Chapter 11! This contains the other half of Annora and King Santanara's conversation and more :D Just a quick thank you to Aereal for her wonderful Betaring skills :) ENJOY!
Fear shone in her green eyes. The wind blew through the clearing but she didn't seem cold. The stars looked down on them and King Santanara wondered how to begin his tale. Annora just waited like she knew her would tell her. After looking out across the water for a while he began his tale.
"You see, I was elected during the war. It was about half way through the war and King Jamitis had been slain by Hadrix el Fex. Prince Jametari was very young, he was only 12 and couldn't take up his father's position in the middle of a war."
Annora shifted to a more comfortable position against the willow tree.
"They elected me instead. I was young at the time too. I was about 22 and found myself King of the Eletians in the middle of war. I wasn't a leader. I never wanted power. The only thing I wanted was to free my people from the horror of Mornhavon. It was hard and when the war ended I thought they would push me aside and not really care about anything that happened to me. I'm not of royal blood or even that of noble blood, but they kept me as king.
"But why did they choose you, out of everyone I mean?" Annora asked.
"I'm not sure. I think I might have shown some kind of bravery on the battlefield. They were running scared, there was no one to help them and their King had just been killed. I suppose I was the only thing that held them together." King Santanara looked out over the river deep in thought.
"The war ended and I had no choice but to sleep, if I hadn't I would have destroyed my whole race. Mornhavon would have taken over me. It was unbarable waking up in the morning and feeling your worst enemy climbing closer and closer to your soul, slowly destroying you." The King shook his head slightly. "The next king won't be of my blood. Unless they decide Jametari can't do it. The trick to leading anyone is to lead them the way you would like your monarch to lead you."
"I'm scared." Annora's voice broke slightly. "I don't know what I'm meant to do or what is going to happen to me."
"You'd be a fool if you weren't." They were the wrong words.
"You don't understand. I can see him, I can feel his presence growing stronger. I feel him inside me and I can feel him inside you." Tears filled her eyes but she didn't allow them to run. She held strong. "My parents are dead. I have no one. I don't even know who I am, but he does. He knows me better than I know myself."
King Santanara pulled her into a hug.
"I used your grandmother's magic to defeat Mornhavon, and when your mother died her magic became yours. I used your life magic to kill him. He is connected to us both in a way that only we can understand. Elves are special in the way they see, feel and are made of magic. It's because of this that we can feel his presence. The Eletains can't and the Elves can feel the darkness but not see clearly." Santanara rubbed her back and spoke in soothing tones.
Sobs rocked Annora's body but tears did not fall. Santanara frowned down at her. There was something in the way that she fit so perfectly in his arms and the way red blood flowed from the wound on her head that made him realize how vulnerable she was.
She was a delicate as a rose and yet as strong as a bramble. Mornhavon would come after her and drive pain and fear into her very soul as easily as killing an annoying fly buzzing around his ear.
Annora was head strong and obstinate but she was vulnerable and in need of protection. She was the most powerful elf he'd ever met and their only hope for defeating Mornhavon indefinitely.
A plan had started to form in Santanara's head. He would have to take Mornhavon's strength and use it against him. He would use magic to kill him and the only person with strong enough magic was Annora, but even she might not succeed.
"You are not alone. I am here for you." He whispered in her ear.
They broke the hug and looked once more into each other's eyes but he kept his arms around her.
"Helmond and Drandamir are there for you. They came all this way for their monarch but you became more than that the moment they met you. Ealdaen and Telagioth will be there and Karigan will certainly be beside you every step of the way."
King Santanara brushed her cheek with the back of his hand. "You are stronger than you know, and you will find that out soon enough."
Annora nodded and hastily wiped the tears from her eyes.
"Shouldn't we get back to the feast?"
King Santanara laughed. "Right, it is meant for me."
He pulled Annora to her feet and offered her his arm. She took it and they walked back through the trees.
