I nod and finish packing. Our bags on our backs, we run to the closest field and start picking as many flowers as our arms can carry. We are not going back empty-handed and we will have this reminder of our fun for many days to come. It is not much, but I can give it to her. Besides, it will be fun seeing the disapproving looks on the faces of the court and Elvin lords.
Best of all, Avren's disapproving lecture will do nothing more than cause us both to chuckle at him. No one but Elainne and I could find a dragon's anger hilarious. That’s why we work so well together. We will enjoy it this time… maybe more than all the other pranks we have pulled on him.
We teleport back to the throne room once we are done. Everyone stops and stares. We stand there, dirty from a week of travel, bags hastily packed, and wildflowers in our arms. Our smiles are probably ridiculous to those who do not understand why we would be grinning like fools. The thought only makes us smile more.
"Can whoever is in charge of the flowers in the throne room come and relieve Talon and I of these? I want them in every vase in the throne room and my room, please. Get rid of those uppity, ridiculously elegant things. Give them to the maids, or anyone who wants some. I want these prominent."
The council is in session, meeting with Aiden; it happens every morning to go over what needs doing throughout the day. Aiden stands and walks to Elainne, bowing.
"Welcome back, my queen. We are pleased with your safe return."
He stands and looks at the others, glowering.
"The queen gave you a command."
He doesn’t shout, but there is anger in his words. Everyone snaps out of their shock and jumps to it. Servants come to take our flowers, start cutting them down, and replacing what is in the vases. Elainne smiles, hands-on-hips, and glances around.
"I see things went smoothly. I am pleased. Now, what needs doing? Because I would very much like a bath, but if there is anything urgent…"
She doesn’t get a chance to finish as everyone stands, protesting all at once that she should relax after her journey and bathe. That is a nice way of saying we smell. She takes it in stride, laughing and waving them down when they realize what they are saying and apologizing, obviously very flustered.
"No need to worry, ladies and gentlemen. I was only joking. I shall not be long. Make sure everything is situated. When I return, I want those flowers situated as well. Where is Avren?"
"Here, my queen."
He flies down from the chandelier and lands on her shoulder, draping himself on her once more.
"They are not very dignified flowers, my queen."
"I do not wish to hear it, Avren. I like them, so I shall have them. In fact, I may teleport back for more when these die."
I can’t hide my laughter at that. She smiles at me biting her cheek to keep herself from joining me. Everyone looks at me like I have lost my mind. It doesn’t help any when Avren tries again to convince her and she breaks into laughter as well.
"Avren off you go. Find Viktor. I need to meet with him after I talk to the councilors and return correspondence. This fight of ours has gone on long enough. He is my Kemp and he will be at my side once more. He can still train with the army if he wishes but he will appoint someone to take over for him. Make sure he is prepared."
"Yes, my queen."
Avren leaves to speak with Viktor. Elainne looks at him retreating, and the flowers, smiling. She has won. It is the first battle in a long time where she has been able to overrule the arguments and get her way. The trip had been good for her. She has gotten her confidence back. I am happy for her. She deserves to have something go her way, even if it is something small, like which flowers grace the throne room.
"Your majesty, if it is alright with you, I will retire to bathe and get some sleep."
"Yes, of course, Talon. You have had a hard few days. Rest until tomorrow. Have the kitchen send you up food. I can tell you all that happens today later."
I nod and leave the throne room to retire. She will be fine without me now. At least for today.
Chapter Seven
Elainne
Talon leaves the throne room and I follow shortly after. I need to bathe before entering meetings all day. I try to be quick and succeed, but my clothing is not easy to put on. I have yet to get a lady’s maid. I miss having a companion. I wonder how Madeline and Mason are doing back home. I have not seen, nor spoken, to either since leaving home to bring Viktor to the mages. It has been almost a year. I am worried about them and curious to know how they are doing, but I have been so busy that I can’t actually contact them. Not to mention I have no way to get a message to them. They are non-magical, so I can’t send them a magical message.
"I wish Madeline were here. She always made me feel better. I have yet to find someone I trust enough to keep in my attached lady’s maid quarters."
I sigh and don the rest of my jewelry. I make sure to secure my crown. I am always so worried it will fall off. That would make an embarrassing clang! Avren has spent a lot of time making me the perfect, composed, elegant queen. Many of our teachable moments are me learning how to compose myself. I have many years of training, but there are differences in the courts and he wants me to have the composure of an Empress.
I walk back into the throne room and take a seat, my court smile on my face. I wait for updates. None of the staff moves. Aiden sighs and walks forward, carrying multiple envelopes. He hands them over and sits beside my throne. I have him sitting on the throne for the heir. As I have no children and no plans to have any, he is my steward so he sits there. I trust him more than the others as well. It doesn’t hurt he is a financial genius.
I open the one from the fairies. I read it to myself. They request my presence in their court. A party in my honor.
"The fairies wish me to visit their court to attend a party in my honor. Will this be possible? I do not wish to leave the country so soon after returning, but neither do I wish to spurn one of the ancient races. Thoughts?"
