Elena followed Sedric as he led the way, meandering through long, stone hallways and wide, expansive rooms whose use he explained in detail as they explored the main body of the castle. He showed her the armory and the knights' training grounds where Belen, Dolor, Rothbey, and Tawb were busy practicing their swordsmanship and archery. Elena was proud she remembered their names although not which one was which yet.
When the men caught sight of Sedric they waved and called out for him to join them. Two were engaged in a sword fight with dull practice blades, their loose tunics soaked in sweat. Another was shirtless and whipping a chain against a huge wooden pole erected in the training yard, while the last one had a milkmaid's yoke balanced across his shoulders with a sack of ore tied to each end as he practiced his exercises carrying what looked to be few hundred extra pounds on his back.
Sedric smiled at them and waved back but continued on, opening a door from the training grounds into a more narrow hallway. This one was dimly lit by only a few small grated windows that looked out into the courtyard where his friends were exerting themselves. The hallway ended at a wall where they could go right or left. Sedric headed right, explaining how this portion of the palace was built during his great-grandfather's reign.
The faster he walked the less Elena noticed his limp, and the more animated he seemed to become as he explained hundreds of years of his family and kingdom's history, pointing out small fissures in the wall where a king's guard had dodged an ax while being chased during an invasion or small chips in a windowsill where enemy forces had once broken through.
"This palace housed warriors and peacemakers alike," he said proudly, "My ancestors built this kingdom and this palace from nothing," his eyes darkened for a moment, "Only to hand it over to me."
Elena paused where she was, her fingers still tracing the cracks in a stained glass window, watching the colorful pattern reflected onto her skin from the sun shining through. "Why would you say that?" she asked gently, sensing there was more he wanted to voice but perhaps he didn't want to confide in her.
His face resumed that stoic look she had grown so used to after they first found her when his distrust was palpable with every interaction between them. Although she felt like their rapport had come a long way from that, she could tell from the way his shoulders were set and his back went ramrod straight that he was once again surmising her for honest concern rather than searching for weaknesses in him to exploit.
"Nevermind," he replied with a shake of his head, and made for another door, opening it for her expectantly. Elena tried not to let her frustration show at this departure from their recent friendly camaraderie as she followed his lead and stepped through. She found herself on the opposite side of the same interior courtyard from earlier when Sedric had helped escort her and Sarai to the kitchens. Diagonal from where she stood she recognized the door that led down the dank stone corridor to the entryway they had come through just this morning under the grand staircase in the outer courtyard.
Sedric followed and the heavy door shut with a thump behind them. He walked on ahead, his limp more pronounced now as he made for another large door and grabbed the handle, waiting for her to catch up.
Nervously, Elena increased her speed, reaching him just as he turned to pull on the handle to open the door, opening it a crack before he looked at her, a faint smile once more on his face. "This is the place I thought you would be most interested to see," he prefaced, as he opened the door wide and her stomach gave a funny jolt when she felt his free hand graze ever-so-lightly in between her shoulders, ushering her through into the darkness.
It was a small entrance hall. Two freestanding candelabras illuminated the space enough for Elena to see a set of double doors, each with a small, circular window, across from where they had entered as well as the smooth cerulean tile that gleamed underfoot. Her heart sped up, wondering what was on the other side of them and why Sedric had been so excited to show her. She hesitated as he crossed the foyer, reached for one of the ornate golden doorknobs, and looking back at her expectantly.
"W-w-what is it?" she stammered, suddenly finding her trust in him wavering under the resumption of his frosty demeanor.
His face was hardly visible, but his white teeth flashed in the dark room, "Come and see."
Trembling, Elena put one foot in front of the other, slowly making her way the short distance between them until she found herself standing in front of Sedric, his eyes locked on hers even as his hand still gripped the doorknob. The quiet was deafening, no noise seemed to penetrate this small room, so all she heard was her shallow breathing and the pounding of her heart as he looked at her so strangely she thought she might yank the door open herself if only to shatter the tension.
Finally, he broke eye contact with her and she felt herself take a deep breath as he pulled open the door, standing back to let her see what was inside.
