Avalyne Series 01: The Queen of Carleon (7 page)

Except
that she wouldn’t. She had joined this quest for a reason.

Like Ce
lene, Keira had no chance to say goodbye to Tully or even give him some semblance of a veiled farewell the night before. He was properly drunk by the time she’d dragged him from under a table in the Great Hall,  having drunk himself into a stupor with Ronen, Kyou and Aeron. Fortunately, the magii Tamsyn who was also retiring for the evening, came to her aid in helping her take almost unconscious husband back to their chambers.

Tully had fallen face first into the clean sheet of the enormous mattress, his legs dangling over the side, muffled snores escaping him
and completely oblivious to the two people staring at him.

‘
If his head feels like the inside of a drum tomorrow, he’ll have no sympathy from me,’ Keira snorted as she turned to Tamsyn, ready to thank him for his help.

‘
Will you be
here
for that?’ He asked, his dark eyes boring into her.

Keira’s voice caught in her throat and she glanced anxiously over her shoulder
at Tully even though he was in no state to have overhead  anything. Facing the magii once more, she tried to recover her composure and respond but it was he who spoke again.

‘
Are you sure this is what you want to do?’ Tamsyn asked staring at her hard, like he could see something inside her no one else could.

Tamsyn had
caught her off guard and Keira was still uncertain how to respond. She did not wish to betray Arianne’s plan to the magii and then again, she realised that it was because he
was
a magii that he knew what they were intending. After all, it was for nothing that he was the greatest wizard in the land. 

Collecting herself, Keira finally
replied.  ‘Yes I need to do this. I'm not getting better and if I leave it any longer, I never will be.’

‘
I suppose there is no changing your mind from this course,’ he still gave her that hard stare. ‘I can sense the shadow inside you, it is thick and blind me somewhat. However, you prevailed against the Disciples I am told and that is not easily done. Perhaps there is darkness in your soul but you most certainly are not weak as people believe.’

Keira did not speak to that, she was considering his words, trying to determine what he could really see and what he was just assuming.

Whatever his intention, his words stayed with her for many hours that night.

*****

When they left Sandrine, the city was bathed in the amber glow of dawn after the sun beginning its ascendance in the morning sky. On their way out, they noted the silence as they rode along the cobblestoned streets. Most of Sandrine’s inhabitants were still lost in the slumber following the previous days’ celebration. Every street and square seemed to bear the signs of the revelry by the remains of food, crushed streamers and flags that mingled with the littler on the ground. To say nothing of the unconscious people passed out on benches, beneath porticos or inside doorways.

It surprised Arianne just how much she had come to love this city in the last year. The city and its people, even in their presently undignified condition,
were now as dear to her as her former home of Eden Taryn. Dare did not lie when he described the beauty of the place to her so many years ago. Even before his return to the city as king, he and his friend Braedan, also of Sandrine, were frequent visitors to the city of his birth, moving through it anonymously and getting to know its people on a more intimate level.

In truth, she had been dubious about his description
because the elves considered the architecture of men to be a crude and clumsy affair, lacking the elegance and grace of their own cities. Still, Sandrine was not constructed from mud and brick. It was paved with marble, adorned with sculptures and frescos of ancient kings, green with manicured gardens and filled with paved courtyards that allowed its people  to enjoy the sun shining past the tall spires and domed ceilings. Its beauty had survived despite the ugliness of Balfure’s occupation as if maintaining it was a connection to the kingdom of the past.

As Sandrine was left behind her,
Arianne hoped the quest would ensure that Sandrine, like the rest of Carleon, did not know the shadow of another oppressor.

Even one who might be her son.

*****

Celene
nudged her grey steed alongside of Keira's smaller chestnut pony after they’d passed through the gates. Once next to the woman of the Green, Celene leaned over to her saddle bags and gripped the handle of a sword she had tucked away and presented it to Keira.

This is for you,
’ Celene announced as she waited for Keira to take it.

‘
For me?’ Keira stared at the woman in dumbfounded as she took the weapon, a short sword sheathed in a leather scabbard mounted with brass at the point and mouth. The blade was surprisingly light and possessed a hilt of solid brass, with a ribbed grip that sat comfortably in her hand with the intricate design of a small bird on each finial of its cross guard.

‘
Yes,’ Celene said proudly, oblivious to the discomfort that Arianne could see on Keira’s face a mile away. ‘Its my first blade actually. It was gift from my father for my fifteenth summer. It’s not terribly heavy but it is still sharp. I thought it would be a good weapon for you since you're joining us on this quest.’

‘
But I have no idea how to use such a thing!’ Keira protested even though she was pleased to be armed if they were going to be facing dangers along the way, ‘I’ll probably cut myself!’

‘
No you won’t,’ Celene grumbled impatiently trying not to feel peevish that her gift was rejected so. ‘I’ll show you how to use it because if we fall into peril I will not have you completely defenceless.’

Arianne could appreciate
Keira’s hesitation even if Celene could not. Celene had come from a people who could not conceive of any existence where they did not have a sword in their hand while Keira had come from one that could not conceive of any reason why they would need one in the first place.

‘
You will be fine,’ Arianne assured her, ‘and it is just for the sake of safety. If we have to fight, Celene and I are capable but we will not leave you unarmed either.’

Keira
nodded, accepting the reasoning behind it. ‘If Tully could see me now,’ she sighed.

‘
If our husbands could see
any
of us,’ Arianne remarked with a smile, ‘they would lock us away and never let us out.’

‘
That will be the day,’ Celene snorted derisively. ‘I would like to see Dare try.’

