2022: Year 7 & 8 Category: Speculative Fiction Award
The Visit
by Anaya Abdullah, University of Canberra High School Kaleen
“Stop!”
Silence cascaded over the advisors and guards who had been talking. The girl in the cloak who had been walking towards the door stopped and turned around slowly, her smile hidden by the hood over her head.
The queen, who had been the one to call out the order from her throne, rose to her feet and glowered.
“Who are you?”
The girl spread her arms dramatically and called up to the queen, “I am but a humble traveller, your majesty. That and nothing more.”
Her clothes certainly would’ve suggested so. She was dressed in simple pants, a tunic, worn leather boots, and an emerald cloak over her shoulders with a hood to hide her face. The bow and quiver of arrows slung over her shoulder were a bit peculiar, but given the current rumours that were spreading throughout the kingdoms, it would seem wise to travel with a weapon.
The queen knew that the girl was more than a traveller. Even though she was royalty, and had never seen battle, the queen knew a warrior when she saw one. The way the girl stayed relaxed but tense, as if ready to spring forward at any moment; the rigid posture of a soldier waiting for their next order. And yet, thought the queen, this girl was not one of her warriors. For no warrior of Akarai would ever dress so commonly, nor act so casually towards royalty.
The girl, for her part, knew from the silence that the queen was trying to get a read on her, and she allowed it. She knew that the queen of Akarai loved to be right and decided to give her the satisfaction of realising her identity.
“My dear girl,” the queen sat and tapped her long nails on the arms of her throne, “I can tell a soldier from a commoner better than most. Lower your hood and tell me what business you have in my kingdom.”
The girl bowed low to the queen. “How could you tell?”
“Oh, well, I have my talents.” The queen replied smugly. “Now rise and tell me what your name is.”
“My name is D’Aurae of Asterel, your majesty,” the girl replied, taking off her hood and standing straight, trying to mask her amusement as the queen froze, her eyes wide with shock and fear.
“D-D’Aurae?” the queen spluttered. “Impossible.”
But she could see it clearly now. The smooth black hair, the serene and beautiful features, the cold, sky blue eyes that were trained on her, waiting for a reaction. All too vividly, she remembered a girl of the same description storming her castle with a squad of warriors and killing her husband after the war he had waged with Asterel.
“Yes,” D’Aurae replied, reading the queen’s expression and letting the same memory replay itself through her head. “Captain D’Aurae of Asterel.”
“What are you doing here?” the queen demanded, both fearful and panicked. Had she not been sitting down, she probably would have fallen over.
D’Aurae gave her a small smile. “Your majesty, I’m only here to issue you a warning.”
Dread suddenly flowed through the queen, who remembered how she had ordered platoons of soldiers to spy around Asterel. Nevertheless, she tried to look innocent. “A warning? What have we done to you?”
Irritated with how the queen was trying to feign ignorance, D’Aurae frowned. “You know what I’m talking about, your majesty. It seems you have forgotten the treaty between the two kingdoms.”
“Which is?”
The captain’s frown deepened into a scowl that made several advisors take a step backwards. Even though she was young, D’Aurae was not someone to cross. “You stay on your side of the border, and we’ll stick to ours.”
The queen, seeing a chance to prove the girl wrong, grinned triumphantly and said, “You’re here, on our side of the border, aren’t you?”
“You came over to our side first. And sent all those spies who have been rooted out and killed.”
The queen’s cocky expression faded. Her soldiers? Killed? They were the finest spies in her kingdom!
D’Aurae, reading her expression, continued. “Princess Holli has given me permission to issue you this warning because she doesn’t particularly love direct confrontation and resorting to violence.”
Before anyone could say anything, the captain grabbed her bow, notched an arrow, and without breaking eye contact with the queen, shot the headrest above the queen’s crown.
The queen stifled a horrified shriek, clutching the arms of her throne so hard that her knuckles turned white.
“War is coming for Akarai, your majesty!” D’Aurae said, raising her voice so that everyone in the room could hear her. “Unless, of course, you remember what Asterel is capable of and you leave us alone.”
“You took everything from me!” the queen screeched, her anger getting the better of her. “Guards! Kill…”
“You don’t want to do that,” D’Aurae said, casually glancing around the room. “These guards will then die for nothing, and I don’t think anyone really wants that. And if I really did take everything away from you, why are you sitting there with the most power in your kingdom?”
The queen’s anger drained from her as quickly as it had come. “W-what does Holli want from me?”
“Nothing much, your majesty, just that you watch your back and stay away from Asterel.”
And with that, D’Aurae turned on her heel and walked out, her cape billowing behind her as the massive, brass double doors slammed shut.
JUDGES’ COMMENTS
This is a story of fantasy about a queen’s confrontation with a brave enemy warrior who delivers a powerful message. The writer cleverly sets the scene using vivid vocabulary to build a believable world, full of tension. This is sophisticated, speculative storytelling, employing strong female characters. This narrative has the potential to be developed into a novel.