Chapter Twenty - Faded Fading Into Light

Edmund fell to his knees beside the fallen lady, his tears blinding him to her face. He did not hear the hushed murmurs of the cat and the Ligon, all he could think of was that he had failed in guarding Kathryn. She was dead, dead by the flames of the fiery breath of the Ligon. His tears fell onto her face.

Then, she blinked, and turned her eyes toward Edmund. Suddenly she realized that she could see him. She saw the tears streaming down his face. Reaching her hand up, she brushed them from her eyes, and whispered.

“I can see, Edmund, I can see.”

Yoran turned towards her from where he had been comforting Jessica, and Jessica looked up from her hands where she had buried her face. Edmund let his sword and shield clatter to the floor, as he stared down in surprise at Kathryn. They saw that her face remained unblemished, no sign of being burnt was on it. Her blue grey eyes shone with a new light. All was silent, until the voice of the Ligon broke the overhanging silence.

“Faded fading into light, daytime springing out of night,” the Ligon said softly.

Edmund sprang up again, his sword once more in his hand. He turned towards the Ligon, his eyes seeming to pierce her scales.

“You knew that? How did you know?” he asked.
“I am Mara the Ligon,” she said, turning her ruby head towards him. “One does not ask how I know, be content that I know. So the Prophecy is true then? This is what the Prophecy meant?”
“I, I do not know,” said Edmund, frowning a little. “I did not quite understand the Prophecy myself.”

Then a mist seemed to roll into the cave. They all turned towards the mouth, Jessica helping Kathryn to sit up. Out from the mist floated the Sage, her feet bare, her white hair flowing softly in an unfelt breeze.

“The Prophecy has begun,” she said, the symphony of her voice playing softly to their ears. “The days of the True King are coming, they are at hand. They are on the threshold. Remember, the Prophecy has begun, and it does not work backwards. You have no choice but to go forwards from here. Should you try to turn back, you will bring ruin not only to yourself, but to Elenaesia. You will not die, but you will be forced to live, to watch the ruin slowly engulf Elenaesia, silently blaming yourself for it all the while. Behold, the wheels are turning!”

Then, she silently floated away, the mist rolling in about her, closing the curtains after the performance of a play. The mist faded, and the scent of heather and sage and other herbs hung in the air after her, the unseen mark of her visit.

“What brought you here?” asked the cat who sat in the corner.
“Yes, Klicati, good question,” agreed Mara.
“We are seeking the Stone of the King,” Edmund said quickly.

Klicati hissed. “Why are you seeking that?”
“The King will be known by the glowing of the torc and the Stone,” Kathryn said, taking everything in, rejoicing in her sight. “The Duke of the Seventeens has challenged King Eldor’s right to the throne, and we are searching for the Stone, to establish who the true king is.”
“Sent we were,” said Yoran, “to the lair of Mara the Ligon. Sent here by Heather the Sage we were. Find the Stone of the King we must.”

Mara remained quiet, pondering the words they said to her. Should she give up the Stone without any further delay, let them save Elenaesia, or so they said? Or should she make them pay for it? Or rather, take one as hostage until the Stone was returned? Or better yet, have them pass a test? That brought up another problem though, what was test to be? An idea came to her, and she smiled inwardly.

“Very well then, young squire,” she said to Edmund. “Help yourself to my treasure, and find the Stone of the King.”

Orlando DiCaprio paced the room of the house he was in. He looked down on the streets of Minelido briefly, saw fear etched in each one’s face. All was as it should be. That is, with the exception of the absence of General Potter and General Binks. That was not right. They should be here. He sighed, and continued his pacing. Then the door opened, and two men appeared. He looked up, and saw that General Binks had arrived with Draziw. DiCaprio glared at them, and jerked his head towards some seats.

“Sit. What took you so long to arrive? I have been waiting all morning for you!” he cried in anger.
“Look we came as fast as we could,” explained General Binks sharply. “It takes a little while to get an army together and ready to march, while leaving instructions for those you left behind. Not to mention getting here from Ge’irdae. It is not easy, you know. If you don’t like what happened, then you should try doing it yourself.”
“How dare you speak to your king in such a manner?” roared DiCaprio. “I will not stand for this!”
“Yes, my lord King Orlando,” Binks said quietly.

The room lapsed into silence again, as DiCaprio shot glares in the general direction of Binks, and avoided looking towards Draziw at all. Draziw returned the favour, utterly ignoring DiCaprio, and only upon occasion shooting a glance towards General Binks. Then, amidst the silence, they heard a shriek, a cry of now, and a scream of pain. Sounds of tears soon followed, and the cry of a broken heart, only to be replaced by the sounds of the tramping of the soldiers’ feet.

“What was that?” asked Binks in surprise.
“That, General Binks, was the sound of a woman or girl dying.”
“Yes, yes, I realized that, your majesty. But what happened?”
“Her throat was probably slit, or head chopped off, or other such death.”
Binks rolled his eyes. “That was not quite what I had in mind. What has she done? What was special about her?”
“Nothing. Nothing, save that her name was Cindy. And that is enough for her to die. I have issued the order of all unnamed maid children, and all women and girls named Cindy or Cynthia or a variation of that name to be instantly put to death. Throughout all of my kingdom.”
“Including Eldor’s daughter? Cynthyana?” asked Draziw, speaking for the first time.
“Yes, including Cynthyana. Why should I care? It is not my relation that is dying. And the people, Draziw, the people are of no importance. They are not worth it, General Binks. They are but pawns on the chessboard, you move them for what you need, and if they die you ignore that death.”
“But though they may die, and are but pawns, upon reaching the other side they may even attain the rank of queen,” said Hayden Potter as he entered the room. “And so it is here. You may move the people as you see fit, to gain what you need to gain, but in the end, if you kill them all, who do you have left to rule? You cannot keep your bishops, castles, or knights forever on the chessboard, or even your queen. You must do something, and if you are left alone, then you are a king with nothing save title.”
“It took you long enough to get here,” snarled DiCaprio. “Sit down. I do not care what you think. I am the king, and it is I who make the orders. Spare me from your talks of philosophy and chess. How often have you given them to me when I was but Duke of the Seventeens? What have you done now, that I should heed your counsel? Think on it, but do not tarry long. I have called you here today to discuss our plan of attack against that usurping pretender, Eldor, and the army that is sure to be coming from Aiulindale. We have already had knowledge that it has left. Where exactly between Aiulindale and Minelido it is currently, we know not however.”
“What is your plan, o king?” asked Potter sullenly.