72nd Day of Blaze - AOK21


The slap resounded across her cheek with a sharp sting. Covering her face with her hand, Elyna retreated as Lady Beatrice seized hold of her Mother and pulled her back. Caelin had already been furious that Elyna had missed her ride with the Prince.

‘Caelin!’ She urged the Baroness sternly, ‘control yourself!’

‘How can this be?’ Caelin was still determined to advance on her daughter, struggling to move forward in her layers of skirts in the private parlor. Emily had taken up her position beside Elyna, and whilst both Skyriders had let the initial blow fall, there was no mistaking that they wouldn’t allow another.

Caelin’s features were twisted with fury, ‘tell me how this happened?!’ She demanded, stamping her feet but giving up her fight to close the distance. Her face was blotchy with anger, tears bright in her eyes.

Elyna rubbed the pale skin of her cheek, streaked with the angry red lines of her mother’s fingers. The room was painted a pale mint green, the city beyond already wide awake despite the early hour. The air was thick with heat, with little respite from the wind blown off the coast. Beyond the windows, she could hear the shouts of vendors moving past and the chatter of excited children running off to their day at school.

‘Tell me!’ Caelin screeched. Beatrice, with help from Emily, managed to haul the woman back. Partially pinning her to one of the ornate soft chairs. A woman imprisoned in a throne as they held her shoulders tight.

‘Calm yourself,’ Beatrice repeated, the elderly woman's hand tight to her nieces’ shoulder. ‘This is not how you’ll get answers.’

Caelin drew a shuddering breath, eyes fixed with venomous stare upon her daughter before sharing the same glower with Emily. She closed her eyes, taking visible possession of her temper.

‘Elyna?’ The matriarch lifted her eyes to Elyna, and it was the kindness and the disappointment in her expression that nearly saw the young woman undone.

Elyna shivered, her hands dropping to hang uselessly at her sides. Her face still ached, but it was nothing compared to the dull, empty beating of her heart. How could she explain so much?

‘Ely?’ Emily called softly across the room, ‘it’s now or never.’

Elyna nodded, she closed her eyes in an effort to concentrate her thoughts.

‘Who is the Father?’ It wasn’t a shout, but there was no mistaking the fury in Caelin’s voice. Her disgust littered each syllable, as though the words were poison on her tongue.

Elyna looked up then, fixing her gaze on her Mother. Her chin lifted in quiet defiance, ‘you know exactly who it is, Mother.’

Caelin moved to stand up again, arms outstretched as though to wring Elyna’s neck. But Emily was able to keep the Baroness firmly pinned in the chair. Beatrix sank down into another seat beside her niece, looking back and forth between the two Burhan women. ‘I feel there is a story I have not been told,’ she admitted and folded her hands in her lap. The fabric of the chair behind her was the same mint green, accented with embroidered gold. Behind her was a long table laid with breakfast foods, hot teas and lemon juice laced with ginger root.

Elyna let out the air in her lungs, unable to sit she gripped her hands together and studied them, anything except look at the scorn in her Mother’s expression and the disappointment in Beatrice’s who she had come to admire and respect over the last seasons.

‘Near three years ago, I fell in love with a fellow Knight. The best of men…through trial over an extended period of time, I learnt that he loved me in turn.’ Her gaze fixed on the floorboards beneath her feet. They blurred beneath her vision. ‘It turns out, he wasn’t just a Knight but the Duke of Mayce, father of the future King of Renmere.’

‘A disgraced Duke!’ Caelin folded her arms across her chest.

‘The man I love,’ Elyna looked up again, she would defend Malcolm if nothing else. She looked to Beatrice who was listening intently. ‘He hadn’t know I was Lady Burhan, I hadn’t known he was the Duke and yet we found each other and believed we could be happy.’ She pulled in her bottom lip, biting it. ‘We were engaged to be married.’

‘Until he cast you aside for Lady Andaris! Without a second of hesitation! The embarrassment, Elyna, it was too much. He hurt you.’ Caelin’s tone had softened and Emily relaxed her grip on the Baroness, just a fraction. Tears marked her bright blue eyes, the fury fading to despair.

‘That was not his choosing,’ Elyna replied softly, ‘he was subject to the King’s will. As are we all. The King bid him marry Andaris and he was unable to refuse…but that was undone, was it not? Within a season the King revoked his command and permitted Malcolm to renew our engagement.’ The words tasted bitter on her own tongue, ‘but I never learnt of that, did I Mother? Not a word of Malcolm’s intention ever found me…not till you forced me to attend the Frost Ball in Mayce and he could tell me himself.’ Her hands had clenched into fists before she set them on her middle, where the faintest curve could be seen beneath the fine layers of pale green fabrics.

‘We renewed our engagement, expecting to marry in Blaze. We should have been Husband and Wife for the best part of two years yet we were delayed again - until you…’ Elyna shook her head, ‘you refused to give your blessing unless I came here. Unless I attend a season.’

‘I just wanted you to have options, Elyna.’ Caelin was quiet, mortified by the future that lay ahead for her daughter, ‘I wanted the best for you. Princes, Elyna, the Princes here are vying for your attention.’

‘That doesn’t matter now,’ Beatrice shooed away the notion, it was irrelevant, ‘go on, Elyna.’

‘I didn’t mean to fall pregnant, but I can’t in good conscience deny that I had been intimately involved with Malcolm since our first engagement.’

Caelin sucked in a breath then, even Emily looked surprised at the admission. Beatrice remained impassive. Somewhere in the streets below, she could hear the steady beat of the drum as the new army recruits practiced their marching. A bird was perched on the birch branch beyond the window, singing. The sharp notes hit against the window pane and dulled.

It was Beatrice’s turn to shoot Caelin a sharp look, ‘is this true? Your daughter had a worth match, in a Duke and you forced her here? What hope did you have in her entertaining society? Caelin, we both know that once a girl’s mind is made, it is set.’ She shook her head, ‘such is the way of life within our family.’ When Caelin moved to protest, Beatrice scoffed, ‘don’t you dare pretend that you and Pavoo waited until your wedding night. You’ve loved that man since you laid eyes on him.’

Caelin was rendered mute then, blinking hard as she looked towards the beautifully painted ceiling. It was decorated like the sky beyond the window, bordered with branches and flowers, as though one was lying in a forest and looking up through the foliage. Emily and Elyna shared a look that could have been a grimace, neither of them wanted to imagine Caelin and Pavoo as slaves to mad passion.

‘What you have done, was cruel Caelin.’ Beatrice sighed, ‘and a great deal of pain has come of that cruelty.’ The older woman stood, crossing the room in slow steps. Her walking stick left on the side of the chair. ‘Elyna…your actions have been foolish, and you should give up any hope of marrying one of the Princes.’

Elyna nearly laughed, she’d never had any intention of marrying a Prince, ‘I just wanted Malcolm,’ she replied softly as Beatrice collected her hands and held them gently.

‘None of our young bucks ever stood a chance with you then,’ Beatrice offered a faint smile as she shook her head, ‘but your young man is dead?’

Elyna stiffened then, ‘he is not,’ but the words still hurt as though she’d been struck through the chest with a shard of ice.

‘What?’ Caelin’s mouth fell open.

‘Malcolm is alive and well, I’ve confirmed such with his brother, Owen. The Duke of Krome passed leaving Malcolm as King Regent in his place.’

‘King?’ Caelin whispered.

‘It doesn’t matter what his title is. He’s across the Ocean and any efforts we’ve made to contact one another have gone undone this season.’

Caelin looked red-faced at that. Elyna wondered if she had known Malcolm was alive, and had simply watched her grieving for her lover without saying anything. But if not to Caelin, where had his letters gone?

‘Such things happen, Elyna. Women find themselves with child…and there is a way to deal with this circumstance.’

‘I’m keeping my baby,’ she moved to retreat from the woman, but her hands were firmly held.

‘Of course, and you can do that in a way that preserves your reputation and if, at some future time you chose to give your heart again, you still might marry for advantage.’

Elyna scanned her features, dubious.

‘Tell me you have another plan?’ Beatrice raised an eyebrow in challenge, ‘one that doesn’t simply involve running away and leaving a scandal and gossip in your wake?’

Elyna bit her lip again, cheeks turned red with embarrassment. ‘No,’ she admitted quietly.

‘Come,’ Beatrice led to her to a chair and bade her to sit, whilst ringing a bell. A maid soon appeared to serve them all tea and a small plate of pastries and fruit. Elyna balanced her plate on her knee, feeling the now familiar movements of the babe within her womb. The little thing fluttered, as though to reassure her that everything would be well, somehow.

When they left alone again and quite private. Beatrice sipped her tea, ‘when did this happen? How far along are you?’

