Chapter 6 The library

That night Ayla dreamed of her little garden and her grandmother. They were sitting on a bench and talking. A blanket of snow covered the garden. White-bell flowers rose above the snow.

Ayla was older in her dream. Her eyes were those of a person that had seen too much. Around her left wrist, she had tattoos of some runes she did not recognize, that went´s all around, like a bracelet. Her grandmother was telling her something, but Ayla could not hear her grandmother´s words.

Her heart was beating fast and she knew that it was important to hear what her grandmother was saying.

The dream changed and Ayla was a nine year old girl again. The princess was still in her garden and her mother was brushing her hair while she was teaching Ayla about herbs and plants. An older boy, that could have been thirteen or fourteen came up to her. He seemed familiar. Ayla knew she had seen him before but she could not remember from where she knew him or who he was.

He looked at her with eyes full of pain, “Remember, white-bell. Remember!”

Suddenly her mother grabbed her hands, “Do not trust him! He is the Great Deceiver! He is darkness!”

The boy wanted to grab Ayla’s hand but her mother pulled her away from him, “He is the Darkness that will shallow you until there is nothing left of the world.”

“Remember,” the boy said once more, before disappearing.

“What do I need to remember?” Ayla yelled her question to the wind.

But no answer came.

The flowers withered and the snow turned red. Her mother transformed into her father and Ayla was once again that young teenager that was biting her fingernails every time she thought she heard her father’s footsteps.

"You and your nasty habits! No one will ever want you! Galian, come here! ”

King Amul transformed into Galian, and he punished Ayla. He kept hitting her and hitting her while her father kept repeating ‘useless.’

Galian didn’t stop until she didn’t scream.

The dream-nightmare changed again and a woman with eyes like aquamarines and white hair cradled Ayla to her chest, “All will be well, child. Trust your instincts and follow your heart. It will guide you well.”

Then she was a white-bell flower on a sea of white-bell flowers that covered the whole continent, and then the whole world.

“Remember,” the wind whispered.

Ayla woke up with a scream on her lips and her heart racing in her chest. She buried her face in the furs and tried to remember her dream. There were details that she had already forgotten but it was the image of the boy with eyes full of pain that Ayla could not get out of her head. Why did he seem so familiar to her? But no matter how hard she thought, Ayla could not figure it out.

Kerra nuzzled her hand until Ayla started petting her.

“It was just a dream,” Ayla whispered, once her heart slowed down.

She remained in bed, thinking and playing with Kerra until maids came to help Ayla prepare for the day. After breakfast was served to both Ayla and Kerra, the maids retreated.

Unsure of when King Rhobart would come after her, Ayla decided to read one of the books Milton gave her. When she went to pick up a book from the shelf, Ayla saw a fresh bouquet of the white-bell flowers. She frowned; the flowers looked like those from her dream.

Even if the dream unsettled her, Ayla decided not to make anything of it. She had been under a lot of pressure lately which might have led to her dream. After all, dreams were products of an active imagination. So Ayla pushed it at the back of her mind, where she knew it wouldn’t bother her anymore.

Ayla picked up the bouquet and smelled it. She was really starting to love the scent of them.

Someone knocked on the door and a heartbeat later it opened. King Rhobart and Milton entered the room.

The King stopped in the middle of the room and stared at Ayla. His gaze heated for a few moments, before going back to being cold. His eyes fell on the bouquet, that was still in her hands. When he said nothing about it Ayla put the flowers back on the shelf.

Kerra went to King Rhobart and started purring and rubbing her body against his feet.

The King looked at the snowcat and his face illuminated with happiness and a big smile appeared on his lips, “Good morning to you too, sweet girl.”

Then looking at Ayla, he said, “I see you are ready. We should get going.”

Milton moved next to the King, “The war made you forget how to speak to women.” And to Ayla, he said, “You look beautiful this morning.”

Ayla blushed, “Thank you. Yesterday I forgot to thank you for the books and the flowers. And thank you for the flowers you brought me this morning. They are lovely.”

Milton frowned and turned his head towards King Rhobart. Moments later he looked back at Ayla, “I'm not…”

“ If we are done talking about flowers, could we be going?” the King said in an angry tone before Milton had a chance to finish what he was about to say.

Ayla had no idea what angered the King. She only hoped he won’t snap at her.

