The Elf Thief

Chapter 22: Eron

Very slowly, she dropped them on the ground. The human's eyes darted from her to the ground then back again. He leaned down and began picking them up, one by one. Darting behind him, Sonya and Enoka ran into the building.

Enoka stopped suddenly, holding up her finger to her lips in a sign to be silent. Glancing around the corner, Sonya saw Dearekk and Eron sitting at a table.

"So tell me," Eron drawled, "What is the rebel prince doing in our little town of Raydale?"

Dearekk scoffed. "I wouldn't call it little," he replied, "It's the second biggest city in the land. Speaking of which, how did you come to run it? Last time I checked there was a duke."

A loud laugh came from Eron. "You run away from the King, defy him, betray him, and yet you still reprimand me for taking the place of a duke," he sneered. "There is a duke, but all he does is sit in his castle all day. I have agents everywhere, I control who rises to power and who...mysteriously disappears."

"And what did Enoka do to 'mysteriously disappear?'" Dearekk shot back.

Eron leaned back in his chair. "You know," he observed, "for a rebel prince you sure do ask a lot of questions."

Dearekk's body stiffened. "Stop calling me that," he said slowly, enunciating each word.

"What?" Eron smirked. "Rebel prince? That's what everyone is calling you now days, the prince who turned on his own loving father. Oh, I have agents, but nothing compared to the King. You should have seen how fast the rumor spre-"

Dearekk suddenly stood up, knocking over his chair. "He is not my father," he whispered, his voice low and lethal.

Eron tsked. "Now, now," he mocked, "I know that every teenager goes though a phase where they reject their parents, but this is really going to far, don't you think Dearekk?"

"No, you don't understand," Dearekk growled, leaning over the table. "You saw what happened in the alley. You called me, 'elf-child'. I am half-elf, and my father is not the King." Dearekk's eyes softened a little bit. "You say you run this city, so prove it. We are staring a rebellion, we will throw down the King from his throne and reunite the land." Dearekk's grey eyes held a fire like Sonya had never seen. "Join us, the fay already have. But we need allies if we are to succeed. Join us, and we can change this world. We can make it a better place."

Eron looked at Dearekk from the corner of his eye. Then slowly a smile broke across his face, and then he laughed. "Tell me, rebel prince," he laughed, "Who taught you to talk like that? You almost had me there. Was it the King? I hear he is a very eloquent speaker."

Sonya saw the fire of hope in Dearekk's eyes change to that of rage. No, Sonya silently begged him, Don't give up! You were almost there!

Eron finally finished laughing. "Come on," he scorned. "You don't really think that you can overthrow the King, do you?"

It was as if a light hit Sonya. He was testing Dearekk. Seeing if he really believed what he was saying. She wanted to scream out, to warn Dearekk not to give into his temper. But she knew she couldn't intervene. He had to do this by himself.

"I do," Dearekk replied though clenched teeth. "But I do not believe we can do it alone. We need your support."

"We," Eron scoffed. "You speak as though you are one of them. Perhaps you are. Besides, you are a halfling. You will never know what true loyalty to your race is. Any real human would know not to defy the King. As the saying goes, 'The King is the tailor and the people are the cloth.' We have no real purpose without him. How do you even know that you could rule better than him?"