Princess Alastasia viewed the battleground. Galantor stood facing her with his large two-handed sword. The elf officer stood poised to strike her down. Beyond her opponent Alastasia saw Tamar with his back to Galantor. He stood in a pose like Galantor, but he was facing Princess Alahara. Alastasia caught her sister’s eye and nodded a signal. Alahara grinned and nodded back.
Princess Alastasia dove towards the ground. She pulled her staff in close to her body as she hit the ground and rolled past Galantor. When she came out of the roll, Alastasia swung her staff hard into the back of Tamar’s legs. Tamar’s legs buckled and he dropped to the ground. Even before his body hit the ground, Alahara was in motion. She charged towards Tamar and leaped over his falling body. Her own staff moved in a blur as she swung it at Galantor’s legs. The elven officer had been turning around to see where Alastasia had gone when he was struck. A sharp crack split the air as Galantor howled and hit the ground.
Alahara and Alastasia raced to Galantor’s side. The officer rolled on the grass, one hand clutching his left shin. Tamar got up off the ground and joined the small group.
“What is it, Galantor?” asked Tamar. “Are you hurt?”
“I can fix it,” Alastasia offered quickly as she gently moved the officer’s hand and replaced it with her own.
“My leg may be broken,” groaned Galantor.
“This is supposed to be practice,” sighed Tamar. “You girls are not supposed to kill your tutors.”
“I was supposed to strike his legs before he turned,” apologized Princess Alahara. “I was too slow. I caught the side of his leg instead of the rear.”
“That is the first time I have ever heard anyone use the word slow while talking about you,” chuckled Galantor. “I would prefer to think that my reaction was just faster than you had planned on.”
“It’s not broken,” smiled Alastasia as she cast a healing spell on Galantor’s leg.
“That is a relief,” sighed Tamar. “Galantor has duty tonight. These practice sessions are getting a little rough recently. Where do you girls get your moves from? What prompted you to switch opponents?”
“One has to gauge a battle in the view of the overall battlefield,” answered Princess Alastasia. “You should never isolate your thoughts to only one opponent. It limits your possibilities. Those are my father’s words.”
Tamar’s eyebrows rose in appreciation. “One does not argue with the words of the King of the Elves,” he smiled, “especially when the words are correct. Your tactic took us totally by surprise. How did you coordinate it?”
“We talked about it, among other things, before you two arrived,” grinned Princess Alahara. “It was just one possible strategy depending upon the placement of our opponents. When we got you lined up back-to-back, MistyTrail gave me a nod.”
“Alastasia,” corrected her sister with a laugh. “I am glad to know that I am not the only who has trouble with names.”
“What if we had not lined up properly?” asked Tamar.
“We had other plans,” grinned Alahara. “You will learn of them someday.”
“I am sure that we will,” chuckled Galantor as he flexed his leg and nodded to Princess Alastasia. “You two are actually making better warriors out of Tamar and me,” he added as he rose. “We should start using some of your tricks on the other soldiers. It might spice up our normal drills.”
“I have a better idea,” grinned Tamar. “Why don’t we have the princesses join us one day for drill? Let them pull their tricks on the other soldiers. It will be much more effective when our men learn by humiliation.”
“Providing our men survive,” laughed Galantor. “Thank you, Princess Alastasia. The leg feels fine now.”
“Always glad to help heal the wounds my sister inflicts,” grinned Alastasia.
“I have to head off to duty,” frowned Galantor. “It was fun training with both of you. I look forward to more grass chewing in the future.”
“Tomorrow?” asked Princess Alastasia.
“Tomorrow,” Galantor grinned as he nodded and waved.
“He took that well,” remarked Princess Alahara as Galantor ran across the grass and disappeared around the corner.
“You two have become worthy opponents,” smiled Tamar. “You make up for your small stature by outsmarting your opponents. Plus your speed is phenomenal.”
“We are grateful for your tutoring,” interjected Alastasia. “It is fun to unwind this way after a day’s worth of lessons at the Society of Mages.”
