Son of Night and Daughter of Stars

Chapter 36: The Legend

It had been three days, and still, Amandla hadn't woken up. 

Katrien and Yrene were just as confused by it as Estelle. "It's like her mind isn't allowing her to wake," Yrene had said. "Her body is perfectly healthy. She just... won't wake up." 

Despite Estelle's attempts to get Nyx to focus, the Illyrian grew steadily more erratic every day. The rhythm they'd fallen into fell apart quickly, and Estelle found herself searching for answers alone most days. While she'd worked alone for most of her life, and even while searching for Nyx's way home, it seemed... different, now. She couldn't concentrate on what she read or learned anymore. She caught herself watching the door, her mind wandering more often than she'd ever care to admit. 

On one such day, Estelle felt so restless she grabbed the book she'd been reading and walked outside to the garden. She sat underneath the apple tree, the blossoms blowing softly in the wind, and opened her book again. She forced her eyes to read the lines, but all too soon they began blurring together, her mind refusing to retain the information.

A fruitless fifteen minutes later, Estelle slammed the book closed and shoved it onto the bench next to her, annoyance a living thing under her skin. Her fingers tapped against her cheek as she rested her head in her hands, staring at the empty air in front of her. 

You've never had this problem before, She seethed to herself. Come on, focus. You need to-

Estelle was so lost in her whirling thoughts she nearly jumped out of her skin when a soft little bark came from her feet. She looked down and saw her mother's golden dog, Fleetfoot, lying at her feet, her mouth open in a smile as she panted. 

"Oh, hello, girl!" Estelle said, happy for a distraction as she moved from the bench to the ground to pet the old dog on her head. "What are you doing here?" 

Fleetfoot huffed, setting her white-frosted nose on Estelle's knee. Estelle scratched the dog's head, smiling as her tail began thumping against the ground. She leaned to kiss the dog on her soft ears. "You came at just the right time, beautiful girl. I was in dire need of company." 

Fleetfoot just smiled up at her, panting heavily. Estelle straightened her legs out on the ground, and Fleetfoot scooted closer to rest her head in Estelle's lap, her tail still wagging. Estelle wound her fingers in Fleetfoot's golden fur, teasing it as the dog closed her eyes, looking for all the world like she could sleep there. 

Estelle glanced behind her to her book and sighed. One more try. If you can't focus, go find your brother to remind you how annoying males can be. That'll cure you for sure. 

Smiling to herself, Estelle dragged the book to her lap, being careful of the now-snoring Fleetfoot as she leafed through the pages. She paused on a story titled The Five Queens. It was bookmarked. She picked up the bookmark and sniffed it. Lemon verbena and smoke. Estelle's lips curled up. Mother. 

She set the bookmark down and propped the book up, beginning to read. 

Long ago, in a land whose name is long forgotten, five mortal queens ruled the Mortal Lands. Just and fair, the queens sought to protect their kingdoms from the greatest threat of their world, the Fae. 

Estelle's brows knitted together, a frown pulling at her lips. She vaguely recalled her mother mentioning the mortal queens of Prythian. But she could have sworn there were six, not five. 

The Fae kept mostly to their own side of the Wall, a magical border between the Mortal Lands and the Fae Lands. But the beasts that lived on the other side did not appreciate being kept from their mortal prey. One day, a Fae king decided he had had enough of the years of deprivation. He stole ancient, powerful magic, and plotted to bring down the Wall.