Amadea and the Divinity Blade - Chapters 2+3

Chapter 2

Amadea and Zira, the sorceress, were in Amadea's new quarters – those of the Heir – being prepared for the feast being held in honor of the chosen one.

"So, Sunny Day, what's going on? Are we being honored for vanquishing evil?" Zira asked. Amadea smiled at the nickname. When she’d first met Zira and the others, she couldn't very well tell them she was Princess Amadea, so she had told them her name was Day, which was short for Amadea (Ah-ma-day-ah). Over time, Zira had likened Amadea's personality to a Sunny Day, and had playfully called her that ever since.

Amadea shook her head. "No, nobody even knows about that."

"Well why not? You showed them the proof, didn't you?" Zira demanded.

"No, I've only been home three days, and all my father had to say to me – in disapproval I might add – was 'I see you've managed to return in time.' I've been more or less locked in my room ever since."

Several servants entered the room with several chests full of all of Amadea's personal belongings.

"Then what is going on? Where’s everybody else?" Zira asked.

"They all died."

"What?!" Zira burst out in disbelief.

"Yes, I personally checked everyone for signs of life when I came to, but there were none. Only you and Zephyr were unaccounted for. I’m certain he fell into the chasm, and I’d seen you disappear before I blacked out. I should be dead too, but for some reason, I'm not." Amadea sighed gravely. She’d been grieving over her companions for nearly three weeks now, and to have Zira suddenly returned to her was nearly overwhelming.

The servants who were attending them exchanged questioning glances. Was the Princess serious?

"If I disappeared, then where did I go, and how did I get here?" Zira wondered.

"I don't know where you went. I’d assumed you’d died. You appeared just before you woke up, and the voice of the Gods said you were a gift to me," Amadea informed her.

"A gift? To you?" Zira scoffed. "Why?"

"Because I was chosen as heir," Amadea stated unhelpfully. Her face went red in embarrassment. She had never told her companions about herself, not because she didn't trust them – eventually – they’d simply stopped asking her by that time. Plus, they were all so occupied with finding the warlock.

"Whoa, whoa, wait! Chosen as Heir? You mean to say that we were on those scales? During the choosing of the Heir, and that you are now the next Empress? No wonder there were so many people!" Zira was intelligent, and immediately grasped the situation. "Sunny Day, why didn't you ever tell us?"

Amadea shrugged. "We were so busy every time I wanted to tell you, but ultimately, would you have let me fight if you had known?"

"Probably not," Zira replied. "You could have been killed! Hell, even I was killed, I think."

"Well then, maybe it's best I never said anything." Amadea smiled, then burst out crying, and threw her arms around the sorceress once more. "Oh Zira!"

"There, there." Zira stroked Amadea's hair comfortingly. "It must have been so horrible for you. Waking up to find everyone dead like that. I'm sorry I put you through that."

"No! Don't be sorry; the alternative would have been a million times worse!" Amadea protested.

"You're right, of course, but still..." Zira finally allowed herself to believe that all of her other companions had died. Tears escaped her eyes. She tried to wipe them away, only to discover that she couldn't feel any moisture on her face. In fact, she couldn't feel her face.

"Zira! Zira, where did you go?" Amadea cried in panic.

Zira concentrated, and slowly reappeared. She stared at Amadea’s horrorstruck face for a moment, then sighed. "I guess I'm a ghost."

"But you look and feel so real!" Amadea tried to deny the truth.

"That may be, but we both know that not even the Gods can bring someone back to life," Zira stated. "Well… not easily, anyway."

Amadea held Zira's hand tightly, tears crowded her eyes, and she was unable to speak for a few moments.

"Hey now! Don't you dare cry over my death! I died saving the world!" Zira scolded.

Amadea nodded a few times as she composed herself. "You're right, there is no better death than that," she said when she was finally able to speak.

A servant decided that the time was as good as it was going to get to interrupt. "Excuse me, Imperial Highness, but it's time for you to go now."

Chapter 3

"So, Amadea, now that you have been chosen as the next ruler, I think it's time to tell me where you have been all this time," the Emperor ordered. He knew that the Gods wouldn't have chosen her like that if she hadn't done something extraordinary.

"I'm sorry father, but I do not feel comfortable talking about it in front of so many people," Amadea demurred.

Zira looked at her and mouthed "Amadea?" Amadea shrugged. "Nonsense, you’re Imperial Majesty. Amadea is much too modest; let me tell you all about it."

"And just who are you?" The Emperor asked. He was just as curious about the woman the Gods had made appear on the scale today as everybody else.

"I am Zira Blueflame, or rather the ghost of her anyway."

Several of the guests muttered in astonishment. Zira Blueflame was famous for cockily challenging the most powerful sorcerer in the Empire to a duel at the tender age of 12, and winning. She was currently only 21, and had already gained a reputation as a woman who did bad deeds one day, and good ones the next.

