Chapter 5

Aris gets into a heated argument with Ari, the queen. On top of that he finds something interesting.

Chapter 5

“From the ceiling?” I could hear Tamillia’s voice, it was faint. My father responded and the queen cried for her help. I couldn’t feel anything, my eyes remained shut. Soon, I began to wake up and saw Tamillia. She was using her healing ability, it worked like magic. I sat up and looked around. “How you feeling?” she asked. I blinked and rubbed my eyes, Reno was hidden behind Tamillia. “She was really scared you wouldn't wake up”

“Same here” I said with all honesty, and then I remembered Tamillia could heal this sort of thing quickly using her magic-like abilities. She claims it’s not magic, but in our eyes it is.

“The queen has the bottle you gave her” Tamillia said throwing me a blanket. “You’ll feel cold soon, you did loss an awful lot of blood. In fact, the court is still cleaning it up”

“Still?” I was confused.

“You’ve been out for 3 days, but no one can figure out what the message in the bottle means” Tamillia was fooling around with a few things at her station. I sighed and felt cold.

“What did it say?” I asked with curiosity

“It said-” Tamillia was cut off by Zane as he walked in.

“Good you're up, what does this message mean?” he asked, handing it to me.

“This was in that bottle?” I asked. Zane nodded.

 

To, Alys

 

Left of Maerilin is a Tower, its underground. Thousands of feet under. It could be hard to get to, but once you have found all my maps the puzzle at the gates should become clear. In the castle at your birthplace I put maps located in the place they have been found. These maps will not lead you anywhere; they will open the gates at the tower. To get there you will need my key, all the 7 maps, my last name, and a gift of the story I told to you long ago. With this, I leave you my treasure, my mine, and Arnold his glory.

                          Karil

 

“The queen was surprised to see that Karil actually exists, but no one can figure out what Maerilin is” Zane said, he put a plate of food in my lap.

“Maerilin isn't a kingdom?” I asked.

“Not one that we have ever heard of” Zane said.

“Maerilin is a dragon” Tamillia said.

“A dragon?” I asked. Tamillia nodded and put her head down.

“A dragon from where I was born” she said, another dimension?

“So we have a lead?” Zane asked.

“No, I have no clue what that means. Not to mention the fact no one has any clue about these maps or this story that Karil talks about.” I lied. Zane thanked me, sarcastically I think, and left the room. I noticed that I was in my own room.

“So, why are there other people here from your dimension?” I asked. Tamillia turned away.

“I'm not sure, I’ve never heard of that happening before. Maybe it happened long ago?”

“That letter was to Alys, it couldn’t have happened that long ago” I said.

“Oh right, you said that Alys told you a story. How did you know her?”

“That’s not important right now” I got up and folded the blanket, placing it back on the bed. “Follow me” I said, we walked in. I opened the secret room in the secret room and grabbed the map on the table. “He said that the maps location is where they are found. I found this map and it is marked where it is. And because I found the bottle I doubt anyone else has made it this far in the search”

“There are 7 maps right?”

“I guess, but I only found 2”

“Where’s the other one?” she asked, I sighed.

“I gave it to the queen when I held her as my hostage” I said with a grin.

“So the queen has it?” she asked.

“Why not find all the maps first so no one gets in my way. Then we have everything we need to open the gate to the tower hidden underground.”

“How are you going to find the dragon?”

“Maerilin? I don't know, but while looking for the other 5 maps I should find a note or something leading to Maerilin”

Once we left Tamillia went back to her quarters and I stayed in my room. I walked around my room looking at every inch of it, locating any weak points in the wood. “I'm sorry for making you fall” Reno said.

I had to adjust myself I had to adjust myself to look at her through the pain in my side. “Its fine” I said “With Tamillia’s help I should live.” I went back to surveying the room, nothing so far.

“Maybe it’s not in this room” Reno said. I stopped to think.

“That’s a lot of work” I replied, Reno rolled her eyes and jumped onto the bed.

