The Lost Princess

Chapter Fifty-Seven: The Lying King pt. 2

Thorindir heard them coming before he saw them. He turned to see Amara, looking harassed, heading toward him while one of the young soldiers jabbered in her ear.

"General Thorindir, I and the lady Amara have come to ask if you will join us for a round of drinks," Liam called.

Thorindir raised a brow. "Really?"

The young soldier laughed. "Please come, sir. The lady claims she will only come if you do as well."

Even more surprised and bemused, he cast his gaze to Amara, who looked as if she were cursing herself. He wondered what answer she was hoping for from him. Probably a refusal. But they needed to become closer with the people if they were to work together in the future. If they were feeling comfortable enough to ask Amara and him to go out for a round of drinks, it would be foolish to refuse.

"I don't see why not."

Amara's mouth dropped open.

"Good man," crowed Liam. "Let us be off!"

They started toward the city, and Amara cast him an indignant look. Obviously she hadn't expected him to say yes. Thorindir smirked, proud to have surprised her.

Liam was back to chattering, and Thorindir followed the two leisurely. A dozen of the soldiers they trained with were already at the tavern when they arrived. Their entrance was greeted with cheers and people calling for drinks. Thorindir saw Amara vanish in a crowd of men handing her drinks from all angles. He laughed, but his smile vanished as the barkeep frowned at him. There were other patrons frowning as well. He gave a grim nod to the unfriendly faces and tensed when a strong hand clapped on his shoulder.

"It is nice to see you out of the barracks, General Thorindir."

Thorindir felt a wave of relief as he saw the owner of the hand was Roland, one of the most friendly men, and also one of the men who had shown the most promise in archery. Thorindir returned the greeting and took an offered cup of ale. Soon he was chatting easily with the men, and questions poured forth about Celeblas and battles Thorindir had been in. They discussed fighting tactics and weapons, and the others who at first had been hostile seemed to relax and ignore his presence.

After a while, Thorindir wondered where Amara had ended up. He looked around and could see Liam and a few of the other soldiers gathered around her. He watched them for a few moments. Amara looked sullen, though she arranged her face differently when they looked at her. She knocked back several drinks as he watched, and the transformation was interesting. Her shoulders relaxed, and her smiles became more genuine. Liam leaned ever closer to the princess.

Thorindir knew all too well the look he wore. He excused himself from his group and crossed the room to where Amara sat. "Mind if I join you?" he asked.

The soldiers nodded and waved him over. Liam, however, did not seem pleased as the elf general slid in between Amara and himself.

"I am very thankful of how welcoming you all are to me. When we first arrived, I thought it would be harder being an elf."

Amara did not comment as she took a long draft from her mug.

A soldier on her other side smiled at them. "Well, you have taught us much. I am ashamed to admit that before you got here, most of us lacked any skill with a bow."

Thorindir nodded knowingly, and this resulted in laughter from around the table.

"Well, it is the least we could do to thank you for helping us. I am still shocked King Alistair opened the library."

Confused silence followed his statement. "Opened the library?"

Thorindir looked around at them. "Well, yes. He told Lady Eramire he would send the elders in several days ago."