A New Queen

Chapter Three

“Killing Noduvs for simply conjuring is absurd, even for Moss.” Marzonna said as she and Nicholette walked to the dining hall. 

“It will not last, I’m about to make sure of that.” 

Marzonna turned her head to stare at Nicholette, her eyes slitted with suspicion. 

“What is that supposed to mean?” 

Nicholette looked squarely at Marzonna and said, “We’re going to Midrouge to pardon the men ourselves.” 

Marzonna halted to a stop in the middle of the hallway, making the young guard accompanying them clamor to prevent himself from running into her. The guard, Van de Lacy, was a young man who had served in the Queen’s Guard since he was eighteen and Nicholette was only sixteen. Van had been around for a while and Nicholette even considered him her closest friend outside of Marzonna and Bleu. Despite his two years of service, however, he still found Marzonna more intimidating than anyone else in the castle and Nicholette had to struggle not to laugh at his obvious discomfort now as he struggled to remain unnoticed. 

“Nicholette, you are far too practical to truly believe that would be a good idea.” Marzonna said, spoiling Nicholette’s moment of amusement. 

Nicholette finally relented and stopped walking as she resisted the urge to sigh. She knew that it would take more coercing to get Marzonna to agree with this excursion than it had for Bleu, and that’s precisely why Nicholette told her about the new law and the executions beforehand in an attempt to slowly introduce it. That strategy had obviously not worked. 

“It’s the only way I can make a difference right now.” 

Marzonna chuckled without humor, “Getting yourself killed would help no one.” 

“Marzonna, listen to me.” Nicholette grabbed her hands and looked her right in the eyes, “There are people all over Delladine right now who believe that I had something to do with passing that law. They believe that I would actually execute Noduvs for conjuring.” 

“Do not be foolish.” Marzonna huffed. “The people know you stand with Noduvs.” 

Nicholette shook her head, “No, they don’t. Just this morning Marian was afraid to talk to me about her son because he’s a young Noduv. A woman who knows me and sees me interact with you every day doesn’t even believe that I would spare a Noduv life. How are those who do not know me supposed to believe it?” 

At this, Marzonna finally looked to be comprehending Nicholette’s point, so she continued, “I do not wish to be a queen who hides away in an ivory tower. I want to be a queen who sees and understands her people’s misfortunes and is willing to truly help. That’s the kind of queen you have taught me to be.” 

Marzonna regarded Nicholette for a long moment before relenting a slow nod. “Very well, but we will need to be as inconspicuous as possible until we arrive at Midrouge. It will be much easier for Bleu to guard you if no one realizes who you are.” 

Nicholette nodded and began to walk towards the dining hall again; the smell of fine pork and buttery loaves of bread were already wafting her way and making her hungry. “I know. I’ve been giving it a great deal of consideration and I think it would be best for us to dress in black so that we can blend in with the mourners who will be travelling to the Deadlands border for the Fallen Noduvs.” 

“That’s very clever, indeed.” Marzonna said in a more quiet voice, trying to keep their privacy as they entered the great room full of tables and those dining inside. Nicholette thought it not necessary given the loud clamouring of utensils against dishes and uproarious laughter. “We could simply carry a bundle of flowers with us and no one would suspect a thing. We would be just three travelers looking to honor our religion.” 

Nicholette nodded. “I admit that I have long wished to see the mourning for myself. I still remember the day you taught me of the Noduvs’ sacrifice; I was so intrigued that I had researched it for weeks after.” 

She recalled that the lesson of the Fallen Noduvs was one of the first that Marzonna had taught her when she was hired to be Nicholette’s tutor. Marzonna was unhappy that Nicholette had never been taught about the tradition, so she climbed to the top of a very dusty bookshelf and pulled out a leather bound book with an Erzulian title. Marzonna had instructed a young Nicholette to keep the book a secret, as it was a possession she brought with her to Delladine when she left her home country of Erzulief. 

