Gretchen and Azalea and Lernyr were obligated to a four-year contract at the gym, when the last day of grace ended, the queen took her friends to the Northeastern Quadrant of the Aztirian kingdom, and they began performing daily sparring routines there; Luna and Kouper relocated after "Inheritance Day", and with the chaos involved in adjusting to life as queen, it took a while before mother and daughter could get together in order for Gretchen to obtain the information needed for access to her secret alcove. On their first visit, the oak tree spirit, Gavra spoke with her guests, and allowed them access inside; Luna told the queen the type of gift the guardian liked, and she received one upon their entry.
Once inside, they found the room with a boxing-ring, there were gloves, a mouth guard, and a helmet. Lernyr discovered everything needed to train his students had all been placed there, and he wondered how it was possible. Delving further, the personal demon revealed that the refrigerator had been stocked with food and drinks and snacks, and the cabinets were full of non-perishable food items. The queen found that the restroom was designed for the relief of sore muscles, because the bathtub had massaging jets, and there was a steam-room over on the other side; in everyone's opinion, Gretchen located the best area in the place, and she received high-fives for her part.
The trio went into the accommodating dressing-rooms where they all made another convenient discovery, each had work-out attire, along with appropriate footwear, and it was all in their sizes.
"Okay, I don't know about either of you, but I'm freaking out a little bit," Azalea said.
"If you're thinking what I think you're thinking, don't allow your mind to go down that road, because I've talked to my mother about this place, and it's going to be alright. Luna prepared me for this, and I promise, it's not what you think. Can you see? When mamma was given the information about her own alcove, everything except the furniture had to be brought into her place, and she decided to make a magixical change in all nine of the ones that belong to her children. Now, the current generation of queens has everything she needs, what she cannot find, she only has to think about it, and shortly thereafterwards, it appears. Don't ask me how she pulled it off, but I know this one will cost her a lot in the end," Gretchen explained.
"Did you know that your mother used to be a student of mine?" Lernyr asked.
"Really? You two are around the same age, so how is that possible? The queen wanted to know.
"Well, I was her tutor for the "Learning Castings II" class she was taking, and I've gotta say, 'I'm thoroughly impressed'", he replied.
"I'll be sure to let her know you said that you know 'Stubborn Luna', and her pride, she'll float on cloud-nine for eternity," the royal one said as she stepped out of her room.
"Wow! Your mother is amazing, but I have one question. How did she know the sizes Lernyr and I would wear?" Azalea wanted to know.
"I'm not exactly sure how she knew, but it is really, really cool," Gretchen said.
The trio spent the rest of that afternoon practicing the sparring routines which each of them already knew, the sorcerer put both females through individual warm-up tasks, and then turned to their partners preparations before their regular routines began. As they shifted from one exercise to another, the magix elder could see that no expense had been spared when the former queen made the space designed especially for each of them, because there was a sorcerer's wand intended only to be wielded by him; the initials of his name were engraved into the handle, and the in-lay was pure gold. Lernyr dubbed it, "Windfall", and silently thanked Luna for her contributions.
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”I don’t know about the two of you, but I’m starved. Do y’all want to grab something here, or would y’all like to wait until we get home?” Gretchen asked after the training session ended.
"I feel that we should go home, and enjoy our families," Lernyr suggested.
"Yeah, I'm exhausted, and we can go out on another night," the personal demon replied.
"Alright, I'm going to rinse some of this sweat off, and change my clothes. Then, we can go back to the castle, I mean, I didn't even realize how tired I really am," the queen said.
"We'll be doing the same, and let us know whenever you're ready to leave," the sorcerer said.
A few minutes later, they each emerged from their respective dressing rooms wearing the attire each of them donned before, and the friends left Gretchen's alcove in time to make it home for dinner. They traveled on foot, sorcerer and demon following their leader, and she found the citadel without help; the queen stopped outside of the castle, and waited for her friends.
When everyone stood together, she said, "I don't know if either of you noticed, but your highness has found our home without asking for help. I would say that’s quite a feat for someone who is directional-ly challenged, wouldn’t you?"
“Yes, I must admit, you’ve done quite well,” Lernyr remarked.
“I had no idea that you cannot find your way around,” the demon said.
“Until now, there had been an issue with that for me for a very, very long time, but it’s apparent I don’t have to worry about that anymore,” the royal elf said.
"I am proud of you my friend, now there are others that won't have to worry so much about you, and I know they'll feel better," the sorcerer replied. The trio made their way inside, the queen knew one elf in particular she wanted to tell, and she went to the throne room to find the king; as she opened the door, Gretchen could plainly see her husband was busy, and she waited for discussions to end so as to not interrupt.
"My beautiful, darling bride, I'm glad to see you made it back, but I'm extremely busy right now. Of course, I'll take time for you, but we must hurry," Sopher told his wife.
"I just thought you might want to know that I made it back home, this evening, and I did it all on my own," she said.