Elena gasped as she walked through. Ector had tried to describe the library of the Emeris Palace to her, and she had imagined something out of a movie. What she saw before her now was so much more than that. A room larger than her entire apartment building, every wall brimming with books from the floor to the ceiling. Gold ladders were attached to every row of shelves to be maneuvered by an elaborate pulley system. Tables interspersed amongst the rows and spilling over with stacks of books and scrolls as several old men sat down to read them, holding bifocals to their eyes as they squinted at the words. This place must have been 6 stories high and stretched the length of her entire block in the Bronx.
Amazed, Elena had to crane her neck up to look at the ceiling where a huge stained glass skylight illuminated the vast expanse of this colossal space. The skylight's design was a medallion with a 10 pronged star in the center, each point a different color that glowed overhead from the sun. The floor was more of the same pure marble she had seen elsewhere in the palace, but here it was cut into smaller shapes all arranged in another intricate medallion that mirrored the one above, its own face inlaid with gemstones that sparkled in the sunlight streaming through.
Dust particles glowed in the early afternoon light as they drifted downward. Elena found herself so entranced by where she was she forgot who she was with. She spun in half-circles trying to see every corner she could from this vantage point before she tried to venture further. A giggle caught in her throat that she tried to suppress before it escaped her, echoing in the cavernous room. She clapped a hand over her mouth, but those around her barely looked up from their books at the sound, and the few who did only noted her presence before returning to their studies.
"What do you think?" the familiar voice drew her back to reality as she remembered Sedric was still there.
She glanced back at him momentarily, her face beaming, before she turned again to take in every inch of the amazing space and the wealth of knowledge housed therein. Surely, if there was a way for her to return home, an explanation for how she had come to be here in the first place, this would be the place to find it.
Sedric came closer and joined her, his face once again softened and his smile genuine.
"It's beautiful," she breathed, "Absolutely amazing." She couldn't take her eyes off the walls just begging her to come and peruse further. She was too distracted to notice the man approaching them from one of the tables, his brown robes dragging on the floor and his beard very nearly long enough to do the same.
"Your Highness," he addressed Sedric first, "May I be of service?"
Elena whipped around to see who had crept up on them, heart pounding at the sudden intrusion.
"Thank you, Gaspen, I was hoping Delao might be here, for I have something I wish to discuss with him, or perhaps Osi?"
"Of course, your highness. Osi is off with a delegation to Zare in the Borderlands to collect some volumes that were lent to the Ovassik royal family some years ago. We do not expect him back for several months, at least until the spring. I believe I saw Delao a while ago on one of the upper levels shelving history books. I can find him and bring him to you when I do."
"No, thank you for the offer. You said you saw him recently? I think we will find him ourselves. Thank you for your help, Gaspen."
The old man gave a shaky bow, holding onto the back of a nearby chair to steady himself, "Of course, sire. Please let me know if I can be of any additional assistance."
Although there was nothing Elena wanted more than to be left to her own devices in this library for the remainder of the day she caught Sedric's expression that she was to follow him and together they made for one of the golden spiral staircases that would take them to the next level. Each stair was solid, a pattern carved into the gold to prevent them from being too weighty. When they made it to the landing the flooring was wooden, and Elena looked up at the remaining landings above them, counting 6 more levels to go and wondering which one would be where they found this man, Delao.
Instead of making for the next spiral staircase nearby to climb their way to the 3rd landing, Sedric set off down the path, his hand trailing along the golden railing that kept librarians and would-be scholars from plunging to their death under the weight of too many books. Elena followed slowly, scanning the spines of the books for anything that might indicate usefulness in her quest to understand who Bej was and how to undo whatever he had done by bringing her here.
Her fingers itched to reach out and trail along the lines of books, to feel the texture of their spines and guess at all that they might contain.
"Ah, Delao, we've been searching for you."
Elena's attention darted from the books back to Sedric, now approaching a slightly less elderly man than the one they had asked for directions, whose gaze seemed to be focused over Sedric's shoulder, solely on her.
"Your Highness," he greeted Sedric with a bow and set the stack of books in his hands on the nearest available shelf space to give the prince his undivided attention. Elena came closer, still taking in the span of the library, the millions of books, and now this new person staring at her unsettlingly. His long brown beard streaked with gray not nearly as long as Gaspen's, but it jutted out from his face hanging almost to the middle of his chest. His eyebrows were the size of large caterpillars, framing gray eyes that watched her before flicking back to Sedric.
