Heir of Golden Storms

When I am out of the Witches’ Forest, I am glad for the change of scenery. The temperature is lower, and the air is not moist. No more sweating without a reason. Night is still upon us, even if I feel that dawn is coming in a few hours. I run to the castle, climbing a tree outside the wall, and jumping into the castle’s ground. I climb back to my balcony.

When I enter my room, Thalia is lying on top of my bed, sleeping. She has the same dress and even her sandals on. The sheets of the bed are on the floor as if she kicked them unintentionally. I grunt in a low voice. She has colonized my bed. Still, I cannot help taking her shoes off slowly without making any sound, taking the sheets from the floor and setting them on top of her.

I kick the heels of my boots, sending them flying a few feet away. I am exhausted. I let lose my cloak, letting it fall on the floor. I lie on the couch, closing my eyes for a few minutes to rest.

A knock wakes me up. I sit up fast. Where am I? Another knock on the door. I look around. I am in my chambers. Light is coming from the balcony and windows. I forgot to close the balcony’s doors and curtains.

Thalia is sitting on my bed. Her purple hair, instead of being wavy like last night, is messy. She looks at me and her eyes widen. Another knock on the door. Thalia snaps her fingers at me and points at the door. She mouths the words Answer the door.

“Coming,” I say as I stand up. “Give me a few seconds.”

When I move towards the door, Thalia stands up. She speeds towards me and grabs my wrist, stopping me from opening the door.

“Your clothes,” she whispers, “and your face.”

I look down at myself. I forgot that I am wearing the black clothes that I wore when I snuck out. I move my hand to my face. I wince. I also forgot that one of the witches cut my face. Dried blood might be staining my face.

“Just a minute, I – um,” I say and take my shirt off. Thalia widens her eyes. “I am not fully dress.” I am not lying.

Thalia skips to the bathroom and returns with a white small wet cloth. She passes it on my face, and I cringe when she touches the cut. She grabs my jaw with her left hand, trying to stop me from pulling away, and scrubs harder. When she pulls away, I see that the rag is stained red.

“Do not tell them that I am here,” she says and hurries back to the bathroom.

I watch her hide in the bathroom. She does not want anyone to know that she slept in this room and me neither. I open the door wide enough for my face.

“Yes?” I ask. Oberon is standing there, fully dressed in his usual black and white clothes.

“My prince, the king requests your presence in his office,” he says.

“Tell him that I will be down soon,” I say. I close the door without waiting a response.

“Who was that?” Thalia asks, stepping out of the bathroom.

“A servant,” I say. “Father wants to see me right now.”

“All right,” she says, noticing that we need to rush. “Take a bath to get that dirt off. I will pick your new clothes.”

I nod as I rush towards the bathroom. I usually order a servant to draw my bath, but there is no time. I take my clothes off and jump on the bath. I scrub myself quickly. Halfway through my hair, the door of the bathroom opens a little, and folded clothes are slipped in before it closes again.

After I am done with the bath, I dry myself with the white towel. I put my clothes on; everything is obviously white and gold. I walk out of the bathroom where Thalia is waiting on the couch that I slept in. She stands up and hands me my sword, which I put on my side.

“What happened last night?” she asks. “Why are you all bruised up and cut? How are you going to explain this to King Auden?”

For a second, I feel my anger rising. “I do not need to answer to you,” I say. “Do not forget your place. Remember that a prince has a higher rank than a princess.”

“Oh, yeah? Is that how we are playing this?” she asks, an eyebrow raised. “A prince might have all the authority, but remember this, even a queen can change how the king think without him realizing it.”

“Is that a threat?” I ask.

“If it were, I would have used your adventure of last night against you,” she says. “Now, if you do not mind, I need to get back to my rooms.”

She opens the door, not wide enough for her to be seen. She has stopped the arguing because anyone might listen to us and might get the wrong impression that we spent the night together.

I slip out, looking both ways of the hallway for a sign of anyone. Only knights stand on the hallway. I signal her to follow me. Her chambers are a floor down. Thalia slips out, closing the door behind her without making any sound. At the end of the hallway, I stop and move my head to peak. No one is there. We continue walking until a door open and I hear voices. Luckily, we are near the stairs. Before the voices come out of the room, I slide to the stairs with Thalia closely behind me.

“That old man will be stripped from his crown soon enough,” a male voice says. I guess that the voice belongs to Zephyrus. I stop on the stairs.

“When are you planning to do that?” a voice says. I could identify that grave voice anywhere I go. That is the voice of the king of the Court of Mountains and Ailsa’s husband, King Haldol.

“Right after Rowan’s wedding,” Zephyrus answers. “It will give me enough time to include him.” Include me on what?

