When All You Have are Embers

XVIII

Loriath

As he sat waiting in his throne, Airen stood beside him. The sunset flooded the room, making the blue crystal floors and walls sparkle.

"Are you alright, Airen?" Asked Loriath, not looking towards him. "You look stiff."

"I am merely eager to meet the princess that will be your future Queen." He said.

"I would rather not talk about the Princess." He said. "The idea of being married makes me uneasy."

"And why is that, My King?"

"I do not like being tied down to one woman."

"She's hardly a woman." Airen chuckled.

"That only makes it worse." He said, gloomily.

"You will not have to conceive with her until marriage." Said Airen.

"The way you talk about her makes me sick. She makes me sick, this whole situation makes me sick." He said. "I will not be marrying someone who can hardly call themselves grown. It is ridiculous."

"Ridiculous or not, you will be marrying her either way." Airen sighed. "Your feelings on this matter are irrelevant." He said.

"I know that already. If my feelings did matter she wouldn't be on a ship to our Kingdom right now."

"What will you do when she arrives?"

"Carry out formalities. I assume we should be married as soon as possible." He said.

"And what about your little friend in the dungeons?" Airen asked.

Loriath's jaw tightened. He had no idea Airen knew about her. "How do you know about her?"

"I know everything about you, My King. It is my job." He stated, calmly.

"I see."

"What do you intend to do with her?" Airen asked finally looking over to Loriath.

"She is my spy. My raven that keeps an eye on everything that goes on inside our borders." He said.

"So then she has magic sensors."

"More powerful than most. She knows how far the Princess is from us right now." Airen was silent and did not respond. "Have you spoken to her, or are you just aware that she exists?"

"I would never speak with someone you have not given me explicit consent to speak with." He said with a tone of loyalty you could only expect the royal adviser to have.
"She's a demon, My King. You cannot rely on her for things that we cannot afford to have go wrong."

"You have not seen how she cares for me." Loriath said.

"Oh I have." He responded. "She stays in that cell for you, after all."

"What?" He turned his hand around to look at Airen.

"Nothing, My King. I was talking to myself." He said.

"Hm." He turned back away from him.

Airen knew he should have told Loriath that that creature was not as weak as he thought she was. She was in the cells of her own free will. Either because she loves him as he says, or because she is deceiving him.

"Is it a problem that I know about her?" He asked.

"No, do not trouble yourself with worrying about her. It makes no difference to her who knows about her existence."

"My King." Someone opened the doors to the throne room and called for Loriath. Loriath stood up from his throne.
"The ship from Elthin carrying the Princess Klara is now visible from the harbour. You may come to greet her." He said, bowing at the waist.