Elyna set her own cup aside, her nerves returning and making the porcelain rattle on its saucer. ‘The night before we departed.’ She couldn’t look at her mother. ‘I didn’t expect-‘ she shook her head, ‘no matter the intimacy that was shared, it was enough to leave me with child.’

‘What were his intentions towards you both?’ Beatrice encouraged her to eat.

Surveying her plate, Elyna selected some fruit and turned the slice of apple over in her hands. Grateful that for the time being her Mother was remaining quiet. ‘He doesn’t know,’ she admitted. ‘I wrote him a number of letters, to see if our ability to communicate was safe. I received no reply.’ She heard Beatrice sitting up straighter in her chair. Heard Emily’s uncomfortable shuffle.

‘Are you sure he would support this?’

Elyna drew a breath that seemed to get trapped in her lungs. One of the skylarks swooped past her window. ‘I was planning to go to him myself, part way through Blaze if I had heard no word. Only news came of the accident before then.’

‘What of his brother?’ Beatrice looked around the room, ‘is Owen Bennett not in Aramane?’

‘What are you suggesting, my Lady?’ Emily edged forward on her seat.

‘That he would marry Elyna in his brother's stead.’

‘No,’ Elyna grimaced.

‘But?’ Beatrice pressed as Caelin scoffed.

‘I wouldn’t do that to him.’ Elyna lifted her chin again, still determined.

Caelin moved to talk, but Beatrice silenced her with a hand, ‘Caelin, your Mother gave up her fortune as Lady Cain in order to marry a penniless Knight of no name and run away to Renmere.’ Beatrice glanced at the Baronness. ‘I know you were left all but abandoned, but you must stop punishing Elyna for your Mothers mistakes.’

‘Your suggesting she has his bastards?’

‘They’ll be your grandchildren, no matter what!’ Beatrice snapped, ‘now you’d better decide if you would like that, and are going to support your daughter or you remove her from your name.’

Caelin looked across the room the, her mouth set in a hard line. ‘Pavoo would never forgive for disowning his daughter.’ She replied eventually.

‘Then the matter is settled, there is a way we can manage this. Though I suspect Elyna you have already made preparations to some effect? It can’t be much longer than Blaze that you are expecting to carry?’

‘No,’ Elyna agreed quietly, ‘not much longer.’

‘Think of the scandal!’

‘I’m not going back to Renmere, am I?’ Elyna looked at Beatrice.

‘Not if you’re going to avoid a scandal for yourself, and your young man.’

The day wore on like a long summer, as if time itself had slowed for the occasion. All the servants in the kitchen were dead quiet, sure they could not and should not breathe a word of what they had heard, though it seemed they were all dying to. The odd look between some of the younger maids garnered a stray giggle, something the head maid soon squashed with the words, “we do not work for commoners. Unless you want to be relieved from the service of this house and find your pay altered accordingly, I suggest you all mind your own business and act as if you have seen and heard nothing.” Silence was their reply, and work continued to prepare for the visit of Owen Bennett that afternoon.

Caelin was a mess, near wearing a hole in the hall rug from all of her pacing back and forth. Her preferred choice was for Elyna to have the child stripped of her being, something that could be performed swift and painlessly in this country with the help of magic. She hated the idea of Elyna marrying a common man even more than she did the idea of her marrying the duke, but at the very least, it would save face. Now she just had to get the young man to agree. Perhaps, she imagined, the king regent would make him a lord and grant them title in the form of land. Though it was less than her daughter deserved, it would be better than seeing her alone and raising a child in secret. Decided and resolute, she finally returned to her room to touch up her makeup and rest a while before the arrival of the king's brother. “A king,” she scoffed, and then sighed.

An hour more passed before the moment arrived, with one of the doormen entering the sitting room to quietly inform the lady of the house that a man had arrived to see Elyna as intended. Beatrice nodded and asked the man to guide him their way, informing him that Caelin should also be informed ten minutes from now. Beatrice wanted a moment to size up their visitor without Caelin’s scornful looks and biting words to contend with.

Emily, who had been floating about near the window working on a hoop all afternoon, just about fell over when she glanced out onto the street. She set her needlework down and turned with such haste that her slipper caused the floorboard beneath her to protest with a squeak. She looked wide eyed at her friend, her chest puffed up as her hands came together and all but flapped with excitement for the woman.

The familiar, sure yet gentle footfalls of a man marched the hall after the doorman and, as the tall, dark, well dressed stranger stepped into the sitting room, Beatrice rose to her feet. “Oh,” she mouthed, quite moved by the man in black, the cuffs of his sleeves detailed in fine silver embroidery, his dark, curly hair falling just so. He was handsome, she thought, and if his older brother was even half his equal, she now understood the attraction at least. This Owen did not have the fine, feather light features of a man of Aramane. There was a roguish charm to this one, broad of shoulder and stern but handsome of face. His most marking feature, however, Beatrice thought, were those gentle green eyes.

“A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Owen Bennett,” she said.

“My lady, I believe you have me confused with my brother, who shall not be in attendance today,” Malcolm said.

“A k-king… in my house?” Beatrice blinked.

“Elyna,” he mouthed and crossed the room in what seemed two steps to be at her side. After so long apart, he could not quite exercise the restraint it took to stay his hands or his lips. She was in his arms in an instant, his kiss pressed to her cheek and then mouth. “If I had known,” he whispered to her, trying to say that he might have come sooner.

Elyna wasn’t going to marry Owen. It didn’t matter that he had previously proposed. That they had been good friends, that in another lifetime perhaps they might have been closer than that. She wouldn’t marry him, no matter her Mothers schemes to force the match. So she anticipated the coming battle, like a ship's captain waiting for a storm.

The day passed in the agony of a slowly ticking clock. She waited for Owen to arrive with the mixed trepidation of wanting to see him again, and the anxious desire to have the battle with her mother over with. She had curled up on one of the long lounging chairs, bare feet tucked beneath her as she stared at a book. If anyone noticed that she never turned the page, then they didn’t say anything.

Would it be better to tell Owen not to come? To spare him from her Mother’s venom? But then how would she give him the stone and the letter she had crafted for him to take back to Malcolm? There was no resolution to her thoughts, just the uncomfortable dragging of hours.

Emily sewed by the window, a picture of domestic bliss in a light dress of pale blue. Elyna had opted for green, a dress that fell from a high waistline and did it’s best to hide the bump that had been so far concealed. Emily’s attitude had never changed toward her, after all Emily had found out the day they had been reunited in Aramane and her steadfast, protective supporter since.

Beatrice if anything was kinder and more considerate of any discomfort she might be feeling. The matriarch had insisted that the water in room had been changed regularly in the growing heat of the day. Caelin, had departed the parlour along with the dark clouds she carried with her. Everyone breathed easier in her absence after lunch.

Even if they survived the afternoon and the rolling storm it was due to bring, Elyna was still undecided as to what she should do. Returning to Renmere via Rune was a one way trip. If she went back, she couldn’t hide the pregnancy but at least she could talk to Malcolm and take his opinion. If she stayed in Aramane, the scandal could be avoided but it meant cutting the man off from any decisions. The book fell back in her hands and she closed her eyes, part reclined on the sofa, it was no easier to find a solution with all distractions cut away.

She could hear the soft press of Emily’s needle through linen. The quiet hum of Beatrice as she wove a beautiful tapestry of lace on a hand loom. Beyond the parlour door, servants scurried. Elyna grimaced, they all knew. Her privacy was undone and her secret shared. Half-dozing she lay a protective hand on her abdomen, silently talking to the life within. The windows were cast open, but barely any breeze disturbed the hot air. At least the smell was fresh, sea salt laced with grass and the roses that covered the facade of the house. In the distance, she could smell a storm approaching. The occasional whisper of cool air stroking her cheek. She dreamt that she was home. Which was where?

Back in her tiny room, at the barracks in Renmere. A small space where she sat curled up on the bed. Malcolm lounged by the fireplace, long legs stretched out. Shirtless he stoked the logs from embers, back to life and flooded the room with heat. He smiled at her, then winked.The dream had never taken place, Malcolm had never been to her rooms at the barracks. It was the fantasy of longing. Flushed, Elyna blinked from her slumber and found herself staring at Emily. Her usually stoic friend was flapping at her. Elyna tilted her head to the side, bemused before her heart sunk at the announced arrival.

She moved to her feet, hoping to slide into the shadows at the back of the room. She smoothed clumsy hands over the long, emerald green lines of her dress and forced herself to look up.

Malcolm.

He strode in with all the confidence of a king. Was she still dreaming? His voice broke the still air and pulled at the longing within her. She moved across the room without thinking, falling into his embrace as her arms wrapped tight around him. His kiss was returned, breathless and salty from the silent tears that tracked down her cheeks. He really was alive.

Emily circled the room with a grin. She raised her brows at Beatrice before taking the older woman’s hand and sinking down to sit beside her.

