The Blessed City

The sun disappeared; the cool heat vanished off her skin. Her vision fizzled back. Speck by speck until she had to blink to adjust to a new dark. Torches lined the walls in a cave. Carving a curved pathway from rock. The light illuminated the faces of their captors. They had drawn their hoods from their faces, removed the cloth from their mouths. And they were staring at them.

"Do not waste your time searching. The only way out is through." Maleah looked to the leader. His hair curled black over his head and swooped in a single, clean wave. Sea green eyes reflected the fires. Yet the heat in them, she suspected, was purely his own. "The High Court will receive you and only they will your fate be determined."

Water echoed off the walls, dripping down the rocks as they followed the twists and drops of the cave. Shadows shuffled around her. Morphing into monsters. She had to force herself not to flinch at the memory.

The narrow tunnel opened into a larger cave. Sharp jagged rocks hung from the ceiling as if in a still-fall. Others reached from the ground. Their claws stretched to their counterparts in an endless reach to meet. Small patches of flowers popped from where the sun billowed through the holes in the ceiling. Bubbling reds and golds sprang around a small green pool near steep stairs. At its head, a gaping hole opened to them.

She lost her breath. In all her wildest dreams, she never imagined this. Mountains rose on all sides. Hugging the tree line as the earth plunged into a lush forest. A fresh forest, so green, she could smell the pine.

Hoots and hollers erupted from their captors. They behaved like boys, hassling each other as they toppled down from the cave and into the forest. Three remained behind with them, guiding them slowly into fantasy.

Did they notice how the bushes whispered as they passed by or how the flowers leaned into one another as if spreading secrets? Were they so accustomed to the beauty to not see the tiny winged creatures yawn from inside their petaled homes?

Her spine tingled and hummed with every step. Under the shade of the trees, she felt small. As if she was but a dot in a grand scheme of things. And she wasn't entirely sure what those things consisted of.

She felt even smaller when trunks swung open like doors and in their frames stood tall, curvey women donned in robes of greens and whites. Their heads decorated in crowns woven from leaves and flowers. The roots of the trees reached over them in arches like bridges. Animals gathered over them to peer down at the strangers. Their beady eyes made her squirm under their glares.

When the forest lay thick behind them, the world grew endlessly larger. Mountains continued on to her right as if a thick wall protecting them from the outside. Their barrier rounded the city and ended only where she thought it succumbed to the forests. She heard the distant clangs of axes, saw the small figures of men sitting idly on the edges of forged holes in the mountain. Mining tracks lead from the foot and disappeared in between the mountain's bodies. Three rivers flowed from the waterfalls on the mountains. Each hosted a bridge that bled into the streets and connected everything to its core.

In the heart of the city rose a glorious castle. Towers spiraled toward the sky. The tallest angled from the center and up into a singular glassed point. Stained-glass windows glistened brilliantly. The village was built around it. Spreading into fields of farms where mills and land were tended to. She could not tell a home from a market, though. Even as she walked through it.

The leader took them to the castle. Light twinkled from the glass tower, winked off the guards' armor as they opened the doors.

Maleah attempted to consume every detail. The grandeur was simply stunning. Marble floors steadied polished white granite pillars which held up the sky-high ceilings. Skylights allowed for fresh light at all times and dazzled the walls in rainbows.

She caught the hidden staircases, tucked into corners of the halls. Leading up to mysterious rooms or descending down into unknown depths. The halls stretched like a labyrinth and were filled with promises of history and treasure. Tapestries covered the walls they followed. Their soft fabrics were sewn into pictures of seas, fields, and forests. Divots in the walls housed antiquities. Fae relics, she assumed with glee. Untethered delight droned through her as she began to wonder what she may find or learn.

They began to climb. Up passed barred windows. Up passed blank walls. And up where the land looked to grow smaller and smaller with every glance she stole outside.

