"The Rise and Fall and Rise Again of Tamora" by Keren Ginzberg

Demetrius watched the young - too young, some though, no more than a girl, really - Queen Tamora pacing the balcony of Blackheart Castle. She would be busy for a while yet, he decided.

Slowly, with catlike stealth, he made his way the small table in her room, upon which stood a glass of wine. Demetrius took out a phial of white powder from the lining of his robe. Carefully he poured out of the phial a fraction of the poison.

And with a swish of robes, he left the room.

Soon after he left, a troubled Tamora entered the room. She sat on a chair by her little table and put her head in her hands. Being a queen really was tiring, she thought.

To calm her nerves, she took a sip of wine. And another. And another. Before she knew it, she had downed the entire glass.

Tamora became ill soon after that. Doctors came and bled her, and tried everything they knew to no avail. She sickened more each passing day, and for many weeks she was bedridden with fevers and coughing fits that brought up blood.

Just when everyone was sure she would die, she got better.

Demetrius was furious, and could not understand why the poison hadn't worked. So he took a glass of water from a passing page and offered it to the ill Queen Tamora, with the poison included.

Soon Tamora fell ill again. She lay ill for another week, and then died.

The entire queendom was grief-stricken, but none more than her father, Lear. He was once ruled as King Lear, but his crown days were long gone, and now he grieved just as every peasant did.

In desperation he called upon Sycorax, the Witch of the Wood, to help him.

He asked Sycorax to bring his daughter back to life.

Sycorax did so because she loved Lear. But her love did not quite reach his daughter. In fact, she despised Tamora with all her heart. So she cast a spell to make Tamora come back to life, with a little catch. It was to be in a hundred years. Having satisfied her hatred's hunger, Sycorax left the borderlands and only came back to be of service to the Queen Hermione seventy years later.




Chapter 1 -100 years later

Nathaniel, scholar in the High Academy of the Borderlands, best academy at the edge of the world, was currently the top scholar in the entire High Academy. It was a combination of intelligence and hard work that made him so, and he was determined to become High Academic.

The following were the reasons he was still studying when everyone else was asleep. His fingers untidily combed his pale blonde hair now and then, an odd habit he had when studying. His icy blue eyes scanned the same sentence over and over again, until he began nodding off to sleep.

He was awoken near dawn by a knock on the door. Yawning, he got up to answer it, taking care not to wake Christopher, who was sleeping in the top bunk above his head, and the other two boys who slept in a bunk bed on the other side of the room.

Nathaniel stood blinking in the corridor light as the messenger chatted away, and his words barely understood by Nathaniel.

"You're wanted in the study of the High Academic to take part in a meeting which may concern your future. Are you listening?"

Nathaniel stared for a moment at the young boy who stood before him, and for a second wondered why he was there. "No," he said. "Please repeat your message."

After twice repeating the message, Nathaniel understood the words enough to follow the instructions. Still dazed by sleep he got dressed and made his way to the study of the High Academic.

A sudden thought surfaced in Nathaniel's head: perhaps they want to tell me I'll be High Academic? All the sleepiness left Nathaniel as he walked into the study, energized by the thought.

The study was a room that was very dark and melancholy. Everything in there, the furniture, the walls, was dark oak wood. Even the High Academic's robes were dark brown. To most observers, it would have been rather dull, but not to Nathaniel.

To him, it was like paradise. Nearly every inch of the walls was covered in bookshelves, with fat volumes that just begged to be read. The sturdy oak desk in the middle of the room was perfect for... anything, really. The smell of paper and ink were the ambitious smells of the future, to Nathaniel, and he smiled.

"You sent for me, sir?"

The High Academic sat at the desk, and Nathaniel noticed with surprise that all the other Academics were seated around him. Nathaniel was suddenly nervous.

"Indeed we did, boy," said the history teacher, Academic F. Smith.

"Very important happenings, boy, and so you should listen very carefully to anything that will be said," said the geography teacher, Academic S. Johnson, a short and extremely thin woman who kept her brown hair in impossibly tight buns.

So Nathaniel listened with all his might. He listened so hard that he thought his ears must have been leaning forwards.

"My dear boy," the High Academic said, "you are our highest scholar, and like everyone else who learns here, you are a Knight of the Academy. You have everything you could ever need to defend yourself, be it with knowledge or with strength and skill. And this, my boy, will be your first test." The High Academic paused. "It is your first quest also."

Nathaniel stood, feeling awkward under the stare of so many Academics.

At that moment, the door flew open. "Sir!" a girl came to a halt, panting as though she had just run through the corridors - which she probably had done. "Sir!" she repeated.

"Not now, Miranda," said the High Academic, waving the scholar away.

She left noisily, and Nathaniel guessed - correctly - that she had come about some academic problem, perhaps in grades, or some such thing.

"Now, Nathaniel," said the High Academic, "your destination is Blackheart Palace."

Nathaniel gasped, and his blue eyes grew wide.

"Your purpose," continued the High Academic, "is to retrieve the scroll of Mists. As you may or may not know, there was a scholar who once went over the edge of the world - and he came back. Now, we all know about the edge, we've all seen it - it is rather close, after all, in the Borderlands, but no one but he has gone past it. He gave it to the King Lear, and it was forgotten in Blackheart palace."

Nathaniel's heart quickened. Black heart Castle was deserted, and it was said that no one had been in there for at least eighty years. It was also said that Tamora was there - either buried in the grounds or left in the castle. Nathaniel began to sweat.

Seeing his discomfort, the High Academic said, "If you wish to refuse this quest, we can just as easily test someone else whether or not they have what is needed for a future they might not have expected."

Nathaniel understood what the High Academic meant. This quest was testing him to see if he was made of the material that High Academics must be made of. He nodded his head. "I accept this quest, sir."

The High Academic's face broke into a smile. "Very well," he said. "We will begin preparations tomorrow. You may leave."

When Nathaniel's friend Christopher heard the news, he began to frown. "I don't know why Andronicus is sending you on that mission. It sounds a bit dodgy to me."

Nathaniel was by now used to the way Christopher addressed the High Academic, where upon most people called him by his title, Christopher called him by his surname.

By his mother the High Academic was named Titus Andronicus, though no one, not even the other Academics, used his name.

"Well, I can't exactly turn it down," said Nathaniel. "If it brings me closer to becoming High Academic, I'll do it."

