The Journey through Ferramoust Ch. 3

Chapter 3. The Tale of the First Queen and Spirit [Saidy]-

This was Saidy’s first time at the full moon festival in Panri. She spent all afternoon with Katkan helping him sell his iced cream. It was a very busy afternoon at the festival, thanks to the queen offering up her services, but she was just a maid after all. She had no choice. Katkan finally closed down his tent due to him running out of cream not long after the feast started. It was just like the queen had said. His tent was very popular. Everyone was talking about it. After closing down Saidy would be off duty until early the next morning when she was to bring the queen her breakfast. That is if the queen slept tonight. From what she had heard, when you lived in Panri, you don’t get much sleep the first night of the Full Moon Festival.

Saidy was a young woman from the Mountainroamer’s tribe. She was from a very small village named Etta. She wasn’t very tall to many people in the rest of Ferramoust but coming from the Mountainroamer’s tribe, she was very tall. Almost as tall as someone from the Earthlians or Woodllings tribe. She had snow-white hair that went down to her shoulders but was pulled up tight in a bun and covered by the blue maid bonnet she wore. Her eyes were such a light color of grey they almost looked white. She wore a blue and white dress with soft soul black shoes that all the maids wear. It wasn’t her preferred color, but it would do for the time she was at the castle. The shoes were nice and comfortable though.

When Katkan finally bid her goodnight, she made her way around the campfires, scanning the crowd. She saw the young man and woman that she met in the queen's study earlier sitting with the commander and a couple that she assumed were the young woman’s parents. She looked exactly like the older woman. The couple were talking as well as the commander and the young boy. The girl was looking around and noticed her staring and waved her over.

Saidy blinked in surprise. She hadn’t expected the girl to remember her. She was just a maid after all. She smiled and walked over to the young girl, struggling to remember if she had heard her name. She wished she had paid more attention.

As if reading her mind the girl spoke up, “I’m Zeeta, we met earlier in the queen’s study, but I don’t think we were properly introduced. Wasn’t your name... Saidy?”

“Yes ma’am.” Saidy said with a small curtsy. Then she added, “I didn’t expect you to remember my name since we met so briefly.”

“Oh, I am very good with names,” Zeeta said waving her hand dismissively, “Would you like to join us? I think the story we are about to hear is about how the spirit came to the first queen to bring the five tribes of Ferramoust together. I have heard it many times, but it is my favorite story.” Zeeta patted an empty spot next to her and Alek, who was in a deep conversation with the Commander and had no idea what was going on around him.

“Oh, I wouldn’t want to impose,” she said shaking her head and taking a step back.

“Please, it wouldn’t be a problem! As you can see, I am a little bored with nobody to talk to at the moment!” Zeeta pleaded with the girl.

Saidy thought about turning her down again, then figured maybe it better to join her. So she sat down. “This is my first Full Moon Festival in Panri.” she admitted.

“Really? Wow! You are going to enjoy tonight then!” Zeeta said, leaning in close to her. Saidy could faintly smell mead on her breath. Zeeta must have realized how close she had gotten because she pulled back, blushing in embarrassment, and added, “I’m sorry. I’m not usually like this. But I let go a little bit tonight with my parents being here and all. I graduated today, you see.” She pointed at the staff that was now strapped to her right hip.

Saidy smiled. “Congratulations, warrior. You deserve to celebrate! I actually cannot be out too late. I work an early shift tomorrow. But I wanted to enjoy what I could before I turned in for the night. Not much time for play when you work in the castle.

What’s it like? Being a warrior, I mean? Do you enjoy it? I feel I would have hated leaving my parents at such a young age...” She let that last part trail off.

“That is probably the worst part of it, but it is taught in all families that it is a great honor to become a warrior. But they make it easy on you when you first come. You get to see your family often for the first couple of years. Then it becomes less and less. But I enjoyed it. I was able to go with my best friend, Alek. The boy sitting next to you.

“And you are a soldier first, then when you graduate, you become a warrior. It sounds confusing, so we don’t usually correct people when they call us wrong. Sorry, that was rude of me to even correct you. Sorry.” Zeta blushed with embarrassment again, tears forming in her eyes.

