The Forest Heart

Kale Part 2

"Spying on Adam a better task than the Hounds?" Kale teased lightly to change the subject as Pearl handed him some bread. The leader huffed, passing out rations to the rest of his men.

"We started spying on Adam because there were legitimate concerns with his motives as you know." Pearl started. Kale nodded in agreement as he continued to eat. Everything went downhill after Elise's death. Adam had loved her, becoming obsessed with power after her untimely end. Kale knew Adam would never love another like he loved her. He just wished Adam wouldn't drag Ivy down with him.

Adam hadn't always wanted the throne. He had been driven by anger to seize power. Kale could still remember a time when Adam laughed carefree and happy. Elise had made him happy. She was the daughter of a miner, training to work in the mines beside her father harvesting gems.

Adam had been running around careless after training when he ran into her, causing her to dump her hard-earned payload. She hadn't cared he was the prince as she chewed him out for idiocy.

Elise had left an impression on Adam as Kale listened to him complain about some worthless commoner. Kale simply watched as Adam chased after her. Their bickering turned to talking and that talking had led to flirting. After a collapse in the mines, Adam had begged Elise not to continue working there.

She had said she wouldn't quit after a minor fright. It wouldn't be fair to the other minors who also risked their lives every day. She wasn't any better than the rest of them.

Elise had started Adam on a crusade to get his people better working conditions. To help his kingdom. Gregory had merely laughed in his face wondering how a boy proposed to help them with his fantasies.

Something Kale had taken as a personal insult since he had helped craft Adam's proposal in creating better working conditions within the mountain. After all, it was in their dwarven nature to keep digging for treasure. Shortly after that, Adam lost his own gem.

Kale sighed, letting thoughts of the past fade. Perhaps he did blame Gregory for Adam's current path. Adam hadn't had enough power to save Elise then, so instead he would take all the power he could. Using Soren to do so.

"Are the voices back?" Pearl asked, making Kale pull his eyes away from the wagon.

"Only the voices of the past. I often wonder if Gregory weren't such a pompous ass, if I would be sitting here today." Kale confided putting his cup down.

"Well, it may be true Gregory isn't the finest king for us dwarves, you are only here because of Adam." Pearl grunted tapping the letter on his knee. Kale frowned at the opened letter holding out his hand. Pearl gave it up without much fight as Kale growled at the broken seal.

"You shouldn't read other people's messages. I hadn't even opened it yet." Kale huffed, taking his time to unfold it.

"It was open when we found it." Pearl explained sitting back and letting Kale read it. He watched as Kale's lips thinned. Kale was one of the pretty sorts. Tall and lean like a dancer, with basic skills in swords play. Though most who knew Kale, knew he preferred reading over fighting.

To him, knowledge was the true source of power. He simply learned the sword skill because Adam required it of him. His skin was a warm rich bronze color most dwarves shared, and though he was taller than the Boars, Pearl knew he wasn't going to be as tall as most men outside Salvino since he was only about five and half feet tall.

He kept his silky black hair tucked behind his ears, so it didn't get stuck in the stubble on his chin. Pearl knew Kale mostly shaved for Adam's sake since the prince couldn't grow a beard of his own thanks to his elven ancestors. His golden yellow eyes scanned the letter causing his brow to furrow.