Suma and I, as well as a Neame Captain that traveled here with Suma, were waiting outside of the council room to give our answer to their requests yesterday. None of us knew how they would react, so tensions were… pretty high. On several occasions I started imagining all of the worst-case scenarios, and how if it came to a fight, what I might do, but each time I reassured myself that wouldn't happen. In reality, I couldn't even be sure I was the one who was nervous. Lately, my mental connection to Suma was getting stronger, and so I could sense her feelings more easily; especially if they were strong ones. Most likely, I was feeling some combination of both of our anxieties, which really wasn't helping.
A small blue Neame flew out and, without landing, said, "They are ready for you. Follow me." The other flew after her, and I kinda had to jog behind them to keep up. After settling into our places, them perched on poles, and me standing beside Suma again, the council member who we had been interacting with so far spoke up.
"Have you reached your decision regarding our offer?"
Suma was the one who answered, "we have, and we cannot accept it. Our apologies."
"And may the council inquire as to why not? If it a simple matter, we should be able to make accommodations."
"We simply do not believe that we are as of yet ready to work with the council and the Court Mages. However, we will reconsider your offer in the future, if it is still available at that time." The council member's eyes all started glowing, and then suddenly stopped.
"And what of you Familiar Sentinel? Do you agree with your master's decision?" I glanced over at Suma and the Captain, who both looked shocked, Suma's feathers were even puffed slightly.
"I do." All of their eyes started glowing again, and did not stop for at least a full minute. Not one sound was made in that time, but eventually, they did speak.
"That is a shame. Our offer will remain open to you for the foreseeable future, and should you reconsider, please contact us and we will welcome you both."
Suma and the Captain bowed deeply, and Suma said, "thank you for your offer, and your understanding." With that, we were dismissed, and escorted back into the hallway.
"Wait here for a moment." The Neame who was leading us said, and landed on the ground. She turned to us. The others landed beside her, and I eventually caught up.
(Why does everyone have to fly so fast?) I thought, annoyed.
"Her majesty, Queen Ompera has requested your presence in one hour, in her majesty's royal chambers." The guide said.
"Her majesty's chambers? W-why?" Suma asked.
"She wishes to speak with you about Sentinel, and your future in the army." The guide turned to the Captain who was with us, "my apologies, but she has only extended this offer to Lady Suma and Sir Sentinel." The Captain seemed bothered, but didn't say anything about it.
Over our private connection, Suma asked, "What do you think, Jake?"
"I think I'm not dressed to meet royalty, but we might be better off accepting."
"We… accept the Queen's invitation." Suma said to the Neame.
"Excellent. Captain Razoen, I will have someone else escort you out. Lady Suma, Sir Sentinel, please follow me to a waiting area so that we may discuss royal etiquette." The guide motioned to a nearby Neame, who was perched on a metal pole, and the Captain and Neame flew off. I'm no expert, but I was pretty sure he was unhappy.
"Maybe you should just fly ahead, and summon me when you get there?" I suggested, not wanting to try and chase after them anymore.
"Alright, we will wait for the guard to return, to stay with you, and then we will fly ahead." The guide said. A few minutes passed, and the guard returned, they flew away, and eventually I was summoned. When I woke up, I was standing in a large auditorium-like room. There were wooden pillars along the walls, and each of them were made of what looked like whole trees that had been twisted together like a loose braid. Along the outer edges of the pillars were bright, multi-colored flowers, some of which had different red, orange, and purple fruits.
"Nice place." I said, looking around.
"Queen Ompera will arrive shortly. Let me explain proper meeting protocols." The guide said. She was perched on a bar near the center of the room. "Firstly, the Queen will enter the room from the left of our current position, and will settle there." She pointed to a large hole on the wall that I assumed led outside, and then motioned to a vertical post made of polished metal. At the top of the post, were several tangled vines making a kind of nest shaped area. "Before this happens, we will signal you to bow. Sentinel, do your people have a concept for this act?"
