The Queen's Curse (39 page)

‘And how do we have to treat you; like a
queen or a goddess perhaps?’ Tirsa asked.

‘Of course
,’ she said matter-of-factly.

‘That wou
ld satisfy you, would it not?’ Artride asked while she stood up, locking onto her eyes.

‘The Silent People never hurt you,
yet you still use them. Like they had to fill your void. Now finally you have two humans within your reach. You enjoyed seeing us struggle so much; watching us in pain and distress, that at last satisfied your need, did it not? That’s why you do not want us to leave. You want it to continue.’

Sempervirens’ serene face was unreadable, but she stared long at the
queen in silence.

‘Alright
,’ Artride concluded. ‘We shall stay, won’t we Tirsa? We’ll stay and see what you have to offer
us
.’

The sorceress narrowed her eyes in disbelie
f, looking suspiciously at the women to see if they were sincere. But as she raised one eyebrow, knowing it didn’t matter anyway; for they had to stay. There was not much choice there; it was either submit to her or death.

She did not
fear them. She sensed the blonde woman was full of anger, pretty much like herself once; bitter and full of wrath and she knew she would try to kill her if she got the chance. The dark haired woman, however, was more of a serious threat. Her eyes, behaviour and remarks showed a perspicuous wisdom. She reminded her of someone. She somehow seemed to know her; almost like a man, a god, she was acquainted with years ago.

But he could never have passed that knowledge without them opening the book, without them knowing his name
... Even though they had been in the room where he lay entrapped within his own spell book.
His mortal name is known only to me.
So she was quite sure they did not posses her secret. The secret that could make her vulnerable and weak. Her life could be at stake then, but Sempervirens did not worry. Had she even remembered what worry felt like …

Danger, fear and worry were feelings her heart no longer felt since she possessed the greatest power ever and made it her own. Even if she sometimes felt a slightest hint of any of those emotions, she would send them rapidly away towards her dungeons w
here they dwelt to hunt the prisoners.

Artride had guessed right
, she did seek a higher target of her vengeance; humans, and these two women would only be the beginning, but they could not know that, yet. Soon people outside Dochas would know she would be the successor of the god of insight and many would seek her out for her aid like Artride and Tirsa had. And she would watch more people suffer by numbers in their quest to find her and crush them. If they did reach her, after many a struggle, she would perhaps let them stay and serve under her out of pure delight. The power of control, and she did not even have to leave her domain for that, they would come to her … If they ever reached her of course, for she would make it hard on them, it was no fun otherwise. But those who did would be precious and different; worthy of staying and of receiving their prize; dwelling at the feet of their queen and Dominator of Dochas. And when the time would come, she would crush their petty civilization; she would crush their world. However, she could not do this on her own … she would need a partner in crime; someone she had at all odds once respected and loved; no mortal, but a god …

~ ~ ~

Tirsa knew Artride had begun her strategy and she would play along as long as it would take. ‘I submit to my queen,’ she therefore vehemently spoke; side glancing at Artride who she knew was watching her.

‘I have prepared a room for you. I hope it is to your
liking, but we can alter it later. Now,’ and she turned and called for one of her Woodchildren slaves. One came running over immediately, slipping through the green curtain as if he had been standing there, and bowed low before her. His brown hair long and his white tunic loose around his broad shoulders. A black belt held the tunic tight at his waist and matched his black trousers and clear white boots. Artride wondered how he kept his clothes so neat and unstained; for obviously this was some sort of worker. His pale green face hung low until his queen ordered him to look at her. They saw his dark, forest green eyes, eager to look upon her, light up. He seemed to lessen his thirst just by looking at her.

‘My Lady?’

‘See to it that my guests get a proper meal in my dining room, and guide them to the bathing room afterwards.’

‘Yes, my Lady.’ And without giving them so much of a look he waited for them to follow him.

Exchanging a quick glance with one another the women followed him, hungry and tired as they were. Approvingly, Sempervirens watched them leave.

When they were ‘alone’; which of course they weren’t for her eyes and ears would be with them whereever they went around here, Tirsa tried to speak with the Woodchild, but he did not answer.

‘He is well under her spell,’ Artride remarked quietly.

