James stepped down onto the dock, the Kikker fishing village of Visvang before him.
What the fuck was Shanna doing back here so soon?
The message, relayed by flag from the city, had been not just unexpected, but baffling. Instead of coming directly to Fredrick, Shanna had sailed to Visvang, sent a rider (Piotr, of all people) all the way to Nowy Warsaw, where a cryptic communication was sent to the mainland, telling him to get his ass to the Frog village as soon as possible. Something had happened. Something was STILL happening. Something secret.
That was never good.
Shanna was walking across the village square. Even from here, he could see the seriousness of her movements. Again, not good. James began his own walk down the wooden dock, guards following. Shanna met him as he stepped on to shore.
"You made it," she said, as soon as she was before him. "Good. I didn't know how long it would take, or even where you were."
"I THOUGHT I knew where you were," James told her, unable to keep the exhaustion out of his voice. "Why the hell are you back? What happened?"
"Fucking shit happened, that's what. I got Helmut killed."
He saw it in her eyes behind those glasses. The pain. Soon, he knew, he would be where she was, would have blood on his hands. Maybe he already did. Shaking his head, he put a hand on her shoulder.
"Damn. You OK?
"Oh," she replied, voice bitter, "I'm fine. Bogdi got his arm sliced. Doesn't look infected. Got everyone else home."
"Good. So what's the emergency that drew me away from the other five I've been having fun with?"
Shanna let out a snort.
"You're going to love this."
****
James looked across the tavern.
Elves.
And not just Elves, according to Shanna. An Elven Princess. A Queen, too, unconscious upstairs, if only a new one with no kingdom to rule. Fucking Elven royalty here a short ride from the new Polish capital. Oh, this was wonderful. Nothing but good things could come of this.
His eyes could not leave the young girl. She was... inhuman. Yes. That was what came to his mind. Beautiful, but inhumanly so. Someone in some podcast he had listened to, back when such things existed, had said that the most attractive movie stars were only partly human. They were so... PERFECT, they seemed alien, a race apart. So it was with this one. It was not the skin, the eyes, or the long pointed ears that turned him off. It was her beauty itself. He had never found himself attracted to plastic dolls.
The Princess was seated at one of the many tables scattered around the inn. Her four remaining soldiers stood against a wall behind her, flanked by some of Shanna's men. The Elves were clad in what looked like brown muscle shirts and underwear. It took a moment for James to realize they had been stripped of their armor as well as their weapons. He shook his head. The creature at the table could not be the same race as those ugly things. But, then, for all he knew male royalty was just as beautiful as their female counterparts, and most females were big breasted versions of the ugly males. Nature could be strange.
The girl looked up at him, black eyes wide. There was surprise there, he thought. Maybe a little fear. That wasn't good. A spell casting girl afraid for her life could be dangerous. As he approached the table, James gave the room another sweep of his eyes. Most of Shanna's thirty soldiers were here, armed. Even the injured Bogdi, upper left arm bandaged heavily, stood by the fireplace with his sister. The village Chief stood with them, as did his daughter. Chief Ajani nodded to James. This affected his people as much as it did the Poles.
Returning his attention to the girl, James smiled.
"Hello." He pulled out the chair opposite hers, sitting. He could almost feel her shaking, pushing back in her chair. "I'm James, King of Poland."
"Catty," she said. There was a flute like quality to her voice. He wondered what Elvish sounded like. He would never know, obviously. The magic inherent in him in this world made all language sound like English to his ears, and his words became the native tongue of others. A handy trait for a King, but much was lost. He nodded to her.
"Catty. Welcome to the doorway to Nowy Poland. We weren't expecting you, obviously, but I hope you are being treated well." Both their eyes went to the Elven soldiers. She smiled slightly as her head came around again to meet his.
"As well as can be expected."
"Good, good. Now, obviously, the question is... why are you here?" He put his elbows on the table, fingers interlocked before him. "As I said, this is the doorway. The question will be whether we let you in."
"We have to enter," she said, voice sad, bitter.
"Why?"
Another sigh. If she thought it was having some effect on him, it wasn't. He kept his gaze unchanged until she spoke.
"It's... my sister. Jaka. She is sick. I must bring her into your Kingdom, so I can search for what I need to cure her."
"And what is that?"
"A... book. Of magic, herbs. Our Mother had it, but we could not find it as we were fleeing the castle. Jaka thought Mother had hidden it, although why I have no idea. Surely she could have used it, could have saved herself..."
James glanced over at Shanna. The girl was in the process of wiping her glasses on a cloth. She met his gaze, surprised. They shouldn't be, naturally. If this really was...
