Lex of Rhule

Chapter 9: An Explination

Lex watched as Zander stabbed his sword into the coals to stoke the flames. He was unfamiliar with the feelings he had towards him. The understanding of why he did it was there and the cost was inconceivable. It was just hard to believe that all this time he could have had a life that included not only his mother but his brother too.

   His mother was the elven queen of Rhule. He didn't even want to think about what that made him. All this time and there wasn't one message by hawk. Even if that was risky why not send one through Kairi.
He wondered why Clare hadn't shown her face until now he assumed it was to not rise suspicion since she was the adopted child of Queen Arica Al'niir.
   To him that was no excuse. And what of Kairi, was her smile genuine? He had grown so fond of her. He thought of her chasing him through the house with a skillet in hand and smiled. He decided that he would have to believe she was on his side no matter what .
     He didn't want to understand but he knew his father was a good man and Kairi was the best friend he had. He didn't know Clare but he trusted her. That brought him peace and he began to relax. Zander stopped stirring noticing the change of emotions play across his sons face and decided that now would be a better time than any to tell him what Ryse had not.
~~~~~
Zander slipped quickly through the streets of Kale. He blended with the shadows unnoticed by all he passed. The sun told him he would be late for dinner with His uncle Roland and King Pent of Kale. He made no attempt of changing into something more appropriate. He would rather show up covered in filth than have to face his uncles scrutiny after.
      He hastily greeted the guards as they returned the greeting and let him pass through the cypress doors to the dining hall in which they stood vigil. He was relieved to see that his uncle and the king were not present. However he wasn't alone. A young Sarim sat in his seat waiting for him.

    He and Sarim were friends. His uncle being advisor to the king left them plenty of time alone. Overtime they became friends. They loved the freedom of being outside of the castle walls. They would go on hunts and teach each other their tricks for snares and silence.
They were like ebony and ivory . Zander blue eyes and black hair gave him a common look. Whereas Sarim's blonde hair and honeyed eyes made him look every bit of the regal prince he was. It never mattered to them the had an unbreakable bond. They were like brothers.
Late one night a page had given word that Roland was told to meet the king in the war room. He knew something was amiss. As soon as they turned down another passage Zander went the opposite direction he turned down the next hallway and after checking for prying eyes he slipped past the first door and was followed in by Sarim.

They sat quietly in the storage room. It was located on the backside of the war council room mirroring the door. As a child Sarim's father left him to hold council with a foreign trade general. It upset him so much that he ran and hid so no one could bother him. He realized while huddled there that he could hear everyone in the council as if he were standing there with his fingers in his ears.
He and Zander now spent every council meeting learning all they could of Agramond's politics. Because one day they would be king and advisor in kale too. Only this time was different.
They listened as the commander, the advisor and the king entered the chamber. The king began in a celebratory tone he told them that his troops had returned from the nesting grounds and not only were the borders clear of the dragons that had ruined their crops and herds gone but they had left precious treasures behind.
  
   His scouts had recovered five dragon eggs. They were to be held in the treasury as trophies of the king. There to show the great deeds he had done for the kingdom.
Also he could split them and use them as tokens to unite the three kingdoms in Agramond. He wanted peace between Rhule, Nargul and Kale. He wanted them to be equals so that they could come and go freely and they can trade freely. He didn't want petty disputes and squabbles to turn into war so he would use These eggs to unite them once and for all.
The commander and advisor congradulated the king and the commander was dismissed. King Pent asked Roland to stay however. When it was clear the king would not be overheard he told his advisor of his plan. He planned to leave castle kale for a span of days so that he could meet with the Elven Queen in the emerald forest.
He planned to give to her a token of his honesty and good will. In hopes that she would make a treaty with him. He knew that if he made peace with her that she could link him to the paragon of Nargul. And just maybe for the first time in all of Agramond they could live as one.
But no one could know that the king was gone. For he would be taking young prince Sarim with him on this journey. He thought he should be present when they made the treaty. The advisor was to get the healers to declare the king sick in public to cover up his absence and in order for them not yo notice Sarim missing Zander would have to stay hidden until their return. If the people saw one of the boys without the other they would question it. But if they were both gone they just assumed they were off hunting or getting into things as usual.
So Roland agreed to this and bid the king farewell. He had the healers and the physician announce his sickness and retired for the night.