Serellia (Everlasting Legends, Book 2)

Ch. 7 - Forward Until Dawn

Ardaik 14th - Homenil, Serellia

It was three o'clock in the afternoon. In the grand dining hall, Liam, Flann, Alorta, Iain, Norah, and Artus were eating supper. Bhalthier was absent, taking his meal in his study, as usual.

Across the manor, most of the guards had gathered in their commons to also get in a meal before the nearly eighteen-hour trip ahead of them.

"Carriages are all loaded, Captain!" Killian announced as he came in from the rain and knocked the moisture off his cloak.

"Thank ya, Killian, now come in an' eat," Folian said before taking a drink of his ale and adding, "B'fore it gets any colder."

"Ugh... If this rain threatens ta become snow, we'll have a right miserable trip," Edna commented.

"Come now, you survived worse, from what I heard. A little sleet won't harm ya," McKee assured, his comment catching the attention of one guard in particular.

Eron was a tall, blue-eyed man with a chiseled jaw. Alorta's personal guard, to be exact, and rumor suggested that she'd picked him precisely for his looks rather than any other merits.

"Ah, yes. You were the only one that lived out of Flann's entire detail, weren't ya? Weren't they all hand-picked by you, Folian?" Eron asked, looking across the table at the slightly younger man. "Well, one good choice out of a dozen isn't a complete failure."

Folian very much had the look of a scorned feline. His hazel eyes dared Eron to continue speaking.

"Those men had families, Eron," Edna warned.

"Aye, families, they'll ner'see again," Eron retorted. "...Unfortunately."

McKee interjected. "They died honorably. At least their families can take pride in that."

"True...though I suspect they'd prefer ta have their loved ones home an' safe," Eron said with a snort as he pushed his bowl away from himself. "I've lost my appetite."

"Good." Folian plucked the last roll and rib from his own plate and pushed it toward the middle of the table. "Ya can see this back to the kitchen, then," he ordered, motioning at the other empty plates and cups. "Spare the backs of the maids."

"Of course," Eron said, biting back his own tone as he stood. "I do enjoy being of service to the ladies." He added with a forced smile as he collected the plates.

Once Eron had gone, the tension in the space had eased.

"How's the spiderling?" Killian asked.

"Spiderling?" Edna echoed in concern.

"The Lorellian brought a small reaver back from town," Folian said, leaning back in his chair. "A'course, I say small, but he's only small fer a reaver. Truth be told, I'd guess he's no older than Killian."

"Artus wants him to be his servant and do his tailoring," Killian said as he stuffed a roll into his mouth and continued to talk. "I guess they don't have any reavers in Lorellia."

"Nah. Too rare ta find one that isn't under the spell of a female," said McKee.

"And now I'm not sure which is worse...spending five days stuck on a ship with nothing but Lorellian men or spending the next eighteen hours stuffed in a carriage with a reaver," Edna said.

"Well, that's easy," Folian smirked. "Ya won't be in the carriage."

"Ah...right. The sleet," Edna reminded herself, and now the carriage seemed pretty nice, though she was sure she'd still prefer a horse.

***

It certainly felt like fall. Flann couldn't remember seeing the sun once since they'd returned to Serellia, and now with the freezing rain, it threatened to be a long, cold, and dark trip.