Legon Ascension (17 page)

Sasha corrected. “Oh, I’m sorry Elna. Thank you. I’m looking forward to getting to know you.”
 

Elna smiled warmly, not bothered in the least bit. Sasha spoke again. “Maybe you would be willing to help me understand how my brother’s society works so I don’t offend anyone?”
 

Elna’s response was kind but firm. “Your society too, Un Prose. Never forget who you are, and of course I would love to teach you.” She turned to Legon. “Allow me to introduce my husband, Pras.”

A man with brown eyes and long, flowing brown hair came up next to Elna and bowed. “Un Prosa, I will be your butler while on board. Anything you need at all, please let me know.”

With that, a procession of people introduced themselves and in time, the crowd on the deck dispersed to various parts of the ship.
 

* * * * *

Sasha took in the ship as they made their way into a door at the stern. Elna glided beside her down a set of stairs onto a landing. “This way to your quarters, Un Prose.” Elna said.

Sasha wasn’t all that comfortable with the whole ‘Prose’ thing, but she didn’t want to offend Elna. “Elna?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“Do you mind calling me Sasha?”
 

Elna smiled. “You asked me to teach you about our culture.”
 

“Ummm, yes,” Sasha replied.

“Un Prose is what you are called, and in public you are obliged to be Prose. However, in private it’s acceptable to speak with more familiarity. So if you prefer, I will call you Sasha.”

“Thanks, and thank you for putting up with me.”

Elna spoke. “I’m not putting up with anything. It will take you a long time to get used to your new life.” Her voice was warm and kind.
 

Sasha relaxed and Elna opened a large double door. They stepped into Sasha’s quarters. The apartment was elegant with a raised ceiling that went beyond the main deck. A doorway lead to her bedroom. At the end was a window as tall as the room that curved out away from the ships stern. She walked to the window and looked down into the turning sea below. To her left was an enormous bed. With the sight something struck her.

“What is it, Sasha?” Elna asked.

“I can’t feel the ship moving,” she said.
 

Elna paused for a moment. “That’s right, you’ve never been on the sea. The Propero, while powerful, is made for war, and all of her spells are directed accordingly. The Lux is designed for luxury, and so are her spells. This ship has powerful wards of course, wards far stronger than the Propero’s, but the Lux has much more energy. You don’t feel the movement of the ship because the Lux is keeping you from feeling the movement of the sea. If you like, reach out with your mind and you will feel movement again.”

Sasha gapped. “The ship is keeping me from feeling the sea?” The spell seemed
 
straightforward enough, but that the Elves put so much effort into the comfort of the ship amazed her. The air was brisk and pleasant as well. Obviously the climate was controlled, and she caught the scent of wildflowers, the same wild flowers that grew in Salmont. She felt sad for just a moment. “The air reminds me of home,” she said.
 

Elna answered. “Yes, we thought you might like it. You are sad… would you like a different scent?” Elna said, reading Sasha’s emotions.

“No, no, this is good. It just made me miss my family is all, but this is good. Please show me around.”

* * * * *

Legon sunk into the most comfortable bed he had ever lied on. Instantly he wanted to take a nap. “Pras, do you mind if I sleep for awhile?” Pras laughed. “If you like, would you like me to bring you lunch, or would you like to tour the ship and eat in the mess hall?”

Legon thought for a moment. “I think I’ll take a tour of the ship first.” He wanted to know more about this man. He’d been around Elves for a while, but only those in the military. “Tell me about yourself.” He followed Pras to the door and out into the hall. Sasha and Elna were entering the hall at the same time.
 

Elna answered for Pras. “We live on the Lux. This has been our home for a long time now.” Pras took over. “We have lived on this ship since it was remodeled in 203 A.G.” Elna spoke next. “The Lux rarely leaves the capital so we can see our children but we love it here and will stay on, unless you decide otherwise.” Then, as before, Pras took over. “We will always serve you and be with you, but in the capital there will be people assigned directly to you in the house.” Then Elna spoke. “They like us to live in the house, and would be here today if they weren’t preparing for your homecoming.”