I allow the council to argue as I sit listening, but paying far more attention to their body language and what they do not say. I know I am going. I have to go. They are an ancient race with control over wind and air. A magical race. I can’t ignore their call.
"Aiden, I want your opinion." Everyone shuts up and poor Aiden squirms. He doesn’t like this. He doesn’t like taking my place. He knows the necessity but he is not charismatic enough to lead without help. Which is why I left Avren with him. Which might not be possible all the time while visiting the ancients.
"I would be afraid of angering the ancients. You have far more power than the rest of us though, but since they have been gone from the world for so long we know nothing of their strength. I think the country needs you, but you are the only one that can represent us to the ancients. It is a tough decision, but I have no doubt you will make the right one."
Typical logical Aiden response.
"You are right, of course. I will think about this and make a decision after I attend to other business."
I open the next one. This is from my aunt. I read and debate keeping it to myself but it will affect the entire kingdom so I hand it over to Aiden.
"Read it aloud. I want everyone's opinion."
"Dear Niece, I hope my letter finds you well. I regret to inform you that your mother's brother has passed. He has been ill for a few weeks now and finally, his body could no longer fight it off. His death, unfortunately, occurred before he and I could settle on an heir. As a result, I feel it best if I keep the throne so the country remains stable. There will be a meet up between the nobility at an assembly to decide if I, or one of the nobles, some distant relative, will ascend the throne. I would greatly appreciate your show of support as the former princess of this country and Queen of the Elvin people. A show of unity with you and your court - your Kemp, Champion, and dragon are all welcome to come as well - would greatly please me. Thank you for your support. Love, your aunt."
I was right. She’s using our family bond t
o try to convince me. She also asks for Avren's presence. I am not sure what to do about this.
"If we support her, she would be indebted to us, and as your relative, it would be easier for you to negotiate with her."
"No, it would be better to invade. We can expand our territory. They are in a state of chaos. It would be easy with the army, mages, and a dragon."
"We cannot afford to go to war right now. We are changing daily, with new laws and rules being enacted. We need to wait until the queen's rule is cemented first. She is too new to go to war."
"Her aunt is our princess. She was raised to rule, we should support this."
I massage my temples and sigh. They will argue forever if I let them. I hold up my hand and silenced them.
"This is not actually helping any. Arguing will get us nowhere. Everyone write me down a one-page opinion on what we should do. All of them will be delivered to my room later and read. No one will know who wrote what, so please write your honest feelings. I will be choosing a course of action based on everything I read. Now, you are all dismissed, go write. Aiden, stay."
Aiden hadn't made any motion to move, knowing I would wish to talk to him privately.
"How did everything go, really?"
"They all listened. Avren stayed with me, draped over my shoulders most of the time. Sometimes he took on a larger size to intimidate. Viktor and his grandfather were pushing the spy network idea most aggressively. I was unsure if Avren would back me up when I tabled it until you returned. I am glad you spoke to him. I was worried I would be forced into agreeing without him siding with me."
I sigh. Viktor and I will be conversing soon.
"I am sorry they gave you trouble. I will be meeting with all three of them, and we will be having a conversation about ideas they know I will not approve of. As well as bullying my steward. It will not happen again."
He nods, not disagreeing. He knows the tone, as does the entire court, and does not dare argue it.
"The letter from my father. Do you still hold it?"
He pulls it out of his tunic and hands it to me. It is still sealed. I open it with shaking hands. I am so nervous. I scan the contents and drop the letter.
"Is it bad news?"
I wave a hand so he will know he can read it.
"He says my aunt is underestimating the situation. If I do not support her, she has no chance. She needs me to threaten invasion if she is not the ruler, or they will never choose her. She knows but is too prideful to admit it."
He scans the contents and looks up at me.
"It also says he is ill, Elainne. The humans do not have the medicine to heal him and he thinks his sister is plotting against him."
I nod. Yes, it does. This will affect what I decide to do. Still, I need to decide and quickly. This is not how I hoped this would go.
"This is happening too fast. The fairies want to meet me, any day now I will get a missive from the dwarves saying the same. I also need to visit the firebirds and unicorns."
Aiden looks shocked but does not interrupt me.
"Aiden, I do not know what to do. I am not even seventeen yet. I am too young to do this. I cannot represent an entire country of people to the ancient races. I cannot decide on the fate of the human kingdom. I am not ready for all of this. I know Avren thinks I am, but I am not."
He pats my shoulder and nods his understanding. He doesn’t argue and he doesn’t try to persuade me otherwise. He knows it doesn’t matter if I am ready or not. The time is now. I swallow the panic I can feel rising. I don’t have time for this. I have to be decisive.
"Would you make sure Avren, Viktor, and Aldamon come to see me? I want this taken care of before I decide anything else."
He nods and leaves the room. It is only a moment before he is back with them. They must have been waiting nearby. They all kneel, except for Avren, who comes to rest at my feet.
"Avren I want your word that next time I leave, Aiden is the ultimate law. You will support everything he says without question."
"Yes, my queen."