“How are your lessons coming?” asked Tamar. “I have heard nothing about it. I would have expected to hear rumors circulating about your magical deeds.”
“As junior members of the Society of Mages,” frowned Alahara, “we are beneath notice of the illustrious senior mages. To talk about us would be to give us too much credit in their eyes.”
“They are not all that bad, Alahara,” laughed Alastasia as she shook her head. “It is true that we are not treated as full members of the society, but that is something that we must earn. I look forward to proving my skills to the senior members.”
“If you prove your magical skills in the same fashion as your martial skills,” chuckled Tamar, “I want to watch. Are you learning anything?”
“We are learning a great deal,” nodded Alastasia. “No single mage will tutor us for an extended period of time, but we have managed to get most of them to devote small segments of time to our education.”
“That actually works to our advantage,” interjected Alahara. “We get to see the same spells from many different angles, and we get taught a very broad spectrum of spells. It’s like have forty personal tutors.”
“And none of them fully understands the extent of our knowledge,” added Alastasia. “When it comes time for us to be tested, our tutors will be the most surprised of all. None of them will expect the level of knowledge that we have gained in a short period of time. They will be impressed.”
“How are the other junior students doing?” asked Tamar. “Are they learning as much?”
“Hardly,” Alahara shook her head. “They have each latched on to one senior mage and not looked any further. They spend most of the day in the library reading about magic instead of learning it.”
“You two are special,” Tamar smiled warmly as he spotted two boys walking along the street outside the park. “I have to run also. I will meet you here again tomorrow.”
“Alright,” smiled Alastasia as she waved.
“That was fun,” Alahara said as she bent down and picked up her staff.
“That is Eltor and Caldal that Tamar is talking to,” commented Alastasia as she nodded across the park. “What are they doing in Morada?”
Princess Alahara rose and stared across the park. She saw Tamar guiding Eltor and Caldal around the corner.
“I don’t know,” frowned Alahara. “They didn’t even come over to say tayo.”
“Pay no mind to them,” came a female voice behind the princesses. “You are too young for boys.”
Alahara and Alastasia whirled around to see a slender elven woman standing near the path to the Royal Tree. She had a wry smile on her lips.
“Which one of you is Alahara?” the woman asked.
“I am,” answered the older sister. “Who are you?”
“I am your Aunt Kanis,” answered the woman. “Queen Alycia is my sister.”
The princesses looked at each other in confusion, but it was Alastasia who spoke, “I have never heard of you. I did not know the queen had a sister.”
“The queen?” mocked Kanis as she turned and headed towards the entrance to the palace. “Can you not even come to call her mother? I know that you were raised in the land of the humans, but that is no reason to show disrespect for your elders. I shall have to speak to your mother about your manners.”
“I meant no disrespect,” frowned Princess Alastasia as the princesses followed Kanis. “We often call her mother.”
“Well,” Kanis shook her head, “you will learn the elven ways soon enough now that I will be staying in the palace again.”
“You are moving into the palace?” frowned Alahara as she gazed at the small pack the woman was wearing. “Is that pack your only belongings?”
“Hardly,” Kanis replied dryly. “My cart broke down on the trail here. It made no sense for me to struggle with it when there are two strong princesses with nothing better to do. Run off to the road heading to the village of Florentia. You will find my broken cart not far from the edge of the city. Bring it back here and see that my belongings get up to my chambers.”
Alahara’s brow knitted in a deep frown, and she was about to tell the woman to go and get her own belongings. Alastasia saw the guards bow slightly to Kanis and admit her to the lift. She placed her hand calmingly on Alahara’s arm to silence her. Kanis turned around and smiled woodenly at the girls as the lift began to rise. The princesses watched her ascend into the Royal Tree before speaking.
“Who does she think she is?” Alahara snapped. “Do we look like servants?”
“She is rude and pretentious,” agreed Alastasia, “but we will only complicate things by fighting with her. If she truly is our aunt, and I suspect that she is by the way the guards bowed to her, I have no wish to give her cause to complain to mother about us.”
“You intend to go and fetch her belongings?” balked Alahara.
