Chapter 252
Looking around the pub, Elain took in the different way that their group was being watched now that Azriel and Cassian were sitting with them. There were curious looks, and wary looks, and she couldn't help but wonder what these folk thought they were doing here.
"Tomorrow morning," Cassian said, his tone low so that only those at their table would hear what was going on, "There will be a meeting in the training square. Everyone currently still in the camp will be there, and we are gonna have a little chat with them all."
"Is it mostly the females?" Azriel asked, and Cassian nodded.
"The rest have gone off with Devlon. It's their absence that these other bastards are trying to take advantage of."
"Right."
"Perhaps…" Lucien put in, and Elain could hear the hesitance in his voice, knowing that he felt out of place here. "the High Lord should put his foot down?"
Both Azriel and Cassian shook their heads. "It's probably why Rhys didn't come." Cassian said, and Azriel made a sound of agreement. "The Illyrians…" Cassian sighed a bit, "It's not like Courts you are used to. Our camps may be in the Night Court territory, but we don't bow and scrape… Rhys may technically have authority here if he showed up and threw a tantrum about playing nice with one another, but…" he shook his head, "It would be resented… and wouldn't really fix the behaviours that cause the problem."
"What do you mean cause the problem?" Feyre's voice was icy, "As if these females are inviting what is being done to them…"
"Perhaps that was the wrong choice of words…" Cassian said, lifting a hand in surrender, "Those coming down here have to know that they can't just walk in and take what they like… That's a lesson they need to learn, as much as those here need to learn to throw a punch when it's needed."
"And that's what you'll be saying at your meeting tomorrow?" Nesta asked, "They need to step up?"
"Why not?" Cassian shrugged, and Azriel made a face.
"Perhaps not in those words." The Shadowsinger said, "But we can offer to help."
"We can organise what they need…" Cassian added, "Training… in groups. We can rotate through the camp between Az and myself. We could get through them all in a day or two…"
"And teach them what?" Lucien asked, curiosity in his voice now.
"How to lay someone out on their arse." Cassian replied simply, and Lucien grinned as he nodded his head.
Elain cast another glance around the room, wondering if anyone had caught any of this conversation. She didn't suppose they had as they were all going about their business as if they weren't even there.
"If you need any help with that, let me know." Lucien was still grinning and Elain turned her eyes on him. "Sounds like fun, to be honest."
Nesta and Feyre seemed to be in deep thought, and Elain just knew that the both of them were trying to work out how they would best be useful. Suddenly, she felt rather useless. She couldn't fight like they could, she hadn't done the training the both of them had. There was no way that she would be able to teach anyone how to defend themselves. Why, she wondered, had she been shown that vision? She had thought she was meant to come here, but she had nothing to contribute. Had it been purely so that she could bring Azriel, Lucien and Feyre to help? That was a sad thought.
Lucien's hand suddenly slid into hers beneath the table and, when she looked around at him, she could see the light frown of concern on his face. Reaching for the bond, Elain realised that he was already reading her and that he must have felt her helplessness. Knowing that he knew she felt useless sent a wave of anguish through her, and Lucien's frown deepened. He squeezed her hand in concern. "Petal…?"
Trying to give him a reassuring smile, Elain smoothed her free hand over her dress, trying to get any wrinkles out. She then traced a finger up and down her glass, playing with the condensation. "Is… there anything I can do to help?" She asked, after a moment, looking across the table at Cassian.
"Ah…" she watched the thoughts flicker quickly through his mind, evident behind his eyes as he tried to go over everything in his head.
"I… suppose it would be best to wait," Azriel put in, "Until we have more of a solid plan of what we will be doing. It would be easier to see then where your help would be most beneficial."
Elain knew that meant that they had no idea what she would be good for, and she lowered her gaze to her glass once more.
"Elain has excellent organisational skills." Lucien put in, and Elain glanced his way. "If you're thinking about rotating groups of these folk through some sort of training course, then you could benefit from having her run it." He said, "She could keep track of which group needed to be where when and when they needed to move on to the next part… That kind of thing."
Blinking, Elain looked at her mate. He was right, she could do that and keep everyone organised and on track. Smiling, she squeezed his hand and her heart warmed at the look in his eyes when he met her gaze.
"That would be fantastic." Cassian replied, "That would actually be great."
"We will need to work it all out beforehand." Azriel added, "And then you can have a kind of runsheet…"
"Sounds good to me." Elain smiled, looking at them all. This was something she could do and be useful, and she would do it to the best of her ability.