palace of ash

CHAPTER ONE

Alchemists were respected individuals, feared even, by some. Their talents were beyond recognition. The transmutation of base metals to gold wasn’t an easy task, it required intelligence far beyond the capability of most individuals. But Alchemists were seen as commodities more than people and if one happened to get caught within a trap so kindly set out for them, then there was no limit to which their abilities would be tested. Jinx Mortaery, in all her luck, found herself too familiar with this.

     How had this happened? How could I have let this happen?

     All Jinx could remember was running fast, running away from someone. Her attempt to escape had been in vain. No matter how far she ran, they were always close behind, getting closer with every second. She had expected to wake earlier on to the feel of a cold dungeon floor biting into her skin, but instead she had woken up to a silk pillow and cotton throws; daylight seeping through the delicate rows of curtains hanging high above a stained-glass window. It was uncomfortably hot, enough to make her clothes stick to her. Someone had changed her into a fresh cotton night gown. She had to peel it off her skin, shuddering at the feel of it coming off her arms and legs. It was too hot! Am I a prisoner? Jinx asked through a throbbing pain in her head. Have I been caught? She tried to sit up in her bed, but the pain in her head urged her to stay put. In all her stubbornness, she didn’t listen. She peeled her layers of blankets off one by one before she stumbled out of bed, with the help of one of four large posts holding it together. Her knees buckled before she could get far, and she dropped to the floor. Jinx grasped the blankets tight as she buried her face into them and let out a sob.

     There was a heavy silence around her.

     Is there anyone here? Jinx wanted to call out, only to find fear had robbed her of a voice. She brushed a few strands of hair from her dark face. She looked around the bedroom in which she had awoken to. There were three doors - the main door, another which led elsewhere, probably a bathroom, and the last which led outside to a balcony. Jinx pulled herself up onto trembling legs. They ached, but she forced herself to put one foot in front of the other and she threw herself against the glass of the balcony door. She waited there for a moment. Her warm breath escaped her, fogging up the pristine glass of the door. She tried the handle three times, but the door didn’t open. Jinx slammed her head against the frame; hard enough to wake herself up from what she was certain was a nightmare. “I need to get out.” The memories of her escape came back to her, piece by piece. She remembered fleeing from her father; when exactly, she couldn’t recall.

     Baba had been angry. Word had spread too far of the things his daughter could do. So Jinx had escaped. There had been men too, dressed in armour which she had found impossible to put a name to. They had been searching for her. They had pursued her on some manhunt as though she were a criminal.

     One man had knocked her out.

     Jinx felt something tug her back to reality. She was still here, in this strange room. Was she a prisoner? To whom? She tried the other door. Yet when she threw it open, she found herself inside a small bathroom. There weren’t even any windows, casting the room into darkness. Mounted candle holders hung around the room; cold, from not having been used. Jinx turned away from the bathroom and ran her gaze around the room in a panicked frenzy. As she backed away, Jinx felt the hard edge of a wooden table dig into her back and she jumped at the sound of it rocking and something falling behind her. Her heart dropped to her stomach at the loud CRASH which followed. Damn it, Jinx hissed as she grasped the small table behind her to keep it from falling. There, on the floor behind her, lay pieces of an expensive porcelain vase. Jinx had no time to clean it up. It wasn’t important. She needed to get out. Am I a prisoner? Jinx asked herself again. I don’t know! I don’t know what’s going on.

     This room was no dungeon cell. In fact, quite the opposite. It looked like a chamber fit for an empress – but Jinx had enough sense to look behind the luxurious decorations. Something wasn’t right. In the air hung a thick incense of citronella and sandalwood; it had been set to burn with the purpose of keeping her drowsy. That explained her headache, the room reeked of the scent.

     Jinx swept her gaze around the room again and her eyes almost glazed over as she rested them on a heavy wooden table, there in the far corner of the room. She covered her mouth with both hands and leant forward as she found her breath escaping her too fast.

     Beakers, a mortar and pestle; a Hessian crucible…

     “No, I’m done with Alchemy! I’m done with it all.” Jinx screamed and ran towards the door of her bedroom. She slammed her fists against the heavy wood, begging for someone to let her out. Someone had found out about her alchemy – despite her father’s attempts to keep her silent about it; should word spread too far. Jinx was a damn good Alchemist too, those who had once surrounded her hadn’t accepted her talents. Women were not worthy of such knowledge, they had thought. Save for Jinx’s father, who had found himself in a splendid position to make a fortune off his daughter. Jinx could tamper with metals and turn them into gold or create medicines out of nothing and sell them to others. Jinx’s father had used her talents to earn his wealth; money which wasn’t his by right. He had forced long hours and dangerous experiments upon her. The money Baba had earned as a common peddler hadn’t been enough to feed them both, for the men he had once called friends and partners had turned their backs on him and had put him out of business; for good they had hoped.

     Baba had told her it was part of their bargain – one which Jinx couldn’t remember striking. His daughter’s talent in making these tonics and gold, in exchange for not throwing her out of his house as soon as her use to him had waned. That hadn’t happened. Not after how much money she had made him over the years. Jinx was never useless in Baba’s eyes again; she had made him too rich to just be disposed of.

     Baba was supposed to love me! A tiny voice whispered in Jinx’s mind. Baba was supposed to protect me! He had cheated me, used me. I had to leave – there was no other option…Jinx gave the balcony door a final attempt and when she failed again, she settled on finding something to break the glass with instead. “I’m done with this!” she screamed again. She didn’t want to return to her alchemy roots, not after what she had discovered. Of all things to create by accident, Jinx had discovered the one thing all men seemed to seek. She had created a…the lock to the door clicked as it swung open, cutting off her thoughts. Jinx backed away as though expecting a wild animal to come lunging towards her. She put up a brave enough front to not go huddling in the corner like a coward. Even if that was the most sensible thing to do. She almost tripped as her naked heels caught onto each other and she waved her arms around to steady herself.

     A nasty looking brute of a soldier let himself in, and he smirked at Jinx as he walked. His face was covered by a helmet; although Jinx didn’t feel she was missing out on seeing anything attractive. When he spoke, his voice was cold and distant. It was as though he was talking through Jinx, not to her. “Welcome to Malaego, Lady Mortaery. I hope my men and I hadn’t tired you out too much from our little hunt.”

     Malaego? Jinx was a long way from home. She hid her trembling hands behind her back and retreated a step.

     “The Emperor Aradax Jhorou has insisted you join him for dinner this evening, where he will inform of you of your new position within this palace.”

     “Position?” Jinx couldn’t help but ask. Her gaze ran back to the table of alchemy tools without intending to.

     The same soldier flashed her a crooked smile. “You’ll learn about it soon enough. For now, you took quite a hit on the head, but I’m sure these last three days have been a long enough time for you to rest. I suggest when your serving girl arrives, you don’t fight her, and you do as you’re told.” he turned for the door. That was that with their conversation, apparently. “I’ll come and collect you for dinner myself.”

     Jinx followed him, her legs still weak and trembling from three days of being down. “Wait, this position? The emperor?” Jinx only received a slam of the door and a click of the lock in response. She pressed her back against the door and slid down it until she had curled up into herself on the floor. “The Emperor of Malaego knows.”