Chapter 12 Lesson
Lesson
“Where exactly were you, Aquilan?” Vesslan’s voice–suddenly shrill–carried from the hallway through the closed doors and into Aquilan’s bedroom in the palace at Tyrael where Rhalyf knelt by Declan’s unconscious side.
Rhalyf was slowly, laboriously unpicking the elaborate spell that bound Declan so thoroughly.
The young man had been tucked lovingly into Aquilan’s bed by the Sun King himself before Aquilan had rushed into the hallway beyond to stop Vesslan from barging in and causing more of a scene than he already was. Elasha followed after.
“And what was an orc and a–a naki doing in the palace? If that blasted beast shat in here, I’ll have its head!” Vesslan growled.
From the smell that kept wafting beneath the closed doors, Rhalyf was pretty certain that Glom had pooped royally somewhere nearby.
He was only surprised that Snaglak wasn’t still there picking the fangs out of the soft and smoking excrement.
But the orc, Finley and Helgrom had gone to retrieve the Bastons and bring them to Declan’s bedside taking Glom and HT with them.
“I need to prepare them before they see Declan like this,” Finley had said of Michael, Shonda and Gemma as he had perched next to Declan on Aquilan’s bed.
He held onto one of Declan’s hands tightly, his thumb running over the back of it, giving Declan comfort.
“I know that they love Helgrom and Snaglak, but… but it should be me who tells them about who Declan is since he can’t do it himself.
When they see him with white hair, red eyes and pointed ears… Well, it will be a shock.”
“You’re right, Finley. You should be the one to tell them. Prepare them. But do you think…” Here, Aquilan had paused and grimaced. But then he pushed on and asked, “Do they know anything of the Kindreth?”
“Oh, I’ve talked their ears off about Vex. So yes, they know all about the Kindreth,” Finley assured the Sun King.
But that just had Aquilan looking more alarmed. “Really? You mean you’ve told them about the Night Elves in the context of your game? Your game where the main enemy is King Xelroth Vex?”
Finley blinked behind his round glasses. “Ah, I see your point. But I’ve not made him some kind of cardboard, cut out villain! He’s complicated and… Well, they aren’t the sort to blame Declan for anything his birth father may or may not have done.”
“Merely seeing Declan look so different may upset them,” Aquilan pressed. “An elf. A Night Elf. Not at all the person they took in–”
“But he is! He’s not changed!” Finley insisted, back going ramrod straight.
Aquilan gave him a gentle smile. “And your good heart sees that. But, unfortunately, I know all too well how people can react badly to red eyes and white hair.”
But Finley vigorously shook his head. “They’d never do that. All their lives, they’ve experienced people judging them by how they look. They’d never do that to Declan. He saved Gemma and me. That’s all that matters.”
Humanity’s mostly former obsession with skin color was mocked by the Aravae as dark skin to pale and every shade in between was prized.
Beautiful in its own way. But put red eyes and white hair into the mix and suddenly color mattered very much.
Rhalyf hoped that finding out Declan was a completely different species wouldn’t cause a problem in the Baston household.
“I will have rooms prepared for all of you so you can stay near Declan as he recovers.” Aquilan’s anxious gaze swung back to the unconscious young man.
“I doubt we’ll leave this room,” Finley admitted as he gazed down tenderly at his best friend.
“Actually, I may need a little privacy to work. Not to mention, there might be cast-off magic,” Rhalyf pointed out dryly.
He had no problem with Finley watching him work, of course.
The young man had a natural understanding of when to be quiet and when to speak.
Plus, he doubted he could have crowbarred Finley off of Declan.
But the others? “A crowd in here would not be conducive to my concentration.”
“Whatever you need, Rhalyf,” Aquilan quickly said, but then added with a faint smile, “Though I am a little surprised as you always seem to delight in an audience to show off your magical prowess.”
He did. But this magic was going to be Kindreth in nature.
He’d already had to remove the glamour from his eyes to see more clearly the intricate weave that bound Declan.
So far no one had pointed out that his eyes had been red, likely just assuming it was magic covering them rather than magic being stripped away.
But someone might figure it out if they saw it long enough.
