They entered the palace and were lead through corridors. Skylights were strategically placed on the ceiling, allowing some natural light in the halls. Exquisite tapestries were hanging on the walls, both for decorative purposes and to fight the humidity of the rooms.
The palace was much larger than they had expected. The king had excavated more halls in the palace since the last time they had visited the valley. They eventually arrived in front of large wooden doors, and Tengenwa knocked, waiting for a reply from inside.
A guard opened the doors and introduced them in the throne room, where the Fëa king was sitting on his throne with his only daughter standing beside him. Telemnar was also standing off to the side of her and had obviously been called from one of the borders and had arrived just before them.
Both King and princess were watching them with a cold, unreadable expression and they remained immobile until their visitors were closer to the throne. Only then did King Nestadren stand and slowly come down the few stairs to meet them in greeting while his daughter was following him a few feet behind.
Nestadren nodded to the visitors who in turn bowed their heads to him as well. After all, Nestadren was one of the crowned kings that still lived in Mélamar like them.
"Queen Elentári!" Nestadren said gallantly, taking the lady's hand to his lips to kiss it lightly. "What a pleasure to see you again!" His eyes contradicted him, and Elentári could read his suspicion directly in his mind.
"The pleasure is all mine," she replied, lying through her teeth. Nestadren had always been a difficult man, and the tragic passing of his wife had made his character more rigid and irritable. Arveleg was greeted with more coldness, while Dúwath was completely disregarded. Only for Tengenwa did the Fëa king spare some authentic courtesy. His daughter, although as wary as her father, showed more diplomacy and welcomed them with respect and impeccable courtesy.
"You must be tired after this long journey. I would show you to your rooms. Of course, if you are allowed to stay for the night that is. Unfortunately, I have very little say in the palace nowadays. Most of my say is when my father is not here and is out in the forest, protecting the realms and the Old Forest Road from attacks from Black Lake."
"I'm sorry to hear that. We too have problems with such creatures and demons that like to lurk around Elenarda. It seems we are dealing with the same situation," Arveleg commented to her.
"Our situations cannot compare, Arveleg. You do not have a fortress of Balthir's in your forest. So far, you have been spared attacks by these humongous and vicious creatures, whose venom can either poison you or paralyze you until they feed on you. We suspect that a Dark Soulless is in residence in Black Lake, planning attacks on our realms and kingdoms. Only dim-witted and disorganized creature bands are attacking your borders."
"Let us not have a contest of the most desperate situation," the wizard intervened before the tension escalated to even greater heights. Arveleg and Nestadren had never gotten along, and today was obviously not the day where a friendship would suddenly flourish between them.
The wizard looked at the daughter of the king who was watching the exchange with a smirk. The daughter had less pride but more stubborn than her father, a sure indication of her half-fairy heritage. While King Nestadren was a pure fairy elemental, the queen of Fëa had been a beautiful and joyful elf of Elenarda ascendance.
Their daughter had inherited some of her qualities, such as her curiosity and her sense of stubbornness. She also had inherited the elf's renowned lethalness in combat if she chooses to use it.
Princess Dejlig looked innocent and simple, and could easily fool the people that didn't know her well into thinking that she was not dangerous. A mistake, when one discovered that she had inherited her father's suspicious nature, his intelligence and his ever strategic-thinking mind. Sensing the wizard's gaze on her, Dejlig understood that Tengenwa was asking her to intervene to ensure the king would not send the entire delegation home before they had time to communicate the reason of their visit.
"I am sure Elenarda has seen its lot of attacks, father, and that their warriors are almost as courageous and deadly as our own warriors," the princess said to her father, putting her hand on his shoulder to remind him to control his temper. She smiled at Dúwath who had perfectly understood the cutting remark that had been made about his warriors. Dúwath kept his tongue in check, even if it was difficult.
"How dare the Fëa princess say that their warriors were better than the Elenarda warriors!" Dúwath thought with a slight frown. Elentári spoke in his mind, asking him to disregard the remarks that would be made about Elenarda for the sake of the success of their mission. Seeing that the elf prince would not take the bait, Dejlig turned to Arveleg and Elentári.
"It is an honor for Fëa to receive your visit. Although my father and I are curious about the reason behind your unexpected but welcome visit, I strongly believe that we should wait after dinner to discuss this matter of importance, but it seems we must do it not." King Nestadren watched his daughter with annoyance.
"No! How dare you come to my palace to shower us with your contempt and unduly pride!"
"Father, please give them the chance to explain the reason for their presence. The rulers of Elenarda would not have made such a journey for trivial matters..."
"You will see, they have abandoned us centuries ago, but will turn to Fëa again for help on some of their mysterious and perilous stunts..."
*Dejlig = Lovely