The Ivory Knight

Chapter 15

Adeleina watched the grimaces of the men and heard the rumbling of the cart as it towed away the dead man's body. He would be hidden under six feet of soil tonight, burying any hope Adeleina originally had of extracting more information from him about the attack. Adeleina snorted at her own dismal jest. Burying.

She turned away. A momentary pang of uncomfortable stinging jabbed at her chest. It surprised her that she felt a sense of loss for this man she hadn't even known; she didn't know anything about him, really. Despite that, she knew that this man had had to endure terrible, unspeakable horrors, and she felt a tugging at her heart for his loss. 

Soft footsteps thudded behind her. Adeleina turned her head, expecting a guard. It wasn't a guard, however. It was Damien. He hadn't changed out of his dusty riding clothes yet, though it had been hours since he and Adeleina had arrived back from the village. Adeleina briefly wondered how it was that he always seemed to be able to find her, or that she always seemed to be able to find him...

Damien's eyes snapped to the retreating figures pushing the cart. A symptathetic frown twisted his lips, and he looked back at Adeleina.

"A pity he died," he said, breaking the silence. Adeleina nodded, wondering whether he was thinking of the same pity as she was. 

"A pity his entire village died," Adeleina replied, before realizing how biting her words sounded. "I didn't mean..."

Damien regarded her with a level gaze.

"It's alright." He paused, fiddling with a fraying seam on his tunic. 'What will you do?"

"What?" Adeleina raised her eyebrows.

"What will your father do next, now that there's been another attack?" Damien clarified. Adeleina shook her head.

"I don't know," she answered truthfully. "There's not much he can do. We don't know who's attacking, and until we do, all we can do is wait."

"What?" Damien asked, incredulous. "That's not all you can do."

"What else? What else is there to do but hire the mercenaries and form our alliances?"

"You could find your mother."

Adeleina stared at him.

"Damien," she began slowly. "I wasn't thinking clearly when I said I would. I don't think she's in Orben," she admitted. She also wondered whether Damien had lost his marbles. "I thought you said that finding her was a preposterous idea."

"I did, but I thought about it, and I realized: Why not? She knows exactly what happened between her and King Seva-- what if she could help?"

"Damien, have you gone mad?"

"No, I'm just saying--"

"What makes you think Seva's the one attacking?"

Damien looked taken aback, before his mouth curled downwards again in a scowl.

"Don't play games with yourself, Adeleina."

"I'm not!"

"Really?" Damien challenged harshly. "Tell me, can you honestly say that you trust Alecsander of Seva?"

This time, it was Adeleina's turn to be taken aback. She opened her mouth to defend Alecsander, but found that the words somehow hooked in the back of her throat. Did she trust him?

"Yes," she found herself blurting. "I can." Can say it, or can trust Alecsander?

Damien lifted an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced. 

"You shouldn't trust him," he said. Adeleina wondered if he hadn't pressed the issue further because he had wanted to avoid another terse bicker.

"Why not?"

Damien's eyebrows went up even higher.

"Oh, I don't know...perhaps because he's the son of your father's worst enemy?"

Adeleina crossed her arms stubbornly, though she knew she was stuck. She didn't really have any reason to trust Alecsander-- but she wanted to. Very badly. Why couldn't Damien see that Alecsander had nothing to hide? Alecsander had told her all merely hours ago. It was simply because Damien hadn't been there listening, Adeleina decided. 

Or...perhaps Damien was the one Adeleina shouldn't be trusting. 

Adeleina immediately smothered the thought with a pang of guilt. She had much less reason to trust Alecsander than she did Damien, yet here she was doubting him. Damien had not hidden anything from her. Alecsander, on the other hand...

Adeleina didn't finish that thought, partly because she didn't want to, but mostly because Damien interrupted it.

"Find your mother," he repeated, ignoring Adeleina's reproachful glare. "She could help."

"She might not even be alive, remember? What kind of person leaves her husband of twenty years and her newborn child? And she was a queen with responsibilities, no less. Even if she is alive, I wouldn't want to find her."

"She might have had her own reasons."

"A queen shouldn't have any reason to leave her king."

"She obviously did. What harm could come of trying to find her?"

"I could get lost," Adeleina held up one finger. "I could get kidnapped, robbed, murdered, or worse by bandits." She held up another finger, counting off the number of potential catastrophies. "I could get assassinated by political enemies of my father. My father-- he would probably throw a fit if I said I was leaving him for what could be months. Orben could hold me hostage for trespassing without legitimate reason. I could be--"

"Alright! You can stop now," Damien shook his head exasperatedly. Adeleina laughed, partially at his folly and partially at his irritated expression.

"So there you have it. I can't go out there and find her, alone, no less. It simply isn't possible."

"I'll go with you," Damien said carelessly, brushing off her concerns and protests. His eyes lit up suddenly, and he snapped a finger triumphantly. "I know! You and I are getting...well-- you know," he waved his hand at the castle, and Adeleina fought the urge to giggle.

"Getting married?" she prompted, fighting to keep down the small smile that invaded her expression. Damien frowned at her reporachfully for mocking him, but continued.

"Yes, that. You'll be leaving for Dale about a week after the wedding, to 'get to know your people'," Damien pulled an expression of such boredom that Adeleina could not suppress the laugh that shook out of her. "It's traditional. You'll have an excuse to leave the kingdom and look for your mother; we'll be passing through Orben on our way back to Dale." Damien ran fingers through his hair and tugged at the end thoughtfully. "Well, we actually won't, but we can always make a small detour."

Adeleina considered his proposal. It amused her that the tables had turned so abruptly, but he did have a point. It wasn't that she especially longed to see her mother-- of course she didn't-- but it would certainly allow her insight on what exactly had happened between her, Adeleina's father, and the king of Seva. 

"I suppose..." she began slowly. "I suppose it's worth a try. What harm could come of it?"

"That's what I said."

Adeleina sighed loudly in exasperation.

"I should probably go," she said in an attempt to politely dismiss herself. In truth, all she wanted was to rush to the kitchens and ask Darcy for an opinion.

"I should probably go change," Damien replied, tugging at the hem of his tunic. A small cloud of dust billowed from it, making his point. 

Adeleina wrinkled her nose.