“What is it you want queen of Eyrotia?”
Merea looked up and saw Goyre hovering a few feet above the ground looking down at her, her staff with the syra plant stop it was in her right hand as always.
The words of the Jamark wizard came back to her. “You must make a deal with the goddess of the earth if you want your daughter to one day sit on the throne of Eyrotia. The king has the mind to reverse the coronation of your daughter as the heir to the throne, he has plans to give the crown to your stepdaughter, Phoenix. You must beware.”
She fiddled with the ring the wizard had given her, it had a feature similar to the talisman she had given her daughter and the function was the same, the only difference was that the effect of the ring was to influence the decisions of the king.
Merea bowed before the goddess. “Mother of the earth, I have come as a humble servant to seek your face.”
“Present your request, Merea.”
The temple was empty since
The next day the nobles gathered in the throne room awaiting the Goyre. In different chambers both Phoenix and Jumi were being prepared to be presented to the goddess. In Phoenix’ new chamber which was a vast improvement from the closet size room she had been using before, she donned the red tunic provided by queen Merea. Her new chamber was located after the royal chambers, Barigo had ordered that she should be given a room close to the royal chambers but far from Merea and Jumi to avoid conflict. The room had wider walls, a wash space where she could wash herself every morning and evening without worrying about flooding her room with water and the bed was wider and more comfortable. The tunic which Merea had given her was an ankle length tunic that stopped at her feet, the pins holding it up at the shoulders were made of gold that match the crown of gold leaves that rest on her red hair. While Jumi had servants attending to her and dressing her, Phoenix dressed herself. She
The next day and the days after a the Eyrotian army trained intensely. Day and night the soldiers trained and planned strategies. Basten, Teo and Dan were the youngest soldiers in the army but we’re given no preferential treatment. Odoi was in charge of their training since he was now a respected member of the army. He recognized Teo’s ability with the dagger and placed him in the league of a special army section called Shadow hunters. They were known as crawlers who moved in the shadows of the enemy, causing serious damages in the enemy’s barracks. Dan was more proficient with the bow and arrow, Odoi assigned him to the Archers' league where he was put under vigorous training in the use of Eyrotia’s advanced metal bow and arrows. While, Basten training intensely with the sword, with each training he got stronger, faster and better.True to her words, Phoenix made no attempts to watch him train. He did try to visit her in the castle but after a day of
A month after the soldiers marched to battle against Uromi, the atmosphere around Eyrotia was fraught with tension. Mothers prayed for the safe return of their sons a d for the return of the daughters sent to tend the needs of the soldiers in battle, people offered sacrifices and prayers to the gods for the victory of Eyrotia. But there was a tension far greater than any other, a tension that was born of fear and hatred. While the rest of the kingdom hoped for good reports from the Eyrotian army, Queen Merea was in a silent battle of her own. She raged at Barigo’s new treatment of Phoenix, it was as though he regretted his past actions to her and was seeking to make amends in their relationship. She could not have that! If that happened then he would defile the natural laws of the land by removing the crown from Jumi and giving it to Phoenix.As she sat in her bedchamber seething she did not notice the door open. Jumi pushed her head through the crack of the door and sa
Phoenix held her hand to her chest as Styx laid her on her back in the seer’s house. The bones at her shoulder were healing already but the pain was excruciating as fragments of her bones meld with each other, if she had her full powers the process of healing would be less painful but since her powers were still being restricted by an incomplete seal made by Helena, only bits of it could flow through her veins to accelerate her healing.“What happened?” the seer asked. As frail as he was he was quick on his feet to check Phoenix’s injuries. When he touched her hand she yelped in pain.The ride to the seer’s home had been excruciatingly painful because the roads were rough and tedious for the horse to navigate. The galloping of the horse made pain vibrate throughout her body. The king’s healer had refused to heal her, he refused to touch her because he like everyone else would not be associated with a taboo. So Styx had taken a horse
Phoenix was dragged to the king’s room where Barigo sat at his table with a tray containing dishes in front of him. Merea stood behind him with her hands on his shoulders, noble men and women of Eyrotia stood at different sides of the room. All except Barigo looked down on her with contempt as the guards dropped her roughly on the ground. She clutched her wounded hand to her side as she knelt before them all. “As you requested, your majesty, we have brought her.” “I instructed you to bring her here, not drag her like a slave!” Barigo yelled. The guards bowed their heads but they glared at her with hate. The other guard brought Styx in and the seer followed him. “What is the meaning of this, Barigo?” the seer demanded. Barigo ignored him and regarded Phoenix with concern. “What happened to your hand?” “It got injured during my training session with Styx, father,” Phoenix replied between hiccups of unshed tears. “That is not the question
In the throne room, the nobles gathered with the king and Merea. They were speaking at once, voicing their opinions on how Phoenix would be punished. Merea sat beside the king watching with satisfaction at the reactions of the nobles. She knew he one of them would tear a piece of Phoenix if she was brought to them. Pleased with her work, she sat back. “Silence!” The entire room went silent at the king’s command. Everyone turned their eyes to him waiting quietly for him to speak. “You will not harm her.” He said loud and clear. “You will not harm Phoenix because she is innocent.” “My king, how can you say such when the evidence points to her?” “Those were not evidence, they are simply conveniences. A maid serving in the royal house is no different from one serving in a tavern, they will do anything for the right amount of bribe.” Rudo stood up angrily. “My queen it appears you are right, after all, the king has been bewitched by that ch
Goyre gently laid Phoenix on the wide bed in her chambers. She sat on the bed beside her and pushed her hair away from her sweaty face. She was shaking with fever and her face showed her discomfort. Goyre pulled Phoenix’s tunic off, exposing the bruises on her skin, on her breast was the palm print of the repulsive guard who had squeezed it. The bone of her shoulder and wrist was disfigured. Goyre’s nostrils flared as she took in the sight of Phoenix’s battered body. She placed her hands over the bruises and healed them. Conjuring a cloth and some water from her mother’s domain she mopped Phoenix’s brow to bring down her rising temperature.Phoenix squirmed in the bed but her eyes remained close and she succumbed to the hands of sleep. Goyre discarded the cloth and water and leaned over Phoenix, she caused a small turbulence to form beside the bed to cool her forehead. As the sweat dried from Phoenix’ body Goyre pushed her hair aside to get
Phoenix opened her eyes and blinked against the dim light that streamed in from an open window. She frowned as she realized that she was laying on a strange material, there was a soft black cloth covering the bed on which she was laying on. When she looked around she realized that every other thing around her too was strange. The room was had was of black metal with huge windows that welcomed dim lights into the room, there was a rug on the floor that ran across the length of the room. Beside her was a metal table with a tray of varieties of food.Suddenly she heard a movement behind her and she sat up quickly. When she turned to see what had moved she saw a servant, or she guessed she was a servant. The servant wore a black tunic that stopped below her knees and around her neck and ankles were metal clamps with loops for chains.Phoenix glanced down at her own hands and legs to make sure they were not locked in chains. “Where am I l?” she asked.&ld