Descendants of Erodis

by Katharina Sinead

  Contradicting this worried thought, Oraelia smiled warmly at me.

  ‘I do think it’s worth the effort. I can see you’re passionate about learning about the elves in your eyes…and I’ve seen you reading various books on the elves in the library. I’ll be making my annual two-week visit to Feldar in a week’s time, which will give you time to write a carefully worded letter to their king which, I know, you will have no problem doing’ she said.

  ‘Thank-thank you’ I replied, curtsying and running out of the room as elegantly as I could, upstairs to tell Evander.

  ‘That’s awesome, I think it’s great you want to learn about the elves’ he said, when I told him.

  ‘Really? Oh, that’s a weight off my shoulders, I thought you wouldn’t want me to go.’

  He frowned ‘now, why would you think that?’

  ‘I don’t know…I guess I thought you’d be against me going, because of length of travel, or how long I’d have to stay over there’

  He chuckled. ‘You worry too much.’

  Pulling me into him, he wrapped his arms around me, and kissed the top of my head. ‘When my mother comes back with a reply from Feldar, it will be good news. I know it.’

  Letters From Feldar

  Seven days later, when everyone was assembled to see Oraelia off outside the palace doors where a silver-blue carriage was waiting to take her to Feldar, I handed her the sealed lavender envelope containing my letter to the country’s king who, Oraelia told me when I had asked her, is Princess Eila’s eldest brother, Aeodin.

  ‘I hope he accepts my request,’ I said as I handed it to her. ‘I wrote it as politely and well-worded as I could…and I also included a small gift I made, that I’ve said at the end of the letter is a token of appreciation for all that they do for the environment of Elandrea, and the continued friendship they have shown Orfedil and its neighbours.’

  She beamed at me and replied, ‘I’m sure Aeodin will love it – you didn’t use anything from nature though, did you?’

  ‘Oh, no! That would have been a bad idea - but, I’ll hope you’ll forgive me for not telling you what it is’ I said, tapping my nose secretively.

  She let out a light, sing-song laugh. ‘That’s fine with me’ she said, giving me, parents and her family a final hug goodbye before ascending the carriage steps.

  We all followed the carriage out of the gates and waved until it was just a dot on the horizon, and then headed back inside the palace.

  ***

  The days of Oraelia’s visit to her friends and allies went by slowly for me, but I distracted myself from worrying too much about the reply she would return with by practising my archery, and sword-play with Finn and Ardan. I also went out with Evander on trips around the kingdom and into the forest beyond the gardens at the rear of the palace; where he showed me many creatures, more wonderful than any you could find in the human world, up close.

  Soon, the two weeks came to an end and on the fifteenth day, at noon, we were all stood by the palace gates awaiting Oraelia’s arrival. At half-past twelve, the gates opened wide and the carriage came into the courtyard.

  Having pulled the horses gently to a stop, the coachman leapt lightly from his seat, and helped Oraelia, holding a large, glittering envelope in her hand, down the carriage steps. Oraelia hugged each of us in turn, and when she came to me, I stared at the envelope when we parted from the hug.

  ‘Is that...?’ I asked, my voice trailing off.

  She smiled and nodded, handing it to me.

  ‘Go and read it in your room’ she told me, smiling gently.

  I grinned back at her and, heart pounding, ran back into the palace and up the long wide staircase to my room, to open it.

  Sat on my bed five minutes later, I stared at the glittering envelope for a beat before reaching out a shaking hand and picking it up. Opening it, I slipped out three folded pieces of thin, cream coloured parchment I had the feeling were made of some recycled material and unfolded the largest of the three, reading it wordlessly.

  Written: 8th Nejah 2037

  To Fallon,

  I would like to start by saying thank you for the lovely gift that you sent with your letter, which was easy to read, thanks to your beautiful handwriting.