Christopher's frown deepened. "Did he ever say exactly that it would bring you closer to being High Academic?"

Nathaniel thought back, and he actually couldn't recollect any such happening. "I'm sure he did at one point or other."

Christopher was frowning still but he said no more.

The next day was very busy for Nathaniel. He had many things to prepare, as well as the lore and layout of the castle, so that he would always know where to go. He would go to Blackheart Castle around late morning, and so there was sure to be light streaming in through most (or at least half) of the windows. The High Academic asked Nathaniel several times whether he was sure about everything, and so did Christopher. Nathaniel would bring with him a map, a few torches just in case, and a case for the scroll, and several other items. On the map was marked the room in which the scroll was assumed to be.

Nathaniel wasn't quite eager to leave the Academy, but he soon forgot his troubles as he breathed the crisp summer air and looked back at the Academy, with its dark grey and white brickwork and painted windows.

He began walking confidently towards the Woods that bordered Blackheart Castle.

From the window in the dormitory, Christopher watched his friend Nathan until the woods blocked him from sight.

When Nathaniel came to the edge of the woods, he saw Blackheart castle. It was impressive, and gloomy, and it took his breath away.

The stone was originally gray and beige, but time had made the stonework dark - almost black in some places. Blackened turrets rose towards the sky, and crenulated towers stood guard over the castle walls. The doorway towered over everything before it, darkened wood set with great iron hinges and inlaid with iron bars - protection against battering rams.

Unlike many castles, Blackheart had large windows. All made of glass too, which was very expensive for such a large structure. Luckily for Nathaniel, the morning sun shone right into these windows, and so there would be little darkness.

Nathaniel cautiously stepped up to the doors and pushed. Just as he had expected, the doors did not budge. So, hoisting his sack over his shoulder, Nathaniel began to climb over the wall.

When he had gotten into the castle grounds, he scanned the area in search of an entrance. Most of the doors had been boarded up, and the windows were too high to reach. There was one doorway that didn't have a door but had many rotting boards. It looked like a weak spot.

Putting his shoulder against the door, Nathaniel pushed with all his might.

After a tremendous groaning of timbers, the wooden boards gave way. As they clattered into the space behind the door, Nathaniel stepped into Blackheart Castle.

He appeared to be in something that was once a kitchen, with peeling paint and moldy flooring. A rusty iron stove was in one corner, and cupboards lined the walls. There was a door in the opposite wall, and Nathaniel stepped through this.

He now appeared to be in a very large dining room, with a great rectangular wooden table and matching wooden chairs in the center of the room. On the walls of the enormous room were portraits and paintings, all of which had titles and information written below. From the faraway ceiling hung a chandelier of great size, just like everything else in the room.

After consulting the map for a moment, Nathaniel headed for the door to the left. When he opened it, he was glad to find himself in the great hall, which though frighteningly enormous, would lead the way to the room that concealed the scroll.

Nathaniel made his way uncertainly through the hall, and looked around at the doors he passed, and into the rooms of the castle when the doors happened to be open.

The high up windows did not cast very much light onto the floor, and drenched everything in a sense of gloom and desolation, which the swirling dust motes, golden when in the path of sunlight, did not lighten.

Nathaniel reached the door at the end of the hall, and saw that it was by far more impressive than the others he had passed. The hinges were made of silver, and the door was carved intricately, depicting trees and ivy and other swirling patterns. In the middle of the door was an engraving in Latin, which Nathaniel translated to mean something like "rest in peace". His heart in his throat, Nathaniel stepped into the room.



Chapter 2

In the farthest wall was a huge painted window that highlighted everything in the room in colourful light. The light shone down on a room that was painted pale blue, with silver stars near the ceiling. The door Nathaniel had been holding fell back with a thump. He turned around to face the window and saw that there was in the middle of the room a coffin.

Slowly, as if approaching a sleeping dragon, he stepped forward. And again forward. Now he was at the foot of the body-case. He read the inscription at the head and it said: Tamora, the great queen, died so young. With a quickening in his pulse he opened the lid.

Inside was a being who, though dead for about a hundred years, was beautiful. Tamora's raven hair was still glossy, still waved like the stormy ocean. Upon her head was a tiara of gold, and golden chains adorned her clothes. Her skin was dry and brittle and greyish white, but showed the charm and glamour she must have had so long ago. Her lips were a bluish grey, but once were probably red and healthy. Her hands were clasped and laid at her stomach, and Nathaniel saw with revulsion that the tips of her fingers had rotted away.

And in her bony hands was the scroll.

Nathaniel bent down and carefully pried the scroll from her clutching fingers. When it was in his hands, relief flooded through him and he made for the door.

Then there was a sudden gasp behind him, like someone nearly drowned gasping for air, and he turned in time to see Tamora's eyes open. For a moment their eyes met, his ice blue and her emerald green, and then he ran.

Slipping the scroll into its carrying case, he ran through the hall, through the dining room, into the kitchen, and out the door. He heard faraway footsteps unsteadily following him, and so ran faster, until he reached the wall. Then he was gone.

On the other side of the wall, he faintly heard someone crying.

At the academy, he waited outside the High Academic's study for someone to call him inside.

Presently, he was let in.

"So," said the High Academic, who was with another Academic in the room. "You did not retrieve the scroll?"

Nathaniel stood up straighter. "I did, sir."

There was a gasp from the Academic beside Titus Andronicus.

The High Academic looked at Nathaniel suspiciously. "Bring it forth," he said.
Nathaniel did so and the High Academic looked at it closely. After a while, he frowned but then he looked up with something like fear in his eyes. "Yes," he said slowly. "This is the scroll."

Nathaniel noticed that he was rather white around the lips.

The other Academic stood up and looked at Nathaniel closely. Then, with soundless fear, he picked a single black hair from Nathaniel's robes - Tamora's hair. He looked at the High Academic with wide eyes and very tight lips.

"Nathaniel," said the High Academic. "I do not know what happened at the castle, and I do not want to know. What I do want is for you to leave. Mention this to no one, for your own good, and I suggest you begin packing tonight. A carriage will come for you tomorrow. You are dismissed." The High Academic paused. "Permanently."

Nathaniel gasped. Then he ran out of the room.

Back at the dormitories, Christopher had a lot to tell Nathaniel.

"I told you it was bad," he said. "I hung around for a while after you left and I listened through the wall to what was being said. And would you believe," Christopher dropped his voice, "that the Academics were trying to get rid of you?"

