Silver Rose

Pledge

Tara and Mara left Ambremose on the back of Mara’s father’s horse, Mirage. Mirage was a Xantha horse and could literally run as fast as the wind. They didn’t go that fast, but it took them out of Ambremose and into the plain in less than a day. They had left Plien, the mountains and hills of the giants, hours ago and neared Iosis, the largest enchanted forest in the human world. Tara had been to Iosis several times, and had never realized how close she was to the Fauyen world. And as far as she knew, neither did the inhabitants of Iosis. Outside of Plien were miles and miles of flat grassy land. There was a legend that nothing could be built on this land because the great cities of the dwarves dwelled beneath it. Tara had never believed that legend before. How cities deep below the earth could affect anything above it made no sense. But riding across the plain, she saw no trees, no shrubs, no animal burrows. There was only grass and wind and clouds. Even with the wind, it was still warm. It had been pleasantly warm in Plien too. Yet it was at least autumn, and they were in the northern reaches of the world. She figured it must be because of how close they were to Ambremose.

“Why couldn’t we stay longer?” Mara asked loudly over her shoulder.

Mara had been entranced by Plien. It was as if she’d never seen giants or dwarfs before. She asked everyone she saw a million questions and they politely answered. But Tara could tell they were busy. The giants had the harvest coming in, and the dwarves were always busy. That’s why Tara hurried Mara along promising that they’d return once they figured out Mara’s past.

“If only we could have gone into one of the cities,” Mara said. “They said they were large enough for giants to walk through and more beautiful than anything in the world.”

“Yes,” Tara agreed, “that’s what is said. My sisters have been to the cities of Sapphire, Amethyst, and Opal. They said they are the most wondrous places in the world. The city’s namesake is its primary gem. This is from both mining and what the city is made of.”

“So the city of, um, Opal is made from opal?” Mara asked.

Tara nodded.
“And opal is the gemstone that is mined in that area. But everything isn’t opal. They use other stones, and metals too. But opal makes up most of the city.”

“That must be a sight to see.”

“Yes, but everyone that’s visited any of the cities of the dwarfs, says you must go to Sapphire or Topaz. They’re each one large city, made up of several cities. Both have a city of Blue and of Pink. Then there is Sapphire Black, Topaz Yellow, Topaz Fire, and Topaz Smoky.”

“Oh.”

“My sisters really want to go back and see all of Topaz. They said it took them a week to get through all of Sapphire. And from what they’ve heard, it takes at least two weeks to tour Topaz.”

“I’d much rather go to Topaz than Sapphire.”

“Everyone says Sapphire Blue is better than Topaz Blue. I want to see them both.”

“Yes, I’d like to see them all.”

“All?!” Tara exclaimed. “That could take months! There’s so many of them. There’s the Emerald city, the Ruby city, the Diamond city; there’s the city of Citrine, the city of Turquoise, the city of Opal. And Garnet, Peridot, Onyx, Amethyst, and Beryl. And there are many others that I don’t know of. There are some, where only giants and dwarfs are allowed in, like Quartz, and some where only dwarfs are allowed. The dwarfs’ cities stretch from Plien to beyond Talis.”

Mara eyes widened in awe.
“So the giants don’t eat the dwarves?”

Tara laughed.
“Of course not! Why would you think that?”

“We were taught that all the human world is constantly in turmoil. Everything is pitted against each other. The dwarfs live underground to escape the giants who try to eat them. The dwarfs kill anything that enters their caves, especially dragons. And dragons are blood thirsty savages!”

Tara laughed again. This time it was a sad laugh. Here was someone from the most powerful group known, and she didn’t know a thing about how others lived.

“The dwarfs, giants, and dragons live in harmony with each other. The dwarfs and giants need each other. Dwarfs supply giants with many of the things they need, like metal, tools, weapons, coal, glass, and luxuries like mirrors, combs, all kinds of art and pottery; and of course their vast knowledge of the earth. In return, the giants give the dwarfs food. Giants are some of the best farmers in the world. Their food is so rich and fresh and… well, big. They could feed an entire dwarf city with a single apple. They also supply all the wood for the dwarfs, and are expert carpenters. They make all the dwarfs’ furniture, and they make furniture for those of us of other sizes too. How they make things so small without breaking them, is beyond me. The giants also protect the dwarfs’ cities.
“I don’t know what you’ve been told, but the dwarfs and giants work together. Neither could function without the other. It’s also how they are both so rich. Although the dwarfs have built cities out of gems, they would quickly be in ruin if they didn’t have the giants to make sure no one steals or plunders the cities. And the giants get a percentage of the dwarfs’ profits. So you see, they couldn’t afford to fight each other.”

