The Messenger Ch. 02

I looked around once again, still a bit confused by the sudden turn of events. There were two kinds of people in this intimidatingly vast dark hall. One kind had obviously agreed upon me being their new queen. The other kind was me: an imposter thrown into this mess by an unlikely series of events.

I had no idea what the exact qualifications for a legitimate ruler were. Being competent might not be high on the list, or the world wouldn't have looked like it did. Still, it seemed reasonable to expect the candidate to at least know the name of the kingdom. Maybe a bit of history wouldn't hurt, either. Knowledge about potential problems, about its geography, about its inhabitants, might be good. Hell, a clue about anything would be helpful.

I had no idea about any of that. Still, the black dudes in front of me remained on their knees, at my beck and call. I just had nothing to beck or call. I could hardly just leave them kneeling there. I had to do something with them, just to get rid of them and have time to regroup. No one should be thrown into that kind of situation: terrified possible murder victim one minute, supreme ruler the next, and just be expected to perform. At least, that's what I thought, but nobody had asked me.

I finally decided on the nonverbal option, just dismissing them with a wave of my hand, trying to look as regal and arrogant as possible. I was pretty sure being nice was not expected of me.

The messengers rose to their feet as one. It was so absurdly synchronized, I wondered if they met to train that move somewhere. Maybe, by sheer luck, I had mimicked the way my late aunt had closed these meetings.

Speaking of dead aunts, what was left of her was still lying on the ground, surrounded by a repulsive puddle of blood. I had no idea what to do with her body. Dragging her outside through the stables and burying her in the desert might look a bit inappropriate. I had to start considering my reputation, and dragging corpses around might not help.

The messengers wouldn't dare to do anything about this on their own, and I wasn't about to reveal my lack of knowledge about the courtly procedure for removing corpses from the audience hall by ordering them to do it. Maybe this happened all the time; in any case, nobody seemed to be shocked or even moved by what had happened. I wondered how my own body would be removed, once I was considered as expendable as my aunt.

I seemed to remember some kind of shadowy aides around the old queen and looked around to find them, but they were gone. I wondered if they'd ever been there or if they were just a figment of my imagination.

The messengers moved towards the exit like a swarm of black insects and the only person still around was some kind of servant. He looked older than anyone I'd ever seen and so motionless, I wondered if he really was alive. It would be embarrassing to talk to him, only to find out he's just part of the hall's decoration. His unblinking eyes were focused on something behind me. Feeling like an idiot, but unable to resist, I turned around to make sure there was nothing to be seen there.

I decided to inspect what was left of my aunt. Averting my eyes from what was missing above her neck, I took a look at her gun, which lay conveniently on the ground a bit away from her, and the blood. The thing looked surprisingly small; still, its design was much more beautiful and intricate than the sleek messenger guns. It also looked completely inert and I wondered whether it had died with my aunt.

I picked it up and it came to life immediately. Its surface was covered by a complex moving design of curled blue lines. It was so beautiful, I started to lose myself in it, forgetting my unpleasant surroundings.

My reverie was interrupted by the servant's harrumphing. So he was alive, after all, but his eyes didn't seem to have received this info. I saw the messengers were all gone, and I was alone with a possibly partially dead servant and a completely dead aunt.

The whole situation was eerie. The hall was way too big, I was way too small and I felt totally vulnerable, insignificant and alone. I remembered the blue protective layer my aunt had been covered with when she was still alive. Problem was, when I looked at her, all I could see were normal, if somewhat gaudy, clothes. The only thing looking vaguely hi-tek was her belt.

Tentatively, I touched the buckle. It opened immediately and started to shimmer blueishly. I just knew it wanted to be mine, which was convenient as I wanted to have it anyway. I pulled it from under her while trying to avoid touching her still warm body or stepping into the puddle of blood.

The belt was a cause of joy, like the gun. It fit perfectly and enveloped me with a blue shimmer at will. I assumed that shimmer could protect me to some extent and immediately felt less vulnerable, even though I still didn't know who controlled the thing in the end. With a new found confidence, I turned towards the butler to voice my demands, only to realize I didn't have any. I really had no idea what to do next.

