Elements of Glory: The Princess of Nothing

’We’ll make our final stand in the Throne Room! Let them come! Let them all flood! We will stand!’

-The King Orin Weral, twenty-two cycles ago

One of the Voglons – a large one, with spikes down the spine of his armour – pushed to the head of the pack that surrounded Emily, Aragam, Wuzzul, and Samantha. The Voglon snorted and pointed an ugly, jagged, sword at Emily’s group.

‘Kill them!’ he spat.

A cheer rang up from the Voglons, Hools, and Trolls. Then they started to spill forward. Emily stared in disbelief. She’d never guessed her life would end like this! Without thinking, she threw her swords, hitting two separate Voglons in the chest. The beasts yelped in pain and collapsed to the ground. The rest of the horde stopped short, in surprise. The looked down at the fallen Voglons, and back at Emily.

’Me told you me heard something,’ one of the Trolls grumbled, looking at the other.

’I SAID KILL THEM!’ the spiny-backed Voglon roared.

As the horde started forward again, Emily held out her hands.

Everything stopped!

The horde stopped moving, frozen in place, and the rain stopped, motionless in mid-air. Emily looked at it in shock. Then, to her utter wonder, the rain started to bend, forming together, creating a bubble of water around her and her companions. When the rippling bubble was fully closed around them, the world started moving again. With a deafening crack, the bubble of water exploded outward, throwing the murderous horde backward.

Voglons and Hools tumbled up through the treetops, and the two Trolls crashed mercilessly through forest, splintering wood and bringing heavy canopies down on top of them. Another water bubble exploded out from Emily, sending any remaining attackers backward, smashing a few on the rocky walls of the cave interior.

Emily gasped when it was over. Her brown eyes were wide, filled with shock, as she stared around at what had happened.

She knew she’d done this!

She didn’t know how she’d done it, but she knew she had.

’What in the world was that?’ Aragam cried, looking around quickly, water droplets spraying off of his face, cloak, and hat.

Emily turned to him and stared. ‘I don’t know,’ she responded. Then, without thinking, she waved a hand in front of her face and made a fist. Water seemed to engulf her and the others. There was another brilliant crack, and a moment later Emily and the others were standing before the entrance of the Weral throne room, back in Emily’s castle.

Emily noticed first that the doors of the throne room were spilling water in torrents. Then she noticed that an impish woman and a young man were standing at the doors. The boy had one hand on the doors – no doubt causing the cascading flows of water. Then, suddenly, the throne room doors burst open, throwing the boy and the impish woman backward. A tremendous wall of water crashed out of the throne room, falling toward Emily and the others!

Throwing her hands forward, Emily parted the water, and a protective bubble surrounded her and the rest. The water crashed down on the shield but did not break through. As great flowing rivers, the water broke off, flowing down hallways, and cascading down staircases like angry waterfalls.

When the water had gone – and all that was left was a wet hallway and a dripping throne room – Emily lowered her hands. The shield vanished. Again she didn’t know how she’d done that, only that she had. But that fact held the least bit of her attention now, for the throne room was open and she was staring through the doorway to what lay beyond.

She’d always wondered what was behind the Griffin seal and the leaking doors. Wilth had forbidden her from entering the throne room – from even touching the doors. Now the doors were open and the throne room was revealed to her. It was nothing like she’d imagined it.

Not nearly as large, nor as long.

There weren’t many, many chandeliers or fireplaces.

The throne room was reasonably long. There were pillars and windows lining the walls to the left and the right. There was a balcony with seats above, and one large chandelier hanging from the ceiling. A soaking red carpet ran from the doorway to three stairs, up them, to a platform where two thrones sat empty. A number of statues were in lines along the windows. In the centre of the throne room, beneath the chandelier, was a floating orb of water. Inside the orb a magnificent, golden, Griffin was suspended.