‘You see,’ the Skyrider whispered to the Lady, ‘the way they look at each other, how could there be anyone else?’

Beatrice found herself offering a smile, still shocked to find a King in her parlour. ‘They certainly make a handsome pair.’

With her forehead pressed to Malcolm’s, Elyna closed her eyes and inhaled the scent of him. How had he got here? She swallowed, remembering her proprietary and withdrew a little, just enough to see him. She couldn’t let go of his arms, afraid her legs would give way beneath her.

‘I couldn’t trust it to a letter,’ she explained softly, her mouth turned down with dismay. ‘I’ve wanted you to know but I had no way to tell you…I couldn’t use the stone,’ she swallowed as she scanned his features. This was the man she loved. Surely he would understand why she had not risked the travel back, without her explanation? ‘They reported you dead,’ she hardly dared to breathe the words aloud, her hands tightening on his arms.

It took every bit of restraint the man could muster not to reach out and place his hands on the invisible bump. Instead there came the distraction of his thumb brushed over the woman’s cheek while his free hand went to her hip. “Very much alive.” He smiled, and stepped back, grazing Elyna's side gently as he did so. “I understand we have a lot to discuss,” Malcolm said. “If you need me to return later?” He suggested, as the man had noticed Lady Beatrice had not stopped fidgeting since his arrival.

“That sounds like a splendid idea,” the lady of the house agreed, after all, the small afternoon tea she had planned would just not do. The king must stay for dinner, she thought. “In the meantime, might I suggest the three of you take a turn about the Gardens of Aramane? Tis but a short carriage ride from here.”

Emily jumped up after sharing a look with Beatrice, who seemed to suggest during the brief exchange, that they would be wise to depart sooner rather than later, lest they be stopped by Caelin. “Let’s go!” Emily insisted, ushering the pair out the door.

Malcolm gave little to no protest outside of mild surprise, and stepped into the hall before waiting to follow the ladies out into the street. Emily was about to call for a carriage when she realised Malcolm had his own waiting across the way with four of the most beautiful black horses the skyrider had ever seen. Their tack was polished to perfection, the mirrored colour of the mares, and gilded with gold stitching. “After you,” he said, helping the pair into the carriage before climbing in himself.

The ride was brief and spent in silence, with many a nervous smile shared. Emily’s arm wrapped about one of Elyna’s. Malcolm sat across from them, his clothes fitted, highlighting the strength in his thighs and cut of his torso. He had left his jacket undone, as not to see the buttons rest under strain. His hair was oiled into a mop of perfect, loose curls that had grown since Elyna had seen him last. His jaw boasted a light smattering of dark stubble, something that had always made him appear almost wolfish. The cuffs and buttons of his shirt were tailored with such fine needlework, that it appeared as if they were done by the hands of a mouse.

The gardens were quiet under the threat of rain. Weeping willows were dotted neatly about the edge of a small lake, the odd wooden bench erected here and there, encouraging people to sit and spend time watching the world go by. Warm beds of summer flowers framed the flagstone pathways and an array of wildlife could be spotted if one spent enough time watching. Malcolm offered his arm to Elyna while Emily was happy to tag along behind them a few paces back, allowing the desired distance to give them privacy to speak, while remaining at hand should Elyna summon her.

Where to start, Malcolm thought. It was difficult to think at all when faced with her beauty. Though Owen had been somewhat honest in his recollection, regarding the woman’s build and complexion, Malcolm put it down to the pregnancy, quite sure Elyna wouldn’t starve herself knowing such things. A small niggle of concern wormed away in the back of his mind, drilling a hole in his thoughts. He had but one true son, one his late wife had given her life to bring into this world. Were the same to happen to Elyna, he was not quite sure he would ever recover.

“There is so much to be said,” he acknowledged, “but allow me to speak candidly, if you will. It is my intention to marry you. Tonight, tomorrow, whenever you see fit, both because it is the will of my heart, one I’ve made clear for some years and, I believe, the best gift we can give this child… one who will have name and title.” He stopped in the path and took her hands, “a child you will not have to hide but bear with all the pride a mother should.”

He did not intend to abandon her or turn his back and, if she would have him, he was hers. “I will be required to return to Renmere on the first of Harvest as soon as the gate will allow me to pass through again, at which time you can either join me or recuperate your strength here in Aramane. Safe and away from the gaze of the noble houses. The birth announcement can be delayed back home, and none will be the wiser.”

It was sensible, he thought, without insult, Malcolm hoped. He looked back at Emily who had chosen to stand beside the lake watching the ducks a few metres away. His gaze found Elyna once more and he spoke out of turn. “I’ve missed you so very much. I’m sorry you’ve had to suffer all of this without me. I hope Emily has been as much a comfort to you this past season, as the idea of her being here with you, has been to me.”

Elyna felt as though she were floating, still lost in her dreams. Very much alive, he smiled and stepped to the side. Elyna moved with him. Keeping herself pressed against the man. Afraid that if she let him go he might vanish like a fantasy. Her arm held around his back, fingers curled in his tunic.

Beatrice and Emily caught her attention, grounding her. Pulling her back to reality. She watched the play of silent communication on their features and nodded to herself. Best to escape for Caelin joined them. She caught Malcolm by the hand, half pulling him forward across the room. Until her memory reminded her that he was a King and this probably wasn’t dignified. She flushed with embarrassment but still didn’t release his fingers until they were safely beyond the front door.

‘It’s best we leave, before Mother returns,’ Elyna tried to explain as she practically jogged down the steps.

She was certain she heard her Mother’s voice as the divide closed behind them. Followed by Beatrice explaining how she had just missed the parties departure. Elyna was confident however, that Caelin wouldn’t venture beyond the shade of the house in the heat of afternoon, preferring to preserve her complexion. The noble woman couldn’t help but grin a little as she climbed up into the carriage. Her gaze on the man before her.

How did he look so incredible? He had always been her undoing, handsome as sin itself he was delicious. But she felt something had changed. Beyond the find clothes he wore and the additional attention he had paid to his appearance. Had he dressed up for her, she wondered silently. How had he found time? How had he found out? How had he come so quickly? Had the carriage come through the gate as well? All her questions burnt her tongue but left her shy.

It was hard not to feel drab before the man. In a simple green dress that laced across the front. An empire line it did well to hide her pregnancy and the sage green had once suited her colouring. She had managed to embroider the hem with strands of emerald ivy. But as she cast a professional eye over his clothes, the woman found herself itching to reach out and touch them. To explore the miniature stitches and undo their secrets. A small part of her was even jealous of the valet that was able to dress the man, her man. She smiled nervously, as slowly a distance seemed to inch between them as they sat opposite one another. This man was a King. How could he still be hers?

The horses drew to a stop, hooves clattering on the flagstones. Her hand closed around Malcolm’s as he helped her down, and she closed her fingers around his palm again. The distance seemed far less like this. As though it was closing down again, as though she had imagined it.

It was hard to ignore the horses, her fingers flexed as though to reach out to them and explore their silken fur. She exchanged an admiring glance with Emily and smiled, they would talk about the pretty pony’s later.

Having left the house so quickly, she had forgotten her shawl. How strange that her arms should feel exposed without a covering. How many years had she spent wearing whatever was comfortable in her service to the ‘Hand? In Nejem, her skin has often been exposed to the sun and she had revelled in that, basked in the searing heat with delight. Since setting sail, the sun had forbidden to her. She’d carried shawls, parasols and even worn light veils to endless protect her complexion. The kiss of freckles were missing from her cheeks, her hair darker than it had ever been in summer. At her Mother’s insistence that she pose as a young maiden, it was left to curl over her shoulder. Shorter than it had been in preparation for the wigs that had never been used.

The distant storm reflected her unsettled sense of self. The gardens, near empty as they were remained beautiful. She extend a hand as they passed the flowers. Without gloves for the first time beyond the house. She delighted in the gentle touch of petals against her skin, the scratch of long grasses as her fingers trailed the foliage. With Emily falling discreetly further and further behind, Elyna found herself turning to the man. A King, her heart hammered again. Why was panic so fast to rise, and just as quickly soothed by his tone.

Marry. She swallowed the lump in her throat. He would still marry her? He wanted to? Her fingers captured, Elyna stared up into his face and wondered how this could be happening? Her mouth was dry with fear, how could she marry a king? She swallowed her nerves and wet dry lips. She could marry Malcolm. Whether he was a serf in a hay-field or a god, she could marry Malcolm.

Their child would be bourne proudly and she felt the weight lifted from her shoulders. A heaviness she’d not even realised. She had tried to make her plans, to realise the best way to care for the new life and bring it to the world. This had been a dream, a fantasy that seemed too good to be true. In many ways it was still very strange. Malcolm spoke formally, and a chaperoned stroll through exotic gardens was a far cry from sneaking into his rooms in the depth of winter.