"Oh, my goodness, honey, that's fantastic news," the king said.
"I know you've got work, so I'm gonna go, but that was something I thought you might want to know. Do you realize what this truly means for me?" She asked, but was not requiring an answer.
"Yes, I am very aware, but we'll have to talk later. I'll make it to dinner. Will I see you then?" He required an answer.
"I'll definitely be in the main dining hall for our third meal, and it will be nice to see you there," the queen told her king.
"I'm sorry we don't have time together," he told his wife.
"But sacrifices must be made. For me, for you, and the sake of our family. I know dear, but it's what you deserve for marrying a royal elf like me. Sopher, I love you," she told her husband.
"Gretchen, I love you just the same," he replied.
She left him alone, tears streaming down her cheeks, and found her friends were waiting outside; the queen tried to wipe her face dry, no one needed to see her crying, but they had alredy saw her as she stepped into the corridor.
"Is everything alright, I don't mean to pry, but it's not every day that we see our queen crying," Lernyr wanted to know.
"Oh, yes, everything is fine, those were tears caused by the king's sentiment," she said.
"You are important to me, and as your friend, I had to ask," the sorcerer replied.
"Besides, I hope he's not mean, I don't like mean elves, and I like to beat them up," Azalea revealed.
"Neither of you knows Sopher very well, but as his wife, I can assure you, his mother didn't raise him that way," the queen told her friends.
"I don't see how that proves anything, my mother raised my brothers and I the same way, and my oldest sibling regularly beats his wife. I would never strike any female, but that's not my point," the magix elder said.
"Do I come off as the kind of elf who cannot tell when a male is that way? If I do, y'all don't know me at all, and I always listen to my instincts when it comes to matters of the heart, and you can ask Mistress Jazzi. Remember her? She's the one who helped Ecko raise me," Gretchen said.
"Well, I'm completely convinced, and I apologize for not knowing that already", the demon said.
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"If you can, use your words to describe what you're feeling," Ecko said.
"The best way I can do that would be to say that I'm sad all the time, yet it's not depression. It makes me feel like something really horrible is going to happen. Does that make sense to you?" Queen Gretchen asked.
"Yes, it makes perfect sense, and if you think back, you felt that way a few days before your wrist was broken. Those feelings of doom and gloom are your instincts, and the smartest thing you can do is listen to them. If you get a real bad feeling in your stomach, that's your instincts telling you not to do something," her sister said.
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Gretchen's mind continued to recall the conversation with her sister, and it was keeping her distracted from her royal duties. After dismissing staff members for the day, the ninth continental queen left the castle, and she retrieved the Royal Dragon, Purmil. If she knew one thing to be true, it was that Lernyr was the one she needed to speak with about everything further, and she instructed the creature to take her to Little Titus.
When she arrived, the sorcerer and demon could be seen sitting on the pier which extended off their back porch, and she dismounted her dragon who received fruit pieces for his services. The queen walked back to where her friends sat, there was a breeze which felt nice on her cheeks, but it caused her to shiver from somewhere deep down inside.
"Gretchen, it's summertime," Azalea remarked.
"Yeah, okay, I know that," she replied.
"Then why are you wearing a sweater, and shivering that hard? Are you sick?" The demon wanted to know.
"No, I'm not sick, and I've come to talk to y'all about something. I'm not sure why I have been feeling so cold, but I don't have a fever. The thermometer read normal," she returned.
"You need to visit, Oracle, she's not just a soothsayer, she's also the strongest healer I know, and the way you're feeling cannot be fixed by anyone in the medical profession. Not even in the field of psychology," the sorcerer said.
"I've talked to Mamma, Jazzi, Ecko, grandma and Azleal about how I've been feeling, they said it's my instincts, and advised me to listen to them. My only problem is, I have no idea what it is they're trying to tell me, and I'm tired of feeling like this," Gretchen said.
"That's why you need to visit my friend, she will be able to help you sort things out, and she's a fantastic chef," the sorcerer said.
"Let's go, there's no time to lose," the queen urged.
*************************************
The ancient spell whisked them to the Southern Magix Plateau within two seconds, they stopped to speak with the High Priestess Oona-myer to find out where Oracle lived, and the two were off again; less than one second later, they were standing in front of the seer's place, and she greeted them before he knocked.
"Hello, Lernyr, it has been too long since we last visited, and it looks like you've done well for yourself. Please, won't the both of you come in? Today's 'catch up on chores day', so excuse the mess," the elder said as she held the door open to invite them inside.
"It's not a mess, more like a tornado struck it, but I still love you,"he replied.
"I cannot say one word about your place, you should see my sleeping-chambers," Gretchen responded.
"That's appreciated, generally is not necessary, but I've been unusually busy lately," Oracle said.
"Your highness, I understand that it is you who's having the issue," she did not require an answer, but was breaking the ice.