The presence of Milton made her feel safe. He was the only one that Ayla considered a friend. And she wanted the Mage to come to the library because the idea of being alone with the King frightened her.

“Are you coming with us?” Ayla asked Milton, her voice full of hope.

“I am actually here for Kerra. I have a problem that requires her excellent hunting skills,” the Mage said.

“If you would clean your tower more often you won’t have rat problems,” King Rhobart said.

“It so happens that I like my tower as it is, thank you very much. It’s the rats that I don’t like.”

The King snorted, “I don’t know how you find anything in there.”

“That’s because I know exactly where to look. Well then. I will take Kerra and leave. The sooner I get rid of my problem, the sooner I can get back to my work.”

Ayla had to bite the inside of the cheeks to stop herself from asking Milton to come along.

“I only have an hour free. If you still want to see the library, we should get going,” the King said after Milton and Kerra left. He still sounded angry.

To Ayla’s surprise, King Rhobart turned and left the room.

Even if the idea of being alone with the King didn’t sit well with Ayla, she wanted to see the royal library. She loved the smell of old pages. Not to mention all the things she could learn from reading.

“Wait! I am coming!” Ayla said before hurrying after him.

By the time she was out the door, he already turned left on the hallway. The King walked too fast for Ayla to keep up with him. Her short legs were no match to his long ones. Left with no other choice, she lifted her skirts and started running after him.

‘Where’s the fire?’ Ayla thought.

By the time she finally caught up with the King she was panting.

Suddenly, the King stopped, looked at her as if he just realized she was there and mumbled something under his breath. After that, he resumed walking. But this time he walked slower, at the same pace as Ayla.

When they entered the library Ayla stopped breathing. It wasn't her first time in a library. She spent time in the royal library of Myrthana. But this, this was something else.

Shelf after shelf of books and more books, from the floor to the ceiling. Sofas and armchairs, tables and chairs, were close to the shelves. Furs covered the floor and magic crystals were placed around the library.

People, that Ayla did not recognize, occupied some sofas and armchairs, reading.

And in the middle of the library stood a round table, made from marble. There were no chairs around it.

Her mouth must have dropped to the floor because the King chuckled.

“What do you think?” he asked.

Not taking her eyes from the books, Ayla replied, “It is wonderful!”

“What do you want to see first?”

Ayla looked around and her eyes fell once again on the round table. Curiosity filled her.

“Can I see that table first?”

King Rhobart laughed, “I bring you here to see books and the first thing you want to see is a table. Fine.”

When they got close to it, Ayla saw a map of the continent on it. It was the first time she saw one. She was fascinated by it.

“So this is Uhzor,” Ayla said, her tone full of wonder.

King Rhobart frowned, “Haven’t you seen a map before?”

“I wasn’t permitted to enter the Council Room. It was there where the maps were kept. The only day I have entered that room it was the day….” she said but stopped speaking when her eyes found the Kingdom of Myrthana on the map. The place that had been her home. A home where she had been more sad than happy. But she missed it. She missed the warm days, and her garden not the castle.

He looked at her for a long time before speaking, ”Then permit me to show you Uzhor.”

King Rhobart placed his finger on the map, “In the north is Nordmar. Home to the endless winter. And the biggest kingdom. The Jade River, which starts in the East, separates Nordmar from Myrthan and Istiria, and finds its end to the West, in the Infinite Ocean.” His finger traced the Jade River while he spoke.

“Myrthana is next. The third biggest Kingdom. The best silk is produced here. Home to the Water Mages. And countless rivers,” he continued.

Ayla wanted to roll her eyes but stopped at the last moment.

“East from Myrthana we have Davalon and South from it is Istiria. Davalon has good music while Istiria knows how to make good wine. South from Myrthana is Kummeral and next to it is Auxaria. Kummeral is famous for its ships. Auxaria has the best horses.”

His finger moved above the last Kingdom, “And Drara, the great desert, which the nomad tribes call home. The second biggest Kingdom.”

But that was not all the continent, as King Rhobart’s finger moved East from Drara, was a forest that started in one point and ended in the other point of the map – from South to North, “The Black Forest. And from there going all the way East we have the Uncharted Lands. Home of the Orcs.”

Ayla shivered when she heard the word Orc. While the human was made by Inoss to fill Aylarra, so was the Orc made by Beliar to kill the human and conquer the planet. Her eyes moved to Nordmar – the only Kingdom to have magic ore.

