Silver Rose

Searching

Marina walked down the halls of the palace with the determination of a hungry lion after its prey. Today she was going to prove to Sebastian and the entire kingdom that Queen Renata was a witch. Then her father would have to get rid of her. And maybe they’d send Prince Val back. After all, a princess couldn’t marry a man a witch had set her up with. Besides, she was upset that everyone in the world had known about the engagement but her. She refused to be made a fool of.

Marina stopped in front of the huge double doors that led to the queen’s chambers. Renata was at a luncheon with some ladies out in Frontine, which was a few miles from Akinsis. She wouldn’t be back for a couple hours. Taking a deep breath, Marina opened one of the heavy doors and walked into the hallway beyond. She’d played in this hallway many times, but that was before her father married Renata. Instead of taking the queen’s traditional wing of rooms, she opted to fix up the far west wing and stay there. But the main hallway was exactly the same as it had been when Marina was a child. Except that it was much cleaner, the paintings of the ocean and forests still hung on the walls.

No one was in the hall, so she quickly walked through. There were four doors that led to the four corridors of the wing. Marina stopped just before she got to the first door. Her heart pounded and her mouth went dry. What if she found nothing? Or worse, what if she found something so terrible…? She swallowed. She couldn’t think like that. She wasn’t going to be forced to marry some man just because Renata thought it’d be a good idea. Renata wasn’t her mother and she was going to do everything in her power to make that clear. She opened to the door to the first corridor. She didn’t know what she looking for, but she was sure she’d know it when she saw it.



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Tara quietly sipped her yomang. Trevon and his wife, Vira, their granddaughter, Mara, and another Fauye named Keinan sat at the table with her. They sat outside on this beautifully sunny day with huge drooping tree branches overhead to keep them cool. On the table lay what was left of a meal of fruit, bread, and several dishes made from the plants of Ambremose. The day was so perfect. Tara smiled to herself—everyday here was perfect.

“Will you be leaving for the human world soon?” Keinan asked.

Tara looked up at him. She hadn’t thought about the human world in a long time. There was something about this place… as if nothing else existed outside of it.

Keinan’s face reddened at her silence.
“I only meant that it will be winter there soon and you’ll have a hard time getting anywhere in the cold and snow.”

Tara shivered at the thought of cold snow. Here it was always warm.

“You are more than welcome to stay, of course,” Trevon said, giving Keinan a glare. “You can stay until the spring, or forever if that is your desire.”

“I apologize,” Keinan said to her, “I did not mean to offend by being inhospitable. I was only wondering what your plans were.”

“Don’t worry,” Tara said, “I realize that living in the human world can make us as impatient as they are.”

Keinan stiffened. Tara quickly looked around to make sure she didn’t anger her hosts. But Mara giggled, and Trevon and his wife smiled.

“Actually,” Tara continued, “I haven’t thought about it. I suppose I should go back eventually. But things are at a crossroad at the moment and I’m not sure if I’m still under pledge.”

Trevon chuckled. “Ah, yes, the one thing all Gommoths must do.”

“Yes,” Tara laughed, “it’s what we Gommoths do. We promise ourselves to certain things. Everyone takes some kind of vow to help the world. But they’re only called pledges when they involve humans.”

Keinan snorted. “So you’ve involved yourself with those humans?”

The way he said “those humans” made them sound like fatal diseases.

“I help people who need me.” She answered. “And if you have such a dislike for them, why did you live among them for forty years?”

“I only stayed there for Mara,” Keinan replied.

“Oh really? And why couldn’t you leave? Why couldn’t the both of you return here? Surely you weren’t under pledge?”

“Of course not!” Keinan snapped. “Besides, it’s none of your concern!”

Mara leaned toward Keinan and touched his hand.
“But it is my concern,” she said. “Keinan, you’ve known what happened all this time, haven’t you? Why do you keep it hidden from me?”

“Trust me, Mara,” he said, “you don’t want to remember.”

“You don’t know what I want!”

“Yes, I do. The entire time we were in the human world, all you wanted was to go home, and now we’re here. The past doesn’t matter.”

“Maybe not to you, but it matters to me. Why can’t you see that?”

“Mara, dear,” Keinan placed his other hand on top of hers. “You’ve got to trust me. I’m only doing what’s best for the both of us. We shall never be torn apart again. This is the only way to protect you. Mara, I love you, isn’t that enough?”

Mara gazed at him for a few moments. Then she slowly pulled her hand out of his grasp.
“No. It’s not enough.”

Keinan’s face went pale, then it flushed red.

“Nectar anyone?” Vira asked. “I got it fresh from…”

“I’m sorry,” Tara said. “I didn’t mean to—“

“And what did you mean, Gommoth?!” Keinan yelled, standing. “Why don’t you go back to those scraggy, petty, peasants you watch over and leave us alone?!” He stomped across the lawn in the direction of the road.

