First, there was silence. Just silence. Hours and hours of silence, with no interruptions. I could feel nothing… whether or not I still had my body, I could not tell. There was no light. I could smell only the foul stench of human excrement and that was the only indication that I was still alive. I could not remember my name. I did not know where I had come from, where I had been or how I ended up where I was. But I did have one memory: laughter. Cold, evil laughter coupled with a blinding white light that was pierced with the silhouettes of a man and a woman.
That memory was the only thing I had to think about while I floated in the everlasting darkness.
Then one day it happened. The jingle-jangling of what I recognized to be the sound of keys, then the click-click of keys entering a lock and the cluck-cluck of the lock turning. And moments later, my goodness, there was light! It had been an eternity since I had seen light! It caused my eyes to explode in pain – the only thing I had felt in what seemed like years… At least I knew that I still had eyes.
‘Eliza Schringenger?’ A voice from beyond the light? I was confused. ‘Eliza Schringenger?’
‘It is I’ replied another, croaky voice. Ah, the feeling of speaking once again was a splendid one… Then shock, as I realized that it was I who had spoken!
‘Do you know why you are being held in the Palace Dungeons?’ the voice from beyond the light asked, though seemingly demandingly, as though it had expected me to answer.
‘I am here under suspicion of treason; conspiring against palace officials, including King Yonfair; nineteen counts of sexual indecency involving non-Imparlian persons; distributing illegal weapons to enemies of the state and aiding two fugitives in evading the law’, I answered, without hesitation. My response was automatic; I had no time to even contemplate before my mouth began moving, saying things of its own accord.
‘Your trial will be on the ninth day of the third moon. This is on the morning after tomorrow’s night. You are entitled to an attorney, as is Imparlian custom. Who do you elect as your representative in the court of law, Ms. Schringenger?’
‘Zak A Burkenshire, Palace Alchemist, Warlock and Philosopher’ I replied, instinctively.
A few moments of silence, followed by whispering… Another voice was among my own and my captor.
‘Ms. Schringenger, Zak A Burkenshire is a palace exile’ said the first, more familiar voice. ‘He will be unable to represent you in a court of law. The magick around the palace will not permit him to enter, even if he were to be summoned appropriately. I shall ask again: Who do you elect as your representative in the court of law, Ms. Schringenger?’
‘Zak A Burkenshire, Palace Alchemist, Warlock and Philosopher’ I repeated, again without immediate realization.
There was more whispering, this time accompanied by tutting and sighing, from the first voice and his companion.
‘Ms. Schringenger, we must remind you that summoning somebody who will be unable to get in to the palace as a legal representative will leave you without an appropriate defence and therefore found guilty under failure to attend. So I shall ask you again and only once more: Who do you elect as your representative in the court of law, Ms. Schringenger?’
‘Zak A Burkenshire, Palace Alchemi – '
I was interrupted by the stern voice of my apparent captor, ‘Drixie, please attend to this woman. Allow her to see sense, or force it upon her if you must’.
‘Yes, my Lord’ hissed the acquaintance of the first voice. A woman.
Everything went dark again. Footsteps... Click. Clack. Click. Clack.
And then there was the bright light – that horrid, overbearing white light. And pain. Intense, horrible pain.
All went blank…
*
‘Ms. Schringenger, who do you elect as your representative in the court of law?’
‘Zack A Burkenshire, Palace Alchemist, Warlock and Philosopher’ I said again.
‘Tut. Drixie, you know the drill’.
‘Yes, my Lord’ said the woman.
Footsteps again, going click-a-clack, getting closer and closer.
‘Wait!’ I yelled out. The first thing I had said of my own will.
There was a brief moment of silence and then there was the shuffling of chains… iron pinging against iron.
‘I’m sorry, Eliza. Zak will be here. You are doing great. It’s only been three days and you’re already fighting the mind control curse Zak put on you. He was right: you are a remarkable woman. The Elves must be proud to have you as their own. Hang in there, Eliza, Zak will be here tomorrow. Please, just keep it in your head that Zak A Burkenshire is your legal representative or else the palace magick will break your spirit. Please, Eliza, just keep fighting. You are almost done’.
‘Please… I don’t know… I don’t know…’ I pleaded.
‘Drixie?’ said the male voice. My captor. ‘What’s going on in there?’
‘She is becoming ill with resisting the palace magick, my Lord’ said the woman.
