The Heroic Legend of Ianthe Chapter 3

To get Queen Tahamenay's cold rebuff out of her mind Ianthe decided to go for a walk through the palace. Vahirz stood guard over her and her own Lady's-In-Waiting. Eventually they ended up back in the array of courtyards on the palace grounds. This one had a lovely fountain at its center. The sound of the running water was soothing and peaceful to Ianthe as she saw on the edge of the fountain gazing at her reflection on the crystal clear waters surface. She dipped the tip of her index finger in the cool water watching ripples form from the slightest touch.

Suddenly from above there came to shadows circling over them. Following this came the hoarse high pitched scream from a hawk. Indeed the source of the calls and shadows were two grand hawks. Ones that Ianthe already knew very well.

Grinning, Ianthe exclaimed "It's Azrael! And Sorksh!"

"Ah! If they've returned that can only mean one thing," said Vahirz, meaning he army, more importantly the King, had finally returned to Ecbatana and the war is at an end.

Ianthe paid no attention to that. She waved over one of her Lady's-In-Waiting who came over carrying a shawl over one of her arms. Ianthe carefully wrapped it in layers over one of her own as she lifted it up as a perch for one of the hawks.

"To me," commanded Ianthe.

Upon command the hawk that seemed to be most fond of her which is Azrael flew down to land on Ianthe's arms while the other landed a few feet on the fountain. Ianthe isn't surprised. Azrael always came instantly each time she summoned him forth to her. The force of Azrael's landing nearly had Ianthe tip over into the water, but, luckily she kept herself steady.

"Your Highness," said one of the Lady's-In-Waiting, concerned.

Neither of them should've been so. Ianthe simply took it all in her stride. She laughed as Azrael flapped his wings, happy to have him back home. That's not all. If they were in the Royal Capital then that means their master is too. Someone Ianthe has really been looking forward to seeing again after such a long absence.

Stroking Azrael's feathers as he nuzzled affectionately into her neck, Ianthe said "Welcome home. It's good to see you."

"Your Highness."

Azrael and Sorsksh's master stepped into the light.

At 27 years of age Lord Kishward of the Marzban is quite handsome and already a cunning noble leader in the Pars military.

Kishward has a long beard that extends to his chest as well as deep blue eyes and hair that appears to look like fire. Like always most of the time he's currently wearing a large dark grey cloak covering his shoulders and armor. Kishward has a friendly yet sometimes serious personality along with a strong sense of responsibility that many found dashing, adding to his charm, including Ianthe.

Smiling, Kishward said "And Lord Vahriz. I trust I find you both well?"

"You're back! Greetings, Kishward," grinned Ianthe, running over to Kishward giving him a hug.

Kishward chuckled warmly returning the embrace with his arms wrapped around her. The hug was brief, but it was filled with a lot of affection between the two. Azrael didn't get in the way of this. These sorts of hugs occurred a lot with one of the hawks on either an arm or a shoulder so they were used to it. Azrael's feathers weren't even ruffled by it.

Smiling at Ianthe as he scratched Azrael on the underside of his beak, good naturedly, Kishward said "So they greet Your Highness first instead of their master, do they? The cheeky bastards."

Chuckling, Vahirz said "You must teach them some respect."

"On the contrary, My Lord, it's not that they don't respect me. Rather it is the sign of the deep affection they harbor for Her Highness here. Birds and beasts are far better judges of character than we humans can ever hope to be," disagreed Kishward, placing a hand on Ianthe's shoulder. "They've read what dwells within Her Highness's heart and know that it is pure and good."

Ianthe loved it when he spoke this way. Each time Kishward sounded so poetic.

"You've returned from the campaign. All went as expected," inquired Vahirz.

Backing away a couple of steps, dropping down to one knee, Kishward reported "Our losses in the field were negligible. The Lusitanian's are sorry they ever thought of invading Maryam. We defeated them soundly and at little cost. His Majesty will be returning shortly."

Frowning, brow furrowed, Ianthe said "Father's back?"

Kishward nodded.

"How soon," asked Ianthe.

"He'll be here within the hour," informed Kishward.

Ianthe groaned rolling her head around on the neck, saying "I'm going to have to go greet him, aren't I?"

Sympathetically, Vahirz said "Yes, you are. It's important for you to make an appearance to welcome him and the army back home where your mother will not."

Sighing, Ianthe groaned "Very well then. I'll do a quick change then we'll go."

Arms crossed, Vahirz said "Oh no you won't. What you have on right now is just fine."

A deadpanned expression on her face, Ianthe said "Why?"

"You know why," said Vahirz. "You know the rules, Princess."

Meaning that out in public for this type of event Ianthe had to wear a dress instead of a tunic and breeches. That would lead to one thing she despised.

Ianthe groaned.

Laughing, Kishward joked "Come on, Princess, it can't be all that bad."

Aiming an intense glower his way, Ianthe retorted "Easy for you to say. You're not forced to ride sidesaddle."

Authors Note:

Yeah, that sidesaddle has got to go in the future.

Hope you guys like this one.

Glad you all had a Happy Halloween! I was on candy duty, but unlike the majority of those stuck with the task I actually like it. :D

Also, I lost one of my jobs today. Good news is I have more time to write, bad news I need to go looking for a new second job again. Sucks, huh. So for the time being you guys have me for however long that'll be.