The War Begins

Chapter 18 - A Place of Peace

Ash was not quite sure what to do when the meetings ended. The day had been successful and the map was amazing, but there was nothing that he could do. Caine had trailed after Greylin, the strange older man, and his friends had left to their assigned rooms. He knew they would need time to look at their new quarters and settle in without him there and that they would be close enough in the coming days and months that he should give them space when he could.

The King, prince, and Safi still sat discussing matters on the dais and Aleda was still a mystery to him, but he wasn't sure he wanted to get close to her. When she had destroyed the entry way and spoken to everyone, she had sent a telepathic message to him. He had been shocked by the secrets she knew about him, things even Caine might suspect but didn't know. If he got closer to her, she might find more secrets and that was one thing he would not allow.

As he waited he noticed he was the second to last person to depart apart from those on the thrones. The army men had left in groups huddled in discussion; most them would be leaving with their troops early the next morning and were trying to finalize details. He decided to hurry away to the solitude of his room, but found a hand on his shoulder stopping him. Turning, he saw a pair of deep amethyst eyes staring slyly at him.

"I think we need to talk. There is no need to go chasing after Caine, Greylin, and the girl." Ash slowly nodded, though he was confused about what girl he may have been chasing.

Aleda slid her hand down and around his arm. He acquiesced and escorted her from the council chambers. Ash started to steer her towards the palace, but she planted her heels and pulled him slightly towards the edge of the palace complex. Briefly, he allowed her to steer and they ended up at the edge of a stone path through one of the gardens.

The paths she led him down was much longer than he had anticipated and he found himself wondering why their destination was so important. As they finally stopped, Ash looked down the hill sloping away from the palace. Where it dropped off, a large meadow spread across the rolling ground until it hit a line of trees. He had never seen this part of the palace before.

"This section of the forest was cleared to make the meadow by order of the Queen." when she didn't specify which queen he assumed it was Keenan's mother, she had died not long ago, at least in the way elves saw the years fly by. "She missed her homeland."

Ash was surprised by that also; he had always assumed his Queen was a lady of the court when she was young. There was not much known to the common people about the woman before she took the throne.

"This became her retreat, her place of worship to her Goddess. That was why the elven Goddess was not angry at the destruction of her forest. The queen had taken it and made it something else as precious and beautiful; a home, a sanctuary. It is not just her son Keenan who had a way with the Goddess; he gained that skill from his mother and she earned it long before he was even a thought on either of his parent's minds."

Ash was confused by why she thought he needed to hear this.

"On the other side of this palace is another meadow. I'm sure you've seen that one. Whenever the army comes they stay in that meadow, they are not allowed to come here, though the open space would be useful to them. There must always be balance; the queen saw that there was." Ash was beginning to understand where this conversation was going.

"I have achieved balance with myself." He dropped his arm to his side, forcing her to remove her hand from his forearm.

But she simply kept looking at him, and he felt that maybe balance within was not what she wanted to talk about. What kind of balance was she talking about?

"The Queen is buried here, in this meadow." Aleda continued as if he hadn't interrupted. Ash wondered how Aleda knew this, as the Queen's resting place was secret. Yet the way she spoke led him to the uncomfortable thought that she had been there when it happened. It seemed impossible as the queen had died with only her family present and been buried in a small service the next day.