Alcingeria Chapter Thirty Two: Queen Yuka

As The Scorpions and The Vipers ride into Valgate, they give the jewelry to Queen Yuka. Does she know about the dark magic within the jewelry? Does she have a dark magic witch to siphon it?

Chapter Thirty Two Queen Yuka: Valgate was huge. There was a huge circular space that housed various shops, inns and other buildings like that. The whole place was about two kilometers in diameter. Instead of having multiple roads leading off from the town square like Riverguard did, there was one big cobblestone road that branched off from the town square, and I could see that it branched off into multiple smaller roads when it got away from the town square. Lining that main street were residential houses that only had one story. These must have been for the lower class citizens. Arc had much the same setup; the closer you got to the castle, the higher class the living quarters and scenery became.  The cobblestone here looked new, it must be well maintained. The buildings all looked new as well. I suppose people wanted the city to look good for their queen… Who happened to be an evil tyrant. Ahead of us about a kilometer or two I saw that the land elevated. I saw a road going up the hill and I saw an imposing black stone castle looming atop it. All around the castle was a high black stone wall. All of what I saw within Valgate, everything, was all surrounded by the high black stone walls. On top of those walls I could see guards stationed.

            “So this is what Queen Yuka’s city looks like.” Don said, looking around in awe.

            “Pretty impressive, no?” William asked, taking in the sights.

            “Come on, we need to get moving.” Ceberus said, heading in the direction of the huge castle.

There was a thick mass of people, much like what we were used to encountering in Riverguard. We followed Ceberus up the main street. We passed shops, as well as vendors in booths selling whatever it was that they were selling. We ignored the vendors and pressed on towards the castle. We began climbing the hill that the castle was built on, still following the road that lead up. We came to the gate of the wall that surrounded the castle, there were about twenty guards stationed outside the gate, just like on the entrance to Valgate.

            “Halt! Do you have business with Queen Yuka?” The guard asked.

            “Yes, in fact we do.” Ceberus said, getting the backpacks from the others and sliding them across the ground to the guards.

The guard’s reaction was much like the one of the guard at the gate.

            “They are gifts for Queen Yuka.” Ceberus explained.

The guard’s eyes went wide as he slid the bags back to Ceberus. He have the bags back to who he got them from.

            “Very well, you may enter the castle so long as you lay down your weapons. Don’t worry, they will not be confiscated. They will be returned to you at the proper time.” The guard instructed.

I took my flintlock out and laid it on the ground. I did the same with my dagger and knife. I kicked my weapons over to the guards. I saw the others do the same. A guard broke off from the main group and patted us all down, just to make sure that we all gave up all of our weapons. Thankfully, we all did.

            “Good, you may proceed to the castle.” The guard who patted us all down said when he finished.

The massive gate started opening and we stepped through. Inside the outer wall of the castle, there was a majestic, magnificent looking garden that was well cared for and was rid of any weeds. The grass and other vegetation was completely organized and trimmed to perfection. I saw a lot of different kinds and colors of flowers, but I noticed a surplus of roses. There were white ones as well as red ones. They were everywhere! Their sweet, subtle scent filled the air. As we walked through the garden to the castle entrance, another twenty guards blocked our way.

            “Someone really must like roses.” Don remarked, eyeing the red and white roses all around us.

            “What was your first clue?” Tabatha asked sarcastically.

            “It’s alright! Let them pass.” One of the other guards from the gate said when we reached the next set of guards.

The guards on the castle entrance looked at us skeptically, then stepped aside and let us pass. We walked through the entrance archway of the castle and I was stunned at how high class the place looked. The floors were polished white marble. About thirty feet in front of us was a twin staircase that led to a second floor around sixty feet up. Between the two staircases was a door, with a brilliant pure red carpet leading from where we all now stood to the step of the door. The carpet branched out from left to right of that door, disappearing behind both of the staircases. That suggested that there were more doors than just the one that we saw. I also noticed that the red carpet we were standing on split up and followed both the staircases up, branching left and right, out of sight from here. I looked up and noticed a grand golden chandelier that bore more candles than I could count, each one flickered brightly in its holder. The candles cast an orange glow to the room. Twilight streamed in through the numerous stained glass windows. Ceberus began walking down the red carpet towards the door that was between the two staircases.

            “The castle is quite… Elegant.” Robert remarked.

            “This is something straight out of a story book…” Stella said, trailing off.

            “It looks like it was chiseled from a huge block of marble.” Francella said.

            “By an angel.” Raymond remarked.

