Hallowed Souls

Chapter Two

A cold rain was falling and the world seamed bleak and grey. Sentinel trees, mighty oaks and tall elms spread dark shadows across the ground, birds sang in their hidden nests and the air smelled of mud and moss.

Hlaivar stared at the gardens, taking in the smells, making sure he would not forget. He was born here, he was raised here, and in a few hours he would lose it all. Off in the distance, a wolf howled.

All the noise and chaos in the yard was slowing, giving way to an uneasy silence. Almost everyone else had left. He would have to leave too, though he did not want to.

His litter was waiting outside, along with an escort of Oscondian guards. Though it made him uneasy, it was a decision he had to make. He always had to remember that.

"Looking for ravens?" His brother asked him. Aanxalf looked horrible, his skin was pale and tightly stretched over his bones. His piercing blue eyes were sunken and melancholy. His long blond hair was dull and tangled. Being held for ransom by a foreign soldier could do that to you.

"No." Back when they were children, they used to stay in the gardens for hours, watching for ravens. The memory made Hlaivar both sad and happy at the same time.

"We're going to have to leave too, you know." Aanxalf told him.

"I know." He replied.

A single raven flew in the air and crossed over from one tree to another.

"You know, you should get married soon." He said. "I plan on asking Tarxadi if I could get his sister to marry you."

Aanxalf laughed. "You're one to talk, brother. You're one-and-twenty and you don't even have a son yet."

"You know they were infertile. None of them produced any heirs, and I'm starting to fear that I'm the problem." He said. "If I never produce an heir, you'll be next in line to the throne."

"A bearable task, brother. Why the Gwöitas though?" Aanxalf asked.

"A minor clan, sure. But they have the blood of Salmeran kings running through their veins." He informed his brother.

"Ah yes, I'm sure the Salmerans would love it if I marry the distant kin of one of their kings from a hundred years ago." Aanxalf replied sarcastically. "A foolish choice, if you ask me. But I'll do it for your sake."

"Father would be proud of you." He told him.

"Speaking of father, he's mumbling again. Asking for mother." Aanxalf said. "The guards told me."

"You exposed him outside?" He asked him angrily, yet Aanxalf just sighed.

"You know you can't hide him forever." Aanxalf told him.

"This wasn't the way to do it. The King of Frollia cannot be paraded around all mad and frail." He said. They dared not let the full extent of the king's frailty become too widely known, lest they reap the consequences.

"Sooner or later they would have found out. The maids have been whispering about it, and I suspect others know too. It's been one-and-ten years, Hlaivar. You know that." Aanxalf said. "I'm going. The boats will wait for us, but I'd rather not wait around for the Greutons. The Lady knows I've been around them far too much." He japed.