Discovery: Altera Realm Trilogy (16 page)

"Whoa. That's not a normal fire, is it?" Syney asked.

"It's the flames of naming. The parents write down the child's name on parchment and give it to the head of the Royal Guard, who then throws it into the spelled fire. After a moment a Protector is chosen," Hunter said, as something was tossed from the flames.

Leaf caught it and turned toward Mellisandrianna. It was another piece of paper, which amazed Syney, since the paper wasn't singed at all. He opened the paper and announced, "Maple of House Fireblazer."

A man who had been standing below them, next to the door, exited the room and returned a moment later with a man, built up and handsome, like all of the Lycins that Syney had met so far. He walked over and knelt before the queen.

"Do you swear to protect this child with every breath of your life?" Mellisandrianna asked.

"I do swear."

"Do you swear to pledge your entire life to her well-being? Putting her life above all, including your own or that of your family?"

"I do swear."

The queen continued to ask questions, all with the same gist. This Lycin's life now belonged to that little baby. Syney looked over at Hunter. He had put his life on the line for her countless times in the past couple of days. She hadn't thought too much of it, but it really was something almost magical.

Once Maple was done swearing his life away, he stood and went to stand behind the princess and prince. A moment later another piece of paper jumped out of the flames. Leaf picked it up and announced, "Stream of House Copperhead."

"Wait. Hold up. She already has a Protector," Syney whispered.

"Usually the fire gives off at least three names. They all take the pledge."

"So which one is the real Protector?"

"They all are. There is a priority line. Maple will always be her first, but the fire doesn't take any chances. There are a lot of reasons a Protector can't fulfill his duties. When that happens, one of the other Protectors steps up."

Syney nodded, figuring out quickly that the only reason a Protector wouldn't fulfill his duties would be death.

A young boy, around five, walked in and knelt in front of the queen.

"He's almost a baby himself," Syney squeaked.

"He'll grow," Hunter reassured her. "All possible Protectors start their training around his age. At least he has something to work for."

"I guess." The boy began to pledge as a thought occurred to her. "Who are my other Protectors?"

"What?" Hunter looked over at her.

"The other names pulled out of the fire for me?"

Something flashed over Hunter's face, and he turned away to look back down at the ceremony. "No one."

"But you said at least three names come out of the fire."

"Usually."

"And I only had one."

He nodded.

"How often does that happen?"

Hunter sighed and stood up to his full height. "Never."

Syney studied his profile. This is what she wanted, honesty and information. Only she wasn't sure what she thought about this new bit of information. It seemed odd to her that the savior of their races, the one person they had spent years searching for, the one person who kept getting attacked just for who she was, would have only one chosen Protector. She shivered as a cold chill ran down her spine. She looked back at the ceremony only to the find herself staring straight into the icy-blue eyes of Queen Mellisandrianna, and she didn't look happy.

Leaf

Leaf had followed the queen and Grass into the royal throne room. She hadn't asked him to, but there was no way he would miss this meeting. He knew Mellisandrianna was eager to replace Hunter, which wasn't something he wanted to let happen; he couldn't let it happen. The naming ceremony had been a tradition for as long as he could remember, and it wasn't something he would allow to be torn down, not on his watch.

Queen Mellisandrianna eyed him while she whispered something to Grass. She thought he was weak; he knew it. He didn't care much for her either, not that he showed that. He never liked the royal family. In fact he never liked many Magic Users. It had come as a surprise ten years ago when his name was pulled out of the fire once the old head of the Royal Guard became too old to lead. He was sure he never would be named and that he would live as a trainer, or perhaps as a farmer in the outlands. But he had taken the duty seriously and lived the life of the head of the Royal Guard. And the Protectors, those named and in training, were his family, his people to protect.

The door opened, and the three princesses walked in. Leaf turned their way and returned a quick nod from Helen. She was the most sensible of the three; he had learned that rather quickly. She was under her mother's rule but not her thumb. The middle sister, Adanna, however, was very much her mother's daughter in every sense of the word. She was one to watch. Cass was the wild-card for Leaf. She never seemed to lean toward her mother or any other way.
He always had wanted to ask he Protector, Raine, who also had entered along with the other girls' Protectors, where she stood in her ideology, but he knew it wasn't his place to inquire about such things.

A few moments later, Syney walked in, alongside Hunter. The girl looked apprehensive as she eyed the crowd around her. He didn't blame her. This wasn't a situation he would have wanted for her. She deserved festivals and presents, not an inquisition. Leaf always had been raised to look forward to the coming of the Chosen One. His mother was a true believer. She always talked with awe about the old times before the Great Divide. She had spoken about the Vilori Dynasty with such respect. Finally seeing his mother's beliefs literally standing in front of him made his steel resolve melt a little—but only a little.

"Excellent. You're here," Queen Mellisandrianna said, stepping forward.

Syney shot a look at Hunter before she too stepped forward. "Yes. Thank you so much for the lovely bedroom. The view is amazing."

"It was my mother's old room. She always sat out on that balcony." The queen got a faraway look on her face before shaking it off. "Now there are some things I believe we should discuss, some changes that need to be made."

"Changes?" Syney asked.

"First there is a matter of your claim to the throne. It must be verified of course."