  I will be honest and tell you that I was rather surprised when Oraelia passed on the lavender coloured envelope containing your letter, and told me it was from an ambitious young lady whom she had known since infancy. This is purely because we have never had anyone who is not an elf by birth request what you have done in your letter. However reading your letter, I felt the passion in your written words, and your eagerness to learn more about us was also clear, and moving, throughout.

  After discussing your request with my advisers – who include my father – it has been decided that you will be allowed to come to Feldar and live at the palace while you study under two of our best, and most knowledgeable, tutors; Lady Déanis and Lord Aronil. You shall also have archery lessons along with lessons in other elfin sports. I must warn you though, that you will need to stay in Feldar for six years, in order to fully complete your studies – but you need not worry, you will have two weeks of leave each month to spend time with your friends and family, and Prince Evander, with whom I hear from his mother you have developed a welcomed romantic relationship – please do forgive me, if I speak out of turn by mentioning this. You will not need to bring parchment and ink, clothes, quills, nor books for study, as these will be provided for you, and enclosed with my letter are two from your tutors. A carriage will come to collect you in seven days, to bring you to Feldar for an introductory week, and someone may accompany you as a personal guard, who can return with you for the rest of your time with us.

  Yours,

  King Aeodin.

  Having been told by Evander about Elandrea’s calendar, I wasn’t confused by the ‘Nejah’ after the date at the top of the letter. Setting Aeodin’s letter aside, I picked up and unfolded the first of the tutors’ letters and read it through.

  Written: 9th Nejah 2037

  To Fallon,

  Allow me to first introduce myself, I am Lady Déanis, and will be your primary tutor during your six years of study with us here in Feldar.

  The subjects you will study with me, along with the days on which you have them, are as follows;

  History- Monday, Tuesday

  Culture- Tuesday, Friday

  Music- Friday

  Politics- Thursday

  Your hours with me will be 8:00am – 2:00pm, with a fifteen-minute break for lunch at 12:00pm – or 12:30pm if it is the one subject, and I do not tolerate tardiness.

  Lady Déanis, Tutor of The Royal Court.

  ‘Wow, eight o’clock, that’s early’ I said out-loud and then turned to the third, and final letter enclosed by King Aeodin.

  Written: 9th Nejah 2037

  To Fallon,

  My name is Lord Aronil and will be your secondary tutor while you are with us, and here are the subjects that you will have with me.

  Literature- Wednesday

  Geography- Thursday

  Medicine – Thursday

  Your lessons with me, will be 9:00am to 2:00pm on Wednesdays, and 2:30pm to 4:30pm on Thursdays. As well as one of your tutors, I will also be your archery instructor, as I am an experienced archer, and a Royal Archery Instructor. You will train with the archers of The Royal Guard for one hour each Saturday from noon which I hope you are comfortable with - if not, inform me during our first meeting in around seven days, and I will set aside one hour in the week, to give you individual instruction, and along with archery, you will also learn and be instructed in the other sports practiced in Feldar.

  You are the first student who is not elf born Lady Déanis and I will have under our tutorage, and I would like to say that I am personally looking forward to meeting and tutoring you.

  Lord Aronil, Tutor of The Royal Court and Royal Archery Instructor.

  ‘Hmm, he seems nice’ I said, thinking aloud aga
in and putting his letter, along with the other two, back in the envelope.

  It was official, I was going to study in Feldar, and would be living at The Royal Palace. Six years of tutelage did seem like a stretch, but I suppose it would take that long, when they’re tutoring an outsider, like me.

  ***

  Oraelia as I suspected, had already told the others why I ran into the palace after taking the glittering white envelope from her, so I didn’t need to explain myself when I came downstairs again.

  ‘In a way, you’ll be studying abroad’ Ardan said, as we all sat having tea, hot chocolate, or coffee, and cake in The Tea Lounge.

  ‘Not “in a way” Ardan, she will literally be studying abroad; Feldar’s a different country’ Finn replied, bumping his friend on the back of the head, the reaction to which was,

  ‘Ouch! That hurt, do you have rocks in your hands?!’ which was followed by an amused chuckle.

