by Sunny
We traveled in total silence. After the first mile, Amber picked up the pace, uncaring of any rustling or disturbing noise we made as we traveled through the dense brush and wild foliage.
I tapped his arm and gestured to his bare chest.
"I'm fine," Amber replied quietly.
"Doesn't hurt?"
Amber shook his head.
He looked well. No redness, no sign of discomfort. Mona Carlisse and Casio, on the other hand, were already flushed beet-red and sweating profusely, their faces pinched with soundless discomfort. But they pushed on without a word of complaint, Casio having to run, at times, to keep up with our longer strides.
We had passed an hour and were nearing two when Mona Carlisse and Casio reached their endpoint. Amber stopped us by a small stream. Casio collapsed on the ground, panting, while Mona Carlisse dragged herself to the water, sipped it, and splashed it over her heated face. She submerged her arms up to her elbows in the cool water for a moment, then picked up Casio, brought her to the water's edge, and made her drink while she splashed water on her red little face.
So Mona Carlisse did care for her daughter, I wondered if other Queens were like her or more like my mother.
I was a little winded and my eyes were tearing from the irritating brightness of the sun, but otherwise I was holding up well. Amber stood guard while we rested, comfortable in the sun except for its bright glare, teary-eyed like me.
"That one is not like his father," Mona Calisse said quietly, looking at Amber.
"No," I replied, "not within."
"He serves you with a devotion beyond a reach that I have ever seen. Few men would refuse a life where their will was served by a Queen."
She turned to Amber. "Why did you still care for your Queen when there was no longer any need to, when it was even in your detriment to do so?"
"We are drawn to Queens," Amber replied. "It is our nature to desire to serve you, protect you. We require your warmth, your presence, as much as you require our strength. She is the Queen I have dreamt all my life of serving."
Mona Carlisse gazed at him wonderingly. "Why?"
"Because she loves and cherishes us as much as we love and cherish her," he said, his eyes fixed upon me.
I squirmed a little at the word love but did not deny it. I did love them, both of them, even now. My heart twanged at the thought of Gryphon, a soft ache.
"And she shows it by her actions, as you yourself have so witnessed—what she does, how she cares for us, how she foolishly puts our needs ahead of her own safety." He said the latter with sharp acidity.
"It was worth the risk," I declared. "You were worth the risk."
Amber's eyes caressed me with surprising gentleness. I smiled tenderly back, aware that a strong elemental bond between us had been forged.
He turned and addressed Mona Carlisse. "If you will carry Casio, I can then carry you both."
"I can carry Casio," I offered.
Amber shook his head. "No. If you deplete your strength, then I shall have to carry you as well."
I didn't like it but his logic was inarguable.
Mona Carlisse covered Casio completely with the blanket and picked her up. Amber arranged Mona Carlisse's blanket so that it shielded her and the child, then lifted them both into his arms and started off at an even faster pace than before.
Two hours later, he put them down, breathing heavily.
He glanced at me, assessing my state. My heart beat a little faster and my muscles were starting to protest the abuse, but I could still go on.
"The sun goes down in one more hour," Amber informed Mona Carlisse. "Are you two able to walk now?"
She looked no better—worse, actually—despite her rest. Her heart was pumping fast and she panted with her mouth open—her body's way of cooling itself. But she lifted her chin up, a true Queen. "Of course."
They stumbled along doggedly, Mona Carlisse picking Casio up whenever she fell and pulling her along. The little girl trudged valiantly on as the sun slowly set with lazy ease. I was wondering how many more miles we had yet to cover when a giant bird swooped down and landed nearby. It was an eagle, bigger than its natural normal variant, with gray intelligent eyes. Amber's sword hung about the bird's neck along with a cloth bundle. In the distance, a wolf howled in joyful hunt, catching our scent. A hyena gave a laughing, chilling cry. I shivered.
Amber moved protectively in front, putting himself between us and the eagle, but he did not attack.
