“It certainly is that,” Darian agreed.
“How is his reading going?” Erana asked with a knowing grin.
“Very well,” Gwendolyn laughed. “At least, as far as the actual reading is concerned. He's definitely getting better at meaningless flattery, as he so delicately put it, but that's the height of his progress so far.”
“I guess he hasn't made it to the section on marriage yet,” the elf speculated.
“Oh, he has,” Gwendolyn replied. “He just hasn't spent much time on it. I know that because he told me all about it. In fact, he keeps telling me everything he's learned from every single section he's read.”
“Does he?” Erana laughed.
“He does,” Gwendolyn replied, shaking her head. “This morning, when we ended up alone for a few minutes, I tried to explain to him that gallantry lost some of its effect when it was always followed by a page number.”
“What did he say?”
“At first, he had no idea what I meant,” the human maiden replied. “So, I decided to be more direct. I said to him: Sir Darian, ladies don't like to be told that you're only being gallant because some book told you to be.”
“What did he say to that?”
“He told me that he'd check the book, and if that fact wasn't already in there, he'd write it in as a note.”
“He didn't really?” the elvish maiden asked with another laugh.
“Oh, yes, he did,” the sorceress replied, joining in her companion's mirth. “To be honest, the longer I know him, the more I find myself wondering if he's even noticed that I'm a girl and he's a boy.”
“Gregor seems to have noticed,” Erana asserted, shooting her companion a sly glance.
“Yes,” Gwendolyn replied, gazing ahead at the young lord. “He certainly has noticed. And not all of his flattery strikes me as completely meaningless.”
“He seems like a fine young man.”
“He does.”
“Handsome, too.”
“He is.”
“Rather charming.”
“I think so.”
“I don't think he'd even have to skim the section on marriage,” Erana speculated.
“I can assure you,” Gwendolyn replied, “he wouldn't.”
“Oh?” the elvish maiden asked with a smile. “Well, that could prove useful.”
“What do you mean?” the sorceress asked, turning her eyes back to her companion. “Obviously, I like Gregor, but you can hardly compare the two. Darian is everything that is good, noble, virtuous, and lovely. In fact, he's beautiful.”
This observation caused the ranger to laugh once again.
“He is!” the sorceress insisted. “I mean; obviously, he's even more handsome than Gregor.”
“Through some eyes, I'm sure,” Erana interjected.
“But that's not what I'm talking about,” Gwendolyn continued. “His entire focus is centered on others. He would lay down his life, not just for any of us, but for anyone who needed him. The will of the Eilian is his constant guiding light. Everything he does is an attempt to make the world a better place. On top of which, he's constantly working to improve himself.”
“I completely agree,” the elvish maiden nodded enthusiastically. “I'm not for one moment suggesting that you shift your affections from one to the other.”
“Then exactly what are you suggesting?”
“That you use Gregor's attentions to help wake Darian up.”
“How do you mean?”
“Darian doesn't seem to think of you as a girl,” Erana pointed out, “I believe he thinks of you more as a sister.”
“I know,” the sorceress replied, shaking her head. “He's actually told me that before.”
“Part of the reason for that could be that no one else seems to think of you like a girl,” the elf continued. “He hasn't ever seen another man treat you like an available young lady.”
“That's not true,” Gwendolyn replied. “Gregor's treated me like that since the moment he met me.”
“You're right,” the elvish maiden smiled, “and I think that's already starting to have an effect.”
“Do you?”
“I do,” Erana assured her. “When Darian was asking me about whether or not unicorns could write...”
“What?” Gwendolyn interrupted.
“It was just one of his crazy questions,” the elvish maiden explained. “Anyway, while he was talking to me and Kilren, he seemed to almost glare at Gregor every time he said anything that made you laugh.”
“Really?”
“Well, it was glaring for Darian. It looked like the earliest stages of jealousy to me.”
“Really?” the maiden asked, clearly getting more excited.
“I think so,” Erana nodded. “All we have to do to be sure is fan the flames.”
“How do we do that?”
“You need to act a little more accepting of Gregor's attentions.”
“I don't know,” the sorceress said, her eyes once again locked on the young lord. “That doesn't seem fair to either of them.”
“All's fair in love and war,” Erana replied, before playfully biting her lower lip and flashing her eyes. “I don't mean you should really lead him on, of course. Just act like you find him slightly more engaging than you do, be sure to help him dominate the conversation when both you and Darian are talking to him, and do your best to end up alone with Gregor without looking like you're trying to.”
“How do you know all of this?”
“I have four older sisters.”
“Oh, of course!” Gwendolyn smiled. “Still, I don't know. I'm not sure it's right to try to make him jealous when he's got nothing to be jealous of.”
“Alright,” Erana sighed. “You can just wait for twenty or thirty years, then.”
“I'll do it!” Gwendolyn replied with a tone of complete and total conviction.
“So, Jalek,” Ian said, turning his eyes to the young wizard at his side, “how long have you known Baldorin?”
“All of my life,” he replied.
“He seems like an excellent soul.”
“He certainly is.”