            “Kind of ironic, given who the place belongs to.” Tabatha added.

            “Indeed. The throne room is this way.” Ceberus said.

His tone suggested that he was not fond of our admiration of the castle. We all followed him. We reached the door and pushed it open. We were now in a corridor that was about thirty feet long. There were multiple doors on either side of us. Between each door on either side was a pedestal. Upon each pedestal was a rose. Why were there so many roses? The red carpet continued on to a big, ornate door that was red with gold trim. Ceberus led us to that.

            “This leads to Queen Yuka’s throne room. Remember the story; you are all simple farmers who William and I brought along to help with retrieving the jewelry.” Ceberus said.

We all nodded, too nervous to say anything. A hard pit of fear was forming in my gut. Fear and anticipation. Not a good mix.

            “Oh, and don’t make eye contact with Queen Yuka. Don’t make eye contact with the guards. Don’t make eye contact with anyone. Bow when William and I do, and most importantly, don’t make eye contact with anyone. Got it?” Ceberus asked.

We all looked at him and nodded again. My anticipation and fear were building.

            “Good. Here we go.” Ceberus and as he pushed open the doors.

Ceberus stepped through with William right next to him. They both walked with absolute confidence. I mimicked them, trying not to look as afraid as I was. I admired the room. There were various paintings on the walls, but one of them stood out to me; it was a giant painting of a red rose. What was with all of the roses? The floor was polished white marble, the red carpet ended a few feet ahead of us. I looked around the room. I saw no guards, but I was sure that there was some kind of security force hidden somewhere in the room, ready to spring if we made a wrong move. I looked past the end of the carpet and saw two thrones; one was slightly larger than the other. The smaller one was empty, but atop the larger one was a woman. Atop her head was a golden crown. She had a lavish robe on that was red with gold trim. Dangling from her ears were earrings in the shape of blue diamonds. The woman had light skin, black hair that fell down to her shoulders. Her bangs were combed back. Near the top of her head, I saw two black pins with small black marble like orbs on top of them. They must have kept her bangs back. She had slate grey eyes. There was something about her eyes that didn’t seem right. Her eyes shifted to me. When she did, her lips turned downwards into a thoughtful frown. I didn’t like the way she looked at me. She had an average build, and she was fairly tall, around 6’. She looked to be around thirty. This had to be Queen Yuka.

When we got to the end of the red carpet, Ceberus and William both dropped to a knee and bowed their heads. The rest of us kneeled down and did the same as them. Just then, a girl dressed in witch clothes emerged from behind Queen Yuka’s throne. The girl looked to be around sixteen or seventeen.

            “Your majesty. They have a witch with them, as well as a fairy.” The witch said to Queen Yuka.

Queen Yuka just looked at us.

            “Which one is the witch?” Queen Yuka asked.

            “That one, and the fairy is right behind her.” Said the witch, pointing to Tabatha.

Queen Yuka nodded thoughtfully as Walden made himself invisible. He then kneeled like the rest of us and bowed his head.

            “The witch poses no threat. If she attacked, guards would be on her faster than she could utter the name of a spell. Even if she did, the protection spells that are on me should stop any magical attack. The same goes for the fairy.” Queen Yuka told her witch in a low voice.

I couldn’t tell if she was actually reassuring her witch that there was no threat, or just trying to discourage Tabatha and Walden from attacking, not that they would attack.

            “Ceberus, William, please rise. Tell me, who are these people that you have brought into my castle?” Queen Yuka asked.

Her voice was not exactly soft or smooth, but it was full of authority. Ceberus and William both stood up.

            “Your majesty, we have good reason for bringing these people to your grand castle. We found the door that could be opened with the key you gave us. Beyond that door, we found this.” Ceberus explained.

He then gestured to the others. They all slipped off their packs and slid them over to Queen Yuka. Queen Yuka snapped her fingers twice.

            “Someone, open those bags.” She said.

Just then, a young boy who was probably only twelve or thirteen opened each of the bags. His eyes went wide, as did Queen Yuka’s.

            “Oh my, you did it. You found it!” Queen Yuka exclaimed.

William and Ceberus bowed their heads. The young boy stood next to Queen Yuka’s throne. He stood up straight and bowed his head.

            “Yes, but we could not have done it without these people.” William said, gesturing to us.

Queen Yuka thoughtfully looked to us.

            “It would also be my pleasure to offer accommodations to you all for your services, and because you did so well, I will assign you each a personal servant for as long as you stay here. Consider it a reward for a job well done.” Queen Yuka said with a slight smile.

            “Thank you very much, your majesty.” William said with a bow.