Marzonna sat them in front of the fireplace and she began to read the legend of the Fallen Noduvs. It had told of a time, more than a century ago, when Amith had tried to invade the kingdom of Erzulief and take its people for slaves. Erzulief, an incredibly small country still trying to develop, had little it could do to stand against the much bigger kingdom of Amith. The Church of Bondyevou, having been the primary source of leadership in Erzulief, gathered it’s oldest and most renowned Noduvs together and asked for the greatest sacrifice they could offer- their lives. 

Noduvs are practicers of the Bondyevou religion who are blessed with the ability to use sacrificial magic to do things like conjuring animals and plants, seeing prophecies, performing a ritual called “hertij,” and in the case of the Fallen Noduvs, they could desecrate land. The Noduvs had decided that the only way they could prevent Amith from invading their land was to destroy the coast so no one could navigate through it to the mainland. However, the power of Noduv magic can not be used without a sacrifice from the conjurer. Of course there are those who try to conjure Noduv without having the gift, and they often end up going mad and then dying from the inside out. But on small scales of Noduv, there is only a loss of energy in the Noduv conjurer and in some cases it could leave them ill; but if the action is too big, the Noduv magic can sometimes take the conjurer’s life. For the ability to destroy an entire kingdom’s coast, it would cost over one hundred of the greatest Noduvs their lives. 

In the end of the story, the legend says that the Noduvs bravely gave their lives and turned the coast of Erzulief into the Deadlands, a dead, black swamp so impenetrable, the only people who could have possibly navigated through it were the Noduvs themselves. Now, more than a century later, every Bondyevou or Noduv believer mourns the loss of their great heros on the anniversary of their sacrifice and they call it the Mourning for the Fallen Noduvs. As per tradition, everyone from Delladine or Erzulief who chooses to mourn, travels to the border of the Deadlands and leaves behind flowers and sacrificed animals to respect the lost lives. Nicholette had always found a grim sort of fascination in the story and always liked to imagine that if ever necessary, she too could be that selfless and brave.  

The sound of Bleu’s voice snapped Nicholette out of her memories and into the present to find him pulling out seats for Nicholette and Marzonna to take. 

“I assume she has told you?” He inquired of Marzonna. 

“And has somehow managed to make me believe it could be a good idea.” Marzonna said quietly. Bleu stared at both women for a moment before he finally nodded and sighed. 

“Then we will leave in the morning, before dawn.” 

Not one of them said much during the meal from either nerves or being completely wrapped in thought. Nicholette found herself half heartedly listening to the conversations being held around her, but only nodded or offered a tight lipped smile to anyone enquiring of her. She found herself again disgusted by the people in the room with her. The cabinet members were all at a large table with their  families dressed in ostentatious tunics and other clothing, a complete juxtaposition to the much more modest clothing of those who were serving them. Filling two other large tables were prominent families who lived in Vidan and had more riches than even some in the palace, they too were completely oblivious to those around them who were not lucky enough to be born wealthy. She even found herself looking down at her own fine silk dress and felt her stomach turn guiltily. Although she took great care in never dressing too flashy, she still knew her clothes were worth the cost of some family’s homes. She thought again of the people who were so poor and desperate that they were risking their lives to conjure livestock for their families to eat. She looked around at those in the room and saw men who were gorging themselves, women refusing to eat because of their figures, and children who were playfully throwing bits of bread at one another and she felt as if she were going to be ill. 

Nicholette stood rather abruptly and said, “Please excuse me, I do not feel well.” 

Before she could turn to leave the table, Marzonna grabbed her arm and said, “Nicholette, do you need me to make you something? I can make a brew to settle your stomach.”

Nicholette shook her head slightly. “No, no I just need fresh air.” She then turned to her guard, Van, and said, “Would you be so kind as to accompany me so that Bleu and Marzonna can finish their supper?” 

“Of course, Queen Nicholette.” Van bowed slightly and pulled her chair out more so she could leave the table. 

Nicholette didn’t turn back around to look at Marzonna or Bleu because she already knew they were watching her back with those worried looks they sometimes gave her. Instead, she offered a small smile to Van and then they made their way out of the dining room. 

Nicholette waited until they had found their way outside the palace and were walking down the stone walkway leading to a huge gazebo covered in ivy before she spoke. The acrid smell of soil and greenery filled her nose as she stepped into the gazebo.

