“We will spend some time with elves and dragons,” she announced so quietly he was not sure he’d heard her correctly.
“Did ya’ say elves and dragons? Dragons?” His surprise finally stopped her. She grinned at him brightly.
“Yes, dragons!”
“But dragons died out, didn’t they?” he wondered. Elena shook her head happily.
“Nope, dragons haven’t died out. They are just hiding. Sort of,” she exclaimed, bouncing on the balls of her feet. He gave her a rather mistrustful look.
“And that’s why it’s going to be an adventure. I only know a little about dragons, but we will learn together.” It crossed his mind that the princess was a bit goofy, but her excitement was contagious. She promised to explain everything to him if he decided to come with her.
“But I don’t want you to come only as my guard. We’re friends, right? I need a friend a lot more than a guard, really,” she concluded. He gave her a searching look. And laughed. It was a happy, waggish laugh. He bent and flicked the tip of her nose lightly with his index finger.
“I would be honored, Princess Elena.”
Michael departed to tell his mother he was leaving. In a way, he was glad he couldn't give his mother all the details. Had he told her, she would be afraid for him. And she had enough on her mind as it was.
For a moment, Elena watched his vanishing back and then went looking for her brothers. First she found Philip, then Dars. She asked them both to meet her in the garden pavilion and left to look for Peter.
It took less than a couple of minutes for the waiting Dars and Philip to start arguing. Dars didn’t want to be there, and was angry that he failed to refuse. When Elena arrived, followed by a surprised and slightly confused Peter, Dars didn’t even look in her direction. To be as far from her as possible, he inconspicuously moved to the wall. Noticing it, she smiled a sad smile. Finally, she had managed to assert herself against him and now she wouldn’t even have the chance to enjoy the benefits. Philip and Peter watched her expectantly.
“So, what’s so important?” Peter asked for about the fiftieth time in the last twenty minutes. Elena took a deep breath.
“You would have found out soon enough, but I wanted to be the one to tell you.” All of a sudden it all seemed a lot harder than she had anticipated. She would miss Philip’s joviality and Peter’s kind, wise approach. Reluctantly, she had to admit she would even miss Dars’ stupid and stubborn viciousness.
“I’m leaving to go to school the day after tomorrow,” she announced simply. Silence. The boys seemed to be taken aback. She had expected Dars to say something stupid about girly school, but their little skirmish was still too vivid in his mind, as well as that freaky look in her eyes. He dared not say anything; he dared not even look at her.
Philip seemed shocked. He never expected his little sister to leave. He was going to miss her. Elena was his buddy, always up for any kind of mischief he could think of. Well, honestly enough, she was sometimes even more of a rascal than he was. She could make him cry with laughter.
“For how long?” asked Peter cutting the silence short. Elena turned to him gratefully.
“Mother says two years at least.”
Peter nodded.
“It’ll be lonely here without you,” Philip complained. Then he came to and grimaced.
“They’ll lock the rebel up in a school for girls. Just hope it ain’t a convent.” He laughed, but his eyes were sad. Elena grinned back at him. If he only knew! At least she didn’t have to explain anything. They began to nudge each other, kids horsing around. Dars didn’t participate. For a moment, he stood silently, and then disappeared from the pavilion. Elena sadly noticed his departure. True, Dars was a haughty idiot and a jerk, but he still was her brother.
◆◆◆
At Elena’s direct order, Michael disappeared for the two days to spend time with his mother, family, and friends. Elena felt like people were smothering her. Peter and Philip were fussing over her, giving her attention previously unheard of. She spent a few hours talking to her father. And Aaron took her to the royal armory so she could pick weapons for herself.
When they walked into the armory and descended the wide, cold stairs, he put a hand on her shoulder.
“Choose wisely, Princess Elena.” Together they walked through the racks. Elena felt like being allowed into a playground. Of course she knew weapons weren’t toys, but anyway! Royal armory! Really?
“May I really pick anything?” she asked her guardian and he smiled at her and nodded.
