Chapter 2
Choices
“Must we do this each year, mother?” King Bola asked his mother as he heard the sound of the gates shutting behind him.
“Your majesty, my son, people are already saying that you’re not fit to rule at this age. Don’t try to change a tradition now,” High Queen Viona, the King’s mother, said. “Besides, you don’t have to make any choices at all. Just think of it as a field trip.”
“It’s a waste of time. Can’t we have them come to Wevis instead?”
“It would be odd. I don’t recall any King of Centa ever having done that.”
“But I’m not any king!” King Bola raised his voice. High Queen Viona returned a frown. Noticing his mother’s reaction, the King lowered his head before continuing. “I’m sorry, mother. I’m just scared. How long can we keep this act? What happens afterwards?”
The High Queen held his son’s hand in comfort. “It’s too early for your majesty to worry now. Who knows, things might change suddenly.”
“You know I won’t change for the Crown,” Bola interrupted. “I’m eighteen. I know myself.”
“I know you do, my dear. Place your trust in your mother. Things will work out fine.” She let go of the King’s hand and turned to look out the window. Things had better work out fine.
—
Janus Tabuta slowly dragged herself away from the chair in the Headmistress’ Quarters. She was still trembling with anger.
Damn it! Why am I still trembling. This is nothing compared with what happened last year. When Jorick died, my head was still clear. No, he’s a thing of the past. No more, don’t think about Jorick. No Jorick.
She tried to forget about her late husband. However, she was not in control of herself then, and her thoughts wandered back to him.
But he had to die and he did! This time, my son needs to attend the Academy but Kolana is blocking his future! I killed for my son’s sake. I won’t let this old tramp get in his way.
Seeing Janus’ face, the two plump staff left as soon as she held Harks’ hand. They made a lame excuse to prepare for the King’s arrival. In fact, if anything else needed to be “prepared” then, it would be too late. When Janus arrived at the Academy, it was very early in the morning and most of the open area was empty. Now it was buzzing with people. She ran into a few sisters she knew and chat for a short while. They were all heading for the plaza, where the King would make his first appearance.
About five hundred people crowded the area. The plaza was carpeted with a magical darkness to simulate the night. It was lit by thousands of sparkling light that filled the area. The water in the fountain had been woven to fall slowly. The path the King would take was paved with a reddish air cushion, giving the impression of the King walking on air itself. The air cushion would only last for a short time, so they were careful not to weave it too early. In the old days, weavers could make it permanent, or at least last a much longer time. It was actually a similar weave to those spun along land bridges to prevent people from falling. Unfortunately, much of the past skills were lost after the Mage War.
All was quiet as the King’s procession came to a halt. Six of the most powerful apprentices went to finish the last part of the air cushion which extended it to the door of the King’s carriage.
The High Queen was the first to come out of the carriage. She stopped as soon as she stepped on the last step of the carriage. She then moved her hands in an artistic gesture. A half rainbow bridge appeared in front of her. The High Queen then walked up the bridge. At the top end of the half bridge, she wove another spell. This created a glowing disk two men’s height in diameter. The disk was similar but different from the air cushion. It was hard where the cushion was soft. It was also woven by more complicated patterns and would last longer.
Headmistress Kolana was put off by this show of prowess. Traditionally, the Headmistress would walk from the opposite direction to meet the King before they both ascended to address the people. Obviously, the High Queen did not feel the Headmistress necessary. It seemed like the rumor about the High Queen being the real King was true. She certainly fit into that category. Compounded with what had happened earlier in the morning, it was all Kolana could do to stop doing something about it.
Janus stole a glance at Kolana to see her reaction toward the High Queen’s action. It offered her comfort to see Kolana mad. I don’t know what the High Queen has against the old tramp, but this means my plan can actually work!
“Harks,” Janus knelt down and whispered to her son, “get ready.”
The King of Centa, Master of the Palace Wevis, Overlord of Avonova, came next. It was the first time King Bola made a public appearance. When those who gathered saw him, they could not help but silently let out a sigh of disappointment. King Bola was overweight with brown hair, not the blond prince charming they had in mind. He was also trying to grow a beard, perhaps to make himself look older, but it looked more like an embarrassment at that stage. His overall feature was only saved by his height, which stood a proud six and a half feet. It would look all right if the King were close to forty, but he was only eighteen. The King walked slowly to meet his mother, all the while glancing nervously about.
“Harks, now!”
On her mother’s command, Harks wove the one magic he knew, that of the glowing orb. He had been practicing the spell ever since his talent was discovered. He could weave a bigger, brighter, and more tightly spun orb than ever.
The orb Harks wove shone like the moon that fell on the ground. Those nearby were scared and escaped in all directions. It caused a small chaos in area. Luckily they were far away enough from the Royal Family to have spread the chaos there. Unluckily, for Kolana, the orb was not far enough not to be seen by the Royal Family. The crowd also cleared enough for her to see who was weaving the spell.
