A Bond of Light and Dark

"I can't ask that of you Ailuin! It wouldn't be fair to your family." Ros tried to hide her face as she tried not to cry. "Why? Why do you feel so strongly towards me? Im nothing. My name means nothing, i have nothing, and even my body is worth nothing." She sighed aa she winced once more as her back was still bleeding. In fact the carriage jumped slightly which caused Ros to howl in pain as one of her cuts opened wider.

Ailuin frowned at her words, displeased with the way she was talking about herself. It was hard to hear her talk about herself in such a negative way. "My family would understand. Elayne loves someone else more than me as well. We have both accepted that our marriage was not meant to last." He then moved from the seat to join her on the floor.

"Please, do not speak of yourself in such a manner. You are worth everything in my eyes. I cannot explain why I love you so much, but I do. I love you so much, much more than I have ever loved my wife." He cupped her cheek and smiled slightly before pulling back as she howled in pain. He moved around her so that he could look at her back.

"Be still and I will heal your back some to ease the pain. I can only do so much, but I should be able to give you some relieve." He placed his hand over her back, using healing magic to knit some of the flesh together so it would stop bleeding and numbed her pain. "How does that feel?"

"I cant...i don't know how to feel about this Ailuin. I really dont..." Ros frowned at him as part of her wasn't even sure she wanted to be royalty again. Ros sighed as Ailuin begun to heal her back. She still felt the cuts but they were less deep than before. She leaned her head on the seat and sighed. "Ohhh...." She sighed in relief as he kept her much more comfortable. "Ailuin...let me think about please...." She sighed with uncertainty even though her first instinct was to leap into his arms.

Ailuin looked at her for a moment before nodding to show that he understood. "I do not mind waiting. Give it some thought." He stood up carefully and moved to sit back on the sit across from her. "I do not want to pressure you into doing something that you do not want to do. I understand if you do not want to be with me. But at least allow me to make sure that you and our son have everything you need."

He sighed softly and sunk back against the seat of the carriage, his green eyes gazing softly at her. "I am surprised that you told him who I was. I was almost afraid that he would hate me for not being around. I understand why you did not tell me about him, though. You did not want to feel as if you were a burden but I would not have minded. I wish I could have been there for you and our son when he was first born."

"Ailuin, he was not the first child i bore. I have given birth to many bastards and gave them away but Al, i just couldn't do it. So i kept him, made sure he could fend for himself and be smart." Ros sighed as she got up and felt comfortable to sit with Ailuin. "Can we stop with the serious talk?" Ros smirked as she was comfortable enough to lean back and ruffle his blonde locks.

Meanwhile, Elayne walked down the dungeons with Belle close by. Elayne was able to accommodate Taeral with a more suitable cell despite still being in the dungeons. Ernessa had been moved to Zel's old tower even though Elayne hated it. When the guards saw the queen and priness they opened the door. "Grandfather!" Belle giggled and ran over to hug him. Belle was not aware of what Taeral did and Elayne tried to hide it from her kids. "I got to to ride my horse today! Father said i was the best rider he's ever seen! She giggled as Elayne looked on.

"Well, I am glad that you did not give him away." He watched her as she got up and sat down beside him. He scooted closer to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. He then chuckled at her words. "Very well, I will refrain from any more serious talk." He was quiet for a moment before he smiled. "I truly missed you."

Taeral was pleased that he had been given a better cell, which meant that he also received better treatment. His hair was much more managable, though still long. He was reading a book when he heard footsteps approach, his green gaze lifting to settle on the forms of his daughter-in-law and granddaughter.

He put the book aside and stood up, kneeling and holding his arms out for her as she ran to him. He picked her up and stood up, giving her a slight smile. It was only with Belle that he seemed to smile. There was something about her that just got to him and made him open up a bit more. "Is that so? I am proud of you, little one."

