The Farren Queens

Amara

Amara was left with nothing to do for two days. She cleaned the bakery from floor to ceiling. Every nook and cranny was swept, and every fork polished to perfection. The bakery wasn't large, but it had bedrooms above the shop, and each room kept her occupied for an afternoon. She tried not to think about the upcoming days, but it was impossible.
   
Two days past.
   
Three days.
   
A week.
   
After the eighth day, Amara couldn't stand it any longer. She packed a small bag with food and fresh water, sharpened her dagger, and wrote a note to the owners of the bakery to apologize for stealing from them.
   
"Come on."
   
Samir looked up from his book. "What?"
   
"We're leaving."
   
"Didn't Kiari tell us to stay put?"
   
"She told us to wait two days. It's been over a week." she said.
   
"Maybe just another day." Samir suggested.
   
"We leave now."
   
Samir followed her out the door. They walked north towards the castle. It was only two miles away, but the palace sat atop a hill. Samir was still walking with a limp, and by the time they reached the base, he had to sit down.
   
The sound of horse hooves on cobblestone made them freeze.
   
"Who are you?" a guard demanded, "And why aren't you in the ballroom?"
   
Thalia and Caelum. she told Samir.
   
"I thought you hated my kouzlo."
   
She ignored his reply and turned to the guard. In a high voice, she said, "I'm Thalia Agassi. We are weary travelers, and we were just passing through."
   
"The queen's orders were for all villagers to report to the Grand Hall for questioning." the guard said in a gruff voice. Amara realized she recognized him as the one who had laughed at her before her coronation, and she prayed that he wouldn't know her.
   
"Yes, but-"
   
"My leg." Samir finished.
   
The guard grunted. "Go."
   
Samir and Amara left without another word. As they walked up, Amara made a promise to herself to hire smarter guards when she took the crown. She had lived here her entire life, and he didn't recognize her? They walked up in silence. No other guards were on patrol, even as they neared the entrance. When they got to the top, Samir had to sit again. His wound had scabbed over, but it was far from healed.
   
Amara jumped when she heard a rustle in the bush behind her. Her hand went for her dagger, but instead of seeing a guard she saw Kiari.
   
"What are you doing here?" she asked the Massaponaian woman.
   
"I could ask you the same." Kiari replied. "We told you to stay at the bakery."
   
"You were gone for over a week!"
   
"You disobeyed orders."
   
Amara could feel the anger rising in her face. "I'm not a soldier. I am the rightful Queen of Farren, and I am under no obligation to take orders from a werowansqua!"
   
"You signed a treaty with us!"
   
"That promised assistance, it did not give you power over me."
   
Kiari sighed. "Now that you're here, what do you plan to do?"
   
"Take back the throne?"
   
I'm guessing she's looking for a more detailed plan.
   
"Which we don't have?"
   
Right.
   
The woman shook her head with disappointment. "No strategy? Did you think your sister would just hand you the crown because you asked nicely?"
   
Amara didn't have a response. She had assumed that a plan would come to her as they traveled, and if it didn't she would take her chances.
   
Kiari grabbed her wrist and pulled her behind the bushes. Samir sat next to them, taking the weight off of his bad leg. "Listen," Kiari said in a hushed whisper, "Your younger sister  is interrogating every citizen from Amberford about your location."
   
"And Bahar?" Samir asked.
   
Kiari stared at the floor. "You have been presumed dead. Bahar is the empress, and she is aiding Eira."
   
Samir buried his face in his hands and mumbled something Amara couldn't hear.
   
"Why?" Amara.
   
"We're not sure." Kiari answered. "I can only assume that she wants to keep the Farren-Basam alliance, now that Massaponai has blamed Basam for their hardship."
   
"Is Basam still suffering through sandstorms?"
   
"We don't know."
   
"Who's 'we'?" Samir demanded. "And how have you gotten this information?"
   
The woman met his eyes. "'We' refers to my specially trained task force and me. It is quite small, only five or ten soldiers. We used our kouzlo to sneak into the grounds. Please, trust us. We've been doing this for years."
   
"She's been doing this for years? Who has she spied on?"
   
She's our only hope.
   
"Kiari is your only hope. I'm still the rightful heir." Samir said silently. The idea of having someone's thoughts in her head still made her stomach turn, but Samir made a valid point.
   
What if Bahar turns out like Eira? Just because she's your sister doesn't mean she'll hand you the power.
   
"Bahar hates responsibility."
   
Power isn't the same thing.
   
Amara turned to Kiari. "We will trust you, but we need to get inside the palace now."
   
Kiari did not lead them to the main entrance of the castle. Instead, she walked down the hill towards the Amber River.  Amara and Samir followed, but kept their distance. She handed Samir the knife she had stolen form Ka'kwet, and kept a tight grip on her dagger.
   
The trees had lost their leaves by now, and the bare branches looked like skeletons swaying in the chilling breeze. The grass had dried, but the dirt road was slick with mud. Halfway down the hill, their shoes were soaked through. Amara hugged her arms, longing for a coat. The trail wound around the hill, and got steeper as they went further down. Samir was limping next to Amara, but Kiari blazed through the trail without looking back. Amara picked up a nearby branch and gave it to him.  He nodded his thanks, and continued to walk down the slope. When they reached the bank of the river, Kiari began to follow the river upstream.