Chapter 11
Dresmael and Yokig shared their experiences while Redbeard took advantage of the safety of the elf castle and slid under the satin covers of the bed for a well deserved nap. Blackpaw woke up and positioned herself beside the sleeping giant before dozing back off.
After Dresmael and Yokig caught up, Dresmael returned to her book while Yokig decided to explore the castle a little bit more.
He strolled through the gardens, past the horse pen. He explored the stables and made his way to the archery range. He tried his hand at a few shots but missed the targets with every try. He meandered back to the castle and passed the main dining hall and the kitchen. He entered two guest rooms, each containing a bed, a hearth and a chair. Both decorated in a similar manner to the lounge room. He ascended the wooden stairs to the second floor and explored the council room opposite of the lounge room. It was an open space with the same design as the other rooms in the castle with a long wooden table surrounded by chairs and eight windows that overlooked the entire elven city . Yokig noticed that after beyond the city walls there was no landscape, the walls were surrounded by a faint golden light and beyond that yokig saw nothing.
Yokig noted the unusual nature of such a sight, making a mental note to ask someone about it later. Next to the lounge room was a library filled to the brim with all sorts of books in many different shapes and sizes.
On the third floor was the queen's chamber connected by a wall to the royal dining room. The guard standing at the queens door informed him that the queen's dining room also doubled as the queens council chamber. It held only two windows about the same size as the windows in the bigger council chamber. A smaller table stood in its center surrounded by seven wood chairs.
After exploring as much as he could of the castle Yokig made his way back to the loungeroom to rejoin his friends. A little while later a bell rang and they were summoned to the royal dining hall for supper.
The once bare wooden table had been filled with an assortment of fruits and nuts and cooked meats in high piles around the fully skinned and roasted body of the deer lying in the center of it all.
Yokig and the travelers were seated on one side while Milahai- who sat closest to the queen's chair- her husband and her brother sat on the other. An extra chair had been placed at the end of the table closest to the door and was occupied by a mysterious new female elf.
The elf wore a blue loincloth and Yokig noticed that her body resembled a pear, her thin shoulders and chest curved at her waist giving her a very shapely and attractive rear end. The female elfs eyes were grey and her hair was black and ran down to her elbows.
Yokig couldn't help but stare at the elfin woman and admire her beauty.
A royal servant marched into the room with his head held high. "All stand!" He ordered.
When they were all on their feet the servant cleared his throat and spoke again. "Presenting the royal queen of Haisherom. Daughter of Heldehai, line of Shromtak. Queen Maitahai!"
The servant moved out of the doorway and the most beautiful elf Yokig had ever seen floated effortlessly into the room. The queen wore a crown full of golden shimmering diamonds. Her black hair fell down and flowed behind her on the floor, its end tied with a golden tie. Her eyes were green and sparkled like emeralds in the sun. Around her neck lay the most exotic jewels ranging from sapphires to emeralds to more golden diamonds inlaid into a golden plate that covered the top half of her breast. She had an hourglass figure, like her daughter, and wore a gold skirt, cut on both sides to expose her legs as she walked, that also touched the stone below her feet.
Everyone at the table bowed when she entered, her servant led her around the table and pulled out her seat. Once she sat down the servant shouted, "You may all sit!" Before taking his place at attention behind the queens back.
The queen waited until everyone took their seats before speaking. "Boy with dreams." Yokig caught the queen staring at him inquisitively. He could feel her eyes looking through him, as if searching for a hidden part of him. The thought of that made him shiver, just a little, at her gaze. "You and your friends must be hungry. I have questions to ask you but I'm sure they can wait until everyone's bellies are full. Don't you agree?"
"Yes mam! I mean, yes queen!" This was the first time Yokig had met a queen. He wasn't sure how he should address her.
"Good, I'm rather hungry." The queen rubbed her stomach and smiled. "Let's eat!"
