Silver Rose

Promises

Stars still shone in the dark sky. She sat next to the open window. The king had given her a small room to stay in. Every so often a cool summer night breeze brushed her skin. She’d been sitting there all night— thinking.

She wondered over and over if her mother was behind the attacks in the east. As far as she could tell, the creatures were acting of their own accord. But deep inside of her she knew there was more than what appeared to be.

Mara sighed. Even if someone was behind it all, that didn’t mean it was her mother. It could be anyone. If it were anyone else then she could go to the Council and let them decide what to do. The Council was a group of the 201 most powerful Fauyes. They met once a year and decided on issues of the upmost importance. They were the closest thing to rulers and government the Fauyen world had.





But if it was her mother, if it was Kyrin of the Polante-Gnight, the Council would act immediately. They would not tolerate one of their own bringing about the destruction of the human world.

“Should I tell the Council?” She asked herself.
She was sure the Council didn’t know. They had stopped sending Scouts into the human world ever since her father was murdered. Without the Scouts, they had no way to find out what was going on in this world. But if she told the Council, they’d do something drastic. They’d probably do whatever they could short of killing her— and kill her if they had to.

Mara shivered. She’d never felt the sting of magic. She remembered the stories she was told growing up of the War against Ipson. Those who had been in it never forgot the terrible pain from magic when used as a weapon. They said it was like burning, being pulled apart, and being smashed with a mountain all at once. She couldn’t bear to put her mother through that.

“I won’t tell,” she said aloud. “I’ll find her, I’ll go to her. I’ll reason with her and make her see. She’ll listen to me… she has to, I’m her daughter— her only child.”

The stars faded. The dawn was coming. Rising, Mara focused her mind. One by one she got rid of every thing she’d been thinking, every thing in her head. Once her mind was empty she concentrated on the two children, Zander and Elsa. She focused on them for a long time before she felt something, like opening a door. Then she fell into warm nothingness. Suddenly, she was pushed out of the nothingness. A thousands thoughts flooded back into her mind. She opened her eyes. She had tried that on her own children to make them come home when they were gone too long.

A few minutes passed before she heard a knock on her door. She opened the door. Zander stood in the doorway sheepishly.

“What is it, Zander?” She asked although she knew the answer.

Zander looked confused.

“I don’t know,” he said. “You were in my dream and then I woke up and… and I had to come see you.”
Mara smiled and ushered him into her room. She had simply put herself on his mind and given him an insatiable need to come and see her. There was another knock at the door. Elsa came in and told the same story as her brother. Outside, the dawn crept up over the earth. Mara led the children to the window.

Sunrays filled the room.

“Haembe labay ‘al nisha,” she said in the one language that was common to all magical beings—Danilla. Then she planted a kiss on Zander’s forehead.

“Haembe labay ‘al nisha,” she said and placed a kiss on Elsa’s forehead.

Danilla wasn’t used often. Usually it was spoken to make a contract binding. When used, all magical beings (and even those who weren’t, but were sensitive to magic), immediately knew the agreement when they saw it. Danilla was very strong because of this, so it was only used for things of the utmost importance.

Mara softly touched the seals of protection on the children’s foreheads. The seals would let all magical beings know that they were under the protection of magic and if they were (magically) harmed, the offender would have to deal with their protector.

As the magic slowly slid through their small bodies, the children yawned. Mara picked up little Elsa and carefully put her on the bed. The girl fell asleep. She turned to Zander.

“I don’t want to go to bed,” he said with a yawn.
He couldn’t resist the lull of the magic for long. Mara knew a little exertion would tire him out.

“How old are you Zander?” She asked. Even talking was enough to make him so tired he wouldn’t be able to resist falling asleep.

“Eight,” he said, trying to keep his eyes open.

“Do you have any other siblings besides Elsa?”

Sleepily, he nodded.

“Who?” She asked.

“Huh? Oh… um, Andrin… he’s 5—and, uh, Kaul he’s, he’s… 3-years-old. And that’s… that’s all…”


Mara caught him as he teetered over. Gently, she gathered him in her arms and placed him next to his sister. She stood at the side of the bed gazing down at the two sleeping figures. It had been a long time since she had carried a little one. She touched their black hair and thought of her own children when they were this age. She wondered what they were all doing now. She prayed they were as safe and warm and loved as the two children on her bed were. A tear found its way to the bottom of her chin. She brushed it away. There was no point in thinking about that. Her past was gone.

She forced her fingers to let go of the children’s dark locks. She looked down at little Zander who would be Chasilin’s king one day.

