The Elegy of Autumn (#0.8 Ruthen Quartet)

Part - 5

This part is quite long. 

The cool desert wind that had been scorching during the day, stirred to life. Behind him, a dune partially shifted its position. Gritting his teeth, he hugged the bundle closer to him.

The desert dropped down to quite low temperatures during a winter night and he did not want the baby to fall sick.

The baby.

Kale internally groaned. He could have chosen the path trodden by most travellers to reach Chaon and he could have reached his destination much earlier. But a man travelling alone rose many questions and a man with a baby rose even more.

A baby.

This baby was his nephew, his sister's son, the heir of Icathus. But why could he not just accept that? Did he lose his faith in Eluria to that extent?

As another zephyr rumbled distantly, Kale snapped out of his revive and saw the direction his legs were taking him. A second later, he gave on locating his position. He trusted his legs, his heart and instincts to guide him.

Slowly, the last rays of Keahi's smile vanished, leaving a royal blue canvas as a reward for Frairsel. The almost black sky was clear with uncountable diamonds studded with it - a sight, Kale rarely saw in Awathe.

Sighing, he stood at the top of the dune he had been climbing and nearly fell to his knees. Chaon was a feast to his eyes after two days of a long walk. The baby needed food and water and most importantly, shelter.

If he, an adult could not survive the harshness of this desert, how could he expect a six-month-old baby to survive?

Despite his legs protesting, Kale walked towards the always open city. As he passed the gates of Chaon, the guards gave him a curious look but did stop him. Perhaps, they saw the desolation and desperation on his face or they were really considerate as their lord.

Deep breaths, Kale. Deep breaths.

"We're here," he whispered to the sleeping baby.

It did not respond to him, if anything, it rubbed its cheek against his chest. One act squeezed his heart tighter.

The fire and light, music and melody rested his wandering soul. Knowing how his friend was, knowing where his friend would be, Kale turned towards the market square.

Laughter erupted and music filled the night air. When Kale had asked his friend, his friend replied that the desert was monotonous for the people to fill it with colour and life. After that, Kale did not argue.

Three men blew fire from the torches and about ten men and women wore masks getting ready for the drama they would put up during the beginning of winter. The older people withheld the children from disrupting the play.

Some people blatantly stared at him, while other passed him without a care, as Kale made his way. He stopped when he spotted his friend, glowing in the spotlight.

Triane Rozat, Lord of Chaon was laughing boisterously at something an old man had said. Smiling at his friend's joy, Kale went behind him and lightly tapped his shoulder.

Up closer, Triane's blond hair shimmered silver and the thousand tiny lights in the sky brought out his defined features.

"Yes?" Triane asked, confusion reigning in his mismatched eyes.

Kale chuckled. "I see, you don't recognise me with this beard, do you?"

He frowned. "Do I know you, sir?"

Kale suppressed his smirk. "I just wrote to you a week ago, Triane."

His eyes widened, the dark brown going darker and pale blue turning silver. "You cannot be."