Yokigs body convulsed with miniature orgasms as the food he shoved into his mouth by the fork full, exploded with different flavors and textures he had never tasted before. The deer's meat was cooked to perfection and fell off the bone as Yokig tore through it with his teeth. The fruit gave the boy a small burst of energy with every bite as the juices flowed into his mouth and down to his stomach, instantly absorbing into his body and energizing every cell. Yokig ate until his body couldn't take another bite of food. He pushed away from the table and rested his hands on his belly, letting out a satisfied sigh.
Soon everyone had their fill.
"So boy with dreams, What is your real name?" The queen asked, wiping her mouth with a cloth napkin.
Yokig hadn't been asked that question since before he started on his adventure. He had gotten used to being referred to simply as the boy with dreams. It had become his identity. "Yokig." His voice came out as almost a whisper.
"Im sorry, what did you say?"
"Yokig, your majesty!" Yokig spoke up so that the queen could hear him.
"Yokig." The queen repeated as she lifted her fingers up to her chin. "Yokig, that's a nice name. So how are you liking Haisherom?"
"I haven't gotten to seem much of it, but your castle is nice. From what I saw from the windows in the council room, your kingdom looks extraordinary." Yokig confessed.
"Yes, I suppose it is extraordinary. It's the last elven city in Abahlon. All of my people's ambitions and livelihoods rest within its walls." The queen reminisced. "So what brings you and your friends here?"
Yokig was surprised by the queens blunt banter. "We were headed northwest. We're following this relic in hopes to find the last old one." Yokig pointed at the compass around his neck.
"Northwest?" The queen thought for a second. "The only thing past the mountains is Endeloin. Beyond that is the Black Isles."
"The Black Isles?" Yokig had never heard of the Black Isles before. In school when they were shown a map of Abahlon, Egrath - the last and biggest continent of the twelve - had ended at the port of Endeloin. There were no Black Isles that he knew of beyond that.
"Yes, young Yokig. The Black Isles. A dreadful place really. Its forests are blackened, its lands covered in a continuous thick smoke, as if from a constant everlasting fire. Not even the humans, in all their conquest, dare to go there."
"With all due respect your majesty.." Redbeard cut in. "..It would be the perfect hiding place for the old one to hide!"
"Yes giant, I agree. But why would a boy with dreams need to find the last old one? Why would our young Yokig need to go there?"
Dresmael sat in her chair, afraid to speak up, but attentively listening. Blackpaw had fallen asleep near her food dish on the floor.
"We need to find him so we can find out if I'm the boy king." Yokig confidently answered the queen.
The mysterious female elf guest sat with her face resting on the back of her interlocked hands, her elbows glued to the table.
"Your majesty, I know what you're thinking, and you are not the first to think it. There have been others who have had dreams and have been killed for them." Rebeard reasoned. "But as long as Yokig is alive we still have hope. There's still something to hold onto."
"Hope?" The queen folded her arms and twisted her face in disgust. "Giant, Hope is a lost concept to my people. We once had hope that the humans would see the errors of their ways and commit themselves to reason. But they slaughtered my people - and yours too. They destroyed our cities, our towns and our monuments. They took from us every bit of land we had. We are all that's left, need I remind you of the fate of Lingathor?"
"No you're majesty." The giant's voice lowered.
"Young Yokig, special you may be. But I cannot deal in hope. I need a sure thing." The queen turned to the mysterious elven women seated on the other end of the table. "I have brought with me my most trusted seer, boy with dreams.She has used her ability to see forward into many things. Warning us of the dangers that lay ahead of my kind. She will tell me if you're the real deal, or just a fleeting cloud of temporary hope."
The queen's words stung but Yokig understood where she was coming from. This wasn't the first time someone didn't believe he was the boy king. And if Yokig was honest with himself, he was beginning to doubt that he was the boy king too. The truth was that nobody knew. Yokig raised his eyes to meet the seers.
