Isle of Wysteria: The Monolith Crumbles (3 page)

Queen Forsythia raised up a hand to calm the situation. “What the High Priestess means is that not even the Queen can change the law. It was written by the hand of Milia herself. If the Queen were to violate Milia’s will, she would be deposed. I believe that her intention was to watch out for me. To make sure I didn’t get too close to crossing the line. To protect me, in a way.”

Oleander looked relieved. “Yes, thank you.”

“Protect you from what?” Hanner asked as he entered, being forced to turn sideways to allow his massive gorilla-like arms to slip through the doorway; his son Strenner strapped to his chest in a leather carrier Alder had made for him. Margaret followed him in mousily, her large glasses slipping down to the bridge of her nose.

Queen Forsythia waited for the door to close before she answered. “Keeping such close confidence with people from other islands skirts dangerously close to creating a conflict of interest.”

Ryin, Mina, Hanner, Margaret, and Evere looked at each other worriedly. “Wait, you mean us?”

“Suppose war was to break out between my people and yours. My feelings towards you would become a liability to the forest. The law requires me to fight her enemies without hesitation.”

Mina grew concerned. “You would do that?”

The Queen slowly shook her head. “I would find another way. That is what I have always done.”

They were relieved to hear this.

“I was hoping that by naming Evere and Mina as Maar’i ota’a ann’i to my child, it would assuage any fears my kin might have towards them; but clearly that was not enough.”

“Wait, is that why you did it?” Hanner groused, snatching an apple off a hanging branch and swallowing it whole.

The Queen gave off a faint smile. “Of course not. I would never use my child for political advancement. I named them as spirit parents to my firstborn because I wanted them to be, and for no other reason.”

She turned and looked at them gently. “There is no one I trust more than my friends.”

Alder nodded in agreement.

Mina placed her furry white hands over her heart, looking like she might melt. Even Captain Evere was moved, but tried to hide it by scratching his grey mutton-chops nervously.

The High Priestess smiled. “My Queen. I may not be able to understand your fondness for these filthy foreigners…”

“Hey!” Hanner protested as he scratched his armpit, bits of dirt falling out.

“…but I do not have to understand it to tolerate it. I will no longer object to the captain and his wife joining your household, but surely the others must limit their access to you.”

Queen Forsythia rested her hands atop her staff thoughtfully. “Perhaps I could appoint Ryin, Margaret and Hanner as special consultants to assist me with the navy. That is certainly something they can do.”

“I can?” Ryin asked vapidly, only to be smacked in the back of the head by Mina. “I mean…of course I can. Yeah, totally. I was just kidding.”

“If I have to shower, I ain’t doing it,” Hanner warned.

“Ooh, I bet I could count this as an internship for extra credits back at the university,” Margaret gushed, jumping up and down with excitement, her glasses nearly falling off.

The High Priestess seemed to accept this only reluctantly. “And…the other one?”

Everyone turned to look at Dr. Griffin, who was rubbing his cheek against the seat of the throne. “Ohh, I can still feel how warm it is,” he drooled to himself. “Even the warmth from your backside has a special royal feel to it…”

The Queen’s eyebrow twitched in irritation. “We still have a great many people who are suffering the plague brought on by the Shikyappu mushrooms. I feel his skills for now would be better served in the halls of healing.”

Without a word, the Queen gave the command and the wood parted, allowing a pair of guards in. They snatched the dirty old man up and yanked him away from the throne.

“Hey, wait! I didn’t get a chance to sniff it yet!” Dr. Griffin struggled with his wiry old limbs.

Margaret dropped her face in her hands. “He’s so gross.”

“Wait, Athel, let me be a part of your staff too!” Dr. Griffin yelled as the guards pulled him towards the exit. “I still haven’t found out what they wear underneath those armored dresses!”

“And you’re not going to find out, pig,” one of the guards spat, twisting his arm.

“Ouch! Hey, I’ve helped you tons! Athel, remember when I removed the afet from your body? You would have remained a brainwashed maid without me.”

At her wordless command the guards paused. The Queen stepped forward, her long train of living roses trailing decorously behind her.