A shimmer of energy, of light, and Aquila stood before us. He tossed Amber his sword and calmly stepped into his clothes and shoes that he had wrapped within the bundle.
When Aquila was fully dressed, he knelt, facing me. "Milady. I wish to serve you if you will have me."
I stepped out from behind Amber's protection. Amber tensed but did not stop me as I went to the kneeling man. Gently, I cupped Aquila's neatly bearded chin with both hands and lifted his face so that I could peer directly into his eyes. He stared up at me unflinchingly and allowed me to search those gray depths that slowly swirled back to their normal green-brownish hazel even as I watched. An extraordinary transformation to behold.
"I can only promise to do my best to protect you," I told him solemnly, "but I cannot guarantee it. If the Council rules otherwise for what you have done…"
"Then so be it. I have lived long enough. It would be a good way to go, an honorable way, serving you."
"Then I gladly welcome you," I replied informed acceptance.
Aquila took a deep breath, let it out in a gentle gust, and placed a light kiss upon my hand. Standing back up, he bowed deeply. "My Queen."
"How far back are the others?" Amber asked him.
"Several hours' distance," Aquila replied. "But they will close that length rapidly once they change." He paused and smiled. "None other than I, however, can fly."
Amber turned to Mona Carlisse. "Do you have another form, milady?"
"No," Mona Carlisse said with regret.
Amber turned back to Aquila. "If you are able to carry Mona Carlisse and Casio in your eagle form, I shall see to Mona Lisa."
Aquila nodded and I saw the look of unspoken understanding pass between them. Amber would not entrust my safety to Aquila just yet.
Shoes and clothes were wrapped in blankets and hung around my neck and Mona Carlisse's. I looped Amber's sword and belt over my neck and one shoulder, allowing the blade to rest behind me. It was much heavier than it had looked in Amber's hand. Aquila shifted once more into a majestic eagle and waited patiently for us.
"He does not feel bloodlust?" I asked.
"He is a bird," was Amber's simple reply, "and he has not just battled."
Amber hesitated before shifting. "Do not fear me when I change."
I lay my hand upon Amber's chest and smiled up at him. "I won't."
He pressed a tender kiss into my palm and shifted. Wild amber eyes lined in black kohl stared back at me, eye-level with my standing self. I reached out and stroked his furry head. He lazily blinked those golden eyes and turned his head so that I could scratch behind his ear, making a deep rumbling sound, purring.
The great cat crouched down before me and I clambered onto his back, my arms twining securely about his neck. A few gliding steps to make sure I had my seat and then he was running in smooth, loping strides through the thick brush, darting among the trees.
Aquila soared above us, his sharp talons wrapped carefully around Mona Carlisse and Casio. The little girl lifted her hot face to the cool blowing wind and smiled wonderingly as they flew over the trees above us.
I clung and buried my face in Amber's tawny fur. inhaling that feral musky fragrance that was him. Powerful muscles bunched and uncoiled beneath me in a smooth, steady rhythm. Leaves and branches whipped rapidly by us. He ran on tirelessly in that loping, ground-covering run that did not falter, did not slow, even as hour after hour passed and darkness descended fully, and his breathing grew harsh and labored.
Amber finally cam
e to a halt beside a pool of water. I slid off him, unburdening him, and let him lap the cool water. His flanks heaved in and out, panting, as he rested fully upon the ground, those golden eyes blinking tiredly in that lazy-cat way.
Aquila glided down, dropped Mona Carlisse and Casio gently to the ground, and came to rest on a nearby stump.
"How are you doing?" I asked the other Queen.
Mona Carlisse rubbed her waist. "He grips us tightly but carefully. The wind, at least, feels good upon our faces." She bent down and scooped up some water to drink, then splashed water over her face. It was less alarmingly red than before, I saw with some relief.
"Are you having fun, Casio?" I inquired.
The little girl nodded. "It is fun to fly."
I smiled. "I shall have to try it myself one of these days."
