Questbound

Chapter 1-2

‘Your Majesty, I’ve found her!’ the guard bellowed, making her ears ring. It was the same one who’d found her doll in the carriage.

More footsteps followed, along with the rustling of a skirt. ‘Is she injured?’ the queen asked. The sweet scent of orange mixed with a touch of vanilla entered Yusumi’s nostrils as she felt the queen kneel down to inspect her.

‘A few broken bones, I think,’ the guard replied. ‘But she seems to be in severe shock. I don’t think she can open her eyes.’

‘Very well. Pick her up and put her in my carriage, though be gentle with her. We’re taking her back to Xya with us,’ she instructed.

‘Understood, Your Majesty,’ the guard said. A rush of air touched Yusumi"s face as he carefully lifted her up.

‘Are you sure this is a good idea, Your Majesty?’ Lord Razay interjected. ‘What I mean to say is, we have no idea who this girl is or what happened here. How do we know it’s safe to bring her along?’

‘She’s a child, Lord Razay. Not a thief or a bandit, but a child, who I imagine has suffered a great ordeal."

‘Not all children are innocent, my queen. I have seen children younger than she running about picking pockets and carrying out various crimes for the so called “Lords of the Underground”. They cause more unrest in our fair city every day.’

‘That may be so, but I can’t leave her alone like this. She’ll die. We must get her to the royal healers immediately. Oh, bring her carriage and the horses along with us. They may help her find some security once she has recovered.’

Yusumi lay awake, her eyes focused on the intricate swirls decorating the ceiling as she tried to shake off the last remains of her nightmare. A decade had passed since she’d thought of that day, yet in the past few weeks leading up to her sixteenth birthday, nothing had haunted her more.

Too restless to attempt getting back to sleep, she threw back her covers and dangled her legs over the edge of the plain bed. Unlike the rest of the room"s furniture, which was inlaid with gold and different types of rare wood, the bed looked decidedly out of place against the marble walls. Simple cut timber, cotton sheets, and a thick woollen blanket on top. But that was how she liked it. The plainer things were, the better. Even after all these years, the grandeur of the palace was still overwhelming.

She got up and put on her dressing gown, a garment of thin silk sparsely embroidered with patterns of leaves. It wasn"t the warmest item of clothing she had, but it lessened the chill of the early morning air enough to be comfortable.

On a glass shelf opposite the bed was her doll, as new as when her father had given it to her before they’d set out: a gift to help ease the transition from their village to the royal city, where he"d accepted employment by a wealthy lord. It was supposed to have been a time of celebration where they could leave the pain of her mother"s illness behind and start anew.

Picking the doll up, she held it tight against her, inhaling the smoky aroma that lingered in its fabric from where he"d stitched it in secret in his smithy.

‘You cannot bring back the dead, princess.’

She flinched, startled from her thoughts, but relaxed as Jidan, her enormous wolf-lion, strolled in through the doors. How had she missed the sound of him opening them? He nudged against her and gently took the doll from her grasp using his mouth. Rearing up on his hind legs, he placed it back on the shelf.

‘I know that, Jidan,’ she replied, stroking the fur around his ears. His head, shoulders and front legs were like that of a giant wolf, but the rest of his body, down to the dark tuft on his sleek tail, was all lion.

He had been assigned as her bodyguard as soon as she"d healed enough to live in the palace proper with Queen Celeste, but as well as her protection, he was one of the only people she could really talk to.

It wasn’t that life at the palace was particularly lonely, and she certainly wasn’t unhappy living there, but no one quite seemed to know how to treat her. Queen Celeste hadn’t adopted her, despite how much she’d wanted to. Lord Razay had seen to that, citing that Xylantrian law dictated only royals not in line for the throne may do so, to avoid ‘tainting’ the bloodline.

notLord Razay. Yusumi"s mouth twitched in disgust at the very thought of him. She wished Celeste would banish him from court, but of course that wouldn’t happen. Lord Razay had been advisor to Celeste’s father, and had helped to organise a mounted division of soldiers; made up of elite members of the Royal Guard and a number of individuals; to protect Xya from the two peoples who lived in the wilds of Xylantria, the Heima Tribe and the Meixan warriors. Even though Celeste herself disliked him (to Yusumi’s amusement), the queen couldn’t deny that his experience was valuable.

