The Runic Eye
By Richard LeBlanc
Act six: dissention
Back in the small town - Syn was sitting on the edge of the bed watching the angry prince pacing back and forth. Ever since he had arrived he had not said a word.
"Uhm - do - you want to talk?" she asked hesitantly. The prince stopped pacing and looked over at her. He closed his eyes and sat down on the floor before her. "If you don't - I will be silent," she added.
"It's my sister," he began.
"A princess?" she asked.
"No - she is Queen of Eversky," he replied.
"Did - you two have a fight?" she hesitantly asked.
"That's putting it mildly," he replied with a sigh. Syn slid down from the bed and sat down before the prince.
"Was - was it about what you told her?" she asked.
"That's just it - I never got the chance. You see - the king of some backwater area - he was making all sorts of boasts and bellowing out slurs about her - and her country. I was with the people - I heard what he said from them," he began.
"You were defending her honor - and she got mad?" she asked hesitantly.
"Yeah - I guess it wasn't political," he replied.
"But you were doing it for her," she pointed out.
"She still thinks I'm a kid - that I don't know nothing," he muttered.
"But - you aren't a kid - you are a man - and you know much about the land and the people - you must take after your father," she said softly. The prince smiled and looked over at her. It had been a while since he thought about Harmen.
"I never thought of it like that," he admitted.
"She will see that she is wrong - and when you charge in - and save the day," she began making him laugh. "Oh - it sounds funny - but its very true - she will see you for the hero you are - and she will apologize for making you feel so bad," she added.
"You always know what to say," he said as he gently traced his hand against her cheek.
"Someone has to," she said happily.
"Tell me about - you," he requested.
"Not much to say. Everything I had - everything I was - is gone to me," she began. "What about you - my prince - tell me about the man I am falling in love with," she asked curiously.
"What do you want to know?" he asked.
"I don't know - tell me about your family - not your sister though - she sounds mean," she teased. Gregory rolled his eyes and sighed. It had been a while since he had talked to anyone about his family.
"Okay - my mom - was Lady Angela - the keeper of the Runic Heart. She and my father Harmen - who was at the time prince of Eversky - met - and hit it off," he began. Syn sighed.
"Sounds like a fairy tale," she commented.
"It was - for a while. Mom - she visited the abbey - no one knows what happened - but she died in her sleep. A short while later - her older sister - who was the Keeper of the Runic Thorn - my favorite toy - she drowned," he began.
"Are you sure?" she asked.
"She was seen swimming in the lake - she then seemed to be pulled under - by a large fish most likely. We never - could find her body. Then - there was - my - dad - the good King Harmen - he - died - in his sleep much like mom did," he replied.
"And - your sister - became queen?" she asked.
"Yes - why?" he asked.
"No - no reason. I shouldn't say," she began.
"What?" he asked.
"Did - did she ever say - she wanted to be queen?" she asked.
"I don't like where this is going. She loved mom and dad almost as much as I do," he stated seriously. Syn lowered her eyes.
"I'm sorry. I never did know when to keep my fool mouth shut. I can be so stupid at times," she began with a sniffle. The anger melted out of the prince. He reached over and gently brushed the tears from her cheeks.
"She - she did - mention that though," he began.
"When?" Syn asked.
"A few days before - mom - went to the abbey. No - that wouldn?t make any sense. I mean she was at that abbey herself. It almost burned to the ground with her inside," he stated.
"Did she go with friends?" she asked.
"N-no - she sneaked out on her own," he replied.
"If - if I had done something bad - and I had someone sharp like you around - I would do what I could to throw you off my trail - but - such talk is treason," she said softly. The prince sighed and closed his eyes. A part of him wanted to slap her for saying such things - the other parts were finding a disturbing amount of logic in her words.
* * *
At that moment - back in Eversky - Samson was being led through an institute for the mad. He had received a message from a friend that worked there that said that there was something he needed to see.
"I hope this is important," Samson began as he looked over at one man that was drooling in the corner of his cell. "I do not like this place one bit," he concluded as his friend opened a door and motioned for him to enter.
"Trust me - this is," he replied. Samson looked over and recognized the woman. Her name was Oracle - the seer that served the Dark Queen so long ago. He looked at the terrified looking woman and then over at his friend.
"You brought me here to see her?" he asked.
"Yes. Want to see why?" he asked. Samson nodded. His friend walked over and squatted down beside the cringing woman. "The man you asked for - is here," he said calmly. The woman began to look around - but it was as though she couldn't see - as if some power had blinded her.
"Here? Yes here. She here - back - back," she stuttered as she began to crawl over to where Samson was.
"What is she?" he began.
"The queen - the queen - dirty - crawling," she muttered in a panic.
"Queen? Gwenyth?" Samson asked.
"Crawling - hurting - pain - anger - so angry," she stuttered as she grabbed hold of his leg. "She - dirty - alone - cold - hatred," she added as she slowly looked up at him.
"The dirty part," Samson began as he jerked free from the madwoman. "I can see," he muttered. Oracle quickly grabbed his leg and hugged it tightly.
"Protect us - she comes friend Harmen - she comes back," she ranted.
"Friend Harmen?" Samson began.
"The queen - angry - hurting - hunting - killing," she ranted.
"The queen," Samson began.
"She - comes," Oracle concluded as she collapsed. He knelt down and looked at the unmoving woman.
"Dead," he muttered.
"She - was doing that - for the past few days. I ignored it at first - but yesterday - she was getting really loud - and was asking for you - by name - Friend Harmen. The Witch Queen - this one was a seer for," his friend began. It was then that the words of Oracle rattled in his head - the queen - angry hurting - hunting killing.
"My god," he muttered.
"What?" his friend asked.
"She survived," he said in modest disbelief.
"Who?" his friend asked.
"She wasn't talking about Queen Gwenyth - she was talking about the Dark Queen - she was talking about Tamina. My god - Gwenyth was right all along," he muttered in modest disbelief.
"But Harmen ran her through with the Runic Thorn," his friend replied.
"She hurting - hunting - killing. She is out to destroy the family," he muttered as he got up. "And there is only two of them left," he added.
"Where are you going?" his friend asked.
"To the library. I need to find the exact location where Tamina supposedly fell. If she isn't there - we have far bigger problems on our hands than a small minded king," he replied seriously as he hurried away.
To be continued...
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