Chapter 15: Information, Finally!
~Flerbery’s P.O.V.~
“Frickle frack! I was hoping you wouldn’t wake!” I say, covering up. He just stares at me dumbstruck. “Well don’t look! Close your eyes!”
He blinks at me twice, as if my words are going right over his head. Then he opens his mouth to say something and gurgles blood and water. It drips from the corners of his mouth. I turn him over so he can spit it out and he sways dizzyingly. His eyes roll lazily shut. I lay him back on the ground and see that his head wound is bleeding heavily now. I press the towel to it and wrap it around his head. I wishfully decide that he’s too out of it to remember what he saw. Then I pull him to his feet, put his arm over my shoulders and practically carry him to the bed. Once there, I pull off the wool blanket and quilt and toss them onto the cot. I lay him down gently on the white cotton sheets.
Then I slip on a nightgown and bloomers. I slip a pillow beneath his head and then head down to the lobby where I saw an open supply closet. The sign on the door says, “Please take only what you need.” Inside, I find dishes, mops, broomsticks, and (most importantly) bandages and other medical items.
I quickly gather up a bowl, a wash cloth, floor soap, cleansing alcohol, bandages, cotton strips, and pain relieving topical ointment. Then I dash back to our room as fast as I can. I shut the door and rush to Byronn’s bedside. The towel has been soaked through with blood. So I carefully peel it from his skin, then I clean the wound with alcohol and put pain reliever on it. I put strips of cotton over the cut and wrap bandages around his head to hold them in place. He stirs and wakes up.
I am reminded that by nightgown is translucent and that I’m not wearing top undergarments. It was okay before because I knew that nobody would be awake to see me downstairs, but now… I push the thought out of my head. I’ll have time to change later, right now Byronn needs my full attention. I push his hair back away from his wound comfortingly.
“Thank you, By. You’re okay, just relax. You can go back to sleep if you want, I’ll take care of you, okay?” I coax.
“Mmm-kay.” He says sleepily, giving a small nod. Then he sighs and his beautiful blue eyes slip shut. I stroke his hair some more, admiring his many, many freckles. I should probably get to work cleaning the curtained room of evidence, but I don’t want to stop looking at Byronn and get up. Just as my resolve gets strong enough to get up, I feel a nudge in my telepathic block. Then I feel a shove, so I let my block down.
“---You can hear me. I REALLY need to talk to you about something.” I hear Woande saying.
“Woande? I’m so sorry. I forgot to take down the block when I woke up.” Truthfully, I hadn’t even realized yet that it was morning. “Did, um… anything… odd happen to you last night?”
“Wait. Did something odd happen to you too? ‘Cause last night some odd stuff definitely occurred.” says Woande.
“Yeah. Last night I was in the bath and I let my imagination run a bit wild. I imagined myself in acid, then next thing I know I'm on fire! It was scary.” I think to her.
“Really? Well while I was in the bath last night I fell asleep and was dreaming of the ocean. And I woke up to floating water making huge waves in the bathroom!” She says.
Fire and water. Interesting. I think to myself.
“How did you stop the fire? Did you like burn down the inn? Who knows of your powers?” She continues, bombarding me with questions.
Then I remember something. “So… we both have powers…? Wait! This all sounds familiar… Didn't father take us to an oracle when we were little about the telepathy? And she said we would have powers… This must be what she meant. And don’t worry Byronn is the only one who knows and he won’t tell. And no, I did not burn down the inn. I think I just had to get my mind off the fire and on to a different subject, then the fire stopped.” I tell her, careful not to give too much away about what happened with Byronn.
“Well what did you do to get your mind off of the fire?” She asks. Frickle frack. “Wait, tell me later. I have to go to breakfast with Cadarum. I will talk to you tonight.” She says, and I sigh with relief. I do [not] want to tell her about what happened.
