“What’s done is done,” sighed Malid. “They are just boys.”
“No, Malid,” scowled the queen. “They are not just boys. They deliberately broke the law. Their foolishness can have grave consequences to our people. Already their words are turning the Council of Elders against me. I will not have the populace wanting to reestablish contact with the humans. This situation needs to come under control immediately. I want those boys rearrested. I don’t care how you do it, just do it. They will not be allowed to walk freely among the people spreading their tales of deceit. Who were the main supporters of this proposal?”
Malid fidgeted. While he was extremely loyal to the queen, he also had a duty to the Council of Elders. He could almost smell the suggestion that was coming next.
“Who were they?” demanded the queen. “Tell me now.”
“Vitalora and Volox spoke for the proposal,” sighed Malid. “None of the others even spoke.”
“I want them off the Council,” stated the queen.
“That is within your powers,” frowned Malid, “but I would advise against it. It would be seen as intentionally interfering with the Council. The people would lose all respect for the government.”
“If I intended to dismiss them outright,” retorted the queen, “I would not need to be mentioning it to you. Find some reason for me to dismiss them, some reason not associated with this foul proposal.”
“I…” began Malid.
“That is all, Head Elder,” snapped the queen. “Tend to your duties. They are many and varied, and you do not have any free time to spend here chatting.”
Malid exhaled loudly as he nodded perfunctorily and left. The queen stood at the railing watching her people go about their lives, completely unaware of the impending doom that the troublemakers would bring down on them. She heard the door open behind her. She listened to the military footsteps as they approached. She turned around with a smile on her lips, which disappeared as soon as she saw Rattal.
“Where is Tamar?” asked the queen.
“He is going out of the city for the day,” reported Rattal. “I have brought the readiness reports for you.”
“And where is he going?” asked Queen Alycia.
“He did not say,” shrugged the officer. “He is my superior. I do not question him.”
“And I am your queen,” declared Queen Alycia. “From now on, you are to provide a service to me. This service, if properly performed, will boost your career tremendously. This service is also strictly confidential. Do you understand?”
“I am merely a servant of my queen,” grinned the officer. “I value her over all else.”
“Excellent,” smiled the queen. “I think you will go far. Your first task is to report the movements of Tamar. I want to know everything about whom he meets and where he goes. Do you understand?”
“Perfectly,” grinned the officer. “Is that all you require of me?”
“I shall have more tasks for you in the future,” promised the queen. “You are, after all, a rising star in the army.”
* * *
“Let me see it grow,” grumbled Garl, “and don’t rush it. I want to eat it for the evening meal. We are a poor village, and you must learn to waste nothing.”
MistyTrail nodded and concentrated on the seedling. She closed her eyes and bowed her head as she cast the spell. Alongside of her, Mistake was casting the same spell, but on a different seedling. Garl watched closely. He smiled as the dirt moved, and the stalk started to rise. Both plants grew at about the same rate, and the old man nodded in satisfaction that the girls were not rushing it.
“Rushing a spell is the surest way of failure,” declared Garl. “I am glad to see that both of you have learned that lesson. It is one that keeps a majority of students from succeeding.”
MistyTrail opened her eyes and smiled as ears of corn sprouted on the new plant. She looked over at Mistake’s plant and saw the same success.
“That is much easier than I imagined,” MistyTrail smiled cheerfully.
“Of course it is easy,” scowled Garl. “Why do you think you are learning it so soon? The hard stuff comes later. Well, Mistake? You are quiet today. That always causes me to be suspicious about your thoughts.”
“I am just amazed,” smiled Mistake. “I never really thought that I could do magic. I went along with this for MistyTrail’s sake. You have taught us to do so much, but this is the first spell where the result sort of jumps out at you.”
“Well the other spells are just as important,” replied Garl. “Sometimes you cannot see the results of your labor as vividly as you can right now. You must remember that elven magic is all about life in its many forms. Sometimes it is the physical form like this spell, but the others are no less important.”
“You mean like healing?” asked MistyTrail.
“Sometimes you can see the effects of a healing spell,” nodded Garl, “but other times you cannot. Healing is not just physical. It can be mental or emotional as well. Or you could be healing the internal organs which are unseen by your eyes. You saw some of that yesterday when you made the children unusually happy. The children here are really neglected by our government. The villagers are considered less of a citizen than the city dwellers, unless it comes to war. While we don’t acknowledge it openly, all of us suffer some bouts of depression from time to time. The children are no different. They have dreams and want to be heroes when they grow up, but they know that is unlikely for a villager. Your spells yesterday temporarily healed their depression. That is why they were so happy.”
“But Volox was a villager,” MistyTrail pointed out. “Now he is an elder and his son is an important officer. Why does living in a village matter?”
“There are exceptions,” sighed Garl. “Volox is a good man. The king saw his talents and gave him opportunities. Volox accepted those opportunities and conquered them. That is why he was able to overcome his villager status.”
“So if he could,” shrugged Mistake, “why can’t anyone?”
“For one reason,” frowned Garl, “the king is no longer. The queen does not share the same views that the king did. She sees the villagers as almost outside of Elvangar. She accepts them as elves, but the people she cares for are the city dwellers. To her, they are the elves of Elvangar. Had Volox arisen today, he would remain a villager until his dying days.”
“That doesn’t sound right,” frowned Mistake.
“It isn’t,” shrugged Garl. “One of you run and get my pipe. I need a smoke.”
MistyTrail and Mistake exchanged glances. They shook their heads in unison.
“Smoking is bad for you,” declared MistyTrail. “Slari made us promise to keep it away from you. She says it will shorten your life.”
“Bah,” grumbled Garl as he stared at MistyTrail. “That women is a pain. I should teach you some dark spells just to practice on her. Run and get my pipe.”
“Ow,” scowled MistyTrail as her hands went to her head. “What are you doing? That hurts.”
Mistake looked at her sister with confusion. The old man had not moved, and yet she was blaming Garl for something. Garl frowned heavily and turned his gaze to Mistake. Seconds later Mistake yelped and glared accusingly at the old man.
“Whatever you are doing,” threatened Mistake as a knife slid into her hand, “you will stop it right now. You will not hurt me or my sister.”
Garl shook his head and stared at the two girls. His eyes grew wide and his mouth hung open.
“I am sorry,” Garl said breathlessly. “What did you feel?”
“It was like two hands pressing on my brain,” answered MistyTrail. “Like you were squeezing it. Why did you do that?”
“It is not normally harmful,” frowned Garl. “It is a simple compulsion spell. I find it most curious that you both felt it. One of you run and fetch my pipe, and I will show you how to cast it.”
“It sounds like just another way to get your way,” scowled Mistake. “It was probably just a hurting spell so that we would obey you.”