Throne of Leaves

Chapter 8

I crouched low and watched and waited for a long while. The darkness grew in the forest and clouds moved over the moon. I had my bow in my hand. I did not really enjoy using my swords when my bow was significantly more useful. Yes I could use my swords but I loved my bow. It was an elegantly carved longbow made out of a tree in the King's Forest. I do not know of how it was made or the exact wood that was used but it was one of the best made bows that I know of.

It was just passed high moon when Malki moved into action. I had noticed early on that he was tense his head always moving back to one place in the forest. I assumed it was something that he was watching and waiting for it to come closer. I had also noticed a disturbance during the first half of our watch. There was something lurking on the border not willing to show itself. What was strange was that nothing seemed to notice or it only posed a threat to us on guard. I shifted my weight to cover Malki's watch when he jumped down to the forest floor. That is when I noticed a dark shadow in the undergrowth. It moved and what I assumed to be breathing as any one of the old guards did. It was a hazy, blurry shadow but I could still make out the basic idea of the uniform. Similar to what we currently wore but I could not make for certain. I watched Malki move silently towards it. If it knew that Malki was there it was not worried for as soon as Malki's sword became unsheathed, it attacked him. I grit my teeth as I continued to scan the forest knowing that Malki could handle himself. But wanting to see what this thing was I always kept looking at the fight below me.

Malki cut it many times already by the time I looked back again and I gulped in shock. As the blue spread through the spirit and cleansed it I could see what, or I should say who, it was. It was an old guardian that I never knew the name of, for I was still too young when he disappeared with the Queen's attack. Everyone assumed he died. I guess this confirms that. Malki finished him off or at least his spirit, and froze as the fading spirit spoke to him. I could not make out what was said but could tell by the face that Malki made it was not good. I continued my watch until Malki came back up and crouched next to me in the branches above the platform of the station.

"We should fear the Queen more than we already do. You know when we were fighting on the seashore? How all of the warriors were from the nations. That they all had black eyes. Stiff movements. Dark clothing?" He asked softly. I nodded.

"We assumed that they are. That they were being possessed by the Queen. Why. What happened down there?" I asked suddenly worried that this could get a thousand times worse.

"It seems that she can also do this with the spirits of the dead. I have no idea how, save it is something of the old dark magic in the forest. There is no other way to explain how this can be. Only one place that I know of is the heart and power of the dark magic. The foothills of the mountains. It is a dark place there. I should know. I traveled there to forge my sword" He said solemnly. I hung my head and rubbed my eyes.

"You went there to forge your sword with the metal found there so you could damage anything that came from there, I hope?" I ask now very concerned. I knew nothing of this journey or this much of the history of his sword. But it did make more sense about the feeling that I got when I fought him for my sword. He nodded in confirmation.

"But I fear that it was from the suggestion of the Queen that I should do this. I do not want to know now what could be done with such a dark forgery. I have a feeling that the power of my sword is darker and deeper than I realize. I have a thought that i may have been a test subject for as well that such a sword or weapon could be made. If this comes to light and she can make ten or more such swords, then I suspect we are all doomed for she will understand how to draw out the true power of such a dark material."

I groan and nod. More and more things that could have been avoided are coming to light. More and more things that seemed like great ideas in helping our Nation grow now seems like a dark plan long in the making. The depth of the lies and control over this Nation is far greater that we first realized.

"There is little we can do now, as for figuring out the power tonight. THis is what I want you to do. Write everything down that she has come to you with special training or assignments. We need to start looking into how deep she has actually reached and how far the corruption has spread. Even if it is just us three doing this then we at least have something to go off of." I said.

He nodded and sheathed his sword. He took a quick look around the border before nodding to me and swinging back to where he was before the attack.

I sighed and started to think on my past. It occurred to me that i really never interacted with the Queen. I don't think I ever used my surname at all around her. In fact. I never used my name at all. There was never a time that I did not lead the guards and warriors save the elite guards that surrounded the Queen, but even those were not the traditional guards. They were hand picked by her and the others were demoted to the palace guards. I sighed again and pushed the thoughts out of my mind so I could finish the night in peace.