“Wait Woande! Don’t tell Cadarum about your powers! He might not be trustworthy!” I warn her, but she’s already gone. I hope she got all that; it’s rather important. I close my eyes and give an exasperated sigh at my sister even though she can’t hear me.
“What is it?” I hear Byronn ask me. My eyes pop open and I look down at him.
“Nothing.” I say.
“Talking to Woande?” he asks. “What’s wrong? You look troubled.”
“You… you know about the telepathy, too?” I ask, confused.
“Woande! Listen to this quietly!” I think to my sister, letting her into my head. Still blocked.
He says, “Of course. Your mother told me.”
“She knew?!”
“She gave it to you.” He tells me.
I don’t understand. “What do you mean she gave it to me?”
“I’m getting the feeling your father didn’t tell you much. What do you know about your powers?”
“Well… I know me and woande can talk to eachother. And that our telepathy can go pretty far. I can also give her full access to my brain if I want to. She can see out of my eyes and hear through my ears. I could even give her the power to control my body, and she can let me do all those things, too. But we can only do those things with consent from one another.” I try to think of more. “Oh! And when we were younger Father took us to a fortune teller and she said we’d have more powers.”
“Okay, first of all, those were fake memories. After Gorongl captured your mother, the king had a wizard wipe yours and Woande’s memories. Second of all, He left some memories but instead of remembering your mother telling you those things, you remember an oracle.”
“You mean the black-cloaked woman?” I ask.
“Yes. Your mother often wears a cloak for her protection.” He says.
“Why does she need protection? And what about the powers?” I demand.
“Before she married your father, people suspected her of being a witch because of her powers. The only people who didn’t think so were her family. She had a mother, a father, a sister, and two brothers. She was the oldest and the only one with powers, but she didn’t know how to control them. One night, her elemental powers got out of control and her whole family died. She tried to kill herself in guilt and to be with them, but she couldn’t harm herself. Her powers wouldn’t allow it. The villagers chained her and brought her to the castle to be heard out. They wanted her hung. At her hearing were two charming young princes who saw instantly that she was no harm. They both knew she was not a witch and the did their best to convince the court of that. It worked, too. They came to an agreement that the young girl would stay at the palace until she could control her powers, and then she wanted to use them to help people. The two princes both had vast education, so they took it upon themselves to train her. During her training, they all three became very close. Best friends. But, with one being a woman, trouble was bound to occur. Both of the princes had feelings for her. She of course had no idea of this and didn’t really think about either of them that way. She was much too busy with her training.” He says.
“What happened?” I ask, pleading for information.
“Well, they were both rather nervous to tell her, but Flabnorius got over it and told her how he felt. Not knowing that Gorongl felt for her too, the girl let herself fall for Flabnorius, or Nori, as she called him. Gorongl was jealous and seeing them together made him even more so. He had missed his chance and he knew it. So he returned to his own country. Flabnorius and your mother wrote asking why he had gone, but they never did more, for they were busy being in love. Gorongl eventually forgot about his heartache and moved on. Soon he met Queen Gwenith, and they fell in love. They received an invitation to your mother and Father’s wedding, so they decided to go, all bitterness forgotten. The new king and queen were so happy to see their old friend and meet his love. Your mother was glad to see him happy, for she had realized why he had left years ago. They stayed at the castle for weeks, blissful in each other’s presence. But Gorongl and Gwenith had a country to tend to, so they returned to goronglia. Soon they were married, too. Your mother and father attended the wedding. They next time they saw each other it was at Gwenith’s baby shower. Your mother was pregnant with you and Woande at the time. Stellan was born, and several months later I was born. You and your sister were born a couple months after. At your birth, your mother split her powers evenly between you and Woande, making sure you wouldn’t develop them until you were ready. She kept only a few for herself, that she would give to you later on.”
“Oh, I get it.” I said.
