She gulped air and put a shaky hand on her chest, willing herself to calm down. “I’m so sorry; I would never bother you on your special day if I had a choice. But my father insists I give him an answer, and he is returning to the capital with his guardsmen right after the ceremony.”
“I still don’t understand, an answer to what?”
Instead of replying, Ryliss adjusted her long dress and went down on one knee, bowing her head respectfully. I could see several tracks of wet tears running down her cheeks. “My King, I wish to stay here at Sky Raven, in whatever capacity you deem appropriate. If you require an oath of loyalty, I will gladly pledge it to you.”
“Ryliss, please stand,” I said, drawing her back to her feet and leading her over to one of the chairs near the drinks table. I poured two drinks and handed her one, then sat down next to her. She took a nervous sip and watched me apprehensively over the rim of the cup. “First, young lady, I will never ask for, nor accept, an oath of loyalty from you.” She was about to protest, but I held up a finger to silence her. “I’ve known you most of my life and Maya thinks of you as a sister, it is not necessary. So, of course, you may stay here for as long as you like. But you still haven’t explained why?”
Relief washed over her dusky face as she fumbled, trying to dry her tears with her fingers. “Thank you, my King! And I really mean exactly that. To finally answer your question, Lin and Jules really need their space right now; and their life paths and mine are not the same. Likewise, my people would never accept Naurakka living nearby, nor would they understand our bond. Even that aside, if I went back home, they would just stick me back into the library to do meaningless research. As much as I love my people and my father, I could never be content to do that anymore. Worse yet, if I slipped up and they found out I was a druid, well…”
“So what would you enjoy doing?”
“Well, a fortress this size should have a library of its own. I could start one for you,” she said hopefully, staring at the floor.
“But how is that an improvement over the dark elf library work?”
“I was hoping the library work would just be part time. What I would really like to do is become a field assistant.”
“A what?” Nia interjected, fluttering over to my shoulder. I also sensed Rosa across the room perk up and smile.
“A field assistant, someone you could send out to procure rare spell components, visit places of power in search of hidden passages, or just run errands outside the fortress. I could do all of that, “Ryliss gushed, finally looking happy with the direction of the conversation.
I was about to say that sounded far too dangerous for a young scholar, but Winya broke in through our link.
“Alex, don’t you dare tell any dark elf that something is too dangerous. That’s waving a red flag in front of a bull; have you learned nothing from Maya? Plus Ryliss is already older than Maya was when she left home to wander in the wilderness. And your beautiful bride didn’t have a Jag’uri puma escort either.”
When I heard the words ‘beautiful bride’, I must have gotten a silly grin on my face and locked up for a few seconds. Because when I looked up, I was stunned to see Rosa hugging Ryliss and the dark elf girl enthusiastically returning it.
Huh? What did I miss? Rosa must have read my confusion in my thoughts, because she turned to me and grinned like a Cheshire cat. “What you missed was your former Master hiring a new field assistant! It seems my former apprentice will be leaving me to go play King or some such drivel, and you can’t expect an old lady like me to keep going out into the wilderness to collect her own samples. The last time I did that, I picked up a stray dark elf, and we all know what a disaster that was. Besides with all the new enchanter magic I’ve found here at Sky Raven to analyze, I won’t have time.”
“Oh, thank you, Rosa and my King! I won’t disappoint you, I swear!” Ryliss beamed, snagging a cookie off the table and bounding out the door. I’m pretty sure her feet weren’t touching the ground at all. A few seconds later, a dark elf victory whoop echoed off the massive main walls outside and sent the fortress’s entire compliment of pigeons rocketing up into the sky.
Rosa smirked and then remarked thoughtfully, “Oh shoot, I forgot to ask her if she made good sweet cakes before I hired her.”
“Did I hear sweet cakes?” Elsa laughed. The tall blonde dwarf swept in with Darroth zombie-like in tow. She was wearing a very thin orange dress, which showed off her impressive figure with a lot of embroidery strategically placed in all the right spots, and a small tiara device woven into the beehive braids on her head. She saw me eyeing her outfit and batted her eyes shamelessly. “Aye, Alex, now you’re finally waking up and seeing that you should have been chasing a full-bodied woman instead of those little pointy-eared girls, eh?”
