Read Online Empress Aurora Trilogy Quest For the Kingdom Parts I, II, and III Revised With Index (Quest For the Kingdom Set) by L. M. Roth - Free Book Online
Authors: L. M. Roth
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far and wide for further news of it, of where it might be
found. But no one could tell me more. Yet I know it exists; of that I am
certain.”
Aurora leaned
toward Marcus, gripping tightly the arms of her throne. Her jade eyes glittered
with a greedy light in their green depths.
“I want that Pearl,
Marcus. I will never rest until I possess it. And I want you to find it and bring
it back to me.”
“But, but…I
would not know how to find it, Your Grace. Indeed, I would not know where to
begin.”
“Why, you just
simply start in the land of Gaudereaux, and go from there. You are a
resourceful young man. Anyone who could escape from the Eirini could surely
find a way to the Pearl.”
“What of my
parents? My journey may be a long one. What of them? How long must they be your
prisoners?”
Aurora lifted
her head slightly and shot Marcus a dazzling smile. Then she laughed a tinkling
laugh like the jingle of silver bells.
“Oh, did I not
make it clear to you? The release of your parents depends upon the success of
your quest. No Pearl, no parents.”
Marcus
struggled for breath. He stared at Aurora blindly, the room spinning around him
once more.
“I want that Pearl.
You go and get it for me. Then we will talk about releasing your parents. But,
Marcus, you bring me that Pearl.”
Chapter IX
A Most Enlightening Interview
He would never
forget that door. Of sturdy oak six inches thick it was carved, with iron bars
bolted across it, heavy nails studded from top to bottom holding the planks
together. Set in a wall of cold gray stone, the door was the most forbidding
sight he had ever laid eyes on. Behind that door was his father.
Marcus inhaled
slowly. What lay behind that door? Would his father be as he had always been,
strong, dignified, and stately? Or would he be weak, cowed, and stooped from
the months of imprisonment?
The guard
poked his side roughly.
“A quarter of
an hour. That’s all the Empress allows you. I will be right outside this door,
so I would not attempt an escape if I were you!”
He snarled and
spat on the floor, then pushed Marcus into the room. The door creaked as he
slammed it shut behind him.
It was dark in
the cell, lit only by a torch held in an iron bracket in the corner of the high
ceiling. This shed only a meager light, and it took a full moment for Marcus to
adjust to the darkness. Somewhere he heard a steady dripping from some leak in
the outer wall. Drip, drip. Drip, drip.
Then he saw
slumped on a cot the figure of a man. He was bent over, his head in his hands.
“Father! Oh,
Father, how I have longed for a sight of your face!”
Marcus hurried
to him and knelt at his feet. He removed his father’s hands from his head and
placed them on his own cheeks so that they cupped his face between them. It was
an old gesture of endearment between himself and his father, one that Marcus
remembered from his earliest childhood days. His father used to say to him as
he cupped his face, “In these hands I hold the dearest treasure I possess save
for my beloved wife.”
As Marcus now
cupped his face between his father’s hands, Valerius stirred and fixed his gaze
on the figure who knelt before him.
“Marcus?
Marcus, my son! Is that truly you? I never thought to see you again!”
A stifled sob
racked his body and he doubled over as if in pain.
“Father! Do
not weep or distress yourself! For truly I am alive and well.”
Marcus slid
his father’s hands from his face and placed them upon his shoulders. He placed
his own hands on his father’s shoulders. Valerius straightened his back and
looked Marcus steadily in the eye. It was the closest to an embrace that they
shared, for the Valerians were of a stoic nature and did not believe in
demonstrating their feelings.
“But, Marcus,
I was told you were dead these many months. Long have I lain here and grieved
for my son.”
“No, Father. I
was taken captive and sold into slavery, but I am most certainly not dead!”
And
found. But no one could tell me more. Yet I know it exists; of that I am
certain.”
Aurora leaned
toward Marcus, gripping tightly the arms of her throne. Her jade eyes glittered
with a greedy light in their green depths.
“I want that Pearl,
Marcus. I will never rest until I possess it. And I want you to find it and bring
it back to me.”
“But, but…I
would not know how to find it, Your Grace. Indeed, I would not know where to
begin.”
“Why, you just
simply start in the land of Gaudereaux, and go from there. You are a
resourceful young man. Anyone who could escape from the Eirini could surely
find a way to the Pearl.”
“What of my
parents? My journey may be a long one. What of them? How long must they be your
prisoners?”
Aurora lifted
her head slightly and shot Marcus a dazzling smile. Then she laughed a tinkling
laugh like the jingle of silver bells.
“Oh, did I not
make it clear to you? The release of your parents depends upon the success of
your quest. No Pearl, no parents.”
Marcus
struggled for breath. He stared at Aurora blindly, the room spinning around him
once more.
“I want that Pearl.
You go and get it for me. Then we will talk about releasing your parents. But,
Marcus, you bring me that Pearl.”
Chapter IX
A Most Enlightening Interview
He would never
forget that door. Of sturdy oak six inches thick it was carved, with iron bars
bolted across it, heavy nails studded from top to bottom holding the planks
together. Set in a wall of cold gray stone, the door was the most forbidding
sight he had ever laid eyes on. Behind that door was his father.
Marcus inhaled
slowly. What lay behind that door? Would his father be as he had always been,
strong, dignified, and stately? Or would he be weak, cowed, and stooped from
the months of imprisonment?
The guard
poked his side roughly.
“A quarter of
an hour. That’s all the Empress allows you. I will be right outside this door,
so I would not attempt an escape if I were you!”
He snarled and
spat on the floor, then pushed Marcus into the room. The door creaked as he
slammed it shut behind him.
It was dark in
the cell, lit only by a torch held in an iron bracket in the corner of the high
ceiling. This shed only a meager light, and it took a full moment for Marcus to
adjust to the darkness. Somewhere he heard a steady dripping from some leak in
the outer wall. Drip, drip. Drip, drip.
Then he saw
slumped on a cot the figure of a man. He was bent over, his head in his hands.
“Father! Oh,
Father, how I have longed for a sight of your face!”
Marcus hurried
to him and knelt at his feet. He removed his father’s hands from his head and
placed them on his own cheeks so that they cupped his face between them. It was
an old gesture of endearment between himself and his father, one that Marcus
remembered from his earliest childhood days. His father used to say to him as
he cupped his face, “In these hands I hold the dearest treasure I possess save
for my beloved wife.”
As Marcus now
cupped his face between his father’s hands, Valerius stirred and fixed his gaze
on the figure who knelt before him.
“Marcus?
Marcus, my son! Is that truly you? I never thought to see you again!”
A stifled sob
racked his body and he doubled over as if in pain.
“Father! Do
not weep or distress yourself! For truly I am alive and well.”
Marcus slid
his father’s hands from his face and placed them upon his shoulders. He placed
his own hands on his father’s shoulders. Valerius straightened his back and
looked Marcus steadily in the eye. It was the closest to an embrace that they
shared, for the Valerians were of a stoic nature and did not believe in
demonstrating their feelings.
“But, Marcus,
I was told you were dead these many months. Long have I lain here and grieved
for my son.”
“No, Father. I
was taken captive and sold into slavery, but I am most certainly not dead!”
And
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