"How may I be of service, milord?"
Sedric looked around, checking to see if any listening ears were nearby before he took a step closer to the old man and spoke in that low, steady voice, "We're searching for any books you know of about magic, specifically the ability to travel between worlds."
Delao's eyes widened, "Between worlds, milord? I've seen more books in this library than most. I'm not sure the book you speak of exists. Travel between worlds," his voice drifted off, "No, I've never heard of such a thing."
Elena slumped her shoulders in defeat, but Sedric was undeterred, "What about a mage named Bej. He would have to be very powerful, perhaps he studied at the magical university in Trypontli?"
Delao frowned and seemed to consider for a moment, "I've never heard of such a name, Your Highness. Is he Embrian?"
Sedric glanced at Elena, "I don't know. This is Elena -- she met him once but has been unable to find any information about him or where to find him."
Delao's eyes settled on her once again, and she saw the way understanding seemed to click into place as he considered all the questions asked and how they must relate to her.
"There is a chance Osi might know more, ancient magical study is one of his preferred subjects, but he is not expected back until the spring. I could send word to look for a volume of this kind and hope the messenger reaches him before the winter settles in but it would be unlikely to receive a response before the mountain roads are impassable, and by the time they are he would already be preparing for his return."
Elena sighed softly, though not as disappointed as she expected to be.
"Thank you, Delao, we appreciate your time."
"Of course, milord, do come back if there is something else I can help you find," his discerning gaze still set on Elena, who was staring at Sedric again waiting to hear what next step he would suggest.
Sedric started to turn back the way they had come when he paused and leaned in towards Delao closer than before and cleared his throat, "Delao, um, this search we're conducting, it should not reach the ears of anyone else for the time being-- if you understand."
Delao bowed, "Of course, Your Highness."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The afternoon passed swiftly after their dead-end in the library. Unsure what next step to take, Elena had followed Sedric back down the golden spiral staircase trying to speedread every spine for a title that might be of use or interest as she did. She wanted to spend hours here, days here, but she wanted to spend whatever time Sedric had allotted for their tour today more.
His tone was more subdued now as he showed her more of the highlights from the palace. At one point they passed a particularly grand staircase which he explained led to the chambers of him, Ector, and the king. Momentarily, Elena wondered to herself what the chambers of a king or future king would even look like, but Sedric mentioned it only in passing and made no move to take her to see, so on they went, his pace a little quicker and his tone morose.
Once again, she wanted to say something to change his mood, the help him see that he didn't need to be disappointed on her behalf at the lack of information they had discovered. She had been here for several months now, and although her fervor to return home had been all-consuming at the beginning, she was now starting to find her rhythm in this new normal she had been thrust into. The pervasive thoughts of how to get home and what she had left behind were becoming fewer, and the friendships she was forming were beginning to occupy more space in her head, as well as her heart.
They were nearing a familiar area from earlier, the kitchens, when Sedric spoke up again, using his lighter tone from before, "Would you like to see the gardens?"
Elena remembered touring the gardens of Clovis castle and her enthusiastic response of "Yes!" was what finally made Sedric smile again.
They strode past the doors to the kitchens, both propped open to let steam pour forth into the hallway as servants clanged and sang and labored over the stoves and steaming pots bubbling in the hearth. Elena caught the eye of one of the female cooks as she looked up from a pot and they shared a smile as she and Sedric passed.
The entrance to the garden wasn't far from the kitchens, similar to Clovis Castle, but the occupants were completely different.
It was the smell that hit her first. Sedric led her through an archway outside and the combination of wet dirt, green leaves, and rose petals reached her nose before she took her first steps into a garden that looked like the stuff of magazines. Flowers in bloom everywhere one looked-- some in neat, tidy rows, others growing together in patches with no pattern to it. Vines of ivy and purple blooms grew up along the stone walls encasing the area, clinging to the shaded spots in the late afternoon sun.
