“Ah, Alek, you’ve returned from yet another trek into the unknown. Welcome home.”
Alek still scowled but said nothing as he stood stiffly, arms crossed over his chest. Dain sensed Alek’s annoyance and swallowed the last of his ale. He moved his arms from around the beauties and kissed them each in turn.
“I’m afraid the night has come to a close, ladies. It seems I have some business to attend to.”
The women both pouted, standing up from the chairs they occupied and batted their eyelashes sensuously at him as they exited. He watched them both leave, their curvy forms sashaying out of the room. When the door was closed and all was quiet, Alek finally spoke.
“What is the matter with you, Dain? This is the third time in the last two weeks I have found you inebriated and entertaining company at all hours of the night. Did you forget that you had audiences to hear tomorrow?”
“No, I have not forgotten. How could I forget anything with you constantly reminding me all the time?” he said curtly, rising from his chair and going to the window. He leaned on the sill and took a deep breath of fresh pre-spring air.
The evenings were still chilly, but he did not notice most of the time, for the cold seemed to fit his melancholy mood of late. Spring was coming and the days were warmer, the nights still crisp, but the fresh smells were starting to permeate the air. It smelled of moist earth and wood smoke that traveled on the wind from the town laid out in the valley below. He could see a few twinkling lights burning at this hour from windows still stirring with life. He turned back toward Alek, who was now sitting in a chair that one of the ladies had occupied only moments before.
Dain knew that he was out of line again, but he just couldn’t seem to help himself. The affairs of state and the monotonous string of complaints and requests that came in every week made him irritable. It wasn’t that he didn’t care for his people, or want to understand their plights, it was just that he didn’t know how to help them the way he knew he should.
He had obtained the throne way before he was ready, and he hadn’t quite gotten the knack of what he should do for the province that now belonged to him. The province he had inherited too many years too early.
He sighed. If he was to be honest, he didn’t really try very hard. He rode through his cities and villages and made himself available to the people he governed, but when it came to changing laws or making edicts, he was way too inexperienced. Emerick usually handled all of that, and Alek gave him advice on what he thought should be done. Without them, he would be nowhere. Hell, his throne should have been overthrown by now from his lackadaisical way of ruling and his apathetic attitude for all of it. He looked at his Royal Advisor and best friend, and frowned. He knew Alek was disappointed in him for his behavior, but he never really ever came out and said it. It was actually worse not to hear his opinions out loud but rather to see it on his face instead.
The silence was broken suddenly, and Dain was glad for it. “I have to remind you all the time for if I didn’t, you would be late or not show up at all for your appointments.”
Dain just looked at him, his face hot with drink, his eyes bloodshot and dry. His head was reeling now, and he was beginning to even forget the names of the ladies that had been by his side only minutes before. Or maybe he didn’t know them in the first place. He berated himself for his lack of self-control and held up his hand in agreement. “I know, Alek. If not for you I would have lost my throne long ago. I owe you my life, you know that.”
“Then why don’t you listen to me? I have tried to tell you these things and have tried to get you to see the path of destruction you are on, but you continue to ignore my warnings.”
“I’m sorry, Alek. I cannot seem to be able to help myself. I enjoy hiding from my responsibilities in drink and beautiful company.”
“The responsibilities are always there whether you hide from them or not. You cannot escape from them even when you try. You are king of Azlyn, and you have responsibilities to your people, and to yourself.” His anger was abating somewhat, but his tone was still stiff.
Dain sighed. “I know.”He turned back toward the window, not wanting to endure the hard stare that Alek was giving him, disappointment gleaming in his eyes.
“What’s wrong, Dain? You can talk to me.”
“I don’t know. I feel a cold wind blowing, and I feel something coming, something that I cannot put words to. I fear there is a menace threatening to overtake us, but I’ll be damned if I can put my finger on it. Maybe it’s just the alcohol induced coma that is causing me to feel a cold wind blowing into my realm, seeping into my soul.”
“I’m glad you’re feeling them; at least I know you’re paying attention. I have felt them too. That’s why you must snap out of this mood you have slipped into. You have to be alert in order to be ready if these phantoms are indeed out there. I have much to do and cannot do my duty if I have to worry about your soul.”
Dain finally walked away from the window and placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “I don’t mean to make you worry so, Alek. I’m a grown man and can take care of myself.”
“From where I stand the view is quite different.”
“All kings have indulged themselves in drink and beautiful ladies.”
“Yes, but you are indulging enough for several kings. This path can only lead to heartache and loneliness. I hate to see you so unhappy.”
“Am I unhappy?”
“Yes, whether you admit it to yourself or not, you are indeed unhappy. The drink and the ambitious women can only fill your time and your soul for so long. After it all wears off, you’re going to wonder where your life went. I want to see you strong and vibrant as you once were, with a respectable woman who will love you for you, not because you are king.”
“I don’t think there is a woman alive that’s not after the power I can provide by making them my queen.”
“There is, if you’d look in the right places, or clear your head from the alcohol long enough to see them clearly.”