His dead eyes stared at me way too long. I was sure he knew exactly what a little fraud I was. I might have fooled the messengers, but not him. After a while, he just nodded and turned away, obviously expecting me to follow. Not having any better ideas, that was what I did, feeling that perhaps starting my reign by playing follow-the-leader with a half-dead butler might not be in keeping with royal tradition.

He led me through the rear part of the large hall. At one point, I felt completely lost, as all I could see around me was featureless blackness. It was a bit like walking through a cloudy night at new moon. The world seemed to have gone, replaced by empty darkness. I turned around and was relieved to see the slightly illuminated throne platform behind me, like a beacon in the distance.

As I followed the butler, I was able to take a closer look at what seemed to be my new home. Having grown up in the desert, I certainly wasn't picky, but what I saw didn't exactly enthuse me. After leaving the audience hall, there were matte-black corridors, followed by matte-black corridors and some matte-black corridors. The layout seemed to be the work of a maniacal five year old. Everything was spotlessly clean and completely featureless, as far as I could tell. There was some illumination, but not enough to lift my mood, and I had no idea where it came from. It seemed to emanate from the black walls, which promptly sucked it back in.

I consoled myself with the thought that I hadn't chosen to live here, so I at least didn't just have to question the designer's, but my own sanity, as well. No, I was a queen in a prison and I had to say, for a prison, it wasn't too bad. At least I didn't have any cellmates, which suited me just fine. The butler didn't really count, as I still hadn't decided if he was actually alive.

We finally reached a big room, almost as empty as the other ones we'd passed. There were two exceptions. A bed, which was the first piece of furniture I'd seen since the throne, and what seemed like a few pieces of clothing, lying on the floor in a corner. It was safe to assume this was a bedroom, and as the place wasn't exactly crowded, it was safe to assume it was going to be mine.

The bed seemed like a useful addition, as it turned a completely featureless room into a slightly less featureless room. There was no chair, no carpet, no wardrobe. Hell, there wasn't even a window. Who the fuck had designed this palace? Whoever it was, he might have forgotten a few things. Sure, from the outside, the palace looked gorgeous. Okay, maybe not gorgeous, but at least big and impressive. On the inside, it was a pure pain in the ass. The audience hall was way too big, the corridors were way too confusing and this bedroom was just a joke.

The clothes on the floor seemed clean, but no one had bothered to fold them. What I was looking at was the extent of my deceased aunt's personal life, and it sure didn't impress me. Apart from the corpse in the audience hall and this pathetic heap, there was nothing left of her.

I turned to the butler, wanting to ask where the rest of everything was, only to find he was already gone.

An empty, windowless bedroom that looked suspiciously like a prison cell. A bed. Some clothes on the floor. A dead-eyed butler. Dark corridors. An impractically huge, intimidating audience hall. A few weapons, controlled by some unknown force. That was the entirety of the life my aunt had led. I might have done her a favor by killing her. That also seemed to be the entirety of the life awaiting me, quite possibly until someone else came along to kill and replace me. I felt myself shudder.

No, I wasn't about to give up that easily. Something was controlling the weapons. This palace clearly wasn't what it appeared to be. There were secrets waiting to be unveiled, and doing that was the only appealing prospect of this mess. Okay, that and staying alive. That had to count for something.

After checking the bed, I took a look at her clothes, mostly because it was the only other thing worth looking at. I started to rifle through them, trying to decide how repulsive it would be to wear the clothes of the woman I'd just killed, when I sensed something behind me. Startled, I turned around, just to see the damn butler, holding a tray of food.

I realized there would be no privacy at all in my life. He could glide around noiselessly and my room had no door. Just great. The food didn't look too impressive. It was just a metallic tray with three slightly different colored pastes on it. The culinary ensemble was completed by a tin cup with water, and a spoon. This wouldn't have looked luxurious to me even before I was a queen.