            “I must say, I am quite impressed by the fact that you got your hands on the jewelry. As you know, I am not impressed easily. The jewelry was in the ruins of a castle, correct?” Queen Yuka asked Ceberus.

            “Yes, your majesty.” Ceberus answered.

            “I knew that there was something of value behind that door, but I never thought it would be jewelry.” Queen Yuka said.

There was a moment where no one spoke.

            “So, what is your story?” Queen Yuka asked.

Thankfully, we were prepared for this question.

            “They are all simple farmers. They are friends of mine and Wiliam’s. When you gave us the key to the door in the ruins, we sought out their help, knowing that we would need help down in the ruins, your majesty.” Ceberus answered.

Queen Yuka nodded thoughtfully.

            “Very well. You all may choose any rooms that are on the East side of the castle, they are all uninhabited. Shortly after you choose your rooms, a servant will come to each of your rooms. You may all be dismissed.” Queen Yuka said.

Ceberus and William stood up, bowed, turned around and went back the way we came. The rest of us mirrored what Ceberus and William did. We followed them back through the door. When the throne room door shut behind us, I exhaled in relief.

            “That went well.” I said.

            “I agree, but don’t get too comfortable seeing Queen Yuka like that. We made her happy, if you are not in her good will… Needless to say, you should be afraid.” Ceberus said.

            “Have you ever been outside of her good will?” Macalister asked.

            “No, but I know people who have.” Ceberus answered.

            “Who?” Macalister asked.

            “Well, it hardly matters now. They’re dead.” Ceberus said with finality.

Macalister was silent, probably thinking of how not to get on Queen Yuka’s bad side.

            “I noticed a smaller throne in there, who does it belong to?” Stella asked.

            “It belongs to Queen Yuka’s daughter, Estaire.” William answered.

Wait a minute, I didn’t know Queen Yuka had a daughter!

            “What? She has a daughter?” I asked in disbelief.

Ceberus nodded slowly.

            “Yes. It isn’t exactly common knowledge, though.” Ceberus said.

I shrugged. The queen had a daughter, that was news, but it was hardly important.

            “Man, that witch could see me, but how?” Walden asked, speaking for the first time since we arrived in Valgate.

            “She’s a witch, she may have been able to sense your magical energy. That’s probably how she knew that I was a witch, too.” Tabatha told him.

            “Well, your staff didn’t do much to hide your… Witchiness.” Stella said.

Stella was about to say something else, but Tabatha shot her a stern look and she silently looked away.

            “We should get to our rooms.” Francella suggested.

            “Right, Queen Yuka said that we could choose any rooms on the East side of the castle. I’ll take you all there.” Ceberus said.

            “And in case he makes a wrong turn, I’ll follow.” William joked.

Ceberus just grunted and walked towards the East side of the castle.

            “Ceberus, lighten up.” William called after him.

Ceberus turned around, his face was full of tension. He grasped both of William’s arms and stared intensely into his eyes.

            “I can’t relax! I can’t lighten up! Queen Yuka is now in possession of jewelry imbued with dark magic. Worst of all, we had no choice but to give it to her. Whether she knows about it or not, I don’t know, but if she does and she uses a dark magic witch to siphon it from the jewelry, who knows what she’ll do? She’s a power hungry tyrant! That, and we just finished lying to her. If she looks into who the others are, we could be charged with aiding and harboring criminals. Do you know where we’d be after that? Dead. We’d be dead, William. Am I the only one who sees that?” Ceberus said in an intense, strained whisper.

Ceberus was shaking, he was losing his composure. Martha came over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. Ceberus released his grip on William and William stepped back. Martha looked into Ceberus’s eyes.

            “Ceberus, honey, you’re going to be fine. We are going to be fine. We have our cover story, it’s believable, plus we just gave her a small fortune in jewelry. The chances that she knows about the dark magic are slim, and the possibility that she has a dark magic witch is even more so.” Martha said, attempting to calm Ceberus down.

Martha then leaned in and kissed him. Ceberus became less shaky, the wild look in his eye faded and the tension in his face receded. He pulled away from Martha, nodded and continued walking to the East end of the castle. We trailed behind him and when he stepped out of the door to the foyer, we found ourselves in the room with the two staircases. We followed Ceberus as he walked to and ascended the far staircase and walked down the hall.

            “Alright, any of these rooms should be empty.” Ceberus said, his voice still had some nervous energy.

Ceberus entered a room to his right, Martha followed him inside and William chose the room down the hall, right next to Ceberus’s room.

