“Tell me a little bit more about this fancy party we’re going to,” Diana politely demanded, hoping Darien would finally divulge some information.
Though he seemed slightly irritated at Diana’s refusal to study, Darien smiled warmly and settled in for another series of questions. “What would you like to know?”
“How about what it actually is, for a start,” she replied with a sideways smirk. “I’d like to know what I’m getting myself into.”
“We’re going to the annual feast of Zen’Naphalia—the Night of the Fallen—our holiday that marks the beginning of winter. On the night of the Solstice, we mourn the loss of the Mother’s peace and honor the Fallen with feasting and revelry.”
“So it’s a swanky Christmas party,” Diana said with an amused grin.
Darien reacted with a charmed, yet disapproving, smirk. “I suppose—if that Christmas party was being held at the Vatican, and had every lord and monarch of the world in attendance.”
Diana felt a large amount of saliva forming on her tongue and instinctively gulped as her nervousness reached a new height hitherto unknown in her eighteen years. It’s the freaking Embassy Ball—I’m so not ready for this.
“How are we supposed to sneak into an event like that, uninvited?” she asked, astounded. Diana couldn’t even imagine the repercussions for such a social infraction.
“I never said we weren’t invited,” Darien replied sheepishly as a bit of red appeared in his pale cheeks. Diana silently arched her brow in confusion and Darien cleared his throat before continuing. “As Archon of clan Stoneheart, I have an outstanding annual invitation.”
“You’re a lord?” Diana asked with disbelief that quickly faded as she recalled their first few encounters. “I’m not really all that surprised, actually.” She playfully narrowed her eyes with a furrowed brow. “Why did you keep that from me?”
“Because it doesn’t matter,” Darien replied and then turned his gaze out the window. “Not to me at least. I never wanted the responsibility.”
When she began to feel the deep wound in Darien’s heart pulsing with remembered sorrow, Diana didn’t need to ask what his words meant. The mantle of Archon had been thrust upon the young Endymion Stoneheart when his father was taken from him.
Diana decided to steer the conversation back to the present. “I’m a bit surprised humans are allowed to attend such an important event. Are you sure they’re going to let me through the door?”
Darien returned his attention to her with a reassuring smile. “It’s very common for Naphalei aristocracy to have thrall companions, even at galas and affairs of state.” Though he seemed fairly confident, Diana’s nerves were less than eased.
“Well then,” she said with a playful grin and polite bow of the head. “I am greatly honored by your gracious invitation, my Lord Stoneheart.”
Diana felt the car begin to slow as Maurice exited the freeway and Darien smiled with satisfaction. “We’re almost to the stables.”
After several more minutes of barren farmland, narrow, winding, back roads, and a guarded check-point or two, they began driving through very secluded park land and Diana felt very much like she was being escorted to a top secret government facility.
When the trees of the dense forest that surrounded the road suddenly disappeared to give way to flat open fields, Diana gazed on in wonder but it was quickly overshadowed by a realization—she hadn’t felt the shock of the barrier.
“Why didn’t I feel the magic of the barrier?” she asked Darien, confused.
“Your thrall-ring,” Darien quickly replied. “They allow humans to pass through without any adverse effects. Otherwise, Maurice would have been knocked out and the car would likely be wrapped around a tree.”
“Well, we can’t have that,” Diana said sarcastically.
Looking back out the window, she saw a few small buildings in the distance. A large sand-colored pillared building, with a roof of red ceramic tiles, stood in the center with two smaller buildings of a similar design standing to either side. With the tall pointed trees lining the road to the complex, the site reminded Diana of an Italian villa built during the Renaissance. The building to right was enclosed and shaped like a pointed barn, with very tall, large, wooden doors shutting the entrance, while the U-shaped building to the left was much more open, with windows lined across the sides, and a small square pool in the center.
