by Lisa Rector
Aerona nodded. “Agonizing pain.”
“I didn’t remember anything either,” Rhianu said.
“That makes no sense.” Einion could feel his forehead crease as he struggled to understand the situation.
Something’s not right, his dragon answered. Mischief here.
Einion gestured to Rhianu. “Do you mind if I touch you? I want to feel what’s going on as Aerona sends you a memory.”
Rhianu consented with a head bob.
“Aerona, could you think of a memory you wouldn’t mind if I experienced, if that’s all right?”
Aerona cocked her head. “I think I could allow that. Though I’m not sure what good it would do. I don’t think anything is getting through.”
Einion knelt in front of Rhianu and placed his hands on her brow. He smiled when she closed her eyes to his touch. “You may start, Aerona.”
What Einion was looking for was how memory slipped into the mind. The process should have been effortless. Einion was no healer of the mind, like Catrin, but he should be able to watch the memory move through the axons and across synapses. Einion delved deeper as Aerona fed Rhianu a memory of flying, of freedom, of aliveness—a feeling Einion was also privy too. He hit a wall along with the image. All Rhianu’s memories should be just beyond this barrier. A sucking, pulling feeling slipped through him—a sludge so thick, like pea soup. Einion wanted to sink into it.
Einion, get out of her head! Trahaearn cried.
Einion snapped out of the mire. Not yet. Cross the barrier, he urged. He pushed against the block. The spirit of the memory couldn’t combine with the physical components in Rhianu’s mind and transfer the image to her. Einion groaned when a sharpness attacked his prodding mind, and Einion slumped over Rhianu’s lap as she cried out and flopped over him.
You are not trying that again. Trahaearn poked at Einion’s rump with his snout.
Aerona growled. “Back away from Rhianu.”
Rhianu lifted her head. “It’s all right, Aerona.”
Einion pushed away from Rhianu. “My apologies for invading personal and mental space.”
Something is blocking her mind, Einion. I don’t like it, Trahaearn said.
I know. Neither do I.
“It seems you are right, Aerona. Nothing is getting through,” Einion said. “At least we tried. If Rhianu can’t receive memory, then a greater power is at work. Deian can tell us the truth. I shall consult the High Emrys. She communes with Him.”
Rhianu shrugged. “Oh well. I didn’t expect a miracle.”
She looked so downtrodden with her pouty lips pushed out past the point of adorable. Einion patted her hand. “For now, would you like to come with us? We’re headed to Terrin, but I have a visit to make beforehand. Afterward, I’ll see that you get the help you need. I promised my mother I’d call on the Eilian. They’ve been dying to see me. I mean… it’s only been a couple of months.”
He grinned sheepishly at Rhianu. She would understand once she met the two little people that he’d come to call Aunt and Uncle. “The first stop is hours away, but the flight to Terrin will take the rest of the day and into the night. Terrin is as far away from here as you can travel, all the way at the other end of the country. I have to go there for my… coronation.”
“Your coronation?” Rhianu asked. “You said your father was a lord.”
“He was. Back in that day, they referred to my parents as Lord and Lady of Terrin. He was supposed to be king, but he never took the title. Lord sounded more approachable to his subjects. Terrin has been ruled by a regent until I became old enough. Now I am. The big occasion is in three days.”
“If you’re to be king, Prince Einion, then why are you out here in the wild by yourself, rescuing and healing an injured woman and her dragon?”
Einion’s face grew hot. Being uncomfortable with the high expectations that loomed over him, he forbade his friends and family to call him Prince Einion.
He tugged at his collar. “The three realms have been relatively safe since establishing the Dragon Patrols…” He looked at the sky, not meeting Rhianu’s gaze.
Trahaearn cleared his throat. “And… Your Royal Majesty…” Don’t stop there.
Einion opened his mouth to speak and reluctantly looked at Rhianu. “I’m as stubborn as dragon’s hide, my mother says. I refuse to have an escort.” Einion didn’t mention Catrin, his constant shadow, who was as good as any escort. “When I was young, my parents gave up any hope of reeling me in. So there you have it. The young Prince of Terrin is a reckless adventurer, heedless of his own responsibility. This was our last excursion on our own together.”
