The Destiny of Amalah (14 page)

When the allegiances had been sworn Amara stepped forward to the edge of the dais.

‘Family, friends, people one and all. I thank you all so much for coming to Amalah City and sharing this day with me. It is tinged with sadness for the loss of my father, whom I loved, and who I know was greatly loved. It is also filled with happiness, as today I undertake my solemn duties as Empress of the nine nations and I could not have asked for a better coronation than the one that has just taken place.

Amalah, has mourned in the last weeks, now I ask Amalah to laugh again. To celebrate the life of my father and the peace and prosperity that we now enjoy. Without much further ado, I declare, the celebrations open,’ she said happily.

Once again there was thunderous applause and cheering inside and outside of the palace. Elana, Ellora, the boys and the five men surrounded Ellora and they hugged each other and laughed and congratulated Amara. The newly crowned Empress made her way to the front of the palace and as she walked, the people in the Great Hall followed her and when she reached the palace gates she saw that Amalah City was aligned with masses of people and when they caught sight of her they cheered loudly and deafeningly, they cheered for her and for the fact that they had a new Empress and for the new day that dawned on Amalah and the nations.

Amara, along with her mother, sister, the five men, the council and the five boys; made her way to the temple along the same path that her father had taken before her and once again, both sides were lined with people from all of the nations. This time the mood was jubilant and buoyant and the light and bright colouring of their clothes indicated to all those who could see from on high, that this was a truly joyous occasion.

Amara made her way to the temple and once again, gave thanks to the gods for the day and the days that were to follow. She asked for courage and fortitude in all times and asked that she be guided throughout and so it was, on that day, that Amara became Empress of the nine nations and people from all of the nations celebrated.

Oh how they celebrated on that day and all through the night. I have to say that is one thing that I also adored about humans, it was your love of partying and you do it so well and with such zeal. When the walkabout came to an end, the Empress made her way back to the palace, only this time as she walked along the path she stopped to greet the people, she talked, shook hands, received gifts and made everyone feel welcome. She was exuberant on that day; she was so caught up in the excitement and taken in by the warmth of the crowd that she did not see Adriel lurking in the crowd, spying on them all. By now she had put him out of her mind, but he was there watching her with his cruel glinting eyes.

‘Empress indeed,’ he said with contempt. ‘I wish your father could be present to see your downfall,’ he said, as he smiled cruelly. ‘I see you men who fought by his side have also all forgotten about me,’ Adriel said haughtily. ‘One day, I will make you all wish that you had kept me in mind every day,’ he said, the malevolence in his voice palpable. ‘You will all weep when you see me next – this I promise.’

Adriel remained lurking in the shadows, contemplating her downfall and the downfall of Amalah and all the nations – such was his malevolence.

‘I wish I could turn you evil,’ Adriel said to Amara; ‘but I see right through your soul and you reek of goodness and piety,’ he said with disgust. ‘Just like your father and his friends,’ he said becoming more needled. His thoughts soon shifted and his mood lightened as he looked at the others. ‘It matters not though Empress; I will still destroy you. There are those that I can corrupt and I, well I will enjoy destroying you just as much as I would have enjoyed turning you evil.’ Satisfied by his own words, Adriel turned away from the crowd once more and headed out towards Lansten.

‘Adriel!’ a voice shouted angrily inside his head making him jump.

‘Yes,’ Adriel said, alarmed and annoyed at the same time.

‘Why do you insist on coming here to the centre of Amalah when you know that some of the old guard are here and that they will recognise you?’

‘It helps me to scheme master,’ Adriel replied, the annoyance in his tone still evident.

‘All of your scheming will do you no good if you are locked up in a palace dungeon for an eternity.’

‘You could release me,’ Adriel said stating the obvious to the voice inside his head.

‘Yes I could, but I would not. That would be your lesson to learn Adriel.’

‘Or not, for they have yet to catch me and I am now leaving Amalah master.’

‘Hopefully you will not be returning to indulge in another one of your thought processes,’ the voice said in a tiresome tone.

‘Not for a while,’ Adriel replied smiling.

Adriel found his horse once again, which was waiting patiently and quietly in the forests. He untied the horse, saddled up and headed north once again towards Lansten where he would remain until he was ready to make his move.

‘Besides master,’ he said, bringing him into his thought process halfway through it. ‘I get the feeling some of them will come to me when the time is right,’ Adriel said smiling slyly.

‘Your plan had better work this time Adriel,’ the voice said.

‘It worked last time master,’ Adriel said defensively. ‘I brought the whole world to war and to the edge of darkness,’ he said proudly.

‘Yes, but you did not keep them there. They have all made peace now and old wounds have healed when they should have festered. So Adriel, you may have done well for a mortal man but the end I wanted has not been achieved.’

‘I won’t fail this time.’

‘No you won’t Adriel. Do you know why?’

‘No.’

‘Because there will not be another chance for you Adriel and you will find out just how powerful I really am and I know it will not be pleasant for you.’

Adriel stopped still for a moment, he felt something that he had not felt in a long time – fear. His master had taken him from earth’s plane and hidden him from all of those who sought him out. He had seen some of his masters power, which was beyond anything human but it had never been used against him and that and the unknown, made Adriel afraid.

‘Keep moving Adriel, the voice in his head barked.

‘Yes master,’ Adriel said sheepishly.

At the palace, the Great Hall had been set for a great feast and when the newly crowned Empress returned home she sat down to a magnificent dinner with over a thousand people. Her mother, sister and Kai’s five friends sat with her at the head table as well as a few members of the council. After the food, came the entertainment, then there was dancing and then, the Empress and her family walked about Amalah with Michael, Häkan and Garrick never far from their side. Later, when night fell they returned to the palace for more dancing and wine and entertainment until the early hours of the morning.

