THE KEEPERS RISE

Chapter 5 - Falling into Place - Part 1

*Remember to click the play button to listen to the soundtrack as you read!*

Velda had expected that every day in the castle would be just the same, with lessons in the morning and free time to explore in the afternoon, but MepQueen Rhea surprised her by starting the next day differently. She came cheerfully into Velda's room that morning. "Rise and shine," she said, sitting down by the hammock. She was followed by a servant mep holding a tray of food.

Velda squinted at Rhea in the light of the sunrise outside her window. "What time is it?" she murmured groggily.

"It's seven in the morning and we have things to do. Come now, up."

Velda sat up and shook herself, a vain attempt to get her spines to settle. Rhea looked her up and down, then suggested, "A shower would do you some good."

That got Velda awake. She didn't normally get to shower that often. "Really? How will I get dry afterward if you're in such a rush? And besides, I'm still prickly."

"The water will help with that," Rhea said encouragingly, and she helped her out of bed to the bathroom door in her quarters. "Don't worry." Velda sighed and slid the door open. Right before Rhea left, she mentioned, "We're meeting with the Myusarian Council this morning. Be sure to look your best."

The door slid shut, and Velda took a long look at the room before asking Cha gingerly, "What am I supposed to do here?"

Showers, as far as Velda knew, were supposed to turn on with knobs. Half of the room was reserved for a sink and other such items, and the other half was empty, save a curtain, shelf of soap, and a showerhead that was gently glowing. Cha came out of Velda's stone to examine the walk-in shower. "The ground here is glowing too," it noted. "No need for a drain."

Velda stepped past the curtain to figure out how to turn the shower on and was greeted with an inundating rush of pleasantly warm water as soon as she was inside. She rubbed the water out of her eyes. "I overthought that," she gasped. Cha chuckled.

Velda didn't think she had ever bathed so quickly. The whole time, all she could think about was the Council. They were arguably even more famous than the MepQueen and MepKing. Velda had once heard that one of the Councilors was over 1000. She couldn't wait to meet them. She ate the food the servant had brought and dashed down the tower stairs. "What do you think the Council has to tell us?" she asked Cha.

"I am sure the Myusarian Council has a responsibility to be involved with the future royals. Though, I doubt that is the reason."

"Why?"

"Well, Rhea mentioned the Council rather offhandedly. She would care much more if this was a formal visit to discuss royal duties and the like." Cha shrugged. "I am only guessing."

"Either way, MepQueen Rhea is a lot more informal in person than I thought she'd be."

Velda met a breathless and freshly-washed Mortimer in the great hall. It looked like he had run down to the hall too. Velda had attempted to dry her fur with a towel, and despite it still being damp, it was sleeker than it had ever been. They certainly looked royal.

MepKing Alesteir came down the other front tower to meet them in the hall. Velda and Mortimer had been playing an impromptu game of tag but stopped to acknowledge him when he walked in. He frowned disapprovingly at Mortimer, who was still obviously wet. "You can't be looking like that in front of the Council," Alesteir said, shaking his head, but he was smiling. The MepKing waved a tendril of his cyan magic over Mortimer's fur and evaporated the rest of the water.

Alesteir looked pristine. He was wearing the jeweled sash that Velda had last seen when the royals had come to the orphanage, and also had a short crown, though it had no gems on it. The real treasure came when MepQueen Rhea walked into the room. Her crown had seven glistening jade crystals on it, each surrounded by a ring of emeralds, and the tips of the crown were tall and looked razor-sharp. Velda was in awe. She could hardly imagine what it might be like to wear the crown one day.

Rhea greeted them formally when she walked in. "A pleasant morning to you all."

Alesteir grinned and linked arms with her as they walked out of the castle. "You look gorgeous."

"I do try," was her only response.

The castle yard was rimmed in vaguely pink clouds. The sun was nearly fully above the horizon, with rays shining through the trees in the far distance, past the city visible below. Buildings in the capital glistened with jade, making the city look like a multifaceted gem. Velda smiled and breathed in the cold morning air. "It's a beautiful morning," she said.

Mortimer gave her a half-smile. "It sure is."

There was a hovercraft waiting near the road outside the castle, and a few guards stood along the inner wall, idly chatting. When they saw the royal family coming, however, they snapped to attention near the craft. Rhea and Alesteir got on first, then reached down to help the two children up, since the hovercraft was as far off the ground as Velda was tall.

The main part of the hovercraft was open to the air and rounded at the front, making it slightly aerodynamic. After the royals had sat down under the shaded area in the back, the four guards took their positions at the corners of the hovercraft, and one activated a shield around the craft, which was nearly clear but looked physical as well as magical. As they began to move, Velda reached out a hand and found that it was solid.

The hovercraft moved swiftly and was still so stable that they could easily walk around. Alesteir and Rhea stayed back in the shade of the craft's tent, but Velda and Mortimer couldn't help but eagerly watch the passing landscape. For a while, there was nothing to see but the Nirva to their right and a sheer cliff to their left, but after a while, houses began to dot the dusty road. As the houses became closer together, the road grew and changed to gravel, then cobblestone. The cliff merged with the floor of the valley. Then the stones became speckled with jade, and Velda pointed eagerly ahead. "There's the city!"

Roads from all directions merged into one of the four main streets into the city. As they neared the city gates, other hovercrafts and varying animal-drawn carts joined them, all eager to reach the capital. Most carts were pulled by adio, but there were also a few imported animals that Velda didn't recognize. To the left and right, meps living outside the city limits waved to the royal hovercraft passing by and gawked at Velda and Mortimer standing gleefully on the front.

The gates to the city stood wide open, and suddenly they were inside and surrounded by giant granite and jade structures. Every few blocks, a city square would reveal itself, crowded with meps trading with each other. Each one had a different centerpiece. Mortimer pointed out a multi-leveled fountain with a statue of a mep on top, and then Velda saw an intricately carved jade pillar. Then they both noticed a familiar granite statue of a huge winged cat, baring its teeth with one clawed paw raised intimidatingly. Its wings were up and looked ready to carry it into the sky, and gem-cut jade eyes stared down the visitors. "Isn't that a shay?" Velda asked the royals as they passed the square. "Miss Lexio used to tell stories about them."

Alesteir stood up to look and nodded. "Indeed, and that statue was of Alpha, the first tamed shay. Keep an eye out and you may see his wild mate, Omega." A few more blocks and another statue appeared. This shay had a peaceful gaze and held a key in its raised paw, with its wings gently folded to its sides.

"I had no idea they were anything but legends!" Mortimer exclaimed.

"They are," MepQueen Rhea explained. "There are hundreds of claimed sightings of shay, but none have ever been proven and they still evade capture. Alpha and Omega remain lost to time, and Zandor's writings are our only source of history on that pair since he tamed Alpha. The statues are a wonder to see, though."

Velda and Mortimer grinned at each other. "Can you imagine what it would be like to fly on a shay?" Mortimer said dreamily. "They must still be out there somewhere."

"You could touch the clouds," Velda agreed.