CHAPTER VII #6
I frown, not knowing how to word this without bringing up Hirovale.
“The only person I’ve known in my years to be able to summon thoughts has recently passed…” he continues, placing the drink back on the counter.
“King Zander,” I nod, “though I only wonder, if someone else were to come along, someone with the same ability as him, how would that person keep their thoughts hidden?”
Lord Crisjan’s gaze turns thoughtful.
“I have yet to come across anything that can help, though that may just be my own lack
of interest in the subject that has kept me from looking further…”
I sigh and give him a small smile. Perhaps Elena may know…
“But if there’s anywhere in Disce for the answer to be found,” he continues with soft pride, “it is most certainly within these walls. I’ll look into it for you, Alexis.”
“Thank you,” I smile.
“And the other inquiry?” he asks, tilting his drink against mine.
I cheers my glass into his and take a sip.
“I actually wanted to know if you’ve ever heard of a Knowledge Discerni Lord by the name of Lord Von Baeyer? He constructed-”
“-The Southern Staircase in Castle Bardot,” Crisjan smiles, nodding his head.
“Yes,” I grin. “I found some text on his work a few days ago, but the information was basic. Do you happen to know if he is still alive? Or do your libraries hold anything else on him that can lead me to learn more about the summoning that constructed the stairs?”
“He passed through our city some thirty years ago,” the Lord frowns as he takes a sip. “Rumor has it that he was making his way to Aireal, but I have heard nothing of him since.”
I sigh, reaching another dead end.
“But I will inquire, young Alexis. I have a few friends in the Kingdom to the north. Should I reach out to you in Bardot if something turns up?”
“No,” I shake my head with a smile. “I plan to make Gaumond my new home after our travel to Woodlands.”
The older Discerni lifts a brow as a full grin spreads across his lips. “You and the King?”
“Yes,” my cheeks heat. “Can you write to him directly with anything you find?”
Crisjan looks at me affectionately, placing his hand on my shoulder as we both turn back to the balcony. “It would be my pleasure.”
If I thought yesterday’s small anxiety that gripped the group was tense, it’s nothing compared to the pure silence that surrounds everyone as we ready our horses now.
No one makes a sound. No one greets each other with smiling faces or voices any good mornings, just keeps their eyes ahead, securing their packs and saddles.
Even my early morning training with Cal and Holis was quiet.
Cal had his mind elsewhere, allowing me to get the better of him more times than I can count.
Whatever was going on with Alanna hadn’t fixed itself since last night, and it was torture to see it cloud his thoughts.
Both Keane and Desmond sit on top of their horses in a full ensemble of Warrior black.
They look intimidating in their sharp Discerni features at the head of the group, the two of them speaking quietly to eachother as we all start to mount.
I look at Keane from atop Millie, noticing the strong black Shadow Oak leaves that rest across his high collar and down his arms. There’s no mistaking his intention on this ride— He would enter Woodlands Court as the King of Disce and the Warrior the lands knew him to be.
I myself had chosen to dress softer, opting out of the black to greet the new court with a more welcoming appearance in deep greens and browns.
I didn’t care that Keane looked at me with a small frown, only that I was resolved for the humans of Etter to see me without any apprehension behind their eyes.
Cal, myself and the Warrior soldiers were the only humans in our group, something I hoped the village noticed when we rode alongside the Discerni.
“We have a steady ride ahead of us,” Keane announces. “We’ll take a rest before midday and again after the noon apex, then continue hard until we reach the Forest of Quiescence. No main road will greet us in the woods. We will continue to Etter on a small path with our ride slow.”
The silence around us continues as Keane lets his hard brown gaze fall directly on mine.
“Remember Lord Desmond’s words from yesterday… we enter Woodlands purely in assessment, not engagement.”
Everyone gives a small bow of their heads in acknowledgement while both brothers keep their eyes on me, expecting. I slowly lean forward in my saddle as Stormfall grips my shoulders, ignoring their gazes to pat Millie on the neck.
I will make no promises.
Keane turns Ash sharply, angling him away from our group as he and Desmond kick into the road north, leading us out of Auclair.
I let the full of the group pass in front of me, spotting as Holis does the same, the two of us giving each other a small smirk before we begin our gallop and bring up the rear.
Our ride is indeed steady and without stop, taking the road as it continues along the border.
