“And what is that?” Queen Alycia asked suspiciously.
“Kanis,” Avalar replied softly. “Your sister is involved in this attempted coup.”
“No,” Alycia shook her head with disbelief. “Kanis may be crude at times, but I cannot fathom her involvement in anything like this. You are wrong. You just don’t like her and find it convenient to attach her to the conspirators.”
“I was very much afraid that you would react this way,” sighed the king. “I do not know how to convince you of your sister’s duplicity, but I know the truth of it. She has conspired with Maraton to become the new Queen of Elvangar.”
“I do not believe it,” Alycia said adamantly. “Your sources are wrong. They do not know my sister.”
“Three individuals that I would trust my life to disagree with you,” replied the king. “Alahara and Garl heard it with their own ears, and Tamar had Kanis followed last night. She met with Maraton at the Banyan Inn in a private room. It is not my own personal feelings for your sister that are determining her guilt. It is her own actions.”
“I still can’t believe it,” Alycia shook her head as she turned from the railing and paced the floor of the throne room. “What will you do to her if it is true?”
“I don’t know,” admitted the king. “I do not care much for Kanis, but she is your sister. It is a decision that I do not wish to make. I want you to think about it. We will talk about it later.”
Chapter 12
Protesting the War
The area around the new stage was crowded. Thousands of elven citizens had gathered to hear the king. Mixed in with the crowd were hundreds of angry protesters. Many of the protesters carried signs demanding peace; others handed out red flowers to signify the elven blood that would flow should the king get his way and drag Elvangar into the human war.
Princess Alahara and Princess Alastasia moved systematically through the crowd casting compulsion spells on protesters that carried pouches of rocks. After several hours of making the boys return the rocks to the river, the princesses thought the protest would be fairly tame. Suddenly, shouting drew the attention of Princess Alastasia. She turned and saw Levitor arguing with Kara. Being careful not to draw attention to herself, she made her way closer to find out what was going on.
“I don’t control them,” yelled Kara. “I made all of the arrangements, but I cannot force them to act.”
“Be quiet,” hushed Levitor as he grabbed the boy by the arm and dragged him around the corner of a building and out of sight of the other protesters.
Princess Alastasia moved cautiously along the front of the building until she had almost reached the corner. She stood with her back to the building and tried to listen to the conversation, which had dropped decidedly in volume.
“Don’t ever raise your voice in my presence again,” warned Levitor.
“How was I supposed to know that you are in this with Salfour,” argued the boy. “No one told me. I thought that someone had discovered my part in this.”
“Well I am telling you now,” Levitor shot back. “The point is, no one is carrying stones. How do you expect to start a riot if you are the only one with stones.”
“We delivered stones to everyone,” frowned Kara. “I saw them carrying them before. I don’t know what happened.”
“Well you better find out, and fast,” threatened the mage. “The king will be coming out to speak soon. I want blood flowing in the streets.”
“We have time,” argued the boy. “The soldiers have not even arrived yet. They will come out well before the king.”
“So you are an expert on royal protocol now?” taunted the mage. “Just obey your orders and make sure that plenty of people have stones to throw. If this fails, I will have your hide. Do you understand?”
“I understand,” replied the boy.
Unexpectedly, the mage cursed. Princess Alastasia frowned as she tried to imagine what was going on around the corner. She looked across the park and saw Garl marching towards her. She bit her lower lip and hoped the Head Mage would not give her away.
“What is it?” asked the boy.
“I have to go,” Levitor said. “Make sure that you don’t let us down.”
Suddenly, Levitor emerged from around the corner. He tried to move quickly away from the protest, but Garl called loudly to him. Levitor stopped and turned to meet Garl.
“Look at the crowd out here today,” Levitor said innocently. “Have you come to listen to the king speak, too?”
“I do not have time for such things,” Garl replied gruffly. “I have been looking all over for you. Come with me to the Society. We must talk.”
Princess Alastasia exhaled slowly as Garl’s eyes passed over her. She saw the look of recognition in his eyes, but he said nothing.
“What about?” Levitor asked nervously. “I was hoping to hear the speech.”
“You will hear nothing new in today’s speech,” replied the Head Mage. “I have spent time this morning thinking about my replacement as Head Mage. I need to talk to you in the garden of the Society.”
“While I am flattered that you are considering me for such an august position,” replied Levitor, “I would prefer to talk about it here.”
“I am not considering you for the position,” Garl replied. “There are others who are better qualified, but it is your services that I require right now.”
“Perhaps later,” Levitor shook his head.
“Now,” Garl said adamantly. “Or would you care for me to tell Maraton that you could not be bothered speaking to me?”
“Maraton?” Levitor echoed, his voice showing a hint of fear. “Oh,” he continued more calmly, “now I understand. Yes, Maraton is an excellent choice. There is little more that I could add to that recommendation.”
“Very well,” shrugged Garl as he turned to leave. “Maraton is waiting in the garden. I will tell him that you are too busy to attend. He will be disappointed by the lack of support for his application.”
“I already gave my recommendation,” Levitor called after the Head Mage, but Garl ignored him.
Levitor cursed again and ran after Garl. Kara came around the building and stood staring at the retreating mages. He turned and saw Princess Alastasia leaning against the building.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
“Resting,” smiled Alastasia. “Truthfully, I am a bit nervous about this afternoon.”
“Nervous?” frowned Kara. “About what? It is not you who will address the people from the stage.”
A boy walked by carrying his pouch of stones and heading for the river. Kara watched the boy curiously and then called him by name. The boy did not respond, and Kara appeared ready to run after the lad.
“I guess he didn’t hear you,” smiled the princess. “What do you think the king will say today?”
“What?” Kara asked in confusion as he was torn between running after the boy and hiding his involvement as one of the organizers.
“The king,” Alastasia repeated. “What do you think he will say?”
“How would I know?” snapped Kara as he turned to run after the boy.
Princess Alastasia swiftly cast a spell of compulsion on Kara. The ringleader stopped suddenly and turned around. He walked over to the building and leaned against it.
“Are you sick?” asked the princess.
“What?” Kara said groggily. “I just feel weak.”
“Then you should make sure that everyone’s stones are safely returned to the river,” smiled Alastasia. “That will make you feel better.”
“Yes, it would,” Kara nodded enthusiastically. “Why didn’t I think of that?”
“You did think of it,” chuckled the princess.
Alastasia watched Kara wander off into the crowd of protesters. She saw him tap a boy on the shoulder and point to the river. The boy looked back with confusion on his face, but he complied and soon headed to the river to deposit his stones. Princess Alahara soon walked up to her sister and leaned against the building.
“Taking a break?” asked Alahara. “There are still more stone-throwers out there.”