THE KING'S DAUGHTER - Chapter Twelve (The Bride to Be)
"What do you mean I must go and meet Denilus?" Aibell tossed her long ruby tresses behind her in irritation. "Lord Ispepaltim has not yet returned from Lumilrel with word from King Renilus, solidifying my betrothal, to the best of my knowledge. What is the urgency?" She stood at the foot of the great oaken table, hands firmly planted upon the glossy top as she awaited an explanation.
Gathered in her father's antechamber, seated around the table, was King Manann, looking wearily to Sorja and Turlough, both of whom looked expectantly upon the King to answer his daughter's question. A sigh of resignation passed through his lips, as he knew that today, his daughter would have to give up her childhood and become an adult, subject to the same pain
that parents seek to hide from their children.
Aibell's pansy purple eyes narrowed into slits. "I want to know what is going on, if it is to affect y life." Golden candle light danced in her eyes as she stated her case. "I was not going to Lumilrel until Ostara of next year-- I was to have all this time to ready my belongings and dowry, yet you want me gone by Midsummer?" She hit her fist on the table, punctuating each
question she asked. Thump. "Married by Samhain?" Thump. "What is going on, my lord?"
Thump.
Clearing his throat, Manann looked to his only child. "It is not for you to know why I do it. Obey me as a daughter should."
"Very well, Father. I will obey, but only if I know the reasoning behind your decision. Please, tell me!" She was close to losing her temper, for her life was now in an upset.
Manann had promised Aibell that in the midsummer of her seventeenth birthday she would go to meet her betrothed. She would be married officially, should Denilus be to her liking, by Yule of that year; yet he would renege that oath and send her south within two months. She was to be married on her sixteenth birthday to a man she had never met, nor corresponded with personally. Oh, she knew her duty was to marry the Prince, but could it not wait until the promised time, instead of being hurried as if there was a scandal on her heels? Why now? There was something going on, and if Manann desired a fully cooperating Aibell, he would have some explaining to do, else she would drag her heels all they way to the High Alter stone giving the impression of a political hostage.
"You do not need to know the facts, other than I do it in your best interest." His voice was firm, as was the look in his eye. The King had put his foot down.
"Manann! Tell her." Turlough's voice cracked like a whip. "Tell the poor lass why. If she is to be married, then treat her as an adult. Tell her the truth about the queen, cousin. She needs to know, if not to rest her own mind at ease, but you do a disservice to Kaelis. Tell her, my lord King. Or I shall do so." Turlough's voice cut the silence of the room like a razor, causing eyes of amber, amethyst and bright yellow citrine to fasten themselves upon the warrior as he continued. "She is not a child any more if she is expected to be wed. I understood your reasoning when she was a child, but now she needs to know." Addressing the Princess this time, "You need to tell him of your dream, my lady. He should know what your mother had to
say."
"Aibell, what is Turlough talking about? When, nay; how did you talk to Kaelis?" The King's voice now wavered as he pondered how his wife contacted their daughter.
The Princess spoke in a measured tone as she spoke of the dream she had of Kaelis, her gaze never wavering from her father. "I want to know the truth, for I asked Turlough this very morning and he refused to answer. All he did was confirm that I had been lied to all my life. I beg you Father, please my lord King I beseech you, tell me the truth of my mother and why I must go to Feenoriah so soon." Her voice was not as steady as it had been, quavering at the end of her plea.
"I cannot tell you all, my darling daughter, for I will not risk your life, like your mother has done. Since your conception, I have done all that I could to protect you from evils and horrors you can only imagine." Manann took a deep breath and held it for five heart beats, and exhaled slowly, trying to gain control of his racing heart and mind. "My daughter, you wish to know the truth of it? I lied to save your life." The King's voice grew hoarse. "You always wanted to learn Magick, but why? You have a burning need to learn, you always have. You have always excelled at learning, and this would be a new venture for you, however, I cannot teach you Magick."
Aibell's incredulous look softened a bit, but the questions were rising to her lips before she could think to stop them. "Why would you have to lie to save my life? Who would want to do me harm?"