“Yes, Alek, I get it. You’re disappointed in me just as my father was. He didn’t understand me and neither do you, I fear.”
Alek stood and approached his liege and friend. “I do understand, Dain. I understand you more than anyone ever has, except maybe your mother. I’m just worried for you.”
“I suppose I should listen to you more often. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’m in a funk and don’t know why.”
“It will pass, but creating more havoc for yourself is not going to make it go faster. You have to want to change.”
“Okay, Alek. Stop worrying about me and I will do my best to change.”
“Do your best to change, and I’ll stop worrying.”
Dain laughed tiredly. “I think this evening is done. I should go to bed and get some rest, if I can turn my mind off long enough to do so.”
“Take the time you need. Emerick and I will take care of the requests and dispatches. We will make up an excuse for you.”
Dain looked at his friend and frowned. “It seems I make you do that quite often.”
Alekzand’r didn’t reply. Dain got the hint.
“No, I will be there. Have Emerick rouse me an hour before the first session and I’ll be there. I don’t want you and he to do my job anymore. I will hear my people and answer my own dispatches.”
“Are you certain?”
“Yes. I don’t know if I can change my ways with women, but I can at least start taking responsibility for my kingdom.”
“That’s a start I guess. It will have to do.”
“Alright then, bed it is.”
Dain started for the door, and Alek stopped him. “Your Majesty.”
Dain did not turn. He didn’t want to see Alek’s face, knowing exactly what he was going to ask, even before he asked it. “You are going to bed alone, aren’t you?”
Dain winced. He knew it. He hadn’t planned on taking either of the women he had been with tonight to bed with him, but know
ing what awaited him in the morning made him want to wile away the rest of the night in distraction. He could no more lie to Alek as he could his mother when she was alive. They knew him too well. Instead of turning to see Alek’s eyes boring into him, he answered from over his shoulder.
“I suppose that would be the wiser choice.”
“Indeed it would.”
Dain decided no retort was needed and left the room to head up to his chambers. He hated being told what to do, but then again he supposed no one would feel the need to reprimand him if he behaved like a civilized human being. He really was a mess. He stopped to look at himself in a mirror on his way down a corridor and frowned.
His eyes were red, his clothes were wrinkled and disheveled. He didn’t know when the dark circles under his eyes had appeared, but they were very noticeable. No wonder Alek was worried about his soul. Dain didn’t blame him. He was on his way down a road he would not be able to turn back from if he didn’t find a way to refrain himself from debauchery. He sighed and turned away from the mirror, heading to his room to get some sleep. Tomorrow would be a long day. He would get up and attend to his duties just as he promised, and he needed a clear head to do so.
CHAPTER 2
King Randor Breslin of Aaralyn, and his son, Kevaan Reese, looked down on the courtyard from a second- story window, watching the display of men-at-arms below. Two figures moved around the fighting arena with fury, feet kicking up the dirt underneath them, attacking and parrying each other’s onslaught with refined skill. One was large and strong, with fully defined muscles, the other small and quick, looking too frail to possibly win this match. The show was lengthy, but they were tiring, and soon a winner would prevail. The smaller figure finally beat his opponent, knocking the sword from his hand. The figure pulled off the safety helm and loosened a thick mane of golden red hair. She looked upon her opponent with a disarming smile. The other figure picked up his sword, bowed to his victor and walked away.
The king looked to his son and shook his head. “Again? That’s the second opponent this week.”
“She really is quite good,” Kevaan replied with a proud smile. “Everyone says so.”
King Randor left his viewing place at the window and returned to his chair, sitting down with a sigh.
“I know. I constantly hear this. My men are starting to feel inadequate.”
“Well, no one has forced them to accept her challenges. Besides, I think they let her win most times, so they really have no need to feel less than the king’s best.”
“That’s not the point, Kevaan. I have asked her to stop doing it, but of course, she doesn’t listen to me. She does what she wants, when she wants. I’m at my wits end. I don’t know what to do with her anymore.”
“I guess she’s too old now to put over your knee,” Kevaan said smiling again.
“I’m glad you find this so amusing, my son. This is your fault you know.”
“My fault?”
“You were the one to insist she learn the arts to protect herself.”
“There were lots of times when both of us had to be away. I just wanted to make sure she’d be safe.”
“That was a noble gesture to a sister from her brother, but this is why I have guards, to protect my loved ones.”
“I thought it was practical at the time.”
“But look to where it has led. She is not a normal girl.”
“She’s never been a normal girl. Not since birth. You said so yourself. The gift of an Elvin made sword does not go to a normal girl. Then when mother died, she had no role model to guide her into womanhood. She had only you and I and a palace full of men, no woman to teach her. We did our best, but we as men can only do so much.”
“We have a lot of female servants to help her.”
“Yes, but they only knew how to serve her, not to teach.”
“I guess we were too busy to notice; now it’s too late.” King Randor shook his head in dismay.
Kevaan sat down next to his father and placed a consoling hand on his shoulder. “She has turned into an exotic beauty, and she knows how to act like a princess when necessary, whether it’s what she prefers or not. We didn’t fail completely. It will be alright, father.”