"YOU HAVE IT!"
The Elven Princess leapt to her feet, madness on her porcelain doll-like face. Her hands began moving before her, her mouth whispering.
"Renas... AAHHH!"
A dagger struck one of her hands, hilt first, even as James leapt back onto his feet and away from the table. Soldiers were there a moment later, forcing her thin arms behind her back as she yelled and kicked like a demon.
"Gag her!" Shanna yelled. Something fabric was shoved in the Princess's mouth. Behind her, the Elven soldiers were surrounded, able to only glare at the humans manhandling their Princess.
Within seconds, it was all over.
James looked over by the fireplace. Anelie had a second dagger out, ready to throw. He nodded to her.
"Good throw, soldier."
"Thank you, Your Grace." The girl looked very pleased with herself, an expression which swiftly faded as her eyes went over to Shanna. James followed that gaze. His friend and fellow otherworlder looked disgusted.
"Fuck! Damn it, I'm sorry James. I should have..."
"Distrust has to be earned," he said. "The enemy of my enemy is a still a second enemy, et cetera. It was worth a shot being nice, as I, at least, am a nice person." He turned to the restrained Elf. "I'm not stupid, though."
"We were set up," Shanna went on. "I lost Helmut because I was stupid and..."
"We don't know that," James said. "It could just be a case of a young Princess not thinking things through." He could hear the girl growl around the wadded cloth. Bending down to pick his chair back up, he returned it to the table and sat down again. He waited as rope was tied around her wrists behind her back. "Let's start over. Sit."
The girl didn't protest as she was forced down into her chair. Those black eyes were like daggers, though. James smiled again.
"OK. As I was going to say, before we were interrupted, we do have a book. It may well be the one you are looking for. It might not. God knows we don't know what the hell it is. It was..." He paused, considering. Shanna's spoke behind him.
"Everyone but Bogdi, Jacek, Anelie, out. Duda, call in some more of His Grace's guards. Chief Ajani, you may stay, naturally, but understand that what you hear is under strictest confidence."
"Of course." If the Kikker was insulted, he kept it well hidden. His daughter stayed too, which made sense. She served as his Polish translator, although his own Polish was improving greatly. As Shanna's men, trusted but in no way used to dealing with secrets, were replaced by his own guards, James noticed the Frog girl sliding closer to Bogdi. The movement drew the King's eyes down to her breasts. Nice.
Damn. Only one night away from Ewa, and he was reduced to lusting after frogs.
Clearing his mind of that distraction, James looked at the man now behind the Princess.
"Nowak. Is her hand wounded? Is she bleeding?"
"More a bruise," he said, reaching down between the chair and her back, pushing her body forward. "Don't think anything's broken, but we can check later."
"Good enough. Actually," James said, standing, "speaking of that, let's check on this sister of hers."
"MMMMMMM!" Catty tried to jump up, held down by the large hands of Nowak. James sighed.
"Jesus. I'm not going to hurt her, Catty. I'm just going to go look. If we can trust you to speak, you can tell us what's wrong with her. Maybe our doctors can do something."
She glared black eyed hate across the table.
"OK, we do it the other way. Nowak, bring her. Shanna, show me the Queen."
****
The small second floor room was dark, its curtains pulled closed. Anelie walked over, pulling them open. Sunlight revealed a small bed pushed against a wall, a grey blanket pulled over the body of a blue haired woman.
James slowly walked across the room. She was pretty. What looked strange on her younger sister somehow became beauty, as if age, experience, had molded her. Her smooth green face showed evidence of a life lived, a life...
He stopped in his tracks.
She was dead.
He dropped to one knee, hoping to Jesus he was wrong. Her chest wasn't moving. Moving the blanket aside, he took her hand.
Cold.
Damn it.
He heard the muffled gasp. Damn it all to hell. James let out a long sigh.
"Remove her gag, let her come over."
A moment later the short Elf threw herself down onto her knees beside James, untied hands tentatively touching her sister as soft, inarticulate sobs came forth. James had intended that she remain tied up, for their safety. He'd have to have a word with his guards. Or, more likely, he'd just have to remember to be clearer in his orders if they survived this.
"I'm so sorry," he said. It sounded weak, but he knew nothing else could be said. Without thinking, as even the slightest of thoughts would have warned him, James raised his right hand, touching the back of the girl's head. Her hair was soft. "I'm sorry, Catty."