"Sit down, my daughter, and I will tell you why I lied to save your life." When she had done as he bid, he reached out and held her cold hand. "I should tell you this now, and please, do not speak until I have finished. Aibell, you are not pure Fey. You are half Fey, but not pure. Your mother was a Regh Cutios Sprite fosterling found in the forest. The man who found her raised her as a daughter. When her adopted father found her, and noticed her ears were not Fey-like, she always wore her hair loose to hide them when her hair was long enough. Until she was old enough to maintain a Glamouring, and make her ears appear Fey, that is. You always thought it odd that your ears folded over so easily when you wear gold hoops in the top? They are not as rigid as Faery ears, and that is the Sprite in you. Turlough was not aware of this deception. Forgive me daughter for not telling you until this moment."
All sat stunned at this revelation. Aibell's eyes began to water, but hardened into frosty amethyst shards of distrust. She dared not speak until she calmed herself. "I am not pure Fey? I am only half?" Her voice rose an octave. "You mean I have Sprite blood in my veins? Blood of Regh Cutios? I am part Desert Wench?" She began to quaver as her voice grew in volume. "Anything else I should know while we are on the subject of things that should have been told to me long before this day?"
"You have a birth mark I know you have never seen."
"What? Where?" Aibell's brow furrowed as she digested this last bit.
"On the back of your neck, at the base of your skull, there is a birthmark a finger wide, of a red crescent moon on its back, the two points reaching up into your hairline."
"Why was I never told I had this deformity? Sorja, will you look at it? Is it there?"
The Pixxi gathered hanks of Aibell's ruby tresses and held them high. Just as King Manann said, there was indeed a blood red crescent moon reaching into her hairline. "Aye, it is there, Aibell." The sound of amazement was evident in her voice.
Manann continued. "It is not a deformity, Aibell, but a privilege and responsibility. It is the mark that brands you a very special person. Did you know that the moon was full the Samhain night you were born?" He smiled at the new look of disbelief that crossed his beloved daughter's face. "Yes, sweet daughter of mine, you are a marked one. It was this mark that I sought to hide, for your mother had one in the same place, only a few shades lighter in color. But yours is the red of the river of life, the red of a perfect, perfect apple. There are a few out there who know what that mark means, and they would accomplish anything to get their hands on you. That is why I have not taught you Magick-- as long as you are ignorant of that aspect of yourself, you are worthless to their cause."
Her eyes widened. "What cause is that, and what does the mark mean, Father?" She leaned forward in her seat, her elbows resting on the table as she devoured this new information about herself.
"My daughter, there is a prophesy that names whoever bears the red moon of Qinraxon to be the one who can unite all the Kingdoms. You bear this mark, and as long as you are innocent of Magick, then you cannot fulfill that role. Men would kill to use and sacrifice you to sate their greedy natures and rule every person in the Kingdoms. Do you understand why I could not allow you to ever learn Magick?"
"I do, Father. But how can you be positive that I am the bearer of that mark? Surely you are mistaken."
"My Lady Sorja, are you familiar with the Prophesy of Qinraxon?" Manann asked the resident esoteric expert.
"A bit. I must admit my cousin would know much more of it, since I was fostered out to be a healer, not a philosopher.” She paused and pondered for a moment. “If the late queen had the muted version of the mark, then there is a distinct possibility that you are the bearer. The only way to know for certain would be to wait and see if your children bear the same mark, just redder. If not, then you are the one." Sorja told Aibell. "You said she called the area you were in her 'astral temple'?" Sorja asked the question before she realized her mouth had opened. Aibell looked long at Sorja before answering with a hesitant 'aye'.
Sorja pierced Manann with a look he could not fathom. "My lord, was Queen Kaelis very Magickally inclined? Do not dissemble with me, for I need to know the truth."
"Aye, she was. Very inclined." the reply bordered on curt.
"If it is as I suspect, you really must tell Aibell all. Before it is too late for all." Sorja spoke softly.
"Aye, you should tell me what this all means. I am not a mushroom-- do not keep me in thedark and feed me fodder, my lord father. If you expect me to rule Maicair Caylus, then I beseech you to let me know what I will have to face; obviously the woman who birthed me is apart of this all, and I would like to know how exactly. What does Turlough mean you do a disservice to Kaelis?"
Manann sighed, for all three of them were begging him to reopen the wound of Kaelis. Yet they were right; Aibell had a right to know what actually happened to her mother all those years ago. His temples throbbed as he gathered his thoughts.
