Shalace - A World of Fae

Ring of the Queen

Chapter 50

(Ring of the Queen)

Callista was quiet as the six horses walked upon a dirt path through a forest with moss covered trees. Butterflies danced in her stomach the further into the forest she went. The teenage girl had no desire to be a queen at all let alone the Queen of Shalace.

 Unlike many girls in the mortal realm that would have been excited to be a queen she understood the many sides of ruling. Being a queen wasn’t simply wearing gowns, being pampered and having people bow to you all day. It would not be a matter of being doted on. Being a queen, a good queen, meant sacrifice. It meant that things that she might want to do may have to be put to the side or forgotten all together. It also meant making decisions in wartime. Callista did not consider her an authority on battle strategy. Sure she’d played risk but that was just a game. If you lost no biggie; no one died.

“Highness,” Cavin said.

“Hmm.” Callista looked up to see an iron gate before a dark tunnel. The iron was visually dirty. Mud was caked in places. Part of the iron was eve tinged green by moss. “Where are we?” She asked.

“Viam Autem Custos,” Embry replied. “It means Path of the Guardians.”

Callista looked at Embry and then the dirty risted iron gate and back to the Prince of Shalace. She gave a sigh and said, “We have to go in there don’t we.” It wasn’t a question.

“Not exactly,” Cavin told her.

Callista looked at him less than pleased and then her uncle without changing her expression. “I assume that means I have to go in there.” Embry gave a nod. “Yeah this just gets better and better,” she said annoyed as she swung down from her horse. Her blue eyes looked at the gate less than thrilled. “It might not even open,” she told them looking at the state of the gate. Shaking her head she walked over to the gate leaving the five men behind. The handle appeared to be rusted shut.

 “This is not going to…” Callista’s words died in her mouth as the gate easily opened as she touched the handle. Before her eyes the rust and moss magically disappeared as if the gate had suddenly sprung to life; like a wet dog shaking its fur. Callista looked back at the five men. Cavin gave her a nod to continue; Embry and the others did as well. Reluctantly she took a deep breath and walked through the gate. The five men watched as she disappeared into the tunnel.

“She’s still hoping everyone is wrong,” Greer commented.

“We are not wrong. The gates opened for her,” Embry told him. “Queen Callista is taking her place.” Hearing a smirk he looked over at Will with a raised eyebrow.

“She hates being called Princess I doubt she’ll like Queen any better,” He said knowingly. The men could only smile and nod.

Callista walked through the dark cave in silence. ‘I hope I don’t trip,’ she thought to herself. ‘I can’t see a thing!’ as she continued she felt a cool breeze. ‘If I was watching a movie right now I’d be screaming don’t go that way if a character walked into a dark tunnel,’ she thought. She felt another smart comment popping into her head when her eyes caught a dim light in the distance. A faint glow of light blue.

As curiosity began to take hold of her she picked up her pace and headed for the faint glow. She had no idea what was ahead or what she might encounter but she wanted to know; needed to know. Her hands ran along stone as she felt her way through the dark. There was no sound coming from below her and the bottom of the tunnel didn’t feel exactly hard. She was guessing it was dirt.

Once she was within 20 feet of the glow she felt the tunnel open up. Callista walked out of the tunnel to find herself in an underground cavern. Before her she saw armor and swords neatly placed together. She walked closer and noticed symbols on them. Each symbol was different and yet the armor was cohesive in appearance. The swords had two symbols on them one symbol matched armor but the second symbol was the same on all of the swords.

“Tutela Veneficus,” She summarized.

Hearing movement she turned to see a set of stairs was being revealed that lead down into another area. Along the stone walls were the symbols of different kingdoms and the symbol of the protectors of Shalace. Slowly she approached the stairs. If the stairs were appearing at her presence it could only mean that she was to follow them.

Callista looked over the room of weaponry and then began descending the stairs. The stairs were stone and blue. Light appeared on both sides of the stairs giving it a glow. It reminded her of lazer lighting. The princess felt her body begin to tingle more and more with each step she took. She had wanted to deny what was happening. Callista had wanted to prove everyone wrong; that it wasn’t her. Yet with every step she took the more she knew they weren’t. This wasn’t simply picking something up real quick. This was the means to accept and even claim her destiny.

Reaching the bottom stair she walked forward seeing a lit up four foot stone. Callista walked closer to the stone. There she found a Blue Diamond ring surrounded by diamonds and Sapphires resting on a thin piece of stone no bigger than a finger in open display.

Without touching it the teenager stared at the ring. It was the moment of truth. No one was there and she could say anything or do anything she wanted. If she chose she could return and say she was unable to get the ring and it wasn’t her. Part of her liked that idea. The idea quickly died however as she thought about her friends and family. If she didn’t take the ring in the end everyone would suffer. They still needed to find Brandy and Lola’s potentially still living parent. If they were going to prevent Shalace from falling into darkness than she needed to step up and take her place.

A flash of a picture of her mother flashed in her mind. Callista had never gotten to know her mother because she had died in childbirth. A death that she now knew could have been prevented. Alana had let her mother die. The woman that had raised her was now her enemy and an enemy of Shalace. “I won’t let you win,” she said suddenly determined. “I didn’t want this but so be it.” Callista slipped the ring off of the stone and slipped it onto her right finger. Instantly the ring sized to her finger making a perfect fit. Callista looked at the ring on her finger. “It’s time for Tutela Veneficus to rise,” she announced. The ring began to glow and suddenly she knew where she needed to go first.

Hearing a stone move she looked over to see a part of the wall open. She walked over to see a case that held several rings. Some ring places were empty revealing the amount of guardians still alive. “I wonder how I know which ring to give to someone,” she commented. She closed the black case and holding on to it she headed back up the stairs.

Callista reached the top of the stairs and glancing toward where she had seen the armor her eyes went wide. The armor was gone. “Creepy,” she said and decided to quickly vacate. It was time for her to find and restore Tutela Veneficus. A task she still wasn’t entirely sure how to do. On the plus side a trip to the mortal realm would bring Lola a chance to get her favorite chocolate cream doughnut from Dunkin Doughnuts. Not to mention she would that no one could use titles again. Smiling pleased she headed back to meet Cavin, Embry, Will, Greer and Braiden.

Author's Note: This concludes book 1. The second book of Shalace is called, The Labyrinth of Shalace. =o)