by D. E. Morris
Rowan's fingers twitched tighter around his arms. No...why? Are there guards there now?
No, but the door is unlatched. Is that normal as well?
Silent, Rowan shook her head. Lilia and I left Vala and Mairead in there asleep with the door closed.
Stay here. Niam extracted his arm from Rowan's grip and moved forward with quiet, deliberate steps. He drew his sword slowly, careful not to make too much noise as he turned to press his back against the wall. Just outside the door, he paused to prepare himself for what he might find, all sorts of visions running through his mind. He knew for a fact that Mairead was a Gael, and if the attack today was aimed toward the Gaelic people, she would have been left vulnerable with no guard to protect her. Holding his breath, Niam threw himself into the room He gripped his sword tightly and announced his arrival with a vicious yell.
Mairead gave a cry of alarm from the bed and jumped, her fear quickly followed by a hiss of pain. No one else could be seen in the room and Niam looked around with wide eyes. “Are you all right?” he asked, checking behind the door before crossing the room to look out the open window.
“Of course I am,” she croaked, her voice still distorted from the smoke. “What on earth would make you charge in here like that?” Her body lurched forward as a crackling cough overtook her. Niam was quick to sheathe his sword so he could fetch the pitcher of water by her bed and pour her a drink.
“Is everything okay?” Rowan called from the hallway.
“False alarm,” Niam answered, handing a wooden cup to Mairead. “I'm sorry, my lady. Your door was ajar and my thoughts went a little wild. I didn't mean to cause you further distress.”
“Mairead, are you okay?” Rowan walked into the room as though she could see everything perfectly fine. She made her way to the bed and sat on the edge of it, her brow furrowing. “Is Vala here?”
“No.” Mairead answered, swallowing her water before giving the cup back to Niam. “She went to find us something to eat and left the door open behind her.”
Niam looked down and gave a small embarrassed chuckle. “Well I feel rather foolish now.”
“Don't be silly,” Rowan told him. “You were being a good protector.”
Unsure how to respond to the comment, he returned his attention to Mairead. “How are you feeling?”
She took a breath, careful to inhale slowly so as not to bring out another coughing fit. “Better.”
I'm a Gael, too, he told her, keeping his thoughts open so that Rowan could hear him as well. We can speak like this if it is easier.
Relief washed over her face as she leaned back against her pillows. Much easier. Thank you.
I'm glad the elixir has helped with your pain. It looked unbearable earlier.
It nearly was. Rowan moved up beside Mairead to rest her head on her shoulder, and Mairead offered a tired smile to Niam. Thank you.
For what? Scaring you out of your skin?
For taking care of me today. She looked down at the bandage wrapped around nearly the entirety of her right arm. Would that you had scared me out of my skin. Perhaps then I could start over with a new body and not so many scars.
Rowan gave a sad smile and Niam shook his head. You're not the only one with scars, my lady. Yours just happen to be where the world can see them.
“Um...” All three of them turned toward the door to see Vala standing there with a tray full of food. “Are you trying to see who can stay quiet the longest?”
Niam smirked. “Telepathic conversation. Lady Mairead's throat still bothers her when she speaks so I thought it would be easier. I heard you took quite the breath of smoke yourself. How are you faring?”
She smiled sweetly at him, demurely lowering her eyes as she moved farther into the room. “Almost as good as usual. Thank you for asking.”
He watched her set the tray down. When she turned to him once more with her enticing smile still in place, Niam shifted on his feet and looked to Mairead and Rowan. “I should take my leave and let you ladies rest.”
“Stay,” Vala pleaded. “I brought enough to feed a small army.”
“Thank you, but I had my fill already.” He gave her a polite nod before doing the same to the other two. “Be well.”
All three women were silent as he left the room. It wasn't until he closed the door that Vala gave a solicitous smirk to Mairead and returned to the food tray to arrange a plate for her. “What?” Mairead whispered.