‘Hm. Indeed, a strong woman. Certainly, she is a Burkenshire protégé, through and through. Cast the torture spell again, Drixie. We must stomp it out of her before the court case tomorrow or else the Judge will be most displeased. And for goodness sake, do it right this time too’.
‘Yes, my Lord’.
The white light… And pain, more intense than before. I let out a scream that shook my own ear drums, silenced by the crushing of my face under a heavy boot.
*
Suddenly, there was light. I could see, but didn’t want to. It stung too much. I curled in to a ball, the sound of chains scraping against concrete, accompanying my movements. I was naked, I realized as my skin scratched against the floor. I shut my eyes tightly, the pain of the light too much to bare.
‘Ms. Shcringenger, your trial will be in fifteen minutes. Must you still insist on your original proposition for legal aid?’ said the same, cruel voice of a man that had taunted me for a time I cannot estimate.
‘Zak A Burkenshi – ‘
‘Very well, Ms. Shringenger. You will be summoned to the court room in ten minutes and the trial shall begin in fifteen. Do you have any requests?’
‘Clothes.’
‘Humility is not permitted for prisoners, Ms. Schringenger, by order of yours truly, Lord Oziz. You may request – ‘
‘CLOTHES!’ I roared. The revelation that I was naked had angered me.
‘Tut… You Elves… Such proud creatures aren’t you’ the man jeered. ‘It’s a shame, to be honest with you. You’d have all made such good allies to King Yonfair, especially you, Ms. Schringenger. Very well, it shall be documented that you have no requests. Prepare for teleportation, Ms. Schringenger’.
Teleportation? I hate teleportation. I remembered that…
‘I – I’
The man chuckled.
‘Open your eyes, Ms. Schringenger’.
‘No!’
‘Open them!’
I opened my eyes. They stung as the light hit them. Everything was blurry, I couldn’t make much out beside the outline of a large man, dressed in brown and a large helmet decorated with something red, perhaps feathers…
‘Good, good. Perhaps you may learn obedience after all, Ms. Schringenger. I shall be teleporting you – ‘
‘NO TELEPORTATION!’
My protests were met with the stomp of a boot that made a fierce connection to my jaw. And then, there was the taste of blood.
Laughing. Horrible, evil laughing.
‘I really do enjoy watching you Elves suffer, I must admit –'... my face was being stroked, by a cold, wrinkly hand, ‘as much as I must admit you are a fine race… Beautiful, elegant, powerful… Everything your country has to be proud of lies within each member of your race, Ms. Schringenger. Perhaps that is why I enjoy torturing you all so much? Hahaha…’
‘My Lord!’ snapped the woman’s voice.
‘Drixie, my dear!’ chuckled the man.
‘Hasn’t Judge Seagal told you not to interfere with Ms. Shringenger? If she were to fall pregnant by the seed of a human, the Elves will release their dragons upon Imparliar. Thus far, Burkenshire has kept the Elves docile, with much difficulty’.
‘Burkenshire is old decrepit fool with too much of an ego and a history of treason under his belt. Do you truly trust the words of a sneaky Warlock, Drixie?’
‘Burkenshire, though exiled from the palace, is what's stopping all-out war with the Elves. He may be a suspected enemy of the state, but the fact remains that King Yonfair needs his presence to assure peace during these difficult times. Times made only more delicate by the fact we have one of the only six pure blooded Elf-women in the world in our custody. Without Burkenshire preventing the Elves from unleashing the dragons - ‘
‘Burkenshire is a tool, Drixie. He is aiding rebels and these Elf… scum. If the Elves truly cared about the fate of Ms. Schringenger, then the dragons would have been unleashed many nights ago!'
There was the shuffling of metal and further footsteps.
‘Perhaps’, growled the woman, dismayed, ‘the subtle nature of Imparlian politics is wasted on you, my Lord’.
There were a few moments of silence, before ‘HOW DARE YOU TALK TO ME LIKE THAT, WOMAN! I WILL –‘
‘You will what, my Lord? Do as you usually do? Force yourself upon me as you do with the other women of the palace? Perhaps, my Lord, you will do to remember that I am one of the surviving Seven Sisters. The likes of a human cannot kill me, my Lord, so I would put it to you that although you may be of higher ranking than myself, you still ought to show me some respect, if you value your life. I cannot be held accountable if you were to be found with your throat slit...'
‘You nasty little harlot!’ snarled the man. ‘You are nothing but a fuck-thing for King Yonfair. If our King was not swayed by the lust of his eye, you would not be the palace assassin. On the contrary, you would be placed in prison, fucked by trolls for the remainder of your days! Your allegiances with Burkenshire and that traitor Gary Niles are well documented throughout the palace and if I were in charge you would be forced to face the punishment for your treason!’
