The Best of Luck: Chapter 2

Despite her fury, Marley would never actually hurt, let alone kill, anyone. And it wasn’t actually possible, at the moment, to kill the king of Westwind. But it was possible to destroy him. And that is what Marley intended to do.

After realizing she had been used and tossed aside, Marley had vowed vengeance on the king who had betrayed her. She had spent the last few months reading through books on the unique, enchanting history of Westwind. And she had discovered that the king received a few extra perks in addition to ruling the kingdom. Whoever sat on the throne of Westwind was immune to death for however long he - or she - held the crown. There was absolutely no way to kill a king whilst he was king. 

It upset Marley a great deal when she first discovered this. She was angry that the coward who had taken everything from her could have nothing taken from him. Or so it seemed. But as she continued her research and dug deeper into Westwind lore, she discovered that the king was, in fact, vulnerable. While the king could not be killed, he could be removed from the throne, if the right person came along to do the job. 

Marley learned, as most residents of Westwind knew, that a magic-filled totem gave the king his gift of immortality. When a man or woman became ruler of Westwind, their first task was to select a totem of their choosing to be displayed on the day of their coronation. The totem could be any item, big or small, that properly represented the incoming ruler. On coronation day, the crest of Westwind was emblazoned on the totem. The crest filled the totem with magic and it was that magic that gave the holder of the totem the right to rule Westwind and the gift of immortality. After the coronation ceremony, the new ruler would make a journey to hide their totem away where they hoped no one would ever find it. 

It could be anywhere in the world, their hiding place. It didn’t have to be within Westwind’s walls and it probably shouldn’t be. For as long as the totem remained hidden, the ruler of Westwind kept their immortality and could rule for as long as they pleased. However, if someone tracked down their totem and brought it back to be publicly presented, that ruler would have to step down, as the magic of the crest would transfer to the one who had found the totem. In this way, anyone could become king - or queen - of Westwind.

This concept was very intriguing to Marley, and she quickly fell down a rabbit hole of stories about past kings and queens and their totems. One of her favorite stories played out 200 years ago when a king chose to hide a small notebook in a place called Panpipe Pocket - a cave deep underwater with a large bubble of air trapped inside of it. It was taller than it was wide, and quite difficult to get to. If you did make it to the cave, there were a great many creatures that lurked around the base of the cave, as if protecting it. And then, even if one got past the creatures and successfully made it into Panpipe Pocket, there was a dangerous wind that dwelled there. Wild and alive, the wind dove in and out of reeds that grew along the damp, mossy rocks, filling the cave with a constant music, and therefore giving it its name. The wind wasn’t fond of visitors, and anyone who tried to enter its cave was swiftly taken by it, wrenched about, and yanked back down to the sea. The only people ever known to have escaped the wind’s grasp and climb the walls of Panpipe Pocket were King Madden and his daughter, who found and retrieved her father’s totem to prove herself worthy when he was ready to pass along the crown.

Another story that caught Marley’s attention was that of Queen Kamdyn, who hid a locket in an affiliation of asperitas clouds. A rare phenomenon, these clouds travel across the sky like the mighty, magnificent waves of the ocean. However, despite their fierce, somewhat terrifying appearance, the clouds themselves are quite graceful and elegant. They are gentle to those who are able to reach them, and they gladly took up the queen’s locket for her. She had placed it in a small toy sailboat, giving it to the sea in the sky to sail along the waves, wherever they went. The clouds carried it with care until the next ruler of Westwind stepped forward to retrieve it. 

Marley learned that the idea was for the ruler of Westwind to hide the totem in a place only they would know and be able to get to. This put to the test how brave, skilled, and wise they were as a leader. If their totem stayed well-hidden while they reigned and no one could find or retrieve it, this usually meant that they excelled and were worthy of the throne. But, if a king or queen did not hide their totem well and it was easily found and retrieved, that usually spoke volumes about their ingenuity and abilities, and it was better for them to step down so that Westwind could have a new, more capable ruler.

The history books also told of a time or two when an unfit king had managed to hide his totem well but ruled Westwind poorly. It was then that the magic of the totem reached out and called on a brave man or woman to set out and find it. In those stories, the journey had been long and dangerous, but the tyrant king’s totem was always found in the end, and a new, worthy ruler took his place. 

In Marley’s opinion, that time had come again. Putting aside her own personal grievances with the current king, the more she read about him, the more she learned what a sucky guy he was. In all of her reading, it was unclear how the current king had come upon the previous king’s totem. He had just appeared with it one day and publicly presented it in order to claim the throne for himself. According to the chronicles, King Castellan was the laziest king Westwind had ever seen. He did not seem to care for the people or make any effort to ensure the country remained prosperous. Instead, he was always in his castle, most of the time hosting some sort of lavish party. Wait, no. Not hosting. That would have been too much work. Participating in lavish parties was a much better word. He sat back and relaxed, living an opulent, luxurious life whilst not giving a single care about what went on in his kingdom. 

King Castellan had been crowned just a few months before Marley moved to Westwind. While news had spread to Nix that there was a new king, nothing had been known about him and Marley had no idea what she was walking into the first time she reached the castle doors. However, shortly after arriving in Westwind, Marley discovered that, after finding the totem and acquiring its magic, King Castellan had actually killed the previous king, who had been known for being fair and just, hard working and widely respected by the people. There was no reason for Castellan to kill him and no king or queen before him had ever done so. It was brutal and savage, completely unprovoked and, in Marley’s opinion, a very dishonorable act. 

