CHAPTER II #3
“I’m here. Just say the word.”
“I won’t,” she laughs and heads back into the café.
“She’s too headstrong, Mana,” I sit in the chair across from my quiet Discerni friend and watch him grin in agreement.
“I hear you’ll be fighting soon, Cal,” Clair leans forward to look at Cal next to me.
“Yes, Highness,” Cal grins. “A lad from the Court of Warriors. Supposedly he’s the real deal.”
“He is,” Alanna nods.
Cal shrugs with a foolish grin. “That is what I was told about the last boy I fought.”
“When and where will it be?” Clair asks, seeming genuinely enthusiastic at the prospect. “Perhaps we can attend?”
The full of our table looks back at the Princess in surprise, the lot of us trying to envision her and her husband in one of our dimly lit fighting dens.
“The second night after the coronation, Princess,” Cal replies curiously.
We all watch her grin and lean back in her chair.
“Brilliant! We will still be here,” she nods in excitement. “Rion will certainly enjoy it.”
Clair turns in her chair to the two Pyrenese soldiers behind her, both of them giving her their own knowing grins.
“Rion?” I ask, my eyes darting over the two soldiers as she turns back to the table.
“Prince McQuoid’s given name,” she chuckles. “Though it doesn’t get much use outside his friends and family.”
Prince Rion McQuoid… a fitting name for a royal and rugged man of the mountains.
“Is he familiar with hand to hand?” Cal inquires.
“Too familiar,” the Princess chuckles just as the soldiers do the same. “The countless times I’ve found him in our own dens and wagering on himself…”
“My kind of man,” Cal laughs. “I’ll make sure to have Elliot put you both on the list. Ask for the tavern called the Wayward Maker, or just travel up the mountain with us that night.”
“It’ll be up here?” Clair looks around in pure happiness. “Oh good! I should like to come back at night.”
“It will,” Cal grins, enjoying the Princess’ enthusiasm.
The rest of breakfast continues easily after that.
We talk of the coronation, of the reception after and more on Cal’s fight, with most of us curious as to why McQuoid has found himself in fighting dens.
Apparently, as Clair explained, the Prince and his buddies all find solace in the roughness and seek out the pain.
Cal said he understood the sentiment, though the rest of us just smile in a way we can’t relate to.
Clair also inquires into Golem after noticing his absence today.
The magical creature has been attached to Keane’s side, I tell her, and when he’s not, he’s offering his presence to Keane’s mother who is still privately in mourning.
His guidance is needed elsewhere, something I came to quick terms with, so while his jar still remains hidden in my room, the magical creature no longer feels like the traveling companion he did over the past month.
The thought reminds me, though, of the supposed transfer that occurred when Zander passed Golem along to me. It made me sad to think about, but I had to catch the magical creature sometime before tomorrow’s coronation to do the same.
I inquire into Morose, and how she’s been doing in her pursuit to settle Red Falls’ library back into its proper form.
Clair shakes her head with an easy laugh, telling me that the old woman has only made it through the first two heights in the last month.
She does affirm, however, that the idea of setting the library straight for the next year is something that seems to excite the old Duhni.
Eventually, after we make it through breakfast and beyond, Sera’s café becomes so crowded that the soldiers have to request we move away from all the prying eyes and curious bodies. It doesn’t seem like they’re threatened by the crowd, but rather just being cautious.
“We can walk through the park and I can take you down the main road, through the shops and the other storefronts?” I offer as we all stand, saying our goodbyes.
“That sounds like a plan,” Clair nods just as Sera walks out of her café with a bow.
“It’s been a pleasure, Sera,” the Princess smiles. “Your food is amazing. Thank you so much for hosting me on such a short notice.”
“Any time, Your Highness,” she grins back. “I guess we’ll all see eachother tomorrow?”
Tomorrow.
Our group looks at each other with knowing grins, all of us nodding in agreement and small anticipation.
Clair and I enjoy a relatively peaceful afternoon as I walk her and Alba and the two soldiers throughout the Southern Palisades, showing them the different shops and vendors that all come alive with the day.
I also take them to one of the outposts behind the city, an area where Discerni summoners stand and watch the vast nothingness that is the Plains of Unknown.
We stop for a late lunch in one of the small pubs resting off the alleyway near the main road, one that is closer to the tunnel and will lead us back to the Southern Staircase. I’m the only one drinking in our small group of four, though the Pyrenese don’t seem to mind at all.