I laughed out loud as she continued to spin around in glee. “Elsa, I’m pretty sure I couldn’t handle a woman like you. That’s best left to a fire breather like Darroth here,” I said, slapping Darroth on the back, and finally breaking the enthrallment that he had been under watching the Princess cavort. Shaking his head resignedly, he trudged over to the punch and downed four huge glasses in rapid succession.
“Thirsty are you, Darroth? Or just trying to fortify yourself so you can fight off all those envious onlookers who will be ogling this dress at the wedding? Both you men better affix this awesome sight in your poor memories, because I don’t do this Princess outfit for anything less than a royal wedding,” she laughed.
Darroth looked over at Rosa, savagely bit into a cookie and growled, “You know she’s going to be insufferable all night like this!”
“All those years of loneliness back at Xarparion, Darroth,” Rosa chided him softly. “Now don’t tell me you would want to go back to that life again.”
“What? And leave the sweetest forge ever built at the base of this mountain? Are you daft, woman?”
Elsa walked over and ran a hand alongside Darroth’s scraggly-bearded face and scowled. “If you’re saying that the only heat you would be missing is that jezebel iron works, then you might as well take your pillow down into that smoky hole of a workshop right now; because you’ll find the night air a tad chilly topside tonight!”
The color drained from Darroth’s face as he started mumbling a well-rehearsed litany of apologies. But Elsa would have none of it and pointedly ignored him, instead addressing me with a calm formal bow.
“King Alex, as the official royal representative of my brother, the King, I offer you our heartiest congratulations on your marriage. My Liege would enjoy meeting you and your lovely Queen in person at your earliest convenience. Again, heartfelt congratulations.” She sighed as if a load had been lifted off her shoulders. “There, that was my scripted message. Now, off the record, my brother is feeling pretty good about how things have turned out. He might even be persuaded to eventually bury the hatchet with the dark elves in the near future; something I believe him meeting your charming wife in person might help along greatly. And if we can get the seaport functioning and the trade road open again, well, we’ll have the old goat eating out of our hands!”
“Thank you, Elsa. Hopefully, this is the start of new prosperity for these lands and all the people who live here; dwarves, humans, and elves.”
She cackled and slapped me on the back. “Look at that, not even crowned yet and already sounding like a politician! Alex, I know your heart is in the right place and all, but you really need to get yourself a decent administrator. My brother has forty-one people who do nothing but process bloody paperwork. Trust me, if even one of them gets the trots and can’t work, the government practically grinds to a halt.” I looked at her questioningly, and she waggled a finger at me. “No way, I don’t like paperwork, either; so don’t ask. Besides, why would I ever hide legs like these behind a desk?” she teased. “Well, I’d better run along and find a good spot along the processional; perhaps something high up so those nice soldier boys don’t have to strain their necks too much!”
<
br /> A sputtering Darroth followed her like a lost puppy out the door. Nia and I looked at each other and agreed, ‘poor suffering fool’!
We had a couple minutes break between visitors, so I sat down heavily in one of the chairs and stared blankly into the air. Nia fluttered up to my face and gave me a big concerned hug.
“What’s the matter, Mr. Alex? You look like Maya after someone feeds her a ginger snap. Don’t tell me that pre-wedding nerves are finally getting to you?”
“No, Nia, it’s nothing to do with the wedding; it’s just something Elsa said about all the paperwork. It suddenly occurs to me that I know absolutely nothing about running a kingdom; neither does Maya. I’m pretty sure we’re both going to botch it horribly.”
“Relax,” Rosa crooned calmly, as she leaned over and again straightened my collar. “You will be a great king. Besides, it’s not like we are just throwing you to the wolves. Most of us will be staying here to help guide you in any way we can. Don’t forget you have Maya with you as well; the two of you together can make anything happen! Look at what you’re already accomplished.”
