Galleries lined the walls facing the queen's throne, each occupied by a small party of elven nobles or warriors, all of whom watched the visitors with keen interest and obvious suspicion. Beyond the queen there were fewer galleries, each of these occupied by a single, elegantly dressed elf, most of them elderly females. They're the Council of Matrons, Alicia remembered from Brigit's description.
The four women approached the center of the room, the walk taking a very long time, during which the throne of the elven queen slowly descended until it was perhaps ten feet over the floor of the chamber.
Trillhalla, quickly followed by Brigit, knelt and bowed deeply to the monarch. Alicia bowed formally, though she did not kneel. The High Queen of the Ffolk regarded this elfwoman as an equal, nodding her head politely in response to a similar gesture on the part of Queen Amlaruil.
The regal monarch was the most beautiful creature Alicia had ever seen. Even displayed as she was amidst a dozen fortunes' worth of gems and precious metal, she shone as a jewel that paled all the others to insignificance. Her eyes were very large, in the teardrop shape of the elves, a deep, warm green in color. Her face was slender, but her high cheekbones and firm chin gave her a look of authority that lay like steel beneath the velvet of her beauty. Hair of coppery red fell to her bare shoulders but was then swept into a clasp at the side of her head, where the strands gathered into the image of a soft-petaled rose.
The queen's eyes flicked past the humans after making a brief but thorough appraisal, coming to rest on the captain of the Synnorian horsewomen. Brigit had risen to her feet beside Trillhalla.
"Sister knight, you are known to us as an elf of courage and supposedly good judgement." The queen's tone was cold, her words clipped. "Tell me immediately why you bring these humans to Evermeet!"
"The tale is a long one, Your Majesty, and extraordinary, as you must know by our presence here. It begins with the closing of the Fey-Alamtine. That circumstance, as you doubtless realize, had as great an impact upon Synnoria as upon Evermeet."
Brigit spoke bluntly, and the elven monarch nodded as if she saw the point of the knight's last remark.
"Yes-the destruction of the gate is a most grievous affair."
"It was followed by an attack against Synnoria by a beast from the earliest nightmares of our people. We suffered the onslaught of Ityak-Ortheel, the Elf-Eater!"
The princess was satisfied by the sound of gasps and murmured comments suddenly echoing around the huge chamber. The report of the Elf-Eater's attack was obviously news to Evermeet, and anything that shook them out of their complacency was, to Alicia's mind, a benefit.
Brigit went on to describe the horror of the attack. Though she spoke without passion, in a clearly factual tone, there was none present who remained unaffected by the visual images: the trout farm's destruction, the Elf-Eater's march to Chrysalis across the watery causeway, the doomed charges by the sister knights, and the ultimate blasphemy, the destruction of the Argen-Tellirynd.
"Only the humans, with their sorcery-and their courage-could match the monster and, in the end, drive it away," continued the sister knight, warming to her topic. She described the intervention of the Ffolk as the decisive factor that it was. Finally, though it slightly altered the chronology of her recounting, she told them of Lord Pawldo's heroic sacrifice.
Next she recounted the reason the humans had come to Synnoria and that she had sailed with them to Evermeet. "Without the means to carry the fight beneath the seas, they must forever yield to the enemies who hold their king. But we elves once had ships, I know, that could sail under the water. All the humans ask-our friends, these humans! — all they ask, Excellency, is for the tool that will allow them to fight their battle."
Brigit sighed softly. A long time had passed, though no noise had disturbed her speech.
"Your Majesty, there is another compelling reason for us to aid these humans. The Moonshae Isles, of which Synnoria is a part, are beset by a menace that, I am certain, is tied in to the same force that has closed the gate and released Ityak-Ortheel from its nether hell. If we provide them with a vessel that they can take beneath the sea and strike at the heart of these evils, I believe that we shall find in that undoing the key to restoring our own valley to normalcy!
"They came to us in need, and yet their help has saved Synnoria so that the Fey-Alamtine can be restored! The very least we can do is answer their need with the power that we have at our disposal."
"You make a very compelling case," said Queen Amlaruil, nodding in apparently pleased response to Brigit. "It is as I expected-even anticipated."
Alicia couldn't keep her astonishment silent, forgetting for the moment Trillhalla's instructions about questions. "You expected us to come?" she asked.
"The Summer Palace is not always here at Dalloch-Krystas. I brought it here this year for the first time in more than twenty-five summers to place it near the Siiluth, the Beaching Bay," replied the queen, as if that explained everything. If she had minded Alicia's question, she gave no indication, but the princess saw many of the courtiers on the balconies behind the queen glowering at her with unfriendly expressions.
"It is my command that the sea elves shall install a Helm of Zulae to the figurehead of your ship. This is the artifact you seek. It will take your ship beneath the surface of the sea. I entrust you, Brigit Cu'Lyrran, to ensure that it is returned to Synnoria at the conclusion of your quest." She paused, her expression wistful. "I wish you luck in your efforts to rescue King Tristan. He deserves a better fate."
For a moment, the three visitors gaped, stunned that they had succeeded. Trillhalla, meanwhile, gestured them to the door. The interview was obviously over.
"Thank you, Your Majesty," said Robyn, with a deep bow to the throne before she turned to follow the sea elf.
"The ship repairs!" Alicia whispered to Trillhalla. "We need to ask her about those!"
"No-not yet!" replied the sea elf, hoarsely. "You must settle for this."
But Alicia had already turned and, taking several steps toward the throne, addressed the regal elfwoman.
"Your Majesty, your generosity has given us a chance of success. I beg you, please, to increase those chances. Grant us the means to see our ship repaired. The hull was heavily damaged as we passed the cyclones and escaped your Warder."
"I'm not surprised," replied the queen, with a trace of a sniff to her tone. "No other human craft has ever survived those perils before now!"
"Can you not, in your generosity, grant us a sheltered harbor and some tools-a forge, and saws, and tar?"
"I see that you humans listen to instructions as well as I have always been taught to expect," noted Queen Amlaruil. This time there was no ignoring the sarcasm in her tone, but Alicia held her ground. After a moment, the monarch continued. "You may bring your crew ashore, but they must remain within two hundred feet of your ship. You can ask for supplies and we shall bring them to you. Under no circumstances are you to forage into the country of Evermeet, else I shall not be responsible for the consequences."
"Your conditions are most generous, Your Majesty," said Robyn, approaching Alicia with a tight smile. The human queen took her daughter's arm. Trillhalla stared at the princess with surprise, then shook her head in genuine admiration as they passed from the throne room.