Preparations

As Carn travels to see Amala, the girl makes secret preparations for a rendezvous with him.

64.

Preparations

 

Never had Amala lied better or put on a more convincing show as she did that early evening.    Even Queen Mathlyn, with her great wisdom, had been fooled, and after they all ate dinner together, they agreed that it would be alright for her to stay by herself, as long as they were sleeping in nearby rooms.

It was just what she had hoped to hear.    She feigned weariness and retired to her room, locking the door behind her.

With a deep sigh of relief, she let the rest of her control flow from her.    Even with the glass of Faesidhe tea at dinner, she was feeling the lust growing in intensity again.

She was going to take Snoe’s words to heart.    Carn was coming to her - she knew this as well as she knew her own name.    He would arrive in the night and immediately go to check on her.

And she would be ready.

 

She had a servant bring her buckets of hot water to fill the large bathing tub in her room.   She would have gone over to the underground bathhouse under the Muddy Boot, but she had to play the role of tired and in control, so she opted for a hot bath instead.   

Fortunately, Aranthi’s old room had a door between them and she quietly went inside.

Her parents hadn’t found time to pack her belongings away, and Amala knew exactly what she was looking for.   It was packed away in her sister’s ‘Hope chest’ which she had established a few years ago for a future wedding.   She was still assembling the contents of her chest when she died, but one of the first things she had bought was a very sheer, beautifully delicate night gown which had been for her wedding night.   

Now Amala tried it on, hoping that it would fit since she had worn a gown of her sister’s only days ago.    To her delight, it fit sinfully well, pressing tightly against her breasts and showing all that she had to offer.

A wicked smile crept over Amala as she looked at herself in a mirror.   He would like it, and would take her.     The girl shivered at the thought as she went on preparing for his arrival.    She confiscated her sister’s best perfume and oils.   Never in her life had Amala ever pampered and preened like she did now.

She washed her long hair carefully and combed it.   She’d lure him in with her hair - asking him to braid it for her.    That would be all that it would take.

Amala’s heart raced as she stripped the bed of the winter coverings and replaced them with bedding found in Aranthi’s hope chest.   

By the beginning of the night watch’s shift, she was ready.    Snoe checked on her minutes later, but she wouldn’t let her in, claiming to be lazy and snug in bed.    Her tone once again seemed to convince her sister that all was well, so she bid her goodnight and went back to her own room.

Amala just slid beneath the silk sheets and anxiously waited, like a spider for a fly.

 

***

 

Carn looked around for a moment as he got his bearing.   Up the hill from the forest was Westmark.   Though he was anxious to go to Amala, centuries of living had taught him to enter uncertain situations with caution.    He knew it could be rough.    Many Drow girls went crazy during the madness, if they tried to restrain their urges.   He also could stumble upon her satisfying these urges with a man.

The thought sobered him.   He felt a sense of betrayal at the thought.    That really wasn’t fair for the girl.   She had never spoken to him of anything but a strong friendship, and if he was completely honest, that could be all that she really felt for him.

That was almost as troubling to him as the thought of her ‘engaged’ with someone else.    Why did he think he had a claim on her?    Wasn’t it conflicting feelings like this that had caused him all the problems with Sialia?    He had caused the girl terrible conflict and confusion, and as a result, she had suffered and then died in a Drow wizard’s study, just to summon a demon.

Carn looked down at his pale hands.   He was Elven again - that was proof that her feelings for him were strong enough to change him.   Or was that it at all?   Perhaps the dream of the Burning Tree had also come to him with a divine gift of restoration.

Perhaps it hadn’t been Amala at all.

Suddenly Carn was unsure of himself again.    For a long moment he wrestled with not going to see her at all.    But even if she didn’t feel anything for him other than friendship, didn’t he owe it to her as a friend to help her with his magic?

Yes, he owed her that.    So he would go to see her, and no matter what he stumbled onto when he saw her, he would steel himself to treat her exactly the same.  

Swallowing a large dose of fear, Carn walked to the Western Gate, wondering how he would convince the night guard to let him in at this late hour.

To his surprise and relief, the gate was open, for there seemed to be a lot of nighttime traffic.    When he neared, he realized that what he was seeing were carts carrying the dead and injured from the Fallow River battle.

It was a grim sight to see, and he suspected that was why they were coming in at night, so as not to upset the citizens any more than they needed.

He passed unchallenged and went immediately to the ducal keep.    He would probably face a serious challenge here, but when he approached the night guard and told him who he was, the guard took him at his word without any questioning.   

It was almost as if he had been expecting him.