Tara hoped she changed Mara’s mind about the dwarfs and giants relationship. At least that was how it was in the western part of the world. She wasn’t so sure about the east. As far as she knew there were very few giants in the east. She’d heard they were dying out over there. But conditions for creatures in the east were much harsher anyway. There weren’t any enchanted forests, or lush hills and mountains, only hot deserts and barren mountains that creatures had been restricted too. There was another disadvantage in the east. The realms of the magical creatures were all located in the western world. Magic welled up from their realms. This helped make the west world so lush, fertile, and beautiful.

“So the dragons...” Mara let the question linger in the air.

“The dragons live in the charmints realm. It suits them since they are both considered the wisest creatures.” Tara smiled. Then remembering Mara’s example of the dragons killing and being killed, she added, “And they are honored guests when any venture into one of the cities of the dwarfs.”

They rode in silence as the afternoon sun began to sink into the blue-green plain. The wind gently blew through the long grass making it look like the fairies were wondering through the waves of the sea. Tara looked back over her shoulder. The grass was still parted behind them for nearly a mile back. She thanked He Who Is for creating them as fairies. In a trek that would have taken a human weeks, had taken them less than a day.

Mirage glided through the plain. At that rate, they’d reach Iosis by nightfall. Which was perfect because, as Mara explained before they left Ambremose, although Xantha’s gallop like the wind, they could only run for a day, then they needed to rest. Mara had told her there was no telling how long a Xantha rested. Sometimes all they needed was a couple of hours, other times they could rest for days. When the Xantha was ready to go again, it would let you know.

It didn’t matter how long Mirage needed to rest, Tara thought grinning. They had gotten over hundreds of miles so quickly, Mirage could rest for weeks and they’d still be ahead of the time it’d have taken them to walk.

Tara slightly turned her head and squinted. They were heading southwest and the setting orange-red sun caught her eyes. For a moment, her eyes were filled with the excruciating bright light. Then the brilliance was too much for her and her eyes filled with tears. She turned her head away. Darkness consumed her sight. Removing an arm from around Mara’s waist, she wiped her wet cheeks and eyes. The tears keep falling though. Suddenly, Mirage halted.

“Why are we stopping?” Tara choked. She was sure she had seen treetops glistening in the sun’s rays before she had to turn away. That meant Iosis wasn’t too far off.

“Something’s wrong,” Mara said. She quietly slipped off Mirage.

Tara watched a blurry Mara slowly walk around Mirage in a circle. She was looking out into the world beyond. What she saw, Tara wasn’t sure of. She circled twice before finally stopping and staring off. Tara rubbed her eyes.

“I feel it,” Mara whispered. “I feel it in my blood.”

“What is it?” Tara asked, swallowing hard. She turned on the horse to look behind them, half expecting something to jump out of the grass. Nothing jumped out, nothing moved, not even, Tara suddenly realized, the wind.

“It’s powerful,” Mara said. “Everything senses it, even the wind and the grass.”

Yes, Tara thought, it was as if the entire world were standing at attention, straining to see, hear, feel what was going on. Yet, what is actually was, no one seemed to know. Tara turned to look at Mara’s back. She was facing south and to the east. South and to the east. That was the direction Talis lay in and where—

Tara was suddenly thrown off the horse. It wasn’t by Mirage, though. No, she felt herself being pushed off. She landed on the ground with a thud. Her mind spun around in her skull for a moment.

“Tara?” She heard Mara say. “Tara?!?”

Then her ears were plugged. Her sight was filled with black darkness. Her breath stopped. She couldn’t move. The taste of bitter bile filled her mouth and death filled her nose. Her mind was consumed with the thought of one person. The princess. The princess was dying. Not just dying, almost dead. Why hadn’t she been alerted sooner? Why hadn’t she known the moment before she was in grave danger? She had to get to her, but there was no way she could get there in time. She had to send out something to protect the princess. Tara tried and was blocked. Blocked! Was she too far away? Hold on, princess! She couldn’t hold on. What was happening? It was so dark. So dark.

“Tara!”

She felt her feet knocked out from under her. The darkness suddenly gave way. Tara opened her eyes. She stared down at the cool dirt.

“Tara?”

Something was on top of her. Mara.

“Get off!” Tara shouted. “I have to get to her!”

“Who?” Mara asked, not moving.

“The princess!” Tara yelled. “She’s dying! Oh! She’s dying! My pledge!”

“Dying?” Mara rolled off her. “Death?”

“Death, yes!” Tara leaped to her feet. “I have to—“

“Is that why you’re running and shooting up into the sky?”

Tara wanted to slap the stupid Fauye.

“Why else would I be acting like this? This what the pledge does! This is what—I have, I can’t— I vowed to protect them. I—I—“

Mara began to laugh. Tara stared at her in shock. She was mocking her!

