Return to Jorgaldur Volume V: Reunion (2)

The heart of the city

The king and the queen were looking with curiosity and veneration at Hnefi, which had showed itself again. As they passed, the gems lit up, thus providing more than enough light to illuminate the stairs.

Kioniha descended after Eldi, helped by Liukton. Not only was her dress a little annoying, but she was a little tired. Of all of them, she was the one with the least physical stamina. After all, her husband had been a soldier until recently, and the other three were high-level warriors.

Finally, they arrived at an imposing door, which seemed out of place in the basement of the palace. The metal shone with the reflection of the gems, thus creating a mystical feeling.

It seemed closed firmly, and there was no lock in which to insert a key. The queen didn't even know if it existed. It was true that she had read about the door, but she hadn't known where it was or how to open it.

In fact, the last monarch who had achieved it had arrived through a path that no longer existed. The magic of the place had changed the entrance, thus making it impossible to find it without the right method. Eldi had simply asked Hnefi.

"If you want to enter, ask him. He's the one who told me how to get here," Eldi pointed out to the spirit.

The queen looked at the spirit, confused for a moment. She had believed that Eldi Hnefa had the key to enter the heart of the city, to the place that her mother had failed to find. Now, she understood how wrong both she and the previous queen had been.

Her mother had cursed Eldi Hnefa. She had believed that he was somehow to blame for her failing to regain control of the capital. Kioniha had also believed it was partly true. However, the reality was much simpler. What they needed was recognition from the city's spirit.

It was the obvious answer, and of course more than one had thought about it. The problem had been that the spirit had given no sign of having anything to do with it. No matter how hard they had tried, all they had gotten out of it had been a rather apathetic reaction. This had led them to think that it had no connection.

At this moment, Kioniha could see the situation from another angle. Unlike her mother, the new queen had been able to observe the close relationship between the spirit and Eldi Hnefa. Someone who hated the visitor, who ignored their promises to him, or who wanted to make him fall into oblivion, would never be able to gain its recognition. Therefore, they would be unable to access the heart of the city. Furthermore, there was also the problem that the previous queen had earned the disapproval of many simple folk, which implied the dislike of spirit too.

"Will you let me in?" the queen asked.

Hnefi approached and circled around Kioniha, staring at her. It liked her. It could sense the citizens' feelings towards her, which increased its own affinity towards the queen. Furthermore, she had a good relationship with Eldi, which greatly increased the spirit's favor towards her.

Hnefi shone, and its glow covered Kioniha. Eldi nodded when she looked at him. He smiled as he saw the young queen close her eyes and take a deep breath. When she opened them, she walked purposefully towards the door, and simply passed through.

"Will she be fine?" Liukton worried.

"Of course," Eldi assured. "Although, it may take her a while to get used to it."

He had been there on the game. It was a medium-sized room, with strange controls, and full of monitors showing the city. There were no instructions, so the queen could only try and see what happened.

That afternoon, the citizens witnessed strange events. Like fountains that suddenly dried up, or released much more water. Some had even been dry for many years.

Shield fluctuations were constant, as were changes in lighting. However, the citizens weren't scared by those changes, rather they cheered them. Although they didn't know exactly what was causing them, those kinds of events were supposed to occur when a new monarch ascended the throne.

It hadn't happened with the previous two, and many only knew about it from the stories told by the elders. Without a doubt, it was a good omen, even if some of them received an unexpected soaking.

Kioniha stared out the window at the night lights of the capital. She didn't turn around when the door opened, but rather looked through the reflection of the window.

She watched as a figure entered and closed the door behind him. She couldn't help but blush and feel more nervous. The queen had been waiting her entire life for this moment, and now she felt as terrified as she was excited.

Kioniha didn't move, and didn't stop looking at the window as the figure approached. She shivered when he hugged her waist, rested his head on her shoulder and kissed her cheek. Her heart was pounding.

"Watching your kingdom?" Liukton whispered in her ear.

"Now that all the ceremonies are over, it's overwhelming. Will I be able to? Will we be?" she asked, not daring to look at him in the eyes.

"We will be. It won't be easy, but we will be. Although, not all the ceremonies have ended, we have one left," he reminded her, his voice shaking.

He was nervous too. With all the preparations, ceremonies, and how quickly events had moved forward, he hadn't had much time to think about it. However, now, he had no choice but to face reality. He was in the marital room, alone with his beloved, on their wedding night.

She turned, afraid to look at him in the eyes, but even more afraid not to. Then, he got lost in her eyes. She got lost in his.

The two of them had been thinking these last few minutes what to say, how to break the ice, how to act. They were longing for the moment to come. They were afraid that something would go wrong, that they would screw up. Neither of them had any experience.

It should be said that Lidia had volunteered to give her friend some theoretical lessons. It isn't clear if she had done it to help or for fun. It is also unclear whether she had achieved anything more than embarrassing her.

However, at this moment, their minds had gone blank. They had forgotten every word they wanted to say to each other, each of the gestures.

The king and the queen just looked at each other, they got closer little by little, and their lips melted.

When they woke up the next day in bed, hugging each other, feeling each other's warmth, their touch, everything that had happened the day before, even the month before, but especially the night before, seemed like a dream. They may have been clumsy and inexperienced, but their hearts were satisfied.

With still some shyness but more intimacy, they looked at each other, smiled, and kissed and hugged passionately again.