He le
d them to a large, white marble hall with golden chandeliers which shone a warm yellow light into the room that reminded them of the sun. Tirsa’s heart ached. How long had it been since she had seen the sun and breathed in fresh air? All these illusions could not match real life. Artride guessed what she was thinking, as they sat at the long white table covered with all kinds of food. Their stomachs growled in reply and their mouths became watery, as they licked their lips. There were many sorts of bread, rolls and loaves, many fruits such as apples, grapes, big red juicy berries and huge goblins with a sparkling golden fluid. Inhaling it, it smelled like a sweet wine. There were some cheeses too; a big round white one and a small orange with green herbs. Bowls with various nuts were spread about and a big bowl of hot vegetable soup was waiting for them.

‘This is too good to be true!’ Artride said amazed, feeling her stomach more than ever.

Tirsa tried a small piece of bread and nibbled on it. ‘It tastes like real bread to me, perhaps I should try some things out to be on the safe side.’

‘Alright. I’ll try the wine.’

‘No, wait, my Lady.’ And she put her hand on that of Artride. ‘I will.’

‘Oh, stop that ‘my Lady’ thing. It sickens me. Did you see that poor lad? It made me re
call how my own servants look at me. Now I know what they must feel like, for she wants
us
to follow his example soon. I can’t believe she’ll treat us any different. We are humans after all, so it will be worse for us after her initial ‘warm’ welcome.’

‘You are right
,’ said Tirsa sipping the wine carefully. ‘This might be drugged.’

‘Or poisoned and this will be our last meal.’

The women looked at one another in silence. What were they to do? They were hungry and tired, and all this good food before them could mean a test in itself.

Artride suddenly remembered the weight in her hand. The amulet could help them!

She opened her hand and quickly slipped it over her head so the cool blue gem rested on her chest. She picked up a loaf of bread and touching the pale blue drop of stone she asked softly, ‘Is this food poisoned, drugged or in any other way harmful to us?’

With a hammering heart they waited, for it could attract the attention of Sempervirens and then she would start to ask them unwanted questions.

It turned pale! Artride hid the stone in her hand again, most relieved. Drawing a big gulp of breath and sighing long, Tirsa closed her eyes thankfully.

‘Now, let’s eat!’ she almost cried out happily.

During the time they ate, they tried not to think about their worries, but enjoyed the good food, which obviously was no illusion, but real enough. Not made by magic but most likely by her ‘servants’. They felt guilty, but hunger prevailed.

After they were too stuffed to speak, one of the Woodchildren came out of the blue to take and guide them further along the white corridors
, ornate with splendid golden draperies and a thick deep reddish carpet, soft beneath their feet. Behind a transparent turquoise curtain, a huge warm room with a big round steaming bathtub built into the floor was shown. The Woodchild left and another stood ready for them, with soap and a scrubber at the bathtub.

The floor was made out of round turquoise green tiles with images of mermaids on them
, and sea horses and fish. But they did not feel cold at their feet, but comfortably warm. As they came closer they noticed the bathtub, at the same level as the floor, it was of a shiny ocean blue plaster with bubbles beneath the surface of the water, where fresh warm water came floating in from an unknown source. The walls were of the same colour as the floor, and a huge rainbow was painted on one of the round walls above a huge sea with stars glittering in it, so that the sea looked like a sky.

‘Amazing.’ Artride
’s voice sounded hollow, like it did in her own bathroom in her castle.

‘Remember this is to impress us
,’ Tirsa stated as she slipped off her veil and glided quickly into the warm welcoming water of the bathtub.

Her body relaxed immediately and she sighed with relief.

Artride joined her, for it was large enough to hold at least four people and she suddenly remembered the half naked Woodchild only covered with a blue loin cloth. She beckoned at him to give her the big round soap and the scrubber, which he did. She had an urge to pull him into the water to see what would happen; how he would respond, but she was too tired. His face showed no emotion as he lowered his eyes and turned round at her command. He would wait until they were finished and then he would give them the big white towels as ordered by his queen.

‘I’ll try to ignore him
,’ Artride said, soaping herself in with the purple soap, which smelled like lavender, aware of Tirsa’s eyes on her. The luscious scent did her spirit good.

‘I thought you were used to staring eyes.’
Tirsa said.

