Part 11
Elizabeth entered the forest as quickly as she could. The sun was setting behind her as she pushed the hood of her cape off of her head and continued on her way to the pond to meet Max. She hoped he wasn’t getting too impatient waiting for her since she was running a bit late.
After her father had informed them of the deal he’d made with Kivar, he and Lara had discussed the plans for the rest of the week with her. That had taken longer than expected which also meant they had their dinner later than usual. Once dinner was done, she was allowed to retire for the evening for some time of her own. She’d waited for a while before she was certain no one would miss her when she slipped away.
It didn’t take long until she arrived at the pond, albeit a little out of breath. As she approached the pond, she looked around and was surprised to see that Max wasn’t there. A frown began to form on her face when she heard the soft rustle nearby.
She turned in the direction of the sound in time to see the lion emerge from the foliage. She recognized Max’s eyes immediately. Smiling she walked towards him.
“There you are. I was afraid I missed you. Dinner ran later than expected.”
The lion dipped its head, letting her know he’d understood. Then Max’s voice sounded in her head. “You haven’t been here in over a week that I was starting to wonder if you were coming back.”
Elizabeth sighed as she slowly shook her head. “I’m sorry Max, but something’s come up.”
“What is it?” asked Max.
She motioned to the area where she often sat down, “Why don’t we get comfortable and I’ll tell you what has happened.”
The lion followed her to the tree and sat down next to her. However, where Elizabeth sat with her feet curled beneath her in a relaxed position, the lion sat on its haunches. It was as if Max knew whatever she had to say wasn’t going to be good.
As soon as she was ready, she just launched into her story knowing Max preferred her to just come out with it. “The last day I saw you, I returned home to find my parents discussing something. It seems my father has fallen on hard times and in order for him to have any kind of decent future, I must marry a man with the means to help my family.”
There was silence from Max for a long moment before he finally asked, “What did you tell them?”
She looked up into his eyes. “I told them I would marry the man they chose for me.”
“What?” came the sharp answer. Elizabeth was almost certain she’d heard a low growl accompanying that remark. However, it was gone before she could be sure.
Shrugging, she continued. “I spent the last week doing nothing but studying how to be a proper lady so that I could impress whoever came to call on me. I couldn’t just let my father go into ruin, so I agreed to help him. I’ve been studying hard and…”
“Elizabeth, you have not finished your lessons with me,” Max interjected.
“I know that Max, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to finish them at all now. It’s important that I prepare for my journey.”
The lion’s head jerked up. “What journey?”
“That’s what I’m trying to tell you. After doing all this studying this past week, I had a suitor pay my father a visit today. It seems all my hard work has paid off because I spent the first half of the day doing my best to impress him with my ladylike manners. Lord Kivar was so impressed with me that he made a deal with my father late this evening. In exchange for my hand in marriage, Lord Kivar will lend my father the money he needs to keep the manor afloat. As long as I remain a part of his life, he will help my family out.”
“Is that so?” came another short reply.
“Yes. Lord Kivar is a very wealthy man. He comes from a family who has prospered in several business enterprises and because of that, he is able to take care of my family and I. He’s exactly what my father needed.”
“You don’t even know him Elizabeth. All you know is what he has told you.”
Again she shrugged. “My father knows his family business. It is enough and the deal has been made. I now have a week to prepare and pack before I go to marry him at his home.”
“A week! That is not enough for you to learn what I have left to teach you!” snapped Max.
Elizabeth blinked at the sharpness of his words before lowering her eyes to the ground. “I’m sorry Max, but it’s like I said. I will not ever finish my lessons with you. I must spend the rest of this week preparing for my future.”
“I can’t believe your parents are letting you do this!”
“My father made the deal with Kivar, Max. He may not want to see me go, but he always knew he would have to let me go someday. Just as I always knew I’d have to marry someday even though I rebelled for a while.” She paused for a few moments before going on. “In one week my parents and I will make the journey to Kivar’s home and the wedding will take place eight days after that. At least my parents will see me married before we will be separated.”
The lion shook its head. “This will not bode well for you Elizabeth. You will be going to a place where you will be surrounded by strangers. Plus you have abilities that are still not perfected even as you live among humans who fear them.”
Elizabeth sighed. “I don’t think I’ll ever be using my gifts Max. I’ve realized that I must accept the fact that I am human and have to act as one. The gifts were nothing more than an escape for me, but I have to set aside that rebelliousness and grow up now. I will not need my gifts where I am going.”
The lion rose to its feet, towering over Elizabeth from her seated position. “You cannot just shut off your gifts Elizabeth. They are just as much a part of you as breathing is. Having gifts doesn’t make you childish, especially since the gifts were meant to grow along with you. Never think you can pretend they don’t exist. The day you do that, you will lose control and they will expose you for what you are.”
Max saw her visibly swallow. He knew he was being hard on her, trying his best to instill fear into her. But he wasn’t going to apologize for that. He knew he was right. She couldn’t just turn off her gifts. And since she’d already been learning to use them, chances were she’d slip up and use them instinctively without realizing it until it was too late. Better he frightened her into realizing this rather than being exposed in a place where she would be unprepared to defend herself.
Elizabeth knew Max was trying to protect her despite his words. It was why she wasn’t as frightened as he was trying to make her. Taking a deep breath, she answered him.
“I don’t have a choice Max. I cannot sit by and allow my father to fall into disgrace if I can help it. I must do this for my family. You must understand this Max.”
The lion’s eyes narrowed, but there was no sound. Max did understand what she was saying. He admired the way she loved her family unconditionally. She’d been that way even when she’d escaped to the woods for a little freedom from them. He knew she had always loved her family. It was the lifestyle she’d been born into that she hadn’t liked.
Now, he was seeing just how much she loved her family and the lengths she’d go through to help them out. She would even endure a lifetime of living the lifestyle she detested to keep her loved ones safe and happy. Who wouldn’t admire a love like that.
Max believed Elizabeth was a brave woman since she was able to stand tall and accept the challenge of going into a strange land for the sake of her loved ones. He’d never met a human who exhibited the strength and bravery Elizabeth seemed to be showing him now. Especially as she looked the lion straight in the eyes and answered without fear. He had always thought humans to be weak-willed beings always led around by their emotions or those stronger than them.
Still, despite the fact that Elizabeth seemed to understand the future she was going to be facing, Max couldn’t help but be afraid for her. As prepared as she thought she was, there was always the chance of something happening that couldn’t be prevented. That was the way the world worked. Nothing was set in stone. And he feared he wouldn’t be there to help her if something should befall her.
Finally he answered her. “I do understand, Elizabeth. I understand, but I don’t like it.”
She nodded. “I know. Look, is there something you want to show me tonight? Something you think I will need to know in the long run? I have a little time before I need to return home. Maybe you can teach me one last thing before I have to say goodbye.”
Max let out a sigh. “Yes, I think there are a couple of things I can teach you tonight.”
Elizabeth smiled. “Thank you, Max.”
************************************************************************
Max walked Elizabeth to the edge of the woods when the time came for her to return to the manor. He’d kept her out there for a long as he could, trying to teach her all he felt she’d need to know to keep her gifts under control. Although if he were truthful with himself, he knew he’d been keeping her there for purely selfish reasons.
That was why when she’d announced it was time for to return, he’d dragged his paws to escort her to the edge of the woods. Every second counted because he knew this would be the last time he’d ever see her in the woods again.
She would now be busy learning everything else she needed to learn to be the proper lady for her husband to be and the court circles she was sure to be traveling in. Then there was all the packing she would have to do before the journey as well. She would be too busy getting ready for her new life that there would be no time to escape to the woods again.
She’d already explained this to Max and he’d understood that a week for humans was a very short time. Still, he was uncomfortable with the fact that he’d had no warning that she was leaving. This was it.
At the edge of the woods, Elizabeth turned to give him a sad smile. “Thank you for everything Max.”
The lion nodded its head. “You’re welcome Elizabeth.”
When she started to turn away, he spoke up again. “There is one last thing, before you go.”
She gave him a puzzled look. “Oh? What is it?”
The air between them began to shimmer until a small opaque stone appeared to hover there. As it solidified, two shimmering tendrils like silver emerged from the sides of the stone, growing in length until finally coming together to form an unbroken circle.
As the last of the shimmer faded away, Elizabeth could see the necklace clearly as it hovered in the air. An opaque stone at the end of a silver chain, at least that’s what it appeared to be.
“Take it,” instructed Max.
Elizabeth reached out to grasp the stone in her hand. As she touched it, she felt the heat of it as a soft blue glow emitted from it. The heat wasn’t enough to alarm her since it merely warmed her hand. Still, as she fingered the stone and the chain, she knew it wasn’t an ordinary stone or metal that she knew of.
Max confirmed it with his next words. “The stone is from the river Qu’on that runs through my home lands. The chain is made of magic, fire and the blood of unicorns which makes it indestructible. I’ve embedded a few drops of my blood into the stone so that it is forever connected to me. Should you ever have dire need of my help, hold the stone in your hands and think of me. Do that until it becomes almost too hot to hold, for then you will know I have heard your summons and am on my way.”
Elizabeth solemnly nodded as she pulled the necklace over her head and lifted her hair so that the chain rested against her neck. The stone settled itself between her breasts, long enough to be hidden the neckline of her dress. She knew she could wear it with almost anything and it wouldn’t been seen unless she wanted it to be.
Looking up at the lion, she gave him a grateful smile. “Thank you for the necklace Max.”
The lion nodded as it took a few steps towards her. “Be careful wherever you go, Elizabeth. Remember to always be aware of your surroundings. May the elementals be kind to you and yours, always.”
She ignored the tears that sprang up into her eyes as she heard Max’s words of blessing. “May the elementals be kind to you too, Max.”
The lion merely gazed at her with its amber eyes, but she knew he’d acknowledged her blessing. Slowly she reached out to run a hand through its mane.
Her voice was almost a whisper as she spoke. “Thank you for everything Max and for being my friend. I shall never forget you.”
She finally moved away from him and began walking out of the woods towards the manor. She was halfway there when she finally heard his soft spoken answer.
“Nor I, you. Goodbye Elizabeth.”
TBC...
Of Secrets, Healers, & Fae (AU,M/L,ADULT) COMPLETE
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Re: Of Secrets, Healers, & Fae (M/L, Adult)note(pg10)5/3
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"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams." -Dr. Seuss
"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams." -Dr. Seuss
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Shadowlynxbehr
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Re: Of Secrets, Healers, & Fae (M/L, Adult)note(pg10)5/3
Part 12
Elizabeth stood at the bottom of the steps watching as the last of her belongings were loaded onto the wagon behind the carriage that would be taking her to her new home. She could hear her father talking to the guards who would be leading the small caravan, while her mother remained inside giving last minute instructions to the servants who would be caring for the manor during her absence.
As yet another trunk was lifted onto the wagon, Elizabeth glanced towards the forest in what may have been the umpteenth time. She knew she’d never see Max again, but still she hoped to catch a glimpse of some kind of animal in the shadows. It may have not have been her friend in disguise, but that didn’t matter to her. She just couldn’t look away from the woods that had been so familiar to her for most of her life.
Of course, she could admit that she deep down inside she really did want to see Max one last time before she left her familial home for good. Despite the fact that she knew she’d never be able to see the color of the animal’s eyes from that distance, she wondered if maybe he would have found some way to let her know it was him.
But hoping and wishing for some sign from Max wasn’t helping at all. All she could do was continue to glance at the woods until she could no longer do so.
Soon the caravan was all loaded up and ready to go. Jeffery helped Lara into the back of the carriage before moving to Elizabeth’s side.
“Come daughter, it is time for us to be on our way.”
Elizabeth nodded as she let her father lead her to the carriage door. She climbed the steps, but paused to look one last time towards the woods. Finally, with a resigned sigh, she entered the carriage to take a seat besides her stepmother.
Lara helped her to arrange the second new gown that they’d been able to afford to have made for appearances. Once they were both comfortable, Jeffery nodded to the lead guards and climbed into the carriage to sit opposite the women. A servant closed the door behind Jeffery, leaving them to get settled before the driver urged the horses to follow the guards and wagon in front of them.
Two more wagons followed behind the carriage, as well as the rear guard behind it all. There were also at least two guards on either side of all the wagons and the carriage. Kivar had been kind enough to send ten of his personal guard to help escort the Parkers to his home and Jeffery had hired the rest of the guards from his own holdings.
Soon the caravan was moving away from the Parker Manor. It would be about a day and a half before the caravan would reach Kivar’s holdings.
When the carriage lurched slightly, indicating that they were on their way, Jeffery smiled at his daughter.
“Well, here we go Elizabeth. It won’t be long before we reach your new home and we’ll have some time to get to know Lord Kivar, your husband to be.”
Elizabeth nodded. “I am looking forward to getting to know Lord Kivar a little more before the wedding.”
Lara chuckled. “Oh that would be wonderful for you, my dear. That way you won’t be going into the marriage completely at a loss. But I also cannot wait to arrive at Lord Kivar’s holdings and begin helping you with the wedding preparations.”
“I hope it all goes well,” added Elizabeth. “Especially since there will only be a few days to prepare.”
“I’m sure Kivar will give us plenty of helpers for our disposal. He is nothing if not resourceful and thorough,” replied Jeffery, as he peeked out of the tiny window by his side.
Suddenly, a faint sound managed to penetrate the carriage walls. Lara looked at her husband with a bit of worry in her eyes.
“What was that?” she asked.
Jeffery was still looking out of the window. “I have no idea.”
As he continued to look outside, Elizabeth looked out of her own window. She didn’t say anything, but she knew exactly what that sound had been. No one else would recognize it for what it was, but she knew it was the only sign she would ever be getting from her distant friend.
After a few moments of silence, Jeffery turned to grin at the two ladies. “We’ve just passed the marker of the end of my lands, it’s all new territory from here on out.”
The two women nodded in agreement as all three of them glanced out of a window to get a glimpse of the surroundings. Silently, they all hoped that there would be something to keep them entertained for the long journey towards Kivar’s holdings.
************************************************************************
From the shadows at the edge of the woods, a pair of golden eyes had begun to glow when Elizabeth had gotten into the carriage. There were no humans nearby to witness the eerie sight. Only the breeze and nature itself was aware of the way the eyes appeared to move as if tracking something in the distance.
Those eyes had followed the carriage as it slowly made its way down the road. With each passing moment the eyes seemed to glow brighter and brighter as the carriage moved farther away.
Then when the carriage and the rest of the caravan that surrounded it had all but disappeared from sight, the golden eyes seemed to wink out into darkness. A beat of silence passed before a loud roar echoed from the woods.
It was loud enough to send several birds into flight and the handful of servants working outside of the manor stopped what they were doing and crossed themselves to ward off the frightening sound. Even the guards and other personnel surrounding the Parker’s carriage had heard the sound from that distance. It made them look at each other in puzzlement before surveying their surroundings in caution.
None of them could even fathom what it was they’d just heard and their simple minds shied away from trying to figure it out. Instead, the servants hurried to finish their work before rushing into the safety of the surrounding buildings. There they would convince themselves that all was well and promptly forget they’d ever heard that sound. Some would even claim it had been nothing but a figment of their imagination.
The guards in the caravan would continue to survey their surroundings, keeping a cautious eye out for anything unusual. However, as time passed and they got further away from Parker manor, they would stop being concerned about the sound and concentrate on their route and keeping their cargo safe.
In the interior of the woods, quite a distance from the wood’s edge, a lion could be seen running through the foliage without a care of its direction. It didn’t seem to notice the scratches that formed on its coat as it tore through the underbrush. Leaves and moss tangled through its mane and tiny beads of blood welled in the scratches along its pelt.
It raced around a cluster of trees and nearly slammed into a smaller tree hidden behind them. As it was, it scraped its shoulder on the bark, leaving faint smears of blood and pieces of fur behind. It seemed to stumble a bit before righting itself and continued running until it reached the pond. There, it literally skidded to a halt sending a mixture of dirt and pebbles flying in all directions.
It stood there with its head hanging low, mouth open and tongue lolling. As its sides heaved, it made sounds of distress that blended with its noisy breathing. Those bestial sounds slowly changed into the sounds of labored human breathing as the shape of the lion faded and morphed into the fae’s true form.
Ma’kshEvanyelzan was on his hands and knees in the same place the lion had been. He was completely naked except for the foliage that remained in his long dark hair and the myriad of scratches on his body. The long hair trailed down his back and strands hung over his shoulders, obscuring his face from view. With his head lowered slightly, the hair was nearly long enough for the ends to touch the ground.
One shoulder was skinned badly and oozing blood. A thin trail of blood had made its way down his arm while several drops had splattered on the ground when the lion had skidded to a halt moments ago. While some of the scratches on his body were red, none of them had bled the way the shoulder wound had.
Even bent over like that, the sinewy strength of his body was evident. Fae like him were built for endurance, the way a swimmer or runner would be. Those of long limbs, broad shoulders and a hint of muscle. Still, only the individual fae and those that were familiar with it would know exactly what its strengths were.
Despite the close bodily resemblance most fae had to humans, there were still some tell-tale differences. Most notably in the different eye color hues, the slightly pointed ears and sharper nails and teeth.
In Ma’kshEvanyelzan, his eyes were a golden amber which could glow brightly until they were almost a solid gold. His ear tips peeked out from between the strands of his long dark hair and the slightly long nails at the end of his fingers dug into the ground as he curled them in frustration.
Wet drops splashed on the ground near his hands which appeared to startle him. Tilting his head to the side he peered at the drops in the dirt before he crawled towards the water’s edge to peer at his image.
Frowning when he couldn’t see clearly in the gently rippling water, he lifted a hand and touched the wetness on his cheek before pulling his hand away to peer curiously at it. Lifting his fingers to his lips, his tongue slid out to taste the wetness on the tips of them. Grimacing at the strange salty taste, he looked back into the water to try to see the liquid on his face once more.
Turning his face this way and that, he still couldn’t see the liquid in the distorted water. However, he remembered Elizabeth telling him what tears were and assumed that was what was on his face. Still, he’d never known fae could shed tears since he’d never seen one do so before. No one had ever told him it was possible either.
Moving his face closer to the water, he suddenly forgot about finding the tears when his real visage got his attention. There in the wavering water was the pale face of a fae, framed with hair that was almost black as a moonless night. Two glowing orbs of amber were his eyes as the tips of his ears parted the long hair at the sides of his head.
He sneered at the image in the water and when he saw the slightly sharp teeth, a soft growl emitted from his throat. It rose in volume before he finally reached out to strike the water with his hand to distort the image.
Sitting back on his haunches, he scowled over the fact that he was such a hideous looking beast. He knew without a doubt that Elizabeth would have never been able to tolerate his true form if she’d ever seen it.
He was glad he’d never lost control of his powers and let her see him by mistake or given in to her requests to see it. It was common knowledge among the fae that humans had never liked looking at them, no matter how closely some of them could resemble human beings. The humans tended to get upset when they did see a real fae’s form and he was sure Elizabeth would have done the same if he’d shown her his form when she’d asked him to those few times.
The thought of his human friend made him calm slightly. Deciding that he wanted to look at her one more time he spread his hands, palms out towards the water’s surface and waved them back and forth. When a lump began to gather in the water, he sat back again and watched as it grew bigger.
Using his mind powers, he shaped the growing mass until an image began to form. It appeared as if a water nymph was rising from the pond to stand on the surface. Only this water nymph had the face of Elizabeth Parker.
The figure wore a dress like the one he’d seen Elizabeth wearing when she’d entered the carriage although the figure didn’t have any color since she was made of water. Still, it was the shape and design of the dress she’d worn. Her hair hung loose and wavy the way he’d liked to see her wear it and she had a smile on her face.
Ignoring the fact that he could see through her, he rose to his feet and walked towards her. When he was standing in water just above his ankles, he was right in front of the figure. Even though Ma’kshEvanyelzan was standing in the water with her standing on the water’s surface, he was still tall enough to be eye level with her.
He tilted his head to the side as if trying to decide if he had captured Elizabeth’s image perfectly. As his eyes narrowed in concentration, small movements of the water continued to occur as the image seemed to adhere to the specifications in his mind.
Soon the water Elizabeth appeared to be breathing softly as she continued to smile at Ma’kshEvanyelzan. Strands of watery hair seemed to float in the slight breeze even as the folds of her dress rippled slightly. Small drops of water sparkled at the ends of the strands that floated in the breeze making her face look as if it was surrounded by tiny lights.
Unable to simply stand there and stare at her, Ma’kshEvanyelzan raised a hand to touch her cheek. As his fingers moved over the watery surface, ripples seemed to emerge from his fingers and traveled outward through her face. Still, she never stopped smiling nor did she move from the position he’d created her in.
As his fingers moved from her face to her hair, Ma’kshEvanyelzan realized he was smiling back at her. Little did he know that the image he’d just created of Elizabeth had helped to calm the turmoil that had begun roiling through him upon seeing the real Elizabeth leaving her home.
Now feeling much better, he moved around water Elizabeth and walked deeper into the water until he was waist deep. Turning around, he looked at water Elizabeth and watched as she slowly submerged back into the pond. He stood there for a few more moments watching the water ripple where the figure had been standing.
Then just as slowly as the figure had submerged, Ma’kshEvanyelzan leaned back until he was floating on his back. With his limbs and hair spread out around him on the water’s surface, he floated leisurely while gazing at the sky through the trees. A ghost of a smile played over his lips as he gazed up at the darkening sky.
He remained that way for a while, no sign of movement but for the ripples around his body. Then when twilight approached, wisps of fog began to rise from his extremities. The fog began to coalesce and thicken until it seemed to completely cover him.
Only his eyes could still be seen through the fog as they appeared to still be gazing at the darkening sky. Moments later the eyes closed and the fog began to float across the surface of the pond towards the opposite bank.
There was no trace of Ma’kshEvanyelzan as the fog continued to move onto the land, rising higher and higher until it seemed to disperse among the trees. When the last tendril of fog disappeared, the pond and surrounding woods appeared empty and silent as night settled over the land.
TBC...
Elizabeth stood at the bottom of the steps watching as the last of her belongings were loaded onto the wagon behind the carriage that would be taking her to her new home. She could hear her father talking to the guards who would be leading the small caravan, while her mother remained inside giving last minute instructions to the servants who would be caring for the manor during her absence.
As yet another trunk was lifted onto the wagon, Elizabeth glanced towards the forest in what may have been the umpteenth time. She knew she’d never see Max again, but still she hoped to catch a glimpse of some kind of animal in the shadows. It may have not have been her friend in disguise, but that didn’t matter to her. She just couldn’t look away from the woods that had been so familiar to her for most of her life.
Of course, she could admit that she deep down inside she really did want to see Max one last time before she left her familial home for good. Despite the fact that she knew she’d never be able to see the color of the animal’s eyes from that distance, she wondered if maybe he would have found some way to let her know it was him.
But hoping and wishing for some sign from Max wasn’t helping at all. All she could do was continue to glance at the woods until she could no longer do so.
Soon the caravan was all loaded up and ready to go. Jeffery helped Lara into the back of the carriage before moving to Elizabeth’s side.
“Come daughter, it is time for us to be on our way.”
Elizabeth nodded as she let her father lead her to the carriage door. She climbed the steps, but paused to look one last time towards the woods. Finally, with a resigned sigh, she entered the carriage to take a seat besides her stepmother.
Lara helped her to arrange the second new gown that they’d been able to afford to have made for appearances. Once they were both comfortable, Jeffery nodded to the lead guards and climbed into the carriage to sit opposite the women. A servant closed the door behind Jeffery, leaving them to get settled before the driver urged the horses to follow the guards and wagon in front of them.
Two more wagons followed behind the carriage, as well as the rear guard behind it all. There were also at least two guards on either side of all the wagons and the carriage. Kivar had been kind enough to send ten of his personal guard to help escort the Parkers to his home and Jeffery had hired the rest of the guards from his own holdings.
Soon the caravan was moving away from the Parker Manor. It would be about a day and a half before the caravan would reach Kivar’s holdings.
When the carriage lurched slightly, indicating that they were on their way, Jeffery smiled at his daughter.
“Well, here we go Elizabeth. It won’t be long before we reach your new home and we’ll have some time to get to know Lord Kivar, your husband to be.”
Elizabeth nodded. “I am looking forward to getting to know Lord Kivar a little more before the wedding.”
Lara chuckled. “Oh that would be wonderful for you, my dear. That way you won’t be going into the marriage completely at a loss. But I also cannot wait to arrive at Lord Kivar’s holdings and begin helping you with the wedding preparations.”
“I hope it all goes well,” added Elizabeth. “Especially since there will only be a few days to prepare.”
“I’m sure Kivar will give us plenty of helpers for our disposal. He is nothing if not resourceful and thorough,” replied Jeffery, as he peeked out of the tiny window by his side.
Suddenly, a faint sound managed to penetrate the carriage walls. Lara looked at her husband with a bit of worry in her eyes.
“What was that?” she asked.
Jeffery was still looking out of the window. “I have no idea.”
As he continued to look outside, Elizabeth looked out of her own window. She didn’t say anything, but she knew exactly what that sound had been. No one else would recognize it for what it was, but she knew it was the only sign she would ever be getting from her distant friend.
After a few moments of silence, Jeffery turned to grin at the two ladies. “We’ve just passed the marker of the end of my lands, it’s all new territory from here on out.”
The two women nodded in agreement as all three of them glanced out of a window to get a glimpse of the surroundings. Silently, they all hoped that there would be something to keep them entertained for the long journey towards Kivar’s holdings.
************************************************************************
From the shadows at the edge of the woods, a pair of golden eyes had begun to glow when Elizabeth had gotten into the carriage. There were no humans nearby to witness the eerie sight. Only the breeze and nature itself was aware of the way the eyes appeared to move as if tracking something in the distance.
Those eyes had followed the carriage as it slowly made its way down the road. With each passing moment the eyes seemed to glow brighter and brighter as the carriage moved farther away.
Then when the carriage and the rest of the caravan that surrounded it had all but disappeared from sight, the golden eyes seemed to wink out into darkness. A beat of silence passed before a loud roar echoed from the woods.
It was loud enough to send several birds into flight and the handful of servants working outside of the manor stopped what they were doing and crossed themselves to ward off the frightening sound. Even the guards and other personnel surrounding the Parker’s carriage had heard the sound from that distance. It made them look at each other in puzzlement before surveying their surroundings in caution.
None of them could even fathom what it was they’d just heard and their simple minds shied away from trying to figure it out. Instead, the servants hurried to finish their work before rushing into the safety of the surrounding buildings. There they would convince themselves that all was well and promptly forget they’d ever heard that sound. Some would even claim it had been nothing but a figment of their imagination.
The guards in the caravan would continue to survey their surroundings, keeping a cautious eye out for anything unusual. However, as time passed and they got further away from Parker manor, they would stop being concerned about the sound and concentrate on their route and keeping their cargo safe.
In the interior of the woods, quite a distance from the wood’s edge, a lion could be seen running through the foliage without a care of its direction. It didn’t seem to notice the scratches that formed on its coat as it tore through the underbrush. Leaves and moss tangled through its mane and tiny beads of blood welled in the scratches along its pelt.
It raced around a cluster of trees and nearly slammed into a smaller tree hidden behind them. As it was, it scraped its shoulder on the bark, leaving faint smears of blood and pieces of fur behind. It seemed to stumble a bit before righting itself and continued running until it reached the pond. There, it literally skidded to a halt sending a mixture of dirt and pebbles flying in all directions.
It stood there with its head hanging low, mouth open and tongue lolling. As its sides heaved, it made sounds of distress that blended with its noisy breathing. Those bestial sounds slowly changed into the sounds of labored human breathing as the shape of the lion faded and morphed into the fae’s true form.
Ma’kshEvanyelzan was on his hands and knees in the same place the lion had been. He was completely naked except for the foliage that remained in his long dark hair and the myriad of scratches on his body. The long hair trailed down his back and strands hung over his shoulders, obscuring his face from view. With his head lowered slightly, the hair was nearly long enough for the ends to touch the ground.
One shoulder was skinned badly and oozing blood. A thin trail of blood had made its way down his arm while several drops had splattered on the ground when the lion had skidded to a halt moments ago. While some of the scratches on his body were red, none of them had bled the way the shoulder wound had.
Even bent over like that, the sinewy strength of his body was evident. Fae like him were built for endurance, the way a swimmer or runner would be. Those of long limbs, broad shoulders and a hint of muscle. Still, only the individual fae and those that were familiar with it would know exactly what its strengths were.
