Arrival

t"I am so sick of hearing about her! Everywhere I go, the talk of the city is Kysael!" Lunariel stormed around the manor in her daily rage.

tThings had been tense with us ever since Kirinae had gotten Kysael banished from Havengrove. The entire city of Irasil had been buzzing about Kysael and rumors of her ever since. And Lunariel hated it.

tI knew that nothing that I could say or do would make her feel better.... I had tried before.

tI knew that I was only a prize to her. One of the quickest advancing a.s.sa.s.sins of Havengrove, I now got paid to hunt down and a.s.sa.s.sinate people all over the world and be applauded for it. Several women around this city openly ogled at me, so I knew that I must be quite attractive, as well.

tLunariel had never, not once, told me that she loved me. I knew that she didn"t care anything about me or my feelings. I knew that she didn"t care from the moment that we had gotten word of my child brother"s murder.

tLunariel had not one time tried to comfort me. At this point, I wasn"t even sure why I was here.

t"Today, the newsies are saying that Kysael is a legend because she was able to ride on a wyvern and live to tell about it!" She screeched in her annoying voice. "Who cares about that disgusting mixed-breed anyway?! Besides her idiot husband?"

tI remembered the news of Dragon and Kysael"s marriage. It had not been news that made me happy. It was supposed to be me, I had thought. But then....it had always been Dragon. He had been there since she was born. She had loved him all of her life, and I knew that. Even though she had never said it in our time together, I could feel her watching him. I could sense her heightened energy around him, and how his presence comforted her. I could feel how she relied on him.

tYes, it had always been Dragon.

tWhen we had first heard about the wedding here in Irasil, I had thought that it was simply a rumor, not thinking that there was any way that it could be known for sure.

tBut when I had gone to Havengrove to visit my family, and found Dragon leaving with a search party for Kysael, and he had admitted that they were indeed husband and wife, and that he had freshly inseminated her with his seed...it had left a bitterness in my soul.

tI remembered that all along, he had been arranged to marry her from the time that she was an infant, because of what she was.

tHe was practically her fiancé all along, and yet he had allowed her to be with me.

tHe had put himself to the side, for the sake of her desires.

tMy eyes burned. My blood felt as if it were lit aflame. The audacity of it infuriated me.

tWhen I had returned home, Lunariel was no longer expecting. She had shown little emotion or care over the entire ordeal.

tAnd part of me idly wondered if, in my absence, she had terminated my child. But I didn"t dwell on the thought. I couldn"t. I couldn"t allow myself to think of it. It only served to infuriate me all the more.

t"That stupid girl!" Lunariel screeched again. "Why can"t she simply die already? Then I can have some peace!"

tI made myself stay calm. Getting into an argument would only make things worse.

tShe changed clothes into a very tight, seductive gown that I had bought for her for our honeymoon.

tI almost got my hopes up.... but before I could ask if she was getting dolled up for me, she stormed out the door, slamming it behind her.

tI sighed, my shoulders slumping. I decided to get dressed and go out for a night on the town myself. No point in sitting in an empty mansion with nothing to do, right?

tI went to my bedroom, across the hall from hers, and went through my clothes. I found something nice, and went back down the long hallway to go back through the gathering area, kitchen, and out the door.

tI went through the courtyard square, down the cobblestone street to the pub right down the road.... but then I thought better of it.

tLunariel didn"t like it when I drank.

tAnd when I turned to go back home, I saw something on the opposite side of the street...

tLunariel, arm looped with a man"s, strolled down the opposite side of the street and into an inn.

tLunariel....was cheating on me?

tI almost couldn"t believe it.

tWho would want to be with her anyway?

tShe was...so...unattractive.

tAlthough, she did have a lot of money.

tBut for goodness sake, I was her husband! She had drug me from my home after having her uncle, King Eranton, force me to marry her!

tAnd she was cheating on me?

tFurious, I turned right back around and strutted straight into the pub and sat at a table, ordering ten pints of ale.

tI had been nothing but loyal and faithful to that hateful, ugly shrew! And this was the thanks that I got?

tNo.

tNot this time.

t"Well, h.e.l.lo there, handsome. I"m not used to seeing you around here," a sultry voice said from behind me.

tI turned, and my eyes almost popped out of my head.

tShe was tall, nearly my height.

tShe had blonde hair, a slender face, a thin neck, narrow shoulders, bulging b.r.e.a.s.t.s, wide curves....and bright, bright green eyes.

tI had not seen any woman this attractive in a while.

tI could tell that she had Woodelf in her, but she didn"t look full blooded...perhaps half Woodelf, Half Mountain elf?

tBut then, I didn"t really, honestly care at that moment in time.

t"You look like you are lonely. Care to join me?" She asked, whistles sounding off in the background.

