Chapter 2

Shenya recounted. Everything.

Before we started, Shenya had timidly suggested that we go for a walk in the palace gardens so as to get some air and perhaps eat some juicy peaches picked directly from the fruit trees that dotted the park.

Mariam, however, had been adamant. She wanted to talk in the room and, from the long look she had sent to the door, it almost seemed as if she wanted to go and make sure it was really closed. Eventually she had remained seated but Shenya had begun to be afraid. Why such secrecy?

But he had finally started talking.

The trip had gone well, it had just been very tiring to spend so many hours on horseback when he could no longer travel by carriage. Near the Capital the roads were well maintained, but as he approached the border with Lapis, they became dirt paths, and only in some sections did the original paving remain. This did not mean that the people were in poverty or living poorly! She assured Shenya when Mariam's eyes lit up in a spark of concern, only that they would have to maintain the roads, down south. Besides, it was normal, she continued, with all those merchants constantly passing from one side of the border to the other.

Mariam nodded but, as careful as she always was to ask about the conditions in which her people lived, she seemed anxious for Shenya to hurry up and get on with her story.

Sure, she was interested in how the populace lived, asked questions that expressed her keen interest in the conditions in the kingdom, but she was almost in a hurry to move on to the next topic.

The people, consisting mostly of large landowners and peasants, seemed to be happy with the way they were spending their lives. Crops were going well, children were being born healthy and strong. The people seemed, to say the least, to be in love with their queen, so beautiful and good, always careful to bring peace and justice to their lands.

Mariam nodded, pleased at how poverty seemed to be decreasing by the day, thanks to the increasing demand for arms in the fields.

"The Temple will only be used for court ceremonies and weddings at this rate," joked Shenya, playing with a strand of blond hair, moving it from her shoulders to behind her back, then bringing it forward again.

She was anxious, no matter how hard she tried to hide it, about what she saw on Mariam's face. Queen or not, Mariam remained his sister and he could recognize that light in her eyes, no matter how many masks she put on.

She had an Idea. And when she had an Idea, nothing and no one would be able to dissuade her.

When they had been children and then girls she had always had Ideas. A joke or a game, at first; then there had been the first knights they had noticed, by whom they had been noticed, and nothing had stopped her from being with them, not even the threats of punishment and and preaching about being a future queen.

Shenya had been the perfect partner in this, always agreeing with her in everything, ready to throw herself headlong into trouble, especially when it came to men. But those had been innocent things, and even in the most serious, Mariam had not had the power to go too far.

But now that she was Queen, no one could put a stop to her.

It's nothing, Shenya thought, and besides, Mariam would never hurt anyone.

Except to herself.

She shook her head at that thought, suddenly feeling her throat go dry. Mariam looked at her confused, and Shenya repeated the gesture.

"I was rethinking the horseback riding trip. We definitely stay too long in the palace, we should go out sometime for a ride in the fields," Shenya said.

"You know I can't," she shook her head softly, sighing sadly however then whispered, so softly that even Shenya who stood next to her struggled to hear her, "Maybe..."

"What?" brightened Shenya, at the prospect that the queen had changed her mind.

The rulers of Orios rarely left the Silver Palace, and when they did it was only to officiate ceremonies at the Temple of the Moon, which was a short distance from the Palace, or in the event of war they led troops into the field to give them strength and hope.

Because of this they always had a waxy, bloodless complexion. Pale as the moon, the people said. Sickly, thought Shenya, or at least Mariam seemed so.

Except today; Shenya had already noticed the slight pinkness on the Queen's cheeks, but she took notice again, lost in those thoughts. It was as if she was aroused by something.

He has an Idea, he reflected again with a sigh.

"Nothing. Continue," the queen urged her.

Shenya continued.

He spoke of the journey to the border with Lapis, when the fields had turned first into low hills and then, in the distance, into the high mountains of the Nordic Ridge, which divided Orios from Lapis, from the Violis River to the impassable Dawn Mountains.

She recalled with wonder those high mountains, the jagged peaks that seemed to be lost in the clouds, and the surprise mixed with disquiet that she was further south than she had ever been.

