Bling is Just the Thing

Noble received her friend's news with relieved excitement. She hurried toward her.

"You found something about the Heart or the Tyrant?"

"Goodness no," Sarai blushed. "But I did find out about these."

The redhead touched her jewelry.

"Emira's father—Brenna's grandfather talks about the necklace here and bracelets right…here!" 

Holding out the book, Sarai explained while Noble scanned the pages. 

"The necklace was crafted when Emira Awakened. Her flaw is a brutal one, as you already know. But without the necklace, it is even more deadly. Her temper was so wildly unpredictable that she killed four servants on her first day of being Awakened. Burned them from the inside out just like Lord Gavin." 

"And I thought my flaw was bad," Noble winced. 

"Ha, I had the same reaction. My emotions are wild, but I don't roast people whenever I get upset." Sarai shivered. Her powers were no joke, and the thought of killing others unintentionally made her sick to her stomach. 

Some flaws were truly debilitating.

The necklace dampened Emira's uncontrolled fiery outbursts, but didn't stop her from willfully hurting someone like Gavin who had publicly disgraced her. 

If not for the jewelry that Emira always wore, the Queen would have cooked her entire court. 

'Is that why she kept everyone at arm's length?'

Noble had assumed the former Queen hadn't liked people, which was true, but it might have been more complicated than that.

If one or two of the prominent members of the court were burned publicly, that would drastically cut down on the people willing to come to the palace.

'So how in the world did that idiot, Lord Alyx, manage to survive?' Noble resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

The man was insufferable, but he had ingratiated himself to the queen. Either his Aspect somehow countered her flaw or he must have done something to earn some amount of Emira's respect.

Whatever the reason that he had gained prominence, Noble could guarantee it had nothing to do with his charming personality.

'Doesn't matter anymore. That man will spend the rest of this Nightmare in the special dungeon suite. That alone is generous.'

The man had tried to derail the coronation. Perhaps he had done it out of loyalty to the former Queen, but Noble was pretty sure it was just pettiness.

'I'm not sad for him.'

Noble finished reading the page about the necklace and handed the book back to her friend.

"Does the necklace have any effect on you?"

"Not that I have noticed. But I also haven't been super angry, just nervous and worried. You don't think it will hurt me, do you?" Sarai's emotions spiked.

"It wasn't designed to hurt Emira. You should be fine."

Noble turned her attention to the second passage which Sarai had indicated. The volume was the last before Emira's journals took over.

Sarai peeked over the edge of the page and explained while Noble read. 

"Unlike this necklace, the bracelets belonged to the Kings and Queens or old. There were two sets. Because Emira was not yet married, her father decided to give the second set to his younger child, Byzas, when he stepped down." 

The late king had been ill for some time and decided to pass on the crown and his other possessions while he was still living. His last act as king had been giving the golden bands to his children. 

"Emira never got married from what I have seen, which is why Lord Byzas still had the bracelets when he went into the mountains. He must have taken his oath to return to Derik seriously or deep down he knew he would die on his quest. Either way, I guess I should start wearing the second set." Noble had hidden the second set in her room because she was not sure how the temperamental Queen would react to Brenna's matching jewelry. Now there was no reason to hide.

"The bracelets conceal the wearer and hide their power. It seems they were made to protect the ruling monarch from others." 

While this was not explicitly said in the passage, Sarai had been able to glean the information from other places in the texts.

"There are a couple of funny stories that the king shares where he passes by but no one senses his presence so he decides to scare them. Apparently, he caused quite a few ghost stories…" Sarai seemed like she knew the man from the way she talked.

Of course, she had been reading his most inward thoughts for hours. It made sense that the experience would inspire a sense of closeness to the subject.

"Ghost stories? I heard rumors of ghosts in the arena below the palace. I wonder if it was Emira trying to keep the palace servants from sneaking down there." Noble smirked.

That somehow seemed both exactly and nothing like the former Queen.

But it was fun to picture her spooking young boys who had come down to blow off some steam with a wrestling match. Their adrenaline would have triggered for quite a different reason than punching their friend's jaw.

"There's an arena below the castle?" Sarai knew that Noble had been training, but Noble realized she had not said where.

"Yes! We should train there tomorrow. I know you said you aren't as powerful as Emira but part of me thinks you can acquire some of her skills. I saw her do incredible things!"

"I don't know…" Sarai bit her lip. "What if we destroy part of the palace with our antics."

"That's already been done," Noble pointed out with a laugh. "And this place is enchanted, so even when we broke through the wall and found that painting, the stone healed itself like nothing ever happened."

Sarai gave a determined nod. "Alright. Tomorrow we will train. If I pretend it is for the Dreamscape, maybe I'll be able to keep my nerves from taking over."

"I'll be there to help, don't worry." Noble patted her friend's arm gently.

After reading the pages that Sarai had selected, Noble put the book in her hand on the shelf. The others floated back into place to follow the first.

"Thanks, that was much faster than putting them back one by one," the redhead giggled. "You want to keep working?"

"No, I think lunch is in order and I don't want to be late for my meeting with the advisors. This kingdom may be an illusion but those duties are very real." Noble sighed.

"Fair enough," Sarai brushed off her hands. She placed one on the wall and repeated the process which she had seen Drune complete.

The wall unsealed and allowed the ladies to exit.

"After you, Your Majesty!" Sarai curtsied.

"Thank you, Your Grace." Noble dipped her head and smiled. The were greeted outside the room by an eager Kosi, who became even more eager at the mention of food!

After a brief meal, Noble and the Symncus hurried by her tower suite, startling Pen and Lenore into action.

They offered to help the new Queen change for the official meeting, but Noble simply added the bracelets to her wrists underneath her attire and rushed out again.

'Nothing like running late for a meeting you set up,' Noble wanted to hit her own forehead as she sped out of the room. Joining the Queen on the stairs, Kosi gowled softly and gave her a quizzical look.

"You are right," she smiled at him, slowing her pace. "A Queen is never late. Everyone else is just early."

She couldn't look frazzled entering a room full of powerful people. It would send the wrong message.

Straightening her back, Noble finished her walk down the stairs with all the grace of a royal.

On the landing, Counsel was already waiting for her.

He had a paper in his hand.