tI almost declined.... until I remembered Lunariel going into the inn with that man, wearing the gown that I had bought for her.

t"Sure, I would love to join you," I said softly, and she led me back to her table.

tWe began drinking, and she spoke after taking a gulp of ale. "So, what is your story?" She asked me.

t"I just found out that my wife is cheating on me," I said darkly, and she covered her mouth with one hand.

t"Oh, I am so sorry. I don"t see how any woman could possibly cheat on someone as dashing and handsome as you. You are...so.... manly...." She said, putting her hand on my knee.

tAnd then it suddenly clicked.

tThis woman was a harlot! A prost.i.tute!

tNo wonder to me now that she was dressed so provocatively.

t"Say, why don"t we go somewhere, handsome? I can make you forget all about your troubles," she said, eyes hungry with l.u.s.t.

t"I....I don"t know," I said, hesitant. "I"m married-"

t"And you just said yourself that your wife is cheating on you, off somewhere getting pleased by another man other than her own husband. Do you really believe that"s fair?"

t"Well, no, but I-"

t"So, she gets to be pleased, but you don"t? Come now, I can make your fantasies come true. Come on, come with me to the inn."

tI thought of Lunariel, off somewhere, getting pleasured by a man other than me, even after all that I had done for her.

tOut of all the time that we had been married, all the times that I had asked her to be intimate with me and she"d refused, denying me, depriving me of a woman"s touch...we had only been intimate a couple of times since we had gotten married.

tAnd then she had "lost" the baby, and would hardly even glance my way anymore.

t"You can make my fantasies come true?" I asked softly.

t"I guarantee it."

t"I"ll go with you."

*

tI pulled my boots on, the sun rising in the sky outside of the inn.

t"Do you really have to go back to her?" She asked, pouting. "That was.... truthfully, that was some of the best s.e.x I have ever had. You are a wonderful lover."

tI looked back at her from over my shoulder. "I have to face her sometime if I want to get my possessions."

t"I suppose. Then would you come back to me?"

t"I will more than likely return to my homeland, back to Havengrove. But thank you, for everything," I said. "What is your name?"

t"Sefrana."

t"I am Kelose."

tShe dropped her gla.s.s of wine, letting it crash onto the floor. "You? You"re Kelose?" She choked.

t"What"s wrong?"

t"You need to get out of here, Kelose. If she finds out, you could be executed-"

t"What are you talking about?" I asked.

t"Lunariel is my sister!" She choked out.

t"What?" I asked, appalled.

t"There are three kings in our family. Eranton of Havengrove, our uncle. Verdius of Irasil, our uncle....and Shahng, of Elsael....our father. We have different mothers but share the same father...."

t"That"s why you are half Woodelf and Mountain elf, but Lunariel is full blooded Mountain elf," I said.

t"Yes. Oh, this isn"t good!"

t"I will be going and packing my things, and returning back to my homeland."

t"That would probably be best."

*

t"What do you think you"re doing?!" Lunariel screeched.

t"I saw you last night, Lunariel. I saw you going into the inn with that man. Tell me, how long have you been cheating on me? Me, the man who has been nothing but loyal and faithful to you, the man who left his home for you? Did you truly think that I would not find out? Did you honestly believe that you wouldn"t be discovered? It"s obvious that you don"t want me here, Lunariel. For goodness sake, we sleep in separate rooms and we are married! I am going to do us both a favor and leave. I have already sent word to your father and both of your uncles. This marriage is over."

t"You...You can"t do this!" She sputtered, her face red with anger.

tI got in her face. "Watch me, you hateful, cheating cow!"

tShe ran out the door, and began calling the guards. Surprised, I grabbed my sack to make a quick exit, but the guards were quicker.

t"What is the problem here?"

t"He is trying to leave me!" Lunariel shouted. "He smells like another woman, and I am sure that he has had an affair! I demand that he face the consequences!"

t"I have proof that you cheated on me, Lunariel," I told her in front of the guards. "I already got a statement from the inn keeper about your activities last night, and now you throw a tantrum because you don"t want me to leave after you had an affair yourself?"

t"With these guards as my witness, I swear that I will ensure that you are banished from all Elven lands! You will never return here, nor to your disgusting homeland! You will have nowhere to run! You are, from here on out, under MY authority, banished from the Elven lands and are hereby charged with being a Rogue elf! There will be a bounty on your head if you walk out that door!"

tI shrugged. "I am one of the best, well known a.s.sa.s.sins in the world. I doubt that anyone would come after me, and I am more than content to wander around nomadically and not return to any of the other Elven lands. Have a nice life, Lunariel." And then I walked out the door, carrying my few possessions, to leave. I could hear her ridiculous screeching in the distance behind me, and I had never been so happy to leave it.