Vala shrugged and kept her back to the bed. “Nothing. He just seems very sweet.”
Rowan nodded, still resting on Mairead's shoulder. “I like him a lot.”
With a quiet sigh, Mairead rested her head atop Rowan's and said nothing.
It was eerily quiet in the middle of the village. Connor and Lilia sat together in the grass on a hill within one of the fenced in areas for horses that were no longer there. Both of them knew there were many things that needed to be done and responsibilities to attend, but neither was quick to throw themselves into the thick of it just yet.
“It's strange,” he told her lightly, playing with a strip of dried grass. “I was so focused on the joust and just getting to go up against Killian, maybe even beating him, that I completely lost sight of the fact that you and I were in the same place for two whole weeks.” Lilia said nothing, though there was a sad smile on her face when Connor looked at her. He tossed the torn grass aside and took her hand. “I'm sorry. Sometimes I get so hyper-focused that everything else, even things that are important to me, get pushed aside.”
Her sadness gave way to something teasing as she leaned her head on his shoulder. “I'm a thing now, am I?”
“You know what I mean.” He kissed her hair, then gave a soft sigh as he looked out across the field. “So much time wasted.”
“And so much to be done even before we leave here.” Lilia turned to rest her chin on his shoulder. “I suppose it's back to letters for us.”
He nodded, but tried to give her an encouraging smile. “They've worked for us so far. I fell in love with you through those letters.” Her nose wrinkled and she righted herself, bringing a quiet chuckle from Connor's lips. “Why does that word sit so poorly with you?”
“It doesn't usually,” she confessed. “Only...we're still so young.”
“Ashlynn was eighteen when she and Jaryn wed. That's five years younger than you are.”
“But she and Jaryn had known each other for years at that point.”
Connor's amusement was hardly dampened. “As have we.”
“And they spent a great deal of time together during those years getting to know one another in person, not through letters.”
“And then she left for a year to plot and carry out regicide. They had no contact with one another during that entire time. If you ask me, we have one up on them.”
Lilia tilted her head in disbelief. “And how have you come to that conclusion?”
“For nearly five years we have been writing letters back and forth. I come to court all the time...well, as often as I can, and we see each other face to face on a fairly regular basis.”
“True,” she admitted with a slow nod. “Although fairly regular means once every three or four months.”
Connor lifted his attention to the darkening sky and gave a groan. “Sometimes I forget how frustrating you can be.”
“Which you would know if you spent more time with me.”
He lowered his gaze to find her staring at him with a grin on her lips. “I think you just like to tease me.”
“It is fun,” she admitted. Sobering, she leaned closer to him once more. Her eyes traveled over his face, searching, as she asked, “Will you really fight Fionn for the crown?”
His shoulders sagged. He looked out beyond their spot as though he could see the older man somewhere in the distance. “I don't know. I don't really want to. I was High King for a little while and I hated the lack of freedom that came with the title. If it means I can better protect the drags and the Gaels, better prot
ect my sister and keep my country from being turned back into the disgrace of the Celtique Nations because of her greedy monarch...” He sighed again, labored. “...I will. If I have to, I will.”
Lilia took his chin in her hand and turned his face toward her, serious. “You are a good man, Connor. Perhaps a little hot under the collar, but your heart is true. It is one of my favorite qualities about you.”
He took her hand from his face and laced his fingers with hers. “You are one of the few people who don't make me feel like I'm some dumb prince who messes everything up and can't handle any sort of real responsibility. You make me feel like I'm capable of more than I even think I'm capable of sometimes. I can't tell you how much your support encourages me to keep going some days.” Not one for long, serious conversations, Connor shrugged and looked sideways at her. “Even if I know your encouragement in this situation is only because you want to be High Queen.”
Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped, her face alight in silent laughter. “How dare you!” She tore her hand from his and jabbed him in the ribs, knowing he was the one teasing her now. “Who says I would even marry you?”
