Songs of Fallen Stars

9

Rion

I tell Rosa to make sure Elara is ready for dinner tonight. Dressed to impress.

I find Yazier in the dining hall, eating as usual.

“Why did you intentionally goad her on?” I demand. I know he did it on purpose.

“I thought you’d want to know where you stood with her.”

“Knowing that she hates me does not make me feel better”

“Are you making any attempt to send her home?”

“Why should I? She’s my mate, why would I want to let her go?” I snarl at him.

“Relax, I was just asking. It doesn’t make a difference to me.”

“Well, it should. She will be your Queen one day soon! So you’d better start changing your attitude”. I slam my fist down on the table and storm out.

All I wanted to do tonight was invite her to the Summer Solstice festivities and to tell her we will be leaving tomorrow morning for the Siren Kingdom.

I need to relax, Yazier got me worked up and I need to be calm and level headed for tonight. I head to the bathhouse and strip down before stepping into the pool. The steam opens my airways as I lay back against the marble.

Tomorrow is going to be a long day. Our journey will take five days of travel. The Siren Kingdom is on the world’s edge, and there’s only so far I can travel by air. We will have to do most of the traveling by foot, I am sending a troop ahead of us to scope things out.

I get out of the pool and redress for dinner, I go with a royal blue tunic and black pants. I need to change her opinion of me if I will ever have a chance of getting into her heart. Heading to the dining hall I ask the kitchen staff to prepare something special for tonight’s dinner. They seem excited to have a request, they never get the chance to make anything special.

“Is there an occasion we don’t know about Your Majesty?” The head cook, Mathew, asks

“You know we have a special guest, Lady Elara, staying with us. I want her to have the very best” I say as I pick up an apple and take a bite.

I go to my office and sit down, looking at the maps for our journey. We will take the East route, through the mountains. Once we get past them, in four days time I will fly us the rest of the way. I wish I could just fly the entire way but the visibility above the mountains is dangerously low. Flying for days on end in such conditions is tiring on the body.

The bell rings, signaling dinner is being served. I make my way to the dining hall and sit at the head of the table, and wait. Ten minutes later I hear footsteps, the clicking of her boots on the marble floor as she approaches. The door opens and she steps in. I look her up and down.

She wears a rich red gown with embroidery and gems sewn into it, it is long flowing sleeves that trail down. It fits her snugly, highlighting every inch of her perfect body. Her hair has been swept up into a braided crown, her long neck is adorned with a gold chain that trails down into her cleavage.

She sees me and her eyes harden, she makes a dramatic bow.

“Your Majesty” She says sarcastically as she straightens, her eyes still narrowed at me. I stand and walk over to her chair, pulling it out for her and gesturing for her to sit down. She stalks over, like a child having a tantrum and plops down in the seat. She is seated on my left side, as an honored guest.

“You look beautiful” I whisper in her ear as I push her chair in. My eyes linger on her neck, I can see her firm breasts held perfectly in place as I look over her shoulder. I inhale as I step back, her blonde hair seems to stand up on end as I pull away. I smirk, knowing I have some sort of reaction on her, whether she will admit it or not.

“Thank you” She says with an even tone, her nose in the air. She is trying not to look at me as I walk back to my own seat.

I feel her eyes on me, she looks unimpressed.. Or at least that’s how she wants to look.

“So, why did you want to have dinner with me?” She questions as she takes a sip out of her goblet.

“I have news. We leave for the Siren Kingdom in the morning. It is a five-day journey” I load my plate with roast and potatoes. I make a plate for her as well and slide it over to her.

“What are we going there for?” Her voice is almost trembling. She must have read the history about the Sirens. She has good reason to be afraid.

“There is a Sea Witch we will be meeting. Cayanna. She is said to be very old and knowledgeable. It’s not guaranteed she will know anything but it’s a lead” I take a sip of my spirit and continue, “ I also wanted to invite you to attend the Summer Solstice, as my honored guest.”

She looks up at me, there’s something strange in her expression.

“Why would I need to attend that?”

“Why wouldn’t you?” I am baffled by her reaction.

“Well.. I read that it’s a ceremony where you try to find your Mates?” She gives me a confused look as she waits for me to answer.

“Yes.. it is, but it’s also a celebration of the season changing”

“When is it?”

“Two months from now. Will you attend?”

She hesitates, looking around the room for a moment before she finally speaks, “Well.. I had hoped I’d be home by then, but I guess if that doesn’t happen.. Then sure…”

Ah, yes. Returning her home… What I had promised I’d try my best to do.

We eat in silence for the rest of the meal, she excuses herself first and leaves me alone in the dining hall. I tell Rosa to prepare a chest for Elara for our journey. I go to my room to find my own chest has been prepared, my weapons sitting atop it. My long blades and daggers are sharp and ready for me.

I wake early and have breakfast before Elara even wakes, I make sure her chest is loaded into the carriage. Once I’m sure we have everything we need I head back into the castle. I see her making her way to the dining hall, she is wearing traveling attire. A long green dress with furs and her long hair is in a single braid.

“Good morning” She says to me as she sits to eat her breakfast.

I nod and tell her to meet me outside when she’s finished eating.