Unlike Clovis, the gardens at Emeris were not laid out in tiers, but in one enormous rectangle that almost seemed to span the width of the palace. They stood near the middle and Elena looked from one direction to the other but could not see the end to either side. A stone pathway wove through, curving around larger trees and bushes, the pathway lined with a multitude of other plants, and the flagstones covered with fallen petals that floated down from the trees.
The daylight was considerably dimmer than before and Elena wondered how long they had been exploring the palace. Her stomach grumbled, reminding her that she hadn't eaten anything since the bread from Mamerya, but Sedric was here and eager to show her the gardens and she worried if she told him of her hunger it might make him cut short their time.
"What do you think?" he asked, watching for her reaction to the spectacle surrounding them.
Elena ignored the growling of her stomach and shuffled her feet to mar the sound, "It's amazing," she gushed, "I didn't think it was possible to top the gardens at Clovis but you've done it."
Sedric grinned, "Come with me, there's someone I want you to meet."
Curious, Elena followed him as he stepped off the path and slipped between a curtain of vines hanging from a nearby tree. Inside it was like a green cave, their location privately ensconced here in the shelter of the leafy vines, with just enough light peeking through the leaves that she could see his features illuminated in the greenish sunlight. She couldn't see anything outside their enclave... which meant no one could see them either. The thought made her giddy for some reason, and Sedric took note of her smile but plowed onward through the other side of the vines, holding the curtain back for her to follow.
There was a small, worn path here that they followed, traipsing over piles of flower petals mixed with fallen leaves as autumn began closing in. The heat of the day was beginning to wane and the evening's chill began to settle on Elena's neck and arms, making her draw her shawl around her shoulders tighter.
"Aryon?" Sedric was calling as they went, peering into patches of flowers periodically, almost as if he'd forgotten she was there. The ground beneath Elena's feet felt soft, springy, and the grass was just beginning to dull its vibrant green from the advance of autumn.
"Aryon?" he called again, further away and Elena realized she had stopped walking to admire their surroundings so long that he was almost out of sight. She jogged to catch up, rounding a corner in the trail just in time to hear Sedric say, "Ah, there you are."
A man was crouched in some undergrowth, sweat soaked through his tunic, with a wide-brimmed hat on his head blocking any view of his face. He turned just as Elena came round and she saw his face, dark, like hers, his hair black. He stood to his feet and bowed, wiping the dirt from his hands on the front of his breeches which were already caked with various natural elements one might commonly find in a garden, the knees stained with mud.
"Your Highness," he greeted Sedric, "Milady," he bowed again to Elena, who blushed at the gesture.
"None of that formality here, Aryon, I wanted you to meet my friend here, this is Elena. I've brought her to see my mother's gardens."
Aryon affixed her with a friendly stare that seemed to deduce some of the tension she felt brewing towards Sedric, but he looked down sheepishly at the flowers he had been working in and replied, "Not much time left to see them I'm afraid, within a fortnight we'll see our first frost and most of these will be gone until the spring."
"All the better that I've brought her to see them now, then," Sedric joked, "You've outdone yourself this year Aryon, the gardens look spectacular."
The old man smiled, "Tis' good to hear you say it sire, you know I ask myself every day what she would think of it, which flowers she would want to add, and where. I like to think she would be proud of how far it's come. Here, come and see the clowertin bush I planted last spring. Those were always her favorite you know."
Elena watched as Sedric's eyes widened in excitement, finally understanding the woman Aryon was talking about was Sedric's mother.
They followed him through another narrow path and under a particularly low-hanging branch from a nearby fruit tree when they came to a large bush, its limbs thick with yellow blooms, their tips tinged with pink along the edges.
Sedric looked to Elena to see her reaction and she stepped closer, reaching out gently to stroke the satin petals.
"Beautiful, isn't she?" Aryon asked behind her.
"Yes," Sedric said, "She is."
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They bade their goodbyes to Aryon shortly thereafter. Sedric's stomach had begun to growl even more loudly than hers, and he led the way back through the garden paths to the kitchen where the smell of curry soup and spiced bread beckoned them.
A young kitchenmaid ladled out two bowls of hot soup for them before snatching one of the fresh loaves of bread from the table they had been left to cool on. Elena took her bowl while Sedric carried both his and the bread. He look momentarily like he was concentrating on something until he seemed to have an epiphany and turned on his heel.