Ignoring the smell of his stained lab coat, she leaned in and whispered. “Do you also remember when you put me in that immodest outfit and made me dance for hours?”

Dr. Griffin grinned lewdly. “Yeah…”

Queen Forsythia stood back up. “Take him away.”

“Awwww!” Dr. Griffin pouted as he was dragged into the corridor beyond.

“I won’t miss him,” Margaret commented. “I think he was stealing my underwear.”

“Make sure he is assigned to male patients only,” The Queen added.

“How dare you! I don’t want to treat hairy, sweaty men!” Dr. Griffin hollered through his yellow teeth as the doors snapped shut.

The air became very awkward in the silence that followed. Mina looked over at the High Priestess apologetically. “I’m sorry you had to see that. I suppose we’re not doing a very good job of convincing you that foreigners are trustworthy.

“Indeed,” Oleander said, trying to comport herself as best she could. “Which brings us back to the main reason for my visit. I have discussed the matter with the other priestesses, and we feel that the best solution to all of this is to turn the baby over to us.”

“To you?” Evere repeated sternly.

“Yes, the church will decide his fate.”

“Excuse me, High Priestess, but his fate was decided from the moment he was born,” Alder stated, quite boldly for him, standing up on wobbly legs as he shielded the newborn from her.

“He is the first born of the Queen’s tree,” Alder said to his wife, his eyes pleading. “Athel, he should be raised in the Forsythia household.”

Oleander tried to conceal her affront. “Know your place, Mister Forsythia. You may not address your Queen so casually.”

Mina raised an eyebrow. “Why not? I mean, he’s her husband. That makes him the king, right?”

Oleander brought her hands up to suppress a scoff.

Alder shook his head. “No, I am what is known as a royal consort. My daughters will be royal, but I will never be.”

Mina threw up her arms. “Ugh, this island is so messed up.”

“It’s like, the opposite of where I grew up,” Margaret said sadly.

Hanner plucked another apple and threw it down his gullet. “You Wysterians talk too much. If the law says anoint the brat, then anoint the brat.”

The High Priestess ignored him and stepped closer, dropping her voice to the lowest of whispers. “Please, my Queen. You know the hearts of the Matrons. They will not stand for this. The entire forest would revolt if we proceed with the anointment.”

“So much for the scriptures, eh?” Mina scoffed. “If you ignore them as soon as they become unpopular, how sacred can they really be?”

Oleander turned a harsh eye to Mina for listening in.

Mina tugged on one of her tall, fox-like ears, her tail swishing about playfully. “Sorry, can’t help it. Mesdans have crisp hearing.”

“Then listen well, Mesdan. You should not presume to lecture me on my duty. As speaker for Milia, I am perfectly within my rights to assert my authority in this matter.”

Captain Evere stepped in front of Alder, shielding him and the baby. “You will not lay a hand on my spirit-son.”

Her jaw dropped open. “You would dare threaten a priestess of Milia?

“Tomani don’t make threats, lass. We make promises.”

Mina stepped in as well, her arms crossed. “This is our duty as mari…mariota....”

“Maar’i ota’a ann’i.”

“Yeah, that.”

The High Priestess unfurled her robes and pulled out her staff. “I didn’t come here to quarrel. I would prefer to settle this without force. However, I swore an oath when I took on the cloth, and I must fulfill my duties.” The second her staff touched the wood of the floor, the whole room reacted. The doors opened wide, and armored footsteps could be heard approaching.

“The Black Guard,” Privet warned, placing his hand on his weapon. “She’s called for the church’s enforcers.”

Evere and Hanner were ready to draw their weapons as well.

The Queen, for her part, remained as dispassionate as ever. To look at her, you would think they were doing nothing more important than discussing the style of letterhead to use on court documents.

“Please tell me we aren’t going to fight here,” Margaret fretted. The tension in the room was growing.

Alder looked into the Queen’s eyes, his face pleading. “Please,” he whispered. “Please, our child did not ask to be born a man. Please do not cast him aside just for that.”

