The scars of last night's battle were carved into the landscape. Cracks in the rock where thunder struck weaved through the charred remains of what had once been green moss and creeping thyme. The fire in the woods nearby reeked of burning flesh. I imagined bodies piled up in the same large clearing where my sisters and I used to play robbers.
"Did it have to happen this way?" I asked Gisela, who was standing with me at the foot of the cliffs. I gestured at the smoke circling up into grey clouds above the woods.
Gisela followed my gaze. "No," she replied curtly. "You could have let them overrun us, surrender the mansion, and end the Montbow bloodline."
"Gisela."
"See it this way then: the woods will flourish as their ashes fertilise the soil and provide us and the town with more fruit to eat," Gisela stated. "They serve a noble purpose now. That is more than they could say in life."
I just shook my head. Gisela and I had these discussions before. She saw it as wasteful to not use the bodies and had little regard for funeral rites. I was unconscious when Ytel's dead men were moved to the clearing in the woods and set on fire. Ariane's servants did it, maybe, or my family members. But I was the one who had killed all of them. The least I could have done was burn them myself.
I also wished I had time to help rebuild. Leaving the Thundercoast with the memory of a collapsed mansion and blood soaking the ground left a sour taste in my mouth. I also didn't want to make my family explain to the townsfolk what transpired here last night.
Gisela put her hand on my shoulder. A rare, sympathetic gesture. "It's time to say goodbye, Laurence."
"Yes..."
"But I have one last thing to say to you," Gisela said, squeezing my shoulder. Her eyes bored into mine. "Father's warning still stands, Laurence. Don't give your trust too easily. Especially not to beautiful men with long hair and soulful eyes. Remember that you don't know him, and you know nothing of him."
"I need to fear long-haired men? I don't think Endris is dangerous, Gisela," I joked.
Gisela narrowed her eyes. She didn't laugh.
I sighed. "If Oleander meant me or us harm, he would've already made his move by now. He had plenty of opportunities. You should listen to Mother instead of Father."
"Perhaps," Gisela replied. "But I believe it wise to pretend like you have no allies in Wildewall. Not truly. The capital is very different from the Thundercoast. We're on the outskirts of palace society, and there you will be in the thick of it. Remember that."
"I understand."
"Then let us go back."
Gisela turned on her heels, and we headed up the cliffs together. Guilt stabbed at my chest as I saw everyone waiting for me in front of the battered mansion. I would be leaving my parents and siblings for much longer this time. I couldn't help them if something happened.
Oleander, Endris, and Ariane and her servants looked ready for travel. My horse, Spot (as Fynn insisted), was saddled as well. Fynn was holding the reins, but when I approached, he offered them to me.
"Spot will keep you safe," Fynn said as if repeating the words often enough could manifest it as a truth.
I brushed my hand through Fynn's hair and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "Thanks, kid."
Valda came up to me with a tense smile and pulled me into a hug. "I'm so jealous you get to travel to Wildewall. Bring me a gift when you return."
"I will, Valda," I promised.
Mother was next to say goodbye with a kiss pressed to my cheek. "Stay safe, Laurence," she said. "Remember that you're blessed."
"Make the Montbow family proud," my father added, gravely serious. I nodded, quickly moving past him with Spot before the shame of already failing once by returning from the mountains empty-handed caught up to me.
Conrad leaned against the wall with crossed arms a little distance away from the others. He only stared at me when I nodded at him. I expected little else in terms of a goodbye from my older brother, and got on my horse.
As we rode off and I watched my family disappear into the distance, I wondered if Ariane had another trick up her sleeve. It seemed we were truly leaving the Thundercoast until I noticed we were bending off in the wrong direction. We weren't on the route to Wildewall that I knew.
"Are we going somewhere else again, Ariane?" I asked. "This is not the way to Sunmere valley."
"How very observant of you, Laurence," Ariane replied. "That is because we're not traveling through the valley. There is a faster route."
I thought about it for a moment. "What, you don't mean...?"
"Through the Starcross woods," Ariane replied.
My eyes shot to Oleander.
Ariane noticed. She looked over her shoulder at Oleander, who was riding behind us with the other servants. "Ah, yes," she said. "We're traveling to your home, aren't we?"
Oleander's eyes went wide. I subtly nodded at him to just go along with it. Following my instructions, Oleander nodded, too. "Yes," he said. "I'm from the Starcross woods."
Ariane hummed. "Interesting. I though the old Lord Montbow said you had no memories of who you are."
"He doesn't," I defended Oleander. "We assume he's from this region because of his accent."