When he explained his plan to return to Renmere, she all but squeaked. Her hands pulled back she pressed them to her face. Hardly daring to hear him she could only stare. That long? She would have time with him? He could stay with her? The rest of his plan was almost lost to her thoughts as they scrambled. The tears were ever quick to surface and she struggled against them. ‘It’s all…it’s all a good idea,’ she murmured struggling for the words to express any sense feeling.

‘I-I couldn’t…I couldn’t have done this without Emily,’ she all but gushed, this at least she could discuss coherently. ‘She’s kept me safe…and sane,’ a small smile pulled at the corner of her mouth. ‘Beatrice is a good woman too, she doesn’t put up with a lot of nonsense from my Mother. And Billy, Billy is a delight, you’ll love meeting her.’

Elyna glanced around before taking hold of his hand again. Thunder rumbled in the distance and she desperately wanted to kiss him. But it wouldn’t be right would it? It wouldn’t be proper to coax him from the path and beneath a willow tree. She lay her hands on his chest so she could study his features more closely. ‘I don’t…I don’t know what to say to you,’ she admitted softly. ‘I’ll marry you tonight, I’ll marry you tomorrow…’ but was he sure? He could chose anyone… she decided to silence her doubt. Malcolm had been clear before. He felt no need to marry, he had chosen to marry her even before the expectation of a child.

A slow, shy smile edged across her features as she flushed, flustered. ‘If you still want me, Mal…I’ll be yours forever.’ The ever approaching rain started falling in the gardens, a heavy shower it advanced across the grass in a sheet that saw Emily shriek and run for cover beneath the nearest tree.

Elyna laughed, she gripped Malcolm’s hand and pulled beneath the nearest willow before the torrent of rain could ruin his fine clothes and drench them both. It pattered all around in a cascade, a few heavy spots landed, sliding down the back of her neck as she grinned at the man, giddy as a girl whose cares had been washed away. Out of sight from the rest of the world she pulled his hand to the bump that pressed gently against the fine silk of her dress. She watched his face once more, as a drop of rain landed on his lower lip and lingered. Elyna could halt temptation no longer. She moved to kiss him. ‘I missed you,’ she whispered against his mouth, ‘please let’s never part again?’ The summer shower would be brief, a few moments only of stolen time in a cathedral of green woven branches.

There was so much he wanted to ask her, restrained by the tight rein of society. Even here they could not be seen so much as holding hands without rumours flying. Under the shield of rain Elyna stole a kiss and Malcolm was as captivated by her as he had been during their very first embrace. He let out an uneasy breath, his will all but tossed into the lake beside them. He ran his hands over the small bump and pressed his nose to her’s, daring to indulge another kiss and then a third before the rain fell away and the returned sunlight made the wall of willow leaves twinkle in a soft veiled curtain of emerald.

Malcolm stood with his eyes closed, having shielded her from the worst of the downpour against the twisted trunk of the tree. It seemed for a moment as if he were taking a spell to gather himself, to pull on the mask her passion saw him so easily put aside. “Every night I’ve dreamed of you,” he said, “and still my dreams fall short of the truth.” He loved her, surely that had never been in question? “A wedding tonight seems rushed, but our child needs every day hence to grow and flourish without too much suspicion.” He hadn’t even asked if the babe was his, he trusted Elyna so completely that it had never even come into question. And still, if it had, the babe would be raised his own regardless. That was how much he loved her, how much he longed to take her as his wife.

His hand lingered on the edge of the bump. Had she been taking care, would she even more so now? “The journey by ship is as long as the wait for Blaze. I would prefer to spend that added time with you,” he said, “rather than thrown back and forth, as ill as a dog, on deck.” Malcolm wore an easy smile at that. He was tempted to suggest they return to the carriage, but every second they were alone together, made the energy to do so harder to muster.

Burly fingers curled against the silk of her dress, his temple touching hers still. Was it so wrong to give life to fantasy, to tease from his muscles a memory replayed so often in his thoughts it would come as second nature to them. He dragged the tip of his nose across her cheek and lingered too long at her neck, dotting kisses there. “We should get you home,” he whispered, in case she needed to change and warm up. It was then the thought of facing Caelin hit him and he took Elyna’s hand to help her up the easy incline to return to the path, just in time for Emily to catch up with them.

The grounds were large and they had not long been away from the townhouse. Inside the carriage they resumed their previously chosen seats and it was somehow even more difficult to sit across from his betrothed, Malcolm found. He had teased the rain from his hair by threading his fingers through it, slicking his curls back to undo them. The fabric of his dark clothes somehow darker still across the top where the rain had met his shoulders. He stared across at Elyna and Emily found she had never felt more invisible in her life. Truly her friend was loved by a man who only had eyes for her.

The carriage took them beyond the city walls as Malcolm had expressed a desire to see the Aramane countryside and knew they would not be missed for some time yet. He offered Elyna his jacket and stepped down from the carriage to look out over the valley and the endless rolling hills of green pasture and evergreen woodlands beyond. A strange homesickness twisted his insides in knots, this the first time he had ever visited the distant city. He understood the appeal, but it lacked the familiarity of Renmere, a place he had spent all of his life outside of a long stay in Nejem, which he was quite sure he detested. It was difficult to fault Aramane, and yet the man found reason to pick apart his own thoughts on the place.

Emily walked out into the field, running her hands over the grass tips. Too long they had been cooped up in that townhouse, overdressed and stuffed into that hot corner room with its lavish paintings and insufferable lack of entertainment, outside of the daily mail delivery which brought the odd giggle in the form of invitation or lack of.

“Elyna,” Malcolm addressed the woman, “would you join me for a moment?”

He climbed back into the carriage, a move that seemed all together questionable without the presence of their chaperone, which somehow made it equally exciting. He looked nervous and felt exactly the same. “I’ve something for you,” he said, and taking her hand, pressed a ring gently onto her finger. It was simple, but clearly custom made, with a deep blue sapphire, rectangular in shape, at its centre and a smaller, round diamond dotted either side of that. The shaped gold made the design wear flat so that nothing would catch it and thus it would not become a hindrance in the woman’s line of work as a skyrider.

“Would you believe the jeweller only finished it this morning?” He said, “not an hour before Owen burst into the hall with news.” Some things were just meant to be, he thought.

Elyna could have been standing naked in a thunderstorm for all she cared about the weather in the moment they stole together. Nothing could be more perfect than the touch of his lips to hers. The world was lost and she was glad to bid it farewell. Her fingers curled into his collar, holding her lover close before they broke with the rainfall. She couldn’t help but smile as they stood, heads bowed together. ‘We’ve never had such time together,’ she wondered aloud, ‘I can’t wait to share those days with you.’ from now until the end of Blaze would be theirs and the prospect was dizzying. Once they were married they could simply enjoy being together, with no interruptions or need for restraint.

Savoring the seconds within his embrace, Elyna set her memories in stone. Inhaling the scent of him with the bitterness of the damp willow bark. Rain puddles around their feet, dripping from sodden leaves as he pulled aside the curtain for their return. ‘We will pick a day,’ she assured him. Showing an unusual confidence as he led the way. Malcolm was here, there was nothing they couldn’t achieve together. ‘Beatrice might have advice?’ She suggested as they stepped over the paving stones, she lifted her skirts out of the pooling water, trying not to drag the material through. ‘Perhaps we should pretend to court first?’ She teased softly, ‘and make it a whirlwind romance?’

Before he had a chance to reply they had returned to the carriage. Emily winked at the pair, wringing her own shawl out before setting it beside the driver to dry in the swift returning heat. Steam was already rising from the road as the carriage rumbled beyond the city gates, but at least the oppressive humidity had been lifted. They could breathe. Elyna fluctuated between staring shyly at the man before her and peeking out the window with unsated curiosity.

She was glad to stretch her legs on the city outskirts. Her gaze sweeping over the vista of tall grasses and rolling hills that faded into the distance. Certainly she had not seen as much of Aramane as she had hoped to, under her Mother’s watchful gaze and the insistence that they remain for the entire social season. Instead of moving to the landscape however, Elyna couldn’t resist approaching the horses. She stroked the nose of the lead, grinning as it lipped her palm for a treat. Finding none, the horse snorted, causing her to giggle. Malcolm summoned her back to the carriage before she could rip up some grass for the animal.

There was a thrill at stepping into the small space with him alone. He surprised her with the band of metal slid onto her finger. Elyna looked up in amazement before studying the ring intently, ‘it’s so beautiful,’ she cooed. Running her finger over the precious gems she found herself fighting back tears once more. It was flat, designed so that she could wear it when working. The detail wasn’t lost on her, not the significance. It meant there was hope she could still be a skyrider, no matter if she married a king. ‘It’s perfect,’ Elyna looked up at Malcolm. ‘I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve you, Mal. There have been so many mistakes and obstacles between us but perhaps…maybe it can all be as it should?’ She swallowed, trying to shake off the deeper emotions as beyond a small window, she could see Emily moving back towards the carriage, slowly, meandering through the fields with the sun on her upturned face.