Once lunch is finished we make our way back down the mountain in the early afternoon. Clair and I continue our easy conversation the whole way down, musing on baby boy names as her and McQuoid already have one selected for a girl.
“Abby for a girl. Though we can’t quite agree on a name for a boy.”
“Abby McQuoid,” I grin, looking back at the Princess. “Very pretty. I love it. I do love William for a boy, though I know that’s a common name in your Kingdom.”
“Oh yes,” she nods, rubbing her hand around the small of her belly, “one of Rion’s best mates is named William.”
“Hmm. Dillon?” I grin. “Or Damen? After the Ancient?”
“I do like Damen,” she muses, looking at me quietly. I get the sense that she wants to say something else, but instead she looks down at Alba and gives the snow tiger the tiniest of nods.
“Does Alba talk to you?” I ask curiously. “Holis seems to think that Stormfall will begin gracing my thoughts soon. He says that I’ll be able to hear him speak to me…”
“She does,” Clair smiles, “all magical creatures are adept in trem’aine.”
Trem’aine. Meaning ‘silent conversation’ in the Ancient tongue. It’s an old term that’s nearly died out from nonuse, and the only reason I know of it is from all the reading I did for Zander.
Alba lifts her head to look at us both, listening in on our conversation.
“The first time I heard her voice in my mind, it scared me senseless. I forgot about the ability and actually thought I was going mad. But now I can’t envision a life in which I don’t get to talk to her…”
Her blue eyes fall on Stormfall sleeping on my shoulder before she nods.
“I agree with Holis that Storm will begin speaking to you soon. He is a very powerful creature of this Old World. There’s no way he’s not familiar with trem’aine.”
“But I am human,” I reply, still not understanding how all of this is supposed to work.
Clair opens her mouth to say something again, but her eyes dart to the soldiers behind us as we all step onto the next stair.
We end up making our way down the remainder of the Greenstone Mountain in silence, my own thoughts clouded by the Ancient and his Bird of Ash while Clair looks to be deep in silent conversation with Alba.
The Princess nods to her men when we finally step off the last stair, the two soldiers taking their leave and walking well ahead.
“I was actually hoping you and I could speak privately, Alexis,” she says softly, “before we part ways and full swing of the coronation takes over.”
“Of course,” I nod, looking around the empty cave. We’re alone save her two guards now standing at the entry of the cave.
“I first want to offer my condolences to you and Prince Keane on his father’s passing. It was terrible news,” she shakes her head solemnly, “and we were saddened to hear of it.”
I grimace at her words, my heart still heavy for the late King who treated me with such kindness.
“Thank you, Clair. It was a shock to us all.”
“I also wanted to offer you an apology…” she takes a small step forward and grabs my hands.
“I need you to know that Rion and I battled when you visited Red Falls. The two of us had many talks about whether to tell you and the Prince brothers of the fourth term that came from the Council, but we ultimately decided that it was best for Zander to share with you, not us.”
“You have nothing to apologize for,” I smile.
The Princess frowns and looks back at me, her eyes darting across my face in question.
“Truly, Clair,” I squeeze her hands, “I understand. We understand. Our discussion with the King and what we learned from it was everything we needed and more. It was an open conversation and one that was truly best hearing from him. Your decision was sound, and I do not hold that against you.”
Clair squeezes in return and lets out a small breath of relief, her eyes telling me she still wants to say more.
But I’m the one who’s curious this time.
“Did Zander share with you the words?” I ask. “Did he send them to the Kingdoms?”
“He did,” Clair nods slowly, looking back at me in quiet concern, “they are heavy, Alexis. I understand, now, why you didn’t want to share them.”
She takes a step forward, her voice soft. “How are you? Now that some time has passed?”
I sigh and tilt my gaze away in thought, looking at the dark and empty mountain as my thoughts once again roam to Hirovale.
“I was shocked in the beginning,” I admit quietly, “I wasn’t just hiding the words from you, but mostly from myself. I didn’t want to fully consider what they meant in those moments after the library…”
Clair nods in understanding.
“But I’ve been wrapping my head around everything as more days pass, and Keane and I have had a few good conversations since…”
I look around the empty mountain once more, making sure we’re alone before I find Clair’s gaze.
“I’ve also had some conversations with the Ancient Hirovale. He’s awake, Clair. In the flesh. It was his words that wrote the prophecy.”