Amelia Merlin and the Songs of the Elves

Chapter Fifteen: Alakai

"Alakai!" 

He pretended not to listen.

"Alakai!" 

The voice got louder and harder to pretend. So Al walked faster. The corridors of Canavar were designed so sound permeated the halls. The canvases and tapestries did nothing to help him. The glass ceilings and tall windows were useless as well. It was a quiet part of the castle so the only noise was the person calling his name. 

"Yes?" he turned lazily around and tried not to groan when he saw Don Monatheon walking towards him. 

"I need to speak to you about something," the boy looked sickly. He was so pale and thin that it was impressive he didn't break into pieces. 

"What?"

"It's about my family-"

"Oh, right," Al made a face. "I've heard about this."

"You have?" the boy sounded surprised and Al almost didn't have the heart to tell him that everyone knew. 

"Yeah, the whole thing about you being a bastard or whatever. Honestly, Don, it sounds like some drama I don't want to get into." he waved his hand as he brushed the comments aside. "I don't care. No one really does. Your title isn't getting revoked or anything. You just won't inherit anything when Blaxton dies. But you weren't going to anyways because he has an heir. Gods know where that child is now. Rose is hopefully taking care of it."

"What are you talking about?" Don snapped. 

"A fucking picnic," he replied sarcastically. "I don't have time for you and your shit right now Don."

"Fuck you," he said darkly. 

"Excuse me?" Al towered over the boy. "Who the fuck do you think you're talking to? I'm the Warden while the queen is away. You show some fucking respect or I'll have you taken back to Stone Garden so damn quickly you won't even know it happened." 

"Fuck this place! Fuck your respect and fuck the queen!" Don shouted and his face went bright red. 

"Those words are treason," Al raised his eyebrows. "But you know what Don? I don't care," he shrugged. "Do what you want. I'm not going to stop you. Just leave me alone. Please."

So he walked away from the sickly boy with the blonde hair. The maids were carrying loads of laundry down the stairs and when one of them accidently dropped his bundle, Al didn't stop and help clean up. He just kept walking to get to his chambers. His room was not one of the bigger ones in the palace. It was the same one he had stayed in when he was working at Canavar as an advisor for the Master of Cultural Affairs. He had been seventeen. It felt like a lifetime ago. He didn't even know why he was staying there. He should have been in one of the best rooms Canavar had to offer but he didn't care. 

Al sat down at his desk and brought out a piece of parchment and a quill. He started like he did all the others,

Dear Jeremy, 

I'm sorry I never told you I loved you. 

Don fucking Monatheon talked to me today. I swear that kid is more trouble than he's worth. He's harmless but annoying as all hell. Everyone is like that these days. The lizards aren't causing us any trouble, the city is doing well and none of the families have tried rebelling yet, not even the Lattantios. 

I'm sorry I never told you I loved you. 

Is it wrong to say I'm bored? I want another war to plan. I want another battle strategy laid out on the table in front of me. I want to sleep in those cold, uncomfortable tents out in the middle of the Gentle Forest. I just want some of that terrible wine we bought from that village near High Valley. What I wouldn't give for all of that. 

I'm sorry I never told you I loved you. 

I can feel them creeping in. Brice Gorodetsky keeps hinting he wants to be included in more discussions. He just wants to get close to Amelia. But he's not the only one, you know. We've come to the Great City of Okamila. They say the people of the city are wolves who will hunt savagely to get what they want. I know it's stupid but it's true. All the Masters are just dying to get close to me. They send me gifts, they give me all this counsel and I know, I just fucking know they want something. Everyone wants something different but none of them want anything for the right reasons. 

I'm sorry I never told you I loved you. 

I can't say I'm enjoying this life out here. It feels like everything happened so suddenly. After you died we came straight to Okamila, won the battle, Amelia became queen, and now I'm here. It's like I got off a rollercoaster and I'm still dizzy. I still can't get my bearings. 

Thanks for listening again. 

I'm sorry I never told you I loved you. 

I miss you. 

Al. 

And then he opened the drawer to his left. Al pulled out a long wooden box. It didn't have any carvings or gemstones. He undid the clasp and folded the parchment into thirds. Then he placed the letter on top of the pile. He pressed the lid down and had to squish it to get the clasp closed. He'd written a lot of letters in the past few weeks. 

Then he crawled into bed and tried to sleep.