“I’m sorry I’m postponing your meal.” She looked up at Van and offered an apologetic smile. She knew he didn’t mind, he often told her his favorite part of his day was the walk the two took around the gardens every night. 

“You know I don’t mind, Nicholette.” He grinned. 

Nicholette often found herself reaching for Van when she needed a friend. He joined the Queen’s guard when she was sixteen and she immediately took a liking to him. He was kind to her while the others treated her with the kind of respect that only came because of her ranking. Van had made it clear from the beginning that he respected her not only for her rank, but also because of who she was. Bleu had made Van her combat partner and they spent many long days working through Bleu’s rigorous training together, something that made them even closer. Van always stayed formal in front of others, but when they were alone, he spoke to her just like old friends do. 

“I know you heard what I’m doing tomorrow.” Nicholette said softly. 

Van nodded and looked away from her, “Yes.” He said simply. 

“Well?” Nicholette prodded, “Are you not going to tell me I’m foolish too?” 

When Van looked back at her, his blue eyes were bright with a passion Nicholette had not expected. “You are not foolish. You are brave and selfless and I only wish you were taking me along.” 

Nicholette frowned as she remembered a story Van had told her long ago. Van’s mother bore two twins that were to be Van’s younger siblings, a boy and a girl. When she gave birth to them however, only the boy had survived and Van’s family soon found out it was because the two were Noduvs, and the power had been too great for the little girl, like it so often was. In fact, Marzonna was the only known woman Noduv conjurer in both Erzulief and Delladine, because women were often killed by their own powers. Nicholette knew that losing his baby sister had taken a toll on Van and his family; his little brother, now eight, never conjured because the family was fearful of what it could do.

“Is this about Lathem?” Nicholette asked tentatively, recalling the young boy who had Van’s coal black hair and ice blue eyes. 

Van flinched very slightly and finally said, “Yes, I worry about him. My family is afraid these new laws will make it dangerous for Lathem to live in Delladine.” He looked away from Nicholette again as he finished, “You are his only hope.” 

Nicholette swallowed the emotion that rose in her throat before she answered, “Van, you know I will do whatever I can to protect your family.” 

Van laughed sadly and held Nicholette’s face in his calloused hand, “You have not yet seen what is happening outside of the palace walls.” 

Nicholette frowned and looked at Van from under lowered brows. He was tall and lean, with all the strength that one would expect to see in a Queen’s Guard, but he was also soft. His face was always delicate when he looked at Nicholette, always kind. However, in that moment he looked more troubled than Nicholette had ever seen him. Before she could get the chance to tell him so, there was the distinct sound of a sword being unsheathed from somewhere unseen. 

Instantly, Van and Nicholette reacted with the fierce calmness of practiced warriors. Van drew out his own sword and Nicholette tugged out the dagger she had strapped to her thigh, both stood beside the other as they did so many times in training. 

“Who is there?” Van called authoritatively. 

The answer was a sharp, high cackle that made the hairs on Nicholette’s arms stand up. She and Van shared the same troubled glance before looking back out into the darkness. The night had grown black and the only thing visible was the gazebo, lit by candles hanging from each pillar. Nicholette had the distinct feeling of being on display, as if she and Van were on a stage with a spotlight and not in the gardens. 

Van did not waste his breath to ask the prowler to show themselves. “What do you want?” He called out instead. 

Another laugh, this time it came from the opposite direction and was much louder. Nicholette and Van both drew sharp breaths and put their backs together. They moved in a slow circle, their eyes were darting to everywhere and nowhere all at once. Nicholette strained to see out into the dark nothingness but saw no one. The only sound was the heavy breaths of the two young warriors. Just as she were about to suggest running for the palace doors, Van cursed under his breath. 

“There,” He said sharply, “Look out near the fountain, I see…” He trailed off, but Nicholette looked in that direction anyway. Van did not have to finish his sentence for Nicholette to understand what he saw, because she noticed as well. Somehow, impossibly, there was a dark manlike figure standing only yards away and it’s eyes were glowing. The eyes were not bright and luminescent, however; they were more like a milk white, completely devoid of irises or pupils, just a white so bright and undisturbed that Nicholette could make them out clearly even in the dark. 

