Kethril (42 page)

Aermoirre glided just above the tranquil
swells until they came close to the port, then she gradually dipped
into the water before finally floating to a rest alongside one of
the docks. Tathan moved back to the center of the ship, put a foot
on the rail and jumped to the dock before Aermoirre was finished
moving.

The gentle splashing of water against the
ship and wooden pilings was broken only by a dog barking in the
distance and the footsteps of an official looking man walking
towards him along with a younger assistant holding a lantern.
Tathan pulled a couple of gold out of the bag the king had given
him and put them in the official’s hand. “I’m just here for a few
minutes. We don’t need to make a report.”

“I do not accept bribes! You’ll be seeing
the guards for that,” The balding man scolded in a severe tone. He
pushed the coins back in Tathan’s hand.

Tathan’s sword was at the man’s neck. “Do
you accept threats? How about death? I don’t have time to play with
you.” Tathan didn’t want to kill the man, but his sword did. Blood
trickled from a small cut. The assistant was staring with wide
eyes, not having a clue what to do.

“I have children,” the official whispered in
fear.

“Then take the bribe and shut up.” Tathan
sheathed the blade and pushed the gold coins back in the man’s
hand. He pulled out another gold and flipped it at the assistant
before heading up the dock. The assistant dropped the coin and
scrambled around to get it. After recovering it, he stared at the
coin in awe before straightening back up.

Fifteen minutes later, Tathan had the needed
supplies in two waterproof canvas sacks he struggled to carry on
his back. It would be enough for three weeks if they were eating
normally, but might not last one if Liselle had to use large
amounts of magic to heal Sir Danth. He had paid too much, but
wanted to get back to the ship and away before anything bad
happened.

Aermoirre was still resting at the dock.
Looking around, Tathan could see neither hide nor hair of the
official or assistant. That suited him just fine. The gangplank was
out and he hustled back on board. Before he reached the deck,
Aermoirre was pulling in the gangplank and moving away. With a last
leap, Tathan landed on the deck. He dragged the sacks to the aft
and set them next to the bags.

The lanterns on the dock became smaller as
the ship turned around and glided through the black water. It
didn’t take long for Aermoirre to rise into the air in a gradual
ascent. Tathan leaned on the aft railing and watched until the town
became a distant glimmer the size of a candle. The ship tilted
gently, turning southeast toward Mayncal. Tathan went to lie back
down with Anilyia. When he did, she woke up and looked into his
eyes longingly. It was a long time before they fell asleep.

Three days later, Sir Danth was still lying
in the exact same spot in the middle of the aft deck. The
midmorning sun helped to shake off a little bit of the chill, but a
mild wind fought to keep it. Much to their relief, the snow had
stopped the morning before and it was becoming warmer again. Tathan
was leaning against the railing and could see yellow and red trees
mixed in with the greenery far below when he looked over his
shoulder. At the moment, they were passing over plains in the
Kingdom of Swelth just west of the Willden.

Liselle had taken the extra days to recover
enough to be able to use magic again. In addition, she took time to
plan how to go about doing the rest of the healing without draining
herself in one big blast. Instead, she would work a little bit at a
time, supervised by Vevin who understood her magic and limits
better than anyone.

Tathan was a little worried that Liselle and
Vevin had eaten over half their food. Fortunately, Aermoirre knew
of numerous villages to get things. The witches had made scouting a
primary part of the ship’s functions. She had ranged over
continents and oceans throughout the centuries, but always returned
to the mountains where she was created.

Her children were playing out in front of
her. They were fast little things and liked to dart back and forth
around their mother’s sails. Aermoirre would rattle her sails in
chastisement when they got out of hand. It usually startled the
passengers too.

Liselle took a deep breath, touched the
flower in her hair for support and then placed her hands on Sir
Danth’s chest. Blue light moved like liquid over the entire armor
and the healing process began. Tathan stayed there for about ten
minutes watching the liquid light sloshing around before he grew
bored and went to the bow of the ship. Anilyia followed him with
relief. She was wearing one of the dresses given to her in Kethril.
It was light blue and highlighted her eyes.