Despite the close bodily resemblance most fae had to humans, there were still some tell-tale differences. Most notably in the different eye color hues, the slightly pointed ears and sharper nails and teeth.
In Ma’kshEvanyelzan, his eyes were a golden amber which could glow brightly until they were almost a solid gold. His ear tips peeked out from between the strands of his long dark hair and the slightly long nails at the end of his fingers dug into the ground as he curled them in frustration.
Wet drops splashed on the ground near his hands which appeared to startle him. Tilting his head to the side he peered at the drops in the dirt before he crawled towards the water’s edge to peer at his image.
Frowning when he couldn’t see clearly in the gently rippling water, he lifted a hand and touched the wetness on his cheek before pulling his hand away to peer curiously at it. Lifting his fingers to his lips, his tongue slid out to taste the wetness on the tips of them. Grimacing at the strange salty taste, he looked back into the water to try to see the liquid on his face once more.
Turning his face this way and that, he still couldn’t see the liquid in the distorted water. However, he remembered Elizabeth telling him what tears were and assumed that was what was on his face. Still, he’d never known fae could shed tears since he’d never seen one do so before. No one had ever told him it was possible either.
Moving his face closer to the water, he suddenly forgot about finding the tears when his real visage got his attention. There in the wavering water was the pale face of a fae, framed with hair that was almost black as a moonless night. Two glowing orbs of amber were his eyes as the tips of his ears parted the long hair at the sides of his head.
He sneered at the image in the water and when he saw the slightly sharp teeth, a soft growl emitted from his throat. It rose in volume before he finally reached out to strike the water with his hand to distort the image.
Sitting back on his haunches, he scowled over the fact that he was such a hideous looking beast. He knew without a doubt that Elizabeth would have never been able to tolerate his true form if she’d ever seen it.
He was glad he’d never lost control of his powers and let her see him by mistake or given in to her requests to see it. It was common knowledge among the fae that humans had never liked looking at them, no matter how closely some of them could resemble human beings. The humans tended to get upset when they did see a real fae’s form and he was sure Elizabeth would have done the same if he’d shown her his form when she’d asked him to those few times.
The thought of his human friend made him calm slightly. Deciding that he wanted to look at her one more time he spread his hands, palms out towards the water’s surface and waved them back and forth. When a lump began to gather in the water, he sat back again and watched as it grew bigger.
Using his mind powers, he shaped the growing mass until an image began to form. It appeared as if a water nymph was rising from the pond to stand on the surface. Only this water nymph had the face of Elizabeth Parker.
The figure wore a dress like the one he’d seen Elizabeth wearing when she’d entered the carriage although the figure didn’t have any color since she was made of water. Still, it was the shape and design of the dress she’d worn. Her hair hung loose and wavy the way he’d liked to see her wear it and she had a smile on her face.
Ignoring the fact that he could see through her, he rose to his feet and walked towards her. When he was standing in water just above his ankles, he was right in front of the figure. Even though Ma’kshEvanyelzan was standing in the water with her standing on the water’s surface, he was still tall enough to be eye level with her.
He tilted his head to the side as if trying to decide if he had captured Elizabeth’s image perfectly. As his eyes narrowed in concentration, small movements of the water continued to occur as the image seemed to adhere to the specifications in his mind.
Soon the water Elizabeth appeared to be breathing softly as she continued to smile at Ma’kshEvanyelzan. Strands of watery hair seemed to float in the slight breeze even as the folds of her dress rippled slightly. Small drops of water sparkled at the ends of the strands that floated in the breeze making her face look as if it was surrounded by tiny lights.
Unable to simply stand there and stare at her, Ma’kshEvanyelzan raised a hand to touch her cheek. As his fingers moved over the watery surface, ripples seemed to emerge from his fingers and traveled outward through her face. Still, she never stopped smiling nor did she move from the position he’d created her in.
As his fingers moved from her face to her hair, Ma’kshEvanyelzan realized he was smiling back at her. Little did he know that the image he’d just created of Elizabeth had helped to calm the turmoil that had begun roiling through him upon seeing the real Elizabeth leaving her home.
Now feeling much better, he moved around water Elizabeth and walked deeper into the water until he was waist deep. Turning around, he looked at water Elizabeth and watched as she slowly submerged back into the pond. He stood there for a few more moments watching the water ripple where the figure had been standing.
Then just as slowly as the figure had submerged, Ma’kshEvanyelzan leaned back until he was floating on his back. With his limbs and hair spread out around him on the water’s surface, he floated leisurely while gazing at the sky through the trees. A ghost of a smile played over his lips as he gazed up at the darkening sky.
He remained that way for a while, no sign of movement but for the ripples around his body. Then when twilight approached, wisps of fog began to rise from his extremities. The fog began to coalesce and thicken until it seemed to completely cover him.
Only his eyes could still be seen through the fog as they appeared to still be gazing at the darkening sky. Moments later the eyes closed and the fog began to float across the surface of the pond towards the opposite bank.
There was no trace of Ma’kshEvanyelzan as the fog continued to move onto the land, rising higher and higher until it seemed to disperse among the trees. When the last tendril of fog disappeared, the pond and surrounding woods appeared empty and silent as night settled over the land.
TBC...
Shadowlynxbehr's Fics
"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams." -Dr. Seuss
"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams." -Dr. Seuss
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Shadowlynxbehr
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Re: Of Secrets, Healers, & Fae (M/L, Adult)pt11/12(pg10/11)6/13
Part 13
Elizabeth sat alone beneath a willow tree watching the lilies that grew beneath the long hanging leaves of the tree. The lilies, as well as the willow tree, swayed back and forth in the gentle wind. The tree itself was so huge that at least a dozen people could sit comfortably beneath its shade.
There was nothing else for miles around in any direction, as far as the eye could see. There was just that willow tree floating in a sea of soft, light green grass.
Elizabeth leaned back with a sigh against the tree, closing her eyes for a few moments. Then, a voice seemed to float down from one of the branches above and to the right of her.
“Is there something bothering you Elizabeth?”
Opening her eyes, she shrugged as she smoothed down the edges of the wedding gown she wore. “I’m just nervous I suppose.”
“Oh?” A pair of legs in formal attire dangled next to her for a moment before the man dropped to his feet besides her.
Elizabeth glanced up at him to see that he was wearing the suit of a groom to her bride, except that his feet were bare. His long dark hair was pulled back into a fashionable queue and his tie was hanging undone around his neck. He was taller than average and his amber eyes seemed to sparkle warmly as he sat down next to her with his legs crossed.
“What are you nervous about?”
“About the marriage I’m about to go through with. I don’t know if I’m doing the right thing. I know I have to do this for the good of my family, but I’m marrying a man that I hardly know.
I don’t even know if he will care for me the way my father cared for my mother. What if something happens to me someday? What if my gifts are exposed accidentally? Will he protect me from harm? Or will he turn his back on me the way Maggie’s family did when she was branded a witch?”
She had rushed through all of her spiel without realizing that her voice had risen with each new question. It wasn’t until she’d paused and turned to see an amused smile on his face.
“Is that all?” he asked.
She sighed. “Okay, maybe I’m not just nervous. I’m a little scared too.”
He nodded as he reached out to take her hand in his. Giving it a gentle squeeze, he answered her. “It’s okay to be afraid of the unknown. At least this way you’re going into this marriage with your eyes open.”
“I guess, but even if I’m careful I still don’t know him that well.”
“True, but the only way to get to know him is to spend time with him. You have eight days to do that, right?”
“Yes.”
“See, there you go. Just talk to him.”
He rose to his feet and reached above his head to grab the branch there. Pausing to look back down at her with a grin. “But I wouldn’t be too nervous if I were you. I’m sure everything is going to be okay. You’ll see.”
She couldn’t help but grin back at him. “Thank you.”
He shrugged. “What are friends for?”
She laughed. “Best friends!”
He winked at her before lifting himself up onto the branch. Then he turned upside-down and with his knees hooked over the branch began to swing back and forth.
Elizabeth began to giggle at his antics until his smile began to fade and he spoke in a soft voice.
“Time to wake up, Elizabeth.”
************************************************************************
Elizabeth blinked the sleep out of her eyes and peered up at her father who repeated his words. “Time to wake up. We’ve arrived at Lord Kivar’s home.”
She nodded as the last vestiges of her dream disappeared from her mind. Sitting upright, she began to set her appearance to rights with the help of her stepmother. Just as she’d finished, the carriage came to a stop.
A few moments later the carriage door was opened and her father stepped out first. Once he’d gained his feet, he turned to offer a hand to Lara, helping her out before offering his hand to his daughter.
Elizabeth took his hand and stepped out of the carriage. The moment her feet touched the ground, she looked up at the home in front of her. Her eyes went wide before she caught herself and schooled her expression.
Lord Kivar’s home wasn’t a manor like her father’s, it was a castle. At least it resembled a castle in size and looks. Made entirely of huge blocks of a dark stone with yellow and black banners hanging from the towers, it was formidable. It stood several stories high and sported iron bars over the windows.
Granted, the bars were fashioned into intricate designs and there were plenty of lush bushes and flowers growing around the base of the home but somehow that still wasn’t enough to make it less intimidating. Even the servants that greeted them seemed cowed by the place as they bowed and kept their eyes diverted from their guests.
Elizabeth and her parents followed one servant up the front steps to the huge double doors which were made of a heavy dark wood with so much iron work over it that the wood itself was almost obscured. Another servant pushed open one of the doors so that the first servant could lead them inside.
As they stepped into the huge foyer, Elizabeth couldn’t help but look around the inside of the place. There were tapestries on the walls and iron sconces kept the foyer well lit. However, it all looked too clean and too impersonal to her. Even looking into any open doors she could seemed to give her the same impression.
All the furniture was extravagant and well-crafted. All the décor seemed to be too meticulously placed and even looked as if they had never been touched. The entire place seemed too perfect for a man like Kivar who had appeared more rugged to her. It made her wonder if he even spent any time in the home.
If he did, did he feel the same way about his home as she was beginning to feel? It seemed too extravagant for her tastes. It was too cold and looked too empty, unlike the warm and inviting home her father had.
“Ah! I see you have arrived at last,” announced Kivar as he walked down the winding staircase covered in elaborate embroidered carpeting. His hand skimmed over one of the wooden railings decorated with raised golden designs.
He clasped Jeffery’s hand in greeting when he reached them and asked, “I trust your journey here was calm and uneventful?”
Jeffery nodded. “Yes, it was a good journey. My thanks for the loan of some of your men.”
Kivar waved a hand nonchalantly. “Think nothing of it. Now, I welcome you all to my home.”
He motioned to a servant standing nearby before turning to look at Jeffery. “My servant will escort you and your wife to your room so you may make sure it is to your liking during you stay here.
Your belongings will be brought up to you in the meantime and you will have some time to unpack and unwind before we gather for dinner this evening. I will send a servant to escort you to dinner, but should you require anything before then there should be servants in the hall outside of your room to assist you.”
Jeffery held his arm out to his wife as he nodded to Kivar. “Thank you, my lord.”
Kivar nodded and motioned for them to follow the servant. When they were halfway up the stairs, he turned and offered his arm to Elizabeth.
“Come my lady, allow me to escort you to the room you will be staying in until the wedding.”
Elizabeth slid her hand into the crook of his arm as servants began filing in from outside carrying the trunks and other belongings the Parkers had brought with them. Kivar waited until they had moved away before leading his bride-to-be up the winding staircase.
Elizabeth noted that her parents had been led to the third floor, then to the right down a long hallway that curved to the left. Kivar led her to the fourth floor and turned down the hallway to the right. This hallway also curved to the left like on her parent’s floor. Unlike her parents, they stopped at a set of doors on their left just before they reached the curve.
The doors stood open, allowing her to see what looked like a sitting room with a loveseat and a couple of chairs surrounding a fireplace. As he led her inside, she could see another door on the opposite wall which was open too. Servants moved to and fro in that room which was obviously her bedroom.
“This is your sitting room for now. Your bedroom is through there and the door on the right wall of your bedroom leads to a dressing and bathing room.”
Elizabeth nodded as she let go of his arm. “Thank you, my lord.”
He gave her a slight bow before adding, “The servants will help you get comfortable, but I trust you won’t be unpacking much since you’ll be moving to your more permanent rooms after the wedding.”
“Of course,” she replied.
He gave her a smile. “Good, then I shall leave you to relax until we meet for dinner which a servant will escort you to. However, should you need anything or wish to speak to me before then, notify the servants in the hall and one of them will do your bidding.”
“I understand. Thank you.”
He moved away from her to walk to the door. There, he turned back to look at her, making her inwardly shiver with the way his eyes traveled the length of her body. Looking back at her eyes, he bowed once more.
“Until dinner, my lady.”
Elizabeth waited until he was gone before turning to take in her surroundings some more. The loveseat was white with wooden legs and arms and the cushions didn’t look comfortable at all. Neither did the two matching chairs.
The fireplace looked very clean, as if it hadn’t been used in years and there was another embroidered rug between the loveseat and chairs. Not much else was in that sitting room. Even the walls were bare.
Elizabeth walked into the bedroom where four servants were busy with her belongings. Two of the servants were setting out her vanity items so that she could easily access them when she needed too. The other two servants were doing last minute touchups to her room and the dressing room.
One of the servants who’d been cleaning came to stand before her. With a curtsy, she kept her head low and her eyes on the ground.
“If it please my lady to tell us where we should put your things, we will do so. My Lord Kivar wants us to make sure everything is to your liking.”
Elizabeth smiled at them before looking around the room again. “It’s alright. I can take care of my things.”
“Oh no my lady! You mustn’t exert yourself to do that! It is our duty to attend to your wishes!”
Elizabeth frowned slightly at the way the servant said those words, as if they’d be punished for allowing her to do a servant’s task. Surely Kivar wasn’t so cruel and formal as that?
“Everything’s fine for now. I just want to lie down for a bit before dinner.”
“Then we will help you to undress,” answered the servant as the second one who’d been cleaning moved to help her undress Elizabeth, but before they could get close she shook her head.
“There is no need to do that. I will not change until I need to get ready for dinner. For now, I just need to be alone.”
“Of course my lady,” replied the servant before ushering the other three out of the bedroom and to the doors of the sitting room. After they all disappeared with final curtsies and the closing of the sitting room doors, Elizabeth closed the doors to the bedroom and looked around.
Like the sitting room, there wasn’t much in the way of decoration. A plain light brown vanity sat to the left of the dressing room door. The queen sized bed’s plain wooden headboard rested against the middle of the far wall with an equally plain wooden nightstand on the left side of the bed.
There was a small fireplace in the wall opposite the wall with the dressing room door. A small wooden table with two matching wooden chairs sat in front of the fireplace. There were no cushions to make the chairs more comfortable and no rugs on the stone floor. Even the comforter on the bed seemed a little too thin to provide any warmth.
Elizabeth knew this room was only hers until the day of the wedding, but it made her wonder if the house had ever gotten that many guests over the years. Besides that, she knew the wedding was to take place on the grounds so there should be guests staying in the house during that time.
If that were true, then she hoped the other rooms were much more comfortable and inviting than hers was. Hopefully her parents even had a better room than she did. For that matter, she hoped her permanent rooms were more comfortable then these.
************************************************************************
Several hours later the servants returned to help her dress for dinner much to her protests. She finally gave up and allowed them to help her get dressed. When they were done, one of the servants led her from the rooms and down to dinner.
They walked down the staircase to the first floor where they turned left to walk along the side of the stairs. Turning into a small hallway to the right, the servant led her down to the end where another servant stood straight and tall next to a set of double doors.
As they approached, the servant bowed and pulled open one of the doors for her to enter. Elizabeth walked through as the servant announced, “The Lady Elizabeth.”
She resisted the urge to frown at such a formality as she noted the dining room for the first time. While this room was elaborately decorated and had a long table and matching chairs with plush red cushions, it was still as imposing as the rest of the house. The table was long enough to seat an entire court and just as elegant were the candelabra and buffet tables surrounding it.
Tall windows lined the opposite wall, but were currently obscured by thick, red curtains. Deciding that she was going to have a talk with Kivar about the furnishings and feel of the house once she was comfortable enough to do so, she pasted on a smile as he came to greet her. He gave her a formal bow, told her she looked lovely then offered her his arm.
As he escorted her to the table where her parents already sat, Elizabeth vowed there would be changes to the house as soon as she knew she could broach the subject with her soon-to-be husband. She believed all the place needed was a woman’s touch and for once in her life she would see herself as one.
TBC...
Elizabeth sat alone beneath a willow tree watching the lilies that grew beneath the long hanging leaves of the tree. The lilies, as well as the willow tree, swayed back and forth in the gentle wind. The tree itself was so huge that at least a dozen people could sit comfortably beneath its shade.
There was nothing else for miles around in any direction, as far as the eye could see. There was just that willow tree floating in a sea of soft, light green grass.
Elizabeth leaned back with a sigh against the tree, closing her eyes for a few moments. Then, a voice seemed to float down from one of the branches above and to the right of her.
“Is there something bothering you Elizabeth?”
Opening her eyes, she shrugged as she smoothed down the edges of the wedding gown she wore. “I’m just nervous I suppose.”
“Oh?” A pair of legs in formal attire dangled next to her for a moment before the man dropped to his feet besides her.
Elizabeth glanced up at him to see that he was wearing the suit of a groom to her bride, except that his feet were bare. His long dark hair was pulled back into a fashionable queue and his tie was hanging undone around his neck. He was taller than average and his amber eyes seemed to sparkle warmly as he sat down next to her with his legs crossed.
“What are you nervous about?”
“About the marriage I’m about to go through with. I don’t know if I’m doing the right thing. I know I have to do this for the good of my family, but I’m marrying a man that I hardly know.
I don’t even know if he will care for me the way my father cared for my mother. What if something happens to me someday? What if my gifts are exposed accidentally? Will he protect me from harm? Or will he turn his back on me the way Maggie’s family did when she was branded a witch?”
She had rushed through all of her spiel without realizing that her voice had risen with each new question. It wasn’t until she’d paused and turned to see an amused smile on his face.
“Is that all?” he asked.
She sighed. “Okay, maybe I’m not just nervous. I’m a little scared too.”
He nodded as he reached out to take her hand in his. Giving it a gentle squeeze, he answered her. “It’s okay to be afraid of the unknown. At least this way you’re going into this marriage with your eyes open.”
“I guess, but even if I’m careful I still don’t know him that well.”
“True, but the only way to get to know him is to spend time with him. You have eight days to do that, right?”
“Yes.”
“See, there you go. Just talk to him.”
He rose to his feet and reached above his head to grab the branch there. Pausing to look back down at her with a grin. “But I wouldn’t be too nervous if I were you. I’m sure everything is going to be okay. You’ll see.”
She couldn’t help but grin back at him. “Thank you.”
He shrugged. “What are friends for?”
She laughed. “Best friends!”
He winked at her before lifting himself up onto the branch. Then he turned upside-down and with his knees hooked over the branch began to swing back and forth.
Elizabeth began to giggle at his antics until his smile began to fade and he spoke in a soft voice.
“Time to wake up, Elizabeth.”
************************************************************************
Elizabeth blinked the sleep out of her eyes and peered up at her father who repeated his words. “Time to wake up. We’ve arrived at Lord Kivar’s home.”
She nodded as the last vestiges of her dream disappeared from her mind. Sitting upright, she began to set her appearance to rights with the help of her stepmother. Just as she’d finished, the carriage came to a stop.
A few moments later the carriage door was opened and her father stepped out first. Once he’d gained his feet, he turned to offer a hand to Lara, helping her out before offering his hand to his daughter.
Elizabeth took his hand and stepped out of the carriage. The moment her feet touched the ground, she looked up at the home in front of her. Her eyes went wide before she caught herself and schooled her expression.
Lord Kivar’s home wasn’t a manor like her father’s, it was a castle. At least it resembled a castle in size and looks. Made entirely of huge blocks of a dark stone with yellow and black banners hanging from the towers, it was formidable. It stood several stories high and sported iron bars over the windows.
Granted, the bars were fashioned into intricate designs and there were plenty of lush bushes and flowers growing around the base of the home but somehow that still wasn’t enough to make it less intimidating. Even the servants that greeted them seemed cowed by the place as they bowed and kept their eyes diverted from their guests.
Elizabeth and her parents followed one servant up the front steps to the huge double doors which were made of a heavy dark wood with so much iron work over it that the wood itself was almost obscured. Another servant pushed open one of the doors so that the first servant could lead them inside.
As they stepped into the huge foyer, Elizabeth couldn’t help but look around the inside of the place. There were tapestries on the walls and iron sconces kept the foyer well lit. However, it all looked too clean and too impersonal to her. Even looking into any open doors she could seemed to give her the same impression.
All the furniture was extravagant and well-crafted. All the décor seemed to be too meticulously placed and even looked as if they had never been touched. The entire place seemed too perfect for a man like Kivar who had appeared more rugged to her. It made her wonder if he even spent any time in the home.
If he did, did he feel the same way about his home as she was beginning to feel? It seemed too extravagant for her tastes. It was too cold and looked too empty, unlike the warm and inviting home her father had.
“Ah! I see you have arrived at last,” announced Kivar as he walked down the winding staircase covered in elaborate embroidered carpeting. His hand skimmed over one of the wooden railings decorated with raised golden designs.
He clasped Jeffery’s hand in greeting when he reached them and asked, “I trust your journey here was calm and uneventful?”
Jeffery nodded. “Yes, it was a good journey. My thanks for the loan of some of your men.”
Kivar waved a hand nonchalantly. “Think nothing of it. Now, I welcome you all to my home.”
He motioned to a servant standing nearby before turning to look at Jeffery. “My servant will escort you and your wife to your room so you may make sure it is to your liking during you stay here.
Your belongings will be brought up to you in the meantime and you will have some time to unpack and unwind before we gather for dinner this evening. I will send a servant to escort you to dinner, but should you require anything before then there should be servants in the hall outside of your room to assist you.”
Jeffery held his arm out to his wife as he nodded to Kivar. “Thank you, my lord.”
Kivar nodded and motioned for them to follow the servant. When they were halfway up the stairs, he turned and offered his arm to Elizabeth.
“Come my lady, allow me to escort you to the room you will be staying in until the wedding.”
Elizabeth slid her hand into the crook of his arm as servants began filing in from outside carrying the trunks and other belongings the Parkers had brought with them. Kivar waited until they had moved away before leading his bride-to-be up the winding staircase.
Elizabeth noted that her parents had been led to the third floor, then to the right down a long hallway that curved to the left. Kivar led her to the fourth floor and turned down the hallway to the right. This hallway also curved to the left like on her parent’s floor. Unlike her parents, they stopped at a set of doors on their left just before they reached the curve.
The doors stood open, allowing her to see what looked like a sitting room with a loveseat and a couple of chairs surrounding a fireplace. As he led her inside, she could see another door on the opposite wall which was open too. Servants moved to and fro in that room which was obviously her bedroom.
“This is your sitting room for now. Your bedroom is through there and the door on the right wall of your bedroom leads to a dressing and bathing room.”
Elizabeth nodded as she let go of his arm. “Thank you, my lord.”
He gave her a slight bow before adding, “The servants will help you get comfortable, but I trust you won’t be unpacking much since you’ll be moving to your more permanent rooms after the wedding.”
“Of course,” she replied.
He gave her a smile. “Good, then I shall leave you to relax until we meet for dinner which a servant will escort you to. However, should you need anything or wish to speak to me before then, notify the servants in the hall and one of them will do your bidding.”
“I understand. Thank you.”
He moved away from her to walk to the door. There, he turned back to look at her, making her inwardly shiver with the way his eyes traveled the length of her body. Looking back at her eyes, he bowed once more.
“Until dinner, my lady.”
Elizabeth waited until he was gone before turning to take in her surroundings some more. The loveseat was white with wooden legs and arms and the cushions didn’t look comfortable at all. Neither did the two matching chairs.
The fireplace looked very clean, as if it hadn’t been used in years and there was another embroidered rug between the loveseat and chairs. Not much else was in that sitting room. Even the walls were bare.
Elizabeth walked into the bedroom where four servants were busy with her belongings. Two of the servants were setting out her vanity items so that she could easily access them when she needed too. The other two servants were doing last minute touchups to her room and the dressing room.
One of the servants who’d been cleaning came to stand before her. With a curtsy, she kept her head low and her eyes on the ground.
“If it please my lady to tell us where we should put your things, we will do so. My Lord Kivar wants us to make sure everything is to your liking.”
Elizabeth smiled at them before looking around the room again. “It’s alright. I can take care of my things.”
“Oh no my lady! You mustn’t exert yourself to do that! It is our duty to attend to your wishes!”
Elizabeth frowned slightly at the way the servant said those words, as if they’d be punished for allowing her to do a servant’s task. Surely Kivar wasn’t so cruel and formal as that?
“Everything’s fine for now. I just want to lie down for a bit before dinner.”
“Then we will help you to undress,” answered the servant as the second one who’d been cleaning moved to help her undress Elizabeth, but before they could get close she shook her head.
“There is no need to do that. I will not change until I need to get ready for dinner. For now, I just need to be alone.”
“Of course my lady,” replied the servant before ushering the other three out of the bedroom and to the doors of the sitting room. After they all disappeared with final curtsies and the closing of the sitting room doors, Elizabeth closed the doors to the bedroom and looked around.
Like the sitting room, there wasn’t much in the way of decoration. A plain light brown vanity sat to the left of the dressing room door. The queen sized bed’s plain wooden headboard rested against the middle of the far wall with an equally plain wooden nightstand on the left side of the bed.
There was a small fireplace in the wall opposite the wall with the dressing room door. A small wooden table with two matching wooden chairs sat in front of the fireplace. There were no cushions to make the chairs more comfortable and no rugs on the stone floor. Even the comforter on the bed seemed a little too thin to provide any warmth.
Elizabeth knew this room was only hers until the day of the wedding, but it made her wonder if the house had ever gotten that many guests over the years. Besides that, she knew the wedding was to take place on the grounds so there should be guests staying in the house during that time.
If that were true, then she hoped the other rooms were much more comfortable and inviting than hers was. Hopefully her parents even had a better room than she did. For that matter, she hoped her permanent rooms were more comfortable then these.
************************************************************************
Several hours later the servants returned to help her dress for dinner much to her protests. She finally gave up and allowed them to help her get dressed. When they were done, one of the servants led her from the rooms and down to dinner.
They walked down the staircase to the first floor where they turned left to walk along the side of the stairs. Turning into a small hallway to the right, the servant led her down to the end where another servant stood straight and tall next to a set of double doors.
As they approached, the servant bowed and pulled open one of the doors for her to enter. Elizabeth walked through as the servant announced, “The Lady Elizabeth.”
She resisted the urge to frown at such a formality as she noted the dining room for the first time. While this room was elaborately decorated and had a long table and matching chairs with plush red cushions, it was still as imposing as the rest of the house. The table was long enough to seat an entire court and just as elegant were the candelabra and buffet tables surrounding it.
Tall windows lined the opposite wall, but were currently obscured by thick, red curtains. Deciding that she was going to have a talk with Kivar about the furnishings and feel of the house once she was comfortable enough to do so, she pasted on a smile as he came to greet her. He gave her a formal bow, told her she looked lovely then offered her his arm.
As he escorted her to the table where her parents already sat, Elizabeth vowed there would be changes to the house as soon as she knew she could broach the subject with her soon-to-be husband. She believed all the place needed was a woman’s touch and for once in her life she would see herself as one.
TBC...
Shadowlynxbehr's Fics
"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams." -Dr. Seuss
"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams." -Dr. Seuss
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Shadowlynxbehr
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Re: Of Secrets, Healers, & Fae (M/L, Adult)pt11/12(pg10/11)6/13
Part 14
“Did you enjoy the dinner my cook prepared tonight, Lady Elizabeth?” asked Kivar as he escorted her up the stairs to her room.
Elizabeth nodded. “It was delicious, my lord. And quite filling I’m afraid.”
Kivar stepped into her sitting room and turned to look at her with a curious gaze. “Is that so? Well, I shall have to talk to the cook and make sure he prepares food that is more suitable to your girth. Perhaps you could also talk to him to give him an idea of what is suitable for you. After all, it won’t do for you to outgrow your clothes unless you are with child.”
Irked at the stereotypical remark that always seemed to come from anyone who was completely influenced by court practices, she was about to inform him that she was blessed with a slim figure courtesy of her biological mother. However she remembered her manners just in time and curbed her tongue, answering him mildly instead.
“Of course, my lord. I shall talk to him as soon as I am allowed to.”
