Blade of Erogrund

Chapter 35- Condemnation

"That's good. It would be a shame for him to suffer at a time like this."

"A shame indeed...."

"And did you find anything concerning your friends?"

Her breath caught as she opened her mouth to answer. "Yes. One has...." She had to think for a moment on how to respond. What had he done? Run away? "...found safety. The other fell in the fighting."

Somehow the thought of Aeis's death cut her deeper as the words left her mouth. It had felt distant when Theronin had told her. Almost futile. Now the thought of Aeis being cut down was almost more than she could bear. Her hand rushed her face to knuckle away a silver tear before it could fall.

"Oh I'm so sorry," Samantha murmured. "Surely it was with honor."

"I hope so."

Neither said anything for a moment, letting the gurgling fountain and whispering patrons fill the silence between them.

"What is the king like?" Samantha asked suddenly.

For some reason the question sounded strange in Mira's ears. "What do you mean? Have you not met him?"

The girl laughed incredulously. "Met the king? Niron, no. I know of none who have, save you."

"I fear I cannot tell you much; nearly all my time with him has been while he was unconscious. I don't know him as well -" She hesitated. The words "as well as Godric" had been the first to come to mind, but for some reason they tasted bitter in her mouth. "- as I would like," she finished.

"And what are your thoughts of him?"

"He is a strong man. He is fierce when he must be and calm when he can."

"He sounds like a lion," Samantha said, eyes wide.

Mira smiled and messed up the little girl's hair. "Perhaps. When I was young I thought much of how a king should be. Strangely he meets many of those expectations and yet somehow he falls short." Strange thoughts coursed through her mind and with them a lingering whisper as though the Voice was explaining them to her. He truly did feel less than kingly. Seeing him helpless, pale, and so near death had shattered the enduring image she had seen of him at the ball. Instead he had become just another man.

"Your eyes darken," Samantha noted. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, quite well," Mira replied absentmindedly. She blinked a couple times and returned her focus to the other girl. "I'm simply baffled as I no longer feel the desire to read and have little experience picking another pastime."

Samantha's small shoulders shook with laughter. "Poor soul! Might I suggest an alternative? Soldiers have begun training in the Arena, I suppose in light of the conflict. They are quite a sight. Would you like to come with me and see?"

The mere thought of swords and armor repulsed the girl, but her tongue tied as she fought to find an excuse. Instead she simply nodded and followed her young friend back through the halls toward the training grounds.

As they walked Samantha talked of this and that, though Mira could hardly hear her over the distraction of her own musings. I suppose in light of the conflict, Mira repeated the girl's words in her mind. No, it is hardly the conflict that has happened that has stirred the army's training. Rather it is the conflict that is to come. The conflict that Ennor even now prepares for. It is not just Ennor who prepares, she realized. It was the tenseness in the city. The palpable tension like the entire city was drawing back a great longbow to release a razor arrow. But, she wondered, will the bow break before it can be fired?