Everyone looked up from their plates as the two monarchs walked back into the glade. The female Eletains glared at Annora with jealousy and the males just frowned at the fact that their king was talking with an Elf. Even worse, an Elf princess.
Annora took her seat rather self-consciously and looked at her food.
King Santanara however could hardly take his eyes from her. He felt that if he didn't keep a vigilant watch over her then Mornhavon would sweep down on a cloud of darkness and she'd be gone.
He couldn't let that happen. He looked down at his hand. She had saved him, she had given him a reason to live again. She had given her own strength to take away the pain that had plagued him to the point of suicide. Not only that but she could save the world by ridding it of Mornhavon.
Annora slept like a log that night. She was so tired when she woke up it was like she hadn't slept at all. Her head was fuzz and burned with pain at the slightest movement. She woke up slightly dishevelled and had to try to fix her hair and wake up fully before she left the little cabin that she and Karigan were sharing.
Karigan was sitting around a campfire with the others, minus Ealdaen. They had been given cabins on the very edge of Eletia and no one really wanted to go back in and put up with the hostile stares of the Eletains.
Annora walked out of the cabin in a long grey dress. It was made of exquisite and expense fabric, Karigan could tell even at a distance. Karigan looked at Annora and she felt sorry for the young lady. She was barley 17 and had been told her whole life was a fake.
Karigan had spoken with Helmond the night before for a while. He had told her about the Elves and how they had been waiting for their Queen to come back. They had wanted to come and find her but the fear of Mornhavon was overpowering. In the end Drandamir, Helmond and a few others set off to find and protect their monarch.
Helmond's theory about the crumbling race of Elves was that they needed the Eletians. Annora was the only person alive who could bring harmony back to the Elves by reconnecting them with the Eletians.
"Morning, how are you feeling?" Telagioth asked Annora, smiling.
"Alright, I think." Annora shrugged and sat down to drink the kettle of tea they'd made. The Eletian tea was so good. It made her insides warm and helped clear her head and really made her feel better, but within minutes the haze settled back over her head and thoughts.
Ealdaen came in and sat on the ground, next to Karigan, with a big sigh.
"What's wrong?" She asked.
"We're leaving tomorrow. We'll be on our way to Sacor city to kill Mornhavon and free the castle."
Karigan smiled. "You mean we're going to help everyone being held there?"
"Yep," Ealdaen replied gloomily. He didn't seem anywhere near as excited as Karigan was.
"How many troops are coming?" Telagioth asked.
"Well, there's King Santanara," he counted off on his fingers, "me, you, Drandamir, Helmond, Karigan and Annora." Ealdaen pretended to think hard.
"That's it? No one else is coming?" Drandamir asked looking completely shocked.
"Nup, it's too dangerous. If we haven't contacted them four days after we've left then an army will be sent to take out Mornhavon. They didn't like Santanara's plan so they'll do it their way, which is why they'll fail." Ealdaen's voice dripped with disdain.
"So it's up to us then?" Annora asked rubbing her head and took another great gulp from her tea.
"Yes, we have to take down Mornhavon by ourselves." King Santanara spoke as he strolled into their temporary campsite.
"But how can we possibly do that?" Annora took another gulp from her tea, hoping it would clear her head better but the cloudiness still hung over her.
"Well, firstly we need to get him on his own. Don't worry I'm thinking up a plan." He smiled but Annora found no consolation in his words.
"So, tomorrow we're leaving to kill a godlike man with two stone faced elves, two banished Eletian warriors and two prissy monarchs." Karigan summed up, jokingly.
"This is going to be an interesting journey." Telagioth spoke quietly. Gloom settled over the group as they realised that their mission could very easily fail and they could all die.
"Come on your majesty," Drandamir bowed mockingly to Annora smiling all the way, "it's time to get you ready for war."
Annora jumped to her feet, ignoring the pain from her head. She was determined to wipe that smile of his face.
Karigan watched in amazement as the Elves proceeded to teach their princess to fight with two foot long knives.
Disclaimer: The only things that don't belong to Kristine Britain are the elves :D
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