CHAPTER XV #2
“There’s good here, Alexis… not everything needs to be torn down. There’s people here that are open to the change. But they’re not likely to agree with a King that forces it by hand.”
My glance on Troy is thoughtful.
Is he warning me? Asking me to check Keane?
“I’ve seen a few,” I give a sad smile, “in Etter. They just want to live in peace.”
“Yes.”
I eye the Prince and brother to my King quietly, wanting to believe him.
I want more than anything to move forward from this family strife that has gripped the Bardots for too long.
I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forgive him for his use of me or for his summoning against his brothers, but I can move forward, cautiously, simply for the help we’ll need here in Woodlands.
“Don’t summon into Keane again,” I narrow my eyes on him. “Seriously, Troy. I’ve wanted to hurt you before, don’t make me want to hurt you again.”
“I won’t,” he shakes his head, “especially now that I know you have your own summoning.”
I side-eye him as I turn back towards Millie. “I had a blade on me the full time I was with you.”
He chuckles. “I know.”
I take Millie’s reins in hand and pull her forward.
“Will you show me?” Troy asks softly, catching my gaze as he steps aside.
“I would like nothing more,” I smirk.
My hand angles to his feet as I move the air out from under him, catching him by the boots as he loses his stance and falls heavy on the ground.
Troy catches himself by his hands, head darting up to mine before his eyes begin to crinkle in genuine laughter, the sound consuming the full of the stalls.
Cal and I bring up the rear together with Holis and Mana riding at our front. Both of our faces are sullen, just now finishing a quiet conversation about what happened last night when Alanna returned to the inn.
Our Discerni friend told Cal everything she knew of her brother, reiterating her genuine belief that he was dead. She also remained deathly quiet and refused to tell him of the things he did to their sister, arguing that if Joshua was still alive she had a duty to find him and finish the job.
I had to ask Cal if Alanna thought she was safe with Desmond, something that made me fume in anger over having to ask it in the first place.
He inquired the same with our short friend, a question that made her nod her head fervently and tell him that she trusted Desmond with her life.
I didn’t understand the sentiment and neither did Cal, but apparently Alanna just shrugged her shoulders when he pressed, telling him that the King and his brother were just doing their job.
It made me happy to know that Cal took afront to that, just as I did, still hating that their trust was so easily thrown away once a problem arose.
Our conversation ended when the group stopped at the side of a heavy stream.
Keane began walking towards the two of us as we tied our horses around a tree, his commanding figure humbled with a softness in his eyes, telling us he wanted to talk.
Cal and I nearly sighed in unison, nodding our heads to the King as the rest of the traveling crew eyed us in our walk along the water.
Once we were out of earshot Keane stopped in his walk, turning to the two of us with heavy features.
“Desmond and I spoke last night…” he begins, brown eyes genuinely holding an apology as I cross my arms over my chest.
“We were caught in the moment. It’s not an excuse but it’s the only reasoning I can provide. The way we handled the situation was not appropriate. Not for Alanna and not for any of our own.”
“Is she safe with Desmond?” Cal asks, the question still lingering on both of our minds.
“She is,” Keane nods his head solemnly. “Desmond is offering an apology of his own.”
“This group you think her brother is a part of,” Cal brings a hand up to his beard, “they’re the same that are linked to Alexis? To what happened to the Woodlands boy and Maude?”
“Yes,” Keane nods. “He’s a part of the group that aims to take her. Has already summoned away her memories from her youth in Etter.”
Cal turns to me with wide eyes. “Ancients, Alexis.”
I shrug. “It’s not a bother any longer. I know of what happened to me thanks to Hiro and Elena.”
Cal eyes me for a moment before turning back to Keane in anger. “Alanna has her own interest in finding him, Your Grace. Believe me when I tell you that she does not want him alive.”
“I know it,” the King nods in cool agreement. “Desmond knows it.”
“They’ll stay in Woodlands then?” Cal frowns, his brown eyes distraught, “until everything is taken care of?”
“Yes. Or at least until we take off for Livyatan, granted you two choose to come.”