“I’m not upset by it. I actually thank you for the clarification! You seem too sweet for me to think of you as rude. What are your powers? Isn’t that how you get into the royal army?” Saidy said in a rushed voice, trying to calm the girl down.

“Yeah, that’s how you get in. I can tell a person’s intentions in their current thoughts just by being around them.” She paused for a moment and Saidy stiffened. Then she shook her head and continued, “I think I have to have a clear head because my mind’s very fussy right now. But you didn’t give off any bad intentions earlier. So, you’re cool.” she smiled at Saidy.

Saidy relaxed and smiled at the girl. ‘So, it's true.’ she thought. This was the exact person that she needed to be on guard for. That also means that the serum she had concocted had done its job well. Just to make sure she asked, “So, you must be close to the queen. She doesn’t have many people join her in the study unless it’s about business.”

Zeeta nodded then gestured to Alek. “Alek’s mom was the queen’s best friend and his father is Commander and Advisor to the queen. Alek and I have known each other our whole lives, so I got to know the queen very well. She is like a second mother to me.” She smiled and put a finger to her lips and then pointed to the other side of the fire with that same finger. “Look! It’s story time!”

An older man wearing a white hooded cloak stepped around the fire and walked closer to her audience. It was hard to tell what tribe he was from because when he lowered his hood, he was completely bald. There was no hair on his face, either. It was too dark to see the color of his eyes, with his back to the fire. The only thing Sadie could tell about the man’s appearance that gave any indicator of his race was that he was light-skinned. But that didn’t narrow it down enough.

She had hoped when he spoke that she would be able to tell from his accent which tribe he had come from. But when he spoke, his accent wasn’t native sounding, though he spoke fluently in their tongue. “Good evening. Tonight, it’s my honor to recite the Tale of the First Queen and the Spirit.” ‘Could he be from overseas?’ she thought, but then quickly got swept away in the story.

“Many moons ago, too many to count, a woman named Kira traveled across the seas with her family and 40 other villagers from her tribe, making forty six in all; trying to escape a terrible war waging between man and the creatures of darkness.

“You all have heard of this creature by now, either by the scary night stories that your parents told you to keep you in bed, or experiencing the fear of a loved one not coming back after venturing off alone too late one evening. I am speaking of Remo’s.

“The ship was the finest they had, though they did not know what to expect and they did not possess all the powers that we have now, with the help of the spirits. This was a time before we were aware of the spirits, a time before they spoke to us through one special person.

“One night a storm blew through, unlike all the others that they had dealt with before. The waves thrashed them all around soaking the deck of the ship, and the crew struggled to keep the ship afloat.

“They managed to do so but lost many that night. When the morning came and the young woman stepped onto the top deck of the ship to see the damage done, she saw that they were nearing land.

“This confused the young woman, for she knew that there was no way that they were close enough to the land that they were told everyone was pilgriming to escape the dreaded Remo’s.

“She feared that the storm had made them circle back to their land. But as they sailed closer, she realized this land was very foreign to them, and the shoreline filled with mountains and theirs was not.

“Twenty lost. That was the count. Half the crew left docked the shores that we know as Mountainroamers range. They all hoped that their troubles were over now that they were in the new lands. But trouble is what they had just walked into.

“”Remo’s aren’t as well known here as they are on other continents. We don’t know how they got to this country, but we do know that Remo’s love human flesh above all the creatures of Esdell.

“When they all stepped off of the boat, they were met by an odd-looking tribe on the shore watching them. The tribe introduced themselves as Mountainroamers. They had never seen such blood vessels out at sea. Never a boat so big as the ship they came in on.

“The Mountainroamers took them in and gave them food to eat, water to drink, and clothes to wear. They asked Kira and her group about the land they came from. They asked her why they came.

“Kira told them about the troubles on their land. How the Remo’s attacked their land and how her country was at war against them. But losing the war quickly.

“They did not have the means or the power to fight against the Remo’s. So, she and the villagers from her tribe traveled across the sea, looking for a new life. Hoping to be free from the terrible Remo’s.

“Kira described that she did not know what the Remo’s looked like, but that they brought darkness with them just before they attacked. And that their favorite meal was human flesh and blood.

