Second Circle, by lyradaemon
Chapter 5: Maghre
The journey to Maghre was surprisingly uneventful. Eli had spent most of it sleeping, curled up against Luc. Giselle and Ash had been looking meaningfully at each other the whole time, much to Luc and Titian's amusement; Titian, for her part, had remained remarkably unaware of Jason. The others rode in the second carriage.
When they crossed the border in Scelt, Luc gently shook Eli. "Wake up, Eli. We're almost there."
"What-?" Eli muttered, raising her head and rubbing sleep from her eyes.
Luc laughed. "We've just crossed into Scelt; I thought it was time you woke up."
Eli stretched, easing the tightness in her muscles. "How much farther?"
"Not long; I haven't been here for a while, so I can't say exactly."
Eli turned to gaze out the window. The countryside had turned from thick forest to wide, open plains since she had fallen asleep. She had never been to Scelt before, but Selene – whose parents were, after all, the Queen and Warlord of Scelt – had told her all about it. Tuathal was the capital, which was where Selene was going for her aunt's wedding, and Maghre was the second main town; however they were on opposite sides of the country and as Scelt was very, very big, it was almost the same distance from the Hall to Maghre as it was from Maghre to Tuathal.
Selene had said that Maghre was a very open town, with long but low building surrounded by marble walls and plenty of trees and fountains. Now, as the carriages finally made their way through the outskirts of the town, Eli could see that it was a very accurate description.
Most of the towns and cities in Dhemlan were known for their beauty; even Amdarh had its own simple beauty, Eli thought. But Maghre was especially beautiful with its sprawling houses and open plazas. Luc's great-grandmother Teele had once been the Queen of Dea al Mon, but had decided to move to Maghre when Gabrielle became Queen. Luc has said that Teele lived in a huge house near the Court, but that they'd have to go to the palace first to pay their respects to the Queen there; well, Gabrielle had insisted anyway.
Eventually the carriage pulled up in front of the Court and they all clambered – somewhat stiffly in Eli's case. A small flight of stairs led up to the front door; Luc led the way, taking Eli's arm in his. The door at the top was opened.
"Good afternoon, Prince," the Butler said politely, inclining his head respectfully.
"Good afternoon, Sir," Luc replied. "We've come to pay our respects to the Queen," he explained, indicating the group behind him. "I hope we haven't come at an inconvenient time?"
"Not at all; please, come in," the Butler said, ushering them inside. "If you would like to follow me…"
They followed the Butler along a brightly lit corridor and into a high-ceilinged receiving room. It was furnished with numerous expensive but comfortable sofas and chairs, and several low tables; the tall windows at one end allowed the late-afternoon sun to flood in.
"Good afternoon," an amused voice said from the other end of the room.
As one they all turned to see a woman gliding towards them. She was tall and had long red-brown hair and startling green eyes – very similar to Morghann's colouring. "I am Melia, the Queen here," she said in a deep, musical voice.
The males bowed and the females inclined their heads; they too were Queens, even though they did not officially rule, and so they were the same rank as her. Titian wasn't, so she gave a brief curtsey. Luc stepped forward.
"I am Luc; I have come with some of my friends to visit my mother's grandmother, Teele, here in Maghre."
"You don't look like you're from Scelt," Melia said, though not unkindly.
"No; my parents are Dea al Mon – they're names are Gabrielle and Chaosti."
"The Queen and the Warlord Prince?" Melia said, faintly surprised. "No wonder you're so strong." She gave him an appraising look. "And who are your friends?"
Luc turned to introduce them. "This is Eliene and her brother Charon, the son and daughter of Jaenelle Angelline and Daemon Sadi." Melia's eyes grew rather wide at this, but she retained her composure. "Arianna here is the daughter of Kalush and Aaron, Queen and Warlord Prince of Nharkhava; that's her brother, Tristan." He waved a hand at them. "Titian is the daughter of Surreal SaDiablo; Ash and Nephela's parents are Sceron and Astar of Centauran. Giselle is the daughter of Grezande and Elan, Queen and Warlord Prince of Tigrelan. And Jason here is the son of Khardeen and-"
"And Morghann. Yes, we've met before. How are you, Lord Jason?" Melia asked, turning to him.
"I'm very well, Lady," Jason replied politely.
"So. An interesting little group you've got here then. Especially having the Queen of Ebon Askavi's children here. Very interesting." Melia gave Eli and Charon a thoughtful look; Eli unconsciously moved closer to Luc.
Just then another voice sounded, this time from behind them. "Lady."
"Ah, Prince Falian," Melia said, indicating him to come over. "We have visitors."