“Good. I will let him know that you wish to speak to him.”
She gave him a curt nod as she began to walk away from him towards the bedroom where two servants were waiting to get her ready for bed.
“Elizabeth, a moment more, if you would?”
She stopped and resisted the urge to sigh in impatience. She turned to face him as he lifted a hand to wave to the two servants in her bedroom, indicating that he wanted them to go away. One of the servants closed the bedroom doors, allowing Kivar a bit of privacy with Elizabeth. Realizing that they were alone, she came to a stop a few feet away from him to keep a safe distance. However, he took those extra few feet to move closer to her.
“Forgive me my lady, but your beauty is such that I am but a besotted fool in your presence. As much as what I am asking of you is out of line, I cannot help but give in to the devil that rides my shoulder in my weakness. Please my lovely Elizabeth, would you be so kind as to grant me a kiss to put me out of my misery?”
She stiffened at his request, hoping that she wasn’t showing how much it had alarmed her. “A kiss?” she asked almost hesitantly.
He moved even closer to her, invading her personal space. “Yes my lady, a simple kiss. Nothing more, this I promise you.”
She stared at him for a moment before inspiration struck her. She knew what she would give him. Nodding to him, she stepped up to him and rose to her toes. Leaning in, she placed a chaste kiss on his cheek. As she settled back on her feet and took a couple of steps back, she saw the disappointment on his face.
Obviously he’d been imagining a different kind of kiss, but since he hadn’t been specific Elizabeth was free to her own interpretation. She was glad of that loophole though as she was not ready to share a real kiss with Kivar yet. After all, he was still very much a stranger to her.
She placed an innocent smile on her face as she said, “A kiss, my lord.”
He appeared to be in a bit of a pique for a few moments, but he regained his composure quickly. It was obvious to him that he couldn’t go back on his word. So, with a short nod, he backed away from her.
Bowing slightly, he said, “Thank you for that kiss, my lady. I now bid you a good night and will see you on the morrow.”
“Good night, Lord Kivar.” She responded with a small curtsey before she turned to head to the bedroom. This time she missed the way his eyes devoured her figure before she disappeared into the room.
************************************************************************
Elizabeth rolled onto her back with a sigh and stared up at the dark ceiling. She’d been trying to get to sleep for the past few hours to no avail. The bed itself was comfortable enough and the thin comforter was adequate for the room’s temperature, but she still couldn’t fall sleep.
Since it wasn’t the bed itself, Elizabeth wondered if maybe she just wasn’t used to sleeping in a strange home, let alone a strange bed. The house still felt too large and too impersonal for her to feel at home. She still felt as if she were too small and too simple for such a grand home like it.
She lay there thinking of her bedroom back at her father’s manor. She had loved the room for the view of the woods and the fact that she could easily climb down from her window if she’d wanted to sneak out. Besides the window and its accessibility, she had liked the coziness of the room. It wasn’t too large and had been decorated by her mother long before she’d passed away.
Elizabeth had been allowed to keep the room the way she’d wanted it and saw no reason to change the décor her mother had placed there. The soft greens and browns had given the room an earthy feel and had always made Elizabeth feel that much closer to her mother. She had slept in a bed made of down with plenty of thick comforters to cover her during the cold weather.
The rest of the manor had also been decorated by Nancy even though Lara had eventually added her own touches here and there when she had moved in. Lara had simply taken what Nancy had done and changed things according to the latest fashion. Most of the time, that simply meant changing the colors of certain items rather than removing an entire piece of furniture or such.
Thankfully Lara’s tastes happened to be similar to Nancy’s, which was the reason nothing had drastically changed when she’d married Jeffery. The manor had always remained warm, cheerful and very welcoming to anyone who had visited the Parkers.
Elizabeth fondly remembered climbing the footstools to crawl into her parents bed when she’d been a little girl. She’d loved how their bed was always so thick with pillows, sheets and comforters that she’d practically sank beneath it all.
She also loved the rustic looking furniture in the dining room which Jeffery had claimed his father had made completely by hand. Her grandmother had added the finishing touches to the furniture by adding cushions to the chairs and stenciled paint details to the tables.
Nearly every room in that house had been designed to make anyone feel safe and at home there. Elizabeth certainly remembered all the times she’d wandered from room to room playing hide and seek. There had been plenty of nooks and crannies to hide in and plenty of large windows to chase the sunlight in.
When she’d eventually grown tired of playing inside her home, she’d have the outdoors to run free in. Not only had she played in the gardens full of flowers and stone decorations, but she’d also had the stables full of horses and the fenced pastures of sheep and bovine. There had also been the sheds full of supplies of food or tools that the servants used around the gardens.
Then when she’d gotten older and braver, she’d begun to venture out to the woods. It was there where she’d really begun to realize that she was different than others. It was as if the woods were not only responsible for triggering her powers, but also her sense of self. Granted, she’d healed a sheep or two before then, but once she’d gotten to the woods, she had begun to experiment more. With that came the understanding of how different she really was, but she knew she was able to use her powers there without worrying about being caught or persecuted.
At first, she had made many mistakes when dealing with the wild animals of the woods, but she’d learned from her mistakes and kept trying to do better. She had also been lucky that her mistakes hadn’t been costly ones that would have endangered the lives of the animals who came to her for help. Despite working with her powers, that hadn’t been the main reason why she loved going to the woods.
There was something soothing and accepting about the woods. From the moment she had set foot in there, she had felt safe and at home despite the fact that everyone else she knew didn’t. In fact, she had felt that the woods rivaled her home in the feeling of comfort it gave to her.
Although her parents and many others had warned her about the dangerous and foreboding woods, saying it wasn’t a place for one so young and feminine like her to venture into alone, she still found herself going there as often as she could.
She also moved fearlessly through those woods too. She loved wandering the woods looking at the huge trees and all of the other flora that was there. She would spend hours watching the leaves dance in the sunlight, creating patterns on the grassy floor. Or watching creatures flitting to and fro high in the tree tops, while others darted from bush to bush as if playing hide and seek with her .
The more she thought about the wonderful times she had spent in the woods, the more her thoughts turned to her recent forays there. Those thoughts led her to think of Max, or Ma’kshEvanyelzan as he’d said his real name was.
She remembered the day she’d met the protector of the forest. He’d been in lion form then, thinking he could scare her away. However, his curiosity of her had won out and soon they had become great friends. He’d gone on to teach her more about her powers and how to control them better.
For a while she had come to prefer being in the woods rather than her own home because it had meant she could be herself completely. In the woods with Max, there had been no secrets that she had to guard closely. There were no worries of persecution, of being branded a witch.
Once Max had gotten over his inbred hatred and fear of humans, she had been accepted wholeheartedly. Max had made her feel as if she belonged in the woods surrounded by nature and all of its creatures. He had helped her to connect with her true self.
For that, she would always be grateful to him. Even though she knew Max would be the only one who ever knew the real her because that time in the woods was the only time she would ever be able to do that, she was grateful to have had even that small amount of time to be completely free. She knew she would never again be able to share her real self with anyone ever again, the way she had with Max.
Although she’d had no secrets from him, she knew he had still held one from her. To this day, she still had no idea what his true form looked like. However, since she was to be married in a few days she knew she would never have that chance to know. Still, she wasn’t going to resent him for it. After all, she knew the fear and mistrust he still had for humans. It was almost the same thing she felt because of what she could secretly do.
She thought of the animal shapes Max had taken when he was with her and how the shape he took often suited the situation they’d been in at the time. The lion had been to instill fear the first time, but after that it had been to guide her. The wolf had been to teach her, the bear to protect her, and the squirrel to frolic with her. It made her wonder what other animal forms he would have taken had she been able to visit with him more often.
As she imagined the other animals Max might have become, she began to finally drift off to sleep. Once more she found herself beneath the willow tree, only instead of a wedding gown, she wore a long off white dress. The hem nearly touched the ground and flowed like water around her form as the gentle breeze moved through the area.
The long sleeves of the dress came to a point just past her wrists and the dress boasted a scoop neckline. Tiny stones, the color of crystalline waters shimmered both at her neck and her waist. Glitter seemed to sparkle in her free flowing hair and on any exposed skin and there were simple satin slippers on her feet.
She laughed softly at the sight of the comfortable, yet beautiful dress as she ran her hands over the soft material. Then she tilted her head back to look up at the tree’s branches and the figure she’d known was there.
Grinning she spoke to him. “I knew you’d be here.”
Amber eyes sparkled with mirth as he returned her grin from his perch on the tree limb just above her head. “Where else would I be?”
She shrugged as she watched him leap from the branch to the ground with very little effort. Upon making the ground, he straightened to his full height. He was as tall as she’d remembered and like her, he was wearing something different this time too.
Although he was still barefoot like the last time, his pants were of a soft green material that resembled the leaves of the willow tree. The shirt he wore was an even lighter shade of green that hung loosely over his broad shoulders and appeared almost transparent when he moved a certain way. This time only part of his long dark hair was pulled back away from his face and held by what looked like a long green leaf wrapped around the strands.
He motioned to her to have a seat beneath the tree and once they were both comfortable, he asked how she was doing. She didn’t hesitate to tell him about her first day at what was to be her new home. All the things that had bothered her and all the questions she’d had that day came bubbling forth without censure.
She knew she could talk freely with this stranger, even though she couldn’t say how she knew that. Still, as she talked he simply sat and listened to her, occasionally giving her a word of encouragement here and there.
Throughout the whole conversation, he was kind and gentle to her. Allowing her to get everything she needed to off of her chest. Even though he didn’t have true solutions to her fears and questions, he was able to make her feel better with his words of comfort.
He kept reassuring her that things were going to be okay and that she should continue to try to get to know her future husband. Then he asked her to tell him what she’d learned so far about her husband-to-be. That had set her on another tangent as she began to describe her intended to her friend.
At first, she didn’t realize that the more she described Kivar, the more her friend’s features began to change. Slowly but surely, he was morphing into Kivar just as their surroundings were morphing into a room unfamiliar to her.
Frowning, she looked around at the strange room from the elaborately carved wooden chair she was now sitting in. Turning back to look at Kivar, she noticed he was giving her a peculiar look from his seat across from her.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
He continued to look at her as if he were taking her measure for a few moments before answering her.
“Trying to find out your secrets,” came the ominous answer.
She stiffened in her seat as those words rolled over her. “W-what secrets?”
There was something that seemed a little off about him as he leaned in and answered her. “The one you think you are hiding from me.”
With a gasp she stumbled to her feet, upsetting the chair she’d been sitting in. She turned to set it right only to discover it wasn’t there anymore. Whirling back around in confusion, her eyes went wide at the sight of a menacing Kivar on his feet, holding a torch up high with an angry mob of people behind him.
It didn’t take much for her to realize that the people armed with all manner of weapons and fire were after one thing. Her.
“Witch!” They roared as they began to advance on her.
Elizabeth turned and ran as a scream lodged in her throat. She could hear them giving chase, all the while shouting to seize the witch and burn her at the stake.
Risking a glance over her shoulder, she was startled to see how close and angry they really were. Just as she was about to turn around again, she ran into something hard. A pair of hands grabbed her arms as she looked up into the cruel, blue eyes of Kivar.
“You can’t hide,” he growled as he pushed her towards a pyre. The moment her hands touched the wood, she came awake with a soft cry.
Sitting up in the bed, covered in a cold sweat, she gathered the thin comforter to her for warmth. Looking around the still dark room, she took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. Realizing it was just a dream, she settled back into the bed and tried her best to clear her mind so she could go back to sleep.
Still, sleep was a while in coming. And when it finally did, it wasn’t always so peaceful.
TBC...
“Did you enjoy the dinner my cook prepared tonight, Lady Elizabeth?” asked Kivar as he escorted her up the stairs to her room.
Elizabeth nodded. “It was delicious, my lord. And quite filling I’m afraid.”
Kivar stepped into her sitting room and turned to look at her with a curious gaze. “Is that so? Well, I shall have to talk to the cook and make sure he prepares food that is more suitable to your girth. Perhaps you could also talk to him to give him an idea of what is suitable for you. After all, it won’t do for you to outgrow your clothes unless you are with child.”
Irked at the stereotypical remark that always seemed to come from anyone who was completely influenced by court practices, she was about to inform him that she was blessed with a slim figure courtesy of her biological mother. However she remembered her manners just in time and curbed her tongue, answering him mildly instead.
“Of course, my lord. I shall talk to him as soon as I am allowed to.”
“Good. I will let him know that you wish to speak to him.”
She gave him a curt nod as she began to walk away from him towards the bedroom where two servants were waiting to get her ready for bed.
“Elizabeth, a moment more, if you would?”
She stopped and resisted the urge to sigh in impatience. She turned to face him as he lifted a hand to wave to the two servants in her bedroom, indicating that he wanted them to go away. One of the servants closed the bedroom doors, allowing Kivar a bit of privacy with Elizabeth. Realizing that they were alone, she came to a stop a few feet away from him to keep a safe distance. However, he took those extra few feet to move closer to her.
“Forgive me my lady, but your beauty is such that I am but a besotted fool in your presence. As much as what I am asking of you is out of line, I cannot help but give in to the devil that rides my shoulder in my weakness. Please my lovely Elizabeth, would you be so kind as to grant me a kiss to put me out of my misery?”
She stiffened at his request, hoping that she wasn’t showing how much it had alarmed her. “A kiss?” she asked almost hesitantly.
He moved even closer to her, invading her personal space. “Yes my lady, a simple kiss. Nothing more, this I promise you.”
She stared at him for a moment before inspiration struck her. She knew what she would give him. Nodding to him, she stepped up to him and rose to her toes. Leaning in, she placed a chaste kiss on his cheek. As she settled back on her feet and took a couple of steps back, she saw the disappointment on his face.
Obviously he’d been imagining a different kind of kiss, but since he hadn’t been specific Elizabeth was free to her own interpretation. She was glad of that loophole though as she was not ready to share a real kiss with Kivar yet. After all, he was still very much a stranger to her.
She placed an innocent smile on her face as she said, “A kiss, my lord.”
He appeared to be in a bit of a pique for a few moments, but he regained his composure quickly. It was obvious to him that he couldn’t go back on his word. So, with a short nod, he backed away from her.
Bowing slightly, he said, “Thank you for that kiss, my lady. I now bid you a good night and will see you on the morrow.”
“Good night, Lord Kivar.” She responded with a small curtsey before she turned to head to the bedroom. This time she missed the way his eyes devoured her figure before she disappeared into the room.
************************************************************************
Elizabeth rolled onto her back with a sigh and stared up at the dark ceiling. She’d been trying to get to sleep for the past few hours to no avail. The bed itself was comfortable enough and the thin comforter was adequate for the room’s temperature, but she still couldn’t fall sleep.
Since it wasn’t the bed itself, Elizabeth wondered if maybe she just wasn’t used to sleeping in a strange home, let alone a strange bed. The house still felt too large and too impersonal for her to feel at home. She still felt as if she were too small and too simple for such a grand home like it.
She lay there thinking of her bedroom back at her father’s manor. She had loved the room for the view of the woods and the fact that she could easily climb down from her window if she’d wanted to sneak out. Besides the window and its accessibility, she had liked the coziness of the room. It wasn’t too large and had been decorated by her mother long before she’d passed away.
Elizabeth had been allowed to keep the room the way she’d wanted it and saw no reason to change the décor her mother had placed there. The soft greens and browns had given the room an earthy feel and had always made Elizabeth feel that much closer to her mother. She had slept in a bed made of down with plenty of thick comforters to cover her during the cold weather.
The rest of the manor had also been decorated by Nancy even though Lara had eventually added her own touches here and there when she had moved in. Lara had simply taken what Nancy had done and changed things according to the latest fashion. Most of the time, that simply meant changing the colors of certain items rather than removing an entire piece of furniture or such.
Thankfully Lara’s tastes happened to be similar to Nancy’s, which was the reason nothing had drastically changed when she’d married Jeffery. The manor had always remained warm, cheerful and very welcoming to anyone who had visited the Parkers.
Elizabeth fondly remembered climbing the footstools to crawl into her parents bed when she’d been a little girl. She’d loved how their bed was always so thick with pillows, sheets and comforters that she’d practically sank beneath it all.
She also loved the rustic looking furniture in the dining room which Jeffery had claimed his father had made completely by hand. Her grandmother had added the finishing touches to the furniture by adding cushions to the chairs and stenciled paint details to the tables.
Nearly every room in that house had been designed to make anyone feel safe and at home there. Elizabeth certainly remembered all the times she’d wandered from room to room playing hide and seek. There had been plenty of nooks and crannies to hide in and plenty of large windows to chase the sunlight in.
When she’d eventually grown tired of playing inside her home, she’d have the outdoors to run free in. Not only had she played in the gardens full of flowers and stone decorations, but she’d also had the stables full of horses and the fenced pastures of sheep and bovine. There had also been the sheds full of supplies of food or tools that the servants used around the gardens.
Then when she’d gotten older and braver, she’d begun to venture out to the woods. It was there where she’d really begun to realize that she was different than others. It was as if the woods were not only responsible for triggering her powers, but also her sense of self. Granted, she’d healed a sheep or two before then, but once she’d gotten to the woods, she had begun to experiment more. With that came the understanding of how different she really was, but she knew she was able to use her powers there without worrying about being caught or persecuted.
At first, she had made many mistakes when dealing with the wild animals of the woods, but she’d learned from her mistakes and kept trying to do better. She had also been lucky that her mistakes hadn’t been costly ones that would have endangered the lives of the animals who came to her for help. Despite working with her powers, that hadn’t been the main reason why she loved going to the woods.
There was something soothing and accepting about the woods. From the moment she had set foot in there, she had felt safe and at home despite the fact that everyone else she knew didn’t. In fact, she had felt that the woods rivaled her home in the feeling of comfort it gave to her.
Although her parents and many others had warned her about the dangerous and foreboding woods, saying it wasn’t a place for one so young and feminine like her to venture into alone, she still found herself going there as often as she could.
She also moved fearlessly through those woods too. She loved wandering the woods looking at the huge trees and all of the other flora that was there. She would spend hours watching the leaves dance in the sunlight, creating patterns on the grassy floor. Or watching creatures flitting to and fro high in the tree tops, while others darted from bush to bush as if playing hide and seek with her .
The more she thought about the wonderful times she had spent in the woods, the more her thoughts turned to her recent forays there. Those thoughts led her to think of Max, or Ma’kshEvanyelzan as he’d said his real name was.
She remembered the day she’d met the protector of the forest. He’d been in lion form then, thinking he could scare her away. However, his curiosity of her had won out and soon they had become great friends. He’d gone on to teach her more about her powers and how to control them better.
For a while she had come to prefer being in the woods rather than her own home because it had meant she could be herself completely. In the woods with Max, there had been no secrets that she had to guard closely. There were no worries of persecution, of being branded a witch.
Once Max had gotten over his inbred hatred and fear of humans, she had been accepted wholeheartedly. Max had made her feel as if she belonged in the woods surrounded by nature and all of its creatures. He had helped her to connect with her true self.
For that, she would always be grateful to him. Even though she knew Max would be the only one who ever knew the real her because that time in the woods was the only time she would ever be able to do that, she was grateful to have had even that small amount of time to be completely free. She knew she would never again be able to share her real self with anyone ever again, the way she had with Max.
Although she’d had no secrets from him, she knew he had still held one from her. To this day, she still had no idea what his true form looked like. However, since she was to be married in a few days she knew she would never have that chance to know. Still, she wasn’t going to resent him for it. After all, she knew the fear and mistrust he still had for humans. It was almost the same thing she felt because of what she could secretly do.
She thought of the animal shapes Max had taken when he was with her and how the shape he took often suited the situation they’d been in at the time. The lion had been to instill fear the first time, but after that it had been to guide her. The wolf had been to teach her, the bear to protect her, and the squirrel to frolic with her. It made her wonder what other animal forms he would have taken had she been able to visit with him more often.
As she imagined the other animals Max might have become, she began to finally drift off to sleep. Once more she found herself beneath the willow tree, only instead of a wedding gown, she wore a long off white dress. The hem nearly touched the ground and flowed like water around her form as the gentle breeze moved through the area.
The long sleeves of the dress came to a point just past her wrists and the dress boasted a scoop neckline. Tiny stones, the color of crystalline waters shimmered both at her neck and her waist. Glitter seemed to sparkle in her free flowing hair and on any exposed skin and there were simple satin slippers on her feet.
She laughed softly at the sight of the comfortable, yet beautiful dress as she ran her hands over the soft material. Then she tilted her head back to look up at the tree’s branches and the figure she’d known was there.
Grinning she spoke to him. “I knew you’d be here.”
Amber eyes sparkled with mirth as he returned her grin from his perch on the tree limb just above her head. “Where else would I be?”
She shrugged as she watched him leap from the branch to the ground with very little effort. Upon making the ground, he straightened to his full height. He was as tall as she’d remembered and like her, he was wearing something different this time too.
Although he was still barefoot like the last time, his pants were of a soft green material that resembled the leaves of the willow tree. The shirt he wore was an even lighter shade of green that hung loosely over his broad shoulders and appeared almost transparent when he moved a certain way. This time only part of his long dark hair was pulled back away from his face and held by what looked like a long green leaf wrapped around the strands.
He motioned to her to have a seat beneath the tree and once they were both comfortable, he asked how she was doing. She didn’t hesitate to tell him about her first day at what was to be her new home. All the things that had bothered her and all the questions she’d had that day came bubbling forth without censure.
She knew she could talk freely with this stranger, even though she couldn’t say how she knew that. Still, as she talked he simply sat and listened to her, occasionally giving her a word of encouragement here and there.
Throughout the whole conversation, he was kind and gentle to her. Allowing her to get everything she needed to off of her chest. Even though he didn’t have true solutions to her fears and questions, he was able to make her feel better with his words of comfort.
He kept reassuring her that things were going to be okay and that she should continue to try to get to know her future husband. Then he asked her to tell him what she’d learned so far about her husband-to-be. That had set her on another tangent as she began to describe her intended to her friend.
At first, she didn’t realize that the more she described Kivar, the more her friend’s features began to change. Slowly but surely, he was morphing into Kivar just as their surroundings were morphing into a room unfamiliar to her.
Frowning, she looked around at the strange room from the elaborately carved wooden chair she was now sitting in. Turning back to look at Kivar, she noticed he was giving her a peculiar look from his seat across from her.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
He continued to look at her as if he were taking her measure for a few moments before answering her.
“Trying to find out your secrets,” came the ominous answer.
She stiffened in her seat as those words rolled over her. “W-what secrets?”
There was something that seemed a little off about him as he leaned in and answered her. “The one you think you are hiding from me.”
With a gasp she stumbled to her feet, upsetting the chair she’d been sitting in. She turned to set it right only to discover it wasn’t there anymore. Whirling back around in confusion, her eyes went wide at the sight of a menacing Kivar on his feet, holding a torch up high with an angry mob of people behind him.
It didn’t take much for her to realize that the people armed with all manner of weapons and fire were after one thing. Her.
“Witch!” They roared as they began to advance on her.
Elizabeth turned and ran as a scream lodged in her throat. She could hear them giving chase, all the while shouting to seize the witch and burn her at the stake.
Risking a glance over her shoulder, she was startled to see how close and angry they really were. Just as she was about to turn around again, she ran into something hard. A pair of hands grabbed her arms as she looked up into the cruel, blue eyes of Kivar.
“You can’t hide,” he growled as he pushed her towards a pyre. The moment her hands touched the wood, she came awake with a soft cry.
Sitting up in the bed, covered in a cold sweat, she gathered the thin comforter to her for warmth. Looking around the still dark room, she took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. Realizing it was just a dream, she settled back into the bed and tried her best to clear her mind so she could go back to sleep.
Still, sleep was a while in coming. And when it finally did, it wasn’t always so peaceful.
TBC...
Shadowlynxbehr's Fics
"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams." -Dr. Seuss
"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams." -Dr. Seuss
-
Shadowlynxbehr
- Addicted Roswellian
- Posts: 397
- Joined: Wed Sep 10, 2003 9:44 pm
- Location: In my bedroom surrounded by Jason
- Contact:
Re: Of Secrets, Healers, & Fae (M/L, Adult)pt11-14(pg10/11)6/13
Part 15
Lara frowned at her husband as their daughter entered the room and sat down heavily on the couch across from them. Everyday Elizabeth seemed to look more and more tired yet she only did as much work a Lara did. They all had their evening meal together everyday after which everyone retired to their own rooms to relax and get ready for bed. So, if Elizabeth kept the same schedule as them, there was no reason for her to look so worn out since they weren’t.
Even from where they sat, they could see the dark smudges under Elizabeth’s eyes. Her hair and eyes didn’t seem to shine as lustrous and bright as they once did. Then there was the way she seemed to drag herself around as if her petite body had become too heavy for her. She couldn’t even hide the yawn behind her hand when she thought no one was looking.
“Elizabeth, darling, are you all right?” asked Lara.
Elizabeth had been in the process of taking a tea cup from the servant as Lara asked her that. She took a sip from the cup before giving Lara a puzzled look.
“I’m fine. Why do you ask?”
It was Jeffery who answered. “You seem to be a little out of sorts this morning.”
Elizabeth flipped her hand nonchalantly. “Oh it’s nothing really. I guess I’m just a little nervous about the wedding and all the preparations we still have to do.”
“Don’t worry so much, dear. There’s still four days till the wedding to get everything done,” replied Lara.
Elizabeth nodded absently as she sipped on her tea. Her thoughts were already on the reasons why she hadn’t been sleeping well lately. She knew her parents had noticed the change in her disposition even though she was trying hard to hide the fact that she’d been losing a lot of sleep. Not one night since her journey to Kivar’s home had gone by without her having a dream that haunted her even into the daytime.
The dream always started with her under the willow tree talking to the golden-eyed man. However, their attire was always different each night and their conversations were always about the things she’d noticed and dealt with that day while she’d been awake. Every time she thought of her golden-eyed friend while she was awake, Elizabeth wondered why the man seemed so familiar to her. She knew she’d never met a man who looked like him, yet somehow he felt familiar, as if they’d been friends forever.
During the dream, when she got to the point of feeling relaxed and happy with her friend he would morph into Kivar. He would always say strange things to her that never made any sense and the conversations she tried to have with him seemed strained and a little off kilter.
Everyday Kivar would call on her, telling her he wanted to spend some time with her so that they could get to know each other before the wedding. While she was grateful for the opportunity to get to know her future husband, she couldn’t help but feel that there was something a little off about him. Still, she hoped that it was only the dreams she had about him that was clouding her judgment and making her feel that way towards him.
The fact that the dream always ended with the angry mob chasing her added to her sleeplessness. Of course having Kivar lead the mob didn’t help matters either. No matter how fast or how sneaky she tried to be to escape the mob, Kivar always seemed to find her. Just when she thought she’d escaped, she would turn around or turn a corner and run right into him.
In the dream, Kivar never said the same thing when he caught her but he was always furious with her. She also didn’t wake up as soon as he caught her. Sometimes she woke up as they were tying her to the pyre and sometimes she woke up as the flames got closer to her.
She had begun to wonder why the dream seemed to follow the same sequence, but the details were often so different. She couldn’t figure out why she kept having the dream every night especially since she hadn’t used or even really thought of her special gifts since she’d left her father’s home. And she didn’t think she was that worried about the wedding and getting to know her future husband as the days went by and everything was being accomplished.
So, her days were full of preparations and spending time with Kivar. Her nights were spent in the dream, then trying to get back to sleep upon waking from the dream. At that point, she either fell into a restless, fitful sleep or couldn’t sleep at all. If she couldn’t sleep, she spent the rest of the night tossing and turning as if trying to get comfortable again.
She was always grateful for her morning tea since it helped to wake her up a bit and gave her the energy she needed to begin her day. She got up from the table as soon as she was done and made her way to the solar on the second floor where her mother was waiting for her.
The moment Elizabeth walked into the room, her mother motioned to her. “There you are my dear! The seamstresses just came with your dress. Let’s have you try it on for one last fitting, then we’ll get to finishing up the menu for the wedding feast.”
Elizabeth nodded as she moved towards the stool in the middle of the room. Her mother closed the door as servants helped Elizabeth out of her dress. Once she was clad only in her undergarments, the seamstress helped her into her wedding dress before helping her up onto the stool.
As she stood straight and still, the seamstresses busied themselves with making adjustments to the dress while her mother watched them. Finally, they all stepped back so Lara could see the dress in its entirety.