Before the celebrations came to an end, the Empress made her excuses and retired to bed. It had been a long and wonderful day she thought to herself but now she was ready to sleep before she faced the next one. The Empress changed into her satin nightclothes and brushed her hair before climbing into bed and just as she was about to go to sleep, she heard a knock at the door.

‘Come in.’

Her mother entered her room and went over to her daughter.

‘Mother,’ Amara said warmly.

‘I just came to give you this,’ her mother said handing her daughter a package that was wrapped in silk cloth. Amara opened it to see a diamond pendant surrounded by intricate patterns of gold.

‘Oh mother it’s beautiful.’

‘It is a present to mark your day and to say how proud I am of you. I saw you out there today among the people and I thought to myself “you truly are an Empress.” I want to also tell you that your fathers’ faith in you and my faith in you is well placed.’

‘Thank you mother, that means everything to me.’

‘I love you my dear daughter, good night and sleep well,’ she said hugging and kissing her daughter.

‘Good night.’

Elana stood up and left to go to her own room, leaving Amara to fall into a sound sleep as the newly crowned Empress.

Chapter 10

As time went by, life in Amalah City began to return to a semblance of normality. Ellora had turned to Rakan, and the boys, her mother and her sister for support during those early days. Before long, weeks had passed and Ellora had returned to school and remained – for the most part – within the company of her friends who were extra sensitive to her needs and Rakan and Kalon remained especially close to her.

Amara found herself somewhat alone and began to feel as though everyone needed her for something. She was needed as a sister, a daughter and as an Empress and the latter was taking up more and more of her time. The Empress had stoically stepped into her father’s shoes and although she found it overwhelming at first to be a monarch, she overcame her fears and threw herself into her work and her duties.

Michael had been the main reason she had found the transition bearable and manageable; he had been a stalwart and was constantly at her side and he advised her well and she in turn trusted him completely. When they were together she felt at ease in his presence and conversation always flowed naturally between them and she trusted and respected him.

Over the next few months the guard scoured Amalah and the nations for Adriel but there was no sign of him. The guards had asked numerous villagers in numerous places if they had seen him or heard of him but they had not and soon; Amara, Michael and the Guard Commanders accepted that the search proving futile – Adriel had disappeared once again.

‘There is only so much we can do,’ Häkan said, in a conference with the Empress and his four friends. ‘If it is him, we must wait until he makes his move. It is an unfortunate predicament but alas it is the predicament we are in.’

‘I am in agreement with Häkan,’ replied Garrick. ‘For months now, the guard have scoured Amalah and the nations and it has been in vain. There has been absolutely no sight or sound of Adriel. More importantly, nothing has changed. Everything is as it was and I am sure that – if it is him – whatever his intentions are that they would be nefarious ones. We cannot do anything until we have him in our sights or in our charge, or something changes.’

‘Very well, stand the guard down from the searches and let us hope that the man I saw was not in fact Adriel.’

The Empress gave her orders to the five men but as she had finished her sentence, a strange expression flickered over Michael’s face, one that he had tried to hide.

‘But you believe it was Adriel, do you not Michael?’ Amara asked.

‘I do Empress,’ he said candidly. ‘I truly believe that the man you saw was Adriel. But Garrick and Häkan are correct. We cannot continue to send the Guard to scour the nations. Adriel has remained hidden for all of this time. I think Adriel cannot be found but rather he will reveal himself when he so wishes. But make no mistake Empress, I am troubled – deeply troubled.’

‘I understand your concerns Michael, I truly do but we cannot continue to utilise the guard in this way,’ she said gently.

Michael nodded with resignation. He knew everyone was right to call off the guard but he knew he was right about Adriel but he left things the way they were.

Eventually the meeting came to an end and Amara was left alone in the room as the five men went about their work. The guard were given the order to stop the searches and soon, things returned to normal for Amara and the five men, and Adriel, slowly but surely, slipped to the back of everyone’s mind.

In the days after Kai’s death and Amara’s crowning ceremony, Elana had turned to the few close family and friends that she had, but as time passed by Elana became more of a loner. At first everyone thought she was making progress and overcoming her grief but then suddenly she deteriorated, and physically and mentally, she withdrew into herself.

Her family and friends tried to comfort and console her and bring her back from her shell, and for a while they helped; but then she began to lose herself again and even her children could not bring her back and this time, she sunk more and more into herself and into the depths of darkness of her mind as she longed for Kai, the love of her life.

As Elana’s physical and mental health faded day by day, Amara and Ellora became increasingly worried as their mother grew worse each day and was now looking pale and gaunt and clearly unwell.

Amara called on: Häkan, Michael, Garrick, Thaddeus and Raynor as she could think of no other remedy, or of anyone else who could help their mother. They were her mother’s and her father’s oldest friends and if they could not help, then she was at a loss as to who could. The five men entered her private study room separately and within minutes of each other, and when they had all arrived she beckoned for them to sit down and then joined them at the table.

‘How can we help you Empress?’ Garrick asked.

‘Please call me Amara, I am here as the daughter of my mother Elana – your friend. As you know my mother has not been well for sometime now, the healers say, that which ails her is not physical but within her own mind and the answer to her healing lies within herself.’ Amara paused and looked steadily at Michael, Garrick and Häkan; she was trying to remain calm but some of the raw emotion that she felt came through in her voice. ‘My mother cannot find the answer herself, she grows worse each day and even though the healers say that my mothers problems lay within her mind you have all seen for yourselves as have I, that physically – she is affected.’