“What…” Nicholette trailed off in a whisper. 

Before anything more could be done, the figure was charging towards them in an instant. Van pushed Nicholette behind him and raised his sword for a battle. The figure grew ever closer and Nicholette’s hands became damp with sweat, her heart hammered with the promise of a fight. 

Just as the figure was about to meet the light, it vanished. It was gone in an instant, as if it could only exist in the darkness. 

“What is happening?” Van asked no one in particular, his voice held the smallest bit of strain.

 The two started to turn around in a slow circle again, trying to find the strange attacker. It was only when Nicholette turned to look behind her that she finally saw what was after them. For only one second, the thing stood right in front of her. It looked like a man, but it was draped with a dark cloak and only its mouth could be seen. The mouth was hanging open, almost unhinged, cracks were all around it with blood and some kind of ink black sludge pouring from inside. The blackened teeth inside the mouth were all broken and missing. Before Nicholette could even make a slice with her dagger, the being screeched out another deafening laugh and grabbed Nicholette’s long hair and dragged her away from Van. 

The creature moved with such speed that Nicholette couldn’t even see where they were going. The creature had an incredible strength that allowed it to drag Nicholette along by only her hair and she could barely keep her feet running along with them. She heard Van yell her name and his footsteps chasing them, but not fast enough. Nicholette grabbed the creature’s wrist and tried to tug herself free, but it was coated in a slick liquid that made it impossible for her to get a good grip. She tried desperately to shove her dagger into its body or even its arm, but it was like trying to fight liquid. The thing was fluid and somehow anticipated her actions before smoothly dodging her. 

After a few seconds, it dropped her onto the cold grass before it stood and looked down at her. The bloody sludge dripped down onto her face, but she tried to keep her eyes open despite the sting. The smell was a mix between sulfur and a rotten animal that had died in the sun. One second she was holding onto her knife and the next, the creature had somehow turned it around on her and had it pressed to her throat. It laughed again and spit the sludge at her in a way that clearly signified disgust. It put its frightening mouth to her ear and croaked in a voice unlike any she had heard before, “You are nothing Queen. I could end your life right now.” It taunted. 

Despite its threat, it lowered the knife from her throat and cut a piece of her long black hair off. Its sharp laugh was cut off by a resounding thud as Van charged it and knocked it off of Nicholette. Nicholette jumped to her feet, but only found Van standing alone looking at the ground with a perplexed look on his face. She rushed to his side and looked at what he was transfixed on. It was only a puddle of the dark black sludge, slowly spreading and painting the green grass black. 

“Where did it go?” Nicholette asked and looked around desperately, she clutched Van’s arm tightly. 

“I… I stabbed it” He mumbled. 

“Well where’d it go?” Nicholette asked again. 

“It vanished. I stabbed it and it…” Van trailed off. 

Nicholette shook him fiercely and said, “It what, Van?” Her voice rising. 

“It melted to this.” He said, never taking his eyes off of the puddle. 

“What?” Nicholette asked and jumped away from the sludge.

Her sudden movement must have shook Van from his shock, because he snapped his attention to her and held her face in his hands. “Did it hurt you?” His hands trailed down her arms and his eyes looked desperately around her body, looking for any sign of injury. 

“No” She shook her head and could not stop it. “No, it told me it could kill me and then it cut a piece of my hair.” 

Van stopped in his tracks. “Why would it do that?” 

“I don’t know, Van.” Nicholette said, her voice rising again in frustration. “We have to get inside without anyone seeing us.”

“What?” Van asked sharply. “We need to tell Bleu.” 

“No!” Nicholette bellowed and held onto Van’s arms again. He was looking at her as if she had lost her mind. “If we tell Bleu he will cancel the trip to Midrouge. This has to stay between us.” 

“This could happen again. You could’ve been killed.” Van’s own voice was rising. 

“Van, think of Lathem. We have to stay quiet for him and all the other Noduvs being threatened.” 

He shook his head back and forth and looked even more troubled than he had before. “I am a Queen’s Guard. I must put your life even before my own family. Of all my responsibilities, you’re the most important.” 

