by Jay Lynn
Chapter 8
The city of Marcia was abuzz with excitement. The winter season was entering its final months, yet the much desired spring was not the cause of the invigorating energy. After years of waiting, their beloved Earl had finally chosen an heir. Only those within the castle knew his identity and by strict orders they were guarding the secret jealously. Tonight, Lord Kegan would be introducing his new son at the magnificent celebration in his honor. Till then, everyone from lords to peasants could only guess and wonder.
Riding through the snow dusted streets with her family, Leos’s heir wasn’t the only gossip Jade could hear outside the carriage. Curtains pulled back, she smiled brightly as she took in the bustling activity.
More often than not, someone seemed to mention the famed Dragon Knight, now known as the Dragon Sage. New rumors of the strange man were also running through the streets of Stafford. It appeared he recently returned from fighting enemy forces abroad.
Jade managed to suppress a giggle. Everyone in the kingdom practically knew his name. His unworldly deeds grew with each passing of the tale. Thus far, Jade couldn’t bring herself to believe any of it. Fighting and nearly killing a dragon single-handedly was nothing compared to his most recent feats.
The latest tales that the noble encountered told of the mysterious warrior/sorcerer traveling to Zerrok on a secret mission for King Titus. Some were saying he was assassinating key members of the military. Others, claimed he was causing an uprising with the slaves and peasants. Another spoke of dark arts and forbidden magic. No matter the reason, one factor appeared the same in each version: the Dragon Sage returned to Malyndor on the back of a fearsome dragon!
Jade smirked. To think people believe such a story.
She couldn’t imagine what the next rumor would entail. He probably would be growing wings and flying around.
As their carriage pulled into the castle courtyard Jade wrapped her cloak more snugly about her shoulders. Her eyes immediately began searching the area for Alec. At long last, Garth received a letter from the elusive warrior. Though the soldier didn’t share much of its contents with her, he did say Alec was once more in Marcia. Somehow, Jade just had to get a glimpse of him while she was here.
Leos stood proudly at the bottom of the stairs with a large grin spread across his face, easing the gruffness of his permanent stubble. Swinging his arms out, he strode towards them as they descended the carriage.
“Greetings, my friends,” Leos boomed. “I’m pleased you were able to join me for the announcement.”
Edmund laughed, gripping the other noble’s arm. “You did not think we would miss such an occasion did you? I am eager to meet this admirable man you have chosen. Is it your second cousin Walter?”
The earl shook his head with a chuckle. “The introduction is not till this evening. Besides, he’s not present at the moment. My son snuck off with a scouting party before sunrise.”
A group of horses trotted through the portcullis and came to a stop on the other side of the courtyard.
“Oh, it appears they have returned.”
Leos’s gaze traveled over Jade.
She was standing a few feet behind her parents. Hands lightly clasped together, her neck was craned as she peered at the soldiers milling about. Jade wasn’t the only one. Beside her, Ariel, Roderick, Eric, Garth and the rest of the Stafford Guard serving as the noble’s escort seemed to be doing the same.
“Good,” Edmund was saying, switching Leos’s focus back to the duke. “Surely you would not be opposed to introducing your heir to your closest friend first.”
Eyes flickering to Jade and back, the man smiled even brighter. “Of course not. It would be a pleasure.” Taking a few steps, Leos hollered towards the dismounting scouts, “Lord Kegan, my boy, come hither. Some introductions are in order.”
A tall figure turned towards them, his face masked in shadow from the deep hood of his cloak. Dusted with snow, the thick material enveloped him completely, making it impossible to discover his identity.
Crossing the paving stones with long strides, the man reached up and lowered his hood at the same time as Leos announced, “Duke Stafford, ladies, may I introduce my adopted son and heir, Lord Alec Kegan.”
A shocked hush lasted for a split second before the Stafford soldiers exploded into a loud roar of happiness. Racing forward, they surrounded Alec in a flash.
Leading the pack, Garth clasped his friend around the shoulders with a smile. “So this is why you insisted I come. We definitely have some catching up to do.”
