Verita - The Guardian of Darkness

35

As silly as she found it, Elanthin couldn't get a simple question out  of her mind. Long after tea time with Aetrian had ended and the sun had  begun her descent, she found herself thinking about it over and over  again: What if we got married?

Was that something she wanted? Or was she just going along with one of his ridiculous whims?
Was  it even acceptable for the queen of the Forlorn Plains and head of  house Verita to marry the king of Gratia? None of her etiquette classes  had prepared her for this kind of situation and neither Phygras nor Vax  were here to guide her into the right direction.

When thinking  about it became unbearable, she plucked her swords from the wall and  strode down the corridors until she'd arrived at the closest portal  frame. In her mind, she envisioned the place she wanted to be at; the  dust beneath her feet, the air filled with swarms of Nima; the sound of  steel swords beating against training puppets.

Without a moment of hesitation, she stepped through.

After  reading her advisors' letters, she'd known that there was no way that  the portal would take her off the palace grounds – not to mention  through the Eternal Barrier –, but the sight of lush greenery made  Elanthin sigh. It was as beautiful as the first time she'd seen it but  the Gratian landscape reminded her of Aetrian and of the decision she  was facing.

That's quite enough, she told herself. In  the past, she hadn't struggled much with her emotions, even though  there'd been many things which were getting problematic for her in the  last months: The rising panic and chaos amongst her people, her own  body's growing exhaustion and the unsolvable problem of the Deep.

However,  this was new. Elanthin hadn't been one to become easily overwhelmed by  her emotions after she'd began her successor training at the age of six.  Now she felt like a child again, trying to untangle the big ball of  emotions inside her chest.

Her eyes swerved over the sandy  field in front of her, which had become trodden down under the pressure  of countless feet. A few hundred meters in the distance, she found a  simple brick building without the usual Gratian decor. If she was still  on the palace grounds, this wasn't an official building. This might not  be her own castle's courtyard but she'd certainly found someone's  training grounds.

"Hello? Is anyone here?"

No one  replied to her soft call, and she breathed out in relief. The last thing  Elanthin wanted to encounter right now were nosy soldiers who'd heard  the latest rumors about the Veritan monster living in their king's  castle.

She pushed back the hood of her cloak before pulling  it off completely. The sun was too warm and even though she ran the risk  of being recognized without it, the fabric would only get in the way of  her training.

While Elanthin was still inspecting her swords,  heavy footsteps neared, crushing her hopes of peace and quiet.  Reluctantly, she looked up at the broad-shouldered man who was wearing  the soldier's training uniform consisting of a simple shirt with  Gratia's coat of arms as a tiny emblem and caramel trousers.

"I  was hoping to train a little before bothering with introductions", she  explained without keeping the disappointment out of her voice or  expression.

"No introduction is needed as far as Your Majesty  is concerned", replied the stranger friendly. His Veritan tongue was  easy to understand, if a little flat and drawn out. Elanthin recognized  the unnatural sound from the way the few bilingual maids spoke to her.

"Why is everyone conversing in my language as if it's nothing?"

The  question had bothered her since her arrival. Now that it wasn't only  her maids and the nobles of Gratia, she couldn't dull her curiosity any  longer.