Adjusting her position, Nara pressed her ear closer to the frame, refocusing her attention on their conversation.
Theola spoke in hushed anger. “Whatever workings you, your father, and that king have, it will not be allowed. I will give my testimony to the Elders who know nothing of you. I might not know you as well as I should, but I know Qildor and Alinar.”
More shuffling. Footsteps sounded closer within. She looked around frantically, pulling her back away from the wall and letting her dress slip from her fingers. Clutching her sandals to her chest, she stared wide-eyed at them when they exited the room. As unimportant as it was to know such things, she saw the resemblance in the two now. Their eyes were both amethyst and just as hardened and beautiful as the gem too.
Before Nara could speak, Theola did, moving to stand before Nara. “You plan to be like them?” Nara blinked up at her. “I will tell you something, Nara. We keep you here to protect you. You especially. They tricked your mother and I into believing great things. While I saw them for who they were, she did not. Death is what awaits you if you leave.”
“Death follows everyone; it’s only a matter of time,” Nara responded, tension building in her forehead the longer she focused on the Elder. Theola shook her head, dismissing the words in that single gesture.
“That is very naïve. Death will be waiting for you as soon as you touch land. The Elders kept you to protect you from this, Nara.” Even though Theola spoke words of protection, the undertone of hostility struck Nara.
Castien grabbed Theola by the arm and pulled her away. His face was red as he violently turned his mother to look at him.
“Leave her alone,” he hissed, pushing Theola just enough that she stumbled backwards. “I’ve not known her long, but whatever she plans should be her decision and not yours. Your mistakes are not hers.”
Theola jerked free. “You have not known her long, yet you’ve known of her long enough,” Theola spat, turning her burning eyes on Nara, undeterred by Castien’s words. “Where will you go? With him?” she asked, jabbing a finger at Castien. “You would go with him just as they want?”
“I will go where I please.” Nara ground out the words through clenched teeth. All of the emotions contained with Melowyn wound around her. “I will live a free life while still keeping the love of my gods.” She paused, looking at Castien and Theola. As Theola stood trembling beside her son, the rest of what the Elder had said finally dawned on Nara. The anger drained from her as she stepped forward. “As who wants? Castien has known me?”
Theola’s eyes darted back and forth over Nara’s face, mouth agape as her breathing and anger visibly slowed. Regret sparked like a sudden wildfire across Theloa. Nara stepped forward. “As who wants, Elder Theola? What are the Elders protecting me from?” Theola shook her head, pushing past Nara and leaving. As much as Nara wanted answers, she had to gather her feelings, her questions, and turn them on the proper individual.
Castien.
“How would you have known me? Who wants what, Castien?” Nara asked him more calmly, the question aching inside her. She took a step towards him, trying to bring his attention away from his mother’s retreating form. Realizing how tightly she gripped her sandals, she let them fall to the floor. She touched his bare arm, just now noticing he was dressed only in trousers and boots. Their crystals reacted as they had before, only stronger, sending a shock and vibration through both of them. His lips parted, his attention fully hers.
“As we want,” he whispered, giving in easier than she thought he would. She pushed harder against his arm. His muscles rippled beneath her touch, and the feeling spread, quickening her heart. “As we want, Nara,” he repeated, stepping towards her. “I was ordered to wait to tell you.” Her eyes were downcast, warmth building around the spot where their skin contacted. He touched her hand, holding it with great care. “I will speak with the Elders by the week’s end, when Ghedril’s light hangs high in the sky. I was told that this is when you will come of age. The same people planned to have me here for that. I cannot tell you more, not for now anyway.”
She grimaced. “Why?” The thrumming power that sat in their hands was hypnotic and euphoric; she didn’t want to let go. However, with him unwilling to give more information, she pulled away regardless of how much she tingled with pleasure. “Why would you tell me that you know me and not delve any further?”
Castien shook his head once, his hand clenched in front of him as though he wanted to touch her again. “I think it’s best if you hear this from the High Elder. I do not want to disappoint those who sent me. It is true that I have another objective, just know you are important.” These words he spoke to her were foreign. Someone actually sought after her, or at least this elf told her so. Taruk and Theola’s words pointed that way as well. It was overwhelming, and she wondered what she could learn from the High Elder if anything at all.
“I should go then,” she muttered, eyebrows tight and uncertainty brimming within her eyes. Castien bowed his head, not standing in her way. Walking away, she had the deafening feeling of knowing she was about to discover something that would have otherwise remained hidden had Castien not appeared. Something she wasn’t sure she wanted to find out but knew she had to.
HIGH ELDER
Challenges came in different measures, and every day there would come several for anyone. However, for the High Elder, it seemed every waking moment was a challenge facing off against all dealings conducted on Vheria. With the arrival of Castien Dreigsier, his worries had amassed ten-fold. This elf was someone the gods had heralded some weeks back to alert Shen trying and dark times were ahead, but despite lowering the sentries as the gods had instructed, he had not completely prepared for it.
