War loomed like a storm on the horizon, and the elven nation must somehow prepare to battle for its very existence against an enemy with at least three times its strength. Much blood would be spilled in the most desperate fight the elves would face in over a thousand years.
As Captain, Gendan would ride out at the head of the Guard, but Kami would not be accompanying him to Sendai. Her recent illness and advancing pregnancy precluded her taking the long, exhausting journey. She would not even have the comfort of Aneko’s company, for as First Sergeant, Aneko was needed on the march. Jelena felt sorrow for her friend; Kami should not have to go through so much of her pregnancy separated from her husband.
With any luck, however, they would all be back home by winter’s end, and Kami could give birth with Gendan by her side, unless…
Unless the Soldarans decide to press their attack early, before the spring rains end, Jelena thought. So much uncertainty! No wonder melancholy haunted the smiling faces all around her.
With the celebration still going strong, Ashinji and Jelena at last took their leave later that evening and retired to their tower apartment for some much needed sleep. Over the last few days, Lord Sen had kept Ashinji busy assisting with the logistics of moving the entire household. Jelena spent most of her time studying with Lady Amara, though she did deliver the occasional message.
Lord Sen had informed Jelena that she need not continue to carry messages for him.
“ I have never not worked, and I am not stopping now, just because I married your son, Father!” she announced to a bemused Lord Sen, who wryly gave in and didn’t press the issue.
The days passed quickly, and on the eve of departure, after the family had finished dinner, Sen took Jelena aside. “I’ve got something very important to tell you, my girl, something I should have told you a long time ago,” he said.
Sen wore a troubled look, and Jelena’s heart jumped nervously in her chest. “What is it, Father?” she whispered. “You look so serious. Should I be worried?”
Sen patted her hand reassuringly. “It’s about your father. I think I know who he is.”
Jelena gasped, then frowned. “You think? Then that means you are not sure,” she responded. Eagerly, she searched his face, looking for some clue that her father-in-law did, indeed, have the information she so desperately wanted.
Sen sighed and shook his head. “No…no, I’ll not dance around it. I’m sure, though I wish I’d found a different answer,” he replied. Jelena sat very still, her eyes locked onto his. “You see, my dear,” he continued, “your sire is…well, let’s just say that things will become very complicated for him when your existence is revealed.”
“ My father is of a noble family, then, but one which won’t accept a hikui as one of their own. Am I right?”
“ Partly so, yes. But there is much more to it than that.” Sen leaned in close and the intensity of his expression stopped Jelena’s breath. “Jelena, when my son announced his intentions to marry you, well…you know I was not thrilled, and I feel shame even now when I think back on the things I said. I’m just an old soldier and a farmer, a simple man who’s struggled to rid himself of old notions. But even old dogs can change. I’ve come to love you as if you were my own blood. I want you to always consider me your father, no matter what happens with your own sire.”
“ Now, I am worried, Father,” Jelena murmured.
“ When you showed me your ring, I recognized it immediately, but I couldn’t tell you the truth about it then. I knew nothing about you. You might have been out to deliberately deceive, or you, yourself may have been deceived. I couldn’t take the risk until I had observed you and could find out for myself just what you were about.
“ Then, you proved yourself to me beyond all doubt by bravely risking your life to save mine. Still, I’m ashamed to admit, I held back…not because of you, but because of the difficulties I knew would occur once your father and his family found out about you.”
Jelena bowed her head and clasped her hands tightly together to keep them from shaking.
Why am I so upset? I knew this could happen.
She made a decision. “If knowing of my existence will cause so much trouble, then perhaps it’s best that my real father never find out about me,” she said, raising her head and meeting Sen’s gaze firmly. “I have found everything I have ever wanted right here in Kerala. You are all my family now. I do not need any other.”
“ Jelena, my dear, that might be easiest for everyone, but I’ve given it a great deal of thought. Your sire has a right to know that he has a daughter. He’s unmarried, you see, with no other children.”
“ I know that I cannot inherit any of my father’s titles or lands because I am hikui,” Jelena stated. “I am no threat to the rest of his family, or to any future heirs he might have.”
“ That’s true, under ordinary circumstances, but your father is no ordinary man. He could change the law if it suited him to make you his Heir,” Sen responded.
Jelena’s eyes widened in bewilderment. “Who is this man?” she asked. “Tell me his name!”
Sen paused, as if, even now he were plagued with doubts. Finally, he spoke. “Your father is Keizo Onjara, King of Alasiri.”
About the Author
Leslie Ann Moore has been a storyteller since childhood. A native of Los Angeles, she received a doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from the University of California. She lives and works in Los Angeles, and in her spare time she practices the art of belly dancing. Griffin’s Daughter is her first novel.
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