Alec laughed, unable to answer as he was swarmed with pats on the back and well wishes from the men. A few curt commands and Roderick managed to get them back into formation with Garth’s aid. Gripping the other warrior’s forearm, the knight grinned.
“It’s good to see you again, Lord Alec.”
Alec gave him a self-conscious half smile. “There’s no need for such formalities. Alec is fine.”
“Well done,” Roderick told him sincerely.
Stepping aside he cleared the way for Alec to join the other nobles.
Genuflecting respectfully, Alec greeted their guests.
“My apologizes, Duke Stafford, on my delayed greeting. Duchess Stafford, it is a pleasure to see you again.”
His face a neutral mask, Edmund looked at Alec carefully. He remembered what Leos told him in the spring when he was reunited with the warrior. The earl’s decision in heir shouldn’t have been a surprise. It seemed his wife wasn’t the only one who thought highly of the man. Edmund had been thinking a lot about what Leona said. Seeing Alec again confirmed the truth behind her words. The man behaved like a lord long before being gifted with the title.
“No apology is needed, Lord Alec. Congratulations. Lord Kegan made a wise choice.”
I can’t believe he gave me a compliment like that. “Thank you,” the warrior replied humbly, bowing once more to the duke and duchess.
As the nobles moved onward with the earl, Alec was all at once face to face with the one woman who’d rarely left his mind since the night their paths first crossed. A small grin pulled at his lips. Alec didn’t get the chance to open his mouth to speak before Jade suddenly turned on her heel and fled.
Storming off, she crossed the courtyard and rounded the side of the castle near the stables, leaving everyone, including Ariel, behind.
By the time Alec recovered, Jade was already out of sight. His brows furrowing, he took off after the lady.
Glancing at each other, the nobles as well as Roderick, Garth and Ariel trailed behind.
Paying little attention to where she was heading, Jade kept walking without slowing her pace. Her whirling thoughts couldn’t seem to grasp what she discovered.
Alec was Leos’s heir! It was too good to be true. Jade was happy for him. Yet, for some reason, the moment she saw him standing there smiling shyly, it ignited a hidden anger bubbling right below the surface.
He disappeared for almost an entire year, sparing her not a single word during that time. Now, out of nowhere, he appears as a lord? Clenching her hands, Jade bit her lower lip. There were days she missed him so badly her chest physically hurt. There were moments she feared something dreadful had befallen him. Late at night, Jade would stare at the stars wondering where he was and if he was gazing at the same sky. How dare he arrive smiling and laughing without a care when she was left holding her breath for so long? Had he missed her at all?
“Jade? Jade?” Alec called, racing towards her the minute he entered the secluded area by the stables.
She didn’t answer, nor slow her steps.
“Would you please talk to me?” he asked, easily catching up. “I don’t understand why you’re cross; I thought you’d be glad to see me.”
The wounded tone of his voice added fuel to her warring emotions. Suddenly spinning around, Jade glared at him as he skidded to a halt directly in front of her.
“Glad to see you?” she repeated with a shrill. “What were you expecting?
That I would fall all over you the moment you finally decided to make an appearance?”
“Well, no—”
“I am not some mindless doll who is going to sit around and wait for you. It has been almost a year. A year, without a single word from you. There was talk of missing sages and I knew not if you might be one of them. But I do not believe you care, swordsman. If you did, you might have saw fit to send some form of correspondence.”
Body stiff, Jade curled her hands into fists by her sides. Lower lip quivering, her eyes welled up with unshed tears as she continued to speak without allowing Alec to reply.
“What, pray tell, have you been doing all this time? Gallivanting around Malyndor with every female sage in the order? Or is it just Isabelle who holds your particular interest?”
“Wait, it’s not—”
“Do not dare lie to me. I know about Isabelle,” she cried raising her hand to slap him.
Alec easily trapped her hand within both his palms. Dropping down onto one knee he lightly kissed her smooth skin.
