Chapter 5
One week later, I met Queen Catlett for lunch. To say she looked different from the last time I saw her was an understatement. The dark circles under her eyes were gone. Her snow white hair, which looked limp and lifeless the last time I saw her, was now thick and glossy. Her jaundiced eyes were clear and bright. She had gone from being a woman that looked like she was at the end of her life to a woman that was still in her prime.
She was wearing a yellow and orange chiffon gown. The body of the dress was bright yellow, its high collar, belled sleeves, and belled skirt turning orange. She wore her hair long and straight, it reached to the small of her back. She was sitting on one of the divans in the drawing room of her suite.
"Your Majesty," I said, curtsying.
"I hope I look different from the last time you saw me."
"The last time I saw you, you looked like a woman that needed an heir. Today, you do not."
Queen Catlett smiled. "I haven't felt this good in a long time. Partly because I'm no longer being poisoned. Partly because I've been sleeping better. Having you and Edgerton here has enabled me to relax and not worry about the kingdom's affairs."
"I'm glad to be of service, Your Majesty."
"When we're alone, you don't have to call me, Your Majesty," Catlett said. "In fact, I prefer the nickname you gave me."
I smiled and curtsied. "As you prefer, my western mother."
The queen offered me her arm and we headed into the queen's private dining room. Lunch was already laid out, potato soup, fresh baked bread with butter and honey, and a large mug of cool clear water.
The table itself was small and round, just big enough for two people. A white linen tablecloth covered the table. The dishes were made out of a pale wood and polished until they shined. The room was small with no windows. It did contain a clear glass skylight, allowing the noonday sun to brighten the room. A hand woven blue and gold rug covered the floor beneath the small table.
"We're going to hold a formal ceremony," Queen Catlett said, as we sat. "In which you'll be declared my heir. Afterwards, there'll be a ball in which the men will fight for your attention."
A male servant dressed in a red jacket and white breeches stepped forward and ladled soup from a tureen into each of our soup bowls, first the queen's bowl, then mine. He buttered a chunk of bread for the queen and a second piece for me. He stepped back into the corner and we started eating.
"Did they fight for your attention when you were made the heir presumptive?"
"Everyone just stood around and stared at me. I think they were all too shocked to see a woman made the heir presumptive. "
"And you think it'll be different this time?"
"There are still a few people that resent a woman sitting on a throne, like those in the KRB, but most have come to accept it."
"But will they accept someone that wasn't born in Vassa?"
"Once you've been made my heir, you'll tour the country, introduce yourself to the people. Once they get to know you, they'll come to love you like those of us here do."
I couldn't help but think that a tour of the country would give the KRB several opportunities to kill me. Not that I was going to worry about the KRB, or let them intimidate me.
"Can I ask you a question?" I said.
"You just did," a grinning Queen Catlett said. "But you can ask a second one if you want."
"Why does Maximillian Bedard dislike you so?"
"The answer to that one is very simple. Several years ago, he asked for my hand in marriage."
"And you rejected him?"
"I wasn't in love with him. I told him I would only marry for love."
"I guess he's not the kind of man that takes rejection well."
Queen Catlett smiled. "Do you know any king or queen that takes rejection well?"
"Certainly not my mother," I said, with a grin of my own. "Although as far as I know, none of the men she wanted as a consort ever turned her down."
"Did she take many consorts?"
"My sisters and I all have different fathers. Plus, it's not easy for the women in my family to get pregnant. We have to work at it. If that answers your question."
"Your mother makes me feel like the celibate queen."
"Don't you take consorts?"
"Consorts would only complicate my life. If I took a consort, others that care about me might get jealous. I wouldn't want to hurt anyone's feelings."
"By others, you mean Edgerton."
"He told you how he feels about me?"
"Hardly, but when he talks about you, his feelings are obvious. A man doesn't travel to the end of the earth for just anybody."
"I trust you'll remember that when one of your old beaus shows up at our front door."
"Men don't chase after me," I said with a laugh. "I'm the girl they turn to when the girl they want rejects them."
"Coming in second isn't so bad."
"Have you ever thought of taking more than one consort? It would be hard for Edgerton to get upset if you took him, and say, a younger man, at the same time."
Queen Catlett blushed, which was nice to see considering the last time we dined together, she was way too pale to blush. "I haven't been healthy enough to even think about such things."
