his boyish automated voice. 

"Shadow is requested to make an audience with the King's court. Immediately. Stop."At the bottom of the note there was a symbol that looked like an upside down rounded U with a cross running through it. The Shadows and the King used specific symbols to relay messages in code. This symbol meant there was to be an interrogation. He glanced up to measure Zari's reaction. "You must already know what he wants?" 

In response, Zari nodded calmly and shredded the note with her stiletto. "It's the same as ever. We are merely tools aren't we, Kuma?" She opened her palm for the automaton to climb onto her shoulder. The mountain cat boy hid behind wisps of Zari's hair. 

                                                                       ~*~

 Since the Iron Building had no windows, the rooms were illuminated with bluish green lamps that sat in the four corners of the Shadow's room, leaving plenty of cool darkness to the Shadow's bidding. 

Once Kuma sat comfortably on Zari's shoulder with his fluffy tail wrapped around her neck for balance, Zari raised her hands to the air until she found the threads of a portal in the darkness. With a firm grasp she tugged them until the threads came loose and opened a seam into the shadow realm. 

She stepped through and appeared at a different location that did not resemble the small quarters of her room. Instead Zari faced two magnificent and golden lion heads that rested just above the door handles which protruded from very large golden doors. Zari bowed respectfully and at once glowing green eyes blinked into existence.

"Welcome." One lion head said. 

 

The other blinked rather drowsily and emitted a low growl. "The King awaits his shadow." The other said in a silky voice. 

This meant that Zari was to stand behind the King, hidden. Literally in his shadows and acting as guard. The Cloud King was known to take every necessary precaution available and for his quick wittedness, he had served 27 rounds successfully on the throne of the Cloud realm. All assassination attempts on his life had been thwarted due to the Shadows and their dark magic.

 Zari bowed low again and dematerialized. The air shimmered opalescently where she once stood. 

When she appeared again, Zari was standing next to the King who had also appointed a male Shadow by the name of Kato to his right, who was visible. He wore a hooded black cloak with red stripes and an insignia of the White Stag on his metal breast plates. 

She nodded his greeting to him with an incline of her head. To which Kato replied the greeting. A swirl of energy like a thick bolt of electricity flowed like  a current between them.

 

As the King sensed the heavy weight of the Shadow's presences, he motioned with a graceful gesture for the event to occur. The scientists, witches, wizards, and hybrid mountain cat people snapped to attention. They made up a council of Five and assisted the King in political decision making. They all wore red, white, and silver robes with the King's stag emblem stitched unto their brocade or breast plate. Only the King was dressed in full white with a silver circlet around his head. 

The King himself was a large man standing at 6'5'. He had broad shoulders that carried the weight of more deaths on any battlefield. He still regained a muscular build although his courtiers, scientist friends, palace guards and servants rarely saw him outside of castle grounds. The King's grand face greatly contrasted his warrior like build. His face held no wrinkles and he looked neither young nor old with his curious slanting blue eyes and an aquiline nose. 

The only thing that the Prince and the King shared in resemblance were the slanting blue eyes, muscular build and where as the Prince had curly tow-colored hair, the King's was long and straight and nearly white. 

The Prince himself stood next to Kato and grimaced when wooden doors at the opposite end of the King's court room exploded open with a loud smack. Several guards in metal armor and gas masks dragged three men in tattered clothing and shackles through the door and dumped them on their knees in front of the Cloud King. 

A shorter man who was smartly dressed and with diplomatic colors of black and white stepped up towards the King, bowed his head hastily and gestured towards the three prisoners. "Your majesty, the royal highness, and ruler of the Cloud realm. . . I present to you these spies, these heathen stowaways, these treacherous prisoners. They have decided to infiltrate the Cloud Kingdom on orders of the Earth realm." The man bowed again and pointed to the man in the middle who appeared to be the eldest of the three and the leader.

He had been previously tortured and sported fresh wounds from lashings and bruises all over his face and body. But his spirit was not yet broken. He met the eyes of the King either in defiance or utter stupidity. One of the guards holding onto a chain attached to his shackle quickly struck him on his head with the chain and the man in black and white stamped his foot. 

A wizard who was part of the council of Five stood up and the King nodded. Suddenly the room went silent and a gust of wind so strong forced the prisoner in the middle to bow his head.

The King raised his hand and the wind trickled to cool air. The wizard bowed and backed away from the round of guards and prisoners. There was a moment of stillness as the King placed a hand under his chin contemplating the three men before him.

Zari glanced at the King waiting for a command but the King ignored the Shadows. 

He sighed and pointed the man in the middle. "To what do you plead your offense?" His voice was low but eerily breathy as if it took him great pains to speak. 

The prisoner in the middle blinked in confusion at being allowed to speak directly to the Cloud King. His slowness earned him another smack from the guard above him. It took him a while to regain his composure but he held his head high. 

"Your Highness, my name is Erebus. These two are my sons and we are from the Earth realm. We...seek refuge in your kingdom -" 

The diplomat in black and white stamped both feet on the ground before interrupting Erebus. "They did not come through the main gate, your Highness. There was no plea for refuge. There was no message. You cannot allow this." 