Cal grips his beard, analyzing the King quietly. “We’ve discussed it…”
My friend turns to me slowly. “We’ll be there with you, Alexis.”
I quickly avert his gaze, not knowing whether to be happy or wary. Just as in Woodlands, I suspected that more was to come of that travel then we anticipated, and I didn’t want any of my friends caught up in the cross-fire.
Cal frowns at my reaction and turns back to Keane.
“Heysan will join as well.”
“I’ll welcome his presence,” the King eyes Cal seriously, “all of your presence.”
“This doesn’t happen again,” my friend extends a hand.
“No,” Keane grasps it hard, “never again.”
Dankworth is a heavily wooded city. And not by the thick forest that completely surrounds it, but by the tall wooden wall that protects the people within. Past that wall is even more wood, the homes structured in the heavy brown and forgoing the usual white marble of the court.
I ride with Keane, Canon and Holis at the front as we move under the city’s gate. Two Discerni soldiers approach the King atop their horses, both of them with straight, pale blonde hair and a high, green collared tunic.
“Your Grace,” one of the them bows. “Lord Sandam has asked that we escort you to the castle.”
My eyes roam to the main road as we follow the men through the city.
The homes and shops around us are all single story and built with the sturdy wood, and there’s torches lining each of them and giving off a homey smell.
Nothing here looks dingy or out of place, nor are the homes fashioned to look like shacks, but there’s also nothing overly special about this area that we’re riding through, and if I’m being completely honest, nothing about it reminds me of the typical Woodlands.
I look around at the people here, noticing that there’s mostly humans walking along the road with us. Many of them are eyeing our mixed traveling group of humans and Discerni, their glances narrowing on the two Woodlands men that ride before us as some of them grip the broadswords at their hips.
Curious.
Is there tension between the humans of this city and the Discerni?
There has to be, or else why would they…
Oh.
Oh.
The King’s decree is plastered on every door of every shop in this wooden part of town, and the Discerni men in front of us are scowling at every single one of them.
They’re eyeing the human men who now line up at a shop that sells the fatal stone, their own hands steadfast on the blades at their sides.
It becomes abundantly clear that we’re riding through an area of Dankworth that is only home to humans, and for some reason, the presence of the Woodlands men keeps garnering silent glances.
I turn to Keane at my side, my curiousness getting the better of my anger, and watch as he gives me a small grimace, his full red lips tightening before he tilts his chin forward.
I follow his direction and look towards a different part of the city up ahead, frowning at the stark difference.
There is the typical Woodlands structures of sparkling white that are made with precision and a touch of coldness.
The dirt road under us turns to perfectly laid cobblestone, the grey catching any dust from the wooden part of town so as not to dirty the rest of the city.
Hundreds of Discerni begin to now line the roads, their tunics and dresses rich and intricately designed compared to the simple shirts and riding pants from the humans before.
Their pale skin shines beautifully under the buildings that are now lined with bottled lanterns of moonslight, blonde hair sparkling against the pale green attire that dominates them all.
I turn back to the city behind us, staring at the full brown of the homes before they cut swiftly into white, the separation too distinct.
My scowl is open, large.
There’s too much separation in Woodlands. First in Etter with the village belonging to the humans, then in Alston with the towns being separated at sides, and now with Dankworth, the Discerni so clearly living a better lifestyle than the humans that shared their city.
The humans look ready to defend it, though, Stormfall adds.
Yes, I nod to the Bird of Ash on my shoulder, at least they don’t have the dead eyes of Etter.
I smile at one of Keane’s decrees lying crumpled on the rode before us. The humans of Dankworth certainly seem ready to capitalize on the new rule, with the Discerni here trying to hide from it as much as possible, discarding the words from their buildings.
“How long will we stay?” I ask quietly.
The King turns, brown eyes pulling me to him again. “Tonight and tomorrow.”
I nod and look back at the Discerni around us, the majority of them remaining quiet in their walks as they move between their shops and homes.
We continue in our slow ride through the large white marble city, finally moving towards a high white wall, the full of it about the size of three men stacked atop one another.
I frown at the barrier that surrounds a tall, white glittering castle within, not liking that we’re now moving through a single large gate. It feels too caged in.