“Aye, but let your pick be wise. These weapons and what you have learned so far will accompany you on your journey.” Then he went silent, watching Elena browse meticulously through all the aisles, her eyes wide open. She was a sight to see. In a way, she looked childishly happy to be somewhere she usually wasn’t allowed. But he could also see in her an experienced warrior carefully choosing her companions for battle.
Finishing her inspection of the entire armory, she stopped for a while, thinking quietly. First, she went to the trakesh rack. Aaron watched her choose, balancing each trakesh on her palm or finger, trying them out with a few slashes and swings. She picked two, even though she already had one in the scabbard slung across her back. Aaron smiled. Trakesh was a good weapon, even though it had no cutting edge. A skilled warrior could do more damage with a trakesh than a mediocre one with a sword. However, hard wood could deteriorate and having one or two trakeshes as a reserve could do no harm.
Elena moved to the fighting staffs and picked one that seemed a bit awkward to Aaron. That was until she tried a few practice moves with it. In her hands, the trak looked extremely efficient. Quickly he realized that her stature was what made the difference. She simply had different proportions of body, arms, hands, and legs from a typical adult male. Her center of gravity was different also. This trak fitted her nicely. He took it from her as he did with the trakeshes, so she would have her hands free for more weapons.
Without hesitation, she moved to the knife and dagger rack. She stood on tiptoe trying to see on the upper shelves, but she was still too short. The armory was definitely not built for people under hundred and sixty centimeters and she was way under that height. Searching the shelves in her view, Elena picked a short, robust knife that Aaron would have sworn to be too heavy for her. Then she found a scabbard for it and gave the upper shelves whose contents she couldn’t see a reproachful look.
“What’s up there?” she asked. Aaron’s only answer was a small, amused smile. Then he carefully lay down what he was holding.
“May I?” he asked, and lifted her up before she could answer. The upper shelves contained neatly stored throwing knifes. After a short, but scrupulous inspection, Elena grabbed six cases of six knives each. Aaron lifted his eyebrows. Elena spread the scabbards on a nearby table and took all the knives out. One by one, she held them in her hand, weighing them on her fingers, trying out how they fit in her palm. The ones she did not like she put back into their cases. The six knives she liked the best ended up in a well-used, soft scabbard she would keep. The rest of the casings she asked Aaron to return to the shelf.
Before he could finish, she wandered further down the aisle. Disregarding the heavy weapons, she made directly for the swords. Some of the bigger ones she pulled out, measured them in reference to her forearm, swung them a few times unconvincingly and put them back again. When she reached the shorter, single handed ones, she tilted her head to one side.
“Michael would like these. I know I have no right to ask, but could he choose his weapons too? As my companion and personal guard he should also be well armed.” It occurred to her that a young lady should probably not need so many weapons for her trip to school and her stay there. Hopefully, that would not cross Aaron’s mind. And if it did, she hoped he would not ask any questions. Aaron almost never asked any questions; that was true, but…
“He’s been here already. Among other things he picked two such swords.” Elena smiled to herse
lf, satisfied. Aaron matter-of-factly considered her knowledge a result of his good training.
Choosing a sword took her a while. In the end she settled for a long, light, slightly curved sword, not unlike the one she already had at her side. Last stop was the crossbows. She picked a small one for short armor-piercing arrows that had a surprisingly heavy trigger. Aaron watched her pull its string almost effortlessly to try it and then add a bunch of quivers to her pile. Giving her new weapons a satisfied look, she smiled at her teacher.
“I think I have everything I need.”
Aaron nodded. “Yes, I believe you do. You chose well. I know your father has spoken to you already.” He went silent for a moment. Elena lifted her little face towards him, her eyes full of expectation. “I will not waste time with more advice. I just ask that you stick to your training. I hope I have taught you enough to help you survive what awaits you during your travels,” he finished awkwardly. She tilted her head to one side, pondering how much Aaron really knew. Or suspected. He didn’t know much, but suspected a lot. And he put two and two together quite accurately.