"Yes, I come from a country with a Queen as well; Queen Elizabeth the second."
"Can you please demonstrate your people's bow to your Queen?" I bowed my head in a traditional way.
"Hmm… I suppose that will be fine, but is there anything else you could do? I do not wish for anyone to claim that you are being rude to her majesty." The guide asked.
"Well, hundreds of years ago, we would get down on one knee, but that fell out of fashion." I explained, and then demonstrated the bow.
"I am sorry to ask, but would you mind doing that one? It is much closer to the one our people use, and I feel it will go over better with her ministers and attendants."
"I don't mind. I want to be respectful too." I said, standing back up.
"Thank you, Sentinel. Moving on, once the Queen has taken her place, she will allow you to rise, and introduce herself formally. After she does that, you will do the same, and your meeting will formally begin. She will explain why she has invited you here, and she may even drop the formalities at that point. From there, simply respond in a respectful and appropriate way. Once she has finished, she will dismiss you, and we will guide you out. Do you have any questions?"
"Um, Jak-… Sentinel, was curious if he was dressed in appropriate garments to meet with the Queen?" Suma said, and I snorted. I doubt she was making a joke, but I still had to stop myself from laughing.
"What he is wearing is perfectly suitable, but if he wishes to change, I believe he has plenty of time."
"I think I'll be fine." I said, still trying not to laugh.
We spent the next hour talking about Queen Ompera with the guide, and several Neame brought us seeds with pots of dirt in case we wanted food. Once the hour was up, it was time to meet the Queen.
Just like we were told, Queen Ompera flew into the room from our left, and we received our signal to bow. Once she had landed on her polished metal pole, she said, "please, raise your heads." Her voice sounded young to me, but either Suma and the guide didn't notice, or it was normal to them, because neither of them reacted to it. Even after hearing her speak in the courtroom earlier, it still caught me off guard. Thankfully, my head was down, so I don't think anyone noticed my reaction. I stood up, as did Suma and the guide. It was at that point I noticed she hadn't entered the room alone; beside her were four large bestial familiars and her guards, their Royal Mage masters. "I am Queen Ompera, sixty-fourth heir to the throne of Ambos, and ruler of our great country."
"Great Queen Ompera of Ambos, I am Suma, of Count Thecoma Izabal's domain, master of the familiar called Sentinel."
"Great Queen Ompera of Ambos, I am the familiar, Sentinel."
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Suma and Sentinel, and thank you for answering my summons. Please, be at ease." She said. With that, we all relaxed a bit, except for her guards, who were busy staring daggers into my soul.
"Thank you, your majesty." Suma said.
"Lady Suma, familiar Sentinel, the reason I have called you here today is simple, I have several questions I would like you to answer, and concerns I would like you to put to rest." The Queen said.
"We would be happy to answer any questions your majesty has." Suma said. I decided to let Suma do most of the talking, just in case I accidentally offended the Queen somehow.
"My questions mostly pertain to your familiar lady Suma, but I do have one for you." The Queen said to my dismay. "Lady Suma, how did you manage to summon Sentinel? According to what I have been told about you, your familiar is one powerful enough to give even a court mage trouble during summoning, let alone a domination ritual. What method did you use?"
"When I first summoned him, he was rather young, and much weaker."
"So, he has been your familiar for many years then? Our records indicate that he was only acquired by you within the last two years."
"The records are correct. However, I have also spent some time attempting to figure that out as well. Eventually, I concluded it was because I used the Malefic summoning technique the first time I summoned Sentinel. Although outdated now, it was being taught by my academy at the time as our primary summoning method." Suma explained, although I still didn't understand.
"I see. Well, that explains how you were able to summon him after he had reached maturity, at least."
Suma then spoke to me over our private connection, "I can explain that to you later, Jake."
"Well then, Sentinel… are you ready to answer my questions?"
"Yes, Queen Ompera, I am."