‘The King knows of my connections with the rebels and Zak Burkenshire. He also agrees that such connections should remain, as to spy on the movements of the afore mentioned. Or do you, my Lord, disagree with the King? Disagree with your own family? Is that not a crime punishable by death within the palace walls? Or, as a mere woman, am I mistaken?’
All had fallen almost silent once more. But, there was heavy breathing. Angry breathing. It was the man. I’d not a clue what it was they were speaking of, but I knew that what the woman had said carried great impact on the man… Was she defending me? Was the man about to rape me? I did not know, but nonetheless I was grateful.
‘Anyway, I believe it is time for Ms. Schringenger to appear before Judge Seagal and the jury. Will you be teleporting her there, or shall I, my Lord?’ said the woman, her voice calm; collected.
‘If you care so much for the whore, then you take her. I shall be in my chambers. When she’s found guilty, I wish to have her summoned to me. Convicts are after all, my property. Good day, Drixie’.
The man’s footsteps faded briskly and the slamming of a door signaled that his presence was no longer with us. I felt better immediately. Safer.
‘That’s Lord Oziz. The King’s cousin. A foul, foul man. But fear not, Eliza, he cannot touch you again. Prepare yourself, we are about to teleport to the court room.'
‘Clothes…’ I whispered.
‘I cannot arrange that now, Eliza. Just remember who it is you wish to summon as your legal representative.'
‘Zak A Burkenshire, Palace Alchemist, Warlock and Philosopher’ I said again. Who was this Burkenshire? I did not know… I did not know anything.
‘Very good’
POP!
*
I hate teleportation.
Everything had gone hazy, spinning and spinning. When it stopped, I was dizzy and vomited on to the floor – I was standing now. Or, trembling rather, trying with all my strength to stay upright.
There was laughter and jeering of men. They were laughing at me.
‘Order!’ boomed the gruffly voice of a man. ‘Ms. Schringenger?’
I opened my eyes. I was in a large room, full of people. Rich people, dressed in golden helmets and jewelry, red feathers, and jewel-covered cufflinks.
The room was large. Tall, golden pillars; checkered floors, black and white; metal benches that the rich men sat along, decorated in golden writing I could not understand; pictures of Old Kings covered the walls… I was standing on a wooden box that was about four feet high directly facing the crowd. I covered my modesty as much as I could do, as the chains around my wrists bound my movements (the men jeered some more as I tried to cover myself). To my left, there was a man dressed in a black robe and a large, blue feathered hat that sat behind a large desk of about four feet tall and sat on a throne-like chair. He was old. Very old. His face was wrinkled – like a prune with two slits in which there were blue eyes. He was so wrinkled that it was difficult to tell where his mouth was. His nose was hooked and a pair of half moon glasses rested upon it. He had bushy eyebrows, brown, like his hair.
To my right, clutching my arm was a beautiful woman – the only woman in the room. She had long, silky black hair; large, blue eyes; soft skin; she was small, but with flattering assets that human men would fall before; she wore a white gown, decorated in silver jewelry and strapped to her side was a long, thin sword engraved with more words that I could not understand. This woman must have been Drixie.
‘Ms. Schringenger?’ said the old man with the blue feathers in his hat. ‘I am Judge Seagal. I shall be your Judge for today. Do you know why you are here?’
‘I am here under suspicion of the following: treason; conspiring against palace officials, including the King Yonfair; nineteen counts of sexual indecency involving non-Imparlian persons; distributing illegal weapons to enemies of the state and aiding two fugitives in evading the law’ I said without hesitation.
‘How do you plead?’
‘Not guilty’
‘And who will be your representative in the court of law?’
‘Zak A Burkenshire, Palace Alchemist, Warlock and Philosopher!’
The room became full of whispering, tutting and angry chitter-chatter the moment I answered.
Judge Seagal raised his eyebrows.
‘Zak A Burkenshire has been exiled from the palace for unlawful sexual practices, Ms. Shringenger. Magick surrounding us will not allow him to enter’
POP!
Before me, a man of an odd appearance had suddenly come in to being. He had long, auburn hair and a bushy beard of the same colour. He wore circular glasses, dressed in multi-coloured robes and complete with a tattered, brown, pointy hat. He carried a staff that he was using to keep himself up and in his free hand, the left one, he held a pipe that he was smoking from – the smoke gave off a pungent flowery smell. A smell I recognized. I liked it.
