"Are you always this quiet in the morning?" the elf asked as she slowly waded into the water. "I could have sworn that I've seen you more talkative the past several days."
Darius grimaced at the rebuke and offered, "This is the first time that I have too much to say and not the words to do so."
"You flatter me," she returned.
The wizard thought that he could detect her blush at his words. Deciding to go on, Darius chose his words as best he could, "Flattery couldn't begin to describe the way that you make me feel, Electra. I had fought my love for you in the hope that it could wait until after these times were over. The thought of losing you to the river nearly maddened me, but I stayed firm in my resolve that you would be all right. Then I found that you were abducted by slavers and once again my fears arose for you, but also my determination to see you free and with me again. When I found you, I lost control. Marich would not have died, I think, if I had not been blinded by my worry for you."
"You blame our love for his death?" was her surprised response.
The man waved off the fearful woman. "No, of course not! I blame myself for having tried such a direct method to save you. If I had gone to the governor instead, I probably could have freed you as well. I admit that I feared losing you again if I was too slow.
"You said that you saw a strong leader, but did you not also see my fear and confusion?"
Electra returned to put her arms around him despite the water still clinging to her form. "I saw a man who had fought through such fears to save his companions. I saw a man who knew his power and offered a slaver his life by telling him simply not to dare your wrath. It was Marich's foolishness which killed him despite the feelings that you might have inside of you, Darius.
"If you believe otherwise and think that our union would hinder your leadership, then simply just say so. I can wait though I would miss your loving touch. Just tell me where you feel we should go."
Darius felt her shiver from the cool morning air and stooped to pick up the blanket for her. As he rose to place the warm cloth upon her shoulders, Darius gazed upon the wonder of the elf woman before him. His heart leaped and his desire strained until it nearly burst his heart. Putting the blanket across her shoulders, he pulled her close and kissed her again. "My heart would break if I were to watch you every day without knowing that I could love you, Electra. I don't blame you or our love for the man's death and perhaps with you to help, no other such tragedies will happen again. I still need time to become a true leader though and we both know this, so I need you to help me as much as anyone to become one."
Nodding Electra picked up her clothes as she added, "I will take that as your answer, but I must remind you, Darius, only you can make yourself a leader. I will always be there for you, my love, but I tell you again that you are already a leader. You just need to believe in yourself the way everyone else does.
"I will give you this one tip though. Go back to the camp and show no fear of what is too come. Don't even worry about the others' futures for now or whether you made the right decisions concerning their paths. All is as it should be and any future problems can be solved as they come."
"And those words should encourage me?" the man joked as he took her arm and led the elf towards the smell of cooking food in the camp.
She kissed him lightly on the cheek and said seriously, "They are true enough and the best that I know. Now come. We should go eat before we hold up our travel north."
Chapter 27- Dante
Dreams of swooping down from the sky towards a battle field strewn with fires and the dead, plagued Dante’s sleep. Men moved around picking up the bodies and casting them into the fires creating thick smoke, and soon the vision swept over an open space. The horrifying sight of a dead man up close in the crimson of Kalmer sickened him and Dante quickly awoke with a start.
Valenia sat on the cot beside him watching his sleep. "Are you all right?" she asked slightly worried at his pale face.
Nodding, the soldier sat up and swung his legs to face her. "I think that I was seeing through Misery's eyes again. Have you seen him lately?"
"Not since before the battle yesterday. Did the dream suggest that the raven was in trouble?"
He shook his head and tried to push the last remaining pieces of the vision from his mind. "No, the bird was feeding and the sight of a corpse that close up isn't exactly my idea of a good dream. I usually try not to worry over the bird. After all, we have no true ties to each other. Misery comes and goes as he wishes. If the raven does get in trouble what could I do about it from here?"