Marley truly felt that she would be doing Westwind a favor by finding Castellan’s totem and dethroning him. She was surprised nobody had done it sooner. The man had been ruling for almost a year and Westwind was suffering because of it. Even if Marley’s motive wasn’t exactly honorable - she was, after all, motivated by revenge - removing Castellan from the throne was for the best. She was sure of that. But she didn’t want to give much thought to what would happen next. She had no intention of taking the throne herself after presenting the king’s totem in public. However, she had yet to read a story about anybody who had presented the totem and then declined to take the throne. Perhaps there would be a brief moment of chaos but then surely the magic of the totem would call forth somebody worthy to sit on the throne of Westwind. Marley was sure it would all work out in the end. Without doubt, the country would be better off with no king than to continue living with this one.

Marley was also convinced that it would not be too hard to find this king’s totem. He was self absorbed and, apparently, not very bright. It was well known that he couldn’t keep a secret and at least a dozen rumors were already circulating regarding the whereabouts of his totem. Marley had begun piecing the rumors together, like a puzzle, and she was sure she was on the right track. She was pretty confident that she would be traveling to a mountainous region to the north of the kingdom. She just needed to gather a bit more information and then she could be on her way.

*

“Morning, Thatcher,” Marley said, emerging from her thoughts as she pushed open the door of a tavern on the outskirts of town. A tall, thin man standing behind a countertop jumped at the sound of his name, nearly dropping a cup he was cleaning. Marley winced, bracing to hear the sound of shattering glass, but it never came. In one swift movement, the man recaptured the cup, flipped it around, and slid it toward the clean side. Marley’s shoulders dropped in relief, and the man’s face lit up at the appearance of his favorite employee.

“Ah, good morning, Marley!” the innkeeper replied, and Marley returned the smile. James Thatcher was one of the nicest men Marley had ever met. He had been kind enough to let her stay at his inn when she found herself with nowhere to live, and he hadn’t even asked for anything in return. Marley had offered to help out around the inn, doing some housekeeping and such. Then she began helping out behind the bar, pouring drinks, and cleaning tables. It certainly wasn’t what she had planned to do when she left Nix, but it really wasn’t that bad. And then, Thatcher had discovered her true musical talent, and the days were much brighter after that.

“Oh hey! I’ve got a favor to ask,” Thatcher said, leaning forward. Marley replied by raising her eyebrows curiously, happy to hear she might stray from her usual schedule.

“I hate to share you, but I was wondering if you’d play at my buddy’s place down the street today. It’s CJ’s Cafe, you’ve probably passed it a million times. The musicians he hired for today canceled at the last minute, and you know people really only go to his place for the live music.” “They definitely don’t go for his food,” Luke, another bartender, joked under his breath as he walked by. Thatcher gave Luke a look, but the side of his lip twitched upwards and Marley could have sworn she heard him snicker.

“Of course, I’ll play,” Marley answered quickly, happy for the chance to be somewhere new for the day. Marley loved the tavern, of course. It was cozy and kind and peaceful, and she loved the people who stopped by. But it was also… quiet. Unless Marley was playing her violin, there wasn’t too much that went on there during the day. The thought also crossed her mind that a new place would mean new people, who might have new information about the king’s totem. 

“Wonderful!” Thatcher exclaimed, standing up straight again and picking up another cup to clean. “He’s got some music he wants you to learn, so you can head out whenever you’re ready.” “Perfect!” Marley responded, giving the man a thumbs up as she went to grab her things. Marley never needed much time to learn new music. She was quite thankful that her mom’s musical talent and aptitude for sight reading had passed down to her. She could play almost anything the first time looking at it and she could play it well. Of course, it wasn’t just due to natural talent. Marley had spent nearly her entire life playing and practicing the violin. There was a time she had contemplated becoming a professional musician. But that was before she found her dream of becoming a knight.

Marley clenched her jaw as the memories suddenly bombarded her mind again, unwelcome images from five months. She pictured herself standing at the gates of the castle, eyes wide with excitement. Just as anyone could be king or queen of Westwind, anyone could be a knight. They didn’t have to come from any bloodline, any house, any name, any land. Anyone was supposed to be given a chance to go through the trials of knighthood. Her hometown hadn’t had much in terms of knightly training, so she knew she would have to learn everything from scratch at the castle. But from everything she had read, Westwind welcomed anyone with a true heart to learn. And, to make up for her inexperience, she arrived at the castle with her arms full of a unique armor of her own creation that was sure to impress the other knights. Any past ruler of Westwind would have accepted her in a heartbeat. But she had had the misfortune of coming to King Castellen’s gates.

Marley made a sound under her breath, shaking her head to get rid of these unwanted memories. She pushed herself to her feet and out the door of the tavern, clutching close to her the one thing that had saved her from spiraling five months ago. Playing the violin was something Marley truly enjoyed. The sound of the music she created had brought a sense of peace to her broken heart. And she knew how lucky she was to do something she loved for work. It just wasn’t her true passion. It wasn’t her dream.

It wasn’t far to CJ’s Cafe, but Marley took her time in getting there. It was a particularly busy day outside, which added to Marley’s leisurely stroll to the cafe. As luck would have it, her meandering inadvertently put Marley on the same path as two strangers coming from the opposite direction. Had she hurried along, she might have missed them. And that would have been most unfortunate for all of them.