I stretched out upon the wonderfully cool ground, relaxed my muscles, and closed my eyes. It seemed but a brief moment later when a cold wet nose nudged me. I reached out and stroked Amber's white whiskers. They felt like thin wires but his muzzle was surprisingly soft and silky. His panting had slowed.
"Time to go, huh?" I climbed back on top of him.
The wolf howled again, much closer. They were covering the distance faster than we were, unburdened, unhampered. How much longer, I wondered, did we have to travel? It would be a close race, determined solely by the remaining distance.
We broke out of the forest into the safe familiar clearing several hours later. Lights around the compound and from the main building brightly welcomed us.
In the forest behind us, so close that it made me shiver and hasten my pace, animal howls of gnashing rage lifted and filled the sky.
We were back at High Court.
Chapter Fifteen
The yard milled with a sea of people—an overwhelming number of guards, maids, footmen, and healers who looked curiously upon us, ragged lot that we were and much the worse for wear. The other Councilmembers had arrived, it seemed.
Murmurs were loud and continuous as we made our way up to the Great House. I could imagine what they saw: two guards, one of them shirtless; a wild dirty child; and two Queens, one dressed in a ragged, torn gown, one whom all had long thought dead, the other wearing only a man's shirt. It covered all that needed covering, really. But all those many male eyes made me vividly aware of the long bare length of leg I was showing. Frankly, I was too tired to care much. They could look as long as they did not touch. Amber's flashing sword ensured that they did not. Heeding the blade's warning, the watching men stayed back, giving us a clear path up the most welcomed steps.
We were met within by Mathias, the impeccable steward, who did not even bat an eyelash at our less than regular attire, although his eyes did widen impressively upon seeing Mona Carlisse.
"Mona Carlisse and her daughter, Casio, shall be staying with us until other arrangements are made," Amber announced.
"Very good, sir," was the good steward's reply.
"Has the Council met yet?" I asked.
"They began their session a short while ago, milady."
I heaved an inward sigh. At least it wasn't over yet. "For how long do they usually meet?"
"Several more hours yet."
"Good. So we have some time to wash up. Mathias, would you be so kind as to rummage up some clothes for Mona Carlisse, Casio, and my man, Aquila, and have it brought up to our quarters immediately?"
"Of course, milady."
I smiled as I ascended the steps, amused at the bristling edge in Matthias's reply that I dared doubt his efficiency. "Oh, and could you have something brought up for all of us to eat as well?"
"Yes, milady."
Amber stayed behind a moment and bent down to whisper into the steward's ear. The little man's eyes grew even wider. "I shall make Lord Thorane aware of this immediately," Matthias uttered faintly.
Back in my splendidly comfortably furnished room, I grabbed my one other black gown from the closet, detestable though it was, and hit the shower immediately, leaving Amber to sort out the bedding arrangements. Under the shower's spray, I groaned with deep appreciation. I'd forgotten how marvelously good it felt to be clean. The tiny pellets of water hitting me were wonderful. I washed myself twice and shampooed my hair thoroughly.
My little group was standing around stiffly when I emerged from the bathroom. Mona Carlisse hovered in one corner with Casio. Amber and Aquila claimed the other end of the room, a wary distance between the two men. I lifted my brow but forbore saying anything other than "Please feel free to use the shower next, Mona Carlisse. There's a robe in the bathroom you can use until they bring up some clothes. The men will shower after you and Casio are done."
She nodded and escaped into the bathroom without a word, Casio in tow.
Someone knocked on the door. Amber opened it and three footmen bore in several trays of delicious-smelling food. Two maids entered behind them, their arms filled with clothes.
Rare meat didn't taste that bad, I decided a short time later, my stomach blissfully full. I'd eaten half my steak and pressed the other half on Amber. He wolfed down three steaks in addition to that. Gryphon restrained himself to two large pieces of the lightly cooked meat.