“The Mountainroamer’s told Kira with great despair that she did not get away from the Remo’s completely. They still roamed the land here. But there were far few. And the Mountainroamer’s had powers that could kill them, as long as they knew they were near.

“The Mountainroamers told her about the wars that they fought. People among people. Tribe against tribe. Only the Sandsifters and the Mountainroamers wanted peace. The Woodllings, the Waterwakers, and the Earthlians we're at war.

“Now Kira never told anybody, but ever since she was little she was visited in her dreams. She never saw a clear face, or an outline of a person. But there was always someone there, guiding her to make the right choices.

“It went beyond her dreams that she was visited. She would hear a voice in her head if she were about to make a choice that would prove to be fatal, and what guide her away from that fatal choice.

“That night while Kira was sleeping, she was visited in her dreams, this time by the most beautiful woman she had ever met. This woman told Kira that she had appeared to her in a calming appearance to not scare her.

“This woman told her that she was one of many spirits who looked over all the humans on Esdell. She told Kira that since she was little the spirits noticed her pure heart, her courage, and her ambition of helping people was unlike any other and all of the world.

“The spirits told her that they wanted her to lead the people. That she would bring the country of Ferramoust to peace. That with their help, the war shall end and the people will come together as one.

“The spirits told her to travel across Ferramoust. Visit every village; and before she arrived to each village, the spirits would enter each villager's dreams and show them all that she was the bringer of peace.

“The spirits would show the villagers all that they could accomplish if they united together. They told Kira that they had blessed her with a gift, and when she woke there would be none who could pretend to be her with the gifts she was given.

“They told her that they would protect her from any and all who would not listen to them. That she would never be in danger. Kira asked them, why her? The spirits only and last reply for that night was, because you are the only one worthy.

“When Kira woke the next morning, she found her hair went from dark brown and faded into purple at the end. Her eyes were no longer blue, but now the same color purple as the ends of her hair. And on her left wrist was a small dark symbol of unity.

“The spirits had already visited the Mountainroamer’s and her village’s dreams. But they were still amazed by her sudden change. She spent the next several moons traveling from village to village, speaking of peace, and uniting all of Ferramoust.

“As the spirits promised, no harm ever came to her. Though few did try. When she had finally united all the tribes together, she held a feast at the full moon. The feast would be held in the center of Ferramoust.

“When they gathered, the queen told them of the spirits plan, that anyone with a unique ability amongst their tribes would become soldiers to help keep the peace, and that they would travel to different villages to learn about each culture and make friends.

“She told them that every year they would gather, in each village, or at the castle that they were to build right where they stand and they would celebrate the Full Moon for bringing another year of peace.

“She told them that the spirit would always help them prosper, so long as they kept the peace. And that one her day was up she would join the spirits in the sky, and a new queen would be chosen by the most pure, honest, and courageous heart.

“As the moon's past, her words came true. There were some villagers who believed that they did not need a queen, and separated and created their own villagers. They did not prosper as well as those who accepted the queen, and they started to raid the villages.

“This is why we call them Raiders. Twenty moons after Kira had been named queen, she passed in her sleep. As she had said, a new queen was chosen, and she joined the spirits in the sky. And to this day, this is the way the Queens are chosen. Visited by the spirits in the night. "

When the man was done with his story, he put his hood back on and stepped away from the fire. All around Saidy, people started whispering about the story that was just told. Many had heard it several times before. This was Saidy’s first time. She was from one of the Raiders camps.

Aside from the hair and the eyes turning purple, she was not even sure if she believed in the spirits. She was raised to believe that it was all just a magic trick. That there was no chosen one. She had only known the queen for a short time, but she did agree that the queen was probably one of the most kind, pure, and courageous women that she had ever met.

Saidy shook her head. Or so it would seem. She needed to get these thoughts out of her mind. She was on a mission. She had a job to do. She looked at Zeeta, and realized the girl was watching her closely. So, she smiled and said, “Wow! What a tale! My parents had told me about the tale, but to hear it in a story version, it's so much better than I expected!”

This seemed to satisfy Zeeta, because she smiled back at the girl and replied, “This is my favorite story. I drag Alek to it every year to listen to it at least once. I am so glad that you got to hear it!” she exclaimed, hugging Saidy.