With a huge smile, she clapped her hands in excitement. “Oh Elizabeth, you are going to look so beautiful! Kivar will certainly be pleased!”
Elizabeth returned her smile as she turned side to side to see the dress in the looking glass that the two servants held up for her. The dress was turning out to be rather nice although it wasn’t really suited to her tastes. She knew the style was one of the current preferences of the courts, but it was still too elaborate for her. Still, she knew she had to put on a good show for Kivar and all of the guests.
Once they were all in agreement that the dress looked good, the seamstresses helped her down and removed the dress as carefully as they could. As they prepared to take the dress away, the servants helped Elizabeth back into the outfit she had worn for the day.
In no time at all, both Elizabeth and Lara were sitting at a table in the solar discussing the wedding menu. This was to be the finalization of it so the cooks would have enough time to gather the ingredients, then cook and test the food before the day of the wedding.
************************************************************************
A few hours later, Elizabeth had managed to meet with the gardeners about flower arrangements, the servants about the manor’s appearance, and to walk the grounds with her parents and some of the wedding party. Even after that she still had time for a nap then a light lunch with her parents afterwards before she had to meet with Kivar.
During the relaxing lunch, Lara and Jeffery told Elizabeth that Kivar had arranged for the two of them to visit the nearby town to see the sights. One of Kivar’s business associates was going to meet them and show them around before taking them out to dinner at an inn near the sea.
Elizabeth knew that meant she would be alone with Kivar for the rest of the day and evening. She hoped that all of that time spent with him would allow her to put her subconscious to rest and stop the dreams from occurring. Spending that time with him would help her get rid of the unease she felt which she was certain came from the dream’s influence.
As soon as Elizabeth and her parents were done with lunch, the three of them walked up the stairs to the third floor. There Elizabeth bade them goodbye and told them to have a good time in town. Leaving them to get ready for their trip, she continued up the stairs to her own room. She had an hour to freshen up before going to meet Kivar in the den.
************************************************************************
Elizabeth smiled at her husband-to-be as she entered the den where he had been waiting for her. He had been talking to his guest until she walked in. At that point, both he and his guest got to their feet to greet her.
Kivar moved closer to her, taking her hand to kiss the back of it before speaking to her. “My Lady Elizabeth, I would like you to meet Father Benedict. He has been my family’s priest for about fifteen years now and he is going to do me the honor of marrying us.”
Elizabeth curtsied to the priest before taking his hand in hers. “It is an honor to meet the family priest, Father. I am glad you are doing this for my lord and I.”
Father Benedict smiled as he patted her hand that he still held. “It will be my pleasure, Lady Elizabeth. Lord Kivar and his family have been gracious to me and my congregation for generations now. Besides that, I have come to count Lord Kivar as a good friend of mine. So, it will be no chore to do this for him.”
Kivar motioned to their seats. “Come, let us sit and talk of the wedding for a bit. I would like Elizabeth to be included in this planning session. You have a little more time before you have to leave, do you not?”
“Of course,” agreed Father Benedict as he took his seat again while Kivar helped Elizabeth onto the loveseat nearby.
Once he’d seated himself next to Elizabeth, he spoke to Father Benedict again. “Why don’t you talk us through the entire ceremony so that we can get an idea of what to prepare for.”
“That’s a good place to start, but I’d also like to plan a time for an actual rehearsal, as well as a time to talk to each of you separately.”
Kivar nodded. “Of course. Once you’ve explained the ceremony, we can plan dates for those things.”
“All right then, let us begin,” replied Father Benedict as he launched into an explanation of the wedding ceremony.
************************************************************************
“Are you feeling in well, Lady Elizabeth?”
Elizabeth looked up from her dessert to find Kivar looking at her with some concern.
“I am well,” she replied.
“Oh good, I was worried because you look a little tired this evening.”
She gave him a reassuring smile. “It is nothing a little sleep won’t cure. I’ve just been really busy with the preparations on my mind.”
He nodded in agreement. “It has been hectic, has it not? Perhaps we should forego the walk in the gardens this evening and let you get to bed earlier?”
She shook her head. “Oh no my lord, I believe the walk will help to relax me and help me sleep better. Besides, that would be better than going to bed on a full stomach.”
Kivar chuckled. “You are right about that. Very well then, let us have that garden walk, shall we?”
He rose from the table and went to help Elizabeth from her seat. She placed her hand in the crook of the arm he offered her before he escorted her out of the dining room.
Within moments they were outside taking a leisurely stroll through the gardens. As they walked, Kivar told Elizabeth that she was more than welcome to fashion the gardens as she saw fit. The care of the gardens had always been handed down from wife to wife in Kivar’s family, so it would be Elizabeth’s turn now that she would become the new lady of the manor.
The two of them talked of the gardens and of Kivar’s family while they continued to stroll around the grounds. She knew that the majority of Kivar’s family lived overseas, which is where his father had returned once he had handed the reins of the business over to Kivar. Kivar’s mother had died in childbirth trying to deliver his stillborn sister. It was for this reason Kivar was an only child.
Elizabeth realized that with the absence of his mother, he had not really had much of a childhood. His father had been too busy with work to raise a son, so Kivar had been left in the care of nannies and tutors who had been instructed to make him into a man.
As she listened to the matter of fact, formal way Kivar dictated his life, Elizabeth knew that was an indication of how he had lived it. There didn’t seem to be any joy or laughter in his life the way it had seemed to fill hers. Still, he gave no indication that he was disappointed with the way his life had turned out.
Then, as his words turned to the subject of his taking over the family business from his father, he seemed to become more animated. In fact, it seemed to Elizabeth that Kivar was happiest when dealing with anything to do with the family business. He made it sound as if he had waited his entire life to get to this point.
They had begun to return to his home as he filled her in about his work, the parts he deemed she would understand best of course. By the time they had reached the floor where her rooms were, Kivar was in a much lighter mood while Elizabeth was beginning to feel sleepy.
She stifled a yawn as they approached the door to her rooms. Kivar chuckled at the sight.
“It seems the dinner and garden walk were just what you needed. I hope this will allow you to catch up on the sleep you need.”
She nodded in agreement. “You are quite right. I believe I shall sleep good tonight.”
He took her hand in his and lifted it to his lips, placing a kiss on her knuckles before speaking again.
“I sincerely hope so my dear. You should be fresh and alive for your wedding. It wouldn’t do for our guests to see you looking too pale and haggard.”
“I understand my lord and I’m sure to fall asleep as soon as my head lays upon my pillow.”
Kivar gave her a satisfied smile. “Very well then, good night my lady. Until the morrow.”
Elizabeth bowed her head slightly in response to his bow as he stepped away from her. “Good night my lord, Kivar.”
As he turned to walk down the hall, Elizabeth opened her door and made her way towards the bedroom. Her personal servants were waiting for her so that they could help her change to her sleeping gown. Once they were done and the bed was turned down, they left her alone after closing the doors behind them.
Elizabeth settled into bed in the darkness with a sigh. Sleep was fast on its feet and as she closed her eyes to the first pull of Mr. Sandman, a thought flitted through her head.
Would she dream again tonight?
TBC...
Lara frowned at her husband as their daughter entered the room and sat down heavily on the couch across from them. Everyday Elizabeth seemed to look more and more tired yet she only did as much work a Lara did. They all had their evening meal together everyday after which everyone retired to their own rooms to relax and get ready for bed. So, if Elizabeth kept the same schedule as them, there was no reason for her to look so worn out since they weren’t.
Even from where they sat, they could see the dark smudges under Elizabeth’s eyes. Her hair and eyes didn’t seem to shine as lustrous and bright as they once did. Then there was the way she seemed to drag herself around as if her petite body had become too heavy for her. She couldn’t even hide the yawn behind her hand when she thought no one was looking.
“Elizabeth, darling, are you all right?” asked Lara.
Elizabeth had been in the process of taking a tea cup from the servant as Lara asked her that. She took a sip from the cup before giving Lara a puzzled look.
“I’m fine. Why do you ask?”
It was Jeffery who answered. “You seem to be a little out of sorts this morning.”
Elizabeth flipped her hand nonchalantly. “Oh it’s nothing really. I guess I’m just a little nervous about the wedding and all the preparations we still have to do.”
“Don’t worry so much, dear. There’s still four days till the wedding to get everything done,” replied Lara.
Elizabeth nodded absently as she sipped on her tea. Her thoughts were already on the reasons why she hadn’t been sleeping well lately. She knew her parents had noticed the change in her disposition even though she was trying hard to hide the fact that she’d been losing a lot of sleep. Not one night since her journey to Kivar’s home had gone by without her having a dream that haunted her even into the daytime.
The dream always started with her under the willow tree talking to the golden-eyed man. However, their attire was always different each night and their conversations were always about the things she’d noticed and dealt with that day while she’d been awake. Every time she thought of her golden-eyed friend while she was awake, Elizabeth wondered why the man seemed so familiar to her. She knew she’d never met a man who looked like him, yet somehow he felt familiar, as if they’d been friends forever.
During the dream, when she got to the point of feeling relaxed and happy with her friend he would morph into Kivar. He would always say strange things to her that never made any sense and the conversations she tried to have with him seemed strained and a little off kilter.
Everyday Kivar would call on her, telling her he wanted to spend some time with her so that they could get to know each other before the wedding. While she was grateful for the opportunity to get to know her future husband, she couldn’t help but feel that there was something a little off about him. Still, she hoped that it was only the dreams she had about him that was clouding her judgment and making her feel that way towards him.
The fact that the dream always ended with the angry mob chasing her added to her sleeplessness. Of course having Kivar lead the mob didn’t help matters either. No matter how fast or how sneaky she tried to be to escape the mob, Kivar always seemed to find her. Just when she thought she’d escaped, she would turn around or turn a corner and run right into him.
In the dream, Kivar never said the same thing when he caught her but he was always furious with her. She also didn’t wake up as soon as he caught her. Sometimes she woke up as they were tying her to the pyre and sometimes she woke up as the flames got closer to her.
She had begun to wonder why the dream seemed to follow the same sequence, but the details were often so different. She couldn’t figure out why she kept having the dream every night especially since she hadn’t used or even really thought of her special gifts since she’d left her father’s home. And she didn’t think she was that worried about the wedding and getting to know her future husband as the days went by and everything was being accomplished.
So, her days were full of preparations and spending time with Kivar. Her nights were spent in the dream, then trying to get back to sleep upon waking from the dream. At that point, she either fell into a restless, fitful sleep or couldn’t sleep at all. If she couldn’t sleep, she spent the rest of the night tossing and turning as if trying to get comfortable again.
She was always grateful for her morning tea since it helped to wake her up a bit and gave her the energy she needed to begin her day. She got up from the table as soon as she was done and made her way to the solar on the second floor where her mother was waiting for her.
The moment Elizabeth walked into the room, her mother motioned to her. “There you are my dear! The seamstresses just came with your dress. Let’s have you try it on for one last fitting, then we’ll get to finishing up the menu for the wedding feast.”
Elizabeth nodded as she moved towards the stool in the middle of the room. Her mother closed the door as servants helped Elizabeth out of her dress. Once she was clad only in her undergarments, the seamstress helped her into her wedding dress before helping her up onto the stool.
As she stood straight and still, the seamstresses busied themselves with making adjustments to the dress while her mother watched them. Finally, they all stepped back so Lara could see the dress in its entirety.
With a huge smile, she clapped her hands in excitement. “Oh Elizabeth, you are going to look so beautiful! Kivar will certainly be pleased!”
Elizabeth returned her smile as she turned side to side to see the dress in the looking glass that the two servants held up for her. The dress was turning out to be rather nice although it wasn’t really suited to her tastes. She knew the style was one of the current preferences of the courts, but it was still too elaborate for her. Still, she knew she had to put on a good show for Kivar and all of the guests.
Once they were all in agreement that the dress looked good, the seamstresses helped her down and removed the dress as carefully as they could. As they prepared to take the dress away, the servants helped Elizabeth back into the outfit she had worn for the day.
In no time at all, both Elizabeth and Lara were sitting at a table in the solar discussing the wedding menu. This was to be the finalization of it so the cooks would have enough time to gather the ingredients, then cook and test the food before the day of the wedding.
************************************************************************
A few hours later, Elizabeth had managed to meet with the gardeners about flower arrangements, the servants about the manor’s appearance, and to walk the grounds with her parents and some of the wedding party. Even after that she still had time for a nap then a light lunch with her parents afterwards before she had to meet with Kivar.
During the relaxing lunch, Lara and Jeffery told Elizabeth that Kivar had arranged for the two of them to visit the nearby town to see the sights. One of Kivar’s business associates was going to meet them and show them around before taking them out to dinner at an inn near the sea.
Elizabeth knew that meant she would be alone with Kivar for the rest of the day and evening. She hoped that all of that time spent with him would allow her to put her subconscious to rest and stop the dreams from occurring. Spending that time with him would help her get rid of the unease she felt which she was certain came from the dream’s influence.
As soon as Elizabeth and her parents were done with lunch, the three of them walked up the stairs to the third floor. There Elizabeth bade them goodbye and told them to have a good time in town. Leaving them to get ready for their trip, she continued up the stairs to her own room. She had an hour to freshen up before going to meet Kivar in the den.
************************************************************************
Elizabeth smiled at her husband-to-be as she entered the den where he had been waiting for her. He had been talking to his guest until she walked in. At that point, both he and his guest got to their feet to greet her.
Kivar moved closer to her, taking her hand to kiss the back of it before speaking to her. “My Lady Elizabeth, I would like you to meet Father Benedict. He has been my family’s priest for about fifteen years now and he is going to do me the honor of marrying us.”
Elizabeth curtsied to the priest before taking his hand in hers. “It is an honor to meet the family priest, Father. I am glad you are doing this for my lord and I.”
Father Benedict smiled as he patted her hand that he still held. “It will be my pleasure, Lady Elizabeth. Lord Kivar and his family have been gracious to me and my congregation for generations now. Besides that, I have come to count Lord Kivar as a good friend of mine. So, it will be no chore to do this for him.”
Kivar motioned to their seats. “Come, let us sit and talk of the wedding for a bit. I would like Elizabeth to be included in this planning session. You have a little more time before you have to leave, do you not?”
“Of course,” agreed Father Benedict as he took his seat again while Kivar helped Elizabeth onto the loveseat nearby.
Once he’d seated himself next to Elizabeth, he spoke to Father Benedict again. “Why don’t you talk us through the entire ceremony so that we can get an idea of what to prepare for.”
“That’s a good place to start, but I’d also like to plan a time for an actual rehearsal, as well as a time to talk to each of you separately.”
Kivar nodded. “Of course. Once you’ve explained the ceremony, we can plan dates for those things.”
“All right then, let us begin,” replied Father Benedict as he launched into an explanation of the wedding ceremony.
************************************************************************
“Are you feeling in well, Lady Elizabeth?”
Elizabeth looked up from her dessert to find Kivar looking at her with some concern.
“I am well,” she replied.
“Oh good, I was worried because you look a little tired this evening.”
She gave him a reassuring smile. “It is nothing a little sleep won’t cure. I’ve just been really busy with the preparations on my mind.”
He nodded in agreement. “It has been hectic, has it not? Perhaps we should forego the walk in the gardens this evening and let you get to bed earlier?”
She shook her head. “Oh no my lord, I believe the walk will help to relax me and help me sleep better. Besides, that would be better than going to bed on a full stomach.”
Kivar chuckled. “You are right about that. Very well then, let us have that garden walk, shall we?”
He rose from the table and went to help Elizabeth from her seat. She placed her hand in the crook of the arm he offered her before he escorted her out of the dining room.
Within moments they were outside taking a leisurely stroll through the gardens. As they walked, Kivar told Elizabeth that she was more than welcome to fashion the gardens as she saw fit. The care of the gardens had always been handed down from wife to wife in Kivar’s family, so it would be Elizabeth’s turn now that she would become the new lady of the manor.
The two of them talked of the gardens and of Kivar’s family while they continued to stroll around the grounds. She knew that the majority of Kivar’s family lived overseas, which is where his father had returned once he had handed the reins of the business over to Kivar. Kivar’s mother had died in childbirth trying to deliver his stillborn sister. It was for this reason Kivar was an only child.
Elizabeth realized that with the absence of his mother, he had not really had much of a childhood. His father had been too busy with work to raise a son, so Kivar had been left in the care of nannies and tutors who had been instructed to make him into a man.
As she listened to the matter of fact, formal way Kivar dictated his life, Elizabeth knew that was an indication of how he had lived it. There didn’t seem to be any joy or laughter in his life the way it had seemed to fill hers. Still, he gave no indication that he was disappointed with the way his life had turned out.
Then, as his words turned to the subject of his taking over the family business from his father, he seemed to become more animated. In fact, it seemed to Elizabeth that Kivar was happiest when dealing with anything to do with the family business. He made it sound as if he had waited his entire life to get to this point.
They had begun to return to his home as he filled her in about his work, the parts he deemed she would understand best of course. By the time they had reached the floor where her rooms were, Kivar was in a much lighter mood while Elizabeth was beginning to feel sleepy.
She stifled a yawn as they approached the door to her rooms. Kivar chuckled at the sight.
“It seems the dinner and garden walk were just what you needed. I hope this will allow you to catch up on the sleep you need.”
She nodded in agreement. “You are quite right. I believe I shall sleep good tonight.”
He took her hand in his and lifted it to his lips, placing a kiss on her knuckles before speaking again.
“I sincerely hope so my dear. You should be fresh and alive for your wedding. It wouldn’t do for our guests to see you looking too pale and haggard.”
“I understand my lord and I’m sure to fall asleep as soon as my head lays upon my pillow.”
Kivar gave her a satisfied smile. “Very well then, good night my lady. Until the morrow.”
Elizabeth bowed her head slightly in response to his bow as he stepped away from her. “Good night my lord, Kivar.”
As he turned to walk down the hall, Elizabeth opened her door and made her way towards the bedroom. Her personal servants were waiting for her so that they could help her change to her sleeping gown. Once they were done and the bed was turned down, they left her alone after closing the doors behind them.
Elizabeth settled into bed in the darkness with a sigh. Sleep was fast on its feet and as she closed her eyes to the first pull of Mr. Sandman, a thought flitted through her head.
Would she dream again tonight?
TBC...
Shadowlynxbehr's Fics
"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams." -Dr. Seuss
"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams." -Dr. Seuss
-
Shadowlynxbehr
- Addicted Roswellian
- Posts: 397
- Joined: Wed Sep 10, 2003 9:44 pm
- Location: In my bedroom surrounded by Jason
- Contact:
Re: Of Secrets, Healers, & Fae (M/L, Adult)pt11-14(pg10/11)6/13
Part 16
Elizabeth sat quietly on the loveseat as Lara talked to one of the chefs about the grand meal planned for the wedding which was less than a day away. It was nearly dinner time yet Elizabeth felt like it was way past her bedtime. The more the other voices in the room droned on, the more her eyelids felt heavier.
No matter what she’d tried, the dreams had haunted her, making her lose more and more sleep. Now it was less than a day before her wedding and she knew that night would be her last chance to get a good night’s sleep if she wanted to appear bright-eyed and bushy tailed for it. Still, she was doing her best not to let anyone else see that she was a bit sleep deprived.
Her lids drooped some more and seconds later her chin bobbed to her chest. That movement jerked her out of her dozing and she quickly blinked and looked around the room. Feeling her cheeks heat in slight embarrassment, she was glad no one had seemed to notice her little slip.
She took a deep breath and let it out before reaching for the strong cup of coffee on the table next to the loveseat. She tried to tell herself that the coffee wouldn’t affect her sleep since she planned to eat good for dinner before going to bed. At least that’s what she hoped since she knew she couldn’t go to bed at that exact moment.
Setting her cup back on the table, she turned her attention back to the conversation her mother was having with the chef. It took her a few moments to follow their talk and by the time Lara turned to include her in the conversation, Elizabeth was able to follow their lead.
Still, Lara could see the slight smudges beneath Elizabeth’s eyes and the way her eyes seemed dull. However, she waited until the chef was gone and all the others in the room were dismissed before bringing it up with her.
“Elizabeth, dear are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” came her quick reply, as if she knew that was coming.
“Are you sure? You look ready to faint!”
“Who looks ready to faint?” asked Jeffery as he walked into the room.
Lara indicated Elizabeth with a sweep of her hand and Elizabeth gave a very unladylike sigh in exasperation. Jeffery frowned as he walked closer to his daughter.
“Your mother is right. You look dreadful daughter!”
“It is nothing! I am just nervous about the wedding, that’s all.”
She saw the disbelieving looks her parents gave each other as a servant walked into the room to announce that dinner was to be served soon. Lara started gathering up her notes with Jeffery’s help while Elizabeth slowly stood up and straightened up her gown.
Kivar walked into the room with a huge smile on his face. However, the moment he saw Elizabeth, the smile faded.
“Elizabeth, my dear! What is wrong?” he asked in a worried tone as he approached her briskly.
She gave him what she hoped was a genuine smile as she replied, “It is nothing, my lord. All is well.”
He stopped besides her with a skeptical look. “Are you sure?”
Her jaw clenched over the fact that everyone seemed to be asking her that lately. “I’m sure.”
He nodded hesitantly. “Very well then, shall we go in to dinner?”
He offered her his arm and she took it, allowing him to escort her out of the room. She’d barely taken two steps when a wave of dizziness came over her and she nearly toppled to the floor. Kivar was quick enough to catch her before she did, but now both he and her parents were looking at her with alarm.
She knew she wasn’t going to make it through dinner at this point, so when Kivar guided her to a chair and leaned over her, she admitted defeat to herself.
Waving them away before they all started to hover over her, she spoke softly. “Sorry, I’m all right now.”
“You’re not all right Elizabeth!” exclaimed Lara.
“It’s just nerves as I said before.” She gave her parents a pleading look, hoping they wouldn’t get carried away.
Then, turning to Kivar she gave him an apologetic look. “Would you mind terribly if I declined dinner and just went straight to bed? I’m confident all I need is a good night’s sleep.
Kivar nodded. “Of course! Of course! You should rest as much as possible before the wedding! Come my lady, let me escort you to your room.”
He glanced at her parents. “Why don’t you two go on to dinner and I’ll join you as soon as I get her situated.”
Jeffery nodded as Lara asked Elizabeth, “Are you sure you don’t want to eat something? I could have something sent up to your room.”
Elizabeth shook her head. “No thank you. I’m not really hungry right now. All I want to do is get some sleep.”
Her parents bid her goodnight before making their way to the dining room. With her hand in the crook of Kivar’s arm, Elizabeth was able to make it to her rooms without falling down again. Once there, he made certain the servants saw to her needs before saying goodnight to her and returning downstairs to dinner.
Within minutes of his departure and that of her servants, Elizabeth was sound asleep.
************************************************************************
Sounds of distress filled the dark room where the air seem heavy and thick with moisture. Caught between the sheets, she tossed and turned as if fighting off an attacker. Her breathing came in fast pants as her arms flailed in the air. Sweat plastered her hair to her face, framing the pale features that were twisted in fear.
With a sudden cry, she sat up in the bed and opened her eyes. As awareness deepened in their depths, Elizabeth looked around her darkened bedroom. Shaking her head of the last vestiges of the dream, she hastily pushed her sweat soaked hair away from her face.
“It was just another dream,” she muttered to herself as she waited for her breathing and heartbeat to calm down a little.
When she felt a little calmer, she climbed out of the bed and silently made her way to the window. Looking out at the sky, she realized with a frown that it was still late at night. The morning hours were still long in coming. No doubt the rest of the house was still deep in their slumbers, unlike her.
With a sigh, she walked back to the bed knowing it was going to be hard for her to get back to sleep now. Why couldn’t the dream have waited until it was time to get up? At least then she would have looked better for her wedding. A thought occurred to her as she reached the bed.
Quickly walking back to the window, she looked out to see how bright the moon was, making it easy to see outside. Grinning, she knew just what she could do to make herself sleepy again. A brisk walk in the moonlit gardens was just what she needed.
She went to her armoire and pulled out her most worn slippers and the old traveling cloak she still had. Putting them on and making sure to twist her hair up tightly, she tightened the cloak around her and lifted the hood over her hair. As soon as she was ready to face the outdoors, she quietly made her way out of her room and down the hall.
Used to moving through her home in silence so that her parents were not alerted to her escapades, it was easy for her to do the same through Kivar’s home. Her clothes barely made a sound as she flitted through the darkened hallways and down carpeted stairs until she reached the side door in the dining room that led outside.
Quietly she opened the door and slipped out into the moonlit night. Making her way down the path, she remained as silent and careful as possible until she had reached the entrance to the gardens themselves. Once there, she let out the breath she had been holding and set out at a brisk pace through the fragrant shrubs.
As she walked, she enjoyed the moonlight tinted the shrubs and flowers in hues that were much different that the hues the sunlight normally produced. To her a nighttime garden seemed more ethereal and silvery, as if she had been transported to a magical parallel world. While she loved the look of gardens in the sunlight, they were also beautiful to her in the moonlight too.
She stopped to smell a particular shrub with night-blooming flowers, leaning down to breathe in the sweet scent. Feeling calmer now that she had been out there for a while, the scent helped to soothe and relax her further. Running her fingers over the silky soft petals, she sighed in contentment before continuing her walk.
She made it to the center of the gardens a few moments later and sat on the bench there to enjoy the night for a bit. When she began to feel the drowsiness of sleep, she finally got up and began to walk through the rest of the garden. This meant she was taking the long way around back to the dining room door, but she thought it would equate to more sleep for her since she would be exhausted by then.
She was halfway through that side of the gardens when she heard the frantic flutter of wings coming from a nearby shrub. Turning her head, she peered through the leaves, trying to see what bird was there late at night. At first she saw nothing, but when the fluttering began again, she was able to make out the shape on the ground. Edging closer, she knelt in front of the shrub and saw the small bird dragging its right wing along the ground. It also seemed to be tangled in some kind of silvery thread.
Frowning at the birds distress, she wondered if she could still heal and communicate with animals the way she used to. It had been a few weeks since she had used her powers the way Max had taught her that she feared those few lessons were no longer enough. Still, she had never been one to leave an animal in pain.
Taking a deep breath, she concentrated on opening her mind and projecting towards the bird. Gently, she reached for its mind, hoping not to frighten it anymore than it already was. Amazingly, she caught the chaotic thoughts of the bird and smiled at how easy it had been.
Unfortunately the bird wasn’t having any of it and began thrashing more wildly than before. Still, Elizabeth concentrated and made her intruding thoughts as gentle and as soothing as possible. Finally the bird began settling down as it realized it was not in any real danger.
Elizabeth continued to sit still for a few more moments, letting the bird get used to her physical presence and her presence in its mind. When she was sure it had calmed considerably, she told it that she was going to reach for it to help it out of the thread. However, she did not move until the bird gave its consent.
It was a few seconds of hesitation before the bird finally responded to her. It was then that she found out it was a male and that the thread seemed to be adding more pain besides the broken wing. She told him that if he would hold still and allow her to look closer at the thread, she would probably be able to get it off of him so that it wouldn’t cause him anymore pain. Then she would heal his wing so he could fly again.
Again there were a few seconds of hesitation before he finally agreed to let her try. Because of his skittishness, Elizabeth slowly moved closer to the bird until she could see the thread clearly. It was then she realized the thread was the stronger kind that didn’t break as easily as thread used in clothing.
This tough thread was strong enough to bite into his skin, leaving small abrasions behind. No wonder he said he was in additional pain. She looked over the thread until she spied an end to it. Carefully she reached out and began to unravel the thread from the bird’s body.
Taking care not to add to his injuries, she finally managed to get all of the thread off of him and let it fall to the ground for the moment. As soon as the bird’s body was free, she carefully placed her hands around him so that she could lift him up and away from the shrubs. Settling him into her cupped hands, she closed her eyes and began to concentrate on healing his wounds.
Her gifts began to work their magic as naturally as before. Just like Max had taught her, she was able to visualize going into the bird’s body to begin repairing its broken wing. Meticulously, she worked on coaxing the frail bones to mind without any visible fractures then she moved on to the cartilage surrounding it.
She worked her way through every layer of bone, cartilage, skin and feather of the broken wing until she was satisfied that it was fully healed. Once that was done, she moved on to the lesser abrasions that were everywhere else on the bird’s body. It took her only a few moments to completely heal the bird and for the first time ever, she realized she didn’t feel as exhausted as she used to feel after healing an animal.
