Jaewyn Aeraendar: Blood Maiden. Commander. Warrior. The life of the Blood Maiden is filled with honour and duty to the glorious society of the Fire Elves. Her mission: to find a fallen star. Deep beneath the mountains, she and her team discover...
The journey back was uneventful. They found Fernia easily enough, a small trelacylon village deep in the Duskwind region of Lightwood Forest. Riding on great, black Shadowfang cats, they made their swift return to Elbrooke City. They crossed the sandy, stone bridge over the roaring torrents of the Bluerith river far below. Emerald Isle was a welcome sight, its trelacylons gleaming in the late afternoon sunlight. Upon passing through the ruins of Ghost Gate and entering Elbrooke they were greeted by the glorious fanfare of silver horns. Walking down the grassy pathway to Anarys, they were showered by coloured confetti and surrounded by smiling, grateful Beltharin. Jaewyn smiled at the beauty of her city, and her people. She felt like a champion, but wasn't sure why. Did she deserve this? What had she really done other than a routine investigation mission? She wondered how they knew of her imminent arrival. But before she could think about it she and Zephyrle were bustled into a painted carriage of brass and polished wood, spangled with bright gems, coloured glass and banners of coloured silk.
Paraded up the spiralling stairwell of Anarys by an entourage of beaming, jovial Beltharin, Jaewyn and Zephyrle glanced at each other.
"You feelin' it Jae?"
"Feeling what, Zeph?"
"We did good, huh?" Zephyrle looked out the window and raised her hand, waving to the people outside. Jaewyn grinned. At least Zeph was enjoying herself. They passed by the hawk-winged handmaidens and through the giant, starwood and bronze-rimmed doors, into the throne room. Jaewyn stepped down from the carriage and stood before Esmeraedyn, queen of the Beltharin. As she made to bow, Esmeraedyn shook her head, descending the steps from the throne to stand on equal ground. As always, she was truly resplendent to behold, clad in her leather, red and yellow silk, and scarlet fur. Her ruby eyes sparkled from beneath her russet fringe and crown of bronze flames and oval bloodstones.
"You bow before no-one, Jaewyn Aeraendar," the queen told her regally. "Nor you, Zephyrle Alexis."
"Good, cos I wasn't gonna," Zephyrle giggled.
"Always the rebel," Esmeraedyn laughed, her voice like the chiming of silver bells in the wind. "Anyway, you've done us a great service. Eliminating the Antharin infiltrator in our city is not something to be taken lightly. I, and all of the Beltharin, are humbled by your virtue."
"Our what?" Zephyrle feigned ignorance. Jaewyn elbowed her in the ribs.
"Uh...in...infiltrator?" Jaewyn was genuinely surprised. "You're saying Kalethe was..."
"A spy, yes," Esmeraedyn confirmed. "For the brief two months of his stay in Elbrooke, he was supplying Beltharin secrets to less than reputable groups. Before you protest, I kept his presence secret from you because if you were to know, it would've jeopardized my plan."
"This was planned from the start?" Jaewyn didn't know whether to be angry or impressed. But she knew she trusted her queen. Esmeraedyn wasn't just a queen. She was an ancestor of the Atlantyans, and she'd become one of Jaewyn's greatest friends. If she'd kept Jaewyn in the dark, she would've had her reasons.
"If you two had met, it could easily have complicated matters and put Kalethe on edge. He might've started plotting against you. That would've made it harder for us. But thanks to your efforts, he's been dealt with. At least for now."
"And the fallen star? The Grath? Did you know about those?"
"No." Esmeraedyn shook her head. "I suspected Kalethe was up to something greater, but I had no idea." She put her hands on Jaewyn's shoulders. "Thanks to you and your friends, we now know a lot more than we did. We will have to prepare...but with Kalethe out of the picture, our work will be easier...so much easier."
"It is my duty, and honour, my queen," Jaewyn replied. She smiled, placing her fist over her heart. "My friend."
"Es," Zephyrle murmured, and copied Jaewyn.
"But wait...how did you know about all that we did?" Jaewyn narrowed her eyes. "Is there some...spellcraft, or..."
Esmeraedyn smiled at Zephyrle.
"Looks like its time for you to, what do you call it? Spill?"
Jaewyn turned to Zephyrle, who beamed back at her.
"Wait, what? Ok, first, when did you teach her to say spill? And second, what is she talking about?"
"Jae..." Zephyrle hooked her thumbs in her belt. "I'm a thief yeah, I admit it. But I'm also a spy. I'm our spy. A Beltharin spy. Eye of the Queen, if you wanna call me that. I've been with you all along, right? Ever since the beginning of the mission. Remember, there is another way to access the dreamscape..."
"Yeah. When we dream. Wait, did you..."
"Yeah Jae. Last night, I went in, I told Esmeraedyn everything. The stuff you've done on this mission. The stuff you've done ever since becoming blood maiden. You're my best friend Jae. But...but you're also a champion. And you deserve something. A celebration, a festival." She paused dramatically, smiling mysteriously, swinging her hips from side to side. "A promotion."
"Except there isn't anything to promote me to," Jaewyn laughed. "It's all fine. I don't need..."
"So you'll be the next queen. Might not be for a while, Es has still got tons of life left in her. But yeah, when the time comes...your highness." Zephyrle placed her fist over her heart.
Jaewyn didn't know what she was feeling. She was speechless. She stared at the ground, shaking her head. It was all too much, too overwhelming. Her best friend the Eye of the Queen? She'd suspected there was someone, but never knew who it was. And to be queen? Was she really ready for that? Did she deserve that? Before she could faint, Zephyrle and Esmeraedyn had her on both sides, supporting her, their comforting embrace holding her, their voices soothing to her spirit.
"Come on Jaewyn," Esmeraedyn started walking her towards the doors. "It's time to celebrate. For the love of our culture, for our city. For the love of life."
They emerged from Anarys onto Skybranch Terrace, and Jaewyn was delighted to see Trevor, her dragyn-bat, the amethysts tingling from his harness. She walked over to him and fondled his head, running her hands through his fur. Then she looked out across the city, the trelacylons rising all around like majestic, organic mountains, sparkling in the sunlight. She breathed deep, taking lungfuls of warm, invigorating Belanyr air. She felt like a champion, and now she knew why.
It felt good to be home.
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