Nathaniel shook his head numbly.

"I heard them say that you weren't going to come back out of there. Said something about...Tamora, or something like that. They said that if you came back but failed then they would get rid of you by that failure. And... I suppose they didn't expect you to succeed."

Nathaniel was dumb struck. "Why would they do that?" he whispered.

Christopher shot a troubled glance at the door. He hesitated. "Someone paid them a great amount of money to make someone else the High Academic," he said.

"And who do they plan to appoint?"

Christopher gulped. "Believe it or not... me."

Nathaniel did not doubt for a second that his friend was lying. He knew that Christopher feared becoming any kind of Academic, and so lowered his grades on purpose sometimes. He was in mortal fear that there would be a shortage of Academics when he graduated and he would be made one.

"Odd," said Nathaniel.

"Horrible," said Christopher. Then, lowering his voice, he said, "So what did happen at Blackheart Castle?"

Nathaniel thought over everything, and didn't quite think that Christopher would believe him.

"I woke Tamora."

Christopher looked at him curiously. He didn't know who Tamora was - of course. "Is that something particularly significant?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"She's dead - was dead."

Christopher narrowed his eyes. He rather didn't believe Nathaniel.

The next day a carriage arrived to take Nathaniel to the train station. From there he was to go by himself to any relatives he might have in the Borderlands. The problem was that Nathaniel didn't have any. The Academics turned a deaf ear to his protests and waved him away.

