The Lessons of Cardona

By Robert Collins

Maisy, the Witch Queen of Hatham, gets word of trouble between a nobleman in distant Cardona and the local Fairy Folk. Messages alone won’t satisfy the Fairy Queen, so once again Maisy must travel. She will learn more about her world, and she will have to cope with being a witness to untold suffering.

Maisy will experience triumph and tragedy as “The Witch Queen.”

• Language: English
• Publisher: Robert Collins
• Release date: Feb 1, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463580356

Robert Collins

Two people with different cultural backgrounds and ethnicities met at a European and Balkan music and dance ensemble named Koroyar and their lives became intertwined, combining their gifts to continue exploring life as an avenue of creative expression. Robert Collins has a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology, and has been an educator in the Los Angeles area for thirty years. He studied writing with Joan Oppenheimer in San Diego, with Cork Millner privately, and also in the Santa Barbara Writer's Conferences. Elizabeth Herrera Sabido, at the age of sixteen years, began working as a secretary at the Secretaria de Industria y Comercio in Mexico City where she was born, then she was an educator for twenty-six years, and a teacher of international dance for The Los Angeles Unified School District. She has also studied Traditional Chinese Medicine, and is a Reiki Master Teacher. Attracted by the Unknown, the Forces of the Universe, and the human psyche, during their lives they have studied several different philosophies. Elizabeth has been involved with various religions, Asian studies, and Gnosticism with SamaelAun Weor, and Robert has explored spiritual healing practices in Mexico, and studied with Carlos Castaneda's Cleargreen and Tensegrity. Elizabeth and Robert start their day at four-thirty in the morning. They enjoy playing volleyball and tennis, and in the afternoons play music, alternating between seven different instruments each. Their philosophy of Personal Evolution has led them to explore over 110 countries between the two of them such as Japan, Nepal, Egypt, Bosnia- Herzegovina, the Philippines, Turkey,Russia, etc.

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THE LESSONS OF CARDONA

The Witch Queen, Book 5

by

Robert Collins

Ebook Edition

Copyright © 2020 by Robert Collins

License Notes, eBook edition

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

About the Author

CHAPTER ONE

It is a pleasure to visit with you again, Your Majesty, Ambassador Ernesto, representative of Prince Geraldo of Borgas, said to Queen Maisy of Hatham with a deep bow.

I do not quite feel the same, Ambassador, Maisy replied, allowing a touch of ice to creep into her voice.

She didn’t like to have such an edge to her voice, when she spoke to foreigners, her subjects, or her friends and family. That edge always felt too much the privilege of power. It was how the nobility, and most especially royalty, were supposed to sound to those of lower status. It was a symbol of their power and position to display even a small bit of vain displeasure to those beneath them they were unhappy with.

Maisy, for her part, wanted to be nothing like that. Although she was of royal birth, she was not raised a princess. She was raised the common youngest daughter of a common village headman. She had to obey her parents and her older siblings. The only true power she had was the power to stand up for herself every now and again, and that was to those in the village her own age.

But those days were long in her past. More and more it seemed as though they were as far back as the time she’d spent in that village. The time was getting closer, year by year, when she could say that she’d spent half her life in Hatham Castle, first as Princess Maisy, then as the Witch Queen. More and more it seemed her common birth was becoming as much a part of legend as the deeds of her ancestors.

Those common experiences, though they were increasingly distant, never left her for very long. She knew what it felt like to be ordered around. She knew what it was like to feel weak. She knew what it was like to be weak. Her past might seem on the surface to be more ballad than reality. To her it would always be with her. It was something that she tried not to forget, and that she didn’t want to forget.

All the same, there were times when she could see value in her title and the weight it held. Being Queen meant she could sometimes compel the men around her to obey her commands simply by reminding them that they had to call her Majesty. She could affect a royal tone to her voice to express some degree of unhappiness. She could glare, or raise an eyebrow, and turn strong men timid.

In the matter before her, she knew she needed to make certain Ambassador Ernesto understood without question how upset she was. She had to put a sharpness in her voice. She had to invoke her title. Others were unhappy, and she had to transmit that to him.

Have I given offense, Your Majesty? he asked. His accent resembled, to her ears, the accents she heard from men from Farrengir. Cardona sat south and east of that kingdom, and was supposed to be different from Farrengir.

