Fear Wins All

The river ran backwards on the day the Queen vanished. It was one of many indications that although she never got to choose her position, she was what kept the kingdom aligned. Birds remained grounded, green leaves fell in droves, and predatory animals coward under darkening skies. The Queen had reigned since shortly before my birth 16 summers ago and all I had known was the light and love she had ruled by within our walls. This was the first time that the sun wasn’t warm and golden, the first time that the water wasn’t clear and refreshing running from the mountain springs, the first time that the chatter about the Kingdom wasn’t bubbly and lighthearted.

Rumors tangled into the local market that the Queen had finally hidden herself from the increasing pressures of keeping the older generations in line with the desires of our Goddess. This didn’t seem possible as I knew our Goddess is omniscient; escape is not possible by visual deception. Other concerns circled and infused the tension with themes of a potential kidnapping. This concept sent shivers down my spine and seemed much more feasible. It happened to be that the temporary banishment of an elder had come to an end just days before the Queen’s last greetings to the Kingdom. Sir Edmond Vancouver had reached the age of 60 summers and survived the outlying forests since his 23rd summer. He was welcomed back into the kingdom by our Queen’s open heart, thought to be rehabilitated by the forces of our Goddess and nature following a life lived much in solitude.

Just as the rumors about our Queen had begun to filter into every crevice of the Kingdom, rumors about Sir Edmond Vancouver had fueled his cruel and unusual punishment just 37 years prior. It was noted in scribes that his offenses included those of beheading his child, drowning his wife, and pleading to the influences of Zahr, the prior God our Kingdom aligned with. Until the day of his return to the Kingdom, many only talked of his offenses in hushed whispers behind closed doors. Children were not informed of his existence as it challenged everything the Kingdom had come to align with. We were cautioned in our academics about the risks and downfalls associated with worship of ill-mannered Gods and Goddesses, but examples were left to the unknown for fear of manifestation. I had found remnants of the proceedings on a forgotten bottom shelf in the darkest corner of our court and read them by candle light long after the sun had set, driven by something unknown.

The first time I met Sir Edmond Vancouver I was selecting fresh bread and cheese from the market. I felt his eyes were kind, crystal blue like the river, but they held a haze that seemed to foreshadow the darkness that had come shortly behind his return. At the time he had only said hello and noted something I thought was insanity.

“They’re displeased with the Queen. Fear wins all”.

He had looked into my soul, inserting a coldness in my chest I had never before felt. It was like ice had begun to grow in my ribcage and pricked at the back of my mind. I had heard of the elders being displeased with the Queen. This was nothing new. She had chosen to serve our Goddess in defiance of Zahr and many were worried about the wrath that would result. It always seemed that her choice had served the Kingdom well. For the first time in decades our fields were yielding enough crops not only for consumption but also for storage. The storms that used to uproot trees used for shelter ceased within one cycle of the moon. Critters that used to ravage the beds of children had sought homes underground. Yet, somehow, elders still questioned the Queen’s decisions. It was the last part of his statement that seemed to fester my once soothing dreams.

“Fear wins all”.

Now that the rumor mill was considering the kidnapping of our Queen, I found myself fighting the idea that Sir Edmond Vancouver had seen more than we can comprehend and knew more about what was to come than my pleasant upbringing had prepared me for. The kindness in his eyes told me to keep my mouth shut about his warning but the freeze settling into my soul told me something awful was looming. With that in mind, I followed the unknown driven force as my feet pressed into the ground. Left, right, left, right, left, right. Until my legs were heavy and my stomach in knots. I find myself standing at the cobblestone doorstep of the home for our non-working men, my fist hesitant and raised to the knocker. Without cause, the door creaked open and those familiar kind, hazed eyes met my gaze.

“I’ve been expecting you. Come on in for some bread. We have a plan to develop that requires my knowledge and your youth. Our Queen is in need.”

I obliged with a new found sense of purpose and curiosity blooming in my heart.