Origin (53 page)

“Ah, I almost forgot, Ayron said smiling broadly. “I also bought you a new cloak. It is forest green and I am having them embroider our family crest upon it. The tailor will send it over to your room later this afternoon.”

“Thank you uncle, I can hardly wait to see it,” Elwyn said trying hard to appear casual yet grateful.

“Another thing Elwyn, I am having bath water sent up for you later this evening. When we leave tomorrow, there is no reason to hide your hair or your eye color. By tomorrow the need for secrecy will have passed and you should happily embrace that which embodies both aspects of your duel heritage.”

That said, Ayron retired to his own room, leaving Elwyn to enjoy looking at her new wardrobe and allowing her to spend some private time doing as she wished. He could tell by her reactions that she liked her new clothes. He hoped that she would soon get to the place where she felt that she deserved them. Ayron still felt a bit tired, so he ordered a lunch be sent to each of them and as soon as his was eaten, he dropped off into a deep sleep.

Ayron came awake to the sound of Keroc squawking and hopping from leg to leg on his table. As he shook the fog from his head, he felt a presence in his mind and realized that Kierra must have been trying to reach him. She seemed extremely tense as she let him know that she needed his help. Ayron asked her if they should include Elwyn, but Kierra suggested that they wait until later. Realizing that something was wrong, Ayron cleared his mind and focused on what Kierra was trying to convey.

Apparently, Azavon refused to believe Lady Silvenna when she tried to tell him what had happened over the past few weeks. He definitely didn’t believe that he had a daughter and told her that nothing she could say would convince him otherwise. Lady Silvenna was extremely distressed because she wanted to make sure that Azavon didn’t mention her discussion with him to anyone else. She said that he left her after about ten minutes and went to visit Rhianna’s gravesite. He wasn’t even willing to stay and hear about the danger his daughter was in. Kierra was as upset as Lady Silvenna and had absolutely no idea what to do.

Ayron thought for a few moments and came up with an idea. He asked Kierra to contact Torjon and see if he would be willing present an image to Azavon that he received from Keroc. While he waited for her to contact him with the answer, Ayron went across the hall to Elwyn’s room. She had bathed and her beautiful reddish gold hair cascaded down her back in loose ringlets. He asked her to put on one of her new outfits. When she asked why, he said that Keroc wanted to send an image of her to Torjon so that Azavon could see an image of his daughter. Elwyn agreed, but asked if Torjon would send Keroc an image of her father in return. Keroc bobbed his head in agreement.

After about an hour, Kierra contacted them both to let them know that Torjon had reluctantly agreed to cooperate with them. Torjon has been Azavon’s companion through all of the seasons of sorrow and grief, and had also been kept in the dark by Kierra until Lady Silvenna tried to tell Azavon of Elwyn’s existence. Needless to say, he was shaken up as well. Ayron and Elwyn stood side by side while Keroc took in their images. After a few moments, Elwyn felt a burst of light in her mind which slowly settled into the image of a man standing in a wooded glen next to a gravesite. Elwyn gasped when she took in the image of the man who had fathered her. He resembled Ayron in coloring, but was handsome to the point of almost being beautiful. Keroc quickly warned her never to say that to any man.

During the next few hours, Ayron and Elwyn waited impatiently for Kierra to contact them again. They eventually ordered and ate dinner. They chatted about their travel plans over the next few days. After some time passed, Kierra touched both their minds, gently greeting them and asking permission to show them an image. Ayron and Elwyn both responded immediately with a yes, curious to know what Kierra had seen. They both saw an image of Azavon bowing before Lady Silvenna. Kierra then let them know that, after seeing the image of Elwyn from Torjon, Azavon rushed back to Lady Silvenna begging her forgiveness and wanting to know more.

Kierra informed them that when Azavon saw Elwyn, he said that it was like looking at his wife with elven features. This shocked Elwyn who never realized she resembled her mother so much. Rhys never mentioned it and neither had Ayron. Whenever Elwyn looked in a mirror, the only things that stood out to her were the features that made her so different from the rest of the villagers in Tarlon. It was obvious that since elven features were normal to Azavon, her human features were the ones that stood out.