“Yes,” nodded Alastasia. “Actually I had planned for you to help me. We will get her stuff so that she can’t complain about us, then we can avoid her in the future. Would you rather go with me to get her belongings, or go up into the palace and visit with her?”
“Visit with her?” Alahara’s lips curled in disgust. “I will go with you, but don’t expect me to move too fast. I am in no hurry to return here.”
“Me neither,” chuckled Alastasia. “I hope we don’t have any other aunts coming to visit.”
“I wonder why Queen Alycia never mentioned her sister,” pondered Princess Alahara as the girls headed for the edge of the city.
“Think about it,” chuckled Alastasia. “Does Aunt Kanis seem like someone that you would brag about being related to? She has all the warmth of a swamp snake.”
“Well put,” laughed Alahara. “Even when she tried to smile her face looked like she had just swallowed something dreadful. Do you think our mother was ever like that?”
“No,” Alastasia shook her head. “Even when she was under Karaza’s spell she was not that bad. Remember how pleasant she was when we first met?”
“Before she slapped me,” sighed Alahara.
“Be fair, Alahara,” chided Alastasia. “That was Karaza’s doing.”
“I know,” conceded Alahara, “but it still hurt. At least I didn’t try to kill her.”
“You brat!” gasped Alastasia as she playfully pushed her sister. “I did not try to kill her.”
“I know,” laughed Alahara, “but it still makes a great story. I can’t wait to tell it to your children.”
“You mean your children,” retorted Alastasia. “You’re the older one. You should get married first. I will observe how happy it makes you before I decide if I want to.”
“Have you ever thought about it?” Princess Alahara asked seriously. “Getting married and starting a family, I mean?”
“I used to,” admitted Alastasia, “but that was when I was MistyTrail. The Sakovans were like one big happy family. I don’t get the same feeling here, although I know it will take time.”
“I never thought about it until I met Rejji,” confided Alahara as they reached the edge of the forest and found the trail to Florentia.
“Do you still miss him?” asked Alastasia.
“I do,” Alahara nodded. “Rejji treated me nice when no one else cared about me. We became very close.”
“And now you are heir to the elven throne,” Alastasia pointed out. “I doubt the elves would take kindly to you marrying a human.”
“Maybe that is why Kaltara blessed me with a sister?” grinned Alahara. “You could become Queen of Elvangar.”
“Do you think the humans would accept an elf as Queen of Fakara?” frowned Princess Alastasia. “Don’t forget that Rejji is now the king.”
“I hadn’t thought about that,” frowned Alahara as the princesses made their way along the forest trail. “Why must everything be so complicated? I don’t want to be the queen of either country.”
“I don’t care much for the idea either,” shrugged Princess Alastasia. “Mother almost never leaves the palace. I would go mad living like that.”
The princesses lapsed into silence as they walked along the forest trail, each lost in thoughts of their future. It was that silence that saved their lives.
Alastasia heard something rustle along the trail ahead. Her arm automatically snaked out and gently caught Alahara’s hand. Alahara needed no verbal command to stop. The two princesses halted in the middle of the trail, their ears straining for sounds that were foreign to the forest. They heard a hushed voice, but the words were inaudible. The princesses looked at each other and nodded with suspicion. Normal travelers would have no need to speak in hushed tones.
Alahara silently moved to the right side of the trail and slipped into the forest. Alastasia went to the left and slid behind the trees. They both remained frozen for several minutes as they waited for another noise. They heard nothing. Finally, Alastasia wove an air tunnel to Alahara.
“I want you to create an air tunnel on the trail behind us,” Alastasia instructed. “Talk normally into it as if you are lecturing me on something. Walk the air tunnel along the trail until it passes us by. I will create another air tunnel to listen up ahead. Let’s see if we can find out who is up there and what they want.”
Alastasia did not need to hear a reply from her sister. She knew that Alahara would already be weaving the air tunnel. She changed the pressure in her own air tunnel and moved it forward along the trail. She listened intently as she moved the air tunnel around, trying to gauge the location of the hidden voices.