Aaron, who never showed his feelings, treated Elena as the child he never had. They watched each other for a while. There were quite a few things he wanted to tell her, but they seemed to have forgotten them all. She motioned to him to come closer. He bent down to be level with her. To his great surprise, the skinny child hugged him tightly around the neck. After a slight moment of hesitation, he embraced her in return.
“I will do my best not to shame you!” she said resolutely. He held her shoulders at arms’ length. Elena smiled at him.
“And thank you for everything!” she added. He caressed her hair, and together they left the armory and walked into the garden.
◆◆◆
The next day, a farewell feast awaited Elena and her brothers. The higher nobility was also invited. Elena would have probably been a lot happier to spend the evening alone with her family, but maybe it was for the best. The speed of the travel preparations left her no time to think about what was awaiting her, nor about the fear that was creeping in. She was all packed; bags of her things were ready to be loaded into a carriage. A bundle of weapons lay next to a huge case full of ladylike clothes and books and a smaller pack with trousers, a black shirt, riding boots, and a heavy waxed coat. Clad in a dark green dress, Elena sat in her favorite spot inside a window niche, watching the garden where she had spent so many happy moments. Darkness was slowly creeping over the familiar corners.
Quietly, Ashka walked into the room. Elena turned her head to her. As her departure approached, her enthusiasm gave way to fear, but she did not want to let on. Mother gently caressed her hair, which was tamed into a perfect tight bun.
“I have something for you,” Ashka announced and sat opposite Elena inside the window niche. She handed over a carefully wrapped package. Elena opened it with trembling fingers.
The heavy waxed wrappings revealed a wooden cuboid covered in rich scrawl decoration. Actually, all the scrawls were really runes, hidden in skillfully carved motifs. The block was made of a strange hard wood that grew in forests far, far away. Almost lovingly, Elena caressed its surface. She studied the runes and ran her fingertips over them a few times. Ashka watched her. Elena did not even lift her eyes to her. With such speed her fingers blurred, she pushed several slight, invisible stumps on the cuboid. She managed the right sequence and a hidden mechanism gave a very quiet click. Hairline cracks appeared on the surface. Elena smiled to herself and slowly opened the box.
The inside of the compartment was lined with dark red velvet. On it lay several shining jewels. Their glitter reflected in Elena’s eyes as she lifted them to show her mother. That look was worth more than all the thanks Elena spluttered out. What the box contained, was a set of very special jewelry. Two long, needlelike hairpins and two combs with slender, grooved spikes. A long, chainlike belt with heavy and extremely sharp lingoes at each end, held together by a decorative buckle. Of course no lady could live without a pair of earrings. Those in the set held inconspicuous but very precious white stones. A necklace lying next to them contained the same kind of gem on a fine chain that could easily be replaced with a velvet ribbon. The velvet of the lining also held a bracelet, a plain ring with a tiny stone and a ball-like braka. Everything appealed very fine, delicate, and elegant. The jewels were made of light but firm metal of white gold appearance, decorated with runes and motifs of leafs and flowers. All the trinkets resembled those worn by Ashka, but their entire design was different, a lot finer.
“May I?” Elena asked her mother.
“Of course, they are yours. May they bring you luck.” Ashka smiled. Elena took off all the jewels she was wearing and exchanged them for those from the red velvet. She tied the necklace on the black velvet ribbon and as she touched it to her skin, the ribbon went dark green, almost the color of her dress. Every single piece fitted perfectly. The bracelet moved to wind around her arm in two tight loops ending in a complicated spiral. When Elena finished, the only things left in the box were the elegant combs and the braka. The hairpins disappeared into Elena’s red hair.
Elena wanted to express her thanks, but all words failed her. She jumped up and ran to a mirror. It seemed as if her new trinkets were simply meant to decorate the little Berber princess; as if they were meant for nobody but her. She took one more look at herself, closed her eyes and concentrated. When she looked again, her jewelry had vanished. Elena laughed merrily, turning to her mother, who watched her with curious interest. Elena closed her eyes again and the stones sparkled faintly on her skin.