Normal weapons can’t kill an Orc, only weapons made from magic ore. And Nordmar has plenty of it. If legends were true, then all the mountains of Nordmar have magic ore.

Her father wanted to gain control over the magic ore mines, and from there to one day, control all Kingdoms. He would have been the one to set the price for each magic ore nugget. Secretly, Ayla was glad that her father had been stopped because Nordmar always had a fair trade for the magic ore. All Kingdoms needed it because Orcs would attack villages, kill or take prisoners back to the Uncharted Lands. And while no one knew what happened to those taken by the Orcs, Ayla could only hope that they didn’t suffer too much.

“What’s the Black Forest?” Ayla asked.

“You haven’t heard of it?” the King asked and Ayla shook her head.

“Legend has it that two thousand years ago the first big war against the Orcs happened. The continent was different back then. Humans and elves inhabited the land back then. The elves ruled the Black Forest in those times. It has another name, but it got lost in time. The war lasted a long time, and the Orcs almost won. But a young snow elf refused to give up. He asked Inoss to give him strength and in return, the young elf promised that he will use his sword only to fight in the name of Inoss. The Fire God heard his cry for help. The god judged the soul of the warrior and found him worthy. Strength and courage were given to the elf. After that, Inoss blessed both warrior and sword. And the snow elf became the First Paladin.

The Paladin gathered the last remaining warriors and faced the Orcs in a new battle. They pushed the Orcs to the East until they reached the Forest. There they fought for six days and seven nights. Legend claims that the Forest filled with the body of so many Orcs, that the earth turned black from their blood. And from there the name of the Black Forest. On the seventh day, the Paladin faced the strongest of the Orc – Khan, the General. They fought all day long. Even the Sun stopped in the sky to look at the fight. And the Paladin and Khan kept fighting. The General would have won, if not for a human warrior that gave his life to save the Paladin. The human warrior was named Uzriel. When the Paladin killed Khan, the remaining Orcs dropped their battle axes and ran back to the Uncharted Lands.

The Paladin, gravely wounded, asked the remaining warriors to take him home, to Nordmar, and to also take care of what remained of Uzriel.

When he reached Nordmar, the Paladin died. For four days and nights, the planet wept for the dead Paladin. On the fifth day, Inoss took the body of the Paladin to the Eternal Gardens.”

Ayla was so caught up in the story she didn’t even realize she was staring at the King. It was the first time he has spoken so many words to her.

“I didn’t know all those legends. Thank you for sharing them with me,” Ayla said.

The King shrugged, “I only know them because my father made me read them. Ready to see something else?”

Ayla nodded and King Rhobart showed her how the books were cataloged – from history, mathematics, magic, and astronomy, to poetry and literature.

After the tour, he brought her back to her room.

“You can use the library any time you want,” the King said.

Alya bit her lower lip, “Can I? Slaves are not allowed to read.”

The King’s face filled with anger and Ayla knew she should have kept her mouth shut.

“Have you taken a good look around you?” he said in a harsh tone. “Have you seen any slaves so far?”

She didn’t but she couldn’t be sure there was no other slave in Nordmar. All the other Kingdoms had slaves. Why would Nordmar be different?

“Have you?” he almost yelled the words.

“You can have slaves working in the mines! You could pay for your luxuries with their blood! After all, I was offered as a slave and you accepted!” Ayla accused him.

One day her mouth will be the death of her.

His whole face transformed with hatred, “I should have never accepted. I should have killed your brother and burned your kingdom to the ground so that the other kingdoms will know what happens to those that think they can conquer Nordmar! And I should have left you there! You are as rotten as your father and brother!”

How dare he compare her to her father or brother? Anger filled her.

“Instead you took me away from my home only to almost be eaten alive by ice wolves. And let's not forget about the fact that I was sick for a month!”

The King flinched. He looked as if she had struck him. The anger disappeared from his face only to be filled with regret. His fists opened and closed and he inhaled sharply.

He opened his mouth a few times but no sound came.

When Ayla thought that the King would punish her, he turned on his heels and slammed the door shut behind him.

Her whole body shook with fear. Ayla could not believe she talked to the King the way she did and she was still alive. Deep down, Ayla knew she should be very careful about how she talked around the King if she still wanted to live.