Despite its exclusive guest list, the festivities surrounding the queen's autumn ball didn't stay contained in the palace. Scraping of chairs and tables and hushed voices traveled all the way up to my inn room before the sun rose. After heading downstairs to check what the inn's staff was doing, I found the common room's vaulted ceiling richly decorated with colourful garlands in honour of the autumn ball. Pastries in all shapes and forms were stalled out on wooden tables. There was even a minstrel gently strumming a harp in the far corner.
I'd taken one glance at the cheerfully dressed up room, turned around, and headed back into my room to have breakfast there instead. I was committed to staying holed up as long as I could, though I knew they would expect me to join the festivities eventually as a lord visiting Wildewall.
Queen Idonia was to make a public appearance today. Endris told me she would visit all districts in the city, safe for the unsavoury parts of course, before opening the autumn ball in her home at night. As a guest to her ball, I would have to be present in the streets to show my respect and clap as she rode by on her horse. The Montbows were not officially in good standing with the court yet, but Gisela expected it to be so after I clapped for the queen in the streets and didn't mess up at the ball tonight.
While the queen would be heavily guarded, I was still surprised no part of the planned festivities were called off after the attack yesterday. Then again, the culprit had been arrested and was now kept in a dungeon so deep down no natural light penetrated through the cracks in the stone. Chained and beaten, Oleander could do no more harm to anyone.
Except for me.
The sight of Oleander staring at me with those cold eyes had haunted me from the moment I left the dungeons. Like the sting from a Bleeding Ivy, the pain grew deeper with each passing moment. Everything he'd done and told me had been an act to make me think he was falling in love with me. No, Oleander didn't exist at all. His personality wasn't real. He'd even faked the accident in the mountains to ensure he'd be in my care.
Despite Oleander's deception, my gut twisted with worry that the guards had hurt him further while he was defenceless. My heart clung onto hope that there was a reason I would understand eventually why he'd risked everything and had deceived me. But I'd already squandered my chance to talk to Oleander and there seemed nothing left to say for him. The next time we'd meet, it'd be in front of the temples where he'd be executed. Even people suspected of having a drop of elven blood were killed in Wildewall so there was no hope I could get him out. Unless I betrayed everyone and went into the dungeons to bail Oleander out personally, striking everyone who stood in my way down with thunder.
All night I had been awake, fighting myself on whether I should sneak out of my room and try to get Oleander from the dungeon. But to what purpose? I wouldn't be able to get him out of this city alive and I shouldn't even want to, after he'd shown me his true face.
Soon, it wouldn't matter anymore.
Oleander would likely go to trial after the ball and be sentenced to death, and I wouldn't be able to remain hidden in my room much longer, either. Soon, Endris or Gisela would be at my door. I'd be required to go out and listen to words of praise for house Montbow thwarting an attempt on the queen's life. I would be staving off questions about how an elf had been able to hide in our house for weeks before we traveled to Wildewall. Much to look forward to.
I waited, buried below the blankets, for the inevitable knock on my door. After a while, when the sun's rays streamed into my room, footsteps approached the door. It seemed Endris was already able to sense I was planning on ignoring him. He skipped knocking, opened the door, and slipped inside.
I glanced at Endris, then made the mature decision of covering my face with the blanket.
Endris sighed. His boots moved closer to the bed. "You have a family to save, Laurence," Endris spoke. "Are you going to sit here and sulk?"
"No, I'm going to lie down here and sulk," I replied, my voice muffled though the blankets. "The Montbow family is already saved. Gisela had the queen pardon us."
"You still have to appear at the ball and in the streets today to remain in good standing with Wildewall and the queen."
I groaned. "I'm aware of that."
"So, get up and do what you need to do." Endris nudged me through the sheets. "This is not the time to mourn Oleander yet."
I threw the blanket off of my face and glared at Endris. "Easy for you to speak. Oleander was just one of many to save to you."
Endris narrowed his eyes and met my challenge head on. "You think he wasn't special to me? I had never met an elf. I, and everyone else, thought they were all gone from this world. Oleander was a legend come true for me just as he was for you."