"But you're getting better, and you're still young and beautiful. I warrant this kingdom is full of men that are in love with you. Why not make a few of their dreams come true? Why not let them make a few of your dreams come true?"
"And give my enemies more fodder?"
"Your enemies will find reasons to hate you no matter what you say or do. You can't live your life trying to make them like or accept you. The best you can do is make them respect and fear you."
"You're very strong for someone so young," Queen Catlett said. "Much stronger than I was at your age. Much stronger than I am now."
"When you grow up knowing that your destiny lies in one of two places, either on the throne of Adah, or in the Cemetery of Would Be Queens, you learn to be strong, less you end up in an unmarked grave."
"I still can't believe how your country throws its daughters away."
"Not all daughters. Just the queen's."
"One day, you'll be in a position to do something about that."
"You mean rescue Bedonna's daughters?" I couldn't imagine anyone that might spring from Bedonna's loins as needing to be rescued. No matter how I tried, I couldn't picture Bedonna's daughters looking like anyone but her.
"Why not?" Queen Catlett said.
"When I try to picture Bedonna having daughters, they all end up looking like her, big strong scary girls with mustaches."
Queen Catlett giggled. "Your sister has a mustache?"
"And anyone that notices it risks getting skewered by her sword."
We changed topics after that. The queen asked me about my gifts as a seer. She wanted to know how long I had the gift, how it worked, and whether I could control it. I answered her questions as best I could. When I finished, she raised an interesting question.
"Do you practice?"
"Practice?" I wasn't sure what she meant.
"You said the visions come just before someone tries to hurt you, so you can't practice having visions, but do you practice watching and listening to others? Do you practice letting others see you, or whatever you want them to see?"
"Do you think I should practice?"
"I was thinking that perhaps you haven't reached the limit of your powers, that if you practice, they might continue to grow and develop."
"Grow how?"
"The only way to find out is to practice." She paused to take a drink of water. "I'm not saying your powers will grow. I'm just saying the only way to find out if you've reached the limit of your abilities is to practice."
I decided that Queen Catlett was right. The only way I'd know if I had reached the limit of my abilities, my powers, was to practice using them. After lunch, and before my afternoon session with the court scholars, I retired to the He
ir's Suite to practice using my gifts, or powers, or whatever you wanted to call them.
The Heir's Suite was nearly identical to the Queen's Suite. It contained a drawing room, a dressing room, a bedroom, a dining room, a study, and a bathing room. The only difference was the color scheme. Whereas the Queen's Suite was done in blues and golds, the Heir's Suite was done in reds and golds. Red and gold were the official colors of the Kingdom of Vassa, while blue and gold were the colors on Queen Catlett's family crest.
I slipped into the heir's study, which was dominated by a heavy oak desk that looked like it had been built for a man, which it probably had. On the front and sides of the desk were bias reliefs of men hunting deer, wolves, and bears.
I closed the door to the study, sat behind the desk, and closed my eyes. I pictured myself standing in front of the mirror in my dressing room, which was at the other end of the suite. A second later, I saw the empty room, then I saw a ghost image of myself in the glass.
I wondered if I could add color to my image, so I pictured myself looking like I normally did, long black hair, bright green eyes, dressed in a red silk gown. My image seemed to solidify, going from a ghostly white to exactly how I looked now. I wasn't sure how the mirror could reflect something that wasn't real. Maybe the same way a mirror reflected a sunbeam. You couldn't touch a sunbeam, but a mirror could sure help you see it.
This could prove very useful the next time I was threatened or hunted by someone. If my image looked real enough, they would attack it, which might give me enough time to slip away or even attack them from behind.
The problem was, I couldn't do both things at the same time. I couldn't project my image while moving my real body. My real body had to remain in one place and I had to have my eyes closed, so I could concentrate. Or did I? Maybe with a little practice, I could project an image and move my body around at the same time. It would be hard, because I'd have to concentrate on two things at once, but just maybe, I could do it.
I decided to try something simple, like moving my image. I pictured my image walking out of the dressing room and into the drawing room, then watched from my image's point of view as it did just that.
I imagined myself walking out the door into the hallway, then watched through the eyes of my image as it walked to the door and grabbed the door's handle, or tried to grab the door's handle. My image's hand looked real, but it wasn't. The hand went right through the door. I could make the image look real, but I couldn't make it touch or move anything that was real.