Although she did not live segregated in the palace like Mariam, Shenya had never left Orios and, until then, a part of her had always been happy that way. Why move away from her home, the most beautiful kingdom in ancient Seatiale, to visit kingdoms that were surely inferior?

Yet, when the Queen had ordered her to go and bring the Queen's Word to the people and perhaps visit some other kingdom, she had felt a thrill of excitement growing along the way. And the sight of the mammoth mountains of the Ridge had ignited her blood, making her think about how she would see something new beyond that seemingly insurmountable obstacle.

Yet, in the heart of the Ridge, there was a passage carved into the rock. In Ancient Times, when Seatiale still had another name, the Ancestors had opened a hollow in the side of one of the mountains of the Ridge, a long hole that reached all the way to the other side of the mountain.

The passage, inside, had been smooth and polished, mottled at times with ancient runes whose meaning no one now knew. The cold had been intense, Shenya had clutched her heavy fur-trimmed cloak to her chest, and the air had seemed still, there had been no sound beyond the echoes of their footsteps, as if the passage itself was still frozen in the Ancient Times in which it had been created.

Gates had been placed at the entrance and exit of the forum with soldiers guarding them so that no one could pass through undisturbed. Merchants and nobles had no problem; the guards acted only in case some criminal tried to escape justice in their own kingdom by fleeing to the neighboring one. Therefore, the populous could hardly pass, unless they had certified business to conduct. But hardly did the populace use the Companion Tunnel, that was the ancient name for the passage, when it was easier and better controlled to travel along the Violis River and dock at one of the river ports that provided access to the other Kingdoms.

"Did you go through the Tunnel? That could have been dangerous! Certainly traveling by river would have been more appropriate," exclaimed the Queen.

"I had a handful of armed guards with me and then I wanted to see him," Mariam seemed about to retort. "Now, do you want to hear about Lapis?" retorted Shenya quickly.

As expected, Mariam nodded and a flash lit up in her eyes.

What do you need, Shenya asked herself as she parted her lips to begin speaking, what did you send me there for?

At first she had believed that it was just to control the people and make them see that the Queen cared, which was undoubtedly true even though she could not go in person, but now Shenya was convinced that that was only secondary to what she really wanted.

And what he wanted was to know about Lapis.

The captain of the guards, he thought with a cold tremor, had suddenly been called back to court. What was he doing there?

Everything pointed to one thing: a war.

Queen Mariam of Orios wanted to declare war on Lapis. This was her Idea.

Shenya, who was recounting the beauties of Lapis, its high mountains and mines that it had in place of Orios' cultivated fields, stopped abruptly; almost ending up biting his tongue.

The Queen arched an eyebrow and motioned for her to go on. Shenya swallowed the knot that had formed in her throat and tried hard to smile but found to her horror that she could not, she could not.

Not only Lapis, she thought terrified, she also asked about the King of Solis.

Mariam nodded, as if she understood something, Oh please don't, may the Moon protect me, and headed for the door; opening it just enough to whisper something to the guard before returning to her seat.

Shenya stood frozen for a moment, unable to move, thinking only: He will not have me killed just because I understand, I am his Lady, I am his blood, he loves me.

Mariam turned toward her, and when she looked at her face, she immediately looked concerned.

"Shenya, but you are shaking! And look how pale you are! I sent for water for you, now I wonder if perhaps a healer is not better" Mariam took her hand back, squeezing it as if to give her strength.

Water, Shenya thought faintly and felt like a huge fool. Obviously Mariam had only wanted to get her water when she noticed that her cousin could no longer speak.

Mariam, her queen, her sister, was not a monster and would never hurt her.

The war, too, had probably been a figment of his imagination, which had always been so vivid.

She was merely tired from the long journey; she had returned the previous night and had slept only a few hours before going to report to the Queen. Afterwards she would go and get some rest and be much better. A glass of water would not have hurt.

She tried to speak again, but Mariam quickly blocked her, "If you don't want to go back to the room to lie down for a while," Shenya shook her head, "Then wait for the water, it will give you some strength. Perhaps you also want something to eat?" Shenya shook her head again; she was still struggling a bit to speak.

