The Captive Twin Read online

  The Captive Twin

  PRINCIPALITY: BOOK TWO

  The Captive Twin

  R. J. FRANCIS

  Copyright © 2017 R. J. Francis

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN: 1546463526

  ISBN-13: 978-1546463528

  DEDICATION

  To those who mend the world.

  CONTENTS

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Epilogue

  CHAPTER ONE

  D earest Jaimin,

  We’ve just sailed past a rock that Alessa says marks the border. They’ve let us come up on deck to watch the moon rise, but we’re to scramble below at the slightest hint of trouble. It’s a clear night here. All the mist is back toward Arra.

  Jem, I know you’re with me all the time, but I need to see you—to touch you. It’s going to be difficult to be away, even for a few days. Alessa has already caught me speaking to you out loud. There’s the moon! I wish you could watch it rise with me.

  Don’t worry about me. I don’t know whether our mission will succeed, but I’ll be fine. Use this time. Use it to grow stronger. And please, please, please do everything you can to stay safe until I get back.

  Princess Elaina closed her new diary and slid it, and her steel pen, back into the pocket of her cloak.

  “Are you done? May we please stand up now?” Princess Alessa asked. The bench they were seated on was right over the engine, and Alessa had lost her patience with its irritating vibrations. They stood and crossed to the starboard rail, where they could watch the snow-coated coast of Audicia brighten with the rising moon.

  “What do you think is going to happen in Audicia?” Alessa asked.

  “I thought you might have some idea.”

  “Don’t overestimate my ability to see the future,” Alessa said. “It’s rare that I see anything at all, and I don’t get to choose what I discern. But with you, I suspect it’s a different story. You’re much more connected than I ever was.”

  “How could that be?” Elaina asked. “You’ve been alive so much longer.”

  “Doesn’t matter. The divine spirit never gives us a task without also providing the power to complete it. Sometimes that power is unimaginably strong.”

  “Like what happened with Jem?”

  “I’d say bringing your boyfriend back from the dead is a perfect example. Now, remind me of your current task. Saving the world from your wayward father? You wouldn’t have been given this huge assignment unless you had the capability to carry it out. That’s why I thought you might know what comes next.”

  “I have no idea,” Elaina said. “I just know everything’s going to work out.”

  “You’re holding something back,” Alessa alleged. “You’re not getting back at me for keeping secrets from you your whole life, are you?”

  “I wouldn’t do that. You know me,” Elaina said.

  “Then, what is it?”

  “What? Well, I’m thinking about Makias. And it’s only because he’s on your mind. You know he’ll be there when we dock…”

  Alessa chuckled. She’d never told Elaina the name of her childhood sweetheart. “What else do you know about Makias?” she asked.

  “Not much. Maybe because you never told me about him.”

  “He was the first boy I kissed—the son of dear Princess Odiana, who died in the war.”

  “So he’s a prince?” Elaina asked.

  “No, silly. Our men don’t have titles. Makias lived in the same wing of the palace as I did. He was exactly my age, and he was always around. I think he was more drawn to me than I was to him, but at fifteen I was eager to experiment with love. And I’ll be honest: he was pretty hot. After that night we kissed, I grew nervous and kept him at a distance.”

  “You broke his heart?”

  “I wouldn’t say that. I just…took it slow. Soon enough, the war came and the exile sent us in different directions.”

  “Has he ever come to visit you?”

  “We’ve kept in contact…in spirit,” Alessa said.

  “Really, I wouldn’t have minded if he’d come to visit.”

  “It’s better that he didn’t.” Alessa sighed.

  “There’s so much you’re not telling me,” Elaina said.

  “Like what?”

  “Like: you love him. You did back then, and you still do,” Elaina replied. She felt these words hit Alessa hard, softening her emotional armor just slightly.

  “Please don’t accuse me of that,” Alessa said. “Not until you know more than you think you do.”

  Elaina fell silent. The last thing she wanted to do was to irritate her best friend.

  “Anyway, that’s Makias,” Alessa continued. “Now he’s a minister to the Audician king, from what I hear. You’ll look after me, won’t you? Make sure I don’t get into trouble?”

  Elaina giggled. “Your trouble is long overdue.”

  The vessel carrying them north was one of the runts of the Arran fleet. The crew were keeping the sails down to minimize the ship’s profile; the combustion engine provided propulsion. Vice Admiral Kerran commanded the crew of eight—all officers. Two royal guards stood sentinel in the shadows on deck.

  On the deck below, two more guards protected Queen Alethea. Alethea was Queen of Arra by marriage, but she, her sister Alessa, and Alessa’s protégée, Elaina, were all princesses of the island nation of Celmarea. They had lived in exile in Arra since the Destaurians conquered their island eighteen years earlier.

  Now Arra, too, had been invaded by the power-hungry Destaurians, and the three princesses were on a diplomatic mission to seek help from the neighboring kingdom of Audicia.

  But even if Alethea, Alessa and Elaina were successful in their diplomacy and the Audicians agreed to help, and even if the combined Audician and Arran armed forces managed to drive the invaders from Arra, the region still would not be at peace.