"Right, my claim," Syney said, turning to Hunter. Leaf observed the confused look she sent to her Protector.

He stepped closer to her and said something only she could hear.

Syney turned back to the queen. "How would you like to verify it?"

"There are a series of tests. Nothing life threatening, of course," she said with a laugh, one with absolutely no humor.

Syney gave a choked laugh back. "Um, OK. I can understand the need to be cautious."

"I'm so glad you understand." Mellisandrianna smiled, and the room dropped ten degrees. "Now there is one other matter."

Here we go
, Leaf thought. He knew she was going to jump on the subject of Hunter. He was even surprised she didn't lead with it.

"We will be choosing a new Protector for you as soon as possible. We should have one lined up for you tonight."

Syney stared at the queen silently.

"We have several candidates already," the queen said with another chilling smile. "Now we should head down to the Great Hall to dine."

The queen began to head out of the room, her daughters close behind.

"I already have a Protector."

Mellisandrianna stopped dead in her tracks and slowly turned to face Syney, who had not moved an inch.

Leaf moved to stand at equal distance from the two. He always had adopted the policy to be in the best place to be prepared for anything. And he never had seen anyone talk once the queen had dismissed a room.

Mellisandrianna moved to stand within a few feet from the young girl. "Excuse me?"

"You said you were assigning me a new Protector, and I said I already have one," Syney said slowly. She gestured to Hunter. "He's right here."

Hunter took a step toward her and whispered something.

Syney nodded in acknowledgment to him without ever breaking eye contact with the queen.

"I'm sorry if no one has informed you, but this man is not able to be a royal Protector," Mellisandrianna said, also gesturing to Hunter.

Leaf watched as Hunter's body went rigid with anger. He cleared his throat. There weren't any qualifications for being a Protector. If the fire chose you, you had the responsibility—not that Mellisandrianna wanted to acknowledge that fact.

The queen turned her ice-blue eyes onto him. "Yes?"

"Nothing, Your Majesty. Just clearing my throat," Leaf said.

"Of course." She smiled again and looked back at Syney. "There are several reasons Hunter cannot hold the position. A disgraced family has never held position in court, and it will not start in my reign. Do you understand?" There was an edge to her voice now, something Leaf had heard many times, usually followed quickly with the other person's apologies and their scurrying away quickly.

Syney, however, held her ground, looking at the queen as if examining her, perhaps sizing her up. "No," she said finally. "I already have a Protector."

There was a gasp somewhere behind Leaf and at least one snicker, probably from one of the Lycins. Leaf caught himself before almost putting a big smile on his face.

Mellisandrianna's face turned ugly, her eyes squinting, lips puckered, pulling all of the lines out on her face. After a moment, however, she smiled again and laughed. "I forgot how spirited humans were! Shall we take this conversation in private? I believe we will see more eye to eye that way." She gestured to a door on the far right of the room, what appeared to be a smaller sitting room.

Syney nodded. "Sure."

The two walked out of the room, leaving the stunned crowd.

Leaf stepped toward Hunter, who hadn't taken his eyes off the closed door through which the women had exited. "I think I like her."

"She's going to get herself killed."

"That's what you're for," Leaf said, putting a hand on Hunter's shoulder.

Hunter looked toward him. "Not if it's over me. This isn't a fight she should be taking on."

"It isn't a fight Mellisandrianna should be taking on."

Hunter sighed, and Leaf saw all of the stress and tension finally show on his friend's face. "She's too...nice for this place."

"She'll harden. It's her destiny to be here," Leaf said, nodding.

Hunter looked back to the door. "Maybe."

"Stop worrying so much." He followed Hunter's gaze to the closed door. "She can only do good things for this place. And we need it."

Mellisandrianna

Queen Mellisandrianna bit back her fury. How dare this little girl speak back to her the way she had? She would not allow this. She knew she would have a fight with this girl over the subject of her Protector, especially since she had no choice but to let Hunter go out with the party to find her, but she didn't expect it to happen in front of other people. Syney should have enough sense to wait until they were in private. She shut the door behind the girl and almost snarled. Syney was going to require more work than she wanted to give.

"First let me address the public insubordination," Mellisandrianna said as she turned to Syney. "That will not happen again. Do you understand? There is a set of customs and ways things are done around here, and you are not ingratiating yourself to anyone by acting like a spoiled little child who doesn't get her way. When you receive an order or even a suggestion from me or anyone in my immediate family, you are to follow it to the letter, or there will be a problem."

The girl looked at her, clearly knocked down a peg, and nodded. "Understood."

"Your Majesty," Mellisandrianna said.

"What?"

"Understood, Your Majesty. I am your queen now."

"Understood, Your Majesty," Syney said slowly.

"Good." She paused. "Now back to the topic at hand. Hunter is from a disgraced family. Lines like that are not appointed to royal positions. It just doesn't happen."

"But I thought positions were up to the fire?" Syney asked.

No, no
, the queen thought.
The upper hand is always mine, dear
. She smiled. "As I said, there are many traditions in this Village—lots of
old
traditions. The naming fire is one of those. And, with magics that old, there are bound to be mistakes now and then. This is just one of them. After all no other names were presented, which isn't something that happens either. You are an odd case for us here. And with that there must be some glitches in our system."