“Be blessed child,” she said. “May you be a wise ruler who loves his people. May you be strong in body and spirit—quick to think, careful to act. The will of the heart is stronger than the will of the mind.”

She bent over his body and kissed his soft cheek. The blessing glowed around his small frame. His skin and hair had a blue tint. Then it went into his soul and he looked normal again.

Mara stood. She put her cloak on and opened the door. With one last look at the sleeping children, she left the castle.


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Heavy footsteps echoed in the hallway. They abruptly stopped at the door. Muffled voices talked behind the wood. Then the heavy wood door slowly swung open. The footsteps walked into the room. The footsteps stopped and a body quickly fell to its knees.

“Great Lady,” Chimise said on his knees, “I bring you good news from the warfront. The country of Igno has surrendered to us and Munchem will soon fall!”

His announcement was answered with silence.
“Lady, we have conquered all the countries in the east of the world.” He said.

Once again there was only silence.
“Lady? Lady, I thought this news would please you.”

She turned around to face him. Her emerald eyes glittered.

“Of course this pleases me, General Chimise,” she said slowly. “But while you are out slaughtering the human beasts, I am worrying about our next move.”

“Worrying? Great Lady you have no need to worry. You are the most powerful fairy in the entire world!”

She gave a cold laugh.
“Maybe so, my dear Chimise, but even the most powerful cannot get past the wall.”

“The wall, Great Lady?”

She motioned for him to stand beside her. Chimise jumped up to go to her side. She pointed to a large map on a table.

“Here we are,” she said, pointing, “behind the Forbidden Mountains. Here are the countries we have destroyed. These are next set we must be rid of, but after these… See here, this Shanan, Saleb, Nanor, and Chasilin. Then there is Talis, the Great Forest. On the west side of Talis, some of the most powerful countries in this world: Eknosh, Lagaloon, Fleib, and Brovan. Then comes the Sauyan Sea and on its west coast some poor seafaring nations.”

“Ah… I see this world is very large, but I don’t see any walls.” Chimise said.

“Do you know why Eknosh, Lagaloon, Fleib, and Brovan are so prosperous, Chimise?” She asked.

Chimise shook his head.

“It is because they are surrounded by a wall.” She said.

Chimise closely stared at the map, but still saw nothing.

“You cannot see this wall,” she said.

Chimise took his eyes away from the map in surprise.

“It is a magical wall that was created thousands of years ago when the fairies, elves and charmints were running away from the humans. They created a strong wall from Talis to the Sauyan Sea, from Eknosh in the north to Fleib in the south. Any army, including human ones, which march with the intent of violently conquering any part of the land within the wall are struck down when they try to pass through the wall.”

“But even with your powers, Lady?”

She shook her head.
“Because of my magic, the wall will be able to sense my real purpose quicker and it will stop me. I cannot be stopped…” She trailed off.

“But how can you be sure the wall is still there?” Chimise asked. “It has been such a long time.”

“The wall was created with the power of the fairies, the wisdom and mind reading of charmints and the immortality of the elves. It still stands. We might be able to pass it if we only intended harm to a few people, but we must have it all… the wall will not allow us through.”

Chimise looked down at the map. He traced his gnarled finger over the four countries that kept them away from world domination.

“There must be a way, Lady,” he said.

She shook her head in exhaustion.

“Do the people within the wall have wars and violent fights?” He asked.

“Of course they do,” she said irritably.

“And the wall does not hurt them?”

“The wall only acts against those trying to get into the land with the intent of acting against the people of the lands within it. The magical beings used this as a means of protecting themselves while they fled the evil humans.”

Chimise thought for a moment.

“So, the wall can do nothing against anything that is already inside it.” He said.

“Yes, yes,” she said, hurriedly.

Kyrin walked over to the window and looked out at the cold, barren ice. Her hand flew up to angrily shove her hair out of her face. Instead, her hand stopped just as it touched the first strands. Then it slowly pushed her dark red curls behind her ear. Kyrin turned back to Chimise and for the first time in many years, she smiled.


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“But why can’t I go?”

“This is no trip for a little one,” Tara said. “You would have to sit still for 16 hours a day and God knows you can’t sit still for 16 seconds.”

“Mommy, please can I go?”

“Tara’s right, Marina,” Safie said putting her arms around the little girl. “We are going on a diplomatic visit and you would be bored all the time.”

“No, I wouldn’t!” Marina pouted. “I’m seven-years-old. That’s almost grown up!”

“You’re nine and as beautiful as can be,” Tara said pulling Marina’s black hair, “but that’s no where near grown up.”

“Put your nightgown on, Marina,” Safie said.

Marina took her shoe off and threw it across the room.

“I want to go!” She shouted.