“Me too.” Saidy said, surprised by the gesture. She looked around and noticed that many of the people were walking away to other bonfires. While others joined this bonfire waiting for the next storyteller to step up and begin a story. She wasn't exactly sure what time it was, but she knew it was still too early for her to turn in without anybody getting suspicious, so she knew she had to play it out a little longer.

The boy Alek, who looked like he was about to fall asleep where he sat, started apologizing to everyone and telling them that he needed to get some sleep. He said that he had not slept well the night before, but promised that he would be up and moving bright and early in the morning to continue celebrating the full moon festival. After the boy had left, the commander went and sat next to Zeeta’s parents and struck up a conversation with them.

“So, what do you think of the castle so far? I believe you said you had not been here too long?” Zeeta said, looking at her with curiosity. Saidy was not used to someone taking such a keen interest in her. Even in her village she was an outsider. Her parents had trained her to be stealthy and a loner. They had always lived on the outside of the village. Her family's history had always been one of an assassin’s.

“It's okay here. I do miss home from time to time. But I made this decision to make some extra money. My family is poor compared to most. My mother struggled after my father passed, and so I had to help to take care of my little brother and sister so that my mother could work extra hours.

“Last year when I turned eighteen, I traveled here to Panri and spoke with the commander and the queen, begging for a job. The queen obliged me and gave me a job as a maid. I think she liked me, because she kept asking for me. I am truly honored too, and the extra income helps my mother so that she can afford to educate my brother and sister.”

Zeeta nodded. “We are not the richest family. So, I can understand your struggle. My family always turned the extra help for income away when Alek’s parents or the queen offered to help us out, when I was really little. They only started to accept some help with money when Alek came to live with us. But only for him. We never took anything more than necessary.” They sat there watching the fire in silence. Then Zeeta asked, “Could I show you something?”

Saidy thought for a moment whether now was the time for her to turn in. ‘Still too early,’ she concluded then nodded to Zeeta. “Sure, but we can’t be too long, I do need to turn in early enough to be awake for the queen in the morning.”

Zeeta beamed at Saidy, grabbed her hand and led her away from all the bonfires and down a slight slope across the fields, near the gate inside the wall. After a few moments Saidy knew where they were headed. There was a garden down here that she had strolled with the queen once before. The queen came here to have lunch often and the maid that was working that day would take the basket of lunch out with the queen and serve her tea.

As they were about to enter the garden a guard stepped in their way. He was a burly-looking guy wearing a warrior uniform and holding is staff out in front of him with both hands at an angle. “Who goes there?” Even though the moon was bright, it was still hard to make out the guard's face, but by the sound of their voice it was an older man, and the dark complexion indicated that they were either from the Waterwakers tribe, or the Sandsifters tribe.

Zeeta knew who the guard was, let go of Saidy’s hand to wave, and with a smile in her voice spoke up, “Hey Kayto! It’s Zeeta. I was hoping to visit my favorite spot in the castle with my friend, Saidy. Why are you working on festival?” ‘Friend?’ Saidy thought. ‘She’s entirely too trusting. Why was this girl always so happy and friendly sounding?’

“Oh, hey Zeeta. It’s good money, and somebody has got to do it. So instead of being selected anyway, I decided to volunteer.” The guy shrugged in the darkness and stepped back out of the way for them to pass. “Please, watch your step. The queen has added many new plants since your last visit. You would swear she was part plant with how many different types she’s got... And can name them by name too!”

“Oh! I will have to visit tomorrow and see the new addition in the daylight. Don’t worry, we’ll be careful!” Zeeta grabbed Saidy’s hand again and they carefully made their way through the dark. Zeeta seemed to know exactly where she was going and stepped over and around plants, turning left and right through the maze of the garden, as if she had done it a hundred times, which she probably had.

They walked up to a wall made of hedges and a wooden door in the center. When they got to it, Zeeta stopped, looked back at Saidy and said, “Close your eyes.” Saidy looked at her skeptically and raised an eyebrow. “Trust me! It won’t be for long!” Saidy sighed and closed her eyes and let Zeeta lead her through the door.

Once through the door, Zeeta led her around to the front of a bench and coaxed her to sit down. When she sat, Zeeta said, “Open your eyes.” What Saidy saw was totally breath-taking and made her gasp. It was like she had stepped into a whole other world in just a few seconds.