"You say that you don't worry and that there are no ties, but you cannot lie to me, Dante. Despite your wishes, there is already more of a bond built between the two of you, even with the freedom that Misery chooses, than you care to admit. You told me once that the raven returned to you after leaving Trea and then after each battle. It will return again when we continue our journey west, I'm sure."
He nodded, "I know. Like I said, I am not worried."
"Lieutenant, captain," Sergeant Lane called out as he neared, "if you two want to accept, Lord Ralmon has offered to give a banquet in your honor. Actually, even if you don't accept, I believe that they will still throw some form of celebration. The lord seems determined to have one after the victory today."
Dante looked quickly to Valenia before answering, "Of course, we'll accept. It will do us all a world of good to have a nice meal and a chance to be appreciated by a lord is always good too."
"I had told the messenger that you would probably accept and he tells me that Lord Ralmon has also offered to provide a change of clothing for everyone. Apparently our dirt stained uniforms don't seem to be considered acceptable for ballrooms," the older man added with a shrug.
"Go figure," Dante replied wryly.
"Exactly what I said, but a few of our troops seemed to agree and have already followed a servant to some wardrobe that must have been set aside for us."
"Go ahead, Sergeant. I can see that you haven't made use of it yet," Dante ordered after taking in Lane's dusty and blood stained leathers. "Go on. We'll catch up soon enough. When is the banquet to be held anyway?"
"In about two hours, sir."
"You'd better wake everyone else and let them know," he suggested.
"Uh, actually, lieutenant, you're the last to awaken. Of course, the rest of us didn't fight the enemy as intensely either, so I would have thought you would sleep longest."
"Enough, sergeant, go on before I feel self conscious about being a laggard." He gestured a dismissal and turned back to Valenia. "I assume that you must have known of this already. Why didn't you wake me?"
Valenia stood from her cot and came to sit beside him. Placing an arm behind his back, she leaned into him before answering, "I tried once. I gave you a pretty hard shake, but it was almost like you were dead from the lack of response I got back. The battle must have taken more out of you than you thought."
Slipping an arm behind his companion in return, Dante leaned over to kiss the woman's neck. "I'm no longer tired though...," He left off in suggestion.
Cupping both hands under his jaw, the woman returned his kiss passionately only a moment before rising. "Servants have been coming in too often to bother, Dante. I'm sure that later we will find the time, so meanwhile let's go find that wardrobe Lane was talking about and prepare for the banquet."
He looked at the woman who beckoned for him to follow with a wave and a smile. Sighing at the thought of having to dress up, the lieutenant rose and hurried after Valenia.
They had been separated by servants at the doors upon their exit. The castle was so refined as to not allow men and women to be dressing in the same area, after all, and Dante watched sadly as his lover was led in a different direction. He longed to be with Valenia again in that way, but such would not be the case at this time.
The man did find the rest of his troops in a grand, high ceiling room full of clothing and decorations. Long, vibrantly colored draperi
es hung as if they opened onto some large window or another, but in fact revealed paintings and sculptures beneath their sheltering sashes. Dante was very impressed. As a soldier, he had never had an opportunity to witness such finery before. His cast tended to stay away from things of the finer nature seeking the more durable or useful and, as he glanced around the room, the soldier wished that it could be otherwise at times. The soldier had been told that he had a romantic soul by friends and lovers in the past. Perhaps, Dante thought, he may have made a fine artist instead of dedicating himself to the destruction of life as the soldier had with the army. A life of art and rich living could be an interesting change.
After nearly laughing aloud, however, Dante took in the sight of his men dressed in the finery lent them by Lord Ralmon's tailors. His men nearly all had the gruff look of seasoned veterans even the fairly young Riad, but there they were pulling at stiff collars or hiking up the hose that royalty were used to wearing in Kalmer. Lane was fighting with the tailors as they tried to do much the same to him.
"Something wrong, Lane?" Dante laughed as he entered.
"Yes, sir, they want to change me into some feminine clothes, but I keep telling them that I am a soldier. These..., " he started pointing at the tailors, but realizing that nothing good could come of insults, started over again, "They don't seem to understand about normal folk, sir."