A moment later, her face was buried in his chest, tears soaking through his clothing. Her hands grabbed the fabric of his shirt. Still unthinking, he found himself still holding the back of her head as his other arm went around her back. She pressed herself against him. It felt... right. A wave of emotion flowed through him. She was alone. He was her protector.
Long moments passed.
"Mother." Catty's voice was muffled. James leaned down closer. "Mother... the Polish King..."
"I know," James said, quietly, stroking her back. "I know."
"You do?" She looked up, black eyes red. He nodded.
"We knew he was with some Elf woman, assumed it was the Queen." The others reacted around him. James ignored them.
"She wouldn't tell Jaka or I why," Catty said, sniffling. "Why she was doing it. We told her to stop. It was wrong."
"I think it was love," he said, petting her hair. "She talked to the youngest Prince. Gave him a book, maybe the one you're looking for. Told him to hide it."
"Why?"
"Don't know. She... Your mother also told the boy she hoped he, and one of her daughters, might marry."
Catty went stiff.
"Why... why would she..."
"Don't know."
"You don't know much."
"True," he laughed. "A good leader, though, knows his limits. Knows what he does not know. Tries to fill the gaps." James let his eyes meet hers. "Who killed the King?"
"Mother."
****
They again sat at the table in the main room of the inn. Drinks sat before each, a plate of salted fried potato slices in a bowl between them. Catty spoke.
"We should have known. Should have asked, at least. Jaka was always asking mother about what she was doing. Sister thought we should have no secrets. When Mother appeared that day, furious, not thinking, we should have tried to calm her. But we were afraid. She looked mad enough to kill. So, maybe she already had. Maybe she had come from killing your King. She called the generals in, told them to go ahead, attack the Poles. The war she had tried to delay, stop, she now insisted on."
"Why?" James shook his head. "What would set her off like that? From the Prince's diary, everything sounded good."
"I think I know, Your Grace."
James turned to Duda. The Royal Guardsman bowed his head.
"I was not in the Royal quarters that day, which saved my life. I did enter, though, after the fires were extinguished. We found the King, in his bedchamber. With the Queen."
James inhaled sharply.
"Oh, God! That's so..." He looked at Catty. "Thousands died, because she was jealous the King was with his own wife!"
"Mother could be quick to anger," Catty sadly agreed. "And she was just as quick to again be herself. Within a day she was crying, trying to stop what she had started. But, it was too late. Our army was marching on your city. Our Generals would not stop short of gaining control of the Wisla and Warta rivers. She did, though, stop them there. Mother let you flee."
"That was nice of her," someone muttered. James did not seek out the source.
"Then?"
"Then... Mother could no longer hide that she was with the Polish King's child."
James blinked. He couldn't have heard that right. He turned to Shanna, straddling a chair to his right. She shook her head.
"Well, fuck us, and genetics in general. That can't have gone over well."
"They cut my brother out of her!" Catty spat the words out. "They ripped Mother open! Tortured her! Did horrible things to her!"
"Who?" James asked sharply.
"All of them! All turned against us! We rescued Mother! Tore her off the wall she was chained to, fled! Then... then she died as soon as we were free." Catty's eyes closed. Unable to help himself, James reached across the table, took her hand. She didn't seem to notice. "Jaka and I were alone. Alone with the only of our former people worthy of the name 'Elf'. We cast spells of guidance. They said to come here." Her eyes opened, staring into his. "And here I am."
"And here you are." James released her hand, sitting back in his chair. "Which leads us to what happens next." He glanced past her, towards the stairway leading up. "We will help you honor your sister, bury her."
"She is now a husk. Her soul is gone. Do with what is left as you wish."
"We'll focus on the living, then. What do you wish to do?"
Catty slumped in her chair.
"I do not know..."
"There's no hurry," Shanna said. "Nothing should be done in haste."
"Very true." James considered. "Catty, can we trust you now?"
"Yes," she said, green cheeks seeming to blush a bit. "I apologize, for before. I... I have some of Mother's temper."
"Understandable. Do you wish to stay with us for a bit, or would you prefer us to take you somewhere else, to find your own way?"
"I know not where to go."
"As Shanna said, take your time. I think..." He looked at Shanna. "Do you have room for her and her men at your fort? Maybe we can keep her out of view behind those wooden walls you insisted on."
"They're cool. Sure, we have room. Don't know how long we can keep her a secret, but for now it should work."
"Good. We'll do that then." James stood. "I'll go ahead, see what chaos is afoot. Bring her once night falls. Send word once she's settled in."
"Will do."
James turned to the Elf.
"Welcome to Nowy Poland, Queen Catty.”