The Convert Queen: Prophecy Fulfilled

Chapter 11: A Refuge From The Storm (Part 2)

Aleyna fell back into her chair. With elbows resting on the table, she allowed her head to fall into her hands. She heard rather than saw Arner step into the library. The door clicked as he closed it behind him.

'I'm sorry for what I said,' Aleyna said without looking up. 'I didn't mean to call you an old man. I was just upset. Leena seems to think I have done all this to spite her.'

'No need to apologise. I wasn't meant to hear it. And, I suppose to a professor of the tender age of twenty-five, a king of forty might seem an old man.'

'Still,I shouldn't have said it. I saw the look on your face...it upset you. I upset you.'

'Not even old men want to be thought of as old men. Only my pride was hurt, but it will mend.'

Silence settled on the room. Aleyna now bereft of energy, felt defeated. She sensed Arner step closer, until he was standing next to the desk. From out of the corner of her eye she saw him pick up the book she had taken down to read.

'What are you doing here, Arner?'

'Looking for you.'

'Why now?' This whole melodrama was becoming exhausting.

'For a number of reasons. The first I know you will not like, but like everything else, there is little I can do about it. However, I will try and explain it as best as I can, and hopefully you will understand my position on this.'

Aleyna sighed heavily. 'Go on.'

'You're not from Mynythia.'

'I know that.'

Arner gave her a look. 'Please, let me finish. You're not from Mynythia, but you are tied up in a Mynythian prophecy. Yesterday that prophecy was realised and, for want of a better analogy, it opened a doorway meaning there are now things you are vulnerable to, that you weren't before. And so custom dictates that you should be accompanied at all times by a Mynythian until we reached Mynythia. It's the only way we can keep you safe.'

'All right, I'll bite. You need to keep me safe from what?'

'The forces at work in the world which you can't see.'

'Please. Stop. I understand you believe this. I do. And I respect that. But I don't. I couldn't, even if I wanted to. It makes little sense to me. I'm sorry.'

'Why? It's best we get these things out in the open, Aleyna. It's best that we understand one another. But this I do know, and this is something you are going to have to come to terms with and quickly because my world isn't like your world, the Spirits have picked you for a reason. A purpose. Everything they do is intentional. What their agenda is, I don't know, but they have one, and you are to play a big part in it.'

'Since when do ghosts have an agenda? I thought they were supposed to haunt old buildings and burial grounds.'

'Not ghosts, Aleyna. Spirits. They are vastly different. And the latter is vastly more powerful.' Arner paused, took a few paces away and then turned back to face her. 'So, for now, I cannot allow you to go about on your own.'

'Cannot allow?' Aleyna's voice rose.

'If you can't abide my company, you can have your choice of any of my men. They will happily protect their queen.'

Aleyna didn't trust herself to speak. She felt foolish for allowing herself to get caught up in this nonsense. The very idea that she needed around the clock guard to protect her from invisible threats was ludicrous. In fact, it was so beyond her ability to understand, all she could do was change the subject.

'What else did you come here to tell me?'

'I wanted to tell you about the banquet. Petor thought it prudent to get things moving in an open way.'

'It's a shame he didn't think to warn me first.'

'I said the same.'

'Oh my!' Aleyna exclaimed, clasping her cheeks in mock-astonishment. 'We agree on something.'

'Well, it seems I was too late. The princess must have overheard her father's preparations and come straight here. I'm sorry you had to endure that.'

'She's my friend. She'll calm down.' Aleyna sounded far more confident in this than she felt in her heart. She had never seen Leena like that before. Yet she could see how things looked to her friend, and understand her reaction. The question was, how was the rest of Lyknisia going to react to the news?

'I also had another thought, one which might make this whole affair less of a bitter pill to swallow.' He placed the book he was holding back on the table in front of Aleyna. 'Did you know that The Geography of the Mynythian Borderlands by Kazimyr Vladchuk, is the only book written about Mynythia to be factually accurate?'

Aleyna nodded.

'Perhaps,now that Mynythia is about to have a former geography professor as Queen, it might be something she chooses to remedy?'

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[Word count for chapter: 811, Word count for whole story: 13868]

Thank you so much for reading this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please consider voting for it and / or leaving me a comment to let me know what you think.

There is so much for Aleyna to take on board at the moment. Apparently there are unseen threats just biding their time to attack her. Leena thinks Aleyna has betrayed her by nabbing a king she herself might have married. And to top things off, Aleyna has insulted her husband-to-be. But at least Arner has dangled a very exciting opportunity in front of her...might that make Aleyna feel better about the whole thing? I would love to hear your thoughts...

Have a great day!