Nathaniel then turned to pleading with the carriage driver.<br> <br> <p> "Couldn't we stop somewhere sheltered?" Nathaniel asked. "It looks like it might rain."<br> <br> <p> "No," said the driver.<br> <br> <p> "Why not?" Nathaniel pleaded.<br> <br> <p> But the driver wasn't paying attention any more.<br> <br> <br> <br> <p> Indeed, soon it began to rain. The drops fell heavily, and Nathaniel wondered how the driver could ride while being drenched. But drive he did, relentlessly. <br> <br> <p> Soon they were in the train station, and Nathaniel was dumped out onto the sidewalk to wait for a train. The driver looked at Nathaniel thoughtfully for a while and then tossed him a coin. "Good luck, mate" were his last words to Nathaniel.<br> <br> <p> Then he drove away.<br> <br> <p> Nathaniel clutched the coin and sat, shivering, on one of the wooden benches. No one else was on the platform, and who would be? It was raining hard and heavily. <br> Nathaniel's senses, numbed by the cold, were taken up by the pattering of rain and the greyness all around him.<br> <br> <p> Then there came another sound, a sort of sloshing sound, as though someone were walking through the rain.<br> <br> <p> Nathaniel turned around to see the figure of a girl walking through the rain - a blurry shape that gave away no details. With the same sloshing sound, she approached steadily. <br>Nathaniel lost interest and turned again to see whether a train was coming. <br>Without warning, he felt a tap on his shoulder.<br> <br> <p> He looked up slowly and found Tamora looking back at him.<br> <br> <br> <br><b>Chapter 3</b><br> <br> <br> <br> <p> Tamora's face broke into a smile and, though it rather stretched and cracked the skin in some places, it made her look more human. Only it also rather split the skin in some places, showing a dark-brownish color that may have been dry blood underneath Tamora's skin.<br> <br> <p> Nathaniel went cold. Colder than cold. He began to shake and he backed away.<br> <br> <p> "Oh, don't leave!" Tamora's voice was surprisingly rather musical and appealing, and she reached out to Nathaniel. He took a step backwards as though her hand was a blade that could split him open.<br> <br> <p> "Oh, now what will I do!" Tamora began to weep, and despite himself, Nathaniel began to feel a little sorry for her, but he felt much more revolted. "I <i>knew </i>that the cursed witch hated me! And" here she began to sob harder "curse Demetrius!" She looked up at Nathaniel with glistening eyes. <p>"But you'll help me, wont you?"<br> <br> <p> Nathaniel opened his mouth to scream.<br> <br> <p> Tamora sniffed. "I suppose I'll just have to throw myself off the edge of the world. It's only a short walk away, after all," she said miserably.<br> <br> <p> Nathaniel closed his mouth. Suddenly, he felt a short spasm of pity that for a second overruled his terror. "Alright," he choked on his words. "I suppose - well - I <i>might</i> help you."<br> <br> <p> "Oh, would you?" Tamora cried, relieved and happy. She threw her arms around Nathaniel in a brief but, frankly, revolting hug. Nathaniel pushed her away with distaste. She jumped back. "Oh," she said, and almost blushed. "I'm sorry."<br> <br> <p> Nathaniel now was not so revolted as he was originally. Tamora seemed so... <i>human</i>. If he closed his eyes there wouldn't be a difference. And she might be dead, but she was kind of pretty, he had to admit. Rather terrifying also, though.<br> <br> <p> Tamora plucked at a gold chain at her sleeve nervously. "I don't really know anything about anywhere, though... it's rather different than when I've been around," she said confidentially.<br> <br> <p> "Er..." Nathaniel thought for a moment. "Well, I'm getting on a train soon... I suppose I could take you along... only you'll need to wear, er, gloves and a veil."<br> <br> <p> Tamora raised her hands and studied the tips of bone protruding. She sighed. "Mum used to say I had very nice hands. I suppose they aren't so nice as they once were."<br> <br> <p> Nathaniel stepped back again, fighting his queasiness. She talked like a human, acted like a human, but she just didn't look very... appealing. He thought that even if he lived with her for ten years, he would never get used to her look of being... well, <i>dead</i>. And for a hundred years, too.<br> <br> <p> Tamora sighed again. "And I don't know how my face looks but I'm sure it's something <i>awful</i>. It does, doesn't it?" she asked miserably. <br> <p> Nathaniel stared. "Er..."<br> <br> <p> Tamora covered her face with her hands in misery - and it didn't look much better that way.<br> <br> <p> "Well, listen here... you can use my spare cloak - if you like. It has a hood, you can sort of wear it low..." Nathaniel waited uncertainly for a response.<br> <br> <p> "That's perfect, I think," said Tamora, cheering up at once.<br> <br> <p> So she put on Nathaniel's cloak (Nathaniel saw with regret that the hem trailed on the ground and got very muddied) and looked perfectly like an alive human. "Could I - could I see how exactly I look?" she asked wistfully.<br> <br> <p> Nathaniel rooted around in his pack until he took out a certain mirror that they were supposed to have bewitched in magic studies, but he hadn't bewitched it. He handed it over to Tamora, still afraid and very, very queasy. His fright was rather subdued; for she was so unbelievably human that it was rather in contrast with her neglected appearance. <br>Tamora screamed. The mirror dropped to the ground with a clatter, and Nathaniel rushed to retrieve it before it broke. Tamora then began sobbing harder than ever, with her hands again over her face.<br> <br> <p> When she had calmed down sufficiently to talk, she said, "I know what I need: A needle and white thread. Do you happen to have any?"<br> <br> <p> Nathaniel shook his head. <br> <br> <p> Tamora stood a little straighter and then said: "Is there a cemetery anywhere around here?"<br> <br> <p> After being given directions by Nathaniel, she asked him to wait for her, and she left. <br>Nathaniel did not wait around. He ran away, relieved.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br><b>Chapter 4 </b><br> <br> <br> <br> <p> Nathaniel was hungry, and cold, so he decided to go somewhere he could eat and drink - as well as rest. He needed to get over the shock of talking to a dead person.<br> <br> <p> But now that he thought about it, he began to have doubts. Did any of it really happen? It couldn't have, there was no such thing as a spell or anything else that made someone come alive. Really, he thought, Tamora didn't have any excuse. It must have been imagined by the horror of having to take the scroll from between her very fingers.<br> <br> <p> So he went to a pub near the station that sported a dingy red sign that proclaimed it to be Pete's Pub (how original), and bought some food and drink. It was smelly and crowded, but it was warm and dry. He then sat down to eat his bread and ham, all the while contemplating what could have brought him to have such visions to see dead people walking around. Probably the person Tamora was born in his misery at leaving the High Academy, and the rain, yes, that awful rain.<br> <br> <p> Nathaniel noticed that some people were looking at him. <br> <br> <p> There were two women in one corner of the room - <i>h</i>, he thought - but no more than two women, really, who continually stared. And some men did often turn around to look at Nathaniel. It took a while for Nathaniel to realize that he really didn't fit in. His clothes, though muddy, were much finer than anything else these people had on. So he sat with hunched shoulders against their glares and nervously ate.<br> <br> <p> After a while, all stopped looking at him.<br> <br> <p> Comforted, he finished his meal with relish. Then he thought about where he was going to go.