‘You were already having it made?’ Elyna gave up her restraint and shifted to sit next to the man, fingers running back and forth over the unfamiliar jewelry. ‘Did you…were you planning to come here?’ She tilted her head, curious as to his frame of mind in her absence, ‘if I’d not received notice of your passing…I would have sailed home to you.’ She admitted, ‘I didn’t want to make decisions about…about the baby without you.’ Elyna drew a breath, ‘I owe Owen a great debt…how did he get back to you? What did he say?’

Emily knocked on the carriage door, not much later before hopping in with the ease of a skyrider used to mounting up on Volarean. She grinned at the pair like a cat that had caught the cream, ignoring the fact that they sat together. ‘Your Majesty,’ she addressed Malcolm formally for the first time and bowed her head with respect, ‘I have to say you have impeccable timing.’ She glanced at Elyna, reaching out to squeeze her friend's hand, ‘ooooooh,’ she cooed over the ring before wriggling back in her seat, excited. ‘Was it tomorrow we were going to make a run for it Ely?’

Elyna nodded, ‘tomorrow,’ she agreed. She glanced sheepishly at Malcolm, ‘We were going to travel to Welles, or Rhode and join one of the Temples of the Sisters there…they are the midwives here in Aramane and I would have been able to stay safely until…’

‘Until going back to Renmere.’ Emily filled in the gaps.

‘Mmmm,’ Elyna shook her head and drew another breath, ‘I don’t…’ she glanced at Malcolm again slipping her fingers through his, ‘without you, there was no reason to go back,’ she explained softly.

‘So it’s a good thing you arrived today,’ Emily was determined to maintain the course of a cheerful conversation, ‘as tomorrow you would have missed us.’

‘Indeed,’ Elyna nodded, ‘and it doesn’t matter anymore. Those plans were desperate plans and now they’re dust.’

Emily lent forward, peering out the window and her cheerfulness started to fade, ‘nearly back,’ she sighed.

Elyna turned in her seat to glance down the street as they rumbled past now familiar houses, ‘I guess we are…’

‘Maybe we should all just run away now…’ Emily suggested wryly, ‘rather than face the viper.’

Elyna looked down at the ring on her finger then up at the man she loved more than anything. ‘Let’s just get it over with.’

Footman greeted them as the dusk began to paint the edges of the sky in hues of blue. Malcolm was offered a bedroom to use in order to fresh up. Clothes in his approximate size were left on the bed in case he chose to change for dinner. Elyna was whisked away upstairs, shepherded by a pair of maids. But she took the time to pause, her hands on the railing and look down at the man below. She smiled at him, silently promising herself that now everything would be okay. It would be perfect.

Emily had managed to linger at the bottom of the stairs and as Elyna was encouraged away by a maid, took the opportunity to move closer to Malcolm. She studied the man with a smile that faded, ‘a viper,’ she said quietly, ‘because it’s never the initial bite that does the damage. It’s the venom that lingers after. It poisons everything.’

Both women had time to wash and change before the evening meal, one that wouldn’t take place before the sun had set. The day was otherwise too hot to enjoy the feast that Beatrice had commanded of her flustered staff. Emily chose to wear a dress of dark green, fixing flowers in her hair as Elyna wore a formal, well fitting dress of black satin. It was layered around her hips and ruched in a way which disguised her bump. The straps hung off her shoulders, the bosom clinging tight to pale skin. Her hair pinned up, she lined her eyes with the kohl she had always used before coming to Aramane. Staring at herself in the mirror, she smiled, feeling more like herself than she had all season.

Dinner was laid out in a long room at the back of the house. Long, cleverly arranged doors had been slid back to reveal the garden beyond and allow unhindered passage between the two. Stars danced in the night sky as the two young women entered the room. Caelin wore a dress of blood red, tightly corseted as she stood at the entrance to the garden, wine in hand. Beatrice, for a moment, was nowhere to be seen as the three waited for all the dinner guests to arrive. Invitations having been sent to Malcolm’s cousins in Aramane.

‘Well,’ Caelin lifted her head proudly and Emily and Elyna exchanged a nervous look. ‘It seems you took some heart from my teachings after all, Elyna,’ the tall woman advanced, spreading her arms magnanimously.

‘Mother?’ Elyna cautioned, resisting the urge to sidle behind her friend.

‘You’ve trapped yourself a King,’ Caelin grinned in a way that showed far too many teeth, ‘who knew you had it in you.’ The woman looked over her daughters’ dress with approval before reaching out. She took hold of the corseted top and tugged it downwards to display a more generous wealth of skin.

It was suddenly hard to breathe. In just a few words and a simple action, Caelin had stripped Elyna’s sense of peace. Turning away from her Mother, she started to flee. Stepping across the room as she adjusted the dress back into place, where she felt more comfortable within herself. Caelin followed her steps, cutting between her and Emily as the Skyrider tried to dart between them. Caelin curled her hands around Elyna’s arm, gripping tightly as she pulled her close enough to whisper in her ear.

The color that had remained on Elyna’s face, drained entirely and left her mute, staring silently into the garden.

‘Ely?’ Emily was at her side as Caelin moved to take a seat at the table, one that would place her beside her daughter and able to watch the Wolf of Krome. She pulled the chair back, pausing to listen to the exchange between the two Skyriders.

‘Ely?’ Emily pressed, ‘what did she say?’

The skyrider seemed to give a little shiver and turned slowly, ‘I don’t believe you.’ She told Caelin. Her voice was flat, desolate as she watched her mother slowly take a sip of red wine.

‘Why don’t you ask him?’ Caelin lifted a brow in a smirk.

‘I don’t have to,’ Elyna seemed to steady herself, ‘I trust Malcolm implicitly. I trust him in ways that I have never and will never trust you.’

Caelin lifted her shoulder in a shrug, ‘you could read all his letters, see it in his own words. The dalliances upon your lack of communication.’

Elyna ground her teeth then, lifting her gaze to the ceiling as she continued pulling herself back together. She refused to bite at whatever bait Caelin was dangling. She loved Malcolm, she trusted him.

‘Haven't you got what you wanted?’ Emily was watching the woman incredulously. ‘What do you have to gain from driving a wedge between Elyna and Malcolm? Surely this has been your dream?’ She moved forward, taking up the space between Mother and Daughter.

‘Oh come now, Emily,’ Cealin dismissed her with a wave, ‘we both know he’s not with Elyna for her mind.’

Emily started forward at that, stopped only by Elyna reaching out to catch her friend by the wrist. They wouldn’t sink to the level of violence against Caelin, Emily was far too precious to be arrested for striking the Baroness.

‘Is it just about power?’ Emily tilted her head, refusing for once to back down entirely. ‘That she will be forever beyond your control? That was going to happen whenever Ely married anyway, so what was the point of us being here? Your daughter will be a Queen, surely that’s beyond your wildest dreams? Why would you ruin that? Why should Elyna marry anyone other than the man she loves?’ Emily didn’t realize that Elyna’s fingers had fallen away.

‘Ah yes,’ Caelin rolled her eyes, ‘my daughter the Queen. Observed by the world, I’m sure we’re all desperately looking forward to that.’ She had her gaze fixed on the blonde before her, but could see how her daughter flinched as she seemed to sink further back from the room, slipping as usual into the shadows as though about to run into the garden.

‘You won’t be able to run away,’ Caelin taunted quietly, she swirled the drink in her glass, thoughtful. ‘Queen of a people, ambassador of a country. Every move impeccable, faultless, beautiful and performed within your gilded cage to perfection. Let’s hope there are no skeletons in your closet, darling daughter.’

‘Elyna’s done well here,’ Emily stood her ground, even as her friend retreated with her invisible wounds. ‘She’s been adored by everyone she met, how many proposals have you turned down Caelin? How many were vying for her attention?’

‘She’s been a novelty,’ Caelin scoffed, ‘an exotic attraction. Their interest would have waned, the interest of all men fades with time and beauty,’ she cautioned, ‘all men, except my devoted Pavoo of course.’

‘Then we’re so lucky to have you as a guide in marital longevity,’ Emily retorted, sarcastic.

‘Well I will be on hand to assist,’ Caelin looked up then, her blue eyes set as the ice on a winter lake. ‘Of course I’ll need to help my dearest daughter navigate the treachery of court. Beatrice may know Aramanian fashion, but I’m the expert in Renmere.’
‘You disgust me,’ Emily stated it clearly and turned, surprised to find Elyna stood in the garden with her back to the pair.

‘Your services are no longer required Miss Le’Sark,’ Caelin smiled and finished her wine, ‘you forget your manners when you speak to your betters.’

