Home Soon, Love (Book 1)

46 Do Not Eat The Pie

The sound of metal upon metal filled my ears as I skimmed each dress present. I pulled out one of red and orange hues made of the same thin fabric as the dress worn at last night's feast. In a hurry, I threw the dress on and ran to the mirror, being careful to add flats to my outfit while running. "Perfect" the dress was tight around the torso and flowed like water down that point, with long bell sleeves to compliment it.

"Ready, Alia?" Theodred called from the bottom of the stairs. I was filled with joy to see what else my people hold and could not contain myself.

THEODRED POV

I had dressed in a simple blue tunic with tough brown pants, waiting for Latalia to finish readying herself for her people. "Ready, Alia?" I called up the stairs, yet no response was returned. I sighed and sat on the bottom step as I waited.

"Heads up" "Wha-" before I could ask what she meant, there she was. 

Latalia was sliding down the railing of the long stairs with the look of a happy child on her face. "Catch me" she shouted. In the instant, I quickly held my arms out for her seconds before she fell into them.

"Are you ready now, my flower?" I kissed her forehead and set her down, for she was grabbing her bag of belongings and heading for the door once she left my arms. "Hurry Theodred, I want plenty of daylight to see it all" she pulled the doors opened and stared at me with pleading eyes. "I'm coming, i'm coming" I chuckled and followed behind her.

We spent many minutes scouting a way out of the castle, till we finally stumbled upon Gilanor. "You passed the entrance earlier, twice. I will show you the way and then inform the King that you are exploring" he laughed at our clumsiness to detail and lead us down one of the many halls we ventured. "This is where we part" he left swiftly from the area and left us to the tall red doors before us.

LATALIA POV

Two guards stood before the door, waiting to be commanded to let us go. "Open the doors, she's the daughter of Lord Chastine" I heard Gilanor call from afar. The guards scurried a tad before opening the doors to the civilization I awaited to see. "Thank you good men" I quickly walked out to the circular stone landing lined with vines and flowers. Just underneath where I stood was a small stream that opened into quite a big river the further down it went away from the castle.

 I rested my hands on the cold stone and took a deep breath of the sweet morning air.

"Come love, the city awaits" Theodred walked out to where the circular landing turned into a bridge and into a stone road, leading straight to the rest of the civilization. I ran along the stone bridge and passed Theodred, that is until he grabbed my arm carefully. "Hey, slow down" his touch moved from my arm as he slid it around my waist. "We must look presentable for these people"

I looked into the distance and could already see elves stirring, even though the sun had just risen. "I have come a very long way for this" I sighed in relief. The faint sound of a flute filled my strong sensed ears, as did the smell of something savory, yet sweet. We approached the town shortly and walked around the many markets, booths, children, armories, animals, and more.

Pigs, various birds, and more roamed among us like the small children with their wooden weapons and toys. "These children are so kind" I stated, turning to see Theodred knelt to the ground and speaking to a few. I could not hear what they were saying surprisingly, but I knew what it summed up to be, judging by the looks the kid and the prince exchanged.

 Moments later, Theodred was given a small wooden sword as him and the boy began to battle, the two small girls charging him from the back.

A loud laugh escaped my mouth as the kids began tackling Theodred to the ground, 'tis where I decided to step in. "Alright now children, I have come to claim this man you use as a mountain" I tried to hold back my own chuckling. "Is he your husband" a little girl in a light purple dress looked up at me.

 "Do you know the term boyfriend?" she nodded. "Well he is my boyfriend and I have come to take him with me" the little girl and her friend began whispering to one another and looked at the boy, who still stayed on top of Theodred.

"Chas, get off" the girl whined, followed by the boy sticking out his tongue. I snickered when I saw Theodred giving me puppy eyes as he lay on the ground. "I am Chastine the great, and no one can tell me what to do" the boy stood on Theodred proudly. I moved closer to the boy and bent down to stand level with him. "You know, Lord Chastine is my father, and I don't think he would want you to stand on his daughter's man" I smiled, causing the small boy to give me a look of shock and surprise.

He jumped off of Theodred who hopped up and dusted himself off. "Latalia, you're home!" the small boy and girls ran quickly and hugged my legs tightly. "So you have heard the story" I laughed, patting their small heads. "Now run along children and go play" I smiled deeply as they hurried off with their toys. "You do great with children of all kinds" Theodred's arms wrapped around me as he kissed my cheek. I indulged in our sweet moment until the savory smell from earlier floated back to me. "Do you smell that?" I turned to Theodred but he did not react to my question. 

I grabbed his hand and followed the smell, leading us to a booth of pies.

Each one had detailed carvings through the crust on top and looked beautiful. I leaned forward and felt the warmth and scent radiating off of the treat. "Miss, please don't eat the pie!" a young man ran out from behind a curtain covered doorway. I pulled back and gave him a confused look.

"The pies are not for eating Miss" he covered the pies quickly with a thick cloth. "They are for a game" he smirked deviously. I searched his eyes for any clue as to what he planned on doing, but received nothing. "You best not be bothering these people, and get those pies out back. You are not to use them" an elven woman with long black hair shouted at the boy. "I am sorry miss, I hope he was not bothering you" she patted down her apron and pinned her hair back, showing her pointed ears.

"All is fine, was just looking" I waved goodbye to the elven woman as Theodred and I continued to stroll through the town. "Would you like to check the training fields?" he turned to me and smiled. "Of course, even packed some tools of my own" I patted the satchel I had around my bodice proudly. We walked toward the green field next to the armory hut. I used my elven vision to scan the area for good targets to use.

"Let's head over there" he pointed to the far corner of the field where a pile of targets lay for storage. I opened my satchel and pulled out my twin Gallagtola Daggers since Enderlaus gave me the other one I was missing.

 The feel of the cool metal of the blade to my outstretched fingertips sent a feel of electricity throughout my body. I gripped the leather handle of each blade tightly from my satchel and headed towards the intended spot of the field.

I felt a sudden need to plunge my dagger into something quick, for it felt the dagger called to be used to kill.

 I began speeding across the field with a fast walk, the feeling of water trickling and tracing my tribe mark. "Latalia, wait" I could hear Theodred call from a great distance, but something in me would not let me stop running. I could not loosen my grip on the daggers in each hand, nor could I slow my pace down in the slightest.

The targets ahead came into clear view and I began to run faster, waiting for each dummy to be met with my blade in its abdomen and head. Everything seemed as if I was seeing red, for I could not control my actions.

 "Latalia, Stop!" the voice was very close. 

Just like a blinded bird hitting a tree, I had hit the ground. I rolled onto my back as the daggers dropped from my hands, my vision and actions becoming clear and controlled.

"Latalia, I got you" I felt my body being scooped up from the ground, but nothing could guarantee I was in Theodred's arms this time.