Hi everyone! To say a little about this chapter, I just needed to escape from the drama! Yea, too much drama going on with Ardice right now. I wrote this chapter to sort of give my audience a glimpse of what kind of a person Ardice was before all this drama and how this journey really messed her up emotionally, but it also shows how she would have lived her life if Brom had never sent that letter. Enjoy!

Chapter 34: Debater

Twelve years previous

"Order," said Ardice warningly. The Knights continued quarreling with one another. "Order!" she said loudly, but it made no difference. She picked up her gavel and beat it several loud times. "ORDER!!"

The Knights took their seats and waited for her to resume speaking. She shook her head. "Never before in my ten years of Kingship have I witness such immaturity amongst ourselves," she said sternly, enunciating every syllable of 'immaturity.' "Come now, men! There must be a logical way to settle this, as there always is." Many of the Knights nodded.

Ardice was soon voted on as "The Greatest of Kings" at Willow Wood. She loved every moment of heated debates and was fond of battles; she had been a strong fighter since the first moment she picked up a sword. She always knew that she wouldn't trade this life away for anything. She was surrounded by friends and people who cared about her, people who would never desert her, and she took comfort in that. But she was a strong leader at the same time, which gave her the title of "Greatest King"; she wasn't too hard or too soft. She was, however, very hard on herself.

-

"Breakfast!" said Pedr cheerfully the next morning. Ardice sat at her desk, her spectacles on the edge of her nose as she read a letter from Islandia. "Not hungry, thanks though," she muttered, not glancing up from the parchment. Pedr sighed and smiled. She said that every morning. He stooped down and left the tray at her doorway and exited silently. He knew he'd find the tray empty an hour later, waiting for him to bring it down to the kitchen for a washing.

-

"We need immediate assistance with this one, boys," said Ardice firmly. She sat in the middle of a large circle of Knights on the round terrace. "We cannot make our way to Mondone field on foot!"

"So," said Heath, "we need...horse lenders?"

Ardice thought. "No, we either need to buy them or steal them from the Dornia."

"We don't have enough silver to buy sixty horses; we don't have enough to buy six for that matter!" said the elf Veeg.

"Hmm," murmured the King, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. There was silence among the Knights, a rare occurrence. Ardice usually needed her gavel during every debate; arguments were not uncommon, even between this brotherhood.

"I don't think anyone would lend horses," said Brennan quietly.

"We've already established that, you fool!" the elf Gredenier shot at him. Brennan stood up quickly, his robes drooping at his side. Gredenier mocked him, but was soon held back by Pedr and Veeg, Heath keeping a hold on Brennan's waist.

"Stop this nonsense!" boomed Ardice, but more soldiers rose and shouted at one another. Ardice pulled her gavel from beneath her black robes and swung it loudly against the stone table before her.

"ENOUGH!!"

The Knights silenced, looked at each other and slowly returned to their seats.

"Gentlemen, we still have a matter to settle here, so, if you please," said Ardice gently.

"Stealing from the Dornia sounds like an excellent idea, my King," said Veeg. Ardice inclined her head to him; her eyes scanned the visible elves.

"Shall we put it to a vote?" The Knights nodded or muttered "yes" quietly. "All who would 'prefer' riding doubles to the field?" No hands were raised. The Knights would bicker if in the same space, nevermind sharing a horse with someone. It would end in disaster.

"Alright," said Ardice. "Asking other elves to borrow horses?"

Again, silence and lack of hands. "Ok, ok!" said Ardice, smiling. "All in favor of stealing horses from those scummy Dornia!"

A deafening amount of claps and "Here here!"s were heard. Ardice stood from the stone throne, her large sleeves falling to her sides. "Alright then, men! Let's go steal some horses!!" she shouted to them, encouragingly. The Knights stood and cheered, clapping for their King.

-

Ardice tossed aside about thirteen inches of her crimpled, black mane, tied together with a piece of twine. "Damn this hair. How can you stand it, Ped?"

Pedr shrugged. "I guess I like the feeling of it. Especially when I'm on horseback."