“We must go,” Ashka announced and stood up from the window. Elena picked up the open box and closed it gently. There was a quiet click and the hairline cracks disappeared. Carefully, as if the box were made of glass, she wrapped it back into the waxed cloth and packed it into her smaller bag that held her clothes.
◆◆◆
It rained. The sky was gray; the light of the rising sun only shyly and only just struggled through the black clouds. The world was gloomy. Protected by a piazza lining the otherwise empty courtyard the waiting horses pawned the ground nervously. Their riders, dressed in black, hooded in heavy waxed coats, were waiting patiently by their steeds. Elena listened to the rain drumming on the roofs and ground, the stomping of hooves, the rustling of waxed coats, the jangle of harnesses. She was standing in the hallway in front of the open door, looking at her father with wide open, almost black eyes. They wanted to say so much to say to each other but there was no time. John hugged his daughter tightly. Had he had a hundred years, he still wouldn’t have known what to say. He could only hope that his little girl at least guessed what he felt.
“It’s time,” Ashka interrupted firmly. Elena kissed her father on the cheek, extricated herself from his firm embrace, pulled a hood over her head, and wordlessly walked to the awaiting coach. Leather creaked as men mounted their horses. The cavalcade moved. Just before the coach disappeared through the gate, a little hand waved from its window. The company disappeared into the rain, but the King watched them go long after they had disappeared from view. Suddenly the quiet castle courtyard seemed strange and hostile. When he finally turned to walk away, the cavalcade was already beyond the city walls.
For a long time, Elena watched the moody landscape, listening to the rain drumming on the coach’s roof and sides, the rattle of the heavy wheels and sound of hoof beats. She had not spoken a word since morning. Her mother watched her for a while and then settled comfortably on the cushioned seat and closed her eyes. It was going to be a long trip. Elena seemed not to have payed attention to her, watching the familiar land for hours and hours, as if she were trying to imprint the images into her brain. The cavalcade proceeded quickly at a steady, distance-eating pace that, however, did not tire the horses much.
The land seemed to be crying for its departing princess. It rained and rained, veiling the landscape in gray cloak, soaking men, horses, and everything else that got in its w
ay. For a third day, Elena was almost silent, listening attentively to what Mother had to say, but confining herself to single-word or even monosyllabic responses. She was still looking out of the window. The only full sentence she mumbled in three days was: “It’s as if nature were trying to cover all our tracks.”
Ashka soon realized that Elena looked very tired. When she was not staring out the window, she slept under her cloak on her seat. It worried Ashka, until the fourth morning, when she noticed Elena lifting her hand to one of her earrings and sitting motionless for a long moment. She was storing magical energy in the jewelry diamonds. Accumulated energy could come in handy, the queen knew, although it surprised her. From that moment Ashka made sure that Elena ate a lot to keep up her strength. She even gave her daughter honey candy and a few precious pieces of chocolate.
It finally stopped raining on the afternoon of the fifth day. When the sun eventually showed itself on the morning of the sixth day, Elena obviously came to life.
“We will leave the coach tomorrow to continue on horseback. If there is something you want to ask, this is your last chance.” Ashka broke the silence. Elena gave her a stern look with her dark brown eyes. It was a long look. Finally, she shook her head. Ashka raised her eyebrows disapprovingly.
“I have so many questions. I don’t even know where to start! And I’d rather talk about anything but what’s awaiting me!” Elena mumbled. Ashka seemed taken aback. She was trying to give Elena as much information as possible while she still could.
“What do you want to talk about, then?” She asked, dumbfounded. It was a side of her mother Elena did not know. She wrongly interpreted Ashka’s reaction as taking offence.
“Don’t know. Don’t care! About anything but magic, but power, strength, dragons, elves, the legacy in my blood, the Adragons, learning. I want to talk about something normal, something mothers usually talk about with their daughters. When this trip ends, so will my life as I know it! I will not see you for gods know how long. And I don’t want to spend my last few days with you talking about something I’m terrified of, and that I could never get rid of even if I tried.”
The Witch (Dragon Eyes Book 1) Page 8