This was the first time since forever I thought about bodily needs, and my stomach decided it was first in line. I devoured the food while sitting on the bed; it seemed too undignified for a queen to eat sitting on the floor. The pastes tasted all different, and none of them like anything I had ever eaten before. They were all delicious, surprising me, and gone in no time.

I awoke startled, realizing I must have fallen asleep after eating. The tray was gone, but I was alone. The lighting hadn't changed, and I realized it would be impossible to tell day from night in here. I hoped this wouldn't drive me aunt-like crazy in the long run. Still, should someone feel the need to go bonkers, this palace was the perfect place to do it.

I briefly toyed with the idea of just giving up, going back to the station, going back into my old room, burying my head deep under my blankets, pretending none of this had happened. The idea was short lived, though. Whoever controlled the weapons obviously wanted me here, and without them, I was as good as dead out there. Besides, I've never liked giving up, and I didn't want my old life back, anyway.

First thing on my list was to explore the palace, mainly because it was the only thing on my list. This building was designed for some purpose, and it clearly wasn't comfort or practicality for a queen like me. I needed to understand the place, discover its secrets.

Okay, time to look around. Luckily, there was some kind of sink in a recessed corner, along with a simple hole in the floor. The function was obvious and the design couldn't have been more basic. It was clear they had been installed as an afterthought. It was just not how anyone would design the royal bathroom.

All doorways were at least two meters wide and three meters high. It seemed there had been no money left for doors, though. Whoever had built this and for whatever purpose it had been built, privacy clearly hadn't been a top priority.

Another thing became apparent quickly: the corridors were way too long for the few rooms. There had to be something else in between that wasn't accessible. There were no stairs, just one huge spiraling ramp connecting the levels. Maybe the construction had been interrupted by the war and my predecessors had started using it before it was finished. That might explain the primitive nature of the facilities, too.

The spiraling ramp was a bit scary. It circled an empty shaft without any kind of handrail. Cautiously, I crept towards the edge. There were just black, endless holes in both directions. It was scary as fuck, and I imagined how I would fall for hours if I slipped. I retreated from the nothingness, keeping close to the wall. The ramp was pretty wide, so I felt safe as I started to go downwards.

Having just circled one level, I noticed my first problem. This level looked exactly like the previous one. Afraid of getting lost, I went back up and marked my bedroom level with a bit of dirt I found in a pocket. After checking a third identical level, I decided to skip all levels in between and go directly to the bottom. The descent was tedious, as the spiral's diameter was ridiculously large. For each level, I had to walk long distances. It was as if this was the building's way of saying, stay out of here. I was a tough girl, though, and not to be deterred. After each endless rotation, I was disappointed by seeing yet another identical level.

Just when I thought it would never end, I reached the bottom. The lowest level was just the same disappointment as the previous ones. This whole endless hike had been for nothing. I even walked to the counterpart of my bedroom, and it was exactly the same, minus the toilet, the bed and some dead aunt's clothes. What exactly was this place? Why did anyone need so many identical levels, all of them seemingly useless? Was this all there was to be found in here? Just vacant emptiness and no answers? This seemed hopeless; was I to be stuck in this prison-palace, as clueless as I was, for the rest of my life?

I realized one of the worst things in the palace was the absolute silence. I used to enjoy silence, but this was oppressive. I was suddenly afraid I'd never hear anyone talk again.

Distraught, I turned around to go back to my room, only to jump back, shrieking in a completely un-queenly manner. The butler was standing there like a statue, completely unfazed by my undignified display. He just nodded, turned around and slowly started to leave the room. I guessed this was my cue to follow him.

This sucked the big one. I was the queen. Oh, of course, with the slight limitation that the weapons my reign relied on were controlled by someone or something I didn't even know. Okay, and the actual day-to-day ruling was done by the messengers, who I didn't really control either. I had already accepted all of this. Having to follow my own butler whenever he felt like I should was a bit much. The damn possibly dead dude didn't even look around to check whether I was following him. I just did, like a good puppy, and he knew it. Shit.