The Griffin had the head of a powerful gold eagle, a magnificent lion’s main, clawed birdlike forequarters, and powerful lion-like hind-quarters. The Griffin was staring forward, big blue eyes glowing brightly, piercing through the water, across the throne room, right into Emily’s core.

The eyes were beckoning her.

‘SAMANTHA!’ an unfamiliar voice shouted, causing Emily to turn away from the scene before her.

She watched the young man – who’d had his hand on the doors of the throne room – rushing to where Aragam was laying Samantha on the floor. The girl was in a sitting position and she accepted the young man’s hug, as Wuzzul and a black-haired Dooy, with a long panther-like tail, joined in.

As the young man pulled away from Samantha, he looked at her in surprise and wiped some of her wet hair out of her blue eyes. ‘Do you know where we are?’ he asked.

Samantha nodded, and tears ran down her wet cheeks. ‘Yes,’ she whispered and pulled the young man to her again, hugging him fiercely and crying pitifully. She indeed wasn’t the baby she’d been a short while ago. Emily didn’t pretend to know what was going on, but part of her was glad that Samantha wasn’t alone.

The young man pulled away from Samantha again and looked up at Emily and Aragam. ’You two… you brought her here?’

Aragam turned to Emily and nodded at her. ’I think she did,’ he responded in an awed voice.

The young man stood up. He had dark hair and a young, serious, face. He held a hand out to Emily. ‘I’m John Raven,’ he said, ‘thank you.’

Emily tentatively took the young man’s hand and shook it. ‘I’m Emily Weral,’ she responded. ‘I’m the Princess of the Weral Kingdom… welcome.’

John smiled.

’The Princess of Nothing,’ a voice croaked.

Emily turned toward the hunched over impish woman. Narrowing her eyes suspiciously, Emily asked, ’Who are you?’

‘She’s Siri,’ John said quickly, turning. ‘She saved me and brought me here…’ Sadness filled John’s face as he turned to Samantha once more. ’The others are dead, Samantha… I think we’re the only ones left.’

‘Indeed,’ Siri agreed, ’the last Elements of Glory… what that means, I still need to discover.’ She stepped toward the open doors of the throne room. ’But if we can release Grijyn, the Griffin King, maybe some of our questions can be answered.’

‘Grijyn?’ Emily asked.

The Impish woman smiled, showing perfect white teeth. ’He was your Father and Mother’s most trusted ally. Ratikgurr and Wilth couldn’t destroy him like the others, so instead they simply used the Elements of Glory to trap him… but now we can release him. We must gather all allies we can to our ranks… a great darkness is coming, this I know for certain.’

‘Ratikgurr,’ Emily said suddenly, ’I have to find him… Wilth… before he died, he said Ratikgurr could train me to-’

’Ratikgurr is dead,’ Siri said with certainty, cutting Emily off. She let her large yellow eyes slide toward the throne room, where she looked in on the Griffin trapped inside the floating orb of water. Emily looked too. Then she turned to Siri once more. The impish woman met Emily’s gaze. ’It is the only way,’ she whispered.

A sudden feeling came over Emily. Without thinking, she started into the throne room, marching right toward the orb of water. As she neared the orb, Emily held out a hand. Behind her, she heard Aragam shouting something. She couldn’t make out what he was saying though. Her fingertips were a hair away from touching the water orb, when she felt strong hands grab her by the shoulders and pull her back. Then she was spun quickly, and found herself facing Aragam.

The blue-eyed Wasgician was staring at her like she’d completely gone mad.

’What in the blazes are you doing?’ he demanded.

Emily shook her head, and then glanced at the orb. Just a moment ago it had felt so right to reach out for the orb. Now… now she had to agree with Aragam… what was she thinking?

What would have happened if she had touched it?

She did seem to have some kind of power over water. Or water had power over her... one or the other.

Emily pulled away from Aragam and shook her head. ‘I... don’t know what I was thinking,’ she admitted a little awkwardly.