“I’ve wanted to talk to you,” the princess
told him as they looked down at the trees far below. Tathan
wondered if they were getting close to the valley where he and
Liselle were raised. He knew it was east of Swelth through the
southwestern part of the Caaldith Mountains. Anilyia ran her finger
slowly up and down his arm. “I love you.” It was a powerful
statement that asked the question of whether or not he loved her
back.

“I love you too, Anilyia.”

She wrapped her arms around his waist as he
put his around her shoulders. “What are we going to do?” she asked.
“I don’t want you to leave me alone.”

He slid a hand up and ran fingers through
her platinum hair as he thought about how to answer. “I don’t know
what to do honestly. I want to steal you and take you with me
around the world, but knowing that your kingdom would go to war and
be taken over by the Iynath Empire . . .”

Anilyia squeezed and mumbled something into
his chest.

“I didn’t understand that,” he said.

She pulled her head back a bit, but refused
to look him in the eye. “Can you share me?” she asked in a
whisper.

Tathan tried to keep jealousy out of his
voice, but didn’t succeed. “Share you with who?”

Her voice was only a little louder as she
answered. “My husband, Prince Albrato. We’ll likely get married
right away. He’ll want children too, so you’d have to deal with me
being pregnant and accept the fact that the child may end up being
yours even though I’ll never admit it.”

Tathan stared at the top of her head for a
moment. She settled her cheek back into his shoulder while waiting
for the answer. He opened his mouth to answer then shut it right
away and decided to give it a few minutes.

An hour later, they hadn’t moved. Liselle
came up to them, chewing on a piece of cheese. “I still have a lot
of work to do,” she told them with her mouth partially full. “But I
need some food. Vevin jumped off the side of the ship to go get a
deer he saw. He’s going to cook it before bringing it back. You’re
welcome to share if you like.”

“Thank you,” Tathan replied.

“Am I interrupting something,” Liselle asked
with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes.”

“Well . . . alrighty then. I’ll just go . .
. talk to the bell or something.” She went back to the aft
deck.

Tathan took a deep breath and answered
Anilyia’s earlier question. “I love you and I want to be with you
whatever the circumstances.” He lifted her chin with a finger. “I
feel guilty for wanting you to keep me around. It’s not fair to you
when you have to be a wife, mother, princess and eventually
queen.”

She shook her head. “I love you. It’s not
right for me to ask you to be my . . . mistress?”

Tathan’s eyebrows lowered. “I am
not
your mistress.” When she giggled, he squeezed her and stopped it
with a kiss. “I am your secret lover . . . or I will be if you’ll
have me,” he said throatily after the kiss ended.

“Yes.” She leaned her head back against his
chest. After a moment, she asked, “What do we do if someone finds
out?”

“Kill them?” Tathan suggested with a helpful
grin. Anilyia was not amused. He sighed. “I don’t know. Do
everything you can to get me out of jail and . . .”

“I’ll get you out of jail, but my duty to my
country . . .”

“I know. If we’re discovered . . .” he
sighed again. “I’ll have to leave and we may never see . . .” It
hurt too much to finish.

As she looked into his eyes, tears welled in
hers, causing them to glisten more than usual. “Then you are free
if that should happen. I will remember you fondly for all of my
days and think of you when I look at the sky.” Anilyia smiled
sadly, the look on her beautiful face breaking his heart.

Tathan kissed her deeply and they lay down
there in the front of the ship and took each other with
abandon.

“Vevin’s back with the . . . Oh my . . .
Don’t you two
ever
stop? I thought
we
were bad!”
Liselle stomped back to the aft deck to eat the roasted deer Vevin
had brought, turning him around when he leaned over the railing to
peek.

***

The next day, Liselle succeeded in bringing
Sir Danth back to full health. When she released him from whatever
magical clouds she had his soul in, he sat up and sobbed. It was
discomforting to watch such a noble individual be vulnerable. They
sat around him, quietly lending their support.

After a while, the weeping stopped and Sir
Danth turned to Liselle. “Thank you, Milady. My pain would have
lasted all of eternity if not for you.”

