Avalyne Series 02: The Easterling (6 page)

****
**

Melia
slept poorly.

Her thoughts were too filled with
Arianne's news to be able to close her eyes and drift into slumber. She thought of all the years she had been searching, the clues that led nowhere, the promises of possibility that ended with disappointment. Now there was tangible proof of who her mother might be, beyond her father’s hazy recollections of the wife he never stopped loving.  Melia had been too young to remember Ninuie and there were times when she feared the goal she set herself was unattainable and maybe this quest she set herself was an empty one.

All that changed with
Arianne's report that Lylea herself had known of the River Daughters. Even if the news was not about her mother specifically, at least Melia knew the River Daughters were real. Melia could not deny that there was a part of her that feared that this was some fanciful tale her father had conjured up to explain why her mother had left them both. However, in her adulthood, she realised that Hezare’s explanations were scant because he had no more than to give her. He had known as much about his wife as Arianne did now.

Melia fully intended to keep the promise she made to Arianne about not leaving Sandrine Keep until first letting the
Queen know her plans. After the aid Arianne gave her, not even Melia's burning desire to fulfil her quest would have her slight the hospitality of the Queen she now considered her friend. Besides Arianne was right about one thing—she knew little of Tor Iolan and needed more information before she set off to the place.

With sleep eluding her, Melia sought out the library in the Keep where the old maps of Avalyne were kept. Once there, she perused the old parchments to find the best way to reach the woods of Iolan. As always, Melia was concerned if her horse Serinda could make the journey with her because if the terrain was too unwieldy for the animal,  she would stable Serind
a in Carleon for the duration.

T
he best route to Tor Iolan was by the way of the Yantra River. Travelling up the great river, she would bypass the Falls of Iolan by travelling on foot and then follow the eastern fork of the Yantra towards Tor Iolan. Unfortunately, the fortress was located deep in the woods and no matter how quickly she approached that forest by river, there was no avoiding the fact that she would have to enter it at some point. Arianne warned of it being a place of ancient evils and Melia knew this to be true by reputation alone. However, Arianne’s assertion that there was nothing at Tor Iolan to find was wrong. Melia knew her answers were waiting for her there.

She could feel it in her bones.

The next morning saw Melia glimpsed herself in the mirror to find a more comforting reflection than that woman in a dress the night before. Here was the person she was most comfortable with. The watch guard that feared little, was capable of handling herself in the company of all and never felt an ounce of self-doubt. She could face whatever terrible outcome her journey to Tor Iolan might yield, far better than that woman in the dress could ever manage. In her heart Melia knew that she hid behind the title. For so long, it protected her against everything, including the loneliness she would admit to no one.

Being the
watch guard was far safer than being Melia.

Melia turned towards the door once she had packed away all her belongings with the intention of finding Arianne and thanking her for her kindness when someone
knocked loudly before she could reach it. For an instant, Melia hoped that it was Arianne at her door so that she could carry out her farewells and depart Sandrine Keep without much fanfare. In truth, a long and involved farewell with the others would simply make her uncomfortable and Melia was eager to begin her journey.

She hastened her pace to cease the constant rapping against the wood that had become quite irritating
by the time she reached the door knob. When she opened the door, she was not entirely surprised by who she found outside it.

‘
Leaving so soon?’ Aeron asked.

‘
Yes I am,’ Melia answered with some puzzlement. Had Arianne told him that she was leaving? Of all the people at her door this morning, it was he she wished to see least. Not after their exchange the night before. ‘A matter of some urgency has arisen, I must leave immediately.’

‘
What could possibly be so important that a watch guard would deny the hospitality of the Queen?’ Aeron inquired innocently.

‘
I do not have time to spar with you elf,’ she retorted and turned on her heels, retreating into the room so that she could retrieve her belongings and continue on her way.

‘
It would seem so,’ Aeron remarked as he saw that she was packed and ready to depart when he followed her inside the room, much to Melia's chagrin.

