CHAPTER VIII #2
I nod in respect, seeing so much of her features in the little Discerni boy from the road.
“And who is the Lord?”
Yara sends me a curious glance as I sit back down next to Lord Daniel.
“I am,” Daniel turns to me with a kind smile.
What?
I turn and stare into his light brown eyes, watching them sparkle in friendly amusement.
I guess it makes sense that Lord Daniel governs a city in the Court of Warriors- he wouldn’t have the title of Lord if he didn’t. But for some reason I never thought to ask him which of those cities he called his own, not even when I spent time with him on both those nights at court.
I should have.
It would have been the polite thing to do, but now I’m kind of glad that I didn’t. There’s something special about learning the information in this moment, something fitting about Daniel and the hidden city he’s chosen to lead.
“Fumagalli suits you, Lord Daniel,” I tell him quietly.
Daniel brings a hand up to his lips, fingers slowly running down his beard as he watches me in thought.
“And you as well, Lady Alexis.”
Dear Ancients, I think I’ve just blushed.
“Did I miss anything earlier?” Yara clears her throat, eyes moving off me and Daniel to glance at the Prince.
Keane nods, “the emptiness of the village, which is something we know but haven’t yet resolved.”
She grimaces and looks back at me, “what else?”
I give Lord Daniel a final look of respect before turning my gaze back to the woman.
“The forest air is odd. I’m still not sure how that works, though I do know how easy it is to get lost to it. I let it take me over on our first night, then again on the second after some fight, but eventually sleep always found me.”
“As it should,” she nods with a small smile, “but it didn’t tonight?”
I shake my head, “I refused to let it.”
“No, Alexis,” Yara chuckles, “if you walked through the forest tonight it was only because the air allowed you to.”
“Can someone explain that?” I look around the group in puzzlement, “is it magic that brings on the sleep?”
“This forest and the woods have always been like that,” Lord Daniel replies at my side, “it is rumored that the Ancient of Death and Exploration sleeps amongst these trees, that it’s his breath seeping into the air around us and causing the sleep…”
“But once you become aware that the breeze around you is not of normal origin,” he continues, “you wake up in a sense. The air of sleep will never greet you again. It will no longer have an effect.”
I wasted Margaret’s perfectly good jug of coffee for no reason, then.
“But why would odd forest air prompt you to go sneaking into the night?” Yara asks curiously.
I shake my head in consideration, “it wasn’t so much that the air itself was suspicious… I actually would have never caught on if that was circumstance. But what I did catch on to was the appearance of well-rest that came from everyone around me the following mornings.”
Yara looks at me in confusion, not understanding how that can be a bad thing. I smile at her softly and explain with a small chuckle.
“My companions and I are frequent travelers. We’ve spent countless nights on the roads and in taverns that are too loud to get a decent nights’ sleep.
Since visiting Fumagalli, I have never once seen the look of complete satisfaction from a night’s rest on their faces as I have here.
Not even from the silent nights that we’ve spent under the stillness of woods and camping under the stars.
My companions have all been well rested and invigorated for the day ahead since we’ve arrived, even after the copious amounts of drink they had the night before.
And when sleep came to greet them early, none of them argued or fought back, they just let it happen… ”
I look at Yara with another grin.
“If you know one of my friends as I do, it is the oddest sight to see him in bed well before apex. It was as if the village wanted us to sleep and not ask questions, to go silently into the night. But nothing, magical or not, will dictate how I choose to spend my time. Anyone with that similar mindset will eventually catch on and start asking questions.”
Keane watches me quietly, his eyes thoughtful as the rest of his face remains expressionless. Yara shakes her head, her own eyes falling on the strong green of my cloak and noticing that it’s not in the same dark shade of green used in Warrior.
“She picked all this up because her friends were getting better sleep than usual?” she turns to the Prince with a scoff.
Both Keane and Lord Daniel grin.
“She’s a curious one,” Daniel replies.
“With the will to see that curiosity sated,” Keane adds.
I shift in my seat as Yara crosses her arms in front of her chest.
“You’re from Knowledge, yes?”
I nod.
“And you serve the King in some capacity?”
My eyes flick to Keane just as Yara continues, “Desmond told me on the walk here.”
“I do,” I reply after a moment.
