Inheritance

Part 2. Chapter 27: The Cost

The green grass, waving in the wind, swam beneath her eyes as she collapsed on her stomach.

Pained tears relentlessly spilled down her cheeks. "I shall die here... Maybe it's for the better. I have no one left..."

She closed her eyes and thought she would die there and then, but she weakly opened her eyes some time later when she felt the ground rumbling beneath her fingers.

In the distance, she heard whistling being carried on the peaceful wind which kissed her hot skin.

The whistling kept getting closer and closer, but Kori didn't care. She thought she was done for.

"What's that? Good god! It's a woman!" She heard something much bigger than a waif hit the ground nearby and rush to her side.

A human man rolled her onto her back with a strong hand. "A waif! Are you okay, miss? Hold on, I have some water."

The man took a flask out of his pack which hung from his horse and manually sat Kori up so she could swallow the water.

It went down easily, and Kori never thought she could ever be so grateful for a drop of water.

In a moment, however, she turned her head to the side and wasted precious drops of it.. "Don't waste water on me. I am a shame to all waifs; I'm a waste of life."

The man turned her chin back and encouraged her to drink the water. "There's no such thing as a waste of life. I can see the fire in your eyes; you can't hide your will to live..."

Kori blinked slowly and gazed at the man who already had her naïve heart. "Who are you...?"

"My name is Laurence. What's yours?"

"Kori."

__

Kori quickly wiped tears from her eyes. "I love you, but I have to do this to you. You have lost your way, and I will be your wisp and get you back on the right path. I'm doing this for you as well as the kingdom!"

With no more reservations and doubts, she threw her door open and went to go confront Laurence.

Out in the hallway, she asked a maid running by whether she had seen Laurence.

"He's in the garden with the queen." The maid answered.

"Thank you." Kori replied.

She descended to the first floor of the Great Hall down two staircases and watched the king through an open arch connecting the hallway to the garden.

He was playing with his child with Queen Harriet in tow--laughing gaily at how much fun the three were having.

Kori lost some of her resolve. I can't do this to him now... Not when he's having so much fun...

And the waif turned away and took two steps back into the hallway before the elf's voice echoed in her head.

You must stop at nothing to either convince the king or free me without his permission—even if you have to... Threaten him.

Kori spun around and clenched her fists. If not now, then when? I must be strong.

Kori marched out into the garden with resolve in her heart.

Queen Harriet waved to her cheerfully. "Hello Kori! Harold was just saying he wanted to play with you!"

Kori smiled sweetly at the young prince as he lovingly embraced her. "Play with me, Kori! Play with me! Conjure some magic and—"

"I'd love to, but I'm a little busy right now. I have urgent business with Laurence." Kori interrupted and met Laurence's eyes accusingly.

Laurence folded his arms across his chest and could not hide his tenseness; he said a little too snippily to his family, "leave us."

Queen Harriet was surprised at his tone, but obeyed without question. She grabbed Harold's hand and led him out of the garden.

Kori clasped her hands in front of her and narrowed her eyes determinedly.

King Laurence looked back at her—wondering just what she was planning.

"Laurence, I'm not playing games with you. Let me release the elf with your blessing, or I will tell Harriet of our affair." Kori demanded with stony eyes.

Laurence's mouth was agape—he was astonished at the lengths she was willing to go to. "You wouldn't dare! You're too kind—too sweet! Unless that monster Eory has rubbed off on you!"

Kori turned her back on him. "She's still nearby. I'll go tell her right now."

"E-even if you did, she would not believe you! She is a wonderful, loyal wife—"

"She might not believe it at first," Kori agreed. "But it would stick in her mind—and it wouldn't just be her I tell. I would tell as many people as I could, and they would drag our names through the mud until it would be all Harriet could think of. Your reputation and hers would be ruined."

The moment was pervaded by a nasty and menacing silence.

Kori didn't know why, but she was shaking.

She heard Laurence approaching behind her.

She wasn't expecting him to grab her shoulders and spin her around.

His fingers did not leave her thin shoulders and his nails ruthlessly dug into them. "You heartless bitch! Why would you ruin a wonderful marriage like this? Why should you drag my reputation through the mud and make the people doubt me? I saved your life!"

Kori froze under his gaze. Her eyebrows knitted as angry tears ran down her cheeks.

"Answer me!" Laurence yelled and slapped her across the face.

Kori put a hand to her cheek with blank eyes and murmured, "they already have reason to doubt you if you won't even bother with trying to save their kingdom."

Laurence raised his hand again and Kori turned her cheek defensively.

His hand wavered in the air.

He lowered it in a moment with a gasp of frustration. He turned his back to her. "You have my blessing. Take the elf and go."

Kori's face lit up for a moment, but then it turned to a frown when she realized she may have lost the man she loved forever. She turned toward the castle hallway and said through a lump in her throat, "thank you, Laurence."

__

With Laurence's blessing, Kori made plans and preparations to set out to Alanheim.

First, she oversaw a letter Francis wrote to the queen to make sure it said what she wanted it to say and would put her in good standing with the queen. Francis then sent it to the queen via carrier Pidgeon. Next, she prepared a pony for herself to ride and hitched supplies to its back along with a horse for Francis to ride.

Laurence didn't even come to see her off as she set off with Francis two days later with twenty soldiers travelling alongside them.

It broke her heart.