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The carriage hit a rock and jolted Zaine awake. He had expected the trip to take all day and most of the night, but it was still light. Then he saw a familiar sight ahead in the distance, and he nudged the dark-skinned girl next to him. She yawned and stretched as she opened her eyes.
“We’re almost at Land’s End, Maata,” he said, pointing ahead. The sun was settling slowly on the horizon behind them, and it cast a red glow across the land, making the white castle in the distance pink.
“Summer Castle looks small after Willow Castle,” Maata said, looking out the window as the pink castle grew larger. She looked over at the third passenger, who was pretending to sleep against the side of the carriage. He was an older version of Zaine, with blond hair and fair skin.
“Which one is bigger, Davyn?” Zaine asked his father.
“They’re both about the same size. Willow Castle only looks bigger because we’ve just spent six months rebuilding it,” Davyn replied without opening his eyes or moving.
“I thought runeweaving was supposed to make things easier.” Zaine flexed his right arm and rubbed it. “I seem to be just as tired as if I’d been using my muscles to build the castle.”
“Even runes need energy to make them work,” Davyn replied matter-of-factly.
It was not much more than a year since Zaine had discovered that the fancy designs he had learnt from Davyn’s book were actually runes. Runeweaving could be used for anything from fixing a broken carriage wheel, to building castles, to making yourself invisible, and clearly Zaine still had much to learn.
“I don’t think I’d use runes even if I were a runeweaver,” Maata said, inspecting the dirt under her fingernails that she still couldn’t get out. Her white tunic and trousers also carried smudges of dirt. A white silky robe covered most of her clothing and contrasted strongly with her dark skin. “Every plant in the courtyard at Willow Castle will grow better for having been planted by hand.”
Princesses are not known for single-handedly planting, and laying paving, in gardens the size of ten cottages. But Maata was no ordinary princess. She did not stand on airs and graces, and she could hold her own in any battle of wits and strength.
Davyn sat up, his piercing blue eyes looking concerned as he twisted around to look at the castle. “I wonder what Trianna has been up to while we’ve been away.”
“Probably trying to make another crown,” Maata suggested a little sourly. “I don’t know why we need a king or queen. Things have gone just fine without one for the past year.”
“More likely she’s been looking for another way to get rid of me,” Zaine muttered, earning himself a reproachful glare from his father. “I should have stayed at Willow Castle.”
“She might not even be there,” Maata suggested. “Maybe she’s realised we don’t want a queen or king and she’s gone off to live somewhere else.”
Zaine grinned, despite feeling worried. It was just like Maata to try to cheer him up. “I’m sure my mother will be there. She wouldn’t miss the chance to try to put a crown on your head.”
The carriage arrived at the castle, and it rumbled loudly over the cobbles, announcing their arrival to anyone inside. As they reached the front of the castle, the noise of the carriage wheels was drowned out by the sound of water cascading off a cliff.
It looked as if the world ended right there – the name Land’s End suited it perfectly. A fast-flowing river swept past the castle on the far side and thundered its way over the cliff. The sun was halfway across the horizon behind them, colouring the clouds beyond the waterfall with flecks of gold, orange and red. It looked as if the sky was on fire.
The gleaming white carriage rolled gently to a stop at the front doors of the castle as the driver reigned in the two white horses. Zaine let a small sigh escape – waiting on the wide stone steps was a woman with red hair, bright green eyes, and an unfriendly expression on her face. A deep red velvet robe with white fur trimming hid her clothes completely.
“You’re cutting it fine,” she snapped at Davyn. “The meeting is tomorrow morning.”
“I told you we’d be here in time, Trianna,” Davyn replied calmly. As he stepped down from the carriage, he put on a deep blue robe with glittering silver stars scattered on it.
Trianna hurried down and helped Maata from the carriage, then turned and walked back up the steps with the princess. She completely ignored Zaine.
“Well, nothing’s changed here then,” Zaine muttered drily. Trianna had met him only a year before, when he’d turned thirteen, and she hadn’t been pleased to see him even then. He had long since given up hoping his mother would accept him and treat him like a son.
Zaine threw his knapsack over his shoulder and followed his father up the steps. He pulled out his own robe – purple with silver stars – and drew it tightly around himself as the cold evening air bit at his skin. There were remnants of snow heaped against the castle walls, but now the sky was only scattered with high clouds.