“Still…Qleyse!” I called out. Almost instantly, the Helios walked through the doorway. I would be tempted to swear he had to have been waiting out there. We all froze for a few seconds in amazement. He was wearing a long, swallow-tailed, cornflower-blue surcoat with row upon row of shiny gold buttons running down the breast line. Under it, he wore a white large-ruffled shirt, black riding pants, and perched on his head was a tricorn hat in the same color as the coat.
“Wow, pretty stylish, Mr. Q.,” Nia quipped, orbiting him in the air with a big smile on her face.
“Of course,” Qleyse asserted, and then bowed impatiently toward me. “My King, you do realize that I am co-officiating the ceremony in a few minutes?”
“Co-officiating?”
“Yes, Sire. Your lovely Queen’s grandfather and I will be doing a joint wedding ceremony.”
“Ah, I won’t keep you long then,” I said. “But in talking with Princess Elsa, I am reminded that Maya and I will need a lot of help running the day-to-day operations of this kingdom going forward.”
Qleyse frowned. “Yes, my King, the same notion occurred to me as well, but I in no way wanted to give you the impression that I had no faith in your abilities. It is indeed a daunting task.”
“Is that something you would normally handle as castellan?” I asked hopefully.
For the first time, I saw a glimpse of what I would call real fear cross the face of our normally unflappable, even over-optimistic, Helios.
“By the stars, no Sire! I’m afraid my poor skills are entirely related to the running of a military fortress, not an entire kingdom. Besides, my management techniques with the living are several millennia out of date!”
“Relax, Qleyse, I was just asking. Do you at least have any advice?”
Calming down a bit, the castellan stroked his chin in thought. “Well, Sire, you will need someone with impressive experience to be sure…hmmm.” He snapped his fingers and smiled broadly. “Rest easy and enjoy your day, my King; I have just the person you need…oh, Ebony!” Qleyse called out melodiously, tapping his foot impatiently.
Just like Qleyse, she arrived in a few moments, like she too had been waiting in the hallway. Ebony marched in resplendent in her golden armor and saluted smartly, followed by a formal bow to me.
“Sire! Qleyse, you called?”
“Yes, Ebony.” The old castellan smiled innocently, but I could see he was enjoying some form of joke at her expense. “That new recruit we just got in will need to be formally presented to the King and Queen at their reception after the ceremony. Please see to all the details.”
Ebony’s face immediately took on a pained expression. “Seriously, my Lord Castellan?” Qleyse gave her a stern look, and Ebony immediately snapped back into formal attention.
“Dismissed, Ebony,” he grinned.
“Yes, Sir!” She saluted smartly again, and with a low bow in my direction, backed out of the room.
Qleyse chuckled, “My King, rest assured, everything is handled. Now if you will excuse me, I have a wedding to prepare for!” And he disappeared as quickly as Ebony.
I looked at Rosa and Nia. “Any idea what that was all about?”
“No, but sometimes this place is as messed up as a blind snake charmer in a rope factory,” Nia asserted matter-of-factly. “How’s the stomach?”
“Still a little queasy.”
“Easily fixed, my King,” Alera said as she made her entrance into the room from the hall. She was wearing a sequined gray and red ball gown, and her hair was flowing over her shoulders instead of in the utilitarian bun she normally wore. She looked gorgeous.
“Wow, Alera, you better stay away from Maya. I hear brides don’t like competition on their wedding day,” I smiled.
“You flatter me, Sire,” Alera beamed. “But in truth, I just left your lovely bride, and I can assure you that I am but a weak glowing ember compared to the midday sun when compared to Maya on this day. It was actually Winya who sent me to check on your wayward stomach.”
“Oh, you’re not here for the Blue Laddies Lament, punch, and cookies?”
“Hardly,” she whispered as she focused and put a hand low on my chest. A few seconds later, all distress eased. “There, the fire dragon in your belly has been appeased, Sire.”
“You might want to track down Darroth for the same treatment,” Nia chuckled. “He probably needs it a lot worse than Alex.”
“Doubtful,” the healer huffed. “I’ve noticed dwarfs in general tend to self-medicate exclusively with dwarven ale.”
