Chapter 84
Arden gestured for us to step into a private room.
"Go ahead and step inside, Marini," he said with a small hum in his voice.
"We will start the bonding work between the two of you as soon as you are through.
Hopefully, it will not break a second time because I do not know if this will work a second time. "
"I hope that this will work a second time," I said and walked into the room with Shilan right behind me, his nose touching my leg. "I do not know what the future will hold, and I am worried that something dangerous will happen if it doesn't work when we need it to."
Arden sighed and slowly nodded. "I know," he said while he closed the door behind us.
He walked over to a chest that was near a back wall, and I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in question while I paused, not knowing why there was a chest in one of the private spaces here and why I hadn't been told about it.
Shilan seemed to be wondering the same thing and asked Arden about it, even though I wasn't able to hear anything he had to say. He cocked his head to the side while he studied him, earning a small chuckle from the Elven King.
"Yes," Arden said and nodded, answering Shilan's question.
He knelt down in front of the chest and opened it.
"There are weapons in here, too, and you both are able to look in here if you want.
I do not know why you are standing behind me and not coming to my side.
" He looked at me with a small smile on his face.
"You need to see some of this stuff as well, Marini. "
"Then why haven't I already seen it before now?" I asked and started to walk over to him, my curiosity growing stronger, and my dragon followed me over to him. "I don't know why you are wanting to hide stuff from me, Arden, when you should know that you don't have to."
Arden paused and sighed, and his whole body seemed to sink lower in on himself. "I know," he said solemnly before he cleared his throat and looked at me with a pained expression on his face. "However, it is not by choice, and I hope that you know that."
I bit back a tired sigh and slowly nodded, knowing full well that it wasn't by choice. "I know," I said, my voice barely above a whisper and filled with tiredness and defeat. "I know that it isn't by choice that this was hidden from me, but it still hurts."
"I know," Arden said and nodded, biting back a tired sigh.
"I know that it still hurts, and I hate that it hurts you so much, but unfortunately, there are some things that we need to do to make sure that you stay safe.
" He looked at me with pain and sadness filling his eyes, and he offered me a tight smile that I didn't offer.
"You won't have stuff kept hidden from you for long, however," he said, and I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in question when he said that, but he didn't say a word about it.
I didn't say a word, and my dragon looked at me before he looked at Arden, who was still looking at us and not at the stuff in the chest, which I hadn't seen quite yet because I only wanted to hear what Arden had to say.
Shilan asked Arden something that I couldn't hear, and Arden looked at him before he looked at me with a thoughtful look on his face that I wasn't sure I liked or not. He rolled his eyes when Arden didn't say anything and said something else, getting peeved.
"There are clothes in here for you, Marini," Arden said without being phased that Shilan had growled at him when he didn't answer whatever it was that my dragon had asked him. "Would you like to wear them, or do you want to wear stuff you may have in your basket?"
"What is in the chest, and is there something that will give Shilan better access to my back?" I asked, not answering Arden's question. "I think that it would be for the best that we did that first before we talked about what I have in my basket, especially since I left it in the other room."
Arden nodded and looked pleased with my answer. He turned around before he pulled out a tunic and some pants before he held them out for me to take. "Go ahead and put these on," he said. "There is a belt and boots in here, but we will take those out later after we are done with this."
Shilan looked at the stuff in my hands and then at Arden. He asked something and cocked his head to the side, and I had this feeling that he wanted to know if as soon as I had put on the clothes, would it be time for us to work on getting the bond fixed between us.
Arden nodded in confirmation. "Yes," he said, and I bit back a small sigh of relief while my whole body slowly relaxed, grateful that we would be able to fix the bond between us.
"We will fix the bond between the two of you as soon as Marini changes into these clothes.
After that, you can look through the box and see if there is anything that you want to take now or leave in the box until you need it.
" He looked at me when he said that. "The box will be moved in an accessible area for you to go through when the time arises.
Oh, thank the Great...
"After we are done with that, what is next?" I asked and raised an eyebrow in question while I studied him, pressing my lips into a thin line and hiding the relief that I felt because I was glad that the box wouldn't be hidden from me. "Are we going to train?"
"Yes," he said and nodded in confirmation. "You will be able to train and answer any questions that Prince Caspian might have for you. I am sure that he would be grateful for that." He gave me a pointed look and raised both eyebrows in unison.
I bit back a tired sigh and slowly nodded, and my heart ached and became filled with sadness . "I know," I said, my voice barely above a whisper before I licked my lips and shifted on my feet. "Now, where am I supposed to change?" I asked.
Arden gestured toward a spot where he would like me to change, and I looked at it before I looked at him with a blank look on my face because it looked like there was nothing there.
A small smile appeared on his face, and amusement flashed through his eyes.
"There is something there, Marini," he promised and bowed his head while he chuckled.
"Go ahead and check it out." He paused and shifted on his knees, growing serious.
"If that isn't going to work out, then we can come up with something different, but for right now, I am sure that is going to work for you. "
I took a deep breath and released it with a small whoosh before I slowly nodded, deciding that I was going to trust Arden on this. "Are you going to come with me?" I asked my dragon, my voice barely above a whisper while I silently begged him to come with me.
Shilan grunted and rubbed up against my legs, silently indicating that he was going to come, no matter what, earning a small chuckle from Arden, who was able to hear what my dragon had to say.
I sighed and nodded. "Ok," I said, my voice barely above a whisper before I started to walk that way, and Shilan quickly followed me, without much prodding. "Then let's go check it out and hope for the best."
And pray to the Great that nothing bad would happen to me while I did so, not knowing what the future could hold...
Oh for the love of the Great, please, keep us safe until the end of time...
Please...