I turned the image around, walked it over to one of the red velvet divans, and had it sit. I maintained that picture in my mind then opened my eyes and pushed myself to my feet. I walked out of the study and into the dining room while still maintaining the image of myself sitting on the divan. When I entered the drawing room, I almost leapt for joy. My image was still sitting there, looking not like a ghost, but like me.
I had the image look at me and give me the thumbs up sign. It did. I had it smile. It smiled. I closed my eyes and my point of view shifted. I could see things from my image's perspective. I could see myself standing there with my eyes closed. I opened my eyes and my point of view shifted again, so I could see my image sitting there.
I pictured the image fading away and it vanished before my eyes. I pictured it returning, only this time I kept my eyes open. Much to my delight, the image returned. Creating and maintaining an image was simply a matter of forming a picture in my mind, colors and all, then maintaining that picture in a corner of my mind. As soon as I let the picture fade from my mind, it faded from the room.
I wondered if the there was a range limit on my ability to see and hear other people. I knew I had to be able to picture them in my mind to see them, but I wondered if I could see someone on the other side of the world, like Bedonna, or Iderra, or Vomeir.
I wasn't sure I wanted to see what Bedonna was up to, probably planning her war on Sorea. Nor was I sure I wanted to see Vomeir. I had been gone long enough for him to move on with his life, to forget I even existed. I was curious to see how Iderra was doing. I never had a vision of her dying, so I assumed she was still alive. I wondered if she had reached Sorea, and if it was all she had thought it would be, hoped it would be.
I closed my eyes and pictured Iderra in my mind, as I had last seen her. Her hair cut short, wearing men's clothes and a pointed wizard's cap, carrying an old knapsack. A second later I saw her.
She was in a dungeon, locked in a cell with gray granite walls on three sides and iron bars on the fourth. There was nothing in her cell save for a wooden bucket to relieve herself and a pile of straw to sleep on. There were cells on both sides of the dungeon and they seemed to go on forever. As far as I could tell, the cells were all empty save for the one Iderra was inside.
I knew a few things from the size of the dungeon. She wasn't in Adah, we had no dungeons that large. Besides, if Bedonna had captured Iderra, she wouldn't have thrown her in jail, she would've killed her, just like she killed Salisha.
Iderra wasn't in Gibney. They had no dungeons that large. Besides, they didn't lock people up for crossing their borders. They just tried to sell them things. I knew she wasn't in the Sugar Islands. They didn't keep slaves in dungeons, they kept them in above ground holding pens.
That meant she had made it to Sorea. Whether it was run by dark wizards, like most people believed, or by people with scientific minds, like Iderra believed, it was clear they didn't welcome visitors. My guess was the dungeon was close to the Adan border, probably located somewhere in the Dark Forest, the heavily wooded area that defined Adah's southeastern border and Sorea's western border.
I pictured my image appearing inside Iderra's cell, wearing the same red silk dress I was wearing now. My hair tied back in a single braid that fell down my back. I pictured the proper skin color and eye color. A second later, my viewpoint shifted, from someone that was floating inside Iderra's cell, to someone that was standing inside her cell.
I checked my hands and dress to make sure they looked real. They did. My image looked as solid as it had here in Vassa. Unfortunately, I couldn't tap Iderra on the shoulder, let alone talk to her. All I could do was stand there and wait for her to open her eyes and notice me. Seeing others, and being seen by others, had its advantages, but it also had its limitations.
I tried waving my hands in front of Iderra's face. She must've sensed my presence because she opened her eyes and looked up. To say that I startled her was an understatement. She leapt to her feet and stumbled backward until she hit the wall.
"Are you really here, Mouse, or am I going crazy?" Iderra said.
I shook my head no, as in, no I wasn't really there, and no, she wasn't going crazy.
"No, you're not here, or no, I'm not going crazy?" I let my image fade away, then made it reappear. Iderra smiled. "No, you're not here. And no, I'm not going crazy."
I returned her smile, and pictured myself mouthing the words, "It's good to see you, Idy."
"It's good to see you too. You know where I am?"
I mouthed the word, "Sorea?"