‘Not while I am taking a bath.’

‘You do not mind I am here then?’

She gazed at Tirsa
, covered with bubbles and foam from the soap up to her shoulders, her long blonde hair wet, falling over her shoulders. Drops of water lay on her long eyelashes and sprinkled her face and mouth.

‘You must have noticed that, Tirsa?’ and she smiled thinking about their shared kiss for the first time in hours. She wanted to kiss those lips again and again, but knew she had to restrain herself.
Although she yearned for Tirsa’s touch and to explore her body, her mind was too occupied with other things or it should be, while the water of the bathtub seemed to soak away her worries, she would not forget, couldn’t. But it was indeed very hard for both of them to resist each other, with them being so close all the time, especially naked.

After half an hour of washing and soaking,
averting their eyes from each other, they decided they were clean enough and dried themselves on the fluffy white towels. Two long, white nightgowns were brought and they were glad to feel soft warm fabric on their skin again. Their feet were still bare however, but the floor was dry, warm and clean so they guessed they did not need any footwear.

Another servant le
d them to their separate bedrooms. At this point they were so tired they almost could not keep their eyes open, and they couldn’t care less how the room looked as long as it had a bed in it.

Standing before Artride’s room, after the servant had left, Tirsa asked worried
ly, ‘I can’t let you sleep alone, can I?’

‘I suppose not
,’ she softly remarked, holding her voice level, not trying to show any emotion or desire.

‘We cannot trust her still. Wait, I’ll drag my mattress to your room to watch over you. I’m a light sleeper anyway.’
Tirsa said.

Artride already lay in her soft bed with purple sheets.
This is heaven,
she thought with heavy eyelids. When Tirsa came to install her own mattress next to her bed she was already dozing off. And when her bodyguard hit her own bed she was asleep. Both slept like they had not slept in days, weeks.

CHAPTER
21

She who endures the most is the greatest

She who suffered the most can accomplish the most

Anyone who can control her self can control others

Tanith.Lee

Artride and Tirsa had been sleeping far too long. They should have attempted to find the bedroom of Sempervirens and tried to take her life while she was sleeping. Even though that would be easier said than done.

T
hey both realised their mistake at breakfast, when Sempervirens showed herself smiling contentedly. She looked even more stunning, and power radiated from her like never before. The longer they stayed, the harder it would be as, they might even grow fond of her in some strange way …

She wore a dark robe this time
, and it was flapping around her gracefully like eagle wings.

Now they had to wait another day; one more day closer to death for Elimar and one day further from victory and freedom.

She is even more aware of herself now that we are here to admire her,
Artride thought grimly. She thrives on admiration, as if their eyes somehow nurtured her in much the same way as her slaves were nurtured and fed by looking at her.

‘What is your plan
for us?’ Tirsa asked, keeping her voice level.

‘You have a very suspicious mind, that’s good.’ And she pressed her
goblet with the sparkling wine gently to her lips before taking a small sip.

‘Like you
, I do not believe our intentions are so trustworthy. I have been watching you too long for that. But that is of no concern to me. You will enjoy your stay here and do not have to play a role by the time you get used to your environment.’

‘Like your slaves?’ Tirsa asked after drinking some of the sweet wine herself. She felt like a betrayer doing so, but the wine was uplifting
, and she needed that.

‘My servants are very content living here.’

‘Of course; you’ve bewitched them. They don’t have a will of their own anymore.’

‘But you have.’ And she stared at Tirsa a long time.

‘But how long for?’ She placed the wine goblet back.

S
empervirens giggled pleasantly. ‘Don’t worry, I won’t use any spells on you. If I don’t have to; the more fun I’ll have.’

‘Have you no shame? Don’t you ever feel remorse?’ Tirsa tried.

‘Shame, remorse, regret, guilt … are weaknesses of the human mind. You’ll see when you live long enough with me that those weaknesses will perish. Everyone is happy here and there is no room for anything but that. There is no need to.’

‘Alright, let me put it this way then; did they choose to come here, like us?’

She smiled slyly, caressing her wine goblet with her delicate fingers.

‘I did not have to drag them here
… It was not a hard choice for them to come along with me. They have followed me freely. Men have a weak spot for my charms. I never drugged them, so again you are wrong. Perhaps Artride understands these things better, being a queen and beautiful.’

