Below the Peak (Sola)(85)

Hello,

My dear daughter, I fail to find words that can express the feeling we’ve have felt upon receiving your letter. The feeling is beyond relief and happiness. I, your mother and Ingrid are doing well, therefore, worry not. Let us hope fate continue to remain kind to us.

We love you and miss you dearly,

Father.

Nara reread the last line, the words reverberating in her heart. She grasped the paper tightly, knuckles whitening.

“Is everything fine?” Calemir asked.

“Yes,” Nara swallowed willing her emotions to calm. “They are fine” she forced a half a smile when his gaze remained to scrutinize her face. Seeming to take her word, he nodded once and left, closing the door behind him.

She let a trembling sigh, thankful for the privacy. Not trusting her legs, she padded to her bed and sat. Holding the letter in front of her, she read it again and again, eyes full of longing.

Too short. Nara futilely whished her father had written more; the letter was just too short. Be grateful she told herself, touching the thin necklace on her neck. Sighing again, she tried ironing out the crinkle from the paper with her fingers before moving to the trunk sitting at the bottom of the closet and kept the letter inside it.

With a slightly heavy heart, Nara trudged downstairs to look for Izza and give her company.

Three pairs of eyes greeted her the moment she walked in the dining room. The room fell silent as she had a stare down with the three elves standing over the table with what to be appeared to be a large brown sheet spread on it. A map? It looked like a map from where she was standing. Both Finn and Leena were garbed in the blood red military uniform and armed. Finn who had his hands holding unto the table straightened putting one hand on his hip. “I haven’t seen you in a while, how are you?” he asked in Nyr.

“I’m fine” she responded. “and you?”

Finn’s expression turned wistful for a second before he gave an easy smile. “I am alive, it can’t get better than this.” Nara gave him a tight smile in response. Glancing at the other female in the room, Nara noted Leena was engrossed in the map, paying no attention to her at all. However, the man next to her watched her with an unshakable gaze. What’s with the stare? She hmphed, noting the miniscule furrow of his brow as he took in her attire. Nara was wearing one of the beautiful dresses the queen gifted her paired with sandals. Among the beautiful clothes she had been gifted, the blue floral dress with knitted red roses on the flowy hem was the simplest. She made a scowling face at him. His lips quirked slightly at the corners in response as if finding her funny. A little irked, Nara resisted the urge to stick her tongue out and ended asking him instead. “Have you seen Izza?”

Before he could reply, Izza sauntered into the room with a tray in her hands. “I was going to call you,” Izza told her as she placed the tray of breakfast at the far end of the table.

“I saved you the trouble,” Nara said, striding past Calemir to take a sit. Izza took a step back, allowing her to push the chair back. “the dress fits you well. You look beautiful” Izza said behind her as Nara tucked herself closer to the table. Nara’s face adopted a light pink color. “Thank you.”

With that, Izza excused herself from the room, leaving her and the three warrior elves alone in the chamber. Nara ate her bread silently as the elves resumed discussing in their own language, pointing to some areas on the map. Taking a sip of the herbal tea, she pondered what was going on seeing the way Calemir’s features turned grim and cursed under his breath. Looking at him over the rim of the cup pressed on her mouth, Calemir gestured to a particular place on the map repeatedly and growled to what sounded like here in elvish. His two comrades nodded. Feeling a little nosy, she lowered her cup to the table and asked. “Are you going somewhere?”

“Yes,” he replied without turning his head. What’s new? She mused. He was barely at home, always off to somewhere. He hadn’t been home the last three nights, not that it mattered to her. He’d just returned this morning, and by the looks of their preparedness, they were going to leave not shortly after. If she gave the effort, she could count the number of days he stayed in. She felt a tinge of envy. At least he had something to do whereas she had to think of something before being smothered by dullness. The tedium of yesterday was the reason she was wearing a dress. With absolutely nothing to do, she had decided to try the clothes she had been gifted by the queen last afternoon. That alone should be enough to convey the level of boredom she experienced.

“Where are you going?” she asked, curious.

“Ontophen.”

She chewed on the name for a moment, before recalling it as a major city Izza had mentioned at one time when they were talking. The name was also one of the three houses including Gwainor and Amulg.

“To do what?” she asked again, interrupting what he was saying to the other two elves. From his side profile, she noted him puckering his lips in annoyance. He finally cocked his head in her direction. “If you are thinking of tagging along, the answer is no.”

Although that wasn’t in her mind in the first place, his refusal had her stomach sinking a little.

“I wasn’t thinking of that” she retorted.

His eyes lingered on her face, his inscrutable expression taking a thoughtful appearance for a moment. “I know you can look after yourself well, but I want to you to be careful the next several days I won’t be here. It is best you don’t go for your rides.”