“It is tickling my memory,” admitted Volox, “but I cannot bring it forth.”
“It is a spell created by Kieran himself,” explained Garl. “It is a peculiar compulsion spell because it has strange side effects. It can only be cast by one of the Kieran line, and it cannot be used against one of the Kieran line. Both girls have mastered the spell.”
“So they are indeed of the Kieran line?” Volox inhaled deeply. “You are sure of this?”
“You may think me crazy,” smiled Garl, “but you will not find a man alive who does not acknowledge my skill in magic. I am positive that both girls are of royal blood. Now, can you point to any twins in the recent Kieran line that are unaccounted for? Any other than the princesses, that is?”
“No,” Volox shook his head. “Tamar declared last night that they must be the lost princesses, but I could not imagine them surviving the catastrophe that the queen went through. I guess it is just asking a lot to believe such a miracle is possible.”
“I will not fault you for those feelings,” smiled Garl. “I felt that way myself two days ago. That is why I snuck into the royal vaults yesterday to review the Prophecies of Kieran. I had to be sure.”
“You snuck into the royal vaults,” gasped Volox. “That could cost you your life.”
“It could,” nodded Garl, “but what is the worth of my life compared to the fulfillment of the Prophecies of Kieran?”
“I could have told you what was in the scrolls without you risking your life,” declared Volox. “The Council of Elders recently researched them when we discussed the fate of the boys. Some of us believe that Kaltara is requiring the elves to join with the humans because of the rebirth of Angragar.”
“Those are the earliest of the prophecies that you are talking about,” countered Garl. “There were later prophecies that are more pertinent to the situation within Elvangar. Interestingly enough, someone has removed the copies of those scrolls. I had to access the innermost vaults to gain access to the originals.”
“You are truly crazy,” remarked Volox. “I do not want to know how you accomplished what you did. What is so important in those scrolls that someone would steal the copies?”
“They prophesize the return of the lost princesses in the Time of Calling,” declared the old man.
“Merciful Kaltara,” gasped the elder. “Can you prove this?”
Garl reached inside his cloak and pulled out the copy of the scroll he had made. He only unrolled it slightly as he held it before the elder. Volox read the scroll with interest and reached out to expose some more of it. Garl drew the scroll back and placed it inside his cloak.
“It is a copy that I penned myself,” admitted Garl, “but I will guarantee its accuracy. The Council of Elders can access the original and compare it.”
“Your evidence is overwhelming, if not proof positive,” declared Volox, “but it hardly matters now. If the girls have been arrested, it will be out of our hands.”
“Is it?” asked Garl. “You are a member of the Council of Elders. What if you present this evidence to the Council? Will it be enough to convince them?”
“Most of them,” nodded Volox, “but not all of them. Malid and Amber agree with the queen’s stringent policies on avoiding the humans. I doubt they would recognize the sun at the height of the day if it interfered with their agenda. Besides, the Council of Elders is merely an advisory board. We cannot overrule the queen.”
“The Council of Elders can isolate the queen,” suggested Garl. “If you can possibly unite them on this, they can appeal to the citizens directly. If that happens, I doubt the army would move against the people or the girls.”
“That is a long shot,” frowned Volox. “My own son is a high ranking officer, and he is being followed daily by agents of the queen. He has been restricted to the city. That is why I am making the trek to Etta.”
“Things are even worse than I imagined,” sighed Garl. “Let’s walk while we talk. We must find a solution to this problem before it is too late.”
“Do the girls know who they are?” asked Volox as the four elves began walking towards Morada.
“No,” answered Garl. “They do know that they are of the Kieran line, and they do know that they have a relative here.”
“How do they know that?” asked the elder.
“Mistake was given a magical carozit from the Sage of the Mountain,” explained the old mage. “It indicates the relative distance from the user’s current location of the nearest relative. When Mistake and MistyTrail both held it, it indicated a relative a few hours walk away. That would be Morada.”
“Well at least they will not try telling anyone that they are the princesses,” Volox sighed with relief. “That would be the worst thing they could do right now. Where will you go when we reach the city?”
“We have no destination,” answered Garl. “We will need a place to hide while we determine how we can free the girls.”
“Come to my house,” offered Volox. “You can have my spare room. The boys can sleep on the floor with Tamar. Together we can plan our next moves.”
* * *
A key was inserted into the door lock again. Mistake and MistyTrail jumped to their feet. One went to the left of the door while the other went to the right. They tried to position themselves to see as much of the corridor outside the cell as possible. The door opened and an officer marched in.
“You have a meeting with the queen,” declared the officer. “If you have any weapons hidden on your bodies, leave them in this cell. I cannot be held responsible for your safety if you ignore this edict. You will be searched before you meet the queen.”
Mistake and MistyTrail glanced at each other. MistyTrail sighed and released the two knives from her arm sheaths. She placed them on the floor. She reached around to her back and removed a hidden knife under her belt and added it to the growing pile that Mistake was creating. MistyTrail then removed two knives from her boots, and unstrapped a pouch at her waist that held Sakovan throwing stars. The officer’s eyebrows rose comically as he watched the girls disarming. Mistake completed the disarmament by placing the blowgun given to her by the Qubari on top of the pile.
“Is that all?” asked the officer as he tried to hide a smile.
The girls sighed and nodded. The officer ushered them out of the cell and into the corridor where a dozen soldiers were waiting. The soldiers immediately surrounded the girls and waited for the officer to leave the cell and lead the procession out of the prison.
Mistake’s eyes took in every detail as they were escorted out of the prison. MistyTrail counted the steps and memorized the path taken to the exit. She was surprised to see that the paths outside the prison were blocked off with ropes. She had been in this area of the city before when they stayed with Volox and Anija, and she had never seen any paths blocked off. She wondered about it as she saw curious citizens craning their necks to see whom the soldiers were escorting.
The walk to the palace was not long. The girls saw it as they approached. A huge magnificent tree grew out of a wide park-like square. The branches of the tree were high off the ground and spread out in a great circle encompassing the whole square below. The group marched onto a large platform and the officer pulled once on a small rope. A distant bell could be heard ringing far above them. Instantly the large platform began ascending.
MistyTrail admired the view of the city as they rose high into the ancient tree. They rose up into the branches and passed several platforms before coming to a stop in the upper reaches of the tree. As soon as the platform stopped, the soldiers herded Mistake and MistyTrail along a corridor and into a large room. Several guards stood sentry in the room. The officer immediately approached the guards.
“The foreign girls, Mistake and MistyTrail, as the queen requested,” announced the officer.
Two guards separated from the others and approached the girls. They searched for hidden weapons. One of the guards found Mistake’s lock picking tool hidden in her belt and frowned at it.