‘Hmm. You speak of happiness,’ Artride pointed out, ignoring the latter. ‘Yet I do not feel this among your staff. True, they light up when they look at you; like they need you, like they feed on you. But not once have I seen them smile. You are the only one who does so around here. Perhaps
you
mistake things.’

A flicker of hate crossed her dark eyes now, before
she answered solemnly, ‘They have no wish to leave me. You ask them and they’ll all answer the same.’ And she added, suddenly amused, ‘And trust me when I say they don’t complain when they’re alone with me.’

‘Because they’re totally obsessed with you. You have made them addicted to you, can’t you see?’ Artride said in shock, remembering Ezra.

‘But it’s a nice addiction.’

‘How can you tell? You cannot place yourself in your victims, so how can you know how they must feel?’ Tirsa angrily asked.

Sempervirens placed her goblet on the table with force. ‘You have no right to judge me, not even to speak to me that way! I must warn you once again.’

‘Very well,’ Artride continued. ‘If we are to live under the same roof perhaps we should get to know one another better; so future mistakes are avoided.’

‘As long as you remember there is only room for one queen here, and always remember what I am capable of. That is all I shall say today.’ And she stood gracefully. ‘If you will excuse me, I have some important business I have to attend to.’ And she left the dining room at a slow pace.

‘Oops, I guess we said something wrong.’

‘I do not care, Tirsa. It just doesn’t make sense, and I want to get to the bottom of this. Why does she so desperately want us to stay?’ and she shook her head so that her dark strands danced around her face.

‘So we can’t tell other people about her, I presume?’

‘No, that can’t just be it. She could kill us, easily, to avoid us going back. And it is too simple that she wants to see us suffer in here for her own entertainment; for she seems agitated because we ask too many questions. We would surely get on her nerves, but yet I feel she has some use of us, if only we could find out what that would be.’

A frown
creased her forehead while she thought.

‘You are a real
queen and if you serve her that will satisfy her somehow. It is like you said before – only a human bending to her would do, not a Wood or Windchild.’

‘Hmm. Still too straightforward. She does not hate us, not really. I can tell if someone does. If she
was to hate us, and we would serve her, that would satisfy her I guess. No, she is intrigued by us.’

‘Perhaps she seeks a successor and she thinks we are worthy enough to be taught the things she knows? She wants to teach me how to see from a distance
,’ Tirsa said with big eyes.

‘From what
…’ and Artride lowered her voice whispering, ‘Eolas told us …’

‘From what he told us we should take her life and not reason with her anymore
, or even try to understand her further. It will lead to nothing.’ Tirsa interrupted her sharply and looked suddenly severly at her. ‘And we should do it tonight!’ she whispered so only she could have heard it. ‘And he will be free to make us a spell and we can go home at last.’

Artride nodded. ‘Of course.’ And she bit her lip. Tirsa saw the hurt in her eyes and laid a warm hand upon hers.

‘Stop thinking what her intentions might be or understanding her actions before it is too late.’ It was like she was her conscious speaking.

~ ~ ~

They spent all day strolling around the lovely garden Sempervirens made for them. It had everything a Royal Garden would have outside the cave; a neat, large grass field, flowerbeds, trees and a working fountain with a realistic statue of a dolphin. The ceiling was so high and blue: it could be mistaken for the real sky. It even had the feeling they were outside, for a summer breeze blew swiftly through the garden.

Both women still wore the white night gown
s they had been given the night before. It was warm enough and certainly better than being nude. It hung loosely around their breasts, but was girdled with a small golden cord at their waist. They almost looked like members of the TalamhClann themselves with their fair skin and surpassing beauty.

Not a single glance of the sorceress was to be seen all day. It was like she was hiding from them. But patiently they waited for the night to come with beating hearts
, for they worried it would not be that easy to simply kill a powerful sorceress, particularly as she most likely expected it.

Tirsa kept close to
Artride in her bedroom as they waited, she had not forgotten she was her bodyguard. One could hear the other breathing, both their minds too occupied to speak.