"Ghost?" The Emperor asked once all of the murmuring had died down. He had seen Zira several years ago, and recognized her now that she mentioned her name.

"Yes, I died recently. Let me tell you how." Zira handed a packet of documents to the Emperor. "Those papers are the proof for my story; feel free to peruse them as I talk.”

Zira launched into a strictly factual tale of epic proportions. She told of hearing the first rumor of a warlock bent on unlocking the source of all evil. Of fatefully meeting her seven companions, including Amadea, of chasing the warlock all over the Empire and then some. Finally, she described arriving just as the evil was being released, of battling it, and casting it back into its everlasting cage.

"And that's how I died. Only Amadea survived, and the Gods have seen fit to bind my ghost to her as a gift for helping to win the battle."

Everyone was speechless, even the Emperor. He had perused the documents as she spoke, and gave them to his most trusted advisor when he was finished with them. The documents – entries from the warlock’s journal, bits of ancient lore, and the instructions for releasing the evil – most certainly proved she was telling the truth. Even so, it was hard to believe.

Finally, the Emperor cleared his throat. "I never would have believed anyone capable of freeing the source of all evil, but these documents do prove that it was at least attempted. Even more unbelievable is that you were able to stop him, and that my daughter had it in her to help you. It seems the Gods were right in choosing you as Heir to the throne, Amadea. I sincerely hope that you are able to avoid the mistakes of your predecessors," he sighed gravely.

Anti-equality or not, he did care for his only child in his own way, and had worried about her while she was gone. He almost wished he could take back his question now. What parent could hear of their child in such peril and not almost experience heart failure?

Amadea stared at her father in shock. Is he actually concerned about me?

*******

Days, weeks, then months passed. Halfway through the third month of Amadea's year as Heir, she sat with her father, going over paperwork. She decided to take a moment to let her mind wander rather than finish reading and then sign the document in front of her. Her life was so unbelievably busy now that she almost wished she had never decided to step on the scale.

Her father looked over the paper to see what was taking her so long to finish it. "Amadea?"

"Yes father?"

"You aren't paying attention. We have so much work to do, and it'll take forever if you don't keep your mind on the task at hand."

"Yes father," Amadea sighed.

The Emperor's advisor gave him a significant look.

"Oh, and before I forget again," he said, not looking directly at her. "I sent out invitations for offers for your hand in marriage. I’ve made it my goal to see you wed to the right man before my death."

"What!" Zira roared in outrage. She’d been so bored that she’d nearly faded out completely, but anger solidified her once more. "You can't do that! Amadea is in love with-" She fell silent and looked away.

"Amadea is in love with who?" The Emperor demanded, then shook his head. "It matters not; she needs to be wed to the right man. A man who can help her rule fairly, and see to it that she doesn't succumb to sorcery."

Amadea sat numbly staring out the window. It was true, she was in love with Zephyr, but he had perished at the same time as Zira. She didn't care who her father chose. If she couldn't have Zephyr, she'd rather not marry at all, but as long as her father was still Emperor, she didn't have a choice.

Zira cared. "Succumb to sorcery! Don't you know that can't happen?!"

"Now see here! Most of the previous Empresses succumbed to sorcery, or just plain bad taste in a marriage partner. I intend to ensure that she doesn't do either!" The Emperor shouted.

"Don't you understand? Neither will happen because the man she loves is dead, and she is a sorceress! Therefore, if someone wanted to control her, they'd have to be pretty darn powerful! Probably as powerful as I was!" Zira shouted right back.

"Zira!" Amadea chided sharply.

"What? You mean you haven't told him?" Zira asked.

Amadea shook her head.

Her father looked from his daughter to Zira, and then back again. Zira had mentioned Amadea's magic when she told of the battle, but since Amadea had never confirmed it, he’d thought the ghost had embellished it to make Amadea look better. Now, he realized that Amadea hadn't confirmed it because she was wary of his reaction. He squared his shoulders. "As I said, it doesn't matter. She will marry whichever man the Gods and I deem worthy."

Zira perked up. "Does that mean you intend to use the scales to pick the best among your choices?"

"Of course I do. Not doing so would offend the Gods!" The Emperor stated. He felt it was scandalous to suggest otherwise.

"Good, then just promise Amadea one thing," Zira insisted.

"That depends on what you want," the Emperor replied diplomatically.

"If Amadea or I find anyone we consider worthy, let them be allowed a turn on the scales," Zira said.

The Emperor looked to his advisor.

His advisor gave a small nod. "It is traditional that the Heir be allowed that privilege."

"Tradition or law?" The Emperor probed.

"Law," his advisor clarified.

"Then so be it," the Emperor declared.

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