The Docks

The three, along with a small detail of servants and guards, moved through the streets of Oblivion. The sun was shining brightly and already drying the soft, muddy ground, causing the carriage wheels to make a strange sucking sound inside the ruts.

Word had traveled quickly about the princess's arrival. Many of the villagers were out of their homes, ready to pay their respects to the princess. They all bowed dutifully, but there was little joy in their actions except for the younger children who knew not what sorrow was. The news of the missing prince seemed to also be common knowledge.

Somehow, Mairwen managed a polite smile, dipping her head to those that she passed. She waved to the children, even blowing a kiss to a baby that reminded her of her little brother. The woman sighed.

"It is alright not to put on a brave face," Ashleigh said after she watched her young cousin expend her energy to appear pleasant.

"When else are they going to see royalty again in their city, Duchess? They deserve my best even though I do not feel like it. The Empire does not crumble just because my heart is in peices." Mairwen dipped her head to a passing peddler. Earlier she had released all her her emotion inside the safe confines of the bedroom. Now it was time to be brave.

"It is no wonder you are called the Warrior Princess," the Duchess said in a voice mixed with pride and sadness.

Mairwen sighed as she nodded slowly. "It is not a name I gave myself, but I shall try to be worthy of the honor, no matter the battlefield."

The three fell into a companionable silence as they continued through the street inside the coach. The duchess passed across a basket of food to the twins in hopes of coaxing them to eat.

Alaron realized how famished he was. He offered some to his sister, but she refused. Rather than let the food go to waste, he quickly ate a double portion for himself. He thought about how one of the last meals he had been offered in Oblivion had contained deadly poison, but even this was not enough to slow his monstrous appetite.

Ashleigh turned her attention from the road to the Guardian. She watched as the food went from the basket and into the black void where a face should be. "Do all Guardians eat like you?" she queried.

Realizing how he must look, the young man took a napkin and wiped his mouth, forgetting that no one could see his face. "I cannot speak for everyone, but I would assume any of them who went through an ordeal like last night would either be starving or not hungry."

He looked down, and upon realizing the basket was empty, passed the wicker container back to the duchess. The grey-haired woman placed the object back by her side. "If you need more food, I can certainly send for some to be brought," she offered.

"Thank you, your grace. I will be fine for now." Alaron suddenly felt piggish. He was very glad that Guardian's never changed size or his girth would certainly have changed with so much indulgence.

Turning his attention outward, Alaron regarded the massive stone walls. The city was truly a fortress, and now Alaron knew why. It needed to keep out not only marauders and bandits, it also had to keep out the forces of nature. With Oblivion being situated in a bowl, all waters inevitably ran past the human sanctuary.

"Who would build a city in the middle of a crater?" he mumbled to himself.

The duchess heard him and chuckled softly. "A delightfully stubborn king a few hundred years ago, if you believe the history books. He wanted a place free of outside influence, and the land here is very fertile. It took him many years to get the wall and gate design correct to keep out the flood waters. But he was wise in the end, I suppose. It withheld the pull of the Valiant Empire until the reign of my grandfather. The citizens then decided it was better to surrender than to lose their lives due to a breach in the wall."

Ashleigh stopped as the carriage halted.

"Enough of my babbling. You did not come for a history lesson. Your Highness?" The thin old woman leaned across the carriage and touched Mairwen's knee. "We are here."

The princess jolted. Mairwen had fallen into the routine of waving and smiling so much so that she hadn't even noticed they had stopped. A coachman came into view through the window to opened the door. Offering his hand with his face towards the ground, he helped the princess and duchess out of the cab.

"Whoa!" Alaron was shocked as he got out of the carriage. Before them, a wide stone path snaked back and forth before reaching the top of the wall. It had a gentle slope, which allowed goods to be taken up and down without risk of damage. It was a structural mammoth.

"I hope you do not mind if we take the stairs. I do not want to block the incoming supplies with my coach, and honestly, the back and forth makes me motion sick." Ashleigh apologized.

Next to the behemoth of a ramp was a set of stairs that was set into one of the watchtowers. It wound steeply in a spiral before reaching the top, which made if a far more direct route than the sloping ramp. Selecting the shorter path, the three ascended the stairs, only slightly winded when they reached the top.

For the first time in the daylight, the twins were able to get a good view of the valley since the flood. It did not look like a valley any longer. It looked like a beautiful shining lake in every direction with only the mountains to contain its boundary. It was impressive, overwhelming, and terrifying. If not for the thick stone walls, the people of the city would be completely submerged.

Mairwen gasped as she saw dozens, if not a hundred, small rowboats dotting the water. On the wall, other boats were stacked neatly upside-down, their empty hulls fitting into one another perfectly. Off of the wall, a system of pulleys was hung to raise and lower the boats from the wall to the water level. As many as a dozen boats were being lowered or lifted at any point in time. This was the docks.

From one end of the dock, a man smartly dressed in an official uniform of blue and white approached them and bowed.

"Duchess, Your Highness, Guardian. I am glad you have been able to join us." Junayd said breathlessly. The advisor was relieved to see them. When he had seen them approach, he had rushed along the battlement to greet them.

The Duchess noticed he was not wearing the Guardian's cloak, she raised one eyebrow at him. "Advisor, I had no idea you were here, looking like... you."

Although the twins were confused by her comment, Junayd understood her meaning. "After so many saw me last night, I saw no reason to disguise myself, Your Grace. Anyone who asked was informed I have been sent on a diplomatic mission. Officially, Zan has already moved on to his next destination."

"I see," the duchess nodded and considered the matter closed.

"Any news?" Mairwen held her breath.

Junayd furrowed his brow. "The rains came so hard last night, that the river that runs along beside the city actually reversed direction, flowing northward."

"I've never seen such a thing!" Ashleigh marveled at his words.

They stared out at a surface which seemed smooth as glass just now, but the underlying current had already gone back to flowing toward the south as things began to drain.

"It was very strange, I agree. But it has presented a problem. We don't know which way the prince would have gone, so we have sent as many boats out in each direction as we could. These boats were meant for transferring loads from the mountainside to the city, so they usually only have to fight across the current, not against it. It has been slow going."

Mairwen tried not to look as disappointed as she felt. A small part of her wanted Renat to be waiting for her on the battlement, shivering wet and ready to fuss at Alaron for leaving him behind. Alas, it was not meant to be.

She scanned the line of pulleys, searching each and every face in hopes that someone might have news for her.

"Your Highness!" Someone yelled. Mairwen immediately knew the voice of personal guard. She tripped over the hem of her borrowed dress before lifting it to run along the wall's edge.

As she neared, the soldier leapt from the dangling boat onto the wall and rushed toward the princess. Their was something in her hand. Kneeling before the princess, Eira held out the object with her head bowed.

It was Renat's satchel.