As they drew near, Diana could see several men and women, both human and Naphalei, in and around the complex. Many looked to be performing duties, such as architectural maintenance or fence mending, while others seemed to be leisurely enjoying each other’s company. In a fenced-in area to the side of the barn-shaped building, Diana saw a man and a woman riding horses together through a series of hurdles and her mind was flooded with memories of a summer outing to a ranch a few years ago. In spite of the magical beings in the area, the place seemed rather normal to Diana.
Once Maurice parked outside the front of the main building, Diana quickly stepped out with a gratifying stretch, happy to finally be out of the back seat of the car. While the antique Rolls was an exquisite sight to behold, it certainly didn’t have adequate leg room.
Diana could see several signs displayed around the entrance of the building, but as they were written in elvish—and not bilingual—she had no idea what they said. She assumed something to the effect of “Welcome” and some travel information.
“Here you are, Miss Diana,” Maurice said from behind as he handed Diana her blue and white striped travel bag.
“Thank you, Maurice,” she said. As she took the bag in hand, Diana couldn’t help but feel she hadn’t packed enough. Darien had assured her that she wouldn’t need much, since her human clothes and devices would be of little use, so she had just packed a few clothes to wear around human towns and her toiletries.
When Diana looked up to see Maurice unloading Darien’s large trunk from atop the luggage rack of the car, she couldn’t help but laugh.
“I can see which one of us packed more like a woman,” she teased as Darien came to stand beside her.
“I packed light, I’ll have you know,” he replied with a smug smirk. “I once knew an Archon’s daughter who chartered an entire coach just for her dresses.” His gaze shifted to the trunk. “I wasn’t quite sure what to bring with me; I haven’t been to Qir’Aflonas for the Zen’Naphalia in over a century.”
“Was that Archon’s daughter named Miraena Swiftriver?” Diana asked with a sideways grin, remembering her elven friend’s large closet full of dresses.
“I’m afraid not,” Darien said through a chuckle. “Though I’m sure Miraena can fill a coach just as well as Tylvanna.”
Darien turned to inspect the large board of writing that Diana couldn’t read. “We arrived just in time,” he said with a smile as he took her hand. “We will be departing very shortly.”
“Can I use the restroom?” Diana asked. She wasn’t sure how long they’d be traveling and didn’t know when she’d have another opportunity.
“Oh yes, of course,” he replied, a bit embarrassed. “The refreshment station is inside and to the left.”
“I’ll never get used to that,” Diana said, shaking her head at how strange the elven name for the restroom sounded. It sounded like a snack bar, and in the minds of most humans, bathrooms and food don’t typical mix well together.
The Naphalei apparently didn’t use the “refreshment station” as often as humans did, either. Darien rarely used the facilities, probably having excused himself a total of three times since they had started dating. It made Diana feel self-conscious when she had to go.
Leaving Darien with the luggage, Diana stepped through the open doorway into the central building—which appeared to be a passenger check-in and waiting station filled with chairs and sofas, all of which looked a great deal more inviting than the furnishings of the human equivalents. The room was fairly empty at the moment, save for a cheerful blond Naphalei woman behind the far chec
k-in counter that smiled to Diana as she walked in.
Diana found the emptiness peculiar. Perhaps they’d be the only people traveling today. To be honest, she had no idea how many elves actually lived out among humans. There must not be many, or the stable would be much busier.
She turned left to look for the refreshment station and stopped short, seeing two doorways labeled with unfamiliar elven symbols—she had no idea which led to the ladies’ room. I guess I should have read more of that book, after all.
To her great relief, a Naphalei man walked out of the left doorway and Diana swiftly went through the right.
Stopping short again, Diana stood, even more confused than before, in an odd circular room. Seven smaller rooms, partitioned by red curtains, surrounded a square pool in the center. With its porcelain tiled floors and walls, and the hot, steamy, atmosphere, Diana felt very much like she’d just stepped back into her high school locker room. This isn’t a bathroom—it’s a bathhouse
Filling with intense curiosity, Diana stepped into the curtained-off stall to her right. Inside she found a small pool of steaming water, with what appeared to be flower petals floating on the surface. The pleasing fragrances in the water immediately filled Diana’s nostrils—it smelled of lavender mixed with blackberries. A wooden bench sat along the far wall, next to a rack filled with white towels, and a full-length mirror stood in the corner.