  ‘How long will you need to study with them for?’ Evander asked.

  Nervously biting my lip, I glanced across the table at Oraelia, and then answered the question.

  ‘Six years – but I’ll have two weeks’ leave every month so that’s...twenty-four weeks a year. I’ll also likely be able to come home during the holidays - though King Aeodin didn’t mention anything about it in his letter - and I’m also allowed to bring someone as a personal guard.’

  There was a short pause, and then my father spoke.

  ‘Six years is a long time honey, are you sure about this?’

  I nodded, turning to Finn. ‘Finn, would you accompany me to Feldar, and be my personal guard?’

  ‘Me?! Really?’ he asked, a shock, and surprised expression on his face.

  ‘Yes, you,’ I laughed. ‘You babysat me when I was very young and did a good job, and I know how much Evander trusts you. If I hadn’t asked, he would have done.’

  Finn looked over at Evander, on my other side (I was sat between the two of them).

  ‘She’s right you know. You are accompanying her to Feldar for her introductory week, and then the rest of her time there, and that is that.’

  Finn grinned at Evander’s stern tone. ‘Yes, sir’ he replied, tucking the thumb of his left hand to his palm which he then pressed to his chest, and bowed his head.

  ‘Are you excited about meeting your tutors for the first time?’ Zachary asked, taking a sip of his Green Tea.

  ‘Yes, although I am a little apprehensive about meeting Lady Déanis; I got the impression from her introductory letter, that she is quite a strict, perhaps intimidating, tutor’ I replied, and then quoted the last few sentences of her letter. ‘“...do not tolerate tardiness”.’

  Oraelia chuckled ‘I’m sure she won’t remind you of that, if you always arrive for her lessons on time.’

  ‘Yes, I expect you’re right,’ I said. ‘I’ll make sure that I’m in bed by nine each night, so that I’m up bright and early the next morning.’

  A few hours later, after a delicious dinner of Lasagna and chips; an idea Oraelia and Zachary had loved while they were living in the human world, and had brought here with them (I’m a native of the human world, and even I hadn’t heard of those two dishes being eaten together before), I was in bed, teethed brushed after having a bubble bath, and reading a book I picked out of the library prior to coming up to bed.

  It was an updated version of The Elf Kingdom of Feldar and Its Brief History , which had been re-titled as The Elf Kingdom of Feldar, Its People, and History to Date. It had been written, and illustrated, by Oraelia herself, using the notes and illustrations she had compiled following her discovery of the kingdom’s people who had not been seen or heard from for many years. Their disappearance cause every other kingdom to believe that its people had moved on, and chosen to keep their new location a secret, and the updated book had – Oraelia herself told me – not been finished until a year or so after Evander’s birth.

  I was enjoying it thoroughly - but it was growing late, the clock on my bedside table reading half-past ten, and my eyes were drooping. Memorising the page number I was on I closed the book, putting it down on the bedside table and burrowed down beneath the covers; falling asleep in seconds.

  Arriving In Yrandes

  As we made our way downstairs to wait for the carriage from Feldar to arrive my mother asked, ‘are you sure you have everything you want and need, Fallon?’

  ‘Yes, Mammy’ I said for what must have been the third time that morning, feeling a little frustrated with her.

  ‘Stop worrying about her, Kathleen, she’ll be fine’ Finn said, appearing at my side with our bags (clothes aren’t being provided for the introductory week; that’s when they’ll take our measurements, I think, and the clothes should be ready for when we return in a few weeks’ time, and I officially begin my studies).

  ‘Sorry, I haven’t felt like a mother in a long while’ she said with a small laugh, as we stopped in the open doorway of the palace’s front doors and Finn set the bags down.

  ‘It’s okay to worry a little bit, but asking me several times if I have everything I want to bring with me is a bit much’ I giggled as a beautiful, unpainted, ivy covered carriage came around the corner and pulled into the courtyard. It was drawn by three gorgeous large silvery-white horses with glistening manes like moonlight beams on water, and hooves that looked like a meadow floor; mossy green and dotted with tiny flowers of radiant colour.

