* * * * *
Kalista rose the next morning with a groan. With sleep, her nightmares had returned. She wondered if she would ever be able to get the faces of the guards who had been killed because of her foolishness out of her mind. Her servants deftly helped her prepare for the day. When she was ready, she made her way to the private dining hall where she would be sharing breakfast with Gavin and his mother.
Today, Gavin would be attending to city matters with the baroness. There was much to take care of to settle all of the affairs of the late baron and to prepare Gavin to take his place. She had offered to stay with him throughout the day, but he had insisted that it would be tedious and boring and that she should spend some time enjoying the palace grounds. Having not wanted to be stuck inside the palace on a spring day, she had readily accepted his suggestion.
It would be nice once all the affairs of the city were put in order. They could then relax and begin to plan their wedding in earnest. Yet, for some reason the thought of the wedding made her anxious, and she wondered if it really would be relaxing to plan for it. She knew there would be many details to discuss and agree upon. Perhaps planning the special day would not be as fun as she had previously thought.
She reached the private dining chamber and entered the empty room. She sat down at the table and waited for Gavin and the baroness to arrive. She hoped Gavin had finally been able to get a good night’s rest. He had a long day ahead of him, and she was sure he was not looking forward to it. She felt slightly guilty to be so excited about her own day. When Gavin entered the room looking tired and unenthusiastic, Kalista put on a cheerful smile and rose to greet him with open arms. The least she could do was try to brighten his morning.
3
Traven sat up with a shudder. He had just been scorched by a red bolt of lightning for the second night in a row. He had enjoyed the few days of peaceful dreams during most of the march to Candus and hoped they returned soon. Stretching out his arms, he smiled. Despite being woken up by the nightmare, he had slept well in the comfortable bed and felt refreshed. He glanced around the palace guest room. It wasn’t as lavish as his room at Faldor’s Keep, but it was luxurious by any other standards. He was glad he had decided to stay at the palace for a week or two before continuing his journey back to the keep.
He rolled off the bed and stretched some more. He felt up to exercising this morning. He had been resting ever since the battle with Kadrak, except for his foolish sword fight with Blaize. Traven hadn’t realized how weak he was and had been beaten easily by his large friend the day after the Royal Army’s victory. It was then he had realized how drained his body was. If he felt well enough after a day or two of exercising, he would challenge Blaize to a rematch.
Traven retrieved his sword and left the guest room. Darian stood up and followed him as he made his way through the antechamber. The elf had said that the antechamber would suit him just fine and had refused to stay in the servants’ quarters. Traven had been tempted to reveal who the elf really was and have a separate guest room prepared for him, but Darian had assured him that he would like to remain in the antechamber and would rather his elven heritage continue to remain a secret for the time being.
Traven was fine keeping Darian’s secret for now but was planning on at least revealing who the elf really was to Blaize. They both knew that Blaize was suspicious. Darian had agreed they should be honest with the commander general. Traven trusted Blaize completely and wasn’t worried about him telling anyone else. He was interested to see how the large warrior would react to the revelation.
Traven and Darian were soon outside the palace and walking in the cool morning air. They found a secluded spot in the palace gardens that was hidden by a hedge and several large trees. Traven began exercising immediately, while Darian took off his robe and joined in. As they were going through their forms, Traven sensed that someone was nearing them. He motioned to Darian, and the elf quickly donned his cloak and took a seat. Traven returned to doing his forms as Blaize walked around the hedge and crossed his arms.
“So there you are,” Blaize stated. “Not a bad hiding spot,” he continued as he looked around. Traven stopped and smiled.
“We’re not hiding,” he replied. “We just didn’t want to be bothered.”
“Just as well you were hiding. As a hero of Kalia, you may find you don’t have as much privacy.”
“Oh, I don’t think many people care about that,” Traven replied. “It’s just a military honor.”
“You must not be very observant,” Blaize said with a smile. “There were quite a few people taking notice of the awards we all were presented with, especially the high honor you received.”