Odd, Carn thought as he now entered the Ducal Keep.   Surely security would have been more careful than this.    He hoped there wasn’t a plot by remnants of Redburr’s forces to try an assassination of the family members of their conquerors.

 

Carn hurried up the stairs toward Amala’s quarters.    He was halfway up the second landing to the third floor when he came around the corner and found twin long sword blades pressed against his neck.

Staring suspiciously at him was a pair of red glowing eyes set into a ghost-white face.

“Who are you?”   Snoe asked softly.

“Snoe, it’s me… Carn.” He replied, rather shaken at the reception.

For an instant she looked at him, and then her face lit up with recognition.

“Carn!   Oh mercy, I am so sorry!   I’m not too familiar with your new look… or rather your old look… ah, you know what I mean!”   She lowered the swords and gave him an apologizing hug.

“What are you doing here?   Are you by yourself?”

 

He was honest to her and explained his idea.   She looked a bit crestfallen to learn that her husband had not come with him, but still she seemed pleased.

“How is your sister doing?”

“Surprisingly, she’s almost her old self.”   The albino girl told him, adding how controlled and calm her sister had seemed that day.

“Good.”  Carn replied with a relieved sigh, “I was hoping that she might have a reaction similar to the type that you said your mother had.   Have you been guarding the stairwell all evening?”

Snoe laughed, “No, I just wasn’t sleeping and I heard the main door open, which is unusual this late at night.    So I thought I should go check.”

He told her about how they had wrapped up the treaty and all about the feast.  

“I wish I could have seen that.” She sighed.

“I left your husband a note, so don’t be surprised to see him and Mattleos arrive the same way tomorrow morning.”

She brightened at the thought, “Oh, I hope so!   We’ve not been married long, but I can’t sleep without him beside me.”

“Do you think it would be alright if I just quietly went in and checked on your sister?   I had some spell-songs ready to help her relax and sleep, but hopefully they aren’t needed now.”

“I’ll let you go see her if you will answer me a question.   I want you to be completely honest with me, too, okay?”

“Um… okay.”  

“You’ll be honest with me?”

“Yes.”

“Promise?”

“Yes, I promise.   What is it?”

“You love her, don’t you?”

He blushed, and his voice failed him in his awkwardness.   So he gave her a nod.

“Good.   I was very sure that you did, but I wanted to hear it from your own lips… so to speak.”

“I love her, Snoe.    It even surprised me.   She really reminds me of your grandmother.    But that isn’t why I love her.    I’m not really sure why I feel it, yet I do.   Each day it seems to be getting stronger too.    I worry that this will cause awkwardness between the two of us.   She’s never told me that she felt the same way.”

Snoe laughed with a big grin on her face, “I wouldn’t worry about that, Carn.”

“What has she said about me?”

“Huh uh, that is between the two of you.    I’m just saying that you need not worry.   Well, actually, you should be VERY worried, if she was to relapse to the point she was at last night at this time.    But she seemed calm and her same old self several hours ago, so you should be fine. “ 

“Which reminds me of a question I wanted to ask you:   After Aeric and Alis’ funeral… and Lightmas, of course, would you and Amala be willing to come to Tarmard and teach the Bardic arts to a class of Sylvan Elves?   They lack any Bards and I’m quite sure there would be several that are interested.   It would of course be a royal appointment, so all your expenses would be taken care of during your time there.”

“That sounds fine by me, but perhaps you should ask your sister.”

“She’s your pupil, isn’t she?”

“I… I’m not sure, now.   I hope so - she’s talented and would make an excellent Bard.”

“Well, then if she is still your student, won’t she have to go where her master goes?”

He squirmed at the title, for it always sounded so presumptuous to him, “I won’t force her to do anything.   That’s not how I train students.”

“Well, she’ll go with you, I’m quite sure.   So you’ll come and teach the Sylvan people your skills?”

Carn bowed dramatically, “It would be an honor, Your Majesty.”

Snoe responded with an equally dramatic curtsey, “Excellent, Master Carn, consider that a royal decree.    Now I’ll let you check on Amala and I’ll go back to bed… and good luck.”

He looked at her, confused by her last remark, but she had a secret smile on her lips and just turned and hurried back up the stairs to return to bed.

Reviews

[Elina]

"...so as to not upset the citizens..." Perhaps switch the "to" and "not."
"...but I can’t sleep without him with me." It sounds a bit odd to me having without and with so close in the same sentence. Perhaps change with to "beside?"
"I’m not really sure why I feel it, but I do feel it." This sounds a bit redundant. Maybe leave off the last "feel it."

[Eddie Davis]

Thank you, Elina, as always.