Authors: Kailin Gow
Archer moved up to Briony’s other side. He looked very satisfied about something. “Ignore the Prince. His majesty is right. Just you arriving here has already started to make things so much better.”
Briony and King Waltham were almost at the doors to his chambers when trumpets sounded outside it.
“The heralds?” King Waltham said. “More visitors?”
“Just some catching us up, your majesty,” Archer said.
When the doors opened once more, Briony wasn’t surprised to see Aunt Sophie and her father, Leytham. The King seemed a lot more surprised, though.
“
Ellisa
? Is that you? You have not changed at
a
ll.
”
Leytham shook his head. “This is not
Ellisa
, brother. This is Sophie. My daughter and your niece.
Though when she entered
Ellisa
and Briony’s world, she aged quickly as a human. Unlike Palisor, where we take years to age, in Briony’s world, every creature with a drop of human blood in them age as humans do. Which means…”
“Sophie is much older than
Ellisa
and Briony…”
King Waltham said. “Yes, yes, I know.” The King held out his arms to Aunt Sophie, and she went to him, taking both his hands in hers.
“I’m sorry, your Majesty,” she said. “About
Ellisa
. Pietre got to her and turned her.”
King Waltham’s face lit up. “So she is
still
out there in the Woods of your home?”
Aunt Sophie looked down, “No, she died as a vampire, trying to lead a rebe
llion
against Pietre.”
Waltham’s face showed his grief at hearing about Briony’s mother. “I had wanted to go through the gates myself to visit, but she had already moved on, began a new life, had married her own…a human, and started a family.” Waltham looked over at Briony. “She was a little older than you when we met. Just as pretty and
full
of life. She took my breath away…this human creature who was able to slip into Palisor. It was rare, unheard of even, but there she was, and we
fell
in love. Many did, too, here. To us, she was the mythical one…being able to find her way into Palisor. She was a special human for sure, but the
pull
of her own world was too great for her to remain in Palisor. And I did not know she gave birth to a child…mine…until much later,” Waltham patted Aunt Sophie’s hand. “I am grateful
Ellisa
and Briony had you to watch over them. And I hear you are an excel
lent
guardian of Palisor and thwarted vampires from finding the gates.”
Briony saw Aunt Sophie’s head dip just barely in a half-bow. “It is true, your majesty.”
Waltham nodded. “
Well,
your arrival gives us another reason to celebrate.”
Aunt Sophie unabashedly laughed, much to Briony’s relief. Despite her younger appearance, she was the same old tough Aunt Sophie that she had grown to love. Then Sophie moved over to Prince Vigor, who was
still
busy scowling over at them in silence. It seemed that her newfound youth had done something to bring out Aunt Sophie’s mischievous side, because she walked around him the way she might a statue, but then suddenly reached out to pinch the Prince’s rear. Prince Vigor yelped and spun towards her, reddening.
“Ah, so you are real,” Aunt Sophie said. “And there I was thinking that you were just some sort of artwork with
all
that chisel broodiness. ‘Prince, scowling’ perhaps. So, are you going to give your step-cousin a hug?”
Vigor looked briefly confused by the whole thing. “A
what
?”
He seemed slightly embarrassed by the whole episode, and even more embarrassed when King Waltham stepped forward to put an arm around Aunt Sophie’s shoulders, drawing her away from him.
Being rescued, Briony suspected, wasn’t the Prince’s style.
“Sophie, Vigor has spent no time in the human lands. Their customs are something he is not used to.”
Hugging was a human custom? Briony thought back to the way the King had hugged her. Apparently, not
all
hugtandalfs had a problem with it.
“
Well,
we
’ll
just have to get him used to it, won’t we?” Sophie said. She stepped forward as if to enfold Vigor in a crushing hug, but the Prince stepped back.
“Stay away from me,” he snapped, and then stalked past them, exiting the rooms.
King Waltham looked after him with regret.
“Forgive Vigor. My adopted son has little time for things beyond our lands.”
“
Well,
we
’ll
just have to change that too,” Aunt Sophie said. “Briony may be a Hugtandalfer, but she is
still
human. I don’t want Vigor or anyone in Palisor holding that against her.”
Waltham reached out to pat Briony’s hand.
“You have to forgive Vigor, Briony. When I did not know of you, I raised him to assume the throne. He has always believed that to be his destiny, and now, finding out that he must share it with you, he is angry.”
Briony hesitated for a long moment. She didn’t like Vigor’s attitude. Of course she didn’t. But she didn’t like this talk of sharing thrones any more than that.
“Why should Vigor have to share?” she demanded. “If he was raised to become king here, why shouldn’t he do that? I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but I don’t want to be anyone’s ruler. I have a life back in Wicked. I’m needed there. I have friends there, a brother, and Kevin and
Fallon
…” She looked at Aunt Sophie, “and a diner and Preservation Society to run…”
King Waltham looked shocked, and even Leytham seemed a little surprised. “But you are my blood heir,” the King said. “Palisor
will
be strengthened by it. If there is a legitimate blood heir to the throne, it cannot be ignored.” It looked as though he might say more, but he seemed to think better of it.
“We
will
speak again after the feast. For now though, servants
will
have gone to your tower. You should prepare for the banquet.”
Briony took the hint, and she walked back over the bridge to her tower with Aunt Sophie. Leytham stayed with his brother, apparently having further things to discuss, while Archer trailed a little way behind them until they got to the tower, but then led the way.
“If the King wants you to ready yourselves, then you
will
need to go to the preparing room,” Archer said, leading the way along flights of stairs to a room with elegant lattice-work doors. “
I
’ll
leave you to get ready.”