He nodded, "My good men," the lieutenant gestured to the tailors, "might I request that you dress my men like soldiers rather than courtiers. As my sergeant said, we all come from common stock and should be dressed closer to our class, don't you think? How would your soldiers dress to honor their lord?"
One of the tailors nodded, "I see your point, lieutenant. We should dress up soldiers, not make lordlings."
"Close enough," he agreed with a return of the man’s nod.
The next hour or so was spent undoing the damage that the Kalmer tailors had already done and then coming up with dress uniforms. The tailors were quick and made the garments to order. Dante was even able to get the dark blue of Trea's armies as the base for the uniforms. The tailors were determined to add some extra finery to the designs even still, but by the time they were done, Dante and his men could live with the end products.
Fastening a shiny, new, black, leather belt and scabbard, Dante finished off his outfit by sliding his sturdy sword into the new sheathe. A messenger came shortly afterwards to warn them that the banquet was about to start and that they should follow him.
The lieutenant quickly inspected his men and found them acceptable. Motioning for the messenger to lead them, he and the other men fell in behind him. The banquet hall was not far off and when they entered the cavernous hall they were stunned by its sheer size alone.
Dozens of cloth covered tables laden with trays of food took up a large portion of the room around them. Above those hung draperies and banners in an even more extravagant setting than the wardrobe chamber. The walls were tastefully covered by paintings, statues or vases of all manner of sizes and shapes. People dressed in the gowns and dress of the aristocracy wandered around the hall in conversations already. Dante could sense his men and their tension as they nervously pulled at their buttoned collars. He caught himself in the act of starting to loosen his own as well and stopped before actually finishing doing so.
Dante looked around for Valenia and her women, but found none of them before an unknown courtier came up and requested that they follow him again. They were led to the far end of the hall where several men were congregated talking.
"My Lord Ralmon," announced the courtier crisply as they approached. The men parted as they turned to look at Dante and his men. A man crowned with a small, gold circlet was revealed to Dante as the lord stepped forward slowly. Wearing his authority in a careless looking manner, the lord still affected the attitude that Dante believed most aristocracy wore. "These are the men of Certe who helped fight the enemy, my lord."
"Of course, they are, Tivian. You are dismissed now." The lord waved off the messenger stepping forward and extending his hand to Dante. "So you must be the one," he declared. "Lieutenant Dante of Trea, correct?"
"Yes, Lord Ralmon," Dante answered and started to bow over the lord's hand.
Ralmon stopped him with a gentle hand on his shoulder. "You need not bow to me, sir. I am not your lord, though I confess that I would love to have such a man in my services. That goes for all your men as well. You are all guests here. Do not consider yourselves subject to me."
"Thank you, sir," Dante replied with a nod and his men followed his gesture.
Dante noticed the lord's eyes suddenly stray from him and heard Ralmon speak softly, "My word, what a lovely lady. I have not seen her before."
Turning to follow the lord's gaze, Dante found a simply stunning woman walking slowly towards their group. She wore a dark blue gown that seemed to accent her silver hair. Dante looked to Valenia's silver eyes in awe.
"Valenia," he breathed in amazement.
As the woman came up to the men, she curtsied properly though somewhat awkwardly. It had obviously been a long time since the captain had attempted such an act. "My Lord Ralmon," she greeted.
"Greetings, fair lady, and who might you be, that graces my castle with your beauty?" the lord replied with a deferential bow.
"Captain Valenia Kartiyan, my lord."
The lord seemed slightly taken aback by her rank and asked, "Captain? Then you must be from the other command that entered with the lieutenant here. This is indeed a surprise. I had not thought that a soldier could be so lovely." With a sly wink, Ralmon added to the others surrounding him, "No offense, Lieutenant Betrice."
Chuckling, Dante replied gracefully, "None taken of course, Lord Ralmon."
