Disclaimer: Characters and places that you recognize from Ella Enchanted are Gail Carson Levine's. The rest are mine!
Chapter 4: Exotic
The sun was shining at its brightest in the morning, as though making up for the past day's absence during the storm. Its rays shot through the branches of the forest canopy, bringing a certain brightness to the dismality of the campsite.
Caelys sat uncomfortably on a log across from the knights and Arion, feeling their inquisitive eyes on her, and also Arion's hostile ones. She knew Arion had told the other two earlier of her attempt to escape during the middle of the night, and now the other two were keeping a closer eye on her than before.
They would ask her who she was any moment…and what was she to say? Did she trust them enough to tell them the truth?
Garec, the knight who had been at the camp when Caelys first arrived, looked kind enough. His graying hair told Caelys he was in his middle years. He was sensible, firm, and intelligent, and from the looks of it, the other two seemed to value his opinions and instructions highly. Garec reminded her so much of her father…
The other knight, James, looked slightly younger, but also possessed a kind demeanor. He had a large, muscled frame, but moved with the agility of a mountain lion.
And then there was the youngest knight, Rion. Caelys' eyes took in his profile, his straight nose, the lean build, and the underlining pride evident in everything he did. There was something strangely aristocratic about him.
Caelys swallowed. She had to take the risk and tell them what had happened; there was no other choice. Before she could change her mind, she took a deep breath and began speaking.
"The poor girl," the King of Kyrria murmured, as Sir Garec ended his explanation of why James, Arion, and himself had arrived home much earlier than planned and had brought a strange girl along with them.
Garec nodded in agreement. "She says the village seemed to simply vanish into thin air. Quite strange, don't you think?"
"Alarming, to say the least. And the girl somehow managed to not have been found…" Char frowned, his mind wandering to the current war between Lascar and Pruse. Could there be a connection? Would the Prusians have started attacking village by village, all the while keeping the Lascarians busy fighting deeper within the kingdom of Lascar? "We must immediately inform the Lascarian capital of this. James, along with Arion—if he wishes, as I'm sure he will—must go as soon as possible to take this message to them."
"Wait, Char." Ella, who had been thoughtfully silent throughout the entire conversation, suddenly spoke up. "I think the girl should accompany them." She paused, catching Char's questioning look. "There must be a reason why she was never found. And don't you think it odd, that somehow all the villagers of Rochelle vanished so quickly? Even the Prusians would not be so stupid as to kidnap an entire village and slowly lead them through the forests to a final destination?"
Garec and Char were silent, not wanting to accept what Ella was implying.
"I think," Ella said firmly, calmly, "the Prusians have broken The Agreement and begun to use magick."
Ella quickly jotted across the length of the parchment, before preparing her letter to be mailed to her childhood friend, Areida. Areida's birthday was in a week, and Ella hoped the letter with her birthday greetings would reach Areida in time. However, with the ongoing war between Lascar and Pruse, and Kyrria's contribution of aid to Lascar, Ella could only hope the letter wouldn't arrive too late.
There was a knock on the door, and Ella quickly turned from her seat and smiled. "Come in, dear."
The door opened, and Arion stepped in, freshly cleaned after his week's trek on Kyrria's borders. Ella hugged him lovingly and kissed him on his cheek, marveling at her quickly growing nineteen-year-old, but also silently worrying about the air of unhappiness that evidently surrounded him.
"I've missed you, Rion." Ella led her son to the chairs by the windows of her study and sat down next to him. She leaned forward, a twinkle evident in her eyes. "Sliding down banisters just isn't the same without you here."
"I've missed you too, Mother. How are you?" Arion chose to disregard his mother's last comment, even though he knew he had hurt her by doing so. Ella leaned back, the smile on her face faltering.
"Good. Even better now that you're home. How have you been?"
The prince looked out the window of the study, ignoring the question if only for a moment. The view displayed sun-swept green hills that eventually blurred into the Eastern Forests. "I'm alright," he finally managed.
"Just alright?"
There was a pause as Arion tried to word his thoughts. "Why must I stay home when Tristan and Michael are fighting in Lascar?"
"Because you were needed for other important things. Rion, fighting isn't the only important thing there is to do."
Arion scowled and turned towards the windows again, just as another knock sounded on the door.
"Come in." Ella quickly stood up, and Arion followed suit. "Ah, that must be—Caelys. I wish to meet her, and there is something I need to speak to the two of you about." Ignoring her son's curious look, Ella turned towards the entry of the room and was barely able to contain her surprise when her gaze landed on the girl that Garec led in.