Farrengir was somewhat like Hatham in terms of land and climate. The winters there were a touch less cold and snowy than in Hatham, and the summers a bit warmer and drier. But Farrengir, like Hatham, was a land of hills and forests, of villages and cities. Cardona, being on the southern border of Farrengir, was hotter and supposedly drier. Dark hair and tanned skin was common there. Yet Ernesto, and the few other men from Cardona Maisy had met, all sounded much like the men she knew from Farrengir. She wondered if that had anything to do with the fact that the Empire of Fire had ruled both lands. The Empire had been centered around the lands where her husband Tomaso was from, and at times his accent was a touch like that of Farrengir.

Speculation for another time, she told herself. I must focus on a more urgent question.

Neither you nor your Prince have given me offense, Ambassador. However, it seems that a nobleman under your Prince has given offense to the Fairy Queen living on the Cardona Peninsula.

The Ambassador gasped. There is a Fairy Queen in Cardona, Your Majesty?

Ambassador, the Fairy Folk are all over the world. Every region has them. Most every major region has a Fairy Queen and her Court. The lands of your Prince and his neighbors are no exception.

I did not know this, Your Majesty.

You have been here how long, Ambassador? Nine months?

Ten, Your Majesty.

You have heard talk in my Court of the Fairy Queen of this region, yes?

Yes, Your Majesty.

You are aware that my student, Princess Mileta of the Midmark Lands, is the product of an affair between her father, King Ruprecht, and a Fairy Princess, yes?

I have heard that, Your Majesty, but I was not certain if I believed it.

Believe it in your head and in your heart, Ambassador Ernesto. Mortals cannot use magic unless there is some Fairy Folk blood in them.

He nodded to her.

Now that you are aware of that, allow me to make you aware of the reason why I have summoned you here. A Fairy man presented himself to me yesterday. He has apparently come all the way from Cardona. The Fairy Queen of this region was told by him that a noble in Borgas is holding a Fairy Princess of that region against her will. She sent him to me, and he told me that yesterday.

Ernesto’s eyes widened. A noble of His Highness holds a Fairy Princess hostage, Your Majesty? He shook his head. I cannot know what to say.

And why is that?

As I said, His Highness does not know of these things, Your Majesty. How would a man in Borgas, or anywhere in Cardona, find a member of the Fairy Folk? How indeed would such a man keep such a powerful creature in bondage?

She raised an eyebrow. Now that you know the Fairy Folk are there, I trust you will not assume that no one else would be so blind.

I suppose not, Your Majesty.

As to how one could bind a member of the Fairy Folk, there are methods, both fair and foul.

Would they not involve magic, Your Majesty?

They could, but don’t assume that they always do.

He nodded to her.

Your surprise, if it’s genuine, tells me that you aren’t aware that this is going on, yes?

Indeed so, Your Majesty.

Now that you are aware of it, I should like you to write to His Highness at once.

Yes, Your Majesty.

Make it clear to him that I should like this matter resolved without having to go there and get involved myself.

Your Majesty?

I have a kingdom to rule and two daughters to raise. Maisy allowed herself a wry smile. A small one, but a wry smile all the same. Not always in that order.

Ernesto bowed again. Yes, Your Majesty.

Maisy glanced around. Karen, her closest friend and Mistress of the Castle, also smiled, as did her husband Prince Tomaso. The other men around her didn’t smile. The other woman in the room, Princess Mileta, did smile, and perhaps too broadly to be completely proper for the occasion.

That said, I shall enquire to the Fairy Queen of this region if I should assist His Highness or not. Until then, Ambassador, make certain His Highness knows what is going on in his domain. I am working to have good relations with as many lands as is possible. I should not like the actions of one man to upset our efforts at diplomacy.

Indeed not, Your Majesty.

Good. Return to home at once, Ambassador. If you require a fast messenger, let me know. I’m more than happy to assist you.

Your kindness knows no limits, Your Majesty. I shall at once write His Highness, and attempt to resolve this difficulty. He bowed once more. Maisy bowed her head to him, and allowed him to leave the room.

She then asked if there was any more business to conduct before her. Kevin, the Royal Steward, said there was none. She asked her Royal Scribe and Royal Treasurer if there was any need that day to convene the Royal Court. They told there was no reason to do so. She told everyone they could resume their duties, except for Mileta. Highness, come with me, if you would? The younger woman fell in behind Maisy as she left the Royal Reception Room and headed back to her chambers.