When we reached the spiraled ramp, there was a round platform waiting at the bottom of the shaft. I'm pretty sure I would have noticed it, had it been there earlier. It was impossible to overlook with its blue shimmering rim.

The butler stepped onto it, I followed and the thing immediately whooshed through the levels I had spent hours to pass. Shit. We had a working elevator, although it was just a flying disc that was connected to nothing. I had read about such things, but never seen one. I had embarrassed myself by not using it, not even having a clue it existed or how to use it. Questioningly, I looked at the butler, but as usual, his dead eyes just kept staring into the distance.

"How does it work?" I finally asked.

He reacted by staring at something else that wasn't there, until he turned his attention back to the first non-existing thing. This infuriated me, right until we reached my room and I found food waiting on my bed. I wolfed it down, again not having realized how hungry I was. That wasn't surprising after having explored nothing for... hours? I had no idea.

Sated, tired and alone again, I pondered my situation. I tried to process the newfound facts, only to realize there weren't any. I still had the same two choices: going mad or finding out what this shit was about. I renewed my vow to try the latter, even if it killed me, mostly because the former held even less appeal than that.

The elevator shaft was empty. Just a huge, black well of nothingness in both directions. Even going to the edge of the black hole once again was a huge effort. This was frustrating. Even my butler knew how to control this shit. Okay, I could control my weapons... wait. I controlled them by just thinking of them. How about I just think of the elevator?

I squealed and stepped back, as the huge disc almost cut me in half, appearing silently and impossibly quickly. Tentatively, I stepped onto it, ordered it to go to the top level and it complied immediately. The distance we covered was as shocking as the speed at which we moved.

I expected the same layout once again. I was wrong. Everything looked and felt completely different. The lower part, where I lived, felt grey, sterile and empty. Everything was clearly built for a purpose, but whatever that purpose was, it seemed that it was never used for it.

This top level felt less dead and unused, the corridors were smaller, and most of all, everything was covered in that blueish hue. My weapons and my armor belt started to shine brighter without having been ordered to. It was as if they belonged here.

The corridors weren't as straight and the walls weren't as smooth. They were covered in the same intricate and beautiful ornaments as my pistol. The corridors leading from the elevator platform were curved, possibly meeting at the same end point. I scientifically selected a corridor (eeny meenie miney mo had always worked for me) and followed it.

It led to a large room, which I didn't really notice. My eyes were glued on something that shouldn't have existed. It was completely unacceptable. Behind a blueish veil dividing the room, there was a blue ball. I had seen balls before, but none of them were this big. More importantly, none of them had arrogantly hovered unsupported in mid-air as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Blue is really in fashion around here, was what I absurdly thought. The ball looked nice enough if you ignored the fact that it was completely impossible. I had no idea how big it was, as there was nothing to compare it to, but it sure looked bigger than me.

Without thinking, I slowly walked nearer until my nose painfully detected that the blue veil actually was some kind of hard barrier.

Although my body was rudely stopped, it felt like my mind was still driven forward, towards a thing that should have frightened me, but didn't. It was an eerie feeling, like my mind was pulled out of my body. Promises of great knowledge and pleasure were made on a completely nonverbal level. It was as tempting as it was terrifying.

Of course, I did the only reasonable and adult thing, as it could be expected from a newly crowned regent. I fled. I turned around and just ran, barely avoiding screaming. I was just relieved that my mind had the courtesy of joining my body and hadn't remained beyond that damn blue wall.

The waiting elevator prevented a long and uncomfortable drop down the endless shaft. On that disc, I skidded to an undignified halt, just as it already was on its terrifyingly quick descent. I couldn't remember making the mental command, but I was beyond caring. I had grown used to my mind remaining inside my body and if staying away from that blue sphere was the price to pay for it, so be it. I made a vow to stay away from that entire level and find another way of understanding what was going on around me. Luckily, I had always been able to keep my curiosity in check very well.