I turned away from Endris and swallowed thickly. "Oleander wasn't a legend to me," I pressed out.
Endris sighed. "I want him to be alive too, regardless of what he did, Laurence. He's also right that the gem belongs to him, if he is truly the only elf currently walking this earth. It was never a human artefact."
"But why would he risk his life for it?" I protested. "I understand it has power. It could raise barriers if a god-touched used it according to the stories, but... what does Oleander want?"
Endris shrugged. "I don't know. We don't even understand what the artefact truly is. People like master Dagon have dedicated their life to studying elves and their history. But the gem was always out of their reach because the royal family refused to let anyone touch it."
"Why?"
"For one, it is dangerous. And second, it was brought to this city by the late prince Malte, third son of king Bertram. King Bertram mourned the loss of his third son, who was said to have disappeared after bringing the gem back to his father, hoping to win his favour as the third son. He had no chance to inherit the throne otherwise. The rumours are that Malte was sniped by an elven archer who took revenge for Sage Farun after arriving home. The gem was the last thing the king had left from his son. Therefore, the king ordered it stay in the royal family. No one else was to ever touch it. Studying it was forbidden."
I blinked at Endris. "I'm no scholar, but even I can see how that is incredibly foolish. Never studying an elven artefact because of who it last belonged to is a terrible idea."
"And yet that is how it was inside the court," Endris said. "And until today, it was kept safe in the treasury below the palace, passed on from ruler to ruler. The symbol of prince Malte's sacrifice and humanity's triumph over elves."
"Still a terrible idea," I said.
"The elves were all gone, regardless. There was nobody who could tell them exactly how it worked."
"All the elves will be all gone after today." I let out a growl in frustration. "There must be a way to speak to Oleander again. If I can just convince him to tell me what he was doing—"
"Then what?" Endris interrupted. "His reasons won't save him from priest Landefort's blade in his back. You know this."
My chest clenched. "Aren't you supposed to be saving people like Oleander?" I accused Endris. "That is your entire reason for lingering here in this city."
Endris was quiet for a moment. He stood and walked to the window overseeing the inn's courtyard. "Part of my work is knowing when I have lost," he said. "Right now, I have lost."
"It seems all you do is lose," I replied bitterly. "Oleander can't be saved. The half elf on the square also couldn't be saved. So, who can?"
Endris looked at me over his shoulder. He breathed in and out deeply before replying evenly, "That is unfair. You know as well as I do that I can't prevent all deaths, especially not if the person throws themselves at the executioner's feet by threatening the queen in front of everyone. If I jump out there like you did and try to stop his punishment, I won't be alive tomorrow to help another helpless child. Or another half-elf. Or whither-touched convicted without a fair trial."
I didn't have it in me to argue with Endris any further. I was tired from laying awake all night, my body feeling heavy and weak like I'd taken a rough beating myself. Making a good impression at a ball sounded impossible, let alone handle questions about Oleander, or graciously accepting words of thanks for protecting the queen with a smile.
Nonetheless, I made myself rise from the bed. "If you believe it hopeless," I said, "Then we have nothing more to discuss."
I walked past Endris to the closet and pulled out an outfit already laid out for me by Ariane's servants.
"Lord Montbow, don't do anything stupid today," Endris said as I pulled a silky shirt over my head.
I snorted. "Don't worry. There's nothing that I can do that's more stupid than what I've been doing the past few weeks, Endris."
Endris crossed his arms. "That kind of talk coming from you is exactly what concerns me."
"Then I will just be another person you won't save," I said, pulling my pants up and fastening the button as I made for the door.
While I was hiding in my room, the party downstairs had started. Reaching the inn's common room was a shock similar to when I first stepped inside the walls of Wildewall. Not only was the space filled with pastries, flowery wreaths and music, there were now also nobles who all turned to me when I stepped down the stairs.
"There he is!" the innkeeper called out jovially, gesturing at me. "One of the heroes of Wildewall! Free drinks for you, sir! Bless the queen, and bless you!"
