Page 36 of The Ivory King

I smiled down at the petite woman still clasping my hand. “You wrote back that your pockets were filled with toads and I then realized we would be the best of friends.” I placed my other hand over hers, my smile genuine, for her eyes danced with mirth.

“I still do pluck toads from the gardens and steal honey cakes from the kitchen,” she confessed, to which the grand cloisterer chuckled in acknowledgment. “Please, let us sit so you may inform me of why you are here wearing the robes of the sisters of the steppes.”

I knew I should not dally speaking of why I was dressed as a holy woman. My goal was to propose to Raewyn immediately, secure her agreement, and then have the grand cloisterer bless our betrothal. Then a raven would be sent to Umeris to announce I was promised formally. The crown of Melowynn would then be mine, or so my grandfather surmised, and the future of our kingdom secured. I knew this to be the plan, yet I stalled.

“I would enjoy sitting with you after evening prayers over our dinner to fill you in on our trek here,” I blurted out, drawing looks of surprise from Pasil and the grand cloisterer.

“That would be most pleasing, my lord! I love tales of adventure. Merrilyn and I will meet you at the dining hall after prayers if that pleases you?” Raewyn asked, and I nodded, giving her fingers a squeeze.

“That would be most pleasant. Perhaps by then I will have clothing that befits a humble man dining with a lady most fair.”

Her free hand rose to her cheek as if to hide the scars. “I am far from fair, my lord.”

“You are a vision and a friend, most dear,” I said, bowed to her and the grand cloisterer and left the solarium to head to the main shrine to beg Ihdos to forgive my deceptions and to please shepherd my beloved back to me.

EVENING PRAYERS SEEMED TO DRAG ON FOR HOURS.

I’d asked Ihdos to bring my love and my friend back to me so many times and in so many ways that his godly ear surely had to be sore from my pleas. I moved from prayers to the dining hall sluggishly, my heart heavy, and my mind weary from the mental gyrations I was engaged in. I knew my destiny had always been laid out before me from the moment I had drawn my first breath. Yes, it had chafed at times, but I had come to accept it, and as I matured, I embraced it. For I could do much good for the vills and the kind people of Renedith. Yes, it was a weighty responsibility, but I’d trained for it. What I faced now was uncharted, much like the mysterious islands that sat in fog to our northwestern shores. Each moment propelled me closer to a future that I was not prepared for or wanted.

“…gardens?”

I jerked back to the lady strolling along at my side. Raewyn was dressed in a demure dark blue gown with white stitching, her dark chestnut hair flowing down her back in soft waves.

“I am sorry. My mind wandered,” I replied, taking her hand and placing it on my arm as we neared the dining hall with Merrilyn and Pasil a few paces behind us. “I seem to be more tired than I realized.”

“That’s to be expected, my lord.” She smiled at me. “I asked if you wished to walk the gardens after the evening meal. I’m quite proud of the vegetable gardens we have here.”

“I would enjoy that greatly, my lady.”

She nodded, then fell into discussing how the sisters harvested the hillsides. I bobbed my head and made all the correct sounds of interest, but my thoughts were elsewhere.

“I must say that your attire fits you well,” Raewyn commented as we entered the massive dining hall. All eyes flew to us, then quickly lowered back to their meal. Five long wooden tables with equally lengthy benches sat filled with sisters. At the front of the hall was a shorter table where the grand cloisterer sat with some of the higher-ranking sisters.

“I am appreciative of the workmen who graciously donated them,” I replied, sneaking a quick peek down at the serviceable trousers, boots, and shirt that had been delivered to me before evening prayers.

Raewyn made a comment about how a regal bearing could make even the simplest clothing royal raiment. When we arrived at the head table, my stomach rudely growled. I escorted Lady Frostleaf to her seat, and I took mine beside the grand cloisterer. More prayers were said. Wine was served followed quickly by the meal, a simple but ample supper of browned goose, small potatoes served with bits of ground pepper, a side of buttered squash, and a small cake with apple topping for dessert.

I ate what was placed before me but I tasted little. The grand cloisterer sipped her wine while keeping a dutiful eye on me and Raewyn, her gaze quizzical. I suspected she was curious about my delay in asking Raewyn for her hand. Little could she, or my intended, know that I was doing every dance step that I could to postpone the inevitable. Which was foolish since there was no doing a piper’s jig around the fact that come tomorrow I wouldbe promised to an old friend while my heart resided in the hands of a man that might very well be—

“Do you not care for the apple cake?” Raewyn asked from my left.

I stared down at the dessert in front of me, my fork resting dully in my hand. “It is delightful, I am sure, but I find that my stomach is acidic.”

“Oh dear, well, we shall have to take our stroll now then. I have a large herb garden with some fresh peppermint that will soothe your stomach.” With that, Raewyn whispered around me to the grand cloisterer to make our excuses. The elder sister cocked an eyebrow before learning that Merrilyn would escort us. I rose, thanked the sisters for the meal, and then dismissed Pasil, who argued softly as we left the dining hall.

“Please, noble guard, go seek some rest. My handmaiden is capable of escorting us,” Raewyn stated with a kind smile on her pink lips. Pasil did not look convinced of the ability of a lady’s maid to protect me, but he relented due, I was sure, to being exhausted.

“I doubt any would be so bold as to enter such holy ground with evil on their minds,” I added, then sent my guard to his room. If they did, they would pay the price.

Raewyn took my arm. We walked under a thousand stars to the sound of night insects and birds toward a huge, fenced garden. Vegetables of all sorts grew in neat rows or climbed trellises. A small fountain burbled in the center, with empty buckets stacked neatly by the marble fountlet ready for the next day’s waterings. Spaced amid the rows and pergolas were stone benches. Merrilyn sat on one with her sight locked on us as if she feared I would manhandle her lady.

“Come, this way. The herbs are just over here,” Raewyn beckoned, leading me to a tidy side garden where mounds of dark green plants grew. “Have a seat.” She patted a curvedbench and kneeled in the dirt to pinch off several sprigs of peppermint. With a soft sigh, she sat beside me, the heat of her maid’s gaze burning through my homespun shirt. “Chew on that. It will ease your discomfort. I myself do not care for the strong hand that Sister Olifi has with the seasonings on the potatoes, but she has been head sister in the kitchen for hundreds of years and will not hear of changing her ways. I often wonder how much better our lands would be if the old elves would simply listen to the ideals of the younger elves.”

“I wonder that hourly,” I confessed as I placed the peppermint on my tongue. It was sharp yet cooling as I chewed the firm leaves.

“I recall our letters saying as much. That is why I feel that you and I will suit well. We are forward thinkers with open minds. I’ve always felt a deep sisterly affection for you, my lord. Many were the years that I spent here with only Merrilyn for company, even a missive from another child, was a happy event.”

“I understand. I had boys about to play with, but they were always removed from being too close due to my noble ranking,” I said after swallowing.

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