Lord Razay‘Come, princess,’ Jidan said, stretching his front paws out and arching his back. He yawned and shook himself back up to standing. ‘Her Majesty arose early and asked to speak with you in the throne room as soon as you were awake. Perhaps now would be a good time to dress. Shall I fetch your maid?’

‘Absolutely not. For the hundredth time, I"m perfectly capable of dressing myself. And please stop calling me princess. You know it’s not true,’ she said, going behind the changing screen to wash and put on a light gown.

please ‘I suppose it is not, but I am your servant. Think of it merely as a term of endearment.’

‘My servant? Jidan, you know I don’t think of you that way. You’re my friend. My only friend."

only‘In that case, you may see it as a nickname,’ the wolf-lion said, somewhat stubbornly.

Yusumi stifled a laugh with her hand and reappeared from behind the screen, fully clothed. He bowed his head approvingly and led her into the hall, heading towards the throne room.

The hall was even colder than her room, so cold that she could see her breath mist out in front of her. It wasn’t surprising really; the year had only recently turned, and aside from the main entrance and the interior of the rooms, which like her own, made use of decorative marble, the rest of the palace was built from grey stone. It offered little protection against winter"s keen bite.

‘What’s this about, anyway?’ she asked Jidan as he padded along beside her, the sound of his paws muffled by the thick carpets.

‘I am unsure. Her Majesty would only tell me that it was of utmost importance."

‘Maybe it’s a surprise for my birthday,’ she pondered. ‘But it can’t be, that’s not until tomorrow.’

They reached the great double doors of the throne room, heavy wooden artworks etched with flowers and wildlife. The guards posted either side heaved them open for her, and she and Jidan went inside.

As expected, Queen Celeste wasn’t sitting on the throne, but standing near the fireplace warming her fingers. She smiled as Yusumi and Jidan neared her, turning to face them so that her wavy gold hair swished about her shoulders. ‘You must have been awake already, to get here so quickly,’ she said, embracing Yusumi and rubbing Jidan’s head. Then she looked into Yusumi’s eyes and her expression tightened. ‘You were dreaming about your father again, weren’t you?’

Yusumi nodded and Celeste drew her in close, stroking her black locks. ‘The pain that you carry will never leave you, but it won’t do you any good to dwell on the past. You can"t bring back the dead.’

Yusumi pulled a face. ‘That’s what he said,’ she replied, casting a disgruntled glance at Jidan.

As much as his wolfish features allowed, he grinned smugly back. ‘It is good advice, would you not agree, Your Majesty?’ he said, c*****g his head to the side.

‘I think it’s sound, yes,’ Celeste said, laughing. She drew in a breath, adopting a more serious manner. ‘It does, however, bring me to what I need to tell you. As much as you mustn’t dwell on the past, you should look to the future. And the future that I see...is for you to become Princess of Xylantria.’

Yusumi stared at her, open mouthed. ‘But what about Lord Razay? To make me princess, you would have to officially adopt me, and the law states that—’

‘I have decided that now is the time for our laws to be updated. There are no suitors that I intend on marrying, so it is unlikely that I will ever have children of my own. And without an heir to the throne, the monarchy will crumble and Xya with it.’

‘What about your cousin Etchos? Is he not entitled to the throne?’ Yusumi asked.

Celeste frowned, touching a finger to her cheek. ‘Well, I suppose he is, but everyone in Xya – no, I’m sure all of Xylantria – knows how useless he is. I don’t think he could rule his own teacup, let alone a country. But you, Yusumi! You"ve shown so much promise in dealings of court and politics. You care about the people, and the country. There’s no one I can think of more suited to take the throne after me than you." She hesitated, biting her lip. "So…what do you think?’

all‘If I accepted and became princess, that would officially make me your daughter, wouldn’t it?’

‘Yes, it would."

‘Then,’ Yusumi said thickly as tears misted up her eyes, ‘that’s what I want. You’ve taken care of me and taught me so much since I’ve been here. How can I possibly refuse?’

Celeste wiped a tear from her own eye. ‘Then it’s settled. Tomorrow, on your birthday, I will announce our intentions to the court. And if Lord Razay complains, I’ll simply overrule him, like I should have done long ago,’ she declared, embracing Yusumi once more.