Opening her eyes, she smiled down at the bird as she heard its thanks in her mind. She replied with a “you’re welcome” as she watched it test its wings before it lifted itself from her hands and flew off into the night. She waited a few moments, until she could barely see it in the night sky before turning to head back to the house. Just as she remembered to retrieve the discarded thread and was about to turn to get it, she was grabbed forcefully by the arm.
With wide eyes, she looked up into Kivar’s rage filled face. “Lord Kivar? What…”
He shook her as he hissed at her, preventing her from finishing. “I saw you! I know what you are! Witch! So this is what you do every night! This is why you always look so dreadful!”
Elizabeth’s expression was one of puzzlement and fear. “What are you talking about? I don’t…”
He slapped her across her face, preventing her to speak. “Silence! I will not allow a devil’s whore to cast her evil spells on me and mine! God be praised that I discovered your wretched ways before I married the devil’s mistress!”
He turned towards the house and bellowed, “Guards!”
“No! My lord, you misunderstand!” Elizabeth cried as the guards came running up to surround them.
Kivar glared at her. “I know what I saw! Seize her!” he roared. “Put her in chains and lock her in the dungeon! Make sure to seal the exits with crosses so that she cannot use her evil to escape!”
As the guards grabbed her and began to haul her away, she looked over her shoulder at him and continued to beg. “Please my lord! You’re making a mistake! Please listen to me!”
Kivar’s shouts had woken up the rest of the household. While most were curious enough to peek out of windows and doors, Elizabeth’s parents came running out to see the guards dragging their daughter towards a set of stairs leading beneath the house.
Jeffery frowned at Kivar. “What is the meaning of this!”
Kivar gestured to the guards to keep going as he answered Jeffery with his chin raised. “I just witnessed that woman using spells on a wild animal! She is a witch!”
“What!” cried Lara as she ran towards her stepdaughter. “That can’t be true!”
“She was practicing the devil’s art beneath the light of the moon!”
“How dare you accuse my daughter of witchcraft!” barked Jeffery.
“Oh I dare! I saw her! She thought she was being sneaky, but I was down in my study when she walked down the stairs. I followed her out to the gardens and watched her as she communicated with a wild beast! She somehow made it come closer to her before she touched it then set it free! Look at her! How she is dressed! Don’t you see? This is why she has not looked decent these last few days! She has been cavorting with the devil!”
“Just because she is dressed this way means nothing! Elizabeth has always dressed down when taking walks outside of our home,” explained Jeffery.
“Really? And does she hold birds in her hands before letting them fly away? One that had been tangled in some thread with a broken wing!”
At his statement both Lara and Jeffery turned to gape at Elizabeth. “I-is that true?” stuttered Jeffery.
Elizabeth sighed in defeat. “Yes, I rescued it.”
At their fallen faces she hastily added, “but I was only helping it. I did nothing wrong!”
Lara whispered, “Did it…did it have a broken wing?”
When she didn’t respond immediately, Kivar answered for her. “Yes. I saw its wing as she was taking the thread off. Clearly broken when she picked it up in her hands. Yet it flew away perfectly!”
Silence descended around all of them as they all stared at Elizabeth in disbelief and a little fear. She could clearly see the hopelessness in her parents eyes.
Kivar motioned to the guards once more. “Take her to the dungeon as I said. I am sending word to the authorities at once. I’m sure they will want to be swift with her execution.”
Lara gasped in shock and nearly fainted but Jeffery was quick to wrap his arms around her and comfort her. Helplessly they watched as the guards dragged their only daughter away, her indignant cries ringing in their ears.
TBC...
Elizabeth sat quietly on the loveseat as Lara talked to one of the chefs about the grand meal planned for the wedding which was less than a day away. It was nearly dinner time yet Elizabeth felt like it was way past her bedtime. The more the other voices in the room droned on, the more her eyelids felt heavier.
No matter what she’d tried, the dreams had haunted her, making her lose more and more sleep. Now it was less than a day before her wedding and she knew that night would be her last chance to get a good night’s sleep if she wanted to appear bright-eyed and bushy tailed for it. Still, she was doing her best not to let anyone else see that she was a bit sleep deprived.
Her lids drooped some more and seconds later her chin bobbed to her chest. That movement jerked her out of her dozing and she quickly blinked and looked around the room. Feeling her cheeks heat in slight embarrassment, she was glad no one had seemed to notice her little slip.
She took a deep breath and let it out before reaching for the strong cup of coffee on the table next to the loveseat. She tried to tell herself that the coffee wouldn’t affect her sleep since she planned to eat good for dinner before going to bed. At least that’s what she hoped since she knew she couldn’t go to bed at that exact moment.
Setting her cup back on the table, she turned her attention back to the conversation her mother was having with the chef. It took her a few moments to follow their talk and by the time Lara turned to include her in the conversation, Elizabeth was able to follow their lead.
Still, Lara could see the slight smudges beneath Elizabeth’s eyes and the way her eyes seemed dull. However, she waited until the chef was gone and all the others in the room were dismissed before bringing it up with her.
“Elizabeth, dear are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” came her quick reply, as if she knew that was coming.
“Are you sure? You look ready to faint!”
“Who looks ready to faint?” asked Jeffery as he walked into the room.
Lara indicated Elizabeth with a sweep of her hand and Elizabeth gave a very unladylike sigh in exasperation. Jeffery frowned as he walked closer to his daughter.
“Your mother is right. You look dreadful daughter!”
“It is nothing! I am just nervous about the wedding, that’s all.”
She saw the disbelieving looks her parents gave each other as a servant walked into the room to announce that dinner was to be served soon. Lara started gathering up her notes with Jeffery’s help while Elizabeth slowly stood up and straightened up her gown.
Kivar walked into the room with a huge smile on his face. However, the moment he saw Elizabeth, the smile faded.
“Elizabeth, my dear! What is wrong?” he asked in a worried tone as he approached her briskly.
She gave him what she hoped was a genuine smile as she replied, “It is nothing, my lord. All is well.”
He stopped besides her with a skeptical look. “Are you sure?”
Her jaw clenched over the fact that everyone seemed to be asking her that lately. “I’m sure.”
He nodded hesitantly. “Very well then, shall we go in to dinner?”
He offered her his arm and she took it, allowing him to escort her out of the room. She’d barely taken two steps when a wave of dizziness came over her and she nearly toppled to the floor. Kivar was quick enough to catch her before she did, but now both he and her parents were looking at her with alarm.
She knew she wasn’t going to make it through dinner at this point, so when Kivar guided her to a chair and leaned over her, she admitted defeat to herself.
Waving them away before they all started to hover over her, she spoke softly. “Sorry, I’m all right now.”
“You’re not all right Elizabeth!” exclaimed Lara.
“It’s just nerves as I said before.” She gave her parents a pleading look, hoping they wouldn’t get carried away.
Then, turning to Kivar she gave him an apologetic look. “Would you mind terribly if I declined dinner and just went straight to bed? I’m confident all I need is a good night’s sleep.
Kivar nodded. “Of course! Of course! You should rest as much as possible before the wedding! Come my lady, let me escort you to your room.”
He glanced at her parents. “Why don’t you two go on to dinner and I’ll join you as soon as I get her situated.”
Jeffery nodded as Lara asked Elizabeth, “Are you sure you don’t want to eat something? I could have something sent up to your room.”
Elizabeth shook her head. “No thank you. I’m not really hungry right now. All I want to do is get some sleep.”
Her parents bid her goodnight before making their way to the dining room. With her hand in the crook of Kivar’s arm, Elizabeth was able to make it to her rooms without falling down again. Once there, he made certain the servants saw to her needs before saying goodnight to her and returning downstairs to dinner.
Within minutes of his departure and that of her servants, Elizabeth was sound asleep.
************************************************************************
Sounds of distress filled the dark room where the air seem heavy and thick with moisture. Caught between the sheets, she tossed and turned as if fighting off an attacker. Her breathing came in fast pants as her arms flailed in the air. Sweat plastered her hair to her face, framing the pale features that were twisted in fear.
With a sudden cry, she sat up in the bed and opened her eyes. As awareness deepened in their depths, Elizabeth looked around her darkened bedroom. Shaking her head of the last vestiges of the dream, she hastily pushed her sweat soaked hair away from her face.
“It was just another dream,” she muttered to herself as she waited for her breathing and heartbeat to calm down a little.
When she felt a little calmer, she climbed out of the bed and silently made her way to the window. Looking out at the sky, she realized with a frown that it was still late at night. The morning hours were still long in coming. No doubt the rest of the house was still deep in their slumbers, unlike her.
With a sigh, she walked back to the bed knowing it was going to be hard for her to get back to sleep now. Why couldn’t the dream have waited until it was time to get up? At least then she would have looked better for her wedding. A thought occurred to her as she reached the bed.
Quickly walking back to the window, she looked out to see how bright the moon was, making it easy to see outside. Grinning, she knew just what she could do to make herself sleepy again. A brisk walk in the moonlit gardens was just what she needed.
She went to her armoire and pulled out her most worn slippers and the old traveling cloak she still had. Putting them on and making sure to twist her hair up tightly, she tightened the cloak around her and lifted the hood over her hair. As soon as she was ready to face the outdoors, she quietly made her way out of her room and down the hall.
Used to moving through her home in silence so that her parents were not alerted to her escapades, it was easy for her to do the same through Kivar’s home. Her clothes barely made a sound as she flitted through the darkened hallways and down carpeted stairs until she reached the side door in the dining room that led outside.
Quietly she opened the door and slipped out into the moonlit night. Making her way down the path, she remained as silent and careful as possible until she had reached the entrance to the gardens themselves. Once there, she let out the breath she had been holding and set out at a brisk pace through the fragrant shrubs.
As she walked, she enjoyed the moonlight tinted the shrubs and flowers in hues that were much different that the hues the sunlight normally produced. To her a nighttime garden seemed more ethereal and silvery, as if she had been transported to a magical parallel world. While she loved the look of gardens in the sunlight, they were also beautiful to her in the moonlight too.
She stopped to smell a particular shrub with night-blooming flowers, leaning down to breathe in the sweet scent. Feeling calmer now that she had been out there for a while, the scent helped to soothe and relax her further. Running her fingers over the silky soft petals, she sighed in contentment before continuing her walk.
She made it to the center of the gardens a few moments later and sat on the bench there to enjoy the night for a bit. When she began to feel the drowsiness of sleep, she finally got up and began to walk through the rest of the garden. This meant she was taking the long way around back to the dining room door, but she thought it would equate to more sleep for her since she would be exhausted by then.
She was halfway through that side of the gardens when she heard the frantic flutter of wings coming from a nearby shrub. Turning her head, she peered through the leaves, trying to see what bird was there late at night. At first she saw nothing, but when the fluttering began again, she was able to make out the shape on the ground. Edging closer, she knelt in front of the shrub and saw the small bird dragging its right wing along the ground. It also seemed to be tangled in some kind of silvery thread.
Frowning at the birds distress, she wondered if she could still heal and communicate with animals the way she used to. It had been a few weeks since she had used her powers the way Max had taught her that she feared those few lessons were no longer enough. Still, she had never been one to leave an animal in pain.
Taking a deep breath, she concentrated on opening her mind and projecting towards the bird. Gently, she reached for its mind, hoping not to frighten it anymore than it already was. Amazingly, she caught the chaotic thoughts of the bird and smiled at how easy it had been.
Unfortunately the bird wasn’t having any of it and began thrashing more wildly than before. Still, Elizabeth concentrated and made her intruding thoughts as gentle and as soothing as possible. Finally the bird began settling down as it realized it was not in any real danger.
Elizabeth continued to sit still for a few more moments, letting the bird get used to her physical presence and her presence in its mind. When she was sure it had calmed considerably, she told it that she was going to reach for it to help it out of the thread. However, she did not move until the bird gave its consent.
It was a few seconds of hesitation before the bird finally responded to her. It was then that she found out it was a male and that the thread seemed to be adding more pain besides the broken wing. She told him that if he would hold still and allow her to look closer at the thread, she would probably be able to get it off of him so that it wouldn’t cause him anymore pain. Then she would heal his wing so he could fly again.
Again there were a few seconds of hesitation before he finally agreed to let her try. Because of his skittishness, Elizabeth slowly moved closer to the bird until she could see the thread clearly. It was then she realized the thread was the stronger kind that didn’t break as easily as thread used in clothing.
This tough thread was strong enough to bite into his skin, leaving small abrasions behind. No wonder he said he was in additional pain. She looked over the thread until she spied an end to it. Carefully she reached out and began to unravel the thread from the bird’s body.
Taking care not to add to his injuries, she finally managed to get all of the thread off of him and let it fall to the ground for the moment. As soon as the bird’s body was free, she carefully placed her hands around him so that she could lift him up and away from the shrubs. Settling him into her cupped hands, she closed her eyes and began to concentrate on healing his wounds.
Her gifts began to work their magic as naturally as before. Just like Max had taught her, she was able to visualize going into the bird’s body to begin repairing its broken wing. Meticulously, she worked on coaxing the frail bones to mind without any visible fractures then she moved on to the cartilage surrounding it.
She worked her way through every layer of bone, cartilage, skin and feather of the broken wing until she was satisfied that it was fully healed. Once that was done, she moved on to the lesser abrasions that were everywhere else on the bird’s body. It took her only a few moments to completely heal the bird and for the first time ever, she realized she didn’t feel as exhausted as she used to feel after healing an animal.
Opening her eyes, she smiled down at the bird as she heard its thanks in her mind. She replied with a “you’re welcome” as she watched it test its wings before it lifted itself from her hands and flew off into the night. She waited a few moments, until she could barely see it in the night sky before turning to head back to the house. Just as she remembered to retrieve the discarded thread and was about to turn to get it, she was grabbed forcefully by the arm.
With wide eyes, she looked up into Kivar’s rage filled face. “Lord Kivar? What…”
He shook her as he hissed at her, preventing her from finishing. “I saw you! I know what you are! Witch! So this is what you do every night! This is why you always look so dreadful!”
Elizabeth’s expression was one of puzzlement and fear. “What are you talking about? I don’t…”
He slapped her across her face, preventing her to speak. “Silence! I will not allow a devil’s whore to cast her evil spells on me and mine! God be praised that I discovered your wretched ways before I married the devil’s mistress!”
He turned towards the house and bellowed, “Guards!”
“No! My lord, you misunderstand!” Elizabeth cried as the guards came running up to surround them.
Kivar glared at her. “I know what I saw! Seize her!” he roared. “Put her in chains and lock her in the dungeon! Make sure to seal the exits with crosses so that she cannot use her evil to escape!”
As the guards grabbed her and began to haul her away, she looked over her shoulder at him and continued to beg. “Please my lord! You’re making a mistake! Please listen to me!”
Kivar’s shouts had woken up the rest of the household. While most were curious enough to peek out of windows and doors, Elizabeth’s parents came running out to see the guards dragging their daughter towards a set of stairs leading beneath the house.
Jeffery frowned at Kivar. “What is the meaning of this!”
Kivar gestured to the guards to keep going as he answered Jeffery with his chin raised. “I just witnessed that woman using spells on a wild animal! She is a witch!”
“What!” cried Lara as she ran towards her stepdaughter. “That can’t be true!”
“She was practicing the devil’s art beneath the light of the moon!”
“How dare you accuse my daughter of witchcraft!” barked Jeffery.
“Oh I dare! I saw her! She thought she was being sneaky, but I was down in my study when she walked down the stairs. I followed her out to the gardens and watched her as she communicated with a wild beast! She somehow made it come closer to her before she touched it then set it free! Look at her! How she is dressed! Don’t you see? This is why she has not looked decent these last few days! She has been cavorting with the devil!”
“Just because she is dressed this way means nothing! Elizabeth has always dressed down when taking walks outside of our home,” explained Jeffery.
“Really? And does she hold birds in her hands before letting them fly away? One that had been tangled in some thread with a broken wing!”
At his statement both Lara and Jeffery turned to gape at Elizabeth. “I-is that true?” stuttered Jeffery.
Elizabeth sighed in defeat. “Yes, I rescued it.”
At their fallen faces she hastily added, “but I was only helping it. I did nothing wrong!”
Lara whispered, “Did it…did it have a broken wing?”
When she didn’t respond immediately, Kivar answered for her. “Yes. I saw its wing as she was taking the thread off. Clearly broken when she picked it up in her hands. Yet it flew away perfectly!”
Silence descended around all of them as they all stared at Elizabeth in disbelief and a little fear. She could clearly see the hopelessness in her parents eyes.
Kivar motioned to the guards once more. “Take her to the dungeon as I said. I am sending word to the authorities at once. I’m sure they will want to be swift with her execution.”
Lara gasped in shock and nearly fainted but Jeffery was quick to wrap his arms around her and comfort her. Helplessly they watched as the guards dragged their only daughter away, her indignant cries ringing in their ears.
TBC...
Shadowlynxbehr's Fics
"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams." -Dr. Seuss
"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams." -Dr. Seuss
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Shadowlynxbehr
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Re: Of Secrets, Healers, & Fae (M/L, Adult)pt11-14(pg10/11)6/13
Part 17
Elizabeth paced back and forth through the dark and dismal room. She knew it was just a few hours until dawn since she could see the sky through the bars on the window. The moon had finally faded away. She had spent the few hours while in there trying to convince anyone to listen to her, but no one would come. She knew there were guards outside because a couple of times they had snapped at her to be quiet before they seemed to not care if she continued to yell from time to time.
Now she was tired of crying out to the walls and her feet ached from her pacing, but she was afraid to stop. She had no idea when the authorities would arrive, but she wanted to be awake when they did. She was also trying to avoid sleep for the dreams she had been having.
After they had thrown her in the cell and felt her alone, she had suddenly realized how this could quickly turn into one of her nightmares. She had briefly wondered if the dreams she had been having were premonitions of a sort, as if warning her to keep her gifts hidden.
It was too late now since she’d healed the bird without knowing she was being watched. Still, she had chastised herself for forgetting Max’s lessons on being aware of her surroundings and she was sure he would be disappointed in her failure to listen to him.
Sighing, she pushed a wayward strand of hair away from her face and neck. As she did, her fingers grazed the necklace she wore. The moment she touched it, she froze.
Pulling it out from under her dress, she looked down at the stone on the end and suddenly remembered what Max had told her when he’d given it to her. If she ever needed him, she could use it to contact him. Would it really work, she wondered.
Looking out the window, she decided she might as well try, so she took it off and held it in her hands. Closing her eyes, she began to picture Max the lion in her mind and wondered just how the stone was supposed to help anyway.
Just when she was about to declare it futile and put it back around her neck, she could feel it beginning to heat up. Gasping, she suddenly realized the lion in her mind seemed to be looking at her intently. When the head slowly tilted sideways as if in question, she heard a far-away voice.
“Elizabeth?”
“Max? Is that you?” she cried out to the cell.
Again came the far-away voice. “Don’t talk. Just think to me what is wrong.” His voice was a clear indication that their connection was weak.
She almost nodded before she realized Max wasn’t really there seeing her. So she did as he asked and began to project images of what had happened that night. She continued to replay the entire ordeal over and over again hoping Max was getting everything clearly.
Then she was thinking of the ordeal for the third time when she suddenly got an image of the lion running towards her at full speed. The image seemed to repeat itself a couple of times before it suddenly stopped. Before Elizabeth could project another image, the stone went cold in her hands.
She gasped as she knew that meant Max had severed the connection. Even so, she stood there with her eyes closed and her mind open for a few more moments just in case. Finally, she knew they had communicated all they could have and hoped that the last image of the lion running meant he was coming for her.
With an exhausted sigh, she moved to lean against the back wall. Slowly sinking down into a sitting position, she drew her knees up and rested her folded arms on top of them. Laying her head down, she closed her eyes and finally fell into an exhausted sleep. Her last thought was a prayer that Max was really coming to save her from Kivar’s brutality.
************************************************************************
Elizabeth was roughly yanked to her feet a few hours later by two guards. Shaking the sleep out of her head, she looked up with sleepy eyes at the small group waiting just beyond the cell doors. Standing besides Kivar and his family priest, Father Benedict, was a tall man with close cropped blond hair, ice blue eyes and a stern look on his face.
As the guards dragged her out of the cell, Kivar indicated her with a nod of his head. “This is the woman I sent word to you about, Captain. She is the one I saw performing the devil’s work last night!”
The guards pulled her to a stop in front of the Captain while he seemed to be appraising her. “Did anyone else see her doing anything of the like?”
“I have been unable to get anyone else to confess. Not even her parents will say anything of this matter. It’s as if they’ve never seen her do anything despite the fact she has lived with them since her birth.”
The Captain turned a shrewd eye on Kivar. “I cannot convict her until I have more proof than just yours Lord Kivar. Have her brought to the stables as well as her parents and anyone else you think might help your case. If I am not convinced within two hours I will have no choice but to set her free.”
Kivar nodded to the Captain and waited for him to disappear up the stairs before turning to the two guards. “Chain her and take her to the stables. Don’t let her out of your sight at all. Beware of her sorceress’ powers! I am going to round up everyone I can and will meet you in the stables soon.”
Turning to Father Benedict he added, “Has there been word on who is going to perform the public execution once we take her to the execution site?”
“Not yet, but they promised to send word by midday.”
Kivar nodded in acknowledgement before heading up the stairs with Father Benedict, leaving the guards to deal with escorting Elizabeth to the stables.
************************************************************************
Elizabeth stood tall and silent before those gathered around her. Kivar had managed to gather up a few servants who often worked around Elizabeth, as well as her parents. Father Benedict, the Captain and his entourage, as well as several of Kivar’s guards rounded out the rest of the group.
The Captain had already interrogated Kivar, Jeffery, Lara and Elizabeth’s personal servants while his assistant scribe took all of the notes of the proceedings. While the servants had not been able to tell him anything strange about Elizabeth’s behavior, Jeffery and Lara had said some things that the Captain and Kivar had construed as suspicious. Even though they both had tried to say their daughter simply liked the outdoors and nature because of the way they had raised her, the Captain insisted that her wild upbringing only added to her desire to consort with the devil.
No matter how Elizabeth’s parents tried to word their statements and insist on their daughter’s innocence, the Captain and Father Benedict both found ways to tie their testaments to evidence of witchcraft practices. Her parents were so bad at trying to prove her innocence that Elizabeth soon wished they would just give up and let this be over with.
Finally the Captain had turned to her and asked her if she denied doing any of the things her parents claimed she had done while growing up. Knowing there was no way to smooth things over, she had no choice but to say she had indeed grown up the way her parents had said. She had been allowed to run barefoot through the fields and woods, as well as allowed to wear second hand clothes and get messy as if she were nothing more than a street urchin.
“So everything your parents have said about your uncivilized upbringing is true then,” the Captain asked one more time to make sure it was clear.
“Yes,” replied Elizabeth, keeping her voice calm and even.
“I see, then it is not such a far fetched idea for you to be able to do something similar to what Lord Kivar claims he saw you do based on this information.”
Elizabeth remained still and quiet.
“Now I ask you Lady Elizabeth Parker, do you deny doing what Lord Kivar is accusing you of doing?”
“I am not a witch,” she stated in answer.
“That is not what I asked. Did you or did you not do something to the bird?”
She lifted her chin a little higher. “I did.
“Then tell me my lady, what it was that you did.”
“I saved it.”
“And how did you do that?” asked the Captain.
“I removed the string from it and freed it to fly away.”
“Did it have a broken wing?”
She knew she couldn’t deny what Kivar had already witnessed. “Yes.”
“Do you agree with me when I say a bird with a broken wing cannot possibly be able to fly away as Lord Kivar said it did.”
“Yes.”
“Then can you tell me how it was possible for a bird with a broken wing could have possibly flown away from your hands?”
She gritted her teeth in frustration, knowing she was at the end of her time. “I healed it.”
Lara gasped and fell into Jeffery’s arms sobbing softly. Jeffery could only hold her and stare helplessly at his daughter. For her part, Elizabeth refused to be cowed by the Captain and Kivar.
As Father Benedict made the sign of warding off evil, the Captain sighed.
“I think I have heard enough.” He gestured to the guards. “There is a cage at the back of the wagon I brought with me. Please escort Lady Elizabeth to it and my guards will help to secure her inside of it. As soon as my entourage and anyone who is traveling with us is ready, we will commence to the execution site.”
He turned to look at the Parkers for a moment before looking away. “It should take us at most two days to arrive at the execution site, so be prepared to camp out one night along the way. Hopefully the executioner will meet us halfway so that we can plan and get this over with as quickly as possible. Now then, let us get started.”
Without another word, everyone dispersed. As the guards took Elizabeth to the front of the house where the wagon with the cage waited, she could hear Lara still softly sobbing while Jeffery tried to soothe her.
************************************************************************
The caravan that made its way towards the execution site only consisted of two carriages, a wagon and several horseback riders. The Captain and six guards rode at the head of the caravan with the carriage carrying Kivar and Father Benedict behind them. Two guards rode on each side of the carriage with two more driving the horses pulling the carriage. The second carriage carrying Jeffery and Lara was behind Kivar’s and the same amount of guards had been assigned to it. Lastly was the wagon which held Elizabeth in the cage.
Even though Elizabeth was only one mere woman, she was surrounded by fourteen guards. Two rode on the bench to drive the horses pulling the wagon, four sat along the four sides of the wagon around the cage, two rode horseback on either side of the wagon and six more rode horses behind the wagon to complete the entire caravan.
Inside the cage there was only a thin layer of straw for her to sit on and the metal bars still poked through to make it an uncomfortable ride. Chains extended from cuffs around her wrists and were connected to a thick chain coming from one side of the cage. Even if Elizabeth had been strong enough to break the cuffs and chains on her wrists, she was still anchored to the cage itself with an additional chain around one ankle.
With every bump and slide of the wagon, the bars beneath her feet and limbs where she sat kept digging into her skin. Her clothing and the straw was barely enough to keep the bars from pressing too deep. And as the day droned on, the journey was one of the longest and most exhausting one she had ever endured.
Finally night came on and the Captain knew it was too dark to go any further. He ordered one of his guards who was the scout to look for an appropriate place to camp for the night. Once the guard found a place, he led them to the area quickly and quietly.
When they arrived, three tents were hastily erected for the Captain, the Parkers and Kivar who shared his tent with Father Benedict. Elizabeth was left in the cage in the wagon which was surrounded by any of the guards not currently setting up camp or preparing the meal.
Throughout the entire evening’s preparations, Elizabeth simply sat and watched the others moving around. She avoided looking at her parents since Lara was still quietly crying while her father had taken to looking sullen. Kivar and Father Benedict seemed to be still expounding the justice of punishing evildoers to make the world a safer place for innocents.
Elizabeth remembered the zealous people she had seen when she had been a child, but she had never gotten the impression that Kivar was even remotely like them. Not even her dreams had made her feel he was really like that. Now she knew that she should have paid more attention to her dreams because they had been a sort of warning for her. Too late, she was beginning to realize her dreams were premonitions of a sort even if reality wasn’t exactly playing out like her dreams.
She was interrupted from her reverie by a guard who shared a plate of gruel and stale bread between the bars at her. He also handed a tin cup of water to her before turning away and heading back to the cooking fire.
Forcing herself to eat the awful mixture, she continued to watch as the others were fed a much better meal of beef stew and ale or wine depending on their status. Her thoughts soon turned to the images she had seen from the stone necklace and she wondered once more if she had really been in touch with Max or if it had all been a figment of her imagination.
Before she knew it, the guard had returned to retrieve her plate and cup while others began to take their places around the camp to guard it for the night. There were still the four guards around her cage and one more who slowly walked around the back of the wagon from time to time. He was obviously the one who would remain awake until relieved of duty.
Another guard climbed on the wagon and leaned towards the cage to hand her a threadbare blanket. Without a word, he dropped it into the cage then climbed back down and sauntered off. Elizabeth knew that would be the only thing she would have to bed down for the night. With a sigh, she scooped some hay into a pile to act as a place for her head, then set about folding the blanket so half would serve to lay upon and the other half would cover her.
Ignoring the four guards who surrounded her cage and unabashedly watched her, she crawled into the blanket and settled in. Those around the camp were doing the same thing as they took to tents, blankets or something else to sleep upon.
Soon things quieted down as everyone settled in for the night. With the Parkers in one tent, the Captain in another, and Kivar and Father Benedict in the third only guards were visible now. One guard was stationed around each one of the four sides of the camp which was comprised of the three tents on one end, a fire in the middle and the wagon and horses on the other end.
The other guards that were not on duty were sleeping either near the fire or around Elizabeth’s cage. Since they were more likely going to have to wake soon to relieve those guards on duty, almost all of the off duty guards were asleep as soon as their heads hit the ground.