“Do you like living in Knowledge and working for the King?”
I try to hide my sigh but nod at her in response.
“Then just know that if you ever change your mind or if you find yourself looking for a new place to call home, I will gladly use your insight here.”
I hold her glance in deep appreciation. “Thank you for the offer.”
“Is there anything else that set you off?” she inquires, “we usually send visitors that ask too many questions to the mills.”
The mills…
My cheeks flush yet again.
“I visited them,” I reply quietly.
“But that wasn’t enough?”
I consider her question and think of Keane’s tour.
“They would be fine, a good distraction if the number of workers matched the amount of people the village called for. But there was only a handful of men working, and the path leading to the mills didn’t look well used. Nothing added up.”
Yara nods in understanding. “You’ve given us a lot to consider, Alexis. Thank you.”
I smile and watch her turn to the Prince, “I need to get back to my boys. With your leave, Highness?”
“Of course. Have a good night, Yara.”
Yara bows to both the Prince and Golem, then walks to Lord Daniel with her hand outstretched in farewell. Lord Daniel stands and clasps his hand firmly in hers before she gives me a strong nod goodbye.
I yawn and watch her walk away, only now realizing how tired I am. It’s a natural tiredness, not one born from the forest air.
“I’m going to take her back to the inn,” Keane tells Lord Daniel, the two of them now standing next to eachother, “you’re good here for the rest of the night?”
“I am,” Daniel nods before turning to me, “it’s been a wonderfully eventful night with you, Lady Alexis. I look forward to the rest of our travels together.”
“Likewise, Lord Daniel,” I smile, watching as he takes another route away from the fountain and heads for a different bridge. I yawn again, battling the sleep that’s trying to take hold of me.
“Let’s get you back,” Keane takes a step forward when I stand up.
He moves his hand to the small of my back and leads me in the direction we came, through the town center and across the massive bridge in the sky.
The Prince stops us in front of the tall oak and places his hand on the trunk, the stairs gliding out of the tree again as they spiral back down to the forest floor.
A creeping feeling of loss takes over me as I watch Keane make his way down the staircase.
I let him go on his own and turn around quickly to look back at the hidden city, wanting to remember this feeling of absolute awe that’s gripped me from the moment I’ve been here.
I sigh in happiness and just watch the people moving about, watch their quiet conversations and laughter as they walk across the planks to enjoy wherever the night takes them.
I watch and watch without any abandon, easily forgetting about the stairs that want to lead me away from such a beautiful expanse.
“We’ll come back, Alexis,” Keane says softly from behind, “I promise you.”
I glance up to the forest roof above us, to the twinkling lanterns of bottled moonslight that truly look like stars. I don’t want to leave, but my feet are heavy as I let him lead me back down the stairs.
The Prince’s steed, Ash, stands waiting for us at the bottom of the forest floor.
He has no saddle over him and waits with his reins tied around a tree and a few blankets thrown over his back to keep him warm.
Keane moves to untie him just as I greet the stunning horse, my hand running over his thick neck while he turns to take in my scent.
“How did he get here?”
“There’s a stable if you keep along the path. Most of us leave our horses there before we head up to the city. He’s been here since midday.”
“And you can navigate him through these woods?” I frown, not understanding how such a large horse like Ash can make it through the thickness of these trees. “He’ll hurt his fetlock.”
“He won’t,” Keane replies, fingers flicking to the thin path beyond.
He turns in my direction and catches my gaze, his calm brown eyes darting from mine to the blankets on top of Ash.
My breath catches.
Surely, he doesn’t mean…
Keane drops the reins and walks in my direction until he’s stopped directly behind me.
His presence sends a small shiver down my spine before he places both hands on my waist and lifts me up, the movement fluid and easy.
I gasp and swing a leg over the blankets, then tense when I feel his hands guide me forward by the rear.
His eyes turn playful as he passes me the reins and then pushes up from the ground, his full body settling perfectly against my back.
The Prince snakes both of his arms around my waist and takes back the reins, his chest pressing into mine in a warm and tight embrace. He flicks his fingers again, this time taking away the light from above, and moves even closer as the whole forest descends into darkness.
I let out a shaky breath and lift my hood, hiding the flush that’s taken over my cheeks.
“I thought I told you not to hide from me,” he says softly.