Melia paused, uncomfortable by his presence and somewhat bewildered as to what he wanted of her. Turning around after retrieving her saddlebags, she faced him once more.
‘Are you here to say goodbye?’ Her instincts told her otherwise.

‘
Why do you not call me Aeron ?’ he asked suddenly, surprising her with the question.

‘
Because I would rather call you vexing!’ She cried out in exasperation. ‘What is it you want?’

He straightened up and looked her straight in the eye as if what he
needed to say required bracing himself for her reaction. His expression became serious and Melia guessed immediately, that she was not going to like his words.

‘
I know you're going to Tor Iolan,’ he stated.

Melia let out a sigh of frustration, realizing why
Arianne had made her wait and bristled with annoyance at the Queen's subterfuge. What was Arianne playing at? Did Arianne think this elf was going to convince her not to go when Arianne herself was unable?

‘
Yes I am,’ she answered because he was waiting for her response and Melia suspected he would not move from the spot unless she provided one. ‘Not that it is any of
your
concern.’

‘
If you are going to Tor Iolan then it becomes very much a matter of my concern,’ Aeron declared firmly, refusing to yield anything to her on this point. ‘That is a dark, dismal place with evil that comes from the Primordial Wars. It is a blight upon the land that should be avoided. You court great peril by going there alone.’

‘
That is my choice,’ Melia replied with just as much determination. ‘Not yours.’

‘
I am the Prince of Eden Halas, the woods of Iolan is recognised as part of my father’s kingdom,’ Aeron stared at her with seldom used imperiousness. ‘You will not step one foot into those woods without encountering my father's men and he does not appreciate trespassers.’

‘
I will take my chances,’ she whispered, refusing to show that his words had unsettled her when Melia attempted to brush past.

However
Aeron was not about to let her escape so easily. What in the Creator’s name was so important that she was so stubbornly refusing to yield to good advice on this matter? He did not know her to be adamant in refusing good advice. What was so important that she had to risk life and limb to reach Tor Iolan? He could see his warning had sunk in and yet she was still determined to go. Why? As she attempted to slip past him, Aeron grabbed her arm and stayed her beside him in order to find out.

‘
I will go with you,’ he replied gently, hoping that would appease her slightly.

Her eyes flashed and she pulled away from him fiercely.
‘Absolutely not!’

‘
Melia,’ Aeron stiffened, coming to the conclusion that there would be no compromise with her on this point. ‘You need me.’

‘
I need nothing from you!’ She burst out angrily ‘This is not your concern. Arianne had no right to bring you into this!’

Travelling with him, alone. It was folly. Did he not see it? She liked him. She liked a great deal but anything between would only be a mistake. Even worse, he was distracting and now more than ever, she needed to be focussed.

‘She brought me into this because she cares about you,’ Aeron retaliated, rising to Arianne's defence. ‘The Queen fears for your life although quite honestly, I cannot imagine why since you are so determine to squander it by not listening to sense!’

He had no wish to be so harsh with her but she needed to understand what awaited her once she entered
the woods of Iolan. Aeron had no difficulty in being cruel to be kind because Arianne was right, he cared too much about her to spare her feelings by not speaking the truth. Melia stared back at him. Her face revealed the battle she was having with indecision. He guessed that she might be seeing the sense of his words but the person she was made it difficult to admit that she might need his assistance.

‘
Melia you are no fool and I will not treat you as one,’ he spoke with firm tenderness. ‘Despite how I jest that you are unable to fend for yourself, you know that I do not believe that for an instant. However, you must trust me in this, the woods of Iolan are dangerous. I have lived there all my life and I still know caution when I must walk those paths. You need a guide or you will never reach Tor Iolan alive.’

Melia closed her eyes, wanting to refute everything he said but she could not. However, her reasons for objecting so strenuously to him had little to do with her quest and had everything to do with
him
. For reasons she dared not accept, this elf had touched her heart in more ways than she cared to admit. It was dangerous and she knew it. Even if he was too stubborn to see the tragedy of it, she was not.