Nicholette recoiled as if Van had slapped her. She looked at him as if she had never seen him in her life. These were the words of a trained guard who has had a message drilled into him, not those of her friend who was usually able to see the sense in Nicholette’s orders. 

“Enough.” She said coldly. “You will never say something so foolish to me again.” She bit out. “I order you not to say a word of this to anyone. If you will not protect your family, I will.” 

At her words, Van flinched and looked at her with hurt blue eyes. “Yes, Your Majesty.”  He said simply, before transforming before her very eyes into a formal guard not unlike the rest of them. His face grew blank and his posture coiled as if he could not relax. He watched her with expectant eyes, ready for another order. He meant to annoy Nicholette, but she would not have it. Instead, she turned around and quickly walked back towards the palace and dragged her sleeve across her face trying in vain to get the bloody sludge off of her. She heard Van following behind her, but neither of them spoke. 

She decided quickly that the best way to get to her chambers unseen would be to go through the hallway behind the kitchen where she knew all the servants would still be busy with cooking and cleaning. She glided through a large corridor and around the corner to the beginning of the poorly lit hallway but the sound of two hushed voices made her instinctively stop. She grabbed Van’s arm and pulled them both into a dark doorway and they pressed their bodies as closely to the wall as they could. Nicholette gave Van one look and knew he wanted to listen to the voices as well, his head was already c****d in the best position to hear. Nicholette turned her head in the same way and listened as well as she could. 

“She has insulted us all!” A high pitched man’s voice filled the hallway. The words were slurred from drink, but Nicholette recognized him immediately as Andrew Peaver, the cabinet member which Nicholette argued with just hours earlier. “She must be stopped before she destroys the balance of power forever.” His voice had nearly reached a squeal by the time he finished his sentence. 

“I will tell you as I have told the others, I am handling it.” A calm voice replied. Nicholette’s blood went as cold as ice when she heard this man speak, for she knew it was none other than Boris Moss. She couldn’t see them, but she could imagine the pig-like man talking to the rail thin Peaver as if he were an upset child, despite the fact that Peaver was much taller than Moss. 

“What does that mean?” Peaver nearly screeched. 

“It means, I am handling it.” Moss repeated harshly. “I will not tolerate blasphemy and I certainly will not tolerate disrespect, especially from some foolish woman.” Moss spat the word woman as if it tasted bitter in his mouth.

 Nicholette clenched her hands and felt her nails digging into her palm. Van must have anticipated her anger, because he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to the wall. Almost silently, he hushed into her ear and held her still. Nicholette had to take several calming breaths before she could continue to listen again. 

Moss continued, “The child has strong principles which she often lets cloud her judgment. She and the others will be leaving at dawn with only anonymity and a single man to protect them, they will be vulnerable.” Nicholette felt her heart begin to race and had to bite the inside of her cheek to control her emotions. “I have already set a plan in motion.” Moss finished, his smugness was nearly palpable. 

The sound of a door opening and a clamor from the kitchen flooded the hallway. Another voice that Nicholette could not easily recognize said, “He’s back, sir. We must go.” 

Moss said, “Alright, let’s go.” As if it were an afterthought, Moss continued, “Peaver…”

Andrew did squeal this time, “Yes, sir?” 

“Do not speak of this to anyone.” And then the footsteps faded with the noises of the kitchen and then all was silent as the door must have closed. 

Nicholette placed a hand on the wall beside her and began to breath heavily. 

“I believe that is the second threat on my life that I’ve heard in the last twenty minutes.” She whispered and bowed her head. 

“You must stay here, Nicholette. This has grown to be more dangerous than any of us anticipated.” Van said softly. Nicholette noted with vague interest that he had yet to drop his arm from her waist, as if he were still trying to keep her next to him. 

“I will not fear those men. They are cowards, and I refuse to bend to them in any way. They do not deserve my worry.” Her voice had sounded calm and collected, but inside Nicholette felt a chill filling every corner of her body. She did not fear for her life, but she did fear that all hope of justice could die with her. She knew she had to stay alive for that fact alone. 

“Then I will worry enough for us both.” Van said quietly.