Origin (49 page)

“I know how you feel, but sometimes our destinies are already laid out for us and we just have to be willing to follow the path.”

“I’m not sure what you mean by that.”

“I don’t know of anyone who’s met you that doesn’t recognize that there is something very unique about you. By birth, you are less than half-elf, and yet you possess all of the abilities and features of an elf; except for your hair, of course. You possess an uncanny ability to interact with companions and other intelligent species that you come in contact with. When we fought the shadow squads, you took down more of the assassins than I did, even though I am the seasoned soldier. The head mare of the morden chose to life-bond with you. In the history of the elves, there has never been a person born who has a greater potential to bring peace, end bigotry, and set us on a unified course for the future. I know that you don’t see it and that all of this has hit you very suddenly, but you must begin to consider what I am saying.”

They rode together in silence for a while and then Ayron looked over and said, “Do you have any questions, Elwyn?”

“I promise that I will think over what you have said. It is a lot for me to take in. I was not raised to think that I was anyone special, and now everyone says that they know I am. If this keeps up I will need Rhys and Clayre around to feed me a piece or two of humble pie.”

They rode along for a while longer in silence, each one deep in thought. Suddenly Elwyn leaned toward Ayron and said, “I do have one question. Does this mean that I have to wear a dress?”

Ayron laughed hard and shook his head. He recognized that her humor was partly to disguise her discomfort at everything that was happening to her, but he also knew that she was still extremely uncomfortable with her own femininity. When he thought about it, perhaps being brought up by Rhys had helped prepare her for her future more than she realized. She would be taking her place as a ruler without any expectations. She’d never had servants and treated everyone as an equal. She had done her fair share of hard work and appreciated the value of a job well done. She was willing to take risks when it seemed appropriate, or when it involved someone or something she cared about. She was a person who valued the truth and could be trusted. And finally because she had been somewhat of an outcast her entire life, she didn’t reject people or other species that were different than she.

“Well thought, Ayron” said Kierra as she gently entered his mind. I wanted to discuss something with you before I speak to Elwyn. I was thinking about asking Elwyn if she would be willing to life-bond with a drakenhawk before she arrives in Findara. I know that she has been through a lot of new experiences over the past few weeks, but a drakenhawk companion would be in a much better position to protect her when she is in the capital. After thinking it over, both Gemma and I agree that there has to be some element of companion treachery involved in all of this. When we discussed the possible suspects, every one of them has at least one companion if not two. How do you feel about hosting a private choosing?”

“I’m not sure that she is ready for all of this, Kierra,” Ayron responded. “I realize that you and Gemma are trying to protect her, but the idea of a companion is a relatively new concept to her. She never knew that Gemma life-bonded with her. Thane had to explain it to her. I know that she has willingly let you into her head during this stressful period, but Elwyn enjoys her privacy and solitude. She may not be willing to give that up yet, even to save her own life.”

“I understand what you are saying, but I will feel terrible if I don’t at least try. The best time to do it would be shortly before you arrive here with her. You would serve as witness. If we were to wait, I’m worried that someone here may try to block a choosing, either because of her age or her newness to Silvendil.”

“Kierra, if I were you, I would wait until after you speak with Lady Silvenna to approach Elwyn. I think it is time we speak with someone who has much more knowledge about the inner workings of Silvendil than we do.”

“I will do that, Ayron. I have not been able to discuss this with anyone but Gemma so far, and she agrees because she thinks it is the best way to protect Elwyn once she is in Findara. Gemma will not be able to be with her at all times. Farewell for now. I will join the two of you later this evening so that we can work on a plan together.”

Elwyn was surprised when Ayron led them off the road and announced that it was time for lunch. He had been very quiet for the past hour, in fact she wondered if he had fallen asleep. The morden were grazing happily as the two of them dove into the basket of food they brought along from the inn. Elwyn enjoyed some thick slices of ham accompanied by some of the fluffy biscuits dripping with honey. Ayron pulled out some steak and some of the roasted root vegetables that were left from breakfast. Keroc enjoyed taking tidbits of meat from each of them. He started hopping on alternating feet from excitement though, as Elwyn informed him that he was healthy enough to hunt on his own, as long as he stayed fairly close and kept in contact with Ayron.