Yet despite her protestations, she also knew he was right
The woods of Iolan were dangerous. Even with Halion establishing a presence in its confines, the elves still regarded the place with caution and if Aeron was warning her so stridently about going there, she could not ignore it.

As much as she loathed admitting it, she
needed him.

‘
Alright!’ She hissed angrily. ‘We will travel together but you will not get in my way! I mean to go to Tor Iolan one way or another! I would prefer it without you but since that is obviously not meant to be, I will accept that I must have your assistance!’

‘
You are welcome,’ Aeron retorted sarcastically. ‘You make it such a pleasure to be your guide.’

‘
You are impossible!’ She groaned in exasperation before storming out of the room. 

“I assure you,” he
countered, following her out, “I am not the only one.”

Since becoming the High King of Carleon, the most difficult thing Dare had to face was the realisation that as time passed, he would be saying goodbye to more and more of his friends.

The most recent of these farewells was not a farewell at all but the loss of Tully
Furnsby in the Frozen Mountains and to a lesser extent, his wife Keira. Although Keira was lost long before the Frozen Mountains, only they did not know it. Dare still carried the guilt of their tragic ends, having reason to more than one occasion, wished he never found that small house in the Green. The disaster that he brought upon them both weighed heavily on him.

He would eventually face departure of Kyou, once the fortifications were to Sandrine were complete and while Celene spent three months of the year at the Keep with Ronen, there would be a time when children would keep her home in Gislaine. Tamsyn was already gone, wandering the
Western Sphere in search of acolytes to rebuild his Order and today, he was saying goodbye to Aeron, who parting was the hardest of all to bear.

While he took comfort in what he and the elf had discussed earlier that morning, he knew that even when Aeron returned to Sandrine, it would not the same as before. The days when the Aeron was a constant at his side was ending and though Dare was glad he had found his purpose, the
King was also sad at what this meant for their future.

‘
This departure is far sooner then I would have liked,’ Dare said to Aeron as he stood on the dock with the party that was seeing the Prince and Melia off on their journey down the Yantra.

‘
The sooner I begin, the sooner I will be able to return,’ Aeron reminded but it was little consolation and they both knew it. He could feel the sand shifting beneath them and knew their lives were finally at a fork.

‘
Not in the same way,’ Dare said quietly, emotion welling up inside of him. Aeron was his oldest and dearest friend. Aeron had been present for the most tumultuous period in his life and now that Aeron was embarking a new adventure to find his own destiny, Dare was saddened by an important chapter in both their lives was closing.

‘
No,’ Aeron agreed with the same sadness. ‘Not in the same way.’

The two men embraced warmly as brothers might do
but knew that their friendship was closer than blood. When they parted, both tried to dismiss the emotions churning behind their eyes and Aeron was grateful to turn away from the King to make his farewell to the others present. He could not endure the heartache of any more tearful goodbyes.

Fortunately,
Aeron knew what to expect when confronted with the abrasive Kyou of Iridia. Kyou stood beside Dare and did not show his upset at seeing Aeron leave. They had said their goodbyes on numerous occasions before this and were accustomed to it by now. Both had responsibilities to their own people and knew that sometimes they had to go their separate ways to tend to other matters.

‘
I wish that you could come with me on this journey, Kyou,’ Aeron replied as he looked upon his friends. They had travelled together constantly during the years following the Shadow War and it would be odd to look over his shoulder and not see the dwarf there. Still he had no doubt that they would always find time to go off on some foolish crusade together. Nevertheless, he would miss Kyou on this trip since the dwarf was an effective intermediary between himself and Melia

‘
Surely you jest,’ Kyou retorted, raising a brow as he gazed past the elf at Melia who was speaking with Arianne. ‘Even I am not so foolish to be caught between the two of you.’ He teased knowing perfectly what Aeron was thinking, ‘Astaroth was less bloody then this is likely to be.’