Iderra nodded. "Somewhere beneath the Dark Forest. I barely crossed the border when a couple of their soldiers grabbed me. It was eerie how quickly they found me, almost like they knew I was coming. They took my knapsack from me and tossed me in here. I told them that I'm a scientific thinker like them and that I was seeking asylum, but they didn't seem to care. I'm beginning to think that I was wrong, that Sorea isn't run by scientific thinkers like myself. I've been here for nearly three weeks. I'm afraid I'll spend the rest of my life here."
I pretended to spoon some food into my mouth.
"They feed me twice a day. Once at sun up. Once at sundown. My evening meal should be here soon. But enough about me. How are you?"
I mouthed the word, "Fine."
“Are you in Adah?"
I shook my head no.
"Gibney?"
I shook my head no a second time.
Iderra thought fo
r a second. "You've crossed the Desert of Shifting Sands."
I nodded yes.
"Are you happy where you are?"
I nodded yes, then changed my image, until I looked like Queen Catlett, like she had looked today in her yellow and orange gown, with the addition of her silver crown upon her head. I then had her open her arms in a welcoming gesture.
"You've been welcomed by a queen?"
I pictured the image changing back to me. Once I saw the red silk dress, I nodded yes.
"Don't suppose I could come join you," Iderra said.
I nodded yes.
"Would I have to cross the desert?"
I shook my head no.
"You want me to go by sea?"
I nodded yes.
"Aboard a Gibean merchant vessel?"
I nodded yes.
"How would I find you once I got to that part of the world?"
I changed my image to that of Queen Catlett, then changed it back to myself.
"I'm to look for a land governed by a queen with snow white hair?"
I nodded yes.
"Are there a lot of queens in that part of the world?"
I shook my head no.
"How many are there?"
I held up a lone finger.
"She won't expect us to fight each other to the death like mother did?"
I smiled and shook my head no.
"Now that that's settled, we have one more problem to solve. How do I get out of here?"
I changed my image to one of Bedonna, in her gray leather skirt and silver breastplate. Her massive biceps bulging as she held her giant broadsword in her right hand. I pointed the sword at Iderra's chest.
"You're going to force the guard to unlock my cell when he brings me dinner?"
I nodded, or more accurately, Bedonna's image nodded.
"It might work." Iderra tried to touch Bedonna's sword, but her hand passed right through it. "As long as the guard doesn't try to resist. Of course, I'll have to do all the talking."
I changed Bedonna's image back to mine and the broadsword to that of a big yellow butterfly, which I had flutter out of my hand. I had it circle Iderra a couple of times then had it flutter away, vanishing through the ceiling.
Iderra laughed. "Your powers are very impressive, Mouse. The fact that you can see me even though we're on opposite sides of the continent is amazing. The fact that you can allow me to see you, is even more impressive. It makes me think the rumors about your father were true."
I wrinkled my image's brow in confusion.
Iderra saw what I did. "That's right. You never heard the rumors. Actually, I was very young at the time, supposedly too young to remember rumors floating around the palace, but as you know, I've always had a very good memory. Anyway, when mother was pregnant with you, there was a rumor that your father was a powerful wizard from Sorea. I never put much stock in that rumor, until now. Although now that I think about it, after mother got pregnant with you, she stopped referring to the men that ran Sorea as the Dark Wizards of Sorea. Perhaps your father was a seer. Perhaps this is a land of seers. That would explain where your powers come from, not to mention how their soldiers found me as soon as I crossed the border."
Iderra's attention was diverted by some noise at the end of the dungeon. "I think my dinner's coming. If you're going to help me, your best bet is to disappear and then reappear behind the guard. I'll tell him to look behind him, and with a little luck, he'll unlock my cell door and I can get out of here."
I let my image fade away. I watched from above as a lone guard approached the cell carrying a tray with a bowl of stew, a hunk of bread, and a mug of ale. He balanced the wooden tray in his left hand and carried a big iron key in his right hand. His clothing was all military. Polished black boots, black woolen breeches, a black woolen shirt topped by a silver breastplate. Strapped around his waist was a broadsword.
I waited until he had Iderra's cell door open then pictured Bedonna standing behind him, in her gray leather skirt and silver breastplate. Instead of picturing her holding her broadsword, I pictured her with a crossbow, aimed at the guard and ready to fire. I chose a crossbow so he wouldn't be tempted to draw his sword and fight back. If he tried to fight back, he would learn that I was nothing more than a ghost.
"You might want to look behind you," Iderra said.
