Wedding Party

Aurei and her friends arrive in Northmarch for the wedding, while the two vampires also prepare their plan.

5.

Wedding Party

 

The Autumn Maid arrived promptly the next morning and they all boarded it for the trip to King’s Reach.   For Brandi and Krys, it was the first time they had ever seen the capital of the Kingdom and everyone on board was in a festive mood.   The trip was relaxing and completely uneventful and soon they were disembarking onto the docking platform that King Haroldris had ordered constructed for travelers of the airships.

 

Aurei looked around in wonder, for she hadn’t had a chance to enjoy the city while she and her Aunt Zeatt had been prisoners of the Emperor the previous winter.   They had never left the Emperor’s airship, so this was her first visit to the capital since she’d been a little girl.

 

As she and Eleazar walked across the loading platform, they were pleased to see Zeatt and the Queen waiting for them.   Aurei hugged her aunt happily.

“I’m so glad to see you!” She told her, “I’ve really missed you!”

Zeatt smiled, “I’ve missed you too, child.   How are you?”

Aurei knew what she meant; she was wondering how she was handling the Ssinssrigg-Chath.

Aurei gestured to Eleazar, “He’s keeping me in line.”  But she leaned in so he couldn’t hear and added, “But it’s getting worse each day.”

Zeatt frowned, “Oh dear, I feared that.   Will you be able to handle it?”

Aurei shrugged, “I don’t know; but Laz will stop me from going too far.”

Zeatt glanced back at the half-Drow knight, who had heard most of what she had told her aunt.   He gave a grim look in response to her questioning eyes and that did nothing to relieve her concern for her niece.

 

“Hello, Aurei!”  The Queen came forward and hugged her and Aurei squealed in delight as she saw the considerable growth of the Elf lady’s belly.

“Your Majesty, you are getting really big!”  She said, placing her hand on the Queen’s maternal bulge. 

She smiled happily, “Yes, and I still have nearly a year to go until I give birth.”

“You look so beautiful, Your Highness!   You’re almost glowing!”

“You are too kind, Aurei, but I am greatly enjoying my pregnancy.”

 

From behind them, Siris came forward and the Queen grinned, “Siris, look at you!” 

The pregnant Orc lady was even larger than the Queen and also seemed to have a maternal glow about her.   She waddled over to Eioldth and bowed slightly in respect.

“Your Majesty.” She greeted her and the two pregnant ladies stood there belly to belly, laughing and chatting for a few moments.

 

But there was much to do and soon the group from Westmark was escorted to the Palace and assigned rooms.    To Aurei’s dismay, she was placed alone in one.   She didn’t say anything to the Queen, who had shown her to her room before most of the others, but as she was leaving the room, Eioldth paused by a door and opened it, then with a wink walked out to show the others to their quarters.   

 

A moment later she heard through the open door, the Queen telling Eleazar that the room next door would be his.   As soon as Eioldth led the others on down the hall, Eleazar popped his head through the doorway between rooms.

“Did you see that?”   He asked her, amazed.

Aurei just grinned, “She didn’t want to create a scandal with the other Dukes and important people arriving sometime tomorrow for the royal conference.”

“Still, I don’t know, Aurei, maybe it would be better if we just stayed in separate rooms for the next few days.”   He teased and she threw a pillow off the bed at him.  

 

***

 

A few hours later, the King greeted them at an incredible banquet.   The feasting hall was magnificently appointed and large, and Aurei, along with the others who had spent their entire lives in Westmark, were awestruck at the grandiose setting. 

The Queen had commanded that all talk at this banquet would be of happy and common things; no discussion of the upcoming events, as there would be plenty of time for that in the upcoming days.  

Never had Aurei seen such a feast as was brought before them.   There was course after course of foods, many of which she had never seen before, and most of them delicious.   Those from Westmark sat there overwhelmed by the abundance, looking around in delight and wonder.

 

In the place of honor sat Alis and Aeric, both wide-eyed in the honor of being the recipients of a royal feast.   Aurei was pleased to see Sir Alvis join them and looking much healthier after a few months in King’s Reach.   He sat next to Zeatt and the two seemed to greatly enjoy each other’s company.   Aurei was seated on the other side of her aunt and leaned over to Eleazar, seated next to her of course, and whispered, “Look at Sir Alvis.”

