The Day the Queen Disappeared: The River Ran Backwards

'The river ran backwards on the day the Queen vanished.'

It was as if the pulse of the realm had been turned round. Contrary to nature's course, the water rushed uphill, dashing over boulders, while residents rushed for their lives away from the riverbanks. Deep shadows had enveloped everything in the countryside, for even the skies seemed bewildered as to what just happened-as light rarely pierced through the heavy morning mist.

Aghast, the streets of Aldoria-the capital-were taken. Royal flags with the silver phoenix symbol hung limply in windless air, their melancholy echoes tolling the bells of the Ivory Keep. Conjecture ran rampant, wild as wildfire. There were even mutterings that this mysterious absence of the Queen had come by way of a curse, some sort of heavenly retribution. Still other, darker legends spoke of her abduction at the hands of ancient aliens long considered to be little more than myth.

Young trainee healer Lena stood near the marketplace as riots began to erupt around her. When she had seen the freakish reversal for herself, a strong sickly sensation ripped through her. For too long the Queen was a symbol of strength and hope for the people; her absence was too large a chasm for the people to ignore.

A hand clamped down on her arm, yanking her back to the present. You heard, Lena?

It was her childhood friend Ryn, who did errands for the royal house these days. His eyes were wide with fright, his usually bright face pale.

"What happened?" Lena's voice came out a little above a whisper as she asked.

"The palace is now closed. Let no one in or out. The Queen—" As if fearful of being overheard, Ryn stopped and looked around. "Lena, she's gone. just. vanished.

Lena's heart raced with a surge of blood. How can that be? You can't just make the Queen disappear.

They said it happened at night. Her guards outside the room remembered nothing: there she was for a minute, then gone, as if she had never been there at all.

She shook her head, unable to wrap her mind around the magnitude of it. The Queen's magic, by tradition, was old and tied with the earth itself. Her disappearance threatened the balance of the planet, let alone the political balance of the monarchy itself.

Does the Council know? She asked, her fingers digging deep into Ryn's arm.

"They are now in council, but." Ryn muttered, "There is more. The instant the Queen vanished, there was an omen in the sky above the palace. A blade twisted by a crescent moon.".

Lena's breath sucked. They knew the insignia from ancient forbidden traditions. A host of sorcerers cast out of Aldoria centuries ago, The Banished Ones were marked by that seal. Because of the insatiable hunger for power which caused them to be thrown out in ages past on account of bad magic, it was thrown out. Then perhaps they had returned?

A cold shiver ran down Lena's spine. "The Banished Ones." You think they-

Ryn stiffened to a stop, "I don't know what to think." "But if they come back, if the Queen has been kidnapped—"

"We are all in danger," Lena finished for him.

There was no chance for either of them to say another word as the mob in the plaza erupted. A wild-eyed rider on a lathered horse had appeared, and the crowd parted as he came, murmuring their anticipation, and he wore the royal crest.

The High Council has declared the Queen missing!" he yelled above the noise. "Regent Theron is to assume the throne until she is located."

A cold weight settled into Lena's chest as her heart fell. Theron was cousin to Queen Cordelia and ambitiously vicious to a fault; it had always been clear as day that he wanted the throne, and with the Queen now gone, he would do absolutely nothing short of everything to achieve that goal. Night would soon enshroud Aldoria.

Ryn drew Lena away from the crowd in a hushed yet urgent tone, "We need to go." "Theron will get comfortable, ruling over the city." You will be silenced if you ask too many questions.

"But where will we go?" Lena's head was a scramble. "We have no idea what happened to the Queen."

Ryn said nothing for a moment, then leaned in closer. A person does know this. Well, deep inside the center of the Whispering Woods lives the Queen's secret council-oracle. She's the one to know what transpired, if anything.

Lena's eyes had widened. The Whispering Woods were home for creatures, created by ancient magic and filled with mystery and danger. Very few of those who entered its depths ever returned, but they could do no other except to hope there was a chance to find the Queen.

"We find the oracle." Lena said resolutely, "Then we go."

Ryn nodded but his eyes shone with terror. Supplies will be needed. Nightfall, old stables. And Lena—be cautious.

In a shimmer of light he was gone, into the tide of people, and Lena was left alone amidst the chaos of the square. Questions flocked to her mind. What did the Exiled Ones want with the Queen? What horror was involved? And why, of all things, had the river flowed backwards?

By the time the sun was at its golden close, one thing was for certain: the world she knew was crumbling apart, and the only way to rescue it was to find out why the Queen had left.

Thus, with a heart ripping its womb with horror and clinging determination, Lena glanced toward the remote, black silhouette of the Whispering Woods, where answers-and possibly even greater dangers-waited.