He rubbed Trahaearn affectionately on the nose. “I seriously doubt I’ll be able to keep an escort away once I’m king.”
Einion was embarrassed to have admitted this much. He ran his fingers through his untamable hair. To his bewilderment, Rhianu started laughing. Einion began laughing too. When Trahaearn joined in, his deep voice drowned out the others’ voices. Einion noticed Aerona didn’t laugh, but waited—with protective, leery eyes on her rider.
The laughter died out, and Rhianu answered the original question. “Well, Your Majesty, I—we—would be delighted to accompany you on your journey, especially since you’re without an escort.”
“Great, only, don’t refer to me with such regal titles. They’re stiff. Just Einion, or O Handsome One, or something of that sort.” He couldn’t help but joke—Rhianu’s laughter infected him.
Slather the cream on thick, Brother, Trahaearn said. Are you forgetting about someone? Catrin.
No harm done with a bit of flirting. Catrin and I are not together. Besides, he was good at flirting. He had plenty of practice with Catrin. This might be fun. He wasn’t usually around other women. Catrin had seen to that.
“So away we go. Rhianu, will you be comfortable flying on Aerona?”
A smile crept across her face, and Einion returned it.
“I’m up for the challenge… I mean, I think I can manage. I might not remember much, but flying on a dragon should come naturally, I’d assume, since I’ve been doing it for most of my life. Right?”
“I think you can manage.” Einion winked. “Very well, we’re off.”
Einion grabbed his pack and slung it on his back. He climbed onto Trahaearn, and they waited until Rhianu climbed onto Aerona. She seemed sure of herself. Into the sky they flew, to the gigantic trees that made the Great Forest, with Aerona following behind Trahaearn.
Want to show them our new roll? Trahaearn asked, eager to show off.
I don’t think we should. You don’t want to go giving away our trade secret, Einion said.
You don’t want Rhianu to think you’re immature.
Trahaearn, I know what you’re thinking. You want to impress the new wings. She doesn’t like a show-off. She has many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many—
All right, I get it.
—moons on you. If you want to impress, play the mature, silent type.
You think so? Trahaearn asked.
Yes, I do.
Aerona flew up to them. High in the sky the wind was arctic. Rhianu shivered in her saddle.
“You have to channel the light in your core,” he shouted at her. “Spread it into your arms and legs and push the energy around yourself. You can imagine it like a cloak. That might help.”
Rhianu acknowledged Einion’s advice. Her features wrinkled while she focused her concentration. She stopped shivering, and Einion could sense her light was brighter. “Better?” he asked.
“Yes, thank you,” she yelled back.
Conversation was too difficult across the dragons. Einion closed his mind’s eye for peace. He had too many variables to consider with the upcoming events, Catrin’s absence, and the prospect of the Dark Emrys. Einion shut his eyes and enjoyed the wind rushing past, the cool clean air, and the sun on his face.
They skirted the capital of Rolant, giving it the usual, wide berth. After a while of flying ov
er the plains, they came to the Great Forest. The dragons turned north and crossed the river that flowed from a mountain spring through the trees. An old road followed the river, heading to the city. This road used to pass through a gap in the Great Ridge, but the emrys closed the gap when Einion was an infant to keep Rolant from leading an army into Terrin. The remaining road in the forest lay abandoned ever since.
Nothing was quite like the Great Forest. Even after the War Between the Realms, men did not travel into its depths because of the ancient stories telling of spirits and hidden worlds, but Einion did. Once he landed in the treetops, he went down into the understory by a system of lifts run by pulleys. This was where Trahaearn couldn’t go. The trees were so thickly grown together they couldn’t fit a dragon. They were scarcely wide enough for a horse. Secret creatures lived in the understory, some dangerous and some not. This was what held Einion’s curiosity.
But the magic of the Great Forest was not just at ground level.
The treetop dwellers, the Eilian, lived in the canopy. Einion visited them on many occasions. They were interesting little people who stood no more than four feet tall. Their huts were built in the tops of the massive, enchanted trees, hundreds of feet in the air.
