CHAPTER V #3
And they are. Just as we reach the edge of the lake, an older human couple waves at our group from down the road. Canon is with us, as is another Knowledge soldier who is directing a large horse with the cart of food trailing behind him.
“Your Grace,” the man bows as the woman dips into a deep curtsy.
“Sir Reynold, Lady Laurel,” Keane swings off Ash to greet the couple. “It has been a while.”
“That it has, Your Grace,” the man smiles again as the two of them clasp arms.
“It was a beautiful coronation yesterday, Keane,” the woman looks at him affectionately. “Thank you for inviting us and the many people of Loughty.”
Keane reaches for Laurel’s hand as I hoist myself out of the saddle, watching the three of them interact.
“May I introduce to you Lady Alexis of Bardot?” he turns and places his hand at the small of my back. “Lady Alexis was under the employ of my father before his passing. She also served as a Lady in Wait under my mother before that.”
“A pleasure, Lady Alexis,” Sir Reynold reaches for my hand and brings it to his lips. I smile at his manners, noticing the grey and white that peppers his brown hair and beard.
“You’ve resided in Bardot your whole life, dear?” Laurel asks, blue eyes shining back at mine in question.
“I have,” I give the brunette woman a small nod, “have taken many rides to Loughty in my days, if only for the sheer calm of it.”
“That’s what we like to hear,” Reynold chuckles and then looks back to Keane. “We’ve set up the southern square for you. There are a great many patrons waiting to greet you. Especially those that could not make it yesterday.”
Keane smiles in response and turns to the Knowledge soldier with the food.
“And we’d like to extend an invitation to you two for dinner,” Laurel adds softly. “If you haven’t already made plans. It would be our honor.”
“The honor is ours, Lady Laurel,” Keane bows his head to the woman.
The village of Loughty Lake is a quaint one, with its buildings rising no higher than two stories tall.
All of them are lined delicately along the road and fashioned out of the greenstone of the mountain behind Bardot, while hundreds of candles rest in lanterns against the homes and storefronts, the small town opting out of the use of the magicked bottled moonslight they have no access to.
Human families and children all grin in greeting, smiling and waving to the King as we make our way down the road.
The lake itself is large, though only half the size of Agnor’s, and littered with small fishing boats and docks that line the edges of the water.
When we arrive at the square, we receive the same greeting from the people here as we did outside Castle Bardot.
Everyone is grateful for the extra food, thanking the King and conversing with him easily about yesterday’s event.
Once all of the food is dispersed, we say our goodbyes and follow next to Reynold and Laurel, letting the couple walk us through the village until we stop in front of a cute single-story home with a small courtyard in front.
“You can leave your horses within the gates,” Sir Reynold smiles.
Canon steps forward to grab my reins, then does the same for Ash. Stormfall brings his beak to my neck and nips it gently, so I nod to the Bird of Ash and look over at Canon.
“Storm is going to take off,” I tell Keane’s guard. “No need to keep an eye on him. If he returns before we’re done, he knows to stay with Millie.”
The Discerni soldier looks at me for a brief moment before turning towards Storm, watching as he pushes off my shoulder and into the night sky.
I smile and take Keane’s outstretched hand and let him walk us through the courtyard, the two of us stopping before the door as Lady Laurel shuffles us inside.
Ancients, this home is cozy, damn cozy. There’s a plush emerald carpet laying before a roaring fireplace in the wall, the shelves above littered with books.
“We’ve got whiskey and water,” Lady Laurel smiles, directing us into the kitchen.
“Whiskey, please,” I grin.
“Your Grace?”
“Whiskey as well. Thank you, Laurel.”
“So tell us more about the transition,” Reynold appears from behind a corner, offering us seats at their small kitchen table. “We were pleased to hear about your mother’s new title.”
“An idea brought forth by Lady Alexis,” Keane replies behind me. He waits for me to sit, then pushes my chair in before he takes one next to me. I glance at Keane curiously. This is now the second time he’s credited me with the idea.
“Indeed?” Reynold raises a brow.
“I spent a great many years with the Queen in her service,” I smile. “Her love for this court is unmatched.”
The older man’s gaze dips to the deep green of my satin shirt, tilting his head in question.
“But it is a court in which you do not find yourself a part of any longer?”