The gaze of the seer pierced the boy's soul and commanded his attention. He couldn't look away. Everyone looked upon them as the seer fell into her silent trance. The seers' grey eyes faded into white. The pull of her power beckoned to Yokig, like the relic that hung around his chest. He felt the relic open up and release a shockwave of sensation across his entire body.
Finally, after a few minutes, the seers' energetic pull lessened and Yokig felt himself returning to normal. "For the boy with dreams, I see nothing but black," The seer spoke,a worried expression filled her face.
The queen stood up and slammed her palms on the table. "What is the meaning of this!" The queen shouted.
"I am unsure, my queen. This has never happened. The more I push the more the darkness grows. It's like his future is blocked from my view, like it's still uncertain." The seer was just as confused as the queen. The queen had to take a few breaths before she returned to a calm demeanor.
"Well that sucks." Milahai blurted out, leaning forward in her chair.
"It's that relic!" The queen shook her finger at the silver around Yokigs chest. "It's that relic that's blocking your view!" The queen couldn't hide her desperation for answers.
"My queen, it is the relic that let me in. It wants to know the answer, just like all of us at this table."
The queen leaned back, her fingers stroking her chin in a moment of silent thought.
"Seer, you may go."
The seer took her leave without saying another word. The queen stood up and glanced out the window before speaking again. "The guest rooms of the castle have all been made for you. I think I need some air."
And with that the queen's servant led her out of the room.
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After dinner the travelers met in the lounge room to discuss what had happened and agreed that despite the seers' news they would have to keep pushing on in their quest, continuing their journey through the mountains the following morning. They were grateful for the queen's hospitality.
Once the decision had been made, the travelers all retired to their guest rooms, exhausted from the day's events and in great need of sleep.
Yokig, however, couldn't manage to get to sleep. He wandered the castle halls and found himself in the large council room sitting on the windowsill, staring at the darkened city lit by the faint golden light beyond its walls.
"I like it better at night too." A voice behind Yokig startled him. He turned to see the queen being ushered into the room. She walked gracefully to the boy's side. This time she wasn't wearing her crown or her jewels and her skirt seemed shorter. "I went to your room and when you weren't there the guards told me they saw you come here."
"Oh, sorry. I thought everyone was asleep. I wasn't expecting any company." Yokig apologized needlessly.
"Young yokig, I haven't slept in years, not since the first stone of this city was placed on this hallowed ground."
"What's the ring of light around the city walls for?" Yokig had forgotten to ask during the dinner but now the question resurfaced in his mind.
"It's magick, young Yokig." The queen answered, looking out the window. The gentle soft light lit up her perfect face. "My people had to flee the lands of the humans to escape extinction. Our most powerful witches used their magick to shift the very fabric of time and space. The magick was so powerful it cost most of them their lives and severely weakened the rest. But because of them, we are safe."
The very fabric of time and space? Yokig wondered, not fully understanding the concepts the queen was referring to.
The queen laughed at the boy, he hadn't been able to hide his confusion from her. "Don't worry Yokig, even I don't fully understand the details of the magick they used."
The queen placed her hand on Yokigs head and gave it a gentle rub, like a mother gives the most valued child. "So you and your friends are still going northwest towards the Black Isles?" The queen asked.
"Yeah."
"You know, by now I'm sure the Pope king has sent doves to every bishop and cardinal in Abahlon. They'll be in every nook and cranny of the human world looking for you." The queen paused and glanced down at Yokig. "Including the mountains."
"We figured, but we've made it this far alive. Besides I don't have anything left to go back to your majesty." Yokig confessed to the queen. He remembered the bakery and his grandfather. He remembered being trapped in the fire the villagers set to his home, after his grandfather's death. He remembered the bishop and how cold and wet the cell they placed him in was.
"You have a story, I can see it in your eyes, young Yokig. Would you like to share it with me?"
Yokig recounted the events that led him and his friends to where they were now. The queen listened to every word, soaking in the boy's story like a sponge. There was a bit of silence in the room after he had finished recounting his tale.