Valenia didn't appear as amused by such compliments and sidled closer to the lieutenant. A sudden flash of her wrist and a knife was stationed before Dante's face. Everyone's' breath caught at the surprise of such an action at a celebration. The woman stated evenly, "Beauty simply makes my soldiers all the more effective, my lord, don't you think?" She leaned forward and kissed her lover as she lowered the knife.
"An interesting display, captain," the lord replied gruffly. His face showed the same lack of humor as the woman had before him a moment earlier. "Don't do so again, my dear," he cautioned.
"Sorry, my lord," Valenia apologized. "I'm afraid that I took liberties that I should not have."
"Don't apologize to me, captain. I think that the lieutenant deserves the apology. You did threaten his life, after all. You are lucky that he did not retaliate. I heard that he is a skilled fighter and is the main cause of our celebrating this victory today."
Valenia smiled again. Dante could tell that she was suppressing the need to laugh aloud as much as he was now. "I do apologize, Lieutenant," the woman stated trying to sound ladylike though he knew that she fought to not sound too sarcastic in her apology. "I hope that you will forgive me."
"Only if you would honor me with a dance," he replied and gestured to the entering musicians upon the small dais erected to one side of the hall. The captain looked at those stepping to the dais reluctantly, but the lord seemed overjoyed by the idea.
"A dance," Ralmon echoed. "Splendid idea. Tivian!" he shouted. The servant came forward from where he had hid out of sight but within calling distance.
"Yes, my lord?"
"Have the musicians begin to play now and clear a good space on that end of the room for dancing."
The man started to move away in obedience.
"Where is that wife of mine, Tivian?" the lord questioned before the servant could leave his side.
"There, sir," the man replied immediately, as if he knew the question would be asked, then turned and left.
"Ah, good," the lord clapped. He quickly faced Valenia and ordered sternly, "Captain, as a lord of Valos, I order you to make sure that you give the lieutenant all the dances that he wishes. Our guest of the realm should enjoy this night and I expect you to do your duty."
"Then we should dance," he stated and offered his arm to his lover.
Clapping for the couple as they moved away,
Lord Ralmon quickly moved away to find his wife. The man seemed to enjoy his act of matchmaking.
It was much later while they shared Lord Ralmon and Lady Eleth's table that a nearly forgotten seer seemed to appear from nowhere at Dante's shoulder. The conversation had somehow been turned to the nature of the enemy and the mission of their soldiers and as usual Gannon was there awaiting his chance to enlighten others without telling all.
"Lieutenant, what is it that your people seek?" Ralmon asked as they talked. "A mission of some sort has been mentioned several times as to why you are here, but you never say what the quest is."
"I am afraid that we really don't know just what it is that we seek, my lord," Dante replied. "The Visionaries haven't told us anything beyond the fact that this quest is necessary."
"So seer, then perhaps now you can shed light on this conversation?" Ralmon said turning to look at the silent man in his dark robes that were cleaner, but the same as he had worn into the city that morning.
Dante expected the seer's initial silence. It had been the man's greatest defense in the face of their questions and they had quickly gotten used to the tactic. In fact, Dante couldn't remember anyone bothering to ask any questions of the seer for days.
"We seek dragon's treasure of the most valuable kind," Gannon suddenly stated shocking those who had been travelling with him for awhile now. The soldier's eyes widened in surprise, but Ralmon seemed unaffected.
"Dragon treasure?" the lord scoffed. "Dragons are a myth and, even if they are real, what could one possess that would be so important to this Dark Emperor's defeat?"
Gannon smiled tightly and seemed likely to revert to silence, but again the man spoke, "Dragon's do exist, sir. Believe in them if you will or not, they do exist and these people will see one and deal with it before their mission is done. A true dragon is beyond the stories of myth though, I assure you.
The Emperor's Shadow War (Tales of Alus Book 2) Page 21