Return To Sky Raven (Book 2) (35 page)

“Yes, very much so!”

“Great, you will now go everywhere with them as their guide and caretaker. You have also been given permission to take them anywhere you wish that is not military-related, the grove included.”

Her eyes widened happily. “I…I don’t know what to say!”

Maya smiled, “Well, I do, let’s eat!”

Nia and I got everyone seated, well almost everyone. Kalah insisted on serving the food so we settled on just she and I doing it. Ryliss was vaguely appalled to be served by someone with the title of Lord, and she was watching me carefully. Finally, she stopped eating and looked at me strangely. “Lord Alex, there used to be a human boy in our village named Alex. He was very nice and I remember his mother made the best oatmeal rounds…”

Julia perked up. “They were awesome! Mrs. Martin is the best cook I know!”

Ryllis really looked confused now. “Yes, the Martins, but how do you…?”

Renalla reached over and patted Ryllis on the hand. “I will explain it all to you some rainy afternoon when we have lots of time, dear.”

Faeron came bustling through the door, whistling. “Sorry I’m late, but there was a very odd emergency that came up. Apparently, all the topiary animals from the town square uprooted themselves and started wandering around town getting into trouble.

“What’s a topiary animal?” Nia asked between bites of sweet cherries.

Renalla chuckled and answered, “They’re shrubs, usually boxwood or yews, that the gardeners shape into animal forms in our gardens. They’re good conversation pieces and they show off the skill of the botanists and gardeners who create them. They are works of art really, but I’ve never heard of any uprooting and wandering off…how strange.”

“Not only strange, but creepy,” Faeron ventured between bites. “It also seems that the shrubs took on the characteristics of the creatures they represented. The one that was shaped like a bull started knocking over carts of produce in the market and then found his way into a store that sold ceramic dishes. Wow, what a mess! The one that looked like a satyr got loose, and let’s just say that the widow Harcourt will have some interesting stories to tell at her next knitting circle. Thank the gods we didn’t have one shaped like a damn dragon!”

By this time, all the eyes at the table were squarely fixed on the two druids who were trying to sink as low as possible in their chairs. Lin hissed at Jules under her breath, “I thought you said it was temporary!”

“Well, you were the one reading the spell,” Julia whispered back.

I cleared my throat, looking at Julia. “Is there anything you would like to share with everyone at the table, young ladies?”

With a big sigh, and tears in her big blue eyes, Jules stood up and walked over to Faeron. “It was my fault, sir. I tried an animate plant spell that we found in one of the old journals that was very different than what we had been taught, and I guess I put too much power into it. I am very sorry, and I will go back to the park today and ask the plants to grow back the way they were so that the gardeners are not out of their jobs.”

Maya’s father enveloped Julia in a hug and patted her on the back. “Thank you for telling me, Julia. I will let the gardeners know that you will be by later. I’m pretty sure they will be willing to forgive you if you work with them for a little while, answer some of their questions, and maybe talk some sense into the big apple tree in the center courtyard that is so stingy with the good apples.”

She nodded happily and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek before she dashed back to her plate. Faeron brushed his cheek and beaming, looking over at his wife. “Who knew it would be so exciting to have young visitors in the Capital?”

The food went over wonderfully. Renalla even made a joke about Kalah getting this recipe from me. Of course, I spent the rest of the meal with a vampire holding a notebook over my shoulder. After the meal was done, Kalah insisted that she be the only one to clean up and that we go on with the rest of our day.

“Alex, it looks like you have another female admirer to add to your vast list,”
Winya teased.

“Aw, Winya, it isn’t like that. She’s a good person and she’s trying really hard to fit in; I can admire that.

Suddenly, Faeron clapped a hand on my shoulder and smiled. “You ready, son?”

It took a second to remember, but yeah, I was ready. “Ready when you are.”

He smiled. “Alright, go get your armor on and I’ll meet you out back in my private training circle. We will have our duel there.” I think he would have said something else but Maya’s laughter was too loud. “Oh, is there something funny about this?” he asked playfully.

