Chapter 2: Swords and Suitors
Katla took every moment she could to practice with several types of weapons. She did not mind sparring with Iasa, because he held no malice towards her, but most often, she preferred to spar alone.
Many nights, as her family was taking reverie, she would sneak out of her room and go into a clearing in a nearby copse of trees to practice in the moonlight. It was the only time she was at peace with herself.
She was not Katla the mute, or the elf-bane, or Isolder's spoiled brat.
She was Katla, the promising weapon's master.
Katla, the girl who had witnessed her mother's murder by assassins and had the strength to save the rest of the family by raising the alarm.
Katla, the girl who took the scorn of others and used it as fuel to better herself.
Katla, the girl who witnessed her beloved King's death, and would have taken his place if she could have.
Katla, who tried to help Amnestra hide her pregnancy by her human lover in return for all the years the princess had defended her against prejudice.
As her sword rang through the crisp, cool air, Katla thought she heard a footstep in the grass. She hesitated a moment, listening. When she heard nothing, she continued to practice her sword strokes.
It was not the first time over the last few months that she felt that someone was watching her from the shadows.
Katla was not overly concerned with who was watching her during her nightly excursions.
If it was an enemy, she was confident she could hold her own. Yet, she did not feel that was the case. An enemy could have struck her at any time.
Katla believed it was one of her nephews, sent by her father to keep an eye on her.
Katla took a deep breath and relaxed. Her exhaled breath billowed white in the cool evening darkness.
She repeated her sword movements, slowly at first, then speeding up. As she whirled into a back overhand slash, her sword rang with the sound of hitting another sword.
She turned quickly to face her opponent with a scowl. She felt any interruption of her private practice was unforgivable.
She looked up into the silvery blue eyes of the male elf that stood before her.
"You need to tighten your stance. " he whispered as he stepped back and held out his sword in a stance of challenge.
Katla shook herself for a moment as the male stepped into the shadow of a tree. His sword shined in the moonlight as he waited for Katla to ready herself.
"Impossible." she mouthed. She took her stance and prepared to spar with the stranger. There was no way he could be who he believed she saw.
The stranger came at her.
She deftly parried his thrust.
Over the course of an hour, the stranger continued to try to keep to the shadows as he sparred with Katla.
Katla was working the best she could against the swordsman. He was clearly more skilled as she was. Yet, from the ragged breaths the stranger was making, she knew she was doing fairly well against him. She knew he was not holding back.
Katla finally caught an opening and cleanly disarmed the stranger. He let out a sigh, picked up his sword from where it fell in the grass and sheathed it.
He stepped into the moonlight so she could see him clearly. "Well done."
Katla dropped her sword as her eyes grew wide with shock. "I was fighting a ghost!"
She looked at the male. It was Zaor, but that could not be.
She ran and flung her arms around him, more to assure herself that her arms did not go through him.
She felt and smelled the sweat that trickled down his neck. She felt his heart beating strongly in his chest. He was there. He was real.
The ghost pulled her tightly into his arms and sighed. "You are so beautiful. I should have come home much sooner." He bent her head back and caught her mouth in a searing, passionate kiss. In a matter of moments his hands were all over her, caressing her.
Katla pulled back from the kiss and stared into his eyes. sweat dripped from his dark blue hair. He looked so young. She had never seen the king look so young.
His hands went to the laces of her tunic.
Katla continued to stare into his eyes as he reached his hands into her shirt and tried to fondle her breasts.
Katla gasped silently and jumped away from him. There was no way she should do what his hands were suggesting. She would not betray the queen.
The ghost's hands went to his brow and he sighed. "I'm sorry. I did not mean to frighten you. Please, come sit by me. Let me hold you for a while. I promise it will go no further." He sat in the grass.
Katla sat next to him and allowed the all too real ghost to embrace her tightly.
"I will need to go soon, Lady Katla. I need to get back home before I am missed. You are exhausted and need to take reverie. Will you meet me here tomorrow night? I want to continue to instruct you, and, I just want to be near you. Will you come?"
Katla looked into his eyes and nodded.
He stood and pulled Katla up with him. He cupped her face in his hands and gave her another heated kiss. "Until tomorrow night, My Lady."