“You’ve allowed him to stay,” Theola said for the third time as she paced the floor in his quarters. Shen nodded again from behind his table, fingers formed in a peak before him while he stared into the void, trying to gather his thoughts. No one except Cirene knew he talked to the gods, and they told him to keep it a secret lest they shut him out forever. There would not be a way for him to tell her why he had allowed her son to stay.
“Theola, he is your son,” Shen said instead, eyes steady on her now. “Have some compassion for the young one. I understand his father kept you from taking him when you left Ghela, but you must be there for him now.” Theola looked at him, thin lips pulled back, forehead tight, and clear horror upon her face.
“We’ve heard reports, High Elder,” she objected, stepping closer, her dark locks swaying. “He has committed grievous acts worse than his father. He should not be entertained. And yet you’ve given Nara as his guide? Since you allowed me to move to Vheria and progress further than any other that lived outside, I have trusted you. I have loved you; I have worked hard to be where I stand, and I have done all that you have asked. But if sources are correct, my son has become worse than his father. I’m not certain I can trust you in this, High Elder.”
Shen gave her a compassionate smile when he stood.
Theola, it was true, was not born on Vheria. She and Nara’s mother, Sabwen Gailod ley Dartmyr, had been of noble blood on Ghela. While Sabwen abandoned Nara at the temple for the nursemaids and left with an unknown ending to her story, Theola had worked hard to prove her presence on Vheria. Theola had even advanced to the position of Elder by gaining Shen’s trust. Her position was something no other foreigner had been granted. It was painful for her to have left her only child, but Shen knew it had been necessary.
“Continue to trust me, Theola,” Shen chided, clasping his hand on her shoulder. Peering down at her, he could see the pain of the past spread across distant eyes. “We knew something like this would happen, especially you. You were the one who agreed to nurse and care for Nara if only for a short while, and now we have to let her go.” He paused, tilting her chin up with a single finger. “I am sorry it is your son that you have to see take her away.”
Theola shook her head, lines forming around her shimmering eyes
and the jagged white mark across her jaw crinkling beneath the stress. If only he could truly comfort her, if only he could tell her all he knew.
“He looks like him,” Theola whispered. “You cannot allow Nara to be taken there. I promised Sabwen.”
“I know what you promised, but know that we cannot hold Nara captive. And from what you have told me, it was not Castien who let slip of her origins.” Theola looked away and shut her eyes, allowing tears to fall heavily down her cheeks.
Reassuringly he said, “What has happened cannot be undone. With Nara, I believe it to be the will of the gods.”
“How do you know this?” Theola asked, eyes gleaming up at him. Her trust was falling back into place where it belonged, and this brightened his heart.
“I only have a feeling,” he lied. “We will have to let Nara go, and quietly so, if there is any hope for her to return to us in the future. And we will need her to return.” Shen eased her towards the large door that led out of his room. His chest was tight from knowing he would not be around forever to continue bearing strength to Theola. But as long as he was alive, he knew he could instill much wisdom into her. Teaching and supporting her would in turn help others who would eventually seek solace on Vheria.
“I will do my best to mind my actions next time,” Theola said after he had opened the door. Pausing, her gaze drifted down the short hallway towards the stairs. Despite her feelings, she murmured, “I cannot guarantee I will treat him with the same respect I am to show her.”
Shen nodded. “I cannot direct you one way or the other when it comes to him. I’ve called for a meeting, but I doubt whatever he wants will be allowed to pass.”
“And if they—” she began but paused, her eyes following a figure coming towards them. Shen exhaled upon seeing Nara. He knew he would have something to explain to her, and he was still not fully prepared for it. He only prayed that, if Castien had said anything, she didn’t trust him enough yet to believe his words. She was bound to leave regardless of anything Shen said, more so now that she knew something was amiss about her origins. But not before Shen would be able to explain things to her.
Nara advanced towards them both. “Forgive me, High Elder, but I need to speak with you immediately.” Nara scowled at Theola before her intense gaze turned back to the High Elder. “Is it true what Theola says?”
Theola began to speak until Shen squeezed her shoulder, gently pushing her from the room. A look passed between the Elders, and that was all that was needed; Theola had been around long enough to know when to interject and when to leave it alone. Without speaking, she left, leaving Shen to take Nara by the hand, lead her inside, and slowly close the door behind them.
“High Elder, please, I need to know,” Nara stated impatiently. “She said that you took me to protect me, and Castien Dreigsier says he has come for me, but neither will tell me more than that.”
Quietly Shen paced by her, his thin lips pursed, thoughts coming as steadily as his stride. Patience was something he wanted all to learn. Nara, unfortunately, was not one of those who had easily taken to that teaching.
“Nara,” Shen began, stopping in front of the window in the back of the room. Sorting through his feelings, he stared out the glass panes a moment longer before he gave her his undivided attention. Wise and caring eyes fell on the young maiden. “Your life is complicated. If you would like to know—”
“You know I do,” she snapped in a tone she had never taken with him before. Immediately she cast her eyes downwards. “My apologies. I need to know more before I leave. I cannot wait for Castien to tell me.”