“It would be best if you kept out of the way during the meeting,” Davyn suggested. “There are still a lot of weavers who remember what happened at Willow Castle last year and—”
“Yes, I know – they all blame me,” Zaine finished for his father with a bored nod. “I’ll stay out of sight.”
Davyn gave his son a pat on the back and hurried after Maata and Trianna.
Zaine slowly made his way to the room at the back of the castle where he always stayed. After a brief rest, he ate the food that had been left on a table for him. Clearly they did not want him to join the rest of the weavers for dinner, and that suited him just fine.
After the meal, Zaine took several objects from his knapsack. He grabbed a small wooden bucket from the corner of the room and headed off through the castle. He knew of a place he could go where he wouldn’t bother anybody and nobody would bother him. Taking a lantern, he worked his way to the centre of the castle. There, he opened an old wooden door that had been sealed off when they had first come to Summer Castle the year before.
The light from Zaine’s lantern flickered as he lifted the lantern onto a hook in the stone wall. The soft yellow light lit up a small circular courtyard, and Zaine smiled as the familiar sensation of peace and happiness washed away the worries of the day. The courtyard reminded him of the gardens that Maata had just replanted in the middle of Willow Castle, the gardens where he had first met Maata.
He was in the small internal courtyard that was part of Summer Castle, and he liked to finish his day by going there whenever he could. There wasn’t much there – just a wild tangle of garden around the wall and a single tree in the centre of the cobbled courtyard. A small stone bench stood under the tree.
When they had first come to Land’s End, the courtyard had been totally overgrown and a roof had blocked out all light. Since then, the roof had been removed to allow the sun in, and Zaine and Maata had cut back most of the bushes and cleared the weeds.
Zaine was about to sit down on the stone bench when he heard a voice behind him.
“Prince Theo will be here tomorrow. Trianna told me it is he who called this meeting.”
Zaine put down the small bucket he was holding and turned to face Maata. The dark-skinned princess was standing in the archway, looking worried.
“Do you think he has changed his mind since last year?” Zaine settled himself on the bench and leaned on the trunk of the ancient tree. It stretched almost up to the roof of the castle and its trunk was too wide to stretch his arms around. For all of the tree’s height, though, there were few branches and Zaine could see clearly up to the night sky.
Maata’s silence told him that she did not think so. She walked softly over to the bench and sat down next to him, pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her long white robe up around her. She leaned back and stared up at the stars.
“He will still want a contest to decide the crown,” Maata said finally, with a deep sigh.
“Well, we’ll just have to make sure you win again, then,” Zaine grinned. “I’ll help – just so long as it’s not in a Circle of Dreams.”
He took a small bag out of his pocket and tipped the contents out between himself and the princess; a chunk of glass, a chiselled stone, and a leather cloth fell out. He took another small bag from his other pocket and tipped a small amount of fine sand onto the bench.
“Is it nearly finished?” Maata asked, a smile twitching at the edge of her mouth. She picked up the glass. It was almost as big as her hand and twice as thick. In the daylight it shone with a hint of pink along the jagged edges. She inspected the runes that were carved around the edges of one smooth surface. “I don’t see anything.”
“I think I know what I did wrong. I’m going to fix it and finish it tonight. I want to give it to Guyan in the morning.” Zaine dipped the piece of leather into a bucket of water next to him and then rubbed fine sand onto the wet surface of the leather. “Maybe she’ll be happier if she can see Jelena every day.”
Maata handed him the glass and he started to polish off one of the runes.
“I’m going to finish clearing this garden now that we’re back. It’s grown so much since we’ve been gone,” Maata said, looking at the overgrown bushes and the bursts of new weeds that completely covered the walls and part of the pathway. The scene brought a small smile to her face; she loved gardens.
In the distance Zaine could hear someone calling Maata’s name. Maata looked annoyed as she got up and walked down the small cobbled path. “I’ll come back if I can.”
The princess hurried out of the courtyard, her royal white robe floating delicately behind her in the slight night-breeze that played in the courtyard.
A light flashed across the sky and Zaine paused in his polishing to look up. Silently he made a wish as he saw a star streak across the sky. He wished he could turn back time and fix all the mistakes he had made in the past couple of years.
As the light from the shooting star vanished from sight, he turned his attention back to the piece of glass he was holding. It was the last remaining piece of the Circle of Dreams that had stood by Guyan’s castle in the trees.