When they thought it was late enough, for it had been
some hours since they had gone to bed and they assumed Sempervirens would be asleep by now, they stood up silently. The room was faintly dimmed by an unseen source. Well aware of all watching eyes, Tirsa opened the light door without a sound. The doorknob was made of solid gold and felt oddly cold to her hand.

The corridor was dark and the lights were out. They had to make their way by intuition. Of course
, they had no idea where her bedroom was, even though they had been searching the day before.

Oddly
, this reminded Tirsa of that first day she was looking for Artride, who also happened to be in her bedroom when she found her. It all seemed ages ago now. She would tell her of the similarity later, if they made it out alive. She searched for one of her hands in the dark and squeezed it tight. She noticed she was trembling softly.

‘Don’t be afraid, Artride.’ She tried to reassure her.

The corridors all looked alike and were as poorly lit, but all rooms they entered seemed to be on the same level – the kitchen, the dining room, the bathroom, the garden, which even had a fake moon casting its light on the trees and plants. But of course it would be, if it was in fact a cave.

Her bedroom was very far off, anyhow, near the bedrooms of her slaves who were all
fast asleep. It was as though she wanted to be found; for her door stood slightly open. Lightly dimmed as their own room was, they could make out her bed.

There she was; her face serene, her dark features as pure and breathtaking even asleep.
Her eyelids with their long lashes closed, she looked so innocent. Artride thought about her history and that she once had been a lonely innocent child; hurt, battered, craving love and attention like any toddler and that now, years later, she got that attention in a wrong way because she did not know how to get it any other way. She was too ruined for that. Even Eolas couldn’t heal her.

When Tirsa entered first and got nearer she noticed Sempervirens was not alone. A fair
- haired lad with the whitest skin she’d ever seen lay next to her with his arm draped loosely around her waist. First she thought he was a dead Woodchild and this was some cruel trick of hers, but then she saw his shallow breathing and realised it was a Windchild and he was alive.

How can he survive in here?
She remembered the Windchild in the cloud had mentioned abductions of Windchildren as well, but until now they had seen no evidence of them. Tirsa would have thought they would die in this cave, without the wind they needed for their survival. How was this possible? Her spell on him must be great, however wicked, to keep him captured and alive in here. Her blood boiled in anger and silently she gripped one of the many pillows. Artride’s blue eyes were wide and showed fear, but she nodded at her when she glanced for approval.

Tirsa
held the pillow above the face of the sorceress and reassured herself that her death would serve a greater purpose, side-glancing at the pale, sleeping lad before pressing it down.
For you.

They heard a soft sigh underneath the pillow, so Tirsa pushed harder with effort.

‘How you disappoint me!’ they heard her say as she easily shoved the pillow aside. She pushed back with all her strength
, but the pillow remained hanging above the woman’s face!

Easily she shoved it
completely aside and Tirsa had to let go, before noticing Artride had a worried expression on her pale face.

Shaking her head
, she made a clicking sound with her tongue. ‘And I’m thinking by now they would be all over each other, instead of me! What a pity, all that precious time wasted.’ And she rose up; not ashamed of her beautiful naked body, waking the Windchild with her movement. His eyes grew big when he saw the audience and stared at his queen. Dressing herself in a lovely auburn-ebony nightgown, she showed him the door. He grabbed a white sheet, wrapping it around his waist before running off.

She laughed at the women who were confused
, but alert.

‘Instead of having some fun, like me, you try to
… what … take my life?’ and she laughed loudly. The women glanced at each other, holding their silence.

‘What good would that do? You can say goodbye to your spell if I’m dead, not that you would succeed of course. But
…’ and she raised an arched eyebrow, smiling, pleased.

‘I will forgive you for this, for I am in a good mood. Besides, you are no threat to me. In fact
, I like you even better now that you try not to win me over to that good side of yours anymore, but show yourselves to be just as bad. You are dismissed.’ And she waved them away; still standing aside her bed she turned her back to them.

Side glancing at one another they both knew what had to be done. Tirsa nodded at Artride who pressed her lips together nervously.

She walked over to Sempervirens, who heard her footsteps from behind.

‘Have you not heard me
, woman?’

‘I have. I just want to say I am grateful you do not punish us.’

Sempervirens turned slowly to face Artride, for she knew the word punish all too well and she had not heard it in decades …