The girl was—there was no other way to describe her—exotically beautiful. The Queen of Kyrria had expected a girl with sun-bleached blonde hair and an unsure demeanor. But the young woman standing in front of her seemed to be everything opposite, and Ella couldn't help but think that her name, Caelys, suited her perfectly.
The young woman had dark, almost black hair that fell in unruly waves and curls around her straightened shoulders. The shoulders, the raised chin, and the way she held herself emphasized the pride and courage she emanated. There was also an aura of wildness about her—not a feral wildness, but something more fantastically tempestuous. It could all be seen from her russet eyes, exotic against sun-kissed skin.
"Ella, this is Caelys, from Rochelle."
Ella tore her gaze from the young woman to thank Garec. "Thank you, Garec." She turned to Caelys and smiled. "It is wonderful to meet you, Caelys. I'm Ella, Char's—well, the King's—wife. And as I'm sure you've already met, this is Arion, my son." The Queen caught the surprise that quickly flickered through Caelys' eyes as she glanced at Arion, who stood stiffly by his mother's side.
The young woman smiled cautiously at Ella and curtsied, with obvious inexperience. "It is a pleasure to meet you…Your Majesties."
"You mustn't call me that. Ella is just fine." Ella paused for a moment, preparing herself to tell the two what Char, Garec, and herself had discussed earlier that day…
Arion couldn't believe it. His father and mother were finally letting him do something worthwhile! Given, he was going with James to deliver a message to the Lascarian capital, but who could stop him, once he arrived, from joining his brothers on the battlefield? Someone had to teach those Prusians a lesson—and if this speculation about using magick was true, well, there'd be a hell of a war to fight.
"Oh, please Ella, may I go to the Lascarian capital also?"
Arion's eyes quickly turned from their focus on the view outside to the owner of the voice. It was Caelys, the girl whom he and the knights had found only two days ago. He hadn't seen her ever since they arrived in Kyrria's capital that morning and had barely recognized her when she'd walked into Ella's study moments earlier. The dirt and rain had been cleaned from her face and body, and she donned a simple, pale blue dress. He hadn't seen the strangely beckoning beauty she possessed until now, with her anxiously perched at the edge of the chair, her hands clutching her skirts as she looked at Ella for a reply.
"I must go, Ella!" Caelys' voice was on the verge of imploration. "I must help find my family, my friends, Van—" She stopped abruptly and paled.
Arion looked towards his mother for her disapproval. Surely, she wouldn't allow Caelys to come also? This journey was no excursion for a farmer's girl, who had probably never seen a city in her life. She would only be a burden for James and himself.
"Actually," Ella began, "I was hoping you'd ask just that. I believe that—"
"Mother, you must be joking!" Arion interrupted Ella in disbelief. "She—" Arion gestured at Caelys, ignoring the angry look she cast him, "—will be a burden to James and I! This girl will be able to do nothing for us."
Ella stiffened, and Caelys sprang from her seat in fury.
"You know nothing about me! If anything, you will be the burden—with your silly, childish dreams of becoming a hero and gallanting off to save the world, when you probably don't know what real dangers and tragedies exist! This—" Caelys put a hand to her chest, "girl is going to go to Lascar whether you, dear Prince, like it or not." With that, she spun on her heel and left the room.
Arion turned to his mother. "You can't possibly—"
"Arion." Ella spoke his name slowly and too calmly. She looked at him with disappointed eyes. "You know better than that. Rochelle meant dearly to Caelys, and she wishes to help solve this. I don't quite know what it is about her, but there's something that convinces me that she's meant to do this. You will help her, Arion."
The Queen stood up from her seat and walked towards the door. She paused and turned to him. "I have faith in you, Rion."
Arion watched silently as Ella turned and walked out of her study and barely heard the click as the door shut behind her, as he became lost in his thoughts. His dreams of triumph was suddenly crumbling into ruin.
All because of her.
A/N: I would like to sincerely, profusely apologize for the long time since I last updated. I've been incredibly loaded with school/afterschool stuff and haven't had a good chance to sit down and type until now. I don't even know if anyone's still reading this story, but if you are, you are too sweet! Thanks you guys, and I'm so sorry. I'm going to aim to update much, much quicker now, now that it's nearing the end of the school year (wheee!).
Well, you know what to do! What did you think of this:)