“What were you doing on the ceiling?” Reno asked.

“I was trying to figure out where that hidden room went to. There’s a door hidden behind the other room and leads to the court” I bent down to sit on the bed next to Reno. “If were gonna go to every room we should do this in secret. Let’s just break in at night” I rolled over and looked at the wall to the right. There was a peep hole, wonder why I hadn’t noticed before. I got off the bed as it creaked and looked through the hole. I was black, no light, and just blank. I stood back and sighed.

“So how are we going to pull off getting to every room?” Reno asked.

“Well, you should go to some and I’ll go to others. I doubt it would be somewhere like the stalls, but we should check everywhere. Reno nodded and got up, I reminded her that we would leave once the sun set.

By nightfall I surveyed the room one more time and waited for the castle to become still. “You go to my father’s quarters and I’ll go visit our queen”

“To the queen’s quarters?” Reno said sticking her tongue out. I rolled my eyes.

“Not for that reason!” I quickly defended myself. I began to feel like I was actually falling in love with her. Reno gave me a sly smile and turned around.

“So, where is your father’s quarters?” Reno turned around quickly before I was too far down to whisper.

“It’s in the knights, first door on the left” I whispered, and then continued on to our deer queen’s room. The hallways were filled with flowers, a much more maintained hall than mine. The bricks were not cracked here, there were no vines growing on the inside, and the halls were much larger with valuables. Suppose it makes sense that all the valuable riches would be missing from a thief’s quarters. I moved along the carpeted flooring silently, the shoes I had were not meant to carry me so quietly, I would have to buy new shoes. The creaking on the floor was quiet and not nearly loud enough to draw attention to myself. Once I got to the queens quarters I tried to open the door normally, but it was locked. I grabbed the picklock tools in my pocket and inserted one pin on the upper half and the on the lower. I wiggled them around for a little while, picking my way to the back of the lock and raised the piston that kept the door in place. I opened the door slowly and walked through, shutting the door behind me again.

It was very clean in this room. The bed was large, fit for a king, and the tables full of flowers. The door to the balcony was open and the curtains flew in the graceful wind. I bent down and half crawled my way to her dresser. I began to rummage through, looking for the map I gave her back when. Nothing was here except for under garments and it was getting a little unbearable to continue. I rolled off and made it to her side table, this had a diary, a lamp and a small chest. I picked up the chest first, it was locked. I put it down and instead directed my attention to the diary. I opened it and began to read. There was nothing of interest in here, just how bored she was at some meetings, a peasant wanted food rations for his family so she feed his family in the castle in exchange for a reserve of his land. I put the book down and looked at the queen. Her eyes were open and her teeth clenched.

“What do you think you're doing, Aris?” she asked with an irritated expression, though her face was flushed red with embarrassment.

“Looking for something” the sound of fear was never so clear in my voice. I have been thrown in jail, beaten, shot by pirates, kidnapped and once even used as ammo for cannon and only till this moment did I really feel fear.

“What is it that you are looking for?” she asked, she was whispering and although her face represented irritation her voice was calm.

“A map” I whispered back. She smiled, though her face was still red, and she rolled over.

“There isn't a map in my diary” she said, I lend against the bed, I wanted to ask where it was, but she was literally the only human on this planet I feared. “Is there anything else you want” she asked. I moved around the giant bed to the other side to face her head on, but her eyes were closed.

“I'm looking for maps” I said honestly. She opened her eyes and looked at me; she sat up and sighed, turning on the lamp beside her.

“I don't think it’s safe to let a thief walk around my quarters uninvited” she said with a laugh.

“Normally thieves are not inviting” I said honestly. The queen laughed. “What is it?” I said dumbly, without realizing I set myself up for that.

“When you fell from the ceiling I was surprised, but when you called me by my first name you got a lot of enemies in the court. Although, I was really happy” she turned to me and smiled. I couldn’t figure out if she was just half asleep or if this was a real love confession.