"Well I have to say young Yokig, your story is quite compelling. Has anyone ever told you the story of the two cities? The story of Negathor and her sister city Lingathor?"
Yokig shook his head. He remembered that she had mentioned it to Redbeard at the dinner table that evening, but they had not elaborated on the tale.
The queen pulled out a chair from the table and sat down. "Well, where to start? I guess I should start at the beginning." The queen sighed.
"Long ago, before the New Religion, humans and the mystical world lived at peace with one another. Two cities were built during that time. One city, Lingathor, for my kin. And the other, Negathor, for theirs. Lingathor was a beautiful city, you should have seen it. It had waterfalls and halls, much like our own, covered in gold. Travelers would come just to see the two cities. Together with the will of the humans and the magick of the elves, we were the center of trade on this continent." The queen's eyes glossed over as if she was remembering fond and happy memories.
"I was only a small child then, barely over the age of 14 human years. You should have seen me running around the castle without a care in the world. It was different then, the prince regent of Negathors daughter and I were best friends. We would travel to and from each other castles so frequently we were practically family; her home was my home, and mine, hers. That was until after the New Religion managed to take over the far off city of Zindrathell. My father assured me that things would work out. He seemed positive that the new religion would lose its grip on the hearts of men; That it was just a passing fad. But the new religion spread and grew like a virus infecting human kind, rotting it from its core. Slowly, the time between my friends' visits grew longer and longer. Eventually she stopped coming altogether. It wasn't until she snuck out of her kingdom behind her father's back, that she revealed the reason. Her father had become infected with the teachings of the New Religion. He had banned her from visiting me and my kin. His heart had been hardened to my kind. When he found out his daughter had snuck into our kingdom, he became enraged and accused us of poisoning her mind with our lies. And that was when he attacked Lingathors walls. We fought hard to keep what we had, but the humans far outnumbered our kind and eventually our walls failed and our city fell.Those of us that managed to escape with our lives fled into the forest." The queens eyes had long since started to water, a tear followed the gentle slope of her face and fell to the floor collecting into a puddle of tears on the stone below.
"At first we hid in the forest," she continued. "Searching for somewhere to rebuild and move on with our lives. But the humans hunted us like animals. My father died trying to protect us. It was then we knew that we had to leave the human world, so we came here. We rebuilt what we had once lost, we mourned our losses and we moved on."
Yokig didn't know how to respond. Inside, his heart bled for her people. He felt ashamed of his own race for everything they had done to this hidden world, to every species that did not accept its ways. The queen rested her hand on his back to sooth him.
"A lot of me has no hope in you, young Yokig. That part of me comes from seeing the stubborn lies of the humans win against truth, over and over again. It's the part of me that has been hurt by the New Religion; and I recognize that. It's the part of me that has believed in boy after boy that has dreamed only to end up disappointed when they inevitably failed." The queen ran her fingers through his hair.
Yokig understood her pain. He had wounds too that seemed like they would never seem to heal. What the queen said next shook him to his core.
"But," The queen continued. "There's a small part of me, a tiny speck of light in an almost non existent part of my soul, that wants to believe you are the boy king. It wants to believe you are the one that will help the humans see the truth. That you will tear down the destructive dynasty of the pope king and the new religion."
Yokig felt that what the queen had just revealed to him was true. He felt like she had never told anyone about this deep part of herself before. Her words mirrored what he too thought and how he too believed. In that moment, she had become his mirror.
The queen stood and pushed in her chair. She made her way to the door of the council room.
"Inform your friends that I will send someone to you all in the morning. If you're going to get to the Black Isles alive, you'll need to avoid the mountains. Lucky for you the dwarfs have secret tunnels and passageways that run all the way through Egrath, they may be willing to give you safe passage to Endeloin. I'll tell our sorcerers to inform them of your coming. Get some sleep Yokig, you'll need your strength for the journey." With that the queen left the boy alone in the room; contemplating the events that had just occurred.