Kierra let them know that Azavon agreed with the need for secrecy; especially since it would help to ensure Elwyn’s safety. She did add that Azavon was in shock over a great many things; the fact that his wife hadn’t committed suicide, the fact that she had their baby and named her after his father as they’d planned, the fact that he was surrounded by people who may have betrayed him, and the fact that he had a daughter and heir. These were just of few of the things that began to occur to him as Lady Silvenna spoke. Azavon was heartsick that Elwyn had to endure so much violence and hardship while trying to make her way to Findara. He was adamant, insisting that they do everything possible and more to keep her safe from harm. He was also so incredibly grateful to Ayron for enduring such hardship in trying to unite him with his daughter.

Kierra also said that it was everything that Lady Silvenna could do to keep him from traveling to Sylreth immediately to see his daughter. She added that he finally agreed, but only because their meeting in the meadow might expose one or more of the traitors that was responsible for the death of his wife, and the assassination attempts on his daughter, Rhys and his brother. Kierra added that Azavon was looking like a new man; one with hope and enthusiasm about the future. She told them she felt as if Azavon looked and acted more like a whole man, who was anticipating the future and not a man broken down by grief with nothing to live for. Kierra asked them about their plans so that she could inform Lady Silvenna who would then let Azavon know when to expect them. Ayron let her know that he and Elwyn needed to talk and would let her know as soon as they decided. With a gentle farewell, Kierra retreated from their minds.

Ayron suggested to Elwyn that they each sleep on the matter and then get together over breakfast to make their decision about when to leave Sylreth and travel to Findara. Elwyn agreed and they made plans to meet early the next morning in the dining room for breakfast. Ayron also told her not to try to hide who she was any longer. Now that Azavon knew of her existence, he saw little reason to hide her from the rest of the population of Silvendil. Ayron then left her, giving her a quick hug and a pat on the cheek. Keroc entered her mind, sending her images of his mother and feelings of love, trust, and strength from them both. She wished them both a good evening as she closed her door.

Alone at last, Elwyn put on the pretty nightshift that Ayron bought her and climbed into her large comfortable bed. She lay there reflecting on what she had just experienced. Her father seemed like an incredibly humble and kind man who still loved his dead wife very much. It occurred to her that marriage must also be a kind of life-bond and that her mother and father must have shared that kind of relationship. It also occurred to her that if she were to life-bond with a drakenhawk, she would still be able to stay in touch with the incredible drakenhawks that she’d met and fought side by side with during her journey to Findara.

“Well said, little one.”

Elwyn heard the thought in her head as Toruk entered her mind to give her an evening status report. He was able to report that all was quiet in the area around Sylreth and that he and the other two drakenhawks would be ready to leave the next day, if that was their decision. He said that Raski, Morn, and Filn reached Findara and would be in position tomorrow to scout and to defend if necessary. Toruk then wished her a peaceful night’s sleep and left her mind.

As much as Elwyn feared the intrusion into her mind that a life-bond would bring, she feared even more loss of the companionship she had come to cherish. If she chose not to life-bond, she knew that as soon as she was free from immediate danger, the drakenhawks would stop interacting with her. Their society normally frowned upon a male drakenhawk interacting with a female. Kierra had made many exceptions in her case due to the extraordinary circumstances, but that would probably cease as soon as it was determined that her life was no longer in jeopardy. And as for Kierra herself, she had been so gentle in her communications with her. She never demanded or intruded without asking permission. Elwyn wasn’t sure that she really wanted that connection to end.

As if on cue, Kierra requested permission to communicate with her. Elwyn, eager to hear what she had to say, said yes.

“I want you to know that even though Ayron, Lady Silvenna, and I believe that you should life-bond with a drakenhawk because it will help to ensure your safety, the decision whether to enter into a life-bond must be your choice alone. I would be honored, Elwyn, if you would choose to life-bond with me. Please know that my invitation to life-bond with you is not based on the danger to your life. I could have asked any female member of my drakenhawk clan to life-bond with you and they would have been willing.

