The Lance of Zaros, Chapter IV
Follow the Scar
I'm back! Thank you all so much for your great reviews, please keep it up! I'll try to get better at writing, too…This chapter contains a lot of Kyran's backstory; hope it's not too bad…But make sure to read and review!
Dim, hazy light streamed through the window of Kyran's room, burning his eyes until he finally grunted and rolled over. He saw Adalyn's face and flinched. He had completely forgotten about her.
What would Kuradal think about me now? He wondered amusedly. One night away and I already got a girl in bed. Still, she hadn't really done anything untoward by the Myreque's standards…and it wouldn't have been Kyran's first time, either. The thought brought an unexpected pang of sadness to his heart, one that he hadn't felt for months.
Astrid…
He shook his head. No…It's been over a year now. She wouldn't want me to be like this. She would want me to be happy…
Suddenly, in a surge of emotion, Kyran threw an arm around Adalyn and planted a fierce kiss on her sleeping lips. Her eyes opened halfway, still bleary with sleep, but undeniably amused.
"And to think that yesterday, you simply couldn't stand me," she said, her breath wafting by his nose, smelling vaguely of white chocolate and peppermints- wait, that was her morning breath? Kyran knew people who would kill to have sweet-smelling breath like that even after they had cleaned their teeth.
"Well, ah…I…I guess I can't stand by while a beautiful woman is in danger," he said, his face turning bright red.
Adalyn looked like she was about to smile, but her face turned ad at the last second. "Elves are empathic, you know, Kyran. I can read your emotions, and right now I'm reading that you're hiding something underneath that farm boy awkwardness, something so deeply ingrained in your mind that you'll never be able to completely forget it-something that I apparently brought to the forefront of your thoughts. My question is what exactly that thing is. Feel like answering?"
Kyran opened his mouth to protest, and then shut it when he saw the determined look on Adalyn's face. He sat up in the bed, cradling his forehead in his palm.
"It's…It's a long story. It started about…about a year and a half ago, way to the northwest in the Fremennik Seas, on a small island called Miscellania. Someone…close to me was killed because of my carelessness."
Adalyn blinked. "Who was it?"
Kyran smiled, but his face showed nothing but an ancient weariness.
"My wife."
Miscellania, Fremennik Territory, approximately eighteen months before the present day
Kyran sat in the overstuffed chair in Princess Astrid's spacious room, legs crossed. He wore a simple button-down shirt and a pair of fine-spun trousers.
"Oh, Kyran," she said, covering her mouth to stifle laughter. "There's no way you would talk to the king of Ardougne like that. You're so bad!" Her brownish blond hair fell to her shoulders in a silky cascade, and her green eyes sparkled with mischief. She wore a black dress with a cloak over the top.
Kyran grinned. "But I would, my dear. Especially after I found out that he had played me for the fool the entire time, getting me to do his dirty work for him!" He then snapped his fingers, as if he'd suddenly remembered something. "But enough of my stories about secretly evil kings. What say you and me go get a drink down at the Bronze Dragon? My treat, of course."
She gave him an amused look. "Trying to get me drunk, eh? Oh, well. I never could resist a cold glass of Moonclan ale." She hopped up from her chair and stood at the door. Kyran stood up, then let out a pained gasp and fell to one knee, clutching it with one hand, while his other hand went into his left pocket.
"Kyran!" Astrid exclaimed, rushing over to him. "Are you okay?"
"I…I think so…just…just let me say one thing…"
"What?" she asked with a mix of concern and confusion in her voice. "What is it?"
He looked up at her with a smile on his face and pulled his hand out of his left pocket, revealing an open box that contained a gold ring with a purple dragonstone gem encrusted on the top.
"Princess Astrid of Miscellania, would you deign to marry a common soldier such as myself?"
Astrid's eyes grew wide for a second, then rolled up into the back of her head as she swooned. Kyran quickly jumped up and caught her before she hit the ground.
"Astrid," he said gently. "Are you alright?"
"Heh…heh heh…" she laughed weakly. "You always know how to surprise me, Kyran. But…" she threw her arms around Kyran's shoulders and kissed him passionately.
"Yes, Kyran, my lonely soldier. I will marry you."
I remember that that was in fact probably the happiest day of my life. Events happened quickly after that. King Vargas, Astrid's father, transferred power as king of Miscellania to me, and, though we couldn't find a priest to marry us at first-Miscellania was a small island, after all- we were as good as husband and wife. We finally made peace with Etceteria, Miscellania's neighboring country. It seemed like those happy days would never end.