"Naturally," Ariane said. She tugged on her horse's reins and slowed down until she rode next to Oleander. "Since you don't remember, do you want a history lesson about your home?"
"Ariane," I protested.
Ariane didn't listen and turned to her servant, Nele. "Nele, tell us the story of prince Malte and Sage, the blood traitor."
"Ariane, this isn't necessary. Stop," I protested again, mostly because I was very familiar with the tale. Everyone in the human world was familiar with the history of the Starcross woods, and I didn't want Oleander to hear it. My stomach sank at the thought of the expression on his face when he heard Sage's fate.
Nele shot Ariane a questioning look. When Ariane waved my concerns away, she started her story regardless.
"When elves roamed these woods before the war, prince Helmold, called Malte by the people, travelled to the Starcross woods to lead a charge in the name of his father, king Bertram," she said. "He was to kill the elves who had attacked a band of merchants traveling through the woods and stole their blood to use in their dark rituals. When prince Malte rode into the woods, something glimmering between the trees spooked his horse. It ran, separating prince Malte from his guards, and threw him off of his back. When prince Malte woke up, he had an arrow trained on his face. An elf named Sage Farun had found him. But, enchanted by his handsome face, the elf didn't shoot. Instead, Sage treated Malte's wounds and kept him hidden from the others. Eventually, prince Malte healed from his injuries and travelled home, but he kept meeting with Sage in secret. They became lovers... until king Bertram declared a war on the elves, and they were on opposite sides."
"That is where the woods got their name," I quickly told Oleander. "The Starcross woods for star-crossed lovers. That's the whole story."
Ariane smirked. "That's not the whole story, Laurence. I know you pay little attention to history classes, but even you know this. Continue, Nele."
There was a brief silence, and then Nele went on.
"Prince Malte and Sage wanted to find a way to prevent this war. They made a plan to separate the elven woods and the human cities with an elven artefact and a blessed human who could energise it and create a barrier with it. Sage would steal the artefact from their holy temple, and prince Malte would arrange a god-touched blessed human to help them. They would meet at the edge of the woods."
"If we are travelling through these woods now, I suppose no barrier was raised?" Oleander asked through gritted teeth.
"No," Nele replied. "Sage forgot his loyalty to his people and stole the artefact, dooming the elves. But prince Malte remembered in the end that his people were more important than his love for one man. He killed Sage and took the artefact to present to his father, the king. Without their powerful artefact, fed by years of accumulated life force and blood collected from unfortunate humans who travelled through the woods, the elves could no longer fight the humans."
"Sage Farun chose, and so did king Bertram's son. A treacherous elven man, and a human man loyal to his people and a hero," Ariane said.
Oleander's expression was blank, his eyes icy cold in a way I'd never seen. It sent shivers down my spine. "You call Sage Farun a traitor," Oleander spoke after a short silence. "I hear a loyal lover who trusted his human lover to help him prevent a war from ever happening. The only mistake I hear is on Sage's side. For believing prince Malte could be trusted."
Oleander dug his heels into his horse's flanks and galloped ahead of us. Ariane let it happen with an amused smile. "Touchy," she said. "And rude. Have you not been teaching him how to behave like a servant, Laurence?" She glanced at me. "Get him in line, or I will."
I pressed my lips to a line. Then I made Spot gallop and followed Oleander to the front of the line.
"Hey, are you alright?" I asked, riding beside Oleander.
Oleander didn't immediately respond. He kept his eyes trained on the road for a few moments longer before he turned to me. "Who do you say the traitor in this tale is?" he asked. "Sage or Malte?"
"I..." I trailed off.
I had heard the stories about the Starcross woods, but I had never given it much deeper thought. It was simply history. A past event. Nele told the story in a relatively kind manner compared to some history books. Most depicted Sage Farun as a perverted, ugly man, and prince Malte as a handsome hero who saw the perversion of the elven man for wanting to sleep with him and took advantage of it. He was the reason lessons in how to charm people became part of a knight's required skills.
"I personally like to think they truly loved each other," I said. "That it wasn't only a trick played by prince Malte to get the artefact. That he took his decision because in the end he didn't believe that Sage was sincere or that their plan could work. Prince Malte never actually became a part of the court, you know? He vanished after killing Sage and giving the king the artefact."
"And what if Sage was sincere? Bloodshed could have been prevented. " Oleander's eyes were sad as he stared into the distance. He lowered his voice. "I do not wish to be like Sage Farun. Will you not be like prince Malte and turn me in to the queen when we arrive?"
