Chapter 12 Princess Bree Varlon
Princess Bree Varlon
Sojee’s youngest daughter
Bree was sitting on a stone bench in the most beautiful garden she’d ever seen. She knew she should be wandering down the
pathways, inhaling the fragrance of the flowers, and admiring the sculptures. Enjoying herself.
Most of all, she should be reveling in her freedom. Here she didn’t have to sneak around, didn’t have to hide.
But right now, death looked better than what she was facing. She glanced skyward. “What horrible thing have I done to deserve
this?” she asked. “Who have I angered that I’d get such punishment?”
Of course there was no answer. Her lips tightened. Oh, how Reena had talked! It was still hard to believe that her friend,
her mentor, the person she trusted second only to her father, had betrayed her.
Reena, annoyingly speaking through the chip she’d embedded in her dog’s hind quarters, had told Bree to pack a bag as she was going on a trip.
She was to take the dark clothes she wore when slipping out at night to go to Reena’s house, but she was also to pack some dresses that were exquisitely beautiful.
“I want you to look your best,” Reena said.
Bree had done as she was told, then made the familiar walk to Reena’s house. She usually did it at night so it was nice to
go in the daylight.
The island, now full of men, had a different feel to it. It seemed to vibrate with new energy. But she knew the cause was
more than just the presence of men. After Aradella had fled her own ceremony, leaving the wimpy, sulking Nessa standing by
himself, everything happened so fast that it took people a while to realize what had occurred.
Bree hadn’t been surprised by Aradella’s escape, certainly hadn’t been shocked by it. She’d known Aradella all her life and
her cousin always found a way to get what she wanted. Even being imprisoned by the evil Olina hadn’t kept Aradella under control.
Throughout Bree’s life, looking after Aradella had been one of the many secrets she and her father kept. Her sister, Shay,
hadn’t known what was going on, but then, keeping a secret was not something Shay could do.
One of the things Bree and her father did was get the books that were sent to Aradella past the guards. They were Earth books
sent by Jobi, then later, someone from the Order of Swans began sending them. There were crude attempts to hide them under
pastries, but they were easily found. Sojee, as head of security, had prevented the forbidden books from being confiscated
then sent to Olina. It hadn’t been easy. More than once, Bree had hidden the books under her clothes.
Aradella never knew she’d nearly caused Sojee and Bree to be subjected to one of Queen Olina’s “punishments,” meaning torture,
if not death.
For all that there was a deep bond between Bree and her father, he didn’t know his daughter spent a lot of time with Reena.
But then, Reena was one of the four witches who had great power.
Her oldest sister was the evil Urah, Olina’s nasty, hate-filled mother.
Another sister, deceased, was Garen’s mother.
It was said that two of the sisters were for good and two for evil.
Reena worked hard to be known as one of the good ones.
But still, fathers didn’t want their daughters working for a witch.
So Reena had put a spell—number 1A72—around Bree so no one would know where she went at night.
No pure human knew, that is. People born with magical powers might know, but there were few of them.
When Bree was told to get ready to leave, she’d been excited. Is this it? she wondered. Years ago, Reena had conjured a “future spell,” as she called it, to see where Bree’s life would lead. When
the spell showed itself, Bree remembered the shocked look on Reena’s beautiful face. But she’d quickly changed to her usual
air of giving nothing away. “You will find a man you love.” She hesitated. “And he will love you desperately. Yes, I think
that’s the right word. Desperate.”
“Have I already met him?” Bree asked but Reena didn’t answer.
While Bree packed, she thought of Reena’s words, and thought that this might be it. Maybe she was to meet “him.”
Her sister had already had three proposals of marriage, but then she was brilliant at flirting. Oh, how Shay loved the back-and-forth dance of teasing that she did with men! “I’ll have to ask my father,” she would say demurely, coyly hinting
to each man that her answer would be positive.
For all that they were twins, the sisters were very different. This had greatly bothered Bree when she was a child. One time,
after an incident at school, her father had held her while she cried. “I’m not like my sister,” Bree said.
“No, you’re not,” Sojee replied. “And your life will be different. Shay will marry some wimp of a man and have twelve children.
All of them will depend on her for everything, and she’ll rule the household.”
“What about my life?”
“You’re harder to know. I can’t see you with a man you can boss around. What you need is a man who isn’t afraid of you.”
The word afraid made her cry harder. “I picked up the wagon off that boy. He didn’t even thank me. I think he was angry at me.”