The Queen moved to correct him, but her lips would not move. In his eyes, she could see a lifetime of abuse, of patient submission in the face of injustice. In her heart, she knew that even she had thrown a few stones onto that pile herself. It nearly took her breath away. She had the strength of the forest behind her, yet in that moment it was his will that felt indomitable to her.

“Please, recall your enforcers,” The Queen requested affably. “The rest of you stand down. We are all friends here, not enemies.”

The High Priestess breathed a sigh of relief and put away her staff. “Oh, I am so glad. I do not like using force. It is the worst part of my job.”

The approaching footsteps slowed, then turned aside and became more distant, much to the relief of the guards protecting the exits.

“What is your decision, my Queen?”

Queen Forsythia stepped down before the High Priestess. “Firstly, I know that it seems unusual for me to allow my husband to speak to me this way. It may shock you to learn that it does not bother me. If you only knew how long it took me to get him to a point when he would speak his mind at all, you would understand why I do not silence him.”

“But…”

“It is all right. The interactions between husband and wife are tradition, not law. Besides, I have said far worse to him. I have treated him shamefully even, and he responded with gentleness. How can I not respond in kind, now that it is my turn to hear hard words?”

The High Priestess furrowed her brow, desperately trying to understand. “Because he is not your equal, of course.”

The Queen nodded. “In law, yes.”

She turned to Alder and her expression softened. “But not in my heart.”

Alder could not hide how much her words meant to him. In that moment their eyes met they shared a bond deeper than even the roots of the forest. The living wood around them shifted at the power of it.

Privet tried as hard as he could not to be jealous.

“Secondly,” the Queen said, turning back to the High Priestess. “I have nothing but respect for you and your sisters. Some of my fondest memories as a child were of listening to you cantillate the high songs at the harvest festival.”

“I wasn’t aware you were paying attention,” Oleander chuckled a little, breaking the tension. “You were always complaining to your handlers about how bored you were.”

The Queen smiled graciously. “An indiscretion of youth, I’m afraid. But yes, I was listening. However, as real as your authority is, you only speak for Milia in matters where her will is known. At the moment, we do not know her true purpose in this matter. I believe we can all agree on that.”

Queen Forsythia took a step back and held out her hands, one to Alder, and the other to Oleander. “Normally, we could simply ask Milia herself to resolve this issue, but that is not presently possible. Therefore, I propose a compromise. The old tongue is difficult, I will have our best scholars consult the scroll fragments that remain, and find out precisely what the law says we are to do in this matter. In all likelihood, there is an obscure reference somewhere that tells us that only a woman can be an heir to the throne, and that will end the entire issue, allowing my son to stay in my house without creating a conflict of succession.”

High Priestess Oleander considered her words, then bowed. “Your time spent among the foreigners has given your leaves a unique hue. I do not recall any Queen so willing to compromise.”

Oleander’s eyes filled with esteem. “But I believe it suits you. The church accepts your proposal. We will postpone any anointing until the will of Milia is revealed to us, either by her waking or her words found amid the scriptures.”

The Queen bowed graciously as the High Priestess turned around, her bells jingling sweetly as she exited the great hall. She paused at the door, looking back over her shoulder. “I apologize for my forcefulness, my Queen. I hope this will not sour our rapport with one another. I was only doing my duty.”

The Queen reached out to her through the trees and allowed their spirits to touch. Finding no hard feelings there, the High Priestess took heart and left satisfied.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as the doors pinched closed again. Everyone, that is, except Alder, who set the empty bottle aside and ever so gently set the newborn across his shoulder, supporting his head as he patted his back to burp him. Despite the care with which he handled the baby, his eyes were clearly worried.

Queen Athel looked at him sympathetically. “You are angry at me, aren’t you?”

“Angry? Why would I be angry, my Lady? I have no right to be angry. I have no rights at all.”

Mina stepped closer and stroked the side of his face with her hand. “Don’t hide it, sweetie, just tell her how you feel.”

Alder looked up and said with great difficulty. “I…I thought you would be on my side in this,” he whispered.

Athel had trouble hiding how much his words affected her. “I am on your side, Aldi. Look, I know what the law says, but I am also positive there must be another verse somewhere that specifies that the heir must be female. These things don’t just happen by accident.”