*

tThe first place I arrived to in Havengrove was the graveyard.

tI needed to go and see my little brother"s grave, since I had missed his funeral.

t.i.t seemed that my brother had known that I would come here, first.

t"I heard that you were banished from the Elven lands, Kelose. You are a rogue. What on earth are you doing here? If they catch you-"

t"I had to come here, Showyn. I had to see Zakarin"s grave for myself. If they catch me, then so be it. But I could not have a clear conscience if I didn"t come here."

t"So, it"s true then? You are a rogue?"

tI smiled. "Yes, it"s true." I hugged him. "I"ve missed you, brother."

t"I"ve missed you too, Kelose."

t"How is everyone?"

t"Well....father is as you might expect. After the murder of Zakarin, and then Beashara, he-"

t"What? Beashara....is dead?"

tHe looked away. "That"s right, Lunariel turned away our messenger...."

tI fell to my knees. "Oh, no...."

t"I am sorry that you had to hear it like that."

t"How did they die...?" I asked.

t"Zakarin....was murdered by Kysael"s daughter, Kirinae. She....Kirinae ripped his heart from his chest because he hurt her feelings. And after the trial, when Kysael and Kirinae were merely banished from Havengrove, Beashara couldn"t accept that as harsh enough punishment, and so.... she turned into a Darkelf out of pure rage. We had to force her out of the city, because she tried to a.s.sa.s.sinate the king-unsuccessfully, of course. And she ran off, to Barrenwilds, we a.s.sume."

t"At least she"s not actually dead."

t"She may as well be. Woodelf Beashara is dead."

t"But she is still alive somewhere. And that is enough."

t"You need to get out of here, Kelose. Now, while its still dark. You need to go. I have missed you, but I do not want for you to get caught."

t"Wait," I said as he turned to leave. "I need for you to have someone meet me at the outer gates, I have a message."

*

t"You want me to what?" Drakul asked after meeting me outside of the Boarders.

tI got down on my knees. "Please, teach me how to hunt. As an a.s.sa.s.sin, I depend on hunters to locate my targets so that I can go and do my job. I want to learn to hunt so that I can work more efficiently."

t"You mean to say that you want to be able to find Kysael, right?"

tI startled. "How-?"

t"I am over five hundred years old, boy. You pick up on things at my age. It is easy enough to see through your true intentions."

t"I had wanted to see how she was doing, yes.... but I do also want to improve my work efficiency."

t"And why should I help you, Kelose? You are a married man-"

t"Not anymore."

tHe seemed to consider that, and I felt as if he were reading my soul, trying to gauge if I was lying to him or not.

t"So, the news was true. You left Lunariel, left Irasil, and you are a rogue who has been banished from elven territories. Why should I train you? Are you going to simply hurt Kysael again? I cannot allow you to be the cause of even further pain for her. And she is married to my son."

tI sighed. "I only wanted to see how she was doing. I know that she has Dragon. I do not intend to interfere. I wanted to see how they are. You"re right, I have been banished from all of the Elven lands. I am a rogue. I have no home. After I have seen that she is safe, I will leave and I will go into a nomadic lifestyle. That is my wish."

tHe thought for a moment. "We will begin at Sunrise, at the Eastern boarder wall gate. If you"re late, you can forget about it."

tI bowed. "Thank you, Master Drakul."

t"Don"t make me regret this, boyo."

*

tTraining with Drakul was not an easy task.

tAn a.s.sa.s.sin"s work began at night the majority of the time, but hunters began their work at sunrise and went until after dusk.

tDrakul was strict, mean, even.

tBut he treated me the same as his other students, and I had to wonder if he had put Kysael through this rigorous of training as well.

tPerhaps that was why she was so strong.

tSunrise to sunset each day, we were out in the forest, tracking and hunting animals as small as spiders.

tIf we failed an a.s.signment, he had us run laps around the entire outside of the boarders of the city.

tNo, Drakul was not easy to learn from.

tI had to give Kysael credit where it was due, it was hard to believe that she had actually graduated from this.

tThis training was far harder than a.s.sa.s.sin training had ever been.

tAfter a while, he put me through a test where I had to survive out on my own with no guidance for a week.

tNo problem for myself, of course, and I pa.s.sed with flying colors.

tAnd when I pa.s.sed and returned with an elk as my mount and a buck for a restaurant in town for him to deliver, I graduated.

t"Now, understand. I am letting you graduate earlier than the other students because I heard that Mafrien has taken Kysael again, and now she has been gravely wounded by a wild boar. That was several weeks ago. I just got word from Dragon. You should go and see if they need any help."

tI nodded. "I"ll start packing." Concern rushed through my heart and soul. How had I not noticed? My Soul Bond should have let me sense that. I didn"t understand what went wrong. Or perhaps, I"d been tuning it out and simply didn"t want to pay attention to it.

tI could only hope that Kysael was alright.