“Oh, ok” I said dumbly. Her smile turned into a look of disappointment. I got up from the floor and sat on the bed.

“What are you doing walking around at night” she asked again.

“I told you, looking for maps”

“That was serious?” she asked surprised “Ok, how far in my diary did you get?”

“Just that you gave someone a meal in the castle and took half their land” I sounded sad myself.

“It’s not as if I can just give him food. Soon everyone wants free food, then the peasants won't work, and then the whole society falls apart” she said.

“Do you really believe that’s how it works?” I asked.

“What do you mean?”

“I used to be poor myself, still am, so one day I was forced to steal food or I would die. The one in charge had taken all these food rations, even from the market. It left none for all the peasants” I said.

“But the peasants are not all that important” she lend forward closer to me “my father once said, that a good ruler is one that makes the most important decisions, the peasants are not all that important”

“That’s not true at all” I said “I thought you were a queen, but you're still a little girl running a large playground” I said. She smacked me across the face, the echoed was loud enough to be heard by anyone, and left a large red mark on my face.

“You're just a petty thief”

“Even as a petty thief, I have seen this world suffer at the hands of a king. Don't make those mistakes” I begged. The pain in my face made it hard to continue on; I stood up and left the room. It locked quickly behind me. I forgot about the maps, and lazed my way back to my room. Inside, Reno waited for me, her smile quickly turned to concern when she saw my face. I looked into a piece of glass I had found a while ago; there were scratches on my cheek. Probably because of her long nails.

“What happened?” Reno asked.

“The queen is mad at me, but its fine. Anyway what did you find?” I quickly changed the subject, for I would have to pay for this later anyway.

“I didn’t find any secret rooms or a map, but your father is an awful sleeper” she said with a crude face. I laughed a little.

“Is that so?” after a while I had lost all desire to continue looking for the maps, and although I had experienced worse wounds than what was on my face I began to sob over the pain. Maybe it was because the queen hit me, or because it happened because I insulted her. More than likely I deserved it. Reno curled up in the bed next to me and we drifted off into a silent, yet peaceful sleep.

By morning the queen demanded a conference with the court, and as the thief I was forced to attend. “Don't you have any decent clothing?” my sister asked. I wasnt quite sure what her position is at the castle, but she is the one that was ordered to get me.

“I have no money to buy fancy clothing to wear to a conference” I regretfully said, and even after my huge speech of becoming as rich as a nobleman I was stuck playing gofer with the queen.

“Zane give him one of your outfits” our sister begged, Reno laughed in the corner while Zane contemplated the situation. After a while of thinking he handed me on of his hand-me-downs. One that no longer fit him and would fit me; I put it on; I looked like a noble, which annoyed me to death. The color was terrible, the sleeves were just a little longer than they should be and it itched. The fabric dug into my skin and the smell of the fragrance on it gave me a stomach ache. After a while of listening to my complaining, Zane led me through the halls to the court. All the other members of the court were waiting there and talking amongst themselves. I had a bandage over the scratches left on my face by our dear queen, and no one asked about it.

“It’s the thief, why is the queen suddenly calling a conference?” one asked me, he was a duke with a strong hatred for me.

“How should I know?” I asked, trying to get the sleeve to stop itching against my skin. I pulled it up and found a red mark. I sighed and pulled it back down; Reno tapped my shoulder and gave me a quick look at a pair of my clothes. I smiled at her and she nodded.

“Where did that idiot son of mine go?” father asked once he arrived. Zane looked around but couldn’t find me. My sister, whose name is Claire, wonder as well. I came back, in my ordinary clothes and the court gave me terrible looks. I looked better as a thief anyway. “Why are you dressed like that, and what’s with that rag on your face?”

I shrugged and turned around to face the queens thrown. She was late to her own conference? “I ran into a bit of a problem yesterday” I said honestly. My father rolled his eyes and Zane took the rag off my face revealing the healing scratches on my face.

