Tales From The Raindrop Forest - Anthology

The Lost Queen | April Challenge

The queen of the lost island, they called her. We found her crown on the palace's beach one day (its inscriptions said so, anyway) and finally found a way to the hidden island she was supposed to reside in.

The crown was bronze and covered in queer kinds of seaweed. Its inscriptions depicted ancient runes and strange languages, but their meaning was clear enough: the only way to awaken the queen was to put her crown on her head. The only problem was the fact that she was hidden on Moonstone Island – which no one had ever seen before.

She was rumoured to have great beauty, but that wasn't why the King was so keen on finding her. He saw it as his destiny, since one or two prophecies mentioned an inventor who would awaken the queen, and something about lost memories being retrieved... the thing with prophecies is that they are fickle and strange: they never really end up meaning what they say.

The king's advisors had long since left us, and the only people who were still loyal to King Nikolas of Elmar were Captain Adrian and his royal guards.

And me, of course.

After weeks of travelling in the small, cosy air balloon, we finally found the small, crescent-shaped island we were searching for so madly. We only found it because of one of Nikolas' many inventions: a spyglass that could spot heat. The island was dominated by a tall volcano, from which smoke was rising. I had once found an old map in a forgotten library, on which the location of the island was described.

The King had always had an eye for inventions. Captain Adrian would always joke how Nikolas would have become a crazy inventor if his father hadn't been the King of Elmar. He had created zeppelins and steam machines, inextinguishable fire torches and mechanical beasts that seemed to live, like the bronze raven we called Hægr.

Hægr rested on Nikolas' shoulder as we set foot on the island's beach. The shore was covered in black stones the size of my thumb, and Captain Adrian shivered uneasily when we heard the volcano rumble dangerously. 'We should head back,' he warned the king. 'It's not safe here. We'll go looking somewhere else.'

'I know it's here,' Nikolas said, his eyes fixed on the volcano, like nothing else got through to him. Hægr cawed approvingly, flapping its mechanical black wings as it jumped off of Nikolas' shoulder. Clicking, it flew into the green vegetation of the island and disappeared behind the many tall trees that loomed in front of us. They were old, and tall, and their leaves were a bright green that seemed unnatural.

'You're the king of Elmar,' Adrian continued, his hand on the hilt of his sword. It was one of Nikolas' inventions (obviously). The iron handle could extract a blade, and it served as a dagger as well. 'If you really want to search the island, let me go. You have to stay safe.'

Nikolas turned around with a furious expression on his face, one I had never seen before. His eyes flickered and his fists were balled as he exclaimed: 'I have been searching for this my whole life. I have to continue, and no one can stop me.'

I squinted at the old map and tried to decipher the old names written on them as I followed the King through the ancient forest, barely able to keep up with his fast pace. Being an archaeologist, I had studied the old languages, but the handwriting on the map was tiny and swirly, and the words were near impossible to make out. 'I think it says queen here,' I told Nikolas, pointing at the map, after which he nodded contently.

His golden crown slid to the side of his head as he jerked his head upwards, looking at the sky. He squinted and brushed an unruly lock of his golden hair behind his ear. His hair was long and it tumbled to his shoulders in lazy curls. 'Here,' I told him as I shoved his crown back on his head.

'Thanks,' he mumbled, but I knew his mind was elsewhere. His grey eyes didn't meet mine, but they never did.

I had been with him for years now. He never realized how much I wanted him to see me, to truly see me. He always saw me as someone to help him get closer to his goal, like the way he saw everyone else. He never got my hints, however obvious they got. Not even that one time I'd given him my handkerchief – which was the appropriate way for highborn ladies to consent to a proposal.

The king was consumed by his search for the lost island. Ever since he had heard of the prophecies surrounding it, he had been trying to get to it. Maybe that's why he'd summoned me to court, years ago. I was the only archaeologist who knew of the lost island, and the only person who could translate the prophecies.

Everyone had abandoned him and his hopes. The people had fled our country in fear of the mad inventor, and they were absolutely right to do so. I would have fled too, if I hadn't plunged myself into his half-mad quest for glory. It wasn't even out of love, it was out of fear. I didn't want Nikolas to get hurt, not even if it would be his own doing.

Hægr appeared again when we ascended dark blue stairs that looked like they were made of gemstones. It clicked silently, sitting on Nikolas' shoulder as we took the vine-ridden path to the temple. Its opal eyes looked around intelligently, and it pecked at Nikolas' ear for attention. The king paid no mind to his mechanical raven, though. His eyes were fixated on the little contraption in his hand, the clockwork compass that would lead us to the queen's statue.

The cream-coloured adventurer's clothes fit him well. I had never seen him without his lab coat or without one of those stupid sabre furs he always accidentally set afire. I wanted to comment on the hat he'd chosen, but he yelped for joy. 'We've found it!' he exclaimed. 'We've found the temple!'

It was an old marble building, with only half a roof and no other statues than the lost queen. The statue looked strange, standing in the middle of the ancient marble temple. It was made of stone. The queen that was depicted wore long silks, and her long hair spilled loose from under her headband. The only thing missing from her perfectly shaped face was her crown.

I reached inside my satchel and found it, still as cold and ancient as when we found it. Nikolas snatched it from my hands, not even bothering to give me a look. Adrian exchanged a look with me as he stepped towards the statue, an uncontrollable grin on his face.

'Finally,' he said pompously. 'I have succeeded in my quest. I have found the lost queen!'

When the King set the crown on the queen's head, the ancient statue crumbled.

I heard another rumble coming from the volcano, and Hægr shrieked nervously, shaking on Nikolas' shoulder. Captain Adrian caught my arm as we were hit by a terrible earthquake that send the crown spinning across the room, clattering against the marble pillars as it fell down. One of the pillars creaked dangerously and a crack appeared. Debris fell down, and one of the guards was hit by a falling rock that scuffed against his unprotected arm.

'The volcano's about to blow!' Adrian cried out. 'We have to get out of here before we're submerged in lava.'

'Not without Nikolas!' I called back, wrenching free from his strong hand. I sprinted to the King and threw the old map aside.

Grit and gravel were in his hair and his hands trembled, but his eyes were still fixed on the stone statue. He blinked slowly and shook his head as if to dispel a bad dream. 'Nikolas, listen to me, you have to follow me,' I pleaded, desperate. 'The volcano is going to erupt and the island will disappear in the sea.'

'I can't leave without the queen,' he said, his voice choking with hidden tears. 'I need her, the kingdom needs her, I can't leave.' Finally he looked at me, and tears were in his beautiful deep eyes. 'I need to wake her.'

'If you don't leave now, you'll go down with her, is that what you want?' I asked. 'Please, Nikolas, listen to me, there's no stopping this. You can't stay.'

He finally seemed to recognize me, and his eyes shot open in pain. He shook his head. As another piece of the temple came rushing down, he caught my shoulder.

'I'm sorry, Kristina,' he said with a pained voice as he threw his arm around the stone statue.