"My first question is simple… Sentinel, who are you?"
"I'm sorry… can I ask what you mean?"
The Queen took a breath, "Sentinel, I wish to speak plainly. You frighten me; more than I can express. When I look at you, I am reminded of the nightmares I had as a child, of the stories of the Vikings who slaughtered a path across Ambos and all the countries on this continent, and of the carvings left by the survivors of that time. To me, you appear as a monster out of a child's tale. So Sentinel, I want to know… who are you? Are you a monster, a weapon, or something else?"
I sighed, "I'm just a guy. I don't know what else to say." There was silence, and I used it to think about my answer. "Queen Ompera, my name is Jake, and when I became Suma's familiar, she gave me the name Sentinel. I am not a Viking, but honestly, you're not exactly wrong. I'm probably the descendant of the Vikings; well maybe, it's really unclear actually. Who am I? I don't know… I'm a soldier in your army, a son, and a friend to Suma. I'm not a monster."
There was another long pause. During it, I could feel waves of anxiety flowing from Suma, and when I looked over at her, she was staring straight down at the floor, and her sparkle had almost completely stopped.
"Okay Sentinel, I choose to believe you." Queen Ompera said finally. "However, I have a request to make of you both. Please leave the royal army."
"What?! Why my Queen?" Suma asked.
"When my father, King Ompet, was still in power, and he heard that your familiar, Sentinel, had defeated a drake in single combat, as well as a magistrate, he immediately consulted his advisors. After much deliberation, they concluded that the best thing to do, would be to make him into our country's weapon." When she said that, I felt a lump in my throat. I was shocked, obviously, but not really surprised; I always wondered about that honestly. "However, he died before he could put any of his plans into motion." I breathed a sigh of relief.
"I take it, that you don't have those same plans then?" I asked, that lump still in my throat.
"I do not."
"But why ask us to leave your army?" Suma asked.
"Because I do not wish for the two of you to become weapons, especially not ones that may put Ambos in peril."
"We would not turn against Ambos, or you, my Queen." Suma said.
"That's true." I agreed. Personally, I liked this country. It had friendly people, and I was making a killing selling paper last year.
"I am not worried that you will attack my country, but about how the nobility might use you."
Suddenly, it clicked. "Ahh, I see."
"See… see what?" Suma asked.
"Lady Suma, the balance of power in the country, where would you say it lies?" The Queen asked.
"With you, Queen Ompera."
"And why is that?"
"Because you are the Queen."
"And how did I become the Queen?"
"I… I do not… because you were born first?" Suma guessed.
"No. I was my father's fourth child, and my mother's second."
"Then, I am afraid I do not know, my Queen."
"Politics." I said.
"You are correct, Sentinel. After the death of my father's first child, who was originally going to inherit the throne, several factions formed, and the nobles that supported me were victorious."
"That's the way things used to be done on Earth too." I said.
"And now, the nobles that supported my ascension are given higher priority, and the ones that did not, were dealt with. That is why I am the Queen, Lady Suma."
"I see…" Suma said quietly.
The Queen looked over at me, her eyes all but boring a hole in my head. "However, I am not a fool. Sentinel, your very existence could throw the balance of power into turmoil. Even in Zach-Ahshem, your influence has already caused an upset, or rather, enhanced one."
"The magistrate?" I asked.
"As well as his supporters." The Queen shook her head, and ruffled her feathers. "Already, I have had to put down an attempted noble rebellion against the Grand Duke. I do not wish for more bloodshed."
"But will leaving the army really solve anything?" I wondered.
"I do not know. It is my hope only that you do not become unwitting pawns during your time there. I cannot, or rather, do not wish to, force you to leave the army. However, I can have your mandatory service waved, and compensate you if you choose to leave."
Suma and I looked at one another. "What do you think?" I asked.
Suma turned back to the Queen, "may we have some time to discuss this, my Queen?"