He was getting used to this. Some couples did everything they could to be of one mind when together and would quite often finish the other’s sentences. This was normal for them. He wondered if Iselin and he would be like that. He doubted it. They both enjoyed their individuality, and while if they did stay together, they would be just as close as Elna and Pras, but they would still keep their own identities.
 

The group made their way down a long corridor to the bow of the ship. They entered a large dining room. Legon strolled to a window, whose length ran along the whole forward edge of the bow, giving one the impression of flying. Indeed, few things about the Lux were built for practicality. He turned to the soft sound of platters being set on the table. Sasha was looking up at the ceiling and the vast chandelier attached to it. Right above the table hung a ruby crystal that was nearly the size of the table. It looked like a collection of rose petals all connected together.
 

Other members of the crew joined them for lunch and Sasha and Legon spent most of the afternoon learning about the Lux. Finally after dinner, most of the crew retired and Sasha and Legon sat soaking in a tub filled with hot water that could hold eight or nine, located on the top deck of the bow. He stared up at the open sky, taking in more stars than he thought possible.

Legon spoke. “What do you think of this?”

Sasha took her time answering. “I’m not sure. It seems like a dream to me, ya know? On the one hand, I feel guilty because we are now living better than anyone in either of the human lands.”

“But?”

She took another moment. “But this seems right to me for the Elves. I mean, they are immortal and can grow things with their minds. They don’t have the same worries as most people do. They have more time and skill, so why not live a comfortable life? I think it’s also unfair to compare the Lux to normal ships, because we are heads of a great house, the rest of society can’t live like this.”

He knew what she was getting at. All Elves lived in almost the same level of comfort, but where he and Sasha had houses and ships, most people wouldn’t. Would they? He reached out with his mind and asked Sydin.

Sasha looked at him, waiting. “Sydin said he would join us.” She relaxed.

When he joined them, Sydin explained that while as heads of a house they did have more than most, but that many Elves had several houses. He also explained that they were much larger than human dwellings in many cases. In the cities people would have apartments, but that property stayed in families, and as a result people would spend seventy or eighty years in one stop, and then move elsewhere in the family estate.
 

Before he went to bed, Legon tried to see if he could contact Ise. He went to the ship’s main communications center and accessed what he needed. He wasn’t expecting to see her face fill the crystal. “Hey, how are you, I can see you.”
 

She smiled. “That’s good, you aren’t blind. I’m good, why? Are you surprised to see me?”

He chuckled. “I wasn’t able to before, is it because this ship is so powerful?”

“Yes, and you are close to the coast. How was your day?”

They spoke for a long time until after a few yawns she told him to go to bed. He returned to his cabin and slipped under the silk sheets, feeling himself sink into the bed and fall asleep almost instantly.
 

“Legon… LEGON! Wake up you lump!” Sasha’s voice said, irritated and nervous.

“Wh…what? Sash let me sleep will y…” he trailed off as he sat up in the misty field that was filled with lavender roses.

Chapter Ten

Signs of The Times

“When did the world change, you ask? I cannot tell you, because like then, from the dawn of time nothing has reminded constant.”

-The River of Change

Edis scrubbed the spotless counter. He was pretty sure that if he kept rubbing the surface would start to wear away, or his hand would cramp… again. He huffed and tossed the rag across the room. The door tinkled and he turned to the customer, but it was no customer.

“Sorry, it’s just me.” Emma smiled.

The kid was looking better and even daring to go into the woods again. Why, Edis didn’t know, but she went anyway.

“It’s always good to see you dear. How are you today?” he said to her.

She nodded. “Fine, I take it you have nothing to do?”

He didn’t have anything to do, no one was selling livestock right now, and of course, after the dragon no one was going into the woods to hunt, meaning Edis had nothing to do and no money coming.
 