Mona Carlisse stepped back into the room, looking young and vulnerable wrapped in the fluffy robe. So much so that I wondered exactly what her age really was. Her wet dark brown hair hung loose down to her hips, its length a surprise. It hadn't looked that long, secured in a bun. Another surprise was her stunning looks. She was beautiful, I realized. Even now, too thin, with lines of fatigue and strain pinching her face, she was a striking woman. And strong, with a great force of will to have survived those ten years. When Amber had been locked in with us, filled with bloodlust, she had warned me and tried to help. Her daughter clung to her leg, wrapped in a towel, wet hair the color of spun gold covering her face. Automatically, Mona Carlisse put a protective, comforting arm about the girl.
She was downright decent for a Queen.
"There are some clothes in the other room for both of you," I said kindly. "You can change in there then join us for some food."
Mona Carlisse hesitated a moment, then nodded and went into the other room, closing the door behind her.
Aquila took his shower next and emerged wearing pants that were a tad too long and a simple loose shirt, no doubt borrowed from one of the footmen. Still, they were neat and clean, and much better than his old patched clothes. "The facility is yours," he said to Amber.
"I need not wash," Amber replied, his face cloaked once more in its usual impassive sternness.
I looked at Amber in surprise, then narrowed my eyes when I realized the reason for his reticence. He did not trust Aquila alone with me.
"Go ahead and use the shower, Amber," I said flatly.
"There is no need," Amber replied, a ferocious scowl on his face.
"I insist."
We locked in a short silent battle of wills before Amber dropped his eyes. Nodding curtly, he stalked into the bathroom.
"You cannot blame him, milady," Aquila said softly. "I would do the same were I in his position."
"He will have to trust you sooner or later. I'd rather it be sooner."
Aquila gave a short, surprised laugh. "You truly do not fear him."
"No. I know he would never hurt me. And I know you wish me no harm, either."
"No, milady. I do not," Aquila affirmed most solemnly in his precise, clipped manner of speaking.
The adjoining door opened and Mona Carlisse returned wearing a gown—black, of course—with a shy Casio clinging like a burr to her mother's skirt, in a dress much too big for her. The little girl finally lifted her head to peek at the food, her small delicate nostrils flaring, and I beheld her face clearly for the very first time. She was a lovely girl with exquisite, pale skin. All the heated red that had flushed her face was gone now, healed quickly. She had Amber's strong features—a bold nose, wide mouth, his beautiful sea-colored eyes—but more refined, like her mother. My hear
t twisted upon seeing her. A little girl.
The bathroom door opened and Amber stepped out abruptly, a towel wrapped tinily around his waist, barely covering him. He shot a sharp assessing glance at me and Aquila.
My lips twitched. "Less than a minute. Did the water even touch you?"
He ignored me and walked past Mona Carlisse and Casio into his bedroom to dress. Mona Carlisse shrank back against the wall as he passed.
"You shouldn't bait him," Mona Carlisse warned me.
"But it's so fun," was my lazy reply.
Her eyes were fearful. "You do not know what it is like when they turn that strength against you."
I thought of my foster fathers, of nasty Miles. "You're wrong. I do know what it is like." And I let her see the bitter knowledge in my eyes. "But Amber is not like those men. He would never hurt me."
"How can you trust them?" Mona Carlisse whispered and I knew she was asking that question more for herself.
"Sometimes you have to trust your instincts and just risk it. You will know soon enough if you made the right choice." My eyes softened. "Was it all bad? Did you not find pleasure with some of them?"
Mona Carlisse gave a harsh, tearing laugh. "I had to find pleasure. That is the only way they gain power through us, did you not know? The punishment for not glowing…" She shuddered and her eyes filled with terrible memories. "Last night was not the only time I was locked in with a warrior filled with bloodlust."
What a horrible, horrible image. I shook it off. "That time is over for you," I said firmly. "You were strong enough to survive it. You are strong enough to put it behind you."
She shook her head almost violently. "I shall never forget it."
"I did not ask for you to forget. That would be impossible. I only ask that you give yourself time to heal. Don't let it twist or warp you. There are good men as well as bad, just as there are good and bad Queens. You just have to give the good ones a chance."
Mona Carlisse bowed her head. "I will think upon what you have said."
