Darkness of Magic (Soul of Magic Book 2)

FOURTEEN

The man droned on and on but Lorraine couldn’t hear a word he said. He was audible, that part wasn’t actually a problem. And it wasn’t that she was uninterested in what he had to say either. In fact, that was the exact reason why she was in the throne room that morning even though she would have preferred to sleep in.

But regardless of how much the princess wanted to concentrate, she realized that she couldn’t. Her mind just always seemed to find its way back to the events of the previous night.

Ever since the sun had fully risen to the start of the day, Lorraine had been out of her room and in the maze, particularly around the statue. She was trying to find clues as to how the servant could have gotten access to the secret siege tunnel beneath but despite her best efforts, she got nothing. Even more infuriating was the fact that although she thoroughly checked around the palace castle and courtyard, she wasn't able to find anyone matching the servant's description. She had begun to doubt if the man was really a servant to begin with and that didn’t sit well with her at all. Secret meetings, coded messages, fake servants; those were the makings of a disaster and disaster was the last thing the princess needed on her watch.

Just then, Lorraine suddenly felt someone touch her on the shoulder and she snapped out of her thoughts. It was Lord Aegan, the kingdom's highest official and her distant relative; her grandfather Eldor's second cousin to be precise.

In truth, Aegan was more like a foster father to Lorraine and Richard than a distant relative own. He had actually stepped into the role when their own biological father began to draw away from them. He raised them, taught them, showed them love especially when they needed it the most. And it was for that particular reason that Richard had urged Lorraine to seek the old lord’s help when he named her regent; he had helped the king out a number of times before too.

"Are you feeling well, your Highness?" he asked her, a genuinely concerned look on his face.

"Of course," she replied and fortified her response with a smile. Then, she turned to face the man in front of her and noticed who he really was for the first time that morning.

Dressed in a simple tunic and trouser which although not dirty was still obvious that it had seen better days, the man bowed in front of her; it was customary he did when stating his plea. He was a farmer from the southern part of Cyrian; Barleyvale, to be precise if the little clay barley head statue he held in his hand was anything to go by.

Thing is, Barleyvale was the capital of the province governed by the great house of Vene; the barley head was their crest. The province was responsible for the great kingdom’s agricultural presence and also the realm’s largest producer of barley; hence, its capital’s apt name.

However, the royal court rarely handled agricultural cases or reports from Barleyvale. The great house of Vene had an organization system in place in the province that had worked wonders for Cyrian since its inception and any interference from the Capital always proved fatal. Which meant that if the man really had come to see Lorraine that morning in regards to matters from the province, then it really was pressing; and she had no recollection whatsoever of what he had said.

“Umm,” she tried to begin but failed; her mind was blank.

“Elian’s here about Barleyvale’s proposal concerning the upcoming trade festival," Aegan supplied helpfully and Lorraine nodded in understanding. But she still had nothing to say concerning the matter; she had no idea that there was even a proposal to begin with. It probably was among the numerous scrolls crowding her chamber’s reading table, she realized.

"Perhaps you would like me to go over it again, your Highness?" the man, Elian, asked when he seemed to sense that Lorraine wouldn’t be forthcoming.

“That won’t be unnecessary, Elian," Aegan intervened, discreetly shooting the princess a disapproving glare before turning to face the man with a reassuring smile. “Be rest assured that the Capital respects Barleyvale’s contribution to the wealth of the great kingdom and would very much love for her barley farmers to come display their products alongside the other notable traders of the realm in the upcoming trade festival. Tell the guards to direct you to the letter room and I’ll be with you very shortly to give you a confirmatory letter signed by the Regent herself to give to the lords of the great house of Vene.”

“Thank you so much, your Highness,” Elian bowed with a smile on his face before taking his leave.

Immediately the door shut behind the farmer, Aegan turned to face Lorraine squarely and he looked far from pleased. "Your mind obviously wasn’t here today, Lorraine," he said to her; the old lord only addressed Richard and the princess by their first names when they were alone and the situation was serious. "Do I need to remind you that it takes both the mind and the body to rule a kingdom?"

"But my brother seem to have gotten the hang of how to rule in absentia, don't you think?" she returned in attempt to lighten the mood; not that it worked as Aegan shot her another disapproving glare.

"King Richard has some matters he feels he has to take care of personally and that's why he has left you in charge," he reminded her. "And truth be told, you’ve done a really good job. But today isn't just one of those days, your Highness."

Lorraine knew that Aegan was only watching out for her. Any slip-up and the opposing lords in the royal court would use it as a point to berate Richard's rule, which wouldn't do any good for the king; or her for that matter. But her mind wanted it wanted; and what it wanted was for her to get the bottom of the mystery before her.

"Aegan, have you ever heard of Helione's triskelion?" she suddenly asked and the old lord immediately stiffened on the spot; he definitely knew what it was.

"Where did you hear that from?" he asked, his face suddenly going so pale that Lorraine feared he might fall sick.

“What do you know of it?” she asked again.

“What I know of it is of no concern to you,” Aegan returned and all his initial fright seemed to wash away; he was back in the counselor role. "Concentrate on the matters of today, Lorraine. And if you’ve been going through the f*******n scrolls when Richard specifically told you not to, stop.” The old lord’s voice was firm and the princess knew that he wasn’t joking.

Actually, Lorraine had no idea that Helione’s triskelion was even mentioned within the f*******n scrolls; which, in hindsight, was her mistake. The f*******n scrolls were a collection of documented scrolls detailing renowned but forgotten magical beings, creatures and items which her father Nicolas deemed too dangerous to be left in wizards’ hands during his mad campaign against them and so, had it taken from them and locked in the vault; ordering them as f*******n to even be touched by anyone. It was only because Richard needed the knowledge contained within them when the realm was threatened by Valatu that he had them unbanned and brought to him. But the king had explicitly f*******n anyone from touching the scrolls, especially the princess whom he knew was always drawn by things like that.

"I haven’t touched the scrolls, Aegan," she said. "So, do you mind telling me what Helione’s triskelion is? You know, just to satisfy my curiosity and ensure I don’t go perusing through the scrolls to find it."

Aegan seemed to believe the curiosity explanation and he finally sat down to explain things to her. "I don't know very much about the triskelion," he said. "But I do know that Helione, the triskelion's only known owner, was a dark wizard who became a Head wizard a very long time ago. He was the only dark wizard to have ever achieved such a feat. The triskelion was always seen hanging around his neck like some sort of heirloom whenever he was in public and hence, its name. No one knew what it did, but they never could forget both it and its owner."

Now, Lorraine was even more puzzled than before. She could recall the conversation in the siege tunnel and it didn’t seem to involve an object that was only popular because it had a Head Wizard as its owner. There was definitely more to the story of Helione’s triskelion and the princess was determined to find out. Fortunately, now she knew a very good place to check next.