“Oh, you'll marry me,” Connor told her, puffing out his chest. “I'm smart, I make you laugh, not to mention my incomparable good looks.”
“Oh, brother.” Lilia laughed and shook her head. “You are so sure of yourself, and yet...”
“And yet we haven't spent a lot of time together,” he finished for her. “I know, and I have a plan.”
She lifted a brow. “Do you?”
“I do. Come with me.”
Confused, Lilia glanced around. “Right now? Where?”
“Not right now.” He shifted his weight, getting on his knees before her to take both of her hands in his. The excitement he felt was reflected in his wide eyes and the grin on his face. “Come with me to find and talk to Gia.”
She gave a short little laugh. “I can't go with you, Connor. I am a High Queen's Lady, not some farmer's daughter. Not only is it highly inappropriate, but no guardian in their right mind would let their ward simply fly off to another country with a man who was not her husband.”
Connor frowned and sat back on his heels. “Ashlynn has three other ladies to tend to her needs here, not to mention the others I know she has waiting back at Altaine. Also, aren't you a little too old to be considered her ward?”
“Mairead and Vala are were injured today. I am in Ashlynn's care. Perhaps the time has passed where I would be thought of as her responsibility, but she is still mine.” Lilia shook her head. “Connor, you get these wild ideas in your head and just because you think they are good ideas, you assume everyone else will as well. How often is that truly the case?”
He looked down, crestfallen. “You don't want to come away with me.”
“I never said that.” She touched her fingers lightly to his arm. “I can't ask her to let me go. You understand that, don't you? There's no good reason to even try.”
Connor said nothing for a moment, but slowly, a grin spread over half of his face. “Maybe you don't have a good reason, but I do.” Before she could question him or even try to stop him, Connor hopped to his feet.
“Where are you going?”
As he hastened away, he waved at her over his shoulder. “I'll find you later!”
Ashlynn sat at the desk in her room, making a list of everything that needed to be done before they sailed for home the next day. All three boys played on the floor close by, each of them with their own set of wooden soldiers and horses custom painted for their home kingdoms. It was rare that the three of them should be together and playing as calmly as they were, even if they were playing a mock war. Usually their voices were at top level and limbs were flailing in uncontrolled excitement, but the events of the day had them all subdued. They wanted to stay together and were clearly tired if their puffy, drooping eyes were any indication, but they seemed afraid to go to bed. Knowing she would be up yet for a few hours herself, Ashlynn offered to keep the children with her and let the others rest while they could.
“I killed your hobiler,” Lochlainn told Tiyal. “You have to take him out of the circle.”
Tiyal shook his head, his little brown brows coming together. “No. I cast a protection spell three turns ago.”
“But it wore off,” argued Lochlainn. “Spells wear off.”
“How do you know when they wear off?”
“I just do.”
Tiyal scowled at him. “You cannot even use magic. How do you know anything about it?”
“How much magic can you use?” the older boy asked, crossing his arms.
“None yet, but my father will teach me!”
Lucien reached into the circle of soldiers and pulled one each from the other two camps. “I just killed your pioneer, Lochlainn, and your banneret, Tiyal, with my canon. You had them too close together.”
The other two boys paused in their argument to look at the move Lucien just made. It was enough of a diffuser between them to pull their attention back to their battle and keep it off of each other. That seemed to be the way of things when all three of them were together. Lochlainn was harsh with Tiyal, not on purpose, but it was the way of their personalities. One was a dreamer while the other dealt in cold hard fact and rarely did they work well together. Lucien was the one to either break up the fights or put Lochlainn in his place, then make Tiyal feel better. Seeing them fall into such clear roles in their friendships, their parents often wondered what would come of it as the boys got older. Tiyal would age faster than either Lochlainn or Lucien. Elves had an accelerated rate of growth from the moment of conception, as though their bodies were in a race to reach their optimal physical and mental health. He would soon appear and act older than the other two, and they questioned whether that would have an effect on the pecking order in their trio.
