CHAPTER IV #4
“One for one!” Heysan’s voice carries over the Grand Receiving Room, smirking in pure enjoyment before he himself downs his mug.
All of us laugh at the two men and the foolish grins now plastered across their faces.
“It’s going to be a long night,” Holis grins.
“Lady Alexis,” a soft voice states from behind.
I recognize the voice and smile even wider. That smile falters, however, when I notice my friends all narrowing their eyes on the incomer behind me, their stances becoming stiff.
I turn to the young Woodlands Discerni with welcoming eyes, catching his green-grey gaze looking back at me. His long blonde hair is pulled away from the front of his face in a half up, half down fashion, the full of it sparkling silver under the lights.
“Arens,” I greet, noting the small silver hoops in his pointed ears. He’s wearing a pale green tunic that has a high collar and accentuates his sharp jawline, his features set in typical Discerni indifference.
“It is good to see you again, Lady Alexis,” he nods with a small smile.
I tip my whiskey to the young man, still noting the tense presence everyone takes.
“And you as well, Arens. How are you enjoying Castle Bardot so far?”
“Properly interesting,” he replies.
His eyes dart across my face, as if considering his next words. I look around his shoulder to see if his companions are with him, but there isn’t another Woodlands Discerni in sight.
“Will you take a walk with me, Lady Alexis?”
The request is a simple one, and one that I’m happy for, but both Alanna and Holis shift on their feet at the question, their bodies angling towards mine.
They don’t know that I’ve met this man before, that I’ve seen a hidden spark in his eyes that prompted me to delve into a very enlightening conversation with him.
Arens is a curious young man, and it seems that curiosity hasn’t died in the past fortnight since I met him.
“I would enjoy that,” I nod, feeling Alanna’s eyes narrow on the side of my face. The Woodlands Discerni gives me a small, knowing smile, turning his shoulder towards the crowd as he looks back at me in open invitation. He doesn’t offer his arm, just waits for me to step into his side.
“Your friends are hesitant,” he notes, our shoulders brushing as we try to navigate the crowd.
“Concerned,” I nod, eyeing the pale green of his attire. “I’m sure they thought you were a stranger. But what about you?”
“What about me?”
“Are you hesitant? To be seen with me?”
“No, Lady Alexis,” Arens shakes his head with another small smile. “Though the black is a surprise. The last time we met you were in the full green and gold of Knowledge.”
“The Court that raised me,” I grin, “and not one I’m likely to ever forget, nor toss aside casually. While my love for the Court of Warriors has grown, Knowledge will never completely leave me.”
Arens turns his head sharply, the gaze he gives one I know all too well. He’s battling internally, considering what it’s like to love your home but also want to choose a possible new one at the same time.
“Will you be in Bardot long? I’m happy to show you more of the castle and the Palisades above.”
The Woodlands Discerni shakes his head. “No, not long.”
His features turn cold when he catches the eyes of a few members of his court. My own gaze is calm and steady, watching all the Woodlands Discerni interact with interest.
“I’m still curious as to the excuse you gave to stay at Brierman,” I laugh softly, trying to lighten the mood.
Arens eyes slightly crinkle at the corners, the sight taking me by surprise as his lips tip up into a nearly-there grin.
“It was a simple one, Lady Alexis,” he says easily.
“Let’s hear it then.”
The young man stops in his walk, his eyes sparkling in small amusement.
“My father is from Brierman, Lady…”
The news warms my heart. “And did you have a chance to visit him?”
“No,” he gives a hidden smile and leans forward just slightly. He searches the crowd around us before continuing in a near whisper.
“Because my father was human, Lady Alexis…”
I hold Arens’ gaze, understanding now that his call to curiosity stems from his own lineage and wanting to know of his past.
“How did you find yourself in Woodlands, then?” I ask, keeping my voice just as low.
“My mother,” he replies coldly, features reverting back to indifference. “She is a Discerni from Woodlands. She hid the truth from me for the better half of my life. I’ve only recently just learned about my father two years ago…”
Arens watches me, his face conflicted. “I suspect you know this already, Lady Alexis, but Woodlands is not an exceptionally welcoming court where humans are concerned.”
I nod silently, bringing my whiskey up to my lips.