“That is true, but I think the less people who see Declan without a glamour the better. After I release him from this spell, I won’t want to put another on him for at least a day,” Rhalyf told him. “So while the Bastons and Finley will be welcome to remain, your brother and–”
“We have to tell Father about what happened!” Elasha had been rubbing her hands anxiously together as she gazed at Declan from Aquilan’s book-strewn desk.
Darcassan was not by her side. He’d slunk to his rooms, after nearly collapsing from exhaustion on the way back from Chicago. He also likely rightly knew that the moment his father heard about this, he would get no sleep at all. Better to hide and hope for Vesslan to calm down.
“Do we?” Helgrom asked, his amber eyes glowing in the dimly lit room. “I don’t see why we do. It is not as if Declan is here in any royal capacity.”
“This is simply his home,” Aquilan added softly and there was a tenderness that appeared on his face that had Rhalyf sighing. Aquilan who had proclaimed so certainly that he was not going to fall in love anytime soon…
Rhalyf glanced towards the balconies that overlooked Tyrael.
The night still reigned on Earth, but Rhalyf could feel the Sun beginning to rise.
This room with its massive windows and balconies would likely be the last place Declan should rest. But taking him away from Aquilan’s protective presence was not going to work.
After he rid Declan of the restrictive weave, he would create a set of shields that would keep this room pitch black.
“We… don’t we?” She cast around the room. “Prince Declan is… well, he’s the Night Prince! And the Night King was with us and–”
“I will speak to Vesslan, Elasha. I would ask you to say nothing of Declan or Vex to him before I have a chance to,” Aquilan said firmly. He stared hard at Elasha. “Do you understand?”
“I… yes, Uncle.” She lowered her head. “I understand Father might react badly to Prince Declan’s heritage.”
“Badly? That is a word for it,” Helgrom clucked his tongue on the top of his mouth.
While the Bastons might not judge Declan, Vesslan most certainly would.
Rhalyf wouldn’t have been surprised if he demanded that Declan be thrown into the dungeon or killed.
And if Vex was still listening–of course, he was still listening–and heard Vesslan make such an order–even if it would be countermanded immediately by Aquilan–he might use it as an excuse to act precipitously.
“You judge him and me poorly, Helgrom, for our feelings about the Kindreth! But you have to understand all we’ve ever heard are the terrible stories about them and… and I haven’t heard exactly anything nice about Vex to change that,” she said.
“But you have experienced something nice about Declan, haven’t you?” Finley’s voice was flat and Rhalyf saw him half reach towards the dagger and book he had tucked into his pants beneath his shirt. But he stopped himself and went back to holding Declan’s hand.
Though Rhalyf hadn’t truly gotten a good sight of either item, their magical signature was like nothing he had ever seen.
He supposed that made sense. Humans couldn’t wield magic like elves so anything that bore their magic would be completely unknown to him.
But a wave of unease went through him as he studied the slight bulge both made under Finley’s shirt and the strange scar on his throat.
Something about these items–something even about Finley himself–was a little different than before.
But he shook himself. Like everyone else he was capable of fearing the unknown and that was likely what was moving him.
Finley seemed completely himself. In fact, he was no longer affected by the pollen, which was both good and disappointing.
A cuddly Finley was likely a thing he would see anytime soon or ever again.
“Of course! He’s–he’s rather wonderful. I just hope Father will listen to reason before he says or does anything unfortunate,” Elasha sighed and pinched the top of her nose. She looked as exhausted as all of them were.
“We both know that he will likely do both, Elasha,” Aquilan admitted, his shoulders slumping. “That is why we must keep this from him for a time until everything calms down. Or, at least, until Declan is recovered fully.”
Finley had met Rhalyf’s eyes at that moment and said with such certainty, “I’m sure that Rhalyf will set Declan to rights again.”
“Yes, I know he will,” Aquilan had agreed and both men had looked upon him with definite belief.
Rhalyf had almost shifted uncomfortably under that regard.
Finley knew who and what he was. He had a good reason to have faith in Rhalyf.
Aquilan had seen him cast impossibly intricate spells that no one else could so, even without knowing his Kindreth heritage, he supposed that Aquilan, too, had reason to believe in him.
But how long would it be before Aquilan realized that such skill could not come from simple practice?