DT4 - Chapter 45

DT4 - Chapter 45

A flicker of confusion flashed through the Duke's eyes as he heard Victor's calm and forthright declaration. To him, it appeared that Victor was being completely honest, lending credence to the idea that Victor's actions hadn't been his own. But the idea that Victor Klein had been controlled by some sort of nefarious force was a terrifying thought, since Duke Arkov hadn't detected anything of the sort. Troubled, he glanced at Garrett, but before he could speak, the door opened and the new queen swept into the room.

"Garrett, there you are," she said. "You wouldn't believe how worried I was about you when you disappeared. How did you disappear like that?"

Wincing, Garrett kicked himself for not reminding Eloise to talk to him about it when he was out of the Duke's earshot. Smelling a story, Duke Arkov stared at Garrett, his eyebrows slowly rising inch by inch until Garrett thought they might merge into his hairline.

"It sounds like there's something you haven't mentioned to me yet," the Duke said.

Doing his best to smile disarmingly, Garrett shrugged.

"I don't have combat powers, at least directly, but I do have a sort of connection with the mysterious."

"Is that how you got a guardian spirit for Eloise?"

"Yes, in fact," Garrett said, grasping the explanation like it was a life-saving rope. "That's exactly right. It also gives me some other abilities, like the ability to remove myself from people's attention for a short period of time."

"That reminds me," the Duke said, turning to look at Eloise, "this pendant of yours. I want to take a look at it."

Clutching the flower pendant protectively, Eloise stared warily at her uncle.

"I'm not going to break it, I promise. I just want to understand it."

This time, Garrett was relieved that he had already ordered Isabelle to retreat, so when the Queen finally did hand it over, and Arkov examined it, he didn't find anything unusual. Since the Queen already carried a dream flower seed, Garrett didn't feel the need to add anything to the pendant. So while it had a hint of energy to it, left by Isabelle's time hiding in it, there was nothing else unusual for Duke Arkov to find. After looking it over, the Duke tossed it to Garrett.

"Let's see you summon that guardian spirit."

"The pendant won't work anymore," Garrett said, looking rather forlorn. "It takes time to set up, and the spirit isn't here anymore."

It was clear that Duke Arkov smelled something fishy, but didn't quite know how to pin it down. Walking over next to Garrett, the princess took it from his hand and crouched down next to him.

"Thank you, Garrett. Without it, I wouldn't be alive."

Though he grumbled, Duke Arkov couldn't argue against that truth, and so he dropped the matter. Garrett had already proven himself time and again to be loyal to the throne, and Duke Arkov knew that if he continued down this line of questioning, he would end up doing more harm than good. That left, however, what to do with Victor and all of the noble families who had participated in the attack. Seeing that Victor was standing quietly by the side, the Duke shook his head and sat down.

"What a mess. What an absolute mess."

"On the first day, too," Eloise said, sitting down next to the Duke and rubbing her forehead. "If I had known this is what it meant to be queen, I would have stayed in Port Reverie."

"Don't worry," the Duke said, chuckling. "Tomorrow will be a lot better, and if it's not, then I'll join you in going to Port Reverie.”

“But what do we do now?" Eloise asked, looking around.

"I'm not sure," Duke Arkov replied ruefully, rubbing his chin. "You know, your father was always much better at all of this than me, which is why he was the king, and I was just his dumb brother. I was good at hitting things. Still am. So if there's an enemy army marching our direction, or a beast wave coming from the mountains, I'm your guy. But all this political stuff just gives me a headache."

"Me too," whispered Eloise, patting her uncle on the knee. "But good thing we have somebody who seems to like it."

Turning on her smile full force, she turned and batted her eyelashes at Garrett.

"Oh Garrett.”

“Yes, your majesty?”

“What do you think we should do to be able to clean up this mess?"

"If I may be so bold, your majesty, I think this is less of a mess and more of a wonderful opportunity."

"Opportunity? How do you figure?"

"It's not my kindness, kid," the duke said, flashing his shark-like smile.

After he had left, Queen Eloise took a moment to gather herself before speaking to Garrett.

"I really do want to thank you for everything that you've done. I don't know the extent of it, but I know that it is more than I have any right to expect. Not only did you risk your own safety, but you risked the safety of those under you. I would be honored if you would continue to serve as your father did, as the steward of the royal family, though right now that's just me."

Bowing his head, Garrett spoke firmly.

"I'm sorry, your majesty. I have no desire to hold the position of steward."

"Oh."

Garrett didn't have to look up to know that Eloise was disappointed.

"However," he said, "you have my loyalty, and I am happy to work behind the scenes for you. I have long come to realize that my abilities are most useful when out of the spotlight."

"So that means I can still talk to you," Eloise said, her voice much more chipper.

"Indeed, so long as I don't remove it, the power to communicate mentally will remain. I'm happy to advise your majesty on any subject you feel my expertise will be of assistance in."

"Okay, that makes me feel a lot better," Eloise said. "I thought for a moment you were going to run away and leave me all alone."

"You have the duke, your majesty, as well as Henrietta and your other friends. You need not fear being alone."

"I know," Eloise said, pouting slightly, "but for some reason, I just feel better knowing that you're not going to ignore me."

Keeping his expression as calm as possible, Garrett's eyes flickered to the five blooms that hovered above Eloise's head. Internally, he was screaming, and not in a good way, though none of that showed on his face. He had planted the dream flowers in Eloise's mind as a means of enabling them to communicate, but had never considered what would happen as her trust towards him grew. As it did, her soul spark naturally nourished the flowers, and when she became queen, the explosion of energy that had been infused into her soul spark caused them to grow even faster. The only saving grace was that she had willingly chosen it, instead of being forced into loyalty. Realizing he was going to have to modify his plans, Garrett pretended that he was considering something. Noticing his hesitant look, Eloise waited, and finally, with a sigh, he turned to Ryn.

"Ryn, would you mind showing the queen your mask?"

Though she was unsure why Garrett was asking. Ryn nodded and complied, pulling her golden mask from her waist pouch. As soon as she saw the flower, the princess's eyes lit up.

"What is this?" She asked.

At Garrett's mental prompting, Ryn began to explain.

"I am the chosen of a great being."

Her eyes flickered to Garrett, but thankfully, the queen was so busy looking at the mask that she didn't notice.

"And this, um, great being provides me power in exchange for helping with certain tasks."

Unsure why Garrett had brought the subject up, the queen passed the mask back to Ryn, and turned to look at Garrett.

"Our actions today were because that being, called the Dreamer on the Throne, wished for you to survive, and establish a stable rule in this city. The mysterious entity that possessed my father was another of these great beings, but one who wanted the city to fall into chaos. One of the powers these great beings can give is protection from other mysterious entities."

Though he spoke in a roundabout manner, Eloise was smart enough to know what Garrett was getting at. Reaching up, she clutched the pendant Garrett had given her, feeling the five petals as her eyes lingered on the five-petaled flower on the mask.

"You said that this Dreamer on the Throne can protect us from other malicious entities?"

"Yes," Garrett said. "It's not commonly known, but there exists a world beyond this world, a world full of those malicious entities, called nightmares, and these nightmares constantly seek to enter the real world, in order to wreak havoc."

"And this dreamer, what does he want?" The queen asked, her voice quiet.

"He asks all sorts of things, really," Garrett said, rubbing his cheek. "I don't know. Ryn, what does he ask you to do?"

"Well," Ryn said, "he asked me to compile a list of all of the nobles, all of their dirty laundry, and who's connected with who, and then he asked me to present it to you, your majesty, as an ascension gift. You'll find it on the desk of your study."