Where’s the toilet?
Taking a quick peek back in the main part of the room, just in case she had missed something, Diana found nothing that appeared to be a common toilet.
Feeling the sharp, uncomfortable, pains of nature’s call, Diana was in no mood to mess around with strange elven bathrooms and marched back outside.
She found Darien standing next to the newly readied coach, waiting impatiently for her return.
“Ah good, are we ready to depart now?” he asked when he saw her approaching.
“Oh no, we’re not,” Diana declared, irritated. “There’s no toilet in there. How do you people go to the bathroom?”
Darien flushed with embarrassment and began to look uncomfortable. He had obviously overlooked the fact that Diana had no idea how to use an elven restroom.
“Um—I will show you,” he said, leading her back the way she came.
“Shouldn’t you just tell me?” she asked once they stood before the entrance. “This is the ladies’ room.” She found Darien’s lack of restroom etiquette confusing, to say the least. He was usually super-polite about that sort of thing.
“This isn’t the ladies’ room—it’s the entrance. The other doorway is the exit. Men and women use the same refreshment station.”
“Well, that’s weird,” Diana replied, declaring her opinion on the matter as they walked into the nearest curtained room with the pool. She certainly didn’t like where the situation was headed.
Darien, who looked to be dying from embarrassment, walked to the far side of the little pool and gestured with his hands. “If you look closely, there is a seat here with a small drainage-hole and you simply—go.”
Diana’s face contorted to reflect her mixed feelings of confusion and disgust.
“You people go to the bathroom in pools?” Diana cringed as visions of the swimming pool in the Shepherds’ backyard filled Diana’s mind. “That’s so gross. I can just go in the woods.”
Darien smiled with a smug, but still embarrassed, looked of encouragement. “I assure you, it’s much more sanitary than your modern human refreshers. The waters have magical properties that cleanse impurities and refresh the person immersed in them.”
“Every time you go to the restroom, you go in a hot tub of magic cleaning water?” Diana shook her head, astonished by her own words.
“Of course,” he said with a shrug. “I don’t see what all the fuss is about.”
“Doesn’t that seem a wee bit inconvenient to you? Every time nature calls, you have to take off all of your clothes and soak in a bath?”
“We don’t quite—how do I put this?” Darien replied, thinking it over a moment. “Our bodies don’t make us cleanse like yours do. We simply choose an opportune time to go through the process, much like choosing when to eat, or bathing. Most of us incorporate it into our morning and evening purity rituals.”
“Ohhhh,” It all began to make sense. “That’s why I hardly ever see you use the restroom.”
Darien nodded, and then stood uncomfortably for a moment, before Diana shooed him away.
“Okay—I get it,” she declared through a chuckle. “You can go now.”
“Right, forgive me,” Darien replied, still mortified by the situation. He left swiftly, pulling the curtain shut behind him.
Now quite alone, Diana’s gaze went to the pool of steaming water. She shook her head again, marveling at how humans and elves seemed so similar yet lived such different lives. Letting the pleasing aroma sooth her as she inhaled deeply through her nose, she slowly exhaled and prepared for “refreshment.”
After removing her clothes, folding them nicely, and placing them on the wooden bench, Diana dipped her foot into the hot water to test the temperature—it was just right. Slowly easing herself in the rest of the way, Diana sat in the body-contoured seat. After a moment, she had to admit, it was a rather comfortable and relaxing experience. Even so, the entire business still felt strange.
After she felt adequately “refreshed,” Diana got out of the water, dried off with one of the provided towels, and then quickly slipped her clothes back on.
Now ready for departure, Diana walked outside fully expecting to find Darien impatiently waiting next to the coach—which she did—however, it was Endymion Stoneheart’s sparkling gray eyes that lit up as she approached.
