by Shawn Keys
But that wasn’t all of it, either. He was being watched. Every second, every day, and it was racking his nerves to the point he was ready to explode.
Callistia’s absences made it all worse. She was clearly overjoyed to be back among the art and architecture and gardens of her people. Riluranath was only the start. A small circle of sun elf maids embraced her as one of their own; maybe even a potential leader. The ladies saw the interest their Prince was showing in her, and rather than fight her as a rival, they were positioning themselves to be her council and confidantes. Surrounded by such warmth, there was no way Callistia wouldn’t be tempted to regain a small measure of her former life.
Helleanna was the worst victim of it all. The servants did their best to treat her like a guest, and guests didn’t do chores. Whenever she slipped over to Callistia’s side to ask her if she wanted tea, the tea was already brewed and steeping at her side. When Helleanna offered to lay out her freshest dress for the sunset ceremony, it was already hanging radiantly in Callistia’s dressing room. Because of the kindness and attentions of this new realm’s servants and peers, Helleanna had become suddenly obsolete.
The moon elf stamped into Ajax’s room, surrendering all decorum and hissing in anger. “She is so preoccupied! They don’t give her a moment alone. And they’re cutting me out! Don’t think I don’t see it. I am the last bit of sickness from Lyvarress’s court, and they are trying to cut me out like flesh gone bad!”
Ajax slumped into a nearby chair. “She would never forget you, nor let them brush you aside.”
She sulked. “She has to see it happening in order to stop it! I’m never there to tell her my feelings. And what do I say? They are killing me with kindness and burying me in silk? When Callistia asks where I wandered off to, they’ll gladly tell her I’ve found other matters to tend to. Serious matters. Grave matters.”
Ajax snorted at her play on words. But he couldn’t deny what she was saying. “They don’t want us here. We’re outcasts. They’re terrified we’re leading off one of their Princesses to her death. They only have two weeks to convince her not to go; hardly long enough to change someone’s heart. But they are trying.”
Helleanna looked miserable. “What if it works?”
Ajax found a smile bright enough to cheer her. “We need to trust her. And we need to let her walk her own path. I want to believe she’ll walk with us when we go. But if she doesn’t? Then that has to be her choice, right?”
Helleanna nodded, still sulking.
Ajax considered her. “Has to be yours, too.”
The moon elf glanced up from her pouting. “I’m not sure I could choose.” She was shivering at the thought.
“Let’s hope it isn’t necessary. But I’d trust you too. There isn’t any right choice. Just the one that’s right for you. But you’re not her shadow. If you love her, then I understand why you’d stay with her no matter what. But you are more than her shadow, and I hope you know that.”
She returned a fond smile. “I do because you keep telling me. And to be honest, Callistia has never treated me like that. I’ve always given more than she has taken.”
“Any chance you’ll believe it one day? Down there in your soul?”
She shrugged, then smiled sadly. “Maybe.” She fought a little cheer back into her grin. “Wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you, though.”
The side door opened from the hall. Jyliansa and Krizzilani slipped in, one after the other.
The sea elf strode over to them, excitement plain on her face. “I’ve heard they are readying a Fist. Nahallanal to lead, with a half-dozen moon elf squires, as many human knights, and twenty lesser warriors. Not the greatest honor guard ever seen, but more than enough to scare off any orcan raiders.”
Krizzilani purred with the satisfaction of being away from the castle where every corner was filled with brightness. “We heard they would be sending for us to be ready within the hour.”
Ajax punched a fist into his other palm. “Sweet mercy, couldn’t have come too soon.” He gave Krizzilani one last, long look. “Save that dress, though.”
The dark elf smirked back at him. “Figured you’d say that. I might need a few extras.”
“Oh?”
“The first one is bound to get ruined when you tear it off me.”
Ajax let out a deep, rumbling sound of approval. Lust boiled under his skin.
Jyliansa gave a nervous smile. “Not sure I want to go first with you.”
Krizzilani’s fierce grin only got more wicked. “I do.”
