The Destiny of Amalah (41 page)

‘I would be extremely grateful if you did,’ Rufus said.

‘As would I,’ Rakan added. ‘Grateful and honoured if you would.’

‘I will, if you will agree to attend this classroom one evening per week from now.’

‘I agree,’ Rakan said.

‘I agree,’ Rufus also said.

‘Good, the first lesson will be tomorrow, arrive after supper and we shall begin,’ Rail said, as he gathered up his things and left Rakan and Rufus alone in his classroom.

‘What a great chance,’ Rakan enthused.

‘Let us hope Rail is teaching us for good reasons and not some other purpose,’ Rufus said warily.

‘Like what?’

‘I don’t know but the way he spoke of my parents; your father and the others as jealous and resentful alarms me.’

‘He was merely speculating,’ Rakan said, reassuring his friend.

‘Perhaps.’

‘He has a point though, I know they are not jealous or resentful but I think they may be scared.’

‘I don’t think so. Michael, Garrick and Häkan are all warriors and soldiers, life long friends of Thaddeus and Raynor – themselves sorcerers. They all know of magic and its power.’

‘You heard Rail;
we
are very powerful. I know my father and friends have been through a war and they know of magic and its power but I wonder how they feel about the
amount
of power we have.’

‘Perfectly fine.’

‘Well let us not dwell on those in Amalah, let us think about the wonderful opportunity that Rail has given us and cease it.’

‘Very well,’ Rufus said quietly, agreeing with his friend.

Rail listened outside the classroom door along with Salwar to the conversation that the two young men were having.

‘What do you think?’ Salwar asked.

‘I think Rakan has the most power; I sense it, I feel it, and he will be the one most easily corrupted. Rufus is powerful too, almost as much as Rakan but he is wary of me,’ he acknowledged; ‘but I will tread carefully and ensure I do not alienate him.

‘You have time though?’ Salwar stated.

‘Yes I do,’ Rail said as he grinned to himself. ‘Three years is more than enough time to turn them and their friends.’

‘Do not fail me this time Adriel,’ Salwar warned.

‘I did not fail you last time,’ Adriel retorted; ‘the rest of humankind did!’

***

In Amalah, the four friends were fairing well; in the North, Kenaz and Waldon were once again having the time of their lives as they trained to become officers of the Empress’s guard. They hoped to do well in the guard and carve out a career for themselves. There were six ranks among the officers, and they would start at the bottom as Lieutenant’s. They would then hopefully rise to; Captain, Major, Colonel, General and then hopefully, one day, years from now they would reach the rank of Guard Commander.

All day long they would endure physical exercise but to them, they enjoyed the intensity and the rush of adrenaline that it brought. Both their bodies and minds were in peak condition and they – like Rakan and Rufus – worked hard to rise to every challenge that the guard set them. They ran, they marched, they dug and they climbed; they already knew how to live off the land but the teachers at Amalah still had a few tricks up their sleeves to teach the two young men.

They learnt military tactics, honed their weaponry skills and learnt new ones as the weeks passed. There was no doubt that Kenaz and Waldon were the strongest, brightest and fastest members of the trainee guard.

Every competition that the guard ran was won by either Kenaz or Waldon; or by them jointly and like the teachers in Lansten, the teachers in Amalah loved to teach their brightest stars. The other students were in awe of the two friends but they all liked Waldon and Kenaz as they were still the same easy going and friendly young men they had always been and they had kept their sense of fun and humour at all times, even when they had to live in the field and it was cold and wet. But most of all, the other student officers of the guard liked them because of their team spirit.

The two of them always shared their knowledge and experience, and where they could; they helped the youngest, or the person who was the slowest, or the person who was having difficulty with any area of skill. Waldon and Kenaz decided that everyone was going to get through this year’s training of the guard and that they would help them through; and for that, the guard trainees were a close knit group and extremely loyal to each other but especially to Waldon and Kenaz, for whom they would do anything.

In the centre of Amalah life continued as normal, Amara still ran Amalah and the nations with the help of Michael, her friends and the council. Amalah was changing in structure and shape but the people somehow remained the same.

Amara was a woman now, she had now reached the age of twenty and she had become even more strikingly beautiful, and with her age, a sense of peace, calm and confidence had come over her. She had found herself and she had the love of many people who were constantly around her, Ellora being as well as Michael, who was still a constant by her side and Gaerwen, who as well as being her teacher, had become like a mother to her. Amara had been glad at having Gaerwen around and it felt as though she had been given another parent and she thanked the gods for sending Gaerwen to her.

Kalon and Ellora, who were now seventeen, had grown extremely close in that year, not only were they inseparable but often, they knew what the other was thinking; they would finish off each others sentences or laugh at things that only they would understand and they never got tired of each others company. They would talk all day or sit in silence together for hours, each just happy that the other was there. They were still learning from teachers, but now they spent most of the time teaching themselves. When they were free they would travel to North Amalah to see Waldon and Kenaz or travel to north Mantor the place they both loved.

As the months went on, Ellora began to take on duties as a princess, she would attend functions at the palace or visit the villages in and outside of Amalah; often she would take Kalon with her and the two of them would travel alone.

When she had returned to Amalah from a trip that she had made alone, she prepared for yet another dinner at the palace. She unpacked her things, took lunch in her room and then went to sleep. When she rose she bathed herself and her maids laid out her clothes for the evening. She moisturised her skin and then stepped carefully into the beautiful long classic cream dress crafted from silk that had been specially made for her. The full-length dress was figure hugging, with a generous bustier with gold trimming underneath it. The straps were in a rope design, with gold streaks running through them and the dress complimented Ellora’s flawless skin and long luscious curly black tresses.

