Below the Peak (Sola)

by Juliet Lili

  “It will not do” the king spoke finally.

  “Ornate box full of allodia.” The prince offered.

  “Not enough.” the king retorted.

  Nara glanced at the prince, noting his blank look and irritation edging in his eyes.

  “I’ll pay in weight of your largest man.”

  Loud gasps echoed in the room, astonished at the form and amount of payment. Nara stared at the prince, stunned. Truly he must be desperate to be willing to pay such an absurd of quantity. This spurred her to wonder what they needed the well for. And what is this well to cause such a demand?

  The king smiled smugly, believing he had the elf in the corner. “Tempting as it is, it is not enough.”

  “Name your price then.” The prince’s voice sent a trail of chillness over her spine, belying the neutral expression he had on.

  As if the king was waiting for the exact words, he propped himself, straightened out and drummed his fingers on the armrest. He didn’t hesitate when he said, “Your alliance.” Etiquette and fear in front of the two guests vanished as murmurs of sheer surprise, confusion, disagreements and agreements broke out. Even the queen gaped at her husband dumbfounded.

  Nara’s lips almost curled into half a smirk past her rage toward the king. Only he had the audacity to request alliance from the elves.

  Evidently, lord Finn Horrindor was not in favor of the king’s suggestion, his said something to the prince in elvish. She only picked up hello and goodbyes from the elves who came to trade with them on trade days, so she didn’t understand what lord Finn murmured, however, one thing she certainly knew was whatever he just said to the prince wasn’t pleasant considering the hiss in his voice.

  Will he agree?

  A big part of her hoped he would despite it meant siding with the infuriating king. Nara could already imagine the victory over Kalil with the army of elves on her kingdom’s side. Defeating Kalil would be like swatting a fly. A hard expression settled on the prince’s features. He leveled his gaze onto the king as he uttered, “No.” His tone was final leaving no room for negotiations.

  If the king was unsatisfied by the prince’s rejection, he hid it perfectly. He pressed on and conferred, “Agree to fight with us against Abasi, and I will let you fetch from the well. This is my final offer.”

  This was what King Lorenz thrived on. Shady dealings, manipulation, deception these were all his element. He wasn’t known to be cunning and sly for nothing. The only thing that surprised Nara was where he got the boldness to challenge the feared prince, the man couldn’t even wield a sword properly. Nara considered him to be pathetic, as a king and the chief commander of the force, he should be able to stand forth and guide his army with skills and not just a mouth and let others do his bidding.

  “Take what I’ve offered you” the prince spoke, his words sounded more of a warning than a suggestion. Just then, footsteps of more than just one person sounded on the stairs above them which winded to the hall. Another party entered the grand room. The mage, General, Barra, Risa and three elves and other human guards assembled beside the prince and lord Finn. Nara immediately recognized the female elf as the one she had crossed the path in that mingy pathway a day after her return to Vessener. The only addition to her clothing was the sword strapped to the side of her waist and without a hat that had shadowed her face and hid her gold locks that tumbled past her shoulders. The female elf glowered in their direction, making it obvious she was furious.

  Nara didn’t think she could express her astonishment in any new way. All she wanted to know what in the gods was going on! Whatever was in the unknown well must be damn important to them to come in numbers. Are there others of them inside the walls and outside? The thought was frightening.

  “He is a half elf,” the female elf informed the prince, her face cringed in disgust when she glanced at the mage who stood next to Barra-a protective barrier between her and the mage. The mage was wrapped in a grey robe and shawl from his head to his feet hiding his face as always. The mage was the only human known to practice magic across Murisa to Kalil. After the dark war had ended, only a few selected could work and manipulate magic for the sole purpose of protecting kingdoms, considering magic was also what brought the great destruction among their kind. However, as years then centuries flew, the fewer people were who knew how to weave it, and now, only him remained as the mage known in Murisa. Although he possessed the ability to conjure magic, they couldn’t rely on him alone to win the war against Kalil. He was not that powerful. He wasn’t strong enough to harness fully the magic that was left in the land.