Jade froze. Any coherent thoughts fled her mind as her heart fluttered like a hummingbird’s wings. She couldn’t look away. Alec rose and gazed upon her without releasing her hand.
“I swear, Isabelle is my friend and partner, nothing more.”
Jade opened her mouth to speak, but the warrior shook his head with a half smirk.
“You had your say, milady. Now let me answer these grievances you’ve laid against me. First, Isabelle is a wonderful person. I do care for her. She’s reckless and overly optimistic. Our work can be dangerous. However, she has proven to be both loyal and trustworthy. Rest assured, the moments I have spent missing you since we parted outnumber the stars.”
Releasing Jade’s hand Alec revealed the necklace hidden under his tunic.
Eyes growing wide, Jade pressed her fingers against her face. “My ribbon,” she whispered staring at the worn silk weaved within the wide silver chain.
“Do you remember when you gave this to me?”
She could only nod.
“It has never left my side since that day and with it, neither have you.”
Burying her face in her hands, Jade’s shoulders shook with a sob.
“I had to leave, Jade,” Alec stressed. “Not because I wanted to, but because I needed to. I spent my entire life believing I was nothing. I felt as if I had to prove my worth, show everyone I could be more than an abused gladiator from Zerrok. I had yet to understand it’s your actions that define you, not a title. Leos finally got me to see that. Just having the honor of being called his son is enough.”
“I never thought of you as nothing,” Jade whispered.
Alec ran his fingers gently through Jade’s hair.
“I know that now. You were the first person who saw me as something more than just a slave.” A smile drifted over his lips. “I recall seeing it in your eyes when we first met. Do you remember?”
Jade exhaled with a laugh. Holding Alec’s hands, she lifted her chin with a grin.
“How could I possibly forget? You saved my life that night. If you had not come to my aid…”
Enclosing her tiny frame in his embrace, Alec set his cheek on top of Jade’s silky chestnut hair. “You sure were a fiery little thing,” he admitted with a chuckle. “I almost felt sorry for those drunken fools. Another minute and you probably would have sliced them with that dagger.”
“What incident are you two speaking of?” Roderick demanded, crossing his muscular arms.
Two heads snapped up. Turning around Alec released Jade, but still kept a hold of one of her hands. His brows lowered as he gazed at the group now glaring at Roderick. A smirk touched his lips.
“Sorry my dear, but it looks like we’ve been found out,” Alec told her in a mock whisper.
Jade’s cheeks flushed brightly.
The knight’s manner didn’t soften. He continued to watch them suspiciously. I know what I heard. Their relationship was always a strange one, though neither would admit to it. As Roderick suspected, something happened in Grimstone of which he was not aware. This time, one of them was going to fill him in.
“What happened in Grimstone?”
Alec shot Jade a sideways glance. “You never told him?”
She shrugged with a grimace. “Was it foolish to hope I would not have to?”
The warrior sighed, “We don’t seem to have a choice.” Shifting his weight, he met the knight’s steady gaze. “The arena dungeon wasn’t the first time Lady Jade and I met.”
“What?” Roderick questioned, dropping his arms to his sides as he peered at Jade briefly.
“He speaks the truth,” she confirmed.
“You see, a few nights before I had managed to escape. I was making my way towards the docks in order to sneak aboard a Malyndorian vessel.”
“And I…was traveling back to Grimstone Castle having engaged in my own private tour of the city. That is where I met the Thornbrook children.”
“Jade!” her mother scolded amidst the group of disapproving looks.
“The short version is, I heard a young woman screaming for help,” Alec continued.
“I had been cornered by three drunken hoodlums,” Jade added with a shudder.
“So I ran to her aid and dispatched her attackers.”
“Knocked some sense into them was more like it. We spoke briefly, never making any sort of introduction—”
“More like snapped at each other.”
“I did not!”
Alec’s eyes twinkled, but he said nothing.
“Alright, perhaps a little,” Jade recanted. “But you were the one who told me I should not have been there. Anyway, he suddenly ran off mumbling about a ship while I returned to the castle straight away.”