Traven just shrugged his shoulders. He supposed it really didn’t matter. He would be leaving for Faldor’s Keep soon and would be far away from everyone but the keeper and the guardians. He sheathed his sword as Blaize walked over to him.
“Don’t let me interrupt your practice,” Blaize said. “From what I saw the other day, you’ll need much more practice to develop the confidence needed to challenge me to another duel.”
“You won’t think you’re so funny when I beat you,” Traven shot back as Blaize started laughing. “Just wait until I’m certain that I’m back to full strength.”
“I’ll be an old man by then. Of course you’ll be able to beat me.”
Traven smiled. He physically felt much better already. He probably could challenge Blaize in a couple of days. It would be fun to see if he really could best the man who had taught him how to wield his sword.
“Come and sit down,” Traven said as he walked over to where Darian was sitting. “I want to tell you what happened to me while I was away.”
“It’s about time,” Blaize bellowed as he plopped down on the opposite side of Traven. “I’ve been patiently waiting for the whole story and wasn’t sure how much longer I could wait. I thought I might have to wring it out of you.”
“I was just waiting for us to be alone.”
“Alone?” Blaize said with raised eyebrows. He pointed to Darian. “We’re not alone.”
“Well,” Traven began, “I guess I might as well start there. Darian, go ahead and lower your hood.”
He watched closely as Blaize stared at Darian, no doubt eager to see what the deep cowl of the cloak had been hiding. Darian reached up and pushed back his hood. Blaize let out a surprised gasp and jumped to his feet. Darian flashed a large smile at the unsettled warrior.
“Sit back down,” Traven said as he laughed. “Darian’s an elf.”
“Whew!” Blaize said as he sat back down, not taking his eyes off Darian. “I knew he was more than some crippled servant, but I didn’t expect this. I thought he maybe had a burnt face or something that he didn’t want others to see.” Blaize finally closed his eyes and shook his head. “I was wondering what you were up to. I saw how he protected you on the battlefield and knew he was a skilled warrior. Is he really an elf?”
“Yes, I am,” Darian replied firmly. “At least, that’s what my mother told me.”
Traven started laughing. For the first time, he saw Blaize’s face redden in embarrassment. He couldn’t believe that Darian was still keeping a straight face.
“Excuse my rudeness,” Blaize finally said.
Darian made a slight nod with his head in acknowledgement of the apology and then pulled his hood back up, leaving his face in shadows. Traven stopped laughing as he realized that Darian wasn’t joking. Apparently, Blaize had really offended him.
“Darian is an elf, a skilled warrior, and a loyal friend,” Traven explained. “We think it’s best to keep his heritage hidden.” Blaize nodded in understanding. “He is one of the guardians of Faldor’s Keep.”
“He’s from the ruins you set out to find?” Blaize asked.
“They aren’t just ruins,” Traven began with a smile.
He then related all that had happened to him after he left the Royal Palace of Calyn. He told Blaize of how he had learned that he was a wielder, of his near death in the desert, and of his training and instruction upon reaching Faldor’s Keep. He finished by explaining his visions of the princess and how they had convinced him to leave the keep and journey to the battlefield.
“So, here I am,” Traven said with a shrug as he finished his tale.
“That’s fascinating,” Blaize said as he leaned back with a slightly bewildered expression. “I don’t doubt the truth of your story, but it’s a lot to take in all at once.” He paused for a few moments before continuing. “I’m glad your visions convinced you to return. If you hadn’t arrived at the battle when you did, I’m not sure we would have ever been able to win.”
“I’m thankful for my visions as well,” Traven responded. “If not for them, the princess would be dead too.”
There were several moments of silence as Blaize continued to think on what he had just learned.
“What an adventure!” the large warrior finally exclaimed. “I have so many questions I want to ask you, but there isn’t enough time for them this morning. I have appointments that I need to get to.”
“I’ll be here tomorrow morning,” Traven offered.
“Until then,” Blaize said as he rose. “If I can’t wait that long, I’ll seek you out tonight.”