Emily glanced over her shoulder with a brilliant smile that saw Caelin falter, ‘you don’t employ me, my Lady. Whilst we’re here it’s Lady Cain. When we return home, it’s the King himself after all, I am of the Iron Hand.’

Furious to be denied, Caelin scowled openly at the girl, sneering ‘I wonder how much he paid my daughter for her services.’

‘Caelin!’ It was Beatrice’s voice that cut the room like thunder. Her cane stamping on the floorboards. She saw her niece beside the table, perfection in blonde. She saw the maid, Emily standing with Elyna in the garden. The younger Burhan stood perfectly still, like one of the many statues that littered the ground. Beatrice glanced back to the serving staff who had entered with her. ‘See the Baroness’s drink is refilled, even if she has departed her senses.’ Beatrice fixed Caelin with an unmoving stare, ‘you will keep a civil tongue in your head. No one is to be insulted within my house. No matter their title, position or birth.’ The elder woman spoke carefully, clearly and nodded to the open doors, ‘there’s no telling who might hear you,’ she warned, ‘and I certainly won’t stand for your insults to Elyna’s dignity. It’s beneath you, Caelin. Be happy for your daughter, or leave our party tonight.’

It was the final warning Lady Cain would give and she turned to the open doors, ‘girls?’ She called, ‘we must assemble for our guests.’ She nodded to a footman who sprung forward as the two young women turned. He pressed drinks into their hands, a white wine for Emily and lemonade for Elyna, then bowed and retreated to his position at the back of the room.

‘Elyna?’ Beatrice coaxed again, only to be interrupted by Billy who all but bounced into the room.

‘You’re going to be married?’ The youngest woman was a bundle of energy and couldn’t help but dash over to Elyna, ceasing her hand she examined the exquisite ring and beckoned Beatrice over to inspect.

‘Bring it into the light,’ Beatrice encouraged, finally managing to coax Elyna back into the room. Although for a moment it looked as though the young woman had forgotten how to walk. ‘I have to say, Elyna, you do look stunning in black.’

‘Thank you,’ she forced a smile though her gaze fixed on the woman’s cheek rather than lifting to her eye.

‘Did I hear Billy correctly? That you and Malcolm are to be married?’

It was then that the man in question arrived himself, along with a number of other guests that had been invited last minute. Making a reasonably sized party of ten, including Godric and Fredric if they’d been able to attend. Before much time to converse was given everyone had been ushered to their seats and an elaborate meal placed before them.

Beatrice sat at the head of the table, with Malcolm to her right and Caelin to her left. Elyna slid into her seat beside the man with the rest of the arrangement following a male next to female precedent.

‘Aramanian weddings are arranged very simply,’ Beatrice explained to Malcolm when the initial buzz of conversation had started to fade. ‘First, a courting couple must notify a member of the nobility in their region of their intention to wed,’ her nose twitched a little, ‘this is usually done no less than a season before …’ she glanced at Elyna then, ‘my dear, did you not tell me you and Malcolm were engaged long before Blaze?’

‘They certainly were,’ Emily piped up from further down the table, she lifted her wine glass in a toast. Caelin, next to Malcolm simmered quietly.

Elyna looked up at the man beside her, quiet thus far since his entry to the room, ‘yes,’ she replied eventually.

‘Then I must simply have forgotten to file the paperwork,’ Beatrice picked up a lace fan from the table edge, fluttering it gently to invoke a breeze, ‘a mistake I can correct and apologise for…’ The elder woman’s gaze landed on Malcolm then, as though daring him to challenge her memory.

‘Any adult member of the nobility in this country, is able to perform such a ceremony for you. Once you have agreed a date, it is traditional for a Bride’s family to host such an occasion in their home. I offer my own residence in Welles, if you would accept? Or I am aware you have family in Rhode, your Highness?’

“Drunk,” Malcolm admitted, “which is uncommon for Owen. He told me he resorted to the lowest of insults and that his deepest regret was—I'm telling on you.” Malcolm wasn't quite able to mask his amusement at that. “Unfortunately there is not much to tell, as when he divulged that you were with child, preparations needed to be made for me to be here in person. The Renmere you left behind is not as peaceful as you may recall.”

The knight listened to the pair go back and forth on their planto run away, all the while playing host to an amused grin. He expected Elyna had rather enjoyed her time in Aramane, much thanks to Emily, though he imagined the stress of her well kept secret, up until recently, was a heavy burden to carry alone.

“These next steps are not what we planned,” Malcolm said, in a gentle, easy tone of voice. “Our most important work is ahead of us and, it is not the role of king or queen, should you choose it. Instead it will be the honour and privilege of raising this child together, for he or she will be the biggest mark we leave on this earth.”

At that Emily was silent but hopeful for her friend. She had been both curious and nervous about the match, but every moment she spent in the man’s presence seemed to warm her more and more to the idea of Elyna sharing and building a life with him.”


“He never says much,” Emily would say once her and Elyna were in a room alone together to dress, “but when he does, it is not respect he demands, instead, he seems to command it.” She observed. “I think I’ve come round.” Emily winked. “He’s a good man, Elyna.” Of course she would always quietly watch and weigh that thought, until she could be absolutely sure of it, but for now she wanted to give her friend the hope so many appeared keen on taking from her.


Malcolm hadn’t realised how tired he was and delighted in the chance to rest before dinner. Magic took a toll, after all, and gate travel was not for the faint of heart. One of the maids helped him carry a trunk upstairs, emerging moments later from his room. She pulled the door closed at his request, flattened her apron and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her right ear. The woman started as she set off to return to the kitchen, almost colliding with Caelin at the top of the stairs.

“Excuse me, my lady,” she said, “I should have been paying more attention.”

“I’m sure the attention of a king had your mind all afloat,” Caelin returned.

The maid giggled a nervous sound, not sure what the noble woman was implying, but with nothing more to add and not wanting to appear stupid, she carried on without a word. She took pause at the bottom of the stairs when the thought suddenly struck her. Was the baroness implying that something had gone on between her and their newest guest? She turned to say something, but the lady was gone.

Malcolm pulled the damp black shirt from his shoulders and set it over the top of the open trunk to air out when there came a gentle knock at the door. He answered with haste, not thinking to pull on another top before he did. Caelin was at the door. She took one look at the man and seemed to quietly make up her mind. “Lady Burhan,” Malcolm greeted her, “if you give me but a moment—“

“My apologies,” Caelin said, with a sly smile. “Wrong door.” She turned and left.

Malcolm found the moment odd, but gave no more thought to it. He closed the door, kicked off his boots and fell into bed, determined to sleep off the persistent little headache he was suffering from.


Later at dinner, Malcolm came down feeling somewhat refreshed. He was dressed anew in the same dark tones as he had been in upon his arrival, but wearing a fresh white shirt beneath the black, the sharp, white collar stark against his dark attire and curls. He was surprised to find Godric would be joining them for dinner, though Fredric had been unable to make it. “Cousin,” he greeted the man in the hall.

“Malcolm!” Godric smiled. “Finally someone or something has made you brave enough to travel to our shores.”

“It was never a question of courage, dear cousin, but of finding the time,” Malcolm explained.

“Of course, I know how difficult your line of work is, which is why I’ve decided to take over my fathers work as a merchant. There’s far more money in it too, for a lot less risk.”

Malcolm smiled. “I’m happy for you, cousin. I know it was not what you would have chosen for yourself, but your father will be proud.”

“He is,” Godric agreed. “I’m sorry to hear of your father in-law's death. I can not imagine that it was easy on the children.”

“Renmere has lost a great man,” Malcolm agreed. “He was the perfect role model to my sons.”

“He will be missed, especially now that I hear you are to fill his shoes.”

“Impossible to fill, I fear,” Malcolm confided. “I’m honoured the noble houses chose me, but I wondered if the decision wasn’t made in haste.”

“They have faith in you, cousin. Prove it was not misplaced.” Godric challenged, ever an optimist.


The pair took their places at the table and Malcolm couldn’t help but feel the air was heavy with tension. He glanced at Elyna and realised she had not met his eye since he had entered the room. He took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze as he thanked Beatrice for considering his comfort by not only assigning him a room, but going to the effort to track down his cousin Godric.

Beatrice explained the process of marriage in Aramane and Malcolm let her say her piece before giving his reply. “You’re very kind, my lady. I believe we would appreciate a swift ceremony after waiting so long to be wed. My hope is that Elyna and I can speak about her desires for the wedding at the nearest possible opportunity.”

“Of course.” Beatrice smiled. “You must return tomorrow to have brunch with us.”

“If my memory serves me well,” Caelin spoke up, “you required a swift wedding with your last wife too.”

Beatrice looked up. “Oh? You’ve been married before?” She asked Malcolm.

Before he could answer, Caelin spoke for him. “To a princess, no less. For a man of very humble beginnings, he keeps finding himself surrounded by young, innocent and very impressionable noble women.”