Safie slapped her across the face.

“I wouldn’t take you within 1,000 miles of Chasilin with that horrible temper of yours! Now put your nightgown on quietly!”

Marina silently took her other shoe off. As she changed out of her clothes, she bit her lip in anger.

“She gets that temper from her father,” Safie vented to Tara. “I may have to put up with his, but I won’t take it from my own child!”

“And you shouldn’t have to!” Tara said. “A young girl has no right to be throwing things and yelling at her elders. She needs to learn to respect others.”

“Don’t I know it!”

“And to have the candor to act that way in front of her own mother and nanny!”

Marina hated it when they talked about her as if she wasn’t in the room. She pressed her teeth into her bottom lip. She felt a sharp sting, but pressed harder still.

“Marina!” Safie exclaimed, coming over to her.
“What demon has gotten into you!”

Blood as red as Marina’s lips gushed from the cut she had made with her teeth. Tara came over with a wet cloth.

“Oh, look at this! You’ll never get the blood out of this nightgown!” Tara said.

Tara and Safie stopped the bleeding, then they made Marina put on a new gown. After getting the attention she wanted, Marina put her clean nightgown on without any more mishaps.

“Alright, come here and say your prayers,” Safie said kneeling by Marina’s bed. Marina knelt beside her and clasped her hands in front of her.

“Dear God,” Marina began, “thank you for Mommy. Thank you for Daddy. Thank you for Tara. Thank you for Sebastian. Thank you for my cousin Autumn. Thank you for my kitten, Gigi and my pony, Jack. And God please tell Mommy and Daddy to let me go to Chasseylinn with them. Amen.”

“You’ll never give up, will you?” Safie asked smiling.

Marina shook her head.

“Come here, child,” Safie smiled. She grabbed Marina and tickled her sides. Marina giggled and wriggled in her grasp.

Tara pulled the blankets on the bed back. Safie picked Marina up and playfully dropped her onto the bed. Then she bounced on the bed making Marina laugh again. Safie pulled the blankets over the child’s small body. Then she lay down next to her. Tara bowed and quietly left the room.

“Mommy, you might want to bring me just in case they’ve got kids my age.” Marina said.

“Who?” Safie asked.

“The king and queen of Chasseylinn!” Marina exclaimed.

Safie held her head up with her hand. She looked straight into her daughter’s violet eyes.

“In the letters they’ve sent in response to our treaty of peace, they have only mentioned one child, a son. Prince Zander is the heir to the throne and he is 15-years-old.”

“I can play with a 15-year-old!”

“Maybe you can, but he won’t want to play with a little kid.”

“Why not? We can be friends. After all, he’s a prince and I’m a princess.”

“That doesn’t matter, ‘Rina. There’s got to be more than social status to have a friendship. You must learn to love the person for who they are, not what they are. Besides, he’s much too old for you. He’ll want to be around nice girls his own age.”

“But I’m a nice girl!” Marina scowled crossing her arms.

“Are you, Snowball?”

“I’m not a snowball!”

“But when you get mad, your face gets so pale you look like a little snowball with red lips and black curly hair!”

“I’m not a snowball, Mommy!”

“Snowball!” Safie shouted tickling Marina.
“Snowball! Snowball! Snowball!”

“I’m… not… Snowball…” Marina gasped while loudly laughing.

Safie stopped tickling her.
“I love you, darling,” Safie said, loving stroking her cheek.

Marina sat up and hugged her mother. Safie squeezed her until her arms where tired.

“I love you, Mommy,” Marina whispered, kissing her on the cheek.

Safie tucked Marina in. She bent over gave her a kiss.

“After we get this peace treaty worked out, and when you’re older, we’ll take you to see Chasilin.”

“Older like tomorrow?!”

“No older like thirteen.”

“Thirteen!”

“I want to present a young lady to the court of Chasilin, not a wild child.”

“If I work really hard at becoming a young lady, can I go sooner than thirteen?”

“I suppose in a few years we can discuss it again.”

“Yea! I’ll be a young lady in a few years, Mommy! Just wait!”

“I know you will dear.” Safie said, sighing. She didn’t want her little girl to grow up. She wanted her to stay as she was. The years were passing by too quickly and Safie didn’t want to lose her little baby to adulthood.

Safie kissed her on the forehead. She got up and blew out all the candles, but one. The low fire in the fireplace crackled. Safie picked up the last lit candle and opened the door.

“Goodnight, Snowball,” she said.

“Goodnight, Mommy,” Marina said sleepily.

Quietly, Safie stepped into the hall shutting the door behind her. Marina closed her tired eyes and fell asleep.