Below the Peak (Sola)(39)
“What is it?” Calemir asked, his voice gruff from being unused for a while.
“Lady Leena Navari requests your presence in the hall,” the servant said softly. Every muscle in his body stiffened and his gut knotted in both anticipation and worry. He turned his head to his mother, seeking permission to leave.
“I’ll be okay. Now go” the queen urged, her voice raspy from crying. He did not need to be told twice. Calemir advanced, passing the young maid standing at the door. The person who held the only chance for his father’s cure had come.
His boots pattered lightly against the polished floor of the corridors as he agilely forward for the hall where Leena awaited. Tension unwound and wound itself inside him. He perceived her when he rounded the hall, standing at the center of the room, her back toward him and her head cocked up, staring at the colorful stained-glass vault. Leena was cladded in a green cloak, its cape pushed back revealing her silky blonde hair.
She turned and looked at him. “Your highness” she curtsied.
“Take a walk with me,” Calemir said and began to walk. Leena fell beside him naturally as they headed outside. There were too many ears inside, probably some hired to report to the lords whatever occurred inside the royal house. He needed to be in a secluded place before they discussed anything. They passed the gallant sentries standing at attention on various positions of the palace.
"How was your travel?" Calemir asked as they stood under the stars, near a waterfall that trilled up from the mountains behind the castle’s tower to a flowing stream onto the green pond. The rush of water muffled their voices, making it impossible for an eavesdropper or passerby to hear them.
"Good" Leena replied.
“I take it you found it?” he asked.
“I succeeded.” Leena nodded.
Calemir studied her somber expression, “Where does it flow?”
Leena hesitated first before she answered. “In Vessener, Murisa.”
His jaw tensed while frustration replaced the look of relief he had just a moment when she said she found the well. Of all the places, the well of Var had to flow in Murisa.
“Are you alright?” he asked instead. Leena looked at him, finding genuine concern in them with unspoken matter that’s too familiar and that neither of them wanted to address because it gets a part of them which is best remained buried.
“I’m alright,” she said letting confidence back her voice. She could see the relief her answer gave him, like an intense pressure in his chest being released with an exhale.
Calemir grunted and squared his shoulders. Leena had volunteered herself to go and search for the well so he could stay behind and oversee matters of the kingdom. He had felt incompetent first and had insisted that it was his duty to find Vár but Leena had advised him that the queen wouldn’t be able to stand alone on the throne as she took care of the king. He had to be here to support and as a watcher of the throne.
Now thinking of it, he’d made a wise decision to remain behind and let one of the very few people he trusted to do the job.
“Bad news is that the well is inside the city, Vessener. I still cannot believe we’ve had never seen it before or heard any word of it” she mulled.
This bothered him too.
Vár, an ort that sprout from the well of Urd which nurtured Yggdrasil. Dewdrops from Yggdrasil’s branches fell to their world in the form of a well. It’s believed a single drop of its water rid all illness, leaving no trace of the body or memory of it. Hence, it’s why he had been wound up the last few days as he waited for Leena’s return. He did not wish to waist any more time. The sooner they left, the better to return early. And once his father awakens, all the mistrust and threats from other high lords would be hushed.
“We should leave tonight then. Are you fit to do so?” He asked his tone seriously. “You should remain if you need to rest you have done more than enough.” knowing what the fierce warrior would say.
“I’m ready on your command” Leena replied, standing upright. “It seems we are not the only ones who misfortune has fallen upon.” recalling what she had overheard from the Murisa officials the night she had arrived in Vessener. The officials had not seen her in the dark corners of the city even inside the walls of the castle she had hidden well except for the persistent lady whom she met the morning after.
“What happened?”
His kind had minimal interaction with the humans except trade being the only affair they had with them, to exchange goods. Well, truth be told, it was an excuse for some of his kind to wander beyond their lands and appease their bored selves. It was never that way though, before the Dark War of course. Thinking of the war, it conjured horrific images he didn’t want to remember. The memories old and still fresh in his mind, he didn’t desire to dwell in them. They were too painful and brought guilt to his conscious.
“War is brewing between Kalil and Murisa, I believe Abasi initiated his hand first,” Leena informed him. Although he never visited the human territories like other elves did, he kept abreast what went on with the people. Calemir was aware Abasi was the king of Kalil as was Lorenz the king of Murisa. And more so, he knew too well of their unique relationship. The whole story behind it. It seemed their alliance had reached its end. He ruefully thought.
“How bad is the situation?” Calemir asked. He planned to march out there directly and take what he needed quickly without getting caught in the crossfire. He needed to take precaution lest they got trapped in a war that didn’t concern them.