Katla watched as he walked out through the shadow of trees. as he slowly disappeared into the night. She touched her lips and sighed. She had practiced kissing with Iasa for years, but it never felt like the ghost's kiss.
She picked up her sword from the grass, sheathed it and walked back to the manor.
Over the weeks following their first meeting, she met the ghost in the clearing every evening. He never made a move to do anything more than kiss Katla, yet somehow she felt that was wrong for her to do. She had no right stirring the passions of the ghost of Zaor.
After a month, the ghost quit showing up in the clearing. There was no warning or word, he simply did not return.
Katla sat waiting for him for several nights before she resigned herself to continue practicing her sword in solitude. As she had before he had appeared.
"Lord Isolder!" Young Iasa Straan yelled as he burst unannounced into the study. His golden hair was a tumbled mess and he was covered head to toe with mud.
"Calm down, Iasa. You will disturb my guest. " Isolder said as he motioned to the high elf that sat across from him.
"I am sorry sir, but it's Katla."
"I thought you were sparring with her."
"I was, but she challenged one of the novice knights and beat him! Sir, now all of the novices are ganging up on her and challenging her one by one. I begged her to stop, but she would not listen. I begged the other novices to stop, but they pushed me in the mud!"
"You see what I have to put up with, Kymil. My daughter may be a mute, but she is a horrible distraction. There are days I regret giving her such extensive weapon's training."
Kymil Nimesin chuckled. "Yet even as far as Evereska, her skill has been noted. As you said, she took to weapons, especially the sword, like a duck does to water."
"She had nothing else to do. The falsehood of the elf-bane has a far reach. No lady wanted to foster her. The Queen agreed with her the council that she should not return to court. I had no choice, for her own safety, to keep her at my side. Even so, she is childish and far too bold."
"I suppose a mute child has nothing else to do but study. That would explain her skill, if half of my students had her drive, I would have a much easier time of it."
"Sir?"
"Oh, Iasa. I will take care of Katla. Kymil Nimesin needs to see her skills anyway. Go get cleaned up."
"Yes sir! Oh! I am sorry, Master Nimesin! I did not realize Lord Isolder was meeting with you! It is an honor sir!"
"You can meet with us as soon as you get cleaned up, Iasa. Kymil is here to see you as well."
Iasa's shoulder's drooped as he left the study. "I just don't have what it takes to be an Astral Knight." Iasa mused to himself.
"Now let's get out to the practice yard before Katla gets herself hurt."
"After you, Lord Isolder."
"I have no voice, so the sword became my voice. I can sing no song, so the bow and arrow sing for me." Katla thought to herself as she deftly defeated the eighth novice knight. "I have to be the best, to avenge my king."
"Katla, stop this nonsense at once!"
Katla froze at her father's forceful voice. She smirked and hit a novice knight on his behind with the broadside of her sword as he and the other novices fled to the barracks. The novices knew that any who chose to stay would be reprimanded severely for chastising Mute Katla.
Katla turned to face her father. A bemused smirk still on her face.
"What in the hells do you think you are doing, young lady?"
Katla shrugged and did a fancy flourish with her sword before she sheathed it.
"I do not believe you. You were dueling with the novices again, not just practicing."
Katla pulled her sword and took a duelist stance, shook her head and sheathed her sword again. She furrowed her brow and shook her head again."
"Then what in the hells were you doing?"
Katla stomped her feet and made a group of hand gestures ending with a kiss on the inside of your hand.
"I see, one of the novices tried to kiss you."
Katla rolled her eyes and ran her hands along her curves, ending by crossing her arms across her chest.
"So he tried to seduce you as well."
Katla nodded and smiled.
"I suppose he thought you were fair game since you have no voice. Which one?"
Katla signed out a name.
"Ivar, I see. He was the same one who tried to sneak into your chambers a sennight ago wasn't he?"
Katla nodded again.
"Where is Jarren Moonwind? Wasn't he supposed to be with you and Iasa?"
Katla signed the symbol that represented that Jarren was indisposed.
"Well I had hoped to have him here to translate so I could get back to the novices, but I suppose I will have to wait."
Kymil laughed and clapped as he stepped forward next to Isolder. "You are more charming and articulate than I would have ever imagined. A rare beauty, and a strong swordswoman."
"Katla, may I present Kymil Nimesin, of Evereska."