“Shut up!” Tara screamed. “What is wrong with you?!”
Her protection was being blocked. She had to think. Think. She’s almost dead! Think! Mara said something. For some reason, Tara answered.

“What?!” Tara asked.

“Death isn’t the end,” Mara said, smiling. “Your pledge princess will live.”

“What?!” This Fauye was insane! “Of course death is the end!”

Mara shook her head.
“Humans don’t believe that. They believe in the afterlife. They go to heaven and live with He Who Is. He’s the one who protects them anyway, not us.”

Tara fell to the ground. Mara didn’t understand. She felt the princess slipping away. It was almost over. Mara crawled over to her.

“I think they are right,” Mara said. “Why would He Who Is create us only to have us die into nothingness? It seems there is no purpose in that.”

Tara burst into tears. She felt Princess Marina’s last breath.

“I like to think that my father is with He Who Is. Alive and well in another realm only accessible with the shedding of this physical body. I’m sure of this because my father was so devoted to He Who Is in life.” Mara brushed the tears away from Tara’s face. “Is your pledge princess devoted to He Who Is?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Tara said, pulling away from Mara. “It’s over. She’s dead.”

Mara touched her arm.

“Leave me alone,” Tara said.

“It’s not over,” Mara said.

Tara jumped up, anger shaking her body.
“I know. I know. Heaven!”

Mara stood up.
“I meant I don’t think she’s dead yet. She will be shortly, but something keeps her. Whatever it is, it’s the same thing that I felt earlier.”

“How do you—“

“When I touched you, I saw what you see. There is magic, dark magic at work here. It can stop one… you. But what if there were two?”

Tara stared at her unsure of what to do, what to believe. Mara stretched her hand out to her. As if in a daze, Tara took it.

“Now, you give the directions and I’ll send it out,” Mara said. “First, a warning.”

Tara nodded. Her thoughts flew to Brovan, to the palace. Where in the palace? There’s no time for that. Shaking herself, she removed that thought. She filled her mind with Marina’s face. Find her! She felt a blast of warmth as Mara shot out a warning.
They waited. Tara held her breath. There wasn’t much time.

“Please be in time,” she prayed.

“I think it only hit the palace,” Mara said.

Suddenly, the darkness fell away. Tara saw her, felt her take a breath.

“It worked!” Tara shouted. The words were barely out of her mouth before she felt death weigh upon her again. “She’s still in danger.” Tara fought the urge to run toward Brovan. She dug her fingers into Mara’s arm.

“I can see her too,” Mara said. “But…”

“We must hurry,” Tara said frantically, “or she’ll be killed.”

Mara nodded slowly. Tara filled her thoughts with Marina. Mara sent out another blast, this one bigger than the last. Seconds later, Tara felt Marina awakening.

“I can’t see the perpetrator,” Tara said excitedly, “but this time let’s really give it to them!”

Mara clasped her hands together and put them to her lips.
“Save yourself,” she whispered to her hands. “Save yourself.” Tara heard the words gently blowing in the wind. “ Save yourself. You have the power if you believe in it. You must save yourself… If you die, your world will die with you. What is worth living for? You must believe you are loved. You are loved. You must live to love others. Save yourself. For those who love you. Save yourself. For those you love. Save yourself. For those you will love. Yes. Your God, your mother, your brother, your aunt, uncle. Yes. Your future, your people, his people, your children. Yes. Save yourself. No one else can. You can do it. You must do it. We are behind you.”

The wind stopped. Mara blew on her hands. They watched a small light float up into the sky. Then the wind caught and it disappeared like lightening. Tara stared up into the brightly colored sky.

“What was that?” She asked, still looking up.

“It wasn’t me,” Mara said.

Tara turned her head to look at Mara.

“What do you mean?”

“I was asked to send it, but it wasn’t me speaking. I don’t even know why.”

“But who could have…?” Tara’s eye was caught by a flash of metal in the fading sunlight. She turned her head in the direction it came from. The trees of Iosis stared back at her. “It was them.”

Tara and Mara turned to find Mirage at the same time. They were both startled to find Mirage nibbling grass next to them.

“I almost forgot how fast he can come,” Mara said smiling. She leapt onto Mirage’s back. “Should we go on?”

Tara nodded.
“I think they’re expecting us.”

Tara climbed on behind Mara. Mirage lifted his head.

“To Iosis,” Mara said in his ear.

Mirage sped off toward the dense looming trees stretching across the entire horizon. And as they galloped with the wind, Tara felt the princess running. Then she disappeared from her. Marina was safe. Tara sighed with relief. It wasn’t easy to keep a pledge of protection to humans.