“All the other women her age have been married for quite some time and are nursing babies, some on their second by now. Twenty-one is too old to be unmarried. Time after time I’ve told her she must choose a husband, but she refuses. I even gave her the option to find someone of noble blood that she loved, but even that didn’t work. Now my options have run out, and I’m left with only one.”
Kevaan looked concerned. He knew what was coming and was sad for his sister. He loved her, but he knew this time he would not be able to get her out of it as he had always done in the past. This time she was on her own.
“I must choose a husband for her. It’s time for her to marry.”
“She won’t like this, father. You know she will refuse.”
“She will have no choice this time. I have given her plenty of time. I have been patient, putting her needs for love first, but she’s deliberately defied me. She has given me no choice. She will marry whether she likes it or not, to whomever I choose.”
“And have you chosen?”
“I have, but I would rather wait to reveal it. I want to surprise her with a celebration for her twenty-first birthday. Then after the celebration, I will tell her. I want her to be happy during the party, not worried about what is coming. I expect you to make sure she attends. It’s an honor I want to bestow on my only beloved daughter.”
He wanted to argue that the party itself would not make her happy, but he didn’t. “Alright, father, but you will tell me first, correct?”
Randor waved his hand in dismissal. “Yes, yes, one thing at a time. Party first, then nuptials. I have made all the arrangements. You just get her there.”
“Yes, sir.”
***
Melenthia sat next to her father, finishing her meal as she looked around the room at all the nobles and their families that had come for her birthday. She had tried to make her father understand that she didn’t want a birthday party, especially when no one on the guest list were friends of hers; she had none. She didn’t want strangers at her party, people who didn’t even like her, but her father insisted and would hear nothing of it. She looked back on that day a week before.
“These are people you have grown up with, Melenthia, people who have known you all your life.”
“They know you, father, and Kevaan. They refuse to know me, the real me. They don’t even like me.”
“That’s preposterous, Melenthia. Of course they like you. You’re their princess.”
“I know what people say about me. They may sing praises about me to you, but behind your back is a different matter.”
“Maybe if you would try to be more demure and princess-like, they would respect you more.”
“It’s not those people that I want or need to respect me, but those that live in this realm, those that look to us for protection and guidance.”
“We are dropping the subject, Melenthia. It’s your twenty-first birthday and you will not embarrass me by not attending your own party. I expect you to mingle and dance and talk.”
She had swallowed back another retort and suffered the week in silence. Only to Kevaan did she make her plight.
“This is the real reason you rode in from Charbonneau, to bully me into something he wants me to do. He knows I can’t say no to you.”
“I will not bully you. I will only ask nicely.”
“And if I still refuse?”
“I will try harder.”
She changed the subject. “He doesn’t understand me. He expects me to be someone I’m not, someone he wants me to be. I can’t pretend to be what I’m not. And I absolutely dread having to dance with some nobleman who will paw at me and expect me to giggle and bat my eyes at him. I don’t want to have any part of this!” She stamped her foot and scowled.
<
br /> “Melenthia, I know you hate parties, but it’s something father wants to give you, to let you know how much he loves you. He wants to show you off as the beautiful and graceful lady we both see you as.”
“He cannot love me if he refuses to really know me, the real me.”
Kevaan kissed her on the forehead and smiled at her. “Just eat and dance a dance or two with a man of your choosing. Then when the festivities start going full steam, bail out and escape to your rooms. Everyone will be too drunk by then to notice.”
“Father will notice.”
“I’ll deal with father. Please, Melenthia, for me.” He hated himself for pushing her, knowing well that more bad news would follow this dreaded event, but he had promised his father he would make sure she attended. “Promise me an hour, two at the most. If anyone does anything you do not like, which I know is bound to happen, I will deal with them. I promise.”
She looked up at him, lips pursed, glaring at her sibling, the man she loved. She gave up. Her father was right, she could never say no to Kevaan.
“Oh, very well. I’ll do it only for you.”
“That’s my girl.” He kissed her forehead again. He stood from the bench he was sitting on beside her and glanced over his shoulder as he was walking away. “Wear the green velvet dress. It’s father’s favorite. You’ll have all the men eating out of your hand and all the women matching the color with envy.”
She grimaced and went into the keep behind him.
Now, here she was, dressed in the green velvet dress, with long gathered sleeves tied at the wrists, the skirt covered in pearl accents, just as Kevaan had suggested and watching men leer at her from afar. She had suffered through the receiving line, nodding and smiling congenially at all the pompous nobles who came to bring her good cheer on her special day. She knew they all thought the same thing. A twenty-one year old unmarried spinster. If her eyes could shoot arrows, everyone in the room would be dead.
She had promised her brother that she would give it an hour or two, and she had started counting down the minutes as soon as she entered the hall. Dinner was almost over and people would be taking to the dance floor soon. She frowned inside. She hated that the most. It was the perfect opportunity for the men to touch her inappropriately and whisper in her ear, without anyone the wiser. As soon as the remnants of the meal were cleared, she would try to slip out without anyone noticing.
Dark One Rising Page 3