“Envision, then, the type of attitude that is directed towards any Discerni who chooses to interact with a human. Even more so when that Discerni becomes intimate with a human.”
“You mean to tell me that humans and Discerni do not have any intimate relations in Woodlands?” I scoff.
“None. And those that do keep it well, well hidden.”
“But you are interacting with me now,” I point out.
Arens nods, the coolness of his features so handsome with their hidden sadness.
“Your status today, Lady Alexis, and even in our first meeting in Brierman when you sat with the Prince, allows for the open interaction. The people of my court are curious as to why we talk, though they suspect nothing more.”
“So you’re taking a risk by talking to me now,” I frown, “and again in sharing your secret with me. Why?”
“To be honest,” he shakes his head, “I could not give you a rational answer, only that I’ve felt it in my being to do so since our first meeting in Brierman.”
“Is anyone else aware? Of your situation?”
“No one knows but my cousin, his wife and my mother. What the Discerni would do to me if they did know…”
I ball my hand into a tight fist, feeling my anger for Woodlands rise up all over again.
What in the Old World is going on over there?
The young man sighs, his green-grey eyes still holding mine.
“You’re welcomed here,” I tell him steadily. “As would you be in Warrior. You do not need to hide in Woodlands anymore, Arens. The King and his brother have means to help you. As do I.”
“I appreciate that, Lady Alexis,” he nods quietly.
I’m about to place my hand on his arm in comfort but think better of it, and thankfully he starts to walk again, the two of us lost in our own thoughts.
“Do you still plan to travel to Woodlands in the near future, Lady Alexis?” he asks, breaking our silence.
“I do. Fairly soon.”
Arens’ jaw flexes as we head towards a balcony.
“Then I must ask something of you, Lady…”
“Of course. Anything.”
Arens stops and turns to me with a determined look.
“I must ask that you do not take the travel to Woodlands on your own…”
I frown at the request. He’s now the second person to warn me of that, the first being Alanna.
“I wasn’t planning on it,” I tell him earnestly.
“Good,” he nods, “but on the off-chance that you do find yourself on your own in the lands…”
He eyes the crowd around us again, as if making sure no ears are turned our way.
I’m about to suggest that we walk farther out on the veranda so we can find some privacy, but a strong caw from across the room pulls both of our attention away.
Stormfall glides in our direction, the Bird of Ash charting a path from where he came at the King’s side.
Keane quietly catches my glance from afar, his narrowed brown eyes letting me know that he’s sent Storm on purpose.
I sigh and hold out my wrist to the Bird of Ash, feeling Arens straighten at my side as the full of the room follows Stormfall’s path in our direction.
Everything is okay, I tell him when he lands.
Stormfall nips my neck when I deposit him on my shoulder, his wings spreading across my back as I turn again towards Arens.
“Tell me,” I frown, noticing that conflict in his gaze. “If I should find myself alone in Woodlands…”
Arens’ eyes keep darting to the crowd, not trusting that we won’t be heard. I decide in that moment to take a step into him, truly not caring who sees, and tilt my head to my side so he can tell me his hidden secret in private.
“Do not trust the argents, Lady Alexis,” his voice is deathly silent, barely audible.
I frown, not sure I heard him correctly.
The argents? The silver birds of Woodlands?
I glance back into the cool features of the young man next to me, feeling the determination behind his gaze as he nods slowly, willing me to take his words as is.
“I wish I was able to drink with you,” Princess Clair sighs heavily. She turns in her seat next to me with a look of longing at the ale in my hands.
“Red Falls,” I remind her with a knowing grin. “After winter, of course. Ale and books and cozy chairs. Wherever our day takes us.”
“Nothing sounds better,” she smiles, reaching for the water in front of her. Both Lord Daniel, seated next to me, and Lord Alexander, seated next to him, smile as well.
The formal dinner for the coronation is now being served, the full of the Grand Receiving Room filled to the brim with hundreds of people smiling and conversing with each other in genuine happiness.
Keane is seated not too far from me with his brother Desmond and Prince McQuoid at his sides, while his mother, Elena and Troy all sit across from him.
Not surprisingly, Troy is caught in his own lively conversation with Prince Isham next to him, while the Queen mother is smiling vibrantly at a new man to her left, the silver crown resting over his long, black hair giving him away.
King Voland of the Kingdom of Aireal.