Darien had dropped his magical disguise and changed his wardrobe, giving Diana her first true glimpse of the reluctant elven lord. Dressed in the fashion of his people, he wore a dark blue frock-overcoat, similar to those worn by the Europeans of the late 18th century, over a loose, V-necked, white blouse, and tan breeches that tucked into polished, black leather riding boots. The sword hanging at his side completed the ensemble.
Diana swooned at the sight of him.
“All good now, I hope,” Darien said with a smile as she drew near.
She silently nodded her affirmative, continuing to look him over.
“You didn’t mention anything about a George Washington convention,” Diana said with a grin. “What, no white powdered wig?”
Darien smirked at her, apparently not amused.
“While I was waiting on you, I took the time to change into more suitable clothing. Our taste in fashion is a bit more classic and doesn’t evolve as quickly as humanity’s.”
“I guess that makes sense,” Diana replied. “Considering centuries to you are like decades to us.” Her attention caught by the hilt of Darien’s sword, Diana inspected the weapon. Forged from a peculiar dark metal, with a grip surrounded by woven purple cords, the sword suited its owner. The guard, made of the same dark metal with silver accents, was fashioned into the shape bat-like wings, pointed towards the end of the blade, flanking an emerald jewel in the center. “Is that sword real or just for decoration?”
In answer, Darien took hold of the sword by the hilt and unsheathed it with the unmistakable sound of metal sliding on metal. Like the hilt, the metal of the blade was forged from the same graphite colored metal and slightly narrowed in the middle, giving it a sleek, unique, design. All thoughts of peculiar ores and shapes immediately fled Diana’s mind when she beheld the strange, arcane, runic markings etched along the length of the blade—they were simply indescribable.
When they began to glow with soft green light, Diana jumped back a foot
“What on earth kind of a sword is that?” she asked in amazement.
“A Runeblade,” Darien replied with pride. “Very rare weapons that are extremely difficult to forge, even for a grand master runesmith. Its name is Satelvir—the Heartseeker. This sword has been wielded by the
Archon of clan Stoneheart since before the Sundering of the World.”
“What does it do?” Diana asked, eying the eerily glowing markings.
“The runes imbue Satelvir with the ability to drink the essence of magical creatures, eventually rendering them powerless for a time.”
“Wow,” Diana said in awe as Darien re-sheathed the Runeblade into its scabbard.
“We should be on our way in a moment,” he said, looking beyond Diana. “The stable masters are bringing the sharifon out now.”
Diana tore her gaze away from Darien’s sword and turned around, only to be awestruck by an even more otherworldly sight. The sharifon was a creature out of a dream, with the core of a great feline—like a lion—and the head, back, and tail feathers of a giant eagle. Its front paws had characteristics of both cat and bird—strong paws with sharp bird talons that appeared quite deadly—while the hind legs were mostly catlike. With their leashes in tow, the stable master ushered the four fearsome and noble beasts away from their pens towards the carriage. With feathers and fur of a variety of colors and combinations, no two looked the same. One had the dark black body of a panther and feathers that were white as snow, while another had a spotted body akin to a leopard and the blue-green feathers of a tropical bird.
When they drew near to the carriage, the black and white sharifon reared up on its hind legs and spread its wings. Frightened by the sudden movement of the great beast, Diana instinctively stepped away and marveled at its wingspan—it was the same as a small airplane.
Carriages be damned—she wanted to ride on the back of that magnificent creature.
As the stable master hitched the sharifons to the coach, Darien opened the door for Diana and helped her to ascend the small steps. Once inside, she was startled to find the carriage not empty—a Naphalei couple would be joining them on their journey.
“Oh, hello,” Diana said in surprise as she sat down. However, from the woman’s look of polished indifference and the man’s smug irritation, Diana knew her greeting to have been pointless. Feeling the awkward tension twisting her insides into a knot, she tried not to look at them as Darien stepped in and shut the door behind him.
Moonshadow Page 24
