Shadow and blood

Three

Astryn had been summoned to the dining room late at night, when the moon was at it's highest.
Regardless, of the strange hour, Astryn made sure not to ask any questions and follow her orders from the King.

She made her way to the kitchen first, where she had been informed there would be food for her to take to the dining room. On the large wooden table in the middle of the kitchen were meats and cheeses of all kind prepared and laid out on silver platters.

Having her serve food for the King and his company only meant that he wanted to show off his trophy and flaunt what he has accomplished and taken. The King usually did this when the Alvorgore's came, using her as a reminder that he takes what he pleases.

"Get a move on before you get the whip. It took you long enough to get here." One of the kitchen maids barked.

Swallowing the insult she wanted to spit at the maid, Astryn nodded and picked up the jug of wine, using the length of her arms to hold the silver dishes. It barely registered to Astryn that her bare feet made no sound as she walked to the dinning hall, a habit she had unintentionally taught herself while growing up with the elves.

She hadn't been inside the dining hall for quite some time, since she wasn't needed in tending to those quarters.

The King had left it almost the same as when her father had ruled, the only thing that had changed was the large painting that had hung on the wall behind the long table — A painting of Astryn and her parents. He had replaced it with a painting of Ailluin and Elmyra sitting on a red couch while the King stood behind them. The Naeleth family portrait was somewhat eerie with their sombre expressions whereas the portrait of her family had radiated genuine tenderness.

Astryn rid herself of her thoughts. She didn't like thinking about the past, she didn't like the pain that grew in her chest when she thought about those sorts of thing or the guilt that she felt when she tried to remember her parents faces.

She bowed her head and made her way to the elves silently.

The table consisted of only men. The King sat at the head of the table, Prince Ailluin was positioned on the King's left, Lord Heilar sat across from Ailluin, Lord Lierin sat next to his father and across from him sat — Saelum. Astryn almost dropped everything she held at the sight of him.

In the entirety of her eleven years with the elves, she had never seen him before, though she had heard stories from Elmyra as if he were a myth. Just looking at him terrified her. However, she wasn't alone, the elves feared him as well, though as much as they did they knew he was a tamed pet.

Over the past few years, she had heard stories about him. How he was the same as her, a trophy kept by the King from a previous nation he had taken over. Though, she was never told what sort of status he held before but she assumed he was someone of importance if the king had bothered to keep him.

Saelum was a different sort of trophy to the king, he was not used as a pet to lick their boots or a servant to run around at their bidding, like she was. He was a high commander of the elite force and the kings confidant.

However, she didn't need to know him to know that he was just a dog under the kings command. It angered her to know of such a powerful man under the control of someone who didn't have nearly as much power as he did.

Elmyra had told Astryn all the stories she had ever heard about him but she knew Elmyra had left out one story. The takeover of Grelle, or in other words, the province Astryn was born and bred in. Astryn knew in her bones that he had slaughtered most of this city's population, maybe even most of the Grelle's civilization. From what Astryn had been told, he was an admirable warrior. She couldn't deny, his exterior said as much.