The guard swung around, saw the image of Bedonna standing there, and dropped the tray of food. Before he could decide what to do, Iderra snatched the heavy wooden tray off the floor and smashed it over the guard's head. The guard fell face first to the cell's granite floor. He was out cold.
Iderra picked up the hunk of bread and stuffed it in her jacket pocket. She grabbed the key he was carrying, pulled him into the cell, and locked him in. She then headed in the direction he had come. I followed behind, maintaining the image of Bedonna with a crossbow.
"There's one other guard here," Iderra said. "They're stationed in a small log cabin directly above the dungeon. With a little luck, the one I knocked out is the seer."
There was a heavy wooden door at the end of the dungeon. Iderra used the key to unlock it and then lock it behind her. On the other side of the door was a narrow granite stairway leading out of the dungeon. At the top of the stairway was a heavy wooden trapdoor.
I let the image of Bedonna fade, then floated ahead of Iderra. The trapdoor was open but the other soldier wasn't there. I figured he was inside the small log cabin, which sat next to the trapdoor. I reappeared at the top of the stairs, as myself, and waved Iderra on up, letting her know the coast was clear.
Iderra scrambled to the top of the stairs, turned west, and headed off, moving through the trees as fast as she could go. She stopped about one hundred yards away and looked back at me. I changed my image to that of Iderra and waved goodbye, letting her know that I would remain behind as a distraction, just in case the other guard tried to come after her. She nodded, letting me know that she understood, and took off, disappearing into the forest.
Less than a minute later, the second soldier burst out of the cabin, sword in hand, as if someone had told him that his prisoner had escaped. I figured he must have been a seer. How else would he know something was wrong. When the soldier saw me, I leveled an imaginary crossbow at him. He hurried back inside the cabin, shutting the door behind him.
I took off, heading in the opposite direction that Iderra had headed. I took my time, making sure the guard could see me when he popped out of the cabin. Sure enough, he did. I heard him running after me, yelling in Gibean, telling me to stop, that I couldn't get away.
I didn't listen to him. I kept Iderra's image moving, leading the guard further and further away from the real Iderra. When I was sure he had run too far to turn around and catch her, I dashed behind a tree and let my image fade away. He sprinted right on by and kept on going.
I focused my attention on Iderra, picturing her in my mind. Her scuffed brown boots, dirty brown breeches, white cotton shirt, brown leather jerkin, brown wool coat, and dusty wizard's cap. A second later, I saw her. She had left the Dark Forest behind and was strolling south on the Eastern Road.
The Eastern Road was a part of Adah, it signaled the end of Adah and the beginning of Gibney and Sorea. It was also patrolled by the Army of the East, which meant Iderra no longer had to fear the Sorean soldiers. She only had to fear being recognized as a princess of the realm and hauled off to Bedonna for execution.
To the west, the sun was low in the sky, as the day was drawing to a close across the plains of eastern Adah. There was no one else on the road, so I pictured myself walking alongside of Iderra, wearing an identical outfit to what she was wearing. A second later, my viewpoint shifted from above and behind her to alongside of her. Idy didn't even flinch when my image reappeared beside her. She just looked at me and smiled. "Nice outfit, Mouse."
I returned her smile and had my image primp its dirty brown traveling clothes.
While I did that, Idy pulled out the hunk of bread th
at she salvaged from her dinner and began to munch on it. "You know there was another rumor about your father. Not only did some people believe that he was a wizard, they also believed that he had been the King of Sorea, and that he had been driven from power by a rival wizard. If that's true, then you're the first princess in Adan history to descend from two royal lines. Needless to say, I never believed either of those rumors, until now."
About a mile down the road, a peddler on a two wheeled cart pulled by a lone ox appeared, heading in our direction.
"You better go before we run into some soldiers," Iderra said. “No one pays attention to me, but you're way too pretty not to get noticed. I'll just continue south, to Pipho, where I'll book passage on a Gibean merchant vessel that's headed west. With a little luck, I'll find my way to wherever you are in two or three months."
I ran ahead of Iderra, then turned around, so my image was facing her and walking backwards.
"Thanks Mouse," Idy said. "I never would've gotten out of there without your help, and even if I had, I wouldn't have known where to go. I was convinced the people in Sorea were scientific thinkers like myself, convinced they would welcome me with open arms. Perhaps it was just wishful thinking on my part."
I blew Idy a kiss goodbye and let my image fade away.