<br> <br> <p> He didn't have any relatives on the edge of the world, so staying was out of the question. He decided that he would leave tomorrow morning (for it had been in the night that he had waited upon the platform) when all was bright and clear, and perhaps the rain would have stopped by then.<br> <br> <p> He thought for a long time, and then found himself drifting off to sleep. <br> <br> <br> <br> <p> After many hours, though to Nathaniel it seemed like two seconds, the bartender said that if he had just come to sleep then he had better leave. Nathaniel hurriedly ordered some drink (to make it seem as if he was doing <i>something</i>) and closed h is eyes as it was being brought to him.<br> <br> <p> He was wakened a few minutes later by the creak of the door opening.<br> <br> <p> He looked up.<br> <br> <p> With a jolt he saw a hooded figure enter, wearing a cloak - <i>his</i> cloak. His mouth suddenly dry, Nathaniel drank some more of his drink. The hooded person came closer, and then sat in the chair opposite Nathaniel.<br> <br> <p> Then the person laughed nervously in that beautiful voice that he knew.<br> <br> <p> "Tamora," he said in a low voice.<br> <br> <p> "Er... no." His hopes rose for a second, until the girl bent closer to him and whispered, "you shouldn't call me that. Not many people are called Tamora. Call me Sarah." And then he guessed that Tamora probably smiled, for then she patted his hand reassuringly - he was glad to see that she was wearing black gloves.<br> <br> <p> Nathaniel decided that he wasn't afraid of her anymore. Just revolted.<br> <br> <p> Tamora whispered again. "I talked to some dead - " seeing Nathaniel's horror struck face, she said, "Oh, they're very lonely, they like having someone to talk to, really they do! <i>You</i> could talk to them too, if you would just listen to them." <br><p>Nathaniel was not at all reassured, but she continued anyway. "So you see, Queen Hermione, she's apparently my great-great-great niece. And she's gotten a new advisor - he's called Hamlet. Now... well... the way I died..." <br>And then Tamora burst into tears. The people at neighboring tables were beginning to look over at him and Tamora, so Nathaniel hushed her as best he could and she continued. "The advisor - Demetrius - he" she lowered her voice to a whisper, "he poisoned me. <br> <p> "And this Hamlet is his descendant. I'm scared for Queen Hermione."<br> <br> <p> Nathaniel listened very carefully to all of her words. "It's alright, I'm sure Queen Hermione will cope."<br> <br> <p> Tamora was silent for a while. "I want to visit her," she said suddenly.<br> <br> <p> "Why?"<br> <br> <p> "Well, she's related to me, for one thing, and... it's the only thing I have now that can be counted as family." Tamora sighed.<br> <br> <p> Nathaniel came to a quick decision. "Fine," he said. "We'll go tomorrow." Though he couldn't see her face, he knew she was very nervous right now. "Perhaps tonight."<br> <br> <p> Tamora looked up hopefully, and for a moment Nathaniel glimpsed a pair of glimmering green eyes before she pulled her hood lower.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <p> The train came at around midnight, and they travelled all night, allowing Nathaniel and Tamora a good night's sleep. Nathaniel awoke before dawn, earlier than Tamora, and he sat gazing out the window. He considered running off and leaving Tamora to fend for herself, but it just didn't seem fair. So he decided to go with her to the castle, and then leave her for good. He'd go by train to the rest of the world, and he'd stay with his aunt and uncle.<br> <br> <p> He watched the trees and hills pass by, and soon Tamora was also awake. As the stops came and went, they found themselves at the station closest to Temtrius Palace, residence of Queen Hermione.<br> <br> <p> As they stepped onto the platform, Nathaniel noticed that Tamora was noticeably springier today, and surer of herself.<br> <br> <p> To Nathaniel's surprise, the distance to Temtrius Palace was not long, and he could see the spires and towers easily from where he stood on the platform. <br> <br> <p> In no time, they were both at the gates. <br> <br> <p> Looking at the Palace, Nathaniel noticed it was nothing so grand as Blackheart Castle had been. It was much smaller, and beige-coloured, which though appealing, was rather common looking. The windows were diamond paned, very large, and close to the ground. It was for sure no fortress, more a pleasure palace. <br> <br> <p> Nathaniel headed for the gates, but Tamora suddenly pulled him back into the forestry nearby.<br> <br> <p> "What on earth are you doing?" demanded Nathaniel.<br> <br> <p> Tamora fished in the pocket of the cloak and brought out three things: a black veil, a needle, and white thread. "Can you sew?" she asked. <br> <br> <p> Nathaniel reddened. "I - well, yes I can," he admitted.<br> <br> <p> "Then I must ask you a favor. Could you sew the gaps in my face?"<br> <br> <p> Nathaniel stared at her, and then regretted it as he looked away. "Are you <i>crazy</i>?" he said. <br> <p> "No, I'm not. Please? I'd do it myself but I can't see my face well enough to do anything."<br> <br> <p> Nathaniel glared at her. "Well I guess you'll just have to do that by yourself," he announced. He found it disgusting enough to simply <i>look</i> at Tamora's face. To sew it up? Out of the question.<br> <br> <p> Tamora seemed to cower for a moment, and then she drew herself up and said, "Alright, I will." And she sat down right there, took out Nathaniel's mirror, and propped it up against a branch. Then, she carefully began to sew.<br> <br> <p> Nathaniel found this display disturbing, so he walked away into other parts of the forest. He gathered some berries, but, after sniffing them, he threw them away. He passed a modest grave, and he hurried out of the area, thinking of corpses digging themselves out of the earth.<br> <br> <p> When he reached the place where he had started, he saw a much more human-looking Tamora sitting on a tree stump. Tiny, neat white stitches were nearly invisible on her face, and her skin looked much less dry. There was even some colour on her cheeks.<br> <br> <p> Nathaniel stared. She didn't look half as frightening now. <br> <br> <p> Tamora looked up hopefully. "Do I look human now?" she asked.<br> <br> <p> "Er - no. But getting there. You did more than sew, didn't you?"<br> <br> <p> Tamora's lips curled in one corner; as if it was something of a secret she was going to say. "Well, I used the bark - " she patted the tree " - to stop the dryness, and the poison berries for a little bit of redness. 'Cause guess what? My blood is blue. I scratched myself."<br> <br> <p> She held up a white arm, which had a thin trickle of blue blood running from a scratch.<br> <br> <p> Nathaniel paled. He considered running away right then, but decided against it. Tamora was still talking, so he listened. "And I passed someone on my way." Nathaniel didn't know what she meant, until he thought of the grave. "A <i>dead</i> someone?" he asked, rather rudely.<br> <br> <p> Tamora sniffed. "Yes," she said. "The Queen is going to be poisoned."<br> <br> <p> Nathaniel stared. "How would they know?"<br> <br> <p> "They overheard a conversation between the advisor, Hamlet, and someone who dealt with poisons. I want to warn Queen Hermione."<br> <br> <p> Nathaniel shrugged. "Sure, but you cant go looking like that," he waved a hand in the direction of her face.<br> <br> <p> Tamora frowned and opened her mouth to say something, but then decided against it and closed it. She held up the veil, and carefully fastened it to her head. She motioned to Nathaniel and they walked out of the forest onto the road. Indeed, now that she had a veil and gloves, she did look very pretty, Nathaniel thought. When they were at the gates she rang the bell and carefully took off Nathaniel's cloak. She folded it and passed it to him as the guard came forward.<br> <br> <p> He narrowed his eyes. "And who might you be?"