“It is not. Though I don’t think Knowledge will ever truly leave me, Sir Reynold…”
I glance around their home with a small chuckle. “Even now, walking into your home, I’ve found my heart deeply appreciating the Knowledge odes here. It brings me ease.”
Laurel’s eyes catch mine as she leans down and places two whiskeys in front of Keane and I.
“But what brought about the change of heart?”
I grin at the older couple, thinking of Gaumond and its smoky rises, thinking of the people there, so alive with a fire that is unmatched anywhere else.
“The people of Warrior, Lady Laurel,” I reach for the glass, “the culture shared and coveted between the Discerni and humans alike.”
Keane reaches for his drink as well, remaining quiet.
“It has been a very long while since we’ve traveled into the court,” Laurel smiles to her husband, “but I can remember it like it was yesterday.”
“As can I, sweet,” Reynold looks at her affectionately. “Some fond memories were shared. Perhaps over too much toddy.”
“Yes,” she chuckles, turning back to me. “But surely your call can’t have only been due to the crowd?”
“It certainly played the biggest hand,” I nod, “though it was a hand I didn’t fully appreciate until I came back to the Court of Knowledge. Only then did I truly realize everything that I had experienced in Warrior.”
Keane reaches his arm along the back of my chair and caresses my shoulder. Both Reynold and Laurel look at me curiously, wanting me to expand.
I smile softly at the older couple.
“Knowledge became a court that was too separated for me. I did not appreciate the people grouped to their beings…”
The two of them shift just slightly in their seats, their eyes still holding mine in open conversation.
Hmm.
How can I explain this better to them? How can I explain that the full of the Court of Warriors does not distinguish between races? Especially to a couple who represents a village that groups itself only with humans...
Delicately, my mind warns.
“My time in Warrior showed me many things, but the biggest of all was the unwavering will of the Discerni and humans there to live together. To thrive together. Without the constant reminder of the magic that only graced half of its population.”
“A beautiful sentiment,” Laurel nods, “though one that is lacking in popularity.”
“Yes,” I sigh. “Unfortunately.”
The Lady eyes me quietly before turning her gaze to Keane.
“While my husband and I may not share the same belief, it does not go unnoticed that your court has yet again been graced with another of our best, Your Grace.”
“I couldn’t agree with you more, Lady Laurel.”
The conversation turns to lighter subjects after that.
The couple inquires about Keane’s transition and gives an overview of the happenings within Loughty over the past few years.
We talk over food and the occasional whiskey, with Reynold giving Keane updates on the steadily growing population of the village.
He beams every time he mentions their economy, the small village now thriving and growing bigger with each turn of the year.
A new school was built not long ago, one that is booming with the influx of all the human children that now grace the small town.
He talks about how they’ve constructed more fishing boats and docks, with the humans navigating a larger lakeshore economy.
The people are happy, they conclude, content in their easy lives and doing well over the past years with little to no qualms.
But after a few more drinks and shared updates on the village, the human couple quietly inquire with Keane into the many relocations of humans into the village, humans that come directly from Woodlands.
They aren’t upset in their questioning, as the arrival of more humans only spearheads their growing village, but merely curious as to what is going on.
“It is mine and my brother’s hope that the influx will begin to dwindle,” Keane nods to Reynold as his hand moves again for the back of my chair. “We will be traveling to Woodlands soon to assess.”
“Those humans are always welcomed here, regardless,” the man nods to Keane.
I shift in my seat.
Those humans from Woodlands?
Just the humans?
“And I am thankful beyond measure,” Keane replies, tipping his whiskey to the couple. “Anything you need, any resources that we can provide to you, just send word to my mother and Lord Alexander.”
“Of course, Your Grace,” Reynold smiles appreciatively, saluting his own whiskey.
“I’m curious, Sir Reynold, Lady Laurel…” I look at the two of them openly. “Have any Discerni in need of shelter found their way to Loughty?”
Keane’s fingers on my shoulder dip to my back, pressing down softly.
Laurel looks at me with a curious glance, as if not quite understanding my question.
“It is my understanding that those Discerni find their way to Bardot or the Palisades, even perhaps to cities within Warrior.”
“True,” I give her a warm smile, though my heart is heavy as I think of Arens. “But I wonder if Loughty has or will ever share the same sentiment, if needed?”
Both Sir Reynold and Lady Laurel sit straight in their seats, their eyes narrowed in curiousness.