“I do not watch over peasants!” Tara yelled at his back. “I’m the guardian of the princess of Brovan!”
As if he’d care! But to her surprise, he stopped and turned back.

“What did you say?” He asked, slamming his hand on the table.

“I’m the protector of the princess of Brovan,” she said, raising her chin.

“The princess? Safie’s daughter?” Keinan asked.

“Uh…” How did he know that? He never mentioned being in Brovan before.

“Marina? Safie Ranley’s daughter?”

“Um… yes, I was her nanny. I mean, uh…”

“You’re the nanny?” Keinan looked her up and down. “You look different. Trevon, Vira, I must take my leave. I’ll return in the morning. There are some things I need to discuss with your guest. Mara…”

Mara stared straight ahead. Without another word, Keinan turned and left. The rest of them sat in silence until he was out of sight. Vira stood.

“I suppose I’ll start cleaning up,” Vira said, picking up plates and cups.
“I’ll help,” Trevon said.

The two quickly grabbed an armload of dishes and walked toward the house. Left alone, Tara glanced over at Mara. She was still staring out in front of her. As far as Tara could tell she hadn’t moved. Tara felt awful. She wasn’t usually so easily irritated. She’d been a servant for 700 years. She knew how to keep her mouth shut. And now she’d ruined what had been such a beautiful day.

“Mara,” she began.

Mara slowly looked over at her.

“Mara, I am so—“

“I remember the name,” Mara said.

“What?”

“I remember the Ranleys.”



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Marina spent the next two hours going from room to room and looking around. She still wasn’t sure what she was looking for, but everything she saw was not it. She made sure she put everything back the way she saw it, tried to ignore the odd looks the servants gave her, and gave excuses to those who asked questions. Two hours later, the worst thing she’d found were some statues that looked like tortured animals, but those wouldn’t prove anything. Somewhere, a clock rang out the hour. Marina would have to give up. She knew of some very talkative ladies that would keep the queen out for at least one more hour. But the women the queen was visiting that afternoon were new to the area, and Marina knew nothing about them except their names. Helgarda, Hamana, and Hannass Kincesey were sisters who moved onto Frontine a couple months ago. And they obviously had a lot of money because Frontine was an expensive piece of land. But at the moment, none of that information helped her.

She began walking down the corridor she was in. As she went along, she randomly opened doors that led to sitting rooms, music rooms, and other rooms she wasn’t interested in. At the end of the corridor she turned into the main hallway that led the way out of that wing.

Maybe she was wrong and Sebastian was right—the queen wasn’t a witch. She hadn’t even seen a broomstick. But then again, just because Renata wasn’t a witch, didn’t mean she wasn’t evil. If she could only prove that—

She reached the doors that led to the rest of the palace. With a sigh, she turned for one last look at the hallway. There, at the end of the wing, was a fifth door. Her eyes widened. It hadn’t been there a moment ago. She slowly made her way toward it. The door was much smaller than the others. It the wood looked rotten, covered in dust and cobwebs. She wondered if it would even open. Shivering, she placed her hand on the knob. Looking over her shoulder to make sure no one was around, she took a deep breath and pulled. It didn’t open. She turned the knob and pulled again. Nothing. Straining, she pulled again and again. She used every ounce of strength, but the door didn’t budge. Panting, she leaned her back against it. The door suddenly swung open. With a gasp, she fell to the floor on her back.

Picking herself up, she discovered she was in another hallway. Biting her lip, she looked back at the open door. Then, taking a deep breath, she shut the door behind her. Marina slowly made her way down the carpeted hall. There were many portraits of a woman she eventually recognized to be her father’s first wife. At first, she thought they were of Renata, but closer inspection proved they weren’t. It was strange, though, there was something about the first queen that reminded Marina of the current one. What it was… she couldn’t quite put her finger on…

She shook her head. This was no time to worry about the likenesses of her father’s wives. She walked faster now, remembering that there wasn’t much time. There was a staircase up ahead. Marina ran up the steps. She shuddered when she finally reached the door at the top. It felt like she wasn’t alone, but when she looked around, there was no one to be seen. Shrugging it off, Marina squared her shoulders and opened the door.

Her mouth gaped at what she saw. There were tables filled with colored bottles with labels like Eye of Newt, Dog Tongue, and Powered Unicorn’s Horn. There were more of these bottles in every size and shape imaginable in a large cabinet. Bookcases were filled with books on witchcraft and sorcery and spells. There were all kinds of strange instruments and contraptions sitting on the shelves. Marina laughed to find that there was even a floor length mirror in the room.

“So she can be sure her hair’s in place after bringing about a windstorm, no doubt,” She said to herself.

Marina spun around in the middle of the room. Victory felt wonderful! There was so much there, she didn’t know what to take. Maybe she would take it all! She smiled gleefully, and shouted,

“I’ve got you now, witch!”