  Nara’s glanced back to the prince and found his expression was still impassive as ever with a shadow of darkness looming closely to the surface as he looked at the king. Finn on the other hand, had a grave look on his face even his stance had changed to someone on edge, which if pushed a little he would make sure you were the one who would fall alone. Nevertheless, it was the prince who alarmed Nara more, danger hummed around him.

  “You thought I wouldn’t know your kind wouldn’t be after it. You try to steal what is mine!” the king barked.

  The prince grinned, a very chilling grin, and took a step forward causing the lords and ladies to lean back on their seats, trembling. Nara felt her feet that had gone numb from standing prickle with adrenaline, -ready to take flight or fight. It was that scary.

  “You deny us when you know better the well cannot be owned by anyone?” the prince questioned, his tone deceptively kind.

  “I do not care for ancient rules. It’s on my land. I own it, and I can do whatever I choose to do with it, elf!” the king barked again.

  “We came here in peace, and we would like to leave the same way,” the prince said, his words sending off alarm bells in Nara’s head.

  The air in the room churned heavily, darker and dangerous as if something horrible was about to happen. The calm before the storm. Perhaps the king had gone too far snapping at him. Who knows what he might do? Nara hoped the king would realize he was trailing in dead waters against the elf. To her dismay, the king lashed and spat again “You are wrong if you thought walking in here with your cronies would scare us, it’d make us tremble and hand over whatever you demand from us! A savage is what you are, just like your brother. It seems death is the only leash for your kind!” Everything stilled in the hall to the point Nara could hear herself breathing. The king blanched, realizing he had crossed over the line. Too late to retract his words, it happened too fast, so fast no one saw it coming.

  Chapter Eighteen.

  Nara’s mouth dropped with shock as she took everything in. The sentinels sprawled on the floor disarmed and knocked out by Finn. The General pinned on the wall with his feet dangling from the floor as the female elf hand tightly wringed his throat, his features and neck ruddy while the lady elf’s other hand pointed the sharp tip of the blade at the hollow of Barra’s throat, who harshly glowered back at his capture. Nara shifted her eyes to the other two elves, they had disarmed Risa and the three guards who flanked the king. Her gaze moved to the prince who hadn’t moved from where he was standing. The mage stood two feet away from the prince, wedged, the hood hiding soulless eyes staring at the ground lifelessly.

  Nara had never seen such violence in anyone eyes as the one she was now seeing on the prince’s; it made her shudder to the core. His skin was taut making his face more sharp and harsh. His green eyes darkly vibrant and sinister. A wringed sob had Nara shifting her gaze to the high end of the table. Real terror kicked in when she beheld the king and queen. The queen held one of the carving forks that was on the table prodding the king’s throat whereas the king had the fillet knife pressed to the center of her left breast inching closer and closer to tear the beautiful garments she wore and pierce her flesh straight to her heart. Tears profusely fell from the queens redden eyes, trailed and run over flushed cheeks. The hand which she held the fork trembled.

  What in the gods did he do to them?

  Fear gripped h
er. She searched for her family.

  Her father and mother had gone stone cold, clear dread displayed on their features at the same time Ingrid was quietly sobbing with her eyes squeezed shut. She noted they were holding each other's hand, wishing she was not separated by the paled lord who sat between them. She was slightly relieved when she ran her gaze over them for any sign of injury and found none, afraid they had also been harmed. Apart from the king, queen, mage, Risa, the guards, Barra and the General no other person appeared to have been physically hurt in some way. Lest the elves tried to hurt her family or her, she would not allow it. Daring herself even though she was terrified, her fingers reached out for the steak knife she had placed earlier on the silver round plate with meat delicacies. She would fight to her last breath against the elves if it promised and gave her family a chance to leave this room alive. Her steady hand faltered and almost dropped the knife when she heard the prince’s voice.

