“But… there has to be some mistake?”
“ It is no mistake my good soldier,” Josephine
sighed. "It is the truth.”
“ Josephine!” the king hissed, but she held up a
hand.
“ It
is pointless to deny it now, father,” she sighed, rubbing anxiously
at her arms.
“ How
long have you known?” Matthias asked her.
“ Since my sixteenth year. Four years ago.”
Matthias exhaled sharply. “Four years!”
“ How
did your people find out?” King Arwell asked, his face was a
mixture of anger and fear.
“ The
seeing stone showed us,” Matthias said.
“ The stone? But… but why? ” the King asked again. “What has that got to do
with anything you told me?”
Matthias looked painfully between King Arwell and
Josephine.
“ Answer him,” Thadius growled, and kicked a boot at
Matthias’s back. The wizard stumbled across the
floor.
“ Thadius, please!” Josephine exclaimed. “That is not
necessary!”
“ You
both deserve to know what is going on here!” Thadius
growled.
“ Yes, they do,” Matthias interrupted. “Which
is why I agreed to be brought up here. But I did not agree to being
kicked or beaten .” Matthias looked up to King Arwell, who was studying
him.
The
king took a breath, licked his lips and said: “Pick him up. Take
off those chains.”
“ But
Your Majesty!” Thadius began, but the king held up a
hand.
“ He could break free of those chains easier than you or I could snap
a twig! There is no point . If he were going to hurt us, he would have done so by now. Am I
right?” He asked Matthias, who nodded.
The
guard behind Thadius picked Matthias up off the floor and began to
unlock the chains from his hands and feet. When he was done he
backed away to join the other guard, and the king dismissed them.
Matthias stroked his wrists.
“ Thank you,” he said.
“ You can thank me by telling me what the hell is going on here!” the king barked. “I
want the truth! You are capable of telling it, aren’t you?”
Matthias nodded. “I’ll start from the beginning.
Or at least the beginning as I know it.” He leaned against a chair.
“The seeing stone I have spoken of was discovered several months
ago, purely by accident in a dried up riverbed in northern Mahalia.
It was passed through several hands and delivered with great pains
to the Great City and our scholars began to decipher its messages.
The first prophecy that was uncovered was that the dragon was
breaking free. Everything I have told you about the dragon is true. But what I didn’t tell you… what I
couldn’t bring myself to tell you earlier, is that there was another
message encoded into the stone. It was a message that frightened my
people even more than the prophecy about the dragon.” He faced the
princess. “It was about you, Your Highness.”
“ Me?” she whispered.
Matthias nodded. “The clerics deciphered the stone
further and were presented with premonitions of you using your
power. It was a future echo: an image of what might be. A little
like the captured moment I spoke of earlier, but one drawn from
what could be, not what has happened.”
The Princess gasped. “But there must be a mistake! I
would not even know how to use this power!”
“ Your Highness, how much do you know about your power?” he
asked.
Josephine glared at him, “I have never used them,” she
growled.
“ The circumstances surrounding my daughter’s
condition are complicated,” King Arwell added. “We have fought to suppress the
power and hide it from view.”
Matthias nodded. “To keep my people from finding
out?”
The King smiled. “I take it you do not have children,
ambassador?” He asked. Matthias shook his head. “Then you would not
then know the lengths that a parent will go to protect them. I know
all too well how Mahalia deals with women who can channel magic.
You subjugate them, take them and lock them away. When the power first manifested itself,
when Josephine began to break things when she
“ It is no mistake my good soldier,” Josephine
sighed. "It is the truth.”
“ Josephine!” the king hissed, but she held up a
hand.
“ It
is pointless to deny it now, father,” she sighed, rubbing anxiously
at her arms.
“ How
long have you known?” Matthias asked her.
“ Since my sixteenth year. Four years ago.”
Matthias exhaled sharply. “Four years!”
“ How
did your people find out?” King Arwell asked, his face was a
mixture of anger and fear.
“ The
seeing stone showed us,” Matthias said.
“ The stone? But… but why? ” the King asked again. “What has that got to do
with anything you told me?”
Matthias looked painfully between King Arwell and
Josephine.
“ Answer him,” Thadius growled, and kicked a boot at
Matthias’s back. The wizard stumbled across the
floor.
“ Thadius, please!” Josephine exclaimed. “That is not
necessary!”
“ You
both deserve to know what is going on here!” Thadius
growled.
“ Yes, they do,” Matthias interrupted. “Which
is why I agreed to be brought up here. But I did not agree to being
kicked or beaten .” Matthias looked up to King Arwell, who was studying
him.
The
king took a breath, licked his lips and said: “Pick him up. Take
off those chains.”
“ But
Your Majesty!” Thadius began, but the king held up a
hand.
“ He could break free of those chains easier than you or I could snap
a twig! There is no point . If he were going to hurt us, he would have done so by now. Am I
right?” He asked Matthias, who nodded.
The
guard behind Thadius picked Matthias up off the floor and began to
unlock the chains from his hands and feet. When he was done he
backed away to join the other guard, and the king dismissed them.
Matthias stroked his wrists.
“ Thank you,” he said.
“ You can thank me by telling me what the hell is going on here!” the king barked. “I
want the truth! You are capable of telling it, aren’t you?”
Matthias nodded. “I’ll start from the beginning.
Or at least the beginning as I know it.” He leaned against a chair.
“The seeing stone I have spoken of was discovered several months
ago, purely by accident in a dried up riverbed in northern Mahalia.
It was passed through several hands and delivered with great pains
to the Great City and our scholars began to decipher its messages.
The first prophecy that was uncovered was that the dragon was
breaking free. Everything I have told you about the dragon is true. But what I didn’t tell you… what I
couldn’t bring myself to tell you earlier, is that there was another
message encoded into the stone. It was a message that frightened my
people even more than the prophecy about the dragon.” He faced the
princess. “It was about you, Your Highness.”
“ Me?” she whispered.
Matthias nodded. “The clerics deciphered the stone
further and were presented with premonitions of you using your
power. It was a future echo: an image of what might be. A little
like the captured moment I spoke of earlier, but one drawn from
what could be, not what has happened.”
The Princess gasped. “But there must be a mistake! I
would not even know how to use this power!”
“ Your Highness, how much do you know about your power?” he
asked.
Josephine glared at him, “I have never used them,” she
growled.
“ The circumstances surrounding my daughter’s
condition are complicated,” King Arwell added. “We have fought to suppress the
power and hide it from view.”
Matthias nodded. “To keep my people from finding
out?”
The King smiled. “I take it you do not have children,
ambassador?” He asked. Matthias shook his head. “Then you would not
then know the lengths that a parent will go to protect them. I know
all too well how Mahalia deals with women who can channel magic.
You subjugate them, take them and lock them away. When the power first manifested itself,
when Josephine began to break things when she
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