“How long have you been his servant?”
“I wouldn't say that I am his servant,” Jalek replied with a wide smile, “although I certainly serve him at times. I prefer to think of us as partners.”
“I certainly meant no offense, lad,” Ian replied. “I just wasn't sure exactly what your relationship was.”
“Well, partners is certainly the most accurate description.”
“Not everyone could claim such equal footing with a dragon,” the bard asserted.
“No,” the young man agreed, “they certainly couldn't. However, Baldorin and I have a special working relationship. I handle those things it would be difficult for one of his race to attend to, he deals with situations that are more suited to a dragon than a wizard. We each use our talents in unison to forward our united goals.”
“And your current goal is to stop this war, obviously.”
“It's one of our current goals, yes,” Jalek replied.
“I'm sure King Illfas was glad to hear it,” the bard smiled. “A dragon on the field can certainly help turn the tide of battle.”
“That's true,” the wizard nodded. “However, in this case, Baldorin felt it would be wiser not to enter the war directly. He's not the only dragon in Areon and they have their own laws about interfering in the conflicts of the other races. All things considered, he believed it was situation that I had better handle.”
“Well, you've been very helpful so far.”
“I hope to be even more so in future.”
“I'm sure you will be,” Ian nodded. “Your talents are extremely impressive.”
“I appreciate that,” Jalek replied. “It's taken a great deal of effort to acquire them.”
“Well, whatever it took, it was worth it, lad” the bard assured him.
Just before sunset, Ian brought their journey to a halt. A
lthough they would have been able to reach Rakklin before nightfall, the bard felt it would be better to spend the night in the wilds and enter the village early the following morning. Kilren was very pleased to be stopping at a decent hour, still being somewhat exhausted from their previous exertions, and thrilled by the fact that they had more than enough provisions for the next few days.
Being, as they were, in enemy territory, three watches were deemed necessary for the night. The lieutenant claimed the first watch for he and his bride-to-be, so they could enjoy an uninterrupted night's sleep once they were done. Darian offered to take second watch and Ian decided to join him. Gregor assured them that he could take the third by himself.
“I'll watch with you,” Gwendolyn volunteered. “You shouldn't have to stay up with no one to talk to.”
“I think I'd enjoy that a great deal,” the young lord said with a knowing smile.
“There's no need for you to do that, Lady Gwendolyn,” Jalek replied. “I'll be more than happy to keep him company.”
“I appreciate that,” the maiden said. “But honestly, I don't mind at all. In fact, I'm looking forward to watching the sun come up.”
“And I'm looking forward to seeing you in the moonlight,” the lord observed.
“Actually,” Darian injected, “I think it would be better if Gregor and I took second watch together. Ian, do you mind taking last watch?”
“I certainly...” the bard began.
“I think I prefer the original arrangement,” Gregor interrupted.
“Well, I don't,” the knight replied with a very disapproving look on his face.
“Why not?” Erana asked, gazing at Gwendolyn with a smile.
“Because it's not appropriate,” he asserted. “The book...”
“Please, Sir Darian, spare us the book,” the young lord laughed.
“The book,” Darian continued, raising his voice slightly, “says that unmarried ladies and gentlemen should never be without an escort.”
“That's true,” Gregor observed, “when they happen to be courting. Which Gwendolyn and I don't happen to be. At least, not yet.”
For several silent seconds, the knight gazed at the young lord with his brows drawn together.
“I still don't think it's appropriate,” he said at last.
“Darian,” Gwendolyn giggled, “we've spent I don't know how many watches alone together.”
“I know that,” he said with a tone of obvious annoyance, “but I hadn't read the book then. And no one ever mentioned to me that it might be inappropriate.”
“Considering the fact that you're Telian Knight,” Ian said with a smile, “I didn't think that it was.”
“Well, Gregor isn't a Telian,” Darian pointed out.
“No,” the young lord replied, crossing his arms as he spoke, “I'm a prince of Winkar. And I don't think I care for your insinuation.”
“I'm not insinuating anything!” Darian exclaimed. “I'm just trying to explain that it wouldn't be appropriate for you two to spend the watch together alone. If you don't care, why should I?”
“Yes,” Erana agreed, her smile even wider than before. “Why should you?”
“I don't!” he denied, climbing to his feet. “I just thought they might. Gwendolyn's the one with the gallantry obsession, not me. I was also a little bit surprised that Gregor didn't seem to realize that it might be unseemly for the two of them to be all alone in the middle of the night. That's all! Now, I'm going to get some more firewood and then I'm going to sleep. Ian and I have second watch.”
“Actually, you're quite right, Sir Darian,” Gregor replied, nodding his head thoughtfully. “I'm sorry my initial reaction was to make light of it. I was merely trying to spare Lady Gwendolyn any embarrassment for accidentally suggesting something so inappropriate. Once you get far enough in the book, I'm sure you'll find a section on that.”
This observation forced Kilren to stifle a laugh, which earned him a disapproving look from his love.
“In any event,” the young lord continued, “I feel certain that Jalek would be willing to keep us company.”
