Below the Peak (Sola)(52)

“I’ll pay in weight of your largest man.”

Loud gasps echoed in the room, astonished at the form and amount of payment. Nara stared at the prince, stunned. Truly he must be desperate to be willing to pay such an absurd of quantity. This spurred her to wonder what they needed the well for. And what is this well to cause such a demand?

The king smiled smugly, believing he had the elf in the corner. “Tempting as it is, it is not enough.”

“Name your price then.” The prince’s voice sent a trail of chillness over her spine, belying the neutral expression he had on.

As if the king was waiting for the exact words, he propped himself, straightened out and drummed his fingers on the armrest. He didn’t hesitate when he said, “Your alliance.” Etiquette and fear in front of the two guests vanished as murmurs of sheer surprise, confusion, disagreements and agreements broke out. Even the queen gaped at her husband dumbfounded.

Nara’s lips almost curled into half a smirk past her rage toward the king. Only he had the audacity to request alliance from the elves.

Evidently, lord Finn Horrindor was not in favor of the king’s suggestion, his said something to the prince in elvish. She only picked up hello and goodbyes from the elves who came to trade with them on trade days, so she didn’t understand what lord Finn murmured, however, one thing she certainly knew was whatever he just said to the prince wasn’t pleasant considering the hiss in his voice.

Will he agree?

A big part of her hoped he would despite it meant siding with the infuriating king. Nara could already imagine the victory over Kalil with the army of elves on her kingdom’s side. Defeating Kalil would be like swatting a fly. A hard expression settled on the prince’s features. He leveled his gaze onto the king as he uttered, “No.” His tone was final leaving no room for negotiations.

If the king was unsatisfied by the prince’s rejection, he hid it perfectly. He pressed on and conferred, “Agree to fight with us against Abasi, and I will let you fetch from the well. This is my final offer.”

This was what King Lorenz thrived on. Shady dealings, manipulation, deception these were all his element. He wasn’t known to be cunning and sly for nothing. The only thing that surprised Nara was where he got the boldness to challenge the feared prince, the man couldn’t even wield a sword properly. Nara considered him to be pathetic, as a king and the chief commander of the force, he should be able to stand forth and guide his army with skills and not just a mouth and let others do his bidding.

“Take what I’ve offered you” the prince spoke, his words sounded more of a warning than a suggestion. Just then, footsteps of more than just one person sounded on the stairs above them which winded to the hall. Another party entered the grand room. The mage, General, Barra, Risa and three elves and other human guards assembled beside the prince and lord Finn. Nara immediately recognized the female elf as the one she had crossed the path in that mingy pathway a day after her return to Vessener. The only addition to her clothing was the sword strapped to the side of her waist and without a hat that had shadowed her face and hid her gold locks that tumbled past her shoulders. The female elf glowered in their direction, making it obvious she was furious.

Nara didn’t think she could express her astonishment in any new way. All she wanted to know what in the gods was going on! Whatever was in the unknown well must be damn important to them to come in numbers. Are there others of them inside the walls and outside? The thought was frightening.

“He is a half elf,” the female elf informed the prince, her face cringed in disgust when she glanced at the mage who stood next to Barra-a protective barrier between her and the mage. The mage was wrapped in a grey robe and shawl from his head to his feet hiding his face as always. The mage was the only human known to practice magic across Murisa to Kalil. After the dark war had ended, only a few selected could work and manipulate magic for the sole purpose of protecting kingdoms, considering magic was also what brought the great destruction among their kind. However, as years then centuries flew, the fewer people were who knew how to weave it, and now, only him remained as the mage known in Murisa. Although he possessed the ability to conjure magic, they couldn’t rely on him alone to win the war against Kalil. He was not that powerful. He wasn’t strong enough to harness fully the magic that was left in the land.

Nara’s glanced back to the prince and found his expression was still impassive as ever with a shadow of darkness looming closely to the surface as he looked at the king. Finn on the other hand, had a grave look on his face even his stance had changed to someone on edge, which if pushed a little he would make sure you were the one who would fall alone. Nevertheless, it was the prince who alarmed Nara more, danger hummed around him.

“You thought I wouldn’t know your kind wouldn’t be after it. You try to steal what is mine!” the king barked.

The prince grinned, a very chilling grin, and took a step forward causing the lords and ladies to lean back on their seats, trembling. Nara felt her feet that had gone numb from standing prickle with adrenaline, -ready to take flight or fight. It was that scary.

“You deny us when you know better the well cannot be owned by anyone?” the prince questioned, his tone deceptively kind.

“I do not care for ancient rules. It’s on my land. I own it, and I can do whatever I choose to do with it, elf!” the king barked again.