<br> <br> <p> Tamora stood up straighter and said in her most imperial voice, "Someone who needs to see the queen."<br> <br> <p> The guard rather flinched, but nevertheless he said, "Are you, really? Well, I'm afraid that's not quite enough information to go around. I repeat: <i>who are you</i>?"<br> <br> <p> Nathaniel interrupted. "She's Miranda Gardiner, a scholar at the High Academy."<br> <br> <p> The guard considered this. "And who are <i>you</i>?" he asked.<br> <br> <p> "My servant. We just got off a carriage nearby, and right now, my patience is running rather low."<br> <br> This was Tamora speaking. Although Nathaniel was rather indignant at being called a servant, he thought that she was being very, very queenly.<br> <br> <p> The guard opened the gates. <br> <br> <p> Nathaniel and Tamora entered, and began to walk along the long path to Temtrius Palace. Tamora's hair shone like a raven's wing in the sunlight, and all the golden chains on her dress glittered merrily. Nothing gleamed brighter than her eyes, though. <br>Ever since he had met Tamora, Nathaniel hadn't been very much in control of his temper and emotions (such as fear). Now, however, he was as icy as he had been in the Academy. His cold blue eyes surveyed the Palace casually, everything from the gold leaf on the spires of the towers, to the silver handles on the door. His fingers riffled through his pale hair, turned white from the glare of the sun, just as they did when he was studying. He noticed a small hut in the woods as they passed, and he was sure he saw someone squinting through the curtains.<br> <br> <p> Tamora seemed oblivious to all but the Palace. With her green eyes narrowed, she stared and stared and stared at it. When she and Nathaniel reached the door, it was she who used the knocker, which was in the shape of a glaring silver lion, with red pieces of glass instead of eyes.<br> <br> <p> Soon a page came and escorted them to a room where they sat to wait. The cushions were made of red velvet, and the walls were coated in beige and red wallpaper. A vase of flowers stood on a wooden table in the corner of the room. There were windows on three walls of the room, and they let in very much light. <br> <br> <p> Nathaniel spent the time thinking about what he would do in the future. He thought perhaps he would return to see if he was allowed to continue studying at the High Academy. Probably not. In that case he would go to his relatives and get a common trade - be a carpenter, perhaps.<br> <br> <p> His icy blue eyes narrowed, and Tamora looked at him rather nervously. He had gone very distant since their arrival, and he was being very, very cold. Also, he didn't answer her questions in much more than one word, and they were very curt and rather too-polite answers. Once or twice he had even said "<i>your majesty</i>." <i>That</i> was frightening.<br> <br> <p> Soon the page came back and told them that the Queen would accept their presence.<br> <br> <p> They were escorted into a smaller version of the great hall that Nathaniel had seen in Blackheart Castle, with a throne near the back wall. It was made of something that looked suspiciously like ivory, and had blue velvet trimmings.<br> <br> <p> Tamora kneeled and tugged on Nathaniel's coat for him to kneel also. Nathaniel did so rather reluctantly. <br> <br> <p> Then they rose. <br> <br> <p> Before Nathaniel sat a person who was as unlike Tamora as was possible. Her golden hair was straight and plain, as were her blue eyes, and white skin. Her gaze was haughty and queen like, and Nathaniel returned her gaze with his frosty blue eyes that did not seem at all impressed. <br> <br> <p> Inside was a different matter. He found this being quite impressive, and he wondered whether Tamora had made a good Queen. He didn't think so. But... he couldn't help but think that Tamora was probably twice as intelligent as Queen Hermione. <br> <br> <p> Queen Hermione was not used to have any one looking directly at her in such an insolent way, and so became a touch irritated. <br> "Speak," she said haughtily, though she sounded rather bored.<br> <br> <p> "Majesty," said Tamora in a low voice. "We have heard of a plot, a very dangerous plot. We hope you are available to listen."<br> <br> <p> Nathaniel by now found this visit pointless. Hermione had no idea that this was Tamora in front of her, so she thought Tamora was a peasant - <i>maybe not</i>, thought Nathaniel, looking at the gold chain - and if she <i>did </i>know of her identification, she would probably scream. Either way it wasn't particularly pleasant.<br> <br> <p> Queen Hermione waved her hand and then - Nathaniel thought this was extremely un-queen like - she rested her cheek on her knuckles and looked at the ceiling as though there wasn't anything better to do.<br> <br> <p> Rather startled, Tamora continued. "We have overheard a plot to poison your majesty," said Tamora coolly, "and I would suggest that you try everything you drink for poisoning."<br> <br> <p> "Her Majesty" leaned forwards with every word Tamora said and considered this. Her eyes were thoughtful. "How did you hear this?" she asked suspiciously.<br> <br> <p> "It took place in the forest."<br> <br> <p> This came from Nathaniel, and he remained composed even as Hermione shot him a look that clearly said <i>insolent boy, you don't have anything worthy to say</i>. He then noticed that Hermione was also rather young to be a queen -though she was a far cry from being as young (<i>or as pretty</i>, said an unprovoked little voice in his head) as Tamora.<br> <br> <p> Then Hermione considered this. She thought for quite a while, and Tamora shifted uneasily.<br> <br> <p> Nathaniel caught a glimpse of her face as the veil shifted, but he was glad to see that Hermione didn't. She was looking at the ceiling again - though thoughtfully this time.<br> <br> <p> A figure suddenly moved from beside Queen Hermione, a woman who Nathaniel hadn't noticed before. She was old, very old, and her face was lined like the bark of a willow tree. She had a rather malicious glint in her eyes, and Nathaniel instantly decided that he disliked her.<br> <br> <p> Tamora shrank away from her, and leaned closer to Nathaniel. Nathaniel almost pushed her away - it was so <i>revolting</i> to have a dead person lean on him - but then decided it against it.<br> <br> <p> The old woman spoke:<br> <br> <p> "Dearie, you are quite mistaken." As she talked, Hermione's eyes became duller and more lacklustre. She nodded her head listlessly. Nathaniel thought that she seemed to have been rather bewitched. "I hear all that goes on around I, yes I do. And I didn't hear anything quite like that, not I. And I'se the one who hears." She tapped her ear.<br> <br> <p> "She's the one who hears," repeated Hermione dully.<br> <br> <p> "So you'd better be off, now, shouldn't you?" And, all of a sudden, Nathaniel and Tamora were standing by the gates to Temtrius Palace.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br><b>Chapter 5</b><br> <br> <br> <br> <p> Nathaniel was relieved that they could now leave and, he thought hopefully, perhaps ditch Tamora. <br> <br> <p> No such luck, he thought miserably. Tamora clung to him as though she had nothing else in the world - which, Nathaniel thought guiltily, was rather true - and by a lone stroke of fortune they both ran into Christopher.<br> <br> <p> Christopher's eyes widened as Nathaniel rounded the bend, and they greeted each other heartily. "What're you doing here?" asked Nathaniel, a touch sceptically.<br> <br> <p> "Oh, I'm on holiday. My uncle serves in the Palace, and I'm going to stay with him for a while." Then Christopher noticed Tamora standing a little way off, and he raised an eyebrow questioningly. "I see you've - er - found company already."<br> <br> <p> Nathaniel glanced to where Christopher looked, and reddened. "No - she's a friend of my fath - er, mother's - and so I decided since I wouldn't be going anywhere soon, perhaps, er, her folks would find a place for me to stay."