Page 7 of Their Chosen

His parents hadn't been so lucky. They’d been put to death for treason against the crown for trying to lead the rebellion against Mother. Mother kept many of the children as servants after their parents tried to overthrow mine. A reminder to them all of who the Queen was and who they must now serve.

Callum carried in a wooden table on his own, keeping his head down and trying not to make eye contact with any of us. I made no move to acknowledge him since any favored treatment would only draw Mother's wrath. Mother sauntered over to him anyway, trailing her finger up his bicep as she studied the flex of his muscles. “Callum,” she cooed, “please put the table over here.” She pointed to the corner opposite me.

As he walked that way after a quick “Yes, Your Majesty,” he bent over to set up the table. Mother ogled him the entire time, with no care for who else was in the room. Apparently, her son and consorts served as nothing more than a cool breeze on her obvious desire. It made me sick to think of her using him in that way.

Thankfully, before she could go further in her pursuit, the priests returned, and they began to set up the supplies for the spell. Callum slid further into the corner behind the table and out of the priest's way. Smart to keep them between him and Mother since he couldn't leave until she had dismissed him.

Master Jude started to combine the ingredients and began his chant more quickly than I thought he would. He built in tempo and volume as he continued before finally placing a compass on a chain into a bowl. He finished by turning the bowl over on top of a map. As soon as the contents touched the paper, it ignited and burned out suddenly without even leaving a wet spot or scorch mark behind. Magic hung heavily in the air, and we all stepped in closer as if drawn forward by a string, helpless to stop our trajectory.

“What is this?!” Mother exclaimed as she got close enough to the table to see the map. Over her shoulder, I glimpsed a map of Earth and was also just as shocked, barely containing a gasp of my own.

“Your Majesty, during the earlier ceremony, I felt the magic leave the castle and travel a long distance. While I wasn't certain, I felt that the Chosen must be on Earth. Another reason why I felt she wouldn't be able to make it here on her own, like someone who resided within our lands would surely be able to do. I had wanted to confirm my suspicions first before I suggested the idea. However, I have enchanted this compass to work on this map to allow us the opportunity to locate our missing Chosen.”

Master Jude picked up the compass, opening it with a flick of his thumb and holding it over the map of Earth. As the compass moved over the map, the needle spun, allowing him to narrow down her location. “Ah, it appears the Chosen is in this area called Texas, USA.” He closed the compass and turned to face us all but startled backward into the table when he realized how close we had come while he’d been narrowing the location. Gathering himself, he spoke again, “Now, this compass should also work on Earth to help us find the exact location of the girl.”

“Surely this girl can't be human!?!” Mother exclaimed with disgust, her lip curling at the thought.

I slowly slid backward and out of their direct eyesight, careful not to move too quickly as Master Jude continued, “Certainly not. The girl must have very strong magic if she can be found on Earth. Which is why I believe His Highness is her chosen consort.”

They both glanced at me as I held myself still, not wanting to draw further attention from either of them. “But how did she get to Earth?” Mother asked, turning back to Master Jude.

“Now that I do not know. But I figure you could inquire about that yourself upon her return.”

Mother turned away from everyone and started to pace, one hand going to her chin as she pondered and marched. No one dared interrupt her. She would speak when she was ready. After several minutes of silence, she turned toward me. “Lennox, you shall lead a small contingent of soldiers to Earth to collect this Chosen. You have five days to return.”

She turned to Master Jude, not waiting for my response. “What if we can't find this Chosen? Can we then begin without her?”

“I'm not sure. We have never tried to hold the trials without all the Chosen present. None have ever been unavailable or lost before.”

She turned back to me. “Return in five days, with or without your Chosen. We will prepare for the trials to begin in seven days. And Lennox, should you fail to return without this Chosen, you won't like your punishment. The trials must begin soon, and we can't afford any further delays. Is that understood?”

I bowed in acceptance of the blatant threat. “Yes, Your Majesty.” I knew that should I return in five days without the Chosen, Mother would have no further use for me. I wasn’t sure I would survive being useless to her, knowing what she did with those who no longer served their purpose.

“Good. You leave first thing in the morning. I suggest you prepare.” She spun around, her gown flying out and around her as she made her exit. Everyone but me could breathe easily again. I looked at the clock to see it was almost three in the morning, knowing I still had to select a group and gather supplies for Earth. It was going to be a long five days.