My main reason for inviting you to life-bond with me is because I feel that our futures will follow a similar path, both seeing to the needs of our people. Gemma chose to life-bond with you for much the same reason. We believe that in the future, our lives will intersect many times and in many ways.

I also want you to know that I have come to love and respect you because of your strength, your loyalty, your honesty, and your compassion. Kierra then said that she was planning to fly out to meet them while they were traveling to Findara the next day. She wanted a chance to meet her, as well as to thank her in person for saving the life of her son, Keroc. Kierra then wished Elwyn a good-night and quietly withdrew from her mind.

Elwyn lay on her bed thinking about the day. It had been full of ups and downs for all of them. She felt good about where they all were tonight though. Even her father was beginning the process of healing. She hoped that, as head of security for all of Findara, Ayron wasn’t spending his last night of rest worrying. She listened to the sounds of the village becoming quiet as it grew later. Slowly she felt her body relax as she drifted off to sleep.

A
yron walked slowly back to his room. He was deep in thought, so deep in fact, that he didn’t even hear Keroc asking his permission to hunt. The little drakenhawk began to tap his ebony talons on the wooden floor, hoping to get Ayron’s attention. He finally gave up and flashed a picture in Ayron’s mind of his last good meal. The gory details of Keroc eating his kill pulled Ayron back to reality. He opened the large shuttered window in his room to let Keroc out to hunt. Keroc flew off, flashing Ayron pictures of the moon, the trees, and even a creek as he flew over them looking for a place to hunt.

Ayron chuckled to himself at Keroc’s antics, but was a bit concerned because he realized that he had more to contend with than he could possibly do himself. There were so many things to juggle. He had to keep his troops well trained so that they were prepared, if they found they had to protect Silvendil. He had to send troops to patrol the borders and scout for problems that might need to be discussed with neighboring countries. He had to make sure that Rhys and Clayre made it safely to Silvendil; along with the soldiers he left to guard them. He’d committed to making sure that Alea had the opportunity to life-bond with Raffe, which would challenge the companionkeeper given their gender differences. He was trying to decide whether to assign Alea to Elwyn as her personal guard. He had to begin an investigation into the treachery that had been ongoing in Findara, perhaps from the time he was a young boy. He had to ensure the safety of both Azavon and Elwyn. He also needed to arrange for Elwyn to receive more weapon and hand-to-hand combat training, as well as receive the training normally given to those who life-bond with companions. And while it wasn’t actually his problem, the idea of renegade drakenhawks in Silvendil that might possibly be able to tap into the thoughts of the ones from Drakenreach, had many potential ramifications that could bring problems to his door. Ayron was sure that there were other things he hadn’t thought of that should be on his list, but the list of the things he’d already thought of was rather overwhelming.

Of course, his top priority was to get Elwyn safely to Findara. He felt that they should leave sometime the next day, preferably in the late morning. It would take about four hours to reach the small meadow outside the manor house where Azavon would get to greet his daughter in privacy. Once he brought her back to the manor, the word would spread quickly. Dinner with the family could prove to be interesting. Normally members of the family and council that lived in the manor each ate in their own quarters, but Ayron had a feeling they would all show up for dinner tomorrow evening, curious to meet Elwyn as well as to learn how she was discovered.

He was also feeling lots of compassion for Elwyn. That poor young woman had gone through so much over the past few weeks. Everything in her life was changing rapidly, and there was absolutely nothing that anyone could do to help or prevent those changes from occurring. He was very grateful to Kierra and her ability to calm those she interacted with. He was also grateful that Rhys and Clayre had done such a wonderful job raising Elwyn. She had proven to be strong and capable when the need arose, but compassionate and a loyal friend as well. He knew that Elwyn had no idea just how grateful he was to her for saving Keroc’s life and for how she patiently nursed his little companion back to health and kept him going, even when he couldn’t respond. He would be forever indebted to her for how she worked so hard to save Thane, staying with him until the end, and then burying him with honor. Ayron had no doubt that she would make a good ruler, when the time came.