Elizabeth could hear a cacophony of snores that drifted throughout the camp. There were also a few soft rustles coming from the tents from time to time indicating someone shifting in their sleep or having trouble sleeping. Still, she was literally the last one to fall asleep, due to the uncomfortable cage and the fear of the unknown.
As she lay there listening to the night’s sounds, she wondered just what was to become of her and if she even dared hope she would survive the next few days. It was those troubled thoughts that followed her into her usual troubled dreams.
TBC...
Elizabeth paced back and forth through the dark and dismal room. She knew it was just a few hours until dawn since she could see the sky through the bars on the window. The moon had finally faded away. She had spent the few hours while in there trying to convince anyone to listen to her, but no one would come. She knew there were guards outside because a couple of times they had snapped at her to be quiet before they seemed to not care if she continued to yell from time to time.
Now she was tired of crying out to the walls and her feet ached from her pacing, but she was afraid to stop. She had no idea when the authorities would arrive, but she wanted to be awake when they did. She was also trying to avoid sleep for the dreams she had been having.
After they had thrown her in the cell and felt her alone, she had suddenly realized how this could quickly turn into one of her nightmares. She had briefly wondered if the dreams she had been having were premonitions of a sort, as if warning her to keep her gifts hidden.
It was too late now since she’d healed the bird without knowing she was being watched. Still, she had chastised herself for forgetting Max’s lessons on being aware of her surroundings and she was sure he would be disappointed in her failure to listen to him.
Sighing, she pushed a wayward strand of hair away from her face and neck. As she did, her fingers grazed the necklace she wore. The moment she touched it, she froze.
Pulling it out from under her dress, she looked down at the stone on the end and suddenly remembered what Max had told her when he’d given it to her. If she ever needed him, she could use it to contact him. Would it really work, she wondered.
Looking out the window, she decided she might as well try, so she took it off and held it in her hands. Closing her eyes, she began to picture Max the lion in her mind and wondered just how the stone was supposed to help anyway.
Just when she was about to declare it futile and put it back around her neck, she could feel it beginning to heat up. Gasping, she suddenly realized the lion in her mind seemed to be looking at her intently. When the head slowly tilted sideways as if in question, she heard a far-away voice.
“Elizabeth?”
“Max? Is that you?” she cried out to the cell.
Again came the far-away voice. “Don’t talk. Just think to me what is wrong.” His voice was a clear indication that their connection was weak.
She almost nodded before she realized Max wasn’t really there seeing her. So she did as he asked and began to project images of what had happened that night. She continued to replay the entire ordeal over and over again hoping Max was getting everything clearly.
Then she was thinking of the ordeal for the third time when she suddenly got an image of the lion running towards her at full speed. The image seemed to repeat itself a couple of times before it suddenly stopped. Before Elizabeth could project another image, the stone went cold in her hands.
She gasped as she knew that meant Max had severed the connection. Even so, she stood there with her eyes closed and her mind open for a few more moments just in case. Finally, she knew they had communicated all they could have and hoped that the last image of the lion running meant he was coming for her.
With an exhausted sigh, she moved to lean against the back wall. Slowly sinking down into a sitting position, she drew her knees up and rested her folded arms on top of them. Laying her head down, she closed her eyes and finally fell into an exhausted sleep. Her last thought was a prayer that Max was really coming to save her from Kivar’s brutality.
************************************************************************
Elizabeth was roughly yanked to her feet a few hours later by two guards. Shaking the sleep out of her head, she looked up with sleepy eyes at the small group waiting just beyond the cell doors. Standing besides Kivar and his family priest, Father Benedict, was a tall man with close cropped blond hair, ice blue eyes and a stern look on his face.
As the guards dragged her out of the cell, Kivar indicated her with a nod of his head. “This is the woman I sent word to you about, Captain. She is the one I saw performing the devil’s work last night!”
The guards pulled her to a stop in front of the Captain while he seemed to be appraising her. “Did anyone else see her doing anything of the like?”
“I have been unable to get anyone else to confess. Not even her parents will say anything of this matter. It’s as if they’ve never seen her do anything despite the fact she has lived with them since her birth.”
The Captain turned a shrewd eye on Kivar. “I cannot convict her until I have more proof than just yours Lord Kivar. Have her brought to the stables as well as her parents and anyone else you think might help your case. If I am not convinced within two hours I will have no choice but to set her free.”
Kivar nodded to the Captain and waited for him to disappear up the stairs before turning to the two guards. “Chain her and take her to the stables. Don’t let her out of your sight at all. Beware of her sorceress’ powers! I am going to round up everyone I can and will meet you in the stables soon.”
Turning to Father Benedict he added, “Has there been word on who is going to perform the public execution once we take her to the execution site?”
“Not yet, but they promised to send word by midday.”
Kivar nodded in acknowledgement before heading up the stairs with Father Benedict, leaving the guards to deal with escorting Elizabeth to the stables.
************************************************************************
Elizabeth stood tall and silent before those gathered around her. Kivar had managed to gather up a few servants who often worked around Elizabeth, as well as her parents. Father Benedict, the Captain and his entourage, as well as several of Kivar’s guards rounded out the rest of the group.
The Captain had already interrogated Kivar, Jeffery, Lara and Elizabeth’s personal servants while his assistant scribe took all of the notes of the proceedings. While the servants had not been able to tell him anything strange about Elizabeth’s behavior, Jeffery and Lara had said some things that the Captain and Kivar had construed as suspicious. Even though they both had tried to say their daughter simply liked the outdoors and nature because of the way they had raised her, the Captain insisted that her wild upbringing only added to her desire to consort with the devil.
No matter how Elizabeth’s parents tried to word their statements and insist on their daughter’s innocence, the Captain and Father Benedict both found ways to tie their testaments to evidence of witchcraft practices. Her parents were so bad at trying to prove her innocence that Elizabeth soon wished they would just give up and let this be over with.
Finally the Captain had turned to her and asked her if she denied doing any of the things her parents claimed she had done while growing up. Knowing there was no way to smooth things over, she had no choice but to say she had indeed grown up the way her parents had said. She had been allowed to run barefoot through the fields and woods, as well as allowed to wear second hand clothes and get messy as if she were nothing more than a street urchin.
“So everything your parents have said about your uncivilized upbringing is true then,” the Captain asked one more time to make sure it was clear.
“Yes,” replied Elizabeth, keeping her voice calm and even.
“I see, then it is not such a far fetched idea for you to be able to do something similar to what Lord Kivar claims he saw you do based on this information.”
Elizabeth remained still and quiet.
“Now I ask you Lady Elizabeth Parker, do you deny doing what Lord Kivar is accusing you of doing?”
“I am not a witch,” she stated in answer.
“That is not what I asked. Did you or did you not do something to the bird?”
She lifted her chin a little higher. “I did.
“Then tell me my lady, what it was that you did.”
“I saved it.”
“And how did you do that?” asked the Captain.
“I removed the string from it and freed it to fly away.”
“Did it have a broken wing?”
She knew she couldn’t deny what Kivar had already witnessed. “Yes.”
“Do you agree with me when I say a bird with a broken wing cannot possibly be able to fly away as Lord Kivar said it did.”
“Yes.”
“Then can you tell me how it was possible for a bird with a broken wing could have possibly flown away from your hands?”
She gritted her teeth in frustration, knowing she was at the end of her time. “I healed it.”
Lara gasped and fell into Jeffery’s arms sobbing softly. Jeffery could only hold her and stare helplessly at his daughter. For her part, Elizabeth refused to be cowed by the Captain and Kivar.
As Father Benedict made the sign of warding off evil, the Captain sighed.
“I think I have heard enough.” He gestured to the guards. “There is a cage at the back of the wagon I brought with me. Please escort Lady Elizabeth to it and my guards will help to secure her inside of it. As soon as my entourage and anyone who is traveling with us is ready, we will commence to the execution site.”
He turned to look at the Parkers for a moment before looking away. “It should take us at most two days to arrive at the execution site, so be prepared to camp out one night along the way. Hopefully the executioner will meet us halfway so that we can plan and get this over with as quickly as possible. Now then, let us get started.”
Without another word, everyone dispersed. As the guards took Elizabeth to the front of the house where the wagon with the cage waited, she could hear Lara still softly sobbing while Jeffery tried to soothe her.
************************************************************************
The caravan that made its way towards the execution site only consisted of two carriages, a wagon and several horseback riders. The Captain and six guards rode at the head of the caravan with the carriage carrying Kivar and Father Benedict behind them. Two guards rode on each side of the carriage with two more driving the horses pulling the carriage. The second carriage carrying Jeffery and Lara was behind Kivar’s and the same amount of guards had been assigned to it. Lastly was the wagon which held Elizabeth in the cage.
Even though Elizabeth was only one mere woman, she was surrounded by fourteen guards. Two rode on the bench to drive the horses pulling the wagon, four sat along the four sides of the wagon around the cage, two rode horseback on either side of the wagon and six more rode horses behind the wagon to complete the entire caravan.
Inside the cage there was only a thin layer of straw for her to sit on and the metal bars still poked through to make it an uncomfortable ride. Chains extended from cuffs around her wrists and were connected to a thick chain coming from one side of the cage. Even if Elizabeth had been strong enough to break the cuffs and chains on her wrists, she was still anchored to the cage itself with an additional chain around one ankle.
With every bump and slide of the wagon, the bars beneath her feet and limbs where she sat kept digging into her skin. Her clothing and the straw was barely enough to keep the bars from pressing too deep. And as the day droned on, the journey was one of the longest and most exhausting one she had ever endured.
Finally night came on and the Captain knew it was too dark to go any further. He ordered one of his guards who was the scout to look for an appropriate place to camp for the night. Once the guard found a place, he led them to the area quickly and quietly.
When they arrived, three tents were hastily erected for the Captain, the Parkers and Kivar who shared his tent with Father Benedict. Elizabeth was left in the cage in the wagon which was surrounded by any of the guards not currently setting up camp or preparing the meal.
Throughout the entire evening’s preparations, Elizabeth simply sat and watched the others moving around. She avoided looking at her parents since Lara was still quietly crying while her father had taken to looking sullen. Kivar and Father Benedict seemed to be still expounding the justice of punishing evildoers to make the world a safer place for innocents.
Elizabeth remembered the zealous people she had seen when she had been a child, but she had never gotten the impression that Kivar was even remotely like them. Not even her dreams had made her feel he was really like that. Now she knew that she should have paid more attention to her dreams because they had been a sort of warning for her. Too late, she was beginning to realize her dreams were premonitions of a sort even if reality wasn’t exactly playing out like her dreams.
She was interrupted from her reverie by a guard who shared a plate of gruel and stale bread between the bars at her. He also handed a tin cup of water to her before turning away and heading back to the cooking fire.
Forcing herself to eat the awful mixture, she continued to watch as the others were fed a much better meal of beef stew and ale or wine depending on their status. Her thoughts soon turned to the images she had seen from the stone necklace and she wondered once more if she had really been in touch with Max or if it had all been a figment of her imagination.
Before she knew it, the guard had returned to retrieve her plate and cup while others began to take their places around the camp to guard it for the night. There were still the four guards around her cage and one more who slowly walked around the back of the wagon from time to time. He was obviously the one who would remain awake until relieved of duty.
Another guard climbed on the wagon and leaned towards the cage to hand her a threadbare blanket. Without a word, he dropped it into the cage then climbed back down and sauntered off. Elizabeth knew that would be the only thing she would have to bed down for the night. With a sigh, she scooped some hay into a pile to act as a place for her head, then set about folding the blanket so half would serve to lay upon and the other half would cover her.
Ignoring the four guards who surrounded her cage and unabashedly watched her, she crawled into the blanket and settled in. Those around the camp were doing the same thing as they took to tents, blankets or something else to sleep upon.
Soon things quieted down as everyone settled in for the night. With the Parkers in one tent, the Captain in another, and Kivar and Father Benedict in the third only guards were visible now. One guard was stationed around each one of the four sides of the camp which was comprised of the three tents on one end, a fire in the middle and the wagon and horses on the other end.
The other guards that were not on duty were sleeping either near the fire or around Elizabeth’s cage. Since they were more likely going to have to wake soon to relieve those guards on duty, almost all of the off duty guards were asleep as soon as their heads hit the ground.
Elizabeth could hear a cacophony of snores that drifted throughout the camp. There were also a few soft rustles coming from the tents from time to time indicating someone shifting in their sleep or having trouble sleeping. Still, she was literally the last one to fall asleep, due to the uncomfortable cage and the fear of the unknown.
As she lay there listening to the night’s sounds, she wondered just what was to become of her and if she even dared hope she would survive the next few days. It was those troubled thoughts that followed her into her usual troubled dreams.
TBC...
Shadowlynxbehr's Fics
"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams." -Dr. Seuss
"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams." -Dr. Seuss
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Shadowlynxbehr
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Re: Of Secrets, Healers, & Fae (M/L, Adult)pt11-14(pg10/11)6/13
Part 18
Elizabeth woke with a soft gasp and opened her eyes wide to dispel the dream she had been having. She took deep soothing breaths to dispel the fear the dream always left behind. It wasn’t until she felt the last of her body’s trembles fading that she realized the camp had not risen yet since it was still a little dark.
As she took a closer look at the sky, she nearly started at the sight of the large Horned Owl that was perched quietly on the top of the cage. She realized that not only was it sitting right in the center of the cage top, but it was also staring straight at her with its head slightly cocked to the side. As she stared back at it, she got the strange feeling that it seemed to recognize her somehow.
The longer she looked into its slightly golden eyes, the more familiar it seemed to feel to her. Just as tingles began to run up her spine it looked away from her and began to scrutinize the cage. It silently moved over to the edge of the cage and lowered its head as if it were eyeing the locks of the door to the cage for a few moments. Then it began to use one of its clawed feet to grab and tug at the locks.
Elizabeth continued to watch the owl with a mixture of curiosity and rising alarm for a few more moments. Then when it leaned over to peck at the lock with its beak, she decided to try opening her mind to it. When she did, she discovered a very familiar wall.
Gasping in realization, she opened her mouth to speak to it when one of the sleeping guards woke up and spotted the owl.
“What the…” exclaimed the guard as he fumbled with his rifle.
Elizabeth turned horror-widened eyes on the owl and lifted her hands in a shooing motion. “No! Stop! You have to get out of here now!”
Just as the guard lifted his rifle, the owl took flight, rising high into the lightening sky. The guard aimed his rifle at the owl and fired a shot.
“No! Don’t shoot it! It’s just an owl!” yelled Elizabeth as she watched the owl veer out of harms way before winging towards a far gathering of trees.
The guard wasn’t listening as he reloaded his rifle to aim once more at the owl. His first shot had woken up most of the rest of the camp so that many of the other guards were scrambling for their rifles too.
Before any of them could get a second shot off, the Captain’s voice rang clearly through the camp. “That’s enough! Let the owl go! We’ve got more important things to do this morning!”
He looked pointedly at the guard who had originally tried to shoot the owl. “I want you in my tent right now. The rest of you dismantle the camp and be ready to leave within the hour.”
Elizabeth ignored the rest of them as she held on to the bars and continued to stare at the place where the owl had disappeared among the trees. Her heart thudded in her chest as those around her began to dismantle tents and put out the fire. Little by little the group packed up before resuming the caravan they had been in the day before and continued their journey towards the public execution site.
************************************************************************
It was around midday during their stop for a brief rest of the horses and a light lunch that the execution party finally met them. Consisting of a High Priest, Executioner, two assistants and six guards the execution party simply stopped long enough for the High Priest to confer with the Captain before they continued on their way to the execution site.
The caravan was still finishing up their lunch long after the lone carriage surrounded by nearly a dozen horses disappeared from view. Still the sense of foreboding hung heavy in the air around the caravan. It was with a somber mood that everyone loaded up and continued on toward the execution site.
Elizabeth barely moved from the spot she had occupied since waking up to the owl sitting on her cage. She had barely even noticed the plate and cup of her dismal lunch being shoved into her cage with the guard’s harsh grunts to hurry and eat it. Then when the execution party met up with them, she had only spared a glance at them not wanting to see those who would be responsible for her death.
Now that the wagon had begun to move again, she simply shifted a bit and stared at nothing in particular. Her mind was still in shock over seeing Max earlier that morning.
She was certain that the owl had been Max in disguise, there was no other explanation for the way it had acted. That and the fact that she knew his eyes so well. Now she worried if he’d try to rescue her again in an animal form and the danger he would be in if he tried.
Sighing, she lifted her head and looked over the side of the wagon towards the trees which ran parallel to the road they traveled on. She gazed at the passing scenery for a few moments until a flash of tan and black caught her eye.
Narrowing her eyes a bit she tried to catch the tan and black again amidst the foliage. Sure enough, there it was. Visible through the low shrubs beneath the trees, but only when there was a clear gap, the mountain lion could be seen running. It was clear that the cat was keeping pace with the caravan, yet remained hidden in the foliage as much as possible.
Elizabeth blinked in wonder at the cat and thought it couldn’t possibly be who she thought it was. At least she had hoped it wasn’t Max until the cat turned its head towards the caravan and she saw the familiar eyes looking straight at her.
She gasped, then caught herself before she alerted the guards around her. Subtly glancing at the guards, she hoped none of them looked too closely at the foliage that they passed. Then she tried to reach out with her mind towards the cat but came up against the wall again.
Gritting her teeth, she wished Max would let his shields down so that she could warn him, but she knew how carefully he guarded himself. So she continued to try to reach out to him while shurepeatously glancing at the guards from time to time.
Suddenly a shot rang out from behind the wagon making Elizabeth swing her gaze in that direction. She saw the guard who fired the shot just as he exclaimed, “Good lord! Look at the size of that thing!”
Elizabeth scrambled to her knees and gripped the bars in her hands, projecting her thoughts frantically at the mountain lion. All around her, the guards began shooting at it for sport.
“It’s huge!” exclaimed another guard.
“What is it?” asked yet another.
“I think it’s a mountain lion,” answered another.
“Sounds about right for these parts,” said someone else.
“Dang! I missed!”
“That sucker’s fast!”
“That’s enough!” boomed the Captain’s voice as he circled his horse back through all of the guards. He glared at all of them until they stopped trying to shoot at the cat.
“There’s no need to shoot the cat unless it attacks us first! Save your weapons for more important things like guarding the prisoner and our guests!”
A few of the guards looked guiltily down at the ground.
“Sorry sir,” replied one of the guards. “It’s just that I’ve never seen a mountain lion that large and it seems to be keeping pace with our caravan.”
The Captain nodded. “Yes, that’s true but I don’t see any harm in letting it do what it’s doing as long as it stays away from us. I’ve been watching it for a while and mark my words, if it comes closer I will give the word to shoot the beast.”
“What if there are more with it?” asked another guard. “All we see is one, but others could be hidden.”
The Captain shook his head. “I doubt it. Mountain lions tend to be territorial and travel alone, unlike other animals that travel in packs. However, we will all still keep our eyes and ears peeled until we reach our destination just in case.”
The guards nodded in understanding.
“Let me make it clear that no one is to engage with anything else that appears unless it is about to attack or I have specifically ordered you to do so. Understand?”
A chorus of ‘yes sirs’ sounded before the Captain spurred his horse back to the front of the caravan and started them moving once again.
Elizabeth glanced in the direction of the trees, trying to see if she could spot the mountain lion once more. She even kept her mind open in the hopes that she would hear Max’s voice. Unfortunately all was silent now and the huge cat was nowhere in sight. Still she continued to stare at the trees until her knees grew too tired to support her.
Sitting back down with a heavy heart, she began to wonder just what Max was up to and if it were possible for him to rescue her. She knew their options were extremely limited if he remained in animal form and she wondered if he would try to take human form or even his own form to complete the rescue.
She continued to puzzle over Max’s presence and glanced in the direction of the trees from time to time hoping to catch a glimpse. The guards were watching the trees too, so the cat was never seen again during the rest of the journey to the execution site.
Finally, just before nightfall, the caravan arrived at their destination. The High Priest and Executioner were there to greet them as workers milled around putting the funeral pyre and stakes together. There were other people wandering around since the site was a small town of sorts for the workers and their families to live in.
There was a cement building that served as cells where those that were to be executed were held until their time arrived. Yet another building served as temporary housing for those who had come to witness any of the executions. Yet another building was designed very extravagantly to host those of higher social standing.
As soon as the High Priest greeted the Captain, the guards were told to escort Elizabeth to the cells while the Parkers, Kivar, Father Benedict and the Captain were shown to their accommodations. The wagon was moved to just outside the cells building before two guards unlocked the cage and helped Elizabeth out of the wagon.
While the wagon and the rest of the guards left, Elizabeth and her two escorts walked up to the entrance door of the building where yet another guard was waiting. He opened the heavy iron and wooden door and motioned for them to follow him through the room. At the back was a long hallway with cells on either side.
All the cells looked the same with a bit of straw on the stone floors and a cot with a thin pillow and threadbare gray blanket. The guard led them to the first cell on the left and unlocked it before standing back to let them in.
Her two guards escorted her into the room and proceeded to remove the chains from her allowing her to have a bit of movement within the small cell. Then they left her alone and walked out of the cell letting the third guard lock the cell door behind them. As the guards walked down the hall, Elizabeth turned to survey the rest of the cells. As far as she could see, all of them were empty.
She turned back around in time to see one of the guards hanging her chains from a hook near the entrance to the hallway. She knew they would put her back into them when they came to take her to her execution. As another wave of hopelessness overcame her, she sank down onto the small cot and closed her eyes with a sigh.
She heard the distant sound of the entrance door closing and lowered her head into her hands as the silent tears began to fall. In public she had held her head up high and refused to show that much emotion to everyone. In fact, she figured the way Lara was carrying on was more than enough dramatics for everyone to deal with.
At least in private she could let her guard down and release the tight hold she had on her emotions. Now that she was alone, she could fully worry about what Max was up to, for she was sure that mountain lion had been his latest disguise. She was still worried he was going to try to rescue her in some shape of an animal which wasn’t a good idea at all. None of the animals had any natural way of arming themselves against the weaponry that the guards seemed to have at their disposal.
She was jarred from her thoughts by the sound of voices coming from the entrance to the hallway. Quickly composing herself, she looked up as one of the guards unlocked the door to the cell and stepped back to allow the others to enter. Two more guards were the first to enter who immediately stood on either side of her and gripped her arms to keep her restrained.
The Captain was the next to enter followed by Kivar and Father Benedict. Behind them came the High Priest, his scribe and the Executioner. As soon as they were all inside, the guard shut the door behind them.
Elizabeth stood there with her head held high, looking directly at the High Priest who was currently scrutinizing her. Silence reigned for a few more moments before the High Priest finally nodded.
“I have heard the accounts and testimonies of those who have made the accusations. I have also heard from several who claim there is nothing unordinary about the accused. Having taken all I have heard into account, I have made a decision.”
Elizabeth didn’t make any movement as the High Priest spoke to her. She wasn’t going to give any of them the satisfaction of groveling for mercy.
The High Priest went on. “You have been accused of partaking in activities associated with the devil. Namely that of practicing the black arts and conversing with animals. There are witnesses that have seen you perform such acts. Do you deny such acts?”
Elizabeth lifted her head higher. “I do not worship the devil!”
The High Priest pursed his lips. “Do you deny that you conversed with and healed an animal?”
She gritted her teeth. “That is not an evil act!”
The High Priest narrowed his eyes. “Yet you do not deny that is what you did.”
There was a short silence before she simply uttered a curt, “No.”
Again silence reigned in the small cell as Father Benedict crossed himself and everyone else seemed to be holding their breaths.
“Very well then. As I have heard all accounts and you have confessed, this decision has been made.”
He nodded to his scribe before he continued. As he spoke, the scribe wrote down his words. “After hearing all accounts from all parties, as well as the confession of the accused. I hereby sentence you, Elizabeth Parker, to death by way of the burning stake. Your execution will take place in the morning as soon as all preparations have been completed. It will be as I have said.”
With those words, the High Priest turned and walked out of the cell along with everyone else. The two guards were the last to leave, as they released her arms and walked out.
The cell door closed with a firm bang and the clicking of the lock added finality to the death sentence that Elizabeth had just received. She sank down to the ground as the High Priest’s words continued to resound in her mind.
It was official now. She was to die come morning and there was nothing anyone could do about it. Closing her eyes, Elizabeth lowered her head and silently resigned herself to her fate. It was all she had the strength left to do.
TBC...
Elizabeth woke with a soft gasp and opened her eyes wide to dispel the dream she had been having. She took deep soothing breaths to dispel the fear the dream always left behind. It wasn’t until she felt the last of her body’s trembles fading that she realized the camp had not risen yet since it was still a little dark.
As she took a closer look at the sky, she nearly started at the sight of the large Horned Owl that was perched quietly on the top of the cage. She realized that not only was it sitting right in the center of the cage top, but it was also staring straight at her with its head slightly cocked to the side. As she stared back at it, she got the strange feeling that it seemed to recognize her somehow.
The longer she looked into its slightly golden eyes, the more familiar it seemed to feel to her. Just as tingles began to run up her spine it looked away from her and began to scrutinize the cage. It silently moved over to the edge of the cage and lowered its head as if it were eyeing the locks of the door to the cage for a few moments. Then it began to use one of its clawed feet to grab and tug at the locks.
Elizabeth continued to watch the owl with a mixture of curiosity and rising alarm for a few more moments. Then when it leaned over to peck at the lock with its beak, she decided to try opening her mind to it. When she did, she discovered a very familiar wall.
Gasping in realization, she opened her mouth to speak to it when one of the sleeping guards woke up and spotted the owl.
“What the…” exclaimed the guard as he fumbled with his rifle.
Elizabeth turned horror-widened eyes on the owl and lifted her hands in a shooing motion. “No! Stop! You have to get out of here now!”
Just as the guard lifted his rifle, the owl took flight, rising high into the lightening sky. The guard aimed his rifle at the owl and fired a shot.
“No! Don’t shoot it! It’s just an owl!” yelled Elizabeth as she watched the owl veer out of harms way before winging towards a far gathering of trees.
The guard wasn’t listening as he reloaded his rifle to aim once more at the owl. His first shot had woken up most of the rest of the camp so that many of the other guards were scrambling for their rifles too.
Before any of them could get a second shot off, the Captain’s voice rang clearly through the camp. “That’s enough! Let the owl go! We’ve got more important things to do this morning!”
He looked pointedly at the guard who had originally tried to shoot the owl. “I want you in my tent right now. The rest of you dismantle the camp and be ready to leave within the hour.”
Elizabeth ignored the rest of them as she held on to the bars and continued to stare at the place where the owl had disappeared among the trees. Her heart thudded in her chest as those around her began to dismantle tents and put out the fire. Little by little the group packed up before resuming the caravan they had been in the day before and continued their journey towards the public execution site.
************************************************************************
It was around midday during their stop for a brief rest of the horses and a light lunch that the execution party finally met them. Consisting of a High Priest, Executioner, two assistants and six guards the execution party simply stopped long enough for the High Priest to confer with the Captain before they continued on their way to the execution site.
The caravan was still finishing up their lunch long after the lone carriage surrounded by nearly a dozen horses disappeared from view. Still the sense of foreboding hung heavy in the air around the caravan. It was with a somber mood that everyone loaded up and continued on toward the execution site.
Elizabeth barely moved from the spot she had occupied since waking up to the owl sitting on her cage. She had barely even noticed the plate and cup of her dismal lunch being shoved into her cage with the guard’s harsh grunts to hurry and eat it. Then when the execution party met up with them, she had only spared a glance at them not wanting to see those who would be responsible for her death.
Now that the wagon had begun to move again, she simply shifted a bit and stared at nothing in particular. Her mind was still in shock over seeing Max earlier that morning.
She was certain that the owl had been Max in disguise, there was no other explanation for the way it had acted. That and the fact that she knew his eyes so well. Now she worried if he’d try to rescue her again in an animal form and the danger he would be in if he tried.
Sighing, she lifted her head and looked over the side of the wagon towards the trees which ran parallel to the road they traveled on. She gazed at the passing scenery for a few moments until a flash of tan and black caught her eye.
Narrowing her eyes a bit she tried to catch the tan and black again amidst the foliage. Sure enough, there it was. Visible through the low shrubs beneath the trees, but only when there was a clear gap, the mountain lion could be seen running. It was clear that the cat was keeping pace with the caravan, yet remained hidden in the foliage as much as possible.
