Richard Tuttle - Sapphire of the Fairies

“I know that I am not one ofthe Children whom you seek,” stated Arik, “but your goals are whateveryone’s goals should be. Whichever of you is the one, I offer tostand by you until the Dark One is vanquished.”

Tedi nodded vigorously. “I agree. Arikand I know our parents well and they could not be related to theDark One, but our fathers would be the first to urge us to acceptthis challenge. I, too, will stand by the Child of the Prophecyuntil the Dark One is vanquished.”

Garth smiled at his two pupils. Overthe past few weeks, they had shown themselves to be excellentstudents with strong skills, although he never told them such, butnow they were showing that they were men of substance, aswell.

“Do we know whether the oneamong us is the future King or the descendant of the Dark One? Nikiasked.

“Does it matter?” snarledFredrik. “Is a child supposed to carry the sins of his father justfor being his son? Whichever one he is, he will be doing the worlda great service and I will pledge my support. My parents were poor,but good people. I cannot fathom them being of the stock of theDark One and my wildest imagination cannot conceive of them beingroyalty, but I join with you until the end. There is nothing for meto go back to and Kalina offers much to learn. Count mein.”

“I know I am not really a partof this group,” Tanya smiled sheepishly, “but I have nowhere to go.I can fight and if it involves fighting the Dark One, I can fighteagerly. If you will have me, I will pledge you my support untilthe end.”

Everyone looked at Niki who was bitingher nails. She suddenly looked up at the silence and reddened. “Iknow my fate is to be a queen,” she said. “It has always been myfate, I know it. I did not know my parents and it is possible thatthe country I am to rule is this Alcea. Are you sure the prophecyspecifies a King?”

Kalina just nodded sadly, but Garthcaught Niki’s attention. “Perhaps,” he began, “you are destined tomarry this King of Alcea.”

Niki blushed but she quickly looked atthe three boys and smiled. “Perhaps you are right, Garth. I onlyknow that I am to be a queen. I have nowhere else to turn, so Iguess I will go with you.”

Kalina smiled grimly. It was not thestrong commitment that the others had given, but perhaps that wasas close as Niki could come. “Okay,” she confirmed, “ we are all inthis together, then. The first thing we need to do is createuniforms like Garth’s. We will all dress in black leather with manypockets. The boys will grow beards so they look older. Tanya, youwill get a black leather cap to replace your brown one. I thinkwhen you let down your hair by removing that cap, it will unnerveyour audience enough to make them forget they were questioning yourage.”

“We will get rid of the wagonand no longer be gypsies,” Garth added. “The wagon would cause usto move too slowly and leaves tracks which are too readable. Tanya,you will join Arik and Tedi for instructions. Fredrik and Niki willalso get instructions from me so they will be useful in situationswhere magic would not be a good idea.”

The boys looked enthused, but Niki wassadly staring at the ground. “What is the matter?” Tanyaquestioned.

Niki looked up at Tanya and gave a weaksmile. “All of the boys here knew their parents,” Niki mused. “Thatmeans that the Child we have with us is the descendant of the DarkOne.”

Garth caught her eye. “Your logic isnot as good as it appears,” he interjected. “The descendant of theDark One whom everyone seeks was the child of the Empress ofSordoa. The child was born in the year of the Collapse.”

Niki caught her breath at theimplication. Garth had not said the son of the Empress of Sordoaand all of the boys knew their parents. A chill ran down her spineand she shivered. Who would accept the daughter of the Dark One fora queen and how could she possibly kill her father? Niki threwherself into Tanya’s arms and cried.

“What of this King of Alcea?”Fredrik asked. “What do you know of him?”

“He would have to be descendedof the royal line of Alcea,” Garth explained. “Alcea was a veryancient country that grew and took up a large part of thecontinent. Somewhere along the line, its name was changed to Targa.In the royal line of Targa would be a descendant of John Secor, agreat painter who never assumed the throne. In the years before theCollapse, Mordac murdered King Eugene. King Eugene’s heir was JohnSecor, but he refused the throne. In a compromise, Duke Whitleybecame King Byron. King Byron’s adopted son was Prince Oscar Dalek,who was married to John Secor’s daughter, Princess Callie. So therightful King’s daughter married the actual King’s son. The childof their marriage would be the rightful heir to the throne. Theyhad a child who was lost when the ship they were on was sunk in theSordoan Sea. He was born in the year of the Collapse.”

“Wasn’t Oscar Dalek the boymerchant who became rich by creating a private army to deal withbandits?” Tanya asked. “Uncle Boris used to tell stories ofhim.”

“The same,” chuckled Garth.“Oscar Dalek became the richest man in the world with schemes whichalways benefited the other party. He started Targan shipping on theTarga Sea with a new type of boat he designed. He had the GreatCanal built and he introduced his mother to Duke Whitley who wenton to become King of Targa. That is how he became aPrince.”

“Sounds like quite acharacter,” Tedi grinned. “Someone should have had him sell land ina peat bog for Sarac’s new home.”

“How did the Empress of Sordoaget involved with Sarac?” Arik asked. “I mean, Sarac wasn’t royaltyor anything, was he?”

“No,” Kalina explained, “Sarachad a plan to take over the four great nations of the continent byreplacing their rulers with his own people. The Empress of Sordoawas none other than Aurora.”

Niki started crying again and Tanyahugged her.

Kalina continued as if she hadn’tnoticed. “Aurora befriended the Sultan of Sordoa and eventuallythey were married. She already carried Sarac’s child before themarriage and the Sultan believed it was his own. Aurora convincedthe Sultan to declare himself the Emperor and her the Empress,which he did shortly before she killed him and took over thethrone.”

Niki broke out in hysterics and Tanyashot Kalina a foul look. Kalina eyed Tanya directly and continued.“Everyone who is involved in this party has a right to know thesefacts, Tanya,” Kalina lectured. “Niki is getting hysterical for noreason. If she does not wish to hear this information, you may takeher for a walk.”

Tanya tried to raise Niki and take herfor a walk, but Niki refused. “I have to hear it sometime,” Nikisobbed. “I might as well hear it now.”

Kalina nodded and resumed. “When Saraclearned of the Ancient Prophecy, he sent his Black Devils toassassinate Aurora and her baby. The assassins did manage to killAurora as she was running away with her baby before the crowdclosed on them, but the baby disappeared. Nobody knows if the childwas male or female.”

Niki looked up at Kalina. “You meanSarac tried to kill Aurora and the baby and Aurora tried to savethe baby?” Niki asked.

“As misguided as Aurora was,”Kalina explained, “the Sordoans loved her. Alex and Jenneva werethere to save Aurora’s baby and they helped to kill the magicianassassins that Sarac sent. The Palace Guards tried to take Alexbecause they knew he was a Targan Ranger. Then the crowd attackedthe guards because Alex tried to save their beloved Empress.Somehow, in the commotion, someone grabbed Aurora’s baby anddisappeared.”

Niki sat up and wiped her eyes. “Well,”she stated bitterly, “that is reason enough for him todie.”

Everyone looked at Niki and saw thehatred in her face. If she had been the weakest member to pledgesupport before, she now looked like she would be willing to ripSarac apart with her bare hands.