At the sight of him Luc, Charon and Ash froze as all their warnings flared. Falian was a Warlord Prince; not just that, he wore the Gray. All their instincts as Warlord Princes shot to the surface.
"Ladies," Falian said politely, indicating the females. "Lords, Princes," he nodded shortly to the males.
His eyes skimmed over each of them quickly; but when he saw Eli his eyes gleamed. "My Lady, I'm afraid I do not know your name," he almost purred. You don't know any of our names, Eli thought as she opened her mouth, but to her surprise Luc cut her off.
"Her name is Eliene SaDiablo," he snapped, eyes flashing. Only an idiot would not have noticed the warning under that. She belongs to me.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lady Eliene," Falian said smoothly, taking her hand and kissing it lightly.
Luc snarled as he descended into the abyss like lightning; Charon felt it, however, and despite the feelings warring inside him he put a hand on Luc's shoulder. :This is not the time, Luc: He said on a psychic thread. Luc glared at Falian again, but nodded briefly.
Meanwhile Eli found her attention was caught by the man standing just inches away from her.
Falian was beautiful. He had the same red-brown hair as Melia, but his eyes were a startling gold-flecked blue, framed by thick black lashes. He had a wonderfully sensual mouth and his body was delightfully toned and trim.
She was completely and utterly captivated.
However just then Melia spoke; "They have come to visit Prince Luc's great-grandmother, Lady Teele, who lives here in Maghre," she explained to Falian. Then she turned to the rest of them. "Prince Falian is my Consort," she said, with an undertone of warning aimed at the females. He is mine; do not touch him.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Prince Falian," Titian spoke up, eyeing him approvingly.
The spoke together briefly for a while longer, before Luc excused them. "It's been wonderful meeting you, Lady Melia, but I'm afraid we really ought to be going. Lady Teele is expecting us, and I would hate to keep her waiting."
Melia laughed. "Of course; I'm sorry for keeping you. Please, give her my regards." To Luc's surprise, she kissed him lightly on the cheek. "I would love to see you all again while you're in Maghre. Don't hesitate to come by."
They nodded and exchanged farewells. Just as Eli was about to leave Falian took her hand and raised it to her lips again. "Do come and visit me some time," he said in a rich, silky voice which sent shivers through her. "I would love to see you again."
Eli gave a shaky reply and hastily retreated.
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The rest of the evening they spent at Grandmammy Teele's house; she had been delighted to see Luc again, and welcomed the rest of them as if she had known them all their lives. They had been served a light wine as they arrived, and then had dinner in the majestic dining room.
Teele had a huge house for someone who didn't need one, and so she had plenty of room for them all to stay. Much later in the evening they excuse themselves and headed off to bed, exhausted after all the travelling.
However while all the others said goodnight and headed into their own rooms, Luc followed Eli into hers.
"Luc-" Eli began, blushing at the look Titian gave her from outside. "I don't think…"
"It's alright Eli, I'm not staying," Luc said with a slight grin. "I would hate to ruin your reputation." He cleared his throat. "Actually, I wanted to speak to you."
"What about?"
"Falian. I don't trust him at all," he said bluntly.
"You don't trust him, or you don't like him because he's a Warlord Prince?" Eli asked cynically. She knew where this was headed.
"Eli, you know me," Luc snapped. "I don't dislike people for no reason. I just don't trust him, at all. And I want you to promise me that you'll stay away from him."
"What?" Eli asked, shocked. "Why?"
"Because he doesn't mean well!" Luc snapped. "Did you see the way he looked at you?"
"You just don't like him because he's handsome and he appears to be interested in me. That's it, Luc, isn't it? You're jealous." Her voice was accusing.
"I-" Luc turned red.
"Well, I don't have to listen to you. You don't have to always try to protect me Luc! I'm perfectly capable of looking after myself, so I'd really appreciate it if you just kept yourself out of my affairs," her tone was icy and her golden eyes were narrowed.
Luc fought to keep to cold anger at bay. His voice, when it came out, was strained and choked. "If that's how you want it to be, fine," he said quietly. "Goodnight, Lady Eliene." He stalked to the door, opened it then slammed it behind him.
Eli just stood there staring at the closed door. Her friend. She had just snapped at her best friend.
Mother Night, how could I be so stupid? She whispered. Sinking onto the edge of her bed she put her head into her hands. What had she just done?
A/N: Oh no! What have you done Eli? What will happen now? Was Luc right to mistrust Falian? Find out in the next chapter! (oh, and please send me some reviews! I haven't had any for the last chapter. I feel unwanted…)