"A rare pleasure." Kymil took Katla's hand and kissed it.
"I know you are a little young to consider such things, but Kymil has asked my permission to formally court you. I have given my consent, if you will allow it."
Katla blushed, smiled, and nodded.
"I am in hopes that your voice can be found before I declare our engagement. Since you are only twenty eight, I expect us to have a long courtship. I hope I please you."
Katla smiled again and nodded.
Iasa, who had rushed to the practice grounds after cleaning up, stood there in shock. The revered Master, Kymil Nimesin was not just here to see if Katla was a candidate for his school. He wanted her for his wife. "Not my Katla. You can't take her." He whispered.
"Ah, Iasa. Are you ready to give Katla a sufficient challenge. You both must look your best. Master Nimesin is considering both of you as students in Evereska.
Katla drew her sword and brandished it challengingly at Iasa.
Iasa furrowed his brow in disgust, but drew his sword nonetheless. He loved sparring with Katla, but he could not keep from thinking something was terribly wrong.
Kymil Nimesin steepled his hands beneath his chin. He had been courting Katla for nearly three months, but the girl seemed to show only a passing interest in him. Worse, he was no closer to his goal of getting Isolder and many of the Knights of the Astral Blade off of Evermeet. Drastic measures had to be taken.
"Are all of the pitch pots in place?"
"Yes sir. But I wonder, why burn down Wisteria's estate?"
"It will hasten Isolder to act. Since my cousin, Onaagron Straan found the Island with one of the lost Astral Knight's holy altars, Isolder has been hesitant to move a portion of the Order to the island. We do not need the interference of the Order in out plans. Just make sure that Lord Iasa and Lady Katla are not harmed."
"I understand saving Onaagron's youngest child, but why the mute girl?"
"Fool, she is an elf-bane. Having her at my side will only be an advantage. Plus, there are things about the elf-bane that only I know."
The sounds of screaming ran through the house as the large trees that made up the Wisteria Manor went quickly up in flame.
"Katla!" Iasa coughed out as he rushed into her room. The smoke was thick, causing Katla to cough as she weaved her way through the smoke towards Iasa's voice.
"Katla! Iasa!"
"Here Lord Isolder!"
"Give her to me! You must try to find anyone you think might be left."
"But sir!"
"Go!"
As Iasa ran through the circular corridors, someone came up behind him and hit him over the head. Everything went black.
Once the fires were extinguished, Isolder looked over the rows of dead with anguish.
Ten of his children and twenty six of Isolder's grandchildren were dead.
Katla huddled close to Sandrine as Sandrine wailed in anguish.
Luran ripped Katla from Sandrine's arms and slapped her. "This is all your fault! Look what you have done to father, to all of us! Damned cursed elf-bane! I should kill you right now."
"Luran stop!"
"Shut up, Sandrine! Two of your own children are dead because of her! My wife and all of my children are dead because of her! She should have been killed as soon as that bitch Kara squeezed her out!"
Luran pulled his sword and prepared to plunge it through Katla's chest.
"That is enough, Luran!" Isolder yelled as he parried Luran's thrust with the Gilded Leaf. "Katla is not to blame for this! This fire was intentional, but none of her doing."
"I hate you! You are no longer my father! Iagron was right! You are nothing but a coward with a fancy sword!"
"Luran is right, father." Ulvin spit." You do not deserve to have loyal sons like we were. Not when you stand up for that cursed thing!"
Malkim, with the Moonblade at his side, "I stand with father, you ungrateful brothers of mine!"
Isolder watched with a heavy heart as two of his sons ran off into the night, never to return.
"Father?"
"Enough, Sandrine. Lets go to your brother Zarvim's estate. He will take us in until we have a chance to sort all of this mess out."
Slowly the dawn came. The destruction that did not look so bad at night was worse in the light of day.
Katla was nowhere to be found.
Katla broke away from her family during the argument. She wanted to find Iasa. She searched among the rows of dead. He was not there. She finally wandered into the nearby woods.
"My life is over." She thought to herself.
Jarren, the wood elf ranger-cleric, wandered up to her as she rested by a large oak.
"Katla! What has happened?"
"My home, the barracks, everything was burned to the ground." she signed to him.
Jarren looked aghast. "Are many hurt?"