Helleanna skipped up to her feet and kissed Ajax’s cheek. “Down boy. You can ravish us all later. I’m going to make sure Callistia has heard. I wouldn’t put it past these…” She snatched hold of her tongue. “…put it past the servants to conveniently forget to tell her.” She slipped from the room.
Ajax scowled. Would they pull something that bold? And this soon?
Shaking that thought away, he decided it didn’t matter. Helleanna would never let them get away with it. No sense worrying about it. If Callistia remained behind, she would be the one choosing it, and he wasn’t going to stand in the way. He’d promised her that.
They spread out, stuffing their packs full once again. It didn’t take long. None of them had scattered their belongings very far. Callistia might be tempted to treat this as a second home, but she was the only one. They had been welcomed, but they hadn’t been embraced. Ajax was sick of the constant vigilance. He felt like a pardoned criminal that the masters of the house still expected to steal, or a half-trained dog who they expected to pee in the corner any minute.
He laughed at the mental image of leaving a present like that in his room, just to give them what they all wanted. The juvenile thought fled almost as soon as it formed. He wasn’t that petty. Not unless they hurt Helleanna’s feelings a couple more times. Then maybe he would.
They marched out of their rooms together, Callistia a noticeable absence. Helleanna had found her, and the sun elf had promised to arrive soon. But she had yet to emerge from the glorious apartments the King had provided for her to use as a visiting dignitary.
They descended into the central courtyard. The warriors of the realm were already gathering. They had their own partings to give, some kissing their wives and girlfriends. Others laughing with friends. Others having final words with a blacksmith or stablemaster about the status of their horse. It was a pleasantly chaotic scene, akin to a hundred other times Ajax recalled sharing with his own team back in Tyvanthelam’s realm.
The controlled chaos also helped keep all the attention from falling on them as the outsiders. They had changed out of the courtly attire into travelling gear, and they might look somewhat imposing in any other company. Krizzilani was in night-black leathers, rendering her akin to a living shadow. Jyliansa was the most provocative this time, wearing skin-tight, thin brown leather that covered only enough of her for modesty’s sake and to holster her long daggers. The attire left very little weight should she need to swim, her gills exposed so she would be able to breathe effortlessly underwater. Helleanna had found some utilitarian leather attire, a good blend of ruggedness without being as thick as armor. She was no fighter, preferring instead to be able to move and adapt. She had a healer’s pack slung across her back.
Ajax had taken advantage of Cymarramathis’s hospitality by harvesting the armory. Elfish chain mail was light. He didn’t dare take any of the magically enchanted armor to match his (admittedly stolen) swords, but elfish chain would turn all but the best of blades. Latching a few strategic plates to guard key areas along his body such as greaves and bracers and shoulder guards, he finally felt somewhat whole again.
Helleanna beamed up at him, seeing the pleasure on his face. “Our knight.” They had kept their relationships secret, but her smile was so warm it threatened to give away their game.
Ajax chuckled at himself. “It’s the simple things in life that matter, sometimes.”
A small commotion drew their a
ttention toward a nearby archway leading from inside the castle. A small entourage of sun elves emerged without pomp, though clearly expecting that the way would be cleared and the other warriors would attend them. Like everything else, Ajax found a sense of strange sentimentality. He had waited for his own sun elf battle leader like this. Being back in armor only emphasized that feeling. He almost snapped to attention along with the rest of the mud-knights.
A total of eleven sun elves emerged, though only three were dressed for travel. The others were only there to see them off.
Nahallanal was talking rapidly with another of the gendarme. From the way they gestured and talked quickly, he was passing instructions on what tasks would need to be done in his absence. He was also receiving advice on the region they were traveling into. The gendarme was in his sun-gold armor again, the same he had worn when he had stormed into the midst of the orcs. Lethal, elegant and looking as untouchable as a child of the elder gods.
Next to them, Riluranath was walking in companionable conversation with Callistia.