The room had become more buzzed with disgruntled mumbling and sounds of disgust.
‘I believe I have been summoned as a representative in the court of law?’ said the pointy-hatted man in front of me. He turned to Judge Seagal and said, ‘Mr. Zak A Burkenshire, previously employed by the palace as an Alchemist and Philosopher; First Order of the Warlock member, seventh degree; heir to the treasures of the Burkenshire clan; son of the Old King’s sister, illegitimate; Head Wizard of the South Guard; Member of the Seventh Order; Half Elf and half human; Keeper of the keys to the gates of Hades. I am here, summoned by Eliza Schringenger, to represent her in the court of law on the ninth day of the third moon, as requested’.
Judge Seagal smiled slightly. I think he was smiling. It was hard to tell with all those horrible wrinkles.
‘Good morning, Zak’ he said warmly.
‘Oliver’ replied Burkenshire, nodding with a smile.
Burkenshire walked slowly up to me, gave a nod to Drixie who released her grip on my arm and Burkenshire placed a single finger on my arm.
Clothes appeared out of the tip of his finger and wrapped themselves around me; beautiful, luxurious green clothe, decorated with bronze chains. And I remembered everything once again… Everything zoomed back in to my knowledge at Burkenshire’s touch. I knew why I was here and why I had been under a mind control spell… Everything made perfect sense again…
‘This’, said Burkenshire as he turned towards the people in the court room, ‘is Ms. Eliza Shringenger, one of six Princesses of the Elf community of N’aimska. I should perhaps remind the Imparlian people and officials present here today that the Elves are incredibly proud people, who are already hostile to our land after that horrid business with the Giants… and humiliating one of their only women by stripping her naked, especially in front of human eyes, can and if known to them probably will, end up in hostile action. I heavily advise you all that in future, you perhaps show some more respect – ‘
‘TO A FILTHY ELF PRISONER’ heckled one of the men in attendance.
Burkenshire remained calm and softly answered, ‘to perhaps one of the most important people in preventing war with N’aimska’
‘You should be reminded, Burkenshire, that you are exiled from this palace!’
‘Yet I was able to teleport here upon being summoned, was I not? Therefore, the magick that protects the palace that was installed by the Old King clearly does not recognize me as exile-worthy’ Burkenshire said, smiling.
‘But King Yonfair – ‘
‘Cannot overrule the magick of the Old King, the greatest Warlock to have lived on Imparlian land. As talented as our current King may be, he is no Warlock, I hate to inform you. Now, Oliver,’ Burkenshire turned to Judge Seagal, ‘I have a message from the Elf Queen. She begs Ms. Eliza’s pardon, and offers great gifts in return for it’.
I think Oliver pressed his lips together, but I was unsure. This man was so ugly…
‘And what gifts does the Elf Queen wish to offer the palace, Zak?’ he said, pleasantly. I already knew…
‘The necklace of the Seven Sisters – ‘
‘Burkenshire!’ snapped Drixie. I had forgotten she was present. She was one of the Seven Sisters, immortal women who came from the lions of Heaven. It was rumoured that the Seven Gods’ had bore children for the greatest of human warriors many centuries ago, who were seven sisters that were born to a great Elf King. In many ways, Drixie and I were of the same blood – Elf. Since the original seven, each sister has had one daughter each through the ages and they all referred to as one of the Seven Sisters. This is what Drixie was and the necklace of the Sisters was an ancient artifact that was given to the Elf Queen, my Mother, as a gift by Drixie’s Mother several decades ago as a symbol of trust and companionship between the two.
Burkenshire waved his hand dismissively at Drixie. Rightly so, too. The necklace was of high importance to the plan. The plan: it was all that truly mattered.
‘The necklace of the Seven Sisters’ continued Burkenshire, ‘seven thousand Imparlian gold coins and assured peace between the two nations. If Eliza is released, then the Elf Queen will guarantee that the dragons in their service will not be set upon Imparliar under her rule. I believe that this is a generous offer from a society that until now, has never offered their treasures or such treaties to any of their neighbouring countries. As former advisor to the Old King, I strongly recommend that you accept the offer on behalf of the King, Oliver’
‘Ms. Schringenger? What say you? Do you consent to the pardon? You will be found guilty under Imparlian law and unable to enter our land again, but you will be free to return home to N’aimska. If you were to enter Imparliar again, you will be murdered’ said Oliver.