"Mhm! Oh and there is this boy-" Bellethiel was about to talk abou Alduin whe Elayne snapped her eyes. "Bellethiel, no. I told you..." Elayne said as she tried not to give too much away to why Belle couldn't talk about the boy. Belle frowned and nodded as she forgot she wasn't supposed to talk about Alduin. "Tell your Grandfather about your magic." She said as Belle giggled excitedly. "I conjured my first familiar! It was a knight in a ray of light. All of my magic comes out like sunlight! Aisling says i should trying cooking an egg with it!" She giggled as she opened her tiny palms and showed him a tiny orb of sunlight.

Taeral raised an eyebrow as Belle started saying something about a boy but was cut off by Elayne. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion, idly wondering why Elayne didn't want Belle to speak of this boy. He wanted to know more, but decided to bide his time on the matter. Taeral carried Belle to his bed and sat down with her on his lap.

"That is excellent. You are far more gifted in magic than Ailuin was at your age." He smiled slightly again as she showed him the tiny orb of sunlight. "It is fitting. You are like a warm, ray of sunshine." It was no wonder he was so easily won over by her.

Belle giggled as she leaned in and hugged her grandfather tight around the waist. "I love you, Grandfather." She hummed gently as Elayne smiled ar them both. Belle talked about her studies and magic as Elayne stood there silently. "I can't wait to master my magic! I wanna be the best! I love my magic. I got to help a flower grow that was wilting too!" Belle giggled as she went on about her discoveries. The Elayne frowned as it was time to leave. "Belle, its time to go..." Elayne said with a sigh. "Now? But we just got here!" She frowned and hugged Taeral. "I know, I wish we had more time but you know your father only agreed to thirty minutes of time with your Grandfather." Elayne frowned too. She grew to like Taeral despite his errors. "Not fair! I don't see why he's in here! Grandfather would never hurt anyone!" She whimpered as Elayne gave an awkward expression but shook it off. "You'll get to speak with him tomorrow." Elayne tried to cheer Belle up. Belle only nodded before turning to kiss his cheek and frowned as she slid off rhe bed and hurried to her mother. "Goodnight Grandfather! Sleep well!" She waved to him as tje cell doors shut.

"I love you, too." He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tight, careful not to harm her. He then let her go and listened to her as she told him about her studies and magic. Every now and then, he would glance over at Elayne but his gaze didn't linger for long before it returned to his granddaughter.

Once it was time for them to leave, he felt a little sad knowing that he would be alone after they left. He had grown to look forward to their visits as he was often quite bored and lonely in this cell. "Listen to your mother, little one. I will see you tomorrow." He gave her a slight smile before looking at Elayne and nodding to her.

Elayne sighed as it hurt her as well to rip the one thing that made Taeral happy away from him. "Goodnight, Taeral. I made arrangements for a nice meal to be brought to you tonight." Elayne smiled at him gently. She honestly felt sorry for Taeral. Ailuin still refused to talk to him and everyone else avoided him like a plague. Elayne tried to be compassionate and fair with him despite his occasional cruel words.

Meanwhile, Delia was sorting paperwork out on her desk. Many were reports on certain attacks that had been overwhelming the kingdom. She then growled and threw the papers off her desk as a guard walked in. "What is it? I dont have time for nonsense!" Delua growled as the young guard shuddered. "An elf guard wants to recruit." He said nervously. "Send them in then." She hissed as the Guard hurried out the room as Delia ruffled her hair and got up. She picked up the papers and slammed them on her desk with an aggitated look. As she sat back down to work on better defenses for villagers while tryingvto maintain enough guards in the city as well as the northern mountains.

Taeral nodded, appreciating her kindness. "Thank you, Elayne. I appreciate your kindness," He said before looking away and picking up the book to resume reading. He was fortunate that Elayne had done her best to make sure he had everything he needed along with things to entertain him while he was locked up.

Meanwhile, Aenwyn knew that in order to keep an eye on things like her king had instructed, she would need a way into the castle. She had a few options: try to become a guard or a servant. She had no interest in being a servant and she was good at being a guard since she had experience serving as second-in-command to the captain of the guard back home.

It made sense for her to choose that one and so she told the nearest guard that she wanted to sign up. She was brought inside the castle walls and to an office, being told to wait while the man went inside to inform the captain. Once it was time for her to enter, she stepped inside and was mildly surprised to see the woman from earlier.