"This way," Sedric indicated, skirting along the garden to where it ended with the 30ft western-facing wall. He turned left. A wooden door in the wall was left open a crack and Sedric, having both hands full, used one foot to open it fully. He wobbled a little as he did, standing on his injured leg, but then he pointed with the loaf of bread for Elena to enter first. Inside there was nothing but a staircase that climbed upward to a turret with a door which led out onto the ramparts of the castle. Up here the air was cooler; night had begun to settle in and the sky was colored in a blaze of pinks and oranges. A teenage servant carrying a torch passed by them, lighting each of the torches interspersed along the wall as he went.
From this high Elena could see for miles in every direction, even further than she could from her tower room. In the distance, she could spot where the road they had followed south dipped and turned as well as a small village not far from the city's main gates. She turned her gaze towards Coralis and the great ocean beyond.
The sun was waning quickly and Genna looked down at her bowl, ravenously hungry now.
"Here," Sedric set his bowl on the top of the stone crenellations, tearing the bread in half and giving her the larger one.
"Thank you," she said, dipping it into her soup and letting her eyes roll back into her head at the taste, "This is amazing."
He chuckled, "A favorite recipe brought back from my father's travels to Mizwan."
They ate in silence for a few minutes, leaning against the outer edge of the upper wall, then finally sitting along the edge once the soup was gone and their stomachs appeased.
"This must be much different than whatever food you are used to back home," he observed, looking off at the sliver of sunset still clinging to the horizon.
Genna laughed softly, "Well, I'm certainly eating more regular meals than I was back in the Bronx."
"What do you miss the most?" he asked.
Elena pondered the question, "The familiarity; knowing where everything is, who the person on every corner is, their family and life story. The smells, the sounds of traffic and the subway, watching the world fly by as I sit there and watch.... and my abuela."
"Who is she?"
She wanted to tell him without crying, but the grief was still so new, and this place still so foreign in so many ways, so she tried to give him the basics without saying anything that would make her cry.
"She was my grandmother. She raised me after my parents were both gone."
"I'm sorry, when did she die?"
"Just a few months before I found myself here. She died in her sleep." The tears were mustering and she made herself think of something cheerful to say about her abuela.
"She always said being a grandparent was the happiest job, because there was none of the pressure of being a parent," Elena explained, "She said when you're a parent you're so worried about doing everything right and making sure your child grows up healthy and ready for adulthood but when you're a grandparent you just worry about making them happy."
The sun had disappeared, and the cold darkness of night had descended on them like a shroud. In the torchlight she could see Sedric's faint smile, "I would have liked that."
Playfully, she nudged his shoulder, "Then you have to make sure you live long enough to see your grandchildren. Don't go off alone in the woods where there are bears afoot."
Immediately she regretted her words, expecting him to end their conversation just when she was really enjoying it. Instead, he surprised her by smiling broader, "I should say the same thing to you. Although, I'm glad to know you hope I'll live to such an age. When you first arrived I was skeptical."
"I remember," she laughed, and the sound echoed in the chill night air, "You thought I meant to murder you. As if it were even possible. If anything I thought the murderous looks you always gave might kill me on the spot."
He smiled wanly, looking off in the distance towards the sea with his hands tracing dimples in the stone ramparts. That unspoken tension between them resumed, and Elena wanted to say something but she didn't know what. Standing here, alone with him in this place that still felt like a dream, she wanted to peer inside his mind and know what he was thinking.
"Do you have brothers or sisters?"
"Neither. I always wished I had a brother, although we probably would have fought like cats and dogs over everything."
He chuckled. "I am my father's favorite, but it's because of how much he loved my mother, even though I look nothing like her. Ector is my uncle's favorite. I think he sees more of himself in him. Tall, dark, and handsome. Secondborn brother to a king, you know."
"No I don't," she reminded him, "I've always been the only one."
"Was that hard?"
"Sometimes," she admitted, "When my father died and my mother started slipping away from us more and more, it all fell on me to help keep us afloat. I never had anyone to share the load with except my abue-- my grandmother. Then my mom took off and it was just the two of us. Now she's gone and I'm just... alone." The severity of her words struck her suddenly and she felt the tears gathering again. Sedric seemed to understand and tried to soften the blow.