Ajax fought down a surge of jealousy. The two sun elves might as well have been walking hand in hand. Quiet the beast, idiot. If she is to marry him and rejoin her people, did you think they would keep chaste with each other? He could tell they were not intimate yet, but they were dancing around each other, flirting with the idea it might one day happen. He could tell that Callistia liked the Prince. Only time would tell if desire would emerge from this friendship.
She laughed in a carefree way with the Prince, though Ajax swore he heard an edge to that humor. She wants to like him. He’s restoring her faith and she wants so badly to believe. I can hardly blame her. He had ended Faarlinashin with his wish magic, the very elf who had raised him from his humble beginnings. He didn’t bat an eyelash when his father embraced Quala’s slavery, but that doesn’t change all the memories of fighting and training together. They were as close as a sun elf could be to a ‘human’ like him; never brothers, but… well, something. Ajax’s heart hardened. Then he came hunting me like a dog when his father snapped his fingers. That proves what I really was to him.
Callistia and the Prince were both wearing off-white travelling clothes, neither of them armored and yet neither seeming any lesser for it. Callistia’s outfit was a mix of sturdy-yet form-fitting trousers and a blouse-shaped top that grew fluttering tendrils that spilled down around her legs. When she came to a rest, one might almost imagine she wore a flowing dress. Yet the slightest movement and the illusion vanished, leaving the tendrils to billow about her like a cloud and her legs free for movement.
The Prince gave her a fond smile, then turned to the few nobles who trailed after him. He passed his own directions for while he was gone.
Callistia had her gaggle of elfish ladies, the three of them doting on her every expression. She addressed them now, patting their arms and holding their hands gently. While Ajax knew this was partly an act, he couldn’t help but think they were truly half-enchanted with the Princess.
Helleanna caught the same impression. She whispered to him, “Happened in Lyvarress’s court as well. Ladies would come, seeking to be near her and influence her. Instead, they ended up under her spell.”
Ajax growled, “Until the King threw her to the wolves.”
The moon elf nodded. “They are jackals. They’ll worship the lion for the meat it kills, but then feast on the lion’s corpse if it falls against a rival.” She delivered a secret, fond pat to his arm. “At least the wolf knows how to cherish her.”
Ajax huffed in humor. “And this wolf always will.”
The scene ended. The nobles and ladies scampered back into the interior of the castle to spread the gossip of all the wonderful things that had been said by the departing royals and their gendarme. With their duties complete, the three sun elves stepped briskly into the midst of the other travelers.
A little of Callistia’s royal persona fell away at the sight of her friends and lovers. She hadn’t forgotten them; not in the least. She might be tempted by a different life, but the smile that dawned on her face made it clear her heart would always be open to them. She gestured up at the noon-day sun. “What a lovely day! A fine omen to start a journey.”
Jyliansa agreed. “The sun reflects off the sea on days like this, and creatures can see for three times as far under the water. A beautiful sight. A good omen indeed.”
Krizzilani tugged her hood up over her head, sniffing in mild pain. “Agree to disagree?”
Callistia did her best to ignore the quip, not wanting to spark an argument. Tempers would flare quickly between her lovers and the escorts around them. She carefully side-stepped the danger, realizing it was her own insensitive words that had drawn out the bite in the dark elf’s retort. “If we must, and without anger.” She extended the olive branch.
Krizzilani kept the grouchy expression on her face for as long as she could manage. The walls couldn’t last. “Fury damn you, sun elf.” She sighed, shook her head, then lost control of her smile. “We’ve missed you up in your crystal tower.”
Callistia pouted, “I beg your forgiveness, all of you. Their welcome has been overwhelming, and they swore they were tending to your every need.”
Helleanna didn’t have it in her to complain. She forced a smile on her face. “They have. I’m glad you’ve connected with your people again, My Lady. I know how much that means to you, to have family.”
