The High Road (On Hold)

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

“Where’d you find her?” Connad inquired, a broad smile breaking his face in two. He couldn’t help but grin, seeing Ellie again. Over the past months, he’d grown to love her almost as a daughter that he’d never had.

Aladon Reven shrugged his bony shoulders. “I’ve no idea where she came from. She just showed up in the middle of the night, pounding on my door and crying. I couldn’t rightly turn her away, so I took her to the guest room and let her sleep. I promised I’d take her back to the city in the morning, but I suppose that that’s unnecessary now.”

Connad nodded happily, and was barely able to contain his excitement as he looked again at Elicia. “It seems I may have misjudged you, Aladon,” he said quietly. “Before now, you were the man I would have least expected to take in a lost girl. You’ve proved me wrong on that count, then.”

“I have indeed,” Aladon replied, a smile playing on even his lips. It was a triumph indeed, having the Swordhand himself apologize to him. Since he’d been forced to give land up to that fool Joall those years ago, land that he’d legally acquired, his relationship with Connad Swordhand had been tense, at best. “Is she a friend of yours, my lord?” he asked then, feeling in the mood to mend that tension.

“She is,” Connad replied, “and one of my closest. She came with Jevar there to Learo’el before there was truly a city here. In fact, she gave my city a name.”

“She’s a smart girl, then,” Aladon said. “Don’t wake her up, lad,” he called to Jevar, who had moved to sit by her side on the bed. “She’s had a rough night; she needs some rest.”

Jevar, feeling only the slightest bit disappointed by this, nodded, then moved towards the other men. "She'll get up when she's had enough sleep," Aladon said, "though I expect that won't be for a while. In the meantime, I expect that you two will be hungry. You've been out searching all night, no?" He felt good now, refreshed. He was in the mood to make amends with Connad Swordhand, and maybe even make friends with him. After all, one could not have too many powerful allies.

At the very mention of food, Jevar's stomach began to rumble. Though he did not want to leave Ellie's side so soon after he'd found her, his stomach overruled his will and he soon found himself following Aladon and Connad up the stairs and into the former's kitchen, where he carefully prepared breakfast and a pot of tea. Jevar sat at the table through the whole preparation with his mouth watering, waiting impatiently for the food, which he promptly devoured the instant it arrived. "You're a hungry one," Aladon chuckled, though he grimaced inwardly at the mess this boy was making. Jevar didn't mind.

They whiled away the time in idle conversation until Ellie finally awoke. She came up the stairs silently, surprising all of them when she opened the door and showed herself to them, disheveled and worried though she was. Jevar, upon seeing her, immediately leapt from his chair and ran to her side, scooping her up in a warm embrace and ignoring the laughter of the other two men. "Good morning to you, too," Ellie said when he finally put her down.

"Come, eat some food, Elicia!" Aladon, the host, bid her. "You must be starved." She complied willingly, sitting down at the table and quickly eating the eggs and bacon that was provided, though a deal more politely and cleanly than Jevar had.

When she was finished, she looked at Aladon with wide and grateful eyes. "Thank you for helping me, good sir," she told him. "I will not forget your kindness to me."

"You are welcome, dear girl," he replied kindly. "It was my duty as a gentleman." This brought an upraised eyebrow from Connad, who had not considered the man a gentleman until right now. Then the Swordhand laughed it off and patted Aladon on the shoulder.