The King sighed and nodded for Erebus to continue but not before he asked him, "What has driven you so far out of the Earth Kingdom, that you risked the lives of you and your sons, to sneak into my kingdom? Passage into the Cloud Kingdom is scarce."

Erebus lowered his eyes and the man to his left turned his head and muttered a prayer. "I was accused of a crime that I did not commit. A crime that set the Undoing in motion. The dead will rise! The gods are waking!" Erebus started to shake and white foam frothed from his mouth. His sons next to him rustled in alarm. 

The Prince grabbed hold of an adviser next to him and yelled, "He's bewitched!" The witches and wizards sprang into a circle towards the three men as the guards were thrown backwards by an unrelenting force. 

Zari and Kato stepped in front of the King and a wash of inky blackness filled the room. 

Author's Note

Hello, readers. I'm sorry it took so long for me to write this chapter. I rewrote it three times. As always comments are welcomed! As always, a review for a review!

Reviews

[Christopher Angel]

So I've finally made good on my promise and read everything and all I can say is I'm pissed you haven't continued!

There are some glaring issues - mostly with descriptions and how certain words were used but on the whole, your writing is tight, consistent, fluid and easy to read. You have such a gift with using so few words to tell so much that it's a blast to to go through the paragraphs.

I love how you spent time to develop Zari and Kuma even when there are other characters in the scene. Everyone receives just the right amount of development without the story paying the price of progression.

Also the reveal that Cloud Kingdom shares space with Earth Realm makes it even more exciting and I'd love to know more about this. Particularly the backstory and history.

Really good job and I look forward to reading more!

[Katiya K]

Thank you Chris! I promise to keep working on Cloud Castle and working on my writing. Thank you so much for taking the time to read it and review. :) I don't want to disappoint a featured reviewer.

[Christopher Angel]

Take your time. Good writing should never be rushed :)

[Gosia]

This chapter is quite longer than the previous ones, a little bit. You're lucky though, it was interesting so I read it whole ;-)

The scene of repairing Kuma was really good, it showed a bit what exacly is inside those things and by things I mean automatons, I liked how you showed the bond between Kuma and Zari.
The way you efortlessly combine magic and technology is astounding, I'm really surprised how naturally that worked out. When I first heard that your story will have auto-something in it I was almost sure it will be a grand fail. However, you managed to weave all the clockwork into a fantasy story quite skillfully. The way you describe your fictional world is also vivid and detailed, but not dragging on. You're doing a really good job with this story and I feel you're heading in the right direction.

Last but not least, I have to write that I'm disappointed after reading this chapter. When I reached the last paragraph, my disappointment reached the peak. I discovered that it's the last chapter posted and I wanted to read more about those bewitched people... Yeah, I'm disappointed because I wanted more ;-)

[Decanter Red]

Well, what should I comment about when I read every chapter and they are similarly good? ^^

I certainly like the atmosphere and setting very much, just so I can escape into an alternative universe and away from the 21th century hahaha! I did perk up when Zari was playing with Kuma's gears. I wish I was there instead.

[Katiya K]

Thanks Red! I'm back on writer's cafe. I'll do my best to keep writing. :)

[Riding the Rainbow]

dum dum dum! This story is really going to be an awesome one! I'm sure of it! You're doing an amazing job and one of my stories can relate to this one so that's why I love it so much!

[Katiya K]

I'm glad you think so Kejara!! Cool I cant wait to check it out.

[Samuel Jack]

Awesome visuals as always.

I'm struggling to figure out Kuma's size, he's big enough to fetch clothes for zari but he can get on her shoulder. I'd like a little section in a conversation where I getban indication. Like if he comes up to Zaria knees or something.

When Erebus is about to speak to the cloud king and he gets smacked by the guard, you've misspelled "composure" just a typo.

When the king allows Erebus to continue speaking, I'd like a little action that the king does to allow it, like a nod of his head or a wave of his hand.

This chapter was really well put together, it has a good pace and it reads easily. I like how each chapter a bit more of the world is revealed.
Again you've got that awesome metallic colour palette, love it.

Good cliff hanger to end on.

Great work, keep it up.

[Katiya K]

Sam, thank you for reviewing!!

I see what you mean. I will definitely go back and clarify. Originally I had an idea that he could shape shift and either become really small ( like a cat size ) to be able to sit on Zari's shoulder and also became a very large beast - big enough for Zari to ride on. I haven't made up my mind if I want Kuma to have that ability yet but he is the size of a house cat! Thanks for the tip!

You got it! I will go back and edit it now. Thanks again!

[Samuel Jack]

Does he walk on two legs? That's how I Imagine him.

[Katiya K]

He does! I will give you a secret first reader in depth description of him haha. Kuma is a mountain cat but he is small for his size so he can wrap himself around Zari like the fur ends of a coat. He walks on two legs, has a stout belly, a mop of curly hair and two pointy but large cat ears. He wears a vest made of metal and I think he is silver.

[Samuel Jack]

I imagined him more bronze, but I can visualise your creation a lot better now thanks.

[Katiya K]

Really why bronze? And your welcome. I know I've strayed from a lot of the details...putting this Cloud Kingdom into words from the pictures in my head is really tough.