Palace Walls

Part Twenty

Pulsing in the heart of Lady Salmon's dreams, the following is a mixture of reality and Gobnet's sleep-witched mind, but these are Lady Salmon's writings of a "reality" based deep upon the pearl-infested spells of the Dream Goddess.

--note from Penelope Oltu

Several years passed. The new reign of Queen Gobnet was long, yet surprisingly peaceful. Splendora's mists thinned, causing more humans and fairies to visit-- and more secrets to be traded. Religions, clothing, and various books...they swirled like seeds around the sea-warmed air. She never had children, so some curious souls whispered about succession. After centuries, much like the Great Queen Clotilda, she grew old, but since giants live long, her health was good. She had few wrinkles, her fluffy white-blonde hair was only tinged with gray, and she walked as quickly as a puplet. As the old butler hobbled into her frilly Victorian office, she drew with colored pens on a large, blue-black map. The room was cluttered with elaborate, dark-brown shelves carved with roses and grapes; the shelves themselves burst with faceless ivory dolls wearing bright silk dresses. Silk dresses that once graced Queen Gobnet's trim, tanned form. Nostalgia? Or something else...what an elegant dame! Maybe she'll recreate these one day. The butler shivered; one doll was even wrapped in the anti-aging bandages that Queen Ankaret and King Octavius would have worn during their painful fiery deaths. Potch shuddered; the absence of any face felt more threatening than the presence of a scowling one. How could Queen Gobnet sleep at night?! The Grand Dame of the world's cruelest Funeral Pyre, he thought, shaking his head, If any of those soulless vessels suddenly felt a lust for life, I pray 'tis not that one...!

High, sweet flute music cascaded through the air, and she glided gently on a wheeled, gold-encrusted throne. When she saw him, she spoke with authority.

"The humans have discovered a new place, Potch," she said plainly, "This gives me an idea...perhaps we should leave our humble blossom in favor of this new one."

"Where exactly were you thinking, Your Highness?" asked Potch.

She jabbed a pen at a reddish splotch on her map.

"Teegarden's Star."

The butler's jaw dropped.

"But, Your Highness, we're giants; we know nothing of interstellar travel!"

"Times have changed. The humans know and talk with us. They'll help us; I know they will!"

"By building a gigantic spaceship?!"

"Maybe. But they can mentally help us prepare, too, can't they?"

"Your Highness, I've heard of this said...star. Allegedly, there are habitable exoplanets, but Splendora is our home! And you're half-Amathzuli-- don't you feel some connection to the land you know?"

"Not anymore, I'm afraid," she said firmly, "I will not live to see this plan, Potch. The trip takes twenty earth years."

Potch released a sigh of relief.

"Oh, thank Kaluz Kamud! But in the meantime...?"

"We plan, and we wait, like that plain stocky dame before me."

"Clotilda Hua was a woman of action," he huffed, "I wish I could say the same of you!"