Falling Shadows (The Ellocea chronicles) [#Wattys2016]

Sixteen

 Zahni had never felt so lost and confused in all his life. He stood by the window and stared out at the afternoon sun warming the land that rolled out in front of him, but not reaching far enough to warm the ice that seemed to have settled on the outsides of his heart. He couldn't stop thinking about her answer, how could she have said no? Even now thinking back to that day a smile still tugged at his lips making the pain of her refusal even harder to bear. Eventually he began to hope that she hadn't felt the same as he had on that day, because if she had, that would mean she'd declined him because of his position and if that were true he couldn't bear it.

After the procession he had felt as if he were in a daze, he couldn't stop smiling the whole day, he even enjoyed the rest of the parade, all because of the girl he'd met by the forest. He couldn't stop thinking about her smile, with the one slightly wonky tooth, proving that she was real, without it she would look too perfect to be human. Thinking of it now, the feeling of loss returned to his stomach and he felt his heart sink to the floor.

The feeling had started like a dull ache, one that, when ignored, could be forgotten about for a while, but with every passing day it had grown. He'd smiled through all the feasts and balls, with genuine happiness and excitement at the possibility of seeing her again at the Final Ball, the last of the festivities that would mark his arrival into manhood. The whole of the valley was invited and it would be held in the Great Hall and parts of the garden. By the time the ball was only one day away, her absence was causing him physical pain, he had hardly been able to sleep and was haunted by images of her, blushing in the sunlight so close he could touch her but whenever her would try she would vanish before his eyes, like a reflection on a still pond disturbed by a gentle rush of wind.

He couldn't wait to talk to her again and hear her contagious laugh and when the day arrived he could barely contain his excitement. He was the happiest he had ever been and his parents were at a loss as to why. Various girls had been presented to him over the past fortnight, by numerous fathers, some high in society, some willing to pay and others from the far corners of the Eight Lands, he'd even danced with Shalonda's beautiful niece, but he had known all the while that none of them could affect him the way that this forest girl had. He had chatted politely with them but excused himself whenever he felt the conversation veering towards the topic of marriage.

He began to worry that he had imagined her, that in fact she had been some kind of vision conjured up by his mind, the more people he asked about her the more he began to doubt himself. He'd even gone down to the kitchens to ask the scullery maid, who he'd found out was also from Kalani, if she knew of a girl with hair the colour of gold and eyes like the Sky, but all he'd received in return of his questions was a blush and an enthusiastic offer for her to dye her hair.

The days after the Final Ball passed without notice, many of the guests from the further lands departed to begin their long journeys. Some of the normalcy in his life had returned but the pain hadn't gone. After the crushing disappointment he'd felt after the ball he knew that he had to find her for fear of losing his mind. He organised hunts and rides for him and the remaining guests, all with the hope of catching sight of her hut. Even with his enviable skills as a tracker he couldn't remember where they'd talked or where she said her hut was, his frustration was even worse than the pain, he could almost feel her presence in the hills, so close yet too far. After ten or so hunts his father was growing tired of his games and demanded to know what had him acting as if he'd lost his mind. Zahni had expected his father to be angry when he tried to explain, but he gave him a knowing look and told him that it had been the same with him and his mother. It was then that Zahni had known what he had to do.

"I want to ask her to marry me," The look of astonishment on his mother's face would normally have caused him to laugh but his heart seemed to be floating somewhere on the edge of a cliff and laughing was the last thing he felt like doing.

"Zahni, are you sure? You don't even know her name."

"Mother I've never been so sure about anything else in my life, I barely know her but she won't leave my head. It constant and its driving me crazy without her," Daya saw the intensity in his eyes and was alarmed by how deeply he seemed to mean what he was saying. Her mind briefly flickered to her brother Malakai and fear blossomed in her chest but as she looked back up at her son's golden eyes she realised this was different. Looking at the pale skin that seemed to be drawn too tightly across his defined cheekbones she saw the pain this was causing her son and knew it had happened. She knew that he had found her, his very own cariad, she just hoped that this girl felt the same.

"Oh Zahni," She couldn't hold in her tears and she grabbed her eldest and hugged him with all the love she held.

"Father?" the Kahn's tawny eyes caught Zahni's. His face was unreadable and a sense of fear tugged at his heart as he waited to hear the words that would decide his future.

"Kalizahni, you know the marriage won't strengthen alliances, don't you?" These thoughts had occurred to him and he knew how important alliances were especially since the nightmare that was the Red Days. They couldn't afford another war and no one in the Vallele wanted one but that didn't mean that other Lands weren't becoming restless. Fear gripped his chest as he tried to prepare himself for the unbearable words of refusal.

"Father please, I know she won't bring alliances with other clans but she can help to unite us with our own people," Bile started rising in his throat as he was clutching at straws in an effort to convince his father. He was almost too scared to look him in the eyes but when he did he saw a ghost of a smile passing his father's lips.

"Very well, Zahni, we better send out the messenger,"