The inn room burst into applause. I received admiring up and down looks and even people waving silky handkerchiefs embellish with the branches of thunder. As I stood there in a daze, a barmaid with two blonde braids pushed a red drink into my hand. I accepted it, but couldn't bring myself to smile.
"We ought to name an inn after you and your sister too, right lord Montbow?" The barmaid said with a bow and a gap-toothed smile. "You two are heroes like prince Malte."
Being named in one breath with the prince who had betrayed his lover and called a hero twisted my gut even further. I nodded curtly while turning to the way out. "Thank you. Excuse me."
Before any of the nobles could trap me into a conversation, I marched out of the inn's common room and headed into the courtyard, hoping to be alone there. My prayers seemed answered for a brief moment as I walked to the gates, but then Gisela emerged from the side of the building and fell into step with me.
"You're not invited to the ball, Gisela," I said without looking at my sister. "And I am heading to the palace now."
Gisela scoffed. "I'm not daft. The queen's autumn ball isn't until tonight."
"Then I simply want to be alone."
"You know I can't let that happen. So just stop." Gisela grabbed my arm, forcing me to a halt just before we reached the archway leading into the streets.
Shooting my sister a hard stare, I yanked my arm free from her grasp. "I'm not going to do anything stupid."
"I disagree," Gisela said, again manoeuvring herself between me and the way out. " You absolutely will when you're left alone. I know you longer than today."
I sighed, wearily closing my eyes. "Gisela, let me pass and go back inside."
Gisela straightened her back and squared her shoulders. "If you believe I will let you out of my sight in this city for even a moment, you are sorely mistaken," she said, sharpness flowing into her voice. "You kept an elf hidden from our family for a month. You knew what he was, and you let him sleep under our roof, eat our food, and sit in our living room, without telling us."
"If you're just here to lecture me, you can stop," I replied flatly. "I'm not in the mood."
The glare Gisela shot me would usually make chills run down my spine, but today my body already felt it was made of ice and Gisela's gaze didn't make a difference. "I don't care if you're in the mood or not!" she said. "That was dangerous! You put everyone at risk, so I can't trust you on your own anymore."
I shook my head. "And what would you have done if I told you?"
"Turn him in at Wildewall like we are supposed to do with elves, of course. Like you should have done when you found him in the mountains."
"To grovel at the queen's feet for her favour," I snapped. "Weren't you the one always telling us not to grovel like dogs for the court's favour, Gisela?"
There was a flicker of surprise in Gisela's dark eyes. I didn't often contradict her and certainly not this harshly, but her steely gaze never wavered. "This is different and you know why," she said. "We need the queen's approval, and we certainly don't need her catching wind of the Montbows harbouring a monster."
"You immediately calling him a monster is exactly why I didn't tell you or the others," I retorted. "There was no reason to turn him in."
Gisela arched a brow. "Wasn't there, Laurence? Look where your compassion brought us. An assassination attempt on the queen, and the elf ended in the same place as he would have if we'd turned him in at the beginning. Only your heart would have been spared."
I turned away from Gisela. My jaw involuntarily clenched despite my attempts to keep any emotional reaction hidden. "I'm leaving."
I took one step to the side, but Gisela mimicked me, blocking my path again.
"If you wish to be alone, why go into the city with countless people? Why not go back to your inn room?"
I growled. "Gisela, let me pass. I have no desire to talk to the nobles inside the inn, and I must be present in town when the queen passes, regardless."
"I understand that, but you shouldn't go out there yet." Gisela hesitated for a moment, then added, "For your own good."
I darted a glance at the streets beyond the gates. "Why?"
Gisela pressed her lips together. She didn't speak, but a moment later, I heard a familiar chiming of bells faintly in the distance. I had heard in the streets one time before. When master Dagon made us go to the houses of the gods and—
"They're executing Oleander in public too," I breathed.
"Laurence—" Gisela started.
I didn't stick around to listen to Gisela. Shoving my sister aside, I started running towards the chiming bells.