When they were underway again, Ayron let Keroc fly short distances in the area around them. He was still concerned about Keroc’s health and wasn’t sure if he had enough strength to fly longer distances yet. Keroc tried so hard to convince Ayron that he was back to full strength that he almost missed landing on the pommel of Raffe’s saddle and ended up scrambling to regain his balance. As the afternoon wore on, Keroc settled down and Ayron could tell that he was healthy enough to begin his training again.

It was still mid-afternoon when Ayron turned from the road and led them along a small trail. They traveled for a few more miles to a small house that sat on the edge of a large pond. Elwyn was delighted at the location and was happy to learn that the house actually belonged to the family.

“My father used to bring Azavon and me here at least twice a season to hunt and fish. We always looked forward to our visits and considered this place our own special hideaway. Of course, Azavon spent most of his time inside reading, while I did the hunting and fishing for all of our meals. Our father used to spend a lot of time sitting on the rocks surrounding the pond just thinking. He said that one of the things he missed the most from before he became ruler of Silvendil, were the times he could get off by himself and just think or figure out how he felt about things.

I think that Azavon would agree with me, that the best part of our short trips was just the chance for us to spend time with our father, without all the responsibilities of ruling Silvendil coming between us. Unfortunately since my father’s death, our getaways stopped and I am the only person who ever comes here. Maybe you can convince Azavon to bring you here for a few days from time to time, just to be alone and get to know one another better.”

Elwyn nodded and told him how delighted she was to be staying at the quaint little house. She spent some time looking around the interior and was excited to find that it had beds and that there were clean linens in the cupboard. The pantry was also stocked with staples, dry goods and herbs. The little house looked well maintained and when she asked, Ayron told her that he paid a couple that lived in Sylreth, a small city to the north, to keep the place stocked and clean for him. Ayron went outside to see to the morden while Elwyn brought in some firewood, built a fire, and put water on for tea. They still had plenty of food in their basket, so Elwyn heated up the meat and vegetables, warmed the bread and biscuits, and put the fruit and cheese out on a platter she found laying on a shelf in the kitchen. After they ate, they both worked together to clean up. Elwyn contacted Toruk and let him know that they were settled for the evening, so that the drakenhawks could feel free to hunt. He thanked her and told her that they would hunt in shifts, with at least half of them still watching for signs of danger.

After all the work was done, Ayron and Elwyn each got a mug of hot tea and settled down to wait for Kierra, who wasn’t long in making her presence known. She gently greeted them both and suggested they should begin by trying to narrow the list of suspects as much as they could before she spoke with Lady Silvenna the next day. Kierra admitted to being a bit nervous about communicating with Lady Silvenna. She told them that when Lady Silvenna addressed her or the drakenhawk healers, she spoke out loud to them as if she was speaking to people. Kierra’s mother Galista had been life-bonded to Lady Silvenna and died saving her life. She had never sought to bond with another drakenhawk after Galista’s death. Kierra hoped that Lady Silvenna would not take offense at her intrusion, but felt that the danger to Elwyn was worth the risk.

Over the next three hours, the three of them examined and re-examined the potential conspirators. They narrowed the list to six of the most likely candidates. Highest on the list was Daeglin an elf who had life-bonded with Grapp, a drakenhawk and Koram, a morden. Safriel, an elf, was next on the list. He was life-bonded to Donak, a morden and Weilik, a drakenhawk. The next suspect was Malac who was an elf, the master healer of Findara, and was life-bonded to Phena, a drakenhawk and Mavelor, a morden. Gelmir and Alysan were still on the list of suspects, although none of them believed that either of them could have masterminded the plan to kill Rhianna. Neither Gelmir nor Alysan was life-bonded with a companion. One of the biggest issues they had with the list of suspects was the lack of females. They were obviously missing something.

