Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog :) This is part four of a little story I'm writing. For anyone who is new here, I would recommend you start at part one and work your way through. Happy reading!
"Kim, I was worried," Nick says, closing the door behind me. Turning to look at me, he pauses. "What's wrong? What happened?"
"Nothing," I say, fumbling to come up with a believable story. "I'm just... just worried that whoever it is who tried to poison me will try again."
Nick wraps his arms around me, pulling me tightly to him. "It's ok. We won't let anything happen to you. I'll find whoever it is before they have a chance to try and hurt you again."
I nod against his chest, secure in the knowledge that the poisoner will be found tomorrow in Nick's sight. Ghart won't let us down, and once his part is played, Nick will be convinced there is no more danger and drop it.
As I lie awake in bed that night, I wonder how I am going to proceed. Julun is in trouble, and if I want to help him, I need to do it quietly, before anyone else finds out. I also need to talk to Heleta again, I decide. Whatever she knows about my headaches, she hasn't told me everything. I fall asleep contemplating complex plans and back up plans.
In the morning, it doesn't take long to persuade Sophie and Nick to come into court with me - they both think they will pick up leads on whoever poisoned me. They don't know how right they are.
Lene must have people watching for us, because we are only in the courtyard for a few minutes before soldiers come running.
Ghart is fleeing very convincingly, but the other guards don't take long to chase him down. Conveniently, the takedown happens just a few yards away from Nick, Sophie and me.
"You tried to poison the queen's servant, do you deny it?" one of the officers demands.
I watch anxiously, but I needn't have worried. Ghart's performance is perfect. "Others will follow along my path!" he yells, a truly manic glint in his eyes. "Those loyal to the queen will be taken down one by one, then she will die at our hands!"
They drag him away. I glance at Sophie and Nick, judging their reactions. Thankfully, they look convinced, if shaken.
"I should go," I say. "I'll try to find out more from Lene."
"Be careful," Nick says, kissing me on the cheek.
"No need - he's been caught."
I smile brightly over my shoulder as I leave, and see them looking relieved. I make a mental note to Lene to put about that Ghart's execution was done in private, so as not to fan the flames of whatever he is planning. The court magician will have to give him a new appearance so that he can continue as a soldier of the palace; when we told him he could choose whatever look he wanted, he was quite excited.
I don't go to the palace, where Lene will surely be expecting me. She'll have to manage without me for a day. I head straight to Heleta's rooms.
She cringes when she sees who it is, knowing that I will demand answers. Opening the door very reluctantly, she tries to hide the rest of the room, but it's all too easy to spot.
"Heleta, where are you going?" I ask, gesturing to the obvious signs of packing.
"Kim, I told you yesterday, I need to deal with something. It's better that you don't know anything about it."
I don't have time for word games. "Tell me," I command. Heleta sighs, knowing she can't refuse a direct order from me.
"For as long as anyone can remember, there has been a trait among your family. Some call it a blessing, others a curse. It is passed down only to the females of your family, and only the strongest of those survive it."
Heleta takes a deep breath, seeming to steel herself. "On your nineteenth birthday, it started. You will always be able to tell when you are being lied to - an invaluable skill as queen, one of the reasons your family has retained the throne for so long - but it comes with a price. Headaches for the remainder of your life, which no cure can touch. Worse, hallucinations. You will see things that can't possibly be there, things that terrify you. Your mother made sure she was never alone, so that she always had someone with her to tell her what was real and what wasn't. If she could touch them, she knew they were real; otherwise, there was no way to tell illusion from reality. It was a terrible burden she bore.
"When you were born, she decided that the cycle had to be broken. No queen had ever dared before to give up the advantage the curse gave her over her opponents, but your mother wanted to spare you the pain of it, no matter what else it might mean. She travelled to the high mountains of Unee and entered the deepest cave, hidden in the bowels of the mountain.
"There, she burned the tree growing in the darkness - the tree that brings on both the abilities and the terrors you live through.
"We thought it was the end, then. Apparently, it isn't. I don't see how the tree could have grown back, but it has to be destroyed."
I look around at her bags, finally understanding. "You mean to do it alone?"
"It's not a dangerous mission. It only took this long in the first place because no one wanted to give up the ability to see lies."
I lean back on the bed, trying to think through everything. Somehow, I am not shocked. Maybe some part of me always knew the headaches weren't normal; maybe I just have a strange ability to take these kinds of things in my stride. Whatever the reason, I am calm.
"Don't destroy it," I say. Heleta opens her mouth to protest, but I cut her off. "Bring it here. I want to make the decision to do it myself, and destroy it myself if I decide to."
Heleta doesn't look happy, but has little choice but to agree. "Your mother thought you would be better off having to deal with it."
"I am not my mother. I will make decisions based on my life now, not my life when I was a new-born, as she did. I will do what is best for the kingdom."
Heleta nods, tears in her eyes. "Don't lose yourself for the sake of your people."
I wonder what terrifying visions my mum could have confided in her to give Heleta such a haunted look.
"I won't," I promise. "Go to Lene, tell her that I want soldiers sent with you to protect you, and help bring the tree back here."
When I leave, my head is oddly clear. At least I know what is happening, now. I can deal with what to do with the damn tree when it gets here. Now, I need to help Julun. First, I go to his house, wanting to check that everything seems alright before finding his patrol.
I am surprised when I get there. Julun is at home, sitting on the sofa. I barely duck out of the way in time to avoid being seen. He must have called in sick to get out of work today. Frowning, I try to reason it out. Julun is fiercely loyal to the kingdom, and believes in protecting it. He wouldn't skip out on his unit without a powerful reason.
Carefully, I position myself in a bush, watching him without being seen by passers-by.
My feet go numb, and Julun still hasn't moved from the sofa. I am on the verge of giving up when he stands and crosses briskly to the back door, glancing out of the window as he does. Glancing at the sun. I look up - mid-afternoon. Julun was waiting all day for something.
I sneak around, watching as he slips into the shadows of buildings, taking great care not to be seen. I was taught tracking by the best in the kingdom, though, and Julun is no match for me.
We make our way through the city, right to the outskirts. I expect Julun will have to reveal himself here - the only way to get out is past the guards. Again, he surprises me. He lifts the end of a wagon that has been there so long it almost looks like part of the ground, crawls underneath and disappears.
Glancing around and seeing that no one is watching me, I follow him.
Under the wagon, I find a hastily replaced tarp, covering a deep hole. A tunnel.
As unhappy as I am about the prospect, there is little choice now: I've come too far to go back. I crawl into the dank hole, following Julun's trail.
To be continued
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