Yuragwyn: Ours

---Chapter 21

                Maxen knocks on Llyendal’s front door, and I wait impatiently for Calanthe to fling it open and welcome us with her bright eyes and smile. 

                “Who is it?” I quiet voice asks, through the crack it opened between the door and its frame.

                “Kaitra, Calanthe.  Kaitra and Maxen.”

                A flurry of arms and long black hair surround me, and I clench her tightly and let her tears soak into my shoulder.   She not as painfully thin as when I last saw her, but her dress is still a bit loose and hangs in folds at her feet. 

                “Oh Kaitra!  I was so worried for you!” She whispers, pulling away to look at me.  “Come in, both, and get cleaned up.   I want to know how things fare for our country.  And my father, how is he?  Does he know?”

                “Well shall speak of all that and more after a hot bath, I hope.  The Bishat mountains can be rather damp on the bones and grimy on the skin,” Maxen answers gaily. 

                Calanthe nods, “Yes, of course.  Maxen, was it?  From Entel?”

                “Oh, my greatest apologies!  Yes, Miss Calanthe:  Maxen, originally of Lax, just as Traugott, but most recently of Entel.  It is a greatest privilege to meet one such as you again.”

                Calanthe giggles at his over-dramatic bow.  “And you as well, Oh Maxen.  Come now, both of you, down to the basement to wash up.”

₰Traugott₰

                With the morning come Lord Cadfael and Lady Carys and another unit, but not Lady Kaitra.  Disappointment tugs at the corners of their eyes.  What happened, though, they say nothing of, and I dare not ask, certainly not now. 

                “Soldiers!” Lord Cadfael calls, his voice gruff and a bit harsh.  “Agleton has joined with Granziar in result.  We could not convince them to stay with us by diplomacy, so we must convince them with our swords.”

                Lady Carys sits straighter on her pegasus, “Come, brothers, sisters, let us be merciful as we go, and spare lives as often as the wayward countrymen allow.”          

                We bow as one body in answer and draw up into formation for the journey to the mountains and between them.  I, for one, have never been such a direction, and I know most of those gathered around me lack the same experience.  Many tales are told about these mountains, and many lives have been lost on its foggy slopes. 

∞Kaitra∞

                “So, Calanthe,” I begin, snuggling into a plush chair by the fire with my cup of warm tea.  “Maxen and I have come with a proposition.”

                She nods and takes a sip of her own drink. 

                “Maxen says that elves share deep bonds with their kinsmen.   We hope that my elvish heritage through Lady Carys will be enough to have them listen to me.  We are on our way to Rite to try and reconcile with Agleton and ask that you would join us.”

                “Kaitra, you are no more elvish than when you went the first time, and then you went with Hiltraud, a centaur well respected all over the country.  What hope have you that they will be more inclined to listen now?”

                I slip the thin bronze circlet out of my bag and hold it up to the light.  “Eglantine gave me this before we left Rite.  I noticed there that the leaders of the community all had one.  Perhaps this will be of some convincing.”

                “Eglantine?” Calanthe asks.  “Is this the ‘friend’ that Ulrich told us of when he came back without you?”

                I nod sheepishly.

                “The one who nearly murdered you?  The one who ran off with priceless information and is obviously the reason Agleton rebelled?  Surely you do not believe that a ‘gift’ from one such as her can bring any parties to reconciliation!”

                “But Calanthe, Eglantine told those in Rite that my parents and your parents were at odds and no longer cohesively leading.  If we both go, in good standings with each other and with a proposition of peace and bearing the circlet of honor, I believe they will be inclined to listen,” I beg. 

                She nods and mulls over my words.  Then she looks up at Maxen, “And you, friend.  What brings you on a journey such as this?”

                “Adventure, change,” he replies grandly, winking.  “I am coming along to escort Miss Lady Kaitra and her dearest friend, for your father would not hear of allowing you to go without a man to defend you, a man he can trust.”

                “As opposed to Traugott,” she mumbles dryly. 

                An awkward moment of silence hangs above us, and the crackling fire captures our attention.  Only now do I notice the quiet arresting the house as well as our conversation.  No others are here, not even servants or pages. 

                “Where is everyone?” I whisper, shadows forming and reshaping into cruel murders in maroon. 

                Calanthe clasps her hands, “Master Hulderic is chasing eternal sleep.  Our servants are comforting him and Madame Rhiannon.  You were to come to him the instant you set foot in town, for he has yet to name an heir and has said he wanted to share with you many things.”

                “We shall go now then.” I say, standing and brushing off my simple lavender dress.  “It is not yet painfully dark, and if he is chasing them as fiercely as you let on, a moment’s time could tip the scales.”