‘I consent’ I mumbled. All that was important was that the necklace of the Seven Sisters was in the palace. That was it. Nothing more.
‘Very well’ sighed Oliver. ‘I, Oliver Seagal, hereby pardon Ms. Eliza Schringenger for the following crimes: treason; conspiring against palace officials, including the Great King Yonfair I; nineteen counts of sexual indecency involving non-Imparlian persons; distributing illegal weapons to enemies of the state and aiding two fugitives in evading the law. You are to be escorted out of Imparliar by Drixie, palace assassin and first maid to the King. On the condition that there are no objections from the jury – ‘
‘I object, Seagal’.
Heads turned. Lord Oziz was making his way in to the court room. The great, fat oaf. Ginger hair, all tangled; wild, brown eyes; a big chin; dressed in the finest of Imparlian armour with red feathers, like many in the jury; warts and pimples dotted all over his cheeks and mouth; scars covering his already ugly face and a neck-beard he had qpparently never bothered to groom.
‘Ah, Lord Oziz’ said Oliver, with a slight quake in his voice.
‘Oliver’ he said, smiling ‘…And Zak’, he added with a cold tone, though still smiling.
‘Oziz’ said Burkenshire gently, beaming as though Oziz was an old friend he had not seen in years. ‘To what do we owe the pleasure?’
‘This woman… Ms. Schringenger, is a prisoner of Imparliar. Therefore, she is my property, as King Yonfair had instructed me to oversee the fugitives and convicts we had captured. I must object to her pardon, if I may be as bold’ Oziz said, his smile tightening. I hate that man.
‘On what grounds, Oziz?’ asked Burkenshire.
‘On the grounds that Gary Niles and Mrs. Helana Fullbarrow, the fugitives Ms. Schringenger is accused of aiding across the border, are still at large and not in our custody. Under the treaty of the Old King, N’aimskan natives are entitled to pardons, yes, but only if their crimes’ repercussions can be mended. As it is, Gary Niles and Mrs. Fullbarrow are still on the run and therefore one of –‘
‘Ah, yes. You are quite right, Oziz. However, Eliza is also under arrest for having sexual relations with non-Imparlian persons. As a non-Imparlian, she is exempt from this law… Something that your office has overlooked, Oziz. I daresay that your office only charged her with the crime to make her punishment more severe. Therefore, she is entitled to compensation, a law Oliver and myself had written over seven decades ago during the rule of the Old King’ Burkenshire argued.
‘Yes, but if one is in Imparliar for longer than five moons, they are classed as an Imparlian. Ms. Eliza Schringenger has been here for six’ said Oziz, now grinning broadly.
‘Ah, yes’ agreed Drixie, piping up once again. ‘But two of those months were in custody at the minimum security prison of Nishe. While in custody, one is not classed as a civilian’.
‘Very good, Drixie, very good’ said Burkenshire. Oziz’s face turned sour.
‘Then it is settled. Ms. Eliza Schringenger, you are hereby pardoned of the crimes you are facing trial for. As previously stated, Drixie will accompany the pair of you to the borders’, and at the hit of his hammer, Oliver Seagal had given me my freedom.
Burkenshire reached in to one of the pockets of his brown robe while puffing away at his pipe and produced from it a large brown bag that jangled as he dropped it on to Oliver Seagal’s desk and then, from the same pocket, he produced two envelopes.
‘The bag contains the gold promised to Imparliar. The first envelope contains the necklace of the Seven Sisters’ (Drixie tutted loudly) ‘and the second, a signed treaty stating that N’aimska will not launch a dragon-led attack on Imparlian soil under the current Elf Queen’s rule’.
I watched Oziz carefully. His face had gone a horrid purple and he shook with anger. He wanted me so much. He had done since I arrived at the Palace. But it didn’t matter now. The necklace was in the palace. My mission was complete.
*
Carriages pulled by no horses. It was an Imparlian thing; some claimed that they were actually pulled by the souls of loyal soldiers who died in battle and stayed on Earth to continue serving their King and Queens; others insisted that they were pulled by Magick. I did not believe either. I believe that they were pulled by N’aimskan Unicorns, beasts that only appear to loyal servants of the Gods and Goddess’. I believed this because I had seen them on my way to the palace while being moved from the prison of Nishe to the dungeons of Lord Oziz’s command. Then again, I had ingested wild mushrooms, which were all I was able to find for food, on that particular day.