“More than happy to,” the wizard replied.
“That way,” Gregor said, his eyes locked on those of the sorceress, “Gwendolyn will get to enjoy the sunrise, and I'll get to enjoy the company.”
At first, this arrangement seemed to satisfy everyone. After a bit of reflection, however, Darian questioned the appropriateness of Kilren and Erana continuing to share their watches alone. This would have doubtlessly led to another debate had Ian not assured him that, according to elvish custom, it was completely permissible under the circumstances due to the fact that they were both soldiers currently under the knight's own command.
Shortly after this crisis of correct behavior had been dealt with, Jalek suddenly remembered that he wanted to observe some conjunction of the twin moons that would occur at some point during second watch. Oddly enough, what brought this to mind was a brief, whispered conversation between himself and the young sorceress. As a result, the wizard and the knight exchanged watches.
Having gained what she could only feel was a complete victory with her first attempt, the human maiden decided to put more of Erana's advice into practice during her time alone with the two young men. As a result, Gregor almost completely dominated the conversation during third watch. Everything he had to say seemed to enthrall her. She sat, apparently spellbound, as he recounted such exciting childhood stories as the first time he'd ever ridden a pony and how he learned to swim before he was five years old.
After a few hours of this, the Telian seemed ready to cede the field. At first, at least it seemed to her, he had tried to get his own share of her attention. However, meeting with defeat time and time again, eventually seemed to discourage him. After several minutes of silently watching Gwendolyn watching Gregor, he appeared to give up. With a sigh, he rose to his feet explaining that he intended to go get some more firewood.
In an instant, the maiden's resolve completely collapsed. Seeing him look genuinely distressed was simply too much for her. She offered to join him while Gregor kept the camp safe. Minutes later, she had him happily chatting away like normal. Unfortunately, his conversation was just a little too normal. The only thing he seemed interesting in talking about was the last thing he had read in the book. She decided to engrave that fact on her memory. It would bolster her sense of determination the next time she attempted to make him jealous. Although she certainly felt that she had made some progress during their evening together, she believed she would have made even more had she let him suffer a little longer.
Assuming, of course, that his former discomfort actually had anything to do with her at all. With Darian, it was almost impossible to tell. It was just as likely – maybe even more likely – that his mind had been somewhere else entirely. He might have been thinking about their comrades who, by this time, might well have encountered the armies of Mikral once again. Or he could have been contemplating what he intended to say to the citizens of Rakklin to convince them to rise up against their current king. Any number of subjects might have struck him as far more important than whether or not she was paying more attention to Gregor than to him.
And, the plain truth was, they were more important. What difference did it make if a particular young woman cared for... no, not cared for... loved, a particular young man? The world would go on just as it had from the beginning – whether or not he ever returned her affection. For a moment, she was almost embarrassed by the idea that she would waste time pursuing him in the middle of events of such critical importance.
That moment passed quickly, however. After all, what was the history of Areon but the history of the individuals who made it up? What could be more important to any of them than love? If she decided to wait until they weren't right in the middle of some war, some rebellion, or some disaster, it would probably never dawn on Darian that she was a girl.
Plus, of course, they had countless empty hours while they
were traveling. All of them had more than enough time to contemplate whatever crisis they happened to be in the middle of at the moment. Darian himself would chatter almost nonstop from sunrise to sunset about the most trivial subjects a person could imagine. So, really, all things considered, she could spend at least a few minutes every day attempting to help him awaken his inner man.
If that were even possible. Of course, Erana thought she had seen a jealous look in his eyes just yesterday and she seemed to be right about the fact that Darian didn't want her to be alone with Gregor. That was enough to give her hope that his inner man had at least cracked his eyelids. It wasn't much, but it was a start.
Whatever the case, she had accomplished what she could for the evening. As the pair made their way back to the fire with their arms filled with a number of broken branches, the sky began to change from the black of night to the deep blue of dawn. The trio sat together in silence as the sun rose slowly above the horizon, flooding the world with its glowing, golden light.
“Beautiful, isn't it?” the knight said with a contented sigh.
“It certainly is,” the maiden agreed.
“And yet,” he continued, turning toward her with a slight smile, “the sun, in all its glory, pales in comparison to your own sparkling eyes.”
For several seconds, Gwendolyn sat in stunned silence.
“Thank you,” she finally managed to mutter.
“You’re welcome!” he exclaimed excitedly. “I was working on that most of the night. That's why I was so quiet. At first, I was going to wait for you to say that the sunrise was beautiful and then tell you that it wasn't as beautiful as your eyes. But then, I thought you might not say it and I would have to. So, I changed your eyes to sparkling so I wouldn't have to say beautiful twice in a row. I thought that might lessen the effect, you know?”
In reply she merely closed her eyes and nodded.
“How was my delivery?”
“Perfect,” Gregor chuckled. “Right up until the explanation.”
“I think you may be wrong there,” Darian replied, shaking his head. “The books says that ladies like to know that you've put a lot of work into whatever it is you've done for them.”
The Lords of Areon (The Chronicles of Areon Book 3) Page 16