It had been a long day, and the night seemed even longer as he finished removing the small runes from the chunk of glass. He picked up the stone, which had been chiselled to a sharp point, and began to scratch a new design around the edge of the polished surface of the glass.
––––––––
ZAINE REMEMBERED FINISHING carving the runes, and feeling a sense of relief that it had worked this time. Then he must have nodded off, as, the next thing he knew, Maata was shaking him awake. It was still dark, yet he felt as though he had slept for quite some time. His back was stiff and sore, and his throat was dry.
“I told you I would come back,” Maata said, taking the piece of glass and looking delighted at what she saw. She handed the glass back and Zaine slipped it into his pocket.
“Let’s go down to the valley so that we’re there to surprise Guyan when the sun comes up,” Zaine suggested, feeling a fresh burst of energy at the thought of seeing his friend.
Maata grinned, and without another word they took the lantern and hurried out of Summer Castle.
At the edge of the cliff, wide wooden steps wound down into the darkness not far from the roaring waterfall. The sound of the rushing water recalled vividly to Zaine the first time he had gone down into Guyan’s valley. Back then, it had been a perilous journey down a rocky path, followed by steps that had been barely visible. It had been like walking on thin air. Now, spiral steps made the journey a lot easier and safer.
Zaine’s foot landed comfortingly on the solid step as he held up a lantern and began the long descent down into the valley.
“It seems like the night is lasting forever tonight,” Maata commented as she kept pace next to him, walking in the soft pool of yellow light from the lantern.
“It’s probably because we’ve been looking forward to giving Guyan her present.” Zaine looked up at the stars to check how long until sunrise. He had learnt to read the night by the stars many years ago, but for some reason now they didn’t look right.
They walked down the steps in silence – the waterfall was so loud that it would have been hard to hear conversation anyway. The stillness of the night made the roar of the waterfall seem louder than normal, and a light mist of spray from it settled on them as they walked.
By the time they reached the valley floor, the night was finally starting to give way to the first hint of daylight on the horizon. The base of the steps brought them a short distance from the forest where Guyan lived. Her home, and many others that were mostly empty, were built in the branches of the trees.
Zaine and Maata reached the bare ground where Guyan’s Circle of Dreams had stood. Now, in the darkness, it seemed like any other part of the valley. Nothing showed that it had once been the gateway to the unusual girl’s home.
Once, six tall pillars of stone had stood in a circle, but they had faded away not long after the link to her world had been broken. Zaine still remembered Guyan’s silent tears as she stood and watched the last remains of her only link to her home fade away.
The lantern finally burned down and plunged them into darkness as they made their way up steps that wound around a tree. Guyan’s wooden castle came into view, lit by small spheres of light that hung amongst the tree branches. The elaborate castle was perched high in the tops of the trees, and it seemed impossible for any tree to support such a creation. They were almost at the ornately carved doors when a voice drew them back.
“Guyan hasn’t come out in days.” Aldren was standing in the doorway of another; more basic, wooden home perched in a neighbouring tree. He stepped confidently onto a swinging wooden bridge, which linked the two trees, and came to join Maata and Zaine.
“It’s been a while since we’ve been to Summer Castle,” Maata said, greeting the elderly weaver with a brief embrace. “We were hoping you would both come up for a visit.”
“Guyan won’t leave her home, let alone the valley,” Aldren said with a resigned shrug. “She hasn’t even answered the door for the past few days.”
“Is she okay?” Zaine turned to the doors, looking as though he would kick them down if he had to.
“I’ve heard her moving around, so I guess so,” Aldren replied. “It is probably because it’s the same time of year that Jelena went home last year.”
“We have something that might cheer her up.” Maata smiled secretively.
“We can try, but I doubt she’ll let us in,” Aldren said.
Just then the door, carved with dragons and mountains, flung open and made them all jump back a step. Standing in the doorway, staring at them with a wild, terrified expression was Guyan. It looked as if she hadn’t brushed her golden hair in days, and her skin was pale beneath the many runes that marked most of her body. These were all of the runes that she had learnt in her long life. She wore a green and brown tunic with dark green trousers. If she had stood amongst the leaves of a tree, she would blend in completely.
Even though she looked only about thirteen, Guyan had been living in Zaine’s world for over four hundred years. The princess had been banished there when it was feared that she was a danger to her own world. Just like Zaine, and any runeweaver who had learnt a certain number of runes, she would never age again while she lived in this world. Only her face was not marked with runes, and it showed the stains of recent tears.