“Nope, no one has livestock to sell. It all dried up because of that ruddy dragon and people are too…”

“Dumb and scared to come out from under their rocks? Yes, I know,” she said, smiling again.

“Hmmm, I told you that, huh?”

She winced. “Not today.”

She plopped herself on the counter. “I thought I would come and keep you company.”

Now it was his turn to smile. “That would be welcome. Doesn’t Laura have things for you to do?”

“No, as no one is leaving their houses, they aren’t getting sick or hurt.” Her cheeks flushed, “But, she says we will have a lot of babies to deliver in about nine months.”

He chuckled. “Yes, boredom has that effect.” He noticed a flyer in her hand. “What is that?”

“A notice about road curfews. Apparently it’s unsafe to travel at night now, so we need to stay within town limits and off the roads.” She rolled her eyes.
 

Edis didn’t comment, but this bothered him. He too had seen flyers like this. There was even talk that the queen was considering drafting people for the army, something that hadn’t been done in living memory. He wasn’t worried about getting drafted, he was old, but Emma once she was done with her apprenticeship…
 

She interrupted his thoughts. “What do you think is going on?”

He shook his head. “It’s hard to say. I don’t think the queen will act against the free lands, but it sounds like they are moving against her.”

The question made him look at her closely. Her eyes were slightly puffy. “I’m sure they are safe.” He answered the unspoken question.

She looked down and fidgeted more with the paper. “Do you really think so?”

* * * * *

Emma made her way out of the shop sometime later and decided to go and get some produce for dinner. It was odd. Edis thought that people were scared of Iumenta dragons in the area, but in reality, most of the people didn’t think a thing of it. They were frightened by the possibility of robbers, and even to her surprise, a few questioned her about the incident, asking why she was in the woods and what would make a dragon suspect her? But these were mostly those who traveled frequently. The core of the town was just scared and angry because of the threats to their lands and safety. Still, there were other signs that not all was well in the Cona Empire, and there were signs that not many seemed to notice. It came mostly in the way of news. Something didn’t seem right about it. There were articles posted to message boards proclaiming victory in the south, but they were recruiting more, and it was now deemed unsafe to travel at night, so how could the south be conquered? Also, when had the Empire gone to war with the rebel south to begin with? When she asked, no one knew when the war had started. Most people just seemed to think that it had always been going on.
 

As she rounded a corner, the sun momentarily blinded her. She held her hand up, measuring it in the sky. “Dang it,” she said under her breath.

It was getting late in the day and people would be heading home soon, she could already see it in the streets. She picked up her pace, wanting to catch the market before all of the farmers hurried to the safety of their houses.
 

This line of thought turned out to be correct. It wasn’t easy for her to find what she wanted, and the farmer gave it to her for next to nothing, just wanting to be done. She headed home unhappy, if she had gotten a deal due to some tricky haggling she would be proud and happy, but as it was she didn’t. There was no need to haggle so late in the day. Fear of robbers on the roads made the deal for her. She paid the merchant more than he asked for, and that was something.
 

The streets were quiet now. Only the sound of the dirt and gravel under her feet made a sound. The townsfolk didn’t hide at night. Salmont proper was more than safe, but with the market and shops closed there was a lull as people went home and spent time with family. Later she might go to the tavern. It would be packed in a few hours.

The next morning Emma decided to go for a walk in the woods. She needed to conquer her fear of them and getting out of town would be good for her. Edis offered to close the shop for the day and go with her but she declined, there were other things that she needed to work through.

With a bit of effort, she was able to procure an old pair of Legon’s pants from when he was much younger and smaller. They fit relatively well and seemed to be in reasonable shape, despite their age. Laura raised an eyebrow when she saw her.

“You get confused dear?” she asked, smirking.

Emma smiled, “No, I just don’t want to ruin another dress. I want to go up the north face of the valley, and it’s not easy hiking.
 

There was no need to explain why she was going up the north face, as the east was too steep for any but the most experienced climbers, and the last time she was on the west, well, she wasn’t thinking about the west right now.