Elizabeth blinked in wonder at the cat and thought it couldn’t possibly be who she thought it was. At least she had hoped it wasn’t Max until the cat turned its head towards the caravan and she saw the familiar eyes looking straight at her.
She gasped, then caught herself before she alerted the guards around her. Subtly glancing at the guards, she hoped none of them looked too closely at the foliage that they passed. Then she tried to reach out with her mind towards the cat but came up against the wall again.
Gritting her teeth, she wished Max would let his shields down so that she could warn him, but she knew how carefully he guarded himself. So she continued to try to reach out to him while shurepeatously glancing at the guards from time to time.
Suddenly a shot rang out from behind the wagon making Elizabeth swing her gaze in that direction. She saw the guard who fired the shot just as he exclaimed, “Good lord! Look at the size of that thing!”
Elizabeth scrambled to her knees and gripped the bars in her hands, projecting her thoughts frantically at the mountain lion. All around her, the guards began shooting at it for sport.
“It’s huge!” exclaimed another guard.
“What is it?” asked yet another.
“I think it’s a mountain lion,” answered another.
“Sounds about right for these parts,” said someone else.
“Dang! I missed!”
“That sucker’s fast!”
“That’s enough!” boomed the Captain’s voice as he circled his horse back through all of the guards. He glared at all of them until they stopped trying to shoot at the cat.
“There’s no need to shoot the cat unless it attacks us first! Save your weapons for more important things like guarding the prisoner and our guests!”
A few of the guards looked guiltily down at the ground.
“Sorry sir,” replied one of the guards. “It’s just that I’ve never seen a mountain lion that large and it seems to be keeping pace with our caravan.”
The Captain nodded. “Yes, that’s true but I don’t see any harm in letting it do what it’s doing as long as it stays away from us. I’ve been watching it for a while and mark my words, if it comes closer I will give the word to shoot the beast.”
“What if there are more with it?” asked another guard. “All we see is one, but others could be hidden.”
The Captain shook his head. “I doubt it. Mountain lions tend to be territorial and travel alone, unlike other animals that travel in packs. However, we will all still keep our eyes and ears peeled until we reach our destination just in case.”
The guards nodded in understanding.
“Let me make it clear that no one is to engage with anything else that appears unless it is about to attack or I have specifically ordered you to do so. Understand?”
A chorus of ‘yes sirs’ sounded before the Captain spurred his horse back to the front of the caravan and started them moving once again.
Elizabeth glanced in the direction of the trees, trying to see if she could spot the mountain lion once more. She even kept her mind open in the hopes that she would hear Max’s voice. Unfortunately all was silent now and the huge cat was nowhere in sight. Still she continued to stare at the trees until her knees grew too tired to support her.
Sitting back down with a heavy heart, she began to wonder just what Max was up to and if it were possible for him to rescue her. She knew their options were extremely limited if he remained in animal form and she wondered if he would try to take human form or even his own form to complete the rescue.
She continued to puzzle over Max’s presence and glanced in the direction of the trees from time to time hoping to catch a glimpse. The guards were watching the trees too, so the cat was never seen again during the rest of the journey to the execution site.
Finally, just before nightfall, the caravan arrived at their destination. The High Priest and Executioner were there to greet them as workers milled around putting the funeral pyre and stakes together. There were other people wandering around since the site was a small town of sorts for the workers and their families to live in.
There was a cement building that served as cells where those that were to be executed were held until their time arrived. Yet another building served as temporary housing for those who had come to witness any of the executions. Yet another building was designed very extravagantly to host those of higher social standing.
As soon as the High Priest greeted the Captain, the guards were told to escort Elizabeth to the cells while the Parkers, Kivar, Father Benedict and the Captain were shown to their accommodations. The wagon was moved to just outside the cells building before two guards unlocked the cage and helped Elizabeth out of the wagon.
While the wagon and the rest of the guards left, Elizabeth and her two escorts walked up to the entrance door of the building where yet another guard was waiting. He opened the heavy iron and wooden door and motioned for them to follow him through the room. At the back was a long hallway with cells on either side.
All the cells looked the same with a bit of straw on the stone floors and a cot with a thin pillow and threadbare gray blanket. The guard led them to the first cell on the left and unlocked it before standing back to let them in.
Her two guards escorted her into the room and proceeded to remove the chains from her allowing her to have a bit of movement within the small cell. Then they left her alone and walked out of the cell letting the third guard lock the cell door behind them. As the guards walked down the hall, Elizabeth turned to survey the rest of the cells. As far as she could see, all of them were empty.
She turned back around in time to see one of the guards hanging her chains from a hook near the entrance to the hallway. She knew they would put her back into them when they came to take her to her execution. As another wave of hopelessness overcame her, she sank down onto the small cot and closed her eyes with a sigh.
She heard the distant sound of the entrance door closing and lowered her head into her hands as the silent tears began to fall. In public she had held her head up high and refused to show that much emotion to everyone. In fact, she figured the way Lara was carrying on was more than enough dramatics for everyone to deal with.
At least in private she could let her guard down and release the tight hold she had on her emotions. Now that she was alone, she could fully worry about what Max was up to, for she was sure that mountain lion had been his latest disguise. She was still worried he was going to try to rescue her in some shape of an animal which wasn’t a good idea at all. None of the animals had any natural way of arming themselves against the weaponry that the guards seemed to have at their disposal.
She was jarred from her thoughts by the sound of voices coming from the entrance to the hallway. Quickly composing herself, she looked up as one of the guards unlocked the door to the cell and stepped back to allow the others to enter. Two more guards were the first to enter who immediately stood on either side of her and gripped her arms to keep her restrained.
The Captain was the next to enter followed by Kivar and Father Benedict. Behind them came the High Priest, his scribe and the Executioner. As soon as they were all inside, the guard shut the door behind them.
Elizabeth stood there with her head held high, looking directly at the High Priest who was currently scrutinizing her. Silence reigned for a few more moments before the High Priest finally nodded.
“I have heard the accounts and testimonies of those who have made the accusations. I have also heard from several who claim there is nothing unordinary about the accused. Having taken all I have heard into account, I have made a decision.”
Elizabeth didn’t make any movement as the High Priest spoke to her. She wasn’t going to give any of them the satisfaction of groveling for mercy.
The High Priest went on. “You have been accused of partaking in activities associated with the devil. Namely that of practicing the black arts and conversing with animals. There are witnesses that have seen you perform such acts. Do you deny such acts?”
Elizabeth lifted her head higher. “I do not worship the devil!”
The High Priest pursed his lips. “Do you deny that you conversed with and healed an animal?”
She gritted her teeth. “That is not an evil act!”
The High Priest narrowed his eyes. “Yet you do not deny that is what you did.”
There was a short silence before she simply uttered a curt, “No.”
Again silence reigned in the small cell as Father Benedict crossed himself and everyone else seemed to be holding their breaths.
“Very well then. As I have heard all accounts and you have confessed, this decision has been made.”
He nodded to his scribe before he continued. As he spoke, the scribe wrote down his words. “After hearing all accounts from all parties, as well as the confession of the accused. I hereby sentence you, Elizabeth Parker, to death by way of the burning stake. Your execution will take place in the morning as soon as all preparations have been completed. It will be as I have said.”
With those words, the High Priest turned and walked out of the cell along with everyone else. The two guards were the last to leave, as they released her arms and walked out.
The cell door closed with a firm bang and the clicking of the lock added finality to the death sentence that Elizabeth had just received. She sank down to the ground as the High Priest’s words continued to resound in her mind.
It was official now. She was to die come morning and there was nothing anyone could do about it. Closing her eyes, Elizabeth lowered her head and silently resigned herself to her fate. It was all she had the strength left to do.
TBC...
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Shadowlynxbehr
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Re: Of Secrets, Healers, & Fae (M/L, Adult)pt11-18(pg10/11)6/13
Part 19
The sound of an argument woke Liz up the following morning. Frowning, she pushed herself up from the cot and made her way to the door of the cell. Rubbing sleep out of her eyes, she tried to look past the door to see who was arguing. However, a few moments later, the guards walked in followed by Kivar, Father Benedict and her parents.
It was her parents who were arguing with Kivar as the group made their way to her cell. She could tell that Kivar was attempting to ignore them as they continued to follow closely behind him.
“She’s innocent I tell you!” insisted Jeffery as he kept a comforting arm around Lara who was crying as usual. “All the evidence you people claim to have found doesn’t hold up that well! It’s all hearsay! You don’t even know what you really saw!”
As the guards unlocked her cell and walked in with the chains, Kivar stopped long enough to turn to her parents. “I am not the one who made the final call. That was the High Priest. He listened to all of the witnesses and even questioned your daughter! He made his decision based on all of that!”
“He didn’t question us! Nor did he question any of those who have known her all her life! I’m telling you something is not right here!”
Kivar pursed his lips. “Listen to me very carefully Lord Parker! The High Priest is the one who made the call. He listened and questioned with an open mind, yet still he agrees that she is guilty! I did not persuade him one way or the other! Now, I told you that our deal stands regardless of your daughter’s fate. If I were you, I would take the deal we had originally agreed on and silence yourselves about your daughter’s fate. Otherwise you may just talk your way into joining her!”
Elizabeth gasped as Jeffery went stiff and glared at Kivar. Taking a step towards the younger Lord, he growled. “Is that a threat?”
The guards had finished putting the chains on Elizabeth and were escorting her out of the cell at that point. So, she hastily stepped between the two men and faced her father with an imploring look on her face.
“Father please! Do not risk yourselves like this! He is right, it was the High Priest who made the call. Besides, the whole thing was about me marrying him so that you two would have no debt! I beg you, go with the deal that you agreed on! If I must die, then let me meet my end knowing you two will be cared for!”
Jeffery’s eyes softened as he looked down at his daughter. “I cannot just stand by and let them do this to you.”
Elizabeth reached out to squeeze his hand. “You must. Do this for me, please.”
Tears welled up in his eyes as he squeezed her hand in return. “Can you not…”
“I cannot Father. You know this.”
He sighed. “I’m so sorry, my child.”
She shook her head as she blinked back her own tears which she still refused to shed. “It is not your fault….but please, don’t go to the execution. Take Lara home.”
He shook his head with conviction. “I will not abandon you now. We’re staying through the end Elizabeth.”
“I don’t think…”
“We’re staying!” he reiterated.
She finally nodded as the guards took her arms and guided her out of the cell building. As they emerged into the bright sunlight, Elizabeth had to blink her eyes until she could see clearly again. It was then that she noticed the crowd that was already gathering around the area where the execution was to take place.
Glancing back at her parents, she tried not to show her rising panic as she pleaded with them once more. “Please go back home! You shouldn’t be here to see this.”
Jeffery simply shook his head in the negative and continued to have that determined look on his face. Lara said nothing as she let Jeffery lead her out of the building since her face was turned into his shoulder.
Elizabeth fought the urge to struggle with her jailors as they led her closer to the execution site. She refused to cause a scene since she could feel so many eyes on her. Every one of those onlookers were curious about the so-called witch that had been caught and Elizabeth didn’t want to give them any reason to start hurling things at her or do any other hurtful things to her.
Swallowing her trepidation, she held her head high and continued walking behind Kivar and his entourage. She could see the Captain, the High Priest and their entourage at the execution site waiting for them to approach. However, none of them were looking at her as if she were some kind of freak.
A few moments later there was a shout from behind Liz and company. “My Lord Kivar!”
Still, Kivar didn’t stop walking until the servant had caught up with them, a little out of breath. “M-my Lord Kivar, there…there are some men here to talk….to you.”
Kivar frowned at him. “Tell them they’ll have to wait. I’m busy at the…”
“They’re insisting that it’s important! They say it has to do with the prisoner!”
Kivar looked a little taken aback at that, but recovered quickly. Sighing, he looked at Father Benedict. “Inform the Captain of the delay and explain why he’s to wait.”
The Father Benedict nodded and continued on towards the execution site with Elizabeth, her guards and her parents. Kivar and the rest of his entourage followed the servant to where the men were waiting for him in the shade of a building nearby.
As soon as Father Benedict reached the Captain, he told him why Kivar was going to be delayed. The Captain nodded and ordered the guards to begin securing the prisoner to the stake while they waited for Kivar to join them. This way at least everything would be ready by the time he returned.
Elizabeth glanced back at her parents one more time. Lara still had her face hidden in Jeffery’s shoulder, but Jeffery was looking at his daughter with tears in his eyes. He didn’t say a word as they guards took her to the huge pile of wood that surrounded the stake and lifted her up onto it.
Joining her on the pile, they pulled her over to stand in front of it and began removing the chains from her. Then the chains were tossed down to another waiting guard before they pushed her back against the stake and tied her hands behind it. Once her hands were secure, they tied more rope around her legs and torso, thus securing her body firmly to the stake.
Just as the guards had finished testing the ropes to make sure she was firmly secured, shouts could be heard from the direction Kivar had gone off in. Heads began turning in that direction to see what all the commotion was about. From her height on the pile of wood, Elizabeth could see Kivar arguing with another man who stood before a small group which he was obviously a member of. Kivar’s entourage remained silent behind him as he faced off with the stranger and his group.
Elizabeth could see just how similar the group of men were dressed. Each of them wore green sashes over very pristine black uniforms. Each sash was trimmed with thick gold thread and had golden tassels at the end of the sash near the right hip to tie it together. All of the sashes had no other decoration on it except for the speaker and two other men who stood at his side. Their sashes had some kind of emblem near their left shoulder which was possibly to signify their importance.
As Kivar continued to argue with the other man whose voice was considerably quieter than his, the Captain made his way towards the group. He interrupted Kivar’s tirade with his own louder, commanding voice.
“Just what is the meaning of this?”
The speaker held his hand out to one of the men next to him who placed a rolled up parchment into his palm. Handing it to the Captain, the speaker began to explain.
“We are a delegation from the Royal Court sent to negotiate for the release of one Lady Elizabeth Parker.”
As the Captain unrolled the parchment he asked, “On what grounds?”
“On the grounds that this is not the first time Lord Kivar has wrongfully accused someone and had them sentenced to death.”
“I have never done any such thing! They were all lawfully judged to be guilty!”
“According to our sources, the evidence is shaky at best,” replied the stranger.
“It was strong enough to get them sentenced!” snapped Kivar.
The Captain was perusing the parchment as he added, “There were eyewitnesses who have backed Lord Kivar’s claims.”
The stranger nodded. “As was the same for all of his previous claims. However, upon looking closer it was discovered that these witnesses have all worked with Lord Kivar at one time and all seem to have come into considerable amounts of money only after working with him.”
The Captain’s head snapped up to give Kivar a questioning look before he turned back to the stranger again. “How is it that you are here now and not when the others you claim he wrongfully accused were being sentenced?”
The stranger’s face turned sad for a moment before he gave Kivar a cruel look. “Unfortunately the kingdom is too large for one group such as ours to catch all the wrongs done in the name of justice. However, it was with Lord Kivar’s last victim that this came to light.
One of the royal archivists who works in the recorded deaths section happened to notice some similarities between the parchment he was cataloging to one he remembered working on nearly a year before. Out of curiosity, he looked it up and when it raised his suspicions, he reported it to his superiors.
Having deemed it indeed suspicious, a look out was posted to all officials that should Lord Kivar’s name come across their desks, they were to alert the authorities at once. So, here we are since those in charge deemed this new accusation of Lord Kivar’s as suspicious as the others.”
The Captain nodded with reluctance. “All the same, there were witnesses.”
“Yes,” replied the stranger, “and as you can see in the parchment, we must ask for a detainment of the execution at the very least so as to question all of the witnesses again. If we discover their deceit, the Lady must be released.”
Kivar growled. “No! I have done nothing wrong and neither have the witnesses! All of the accused were deceivers! All wickedness must be executed! It’s the law!”
The Captain frowned at Kivar. “While it is true that all evildoers should be punished according to the law, it must first be proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are guilty.”
“But she is!” muttered Kivar.
“Still, if the Royal Court insists on another inquiry then we must obey that order. I am sorry my Lord, but we will have to wait for this Royal delegation’s decision.”
He turned to the guards to order them to remove Elizabeth and take her back to the cell building. However, just as he finished issuing the order, Kivar turned with a roar and grabbed a torch from one of the nearby servants.
“No! She is a witch! All evildoers must die!” he screamed as he rushed towards the woodpile with the torch held high.
Many of the onlookers stumbled out of the way of his mad dash, but he never made it to the woodpile. From behind him, a green handled knife with golden runes on the blade came flying out of nowhere and imbedded itself between his shoulder blades.
Elizabeth gasped as she watched Kivar jerk forward before he slowly went to his knees. As his body continued to fall forward to the ground, the torch fell into the dirt nearby where a guard quickly stamped it out before it could cause any damage.
Kivar moaned and feebly tried to reach back to pull the knife from his body without success even as a thin trail of blood oozed from the corner of his mouth. Elizabeth’s eyes snapped to the group of strangers where she was sure the knife had come from, but they all stood unmoving with stoic gazes fastened on Kivar.
The Captain ordered the guards to remove Kivar from their sight before telling all of the onlookers to disperse. As the guards reached for Kivar however, he gave one last viscous breath before his eyes glazed over with death.
The crowd around the execution site began to disperse when they realized there would be nothing more for them to see. The Captain motioned for the guards to release Elizabeth before turning to the strangers.
“It seems we have been hoodwinked into believing that the Lady Elizabeth was guilty.”
The High Priest came forward wearing a grim look with Father Benedict in tow looking sheepish. “Father Benedict has just informed me that he believes Lord Kivar may have led him astray too. However, even as I intend to cooperate with the authorities and question the witnesses once more, I do not believe we will find evidence that the Lady was ever guilty. Because of this, I am more than willing to release the Lady back into the custody of her parents.”
He looked to the Captain to see if he agreed. The Captain nodded his head as the guards escorted Elizabeth to where they all stood. The Parkers were right behind her and the Captain waited until they were all within earshot before he began his apology.
“Lord and Lady Parker, Lady Elizabeth. It is with humble sincerity that we are apologizing to you for all of the grief we have caused.”
He indicated the green-sashed strangers with a sweep of his hand. “These men are delegates from the Royal Court who have just shed some light on some wrongdoing that Lord Kivar seems to have been guilty of for quite some time now. Lady Elizabeth is not the first to have been his victim it seems. However, they were able to prevent all of us from making a grave mistake in persecuting an innocent this time. Due to this new information, we have no choice but to rescind all charges against Lady Elizabeth and release her back into the custody of her parents.”
He turned to give a low bow to Elizabeth as he finished with, “I am truly sorry for this, Lady Elizabeth and hope that someday you may find it within you to forgive such a traumatic and unfortunate transgression on your person.”
Elizabeth gave the Captain a curtsey and said, “Thank you Captain. I shall endeavor to try so.”
The Captain gave her a nod and bowed to her parents also before turning to the royal delegates. “If you will come with me, we will begin to set this right.”
The lead stranger indicated for the others to follow the Captain and as they all walked towards the community building, Jeffery gathered his daughter into his arms. The area was almost empty as Elizabeth hugged her father while relieved and happy tears trailed down their faces. Soon they had pulled a sobbing Lara into their arms too, the three of them now holding on to each other until they could find their voices again.
“Oh thank the heavens! You’re free, Elizabeth! My daughter is free!” cried Jeffery as he placed a kiss on top of her head.
“Yes! I’m alive! I can’t believe it!” she laughed through her tears.
“It’s a miracle! I’m so happy!” bawled Lara.
The three of them joined in teary laughter as they continued to hug and kiss each other until the shock and happiness began to wear off. Giving them another hug, Jeffery smiled at his daughter and wife.
“Come, let’s retire to our room and get something for Elizabeth to eat. I’m sure she needs to recuperate from this ordeal.”
With their daughter between them and smiles on their faces, the three of them set off arm in arm towards the building that Jeffery and Lara had been staying in.
************************************************************************
Dusk had fallen to find Elizabeth quite full and relaxed now that the mornings events were past her. She was staying in the suite with her parents for the night, Jeffery having said he would take the couch while the women took the bed.
It was while the three of them sat around the fire, enjoying a hot cup of tea that a knock came at their door. Jeffery set his cup on the end table next to his chair before going to answer it. He opened the door to find some of the delegation from the Royal Court standing there.
The one in front, who was the same speaker from earlier, gave him a slight bow. “Pardon our intrusion, Lord Parker, but we would like to provide you and your family with a ride back to your home on the morrow if you should be so kind to accept. It is our way of continuing to apologize for this dreadful event.”
Jeffery glanced over to the women before he looked back at the man. “We had intended to leave at first light.”
“But of course you were. We know that you live quite a way from here. We have already made preparations and have a carriage to transport the three of you in comfort. It would be our honor to escort you and your family safely to your home.”
“You don’t have to be here for the inquiry?” asked Jeffery.
“No my lord. We have spent all day looking into this travesty. All that is left is to track down some of the witnesses who were not present at this time.
However, there are others who can do that part at the Royal Court since we’ve already sent all of our findings from today back to them. We have been asked to stay and do what it takes to make this up to you in the meantime.”
As Elizabeth and Lara stood up to join Jeffery at the door, he nodded to the man. “Very well then, we will accept that ride and I thank you for escorting us home. You’ve saved me the trouble of having to ask the Captain for a way home.”
“Good, then we shall see you all downstairs at first light. A good night to you all.” He bowed to Jeffery before making his way down the hall.
Elizabeth and Lara had stopped halfway to the door and simply stood and watched as the group began to follow the speaker. A flash of gold made Elizabeth blink and move closer to the door so that she could see the men who walked closest to the speaker.
Shaking her head, she finally told herself that she was just so tired that she was prone to imagining things that weren’t there. With a sigh, she made her way back to the fire to finish her tea so that she could turn in for the night and get the rest she was sure she needed now.
Jeffery shut the door and led Lara back to the fire. He stopped to tousle his daughter’s hair before they all settled down to enjoy a peaceful, uneventful family night.
TBC...
The sound of an argument woke Liz up the following morning. Frowning, she pushed herself up from the cot and made her way to the door of the cell. Rubbing sleep out of her eyes, she tried to look past the door to see who was arguing. However, a few moments later, the guards walked in followed by Kivar, Father Benedict and her parents.
It was her parents who were arguing with Kivar as the group made their way to her cell. She could tell that Kivar was attempting to ignore them as they continued to follow closely behind him.
“She’s innocent I tell you!” insisted Jeffery as he kept a comforting arm around Lara who was crying as usual. “All the evidence you people claim to have found doesn’t hold up that well! It’s all hearsay! You don’t even know what you really saw!”
As the guards unlocked her cell and walked in with the chains, Kivar stopped long enough to turn to her parents. “I am not the one who made the final call. That was the High Priest. He listened to all of the witnesses and even questioned your daughter! He made his decision based on all of that!”
“He didn’t question us! Nor did he question any of those who have known her all her life! I’m telling you something is not right here!”
Kivar pursed his lips. “Listen to me very carefully Lord Parker! The High Priest is the one who made the call. He listened and questioned with an open mind, yet still he agrees that she is guilty! I did not persuade him one way or the other! Now, I told you that our deal stands regardless of your daughter’s fate. If I were you, I would take the deal we had originally agreed on and silence yourselves about your daughter’s fate. Otherwise you may just talk your way into joining her!”
Elizabeth gasped as Jeffery went stiff and glared at Kivar. Taking a step towards the younger Lord, he growled. “Is that a threat?”
The guards had finished putting the chains on Elizabeth and were escorting her out of the cell at that point. So, she hastily stepped between the two men and faced her father with an imploring look on her face.
“Father please! Do not risk yourselves like this! He is right, it was the High Priest who made the call. Besides, the whole thing was about me marrying him so that you two would have no debt! I beg you, go with the deal that you agreed on! If I must die, then let me meet my end knowing you two will be cared for!”
Jeffery’s eyes softened as he looked down at his daughter. “I cannot just stand by and let them do this to you.”
Elizabeth reached out to squeeze his hand. “You must. Do this for me, please.”
Tears welled up in his eyes as he squeezed her hand in return. “Can you not…”
“I cannot Father. You know this.”
He sighed. “I’m so sorry, my child.”
She shook her head as she blinked back her own tears which she still refused to shed. “It is not your fault….but please, don’t go to the execution. Take Lara home.”
He shook his head with conviction. “I will not abandon you now. We’re staying through the end Elizabeth.”
“I don’t think…”
“We’re staying!” he reiterated.
She finally nodded as the guards took her arms and guided her out of the cell building. As they emerged into the bright sunlight, Elizabeth had to blink her eyes until she could see clearly again. It was then that she noticed the crowd that was already gathering around the area where the execution was to take place.
Glancing back at her parents, she tried not to show her rising panic as she pleaded with them once more. “Please go back home! You shouldn’t be here to see this.”
Jeffery simply shook his head in the negative and continued to have that determined look on his face. Lara said nothing as she let Jeffery lead her out of the building since her face was turned into his shoulder.
Elizabeth fought the urge to struggle with her jailors as they led her closer to the execution site. She refused to cause a scene since she could feel so many eyes on her. Every one of those onlookers were curious about the so-called witch that had been caught and Elizabeth didn’t want to give them any reason to start hurling things at her or do any other hurtful things to her.
Swallowing her trepidation, she held her head high and continued walking behind Kivar and his entourage. She could see the Captain, the High Priest and their entourage at the execution site waiting for them to approach. However, none of them were looking at her as if she were some kind of freak.
A few moments later there was a shout from behind Liz and company. “My Lord Kivar!”
Still, Kivar didn’t stop walking until the servant had caught up with them, a little out of breath. “M-my Lord Kivar, there…there are some men here to talk….to you.”
Kivar frowned at him. “Tell them they’ll have to wait. I’m busy at the…”
“They’re insisting that it’s important! They say it has to do with the prisoner!”
Kivar looked a little taken aback at that, but recovered quickly. Sighing, he looked at Father Benedict. “Inform the Captain of the delay and explain why he’s to wait.”
The Father Benedict nodded and continued on towards the execution site with Elizabeth, her guards and her parents. Kivar and the rest of his entourage followed the servant to where the men were waiting for him in the shade of a building nearby.
As soon as Father Benedict reached the Captain, he told him why Kivar was going to be delayed. The Captain nodded and ordered the guards to begin securing the prisoner to the stake while they waited for Kivar to join them. This way at least everything would be ready by the time he returned.
Elizabeth glanced back at her parents one more time. Lara still had her face hidden in Jeffery’s shoulder, but Jeffery was looking at his daughter with tears in his eyes. He didn’t say a word as they guards took her to the huge pile of wood that surrounded the stake and lifted her up onto it.
Joining her on the pile, they pulled her over to stand in front of it and began removing the chains from her. Then the chains were tossed down to another waiting guard before they pushed her back against the stake and tied her hands behind it. Once her hands were secure, they tied more rope around her legs and torso, thus securing her body firmly to the stake.
Just as the guards had finished testing the ropes to make sure she was firmly secured, shouts could be heard from the direction Kivar had gone off in. Heads began turning in that direction to see what all the commotion was about. From her height on the pile of wood, Elizabeth could see Kivar arguing with another man who stood before a small group which he was obviously a member of. Kivar’s entourage remained silent behind him as he faced off with the stranger and his group.
Elizabeth could see just how similar the group of men were dressed. Each of them wore green sashes over very pristine black uniforms. Each sash was trimmed with thick gold thread and had golden tassels at the end of the sash near the right hip to tie it together. All of the sashes had no other decoration on it except for the speaker and two other men who stood at his side. Their sashes had some kind of emblem near their left shoulder which was possibly to signify their importance.
As Kivar continued to argue with the other man whose voice was considerably quieter than his, the Captain made his way towards the group. He interrupted Kivar’s tirade with his own louder, commanding voice.
“Just what is the meaning of this?”
The speaker held his hand out to one of the men next to him who placed a rolled up parchment into his palm. Handing it to the Captain, the speaker began to explain.
“We are a delegation from the Royal Court sent to negotiate for the release of one Lady Elizabeth Parker.”
As the Captain unrolled the parchment he asked, “On what grounds?”
“On the grounds that this is not the first time Lord Kivar has wrongfully accused someone and had them sentenced to death.”
“I have never done any such thing! They were all lawfully judged to be guilty!”
“According to our sources, the evidence is shaky at best,” replied the stranger.
“It was strong enough to get them sentenced!” snapped Kivar.
The Captain was perusing the parchment as he added, “There were eyewitnesses who have backed Lord Kivar’s claims.”
The stranger nodded. “As was the same for all of his previous claims. However, upon looking closer it was discovered that these witnesses have all worked with Lord Kivar at one time and all seem to have come into considerable amounts of money only after working with him.”