Miscellania Castle, Bedroom, Approximately fourteen months before the present day
The sun had set about an hour before, and Kyran had finally finished the administrative tasks for the day. He sat on a padded sofa, wearing a thin wool shirt and a pair of fur-lined sleeping pants. He was reading a book titled The Falador Principle when Astrid walked out of the bathroom, wearing a loose-fitting night shirt and a pair of equally baggy pants.
"Has anyone ever told you that you look beautiful, Astrid?" he said, smiling mischievously.
"Oh, once or twice," she replied, sitting down next to him. "But it was usually when people were trying to flatter me, and I ignored them. I'll make an exception in your case, though."
They sat together for a time in silence, hands clasped together, Astrid's head on Kyran's shoulder.
"Winter's coming on," Kyran finally said.
She chuckled. "It never really leaves, if you haven't noticed. You're still getting used to living this far north, aren't you?"
He smiled. "Perhaps. I mean, I'm on an indefinite leave of absence from my apprenticeship with Lady Kuradal. She prefers more…temperate climes. But that look on your face tells me that you didn't come in here to ask me about my reaction to the weather. What's up?"
"Well…as king and queen, it would be our duty to, ah, produce an heir to the throne…So, I needed to ask you about your position on children."
Kyran swallowed and put his book down. "Children? I suppose…I suppose I never thought about it before. I guess I wouldn't be opposed to having children. But we don't need to make a decision right now, do we?"
She smiled and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "No, I suppose not. But thank you for at least giving it a chance…So how goes the kingly administration? Any clerical problems giving you trouble?"
He sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Well, Brundt the Chieftain from Relleka has offered to strengthen ties with us. He says that all the islands in the Fremennik area should unite under one banner- you know, for the common defense, if we were ever to come under attack."
"So, would it be like we all became one country?"
"That's exactly what I asked. He said no, that it'd be more like an alliance between countries, promising that we'd help anyone in it under attack."
"So what are you going to do?"
He took a breath. "I don't know. I'm inclined to say yes, but I fear that someone less noble-minded than Brundt might see us as small enough to absorb into their country- like King Sorvott of Jatizso."
"But not Burowgar of Neitiznot? I mean, they are neighbors. Might not either see you unfavorably?"
Kyran shook his head. "No, Mawnis is a close friend of mine after I helped him drive back an invasion of mountain trolls. I can count on him in a pinch."
Astrid yawned and stretched her arms out. "Wow, sounds like you've got quite a load on your plate, love. But you can work it out later. For now, you can sleep."
She stood up and walked over to the large canopied bed with black covers and red velvet pillows, seating herself and beckoning him to come over.
He smiled. "I suppose so. I've gotten perhaps twelve hours of sleep in the past three days- I'll not deny you." He followed her to the bed, stripping off his shirt and pulling back the top blanket. Astrid did likewise and slipped under the sheets.
Kyran caressed her bare shoulders, drawing her closer to him.
"Good night, my queen."
She smiled, then kissed him. "Good night, my king."
Even then, it seemed like everything would go smoothly for…well, pretty much forever.
That's when it all started to fall apart. I found out that the dagannoth mother, the leader of a race of dagger-mouthed creatures who were the archenemies of all Fremenniks, was planning on invading Relleka. Not long before I learned about it, I had agreed to Brundt's treaty, so of course I had to come to his defense. It was a small task force that came to drive the dagannoths off from the mainland. It consisted of me, Astrid-she was a deadeye with her bow- and about ten other soldiers. I was relieved when we finally slaughtered all those beasts without losing a single one of our own. That was when I knew that we had to go kill the mother, or she'd start it all again. It was a daunting task to be sure, but one thing lifted my spirits-we had found a Guthixian priest in Relleka who could marry us…
The air was thick with the salty tang of the sea. Kyran stood on the longboat, facing Astrid and holding her hands, as the priest spoke to them. He wore a heavy suit of red-and-black dragonmetal armour; she wore the tanned skin of a black dragon with her magic composite bow slung across her back.
"Do you, Kyran MacTavish, take Astrid Miscellanious to be your lawfully wedded wife, so long as you both shall live?" the priest, who wore the traditional battle robes of the Guthixian Void Knights, asked, holding open a green book that looked incomparably ancient.
He smiled, then looked into Astrid's eyes. "Yes. I do."
The priest looked to Astrid. "And do you, Astrid Miscellanious, take Kyran MacTavish to be your lawfully wedded husband, so long as you both shall live?"
She smiled, tears lying unshed in her eyes. "I do."
The priest closed his book. "Then by the power vested in me by the power of our benefactor, the mighty Guthix, I pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride."
Kyran squeezed Astrid's hands as they both began to repeat the traditional Fremennik marriage vow.