At the top, an arch opened to a bridge. The marble matched the foyer, but the walls disappeared completely and they were vulnerable to the easy twitch of the breeze. Exposed, Maleah found herself hesitating in the archway. The others went first; the leader taking the front.

Taking up the rear, Maleah walked as steadily as she could across the open bridge and entered the High Court.

They were in the tallest tower. Glass walls circled around them, covered them in a pointed apex. She stepped gently over the floor. Observing how the stones were painted. Eight colors grew from the center and twisted into symbols she'd never seen before but had an eery feeling she should know.

The High Court sat on a raised dais across from them. Eight stone chairs were elegantly carved. The largest were the two in the center and they grew shorter towards the ends. Not one host resembled another. Each wore different clothes. Their colors matched the floor and never repeated. The males wore loose pants and fitted tops that opened freely below their collars. Offset by their waistcoats and long capes that draped over their backs.

Of the eight, she noticed three were women. Their hair was worn long and fashioned differently. Single braids, curled with flowers, and loose. Slim gowns flowed breathlessly to the ground. Soft tones meshed with whites. Embroidered sleeves with white stitching and capes over their backs.

The longer she looked, though, the more the two stood out. Their faces were mirrors of each other and their presence was undoubtedly important. Fine silver hair dangled down the woman's chest while the man had cut his cleanly short. They both wore shades of white. Just different enough. The crowns atop their heads were enough to tell her they were in command.

The leader stepped forward from the group and bowed. "High Court, I wish to present you the acquisitions of our expedition."

"Your mission was not to bring back people and thus endanger us all," the silver-haired man spoke.

"I understand. And as we have gained knowledge, we also came across three King's Men wandering about our borders. One of whom knows our words."

The High Court grumbled, shifted forward in their seats. As they muttered their "impossibles" and cried out in fear, the silver-haired woman stood up.

"Then they will recite them for us." Though her face was soft, her tone was firm. The court watched as their captors stepped aside and nudged Rhys forward.

Raising her gaze, she spoke to the court. Her tongue spoke in an ancient language. And still, Maleah knew what she was saying.

"You know the ancient tongue?" The woman said. When Rhys nodded, she looked to the leader. "What else did you acquire?"

They each stepped forward with their possessions. First Cam's sword, then Rhys' jewels.

"They were fitted for travel. Food, horses, water. Weapons," he added. "We also found this." He untied the ganuaim she did not know he hung at his side. She fought the urge to lunge for it. Fear of discovering the book clung to her chest as the leader passed it to the woman. When she turned to the silver-haired man, he came to her.

"Where did you find this?" the man addressed them.

"It was a gift," Rhys answered for them.

"Where is the owner?" Rhys gestured to Maleah. "No. I mean the witch to whom this belongs? Where is she?"

"I do not know. We met her in the city of Aaurn. She gave us these gifts in parting."

"I find it hard to believe that our witch would consort with three King's Men." The woman's eyes narrowed slightly but she spoke to the man. The change in her voice was accusatory and cautious.

"Then perhaps it is a good thing we are not King's Men." Maleah shocked herself. All eyes found her and she struggled not to squirm.

"Then the clothes you wear are not theirs," the man in red called out.

"Clothes do not define who we are. They are merely a mask to secure passage." Cam supported. With his bound hands, he pulled his collar down and showed his mark.

Gasps echoed off the glass and the court erupted. "We cannot trust them." "Broken in our home." "We must be rid of them swiftly."

But the man and woman gazed at them curiously. Taking a finger, the man swept aside Cam's shirt.

"That must have cost you greatly," he nodded at the searing burn.

"More than you will know."

"Does that mean you two Broken as well?" The woman inquired. Shaking their heads, they bared their skin for them to see. "Then what are you? What brought you south to our land?"

Maleah hesitated to answer. Unknowing how safe it was to share her past with these strangers. But Rhys showed no such fear.

"My name is Rhysandra of Luaghan, daughter of Auros and Eruda. I know your words because I am one of you."