Sojee hugged her. “I know. The truth is, I think you should keep all of this between you and me. Hide it. It would make your
sister jealous and it will scare the skin off of most men. And the women will shun you.”
“That’s not fair,” she’d whispered.
“No, it’s not, but then, living on this island with so few men isn’t fair to anyone. We have to adjust to what is.”
When Bree got to Reena’s house, she saw one of the queen’s great beasts waiting for her. She didn’t like the look in the creature’s
eyes. She began to protest but Reena didn’t listen. Nor did she answer any questions of where and why. She told Bree to get
in the saddle and that she’d contact her soon. Hours later, right after Bree had flown up and over a creepy-looking fog, Reena
contacted her on the screen from the chip in Bree’s arm.
“After you meet Zeon, you’re to go to an island called Abicis,” Reena said. “I’ve never heard of it and I can’t find anyone
who has been there.”
Bree had been told of Zeon and knew he had the ability to foresee the future. It wasn’t easy to talk while sitting on the
back of a great creature that was flying through the air. “Why? What am I to do there?”
“I have no idea, but Zeon said you must go with them.”
“With who?”
Reena hesitated—which was out of character for her. She usually had a quick reply for every question. Finally, she said, “With
Tanek’s son, Mekos.”
Bree was startled. “I thought he and Aradella were together.”
“Yes,” was all Reena replied.
The animal Bree was straddling made a dip, then smoothed out. Below them were farms of mind-boggling perfection. “So he’s leaving her behind. I understand that! Aradella is impossible to even tolerate. Her words cut and slash—but she never repairs the damage she causes. I’m glad Mekos
found out early.”
Through this tirade, Reena was silent, but she was staring at Bree as though she was sending her a message.
“Why are you looking at me like that? Does Mekos need my help?” She gasped. “Is he the man I’m to . . . to . . .” She couldn’t say the words.
“He won’t be alone,” Reena murmured.
The creature tipped to one side and Bree held on. “Do I know the person with him?” When Reena didn’t answer, Bree finally
understood. “No,” she said calmly. “Not her. I will go with a murderer, three murderers, before I go anywhere with Aradella. I’d rather go with Olina or Urah. I’ll face beasts and monsters. I’ll—”
“Must go,” Reena said cheerfully. “Be safe.” The screen disappeared back into Bree’s chip.
Bree didn’t hesitate. “We’re going back,” she said to the bird-beast. She pulled on the reins for it to turn, but it kept
going straight ahead. “No!” she yelled. “We must return.”
When it didn’t obey, she leaned forward and put her arms around the neck of the animal and began to squeeze. When the creature
started to choke but still didn’t change its course, she relented and let go.
“Did Reena put you under a spell?” she demanded. “How did she find the right spell without me?” She grit her teeth. “I’m going to mix up something so Reena will never recover. I’ll get Urah to ignite it. I know! I’ll
make Reena ugly. I’ll . . .” Bree stopped talking. It was hitting her that this was actually going to happen. Her most dreaded,
feared nightmare was coming true. She was going on a trip with Aradella.
Bree had had a lifetime of the horror of dealing with her cousin. No matter what the twins did, Aradella was contemptuous,
arrogant, and condescending. Her motto seemed to be I am smart and you are stupid. When they were nice to Aradella, she looked at them with contempt. Talk to her, and Aradella curled her upper lip and didn’t
reply. Even if they said nothing, Aradella still managed to let them know that she was superior in every way.
Neither Bree nor Shay had ever done anything that pleased Aradella.
Sometimes, Bree got so frustrated that she was tempted to tell her cousin what she knew. There was more besides the illegal
Earth books that Bree help deliver to her cousin. At night, Bree and her father often went out together to do some heavy lifting.
More than once, they’d flattened themselves behind rocks and watched Aradella and her guard, Hale, practicing with swords.
“Why does she pretend to be so much larger than she is?” Bree had asked the first time.
“To protect her life.” Sojee had masses of sympathy for Aradella’s circumstances.
Through it all, Shay knew nothing. Bree had heard the term girly-girl and that was Shay. Hair and clothes were the highlights of her life. Bree just ordered a copy of whatever garment Shay chose
and had it made in blue. It was an easy solution to something that held little interest for her.
When the animal finally slowed down, she saw a long house that was nearly hidden in a dense forest. Bree grimaced. “Just what