Hello! My sincerest apologies for letting this story die out, it was not intentional. After exactly two months, I am back and will be hard at work on this, and possibly others. Over my absence, I bought a new laptop, so now I should be able to write more often. Sadly, most of my readers have probably moved on, but for any of you that have still been waiting, thank you and I will try not to let even college classes get in the way of my love for writing. Please understand how quickly one's schedule can fill up. Another chapter will be coming as soon as possible. Happy reading!
At long last, I have completed it! Due to Final Exam studying, I had very little time to work on it :( but it's finally done, so hopefully you guys hav'nt given up on me! Thank you for your patience, I really am trying to get these published faster, but it's hard to work with my current schedule. Hopefully I'll have another chapter ready reasonably soon. Enjoy!
Chapter 8:
Preperations
At long last, Queen Arya released them. Her gaze shifted between them, her eyes glistening with tears.
"Please, forgive me" she chuckled, and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "I've long awaited this day when we could properly meet" she continued with a loving smile.
A male Elf entered the room. He wore a blue tunic with gold trim. He had baggy black silk pants which tucked into his unnaturally clean leather boots. He had short black hair with a small braid hanging from the left side. It was ringed in brightly polished silver, so Fenrir assumed this was maybe a symbol of office.
"Forgive me my Queen" he stuttered, "I was not aware you had guests".
"It is fine Naethus, what do you require?" Queen Arya replied with a dismissive wave of her hand.
"There are preparations for the Celebration which require your guidance" Naethus replied in a very formal, business-like tone. Fenrir found him very boring.
He must be the Elven equivalent of a Steward.
"Ah, yes, the Celebration. Fenrir, Evalette, would you mind walking with me? It has come to my attention that I have yet to explain Du Agaeti abr Du Alfakyn Shur'tugala" the Queen said, turning her attention back to them.
Fenrir and Evalette both nodded, interested to hear what this Elven tradition had to do with them.
The Queen turned to Naethus once again.
"Naethus, I would like you to be the first to properly meet our new arrivals. These are Fenrir and Evalette, my children and son and daughter of the Master Rider" she said.
Naethus gasped and immediately bowed.
"Forgive me, I was not aware, I-"
"Stop" Fenrir interrupted his stuttering. He had thought of what Valeria had said, about them having to earn their respect through their accomplishments, not simply their bloodline.
"We are not royalty; you need not bow to us. We have done nothing to earn this" he continued. The Queen and Naethus were absolutely stunned.
"But your father and mother are-" Naethus attempted to cut in.
"We are well aware of their accomplishments, but we are not them. If it is all the same to you, I would prefer to receive this kind of attention only after I have earned it" he interrupted again.
Evalette nodded in agreement beside him.
"My brother is right, we will make a name for ourselves through our own victories, and rest assured there will be many" she added.
After a moment, the Queen smiled.
"I am sure you will, but first let us tend to the preparations for the Celebration" she spoke soothingly.
Naethus led the Queen out of the palace, with Fenrir and Evalette following close behind. They walked through the Elven city until they came to a large clearing. All along the forest edge, Elves were humming and singing their mesmerizing spells, shaping beautiful carvings and patterns into the trees. In the center of the clearing was a long crescent-shaped stone table. The fact that the Elves had made it of stone at all meant they must want it to last a very long time. Some of the Elves had also begun placing were-lights around the clearing as the sun began its descent.
"A few things that require your insight, my Queen" Naethus began.
He led them to an Elf on the edge of the forest. She was surrounded by piles of ribbons and banners of dozens of different colors.
The Elf bowed as the Queen approached. "My Queen, what would you suggest be the color this year?" she asked, motioning towards the various colors in the piles.
Queen Arya browsed through the collection slowly.
"Evalette, what do you think? Surely you have an eye for beauty if you've managed to keep yourself looking presentable while fleeing across Alagaesia" she chuckled quietly.
Fenrir noticed Evalette blush slightly. In all honesty, he had thought of it himself. How she managed to keep herself nice while he was burnt and scarred was beyond him.
He watched his sister peruse the selection. After a few moments she stopped at one design in particular.
"What about this one?" she asked.
The banner she had pointed out was white with a black border. In the center was a black flame. The ribbons that accompanied it were of a similar design, white with a black border, with a twisting black design winding its way across.
Queen Arya walked over to her daughter and examined the pattern. After a moment she nodded.
"Yes, I agree. We've never had black or white as our Celebration colors" she said, looking first to the Elven artisan then to Evalette.
"If I may ask" Fenrir broke in, "what is this Celebration for?"
He immediately realized how stupid he must sound to the other Elves, but luckily the artisan had already left to spread word of the Queen's decision.
The Queen laughed.
"Well, I suppose you've waited long enough" she began, "Du Agaeti abr Du Alfakyn Shur'tugala literally means The Celebration of The Elven Dragonriders. Each race has its own version, all set in place by your father before he left. Every five years, your father has one of his Riders fly a collection of eggs across the sea to us in Ellesmera, then we distribute them to their assigned races. Any eggs that fail to find their Rider within their first assigned race are rotated to the next race. If any eggs go through all races without finding a Rider, they are sent back to the Master Rider where they will remain until the next cycle"
Fenrir stopped to take it all in. then he realized why they were here.
"We are candidates in the celebration?" he asked, trying to hide his excitement.
"Yes, you and Evalette will be participating. It will be interesting to see how your destiny plays out" Queen Arya replied, smiling at each of them.
Fenrir and Evalette grinned at each other with childish joy. The Queen laughed at their excitement.
"If you follow me, I will show you to your rooms. You will need to get some sleep, for tomorrow night, your lives could become much more interesting" Queen Arya said enthusiastically.
They followed her to their respective rooms, and eventually force themselves to go to sleep despite their anticipation of the following night.