“Your past should not be told by him,” said Shen, taking a single step away from the window. “Nara, you and your mother are not native to Vheria, and you should not have been born here. However, your souls belong here.” Nara looked up, questioning and wanting to know more. “Your mother was of noble blood on Ghela, sent to marry the king. But Sabwen went through a painful ordeal after marriage. Suddenly aware, she escaped with Theola to come here in an attempt to keep you from King Alinar.” Nara’s eyes widened, her jaw slack. Shen tenderly added, “The dryads helping your mother’s labor attest to the fact that you truly belong here.”
“Who would...” she started, the questions obvious on her face. Her eyes flashed with anger. “Why would she abandon me here? All these years…”
“She left when you were a little over a year old. Sabwen left at my urging.” Shen briefly closed his eyes, wanting to tell her more. The gods forbade it.
Her brow was tight now. “Why?” Shen was at a loss for words, his worn heart heavy in his chest. “And my father? You never told me about him.”
“We could not tell you,” Shen honestly remarked.
“Why?” she pleaded. “Why could you not tell me my birthright? It was something that I needed to know. It could have saved me so much pain.”
“We did not want him finding you.” Shen strode towards her, hand reaching out. She backed away and shook her head. He understood her anger and he wanted to end it. Shen tried giving her as many details as he could. Knowing she needed to go to Ghela if only for a short time, he was forced to not tell her the horrors that might keep her with them. While the gods had plans for her and he would go along with all they wanted, Shen still wished that his and Theola’s desires could take precedence.
“Is that all you will tell me,” Nara asked, her lip slightly curled. “My mother took me from my father, and you kept me to protect me? From what?”
“Nara, Ghela can be dangerous. Sabwen wanted to protect you from that.”
Nara shook her head, stepping away. “I don’t think I want to hear more. I am uncertain if you are even honest, High Elder. I will leave after my rites and find my father. Thank you for at least telling me where to go.” She rushed from the room, slamming the large door behind her.
What more would be thrown his way with heavy responsibility and regret, he thought. Without pause and with much devotion, he swept over to his altar, fell to his knees, and prayed, seeking strength and calm from his gods.
CASTIEN
That was a mistake, Castien told himself numerous times while listening to his boot heels meet the stone and frantically maneuvering through the expansive hallways of the temple.
Castien had been on many missions for his father and his king but none like this. They felt Castien was better suited for traveling to Vheria. They thought the Elders would readily accept him. No one foresaw him meeting the princess straight away or her constant questioning. He had known who she was, what she looked like, and what her abilities were. Spies worked all over Vheria; some were with families, and others were merchants like Taruk. Taruk the orc traded information for the safety of his tribe, for possessions, and for a home. However, he was far more protective and leery than other informants.
Thinking back to Nara, Castien wondered at the coincidence of their meeting.
Needing to tell her many things and knowing the High Elder would lie to her, he searched for her.
Castien had looked forward to roaming the temple grounds; the simplistic beauty was not something they had back on Ghela in Ionus. Another beauty that Ghela did not have was what he searched for at that moment. Not only had he already planned to take Nara, but the spark in their touch intrigued him and caused him to want more. While he longed to have her for the throne, the overwhelming urge that arose in him was too much at one time. It was proving difficult for him to perform his duties and to be as delicate as possible in his workings. He had let her slip away just to be rid of the feelings.
Finding himself at the bottom of the stairs near the entryway, he stared upwards. A gentle prompting told him to stop, to wait. If she had truly gone to see the High Elder, this was where she would leave from.
Soon enough, she rushed down the stairs. Her face was red with tears leaving streaks across her cheeks. He wondered how welcome she would be to his presence as he took a step forward, hand clenched before him. He only hoped he had not spoiled the
path he was meant to be on. It was not only her future to deal with but also his own, something he needed to safeguard no matter the challenge.
When she dashed by him, he did not hesitate to turn and keep up with her.
“Nara, what did he tell you?” he asked, dodging around a group of bystanders to continue to be in pace with her. She angrily shook her head, hastening her steps to exit the temple. Nara was quick and light on her feet even compared to Castien who had had years of training in combat. It was difficult for him to keep near her while she moved through small crowds, but he managed. When at last they came to the crossing of the river, he sprinted forward and grabbed her hand, pulling her into him. The euphoric sensation was immediate, and she did not struggle against him.
Though his heart beat quickly, he stood close to her, staring down at her, and managed to repeat himself, “What did he tell you?”
Eyes focused on their hands, she quietly asked, “Why would my father not come for me?”
“No,” he mumbled, closing his eyes and stepping away from her hands. When he opened his eyes again, his hands drifted into the pockets of his trousers, light skin contrasting greatly against the black of them. “He cannot. Even if he met the river guardians, they would have killed him. Alinar Dartmyr has other children, but you are his eldest. He knows that you need to be the one to take the crown. He also needs to know you.” He was lying, at least partly. It was his job, and he did it well. “They were waiting for your rites, for you to be able to leave the temple freely without interference. I was not meant to tell you until both of us were on course for Ionus.”
Shaking her head, she sprinted towards the forest’s edge.
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