The Elvish Princess

Chapter Six

Clair shifted the rope tied pants on her waist to keep them from falling down, again. She brushed a piece of hair behind her ear as it had escaped from her braid and twisted the soft leather reins in her hands nervously. Valgaen had said they were just a half a days ride from Arobyn and it was almost reaching that time.

Since they had left the cove, the knights seemed almost more at ease with her, even if Thimben didn't. They had barely spoken a word to each other since the night she had asked about elven history, except for earlier today when he had seen her in the cove. She still wasn't sure if he had been making up hearing her scream just to see her naked or if he had really thought she was in trouble, his face had sure implied the latter of the two.

"Princess Clair," a knight by the name of Cendir said to her left, "Tell us of your home. You have seen much of ours, but we have never seen yours."

"You've never seen Lenad?" she asked shocked, "But I thought you all were fighting in the war? And most of it takes place far outside your kingdom."

Valgaen chuckled in front of her and turned his head to answer, "No Princess, we High Knights stay within our borders with the Royal Guard, keeping watch and safety over our people and our king."

"Except for Thimben! He goes wherever the wind takes him!" the last knight, Breniion called behind her. She watched Thimben from where he rode infant of her, his pale blonde white hair moving softly in the wind. He made no move to whether or not he had heard their talk of the war or the High Knights. 

"So you really want to know of Lenad?" she asked, her voice hesitant but they all nodded, their faces alight with curiosity, "Well, let's see. Colors don't seem as bright there as they are here, though the flowers in the spring and summer rival those of any other human kingdom. People come from across the sea to see them, to take some seeds home to try and grow their own but as far as I know none have succeeded. The seasons are all very different, though in the winter it is just cold, with a dusting of snow, not very much before it melts off from the spring heat and rains. And we are all equals in Lenad. Festivals are that of which everyone is invited. When my parents were married, everyone came, from the lowest of people to the highest. It will be...or would've been the same with my wedding."

"You don't think it will be that way?" Valgaen asked.

"Well...no. From what I know about elves, or aleast the High Elves of Arobyn, they only care for themselves." The knights around her burst into laughter, a sound do full of dismay and friendship she couldn't help but smile.

"Oh Princess, do your people know nothing? Or are they just as barbaric as we have heard?" Valgaen answered her again.

"What do you mean! My people are not barbaric in the slightest!" she answered, her voice rising in pitch.

"Then you also have the wrong idea about my people Princess, for we are one in the same."

Clair thought of this for awhile, pondering Valgaens words over and over again until Cendir spoke again, "What of the Brei Faer in Lenad?"

"Oh come Cendir! Are you so young that you do not know that the Brei Faer only live in the Daener Wood?" Breniion laughed again pushing the other knight over. He blushed a deep scarlet, turning his face from Clair and whispering something in elven to Breniion.

Clair shook her head, furrowing her brows, "I have never heard of such a thing until today. What are these things you call the Brei Faer?"

"They are lesser spirits of the Faethurimben-" Valgaen started before Clair inturrupted him.

"The what? Faethuramben?" she said, mispronouncing the name. The wind picked up speed just then, causing her hair to fly around and startled her horse, making her rear slightly.

Valgaen laughed once the wind calmed and the mare settled down, "Looks like Sûldir doesn't like you mispronouncing his name."

"Well how do you pronounce it?" she asked, somewhat flustered as she stroked the crest of the mares neck.

"Faethurimben, like impatient," he responded, stressing the first syllable to the word, "And Sûldir is pronounced Sûl, like Tool, and dir, like deer."

Clair nodded slowly, working the words in her mind, mulling over them as she looked around her. The forest was quiet, but not overly quiet. She could hear the rustling of leaves from the wind and animals, the wind in the trees, whistling softly, creaking of the wood, and of course the soft hoof sounds of the five horses around her. And then she heard it, music. Soft sounds like a hard or a mandolin, something strange, and then the voices. Light and airy, almost mystical.

"What is that?" she asked looking around her, trying to figure out where it was coming from.

"They are your wedding guests, and from the sound of it, they are the Elves of the Northern Mountains," Cendir spoke, a smile growing on his face, "They are my people, or my mothers people."

"They speak a different language than you," she said matter of factly, still looking around her.

"Yes, they speak an older tongue of elvish than the High Elves do," this time, it was Thimben that spoke, for the first time since they left the cove earlier that morning, "It is said that the Northern Mountains are were the Elves first came from until some kind of argument sent the royal brothers their separate ways across the earth."

"Can you speak Northern Elvish?" she asked, relishing the chance of actually getting to speak with Thimben.

"I can understand some of it, though speak it I cannot. Cendir can though," he stated.

"Thuisen rallie tenea falik ti enne," the youngest knight spoke, his voice carrying with they wind.

"What does that mean?" she asked, her face lighting up with curiosity.

"It means, 'there is little that is known to me'." Cendir said, giving her a slight wink. The rest of the knights, including Thimben, burst into laughter, causing the horses to spook for a moment before settling back down. The voices grew louder as they continued through the forest and the light became brighter as the trees began to get smaller and thin out around them. Suddenly she could see them, the people singing. They looked very different from the elves she had already seen, these elves looked positively magical.

Their skin had a glow to it, like a light from within was ready to burst forth. Their eyes were ranging in colors across the rainbow, from a deep amber red color to a lilac color so pale they looked white, and their hair was the color of the sun in August, they were captivating. As she watched them, a girl with bright, golden hair and indigo eyes approached her, a soft smile on her face and held up a flower to her. The flower was even more extravagant than the girl herself was. Much like the girls skin and hair, a light was actually bursting forth from it in tiny golden sparkles, the middle of the flower had a orange tint that lead through the petals like veins. 

Speechless she looked towards Cendir who said a few words to the girl, causing her to smile even brighter and quickly answer before running back to her people.

"What did you say?" she asked him, still captivated by the flower. 

"I told her you would use it in your wedding bouquet," he said, his eyes still locked on the girl. Clair's smile widened at him, knowing how kind he was towards the girl and even to her.

"Thank you Cendir," she spoke softly , lifting the flower to her nose and taking a soft whiff. It smelled just as heavenly as it looked, like honey and ginger. As they continued on with the growing crowd of people, the trees cleared as she saw it, Castle Arobyn.

Hi! I know it's short but I'm about written out for the day! Writing the dictionary and coming up with the plot for the rest of the book has worn me out, I hope y'all understand! Give me ideas or something you'd like to see if you want.

xoxo,

SH