“Rowan, move!” Thalia says as she pushes me. I continue downstairs just in time for Thalia and me to evade Zephyrus and Haldol from finding us. With silent steps, we run to Thalia’s chambers. She stops at the door and turns, leaving her back to the door. “What was that?” She points at the ceiling as if referring to Zephyrus’s and Haldol’s conversation.

“I honestly do not know,” I whisper. “Do not tell anyone about what we heard until I find out more.”

“Promise me that you will tell me whatever you find out and I will not say anything,” Thalia says. I want to scream. She is deceiving.

“You know that faeries cannot turn back at a promise,” I say. “We are bind by words.”

“I know,” she says, not adding anything more. She is looking at my eyes directly. She is defying me, and she will not back down.

“Fine,” I say, turning my face away and showing every hint of frustration in my expression.

“What are you going to tell your father about the bruises and scratches on your face?” she asks again. I lean in.

“I will think of something,” I say closed to her. I grab the knob without her noticing and open her door. She almost falls, but she holds her figure. She walks inside as I mock a smile and closes the door on my face.

I turn at the nearest knight and say loud enough for they all to hear, “You did not see or hear anything!”

“Understood,” the knight says.

I walk away, redirecting to the first floor. I walk behind the stairs, passing a series of rooms and hallways, until I get to father’s office. I knock on the white door.

“Yes?” he asks from inside with the same tone that I asked Oberon this morning. I open the door.

“You requested my presence, father?” I ask.

“Yes, Rowan, come in,” he says. I open the door wider and enter. I close the door and stand in front of it, waiting for his orders.

Father’s office is more of a place only for himself. He receives everyone else in other places of the castle, such as the war room, ball room, main living room, and even the throne room. There are no windows on this room, with the purpose of his safety. There are bookshelves covering the left wall and swords on the right wall. The brown desk is in the middle with a chandelier a few meters in front of it.

“Sit down,” he says. He is seated on his desk. I sit on one of the chairs in front of it. “What happened to your face?”

“She is a feisty one,” I say smiling. I am referring to the big witch of last night, but he is obviously thinking about Thalia and that is what I want him to think.

“Oh?” he says, raising his golden eyebrows. “You will put her in her place soon enough.” He leans back on his chair that resembles his throne. “Do you know why I arranged a marriage between Queen Willow’s daughter and you?”

“You want to unite the courts,” I say. “You want to rule over the Court of Storms.”

“That is one of the reasons, but not the leading,” he says. “Queen Willow has only three daughters and no husband. You are going to marry her eldest daughter. If something happens to the queen, the court will be inherited to the eldest daughter, and since you are her husband, you will be king.”

Father has thought this through. Since Queen Willow does not have any husband nor any male son, the kingdom will automatically pass to Thalia. That would make me the king of the Court of Storms.

“What are you implying?” I ask.

“Son, you are wise enough to know what I am implying,” he says. He wants me to murder Queen Willow after I marry Thalia. This is the way that a king think. “I have gifted you a kingdom,” he adds, in case that I have not figured it out.

Father stands up, and I do too. When a king stands up, the rest of the court must too. He paces towards the right wall with the swords. He takes a sword, that is covered by a black rag. He hands it to me with both his hands.

“As an engagement gift, I am gifting you this sword,” he says.

I carefully lift the sword from his hands. The sword is heavier than my other sword. I start unfolding it. The sword flashes when the last of the rag falls. The sword is bigger than my other sword. The sword is silver, except for the handle. The handle is gold with the pommel dark purple. Those are the colors of the Court of Miracles and the Court of Storms.

“The Cursebreaker; created to destroy curses for the miracles to rise,” father says. “Guards!”

A knight enters, but before he can talk, I pull my sword old sword out and toss it on the floor. The knight enters and picks the sword and old rag before leaving. A knock sounds on the opened door.

“Excuse me, your highnesses,” Oberon says, standing at the door. “A young lady named North requests the prince’s presence.”

“A lady? Does she know that you are engage?” father says, raising an eyebrow. He is mocking. He had many lovers even when the queen, my mother, was alive, if the stories are correct.

“I do not know anyone by the name of North,” I tell Oberon. “Dismiss her.”

“Of course,” Oberon says and leaves.

Father moves and sits on his chair as I slide the sword against my side and into the belt. I sit down.

“When I get the kingdom, what will happen next?” I ask.

“You will continue your life,” he says, but I know that there is a catch. “You will create heirs and rule over the kingdom. Of course, the Court of Storms will be ceased to exist and will be known as another Court of Miracles, since the ruler and his future kings will all possess the magic of miracles.”

Most faeries are born with a special magic. The special magic is always the same magic as the faerie’s father. If I procreate with Thalia, all our sons and daughters will possess the ability to grant miracles. This will eliminate the possibility of faeries with storm magic from the Court of Storms to be rulers.

