A Tale That Could Not Be [Book 2 of Selvina's Tale series]

Chapter 30: Empress Rhiannon

Sauradian archers pulled back on their bowstrings, Frenisian crossbowmen raised their weapons and took aim, and fire mages conjured spheres of flames between the palms of their hands. The dragon flew directly over the city square, casting a deep shadow over everyone with its passing, silencing all voices as it did so. The sound of its flight was like a rumbling hurricane or a devastating tornado, a thunder with no end. Many Sauradians fled upon sight of the terrible beast but most remained where they were, whether by utter fear or unbearable curiosity.

"Hold your fire!" Sultan Ali Baba called out as the dragon angled its flight and circled the city square, its red eyes scanning the area carefully. The Sultan then unsheathed his scimitar and waved it in the air, catching the dragon's attention. "I am here, Empress! Cease this act and speak to me on equal footing. Why do you come here?"

The dragon roared loudly, circled the area once more, and then dove toward the platform upon which Belle and Prince Aladdin stood. The scaled creature streaked through the air like a comet but, before it crashed into the platform, shadowy tendrils suddenly protruded from its body. The tendrils slithered along the dragon's body and completely consumed the beast. It quickly shrunk in size and took the form a woman. She smoothly landed on top of the platform as the last of the tendrils faded away. In her hand was clutched a black staff with a glowing, emerald orb on its tip. Within the orb were clouds that swirled about in an endless storm, flashing lightning and twisting into miniature tornados that trailed their paths along the orb's surface from within like tentacles of wind. The woman was tall and slim and dressed in robes of pitch black. Upon her shoulders were flat, leather pauldrons rimmed with black feathers and on one of her fingers was a silver ring with a lavender stone. On her forehead was a silver crown that bore a great iridescent jewel and rising up from the back of her head was a series of thin, serrated metal rods arranged in a fan-shape. Coiled around each rod and reaching out to all the others was her hair, oily black with a glossy red tinge, which made the display resemble a huge spider's web. Her face, smooth, angular, and beautiful, fixed its golden eyes on Prince Aladdin and narrowed slightly.

"Am I interrupting something?" she asked in a voice smoother than honey laced with venom. The empress looked down at Belle and the two women locked gazes, if only for a moment.

"Do not fear me," said the woman without moving her lips.

"She is speaking to us mentally," Beast said with surprise and a bit of trepidation.

"Yes, I am," replied the woman, though her gaze had shifted back to the prince. "I am Empress Rhiannon, if you did not already piece that together. I am not here for you and I will not end your life, unless you give me reason to."

We both mean no harm, Belle quickly said in her mind.

"Good. Then remain where you are."

Are you here to help us?

"Do not be absurd. I know not who you are and care not for your troubles. I am here to speak to the sultan and the king and that is all."

Belle's heart was heavy with disappointment but she did as the empress instructed and did not get up and try to escape. She had never met Empress Rhiannon before but Belle had read many books about her and had always been fascinated by her rise to power. Before her, the Kingdom of Noyr had been about a third of the size of Frenis. It had harboured a reasonable army but few resources, making it somewhat of a weaker kingdom. When Rhiannon took power, and there were many tales and rumors as to how that happened, she expanded her kingdom's influence to such magnitude that it now spanned across almost the entirety of the western continent of Argard, making it by far the largest nation of Faeryum. This powerful woman, the ruler of Faeryum's greatest empire, now stood only a few feet away. Belle had long desired an audience with the empress in hopes of finding a way to give Beast his separate body but, sadly, she wanted nothing to do with her or Beast.