Splintered Fate (28 page)

“
Sure,” Lana grumbled, opening her
eyes and sitting up. She did not want to talk to him, but he was an
advisor to the council, to the people that she needed on her side.
Noticing how wrinkled her toes have become, she pulled her feet out
of the crystal clear water, bringing her knees up to her
chest.

“
You did really well
today.”

“
By not letting you kill me?
Thanks.” Lana sourly retorted before noticing Dorian, Zorin’s
Aorra, sitting a few paces behind Zorin. Her eyes glared at the
silent beast.

“
I was not trying to kill you. I
wanted to push you, to see your skill set. You were never in harm’s
way.”

“
You didn’t even know I could make
a sword.”

“
That is not exactly
true.”

Lana turned, looking at him,
waiting for some sort of an explanation.

“
Of course I knew you could. Don’t
think of us as ignorant and locked up here in Alogrin, unknowing of
what goes on in the world. I wanted you to show me. I showed you
kindness at the party and so you did not want to hurt a nice old
man. Also many tend to underestimate me just because I am not as
youthful as I once was, so I cut you.” He looked at her arm “To
make it real, to anger you, to trigger you to give it your
all.”

Lana sat in silence, what he said
made sense, however it hadn’t done much to take away her anger.
Upset that he knew more of her than he let on, she felt
tricked.

“
It is not every day someone is
able to catch me off guard as you did in the arena. You even
managed to impress Dorian and that is very rare that anything
impresses him. Catching me off guard the way you did will never
happen again. I too am a fast study, but consider yourself to have
earned points with the council and all of the people of
Alogrin.”

Lana stared over the pond at some distant
trees without a response.

Zorin turned to leave.

“
Where did you learn to fight?”
Lana asked, stopping him.

“
From my father and he from his
father and so on and so forth.”

“
You were all a family of swords
men?”

Zorin laughed quietly while Dorian
made some sort of hardly audible sound. “I suppose we were
something like that. We were all required to be masters of the
sword.”

Lana looked at him questioningly, “What were
you?”

The way he looked at her, she wasn’t sure he
would give her an answer. His eyes squinted as if in thought, like
he was contemplating of a move to make. Briefly he glanced to his
Aorra before looking back at Lana with an easy smile.

“
Kings” He replied so very
casually.

Lana looked at him, eyes growing
wide. Of course.

“
You’re a decedent of King Rogan
Donyerth?” She gaped.

“
I am. Rogan Donyerth was my great
great great grandfather.” Zorin Donyerth simply stated.

Lana jumped to her feet. This man
was a decedent of legends, a descendent of the great kings that
used to rule all the lands during a time of peace.

Bowing before him, she hoped that
she had not offended the man in her time in Alogrin. Her father
would have probably been turning in his grave if he knew how she
acted towards a Donyerth.

“
Oh stop that silliness! I am no
king.” Zorin spoke while his Aorra approached, taking a seat next
to him. Dorian seemed to be intrigued by the turning of
events.

“
But you--” Her mouth was suddenly
so dry.

“
Had an ancestor who was a king.
My grandfather gave Alogrin to his trusted council so long as a
Donyerth will remain as an advisor to the council. That is what I
am, an advisor and a swords man who trains the people of Alogrin,
nothing more.”

“
Do the people here know who you
are?” Lana asked, terrified to have held a sword up to the man’s
neck in front of everyone. A king’s neck.

“
Only the one’s it would be
important to.”

Lana felt somewhat relieved at
that.

“
I better go.” Zorin Donyerth said
with a gentle touch to Lana’s shoulder. “I am sure I will be seeing
you again soon.” He added with a smile.

Lana could only return a small
smile as she speechlessly watched Zorin, the decedent of the great
Donyerth family, walk away with his Aorra. Like a statue she stood,
her eyes following them until they completely vanished from
sight.

Remembering the stories, she had
heard as a child, Lana sat back down on the ground. Everyone knew
the legends of the old kings long before the lands were split into
two, the Rami and Madonian side. They were stories people told
their children. The great king lived in Alogrin, a massive fortress
that was hidden from all except the selected. The king’s bloodlines
were known for their ability to forge their powers into the most
extraordinarily intricate things. They were blessed and incredibly
powerful.

That was until one day a void
broke out between the people of the lands. Two cousins of the king,
blinded by hatred and jealousy, wanted the crown for themselves.
They started a war. They tricked the King at the time, King Rogan,
killing him. But in their haste, the murder was complete before
they ever learned all of the secrets of how to get into Alogrin on
their own.

The cousins blamed each other for
the fault, mistrusting each other. A rift grew between them, deep
enough to crack the lands in to two. One had the gift of power, the
other had Aorras. They divided the lands, culling those who did not
belong from each side, creating a Madonian and Rami
side.

But King Rogan Donyerth had a pregnant wife
who was never seen after his death.

Come find
me.
Lana called to Ardin, who immediately
began heading towards her. She felt exhausted, even after her small
nap in the grass.

When Ardin arrived she told him
what she learned of Zorin Donyerth to which Ardin implied he had no
knowledge of. Her wolf lay next to her, placing his nose on her
belly. Thoughtlessly Lana ran her hand over his head, stroking his
fur. They laid like this in silence for a while, finding comfort in
each other’s company.

It was not until the sun began getting lower
in the sky that Lana realized she was starving. The two began
walking from the hot spring towards the castle.

When they emerged from the woods
they could see Clyte standing between them and the entrance, as if
waiting for something. Lana glanced over her shoulder, she and
Ardin were alone, and no one else is coming from their
direction.