The guests went silent and passed nervous glances between one another. Malcolm gripped Elyna’s hand a little tighter as if to assure her he could handle whatever Caelin chose to dish out. His gaze remained fixed on the baroness, until even she struggled to meet his eye.

“Indeed I was married to Vanessa Krome, the mother of my sons Marcus and Vaughn,” Malcolm said to Beatrice.

“Vanessa,” Beatrice said, with a tone that suggested she was attempting to cast her mind back. “Vanessa Krome… the name is familiar. Why is that name so familiar?”

“She died in childbirth,” Caelin said, “I remember writing to you around that time. The poor girl.”

“Vanessa died some days after the birth of our son Vaughn,” Malcolm corrected Caelin without speaking to her directly. “We lived very remotely and magic is outlawed in Renemere, as you well know, I’m sure.”

“I’m so sorry for your loss,” Beatrice said, “I can’t imagine her passing was easy on anyone.”

Malcolm nodded but gave no reply.

“My, that was years ago,” Beatrice recalled, “I remember now. There were a number of women from Aramane who attended dances in Renmere in the seasons following her death. I wondered about this mysterious duke they were all trying to impress.” She smiled at Elyna. “Your beau here has had no shortage of offers over the years, my girl. You’ll have to tell us how you won him.” She grinned at that.

Billy looked up from her meal mid conversation with Godric, keen to hear the story as well. “Do tell,” she encouraged.

Malcolm released Elyna’s hand to take up a wine glass and taste the wine on offer. “Elyna and I worked together,” he said. “We were both going by different names, none the wiser as to each other’s status or titles. We formed a friendship and much later, realised we wanted more.”

Caelin scoffered. “You expect us to believe you went into this blind?” She accused, “you, the right hand of the captain under whose care she fell. I myself would deem your behaviour nothing short of predatory.”

Every guest at that table was stunned into silence, none more so than Godric, who had spent many a summer in Renmere with his cousins growing up. He rose to his feet and put his cutlery down with a clatter. “I did not realise I had been invited to dinner to witness such a shameful display. Not only have you insulted the memory of a princess by deeming her incapable of choosing a worthwhile match in my cousin, but you would sit here, Lady Burhan, and insult not only a king, but your own daughter. Frankly I find your behaviour utterly deplorable and, take my leave on this advice, dear cousin—you deserve a better mother in law.”

With that, Godric lay down his napkin and marched towards the exit, despite Malcolm’s protest. “Cousin,” he called, excused himself, and moved to follow the man.

Elyna had watched Malcolm’s entrance with uncertainty. All of her plans for their future had fled with her confidence. Shattered under the persistent barbs from her Mother. Even so, it was hard not to notice how handsome he was. Even Billy seemed a little flustered, even if Beatrice had managed to regain her composure in his presence. Clearly, he could have chosen to marry anyone. Why her? She let out a slow breath, and moved to greet him with a rather formal kiss to his cheek. She’d sat down, grateful for the busyness that dinner provided her with.

Her thoughts were preoccupied, lost in a tangle of anxieties that she struggled to unravel. Why was her Mother so intent on driving a wedge between her and Malcolm? What was there to gain? That she would truly be left to find for herself and her child? Elyna wet dry lips as the other dinners began their meal. Malcolm’s hand curled through her own and some of the tension in her chest eased. Able to breathe, she reached for her own drink and took a sip. Content to hold Malcolm’s hand, finding that she had little to no appetite.

Malcolm had said it was unusual for Owen to be drunk, but that hadn’t been her experience. The pair of them had often been silly and raucous together. Maybe she was simply the bad influence. There was also the worry of Renmere, Malcolm had suggested there was trouble back at home. It was where he should be, wasn’t it. Instead of in Aramane with her. There would be a cost for his absence…she tried to remind herself that Malcolm had made the choice to travel himself. That he had deemed it more important to be here, for her and for their unborn child.

The woman bowed her head as her mother began her assault on Malcolm, his character, his previous wife and herself. She couldn’t slide down her chair and under the table like a child…but she wanted to. Instead she squeezed his hand in return and stared at the untouched meal before her.

With Godric and Malcolm’s departure she forced herself to look up. She drew a breath as the door closed behind her betrothed. ‘All that you have said of Malcolm, could be said of myself,’ she said quiet but firm. ‘It could be said that I perused and entrapped him, once I knew he was a Duke.’ Elyna fixed Caelin with her own gaze then, ‘after all, Mother it was you who told him who I was. Before the Frost Ball Malcolm believed me to be a Skyrider, and nothing more.’

‘And had your attachment formed before then?’ Caelin challenged.

Elyna thought back, deigning to give her mother an honest answer, while Beatrice, Billy and Emily looked on. ‘Yes,’ she replied, confident that it was the truth. Malcolm had proposed that night and she believed that it had been because he had felt something for her. Even if the feelings hadn’t been as developed as they were currentlyz

‘Foolishness,’ Caelin scoffed.

Elyna pressed her back teeth together and held the gaze, ‘it is my reputation which tarnishes his, Mother.’

It was then that Beatrice drew a breath and stood up. ‘Caelin, I would request you leave my table.’ She stamped her cane on the floor, ‘you had already been warned against insulting any in this house.’

Caelin stared, shocked until slowly she realised that Beatrice was quite serious. She gathered herself, collected her wine and swept out of the room without a backwards glance.

Beatrice nodded to Emily who all but skipped out of the room, watching Caelin vanish upstairs to her bedrooms. The Skyrider almost tumbled out of the house in her haste to catch the Duke and his Cousin.

‘If you please,’ she called after them before slowing her steps with a small smile. ‘The baronness has taken to her bed…if you would both like to return to finish your meal?’

Billy appeared behind the Skyrider with a smile which fixed in Godric. ‘Your company was greatly missed,’ she encouraged.

Back in the dining room, Elyna pushed her plate aside and stood to make her way around the table.

‘Don’t let her ruin your life,’ Beatrice said queitly. ‘Don’t refuse opportunities through fear.’

Elyna chewed on her bottom lip, Beatrice saw and understood far too much.

‘Let’s continue our dinner in the gardens?’ Beatrice looped her arm through Elyna’s. ‘There’s not a prettier view than the night sky, and it’s far cooler.’ She gestured to the servants who shifted the table towards the door, moving the chairs to the garden so that the meal could be served with far more informality as a buffet.

Malcolm suggested Godric take his carriage, if only to exercise the horses and give his footmen something to do before they turned in for the night at the accommodation owned by the crown, much closer to the centre of the city. They were slowed by a hail from Emily, but not even a kind word from Billy could change the merchant's mind. “I’m thankful for your company,” Godric said, “but I cannot condone such mistreatment of my own blood. You’ll find me for a dance at the next ball?”

Billy nodded, trying her best to be understanding. Godric smiled and closed the carriage door before it pulled away.

“Malcolm,” Emily said.

“It’s fine,” he told her. “Let us return to dinner.”

She followed the man in with her arm wrapped around Billy’s. Some of the weight had lifted from the air and soon enough the tension of the evening was forgotten. Beatrice was wise enough not to ask anymore questions of Malcolm, instead sharing a little history about the family and the place they called home when they were not in the capital entertaining and dressing up for balls and parties.

Once the meal was cleared and Beatrice arranged for someone to play the cello, Malcolm found a quiet moment to pull Elyna aside. “I’m sorry I seem to bring out the worst in your mother,” he said, “it won’t always be that way.” He wouldn’t let it, he promised himself. He wouldn’t just sit back and watch as the woman tore pieces from them, now that he had had a taste.

Malcolm looked up at the night sky, the stars arranged a little differently in Aramane than they were in Renmere. “I wanted it to be a surprise, but I realise that in forming a decision together, there is very little room for surprise. Benjamin and Roland intend to join us tomorrow night. They will be hoping to attend a wedding,” he said. It was Benjamin’s idea to bring water and earth from Renmere to make it official. Of course, if you would prefer to follow foreign law in a foreign country, I will respect that and we can do something private later that makes it official back home. All I ask is that you let it take place in Blaze.”

“It’s a shame I can’t marry you tonight,” he teased after some pause. “You look as beautiful as the night sky in that dress.” Malcolm placed his hands on Elyna’s hips and drew her near, guiding his hands then to the small of her back. “This won’t be forever,” he admitted. “Marcus will soon be eighteen. We could find our new normal by the time our baby is four.” They had almost known each other that long and thought nothing of it, what was that again?

Beatrice was more than happy to discuss the Cain family home in Welles. Other than the original nobility that had settled Aramane, each line of nobility had risen from the ranks of the army, and so mansions they kept resembled a mixture of fortified hunting lodges and elaborate grounds. It was the home in Welles that she tentatively suggested as a location for the wedding, leaving the final decision to the bride and groom to be.