The Captain’s head snapped up to give Kivar a questioning look before he turned back to the stranger again. “How is it that you are here now and not when the others you claim he wrongfully accused were being sentenced?”
The stranger’s face turned sad for a moment before he gave Kivar a cruel look. “Unfortunately the kingdom is too large for one group such as ours to catch all the wrongs done in the name of justice. However, it was with Lord Kivar’s last victim that this came to light.
One of the royal archivists who works in the recorded deaths section happened to notice some similarities between the parchment he was cataloging to one he remembered working on nearly a year before. Out of curiosity, he looked it up and when it raised his suspicions, he reported it to his superiors.
Having deemed it indeed suspicious, a look out was posted to all officials that should Lord Kivar’s name come across their desks, they were to alert the authorities at once. So, here we are since those in charge deemed this new accusation of Lord Kivar’s as suspicious as the others.”
The Captain nodded with reluctance. “All the same, there were witnesses.”
“Yes,” replied the stranger, “and as you can see in the parchment, we must ask for a detainment of the execution at the very least so as to question all of the witnesses again. If we discover their deceit, the Lady must be released.”
Kivar growled. “No! I have done nothing wrong and neither have the witnesses! All of the accused were deceivers! All wickedness must be executed! It’s the law!”
The Captain frowned at Kivar. “While it is true that all evildoers should be punished according to the law, it must first be proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are guilty.”
“But she is!” muttered Kivar.
“Still, if the Royal Court insists on another inquiry then we must obey that order. I am sorry my Lord, but we will have to wait for this Royal delegation’s decision.”
He turned to the guards to order them to remove Elizabeth and take her back to the cell building. However, just as he finished issuing the order, Kivar turned with a roar and grabbed a torch from one of the nearby servants.
“No! She is a witch! All evildoers must die!” he screamed as he rushed towards the woodpile with the torch held high.
Many of the onlookers stumbled out of the way of his mad dash, but he never made it to the woodpile. From behind him, a green handled knife with golden runes on the blade came flying out of nowhere and imbedded itself between his shoulder blades.
Elizabeth gasped as she watched Kivar jerk forward before he slowly went to his knees. As his body continued to fall forward to the ground, the torch fell into the dirt nearby where a guard quickly stamped it out before it could cause any damage.
Kivar moaned and feebly tried to reach back to pull the knife from his body without success even as a thin trail of blood oozed from the corner of his mouth. Elizabeth’s eyes snapped to the group of strangers where she was sure the knife had come from, but they all stood unmoving with stoic gazes fastened on Kivar.
The Captain ordered the guards to remove Kivar from their sight before telling all of the onlookers to disperse. As the guards reached for Kivar however, he gave one last viscous breath before his eyes glazed over with death.
The crowd around the execution site began to disperse when they realized there would be nothing more for them to see. The Captain motioned for the guards to release Elizabeth before turning to the strangers.
“It seems we have been hoodwinked into believing that the Lady Elizabeth was guilty.”
The High Priest came forward wearing a grim look with Father Benedict in tow looking sheepish. “Father Benedict has just informed me that he believes Lord Kivar may have led him astray too. However, even as I intend to cooperate with the authorities and question the witnesses once more, I do not believe we will find evidence that the Lady was ever guilty. Because of this, I am more than willing to release the Lady back into the custody of her parents.”
He looked to the Captain to see if he agreed. The Captain nodded his head as the guards escorted Elizabeth to where they all stood. The Parkers were right behind her and the Captain waited until they were all within earshot before he began his apology.
“Lord and Lady Parker, Lady Elizabeth. It is with humble sincerity that we are apologizing to you for all of the grief we have caused.”
He indicated the green-sashed strangers with a sweep of his hand. “These men are delegates from the Royal Court who have just shed some light on some wrongdoing that Lord Kivar seems to have been guilty of for quite some time now. Lady Elizabeth is not the first to have been his victim it seems. However, they were able to prevent all of us from making a grave mistake in persecuting an innocent this time. Due to this new information, we have no choice but to rescind all charges against Lady Elizabeth and release her back into the custody of her parents.”
He turned to give a low bow to Elizabeth as he finished with, “I am truly sorry for this, Lady Elizabeth and hope that someday you may find it within you to forgive such a traumatic and unfortunate transgression on your person.”
Elizabeth gave the Captain a curtsey and said, “Thank you Captain. I shall endeavor to try so.”
The Captain gave her a nod and bowed to her parents also before turning to the royal delegates. “If you will come with me, we will begin to set this right.”
The lead stranger indicated for the others to follow the Captain and as they all walked towards the community building, Jeffery gathered his daughter into his arms. The area was almost empty as Elizabeth hugged her father while relieved and happy tears trailed down their faces. Soon they had pulled a sobbing Lara into their arms too, the three of them now holding on to each other until they could find their voices again.
“Oh thank the heavens! You’re free, Elizabeth! My daughter is free!” cried Jeffery as he placed a kiss on top of her head.
“Yes! I’m alive! I can’t believe it!” she laughed through her tears.
“It’s a miracle! I’m so happy!” bawled Lara.
The three of them joined in teary laughter as they continued to hug and kiss each other until the shock and happiness began to wear off. Giving them another hug, Jeffery smiled at his daughter and wife.
“Come, let’s retire to our room and get something for Elizabeth to eat. I’m sure she needs to recuperate from this ordeal.”
With their daughter between them and smiles on their faces, the three of them set off arm in arm towards the building that Jeffery and Lara had been staying in.
************************************************************************
Dusk had fallen to find Elizabeth quite full and relaxed now that the mornings events were past her. She was staying in the suite with her parents for the night, Jeffery having said he would take the couch while the women took the bed.
It was while the three of them sat around the fire, enjoying a hot cup of tea that a knock came at their door. Jeffery set his cup on the end table next to his chair before going to answer it. He opened the door to find some of the delegation from the Royal Court standing there.
The one in front, who was the same speaker from earlier, gave him a slight bow. “Pardon our intrusion, Lord Parker, but we would like to provide you and your family with a ride back to your home on the morrow if you should be so kind to accept. It is our way of continuing to apologize for this dreadful event.”
Jeffery glanced over to the women before he looked back at the man. “We had intended to leave at first light.”
“But of course you were. We know that you live quite a way from here. We have already made preparations and have a carriage to transport the three of you in comfort. It would be our honor to escort you and your family safely to your home.”
“You don’t have to be here for the inquiry?” asked Jeffery.
“No my lord. We have spent all day looking into this travesty. All that is left is to track down some of the witnesses who were not present at this time.
However, there are others who can do that part at the Royal Court since we’ve already sent all of our findings from today back to them. We have been asked to stay and do what it takes to make this up to you in the meantime.”
As Elizabeth and Lara stood up to join Jeffery at the door, he nodded to the man. “Very well then, we will accept that ride and I thank you for escorting us home. You’ve saved me the trouble of having to ask the Captain for a way home.”
“Good, then we shall see you all downstairs at first light. A good night to you all.” He bowed to Jeffery before making his way down the hall.
Elizabeth and Lara had stopped halfway to the door and simply stood and watched as the group began to follow the speaker. A flash of gold made Elizabeth blink and move closer to the door so that she could see the men who walked closest to the speaker.
Shaking her head, she finally told herself that she was just so tired that she was prone to imagining things that weren’t there. With a sigh, she made her way back to the fire to finish her tea so that she could turn in for the night and get the rest she was sure she needed now.
Jeffery shut the door and led Lara back to the fire. He stopped to tousle his daughter’s hair before they all settled down to enjoy a peaceful, uneventful family night.
TBC...
Shadowlynxbehr's Fics
"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams." -Dr. Seuss
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Shadowlynxbehr
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Re: Of Secrets, Healers, & Fae (M/L, Adult)pt11-18(pg10/11)6/13
Part 20
The elegant green carriage made its way through the countryside surrounded by an escort of nearly twenty men on horses. Inside, on the seat against the wall that separated the cabin from the driver’s seat sat Jeffery and the speaker of the delegation group who had finally introduced himself as Sir Elwyn before they had set out in the morning. On the opposite seat, Elizabeth sat across from her father with Lara besides her.
Most of the morning had passed with the Parkers in great spirits over the fact that they were all on their way home again in one piece. They had chatted idly about what they missed most from being at home as Sir Elwyn smiled and listened to their conversations. Occasionally Jeffery and Sir Elwyn talked a bit, but there was never any serious topic.
It wasn’t until after they had stopped for a brief lunch and resting of the horses then were on their way again when a more serious topic came up. As Jeffery began to read the parchment he had pulled out of his carry on bag, Lara took Elizabeth’s hands in hers for another round thankfulness. Jeffery had received the parchment from the Captain before they had departed that morning. The Captain had told him that the amount of money Kivar left to him was written on there.
“I’m so glad you are still with us my child,” Lara beamed as she gave Elizabeth’s hands a squeeze. “I was so frightened that they were doing the wrong thing but thank heavens Lord Kivar’s treachery was discovered before the damage had been done. Your father was so upset that he had ever agreed to a deal with that monster, weren’t you dear?”
Everyone looked over to see Jeffery frowning down at the parchment he held in his hands. It was obvious that he hadn’t been listening to the conversation.
“Jeffery?” asked Lara, waiting until he looked up from the parchment. “What is the matter dear?”
He sighed as he lowered the parchment to his lap. “It seems we will only be receiving a fraction of what Lord Kivar had originally promised us.”
Lara gasped. “What? Does it say why?”
He nodded. “It seems that the authorities are using Lord Kivar’s fortune to compensate the families of all the others he had wronged before. Everything is being divided up amongst all of them and us.”
“What about his properties?” asked Lara.
“Some of it goes back to the kingdom and the rest goes to whoever the deeds state it was to belong to after Lord Kivar.”
Sir Elwyn nodded. “Yes, it will go to the next of kin or whoever it was named to. If there is no next of kin, there’s still usually two to three more names listed on the deeds.”
Lara frowned. “Well, that’s not good for us then, is it?” She turned wide eyes on Jeffery. “You’re not thinking of using Elizabeth again are you?”
Before he could reply, Sir Elwyn interrupted. “If it is a question of finances, I believe I may have a proposition for you.”
Jeffery turned to look at him. “Thank you for the offer, but I shall talk to my family once we return home before I decide what to do.”
“Forgive me, but I was under the impression that the Lady Elizabeth was marrying Lord Kivar so that your estate would be protected by his holdings. Am I wrong?”
Jeffery pursed his lips, but Elizabeth decided to speak up for him. “Please do not judge my father hastily, good Sir. But Lord Kivar made him an offer that he couldn’t refuse. You see my father’s business has fallen on hard times, so Lord Kivar agreed to help him out on the condition that our families be joined.
Since I am yet unwed, I agreed to go through with it, not only to help my family but because the few times I had met Lord Kivar, he had seemed a gentleman I could agree with. The arrangement would have been no different than other arranged marriages have been in the past.”
Sir Elwyn nodded. “Of course, you are right. Well then, it is as I have said. If you are willing to consider another arrangement that is somewhat similar, I can guarantee that the Parkers will be set for life.”
Elizabeth turned to look at her father to see what he thought about it. She tried to let him know with a look that she would agree to anything he deemed right. She wasn’t going to let the experience with Kivar prevent her from looking at more options if it helped her family out.
Jeffery finally gave a reluctant sigh upon seeing his daughter’s face. Looking Sir Elwyn in the eyes he asked, “What exactly is this arrangement you speak of?”
Sir Elwyn looked at Elizabeth with a friendly smile before turning to answer Jeffery. “As a royal delegate, I come into contact with many different races of people. I also have contact with that which many do not know exist in this world.”
Elizabeth’s eyes widened as he went on. “Because of my position, I can deal with treaties and arrangements which very few are ever aware of. This arrangement is one of those.”
He looked at Elizabeth once more as he spoke to Jeffery, “You will never face financial difficulties as long as the Parker name exists if you allow your daughter to be given as a consort to the one who is the protector of the woods that border your land.”
Jeffery scowled. “Protector of the woods? What does that mean?”
Before Sir Elwyn could even reply, Elizabeth already knew the answer. Max. With that, she knew it had not been her imagination the night before. Max was there among the men of the royal delegates. He had come to rescue her in a human form.
As Sir Elwyn explained, she leaned to look out of the window hoping to recognize which of the men on horseback was really Max.
“I know this is going to sound strange to you, but there is one who lives within those woods and cares for them. It is his realm, so to speak. Just like our kingdom’s rulers, he too rules the woods. He watches over all the creatures and the foliage that live there.”
Jeffery stared at the man for a few moments before he finally spoke in an incredulous voice. “You can’t be… you’re not talking about a f-fae are you?”
With a serious look on his face, Sir Elwyn nodded. “That is exactly what I’m talking about.”
Lara sputtered. “That’s absurd! They don’t exist!”
“They do exist. They are as real as you and I,” replied Sir Elwyn in all seriousness.
“It’s just a myth borne out of the tales we tell our children!” insisted Jeffery.
Sir Elwyn sighed as he leaned closer to them. “Every myth has its roots in something real.”
“Then why do we not see them?” asked Jeffery.
“Tell me something Lord Parker, if stories were written about you which often portrayed you as something frightening that must be destroyed would you show yourself to those who tell those stories?”
“No,” came the reluctant answer.
“Why?” asked Sir Elwyn.
“Because….because I would expect them to try to destroy me like the stories say.”
Sir Elwyn nodded. “That is why all creatures such as the fae do not reveal themselves so easily. But just because you can’t see them doesn’t mean they are not real.”
He paused for a moment before adding, “Your first wife knew that.”
Jeffery stiffened for a moment before closing his eyes as if remembering something.
“Your daughter knows this too.”
Lara gasped as Jeffery whipped his head around to look at Elizabeth who had jerked her own head back from the window to stare at Sir Elwyn when he’d mentioned her mother, Nancy.
Jeffery swallowed. “Is….is that why she is to be a consort? Because she knows?”
“That is part of it, yes.”
Elizabeth spoke up. “How did you know about my mother?”
Sir Elwyn smiled at her. “I’ve only recently found out through the fae that I currently delegate with. He believes the reason you have gifts is because they were passed down through your mother, especially since your father shows no evidence of gifts.”
Jeffery nodded. “I guess that explains why she seemed so different than everyone. Her parents claimed she was just born with poor health and always kept her inside. Even after we were married, I kept her inside because I had been told to do so.”
Elizabeth gasped as she realized the real reason why her mother had died so young.
“She never told me any different, even after I thought the two of us had become so close. She knew there was nothing I wouldn’t have done for her.”
Jeffery’s voice wavered even as tears sparkled in his eyes.
“From the sound of it, she may have been frightened to tell the truth to even you. Her parents may have done that to her. Then again, she might not have known why she was so frail,” answered Sir Elwyn.
Jeffery reached out to take Elizabeth’s hand in his. “I’m grateful that I didn’t do that to you. Had I kept you inside and away from nature, you may have suffered your mother’s fate too.”
Elizabeth smiled at him and gave his hand a squeeze before he sat back and looked at Sir Elwyn again.
“Still, I can’t see giving my daughter over to a fae. All she has to do is be close to nature, not be given over to it.”
“While that is true my lord, your family is in need of help. This is just like any other arranged marriage, is it not? Give your daughter as a consort and your family will be cared for.”
Jeffery shook his head as Lara spoke up. “But to a fae? It is just unnatural!”
Elizabeth had been trying to look for Max out among the men on horses once more, but she knew she would not be able to tell which one he was until she saw his eyes. So, she gave up for the time being and decided to convince her parents that doing as Sir Elwyn suggested would be a good thing.
“Father, I don’t think this is a bad idea. You do need the money don’t you? Plus, I believe the fae will make sure you and mother will be well cared for. In fact, I believe you two will be much better off than if I had married another nobleman of Lord Kivar’s status!”
Jeffery knew Elizabeth was right about that. While stories of fae often warned of the dangers they posed, those same stories also told of their graciousness when rewarding those they dealt with. Still, he would not be a greedy man and sacrifice his only daughter for his financial well being.
“Yes, that’s true but I will not sacrifice you a second time for my gain.”
Elizabeth leaned over to cover his hands with hers. “I don’t mind. Really, I don’t. And I have a feeling I will be much better off with the fae than with a nobleman who won’t understand my differences.”
Jeffery nodded reluctantly. He knew that was true. His gifted daughter would be much better off with someone used to her differences. With a sad sigh, he turned to look at Sir Elwyn.
“I would like some time to think about this a little more and to spend some time with my daughter, if I may.”
“Of course.”
“Will there be a formal meeting between the fae and us to agree to the terms of this?”
Sir Elwyn sadly shook his head. “Unfortunately the fae will not risk being seen by humans. Should you agree to allow Lady Elizabeth to be a consort, I will escort her to the woods one week from today and give her into the care of the fae. Once that is done, Lady Elizabeth will be allowed to return to see you only once more to give you that which will begin to secure your future. After that, you cannot be allowed to see Lady Elizabeth ever again.”
“What!” exclaimed Lara. “That is preposterous!”
“You expect me to hand over my only daughter to a fae and never set eyes on her again! Are you saying we shall never know how she fares?”
“Yes my lord. I am sorry, but those are the rules the fae have set forth. Not just for their protection, but for the protection and well being of our entire family.”
Jeffery started to shake his head in vehement denial, but Elizabeth took his hands again with determination.
“Father, I am not afraid of this. Please, allow me to do this for all of us. I know you are worried, but it will be fine. You knew someday you would have to let me go, just as I knew I would have to leave you.”
Jeffery looked up at the strength in his daughter’s eyes. Looking at her, he remembered the way Nancy had been too. Elizabeth was just like her mother. Despite the sickness that had ravaged her body, there had been strength and pride in her eyes just like there was in Elizabeth’s. And all of that was backed by the love they all had shared. He knew Elizabeth wasn’t going to let him back down.
“Fine. I will give you an answer within the week,” he said to Sir Elwyn who nodded his acknowledgement.
Elizabeth gave her father an encouraging smile before sitting back to look out of the window once more. The rest of the journey was spent in silence as each one of them contemplated what the future would hold.
TBC...
The elegant green carriage made its way through the countryside surrounded by an escort of nearly twenty men on horses. Inside, on the seat against the wall that separated the cabin from the driver’s seat sat Jeffery and the speaker of the delegation group who had finally introduced himself as Sir Elwyn before they had set out in the morning. On the opposite seat, Elizabeth sat across from her father with Lara besides her.
Most of the morning had passed with the Parkers in great spirits over the fact that they were all on their way home again in one piece. They had chatted idly about what they missed most from being at home as Sir Elwyn smiled and listened to their conversations. Occasionally Jeffery and Sir Elwyn talked a bit, but there was never any serious topic.
It wasn’t until after they had stopped for a brief lunch and resting of the horses then were on their way again when a more serious topic came up. As Jeffery began to read the parchment he had pulled out of his carry on bag, Lara took Elizabeth’s hands in hers for another round thankfulness. Jeffery had received the parchment from the Captain before they had departed that morning. The Captain had told him that the amount of money Kivar left to him was written on there.
“I’m so glad you are still with us my child,” Lara beamed as she gave Elizabeth’s hands a squeeze. “I was so frightened that they were doing the wrong thing but thank heavens Lord Kivar’s treachery was discovered before the damage had been done. Your father was so upset that he had ever agreed to a deal with that monster, weren’t you dear?”
Everyone looked over to see Jeffery frowning down at the parchment he held in his hands. It was obvious that he hadn’t been listening to the conversation.
“Jeffery?” asked Lara, waiting until he looked up from the parchment. “What is the matter dear?”
He sighed as he lowered the parchment to his lap. “It seems we will only be receiving a fraction of what Lord Kivar had originally promised us.”
Lara gasped. “What? Does it say why?”
He nodded. “It seems that the authorities are using Lord Kivar’s fortune to compensate the families of all the others he had wronged before. Everything is being divided up amongst all of them and us.”
“What about his properties?” asked Lara.
“Some of it goes back to the kingdom and the rest goes to whoever the deeds state it was to belong to after Lord Kivar.”
Sir Elwyn nodded. “Yes, it will go to the next of kin or whoever it was named to. If there is no next of kin, there’s still usually two to three more names listed on the deeds.”
Lara frowned. “Well, that’s not good for us then, is it?” She turned wide eyes on Jeffery. “You’re not thinking of using Elizabeth again are you?”
Before he could reply, Sir Elwyn interrupted. “If it is a question of finances, I believe I may have a proposition for you.”
Jeffery turned to look at him. “Thank you for the offer, but I shall talk to my family once we return home before I decide what to do.”
“Forgive me, but I was under the impression that the Lady Elizabeth was marrying Lord Kivar so that your estate would be protected by his holdings. Am I wrong?”
Jeffery pursed his lips, but Elizabeth decided to speak up for him. “Please do not judge my father hastily, good Sir. But Lord Kivar made him an offer that he couldn’t refuse. You see my father’s business has fallen on hard times, so Lord Kivar agreed to help him out on the condition that our families be joined.
Since I am yet unwed, I agreed to go through with it, not only to help my family but because the few times I had met Lord Kivar, he had seemed a gentleman I could agree with. The arrangement would have been no different than other arranged marriages have been in the past.”
Sir Elwyn nodded. “Of course, you are right. Well then, it is as I have said. If you are willing to consider another arrangement that is somewhat similar, I can guarantee that the Parkers will be set for life.”
Elizabeth turned to look at her father to see what he thought about it. She tried to let him know with a look that she would agree to anything he deemed right. She wasn’t going to let the experience with Kivar prevent her from looking at more options if it helped her family out.
Jeffery finally gave a reluctant sigh upon seeing his daughter’s face. Looking Sir Elwyn in the eyes he asked, “What exactly is this arrangement you speak of?”
Sir Elwyn looked at Elizabeth with a friendly smile before turning to answer Jeffery. “As a royal delegate, I come into contact with many different races of people. I also have contact with that which many do not know exist in this world.”
Elizabeth’s eyes widened as he went on. “Because of my position, I can deal with treaties and arrangements which very few are ever aware of. This arrangement is one of those.”
He looked at Elizabeth once more as he spoke to Jeffery, “You will never face financial difficulties as long as the Parker name exists if you allow your daughter to be given as a consort to the one who is the protector of the woods that border your land.”
Jeffery scowled. “Protector of the woods? What does that mean?”
Before Sir Elwyn could even reply, Elizabeth already knew the answer. Max. With that, she knew it had not been her imagination the night before. Max was there among the men of the royal delegates. He had come to rescue her in a human form.
As Sir Elwyn explained, she leaned to look out of the window hoping to recognize which of the men on horseback was really Max.
“I know this is going to sound strange to you, but there is one who lives within those woods and cares for them. It is his realm, so to speak. Just like our kingdom’s rulers, he too rules the woods. He watches over all the creatures and the foliage that live there.”
Jeffery stared at the man for a few moments before he finally spoke in an incredulous voice. “You can’t be… you’re not talking about a f-fae are you?”
With a serious look on his face, Sir Elwyn nodded. “That is exactly what I’m talking about.”
Lara sputtered. “That’s absurd! They don’t exist!”
“They do exist. They are as real as you and I,” replied Sir Elwyn in all seriousness.
“It’s just a myth borne out of the tales we tell our children!” insisted Jeffery.
Sir Elwyn sighed as he leaned closer to them. “Every myth has its roots in something real.”
“Then why do we not see them?” asked Jeffery.
“Tell me something Lord Parker, if stories were written about you which often portrayed you as something frightening that must be destroyed would you show yourself to those who tell those stories?”
“No,” came the reluctant answer.
“Why?” asked Sir Elwyn.
“Because….because I would expect them to try to destroy me like the stories say.”
Sir Elwyn nodded. “That is why all creatures such as the fae do not reveal themselves so easily. But just because you can’t see them doesn’t mean they are not real.”
He paused for a moment before adding, “Your first wife knew that.”
Jeffery stiffened for a moment before closing his eyes as if remembering something.
“Your daughter knows this too.”
Lara gasped as Jeffery whipped his head around to look at Elizabeth who had jerked her own head back from the window to stare at Sir Elwyn when he’d mentioned her mother, Nancy.
Jeffery swallowed. “Is….is that why she is to be a consort? Because she knows?”
“That is part of it, yes.”
Elizabeth spoke up. “How did you know about my mother?”
Sir Elwyn smiled at her. “I’ve only recently found out through the fae that I currently delegate with. He believes the reason you have gifts is because they were passed down through your mother, especially since your father shows no evidence of gifts.”
Jeffery nodded. “I guess that explains why she seemed so different than everyone. Her parents claimed she was just born with poor health and always kept her inside. Even after we were married, I kept her inside because I had been told to do so.”
Elizabeth gasped as she realized the real reason why her mother had died so young.
“She never told me any different, even after I thought the two of us had become so close. She knew there was nothing I wouldn’t have done for her.”
Jeffery’s voice wavered even as tears sparkled in his eyes.
“From the sound of it, she may have been frightened to tell the truth to even you. Her parents may have done that to her. Then again, she might not have known why she was so frail,” answered Sir Elwyn.
Jeffery reached out to take Elizabeth’s hand in his. “I’m grateful that I didn’t do that to you. Had I kept you inside and away from nature, you may have suffered your mother’s fate too.”
Elizabeth smiled at him and gave his hand a squeeze before he sat back and looked at Sir Elwyn again.
“Still, I can’t see giving my daughter over to a fae. All she has to do is be close to nature, not be given over to it.”
“While that is true my lord, your family is in need of help. This is just like any other arranged marriage, is it not? Give your daughter as a consort and your family will be cared for.”
Jeffery shook his head as Lara spoke up. “But to a fae? It is just unnatural!”
Elizabeth had been trying to look for Max out among the men on horses once more, but she knew she would not be able to tell which one he was until she saw his eyes. So, she gave up for the time being and decided to convince her parents that doing as Sir Elwyn suggested would be a good thing.
“Father, I don’t think this is a bad idea. You do need the money don’t you? Plus, I believe the fae will make sure you and mother will be well cared for. In fact, I believe you two will be much better off than if I had married another nobleman of Lord Kivar’s status!”
Jeffery knew Elizabeth was right about that. While stories of fae often warned of the dangers they posed, those same stories also told of their graciousness when rewarding those they dealt with. Still, he would not be a greedy man and sacrifice his only daughter for his financial well being.
“Yes, that’s true but I will not sacrifice you a second time for my gain.”
Elizabeth leaned over to cover his hands with hers. “I don’t mind. Really, I don’t. And I have a feeling I will be much better off with the fae than with a nobleman who won’t understand my differences.”
Jeffery nodded reluctantly. He knew that was true. His gifted daughter would be much better off with someone used to her differences. With a sad sigh, he turned to look at Sir Elwyn.
“I would like some time to think about this a little more and to spend some time with my daughter, if I may.”
“Of course.”
“Will there be a formal meeting between the fae and us to agree to the terms of this?”
Sir Elwyn sadly shook his head. “Unfortunately the fae will not risk being seen by humans. Should you agree to allow Lady Elizabeth to be a consort, I will escort her to the woods one week from today and give her into the care of the fae. Once that is done, Lady Elizabeth will be allowed to return to see you only once more to give you that which will begin to secure your future. After that, you cannot be allowed to see Lady Elizabeth ever again.”
“What!” exclaimed Lara. “That is preposterous!”
“You expect me to hand over my only daughter to a fae and never set eyes on her again! Are you saying we shall never know how she fares?”
“Yes my lord. I am sorry, but those are the rules the fae have set forth. Not just for their protection, but for the protection and well being of our entire family.”
Jeffery started to shake his head in vehement denial, but Elizabeth took his hands again with determination.
“Father, I am not afraid of this. Please, allow me to do this for all of us. I know you are worried, but it will be fine. You knew someday you would have to let me go, just as I knew I would have to leave you.”
Jeffery looked up at the strength in his daughter’s eyes. Looking at her, he remembered the way Nancy had been too. Elizabeth was just like her mother. Despite the sickness that had ravaged her body, there had been strength and pride in her eyes just like there was in Elizabeth’s. And all of that was backed by the love they all had shared. He knew Elizabeth wasn’t going to let him back down.
“Fine. I will give you an answer within the week,” he said to Sir Elwyn who nodded his acknowledgement.
Elizabeth gave her father an encouraging smile before sitting back to look out of the window once more. The rest of the journey was spent in silence as each one of them contemplated what the future would hold.
TBC...
Shadowlynxbehr's Fics
"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams." -Dr. Seuss
"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams." -Dr. Seuss