The platforms of the Eilian came into view. Einion made out the little huts, nestled close to the trunks, forming a labyrinth of tree houses. Pots for growing vegetables filled the decks, and when the dragons flew overhead, the little people readying the pots for the spring planting looked up and squealed at the sight. Many of them stopped their planting and ran along the network of bridges connecting each tree. Einion knew where the Eilian headed—to one grand platform that could support the weight of a dragon long enough for riders to climb down.
Einion grinned. He knew there’d be a crowd when they arrived. The Eilian loved visitors. They loved the emrys and loved seeing dragons.
Land there, on the platform. He didn’t have to tell Trahaearn. His dragon had the better eyesight, and this was not their first visit to see his parents’ dear friends.
He shouted at Aerona. “We’ll land first, and Trahaearn will drop me off. You can circle around and land with Rhianu. Trahaearn knows of a good place for you to wait while we visit.” Einion smiled at the lack of enthusiasm on Aerona’s face.
Einion jumped down and landed on the wood surface, and Trahaearn left. In a minute, Aerona landed with Rhianu, and Einion helped her off her dragon. They turned around to find his two favorite Eilian, Emlyn and Hadyn. Eilian lived a lot longer than mortal men did, about nine hundred years, and these two had been around for a while. Lines of wrinkles highlighted their eyes, and extra, loose skin hung under their chins, but the sparkle in their eyes was not diminished. Einion stooped to hug Emlyn before she could manage a word.
“Einion! We’re so glad to see you. We received a message the other day by dragon that you might stop by. Your mother knew you would be in these parts. So happy, so happy! Hadyn, didn’t I tell you today would be the day? So blessed we are.” Emlyn said this all in one breath.
“She tells me that every day,” Hadyn said. The old man could have been smiling but his face sagged with jowls that pulled his cheeks down.
Emlyn looked at the slatted rope bridges that connected to their tree. Several dozen Eilian waited on the bridge as it swayed in the breeze. “Oh, go on. Come say your hellos. Hurry up with it. Get it done. He’s my little Einion, and we want him all to ourselves the rest of the night, so get on with it!”
The little people swarmed Einion and Rhianu, grabbing their hands and tugging their clothes. Some patted Einion on the back. They all talked at once—not a word could be made out.
Smiling, Einion looked at Rhianu who, being a good sport, had stooped down to talk to one of the children. Einion ruffled hair while he pried Eilian children off his legs. He lifted one child into his arms and squeezed her tightly. The little child screamed with delight. Another child jumped on Rhianu’s back while she still crouched. Einion waded through the mass and pulled the child off as Rhianu stood.
He laughed. “Watch out, or you’ll be drowned in a sea of little people.”
Broom in hand, Emlyn took care of the group. Her voice rang out while she scooted people aside. “Shoo, shoo! Go on now. You said hello. Now go on with your work. Leave me to my company.” She was like a mother hen pushing her brood aside.
The crowd dispersed, leaving Einion with his two friends and Rhianu.
“Well, Einion, I didn’t have a chance to see your little lass. This is not your usual lady. Who are you, my dear?” Emlyn asked, still in her mother-hen role. She grabbed Rhianu’s hand and patted it. “You have the most unusual hair, my dear. I’ve never seen a mop of red this unnatural.”
If Rhianu was embarrassed by this statement, she didn’t show it.
I should save her. Einion couldn’t believe, well actually, he could, that Emlyn indirectly mentioned Catrin. At least Rhianu had no idea to whom Emlyn referred. He took Rhianu’s hand from Emlyn and held it in his own. “This is Rhianu. Trahaearn and I came upon her on the plains. She’s traveling with me to Terrin.”
Emlyn looked at her husband and clucked as she took Einion’s free hand. “Well, tell us about your trip and meeting the fine lady here while we have a scrap of supper. You must be hungry, and judging by the state of this young lady’s clothes, she could use a good bath and fresh apparel. Why, my dear, they’re all charred. What happened to you? Must be quite a story to tell. Hadyn, ready the water. Einion, we could use that little trick of yours to heat the water so we don’t have to haul buckets from the fire.”
“Yes indeed, Emlyn, yes indeed. I promise I’ll tell you the whole story. Let Rhianu bathe first.”