Ajax could read the yearning under Callistia’s skin. She wanted to reach out and touch her lovers, but couldn’t with the surrounding attention who wouldn’t understand. “Now I have both, my friends and family.” She sighed. “Shall we be off then?” She ended the sentence with her body language including Riluranath and Nahallanal in her question. She was trying to draw the two halves of her life together.
Ajax spoke first, “We’re ready enough, though we don’t have horses. If you intend to make better time, we may need to borrow a few.”
Nahallanal shook his head. “No need. The knights are bringing their animals mostly for scouting and to return messages to the castle if needed. The path into the mountains is steep, and they’ll be leading and walking the horses for most of it.”
Making final preparations, the Fist and their guests filed out the main gate and took to the road.
The gendarme had not lied about the roads, though the horses were clearly trained for such climbs. Riluranath and Nahallanal rode boldly at the forefront, playing their lordly roles well. Once again, Ajax could remember being young, staring up at Faarlinashin and his retinue, thinking them to be awesome and worthy of worship. He could see similar looks on the faces of the mud-knights around him. Even the moon elf squires were deferential without fail.
Was I ever so young, really? He shook his head, refusing to believe he had ever looked so much like a puppy wagging its tail.
Several times, the two sun elves cajoled Callistia to come forward and join them. They had brought along a single spare horse, a clear bid to entice her into being the last of their trio. She stubbornly refused, walking alongside her friends, until Ajax fell into step beside her. He spoke to her in a rumbling whisper, “We would understand, you know.”
Guilt was written on her face.
He insisted, “The only shame will be in changing who you are for our sake. We know you will do right by us, Callistia.” He gave her a supportive smile. “I mean, My Lady.”
Her inner conflict receded, at least a little. “How do you find such fine words. Where is my brute from those nights on the ship?”
Lust stormed behind his eyes, for her alone to see. “Ever at your call. But willing to slumber for you to find happiness. Go. Tend to your new friends. We’re not going anywhere. Be with them. Find out if this is what you truly want. Otherwise, you’ll always regret not knowing.”
Not caring who noticed, she reached out and squeezed his hand. Then, she turned and took Helleanna’s hand as well. She leaned in and kissed the moon elf on the cheek with undeniable warmth. “I won�
��t be far, my love.” With floating strides, she breezed up and onto the horse. The Prince and gendarme welcomed her with open joy; those two had no trouble at all forgetting the ones she had left behind.
Chapter 15
The climb continued, and the day wore on. Ajax fought against the feeling of safety that threatened to dull his edge. Traveling in such powerful company was akin to a lion strolling over the savannah. With such naked, arrogant power at their beck and call, who would think to attack them?
His eyes wandered into the surrounding wood.
Standing at the edge of the trees was an elf.
She is stunning, was his first thought. A forest elf to be sure. She had a deep crimson hair unique to their kind, as vibrant as a forest flower and equally complex in its texture. Her skin was bronzed from long hours spent in the sun, with a rich chestnut undertone that would blend against trees effortlessly. Built for running, she was lean and petite, her breasts swelling her simple tunic to mark her a woman, but not even enough to fill Ajax’s palms.
Her eyes blazed at him. Screaming at him, Ajax realized. What in the fury?
Then, she was gone.
He blinked. Shaking his head, he looked again. Still not there.
What in the fury?
They spurred up the hills, but Ajax was now on alert. It wasn’t the fact that a forest elf was hovering around them. Forest elves were reclusive by nature, rarely assembling in numbers any larger than might fill a small hamlet. They always lingered on the outskirts of sun elf civilizations, serving while still remaining partially free.
It was her expression. A warning? Beyond a doubt. But had it been a threat? Was she trying to tell them to turn back?
No, that warning had been for me. Personal. Aimed at me. She had patiently waited until I noticed her, making sure none of the others did.
Worse yet, he had the itching sensation that he had seen those eyes before; that she wasn’t a total stranger. But that made even less sense.
He was lost in thought, dredging his mind for answers. Giving his head another shake, he looked up to measure the time of day. Nahallanal had promised they would arrive at the maze before sunset.