“So, Alera,” I said, changing the subject, “will you be returning to Xarparion once we get it all cleaned up?”
She looked confused and a little hurt at my question. “No, my King…” Then she turned to Rosa, “Didn’t you tell him, Headmaster?”
Rosa hedged, “Well, no; Hons and I haven’t finished working out all the details yet.”
“Ok, tell me what?”
Alera bowed her head. “Your pardon, Sire, but I have resigned as Primus of the healers, effective as soon as Mingt’s replacement teachers arrive.”
The surprise must have shown on my face. “So what will you do, Alera?”
“Do, my Liege? Why, it is my sworn duty to serve you and your Queen as your personal physician, unless…” she faltered, looking down at the floor, “…unless you would prefer another healer.”
I stood there quietly for a few seconds. “No, Alera; there is no one Maya and I trust more. It’s just that I thought you loved teaching.”
She looked up and smiled wistfully. “I do love teaching, Sire; but for the first time in my life, I feel truly at home in a place. This incredible fortress is the perfect balance between both my worlds, and if it’s a choice between Sky Raven and teaching? Well, there are other teachers in this world to take my place.”
Rosa interrupted, “Exactly what Hons and I have been working on. With the portal, there is no reason Sky Raven couldn’t host advanced classes and field training here. After all, our infirmary is way nicer than anything at the old Xarparion, and the local villagers already know and trust the student healers. Hons and I think it would work and you, Alera, could have the best of both worlds.”
“I don’t know what to say,” Alera stammered, glittering tears starting to trickle down her face.
“‘Yes’, would be good,” I coached mildly.
“Oh yes, Sire!”
“Excellent. Well, thank you for settling my stomach.”
The healer waived it off hesitantly. “Please do not thank me for such a trivial matter. I realize that I that owe you an eternal debt that I cannot ever hope to repay. You and Maya will have my deepest devotion for as long as I breathe, Sire.”
“For what?” I blurted out, puzzled.
For a second I thought the healer was going to explode. She paused wordlessly for a few moments and then gasped, “For winning, my King! Yo
u heard what plans the Kerr had for me!” She choked off a sob with her hand over her mouth, a catch of shame in her voice.
I put a hand gently on her shoulder. “We will never speak of that foul creature again, Alera, its power is broken.” She looked like she wanted to argue with me, but finally, she just pulled away and tried to dry her tears with her fingers. Nia hustled over with a kerchief and deposited it in her hands.
At last, she was collected enough to speak again. “I best be off. The wedding is starting soon, and I still have some packing to do.”
“Packing?” Nia asked. “But you just said you were staying here.”
Alera forced a smile. “I doubt the King and Queen will need me on their honeymoon, so I am travelling to the dark elf capital with Maya’s parents for a few weeks of advanced training on dark elf ailments, medicines, and especially midwifery.”
I had to catch myself to keep from falling into the punchbowl.
“Midwifery?” I sputtered, wide-eyed.
Alera’s eyes danced merrily. “Well, stranger things have happened on honeymoons, my Liege; best to be prepared.”
Alera was leaving just as Dawn and Dusk entered, wearing more elaborate versions of the silver dresses they wore on the day we met, and stalked over to the food table. I heard one of them mutter with a disgusted sigh, “Aww, no bacon.” They each settled for an oatmeal cookie.
“We are supposed to begin bringing you down to ground level in five minutes, Father,” Dusk said, savoring the sweet treat.
“What about you girls?” I asked, thinking about all the others who had come and talked to me in the past hour.
The two exchanged puzzled glances. “What about us?”
“Well, half the people are leaving right after the wedding. I was wondering what you two intend to do now that the war is over?”
“Live here forever, eat lots of bacon, right some wrongs, find an incredibly handsome mate, protect the castle, be nursemaids to your precocious children, defend the weak, and possibly drink just a smidgeon of good wine occasionally,” Dawn relayed, as if that small list covered nearly all situations, and Dusk nodded eagerly in complete agreement.
Heir To The Nova (Book 3) Page 33