The first thing she noticed were hundreds of little lightning bugs lighting up and dimming out. The next thing she noticed is that there were also little lanterns hung all over the place with very soft colorful lights lighting everything with a soft glow. It looked as if she had stepped in a faerie forest. There was a tree out in the center of this part of the garden that was so big that it could be seen from the other side of the wall. This tree was covered in a deep green moss, as was everything else. There were odd little plants that Saidy did not know the name of, vines hung all around in the trees, and mushrooms with very colorful tops everywhere on the tree and spread out along the ground.

On the tree there was a wooden rope swing, though it looked like it had not been used in years. There was a little path from that swing that curved back and forth until it came to a fork, where one path led back to them and the door, and the other path led to a small pond with overgrown grass in some spots and loaded with Lily pads. She could hear frogs, crickets, and the chirping of birds. It smelled of wet Moss and wild onions, mixed with various flowers. It was all almost poetic. It was the most beautiful place that Saidy at ever seen.

“Isn’t it lovely?” Zeeta sighed. She slipped off the sandals she was wearing and started walking down the path headed towards the swing. Saidy got up and followed her silently. “Queen Mylah brought me here when I first became a soldier. That was the first time I had ever visited the castle. She knew it would become my favorite place to visit. Aside from the gardeners, past Queens, the current queen, and myself; You are the first to visit.”

This threw Saidy off for a second. She was not used to someone being so kind to her. “Thank you for bringing me here. This is lovely. The loveliest place I have ever seen. I am glad that I got to see it.” Sadie took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She needed to get her head back in the game. “I'm sorry to make this so brief, but I really do need to head back to the castle to get some sleep. It is getting later than I expected to be awake."

“Oh, of course!” Zeeta said, turning back and heading up the path that they had just walked down and back through the door. “thank you so much for coming with me. I really enjoyed my evening getting to know you a little bit. I hope that we can spend more time together during my time here. I do hope they give us some time to relax before we head out to wherever they are going to station us.” she said as she walked back through the garden and past the guard who nodded at them from his post.

“Yes, that would be... lovely.” Saidy agreed, only half listening to the young warrior now. Her mind was elsewhere, focusing in on what she had to do next.

Zeeta led or two the bottom of the steps of the castle before turning to the girl and giving her a hug. “Please, if you need anything at all, just ask. I will do all I can to help you.

“Thank you,” Saidy looked around as she pulled away from the girl. “I guess I will see you tomorrow sometime!” she added extra emphasis to make herself sound excited.

“Goodnight!” Zeeta called.

“Goodnight!” she called back climbing up the steps slowly to make it seem like she was more exhausted than she felt.

Once she made it inside the door, she saw the young man Alek walking down the stairs and heading towards the corridor where all the soldiers and warriors stayed. That just so happened to be where the maids stayed as well. She nodded to him as he passed her, and headed down the hall, but he looked too deep in thought to even notice she was there.

“Are you okay?” she asked, trying to get his attention.

He jumped. ‘So, he hadn’t even noticed I was here at all.’ “Y-yeah, I-I- I'm sorry, what?” he asked all confused.

“I said, are you okay? You look stressed. Would you like me to fetch you some tea with lavender leaves to calm you down? I am off duty until morning, but it wouldn’t be a problem for me. I have some in my room just down the hall.” she responded quickly.

“Oh, n-no thank you. I’m g-good! Thank you... I’m sorry I forgot your name.” He said apologetically.

Saidy smiled at the guy, “It’s Saidy, young warrior. And if you are sure, then okay. But if you change your mind, you can tap on any door across the hall from you. All of the maids are supposed to keep tea in their rooms.”

“Thank you, I will remember that. Goodnight... Saidy.” He struggled just to remember her name from just a few seconds ago. She curtsied to him and he turned and entered his room, leaving her alone in the hall. She continued, satisfied that she now had two witnesses saying that she was headed to her room. Two very important witnesses. This solidified an alibi for her. ‘This was becoming too easy.’ she thought as she unlocked her door. She glanced behind her to make sure no one was coming up the hall, before entering, and locking the door behind her. It was time for her to get to work.