She remained silent, waiting for Delia to speak to her first. Aenwyn was often a woman of few words and it often made her seem unapproachable along with her resting bitch face expression.

"You're the elf that accompanied my brother in law..." Delia observed as she hardly lifted her eyes on Aenwyn. "I'm refusing the assistance of elven help. You're not the first guard I've turned away. Your people were completely useless to defend a village and now my people are blaming me for allowing your people to defend a village against Dark Elves." Delia said with irritation in her voice. "Why should i hire you?" She looks Aenwyn dead in the eye with her one good eye.

"The ones you hired were incompetent. It was no wonder they failed to protect the village. I, however, am different. I was second-in-command to the captain of the guard back home. I was originally the one who was supposed to be the captain, but I refused and gave the job instead to my brother. It was because he asked me that I became his second-in-command." She looked at Delia, taking a step towards her and placed her hand on the desk.

"If you give me a chance, I will not let you down. I am a hard worker and I don't put up with anyone's bullshit. Not to mention, I believe in the law and do not accept bribes of any kind. How many of your guards can you confidantly say that they wouldn't accept some gold to look the other way?" She raised an eyebrow, leaning down towards her. "If you doubt my skill, feel free to test my expertise yourself."

Delia was rather impressed with the speech but did not show it. She leaned back in her chair and stared at Aenwyn for a moment before talking. "So, are you saying I'm incompetent for hiring incompetent elves? Bold move..." Delia smirked slightly before gesturing for her to sit down. "What experience do you have in dark elves? Right now, they are causing havoc and I'm losing control. A full moon is just days away and i need them hurt and backing away from my lands..." Delia asked as she was curious to Aenwyn's answer.

"Perhaps, perhaps not. I don't know you well enough to imply that, though. I just know that you misjudged the elves you hired." Aenwyn moved to sit down, relaxing in the chair. "I have dealt with dark elves in the past. They are sneaky and often hard to kill. They worship the moon and in turn, they are gifted the ability to turn invisible on full moon's. Your best bet to do some serious harm to a dark elf is during a new moon, where they have little power and are weak."

"This doesn't help me when the full moon in the next few days comes. They have no weaknesses? Nothing? At full strength?" Delia rubs her forehead irritability as she tries to think of her next move. She looked at Aenwyn with worry as she winced at her eye. "On top of this i need to worry abiut the orcs raiding farm lands in the west and the goblins in the mountains. Also the snow elves that are venturing too close to the mountain boarder. One goblin made sure i had a mark on my eye to remember him by..." She sighed at the cut and bruised eye.

"Then you need to strike before the full moon hits. Or at least, be prepared enough to stop them from attacking." There was little more that she could offer on that. "However, I know how most dark elves fight. I can help your men prepare."

Her gaze softened and she leaned forward. "It sounds like you have a lot on your plate right now. I assure you, that if you hire me, I will do my best to help lessen your burden. Orcs are pretty easy to deal with if you know how to deal with them. They are barbarians. If you set aside fold and gold, they might be bribed to leave your lands alone. As for goblins, they hate fire."

She was then quiet as she thought about the snow elves. "Snow elves are also afraid of fire. It is their one true weakness and can do some serious damage to them."

"We've tried that but there is this fire weilding queen the snow elves have. She keeps consuming the fires we burn to ward them off. They are getting smarter about not making a move unless their queen does. We had two forts already overtaken..." Delia sighed as she looked at Aenwyn and the nodded. "Very well, you may be the only hope we have. If you fail...I might as well kill myself..." Delia sighed tiredly. Delia did look at her once more and couldn't deny the elf attracted her not only by looks but personality. She didn't sugarcoat things much like herself and she was the first person Delia did not want to bash their head in for being stupid.

"A fire wielding queen? That is news to me. I wonder where they got her from. Do we have any information on her? Have you sent assassins after her?" Aenwyn asked, looking interested in the topic. "She sounds rather competent. Strange that the snow elves have finally decided to make a move. It must have something to do with that queen."