  “Now we are going to do this my way.” The prince said in a matter of fact tone. “Tell your mage here to unveil the well, and we will be on our merry way.” Calemir regarded the distraught king, who had turned deathly pale and was sweating with each passing second as the fork dug and needled deeper into his neck threatening to cut his jugular. Luckily it elicited no drop of blood and his wife’s sobs assaulting his ears were the only things keeping him from fainting.

  “Huh…” the king croaked, his face twisted painfully as if he was struggling hard against something before looking at the prince dead in the eye. “No.”

  Calemir’s mouth thinned.

  “Kill me if you have to, but that won’t change a thing” the king choked, holding his chin high and still as he felt a trickle of blood from the small puncture the sharp inch of the fork just made on his throat.

  No one dared to move, guards remained frozen where they stood and did nothing to help the king. Fear had grounded everyone. As if recovering from a trance, the mage’s head snapped up.

  “Reveal the well” the prince commanded the mage.

  “I cannot” the mage shook his head.

  Growling, the prince inched closer to the mage.

  “Don’t bother threatening him, the half breed is bounded by oath not to reveal it unless I say so. You know what happens when one goes behind their given word elf?” the king taunted.

  Furious, Calemir ripped the hood hiding the mage’s face back and stared at the creature. Half human and half elf. It bared similarities with his kind eerily, features nearly beautiful as the pure ones except for the tip of its ears were much shorter and pointed outward, its form less tall and leaner. Nara watched the prince study the mage. She couldn’t help feeling a tremor of fear for his life. A half breed elf was considered an abomination by the elves. They were not taken kindly by their kin. Instead, the prince scoffed and ignored the mage by returning his attention back to the table. Looking at the king, she felt something she never thought he could make her feel. Admiration. For once in his life, king Lorenz kept his life forward for his people. He had the elf where he wanted him, it didn’t matter if he got killed, the elves couldn’t get to the well. A terrific plan. What he lacked in strength he made up with his diabolical mind.

  “Care to renegotiate prince of Forod?” the king asked smugly. The room startled when the queen’s hand which held the fork slumped above the table, dropping the fork at the same time the king’s knife clattered to the floor. The prince had released them from whatever spell he had cursed them with earlier. The other elves did the same, releasing their hostages.

  Calemir

  Foolish of him to have expected King Lorenz could be reasonable after he had a reluctantly decided to approach him respectably in his court and revealed his purpose of what had brought him here. He had done it out of respect, but as it has always been with most of their predecessor kings, they were men whose greediness and arrogance ruled them. He knew someone close whose greed cost him everything in his life.

  And he dared insult his brother. Dead or not, no one had the right disrespect his brother Tarron, even his people don’t dare to speak of him carelessly. To hear the king speak negligently caused his anger to spread like wildfire from his head to his toes, making his mind see nothing but a mist of red. And now, he had decided to teach them a valuable lesson, using the king and his men as examples. A simple task it was, to sift over the king’s and queen’s emotions and find that little hate which everyone harbored for another just hidden beneath the surface. A clear message for every human to understand they couldn’t enslave him or his people. Best they remembered where their place was because next time he wouldn’t be so merciful.

  Calemir glanced over at Leena and then at Finn, he was no longer the winsome person he played, a warrior stood before him. Loyal, his comrades had acted the same as he had, taking the offence seriously.

  How did this king know they would be coming? Calemir contemplated. Had they spotted lady Leena when she had first been searching for the well or was it the half breed who had sensed them coming? A muscle on his jaw jumped. Indeed, he was slightly surprised when he saw the half breed. He shouldn’t be alive, yet he was. The half breed lived long past the age of humans but not so many years as the pure blood. If alive then he should be looking old and not so youthful. Calemir wondered if some of his kind still carried relation relations with humans in secret even after it being strictly forbidden since the end of the Dark War. It was that reason, or the half breed drank the water of Var.