"Mhi solus tome, mhi solus dar'tome, mhi me'dinui an, mhi ba'juri verde."
We are one when together, we are one when apart, we will share all, we will raise warriors.
He fiercely kissed Astrid MacTavish, queen of Miscellania.
"About time, Astrid!" shouted Brand, her blond, occasionally thick-headed brother.
"You shut up!" she said, but she still had a smile on her face.
Vargas walked over to her and handed her a quiver for her arrows, which was solid gold, with intricate patterns traced on it in silver.
"For you, my sole daughter, the quiver that belonged to your mother. Let your arrows fly freely, for they will always find their way back to you with this sling." He turned to Kyran and pulled out a silver sword inlaid with a diamond in the hilt and faint red lines curving their way up the length of the blade. Its pommel was mithril wrapped in leather, with a strap on the end.
"And for you, my new son-in-law, I give my personal blade, Aranar, the Defender. Use it in defense of yourself and your kin with my blessing. Be happy."
Kyran took the blade and sheathed it on his hip, bowing to Vargas.
"Thank you…sir." He turned to Astrid and grinned. "Well, dear, what say we go give the Dagannoth mother a taste of our weapons?"
She nodded fiercely, and they sailed through the blinding fog surrounding Waterbirth Island.
I remember, I was so confident then. So brash, I thought nothing could kill us. That day was a testament to just how wrong one man can be… we landed on the shore, where we had to fight through legions of those monsters to get to the caves. In there, it was even more crowded, but we managed to make it down a few levels without losing anybody. That was when we met the Sentinels…My squad leader, Jikdor, fell to their powerful blows, when Brand and Astrid said to go on, that they could deal with them. It was true, of course. They were both extremely skilled warriors, but…I should've stayed with them. The party- Vargas, General Thorvald, and myself- drove on to the Dagannoth mother's den, where we confronted her. All three of us were nearly killed in that fight, but we finally managed to bring down the beast. We limped back to the room where Brand and Astrid had been…
Kyran spat a glob of bloody saliva onto the mound of dirt before plodding forward into the chamber. He heard deep, rumbling footsteps- it sounded like three pairs, at least, big ones too- and his heart was filled with dread. He looked at Vargas and Thorvald and could tell they were feeling the same thing.
"No," he mumbled quietly. "Not them…Not the kings…"
He dashed into the room despite his sprained ankle to see the retreating forms of three massive dagannoths lumbering into their nest. In front of them he saw two dead dagannoth sentinels and two prone forms lying on the ground.
"No…No!"he shouted, rushing over to the bodies. They were indeed Brand and Astrid. He didn't need to ask what had happened. He knew- they had slain the sentinels, when the Dagannoth Kings, three of the most feared creatures in the whole of the Fremennik sea, had been awakened by the commotion and attacked them. They hadn't stood a chance…
He took Astrid in his arms and looked at her face. She was still breathing…but not for long. Kyran was no doctor, but he could tell that she couldn't survive her injuries. She was badly bruised, with broken bones in both her legs and one of her arms, and she was coughing up blood.
"Astrid…" he said, stifling his tears. "Can you hear me, Astrid?"
One of her eyes opened, and she smiled weakly. "I…can hear you, Kyran."
He tried to smile in return, but failed. "Listen to me, Astrid, you're going to be okay, you hear me?"
Her smile remained plastered on her face. "We both know…that's not the case, love. I don't have much time…I just want to say that..."-she coughed up more blood onto her white shirt- "my time with you was…the best I've ever had. I…I love you, Kyran…so much…"
A few tears spilled down his cheeks. "I love you too, Astrid…"
Her eyes widened, and she took in a shallow breath. "I guess I'll see what's on the other side…" She turned her head toward him and beamed. "Good night…my King…"
Her body went stiff.
That was the floodgate opening for Kyran. Tears rained down his face onto Astrid's, and he lowered himself to kiss her on the lips one last time.
"Good night, my Queen. Good night…my sweet, beautiful Queen. Rest easy, my love."
Present Day
"I built a funeral pyre for her, and Vargas built one for Brand, and we gave them a traditional Fremennik cremation. We scattered their ashes into the sea, and I…I couldn't bear to stay there anymore. I handed ruling duties back to Vargas, but he wouldn't take kingship back. So I guess I'm still the king of Miscellania, just in self-imposed exile."
He looked at Adalyn, and saw that she was clutching his arm and smothering her tears.
"I'm sorry, Kyran…"she said softly. "I didn't know…"
He sighed and shook his head. "Well, it's just that-"
He was interrupted by David bursting into the room.
"Kyran! Adalyn! You've got to report to the Council right now! They've decided to fund the mission to retrieve the Lance, and they want you two to lead it!"