"Good. Now Viktor, you are stripped of your office of General of the Army. Because of your unwillingness to obey my steward, I can no longer trust you to have my best interest at heart. You will return to guard duty. Aldamon, you will be replaced as my mage representative on the council. I will have Talon choose your replacement tomorrow once he has recovered. Avren, you will choose Viktor's replacement from amongst the men that support me, none of Viktor's choices are to be even considered. All of his commanders will be replaced. I am choosing to trust you, Avren. Do NOT make me doubt your loyalty again. Understood?"
Viktor looks shocked and hurt. Aldamon, angry and annoyed. Avren… well, it is hard to tell with a dragon face, but if I have to guess I would say he is proud.
"As my queen wishes."
I nod and pet his head. "Good. I officially declare our fight over. Aiden will need your help as well. I need him to be able to access my power while he is here in my place. When next I leave, you and Viktor will come with me and Aiden will need more power. I trust you to find the artifact or spell needed. I want military leaders that will take orders from Aiden as well, without argument. So, the two of you have much to do together. You are dismissed."
They walk off with no argument. I am going to be obeyed. They put me in this position, so now they will deal with the consequences.
"Aldamon. How dare you think to try to push an agenda when I was away and Aiden was in charge? He is to cover day to day issues and alert me to big changes, so I can give him a decision. Even knowing this, you tried to help Viktor push for a spy network. You are dismissed from court. Go find something to be and do. You will get two weeks of severance pay. By the end of those two weeks, I hope you have found something to do far from the palace. I no longer care for your company. I strip you of your rank. You are dismissed."
He storms out and I sigh. I wish I hadn't had to do that. I cannot let them think just because I am kind that they can do everything they please. There has to be rules and lines drawn. For everyone's sake.
I walk around the room, looking at my new flower choice. It relaxes me.
"Viktor. We are Kemp and charge. Yet we see each other once a week for an update on the army and talk of nothing else. We were once so close. Now… now we can barely look at once another. I don’t want it to stay like this. You plotted with your grandfather to force a spy network into existence while I was gone. I cannot show you favor but I cannot let you have any sort of power. Tell me, what am I to do with you, Viktor?"
"You could have Avren break our bond and banish me, I suppose."
So, that’s how he wants to play this out. Unfeeling and uncaring. Well, fine then. I suppose he has a right to feel however he wishes. I turn and look him in the eye, not letting him look away.
"Is that what you want, Viktor? Do you want to be free of me at last?"
He tries to look away but I use magic to hold him in place. Everything down to his eyelids is frozen. They will not look away until I allow it.
"Look me in the eyes Viktor and tell me if that is what you truly desire."
"Of course it isn't. You should know I never wish to leave your side. Even more than that, I never want you unsafe."
I drop my hold on him, turning and looking up at the throne. "I did not want this life. I understand now why you and Avren plotted to give it to me though. I forgive you both for what you did. I truly… well, I have truly seen the light. Avren is doing as he is bid, as are you, to an extent. I accept this is my life and I will not hide from it anymore. I will make decisions and work to make this world a better place. It just might not always coincide with how you two want me to do it. Do you still wish to follow me if that is the case, or do you want your freedom?"
I turn and ask. I need to see his face when he answers. I can read his face, to see if he is telling me what I want to hear or if he truly means what he says. He walks over and kneels down, taking my hand and kissing the underside. Not how courti
ers usually show reverence to a queen. This is more personal. This is a Kemp.
"I have only ever wanted to be with you, Elainne. I will follow you to the end."
I take my hand back and bid him stand… which he ignores. He looks up at me with pleading eyes. I just am not sure what he is pleading for.
So I turn and walk back to my throne. I sit. I should get used to it. I will be living this life for a very long time.
"Are you angry that I banished your grandfather from the palace?"
He stands and comes to sit on a step below me.
"I understand why you did. Will, you not banish me as well?"
"I will banish anyone that tries to increase their power. If you wish me to rule, I will rule. However, I will not have a court of conniving, selfish, power-hungry beasts ruling the provinces and fighting amongst themselves for my favor."
He nods and turns, looking me in the eye. That is a first in a long awhile. He hasn't taken these small liberties in a long time.
"I understand. In that case, you might want to think of a spy network. For inside the castle, as well as outside. It is, of course, your decision."
I nod and let him believe I will think about it. In truth, I already have a plan. One no one will know of. It will be my own little spy network. Consisting of one person traveling and reporting back to me. I have already picked out my helping hand, they just don’t know it yet.
"I will think about it."
He accepts that and stands, coming to rest where Aiden usually sits.
"Aiden is a good steward. He thinks much like you while ruling. He is logical, but also kind."
"That’s why I chose him."
We both sit in silence, unsure what to say to one another now. We have been at odds for so long.
"Viktor, I want my Kemp back."
He hesitates before answering.
"Are you sure?"
I nod. "Yes. I need you with me when I go to visit the ancients. I need your support and protection. Please, come back."
He reaches over and takes my hand, squeezing lightly. I look over at him but he is still staring straight ahead. I can feel the barriers both of us have erected - blocking our bond - crumble just a little though, so I am not worried. We have been through so much together. We will get through this as well.
Champion Complete Series Page 45