"Much of my family, and most of the novices are dead. Where were you?"
"Your father, is Isolder safe!"
"Yes. He is alive. Now where were you?"
Katla, being your translator is not my only duty. I am a Mallen Quanta, a priest of Solonor Thelandira. I have duties to the forest elves."
"How fortunate for you."
"I will go to your manor straight away. I will do what I can to help the clerics there."
"Iasa is missing."
"I thought your heart went more toward Nymil. He is courting you after all."
"Yes. I like Nymil. I am just not sure I am in love with him. He is too sun elf, reserved and haughty. I guess that is why father always married moon elves or those with both moon and sun elf heritage. Iasa may be pure sun elf but, I have known Iasa since we toddled from our cradles. He is my best friend. For many years, the only friend I had. The only one who did not hate me for being an elf-bane."
Jarren sighed. "I suppose this is not the time to give you this. No doubt the destruction of Wisteria Manor has already reached the palace. But here." He handed Katla a scroll. " It is a summons from the Queen. She wants you to meet her at court. I am to accompany you as your translator.
"I will need a place to stay until then. My father is taking the rest of the family, who will go, to the estate of my eldest brother."
"Zarvim would never allow you to stay. His current wife has installed a huge amount of superstition into him."
"The destruction of the house will only make his opinion worse. I wish Iasa was here. I could stay with Nymil if Iasa were there to chaperone. Father would not allow anything less."
"Perhaps your summons to court came at just the right time then. The Queen may have a place for you. Lets go tell your father where we are going."
"Yes sir." Katla stood, dusted herself off and headed back in the direction of what was her home.
Katla was grateful that the attendants at the royal palace had allowed her to clean up. She was surprised that they gave her the same room she had when she had occupied the palace years earlier.
She opened the dusty chest that contained her play clothes. She looked at the tattered clothing and sighed silently. She was so childish back then.
Katla closed the trunk, checked her hair in the mirror and went to meet her father and Jarren on their way to the throne room.
A large number of nobles had gathered as the guards ushered Isolder, Katla and Jarren into the throne room.
The three bowed respectively before the raised throne where Queen Amlaruil sat.
"We are most sorry for your loss, Lord Isolder. We will do everything in our power to find the culprit who burned down your home. Until then, you and your family are welcome to stay at the palace."
"Thank you, Your Majesty. I have been cultivating saplings from the seeds of the trees that made up our house. They should be ready to plant soon."
"We will send wizards to help them grow faster, if you wish?"
"That would be most generous, Your Majesty."
"Although we would have summoned you to comfort you in this time of crisis, It was not originally the reason you were called. My son, Xarlion has just retuned from Sonoria. Although he chooses to remain there, since the death of his father he has made an effort to visit home occasionally. Prince Xarlion has shown an interest in formally asking permission to court Lady Katla. We are aware that Lady Katla is also being courted by Master Kymil, but since she is so young, and there has been no formal betrothal, we see no reason why Prince Xarlion should not be allowed to seek her betrothal as well."
Prince Xarlion, in court finery, stepped out from a small crowd near the throne.
Katla's eyes grew wide and she as she gasped.
"May we present our son, Prince Xarlion, although he assures us that he and Lady Katla have already met."
Katla gestured wildly as a half angry half surprised look crossed her face. She stopped as soon as she saw Isolder laugh uncontrollably. She had not seen her father laugh since she was very small.
"What is so amusing, Lord Isolder?" the queen asked sternly.
Isolder tried to wipe the tears of laughter from his eyes, looked at Katla, Prince Xarlion, then the queen and doubled over in laughter again.
Jarren was also snickering, but in better control to translate what Katla had said. "Pardon His lordship and myself Your Majesty. It is just that Katla called the prince an oaf. She was under the impression when he visited her last that he was the ghost of his father and Prince Xarlion failed to tell her otherwise."
The entire throne room erupted into laughter. Even the queen was trying to stifle back a giggle.
"Oh. Oh! I am so sorry, Lady Katla! That was never my intention! I thought you knew I looked like my father!" Prince Xarlion took Katla by the hands and kissed her cheek. "Can you please forgive me?"
"Yes, you are the very image of your father. I can understand my daughter's distress." Isolder stated as soon as he regained his composure.