<br> <br> <p> Nathaniel thought the story was rather weak, but Christopher nodded looked at Tamora oddly.<br> <br> <p> Nathaniel turned around to find that Tamora was flapping her hand as a sign that she wanted Nathaniel to come.<br> <br> <p> Nathaniel did, and Christopher followed him. Nathaniel was glad for Christopher's sake that she was wearing a veil and gloves. <br> "Oh, hello," she said when she saw that Christopher had approached also. "A friend of yours, is he?" she asked Nathaniel.<br> <br> <p> "Yes."<br> <br> <p> At the sound of Tamora's melodious voice, Christopher began to act rather oddly. <br> <br> <p> "Oh, jolly good!" said Tamora in a thrilled voice. "Can we talk for a moment?"<br> <br> <p> Christopher nodded and she pulled him by his sleeve to a spot a few feet away from Nathaniel and began to talk in earnest.<br> <br> <p> Nathaniel felt a bit odd, seeing them both talking, Tamora in a very persuasive way, and Christopher hanging on to her every word as if it were gold, so he began to get a little bit irritated.<br> <br> <p> When Tamora headed back, Christopher had gotten on a carriage and left, waving goodbye to Nathaniel. Nathaniel thought Tamora looked rather pleased with herself. <br> <br> <p> "He's going to warn Hermione!" she said delightedly.<br> <br> <p> Nathaniel groaned. "Oh no. And why do you think he will be more successful than us?"<br> <br> <p> "Because," said Tamora, "Sycorax was there."<br> <br> <p> Nathaniel looked at her, puzzled. "She hates me," she said impatiently. "She's the one who made me come to life in the first place." She kicked the ground at her feet. "I hate her," Tamora said savagely. <br> <br> <p> Nathaniel took a step backwards. "Er - yes so you think Christopher's got a chance after all? Why does it matter to you anyway? You don't even know Hermione."<br> <br> <p> Tamora glared at him. "That's <i>Queen</i> Hermione to you! And it's family reasons."<br> <br> <p> Nathaniel's blue eyes looked calmly into her blazing green eyes. She did have such a temper. Being dead didn't improve it much. Speaking of which, he found it so easy to forget that she was dead, nowadays. "Fair enough," he said. "Then I guess we'd better wait at the palace for Christopher." <br> <br> <br> <br> <p> And so they did. When they caught up with Christopher, he was rather nervous, his dark eyes always darting around. He informed them that Queen Hermione had indeed taken his advice and would test her food for poison today. She said she would tell of this to no one, and that he had done a good job in simply informing her.<br> <br> <p> Nathaniel's anger flared for a moment, but then it immediately subsided, and Tamora was looking delighted. Christopher looked as though he had just tried to pet a big dog and was relieved that it hadn't bitten his hand off.<br> <br> <p> They were all given separate rooms to stay for the night, and then they were to leave in the morning.<br> <br> <p> In his room, Nathaniel sat by his window and listened to the wolves howl for half the night, thinking. He thought for a while. There was something that was simply <i>odd</i> right now... he didn't know what, but it was like a toothache, and it wouldn't stop bothering him. Eventually he fell asleep and dreamed of Tamora alive and well, laughing and smiling and looking very beautiful, and... all this was without him. Tamora was laughing with Christopher. <br> <br> <p> He awoke in the middle of the night and the ice in his blue eyes had melted, and ran in the form of salty tears down his cheeks.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <p> The next day Nathaniel slept in late. He had rarely had a chance to do this, and so he only got out of bed when someone began to knock excitedly on the door.<br> <br> <p> It was Christopher, bubbling with good news. "They found him out!" he said, and launched into an explanation.<br> <br> <p> Last night, at supper, Queen Hermione had had all her food tested for poisoning, and there was quite a large amount of poison found in every one of her goblets of wine. When the cook was interrogated, she said she hadn't done anything to the wine, but it was a special brew that had been given to her by Hamlet, the advisor. Hamlet had mysteriously fled, and Christopher had been offered a very generous position/job in the castle. <br> <br> <p> He had a little bit more to say, a "bit" which jolted Nathaniel out of all sleepiness.<br> <br> <p> "Now that I'll be here in the palace I can't be High Academic, and someone's got to fill in the place when I'm done, why not you? You were nearly done all the studies! How many days did you have left?"<br> <br> <p> "Seven," Nathaniel replied. "But I can't go back."<br> <br> <p> "Why not? You haven't ever done anything wrong."<br> <br> <p> <i>But I have</i>, thought Nathaniel sadly.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br><b>Chapter 6</b><br> <br> <br> <br> <p> The same day Nathaniel packed all of his things and left on very short notice. He had intended to leave Tamora at the palace. He felt a stab of pain and guilt at this arrangement, but he thought Tamora would probably be happier there at the palace, anyway. <br> <br> <p> So he made his sad way down the road, singing a song he had written himself as he walked, his pack slung over one shoulder.<br> <br> <br> <br><i>Twas from the sky that came the White<br> <br>Twas out of the clouds that came the light<br> <br>Twas the song sung unto they<br> <br>Twas our darkness that made them stay</i><br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <p> "What a pretty song," remarked someone beside Nathaniel.<br> <br> <p> Nathaniel turned and found to his great surprise (and perhaps relief?) that there beside him was Tamora. Her green eyes sparkled at him in the twilight. <br> <br> <p> "So where are you going to go now?" she asked casually.<br> <br> <p> "I've been thinking about that. Perhaps to the edge of the world - the very edge. I've always wanted to look right over. And to see if there's anything that moves down there." He lowered his voice. "If there is - and if I see <i>people</i> - then I'll try to climb down the cliff's edge."<br> <br> <p> Tamora gasped. "But they say no one comes back!"<br> <br> <p> Nathaniel smiled bitterly. "I have no reason to come back," he said.<br> <br> <p> "Neither do I."<br> <br> <p> Nathaniel looked at Tamora curiously, and was very deeply affected by the great sorrow and sadness in Tamora's eyes. And it was true. Everyone she had ever loved, or who had loved her, had died. And she hadn't been able to utter so much as a goodbye to any of them. There was no chance of Tamora starting a new life, because, no matter how nice she was, she was still dead.<br> <br> <p> The words <i>no one loves her</i> echoed through Nathaniel's head, torturing him. How sad it must be, he thought, to be loved by no one.<br> <br> <p> <i>I</i> love her, said a voice fiercely in his head. Nathaniel shook his head to dislodge the thought, but it persisted. He did. He knew it. And all of a sudden, he found it rather funny. He loved a corpse. His first love was a dead one. Now <i>that</i> was not something that happened to most people.<br> <br> <p> "What are you smiling about?" inquired Tamora. And it must have indeed been odd, watching the sadness grow deeper and deeper within Nathaniel, and suddenly he smiled and tried not to laugh. Tamora decided she would <i>never</i> understand the emotions of the living.<br> <br> <p> "Nothing," he said, a little guiltily.<br> <br> <p> And so they made their way to the edge of the world.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <p> Tamora and Nathaniel didn't have any money to take the train, so they had to walk all the way to the edge. Both Nathaniel and Tamora were very thoughtful as they walked. It was in silence, for most of the way. Then, without warning, she began to talk.