As the dragon-shifter left, the doors opened, swinging out towards Briony and Aunt Sophie to reveal a large room with a balcony, where a trio of Hugtandalfer women were laying out dresses. The one who had opened the doors appeared no older than Briony or Aunt Sophie did, and smiled at them as she saw them before dropping into a curtsey.
“Welcome, your highness, my lady. Everything is ready for you.”
Briony didn’t know what to say to that, so she settled for heading into the room. There were dresses prepared on
all
sides,
all
exquisitely beautiful, but
all
also more formal than anything Briony had seen before, let alone worn. She walked right through the room and out onto the balcony.
The view there helped to take away a little of the sudden tightness in her chest. It wasn’t home, but it was more than breathtaking enough to make up for it, being on the side of the tower that faced the outside world, rather than the rest of the castle. From where she was, Briony could see the
hills
that she had flown over, and she thought back to the creatures she had seen staring up.
“It’s strange, isn’t it?” Aunt Sophie said.
Briony nodded. “But beautiful. I don’t think I’ve seen anywhere as beautiful.”
Aunt Sophie walked to her side and looked out from the balcony. “
Well,
it’s not quite like Wicked, but Palisor certainly lives up to its reputation. There’s a reason so many non-humans want to come here, after
a
ll.
I suspect even Pietre might be able to appreciate this beauty.”
Briony shuddered at the mention of the master vampire’s name. She found herself wondering why her great-aunt would bring him up, but now that she had, there were things Aunt Sophie needed to hear.
“Pietre was
still
causing so much pain in Wicked when I left, Aunt Sophie.”
“Yes,” the other girl said with a sad note in her voice, “he would.”
“It’s bad,” Briony went on. “The war between the werewolves and vampires isn’t over, and now more people are caught in the middle. After Pietre set fire to his own coven, he relocated somewhere we couldn’t find him. He’s been gathering more and more vampires into Wicked, hoping to break into Palisor.”
“Not to mention the fact that Kevin,
Fallon
and Jake are
still
stuck there,” Aunt Sophie said. “Look Briony, I know how much
all
of this is for you, being here when everything else is going so wrong back there. I know, darling.”
“You do?”
Aunt Sophie nodded. “I do. This must be the craziest thing you’ve ever heard or seen. But you have to remember that Palisor is the reason why you were brought to Wicked in the first place. You were meant to come here, Briony. I know it is hard leaving everything else behind, but you have to try to remember that.”
Briony felt her eyes widen. Aunt Sophie was talking as if she should just forget Wicked. Briony wasn’t sure she could do that. “I just keep thinking about
all
the people there. The ones I won’t get to see again while I’m here.
Fallon
and Kevin, obviously, but also Jake and George, Maisy and Steve, even just the kids from school. I mean, it’s not like they can just come here, is it?”
Aunt Sophie placed a gentle hand on Briony’s shoulders. “I’m afraid not.”
Briony lent against the balcony rail, pursing her lips. “I have to go back to Wicked, Aunt Sophie.”
Her great-aunt stretched in the sunlight like a cat. “Are you rea
lly
in such a hurry, Briony? Do you rea
lly
want to give up
all
this so soon?”
Briony stared at the new, younger Aunt Sophie.
Just for a moment, she wondered what happened to the one she knew. The one who was a vampire slayer, a devoted citizen of Wicked, someone who wouldn’t give up on her friends. “There are people back there who could be hurt,” Briony pointed out. “I can’t just abandon them.”
Aunt Sophie shrugged. “You might not have a choice, Briony. You know that getting back is at least partly down to chance. Besides, you’re needed here right now. The timing couldn’t be more perfect, with Waltham so
i
ll.
Do you want that stony Prince Vigor to rule here?”
“You seemed to like him,” Briony shot back.
“Yes,
well,
it’s not like we’re actua
lly
related, so I can ogle him
all
I want.” This rea
lly
was a new Aunt Sophie. Or was it? Even in the old one, there had been a mischievous glint in the eye. Maybe this one was just what you got when you put that into a nineteen-year-old body. “That doesn’t mean he’s ready to be king. He is a strong and capable young man, I’ve no doubt being raised by Waltham ensured that, but like I said before, he’s too selfish to be the King.”
“So you want me to just step in?” Briony asked.
Aunt Sophie shrugged. “It may not come up. Your presence has already a healing effect on Waltham. He may prove to outlive us
all
!” She turned suddenly serious. “But he may not, and if so, you need to be ready.”
“Excuse me, your highness, my lady Sophie.”
Briony turned to see the servant who had opened the doors addressing the pair of them. The woman bobbed another curtsey. “Forgive me, but if we do not begin soon, we
will
not have you both ready in time for the banquet.”
Briony was about to point out that there was
still
plenty of time to go, but some of those dresses had looked very complicated. She nodded. “
All
right,
we
’ll
come straight through.”
The next couple of hours were one of the stranger experiences of Briony’s life. It wasn’t just a case of washing, picking out a dress and maybe putting on a little eyeshadow. Instead, whole teams of servants went to work on both her and Aunt Sophie, setting about them with makeup and perfume before helping them into layer after layer of garments. Some of the latter were almost painfu
lly
restrictive as the servants hauled them into place, lacing and tying them so that they looked as they should.
When they were done, Briony surveyed herself in a mirror. She could hardly believe that it was
still
her. She wore a dress of red silk and velvet, with delicate cream slashes coming through here and there. Her hair, meanwhile, had been turned into a
small
work of art with the aid of pins and clips. Aunt Sophie had undergone an almost equal amount of work, though she was in a delicate dress of gold and lace. It seemed more practical than Briony’s, not trailing along the floor, and even her hair was simpler, in a single braid down her back.