The High Court man in violet stepped from his throne. His strides were long and true as he stepped in front of Rhys. He took her in. Scanning her from head to toe in considerable glances. Then, he brushed her hair behind her ears.

She didn't stop herself. Maleah's eyes widened as she saw Rhys' flushed pointed ears.

"If wonders never cease," he whispered. "Where is Auros? Not one word has been heard from him since his leave from the Elven Court."

She cast her gaze aside. "He has joined my mother in the lands beyond reach."

Resting a calm hand on her shoulder, he said something in the old tongue. She thanked him with a single nod. Clearing her throat she spoke to the court.

"There is another reason we have come." When enough time had passed, Rhys glanced at each of them, then to the two silver-haired people. "Drocomir."

The gasp that came from the court was soft, nearly silent. Unsure, Maleah looked to Cam who shrugged.

"The dwarf who serves the king sent you?" a shaggy dark-haired dwarf bellowed.

"There is only one Drocomir," Rhys glared back.

"Why would Drocomir have sent the three of you? Children by all sense of the word," a red-haired woman in blue spoke.

She sighed. Maleah recognized the waning patience in her friend. "We are in a sacred place of the elves, are we not? That means I cannot tell lies. So you must believe what I am about to say. Drocomir believed Maleah is the whom the false king seeks."

Outcries poured from the court. All but the silver-haired man and woman appeared phased and scared. Maleah looked around at them. Her own fear for being exposed and assumed anything more than a naturalist. She found the leader of her captors silently watching her.

"Do you," the silver-haired woman began. "Believe she is who Drocomir says she is?"

"I have seen her gifts. Witnessed the power that swells inside her."

"Rhys," she pleaded but was ignored.

"She commands the winds and skies. But I have also seen the seas came to her. If you wish to see the reach she has, travel to the swamp. Just days ago they were dry and dying. Today, life breathes anew and the lake splashes replenished from rains and mists."

"It speaks naught of her value. Few Blessed have been known to master more than one of the elements." The man in red snarled.

"Drocomir would not have asked me to deliver her here if she was not what he believed."

Her mouth fell agape. Shame and anger pressed heatedly in her mind. Rhys lied to her. Feigned ignorance as Maleah chose their destination. Pretended to know little when she knew a great deal more. Rage beat a million drums against her chest. She'd been deceived. Built a false friendship. Had she been so blind to not see clearly?

"Drocomir believes that time is running out. The king grows stronger in his pursuit of power. If he gains Maleah, there is no telling what destruction would await our world. If we wish to turn a new age, we must retrieve the gods to restore the order."

"Drocomir speaks of many possible fates. He of all people knows we cannot accomplish this without the key."

"He knew that, too. Which is why you will find it in that bag." Rhys nodded at the ganuaim.

The silver-haired woman unknotted the tie and reached inside. Maleah felt her stomach drop and she knew the woman had found the book. Its soft cover appeared as she pulled it out.

"Vamirah found it. Thank the stars." The woman smiled at the man. Flipping over the pages, her face instantly fell. The man leaned over, his face frowned to mirror the others. Motioning to the leader, he peered over the book.

"I do not understand," the boy said. "Why can't I read it?"

When Rhys spoke again, Maleah felt her own mouth snarl. "Drocomir believed the author wrote it so no one could follow them."

Maleah cocked her head. How was it possible, then, that she could?

"Then we have failed already. Without the key - or the key to read the key - we are lost." The man said solemnly.

"You have all the keys you need," Rhys countered. "Maleah can read the book."

She sent Rhys a lethal look. Cam laid a hand on her arm in warning. Despite her desire to spew, she heeded it. All eyes found her again and she did squirm that time.

"It is late." The silver-haired woman said. "You all will be needing rest. There will be plenty of time to continue this tomorrow after your bellies are full and your bodies are renewed. Arik will take you to your rooms."

The leader nodded to her and in unison, the High Court left the tower through the door behind the thrones. Maleah sneered into the walls as Arik took them back the way they came.