Vankara (Book 1) Read Online Free

of their
lands continue to dwindle, the fae decided to fight for what was originally
theirs.  A five year long war raged between vankaran and fae until it was
finally decided neither side would survive if the war was allowed to continue.
    The vankaran king
and fae king finally met and drew up a peace treaty which satisfied both their
people’s needs.  The fae gave up three fourths of the island to the vankarans
and agreed to the building of the Iron Wall.  Since iron is poisonous to the
fae, the wall was designed to separate the two populations forever and give
vankarans a false sense of security by its presence.  How odd it is that people
rarely think to consider their true enemies might be standing right next to
them instead of barricaded behind a symbol of protection.
    On the day of the Queen’s
coronation, my father woke me before the sun had a chance of even  considering
the start of a new day.
    “Sarah,” he said
shaking my shoulder gently. “Get up, cherub, we need to leave soon.”
    I sat up in my bed
rubbing the sleep from my eyes, trying to focus on the lean angular face of my
father lit only by the shimmering light of the candle he held in his hand.
    “What time is it?”
I asked drowsily, still trying to whisk away the faint images of a dream in
which I was being crowned Queen of Vankara from my mind. 
    “It’s time for us
to go to the palace.  If we want a good spot, we need to get there early.  So
no dawdling today, cherub.  We need to get a move on.”
    My father stepped
out of the room allowing me privacy to drag my half-conscience form out of
bed.  I quickly changed out of my white muslin nightgown into a simple maroon
cotton dress with a pale yellow silk ribbon tied around the waist. My mother
had sewn the dress for me so that I could have something special to mark the
day of the Queen’s coronation, a momentous occasion in vankaran history.
    We made our way
down the dark streets of Iron City to the palace.  Snow had fallen during the
night, softening our footfalls against the cobblestone streets and lending the
city a serene blanket of purity and renewal.  The closer we got to the palace
the greater the number of people we saw walking along the snow strewn thoroughfares
in the pre-dawn light.
    There was a
palpable sense of excitement in the crisp, clean winter air that morning. 
Everyone could feel it.  Strangers smiled and nodded to one another, even
sometimes stopping to talk about the coronation as if they had known each other
for years instead of seconds.  Children scurried around their parents legs
expending their pent up energy the only way they knew how.  Food vendors seemed
to be doing great business selling roasted nuts, muffins and meat pies.  It was
as if we all knew we were about to witness a great moment of history being made
in our own time.
    After having
endured the loss of loved ones from a second plague, the citizens of Vankara
saw the Queen’s coronation as a chance of revival for the country.  I suppose
knowing that not even the royal family was immune to the effects of the plague
made Emma Vankar seem more touchable, more human.  She had all of our sympathy
but she also had all of our hope in the palm of her hands that day.
    It wasn’t until
almost mid-morning we knew the Queen had completed the rites of her coronation
in the grand Halls of Parliament.  The bells of the Iron City Cathedral rang
loud and clear announcing to the citizens of Vankara we had a newly crowned
leader.  Cheers of joy erupted from the sea of people stretching from the front
steps of the palace all the way back as far as my eyes could see down the
streets of the city.
    The sun shone
brightly in the clear blue sky over our heads as if it were bestowing its own
celestial blessing on our new Queen. My parents pushed through the crowd of
people around us until we reached one of the iron columns lining the outer
walls of the west wing of the palace. My father picked me up and stood me