"Yes, it is me who's having the problem, but you already know that, so let's get straight to what it is that's bothering me. That is if you don't mind," the queen said.
"Sure, whatever you would like," the seer replied.
"I don't mean to be rude, please, forgive me, ahead of time in case it's necessary during our meeting, Missus Oona-myer, but when you hear what I've been going through, you'll be emphatic," the royal elf said.
"I don't know all the details, but the vision I had gave me the gist of it. However, in order to understand better, I'll need to hear everything from you, and don't worry, apologies are not not needed. Please, tell me, what's been happening?," the high priestess replied.
"For the first part, do you know anyone who's wearing a sweater, right now?" The queen wanted to know.
"Not this late in the year," the magix elder said.
"Well, I'm probably the only one, but I've been so cold as of late that I'm wearing a sweater, right now," Gretchen said.
"Oh, wow! You poor baby, and you're sure there's no fever?" Oona-myer said.
"Yes, I take my temperature on a regular basis, as queen, I cannot afford to get sick, and the thermometer reads 'normal', every time," the matriarch replied.
"Of course, I would never think you'd be around anyone, queen or not, if you were actually ill, but I have to hear from you that you are not sick. It's a hazard of my job to ask the questions which are obviously answered, but it is what I have to do in order to proceed," the priestess said.
"I understand," the young elf said.
"I'm glad you do, because things may start to get a little blurry when it comes to understanding one another while you are here, but for now, we have a clear path concerning that. Now, I feel you should know your sister, Maylene recently paid me a visit. She had a sweater on as well, but she came with something you do not have," The soothsayer responded.
"Wait, what? I know that you said my sister has come to talk with you, so I'm not confused about that, however, I am very unclear on p000 anything else that's going on with Maylene," Gretchen responded.
"I kinda thought things would get blurry here, so let's clear up what you are confused about,"Oona-myer suggested.
"Maylene and I missed our weekly connection on Sunday, therefore, I'm unaware of the fact that she's been feeling the same way I have, and I would like to know what my sister had which I don't. If you think I should know, please," the royal one said.
"Well, I'm glad I knew you were going to say that, and I'm even more ecstatic that I've been given permission to tell you about it. Your sister came to me, probably the same day you missed her connection, and she had a message from the guardian of her tree house," the elder said.
"Oh, wow! Really? I didn't have any idea tree-guardians were capable of doing those kinds of things," Gretchen replied.
"Oh, they are capable of more than that, and I thought you knew," Oona-myer said.
"No, I didn't know that, but back to the current matter at hand. What is it you've been given permission to tell me?" The queen wanted to know.
"Right, sorry about that. We can discuss that later, and trust me, we need to. However, the message Maylene received was, 'There has been a disturbance in the cosmic balance, it seems we've been at peace for far too long, and the ones who exist underground, are fighting to take control of things, topside. Whenever they have their way, the innocent and the wicked and the pure of heart shall all stand together, to help Aryllion come from underneath, and he shall rule Interraton without fear of anything. The day is coming, and it will be here soon. Be warned and be prepared', and since the elders have heard this, they have been very concerned," the high priestess said.
"That was more than I'd expected, in my opinion, that guardian has told us a lot, and we should take heed in her words. However, I still need to find out if Maylene and I are feeling the same way for the same reason," the queen responded.
"No worries, I can answer that question, but not before I receive the vision coming to me, currently. Do me a favor, huh? Don't interact with me until I tell you the message has been received, please," Oona-myer said.
An elf who'd been observing their interaction from a distance stepped into the light of the room, and began giving instructions which were followed with out question.
"Hello, I'm Claudette, and I need you both to help me make her as comfortable as we can, we need to be quick about this. I recommend saving your questions until later, we also need to be more quiet than a church-mouse during services, because we don't want anything interfering with the process," she instructed.
***********************************************
Two hours later, there were signs of the soothsayer regaining consciousness, and her assistant checked Oracle's pulse; keeping an eye on her vital statistics was essential to the success of the process, and the readings were recorded for future reference. Gretchen and Lernyr had become silent observers, watching everything up close was fascinating to the queen, and he stayed because his legs would not allow him to move.
"This part will be very informative, and silence from us is key", the assistant said. Oracle sat up, looked at the elves in her presence, and requested writing materials; there had already been a pen and paper within reach, and it was given to the seer.
When she finished, the words read: 'Aryllion, Lord of the Underworld, Destroyer of All Things Good, will walk among you by year's end', and everyone shivered collectively.
"Alright, we know what it reads, but what does it mean," Claudette inquired.
"Jasmine Devereux will know, and I'll contact her, immediately," the queen replied.
"How do you know Mistress Devereux?" Oracle asked.
"You out of everyone here should know," Gretchen responded.
"You're right, I do know the story very well, but some of us don't. Tell us your version of events since you know first-hand," the soothsayer replied.
"First, I must contact Mamma, and let her know about your message," the queen said.
© P. L. Watson-Atwell