“Stop this nonsense, Janus!” Kolana yelled. She raised her hands, threw them toward the glowing orb, and began to unravel the spell. The orb began to reduce in size and brightness. Perhaps her anger was getting in the way, perhaps she was taken aback by this sudden turn of event, Kolana began to create a mess and decided to give up. She threw her hands up and the orb returned to its original glory right away.
The High Queen did not give up the chance to show the Headmistress down. She threw her hands out and unraveled Harks’ weave in graceful gestures. She suddenly stopped when the orb was reduced to a size no bigger then a fist. Harks face was lit up clearly by the dying orb. All pieces of a plan suddenly went in place. This is it! Using the same threads Harks was using, the High Queen wove a different pattern while unraveling the last bit of his spell at the same time. When she was finished with her spell, she made a gentle pull and Harks went flying toward her.
Admittedly, Harks was not the brightest child his age. He was following his mother’s order without knowing what exactly was happening. When the glowing orb died, he did not know the patterns he had created were unraveled. When the High Queen’s magic pulled him to her, he thought he had somehow caused it and was not frightened.
“My, a boy!” High Queen said in astonishment. “Such potential.”
“Your Royal Highness.” Fearing the chaos would harm whatever little respect the High Queen had left for Kolana, the Headmistress interrupted rudely. “I can assure you that the Academy shares no part in this display of madness. I shall explain…”
“The Academy has finally come to her senses, hasn’t it?” The High Queen, as if to cut off Kolana’s any way to save face, did not allow the latter to explain. “No? What a shame! I mean – no I don’t mean – it’s a shame that a little boy, probably much younger than the Academy’s accepted age, shows more talent then many of the graduating class. After all, I’m a sister myself and I wouldn’t betray my sisters by saying bad words about us” – she smiled acidly – “even if they were true. It’s a shame that the Academy allows someone with this much talent to go wasted. Wouldn’t you say, Headmistress Kolana?”
This isn’t my day. Kolana silently cursed the High Queen for repeatedly putting her down for no reason at all. She also cursed Janus Tabuta, for she was sure everything would have been fine if Harks’ mother did not ruin her morning. How should I answer, she thought. Contrary to common belief, being the Headmistress did not give her the luxury of free speech. She could not answer out of her own whim. What she said must have an unbeatable reason. It became clear to her what the High Queen really wanted to accomplish. She wanted control of the Academy! It made the fight easier since there was no choice. There was no way Kolana would relinquish control of the Academy to the Crown – the High Queen to be exact.
“Your Highness’ perspective is very…unique, I should say. The Academy, however, shares a more common view, a view that has been passed on to us since the Mage War. A lesson, to be exact: men are only capable of destructive forces. I think this little boy’s demonstration of power further proves the point, does your Highness not agree with me?” There, eat your own soup.
Very well said, High Queen Viona applauded silently. I might have underestimated her. “Perhaps times have changed, Headmistress. In my time, we had to follow the Rules of the Academy to the letter. The teachers made sure of that in our first year.”
“The discipline in the Academy has been as straight as ever, if not more so,” Kolana declared. “Besides, your Highness, we are talking about the boy.”
“I know what we’re talking about,” Viona interceded. “If the discipline in the Academy has not deteriorated, there should not be any chance this boy would not grow up to be as the Academy sees fit – if the Academy takes him on, that is. In any case, how can anyone weave anything destructive anymore? Has the Academy not destroyed all references to weaving battle magic?”
“If we make this one exception, there will be others. Soon enough the Academy will not be able to control it. The Academy has made huge efforts to make sure the same mistake doesn’t happen twice.”
“And it won’t, Headmistress. This boy is an exceptional case. Many talented women can’t do half of what he’s done, and there are more women who can weave than men. How often do you think you’ll find man half his talent to come knocking on the Academy’s door?
“Besides, anyone with such potential should be guided and watched carefully. Improper upbringing could make him very dangerous. If the Academy stubbornly refuses to take him in, he must be executed under the crime Potential Threat to the Crown.” She looked at the King.
King Bola was as baffled the whole time as other people present. He made an awkward nod of approval. Whatever mother’s doing must be right.
“No, please don’t kill my son!” Janus yelled. Tears came falling on her face. This is not supposed to be happening! I was only hoping Harks could gain the King’s support, since he is a man and should offer unconditional help to a fellow man. I didn’t know he’s only a puppet.
“No, don’t kill him,” Kolana said. I will not forget this, High Queen. “The Prime Directive of the Academy is to assist living. If it’s in the Academy’s power to protect one’s life, the Academy would make sure that power is carried out. The Academy will take care of the child from now on to monitor him until he reaches the proper acceptance age of ten. The Academy will then decide if this child is suitable for proper training in the Art of Weaving.” By then I would have retired.