In the three years Mileta had been in the castle, she had changed in subtle ways. Her dark hair had the gentle waves to it as always, and her blue eyes were still a contrast with her brothers and father. She was still small and slender, though in the last year she had filled out enough to be more a woman than a girl.

It was not in her looks that she’d changed. Her manner had changed considerably. The girl who had arrived was shy almost to the point of being a skittish colt. She rarely spoke freely to anyone but Maisy. Now, though, she smiled when Maisy jested, even if it might not be proper, she ventured opinions to those she liked, and she walked with her head more erect and her eyes more open.

Not that she was impertinent or self-important. Although she was a Witch, Mileta was still painfully aware that she was the product of her father’s illicit affair with a Fairy Princess. She would never be in line to rule any part of the Midmark Lands, no matter how competent she might be at it. She would always be in the service of someone, be it her father or her oldest brother.

She was a quick study, and knew more of the world than Maisy had, even though they were both about as well-traveled. She had things to learn, but she also had a few things yet to teach her teacher. Because of that, Maisy led Mileta to her chambers to talk.

It did feel slightly strange to Maisy, talking with this younger woman who was due to leave soon about a confidential matter. Usually Maisy turned to Karen for such chats. Karen was the same age as Maisy, and had been her friend almost since the day Maisy had come to the castle to claim her birthright. But there was one thing Mileta was that Karen would never be: a Witch. Mileta had the blood of the Fairy Folk in her, as Maisy did.

We are, in some ways, sisters in blood, even more than we are student and teacher.

That was going to change, and not just because Mileta was soon to return home. Maisy was aware that both her daughters now had the glow of magic about them. Neither girl’s glow was as pronounced as Mileta’s was, when Maisy had stumbled onto that fact. But in a few years Maisy would have to start teaching first Sophia, then Martina. She would be able to speak to them about magic and matters involving the Fairy Folk. It was possible that, in time, they would be able to speak intelligently to their mother about such things.

Part of me shudders for when that day comes.

Maisy had to say nothing to Mileta once they were in her chambers. Mileta knew to go to the bed, sit down, and wait for Maisy to sit next to her. She looked at Maisy with an expression of innocent curiosity.

You grinned a little more at my jest back then than you should have, Maisy said as she sat down beside her student.

You were witty, Mileta replied, her voice as soft as ever, and her accent as strong.

"It was somewhat immodest all the same, Highness. Never presume that your talent allows you such impertinence."

"Of course not, Majesty."

Maisy grinned. It was a pleasant jest, wasn’t it?

Quite so.

I couldn’t tell if the Ambassador was amused or mortified.

I could not myself.

I know a little of the Ambassador’s land. What do you know?

Much the same. Cardona has several Princedoms.

Which are?

A test?

Yes.

Mileta briefly bowed her head. Borgas, Zamaca, Tartosa, Estura, and Listuras.

Good. What else?

I believe there was once a King of Avorra who ruled much of Cardona. The lands were not united before then. Going farther back, the land was part of the Empire of Fire.

An early part, yes?

Yes.

And today?

The Princedoms not as divided as the domains around Rimi, where Prince Tomaso is from. There are places in Cardona where the pirates that plague the Warm Southern Sea hide. More there than along the Rimi Peninsula.

Good.

Maisy, what do you think goes on there with this Fairy Princess? Could it be what happened to Father?

Your father and your birth mother?

Yes.

That, I think, is possible. Do you think a mortal man could keep a Fairy Princess hostage?

Not without the help of a Witch. There’s not one in Cardona.

That any of us knows of, Mileta.

Ah, yes.

Still, it is odd that the Fairy Queen there should send someone to speak to me.

You are close with the Fairy Queen here.

I am. But I hardly think the Fairy Folk think of me as some great resource for wisdom or assistance. They are all older than any mortal alive. A child of them has more magic at her command than all the Witches in the world.

Then why seek you out?

Maisy let out a breath. My first thought was that the Fairy man who came here is part of an effort to build relations between the Fairy Court there and the one here.

Why do you think that?