Katla gave Prince Xarlion a smirk and nodded.
"And will you accept allowing me to court you?"
Katla blushed slightly and nodded. She was happy that the man who had sparred with her in the moonlight a year earlier was not Zaor's ghost.
Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye Katla saw the glint of steel. She pushed Xarlion aside and drew her sword. Quicker than anyone could see, Katla deflected two daggers that were aimed at the throne.
Xarlion and Isolder quickly drew their weapons. They deflected more daggers, those aimed at Katla.
"Protect the Queen!" A guard yelled as he put his sword to one of the assassins. The nobles in the room drew blades to aid the guards in capturing the assassins.
As soon as the Queen was out of the room, one of the nobles lunged at Katla.
"Lady Katla is the target!" Prince Xarlion shouted. "Protect my bride!"
Xarlion fought back to back with Katla. He slowly inched his way towards the door to the royal family chambers and pushed Katla through the door.
Katla tried to go back through the door to help her father and the others, but Xarlion held her arm tightly.
"The guards can handle it now that you are out of the room. The daggers thrown at my mother were a ruse to get you to protect her. They wanted you to die protecting her. They wanted you to die.."
He pulled her into his arms and held her tightly to him. "I will not let them take you away. You are mine. It was meant to be. I had not planned to visit my mother. I landed in Nimith, planning to wander a while and avoid my family, until I saw you in the trees. I watched you for weeks before I got up the nerve to show myself. I don't care that you are mute. I even had the rosebushes searched again to see if I could find the phylactery where your voice is held prisoner. I hoped to make it my betrothal gift to you."
Katla just relaxed and let Prince Xarlion hold her.
"Xarlion, bring Katla over to sit with me and go assist Lord Isolder."
Xarlion whirled around to see Queen Amlaruil sitting on a couch and surrounded by guards.
"I suspect that is why she wanted to go back to the throne room."
Katla looked at the Queen and nodded.
"Katla always was a very devoted girl."
"I am leaving. Come Iasa, your father and brother are waiting for you at Straankeep. The palace and the temple to Corellon, as well as the new headquarters for the Order of The Astral Knights on the continent. It is far from completion, but better than staying here."
"But what about Katla, Master Kymil? Are you no longer going to court her?"
"As long as Zaor's brat has her eye? It will do me no good."
"I wish to stay. Katla is my friend. I made a vow to her when we were small that I would never let anything happen to her."
"I suppose I can not force you. However, your father will not like the fact that you have chosen to stay."
"You said so yourself a month ago that I need to convince Isolder to move his estate to Straankeep. He is my uncle, and it makes sense that my father's brother-in-law, a holder of one of the nine holy swords, should be the High Knight in residence at the temple."
"He will not leave if Katla becomes princess."
"Yes. I know. I have no love for the royal family, I admit. But I do not resent them either, Master. Although, I am glad you have given up on your pursuit of Katla."
"Ah, now I see it Iasa. You are jealous. So tell me, boy. Are you in love with the Lady Katla?"
Iasa hung his head, afraid to meet Kymil's eyes. "Yes, sir. I have been so for a very long time."
"Excellent! After the first few weeks of courting her, I realized that I was just too old for her taste. I only continued because I was afraid to disappoint her. She did not need to get the wrong idea. I thought that if I stopped courting her, she would think I believed in that foolish myth about the elf-bane. She is rather sensitive."
"That she is. No one understands her , but me."
"Then I will petition to her father to allow you to court her as well."
"But sir, I am too young to be allowed to court her!"
"It will not be a problem. She is, technically, too young to be courted. She will not be allowed to declare a formal betrothal until she reaches forty. You have plenty of time to sway her."
"Thank you! Oh! Thank you, uncle Kymil!"
"Once you sway her affections towards you, it will be no problem getting Isolder to relocate. Katla is his favorite, you know."
"Yes. He told me once that of all his children, Katla was the most like himself. Wisteria Manor should be repaired by next week. He will leave it to his other children once he relocates. I will make my plans to stay there."
"You are a very resourceful boy. Please keep in contact with me while you are still here. I want to be one of the first ones to hear of your betrothal to her."
"I will."
"Now come and help me pack my things. My ship leaves for Waterdeep later this afternoon."
Please review.