Elyna had remained quiet, but thankfully been able to eat her dinner. Some of her tension faded, her she struggled to focus her thoughts on her surroundings. They were pulled, constantly, insistently by the doubts and questions that Caelin had raised. She sipped her lemonade, and then flavoured water as the meal came to an end.

The party dispersed around the gardens, Billy and Emily setting off in search of fireflys behind a long row of neatly trimmed hedges. Beatrice remained seated on a bench near to the house. Reclined in her chair she nodded to the pair but seemed more intent on listening to the music that drifted through the night.

As Malcolm drew Elyna closer, it seemed that they were to be afforded a moment of unusual privacy. After all, they were to be married and Beatrice was confident in her staff to keep away from gossip.

He revealed his surprise and was rewarded with a small smile. ‘It will be good to see Ben and Roland,’ she encouraged, tilting her head with thought, ‘maybe there is a way to combine the two traditions?’ She suggested, ‘a way to make it a legal arrangement in both countries.’ Elyna looked past his shoulder then, watching the gentle sway of a pale flower against the shining foliage. ‘Blaze,’ she agreed softly. ‘I admit I always hoped I would marry outside of Blaze, a rebellion against my mothers expectations.’ Her smile faded and her gaze dropped to his elbow instead. Until his teasing stole another small smile from her lips.

‘It’s not you,’ Elyna steadied herself, she’d not laid hands on the man since his arrival to dinner, and kept them to herself. She twisted her fingers together, nervous. ‘You don’t bring out the worst in her…it’s just that she didn’t chose you. She wasn’t able to select you from the group, so no matter if you are the very best, it will never be enough for her.‘ Elyna bit the tip of her tongue gently, ‘it’s me,’ she swallowed, ‘I’m not what she would have chosen and so I will never be enough…please Malcolm, please don’t put any efforts into trying to appease my Mother.’

She looked around then, eyes darting over the grasses, ‘she’s better around my Father, she loves him…’ Elyna swallowed. Don’t let her ruin your life, Beatrice had said.

‘I know the title is nothing you ever wanted and I wanted to be there for you,’ she admitted, ‘to stand beside you and be a help, a support while you take on the responsibility of a kingdom.’ She reached out to his arm then, curling her hands over his sleeve, ‘I understand now that cannot be so. I can’t…I’m of no help to you. I’ll be quiet Mal, whatever you need.’

Malcolm remained quiet for a moment, his features tightening into a soft grimace. What had taken place between their afternoon together and dinner? Malcolm felt almost as if he were holding another woman. This was not the same Elyna who had kissed him in the rain. Did she believe Caelin—did she think him predatory? “I was not his right hand,” Malcolm said, quietly. “You saw how he treated me, often no better than a dog. I had no idea who you were. Had I and things might have been completely different today.” He seemed to suggest he would have avoided a noble match.

“Elyna, I feel I have convinced myself that coming here was the right thing to do, in haste. After tonight,” he admitted, “any confidence regarding us feels but a dream. You have never been so far from me while standing so close. Have I done something to wound you? Is this wedding not something you desire?” His hands went to her hips before falling away, heavy at his sides.

The Skyrider scanned his features, confused as he spoke about being a right hand man. The King? Her brow furrowed as she tried to place his words and make sense of them. Until at last he spoke about her identity and his train of thought fell into place, yet was no less confusing. ‘Why are you talking about Yvan- I mean the Captain?’ She rubbed her fingertips across her brow, trying to work out the connection was hurting her head. ‘What does he have to do with anything?’

He reached for her, before his hands fell to his sides. Elyna longed to comfort him then, ‘I’m sorry,’ she closed her eyes. ‘I want you…I want to marry you, more than I want to keep breathing.’ She felt frozen in time, unable to move forward and unable to bear looking back. ‘She’s taken all my certainty…all of my happiness and my hope,’ Elyna struggled for the right words to explain herself. ‘It’s nothing to do with the vile accusations she’s thrown at you…it’s…I’ll never…I’ll never be free of her. She’ll always be there, at court, always scheming, plotting, sinking her knives in and smiling through it. How can I open the gate to a viper? Godric was right. You deserve better.’

Elyna looked up at the man then. ‘Tonight was supposed to be a celebration…it was supposed to be ours.’ For all that they had been through, and that was to come, by his own admission Malcolm had lost his confidence in them. She extended a hand to him, resting it lightly on his chest. The thump of his beating heart was soothing and Elyna softened, pulled back towards herself and with the racing anxieties fading away. ‘I want you…’ she reiterated, ‘however you will have me.’

Malcolm appeared perplexed by her confusion. Had they not been seated at the same table while her mother was accusing him of hunting her? Of fabricating everything to see that this exact end was met. He looked disheartened by her admission of worth, or lack of, and made haste to retort when Caelin stormed across the floor towards the garden with one of the housemaids in tow.

“Tell them what he did!” She demanded, “exactly as you’ve admitted to me.”

The musician stopped playing and those in attendance turned around to see what all the commotion was about. “Tell them!” Caelin demanded once more.

“He… he asked me to—“

“Go on!” Caelin encouraged.

“He asked me to undress.”

“Who did!” Caelin demanded.

The maid looked around at the party goers and pointed at Malcolm. “He—he did.”

Malcolm shifted back on his heels, taken aback by the accusation, speechless.

“He did what?” Caelin coached, she clearly needed more than that to make a devil of the man.

“He asked me to undress and when I refused he said he was the king of Renmere and that I must, or else…”

“I beg your pardon!” Malcolm finally spoke up. He did not recognise the maid. She was different from the one who had helped him carry his trunk upstairs and, to his knowledge, was the only member of the house staff he had interacted with at all. This stranger, this liar, was out to ruin him.

“I don’t know what Lady Burhan has paid you to lie, but it would do you no—“

“There you go!” Caelin cut him off, threatening this poor woman again. You ignore my poor daughter all this time and not a single letter has come. Yet on the eve she receives a proposal from a prince, here you are.”

“She what?” Beatrice found her voice.

“He sent word this morning of his intentions to propose and, seen as he and Elyna have been very close since her arrival in Aramane and as the swell of her belly is so small, I am forced to believe him when he says the child could very well be his own.”

Malcolm was completely floored. He stood as if his heart had stopped, his body turned to stone, just another fine marbled figure to decorate the garden.

“Tell them what he did to you,” Caelin said to the maid.

“He said my hair was just like Elyna’s and turned me around and had his way with me.” The maid covered her face with her hands then and began to cry.

All of the tension slipped from Malcolm as he spoke, unmoved by the scene, “excuse me,” and left the garden.


Outside on the street his heart was hammering in his chest, the light on the stones too bright and the rustling of leaves too loud. He had never questioned Elyna’s loyalty to him, but to know that his own was on trial now and that he may have been fooled, troubled him deeply. His carriage was still away and with no one and nowhere to turn to, he set out on a path down the street towards the docks as he stared into space, stunned. Whatever fantasy he had imagined for himself and Elyna was now so far from reach that it seemed even more impossible than the title he had been bestowed.

It took two small taps of Beatrices cane on the flagstones, for a pair of large footmen to emerge from the garden and gently seize hold of Caelin.

‘Baroness,’ Beatrice all but growled at her niece, ‘I have no idea why you are so determined to undo your daughter and see her happiness ruined. But my previous warning was my last.’ Beatrice didn’t shout, but her voice still managed to thunder.

‘The girl-‘ Caelin pulled the maid forward.

‘You think I don’t know each of my staff?’ Beatrice snapped, ‘I don’t know where you pulled this actress from, but she is not employed in my household. Your lies have been a few too many this evening, Caelin. Not three hours ago you told us that you held Malcolm’s letters, ones explain this dalliances back in Renmere, letters you now say were never sent.’

Her cane cracked against the path again, Billy moving to stand beside her grandmother, shocked by what had taken place. ‘And we both know, that Elyna met the prince just last night. Your lies may be poorly constructed but they are damaging! You will be restricted to your rooms, until I am convinced that this insanity which has touched you, is over! Or until it is time for you to sail back home.’ It was then the footmen escorted Caelin back to the house, the maid whose tears had stopped, scarpered.

Beatrice turned to Elyna then, exhausted after the nights events, but found the woman gone.

Elyna stood on the streets. Without hesitation she had followed Malcolm from the house, but still her was beyond her sight.

‘Mal?!’ She called into the quiet darkness. With her skirts hitched up she started jogging down the nearest road, only for a hand to land on her shoulder.

‘Emily? Where is he?’ Elyna glanced at her friend before trying to move on again.

‘Ely you can’t go running through the city at night…’

‘This better not be some noble bull-‘

‘Ely…’ Emily fixed her gaze on the nobles middle.

Frustrated, Elyna spun again, searching desperately for a sign of her lover.

‘Please find him Em…please bring him back safely….’