<br> <br> <p> "Do you know how it feels like to be dead, Nathaniel?" she asked as they walked through the woods.<br> <br> <p> Nathaniel looked at her, surprised. She hadn't ever talked about what had happened in those hundred years that she had left this earth.<br> <br> <p> "No."<br> <br> <p> "It is very odd," she said, with a dreamy look in her eyes. "And I don't think everyone has the same experience after they - er - die. But for me... it was frightening and magnificent. There was a great place made of marble, it was so big that I never found the door out. It was very dim inside, because the windows were so high up. There were arches and pillars, and the ceiling was so high that I couldn't see it. Maybe there wasn't a ceiling at all."<br> <br> <p> Then Tamora frowned. "Then there was a day that I found the door that lead to outside. I opened it - and saw you." She thought for a while. "Maybe the witch kept me there on purpose, maybe it wasn't a real death. I sure aged slowly, when I was dead."<br> <br> <p> Nathaniel probably showed his puzzlement on his face, and he thought: <i>how can you age when you are dead</i>?<br> <br> <p> Tamora elaborated. "I still have skin. I still have eyes. I still have everything inside of me. That doesn't usually happen to someone who's been dead one hundred years."<br> <br> <p> She was thoughtful again for a while.<br> <br> <p> As Nathaniel and Tamora walked out of the woods and made their way across a valley, she spoke again. "I don't think I was ever really dead. My heart stopped, but my soul did not move. I wonder how death would <i>really</i> be like."<br> <br> <p> Nathaniel grew sad. He grew sadder with every word Tamora said. It must have been such torture to come alive again, and then to realize you weren't ever dead. <i> It must be killing her right now</i>, he thought. Instantly he regretted his use of the word "killing". He wondered if Tamora would rather be properly dead. <br> <br> <p> But how can you kill someone already dead?<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <p> Tamora and Nathaniel made good time, and in a day they had come to the Mire, which was before the Rocks, which was before the very Edge. They walked on one of the narrow stone paths that were erected to travel easily by foot to many places on the edge. None of the paths actually lead to the Edge, though, so Nathaniel and Tamora had to walk a while in the deep squelching mud. They could already see the edge clearly, a part of the land that simply ended. <br> <br> <p> Then they came to the rocks. Nathaniel kept thinking about Tamora's horrible half-life, and then about his own odd wounds that seemed to open whenever he was with her.<br> <br> <p> Now they were at the Rocks. They were sharp and jagged, and cut through Nathaniel's boots easily and made his feet bleed. He limped visibly, but Tamora, who had been walking barefoot because her satin slippers had ripped long ago, noticed nothing. <br> <p> As Nathaniel and Tamora were but a hundred yards from the Edge, he came to a difficult decision.<br> <br> <p> He would push her off the Edge. <br> <br> <p> It pained him to do this, but it pained him far more to let Tamora live in his world.<br> <br> <p> They were now on the lip of the earth.<br> <br> <p> The sky stretched on past the edge, but when Nathaniel looked down, he couldn't see a bottom. There were odd golden mists that obscured nearly everything from view. The mist stretched on as did the sky, and Nathaniel was suddenly tempted to reach out to touch the golden water vapours.<br> <br> <p> Then he turned to Tamora. <br> <br> <p> She was crying.<br> <br> <p> "I can finish it," she whispered. "With one step."<br> <br> <p> She turned her bright green eyes to Nathaniel.<br> <br> <p> "How would you feel if I...left you?"<br> <br> <p> Suddenly, Nathaniel did the revoltingly impossible and hugged her. Now, reader, if you are normal you will be rather disgusted. If you are not even at all queasy, then perhaps your soul is more golden than the souls of most.<br> <br> <p> Nathaniel brought Tamora closer to the edge. "Would you want to go?" he whispered.<br> <br> <p> Tamora nodded and pulled away from Nathaniel's hand.<br> <br> <p> "Remember me," she said, and she spread her arms and fell - Nathaniel felt that a more fitting word would be <i>flew</i> - off the Edge.<br> <br> <p> Nathaniel shook his head sadly, wiped the tears out of his eyes, and left the Edge.<br> <br> <br> <br><b>Epilogue</b><br> <br> <br> <br> <p> Nathaniel waited impatiently in the lobby of the High Academy. He had specially requested audience with the High Academic, and he felt that the pages were being slow on purpose.<br> <br> <p> He twiddled with his collar button and sighed.<br> <br> <p> He sincerely doubted that he would be allowed to continue his studies. The Academics knew that he had woken Tamora, and they probably knew also that Tamora would follow Nathaniel no matter what.<br> <br> <p> He was woken from his thoughts as a page entered the room and announced that the High Academic would be pleased to have Nathaniel's company.<br> <br> <p> Nathaniel entered the High Academics study with caution. He did not know what to expect. <br> <br> <p> The High Academic was looking very grim in robes of grey and black, and he did not smile. He motioned for Nathaniel to sit in a chair before him.<br> <br> <p> "Why have you come?" he High Academic's voice rumbled around the room. Nathaniel felt more than a little nervous.<br> <br> <p> "I came to ask to resume my studies. I had only a week left, sir."<br> <br> <p> The High Academic narrowed his eyes. "Where is the one who has followed you?"<br> <br> <p> "Who, Tamora?" asked Nathaniel casually. "Sir," he added.<br> <br> <p> "Indeed." <br> <p> Nathaniel adopted a look of complete indifference. "Oh, she jumped off the Edge. Sir. She's gone."<br> <br> <p> The High Academic sighed. "We do not know what happens over the edge. It is not certain that Tamora has well and properly died. We can only hope. You see, beyond the Edge, the Golden Mist does odd things to the human soul and body. Mutilations probably occur often."<br> <br> <p> Nathaniel nodded absentmindedly. He was plagued with guilt once more. Indeed, he hadn't slept one proper night since Tamora had flown off the Edge.<br> <br> <p> The High Academic continued. "Soon, I shall retire from being the High Academic, and I need to choose someone to be in my place."<br> <br> <p> Nathaniel listened glumly. His chance of being High Academic had vanished completely.<br> <br> <p> "The person who I had chosen is unavailable now. So I must pick someone else in his or her place."<br> <br> <p> Nathaniel listened, but just barely. The High Academic continued.<br> <br> <p> "I choose <i>you</i>, Nathaniel."<br> <br> <p> Nathaniel jerked to attention with such force that he felt his mind was wrenched from its proper place. <br> <br> <p> "However, it will be years until I retire, and before then, you will be an Academic." The High Academic paused. "Do you accept the positions offered?"<br> <br> <p> "Indeed I do, sir. Thank you sir."<br> <br> <p> The High Academic smiled then. "As a future Academic, you will have to choose staff and evaluate them, and get to know them. Here is a start for you, Nathaniel."<br> <br> <p> Then he went to the door and said, "Sarah, you may come now."<br> <br> <p> The High Academic returned to his seat.<br> <br> <p> Through the door walked a young woman. Her wavy raven hair fell past her shoulders, and her white skin glowed in the lamplight. Her green eyes shone brightly, and she stood very, very straight. She was as alive and well as any human could be.<br> <br> <p> She turned and caught sight of Nathaniel. <br> <br> <p> The now-living Tamora broke into a wide and happy smile, as did Nathaniel, his icy blue eyes mellowing visibly.<br> <br> <p> "You rise again, Tamora," he whispered. <br> <br>