The other issue that concerned Ayron and Kierra was the complexity of the plot. If the conspiracy had been just to rid Silvendil of Rhianna and her offspring because they were human, there were probably a few conspirators who needed to be identified and punished. But, if this conspiracy had been conceived seasons ago by someone determined to strengthen the elven blood of the ruling family and establish a government based on the superiority of the elves, then that was a different matter altogether. It would have taken several conspirators to carry out the necessary steps to attempt to accomplish something so complex.

“That thought is really frightening,” Ayron said thoughtfully. “They would have had to watch us as we grew and try to influence one of us. It would have been difficult to influence my brother, because our mother made it her passion to prepare him to become the next ruler. It would not have made sense to influence me. My interests have always been non-political, and I was destined to lead the army, not to rule. So that left poor Alysan. They probably worked to poison her mind from the time she was a young child, just in case they needed her. When Azavon married Rhianna and she got pregnant, they must have panicked. They then hatched the plot to rid themselves of Rhianna and her unborn child, and at the same time destroy Azavon’s spirit. During that time, they made sure that Alysan married an elf and had a child from that union. They deliberately convinced Azavon that his wife was so unhappy that she killed herself, hoping that it would break him. The ultimate goal would be for him to eventually step down as the ruler of Silvendil, when he was convinced that there was someone who could rule in his place. I am sure that they are attempting to influence Remi now. As far as the people of our nation are concerned, if Azavon never remarries or decides to step down, Remi is the next heir to the throne of Silvendil.

The more the three of them thought about it, the surer they were that this was a plot that had been thickening for seasons. One of Kierra’s major concerns was that the conspirators, who had many seasons of time and effort invested in their plan, would not take kindly to the appearance of Lord Azavon’s child and heir. It would serve to destroy all that they’d worked for. Of course, the natural solution would be to get rid of her and anyone that knew of her existence before she reached Findara. Perhaps this was really the purpose behind the attacks and Stefan was just being used as a pawn, to be blamed if things went wrong.

They were all exhausted after so many hours of discussion. Just as Kierra was preparing to withdraw from their minds, Elwyn stood up and her mother’s diary slipped from her lap and dropped to the floor. As she bent over to pick it up, she noticed that the parchment on the back cover had come loose, and the corner of a piece of paper was sticking out. She called out to them and sat down to unfold the paper, anxious to see what it said. She was a bit disappointed to discover that it seemed to be some kind of riddle. She read it to Kierra and Ayron who was trying to read it over her shoulder; his curiosity getting the better of him.

Elwyn read:

“
To find the treasure that you seek

Into the serpent’s lair you creep

Hidden fathoms neath blue sky

Watch the serpent’s tongue flick by

You must delve deep and show no fear

For the serpent’s head is near

You must go soft and make no sound

And use the colors all around

Black is the orb that absorbs all light

White is the veil that blinds the sight

Red is the blood that flows from the dark

Gold is the key that reveals the mark”

“Well, that means absolutely nothing to me,” said Elwyn a bit disappointed at her find.

“I wouldn’t dismiss it out of hand,” said Ayron picking up the paper and examining it closely.

“I agree with Ayron, Elwyn. Keep it safe and we may find that it has some significance in the future. It is definitely a riddle. The answer could have great meaning; after all, someone tried to keep the secret very safe. I doubt that even your mother knew that the paper was in there. Do you know who gave her the diary?”

“Yes, my mother received the diary and the gold pendant I wear from her father, King Justayne, for her sixteenth birth celebration. Rhys also received a gift. It was the sword that is now packed among my belongings.”

“Elwyn, your mother and Rhys escaped Avrelan when King Stefan attempted to assassinate the entire royal family. Your mother was the oldest child and was the rightful heir to the throne. You, as her child, are the rightful heir to the throne of Avrelan now. You are the heir to two kingdoms. I am sure that we are not the only ones to have figured that out. It is impossible for us to know if King Stefan is working along with someone from Silvendil to make sure that you never reach Findara. That is why my drakenhawk guard stays with you.”