  Still, slaves to kings Calemir ruefully thought of the mage. The sentiment hit close to home than he wanted.

  “The deal is the same with a minor change. Ready to renegotiate prince of Forod?” the king repeated.

  “Speak” Calemir clipped.

  Although they had the upper hand over the elves, the room still didn’t breathe an inch. The tension didn’t ease a bit. Like everyone else, Nara waited to hear this new change that had been added to the deal.

  “Marriage to seal the agreement.”

  What! was the thought echoed in each person in the room except the prince who looked unaffected with the outrageous request. “That can be arranged” the prince replied directly.

  “No” the king rose one arm up and ringed one finger in the air. “I’ve already decided who is going to marry who. You, my prince, will be the groom” he paused.

  Brows knitting, eyes churning to the darkest color of green forest and feature twisting harshly, Calemir’s whole body turned sinister. “You dare command me?” power rode his voice and filled the whole room.

  **

  “He insults you. Let me kill him!” hissed the lady elf, her sword drawn up as she started forward for the king.

  “Don’t!” the prince ordered the charging female before she got to the king. The lady elf cocked her head to the prince and spoke to him. The angry expression on her face told she was asking the prince why she shouldn’t but Nara couldn’t be sure. The prince reply had the lady snapping her teeth at the king as she backed away slowly.

  “Well would you like me to continue?” the king asked arrogantly.

  “Who is she?” the three death words left the prince’s mouth. Nara could almost see the pride swell inside the king’s chest. She could only imagine how he would boast to the ends of the earth how mighty he was before the prince of Forod, how he commanded him to his will. His ego would grow to new heights if his plan ended successfully. The kingdom would never hear the end of this.

  Shifting his eyes to the members sitting around the table, Lorenz let them rake one face to the next. Every lady including the king’s own married daughters shrunk tightly back and tried to fold into the chair as his finger travelled across with his gaze until it paused. On her. It curled as if plucking her from the masses. “Her, Nara, daughter of Jae Thani.”

  “I refuse” Nara hissed at the same time her father stood and called, “Your, Majesty.”

  “Please reconsider, Your Majesty” her father begged. The rest of the room sighed in relief, glad it wasn’t
them nor their children were chosen. The elves might be the wealthiest, powerful and beautiful beings to walk the world. Still, it wasn’t enough to flutter and convert the frailest and greediest heart to marry one of them even if it was the prince himself. The fear of death, terrifying and uncertain future in foreign land kept them from throwing themselves at the opportunity.

  “Your daughter is unwed Thani, she’s at the right age to be a married woman” the king raked his eyes over her conspiratorially. It made Nara’s skin crawl.

  “Please…” her father begged. Her mother hissed. “My daughter would not do your nasty biddings!”

  “I won’t marry him, choose another girl,” Nara said defiantly. Over her dead body would she agree to marry an elf. Although it happened a long time ago, she couldn’t just ignore the history and evilness the elves did to her people. Thinking of marrying him, had her feeling guilty. She would be betraying the lost ones by being betrothed to their foe. A dishonor to the people who fought so the next generation could live.

  “I’m bestowing mercy over your family indiscretions, and yet you defy my command” the king snapped.

  “My family has done no wrong!” she retorted, feeling anger, which made her want to lash out crawl up in her chest. Ten, nine, eight, seven… Nara began to count in her head. Counting backward helped to distract her from being overwhelmed especially she was more than just irritated. The slow of the count also slowed the fast beating of her heart.

  “Your Majesty, marriage is unnecessary, the prince is a man of his word. We should trust him he will keep it that he will provide an army to fight for us” her father tried to reason.

  At her mother’s side, Ingrid began to cry, her mother murmured softly and worked soothing her little sister.

  Lorenz looked at Nara. “You are a soldier of Murisa, and your loyalties are to the king?” he inquired expectantly.