’You shouldn’t have stopped her,’ Siri suddenly said, stepping into the throne room, her grey face stern.

Emily turned to the impish woman. ’Was that you? she demanded. ’Did you control me?’ she asked.

Siri shook her head. ’I have not that power… the water called to you,’ she told Emily, nodding at the water orb. ’It is your destiny, young one. You will rebuild the Weral Kingdom. You will save the world!’ The impish woman looked a little insane, but there was conviction in her face too.

’You can’t listen to this thing!’ Aragam snapped. ’We don’t even know what she is. And besides, if these two kids really are Elements of Glory… they were used for evil once before, maybe they’re being used that way again!’

‘NOOOO!’ Wuzzul cried angrily, startling everyone. ’Them was tricked by Ratikgurr! Them didn’t want to do it before! Them is good!’

Aragam looked unconvinced.

‘You think I’m evil, do you?’ Siri croaked, locking her yellow eyes on Aragam’s blue.

’I don’t know what you are, but I do know Emily shouldn’t blindly trust you, just because you tell her things she wants to hear!’ Aragam bit out.

’Because you have experience trusting blindly, yes, young Wasgician?’ Siri asked.

Aragam glared at her.

‘How do I know that?’ Siri cackled. ’I know many things.’ She became serious. ‘You should trust the wisdom of your elders, young Wasgician.’

Emily looked at Aragam and saw the muscles in his jaw clenching and unclenching. She turned back to Siri after a moment.

‘So, you want me to touch this orb, and what? Then I release the Griffin and…’

Siri looked at Emily. ’What I want can do nothing. The only way the Griffin King will be released, is if you want to release him.’

Emily blinked.

Just days ago, she’d not even been allowed to go out into a rain storm, now… now everything was different.

’And why would she want to do that?’ Aragam demanded.

’For the obvious reasons,’ Siri grumbled, but didn’t look at the Wasgician.

‘To rebuild the Weral Kingdom and save the world,’ Emily whispered.

Siri nodded. ’Right now you are the Princess of Nothing… if you choose it… you will be the Queen of Wonders!’

Emily felt her heart hammering in her chest at the thought of that. She didn’t want power. She’d never wanted that. The most she’d ever wanted was parents, to play in the rain, to dance in ball gowns, and to sing whenever she wanted.

Still, something deep down inside her seemed to be telling her that it was important, that she should listen to Siri.

It was as if Emily’s entire life had been leading to this point.

She didn’t know if she believed that sort of thing happened in people’s lives, but she couldn’t deny the way she was feeling right now. She glanced at the orb and the Griffin within.

Had he really known her parents?

Could he tell her about them?

Could he really help her rebuild her parent’s Kingdom and… and save the world?

If there was really that much danger, should Emily really even be debating this with herself?

I wish you were here, Wilth. I wish you were here!

Wilth was dead, and he’d been the only one she ever really trusted. Now who did she trust? The person she knew best was Aragam, but she didn’t know him very well. She was really on her own on this. She knew, one way or another, she was going to have to make a decision.

Whatever the outcome, the consequences of that decision would be on her head.

Emily asked herself what she wanted.

’Emily… you can’t trust this woman,’ Aragam warned.

’Who should I trust?’ Emily asked seriously. ‘You?’

Aragam looked a little hurt.

’It has to be your choice,’ Siri said, drawing Emily’s attention back to her.

Emily stared at the impish woman for a long moment. She thought, and rethought. Everything was moving so quickly. Had she just been fighting Hools and Voglons and Trolls?

It seemed like another lifetime.

Everyone was watching Emily. She could feel their eyes on her.

Making her choice, Emily turned boldly, stepped toward the orb of water, placed her fingertips on the surface, and watched as water avalanched down to the floor, and a magnificent Griffin spread its wet wings, screeching loudly, and soaring up toward the ceiling.

Emily had made her choice.

Come what may, she would have to live with it now.