Liselle responded by hugging him around his
neck for a few minutes. Upon standing up, she swayed a bit. Vevin
was there to steady her right away. “Easy. Are you hungry?” he
asked. She nodded and he took her over to some food he had ready.
The venison Vevin had brought the day before helped to supplement
their supplies, but they were getting low.

Tathan offered a hand to help the knight.
Sir Danth took it, but stood as though he still had the weight of a
body within the armor. Anilyia smiled and put her hand on a steel
arm in comfort and support.

He nodded in thanks. “I need some moments to
clear my mind.” His voice was more hollow than usual. They let him
past as he walked to the railing and looked out.

Anilyia led Tathan to the bow again. It had
become their favorite spot on the ship. They liked to watch the
land go by underneath. Tathan gasped when he realized where they
were.

“What is it?” Anilyia asked.

He pointed to the east. “Valley . . . home .
. . valley,” he stammered in excitement, slapping his palm on the
railing.

“Valley?” she asked in confusion. “Oh. You
mean that’s the valley where your home is?”

“Yes!” He ran to the aft of the ship.
“Liselle! Liselle!” Everyone turned to see what Tathan was yelling
about. “This is our valley,” he told her after leaping up the
stairs in two bounds.

They went to the railing. “It is,” Liselle
remarked in wonder. “Can we . . .” She thought for a moment, not
sure whether to finish the sentence.

“I want to know,” Tathan said.

She nodded. “So do I. I’ll tell Aermoirre to
fly east over our house. If there are any warriors from Iynath,
maybe she’ll blast them with fire for me,” Liselle suggested with a
roguish grin that made Tathan proud.

“If not, I’ll blast them with lightning,
dearest,” Vevin offered.

A short while later they were nearly over
the house. All of them stood at the bow and looked for signs of
life. Liselle pointed. “The flowers are there!” The flowers weren’t
just there, they covered most of the ground around the house and
for hundreds of yards in every direction. It looked like there were
even more than when Tathan had visited, although he hadn’t seen it
from the sky. There was no sign that warriors had ever been
there.

“Aermoirre, we need to go down there for a
short while. It’s very important.” The ship hesitated for a moment.
It didn’t want to take any longer to finish its journey, but most
people tended to do what Liselle asked of them, including ships,
flowers, animals, rocks, worlds . . . Tathan was in awe of the
ability.

They floated down to a clear spot in front
of the house. Liselle jumped over the railing, landing with knees
bent and hands on the ground even before Aermoirre could extend the
gangplank. Vevin joined her, landing with a dance that Tathan
labeled the ‘landing dance’. Tathan wasn’t about to be left behind
when it came to leaping over a railing and tumbled upon hitting the
ground.

Anilyia held her arms out to the side in
bewilderment. “I will walk down with you, Your Highness,” Sir Danth
said, putting his arm out for her to hold. She took it and they
walked down the gangplank with heads held high. The effect was lost
on the others who were busy looking around.

It had been months since the cousins left.
Afternoon thunderstorms were a daily threat the last time Tathan
had arrived at the house. Now the trees were brilliant colors and
beginning to drop their leaves. The smell of dry grass and air
tickled his nose instead of fresh rain and leaves. The one thing
that was the same was the flowers, still bright and fragrant.

Tathan had his sword out and was cautiously
stalking the front door, which refused to show any fear. Liselle
went to the nearest patch of flowers and began touching them.
“There’s no one here, Tathan. It’s safe. The flowers have protected
it.”

He put away his sword. Tathan didn’t want to
go inside, but had a need to. One of his favorite things about home
was that there was no lock on it. The door opened easily and he
stepped inside.

A part of him had hoped the bloodstains
wouldn’t be there. That part was disappointed. They were dark and
dry, but he saw them. The worst was on the floor in front of the
stairs where his mother had died protecting Liselle. There was
dried spray on the walls in a few places too. He walked into the
living room and remembered sitting on the couch, telling his mother
and the rest of the family of his journeys the morning before the
attack.