The Fourfold Key
Chapter Six: The Middle Kingdom

Ruth and Tom walked briskly though the little village. It was a quaint-looking town…from a distance. Up close it was a bit frightening. Bars and pubs made up just about every other building. Drunken men and women sat about the streets calling insults and swearing at the passersby. Fights were obviously not uncommon here for no one paid the slightest heed when drunk men and women began throwing punches in other’s general direction.

“Shouldn’t someone get the constable or something?” Ruth whispered to Tom when two drunken men began to fight. “They could get hurt!”

“See the man on the right fighting?” Tom whispered back.

Ruth nodded. “Yeah, what about him?”

“That is the constable.”

“Oh.” She turned and quickly kept moving.

The castle came into view and Ruth exhaled. It was probably the first time she had breathed since she stepped foot in that town - figuratively speaking. She marveled at their escape, though, really, there was nothing very remarkable about walking through a rowdy village.

“We survived!” she exclaimed to Tom.

He smiled and nodded in amused agreement as they neared the gates. “Yes, we survived.”

They came up to the edge of the moat, where two guards were standing. One stepped forward. When he caught sight of Tom his step faltered, but he stayed steady.

“Halt,” the guard commanded. “Your name and business, please.”

“I’m here to see the queen,” Tom answered. “You can tell her Tom Smith is here to see her. She’ll know who I am.”

“As you wish. I’ll be back in a moment.” The guard turned for the drawbridge. He had gone only a little ways when he stopped and turned back to them. “Just a quick suggestion, sir, but, if you are planning to see the Queen, you might want to dress the girl in something different. The make and cut of what she is wearing at present is a bit odd, and ah…immodest, for a girl.” With that, he turned on his heel, and marched off to the gates on the other side.

As soon as the guard was out of sight, Tom turned and began to walk back toward the village. Ruth trotted after him, blushing furiously.

“Immodest?” she demanded.

When she received no response she asked, “Where are we going? We can’t leave now.”

“We’ll be back very soon. I know how this works. He says that it will only take him a minute, but in reality, it takes hours. He has to wait his turn to see the Queen just like everybody else.”

“And you know this how?” Ruth asked. “I thought you said you’ve never been to the Middle Kingdom before.”

Tom shrugged. “It’s just how things work everywhere in Adonia.

“We’ll take that time to put you in a suitable set of clothing.”

“Uh oh,” Ruth said. “Does that mean I have to wear a dress?”

Tom’s grom smile was her only response.

“Ugh,” Ruth complained, tugging at the high waistline of her new dress. “Do I have to wear this? I hate dresses. This one in particular.”

The guard had returned a few minutes before and shown them inside. The time waiting for this was spent buying the dress for Ruth, and then convincing her to actually put it on. They were now standing at the foot of a long hallway in the castle.

“I think you look very pretty.” Tom complimented her, leaning on the palace wall. “You are ready to meet the Queen.”

Ruth wouldn’t admit it, but she did think the dress was quite breathtaking. The skirt of the dress was a turquoise blue, as well as the sleeves. A pinkish-purple color made up a thick strip in the front, silver ribbons criss-crossing over it. The pink-purple color also made up the puff of the sleeves, the same colored ribbon running in straight lines over it. Unfortunately, it was extremely uncomfortable. She wanted to tell Tom what she really thought about it, but she wasn’t ready to give up her pride. Tom was dressed about the same as he had earlier, but he had purchased a clean, white shirt. He had used most of the money he could afford to spend on the dress. Apparently, her wardrobe was in more need of remodeling than his.

“Let’s get someone to tell us where the throne room is.”

He walked up to a maid dusting a shelf full of various articles. Busts of people Ruth didn’t recognize made up most of it, but there were a few other things: fancily decorated platters, intricate statues of odd looking people, and a few wooden carvings. Paintings of fancily-dressed people lined the walls. Tom walked straight up to the maid and tapped her on the shoulder. She spun around quickly and gasped when she saw him.

“Oh ma stars! I am sorry, sir, I didn’t see you there. Is there anything I can do for ya, mister?” she seemed all aflutter over talking to a dwarf.

“Yes, actually. Could you point me in th—” Tom was interrupted by the maid gasping again.

“Ohhh,” she said, fixing her gaze on Ruth and smiling broadly. “Ain’t you a pretty lil’ thing. You courtn’?”

“I—I just need you to tell—” Tom was again interrupted, this time by Ruth.

“No! Of course not!” she cried, cheeks flaming. “I’m just a twelve-year-old girl, and he’s a—a really old dwarf!”

“Really old?” Tom said indignantly. “I’ll have you know I’m only twenty-five! Hrmph. If I had a gold piece for every time someone thought me to be younger or older than I am, I’d be able to build myself a palace of the stuff!”

“But that’s not the point!” Ruth argued. “The point is, is that she thinks we’re courting!” she pointed an accusing finger at the maid.

“Ma stars, I do apologize.” the lady said, doing her best to look sincere and failing miserably. “I weren’t never plannin’ on makn’ you so angry. Now sir, where are you wantn’ ta go?”

“Well,” He took a deep breath, regaining control of himself. “Me and my acquaintance are looking for the throne room.”

“Jes, go down this hall, looking to the right. Once you see the biggest door you could possibly imagine, you’ll know yer there. Have a very nice day together.” she winked and pranced away.

“We’re nothing more than friends! And that’s the truth!” Ruth yelled after her.

“It doesn’t matter, Ruth. Let’s go.” Tom said and pulled her down the hall.

Tom and Ruth sighed with relief. It was finally their turn. The two of them had been waiting in the hall for the people in front of them to finish their matters with the Queen for almost three hours.

