The Call

Arrival and Horror

As they had planned, Serene's entourage rode into Iconia's capital around mid-morning and approached Levace Castle that afternoon. As Levace's looming figure grew bigger as they drew nearer, Serene's mind again began to fill with worry. What if Mother isn't well? Glancing to her right, she caught Nora's reassuring smile and attempted a weak smile in return.

Turning her gaze back to the castle, she tried to imagine life without her mother. She couldn't. Everything she ever did and could remember had some of her mother in it–even her training. It had been her mother, encouraging and reassuring her every step of the way, even on the days Serene came back to her chambers with no resolve left after hours of training. She couldn't bear to lose her mother.

Serene's procession entered the gates of Levace and, after asking Nora to lead the remainder of the entourage to where they would be briefed and dismissed, Serene rode on alone to her manor. Arriving there, she dismounted and stood before the magnificent building. Mother is dying? Everything within her pleaded for it not to be true.

Hurriedly, she ascended the steps to the huge building and, after being allowed by the guards, she entered the manor. She had taken but a few hurried steps before she was greeted by a flushed Lillian.

"Oh, Serene!" Lillian ran to her. She looked as though she had been pacing for hours waiting for Serene's return.

"Where's Mother?" Serene asked anxiously.

Lillian grabbed her hand and led her up the stairway toward Lady Wynn's chamber. "She's in her bedroom. So is your father." Lillian's face filled with consternation. "I'm concerned for him to say the least. He hasn't left your mother's room and refuses to eat." She paused to open a door before she and Serene continued their hastened walk. She looked into Serene's eyes. "You must do something for him."

Serene nodded, anxiety crushing her heart.

As they got closer to Wynn's room, Lillian slowed, forcing Serene to slow as well. "We can't disturb your mother," Lillian explained. "The physicians said that she's improving but mustn't be disturbed."

Pausing outside her mother's bedroom, Serene realized that she was out of breath and that her heart was pounding. What? She could run for an hour or more at a steady pace. For the first time in her life, Serene was scared. The hall was eerily silent as she quietly reached for the handle to her mother's door, but then froze.

Weeping could be heard coming from inside the room, and Serene's careful ear caught the sounds of several hushed male voices. She listened a moment longer but then raised the latch and eased the heavy wooden door open. She slipped inside without a sound and left the door open for Lillian to enter. But as far as she was concerned, Lillian no longer existed; only the scene before her did, and it was terrifying.

Her father knelt at her mother's bedside, his eyes shining, not from joy but from grief. Serene had never seen her father cry. Physicians whispered to one another in a corner. In the opposite corner stood Inimicus, the usual hatred in his eyes replaced with emptiness as he gazed vacantly upon his mother's death bed.

Serene's father looked up as she entered and stood. His face was strained with horror, but he said nothing as he walked slowly toward the door behind Serene. She fully expected him to say something and take her up in his arms, but he did neither. He strode past her, acknowledging her with a mere glance, and exited the room.

Serene was shocked by his reaction, and she looked at Lillian. Tears filled her friend's eyes, and Serene's eyes filled, too. Was this truly the state of her perfect family? Broken? Serene couldn't believe it. When her eyes fell upon the figure in the bed, grief overcame her. She stepped quietly to the bedside and knelt at her mother's head. Lillian and, a moment later, Inimicus slipped from the room to allow Serene time alone with her mother.

"Mother?" Serene whispered ever so softly as she reached to take her mother's thin hand.

Lady Wynn stirred.

"Mother?" Serene repeated.

Her mother turned her head slowly toward her. A weak smile of recognition spread across Wynn's face.

"Serene." The voice was so quiet, Serene had to strain her ear to catch her mother's words. Wynn closed her eyes for a moment as if to recover from the strain of speaking. She took a shallow breath, then opened her eyes again.

"My daughter," Lady Wynn began. "Before I die-"

"No, Mother!" Serene interrupted in a whisper. "You'll live! You must! I-"

"No, Serene." Her mother lifted her hand to stroke Serene's cheek. "My end is near; I can feel it." Wynn looked beyond Serene into the distance for a moment but then turned to look deeply into Serene's eyes, taking Serene's hand in her own. "But that doesn't matter. What matters is that I have found life even in my dying days. You have such greatness before you, my Serene. The Conquest is where you belong. What awaits you is more than anything you could imagine."

Her mother seemed to be struggling for breath, and her hand had fallen from Serene's cheek. Wynn winced as pain pulsed through her body, and she closed her eyes again. Serene stroked her mother's forehead gently, unsure of how to respond to her mother's strange words.

"Mother?" Serene finally asked, concerned when her mother made no movement for a moment. Wynn's eyelids opened slowly, the pain she suffered evident in her eyes.

"Everything you need is in serving King Elyon. Before I die," Wynn paused to gather the last of her strength. She lifted her hand to pull Serene closer to her and lowered her voice. "Last night, a lady in white appeared to me and gave me something for you. She hid it there, in that bureau," she said, gesturing to a large bureau just across from the bed. "Go to it," Wynn urged softly. Serene obeyed and walked to it. "The top drawer." Wynn struggled to speak a little louder so Serene could hear her. She opened the drawer and lifted out a small chest. Carefully, she brought it back to her mother, though her heart was only half in it. She felt like she hardly knew her own mother.

Lady Wynn raised the latch and opened the box ever so slowly. She reached inside and withdrew a golden necklace. She offered it to Serene, and she accepted it with a soft smile but without a word. Wynn returned the box to her daughter, and Serene set it on the floor so she could lean closer to her mother. "Promise me, you will find the truth. I don't know what the necklace means, but it is from King Elyon himself. You must wear it always." Wynn pleaded with her expression, and Serene nodded, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Don't grieve, my daughter. I have found purpose in my dying days. Take heart, Lady Serene." Her voice fell to nearly inaudible, and Serene lowered her head to catch her mother's last words. "You have greatness before you." Wynn's eyes closed and, moments later, she drew her final breath.

Serene sat in stunned silence. Her mother was dead. Gone. Hopelessness flooded over her. Suddenly, she couldn't stay there; she had to leave. She scrambled to her feet and fled the room to her own chamber in frantic haste. Locking the door behind her, she threw herself onto her bed. Finally, in the seclusion of her own room, she burst into weeping.

It was nearly an hour before Serene finally recovered herself. She sat up and leaned back against the headboard. Her head pounded, and her breath came in short, uneven gasps. She took a deep breath, trying to calm down enough so she could think. Mother! her heart screamed in protest of what she knew to be true.

Looking down at her hands, her eyes fell on the necklace her mother had given her, still clasped tightly in her hands. She brushed the tears from her face and, taking another deep breath, held the pendant closer to examine it. On the face of the circular pendant was etched the flower of a rose, carved in great detail. After studying it for a moment, she flipped it over to find a strange inscription on the underside. It looked to be a message, but the language didn't look familiar to her at all. She fingered it for a moment before fastening it about her neck, still dazed from shock. She couldn't think of anything but her mother. Her head fell back onto her pillow, and new tears began to flow silently down her cheeks. "No!" echoed in her head over and over as she fought against all she knew to convince herself this was only another dream.

But it wasn't.