If he’s right, this is not just a mortal man that has this Fairy Princess in his home, but a nobleman. A kinsman, however distant, to the ruler of a domain there. That Prince and I have exchanged Ambassadors. This matter is in part one between nobility.

The Fairy Queen cannot go to the Prince?

You heard the Ambassador, didn’t you?

Mileta blinked for an instant, then nodded. Yes. They do not know there are Fairy Folk in their land.

And?

Mileta paused for a moment or two. I suppose it would frighten the Prince most seriously if the first he knew of them was a complaint by the Fairy Queen about her daughter.

Frighten? I think it would terrify the man half to death.

Mileta let out a laugh. I suppose it might.

Which I don’t believe that Fairy Queen would want.

No?

No. The Fairy Queen here didn’t want her first impression to be one of anger at a mortal. Mortals already have some fear of the Fairy Folk, because of how long they live, how some of them have interacted with mortals before, but mostly because of magic. Fairy Folk need no flint or tinder to make a fire. It takes them little effort, or so it seems, to create wind, or to make themselves appear to be an animal or a monster.

Mileta nodded. Yes. I must never forget fear of magic, for it is both a tool and an obstacle.

Quite so. Therefore the Fairy Queen here showed compassion when her daughter fell in love with a mortal man. When I first met her, she showed compassion to me by telling me the truth of who I was. But she also made it clear that I couldn’t just run off and reclaim the title that had been taken from me. I had to learn to be a Witch, and learn on my own. I had to build my skills for the day when I would need them.

To claim your title, yes?

Yes, but to also serve as Witch and Queen.

You could not claim your title and not know how to act.

As both a Witch and as a Queen. She was compassionate, but she also wanted me to be responsible, to my legacy as a Witch, and to the subjects I would one day rule.

And you think this is so in Cardona?

I think it is. I think the Fairy Queen there doesn’t want to terrify the Prince by showing up at his door and saying, ‘Where is my daughter?’ But since she may not know if her daughter is safe or not, or happy or not, she wants something done.

She comes to you because of your connection to the Fairy Queen here?

I believe that’s so.

You are not certain?

I am not. That it why you and I are going to speak with the Fairy Queen here ourselves.

Both of us? Not you only?

No.

But I am to go back to serve Father and Roland.

Yes, I know. But you’ll need to learn what the Fairy Queen here thinks of this. Maisy leaned towards Mileta slightly. Can you tell me why that might be?

Mileta was quiet for a moment before answering. To make allies farther south?

Maisy shook her head. I have Ambassadors to do that.

To build goodwill with another Fairy Queen?

Maisy nodded. Indeed. Your brother has the goodwill of the Fairy Queen of the Midmark Lands. Because of my intervention in the matter of your true parentage, I have some goodwill there of my own. If I am able to help in the matter in Cardona, even if I do not go there myself, I will earn a little more goodwill there.

Is it up to a ruler make allies?

As I said, mortal rulers now have Ambassadors to do that to other mortal rulers.

Mileta nodded. Ah, but there are no Ambassadors to Fairy Queens.

No.

Then we Witches must serve as representatives to them.

Quite so.

Even you, the Queen of Hatham?

Even I. As will which ever daughter succeeds me as Queen, seeing as they both appear to have the ability to use magic. Maisy pointed at Mileta. As will you, Highness. You will serve your subjects, but you will also have to serve the Fairy Queen of your native land, and the Fairy Court of that Queen. Magic binds us to the Fairy Folk.

So you have said, my teacher.

So I have. When we go, you will watch and listen.

As always.

Good.

If told, would you leave?

Maisy smiled and shook her head. The Fairy Queen will not tell me to go, Mileta. She knows I am not a girl who can leave my duties at an instant. I am a Queen, a Witch, and a mother. Arrangements will have to be made. She waved a finger at Mileta. Just as I can’t let you go until I’m satisfied that you’ve learned all you can, and that the weather is safe for travel.

I understand.

I know you want to be with your father, my friend. I wanted to see my father, as his days slowly came to an end. But being a mother and your teacher meant I could not go home right away.

Mileta only sighed.

Yes. But your father is a strong man. He may recover from his illness. If he does, it will do him, nor Roland, nor you to return home before you are ready.

If he does not?

Maisy shrugged. Then you will deal with the pain, as I did. Pain is part of growing up, I’m sorry to say.