"I never knew any of my grandparents. I would have liked to but my father's father died in battle, and his wife died giving birth to my uncle. Both my mother's parents were killed in a coup in her homeland across the sea. They were ambassadors from the Southern Isles."
"The Southern Isles," she repeated, "Isn't that where your uncle asked if I was from?"
Sedric looked surprised she remembered, "Yes, that's right."
"So the Southern Islanders look more like me?"
"Yes..." he said slowly, as though afraid of where this was going.
"How are Southern Islanders perceived here?" she asked, biting her lip nervously.
Sedric cleared his throat and looked out over the red clay roofs of the city, "I cannot say for certain that every person in my kingdom is kind to those of foreign birth, but I like to think that most are. Of course, there are those who are ignorant, but I've not met many. We have had a good relationship with the Southern Isles for decades, as cemented by my father's marriage to my mother. It was meant to be a joining of two kingdoms that would produce like marriages, but it didn't turn out that way after she died."
Elena winced at the painful memory she had brought up, "How did your parents meet?"
Sedric smiled. "Father said he saw her at a banquet the first night she and her parents arrived. It was to celebrate their safe journey across the sea. She was only 18, and he was expected to marry for power and diplomacy. My grandparents were close personal friends to the South Islander royal family though, my mother played with the princes and princesses as a girl. My father managed to convince his father the king that it would establish a stronger relationship with the Southern Isles, increase our trade, allow for mutual defense in the event we faced another war. It was lucky he did, because the Southern Isles sent 5,000 foot soldiers in our war against Trevain only a year later. My parents were married less than 6 months before my father was gone for almost a year. When he returned the war was won, but my grandfather was carried home in a casket. The next week my parents were crowned king and queen.
"When were you born?"
"9 months after his safe return," he smiled, " I was only a few months old, when..." his voice drifted off, and she knew what he was going to say.
"I assume you've been told how I got my limp," he stated matter-of-factly, "It's hardly a secret."
Elena paused to think through her response, "I've heard various versions of it, yes."
He looked over at her with somber eyes and for a moment she thought he might be the one to cry, but when he spoke, his voice was steady. "Ostarth, the man behind my kidnapping, was also behind the war that killed my grandfather. He sows destruction and woe for all who cross his path. He meant to kill me and remove my father's heir but failed. Things have been quiet for 25 years but now word travels that strange things have been happening in the villages. Tales of large beasts that stir in the forest, dragging whole herds of sheep sometimes leaving nothing but bones. Shadows lurk in corners and are gone the next. There's talk of a man in black who rides throughout the villages on a dark stallion with a cape of crow's feathers. He never stops for food or lodging, just rides through on his way to some unseen destination. But the creatures seem to follow him because the very night after he is seen animals are missing the next morning and the elderly are dead in their beds. His magic knows no limits and his talents are vast and cruel. Some say the animals must be controlled by him, others say the animals and he are one and the same. Who's to know?" He muttered a curse and flexed his palms as if readying to grab his sword at any moment, "He'll stop at nothing until he has what he wants."
"What does he want?" Elena breathed, her nerves on edge as though Ostarth might land on the wall next to them at any moment and hurl Sedric over the edge to his death.
Sedric shook his head, "Would that I knew? Power to be sure. But what else? Revenge? The throne? Why do evil people do evil? Isn't that an age-old question? I do not know what motivated him to try and kill me. I do not know what motivates him to continue his treachery across the kingdom as he prepares for some eventual onslaught. I do not know who I can trust beyond my own family and my closest friends."
Without thinking Elena set her hand on top of his, "You can trust me."
Sedric looked down at her hand and back at her face. He opened his mouth to say something but his voice caught and he closed it again, looking back at the empty expanse of forest this time, watching wisps of cloud streak across the full moon. The night's chill settled on them like dew and Elena wrapped her arms across her chest for warmth.
"Thank you," he finally said, "You've turned out to be much different than I expected you to be."