It was I, Drixie and Burkenshire on the one of the carriages being pulled by the N’aimskan Unicorns, later in the day of my pardon. My memory had fully restored by then. I remembered it all:
I, the eldest of the Elf Queen’s daughters, had been sent in to Imparliar as a fugitive so that I could be placed under arrest. This part was crucial – I had to stand trial within the palace walls, so that I may summon Zak A Burkenshire as my legal representative in to the palace to make a delivery to Oliver Seagal. The delivery, of course, was the necklace of the Seven Sisters and the summoning of Zak A Burkenshire had to be done because he was unable to enter the palace by means of normal teleportation. He would have been placed under arrest for trespassing, as he had been exiled after he was caught having homosexual relations with a now deceased judge. Being summoned in a court of law, however, was a kind of magick that the palace officials could not interfere with. I knew little of Imparliar’s magick law, so I cannot say why in great detail, but I knew that by being summoned as a legal representative assured Burkenshire’s immunity to arrest.
It had to be Burkenshire delivering the necklace, because only a Warlock could exchange gifts of the Gods, which is what the necklace of the Seven Sisters was. And only a Warlock or a person of Royal blood could accept such a gift without dying immediately. As Oliver Seagal was representing a Royal (King Yonfair) while acting as a Judge, palace Magick protected him dying upon accepting the necklace.
Burkenshire had placed me under both mind control and memory wiping spells, so that even if Lord Oziz’s torture broke my spirit, I would be unable to spill any secrets. It was Drixie who cast the memory wiping spell every night too, to make sure it was fresh and as powerful as Burkenshire had cast it before entering the palace.
The necklace, being a powerful artifact, had to be placed in the palace for one purpose: on the assumption that Yonfair, being notoriously arrogant and self-delusional would immediately wear it to use the power within it, ignorant of the fact that the last Elf or Seven Sister to have touched it can read the mind of anybody else wearing it. Having Drixie in the palace as a spy wasn’t enough, it had occurred to Burkenshire. We needed a direct access to Yonfair’s whereabouts, thoughts and feelings. Nobody besides myself, my sisters, one or two male Elves, Burkenshire and my Mother knew the true power of the necklace.
It was a tactical mission, with the reward of an impressive upper hand over Yonfair and his officials... and we had succeeded. The three of us were celebrating on the carriage, smoking the Shiva herb (a herb that grew in the Outer Earth, another reality to ours, and Burkenshire would bring some back every time he visited there) and drinking Elf Wine, wine so strong that it could kill a human with only one glass. Drixie was a Seven Sister and I was pure elf. Burkenshire was half Elf and a Warlock, so he was okay too.
‘We did it!’ laughed Burkenshire, pumping his fist. ‘We actually did it! Eliza, this means your mother can – ‘
‘Can directly access the thoughts of King Yonfair, yes. Most remarkable’ I interrupted. Though I was uplifted from the Shiva Herb and the Elf Wine, my heart was still heavy. My mind kept on asking: what if Lord Oziz had forced his self upon me? Drixie had been overseeing me and protecting me during my incarceration, but what if Oziz had slipped out of her radar? Mother would be furious is I fell pregnant to a human… Especially after I had not shown an interest in men throughout my entire life…
‘Perhaps you are slightly worried?’ said Burkenshire, as though reading my thoughts. I hated it when he did that. Sometimes it made me wonder if he did have powers of telepathy. ‘Fear not, Eliza. When I touched you in the court room, as I lifted the curses I had placed on you and gave you clothes, I also checked to see whether or not you had been defiled by the touch of Oziz. As it turns out, you have not’.
I immediately felt relieved.
‘I told you she had my full protection while in the Palace, Burkenshire’ said Drixie, a note of offence in her voice.
‘Do not be discouraged, Drixie. I did not doubt for a moment that you would fail in your mission. I also sense that you are still somewhat offended by the necklace being handed over to the enemy?’ Burkenshire said, wisely.
‘You understand that we cannot just take that back? Yonfair must either give it back, or the Elf Queen must kill him to retrieve it? You know this, right?’
‘Of course I know, Drixie. This is not my current concern. Right now, my concern is preventing war. We cannot begin a war until the boy is safe’.
‘Speaking of the boy’ I growled, ‘Have Gary and Helena delivered him safely to my Mother?’
‘Yes, Eliza, young Yetar is safe within the Elf Queen’s domain. He is to be delivered to Outer Earth when the portal open during the Black Moon’ Burkenshire retorted happily.
‘The there is still hope for the world…’