  A few seconds later, the door of the carriage opened and a tall tan elf, some of his long dark hair pulled back into a few thin braids tied together at the nape of his neck, stepped down.

  ‘Good morning Queen Oraelia, Fallon, and your families and friends, we have come to collect you and bring you safely to Feldar. I shall give you a few minutes to say goodbye for the week’ he said, in a beautiful soft accent that I had never heard before.

  I nodded my thanks, and then hugged my mother.

  ‘See you on Sunday, though it’ll most likely be Monday. Try not to worry too much while I’m away.’

  ‘I can’t promise you anything. I’m your mother, I am always going to worry about you, now you be good’ she replied with a small laugh, and hugged me close before letting me go, to hug father and the others goodbye.

  ‘I hope you have a good week sweetheart and write us if you have any trouble’ he said, hugging me and kissing the top of my head.

  Following on from my father, I hugged and said goodbye to the others, aside from Finn of course, until I reached Evander.

  ‘I’m not really sure what I should say right now, because you’re only going away for a week…’ he said, casting his eyes down as his cheeks flushed.

  ‘You don’t have to say anything’ I said.

  He looked up, a soft smile on his face that showed off his adorable dimples and pulled me into his chest.

  Wrapping my arms around his back, I pressed my forehead to his chest, breathing in his scent: fresh and minty.

  I pulled away from him after a while, though a little reluctantly, and gazed up at him.

  ‘I love you’ he said softly, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear and then cupping my cheek in his large hand.

  ‘I love you too’ I replied with a smile, and stretched up on the tips of my toes, as he leant in for a long kiss.

  Giving him one more hug after we parted, he and Finn gripped each other’s arms, and then Finn and I approached our escort.

  ‘Good morning, it is a pleasure to meet you. This is Finn, he’ll be accompanying me as my personal guard’ I said, as we stopped in front of the carriage, and the elf who stood beside the open door.

  ‘The pleasure is all mine. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Kélnar, one of King Aeodin’s retainers. He asked me to escort you to Feldar’ he replied with a smile and a bow, extending his arm out to the open carriage door.

  ‘Ladies first’ he said to me, helping me up the steps, and then telling Finn to go in ahead of him as he was a guest, even if we aren’t at the palace yet.

 
And so, my first journey to Feldar began.

  ***

  ‘Wow!’ I breathed, as the carriage passed under a mossy stone archway, guarded by two very tall elves clad in shiny aquamarine armour that glistened under the early morning sunlight – highly trained warrior-guards, most likely.

  ‘The Eastern Entrance into Feldar,’ said Kélnar, nodding to the guards as they did the same. ‘We’ll be passing through Torlah soon.’

  Sure enough, a short while later, the carriage took a right, and our eyes met the sight of several beautiful tree-houses, with windows of differing shades of blue and green, and the stairs set into the trunk, dotting the forest floor, though there was a road wide enough for carriages and horses to pass though carved out among the trees and tree houses.

  Another kilometre or so on, the trees curved out on either side of the earthy path, and my eyes soon settled on the most wondrous, and beautiful, sight.

  A gorgeous palace, its walls and turrets shining curiously, with windows of varying sizes, and was at least two stories, was at the centre of a dozen or so tree houses twice as big as the ones we had just seen.

  ‘It’s beautiful here’ I breathed, as the carriage slowly came to a stop in front of the palace doors.

  They opened a split second later, and an elf with shoulder length silvery blond hair, wearing what looked like a thin, knee-length cloak of shimmering white over a short mossy green tunic, and trousers of the same colour that disappeared into the pair of silver boots that he was wearing, a crown of intertwined bending ivy twigs, laced with several large flowers I didn’t recognise on top of his head, made his way down the few steps towards us with a friendly and welcoming smile on his face.

  King Aeodin.

  ‘Fallon! Welcome to Yrandes, capital of our wonderful and beloved country of Feldar’ he exclaimed.