‘
You are a
true
friend,’ Aeron muttered, giving him a look.             

Kyou
laughed and then patted the elf on the arm and said in a more serious voice, ‘be careful, Aeron. You are still my favourite elf.’

‘
Why, thank you, Master Kyou,’ Arianne remarked sarcastically as she and Melia joined them. ‘I will not take offence at that.’

As
Kyou stammered to respond, Arianne turned to Aeron. She embraced him warmly, grateful that he was accompanying Melia on her quest but guilty for hastening his departure from Sandrine. It was obvious Dare needed more time than this to prepare for Aeron leaving them but she supposed no amount of time would make this farewell less difficult.

‘
Safe journey, Aeron,’ she smiled at him.

‘
Take care of yourself and your babe, Arianne,’ he replied with just as much sentiment as he leaned forward to deliver a gentle kiss against her forehead. ‘I hope to see you both when I return.’

Melia’s guilt
at watching the sad farewells taking place before her made her regret allowing Aeron to accompany her to Tor Iolan. The sorrow etched on his handsome face as he prepared to leave his friends for some time was obvious and she wished that he was not so insistent on accompanying her on this journey.

‘
Be safe Melia,’ Dare's voice brought Melia's thoughts away from the Prince. ‘Tor Iolan is a dangerous place even with Aeron for company.’

Although he did not know her well
as well as Arianne or Celene, Dare did not forget the how she had rose to the occasional and helped his Queen during their confrontation with Syphia. For that, she would always have his friendship.

‘
Thank you’ she replied, touched by the sincerity of his wishes for her well-being. ‘I will rely on the Prince to see me out of trouble.’

‘
He is good for that,' Dare grinned sensing more than a little mischief in her tone.

‘
Try not to kill him,’ Kyou added as he joined them, wearing an equally mischievous smile after she hugged him goodbye, ‘Though sometimes that princely arrogance warrants it.’

‘
I am perfectly aware of that,’ Melia winked, more than accustomed to Aeron as a travelling companion after their last journey together. ‘However I will try to heed your advice.’

Kyou
laughed and allowed Melia a moment alone with Arianne as the hour of their parting was finally upon them. The watch guard and the Queen exchanged a long stare until Melia broke the silence between them.

‘
I know you did what you thought was best so do not feel that I am angry with you. You thought of my safety and no one has done that for a very long time. Thank you.’

‘
I hope you find what you seek, Melia,’ Arianne's eyes softened with emotion and took Melia's hand in hers with affection. ‘But if you do not find it, I hope you will try to find happiness at least.’

‘
I will try to do both,’ Melia replied, hugging the Queen once more. ‘You are good friend, Queen of Carleon,’ she whispered. ‘Please take care of Serinda and give your son a kiss for me.’

‘
I will be happy to do both,’ Arianne answered and watched as Melia and Aeron turned to leave Sandrine at last.

******

Neither had a great deal to say to each other once the boat left the dock and took them down the Yantra River.

Melia seemed deep in thought
but made no attempt to reveal why they were journeying to Tor Iolan although Aeron was burning with curiosity at why she was so determined to visit the terrible place. This made Aeron realised that despite his attraction to her, he knew next to nothing about Melia other than she was a watch guard and formerly of Nadira. While he respected her need for privacy, he also wanted to help her and the urgency he saw in her eyes he was nothing to dismiss lightly.

Unfortunately,
since they were new to each other as travelling companions, trust was still a forming thing between them.

‘
Am I to assume that you intend to remain silent throughout our entire journey to Tor Iolan?’ Aeron asked an hour after leaving Sandrine behind them.

Melia
relaxed visibly, aware that she was probably being a little unreasonable, not to mention childish in her behaviour. She was using her silence like a tantrum thrown by a wilful child and was somewhat embarrassed at being called out on it. She remembered that he was only here because he was worried about her safety and because Arianne had asked it of him. He could have very easily left her to stumble about in Tor Iolan, possibly to fatal consequences.

