The Elder Blood Chronicles – Book Three(84)

“He is awake and talking now and should recover without issue,” Jala informed Honor as she moved to stand at Valor’s side.

Honor blinked once and looked from her and then back in the direction she had come. “Truly?” he asked in disbelief.

“I told you she worked miracles,” Valor said softly and turned slowly back to gaze once more at the snow covered meadow beyond the town.

“Valor, I hope you understand, but I have to see for myself,” Honor said, shaking his head the expression of disbelief still on his face. “If it is true, you have my eternal thanks, Lady Merrodin,” he added before moving past her toward the small house.

“I do and good bye,” Valor called softly his gaze never leaving the meadow.

Jala moved forward to stand beside him and followed his gaze trying to determine what held him so captivated. A soft brush against her side brought her attention downward for a brief moment and she smiled faintly at Marrow. The Bendazzi stretched and rubbed his head against her side before curling himself around her legs.

He has been staring at the snow for hours I think he might be weak in the head, the Bendazzi informed her as he leaned his head around her leg to regard Valor skeptically.

“This is the closest I’ve been to home in years,” Valor said softly and motioned with a gloved hand toward the snow covered fields. “That is my father’s land as far as you can see beyond the river,” he explained.

Jala blinked and looked past the forest, her eyes searching for a river. Glancing back up at Valor she shook her head faintly. “What river?” she asked stupidly.

Valor grinned and let out a slight chuckle. “Honor has been dumping snow on this area for over a month. As it turns out Blights do not hunt in heavy snowfall as they can be detected by the patterns in the snow.” He paused and motioned to an area beyond them with his hand. “The river is just beyond the trees and covered with over four feet of snow but it is there. It’s beautiful in the spring. The water is so clear you can see every stone in it and sweet enough to get drunk on. It’s called the Dawnfall in Arovan. In Glis I’m fairly certain they simply call it the border river.”

Jala nodded in understanding and then looked up at the longing expression on Valor’s face. “Why didn’t you ever go home, Valor?” she asked gently.

Valor’s expression clouded and he let out a sigh. “I suppose, given the circumstances at Merro, that it would be best if I explained everything to you,” he said and let out a breath as he leaned back against a tree and met her gaze. His eyes dropped to his cloak and he began to unravel a loose thread from its seams as he started to speak again. “You know about my early knighthood and of my Arovanni so I’ll begin just past that. In those days, I was the golden child of Arovan. I had already attended the required years at the Academy and I was well on my way to proving myself in battle. I had a reputation that shone brighter than anything. Naturally, when I was forced to take a squire there were several candidates and in the end I didn’t get to make the choice. The one they assigned me was from a very powerful house in Arovan and had an ego to rival my own, despite his age. At that time I was sixteen and he was twelve. I was young for a knight and he was old for a squire.” Valor paused in his words but continued to work at the loose threads, keeping his eyes focused on his cloak rather than looking at her.

Jala didn’t press him to continue and turned her gaze instead to the pristine snow of the forest. She knew he would continue when he had found the right words and it was clear that the topic was not a pleasant one for him.

“As I said, I had my Arovanni then, but such a mount isn’t suitable for everyday use. They are sacred and thus they are reserved for quests or war. So I had acquired Vanguard. He was young then, barely past three, and filled with spirit. We were making our way back south from getting him and had stopped in a small village for the night. I turned the horses over to my squire and went into the inn to secure rooms for the two of us. I was barely inside long enough to hail the innkeeper when the stable yard erupted into chaos. Thinking the boy was under attack, I rushed out to find Vanguard running hard for the open fields and my squire sitting square on his ass in the middle of the stable yard. There was a girl standing behind him, so thin it looked as though a strong wind could carry her off and she was clutching a chunk of firewood in both hands,” Valor shook his head and rubbed his face.

“She walloped your squire?” Jala asked with a raised eyebrow, the words forming a perfect picture in her mind of the scene.