Chapter 7

Chapter 7: The fellowship

I silently walked down the stairs, deep in thought. The book reading was the easy part. I felt eager to convince Queen Draco. In the back of my head I imagined what Mama Rosanna would think of me leaving on a quest. She would bawl her eyes out just thinking that she wouldn't see me or Lingonberry for so long. I passed the jeweled rooms, yet something in particular caught my eye. A mystic verdant gem, with vines sprawling around it. Somehow, out of all the gems, it shone just a little brighter and drew me in. I slotted it into my ragged pockets and ran towards the throne room.

Queen Draco looked worried and deathly pale, “The book mark… have I seen a future nightmayre?” She trembled violently, so I replied, clutching the glowing gem in my pocket, feeling an eerie sense of security “It’s not taken me your highness! Darius talked to me, he spoke to me and I could read the book!”

I saw the flash of pain in her eyes. It was jealousy mixed with grief. She had kept that book for years, hoping for a sign, but it had only given her silence and tragedy.

My voice gained in confidence, “He says that there is a way to rid you of your problem! If the book stays here, the Silver-tongues won't be rich—they'll be a target. The Black-heart raid was just the beginning. They weren't looking for gold, were they? They were looking for this."

I pulled the book from my satchel. It pulsed with that rhythmic blue light.

"I have to take it to the Moonpool on Jɞn Island. It belongs in the Land of Eternal Life, not in a stone tower in the Wareful Woods. If I stay, I’ll eventually break, just like Prince Echo’s father. But if I go, I can save us all." I evoked.

Queen Draco winced at the mention of her late husband, "Perhaps, I could come part-way.”

My heart beat with joy. She was actually coming!

"Go. Tomorrow, at sunrise tomorrow. But you do not go as a bookkeeper. You go as the envoy of the Silver-tongues with me."

She smiled, “You are full of surprises, H’win Meïnauk. You may bring our strongest fighters: Fræst, commander of ice, Dair’aul, commander of telepathy and Argate, commander of nature. I presume you want Lingonberry aswell.”

I had one question, “Who will be in charge when you leave?”

She replied, “I will have prince Echo as the regent. I only plan to go with you to the baĭze mesa.”