  The task of securing a permanent peace fell to Elaina alone.

  It was her task because Radovan, the ruthless Destaurian king doing all the invading, was Elaina’s father. He was said to be afflicted by an ancient evil, and Elaina’s larger mission was to find him and heal him, in hopes of ending his aggression and putting the region at ease for good. Along the way, Elaina also hoped to find her twin sister, Eleonora, whom Radovan had stolen away as an infant.

  Queen Alethea knew the Audician king, Seir, was expecting them, even though she had not formally sent a message. Alethea’s close friend, the Celmarean priestess Ariana, had sensed the queen’s plans to visit and had informed King Seir, who quickly made arrangements to welcome the delegation. It would be the first complete reunion of the displaced Celmarean people in over seventeen years.

  Audicia’s forested southwestern coast looked no different from Arra’s. The volcanic
Arran range continued northward into Audicia, until it gapped at a wide river valley, which extended inland and northeast, toward the kingdom of Skarjia. Elaina and Alessa could just make out the lights of Audicia’s capital city, which, from that distance, looked like a golden spider hugging the land just to the north of the river delta.

  With their destination now in sight, the princesses would soon have to take off their simple refugee outfits and don their formal gowns. They spent their last few minutes above deck leaning on the icy rail, watching the ship’s wake assert itself over the chop of the sea.

  “It’s not right,” Elaina said. “This engine is just pushing. A sail would be a more elegant way of moving us along.”

  “You’re starting to feel it! The energy in the water. When we connect with it, we can direct it with our will. Watch!” Alessa focused her gaze on the water below them. What appeared to be a bubble the size of a melon rose to the surface and kept pace with the boat. “Are you ready?” she asked.

  “What is that?” Elaina was thrilled and intensely curious.

  Suddenly a full-size dolphin shot up out of the water, leaping several meters until it was nearly at the princesses’ eye level. Dolphins were common on these seas—but certainly not ones made entirely of pure, clear water. It flipped its tail fin and plunged back in without a splash, becoming one with the ocean once more. Elaina was ecstatic.

  “You try it!” Alessa said. Elaina had just recently discovered her ability to command water—a talent all adult Celmareans possessed. She hadn’t seen many dolphins up close, so she wasn’t quite sure how to make one. Still, she decided to play along and give it a shot.

  Alas, the massive blob that Elaina lifted from the sea appeared so grotesque that, on seeing it, she and Alessa burst into a fit of laughter. Their knees failed and they sank into a squat even before the beast fell apart. “What was that?” Alessa asked. “That was great!”

  “Well, I was trying for a dolphin,” said Elaina, “but it looked more like a blubbery seal.”

  “Maybe one half-eaten by a shark,” Alessa proposed.

  The guard named Sasov approached Alessa. “Your Royal Highness,” he said, looking nervously shoreward, “I suggest you limit this activity to the seaward side of the ship.”

  “You’re absolutely right, my friend,” Alessa said. “It won’t happen again.” Sasov slipped back into the shadows, and Alessa and Elaina held each other until their giggles subsided.

  They soon went below deck, where they helped each other brush the sticky influence of the ocean air out of their thick, dark brown hair. They donned elegant gowns, and topped these with fine cloaks for warmth. The diaphanous collar of Elaina’s undershirt, trimmed with tiny diamonds, stuck out from her gown, encircling her neck. The garment was an “engagement cape,” a symbol of her betrothal to Prince Jaimin of Arra. Finally, the princesses slipped their simple silver-and-pearl Celmarean crowns into place.

  Queen Alethea watched the younger princesses from her chair. Alethea wore her Arran crown and a simple dress of grey, as she was in mourning. Her husband, King Julian, had recently been murdered, along with most of the Arran royal court, in a mass poisoning orchestrated by Radovan and his minions.

  “Thinking about Makias again?” Elaina asked Alessa, as they ascended the narrow wooden stairs onto the upper deck.

  “He’s right outside,” Alessa replied, excitedly. Makias was one of the many secrets Alessa had kept from Elaina, but now that Elaina’s intuitive sense was maturing through a process known as Kalmise, less could be concealed from her. Alessa had learned that Makias was now a renowned naturalist, and that he’d become the minister for environmental affairs in his adopted Audicia.

  The gangway led them down onto a long, narrow pier edged with tiny candles. The snow had been scraped away, and a crunchy salt compound kept the slimy wood from icing over. They could see the commercial port to the south, where trading vessels rocked lazily and gigantic warehouses shone in the glow of gas-fired street lamps. Plenty of longshoremen were still about, unloading the day’s imports despite the late hour.

  Directly ahead, where the pier met the boardwalk, King Seir and four others stood waiting.

  Queen Alethea stopped precisely two meters from King Seir. He was a huge-framed man, tall and overfed, with thinning red hair and a long beard of tight red curls. Alethea curtseyed as Seir bowed. They took care to keep their heads at the same level, as protocol demanded.

  The king recited the royal welcome: “Treasure has arrived in our fair kingdom this evening. Treasure from the south, by way of the sea. We have the honor of receiving Her Majesty, Alethea, Queen of Arra and Princess of Celmarea.”