—
Although the welcoming ceremony did not go as planned, the rest of the agenda was not affected. Lindan, the Mistress Weaver of the year, was introduced to the King. Lindan was a late comer to the Academy, and by the time she gained her title, she was thirty years of age. It was not uncommon for the Queen to be a bit older than the King, but twelve years of difference would leave a lot of room for discussion. Fortunately, the King was not fond of her at all.
During the time the King was taking a grand tour of the Academy, High Queen Viona was having a private audience with Headmistress Kolana.
“Let’s drop our titles and talk, sister to sister,” Viona suggested. “I’m not one with titles anyway.”
“Whatever you say, sister.” What’s she up to? If she wants to put me down, she wouldn’t do that in private. It has to be about control of the Academy. If she thinks she can talk her way to it, she has another thing coming.
“I’m sorry for what I did back there. It’s just that being the High Queen and all, I get carried away very easily. Surely you remember I was always the one with the last word when I was in the Academy.”
“Not when I was around you weren’t.” Kolana smiled before she knew what she was doing.
“Oh, I begin to regret everything that’s happened just now. I did what I did for argument sake. You don’t believe I’ll actually kill the boy, do you?”
“Of course not, sister. But I couldn’t say ‘dare me’ either.”
They both laughed. When the laugh was over, the High Queen turned to a serious look.
“Fact is, even though you’ve never thought too much about me…”
“That’s not true,” Kolana started.
Viona raised her hand to ask the Headmistress to listen. “I know it’s true but it doesn’t matter. I saw you as my role model anyway. I did. I never thought I would end up being a Queen. I always imagined myself to succeed you as the next Headmistress. You don’t think I’m here to try to steal that title from you, do you?”
Kolana was startled. She should be the one asking this question. “No, of course not, sister. You already have more fame and fortune then any woman in Avonova. Why would you want this thankless title anyway.”
“Exactly, sister. Now I laugh when I think back. What if I had become the Headmistress? For about twenty or so years I would gain respect. But what happens next? Sister, I hear that you’re retiring a few years from now. What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. Retire?” Kolana tried to make a joke but Viona was not amused.
“It’s not funny, sister, you still have many years to go afterwards. How are you going to sustain your life?”
“I can’t take this title to my grave.”
“No, I don’t mean for you to hold on to the title forever. Certainly you have done enough for the Academy to have to take the worries with you when you pass away. I merely think that for the service you have provided to the Academy, the Crown and the whole Avonova, you should be respected more, in a more tangible way.”
“I guess I have never thought of it that way. What are you saying, sister?”
“Well, I’ve talked to His Majesty about this matter. His Majesty agrees that the Crown should take care you and subsequent Headmistresses.” She took Kolana’s hands. “To this end, His Majesty has the idea of granting each retired Headmistress the title of Councilor. The gate of Wevis is open to you, sister.” Now she smiled.
“Thank you, your High – sister, but what does the Councilor do?” And what have you got up your sleeves?
“Nothing! The beauty of it is you gain a title and fortune without needing to do anything. Which means you’ll be truly retiring but you don’t have to worry about being looked down or lowering your life.
“His Majesty has only one concern.” Viona returned to her serious look.
Kolana withdrew her hands. Here comes. “And that is?”
“His Majesty trusts my judgment that you’re worthy of the title. However, I can’t guarantee him that subsequent Headmistresses are as worthy.”
“All Headmistresses are always carefully selected by the past Headmistress!”
“I know, and I told His Majesty that. His Majesty just thinks that it would be more appropriate, if the Crown is to support a Headmistress on her retirement, to let the Crown know who is to be the Headmistress and make recommendations.”
“Certainly not! The affairs of the Academy have always been dealt by the Academy only.”
“Calm down, sister. The Crown does not wish to take over and choose her own Headmistress, if that’s what you’re really worried about. The Crown only wants to get involved.”
So that’s what it’s all about. Get involve my behind! Then again, what am I going to do after retirement? Do I want to live far out and quietly spend the rest of my life?
Kolana’s decision was a hard one, but it did not take her long to decide.
—
The rest of the visit went without much excitement. By the time it was finished, the sky was beginning to draw the evening curtain.
“I told you everything will be fine, son.”
“He’s just a child.”
“He will grow, won’t he?”
“I don’t know. I’m not sure about this. Anyway, at least it’s a start. He was fun to be around. His name is Harks Tabuta, by the way.” The Overlord of Avonova sighed a relief and looked out the window to admire the evening sky. He had a smile on his face.
Perhaps it was the effect of light and shadow, but the smile the High Queen returned had a sinister look in it.
“By the way, Your Majesty, I have a proposition regarding the future of the Academy’s headmistresses…”
KenT the Author's Ravings 