"Never," I said promptly.
Oleander briefly closed his eyes. "Don't say never too lightly, Laurence."
"Never," I emphasised. "But I can't speak for others. The danger is there. A lot more danger than there was at the Thundercoast." I swallowed and glanced back over my shoulder. "Would you not rather stay in the Starcross woods when we get there? And if there's nobody there, you can go back to the Thundercoast."
Oleander blinked. "Would the queen not be upset with you if you don't take everyone who was invited with you to meet her?"
"Perhaps," I admitted. "But I'm willing to risk that."
"Then I am willing to risk entering Wildewall. If you're with me," Oleander replied. "I just hope I will find my memories there. Perhaps I will remember something when I see the elven artefact of the queen, or read more of the past in the library."
"Yes," I said vaguely. Oleander wouldn't find kind tales about elves in human libraries, but I knew I couldn't keep him away from them. I would only have to make sure I was with him when he went. "But for now, please come to the back of the line with me and ride with the servants."
"Lady Seydal told you to come get me, didn't she?" Oleander pulled a face. "I don't like her."
"I know," I said with a sigh. "But we can't afford to have her get suspicious, Oleander."
Oleander showed his distaste with a wrinkled nose. "Fine," he said. "For you."
Oleander turned his horse around. I followed him, and we went back to our respective places in the line. Oleander in the back with Endris, Nele, and the other servants who weren't guards. And I rode next to Ariane.
"Good," Ariane said. "Glad to see you remember he is a servant."
I clenched my jaw and kept my mouth shut.
Ariane and I had little to discuss, so we rode mostly in silence until we reached the first larger town on the way. Brittleton was nested between lush fields of green, surrounded by cows and sheep. Due to its location and the abundance of wildlife, it was a constant battle for these shepherds to protect their animals from predators. I'd never seen shepherds carrying broadswords and bows outside of Brittleton.
Ariane had arranged a stay at a nearby castle that belonged to her aunt and uncle. It had been a long ride, so after a quiet dinner, I immediately retired to my assigned chambers. The steward had told me I could take the room to the far right, the last door in the hallway.
I yawned as I reached for the doorknob, eager to go to sleep. All my tiredness instantly vanished, however, when I opened the door and there was already someone in there.
Oleander sat on my bed and smiled apologetically when he noticed he'd startled me. "My apologies," he said. "Is it alright that I'm in here?"
I exhaled through my mouth and locked the door behind me. "Of course," I said. "But you have to go back to your room, Oleander. All Ariane's servants are here and if they find you with me we're in a world of trouble."
"I know," Oleander said. "I will only be here for a moment. I just wanted a moment alone with you. Just for a little while."
Slowly, Oleander reached for his ponytail. He untied the ribbon on his hair and a waterfall of silver cascaded down his shoulders. Then he patted the sheets, inviting me to sit with him.
My heart was beating wildly in my chest as I did as he asked and sat, sinking into the soft sheets and mattress. With a smile, Oleander leaned in and softly pressed his lips to my neck. The palm of his hand gingerly grazed my knee, before starting a slow ascend to my thigh.
I released a shuddering breath as blood rushed to my groin."I thought you didn't remember anything."
Oleander laughed quietly, his breath fanning my neck. "I don't need memories to know how I want to touch you. But... I suppose could use some reminders."
Leaning back, Oleander looked at me through half-lidded eyes. I breathed in sharply as his nimble fingers travelled further up and he touched me through my pants.
"What's this?" Oleander asked with purposeful innocent eyes. "You'll have to tell me. I have no memories."
I wanted him to go on. Desperately so. But, with a jolt, I remembered where we were. There was a large risk of getting caught and I didn't want to risk Ariane's ire for sleeping with Oleander under her family's roof. "We're not alone in here," I breathed. "They will notice you missing."
Oleander hummed. "That depends on how fast we are done."
We would be done very fast if Oleander kept his hand where it was now and rubbed. "Oleander, we can't. Not in here," I urged him but already regretted my words the moment Oleander listened and retracted his hand.
"Alright, I understand," Oleander said with a pout. "Could we be alone in the city, away from prying eyes, then?"
"It's a big city, Oleander. I think we can manage there."
"Good." Oleander offered me a smile before turning more serious again. He slid his hands up to my shoulders and pressed a kiss to my lips. Then, he playfully pushed me down onto my back with surprising strength. I stayed sprawled out on the bed with a throbbing groin, while Oleander moved to the window. He tied his hair and then climbed out of the window, disappearing into the dark with a playful sparkle in his iridescent green eyes.