CHAPTER NINE
CONFUSED BUT ENCHANTED
Water from a wooden trough entered through a hole in the wall and poured into a tub—barely large enough for Rhianu—but the Eilian could swim in it. Rhianu wondered if the tub was so big because of the need for them to accommodate normal-sized visitors. The trough connected to a barrel on the outside, where Hadyn said they collected rain from the roof. The sun beating down on the barrel warmed the water, but Einion heated it a tad more for the bath with a touch of his hand and a small amount of the light’s energy. Emlyn pushed the men out the door.
Rhianu thought Emlyn would go as well and waited for her to leave. Instead, Emlyn heaved herself onto a stool and began pulling Rhianu’s filthy, blackened tunic off. When Rhianu was naked with her arms and hands failing, in an awkward attempt, to hide her womanly features, Emlyn bid her climb into the tub.
The little woman grabbed a pitcher of water and poured it over Rhianu, causing her to gasp and draw up her shoulders. Emlyn dumped various, delightful smelling oils into Rhianu’s hair and proceeded to scrub away. Once her scalp received a good scouring, Emlyn tossed Rhianu a cloth and a bar of soap and told her to clean the rest of her body. Before Rhianu could begin, Emlyn dragged a wooden comb through Rhianu’s tangles with short, jerky pulls.
This must be a special sort of initiation. Somehow Rhianu felt she had experienced pain of a different sort in the past, but none to her head in such a manner.
You have. Pain doesn’t bother you. I guess you don’t remember how excruciating taking on the light was, Aerona said.
No. Rhianu clenched her jaw when Emlyn yanked her head again.
But you bore it well. You always do.
While Emlyn worked and attacked and eventually plaited Rhianu’s vibrant hair into a long braid, she talked—nonstop. And about Einion. The stories quite amused Rhianu. Emlyn even told the account of Einion’s birth and of how the Eilian met his parents for the first time.
“Ahnalyn and Aneirin showed up, on a dragon, with pots flying across the deck and rolling around,” Emlyn said, adding how they have them anchored down now. “Thank goodness.” She clutched her chest. “Ahnalyn was ready to deliver any second. So silly to have a pregnant lady on a dragon.”
The baby, “which was of course Einion,” came int
o the world right after Aneirin carried Ahnalyn through the door and laid her before the fire. Aneirin was quite taken with the baby. “Ball of pure light he was,” Emlyn said.
Since then, and after the War Between the Realms and the closing of the gap in the Great Forest, Einion and his parents visited at least once a year. Emlyn told stories of the baby toddling around with her and Ahnalyn while calling upon other treetop homes. “Which is why my dear one is so popular.” The reminiscing morphed to just Einion and Catrin’s visits once life became too busy for his parents.
Rhianu wanted to hear more about this Catrin who kept popping up. On their arrival, Emlyn mentioned that Rhianu was not his usual lady. Did Einion have a special someone he had not yet spoken of?
If he does, you’ll have to push her out of the picture, Aerona said.
Are you sure? Can’t I gain the prince’s good graces without sabotaging his relationships?
But that’s what you live for. You would have no qualms with taking down someone who stepped in your way.
Rhianu bristled. Was I a monster?
The best kind.
She hated feeling confused. Everything Aerona told her contradicted what she felt throughout her entire body. Rhianu didn’t feel this raging darkness, which Aerona spoke of, in her heart-center. She felt uplifted, positive, and free. Except, a slight headache pulsed at the base of her neck, making her feel heavy and tired.
It’s the light you took from your mother, Aerona said. It’s not who you really are. You draw your power from the darkness that pulsates in your mind.
Well, that darkness is giving me a headache, Rhianu snapped.
Perfect. Use that.
Rhianu peeled out of the tub once Emlyn completed the torture. Chucking a towel, she mercifully allowed Rhianu to dry herself. Emlyn lifted the lid on a corner chest, unfolded a blanket, and presented an exquisite gown.
“I’ve been making emryn-sized dresses for a while. Never know when you’ll have a visitor. We have the largest platform for dragons to land on. Many Eilian have tried to enlarge their platforms, but they aren’t as stable. You need the right tree with the right branches, and ours happens to be perfect. Try it on, dear. It should fit well enough.”