Elena felt a lump in her throat. His proximity to her on this ledge was unnerving in more ways than one. It occurred to her briefly that if he still considered her to be a threat now would be the perfect time to remove her from the equation. She swallowed and leaned forward just slightly to see the long way down if he did.
"Careful!" his hand gripped her forearm suddenly, eyes half on her and half on the darkness at the bottom of the wall if she were to take a plunge.
Elena looked at his hand and felt it relax like he realized he had just shown too much concern and regretted it, yet he didn't lift his hand. She inhaled deeply before she looked into his eyes, feeling a magnetic pull between them as he finally pulled his hand away slowly, palm outstretched like she might still topple over the wall at any moment and he was ready to reach out and grab her.
Her arm tingled from his touch and she felt herself lean forward again, but this time towards him. She thought of the few kisses she had had in her life, and how they usually started with this pervasive quietness as both people sussed out whether this was the moment. Her heart hammering, her fingers itched to reach out and pull his face towards hers. There was a moment when he leaned forward too, almost infinitesimally, but enough for her to notice. Elena waited with bated breath, her lips parted as she felt her body bracing itself. Sedric's lips opened slightly, and she thought she might fly off this ledge at any moment in anticipation.
"Sedric," a familiar oily voice called, breaking their concentration, and just like that -- the moment was gone.
Both heads turned to see the figure of Lord Rhist emerge from the shadows of the tower, his dark form solidifying in the moonlight as he came closer. How had he managed to find them?
His insincere smile set Elena's teeth on edge, "Good evening," he greeted them, hands clasped in front of him like he was just taking a leisurely stroll and happened to find them, "This is a dangerous place to be sitting. You should both come inside for some heat."
Elena had completely forgotten about the chill in her expectation of Sedric's embrace. She felt her face redden, thankful for the cover of darkness to hide it from Lord Rhist's perceptive gaze.
"Yes Uncle, we were just getting some air. We'll be in shortly."
"You'd better come inside sooner rather than later. You'll recall those meetings with the king you were expected in? The ones you were too busy to go out riding with us this afternoon for? Well, the king is most interested to hear why you missed both of them."
Sedric gave a low groan and Elena avoided Lord Rhist's eyes as that man watched her like he wanted nothing more than to push her off the ramparts and remove the person he very well knew was the source of his nephew's distraction today. If she could have flown and escaped his shrewd gaze herself she would have done so. She felt like a teenager caught out late making out with her boyfriend, although Sedric was not her boyfriend and they were not making out in spite of how close it seemed they had come before they were interrupted. Would he have? she asked herself. Was he about to kiss her just before his uncle conveniently butted in?
The two of them made for the turret door, ducking their heads as they crept through with Lord Rhist hot on their heels. The whole trip down Elena could feel his eyes boring into her. At the bottom Sedric opened the door, holding it for her and his uncle to pass through.
"We should hurry," Lord Rhist remonstrated, "I trust your little friend can find her way back by herself?"
Elena snorted, then realized he was serious.
"I will be along once I escort her back to her quarters, uncle," Sedric's voice was polite but firm.
His uncle's calculating gaze quickly flipped, "It's no trouble at all," his grin was obnoxious, "I've not yet seen where our guest from the Southern Isles has been housed. We must ensure that she is receiving every ounce of hospitality we have to give, after all."
Whether he was telling the truth about not knowing where her room was or not, Elena did not want to cross the entire palace with him slithering behind them making uncomfortable commentary.
"On second thought," she said, "I think I do remember the way back to my chambers. Thank you Lord Rhist, for the offer though. I don't want to keep either of you from the king any longer."
Lord Rhist gave her a gloating look that said she had reacted exactly as he hoped but Sedric's expression seemed hesitant.
"Are you sure you'll be alright?" he asked in a low voice as if she would dare to disagree now in his uncle's presence while the man was clearly trying to separate the two of them.
"I'll manage," she assured him, "Don't worry about me."
Lord Rhist wasted no further time, whisking his nephew in the direction of the kitchens and the palace, leaving Elena standing on the outskirts of the garden to ponder how she would navigate the way back. She caught sight of Sedric's head as he turned and gave a look back over his shoulder at her, then he and his uncle rounded a corner shrubbery and they were gone.