“Your Majesty,” came the voice of the page in the other room. “May I present to you, Mister Tom Smith, and Miss Ruth McKenzie. Sir. M’lady.” He waved them into the room.

Ruth and Tom did as they were told, stepping into the throne room.

The Queen was almost how Ruth expected, but not quite. She was tall and slender, with green eyes and long golden hair. She had pink lips and freckles, and a friendly smile to top it all off.

“Hello, Mister Smith, Miss McKenzie.” the Queen greeted them, nodding to them each in turn. “What can I do for you? Oh wait!” Her smile grew wider and she sat up straighter, eyes brightening with excitement. “You’re that dwarf! My, you certainly took your time getting here. Why didn’t you come when I sent my first request?”

“That’s something I’d rather not discuss at the moment.” said Tom. “I have come here to ask for your permission to use your libraries and perhaps ask you a few questions?”

“Why, certainly! I’d be happy to answer any questions you need, and I would be delighted to let you use my libraries.”

“Great!” Ruth exclaimed, then glanced at Tom. What should their first question be? She decided to compile it all into one question.

“Were the tales about the powerful magician who made the Key and then the Sorceress broke it into four pieces and put them to the North, East, South and West true?”

“Well—” Queen Rosebud paused. “Why do you want to know?”

Tom answered this time. “It’s a bit of a private matter to the girl. I don’t think she’d really be comfortable sharing it.”

It wasn’t private, but something about the way Tom said it kept Ruth quiet; he must have had a reason. So all she did was nod her head.

“It isn’t illegal, is it?” The Queen questioned.

They both assured her it was not, and she sighed with relief. Really, if someone was doing something illegal it would be all too easy to get past her, Ruth thought.

“In that case, yes, the stories are true. There is a Sorceress and a Key that was separated and spread to the four ends of the compass. Though I do not know the exact locations of any of said Keys, I do know, however, that the Sorceress made certain to hide them in the most dangerous, hard-to-get places in the North, East, South and West.”

“Yes! I knew it was true!” Ruth beamed.

“You make it sound like the Key is several keys, even though they’ve been broken apart from another.” Tom noted.

“Yes, each Key looks like a key itself. It’s just the way that magic works.” the Queen nodded happily, pleased to be talking to someone so interested in something she was so passionate about.

“What do they look like?” Ruth wanted to know.

The Queen frowned in concentration. “The Keys are gold, but other than that I have no idea.

“Was there anything else that you needed to know?” Rosebud asked.

“Not unless you know anything else about where to replace these Keys. We’d appreciate any information we can get,” Ruth replied.

“I’m afraid I know nothing more about these Keys. But you are both welcome to stay in the palace for as long as you like to use the libraries. You may dine with me, and if you so wish I would happily provide each of you with a wardrobe during your stay. I would also love it if I could ask Tom a few questions about his people. I have heard scarce little about his race and I am dying to know more about them!”

“That would be wonderful,” Ruth said, trying not to grimace at the thought of more dresses. “We really appreciate it. Thank you.”

“Wonderful. I’ll have some of my servants take you to two of our guest’s living quarters. And, Mister Smith, Miss McKenzie?”

“Yes, Your Highness?” Tom asked.

“If you really are going to search for the Four Keys of the Sorceress, I would love to hear about it later.”

Tom bowed and turned to follow the two servants the Queen’s page had ushered in to take them to their rooms. Ruth followed his example, dipping what she assumed was the proper curtsey, and hurried after them.

Together they decided that Ruth would go straight to the library and start doing some research while Tom went to talk with the Queen about dwarves. He figured it would be easier just to do it now and get it all over with before they knew what they were doing and had a stronger urge to leave. As she followed the servant in front of her, she thought about what she should research first. Very soon she was deep in thought, so she didn’t notice they had entered a room until the echo of her footsteps changed.

Her thoughts melted away as she stared about the room in awe.

“This is like…the ballroom, right? With a bed?” she asked the maid that had led her there. Ruth stared at the room like she had just won a million dollars. The ceilings were so high, a giraffe could walk around in there with no problem. In the corners of the rooms rose large, white pillars partway into the wall, reaching all the way to the ceiling. As the pillars neared the ceiling, the white marble changed into a deep golden color. The golden part was melded into the ceiling to keep it up in the shape of big leaves.

“No…” the maid said, giving her an ’Are you stupid?’ look. “This is your room. The queen has asked us to give you one of the larger rooms. It’s going to take me all day to clean this place when you leave.” she complained, giving Ruth a look that blamed her for the whole thing.

Ruth decided to ignore the rude looks. She remembered that she had things to do and changed the subject, attempting to get back on track. “Would you mind showing me where the library is?”

“Which library?” she asked tersely.

Ruth’s eyes widened. Which library? “Wait, you mean like… there’s more than one library? In this castle?”

The maid nodded and said sarcastically, “Everyone knows that.”

Ruth felt as if she had just been given the best birthday present ever. It had never occurred to her that there would be more than one library. She smiled, feeling giddy laughter bubble up in her throat. How did I never catch that?! She mentally slapped herself; she could now remember several occasions where someone had referred to them as plural.

“Which library, Miss?” the lady asked, looking impatient. “I have things to do. There’s the Fantasy Library, the Fiction Library, the Non-Fiction Library, the Library of History, the Library of Classics, and the Children’s Library. There are a few others but I never can remember them. Now which one?”

“Uh, well, which library would hold information about other creatures?” I’ll probably need some of that with my research.

“That would be the Library of History. Queen Rosebud had many of the updated versions put in there, too, while she makes the new library for them. This way.”