            “We each get our own rooms. This beats the bunks back home!” Stella said excitedly.

            “But I like the bunks back home…” Erin muttered.

By now, I had definitely realized that Stella was the girly girl and Erin… Wasn’t.

            “They were comfy but they weren’t very… Private.” Tabatha added.

            “Are we really talking about this?” Raymond asked with a laugh.

Everyone sank into a thoughtful silence.

            “I guess it’s the nervous energy talking. I mean, we’re in the evil Queen Yuka’s castle for crying out loud.” Francella said.

            “I don’t like Queen Yuka… She scares me.” Macalister said.

Walden chuckled.

            “What happened to ‘I’m not afraid of anyone or anything’?” Walden asked, quoting what Macalister said back at the ruins.

Macalister growled at Walden.

            “Okay, okay buddy! Geez…” Walden trailed off.

            “Anyway, I’m going to bed. Good night.” Erin said, walking off to a room.

            “Me, too.” Stella said, trailing behind Erin and picking the room next to hers.

            “I guess I’m headin’ off to bed too. G’night fellas.” Walden said, flipping his short green hair and flying to a room.

Raymond and Francella found each their own rooms down the hall, slipping away silently, leaving just Macalister, Robert, Don, Tabatha and I standing in the hallway.

            “Well, I’m going to bed too. I enjoyed riding with you, Don. I hope you sleep well.” Tabatha said with a smile, turning to go.

She turned back to Don, opened her mouth to say something, but turned back around, thinking better of it. She walked off to a room and stepped inside, shutting the door behind her.

            “Well then, good night gentlemen.” Don said, clapping Robert on the shoulder as he walked off to a room.

            “I’ll see you all in the morning.” Macalister said with a grin as he stomped off to find an unoccupied room.

I turned to Robert, about to say good night, but he spoke first.

            “How are you feeling about all of this?” He asked.

I thought about an acceptable answer.

            “Well, I’m scared. Scared for our safety, and scared to think of what happens if Queen Yuka knows about the dark magic in the jewelry, and even more scared to think of what happens if she had a dark magic witch. Until we know for sure if she knows about the dark magic or if she has a dark magic witch, we have a believable cover story. We’re safe for the time being. All of us.” I told him.

He nodded.

            “Okay, but if our cover as simple farmers is blown, then what?” Robert asked, starting to panic.

I put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. I looked him in the eye.

            “Listen, if we’re smart, we’ll stay safe. All we have to do is keep our heads down and not draw attention to ourselves. Remember the cover story and stick with it. We’ll be fine.” I said.

Robert nodded.

            “But Redmond, just know that if things hit the fan, I’ll do what’s best for the group. Even if it means killing anyone who stands between us and survival.” Robert said with a grin, the candle light glinted in his eye.

I grinned at him.

            “I know you will. I’m going to bed. Good night.” I said, walking off to an unoccupied room.

            “Good night.” Robert said.

I opened the door, looked in and found no one inside. There was a large bed in the far corner. It had big, cushy blankets and pillows and the sheets were white. It was suspended off the floor with a mahogany bedframe. The floor was white marble and there was a mirror across from the bed held in an oak frame. There was a bathroom to my right and past the bed on the far side of the room was a balcony that looked out onto a huge, green forest. It was now dusk outside. I walked over the bed, ready to lay down on it when I noticed something; a red rose was sitting on the pillow. What was with all the roses? Did Queen Yuka adore roses enough to put them in her gardens as well as all throughout the castle? I picked the rose up and put it on the nightstand. I crawled under the blankets and I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

 

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Author's Note

Please tell me what you think!

Reviews

[KeithKVH]

Roses are everywhere, some nice foreshadowing since I'm in the know, and now I've got an idea of who Estaire is. The fact that Queen Yuka knows about Tabatha and Walden seems real bad to me, there's not much chance she'll believe that those two are simple farmers.

Cerberus' break down and all the nervousnes about Queen yuka really make it even more apparent the lady is dangerous. Can't help but wonder what the daughter is like. I like the descriptions of the city and castle. Can't help but think there's also some foreshadowing in what Robert says in the end.

Overall great. Will have to keep my eye out for more. :D

[Ryan Henderson]

Thanks man! Yes, the roses forshadowed things, since you're in the know you knew what to look for ;) and yes, Queen Yuka doesn't buy the 'simple farmers' act for Walden and Tabatha, but the story is true as far as she knows for the others. Queen Yuka is really, REALLY dangerous. There are gonna be some scenes later on that display this. The daughter is certainly an... interesting character...