Amantha and the Last Song

Chapter 3 - A Chance Meeting

 Amantha and her father would be staying in Gepki that night. The following day the results would be released and then they would return to Kaiden. The House of Froengard might be on the throne, but the House of Carshein had the biggest castle in Gepki. Lord Carshein was also a baron and a respected noble at her father's court. She and her father, the king, would be royal guests at his castle, that night. Ceil would also come under royalty and he was already at the castle. They had a magnificent lunch at The Maiden's Hand, the finest eatery in the city. The owner, delighted by the king's presence, had ordered the head cooks to prepare a feast for them. Their very best. Amantha still had the taste of lobster and onion cream in her mouth. She had had lobster before, but it had never been this good. The king had found the glazed duck in red wine to his taste. After lunch, they retreated to the castle. Unlike the Froengard castle at Kaiden, it had no towers. Its walls were not as high, but were made of the same grey stone. Lord Carshein's castle had more gardens though. As their horse drawn carriage sped through the numerous gates, Amantha thought she could see the heads of men through the regular gaps in the walls, of those on patrol. Subzero was somewhere inside the castle, she knew. Earthsinger had taken off to hunt.

Amantha was worried about him. In Kaiden, they always took off together and landed together. In the capital, almost everyone knew who she was, and no one would dare hurt her dragon. Here, in Gepki, she was not as sure. Seeing how famous she was to the outside world, she had begun feeling more and more protective about Earthsinger. In Kaiden, Earthsinger would hunt in the Thenswood, and not many creatures were powerful enough to take on a dragon. The Thenswood at Kaiden was too far away for Earthsinger to fly to and return from Gepki. The Trial had left him tired. And Amantha didn't know if there were any other forests around. She tried to explain to the dragon that he would be given food at the castle. And that that's where Subzero was. She was sure that the dragon understood everything she said. But Earthsinger had insisted on flying off to hunt anyway. Amantha was worried.

The stone corridors that led from her room to the other rooms closely resembled those of her own castle. She had gone to check up on Ceil. The boy was still asleep. Amantha decided it was time to explore. The secrets of the castle would soon reveal themselves to her. But not just yet. What she wanted to do first was explore the Central Markets of Gepki. What she had seen from her carriage on the way to and back from The Maiden's Hand, which was in the one of the three main markets, had left her amazed. People in Gepki had accepted magic a little bit differently, than the way people in Kaiden had. In Kaiden, if you were an able magician, you were given a job that utilized your abilities completely. Defense, architecture, engineering, they were all directed to making the capital a better and stronger place. And the lives of those who lived in it, easier. In terms of city planning or construction, Kaiden was unparalleled in all of Ralkyre. It wasn't as if allof those who were magicians did more important jobs than those who weren't. And both were paid equally. If you were a magician, you used the gift to help people, not for personal gain. That's how things were where she came from.

But in this city people believed differently. Magic could be used for personal benefit, if one was so inclined.

"I want to go to the Central Markets," she told her father.

"I will have ten men accompany you," he said promptly.

'I want to go there disguised," she said.

"And fit in with everyone."

The king was silent for a while.

"Very well."

Amantha walked alone amidst strangers. The cobbled streets were rough and uneven under her feet. Her hair was black, her nose slightly longer than what it used to be, and she had a few freckles on her normally smooth skin. An Illusion spell cast over her had seen to that. She was clad in plain brown robes. Her own ones were more comfortable, but she didn't want everyone staring at her. She had two hours before the spell wore off.