When she was ready, she made her way to the Great Hall where Amara, Michael, Garrick and Kalon were waiting for her; she greeted them all and they greeted her back warmly and Kalon kissed her on the cheek and squeezed her hand.

‘I missed you,’ she said to him.

‘And I missed you,’ he said back to her.

She smiled at him and he smiled back at her before he kissed her on the cheek once again and then the unexpected happened – her heart fluttered, and from that moment, everything changed for Ellora as she saw Kalon in a completely different light. She felt taken aback and confused and she looked at Kalon again searchingly and this time she really saw him.

“How could I not have seen him all of this time?” she asked herself.

This time, she really looked at Kalon as he stood before her. He was tall and lean with long jet-black hair that dropped past his shoulders, and he had beautiful sparkling, yet intense blue eyes and a perfectly formed face that made him one of the most handsome men around.

“All this,” she thought to herself. “As well as him being one of the kindest, most decent men she had ever met: he was her friend, her confidante and her companion and now he was something more.”

‘Ellora are you alright?’ Kalon asked her with concern.

‘I’m alright,’ she said gently, touching his cheek and looking into his eyes. ‘I just felt something stir within me.’

‘Can I get you anything?’ he asked.

‘No thank you,’ she said softly.

‘Are you sure?’

‘Yes, thank you Kalon.’

‘I will stay with you a while, ’he promised.

The two of them walked through the Great Hall and as guests began to arrive, they greeted them and conversed with them for a while before going to attend to other visitors and when the party was in full swing; the two separated and entertained guests on their own, until it was time for dinner.

At the top banqueting table, Kalon and Ellora sat opposite each other, talking to each other and those who were sat nearby and at times, Ellora would snatch glances at Kalon; her heart fluttering most times. After dinner, the Great Hall became alive once again as did the balcony room. Ellora and Kalon once again danced together, talked with each other and the guests, and roamed up and down the palace until Garrick called his son away. Ellora made her way back to the ballroom once again and stayed with her sister and Michael who were also talking to friends.

Ellora tried to engage in conversation but every now and then, she would look around the room searching for Kalon, wondering where he was. She vaguely heard her sister speaking to some guests, who had made their excuses to leave and when they departed; Amara took hold of her sister’s arm and gently led her away and Ellora was surprised that the conversation ended.

‘Amara?’

‘Ellora is something troubling you – you seem quite distracted?

‘I am a bit.’

‘Why, what is wrong?’

‘Nothing is wrong Amara, it’s right, so very very right,’ she said beginning to smile.

‘What is?’

I can’t tell you. Not yet anyway. Can I tell you tomorrow because I’m not quite sure, I mean it feels right but really I don’t know, I’ll have to find out.’

‘Ellora what are you talking about?’ Amara asked, puzzled by her sisters muddled sentences.

‘Oh Amara, thank you for listening,’ Ellora said to a baffled Amara. ‘I will tell you everything tomorrow though – I promise,’ Ellora said, before kissing her sister on the cheek and rushing off to find Kalon.

Ellora found him and watched him from afar for a while, tonight had truly taken her by surprise and she could not believe that she had not seen Kalon in this way before. She stared at him and smiled and walked towards him, and he instinctively turned and smiled to welcome her and she smiled back at him, just before she joined him.

She stood next to him and realised that that was where she wanted to be, at Kalon’s side. As the night went on the two of them remained together and as the morning drew in only Michael, Amara, Garrick, Kalon and Ellora were left, once all the guards and visitors had left.

The five of them took a table in the balcony room and talked for a while, Amara was the first to leave from the group and she was followed by; Michael and then Garrick. Ellora stood up and went to the balcony and Kalon followed her, it was quite chilly but since Qomo, Ellora barely noticed the chills in Amalah anymore.

‘You looked beautiful tonight,’ Kalon said to Ellora.

‘Thank you,’ she said looking up at him and into his eyes.

She held his gaze and wanted to speak but the words would not come out. She could not say it; she could not say how she felt; all those emotions and feelings that were spinning around in her head and in her heart: she couldn’t put them into a sentence and as Kalon was stood so close to her, it was distracting. He could sense that she wanted to say something but he didn’t know what.

‘Ellora, what is it?’

‘Kalon I...’

‘Ellora,’ he said softly, as he looked at her. ‘You can say anything to me. Whatever it is, you can tell me.’

She looked at him again and then she took hold of both his upper arms, leaned forward and kissed him on the lips.

‘That’s what I wanted to say,’ she said quietly, as she stepped back and looked at him searchingly.

Kalon was stunned by Ellora’s kiss and his face did not hide it.

‘Its how I felt,’ she said quietly.

He looked at her with his intense blue eyes and she looked back at him, waiting for an answer. He stepped forward suddenly and took Ellora in his arms and kissed her back, so passionately and so deeply and she returned his kiss with just as much passion and intensity. The two of them kissed and Ellora felt as though the world around them had fallen away and there under the dark night sky – the start of a great love began. When the kiss came to its natural end it was followed by another, and then another and then another and when that came to its natural end, the two of them looked at each other again, only this time they were holding onto each other.

‘Kalon?’

‘I want this too,’ he said immediately. ‘As sure as light will take away the dark I want to be with you,’ he said, as he held onto her with one hand and stroked her beautiful curly black hair with another.

‘And I you.’

The two of them remained on the balcony kissing and talking until their tiredness forced them to retire for the night. Kalon walked Ellora to her room and they kissed each other goodnight, Kalon left as soon as Ellora was inside her room and as he walked along the corridors smiling to himself, he was thinking only of her.