Blue by Lou Aronica

Author:Lou Aronica [Aronica, Lou]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: YA, Teen Fantasy, Coming of Age, Adventure
ISBN: 9781936558001
Publisher: The Fiction Studio
Published: 2011-01-08T05:00:00+00:00

Sorbus led Becky inside and into Miea’s chambers. It seemed a little strange to Becky that Miea would be here rather than her office with only a few minutes before her next meeting, but Becky was just happy to have the chance to say hi. When she got to her room, though, Miea’s expression seemed dark and her greeting just this side of polite.

“I’m disturbing you, aren’t I?” Becky said.

Miea offered a little smile. “No, of course not. Sorbus tells me that you went for a ride on our waccasassa. Did you enjoy that?”

“How could I not enjoy that? Everything about this place is incredible—the people, the wildlife, the landscapes . . .”

Miea uttered a huge sigh and muttered, “Yes, the landscapes.”

Becky hadn’t seen Miea like this before. She’d seen her tired and sad, but this was something else, something that made Becky feel a little frightened. “What’s wrong?”

Miea sighed again and gazed up at the ceiling. When she looked back down, she looked directly at Becky and it seemed to Becky that something had completely overwhelmed Miea.

“We may not have the landscape much longer,” the queen said.

The words chilled Becky. “What are you talking about?”

Miea shook her head sadly. “I didn’t want to burden you with this. I wanted your visits here to be joyful and carefree. However, I’m too upset to put up a façade today, Becky. I’ve just been through the single worst meeting of my entire life.” Miea sat up and leaned forward a little. She gestured for Becky to sit, which was good because at this point, Becky wasn’t sure she could stand much longer. “Tamarisk is experiencing a terrible blight. It has destroyed numerous fields already and the disease is eating away at more of our land daily. Today I learned that the blight wiped out the niwot, an insect native to Jonrae. A creature that has existed throughout time is gone because of this pestilence.”

Becky felt tears come to her eyes. “That’s awful.”

Miea closed her eyes and then opened them slowly. “It is awful. It is not, however, the most awful thing about this. The most awful thing is that the efforts of the most valued scientists in Tamarisk have brought us virtually no information about the blight. We have no idea what causes it. None.”

“And if you don’t know what causes it . . .”

“. . . then we don’t know how to cure it.”

Becky couldn’t believe what she was hearing. This gorgeous world, a world that had seemed so magical to her just minutes earlier, was in serious trouble. The blight had already killed one species here. Would it eventually kill all of Tamarisk?

“I think I saw a blighted field today.”

Miea’s eyebrows lowered. “You saw a blighted field? That certainly wasn’t on your agenda. Do you know where this was?”

Becky shrugged. “I don’t know where I was, but it was almost all gray.”

Miea nodded. “That’s what the plants look like in the final stages.”

“I’m so sorry, Miea.”

Miea reached out for Becky’s hand and squeezed it.

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