Eventually, in the late morning, it begins to angle itself west, prompting the King to slow at the bend and give our horses a break.
We all take our breakfast in silence, while Keane, Desmond, Lord Alexander and Canon stand huddled into themselves with hushed voices.
That stiff mood continues as we get back on the road, the tension permeating our traveling group and reminding me of our time in the Bulwark Plains.
Holis turns to me in his saddle as we ride through the Golden Hills, pointing out a grove of apple trees not far away. The two of us grin and angle our horses in its direction, riding for the small detour as the rest of the group bounds away.
“Nearly there, Alexis,” he says softly, catching my eye as we slow our horses.
I hop off Millie with a sigh, holding her reins as I grab an apple off the ground for the two of us.
“Yes,” I nod, splitting it in two. “The farthest north we’ve traveled…”
“Why Etter?” he asks, eyes curious. “I’ve been meaning to ask you since our dinner at Sera’s.”
I give him a small smile. “I’m sorry, Holis. I actually should have told you when I found out. It’s been a busy past fortnight…”
“It has.”
“I’m not sure what all Cal has told you, but I was brought to Bardot at fourteen. And while I have no memory of my life before my arrival, I recently came to find out that I was not from the Court of Knowledge…”
Holis’ blue-green eyes widen. “Etter.”
“Etter,” I nod. “But I really have no recollection of it at all. I only have what Princess Elena and Hirovale have told me of my life there. It wasn’t good, Holis.
What they’ve told me brings chills down my spine.
Apparently, my parents raised me in that human village and died fighting against the Discerni who governed there. ”
“Now it’s my turn to be sorry, Alexis,” Holis shakes his head, hand coming down to my shoulder to grab it with a squeeze.
“There’s been a few times when I’ve wondered if the men who slayed my parents still reside there…”
“That will explain why the King and his brother keep giving you warnings,” he frowns, his gaze turning troubled.
“You noticed that, huh?” I chuckle.
Holis nods but remains quiet, turning in his seat in deep thought.
“I honestly don’t know what they expect,” I sigh. “I couldn’t even tell you what I expect. I have no memories of Etter, no emotional connection outside the brief desire to just visit and put some sort of landscape and faces around the scenes that my mind has drawn up.”
“I don’t know what to expect either, Alexis,” he says quietly, “but I am with you. I’m always with you.”
“Lady Alexis,” Keane turns Ash from the front of our group as we come to a slow.
We’re finally at the edge of the Forest of Quiescence. My eyes widen at the woods beyond him, the trees so thick that they cast a soft grey shadow to everything below them.
I bring Millie to a trot, riding towards both Keane and his brother as they watch me approach.
Keane has his features set stoically, giving nothing away as he stares back at me silent and unreadable.
My eyes narrow on him in question before I glance at Desmond, noticing that the dark Discerni is just as cool and collected as his brother.
Ancients, I hate this mood right now.
“You’ll ride at my side,” Keane looks at his left, angling Ash back towards the tree line before he gives Canon a brief nod. The Discerni soldier brings his own horse closely behind Millie as Lord Alexander moves behind Keane.
My brows lift in surprise, nearly laughing at the tight grouping of men that form around me. Seriously? What did they expect me to do?
“Is this really necessary, Your Grace?” I turn to Keane with dripping sarcasm.
Keane eyes me quietly, moving Ash close before he leans over and reaches for my knee, squeezing it in response.
I sigh in acceptance and let my hand rest on his, gripping him in return before we both follow next to Desmond.
The Master Informer leads Raven forward and into the forest, officially entering Woodlands, and keeps to the small road until we’re all fully consumed by the woods.
My eyes widen at the beauty around me, noting the differences between this forest and the others in Disce.
Where the Warrior woods are filled with sweeping pines of deep green and brown that create a moody ambiance, these woods are daintier in their being, a pristine green and grey.
The grass is lush around us, almost as if Spring lives here eternally, the silver and gold rays from the sun above just barely pressing through in the smallest of light.
Those soft rays bounce off the woods around us, lending a perfect shimmer to the green canopy above that never seems to end.
It’s the most inviting forest I’ve ever entered, but also one that makes me frown… deeply. How can something so serene and beautiful belong to such a distasteful court? I can’t wrap my mind around it.