Ardice rolled her eyes. "I would like the feeling, if it weren't one hundred degrees outside!" Pedr laughed at her, and her ridiculous looking hair, flecking out at the sides of her face. Ardice sighed. "Does it really look that bad?" Pedr nodded, smiling. Ardice closed her eyes and after a few minutes and mutterings of incantations, her hair had gained a few inches, so it hung around her shoulders.

"That's better," said Pedr, bending down to pick up the cut hair. "What do you want to do with this?"

"Bake a pie shell, stuff it with it, and give it to Brennan and hope he eats it." Pedr laughed loudly.

"You're so cruel!" he said to her.

"You know I'm only joking," she said, grinning. "I just wish I could see someone eat it, is all!"

Pedr shook his head. "You have strange wishes, you know that?"

Ardice only nodded.

She crossed her office to the desk, where Gredenier had recently placed her mail. Ardice picked up the stack, took one look at each letter, and tossed them in the empty fireplace. Pedr stood next to her. "What are they?"

"Marriage proposals," said Ardice, grumpily. "All these people want is to be a 'King' of something and they don't care what, nor whom they marry!"

"Gits," said Pedr quietly.

"Tell me about it," said Ardice who was scowling at the fact that it was too damn hot to light a fire to burn these terrible letters. She flung another one into the fireplace with too much force; soot flew out at Ardice and Pedr, coating them entirely with black dust. They pointed at each other at the same time and started laughing hysterically. At that moment, Gredenier entered the office with more mail.

"My lord, I have-" Ardice and Pedr turned to face him, their faces and front sides of their robes stained raven. Ardice covered her mouth to stifle her laughter and shock.

"Having troubles with the fireplace, my lord?" the elf laughed. Ardice shot him a look of mock anger as he disappeared from the doorway.

-

Pedr crossed the room to put his hand on Ardice's shoulder. "It's not your fault that Gredenier was killed, you know."

Ardice sat slumped on the bench in the library. "Yes it was, I should have been watching him! We all knew he was ill lately."

"Yes, and he went the way he wanted to. You know how much he loved the Knights, being part of this order, how much he loved you."

Ardice's expression remained grim. Pedr sat next to her and rubbed her shoulder. "We saved nearly four hundred people, my lord. The Battle of Mondone Field will go down in history as one of the greatest victories for the Knights, too." Ardice nodded sadly. Pedr sighed sympathetically. "It's alright to cry, you know."

Ardice shook her head. "No Pedr, no it's really not alright. Crying is for soft people, and I am not soft person." Pedr shook his head exasperatedly. Ardice looked at him sternly. "I haven't cried since...I can't even remember. It was before I entered this order, I assure you that. I was no Knight when I cried. I gave that up long ago. And don't think that it's alright just because I'm a woman, Pedr, for I see no male elf in this brotherhood ever shedding tears," she said, her voice getting harder. "Weeping is for the vulnerable!"

"I know," Pedr whispered, leaning his head on her shoulder. "I know."

-

"My lord?"

Heath had run into the King on one of his walks. Ardice stood with her head bowed against a tree trunk, rocking side to side and holding clumps of her shortened hair in her fists. She didn't glance at him; her eyes were transfixed on the bark before her. "I'm no lord, dear." Heath took a few cautious steps towards her.

"You are, me King." She said nothing. "What troubles you so, if it's not too bold."

"You have a lovely voice, Heath, have I ever told you that?"

"My lord?"

Ardice raised her head slowly from the tree trunk. Her eyes weren't the sparkely sea foam colour they usually were; they were a light green when they pierced his. Her brow furrowed curiously. "Since when do you have facial hair?"

Indeed, Heath was sprouting a dark red mustache and there were signs of a beard in progress. He smiled at her, revealing his straight teeth, something most Knights were not born with. "Runs in the family, lord. Happens to every Esteller once he turns fifty or so." Ardice gave a small smile. "It suits you."

"Really?" said Heath. "Thank you."

Ardice nodded.

"And yes," said Heath. "You are a very good King." Ardice smirked, annoyed that he guessed what she was worried about. "We wouldn't have voted that you were the best if you weren't, lord."

Ardice smiled, but was lost for words, so Heath bowed slowly, and left for the Sword Sharpener's residence.