She was still laughing as she tried to talk. “You want to fight Alex when he is in his armor? Ha! You have no idea how funny that is! You do realize that I have a hard time beating him, right? And now you want him in his armor as well? You see how crazy this is, right?”

He eyed me a bit. “He is stronger than I am; ok, a lot stronger. But I have fought his type before and I know I’m faster than he is.”

Maya and Nia both snorted and tried their best to keep from rolling around on the ground. “I get the feeling that either they have great confidence in you or simply none in me.”

I smiled. “Let’s just say they’re a bit overconfident in my abilities.”

He smiled and nodded. “I’ll see you in a bit, I’ll be waiting.”

It took no time at all to get the armor back on; the more times I do it, the faster I am getting. I grabbed my hammer and shield and went out the back door of the weapons room into the training yard.

Once outside, I was greeted with a training circle of the same kind that Maya and I duel in, except here was a nice sitting area as well. All the girls were in attendance; except Kalah obviously. But Maya and Renalla were also in their own armor.

Faeron stood already in the circle in the same light chain armor I saw him in the previous day. I entered the ring as he unsheathed his long rapier and I, my hammer.

He smiled and leaned in close. “Alex, the whole purpose of this exercise is just to prove to me, the father, that you are capable of defending my daughter against those who would offer her harm. It’s not a death match, and over the past couple of days the stories I’ve heard convince me of your fighting prowess. So I propose I give you one symbolic hit on your shield to prove we fought and then we just spar for a short while so I can evaluate your technique. Sound good?”

“That is very acceptable to me, sir.”

“Alex,” Maya called from the sitting area, “let him have it!”

Renalla had her own comment, “Just because he’s Alex doesn’t mean you should go soft on him, dear! “

“Well, the ladies want a show, I guess,” I chuckled.

“Then we might as well give them one.”

I raised my shield, and with my mage sight, it was easy to see that he was aiming at its very center with a wicked slash. His blade impacted on the white metal, but his weapon lacked the mass to make the heavy tower shield ring like a bell. Instead, his sword made a tinny noise, fractured and the blade snapped in half, leaving Faeron standing there with a broken weapon in his hand, staring at it without comprehending what just happened.

Oops. Maya and I had thought perhaps his sword wasn’t heavy enough to go up against my armor, but this was embarrassing. I heard a gasp from the girls and a giggle from Maya as she rummaged around under her seat and came running up to us carrying something wrapped in leather.

“Father, I do believe that was your best sword, is that correct?” Maya beamed.

He frowned down at the jagged hilt. “Yes, it was my favorite one, too.”

Maya, still smiling, started to unwrap the package. “Now father, there are a few things in this world that I will not accept; dream reading, being pulled underwater, black ginger, and my father not having a weapon worthy of him. Especially when I am to marry an enchanter like Alex.” With a flourish, she displayed the sword and let him take a good look at it. Dazed, he reached for it and brought it out carefully, admiring the appearance of the blade and the weight and balance.

“I don’t know what to say,” he murmured, as Renalla rushed up to take a look as well. Soon all the girls were huddled around us, admiring the mirror-like shine of the metal and the intricate wire windings in the handle.

“It’s gorgeous. But how did you…?”

“Alex and Nia made it for you this morning,” Maya smiled lovingly, placing her hand on his arm. “It will never break, discolor, or lose its edge, and you may find it has a few other features that will only reveal themselves with use.

……………………………………………………….

Maya

It’s hard to describe my feelings standing there watching the two men I love most in life. My father was speechless holding his beautiful new sword, my mother and the other girls admiring it and cooing over it. And then there’s Alex, hanging back, watching it all with that self-depreciating, half-embarrassed smile.

Ever since we arrived here, it’s been like a dream. I mean, how strange it is to be nervous about introducing your parents to the love of your life, only to find out they already know and love him.

Part of me kicks myself for not listening to my father when he wanted to introduce me to that nice boy from the next village. I could have known Alex for years already. I was surprised when Alex set his hammer and shield aside and retrieved a practice buckler and sword from the training room racks. My father and Alex exchanged a few low words and grins. Faeron asked if it was alright to use the new blade and Alex confirmed that it would be fine. Then they backed up and began to spar.