“Quiet,” a voice whispered. “Someone is coming.”
“Are they coming for the cart?” asked another voice.
“I said to be quiet,” reprimanded the first voice. “Just get your bows ready, and keep your mouth shut. Fire on my command.”
Alastasia frowned as she listened to the male voices. She heard Mistake’s voice pass along the trail near her and keep going. She waited patiently.
“Where are they?” asked a frantic voice. “I just heard them pass, but I did not see anyone.”
“Quiet!” urged the first voice.
“Quiet yourself,” said a third voice. “I am getting out of here. I think they are invisible.”
The third person turned and ran noisily. A moment later, the first voice cursed and also fled, followed shortly by another person. Alastasia still waited patiently as she tried to follow the noise of the retreating ambushers. Eventually, she lost the sound of them retreating. She redirected the air tunnel towards Alahara.
“I think they have all left,” she told her sister. “I am going to go forward along the trail, but I want you to move forward through the forest. Be ready for anything.”
Alahara nodded and waved to her sister. Alastasia stepped onto the trail and moved slowly forward. As she rounded a bend in the trail, she saw the broken cart, one of its wheels resting at an odd angle. The horse appeared to be sleeping. Alastasia walked very slowly, her eyes scanning both sides of the trail. She reached the cart and knelt beside it. The wheel had come off the axle, but it did not appear to be broken. Alastasia waved to her sister to help her. Alahara exited the woods.
“There is no one in the woods,” remarked Princess Alahara. “What happened?”
“You walked your voice right past them,” explained Princess Alastasia. “That spooked them. There were three of them, but they fled because they thought we were invisible. Help me raise the cart so I can put the wheel back on.”
“Who were they?” asked Alahara as she lifted the cart. “What did they want?”
“There were three males,” answered Alastasia as she maneuvered the wheel. “They had planned to ambush us with bows.”
“With bows?” echoed Alahara. “Do you mean they were going to kill us?”
“That is what it sounded like,” nodded Alastasia as she pushed the wheel onto the axle. “I do not know if it was particularly us that they were waiting for, but they planned to ambush whoever came for the cart.”
“Bandits?” frowned Alahara as she let the cart down. “I wonder if they stole anything from the cart?”
Alastasia rose and brushed her hands off. She shrugged and peered into the back of the cart at the chests and packs piled there. Frowning, she climbed onto the cart and tried to open one of the chests.
“It’s locked,” Alastasia reported. “It doesn’t look like anyone tried to pry it open.”
“This makes no sense,” frowned Alahara. “If they were bandits, why not just take the cart and be done with it?”
“Maybe they weren’t smart enough to fix the wheel?” shrugged Princess Alastasia. “I don’t mind pondering on this, but I am loathe to do it here. Let’s get this cart into the city and worry about the ambushers later.”
“I agree, “ nodded Princess Alahara. “You take the cart for a while. I want to shadow you from behind. When we enter the city, I will catch up.”
“I am on my way,” declared Princess Alastasia as she grabbed the reins and woke the horse.
The horse started and began moving along the trail. Alastasia reached into her pouch and extracted a Sakovan star. She held the star in one hand as she led the horse with the other. When they reached the city of Morada, Alahara moved forward and walked alongside her sister.
“Would you recognize their voices again?” asked Princess Alahara.
“I think so,” nodded Alastasia. “The first voice I would definitely recognize. The other two did not say much, but I still might know them if I heard them again.”
“So,” pondered Alahara, “were the bandits poised to kill Aunt Kanis, or us? Or did they not care as long as they killed someone?”
“I don’t know,” Alastasia shook her head. “I do not know how bandits work in Elvangar. Maybe we should ask Avalar?”
“I am hesitant to mention it to our father,” frowned Princess Alahara. “He might think that we sound disrespectful to Aunt Kanis. Let’s ask Tamar.”
“Alright,” agreed Alastasia.