“By the time I reached the docks, my ship had set sail. I didn’t have much choice other than to return to the arena.”
As Alec’s words died away, everyone, other than Edmund, showed varying displays of surprise. Roderick was the first to muster any words.
“Well by George that explains a lot. I wish you would have entrusted me with that information sooner, milady. I wouldn’t have been so hard on Alec, let alone suspicious of him. He certainly wouldn’t tell me your secret.”
Jade flashed her beloved a grateful smile which Alec returned.
“What’s done is done,” the warrior said simply. “It was not my place to speak of it. As it is, things seemed to have worked out for the best.”
“And what things would that be?” Edmund questioned.
Alec glanced down at Jade prior to shifting his sight to the duke. Stepping forward, the warrior dipped his proud head in a bow.
Edmund watched him carefully with a set, unsmiling expression.
It’s time, Alec told himself. Heart pounding, he willed his body to keep its outward calm as he stood before the duke. Hopefully, everything he accomplished over the past year would be enough.
“Duke Stafford, with your permission, I would like to speak with you in private.”
Eyes locked upon each other, Edmund waited for the warrior to squirm. He didn’t. He always did have a backbone of steel, the noble observed. Still standing behind Alec, his daughter was gripping the skirt of her dress with bright, sparkling eyes. Edmund could not deny the vast difference in her behavior.
“It has been awhile since I was last here,” he began taking his wife’s arm as he started to walk back towards the front of the castle. “I believe a tour is in order, Lord Alec. What say you?”
“I would be honored, Your Grace.”
“So be it. Shall we say nine o’clock? We can discuss my terms then,” Edmund told him with a smirk before continuing on his way.
Alec practically did a double take. Did the duke just give me his unofficial consent? A rare full smile lit up the warrior’s face.
Coming to stand by his side, Jade interlaced her fingers with his. “I do say that went well.”
“Better than I thought,” Alec admitted p
eering at her with a hooded gaze.
Cheeks coloring, Jade lowered her eyes. The wide grin on her lips didn’t lessen.
“Milady,” Ariel interrupted moving closer. “We had best get you ready for the party.”
“Of course,” Jade replied, mentally shaking herself.
She was so elated upon hearing her father’s approval that she briefly forgot others were still present. Jade’s feet refused to move. For months she yearned to be in his company. Having achieved that goal, Jade didn’t want to leave Alec’s side. Ever.
“Until this evening, milady,” whispered the warrior as he gently kissed the top of her hand. Shifting his focus to the other woman, he flashed her a half smile. “It’s good to see you, Ariel. I must thank you for your dance lessons. They came in handy.”
Eyes darting between the two of them, Ariel forced a grin. “It’s always a pleasure to see you, Lord Alec.”
He frowned. “Alright, you can all stop doing that right now,” he scolded playfully, as his gaze encompassed the group. “It’s just Alec.”
“You’re going to have to get used to that sooner or later,” Garth told him, lightly slapping his friend on the back.
“Garth is right, kiddo,” Leos concurred. “In private is one thing, but there are protocols with being a nobleman you are going to have to learn and follow.”
Alec raised a brow. “Is it too late to change my mind?”
“Yes,” Leos laughed. “Come now, the ladies are not the only ones who need to prepare. We must make you presentable.”
Alec quickly looked over his military uniform and boots. “What’s wrong with this, Father? I even had my hair cut.”
Leos bit back a chuckle. “There is much I still have to teach you. At least I know you shall have a worthy lady to make sure you are dressed properly.”
With the early setting of the winter sun Lord Kegan’s celebration began. Lords and ladies from all over the kingdom arrived to offer their congratulations, and of course, see who Leos had chosen. Having Jade near, aided Alec in bearing the numerous and at times humorous, displays of surprise. Fortunately, no one was crass enough to make any sort of retort after the introductions. Alec’s position as an Emerald Sage demanded a fair amount of respect which no noble could deny.