Queen Ompera nodded her head, "yes. Please take as long as you see fit. Once you have made your decision, return to the castle, and I will meet with you again."
Outside of the castle, and after our short meeting with the Queen, Suma and I had a lot to talk about. "Do you feel like we've had more conversations about major life changing decisions in the last two days, than we have since joining the army?" I asked, mostly thinking aloud.
"We knew this trip could change our lives; I suppose it is to be expected." Suma said, now perched on my shoulder as we walked away from the entrance of the castle. "Jake, I believe I already know how I feel about the Queen's request, but I want to hear your opinion as well."
"I don't know… my mum would be happy, and we would definitely be safer, but it feels wrong somehow." I said, and stopped in the shade of a large tree with twisted branches. Suma flew off my shoulder, and landed on a knot growing out of one of the tree's roots. I sat on the ground next to her, and crossed my legs.
"I agree." Suma said.
"Really, but I thought you only joined the army because you had to?"
"It is true that everyone at the academy was required to do military service, but I still wished to join."
"Why?" I asked, surprised; Suma isn't exactly a fighter, so it didn't make much sense.
"Because of the Island of Sangu and the Southern Union forces on it."
"What about them?"
"Three years ago, one year before I summoned you and you agreed to become my familiar, the Southern Union forces took the island, and our country lost contact with it. I remember so many Neame from my city volunteered after we heard what happened. I watched as over five-hundred Neame took flight, and flew for different cities around Ambos to register to join the army. It was inspiring, and I have wanted to do my part in this war for some time now. I am no soldier, but I was gifted in Healing Magic, so I registered with the army as soon as I was able."
While she talked, I was reminded of the documentaries I had watched growing up, about the September 11th attacks on the twin towers. In those documentaries, they always mentioned how recruitment numbers for the American militaries went up after the attacks. The Southern Union taking the island must have been fairly similar for Suma and the Neame.
"Okay, I think I get it. So, we aren't quitting then…"
"I… hope you can understand, Jake."
"Forget it; I said I didn't want to quit either, remember. Let's go tell the Queen." I said. Suma seemed happy, or maybe relieved, as she fluttered back onto my shoulder. We left the shade of the tree and headed for the castle entrance again.
"Do you believe she will be surprised we decided to stay in the army?"
"Probably; she did offer us a lot if we quit, so she might be disappointed." I would have shrugged, but I didn't want to knock Suma off balance.
As we walked, we talked about what we should say to the Queen, but we arrived at the guards again before we made any real progress. "You're back already? We only just received the word that you would be returning and to let you in." The guard said confused, but opened the entrance nonetheless. One of them guided us to the Queen's chamber, and waited with us until our guide from earlier, met up with us again.
"Back so soon? Good news I hope." He said and landed on a metal bar.
"We have made our decision." Suma said.
The guide's feathers pressed down closer to his body, "I see; not good news then. The Queen will be disappointed, but it was your decision to make."
Once again, he and Suma flew off without me, and I was summoned a moment later, but this time Queen Ompera was already on her polished metal perch, waiting. "Such swiftness with your decision, I hope it bodes well for me."
"Our apologies your majesty," Suma started, and the Queen shook her head, already knowing what was coming, "but we have decided to stay within the ranks of the army."
"I see… this is unfortunate, but not entirely unexpected." She stayed quiet for a moment, and was most likely thinking. "Very well. I shall keep my word, and not interfere in your time in my army. I wish you both luck, and safety."
"Thank you, my Queen." Suma said, and bowed deeply.
"But before you go, I want to warn you. The Royal Council may not feel the same way. Be careful, they do not take kindly to being denied, and they would rather burn a fruit tree, than let even a single fruit feed an enemy. Be wary of them." With that ominous warning, she dismissed us, and told us we were now free to return to our duties at our squad's base.
After leaving the castle, Suma sent me back home, and she left to meet up with her traveling group so they could head back to base. I reappeared back in my room at my mum's house, and called out to her. "Mum!" I poked my head out of the door and yelled, but there was no answer. I checked the phone I left on my bed, and saw a text from her from about an hour ago.