Time seemed to pass slowly, as if bathed in molasses. Once again silence permeated the room, the only noise the crackling of the fire and the faint breaths of the two women. Mariam never for a moment stopped shaking her hand, and the more time passed, the more foolish Shenya felt in having jumped to hasty conclusions.

She smiled faintly at Mariam, filled with the affection she felt for her Queen, who was good and had never been violent without being attacked first.

The fire created almost menacing shadows on the walls, and although she had previously felt strong at the thought of dancing in the flames, she now felt threatened by those disembodied forms.

Fire can make you strong, thought Shenya as he stared at the burning flame, but it can also destroy you.

The three knocks on the door jolted the two women, lost as they were in their respective thoughts. The first to recover was Mariam, who with a soft "Forward" allowed the servant girl to enter.

The young girl Shenya had seen earlier advanced slowly toward them, carrying in her hands a large silver tray with a pitcher of water on it and two empty goblets, also made of silver; the goblets were richly decorated with all the phases of the moon on the rim.

He stopped in front of the Queen, bowing as best he could, and let the ruler inspect the contents of the tray. At her affirmative nod he turned to set the tray on the small low table in front of the fireplace, poured the water from the pitcher into the two goblets, and handed the first one to the Queen.

Shenya widened her big green eyes, irritated. All servants, or at least those who knew how to do their jobs, knew that under no circumstances was the first cup or dish offered to the sovereign, as it could be poisoned.

Before he could scold her, however, Mariam accepted it, taking it between her tapered white fingers with a nod of her head. She did not drink, however, signaling to serve more water for Shenya.

The maiden almost tripped in her haste to fill the second goblet and when she handed it to Shenya she dropped a few drops on her hand.

Ridiculous, thought Shenya, that she should be allowed to serve the Queen. I will have to speak to Selenna about this.

Mariam seemed amused, however. She ordered the girl out, although she did so in a gentle tone and not with the harshness that Shenya would have used, and she giggled when the door was closed.

Shenya took a sip of water, which was cold and refreshing, and exclaimed, "That such an idiot should be allowed access to the Palace is absurd."

"Yda is new, she will learn," commented Mariam simply by swirling the goblet and watching the water swirl, with a smile.

"I don't even want to know how you know his name. For all I know, he could have put poison in there."

"You drank the same, thinking there is poison in it? Don't talk nonsense, she's just inexperienced."

Shenya was about to concede the point when he noticed something and said, "Yet you didn't even take a sip."

Mariam looked at her with a gleam of defiance in her eyes, then drank the water all at once and turned the chalice upside down to show her that it was empty. A drop of water fell from the rim of the chalice and landed on the snow-white silk dress, darkening a dot on the fabric. Neither of them paid any attention to it.

"You waited to see that I was not agonizing," but it was a weak excuse and Mariam knew it.

They both burst into merry laughter, and any tension Shenya had had melted away like snow in the sun. She had truly been a fool.

"I see you're feeling better, you've even regained that beautiful color that tinted you on the trip," commented Mariam, wiping her eyes.

Shenya nodded, almost breathlessly, and revealed, "For a moment you scared me as I was telling you about my journey."

"Scared! And what could I possibly have said?"

"You seemed so interested in the other kingdoms rather than our people.... Why is Brach here anyway?"

Mariam changed again. Her face completely lost the cheerfulness of moments before and became neutral, completely devoid of any expression.

"And you, what did you think?" asked Mariam, cold as ice, eyes staring at her, searching for the slightest clue.

Shenya flailed on the bench, suddenly that fear that had immobilized her before gripped her again, squeezing her chest in a vice and taking her breath away.

"To the g--" he couldn't say it out loud, it made it real "To a war, Your Highness."

Mariam relaxed her shoulders and smiled slightly.

"If you didn't get it either, then..." she whispered so softly that Shenya had to strain to hear her.

Oh, thought Shenya, then I am misunderstanding again. And she widened her lips in a quivering smile.

"This is nonsense, isn't it? To think that you..."

"No" Mariam shook her head slightly "I'm not saying that."

Her face became expressionless again, she stood up and gathered her hands behind her back; her every muscle tensed in an attempt to look relaxed, she became a statue.

"No," he repeated, "I don't doubt that there will be a war."