Chapter 7
~ Reona's Ride ~
~ This is up a few hours late, a site error wouldn't let me work on it. Thought you liked Reona? Well meet Kόpa, her younger sister. ~
Mile after mile, Reona thoughtlessly sailed through enemy territory.
As Tãlan followed her trail, an easy trail littered with gruesome bodies of the Bryll verity, he started to worry.
What if she never came out of this stupor? What if she never came back?
The wind snapped at the Elves faces as they rode, and paling clouds formed overhead. A Slight drizzle was their only warning- the heavens opened up.
Drenched without their oil-skins, the small army led its way through the rocky terrain- when their mounts tired, the Elves dropped from their saddles to give them a break. They ran as fast as panthers, sleek and deadly through the pouring rain.
Tãlan finally noticed signs of Reona's hesitance- a smoking fire rested a few paces from their mountain trail. She had stopped, hopefully to eat, and than had headed on her way.
Tãlan dismounted, leaping out of his saddle sideways before his feet landed firmly on the ground. Walking over to the embers, he thrust a hand into the soggy mess- still warm after a few layers.
"Still warm," he voiced to his Elves, "we march ahead- faster."
Already maxed out, the Elves sighed heavily; and they were off once more.
Over more rocky terrain, the wind grabbing at their clothing, making way for the water to find more dry skin. Miserably, the Elves passed over and out of the mountain trail which their horses hooves had previously been march, and onto the padded grasses of foothills.
And with grass, came mud.
It stuck to the crevices between the horse's shoes as it slopped up from ground as the horse's splashed through the land.
Reona hesitated- she looked left, she looked right. Which way.
Home, or where home used to be?
Left, definitely left.
"Kaahhh!" she urged the horse forward, its white coat matted down with mud. Traveling through the foothills hadn't been any kinder to her then the army following her- surly they were following her. She was their Queen. She'd let them catch up with her at their own accord. Right now, she needed distance to be eaten away.
The Palace was the place for her to go- that's where her little sister would've been sent. Kόpa, the youngest female elf alive, would be sent somewhere safe, somewhere she could not only feel safe, but be physically safe.
It was very true, the fact, the poem, the saying- whichever you may choose from; Elves treasured their young.
Reona quickly passed over the plateau, her horse's hooves kicking up the dirt as it took it's rider to her destination. Reona loved horses, their fearlessness never seamed to be taken away from the courageous beasts.
She often took her riding time to investigate their minds as she traveled- it absorbed time just as it gave her something.
There it was- the first sign of civilization. A stone dome reached high into the air- the temple. A walled in town, sentry posts set at intervals; Elven Archer's patrolled its walls as Reona surged forward with renewed vigor.
She was getting closer to her sister . . .
Kόpa, her head held high, took her scolding with respect and without shying away.
"Mistress Kόpa, you know better- tell me you won't do it again," her monstrous thing for a nanny said as she took Kόpa's wrist in a firm grasp.
"I," aired Kόpa, her voice lathered with distain, "did nothing."
The pair glared at each other for a moment- both trying to intimidate the other and gain the upper hand.
"Say you're sorry to his young lordship, or your sister will hear of this when she arrives . . ." threatened the nanny.
"He was a jerk- I'm not going to apologize. Anyway, he should've seen it coming, he's the prodigy after all, is he not?" she challenged back.
"Kόpa, apologize now!" It was an order, not a request.
"Tell him if he wants his dignity back, he can find it in the hamper," and with that, Kόpa skipped back into her room before the thing which watched over her could do anything.
A knock quickly rapped out on the door.
"Go away, Cleary- I'm not coming out."
Silence.
The door shattered down- the worse part was Kόpa had suspected as much, and had been warding the door with her magic when it shattered into shards- her mind exploded in agony.
"Never," started Reona, "try to escape me again . . ."
"Ra, your back!" screamed the child in her delight as she surged forward.
"I am," she said as Kόpa hugged her sister in a fierce embrace. A moment of contented silence passed before the two escaped Cleary's further badgering in Reona's Chamber's.
They sat sideways on Reona's bed- topped with luxurious sheets which felt like the rawest silk compared to Reona's sleep roll. They each expressed a sigh of content before they continued their conversation.
"I heard most of it," commented Reona- the second oldest of her family of five children.
"Kyra deserved it!" Already on the defense.
"What did you do to him?" Reona, who really hadn't heard all of the conversation asked.
"Well," Kόpa shyly started, "Kyra was being a jerk, as usual- so I decided to help the poor soul he was badgering." Seeing Reona's face still questioning, she elaborated. "I punched him, kicked him- you know, the usual brawl."
Reona's face looked like it could spit fire.
"You . . ." her face broke as it made way for a mischievous smile, "little sister."
The two bonded once more as they talked of the year in which they had been separated- then came the grievous news which Reona already knew of.
"Pa's dead- Ma too. And Leren, and Scar, even Korial- they're all dead Reona," silently confessed the girl as the room took a sudden change in mood.
"I know, Kό . . ." even more silently answered the elder sibling. The two rocked each other back and forth, balancing on the beds sheet covers.
They most likely would've stayed that way for eternity- grieving with each other and content with each-others presence, but Tãlan chose that time to enter.
He flushed into the room, leaves stuck in his hair and clothes muddied. He looked sweaty in his tunic and breeches.
"Reona," he uttered, than stopped as he recognized the child rocking in her arms.
"Kόpa," he greeted her warmly.
"Tãlan," she greeted with her weak voice. She had been crying, quite noticeable; Tãlan took a step back and sat down in a chair opposite the bed.
"Come sit," ushered Reona, but Kόpa squirmed in her place.
"I should leave, see you later Ra, I've a Lord to forgive."
Tãlan shot a questioning look at Reona, which was received and was given the silent response of tell you later.
Refr Skyhall's men assembled at the Palace Garden, packs secured to their backs as they were given orders. Their Horse's were housed in the stables.
Tãlan filed them in two lines- facing inward.
Each man looked weathered and experienced- scars littered their skin, though not from carelessness but from their training and from their fighting experiences. Almost each of the eighty men had beards on their faces- they varied from social standings, but the main idea was to have a bristled point.
They wore furs, though in these climates they had lessened the layers of them. Each carried around three or more weapons, normally a broadaxe or longsword- again based on social standing.
Tãlan, Refr at his side, stood at the front of the line. He sized each man up and asked Refr about other factors- there were few, but placed well, they could hold. Berserkers from the North were notorious for their military rage, but they were scarce in these parts.
After assigning them places, Tãlan made haste to his drawing table. He wanted to have another fortified wall built outside of the two which already stood. He left plenty of space on the walkway for ballista's, and made sure there were enough perches for Archers. Then, he sent them to an architect for final consent.
A sudden thought hit him- they were Dragons, they flew. Walls would do nothing more then to provide perches for his Archers- he had to rethink the wall before he used his recourses of wood.
He finally decided to have platforms raised, with the Fenskylls mettle plaiting for the wood to be harder to burn. Then, he planned mettle walls with slits for windows in them- a foot long and five inched wide. So basically, a sentry tower with fortified walls was the main structure of his idea.
Tãlan stepped out of his room- not a moment passed before he saw the currier, and his heart paused.
"Another Town, my King . . ." the Elf said.
A moment passed- Tãlan's face was now average in a grimace.
"Which?"
"High Peak, your Majesty . . ."
Tãlan paused, than rushed down the hallway, intent on letting his Palace stand and not burnt to the ground.
Well, how did you like her? A nice addition to the Alres family, no?
~ Kalen Bloodstone ~