I really wasn’t worried as Alex was still wearing his main armor, although without the helm. But the use of a sword instead of a hammer would definitely level the playing field. Leave it to Alex to worry about other people’s feelings more than his own. I allowed myself a smile, remembering our conversation on the steps that morning, and how easy it was to kindle his interest. The wild essence of my dark elf personality, the part we keep hidden away and only release in battle or in the throes of passion, growled like a jungle cat in deep approval of my choice of a mate.

The two of them circled, beaming at each other like happy fools. They were doing a modified version of the light sparring that Alex and I often do when we are just enjoying each other’s company. No real hard strikes, no going for the throat, just a forum for showing the moves you enjoy.

I watched happily as Alex sidestepped every one of my father’s thrusts, none of which even touched the armor. It was interesting to see the expression on my father’s face as it changed from surprised, to frustrated, and finally, real happiness.

“How does he pull off those moves in that much armor?” Renalla questioned with Ryliss simply nodding next to her. The scholar might be a bookworm, but she was also a dark elf and trained with the warriors.

I knew I was smiling from ear to ear but didn’t care. “As you know he is an enchanter. But what you might not know is that he can’t cast spells like Nia or the girls can. The only thing he can do is shape the magic that is already in something to make it better. That’s what he does, he makes magic items.”

She looked at me in wonderment. “That armor is enchanted?”

I nodded. “Very much so. Mind you, not as much as mine but, yes, there is a lot of magic in his armor and the hammer. Especially the hammer; but I don’t really know if the shield does anything except block.

“Oh, believe me, it does!” said Nia. “He just hasn’t had a need for it yet.”

“G
reat! I bet it’s another cool thing like the ice wave that he didn’t give me,”
Winya pouted.

“Wait, what does the shield do? And how do you know what it does?” I questioned.

Nia smiled, showing her pointed teeth. “It’s a secret. And I’m the one who helped him make it, remember? I even know that you and Winya have only found about half of the enchantments in your armor.”

“
Half! What do you mean, half? This thing can do more? So where the hell did you hide those enchantments? Ugh! I need written instructions on myself!”

Mother wasn’t so patient. “But that doesn’t explain why he is doing so well.”

I shrugged. “I still don’t understand it completely, either. But the way it sounds is that enchanters also have the ability to see magic; in the earth, plants and even people. They are then able to see where the magic is flowing and, therefore, where your body will soon be. In short, he knows every move that Father is going to make before he does it. Believe me, it’s hard to fight him like this; but I’ve learned some work-a-rounds, sort of, anyway.”

She was staring at him, wide-eyed. “That’s incredible!”

I smiled and removed a gauntlet. “Want to see something even more impressive? Here, hold this.” As I was about to hand her the gauntlet, she reached for it with only one hand. “Both hands, please.” She looked confused, but did as I asked. I carefully dropped the gauntlet in her hands and chuckled as she was still caught off guard and nearly toppled over in the dirt.

“By the gods! What is this stuff?”

I snickered, as Ryliss reached over and cautiously touched it as well. “That gauntlet weighs about eighty pounds by itself and our armor is made almost completely out of the stuff. In his armor, Alex is about 5600 pounds of handsome armored power, with the strength to match! If Alex was using his hammer, one small tap could kill Father if he wasn’t careful. I’ve seen him blow five foot holes through stone perimeter walls with one blow.”

Renalla was shocked again. “But how can he move in that? How can
you
move in it?”

“The armor increases our strength to where it really feels like nothing to me and Alex. If anyone else put our armor on, it would crush them.

“But how can you ride a horse? Or even walk down the street without sinking to your knees into the dirt?” Ryliss protested. She actually seemed kind of offended that our gear went against common sense, as she knew it; but her inquisitive mind was begging for answers.

“Special horses and enchantments that offset the weight.”

Looking back at the boys, I decided they had been fooling around long enough. Alex’s skill with a sword wasn’t really good enough to score points on my father. By the same token, my father couldn’t get past Alex’s defenses, even with the new sword. So it was pretty much a tie.