“Excuse me, your highnesses,” Oberon says, again at the door. I did not hear him knock. “The lady says that she has an assignment due today and that my prince told him to bring the books that she borrowed yesterday.”

Common Cold. The lady waiting for me outside is her. I did not even recognize her by the name North. I do not understand why she is here also. She can leave the books to Oberon and walk back the same way she came. I sigh.

“Tell her to meet me at the dining room,” I say and wave off Oberon. He nods and leaves.

“Who is she?” father asks.

“Some common girl that I have been paired up with at school,” I say.

“Do you want me to send a message to your lecturer?” father asks. “I can grant you a better partner, someone with a title, or I can expel the lecturer if you want.”

“Do not worry about it,” I say. “I got it all under control.” I stand up. “Now, if you excuse me, a lady should not be kept waiting.”

“If that could be named a lady,” he answers as the discriminatory person that he is. If it is not royal or from high class, then it is no one.

I leave, closing the door behind. I take my time to walk from father’s office to the dining room. I feel the weight of the new sword on my right side. The Cursebreaker is what father called it. It can destroy curses, but curses are a rare thing in Faerim, which is the name of this land. Even in the Court of Storms and the Court of Mountains, which are the farthest courts under the reign of father, are not any creature that can curse. This sword is good for fighting and worthless for everything else.

What I find in the dining room surprises me. Queen Willow is sitting at the dining table, the same chair that she sat yesterday. She is wearing a dark purple plain dress. Across from her, the same chair that I sat yesterday, is Thalia. She is wearing another purple dress. She has washed her hair, going back to the wavy cloud form. To her right sits Common Cold with light blue flat gown. A light blue coat with white fur is hanging from her chair.

“Good morning, sunshine,” Thalia says. She stands up as I walk towards her. She kisses me on the lips as I slip a hand around her waist. She smiles, clearly a flirt smile, which I return. It is all for show for Queen Willow to buy.

“King Auden promised us that we will feel right at home,” Queen Willow says. “I am ashamed to admit that I did not believe him, but my daughter sure seems to feel at home.”

“How are you, my queen?” I ask as I kiss the back of Queen Willow’s hand.

“I could be better without this light,” Queen Willow says.

The Court of Storms is located at the Mountains of Endless Night. The mountains’ sky is always filled with black clouds, making it impossible for sun rays to enter. It is because of the clouds that the mountains are known for having an endless night.

“What were you ladies talking about?” I say as I sit down on the head of the table, same chair that my father sat yesterday.

“Oh, North here was telling us about your assignment for lecture,” Thalia says. For a second, I remain blank with Common Cold’s real name. “She told us how great you are with poisons.”

“It quite interesting,” Queen Willow says. “For an assassin or alchemist, it would be quite a useful ability, but for a prince, not so much.” She stands up, leaving her empty dishes on the table. A servant comes rushing to pick them up. “Well, if you will excuse me, the king is waiting for me.”

I watch Queen Willow leave the room. “What are you two doing?” I ask.

“What?” Thalia asks.

“You two talking about me,” I say. I point at North, “And you, I thought that you were going to leave the books with a servant instead of bothering me with your presence.” North lowers her head, putting the teacup on the plate. She is about to speak, but Thalia interrupts her.

“Hey! Do not speak to her that way,” Thalia argues.

“Why should I not?” I ask, more as a rhetorical question.

“Do you not know that your arrogance sometimes is irritating?” Thalia asks. She is testing my patience.

“I found something interesting about the assignment,” North interrupts, clearly trying to change the conversation. Before I could answer her that I do not care what she has to say, she continues, “Red frogs’ poison are regulated by their diet.”

I back away from Thalia’s furious eyes. “Interesting,” I say. Thalia gives me a smile, as if saying that I was wrong about North. “What do they eat?”

“I do not know,” North says. “What I know is that they do not eat flies like most frogs and toads.”

“They eat moths,” I say. I remember when the big witch blew the dust at me. The last thing I saw before fainting was a red frog eating a moth.

“What are you planning to do?” Thalia asks. When I open my mouth to say our plan, Thalia raises her hand, stopping me from speaking. The question was directed to North.

“Create an antidote, inject it on the moth, and make the frog eat it,” she says.

“Excellent,” Thalia says. “And that is what you are going to do. Right, Rowan?”

“Right,” I say, rolling my eyes.

“Good,” Thalia says. It takes all my strength not to inhale in frustration. “North, could you come after lecture? I would like to see the town, and if you do not mind, I would be glad if you show it to me.”

“I will be happy too,” North says, smiling for the first time.

I thought that my chapter with North was going to come to an end, but with Thalia here, it seems that North is starting in the play for a while.