Eleazar looked and then turned back to Aurei, seeming puzzled, “What about him?”

She gave him an amazed look, “Laz!   You can’t see it?”

“See what?   He looks fit and strong to me.”

“Exactly; don’t you see why?”

“Rest?”

“Yes, but I think it is the company he’s keeping.”

“What do you mean?”

Aurei sighed, exasperated, “Look at him talking to Aunt Zeatt.”

“So?”

“Yesh have mercy, surely you’re not that blind, Laz!”

“Aurei, what are you getting at?”

“They are looking at each other much like we are looking at each other.”

“Sir Alvis and your aunt?!   You can’t be serious!”

“What would be so surprising about that?”

“Aurei, they’ve known each other for years.   They both lived in Aeropolis; they saw each other frequently in their duties.  They’re good friends, that’s all.”

“I don’t know, Laz; look at them laughing together.   I’ve never seen either one look so happy.”

“Well, if there is something there, don’t embarrass them, okay?   Let them be relaxed and happy; we’ve got dark times in front of us soon.”

She nodded in agreement and focused on some rather wild looking seafood that had been placed before her.

 

***

 

Not far away from the Palace, inside an unused basement, Alleania knelt in front of a small crystal ball that she had set on a broken crate next to her coffin.   She mumbled a few arcane words and waited a few moments until, in the glass of the ball, a dark face appeared.

“Good evening, my Love.” Chal’s voice came through the scrying device.

“Good evening, my Lord.”  She answered, smiling at her mate, “They arrived this afternoon, along with a large group from Westmark for the Half-Elves’ wedding.”

 

“Good.   We are underway here; a vast armada.   Twelve airships, Wyverns and even Dragons.   Quite impressive.”

“How soon will you arrive?”

“Tomorrow night, I’d say.   Soric expects us to attack at once.   If there are wizards at East Point with teleportation capabilities, then King’s Reach will have four hour’s warning.   The fool hasn’t even considered that possibility; he is so sure of the superiority of his forces.”

“Will they lay waste to East Point?”

“No; King’s Reach is the goal.   But I doubt they will try to conceal our movement toward the city.”

“But Soric is not with them?”

“No, he watches by scrying device within his throne room.”

 

“Alone.”   Alleania added, her eyes sparkling.

Chal smiled, “More or less, alone, but certainly more vulnerable.   We will have to act quickly to get them there to kill him.”

“Have you figured out, my Lord, how you will convince Aurei and her lover to do so without revealing ourselves to them?”

“No, not yet.   It will depend on the situation.   I will meet you in the Queen’s park at the iron gate as we planned, tomorrow at sundown.   The Doppelganger should be able to fool the battle crazed fools on my airship that he is me.   Don’t risk contacting me again until then, for the wizards on board could detect our conversation if they were suspicious enough to search for it.”

“I understand.   Until tomorrow, my Lord, goodbye.”

“Farewell my Love, tomorrow we shall set our plans in motion.”

The image in the crystal ball faded and Alleania stood, raised her hands into the air and took the form of a bat, then flew through a small window out of the basement to find someone to feed upon.

 

 

Reviews

[Erin Winter]

Oooooooh, what's gonna happen?

[Elina]

"...who shown her to her room..." I think you may have forgotten "had" between "who" and "shown."

I just have to say...I totally called Zeatt and Alvis. There was a part in the second book where I started to wonder, and now...
On the other side of things, with the war and these strange vampires, though...I am getting really intrigued, and excited to see what's in store for our heroes.

[Eddie Davis]

Thanks, Elina. My Muse surprised me with bringing Alvis back in the second book and then again by hooking him up with Zeatt. I'm not confirming anything, but they may or may not end up getting married and having a half-Drow daugther named Allea that has a knack for Clerical spells and yet also for Sorcery spells like her half-sister Sophia. Who has a role in 'The Forging of the King'. Just a rumor though... :)