She then paused at Delia mentioning that if she failed, she might as well kill herself. "That's no attitude for a captain of the guard to have. I assure you that I will do my best to help you out."

"Kenna Fyreheart, she was from a family of nobility quite some time ago. Apparently my father had a fling with Kenna's mother Myria Fyreheart. Myria and Rosalind Fyreheart were the last standing family members. My father decided to keep Myria as a concubine while Rosalind decided to run. Myria then proceeded to give my father two children. Blaise Fyreheart is dead, killed recently by Enkir. Not surprising, the monsters..." Delia traoled off before sighing and continuing. "Kenna is married to Enkir and word is that she's bearing his first child. Adrian went ahead without my judgement to try and assassinate Kenna. Now he have a bigger target on us and im deflecting them all at different parts of our world." Delia sighed tiredly as she got up to pour her and Aenwyn a drink.

Aenwyn raised an eyebrow, recognizing the last name as the same one that Rosalind had, the woman whom her king had traveled to personally get. "Rosalind, that's the woman King Ailuin came to get. I don't know the details of their relationship but they must be close if Ailuin came personally to get her." She was quiet for the moment before listening.

"If she's bearing Enkir's first child, what if the child is able to wield fire as well? That child would be a danger to us as it would take away the snow elf's fire weakness. It seems like you have two options with the snow elves: kill the queen or try to reach out to the king and win his trust. The fact that he has taken a human wife means that he might be willing to listen."

Delia looked to Aenwyn and listened to her observations silently as she sighed. She then too reaced for a sheet of parchment and started to write down onto it without a word to Aenwyn. She then let the ink dry for a moment before signing and sealing it below her name with the symbol of a Dragon protecting a crown with its body coiling around it. "You better take this to the armory. No apprentice of mine is wearing that. You'll be bunking with the other recruits. Don't you dare expect special treatment just because the captain of the guard is training ya! Don't make regret this." Delia said coldly and irritabily before handing the letter. "Any questions ya got, show the guards this letter of approval from me and they'll point you in the right direction. Now get out." Delia said rather harshly. "I expect you in the courtyard by four in the morning wearing our armor and armed with a training sword. There are other enemies we face that your kind don't. Rest up and be on time." Delia went back to resume her work without a look.

Aenwyn noticed Delia reach for a sheet of parchment and began to write on. The elven woman was curious about what was being written, but from her position across the desk, she couldn't see what it was about. She made no move to attempt to get a closer look, content to sit in her chair and wait to see if it even involved her. She couldn't help but chuckle at that statement.

Delia seemed like she was rough around the edges and prickly by nature, but Aenwyn could tell that on the inside, she was probably just a softie. She accepted the letter and looked over it before folding it back into place and standing up. "You have no need to worry about me expecting to be treated special. I don't believe in that kind of favoritism. You are supposed to earn and deserve your power based on ability and dedication rather than being given based on liking the person or their social rank."

She then moved to head out of the door, but paused and looked back over her shoulder. "You know, I could heal your eye for you, if you want. It doesn't look too pleasant to deal with it and if it's not healed properly, it will leave a nasty scar. But I understand if you don't want to trust me enough to heal it for you. If that's the case, then you should see a competent healer."

Delia shot Aenwyn a look before looking back to her papers. "Maybe we humans celebrate our scars instead of hiding them with magic. Now get out. You have lots to do before the morning." Delia said as she looked back down and continued on with her reports. She couldn't deny the elven woman intrigued her very much but this was no time to give into her impulses. Her reputation was on the line and the last thing she needed was for people to be disgusted by her preferences in women.

Meanwhile in Elvhenan, Bellethiel was in class with her other two siblings. She liked school a lot but sometimes she always felt like she was being laughed at for being naive. Belle didn't understand why showing kindness was being naive. Sometimes it bugged her a lit when people laughed at her when she was so passionate about something. It made her feel stupid and like her words meant nothing. Their teacher, Miss Trisfiel, had begun to ask students to present their papers about their heroes to their class. "Thalion, how about you first dear?" She asked as Belle rolled her eyes since it was clear she was going last since Aisling did her's first about some ancient warrior from the Shadesong family.