A knock came to the door that hardly disturbed the boys, but pulled Ashlynn's attention from the little squabble. “Come.”
One of her guardsmen entered with a slight bow of his head. “Prince Connor seeks audience.”
She set her quill back in its rest and nodded. “Send him in.”
The armored man took a step back to let Connor pass into the room before closing the door behind him. Connor entered looking flushed and out of breath, but there was a grin on his face that made it hard for Ashlynn not to mirror. “Your Majesty,” he panted. “My apologies for the late disturbance.”
Ashlynn held out a hand to a nearby chair. “It's just the children, Connor. No formalities needed.”
“I'd rather stand, if it's all the same.”
“Of course.” She narrowed her eyes at him, curious. “Something exciting must have happened to prompt you to run to my door.”
“Nothing too exciting,” he admitted. “Only, when I get an idea, I have to follow through right away.”
“Shall I send for some tea?”
Connor shook his head. “It won't take that long, but thank you.” He paused, some of his glow dimming as he adjusted his jerkin in a nervous manner. “I have come to you with a request that may seem a bit unorthodox, but one I hope you will fully consider before denying me.”
She resisted the urge to laugh. “You certainly set your expectations high. Very well, I shall do my best. What is it you wish to ask of me?”
He took a deep breath in. “I want to take Lilia with me to find Gianara.”
“No.” The congenial smile never left her face and she didn't even blink before giving him her answer.
“You can't take Lilia away,” Lochlainn said from the floor as he rearranged his little wooden men. “She isn't your wife.” Ashlynn extended a hand toward her son, his innocent comment only supporting her answer.
“I know,” Connor replied, deflating a bit, “but let me plead my case.”
Not one to turn her nose up at a good and potentially amusing argument, Ashlynn folded her hands in her lap in silent permission.
“I'm going to find Gia so that I can warn he
r about Fionn's treachery and let her know that Ibays is no longer safe. I'm also going to help her find safer places to house the dragons for a little while, but I'm also going to be searching for other Keepers in other countries while simultaneously spreading the word that Siness, Caedia, and Braemar are against the killing of dragons and Gaels.”
“My,” Ashlynn said patiently, “you certainly will be busy.”
“I know,” Connor enthused, “which is why I thought it would be a good idea for Lilia to come with me. I'll be going to Dragonspire to check on the progress being made there, so she can report that back to you. If she's with me, she'll be as an ambassador of Siness when I speak to lesser royals. She can tell them under no uncertain circumstances that your kingdom has never and will never allow hunting or killing of the dragon-kin. If you think about it, I would be far less effective on my own than if she was with me.”
“Oh, I am thinking about it,” Ashlynn promised. She held Connor's expectant gaze for a moment, then turned as though to watch the children play once more. Lochlainn looked up at her, digging his knuckles into one of his eyes. Opening her arms to him, he abandoned the other two and climbed up into his mother's lap, facing Connor, resting against Ashlynn's shoulder. She held her son securely and kissed his head before brushing his hair from his brow. “All right, Connor,” she said at length. “You present a good argument. It certainly would lend credence to your claims in other kingdoms if you had someone from my own house with you. Given that we sail back to Altaine soon, I do not think it so unreasonable of a request, all things considered. I believe I can spare one or two of my ladies for the cause.”
His eyes bulged. “Really? Wow! Okay, well...thank you so much, Ashlynn. I promise I will be the perfect gentle...” Pausing, Connor silently replayed what had been said to him. With a tilt of his head, he repeated, “Ladies?”
“Yes, I think it would be good for Rowan to go as well.”
“Rowan?”
It was hard not to outright laugh at Connor's obvious disappointment, but Ashlynn managed to keep her expression neutral. “She is in my services just as Lilia is. She is my foster daughter and a Gael herself. Better yet, she is an Elemental. Who better to spread goodwill? Besides that, she is your sister. It would be a good opportunity for the two of you to spend some time together.”