It read: Jake, I'm going to see my friend Susan in the hospital. She fell and broke her wrist. I won't be back for a while. Call me when you get home.
"Dang, hope Susan's okay." I mumbled and called my mum. There was no answer, so I texted her that I was home and that everything went good. After that, I called Robert, my lawyer, to see if there was anything I needed to know about.
"Hello?" Robert answered.
"Hey Robert, it's Jake. I just wanted to touch base about the whole Detective stalking thing." I said, in my most professional sounding voice.
"Ah, Jake; glad you called. I do actually have some news about that. Lin, the detective who was stalking you, has been suspended without pay, pending review."
"That's good, I guess." I said.
"I told you the system works. All we had to do was file the proper complaints, and let the chips fall on her. It's an open and shut case; you can expect a good payout from it too." Robert said proudly. He got a percentage of any money I made during a case, so he was probably pretty happy too.
"Well, I don't exactly need a lot of money, but I guess that's good."
"Stop by my office when you get a chance, I have some paperwork I need you to sign."
"Okay, I'm not doing anything right now, so I'll head over."
"Good deal, see you in a bit."
"Bye." I said, and hung up the phone. When I travel to Atmosia, I prefer to do it light, so I usually empty my pockets before Suma summons me. The only things I bring with me when I go are the clothes on my back. I used to bring a backpack full of items, but I put a summoning spell on that, so now I don't need to remember to grab it anymore; I just have to remember to keep it stocked with what I need when I come back to Earth. Usually, I leave my key, wallet, and phone in it, just in case. I've finally gotten to the point where I can summon what I need, even while on Earth, but I still can't cast any real spells yet. One time, I formed a few handfuls of water, and even managed to freeze them, but immediately I felt like I needed a nap. After summoning my bag from Atmosia, I scrounged through it and dug out my stuff, before hopping in my car and driving to Robert's office.
Fifteen minutes later, I was pulling into a carpark three blocks away from his office. After finding a spot to park, I got out and started walking. As I turned a corner, I noticed another car pulling into the lot. Normally, I wouldn't care, except that I recognized the car. It was Detective Lin's car; the same one I saw in our neighbor's driveway a few nights ago. She stepped out of her car, and ran towards me. So, I started running. At this point, I was getting annoyed. Cutting down an alley, I decided to hide again; it worked last time after all. Just two problems: firstly, there was nothing to hide behind in this alley, second, it was a dead-end alley. I looked up, but there wasn't a fire escape in this alley. "Perfect." I groaned.
"Jake Vandal." Detective Lin said, sounding a bit out of breath as she entered the alley herself. "You're a hard man to pin down."
My heart was pounding in my ears, "What do you want?" I glanced around the alley, still desperately trying to figure out what to do.
"I want answers." She said. "What are you?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, not really interested in her response, I just needed to keep her talking until I found a way out. (The detective is blocking the only entrance of the alley; I could summon a weapon, but that would-) I thought, but her answer broke my train of thought.
"I saw you vanish in that cell! How did you do it? Are you an alien?" When she said that, I had a kind of "out of body" experience. My mind went blank for a second, and it was quiet for a moment. She repeated her question. "What are you?"
"I'm… I'm not an alien." I stuttered. The inside of my head quickly shifted from dead calm and empty to something akin to a hornet's nest. (She saw? Frick! How did she see? Was she still in the room? Did I not see her? It must have been that mirror! I'm an idiot! Frick! Frick! Frick!)
"Then what?" She asked, her eyes were laser locked onto me. Like she was staring into my soul.
"I'm just a guy… a human."
"Humans can't teleport, or turn invisible, or whatever."
"I… I don't…" I was lost for words, but the hornet's nest was still going. (Do I explain to her the truth? What do I do? What will she do if she finds out? She is a part of the government. I can't tell her; can I?)
