"And who are you supposed to be?" an Orenzhanim warrior I haven't met yet asks me condescendingly as I approach the building in which Kazmiohn Meskaiavin's office can be found.
"Enniskzar Azerai, here to see Kazmiohn Meskaiavin," I reply with uncharacteristic meekness. I'm too tired for this nonsense. I feel like I've been trampled by a herd of stampeding yaks.
"You must be mistaken. The Kazmiohn does not have private meetings with ordinary enlisted warriors such as yourself."
"I am here to report on the caravan escort mission to and from Kedar-Jashun. We returned just last night. He asked me here himself."
"What squadron?" he asks, poring over a scroll. "I don't see any records of—"
"Squadron 317."
"Ah, the new lot from Andelxiao. That explains why you're so presumptuous—"
"Berviklen," Kazmiohn Meskaiavin interrupts as he comes out the door of the Orenzhanim building. The warrior who's been obstructing me suddenly looks like a child who's been caught sneaking sweets. "We have spoken before about this sort of thing, have we not?"
"Kazmiohn, I.... In my defense, she does not look at all like any sort of master strategist or acclaimed warrior. She's barely out of the Academy," Berviklen excuses himself lamely. "And you warned us to be ever vigilant, with the Erivim on the loose—"
"Yes, I understand. Still, not everyone will be as patient with your interrogations as Azerai has been. You must learn to strike a balance." The Kazmiohn turns his attention to me, having now completely shamed his door-guard. "Will you come in, Azerai?"
"I am yours to command, Kazmiohn."
"Zuluthruyen wasn't kidding when he said you were formal to a fault."
I smile at the mention of my former commanding officer and follow Kazmiohn Meskaiavin inside the Orenzhanim building. It's not my first time meeting with him here, but the door-guard is a new development. I had hoped for more time waiting on him, more time to sort out my thoughts, which haven't settled since Zelphinon walked me home from his family's dwelling after I fell asleep next to him on their roof. I hadn't meant to, but I was just so tired, and I felt safer next to him than I had in all our time traveling.
"Azerai, you have to wake up. If anyone saw us up here asleep, they'd jump to all the wrong conclusions," Zelphinon's voice brings me out of my slumber.
"No one looks at roofs," I mumble sleepily, snuggling closer to him. He smiles and gently kisses my forehead.
"Come on. I'll walk you home. As much as I'd love to spend the night up here with you, it's not worth risking our reputations and our careers." I reluctantly acquiesce, and he accompanies me the short distance home in companionable silence. On my doorstep, he kisses me on the lips, feather-light.
"May the moon bless your slumber, Azerai."
"May her light sweeten your dreams, Zelphinon."
As soon as I walk in the door, Krethzirae and Thariyae pounce on me.
"What was that about?!" Krethzirae asks me with a mischievous glint in her eye.
"Maybe the two of you are less nauseatingly straight-laced than I thought," Thariyae remarks. "Tell me everything. Now."
"We just had supper together on his roof. Nothing special," I tell them, but they are not convinced, and the questions just keep coming—
"Are you all right, Azerai?" Kazmiohn Meskaiavin's question jolts me out of my reverie. We've reached his office, and he is sitting at his desk, waiting on me.
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Of Love and Valor
المغامرةAfter losing her family and her village, making a new life for herself in Andelxiao, finding romance, and taking revenge on those responsible for her losses, Azerai's adventure continues in Orenxiao, the capitol of Yrivvenna. The military leaders se...