Neither sister spoke for the rest of the trip to the Royal Tree. When they reached the lift, they unhitched the horse. One of the guards took the horse and led it away while two of the other guards pushed the cart onto the lift. Alahara and Alastasia got on the lift and rode it upward. The lift stopped halfway up, and two guards pulled the cart off. The princesses stayed on and rode the lift to the top. They started walking to their chambers when they heard the shouting from the throne room. They looked at each other curiously. Without a word spoken, both sisters turned and crept along the corridor towards the throne room. They halted before entering the room as they heard their father’s voice.
“She is not what we need to deal with at this time,” yelled the king. “Why did you invite her to the palace?”
“I didn’t invite her,” answered the queen. “She just arrived. Kanis is like that. She only shows up when you don’t want her to.”
“Well tell her to leave,” scowled Avalar.
“I can’t do that,” retorted Alycia. “She is my sister after all. She claims that I refused to see her years ago when she visited. I cannot now tell her to leave.”
“That refusal was probably the work of Karaza,” replied the king. “It was perhaps the only sane thing that mage ever did.”
“It probably was Karaza,” conceded Alycia, “but she will still think that I refused her entry. If I tell her to leave now, she will surely believe that I hate her. I don’t want her to feel that way.”
“Then I will tell her to leave,” stormed the king. “I don’t care if she hates me. I do not want to have to deal with her with everything else that is going on right now.”
“Why let her bother you at all,” sighed the queen. “She is living lower down the tree. You will never run into her. Forget that she is here, and concentrate on winning support for the war. How is the council leaning today?”
“You are trying to change the subject,” replied the king.
“Yes, I am,” the queen said with a hint of humor. “Still, I do want to know how the council sits on this issue.”
“They vacillate,” sighed Avalar as his voice lowered to a normal speaking tone. “The citizens’ demonstrations are not helping any. Just when I think I have won a few converts, the demonstrations sway them back to an undecided position.”
“Who is behind the demonstrations?” asked the queen.
“I wish that I could find out,” replied Avalar. “I am sure that if the demonstrations stopped, the council would support the war.”
“I have never seen you in a dither like this before,” commented Alycia. “You always were calm and purposeful before. Why is this time any different?”
“Because I feel like we are running out of time,” admitted the king. “My opponents will win not only if I lose the council vote, but also if they can delay the vote long enough for Vand to attack the humans. We will need time to get our armies in place before Vand strikes. If we are too late, we might as well stay home and prepare to defend Elvangar.”
“You could force the council to vote,” suggested Queen Alycia.
“I could,” agreed the king, “but I will not leave their vote to chance. Too much is at stake. Besides, I have not gotten the ships ready yet. We don’t have enough ships to get our armies to the battle.”
“Use human ships,” shrugged the queen.
Avalar stopped pacing and stared at the queen. Slowly his face split into a large grin. He crossed the room and hugged Alycia and then kissed her.
“Of course!” exclaimed the elven king. “Why didn’t I think of that? There were quite a few ships in Angragar, and I understand that the Torak has a fleet of his own.”
“That will require human seamen to sail through the gates of Elvangar,” warned the queen. “Maybe that is not such a great idea after all. It might harden the council against this war.”
“It might,” conceded the king, “or might show them that the humans already know where Elvangar is and have no plans for its conquest.”
“Or you could sail for Angragar with a shipload of seamen to pilot the human ships back here and then load your armies,” suggested the queen.
“That would also work,” nodded Avalar. “I must make contact with Emperor Marak. His advice would be most welcome on this subject.”
“Who will herd the council while you are gone?” asked Queen Alycia.
King Avalar released his wife and walked to the railing. He gazed down upon the city of Morada in silence. Finally, he turned and faced the queen.
“I must talk with our daughters,” the king stated. “Have they returned from their lessons today?”
“I have not seen them,” answered the queen. “Shall I go look for them?”
“No,” Avalar responded. “I will go myself.”
Princess Alahara and Princess Alastasia did not want to get caught snooping on their parents. They immediately turned around and sped silently away from the throne room. When Avalar finally found them, they were sitting casually in Alahara’s room talking. They looked up in surprise as their father entered.