  Following this introduction, Alethea approached the king and brought her face close to his. The protocol was to briefly hold the face within a hand’s width of the host’s. Alethea curtseyed again, this time lowering herself before him. “You are welcome here,” said the king. The queen moved on to the king’s chief advisor, High Minister Maugan. She stood intimately close to the man, and he welcomed her with his words and introduced himself. She greeted the other three officials in the same way, and then she waited for everyone else.

  “Treasure has arrived in our fair kingdom this evening,” the king said next. “Treasure from the south, by way of the sea. We have the honor of receiving Her Royal Highness, Alessa, Princess of Celmarea.” Alessa greeted the king and his ministers according to the protocol.

  Alessa could hardly contain her excitement when she stepped close to Makias, the last of the officials. He was smiling tenderly when her eyes met his. Looking into those familiar eyes and smelling his sweet breath brought back a feeling Alessa never thought she would feel again. In her view, he had hardly aged. He still had the same wavy brown hair, light brown eyes, and milky skin that had driven her crazy back then. “Welcome, Alessa,” he said to her. “My princess.” She could feel that he was enthralled by her as well.

  But Alessa couldn’t linger. She had to move on and wait with the queen.

  Elaina greeted the king and his ministers just as she had practiced. She knew Makias was a fine looking gentleman—she had seen him in Alessa’s thoughts—but even to a nineteen-year-old this man in his mid-thirties was truly appealing.

  When all the delegates and their crew had been welcomed, Sawery, the Audician minister of culture, told Alethea: “Your Majesty, we have assembled the Celmareans in the palace. We shall proceed there immediately, and you may greet your people according to your customs. And then we shall dine.”

  Elaina had read in her protocol manual that no matter how pressing matters of state were, or how late the hour was, Audicians never discussed business until they had honored their guests with an extravagant feast.

  It would indeed be a long night.

  CHAPTER TWO

  A ides grouped the visitors in fours and helped them into coaches for the short trip to the Audician palace. Elaina sat beside the Arran royal guard Xander, with Minister Sawery and Minister Makias across from them.

  Every surface of the interior of the coach was padded in red velvet. Elaina felt as if she’d just been swallowed by a giant pillow, and that any moment perfume might squirt from the walls to digest her. She sat quietly with her white-gloved hands folded on her lap; protocol would not allow conversation until after the delegation was introduced at the banquet. When she tired of avoiding eye contact with the others in the coach, she turned and peeked through a slit in the coach’s red velvet curtain.

  Soon she sensed Makias had her locked in his gaze. She resisted turning toward him. She wasn’t trying to read his thoughts—she didn’t care to, nor did she think she could, so she was caught by surprise when she heard loud and clear from his direction: read my thoughts.

  She looked his way and she knew at once he hadn’t spoken a word. He smiled. She did too, shyly. I’ve heard so much about you, Makias thought. It’s like I know you well.

  Elaina turned her gaze back out the window, pretending she had spotted something
fascinating out in the blackness. I’m uncomfortable, she told him in her mind. All of this is new to me. You’re new to me. Please speak only with Alessa until I feel more secure. She held the curtain’s fringe lightly between her middle and index fingers for reassurance.

  The coach bumped and jiggled. Tired and dizzy from the journey and all the preparations, packing, and good-byes that had preceded it, Elaina breathed deeply and shut her eyes halfway, trying to build up the energy to face whatever might take place at the palace. Then Makias “spoke” again: Panuse Keilana, he thought, we’re all bound together. Alessa belongs to all of us. I won’t take her from you.

  Elaina didn’t acknowledge the intrusion. She was irritated that Makias had spoken again, but she knew he’d said everything he had planned to.

  Elaina had exported some of the cheeses she made to Audicia, but she had never traveled here herself. She was curious about the Audicians—how they looked, and how they lived in their capital city. When her coach entered a well-lit industrial district, she expected to be told not to hold the curtain open, but nobody said a word. Some subjects were still out, packing wagons with the day’s manufactured goods, cleaning up, or walking home. Elaina looked for anything in their features, gestures, or dress that would distinguish them from her customers back home, and she found nothing different about them.

  She knew from her studies that the Arrans, Audicians, and Destaurians had once been one people, farming the coastal slopes of Audicia in peace, ruled by a benevolent clan.

  Three thousand years before Elaina’s time, when the Audicians had advanced technologically to the point where they had some spare time, the patriarch of their generation died, and a disagreement arose between his two sons, Argus and Destus, over who should take over as ruler of the land. Argus expected that he would lead, as he was firstborn. Destus, however, had been endowed with a miraculous “mending” power, which he took as a sign from the divine spirit that the succession rules were to change, and that he was to rule instead.

  The brothers at first sought a peaceful means of resolving the question. Each presented his argument to the masses, hoping to get such an overwhelming majority on his side that the other would renounce his claim to leadership. As it happened, public opinion split right down the middle as to who should assume the role. The brothers’ efforts to sway the people dragged on for months. Argus and Destus, goaded on by supporters with a broad range of agendas, spouted grievances and outrageous pledges, which just ended up driving the two sides further apart.