Letting out a heavy sigh that dispelled
not only her petulance but also her lingering resistance to his presence, she decided if this was how things had to be then she ought to try and make the best of it. ‘Of course not,’ she answered, staring at his back while he rowed down the river.

Glad to hear her speak, he had expected to her silence to last a few more hours but was pleasantly surprise to hear that she had relented before that. Besides, a
thousand years of living had taught him that women could not be deprived of speech for too long.

‘
Will wonders never cease,’ he teased when he paused his rowing to glance back at her.

‘
Do not make me regret speaking to you elf,’ Melia warned, her eyes narrowing in mock anger.

‘
I doubt you would have been able to resist my charming conversation for very long,’ he smirked, glad that things were back to normal between them. Well, as normal as it could be, Aeron supposed.

Melia rolled her eyes but she too was pleased that they were on more familiar ground.
‘If I can resist the Berserkers, I can resist you.’ She said sweetly.

‘
You never did tell how us how you and Celene escaped from their hands in Sanhael,’ Aeron reminded, recalling how closed mouth she and Celene had been about that part of their liberation.

‘
It is not important,’ Melia grumbled, not about to tell him that her great plan for escaping the Berserkers Captain was a false seduction designed to put the beast off his guard. She considered herself exceedingly fortunate that gamble had worked as well as it did because at the time she was terrified of the consequences if she failed. Nadiran women were educated about how Berserkers treated the female prisoners captured and she had no desire to see for herself.

‘
Oh come now,’ he balked at her attempt to deter him. ‘It is a long journey to Tor Iolan, I must be entertained.’

‘
If you want entertainment, you should have stayed in Sandrine,’ Melia retorted tautly. ‘I am not your court jester.’

Aeron
was not about to let the matter rest since her reluctance to tell him convinced the Prince that the tale must indeed be an interesting one. ‘It will pass the time,’ he insisted. ‘Besides, how awful could it be?’

‘
You have no idea,’ Melia muttered under her breath.

‘
I promise you,’ he replied, looking over his shoulder again so that she would see that he was completely sincere with what he was about to say. ‘No I give you my word, as a Prince of Eden Halas that if you tell me I will not breathe a word of it to anyone.’

Melia let out a groan, wishing that she could throttle him about the ears except if she did so, it would most likely capsize the boat and that was probably not the best thing to
have happen in the middle of the Yantra River. Still, the word of a Prince was not something to be refused when offered so earnestly.

As much as they enjoyed trading insults, she knew it would be a real offence if she
did not believe him. Even if he was not offended, which she very much doubted, Melia could foresee being asked this same question continuously throughout their entire journey. Since killing him was out of the question, because it was
wrong
, she reminded herself, Melia supposed how bad could it be to tell him?

‘
Why is it?’ Melia asked no one in particular, exasperation oozing from every word, ‘that of all the elves in Avalyne that I could possibly find as a travelling companion, I have to be with the one who is the most infuriating?’

‘
Luck?’ Aeron quipped, with a grin on his face she could not see because he had faced front again continued rowing.

‘
Oh alright!’ She exclaimed, conceding defeat. ‘I will tell you only to have you stop asking me.’

‘
Finally,’ he exclaimed with more than a hint of triumph in his voice. ‘You have my undivided attention. How did you manage to free yourself from a room full of the Berserkers? I have faced them in battle, that you escaped unscathed while in their power, unarmed, astonishes me.’

‘
Well it is not that difficult to escape when one is a woman,’ she said cleaning her throat, ‘All I had to do was pretend to seduce him and he was so eager to be alone with me that he acceded to my request to send his men away. Once alone, I caught him in a vulnerable position and freed myself.’

She noticed he had stopped rowing and had turned around so that he could meet her gaze.
‘Pray tell what do you call a
vulnerable
position?’

At first it did not register upon her what he was
asking her until she saw the dark frown upon his face.