Blaize grinned and slapped Traven on the back. He then glanced at the cloaked form of Darian who hadn’t said anything else since raising his hood. Traven gave him a shrug. Blaize raised an eyebrow and headed back towards the palace. After he was gone, Traven turned to find Darian lowering his hood.
“What was that all about?” Traven asked his elven friend.
“What?”
“You didn’t have to be so rude to Blaize. He’s like a father to me. I think he reacted much better than most humans would.”
“I wasn’t being rude,” the elf replied. “I was merely letting him know that he has no power over me. You are a wielder and my master, but he is only a human.”
Traven was reminded that the elves viewed themselves as far superior to humans. Darian’s devoted service had made it easy to forget how the elf had originally treated him when he arrived at Faldor’s Keep. He supposed the more Darian was around humans, the more comfortable he would become.
“I will try to be more civil in the future,” Darian said, interrupting Traven’s thoughts.
“Thank you,” Traven replied. “We better return to the palace as well. I want to have time to eat breakfast and freshen up before my meeting with the princess.”
“I am sure you do,” Darian answered with a hint of amusement in his voice.
Traven hurried towards the palace with Darian close behind him. He wouldn’t deny that he was looking forward to spending time alone with the princess. He had even asked Darian to keep his distance while the two of them were to be together. Traven hadn’t been alone with Princess Kalista since they had both been locked up in the ancient tower in the marsh north of Calyn and was eager to see how she would act towards him now.
He was soon in the palace and back into the antechamber of his guest room. Darian entered the room after him and shut the door. They were both happy to find a large platter of breakfast pastries and fruits sitting on a table. After eating his fill, Traven entered his bedchamber, freshened up, and switched into a clean pair of his black clothes. He buckled on his sword and looked himself over in the large mirror that hung in the room. He carefully straightened his hair and smoothed out the few wrinkles in his shirt. He turned to the left and right, inspecting himself.
“May I speak freely, Master?” Darian said suddenly, startling him. He hadn’t realized the elf had been watching from the doorway.
“Go ahead,” he replied as he turned away from the mirror.
“I believe your obsession with the princess to be unhealthy,” Darian stated.
“What are you talking about? I’m not obsessed with the princess.”
“Yes, you are,” the elf continued. “You have only met her briefly a few times, and yet it seems that ever since I swore devotion to you, you have spent the majority of your time thinking about her. I will admit that she is a rare beauty for a human. Even among the elves she would be considered lovely, but to be so infatuated with a woman’s beauty can only lead to problems.”
“That’s not why I’m anxious to meet with her today,” Traven replied defensively.
“Really?”
“Yes, really.”
“I still must not understand humans very well. During our travels to save her, you stared longingly at her image upon your screeing dish almost every day. You dreamt of her at night and constantly feared for her safety. Even now that she is safe, you have confessed that she still walks your dreams. As far as I can discern, you have never talked with her long enough to even know what she is truly like. Why are you so anxious to be with her today if not for your infatuation with her position and her beauty?”
Traven opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out. The veracity of what his devoted servant had just said rang true in his ears. He didn’t know much of her personality at all, and the little he did know wasn’t necessarily flattering. He knew she had often been impulsive, reckless, and haughty. Those were not traits that he necessarily desired in a companion or friend. Did he actually have any other reason to desire time with the princess than to bask in her royal beauty?
He shook his head at the disconcerting thought. During their imprisonment, he had seen more of her character. She had possessed an inner strength and had been determined. The princess had also shown him kindness and gratitude. A wave of relief washed over him as he realized that he wasn’t being completely superficial. He wouldn’t deny that he found her beauty to be beyond that of any woman he had ever seen. However, he also wouldn’t concede that was the only reason he wanted to be near her.
“You can believe what you want to,” he finally said, “but I do have more reasons to be looking forward to this meeting than her beauty.”
“Just be sure that you remember who you are and who she is and that she is betrothed,” said Darian with a smile. The elf knew he had gotten his point across. “I won’t be there to protect you if anything goes awry.”