The Farren Queens

Samir

"Stop at the next sight of the river." Lahan Balil commanded the driver.

"River?" Bahar asked, looking up from her lap.

"Your brother and I have to ask for a blessing."

"From who?"

His father shook his head. "An old friend of mine."

"A river person?"

"Yes, Bahar."

"Well, you know," She began, "River people tend to be calm. They just go with the flow."

They continued through the forest in silence. The only sound was that of hooves on cobblestone and birds in the trees. Samir had never been to Farren, and the constant greenery amazed him. It was the opposite of the blank sands in the Anabi Desert. The sunlight shone through the trees and created an ever changing pattern on the ground, and the air smelled of cool dirt, trees, as well as something he had no words to describe. It was the kind of forest that made him wonder if fairies flew between the branches when he turned his gaze the other way.

"Farren is pretty, huh?" asked the driver.

"Pretty doesn't quite capture it." Samir replied, dazed. "Is there anything that does?"

"It's alright." Bahar said, not looking up from her novel.

"What are you talking about?" He asked, "Look around, real life doesn't happen between the pages of a book."

"Your life doesn't."

Samir shook his head. He laid back and closed his eyes, enjoying the cool breeze that sang between the leaves. The sun was kinder here. It didn't burn as it did in Basam. Instead, it welcomed Samir as if he was an old friend. He loved the red dirt path that twisted and turned through the woodland, and the smell of flowers between the pines.

He must have dozed off because when he woke, his father was shaking him. "It's time."

"What?" He said, trying to stay awake.

"Come." His father ran off into the woods, and Samir had no choice but to follow. He met his father at a clearing not far from their carriage. A small river flowed behind them, and Samir knelt down next to his father. Samir was shocked to see his father holding a knife, and a vial of water.

"Long ago, when I made my own trip to Terra Mons, the spirits gave me a gift, along with my kouzlo. They told me to hold on to it, that someday it would be used to introduce another to their power. I can only assume the spirits meant you.

"I have cherished this vial of Monian water, hoping I would someday be able to begin your journey. Come now, take the knife and prick your finger. Pour the water over the open wound, and say the name of the queen to be."

Samir did as his father asked, wincing when he drew blood. Why do rituals always require blood? He thought before saying, "Amara Niran."

His finger healed just after he finished saying her name. Other than that, however, he felt the same as he had before.

Great, I just wasted a gift from the spirits.

Panicked, he turned to his father. "Did it work?"

"Ask her yourself."

"Will she be able to hear all of my thoughts?"

Lahan Balil shook his head. "From what I've read, it will be like talking. You will choose what to say to her, and she will choose what to say to you. It is more of a silent communication than mind reading."

"You said she can choose as well. Does she know?"

"She does not. The new queen's subconsciousness will make the decision for her, until you tell her the connection you share. She will then be able to choose what she reveals to you."

Wonderful, Samir thought to himself, one more thing to worry about.

"Would you like to try it out?" His father asked, as if this girl's private thoughts were nothing more than a new toy.

"I suppose." Samir grumbled, still upset that he didn't have a choice in the matter. Just as he was about to try, he heard a voice in his head that wasn't his.

"She doesn't get to decide my outfit."