Chapter Five: Arryn

My men and I gathered in the courtyard, our steeds loaded with supplies for the journey. We’d prepared as much as possible, being that we still didn't know our mission or our destination. His Highness would fill us in as needed. A soldier's place wasn't to question but to follow orders.

My horse danced and stomped his hooves on the cobblestones, letting us know his impatience. I patted his neck as I held the reins in my hand, trying my best to soothe both our impatience, both eager to begin. It had been too long since I'd last been out of the castle on a mission. Idle hands were not friends with a soldier. There was a reason we enjoyed battle because too long with our own thoughts, without the distraction of clanging swords or yells of battle and fear, led to dissension in the ranks and needless scuffles amongst the men. Soldiers would rather die in battle than face the thoughts that haunted us all in the quiet.

I heard the men murmuring and speculating amongst themselves as we waited for further instructions. Their eagerness was evident as they gathered and then fell into line behind me as we waited. Just as the sun's rays rose above the horizon and cast their glow on our faces, the doors opened to the palace, and the prince was revealed. He paused before exiting, surveying my elite squad of soldiers, all selected by myself.

His pitch-black hair seemed to absorb the light around him, but his ice-blue eyes, so pale they were almost white, seemed to reflect it all back out, piercing whoever dared meet his gaze. I pulled my shoulders back further, drawing up to my full height at 6'2”, knowing he wouldn’t be able to find any faults in me or my men.

My men were silent as soon as the doors opened, all at attention, their military bearing evident in even the smallest tasks. As he surveyed us closely, his gaze stopped on me. I met his eyes unflinchingly to show I wasn't scared of him before dropping my head in a show of deference. He drew his own shoulders higher, nodded once in acknowledgment, and then marched down the stairs to the courtyard. He grabbed the reins of his own horse and mounted smoothly before turning to face us all. His voice carried over us, projected with magic, “I want to thank each of you for answering the call to action so swiftly. As I'm sure you are aware, last evening we held the ceremonies to select the Chosen and Consorts who will be competing in the trials to become the new queen. However, what you are not aware of is that one of the Chosen selected in the ceremony was not present. In fact, she is in the human realm of Earth. It is there we will travel to retrieve her so that she may compete in the trials. Any questions?”

He paused, but other than a few shocked murmurs while he was speaking, my men had none. They would do whatever was asked of them and would honor the opportunity to meet one of the Chosen. When it was obvious there were no questions, he ordered, “Mount up. We will travel hard and as quickly as possible.”

We all mounted up, my scouts taking the lead while the prince and I fell into the middle of the group. Once outside of the gates, the two scouts set a hard pace for the portal to the mortal realm of Earth. With luck we would be there shortly after nightfall if we continued at this pace with only a couple of short stops to relieve ourselves. We could eat and drink as we rode.

“How close are we to the portal? Do we need to stop for the night?” the prince asked as we rode. Our pace had slowed significantly due to the densely wooded forest around us, the sun already beginning to set.

I glanced at him briefly, trying to judge if he was hinting at a need for rest. I often forgot that many of our royals were soft, and not many could handle the pace we had set so far. He didn't appear to be weary, more hesitant than anything if I was reading him clearly. “We should only have another hour or two max, depending on the light and the forest path, until we reach the portal. We should probably rest in the mortal realm unless time is imperative?” I asked, trying to fish for more information so I could prepare effectively. “I was under the impression this was a time-sensitive mission?”

He sighed, “It's absolutely time sensitive. We must be back at Cashel Rí by the fifth day, and we don't even have a definitive location for the Chosen.” He ran his hand through his hair as our pace slowed further, the foliage becoming denser. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a compass, glancing at it. “This is all we have to guide us to the Chosen. I'm not even certain if it will be all that accurate in locating her. We do know that she is in a place called Texas, a northeast location of the territory.”

I nodded, thinking over his words and the best way to proceed before I responded to him. We would need to trade our armor for mortal clothes before crossing over, but everything we would need should be at the outpost. A small regiment of soldiers maintained the portal, occasionally crossing over to ensure we were always prepared for missions such as these. Since mortals lived for such a short amount of time, their fashions, languages, technology, and customs changed frequently.

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