“What happened?” Zane asked; he seemed to be surprised. My father became wide eyed, yet seemed to understand and walked past me. The others in the court had nothing but complaints to make to me. Stuff like how they lost their valuables and that I stole them.

“Look, I have no reason to steal anything” I said, they ignored me and soon we were all sitting down. I sat between Zane and my father. Claire sat in the chair next to the queens. “What does Claire do around here?” I whispered, trying to fight against the uncomfortable silence around the room.

“She is the personal advisor to the queen” father said.

“Kind of like the maid?” I asked. Zane rolled his eyes and father sighed. I wasnt sure what that meant, but I didn’t have much interest in it anyway. Soon, Ari walked in by herself and past us. She gave me a terrible look and I put my head down in shame. Zane gave me a suspicious grin and father elbowed me a little.

“What did you do to her that she had to smack you?” he asked a better detective than I. I shrugged and both of them rolled their eyes. The court whispered amongst them.

“I'm glad everyone could make it, excusably Aris” she did this on purpose, I could tell. “I would like to talk about a situation that has come to my attention. To start, what do you all think about my method of ruling?” she asked. I shoot up in my seat and stared at her with amazement. This little action did give me a little more attention than I had wanted.

“Her highness rules just fine” Zane said. The others in the court began to express their absolute appreciation over her rule. She gave me a sly smile and I clenched my teeth. This was all getting her too cocky. I stood up, interrupting her praise and stepped forward. As a member of her royal court I didn’t have much respect for her. I was still a petty thief, and her young princess in charge of a whole nation. We are different, yet so similar.

“Have respect for your queen” one court member said.

“They are right you know, as a member of my court you should treat me as your ruler” she said.

“Aris, sit down” fathers voice was irritated. I ignored him and continued to walk straight to our dear beloved queen. She held back as I came closer, Zane got his weapon ready. Although, I did at one point, hold her as a hostage once to escape. I held my arm out, I wrapped it around her shoulder and lend over to whisper in her ear. A personal message I needed her to know.

“The problem isn't your rule, but when you figure it out, you will become a great queen. Just wait a little while longer and I can make you the greatest ruler this world has ever seen” I said, the words were shallow, my voice cold, I pulled back and walked past her without looking at her face.

“Wait!” she yelled, I turned around. Was I going to be thrown in the prison cell, or could I escape a blow from her. “I look forward to that day” she said, a few simple words seemed to become a whole story. I smiled back at her, and then left the court. I could hear them complaining about my lack of manners.

“What are you doing back so early?” Tamillia asked once we had reached back to her quarters.

“I want you to stick with Reno, I need to leave the castle for a while” I said and handed her a piece of paper. It was the note from Karil. “I'm going to that abandoned town to look around”

“Right now?” Tamillia asked. I nodded and left the room. Outside it was bright; it had been a while since I was outside. I walked around the village for a while before heading over to the abandoned area. I was expecting to see that it was raided because of my hint about the amethyst gems in all those chests. As I thought about it, a sharp pain punctured my chest. The embarrassment over losing my money was overwhelming. I had finally reached the town by the time the sun began to set.  

I looked around, inside chests, outside chests, beside buildings, but nothing. I began to dig in certain areas; I was irritated that I had no leads. Where was I going to find a dragon? I pushed a few things and expressed my anger by throwing the debris around. During my rampage I noticed something, something shiny. I turned around and set down the chests. It was a small ring in the ground; digging around it I noticed it was a door handle to an underground cellar. ; Probably one of the older houses.

Once I was inside I felt around for a wall. To get in was a small rope ladder with small knots across the rope. “Where am I?” I asked; I couldn’t find a wall at all. After a while of searching around I lost my way in the darkness. “Great” I rolled my eyes at my own stupidity. I had no idea what time it was, where I was, and if I was going to ever find the wall. It was endless.

Author's Note

Here ya go, you learn a lot about Ari in this one and her opinion about the peasants of her land.