‘
It would be amusing to see,’ Keira laughed and then added, ‘Alright then, teach me how to use this but I don’t think I’ll be any good at it.’

‘Don’t you worry,’ Celene said confidently, happier that Keira had agreed to take some instruction. She refused to believe that any woman was incapable of wielding a sword, even if the rest of the world beyond Angarad had a rather narrow view of what one could do. ‘I’ll teach you as I was taught by my father with a houseful of brothers.’

Keira gave Celene
a look of scepticism but as she held up the sword she admired its craftsmanship and the idea of being able  to fight  back was reassuring. It was time to show them her worth. Starting with this.

Arianne who had experience
with an older brother and sparring did not know if that would be of any comfort to Keira but said nothing. The woman of the Green was driven by more than just the need to help her and the Queen did not fault her for that. They all had their reasons for joining this quest. Hers were to protect her son while Celene’s was to defend her queen. Who was to say that Keira’s reasons were any less important?

Amidst the
rolling hills of pastoral land, they could see the fork in the mighty Yantra River that ran throughout the length of Carleon. It began its life in highest peak of the Jagged Teeth and was the main waterway for the northern and central provinces of the kingdom including Aeron’s home of Eden Halas and of course Angarad. At the fork, the great river split into two smaller tributaries of the Orean that drained into the Lenkworth Sea and the Riselle that emptied into the Starfall Bay.

‘
So where are we going?’ Keira asked as they travelled northwards along the river.

Arianne had hoped not
answer this question too so soon but she could not avoid Keira’s direct question. During the previous evening, Lylea had told her many things, of where they had to go, what they would encounter and what she needed to find before she arrived there. The elven queen's prescience determined from where  the danger would come and while Arianne did not posses her mother’s talents, she had a Celestial’s blood in her lineage and that power could be drawn upon if she believe in it.

Arianne had never found the courage to try.

Lylea did reveal for the sake of her companions, details of the quest should be meted out sparingly. The Enemy would not hesitate to torture them for information if he required it and after what had happened to Keira at the hands of the Disciples, Arianne was risking none of her friends to that kind of danger again. However the notoriety of where they had to go would not be lost on Celene even if Keira did not recognise it. 

‘
Sanhael.’

‘
Sanhael?’ Celene twisted sharply in her saddle to stare at Arianne in astonishment. ‘
That
is where we must go?’

‘
What’s wrong with that?’ Keira’s gaze shifted between the two women as she saw Celene’s shock and Arianne’s reluctance. She had no idea what the place was but judging  from the worried expression on the faces of her friends, she guessed it was not a good place to be. ‘What is Sanhael?’

‘
Sanhael is the ancient stronghold of Mael,’ Arianne explained, feeling a chill run through just describing the place. ‘It was thought to have been destroyed when the Gods finally banished him into the Aether. ‘

‘
Except they destroyed it by driving it into the earth,’ Celene pointed out. ‘The Gods wanted it wiped off the face of the world, to be removed from Avalyne for all time.’

‘
Then how…?’ Keira started to ask.

‘
My mother told me that is where the Enemy now resides. We must cross the Frozen Mountains and descend into Mael’s Pit. The way into Sanhael lies through the foot of Mael’s Pit.’

‘
The Frozen Mountains,’ Keira’s mused, taking in their destination. She knew of the mountains of ice that sat on the edge of the known world, facing the Brittle Sea. ‘The Enemy is there?’

‘
It is as a good a place as any for an ancient evil to hide unnoticed,’ Celene stated. ‘There are stories of wyvern, shape shifters and other foul things residing there.’

Celene
wondered what else did Arianne know about the Enemy. What had Queen Lylea told her the night before? Her experience with elves taught Celene that they could be annoying cryptic at times and as much as she loved Arianne, the Queen of Carleon was apparently no different. Celene  suspected she was holding back the whole truth to both spare and protect them. She had little doubt that Lylea had provided Arianne with a good deal more intelligence than she and Keira had been privy to and Arianne would dispense it as needed.

With a sigh she decided that there was nothing to be done now except to continue on as they had planned.

‘If that is our course is the Frozen Mountains then so be it,’ Celene declared and turned to Keira aware that the lady of the Green must surely be fearful now that they knew their destination. ‘We knew this would not be an easy journey to make but we are both resolved to stay at Arianne’s side are we not?’

‘
We are,’ Keira said as she gave Celene a nod of confidence before turning to Arianne, ‘we are with your Arianne, wherever you must go.’

‘
Thank you,’ Arianne extended her reach towards Keira who took her fingers and gave it a gentle squeeze.

With the agreement to go on decided, Celene spoke up,
‘if our destination is the Frozen Mountains then I suggest we take the river route. We will find a boat at the docks at Naiad and continue down the river until we reach the Winter Keep for fresh supplies.’

Grateful that Celene was moving onto more
practical matters, Arianne agreed with the route that the warrior of Angarad had mapped. ‘We could also disembark at Eden Halas and gain fresh horses for the ride into Angarad.’

Even if relations between Dare and Halion were chilled,
Arianne knew that every hospitality would be afforded them by his wife, Queen Syanne who was also Dare’s adopted mother. Even thought the lady had not attended the celebration at Sandrine, Arianne suspected it was due to Halion’s dislike of his queen leaving the safety of Eden Halas to travel so far away from home to a city of men.

Despite the importance of the quest before them,
Celene could help feeling some pleasure knowing Angarad was on the way to the Frozen Mountains.  It would be good to see her father and brothers again. She had not seen them since she had led their army away from Wyndfyre to join the Alliance in the march towards Abraxes and their final showdown with Balfure.