Enmity

Chapter II

Thalaben and Lute were completely drained of any energy by the time they reached Fallswatch Keep. Throbbing and soreness lined the muscles of Thalaben’s calves for the first time in months. The elf hadn’t intensively used his lower muscles for some time. Although they throbbed, it was an equally satisfactory feeling to Thalaben. Although he hadn’t been successful in his hunt, the difficult chase the elk gave was enough to exhaust his muscles and get his adrenaline running.

   All the while, the iron gates of Fallswatch Keep towered over the two, who seemed miniscule compared to the keep itself. Its dark stone walls were almost invisible in the darkness of the night, making it seem more like a massive shadow than an actual building.

   “Would you like to come inside?” Thalaben asked. Although he was quite tired, Thalaben felt obligated to ask out of politeness; a manner his father had taught him vigorously.

   “I would, but I have a feeling my sister’s worrying about me. I should get back to her.” Lute replied. Thalaben was relieved. The only thing he wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep for days.

   “I see.” He replied, trying to sound a bit disappointed.

   “Maybe tomorrow, after the Sunset festival? By the way, do you plan on going to the Sunset festival?” Lute asked.

   “Of course. I would never miss such an important event.” Thalaben said.

   The Sunset festival was an annual event that was celebrated widely by the elves of Validar. It was held to celebrate the marking days of summer’s joys and the beginning of winter’s sorrows.

   Every year, before the leaves had begun to change colour, the Elves of Validar would gather in their local city centres and indulge in seasonal delicacies while celebrating the final hours of summer with the rest of the city. The celebration would go on until sunset, when the Elves would then travel to the highest point of their city and watch the radiant sun disappear over the horizon.

   The celebration was Thalaben’s favourite. He remembered the joy and laughter the celebration brought to the people of Labition since he was an infant. It was a celebration the elf had never missed and surely one he will never miss.

   “Well, I’m off then.” Lute stated, beginning to pace towards the right wing of the keep. For the past couple of days Lute had been staying at the keep as his parents were on an expedition to the north of the province. He usually lived by the craftsman district with his sister and parents and worked in a nearby blacksmith most of the day.

   Thalaben had invited him to stay at the keep, so Lute would feel more comfortable in one of the many luxurious, vacant rooms the keep held within it.

   “I’ll be on my way as well. See you tomorrow. Good night.”

   “Good night.” Lute replied with a wave. He then disappeared in the darkness.

   Thalaben then opened the large entry gates with a loud screech from the rusty hinges and entered a small loft.

   Thalaben passed through a grey, narrow hallway with a duller demeanour. Single candles hung from either side of the wall, all lit to a dim glow that reflected off the corridor of stone.

   Fallswatch Keep had always made Thalaben cringe. It was a dark and depressing place to be in and reminded him of a cemetery. More so, when he was little, before he had begun living in the keep, he had always thought the building was abandoned and that monsters had found refuge in it. Those assumptions were later proven to be nothing more than a child’s vivid imagination

   Out of all the lavish palaces in Labition, Fallswatch Keep was the most dreadful and unfriendly one. However it was the most important one; the staple that held Labition together as all its political figures lived under its one roof. Thalaben had always wondered why that was. He had the urge to ask one of the politicians, but was always avoided by them before he had a chance to ask.

   After passing by the last row of candles, Thalaben emerged into a large banquet hall. The room had an abundance of light radiating from a massive chandelier dangling from the high ceiling, carrying dozens of lit candles on a collection of broad ivory antlers. A long oak table extended the length of the room, along with an array of thirty posh chairs that were uniformly positioned alongside it.

   The room was silent. Thalaben had assumed it was empty and began to head towards an adjoining corridor when a voice spoke up.

   “Ah, Thalaben. What an unexpected surprise.” The voice said. Thalaben immediately directed his eyes to the far side of the room.

   Seated at the far end of the oak table was a young elf dressed in a casual grey robe. He was slightly older than Thalaben, perhaps by a few years. His cold blue eyes regarded Thalaben with a somewhat sad look, although it could be easily taken for a stern look.

   “What do you want, Innes?” Thalaben called back with some distaste in his words.

   Innes gave a frown, as if he were slightly offended at Thalaben’s rude intonation. “What made you think I wanted something from you?”

   “Why else would you stay up so late?”

   Innes paused. He rose his right hand from the chair’s arm rest, grabbing a golden goblet from the surface of the table. He then carefully sipped from the goblet’s rim and returned it to its original position.

   “I couldn’t sleep.” He replied, licking his pale lips. “I might as well ask you the same question.”

   A sudden uneasiness made Thalaben hesitate. His stomach felt as if it were tied into a knot and his eyes began to flicker across the room, trying to avoid Innes’ intent gaze.

   The elf tried to focus on an object, anything that would divert his attention. It was a technique that helped him think and focus in similar situations when anxiety overtook the body and forced irrational thinking.

   His eyes stumbled on Innes’ flowing long hair. It was as white as snow, an unusual hair colour for an elf to have. Thalaben frowned at the sight, his newfound intrigue successfully forcing his anxiety to subside.

   The prince’s hair seemed more colourless since the last time Thalaben had seen him. His skin had also taken on a more pasty appearance.

   Innes was different. Much different. Though Thalaben hadn’t encountered him often, the prince’s appearances had grown less and less frequent. Thalaben would sometimes go on month’s end and not even catch a glimpse of Innes.

   It was peculiar, his behaviour. A tad feeble. Thalaben wondered if it was possible that Innes could have contracted some sort of illness, perhaps the same one his father had. It wasn’t unheard of for illnesses to travel down a family’s blood lineage, though it was quite an unlikely thing in the Elven race.

   “Well?” Innes barked at Thalaben, immediately forcing him to halt his pondering.

   “I… I met up with some friends.” Thalaben quickly answered back, trying to sound as truthful as he could. He knew he couldn’t let Innes find out about his hunting affairs or he would surely be exposed by the prince to his father: and that meant months of isolation in the keep without as much as a peek of the outside world.

   “Friends?” Innes questioned. “At this time? My, you don’t think it’s a tad bit late for social events?”

   “We lost track of time.” Thalaben rebutted. “You wouldn’t understand. It’s something only people who have friends can understand.”

   Innes scowled. It was an obvious blow to his esteem.

   Seeing that his insult was successful, Thalaben took the opportunity to begin walking to an adjoining corridor, hopeful to escape the conversation.

   “Where are you going?” Innes asked.

   “To my room. I’m exhausted.” Thalaben was almost certain he had fled from Innes’ scrutiny, when the prince called his name.

   “Thalaben. One more thing.”

   “Yes?” Thalaben replied reluctantly, turning to face Innes. A smug smirk was wiped on his lips.

   “Next time, at least try to hide the bow.”

   Thalaben’s fingers immediately went up and touched the bow slung over his shoulder. The elf closed his eyes in embarrassment. Then, without further notice, Thalaben left the banquet hall and headed towards his room.