"Aibell, my daughter, I will tell you the tale of Kaelis another day. But you will be told before you head to Feenoriah, you have my word. However, I will tell you why you must go to meet your betrothed before long. I fear that there are some who already know of your existence, know of the mark you bear. I wish to protect you, however I believe, and Turlough agrees, that it is in your best interest to wed you quickly to Prince Denilus before these unknown predators prey on you. That is why I am pushing you to go to Lumilrel. Now that you know, will you obey?"
"Aye, I suppose I must. If I had my druthers, I would rather wait and get to know him first, before I wed him. I would marry for love! I will marry him, have no fear, but I do not like being rushed into it. "
"Aibell, I married for love, and look what it has done. Marriage among the aristocracy has always been about power, money and more power. Land and gold. Heirs. Not love. Perhaps if I had not loved Kaelis so much, she would have stayed. Perhaps, but in the What If… game, everyone loses."
The Princess sat quiet, as she recognized the truth of his statement.
Manann spoke, changing the subject and moving to a lighter topic. "But there are other pressing matters of the state that need my attendance. Turlough, prepare the guards for travel. Daughter, ready your belongings. Within the week we leave for Ahes Belhafei. There, my daughter, you will hostess your first Feast of Ages, before I send you to your bridegroom."
Almost to himself he uttered, "Aye, it has been an age it seems, since I was last there."
Turlough's light blue eyes fixed upon the King. Was it some sort of twisted humor that Manann was suffering? He could just as well host the Feast at Kellanach, why travel to the coastal fortress of Ahes Belhafei? The captain of the guard knew that Aibell had never seen this fortress, for the last time any member of the court was there, Kaelis was still with Manann, and fate was just about to disrupt the quiet serenity that the King rarely enjoyed. Oh well. He would do his lord's bidding, for if Manann failed to enlighten Aibell, Turlough would not hesitate. The deception will not last, he vowed.
Aibell would know all, and not be pleased. There was no hope for it. No hope at all.
"Aibell, where are you? Damn and blast it!" Sorja's curse was punctuated with the tearing of fabric as she yanked her dress free from berry brambles. Aibell was not in a good mood if the bit of forest that was her sanctuary was trying to protect her from intruders. "Aibell, please, I must speak with you, 'tis most important!"
"Can I not be left alone with my melancholy thoughts?" The weepy voice came from a patch of ferns next to a huge tree root that had a smoothed depression in it, perfect for sitting. "Can I not be left alone?"
"He does not know, does he? The King does not know that you can disappear?" Sorja spoke hesitantly towards the feathery ferns.
Aibell reappeared while wiping her face with grimy palms. "No, he does not."
"Will you tell him?" Sorja's concern began to grate on Aibell's frayed nerves.
"No. Why should I? So I can get a resounding 'I told you so' from my father?" Aibell sniffed back tears. "Then a lecture on how I betrayed his trust and went against everything he thought of me? I think not."
"The crack in the ice has begun, Aibell-- it can only get bigger and wider. You should tell your father that you learned to disappear. I say this out of concern. Ignorance is a deadly weapon."
"I cannot Sorja! I cannot! Since I learned to speak, I have asked to learn Magick but I was always denied its lessons. I found a book and the only spell I could decipher was the one to disappear. I rebelled and now look! A crack in the ice you say?” Aibell’s voice grew stronger as her emotions began to boil over. “I am that crack. I am the ice! Because of my willful nature I
have begat my doom. Now how can I look my father in the face, after he told me of how he protected my life from the deformity of I have on my neck? How can I Sorja? I tell you what, I cannot! And you cannot either!" Aibell began to weep, great shudders that wracked her body. She began to slowly fade into the foliage.
"Aibell, please listen to reason. You must tell your father."
The Faery maiden looked away from the Pixxi. "Go away Sorja. I do not want to talk." With a little flick of her royal hand, trees, flowers, brambles, vines-- all lent a helping leaf and stem to push Sorja out of Aibell's sanctuary, and back into the main forest of Kellanach.
With a heart heavy as lead, Sorja pushed back her own tears. If Aibell would only listen to reason! If only she would think of the greater picture. If only. "You are not doomed until you fail to talk to your father, Princess. I will try again to reason with you, but if you remain stubborn only then will you truly be doomed."
Thank you for reading! If you’d like more of the story, help yourself to the rest of the posted chapters:
Prologue | One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven | Eight | Nine | Ten | Eleven