"Say something." She snapped.
"I don't know what to say."
She hung her head for a moment, then ran both of her hands through the top of her hair. "For weeks, I have been questioning everything! My sanity, my job, my health; there has not been one iota of my life that I have not wondered if it was true, or if it mattered, or anything!" She sighed and shook her head, "I have felt crazy for weeks, so no… you can't just get off with 'I don't know what to say'. How do you teleport?! Who were you talking to?"
"Uh, magic, and a mage." I finally answered.
She squinted and made a confused face. "Magic; really?" Her tone of voice sounded very annoyed.
"Is it any less believable than aliens?" I asked, still tense.
"Yes, a million times, yes."
I thought about it for a second. "Well, technically, it was aliens, but I'm a human. It really was magic though."
"Explain it to me."
"No, I'm sorry but it is too dangerous. You work with the government, and not to mention you've been stalking me for a while now." I said.
"Well, what would you have done in my shoes?" She asked defiantly.
"Probably the same thing, if I'm being honest." I shrugged, and decided to do something bold. "But, I'm not telling you anything… now get out of my way." I started walking towards her, getting ready to push her aside and make a run for it, but instead she punched me in the face. Before I could hit her back, she had already tackled me to the ground.
"Assaulting an officer, fleeing arrest, resisting arrest; I'll figure out how you did it one way or the other." She said, and tried to handcuff me. It didn't work though, she was only two-thirds my body weight, maybe seventy-seven kilos, and that was assuming she was soaking wet. I was one-hundred kilos of muscle, which I used to throw her off of me like a wet rag. She was sneaky though, she whipped out a stun gun and jammed it into my side. Instinctively, I summoned Aegis and whacked her with it in the head; hard too. She hit the pavement like a sack of bricks in a river, and I took off running. I didn't even bother sending away Aegis first, I just ran with it still on my arm.
I ran all the way to Robert's office, and locked the door behind me. As soon as I entered the building, I unsummoned Aegis, and went straight to his office, and told him what happened. He called the police, who arrived ten minutes later, and took my statement. Of course I was worried about getting arrested, but that didn't happen, probably because Robert did most of the talking. By the end, it was really Robert giving my statement, and me sitting quietly listening to him threatening to sue the entire department for such a blatant misuse of… something. Admittedly, I stopped listening after twenty or so minutes, and started thinking about what I was going to do. That detective saw me go to Suma's world, she saw me summon Aegis, and she knows I was talking to someone. (This is going to be a headache.) I thought.
After the police finished questioning me, Robert and I talked about our next move, and then the police escorted me back to my car. I drove home, and immediately called my mum again, but she still didn't pick up. I texted her to call me when she was free, and sat on my bed, totally exhausted. I fell asleep pretty quickly, but didn't dream. Instead, I was floating in that familiar black void again.
"Oh great, I'm too tired for this."
"JAKE VANDAL…" The crazy voice said.
"Zachariah."
"NO!" He shouted. Well, he always shouts when the crazy voice is out, but this time it was a lot louder. Even in this endless void, there was an echo.
"I've seen your memories; I know you are."
"YOU LOCKED THE MEMORIES AWAY. YOU DID NOT SEE THEM. YOU DO NOT KNOW ANYTHING! BUT I KNOW…"
"They were hurting me- wait, what do you mean locked them away?"
"I KNOW…" Zachariah repeated.
"Hold on, what did you mean? I haven't locked anything away; they just stopped."
"I KNOW… HOW TO ESCAPE."
"Escape?" I asked, realizing he wasn't going to answer my question.
"IF ONLY YOU HAD A BIT MORE CONTROL LITTLE VIRKINGER, YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE UNDONE YOURSELF." With that, Zachariah began to laugh, and I felt some kind of pressure in my head. It so intense… I think I blacked out, but before I did, I heard something.
"I summon you, Sentinel!"
"RIGHT ON TIME."