The Eldars

35

Leean searches for Montani and finds her in a room full of glass windows and plants. "Montani?" He is unsure of his welcome.

Montani turns from her unseeing looking at the night sky. "Leean, you must think me terribly unmannered."

Leean goes to her and gives her a hug. "Not at all. It has been far more difficult for you than you've let on, hasn't it?"

Montani finds herself holding onto the elf and crying. She is unable to voice anything other than sobs. Leean awkwardly pats her back and makes soothing sounds. "I know you'd rather have Mant doing this."

"Mant knows that it's important to talk to the vacar leaders and set out the terms for the alliance. I should be in there doing that." Montani says her tears slowing just enough for her to get the words out.

"Somehow, I think that this time the task is his and not yours," Leean says softly.

Montani continues crying softly for some time just being held by Leean as she lets out her pain. In time the tears end and Montani finds herself incredibly tired.

Leean catches her as she starts to fall. He gathers her in his arms and takes her to her room before returning to where the others are.

"Mant, Montani has need of you. She is in your room." Leean knows that the alliance is important, and not just for the Eldar, but for them all. Yet Montani needs Mant even more.

Mant excuses himself and goes to his wife. The vacar elders watch in various states of amusement or affront. Then they turn their attention to the elf.

"Well, prince you sure know how to make both an entrance and an exit. What is it that the elves wish with this alliance?" Leean has trouble with the quick change of subject, but then is able to straighten himself out.

"Just what I imagine the Eldar wish. We want our lands and homes protected like you protected yours." The elders nod and the talk drifts to other topics and monotonous subjects of politics. Leean answers the best he can, but since he's so young he hasn't much experience or knowledge.

Then they ask him a question that completely blows him away, "You said if things had been different the human would have been your step mother, please explain."

"My father, the crown prince, fell in love with Montani. She was named Katiri at the time. She was able to out do almost all of the elves in almost everything. There were only a couple of things that the elves refused to teach her, we had some pride. The idea of a young human besting even our best warriors wasn't to be accepted. But Katiri had won the hearts of my people.

"My father had worried about asking Katiri to marry him, because he didn't think our people would accept her as his wife. Then my grandparents gave their acceptance. He was going to ask her on her sixteenth birthday, but we were attacked and he had to miss her birthday. By the time he returned her family was dead. There was no sign of her. There were tracks of the evil ones that killed her family. My father tracked them to here. But he never found any sign of Katiri. It was assumed that she died as well.

"When my father brought her back to Arbolan, with her husband, there was great joy with my people." Leean stops there. The people and his father did rejoice at her being alive, but his father suffered because Katiri had found someone else to love.

"And your father?" Leean looks at the elder coolly. 

"My father rejoiced that Katiri was not only alive, but that she had found someone to love and love her in return." Leean speaks the truth, but he still wishes that Katiri had been his step mother. Even if she is several decades younger than he himself is and will likely die long before him or his father.

"We have insulted you. We ask for your pardon prince," the male elder says softly.

"My father loves Montani and only wishes for her happiness," Leean says before bowing to the elders and Teondae. Then he leaves and finds himself back in the room where he had found Montani.

"We seemed to have insulted your guests Teondae. That wasn't our intention, these alliances are just as important to us as they are to the elves and Eldar." The youngest of the elders states wishing that things had gone more smoothly.

"They know that as well as do I. Montani has gone through a lot and hasn't been back here since her family was killed. I'm sure that has a great deal to do with her leaving like she did. And when it comes to Montani, Mant will drop everything for her. I have seen some of her memories. She went to the Eldar broken. Even so she became more than just strong. Mant survived his torture because of his love for her. He saved her in one way and she saved him in another.

"And the elf?"

Teondae smiles sadly, "The elves love Montani. Leean will be protective of her due to her almost being his step mother. He adores her even more than other elves. The crown prince loves her still. The king and queen were willing to do whatever she told them. It is because of her that the elves are being evacuated from Arbolan and moving to help the humans. Even though the elves were adamant about not leaving their lands."

"This Montani, she is human?" The elder that asks that holds his hands up, "I know that we've asked that question before and have been answered, but it just doesn't seem possible with what all she's accomplished." The young elder says defensively.

"She is human, but stronger than even I," Teondae says after the others wait for his reply. "She was able to break my mind control and free the elves. Of which the crown prince was one. It was there that I saw part of Montani's pain. She has suffered greatly, more than I thought possible for any human to suffer and survive." Teondae looks to the now closed door that they had all left through. "Montani is as human as you are Vacar, elder. She is just a very, very, powerful human."

"Is she then to be trusted?" The vacar elder dares to question.

Teondae smirks, "Are any of us to be trusted?" Teondae loses his smirk. "If there is any person of any race that can be trusted, that person would be Montani. She dislikes lies and half truths more than I can say. She will be a powerful ally and an even more powerful foe." Teondae shakes his head, "If there is any one that can reunite the races against the enemy it will be Montani."

"So you are saying to make the alliance no matter what the terms are?" The vacar elder demands.

Teondae looks at the elder with narrowed eyes, "She has made no demands. Her husband has only asked for what is reasonable and has given reasonable offer in return for our help. I still don't think Montani has reached her full potential and once she does there is going to be hell to pay for her enemies. I don't wish to be one of them."

There is silence in the room as the vacar elders absorb Teondae's words. "We have waited long centuries for the one that will return us to our lands. I will not put in jeopardy our people's return at this time. I think the human will do us no more harm than what helping the other races will do. I will accept the terms of the alliance until there is a need to review the need for an alliance." The other elders agree with him. Teondae grimaces at their decision. It is the best he could hope for at this time.