Is she waiting for us?

“
You
fight fairly well, for a princess.” Clyte yelled to Lana before she
arrived at the door. Lana cringed, why was everyone constantly
trying her. She wished she could return to the hot spring and just
hide there. Her stomach grumbled in protest.

“
Thanks,” Lana mustered, the most
decent response she could.

Clyte began laughing. “Forgive me, I know you
did not wish to be called a princess, I couldn’t resist doing it
just once. In all seriousness you did well this morning, much more
impressive than Kaiden.”

Lana wanted to leave. Just hearing Clyte say
his name with such ease, as if they had always been friends
bothered her. But her curiosity thirsted for more. “How’d he do?”
She asked, unable to resist.

“
He did well, he has good form,
seems pretty agile but didn’t get the upper hand on Zorin like you
did.”

“
Zorin simply underestimated me,
it will not happen again.” Lana said with a small shrug.

“
Yes, but were he a true opponent,
he would only have been able to underestimate you just that once
and you would have slayed him. Being a woman, people think us weak,
it is an advantage if we use it properly.” Clyte said with a warm
smile.

Lana’s stomach grumbled again, reminding her
of her hunger. She glanced at the entrance a moment before turning
to Clyte. “Mind showing me where I can get some food?” Clyte seemed
to be in an agreeable mood and was a powerful person in Alogrin.
Lana figured at least she could try and sway her to help her
cause.

“
Not at all, come with me I was
about to head there myself.”

Lana followed Clyte through the hallway
answering various questions about Ardin and her life outside of
Alogrin.

“
Zaichick!” a voice shouted in a
thick layer of sweetness, stopping them. The word was one Lana had
heard of before. It was from an ancient language that was nearly
dead, meaning bunny. It was a pet name.

A short Rami woman with red hair
and tanned skin approached them. She eyed Lana with cool green eyes
as she passed her. Her hand reached out, pulling Clyte aside. “You
never showed to today’s practice.” The woman whispered, her voice
filled with rich annoyance, loud enough that Lana could
hear.

“
I told you I might not be able to
today.”

“
Might not is
not an answer! I waited for two hours for you to
maybe
show!”

“
Could we please not do this right
now?”

“
Oh it’s a bad time?” The woman
turned so quickly on her heels it could have create wind, and
stormed off, clearly angry, leaving Clyte standing
alone.

Clyte turned back to Lana. “That was Rika, she
is having a bad day, and normally she is very pleasant.”

Lana looked at Rika walking away and then back
at Clyte and burst out laughing. She could not contain the humor
she found in this situation. Clyte looked at her with an odd
expression. “Forgive me, I don’t mean to laugh it’s just… forgive
me. It isn’t you it is me…”

What is the
matter with you?
Ardin
asked.

Don’t you see?
Rika called her
Zaichick
and was far angrier at Clyte’s practice absence
then a colleague or a simple friend would be.

Clyte’s facial expression suddenly
changed from confusion to understanding. “Oh, you need not worry.
Kaiden is all yours, not my type.” She said with a wink.

Lana blushed at Clyte’s comment. “It isn’t
like that.”

“
No? I see the way you two stare
at one another.”

“
It’s complicated.” Lana looked at
the ground with the memory of the other night replaying in her
mind. Warmth rose up to her cheeks.

“
It is only complicated if we make
it so. And for what it’s worth he seems taken with you. Anyways
food’s this way.”

Lana followed Clyte down the hall
to the dinning room where they then ate together sharing some
stories from each of their pasts. Clyte told her how she had met
Rika. How the two had only been an item for a few months and she
was not yet used to being so accountable to another. Lana talked to
Clyte about her and Kaiden, where they met, how it was to see him
again after such a long time.

As time passed Lana forgot that she was
talking to an Alogrin council member and for the first time felt
like she was just talking to a friend.

Chapter

Fourteen

The rays of sun shone into Lana’s
room, hitting her face, waking her from her peaceful slumber.
Rubbing her eyes open she looked around her room, she was alone.
Ardin must have gotten up and was probably playing with Nila
somewhere. The two of them had become quick friends over the time
of their journey and now in Alogrin.

Climbing out of bed, Lana cringed
as her toes touched the cold stone floor. She made her way to her
dresser and slipped on a clean tunic and pants and made her way out
the door. Smoothly she weaved through the long halls, grabbing an
apple along the way, and then through the gardens making her way to
the Arena.

It had been weeks since she had
first arrived in Alogrin. The palace within the mountain was
becoming almost a second home to her. The confusing hallways were
becoming less so, each turn more recognizable. The people of
Alogrin were becoming friendlier, saying hello with looks of
sincere kindness as she walked past them.

Kaiden was already in the Arena
sitting against a tree, waiting for her.

Over time Kaiden and Lana seemed
to go back to what was normal to them, to what she could handle
right now. The two spent a great deal of time together in Alogrin
and Lana was happy to have a friend to explore the place with in
the afternoons. In the mornings they continued their tradition of
practice and training. Often they were joined by Clyte.

Both Zorin and Donn would stop by
frequently and help by giving input during training, however never
together. Lana quickly picked up that the two had a rather thick
distaste for one another but she never asked either of them about
it.

On a few occasions even Rika came
by and join practice with them. Though Lana had the feeling Rika
only came to keep an eye on Clyte, either way it provided a new
person to spar with. Rika had a fiery personality that matched her
red hair. Apart, both she and Clyte seemed like strong Rami women
with tough exteriors. However, whenever they were together Lana
would catch small glimpses of their softer sides with each
other.