He continues without acknowledging my comment. “Your mother and father were busy raising you two, and so were Gorongl and his queen were raising Stellan. So they lost contact for a while. Your mother and father were unaware that Queen Gwenith had conceived another child. At this time, the gremlins became strong. Neither king had time for socializing. The gremlins spread disease, and both countries were suffering from their wrath. They set fire to village just to watch the people scurry about chaotically like ants. Lots of flabnorians went to war, including my father. The whole sky was dark gray. That’s how your mother described it to me.”
I smile at the thought of my mother and Byronn talking.
“Queen Gwenith became very ill during her last few months of pregnancy. She had a difficult childbirth, but the nurses were able to save the her and the weak, malnourished baby. She never fully recovered from her illness. Sometime during that time my father became missing in action and my mother became a combat medic, hoping to find him. Her mission was cut short by death’s blade and I was left in the care of your mother. She let me live in the castle and took me in as her own. She even called me her son.” He stops, reminiscing.
“Keep going.” I urge gently.
“The country recovered a lot when the angel Tilly was sent down from heaven to protect us. But the scars of the Gremlin’s reign were still there. When we were six years old, Queen Gwenith’s illness got the better of her. Gorongl and his sons were devasted. Your mother sympathized greatly with Gorongl, so she went to visit him in Gorongl. Flabnorius would have gone, too, but he was piecing his country back together and his people needed him. It was his duty to his country to stay.”
I burst into spontaneous laughter, giggling and even...snorting...a little. Byronn looks at me like I’m a lunatic.
“Sory, sorry. It’s just---” More laughter. “You said… haha… you said duty.”
He laughs a little, but he’s still serious.
“Sorry, go on.” I say, forcing myself to quit.
“When we--I drove the carriage just as my father taught me to-- arrived at Goronglia’s castle, we stayed for a few weeks, consoling and comforting him. She really liked Cadarum, although he was hardly able to remain tearless for one minute. Stellan never left his living quarters. The longer she stayed, the more Gorongl felt that life was unfair to him. First, Flabnorius stole your mother away from him, and now his wife was gone and his sons were motherless, yet Gorongl had a wife and two daughters to love him. His sons needed a mother, and who better than his first love? So on the day she tried to leave for Flabnoria, Gorongl refused to have her bags carried down.”
“What? How terrible!” I exclaim.
“Yes. So then she carried them to the door herself, but guards barred her way. She no longer had powers that would do any good against guards, and she was no match for them physically. She tried anyway. I heard Gorongl saying, ‘You can stop fighting and stay here in the castle, or you can stay here locked up! Choose one!” She said, ‘You can’t keep me here! Listen to what you’re saying! Gorongl look at yourself, grief is making you irrational!’ She’s a smart woman. Then he took her down to the dungeons and locked her inside. She kept persistently trying to get out.”
“What about you?!”
“Gorongl had forgotten I was even there. I kept to myself because the whole situation reminded me of when my mother and father died, so I avoided it. So that night when nobody but the dungeon guards were awake, I snuck down to the cells. There were two guards, so I took a coat rack and threw it down one of the stone tunnels as a distraction. One guard ran after it and I knocked the other one out with a chair.” He says this rather smugly. “Then I went to your mother and asked if she knew where the keys were. She said Gorongl was sleeping with them, and that it was too dangerous to get them, so I should go back to Flabnoria for help. By the time I showed up, Goronglian troops were already rallied at the border. They had a much bigger force than us now, because we had made such a huge effort to kill off the gremlins. I told your Father what happened, and he said--” Byronn is cut off by a knock at the door.
“Yes?” I call. I look at the clock on the wall. It’s about eight o’ clock. Breakfast isn’t served until ten.
“It’s Stellan. I have something to tell you.” Says Stellan.
I stall. “Umm. I’m not properly… I’m still in my nightclothes. And my hair isn’t done.” I say, as if I care about those things.
“Well there’s been a gremlin sighting near the Goronglian border, so we’re staying here awhile longer, possibly another night.” He informs me.
“Okay.” I respond. “Breakfast is at ten right?”
“Yes.”
“Well, I’m going to sleep until then if that’s okay.” I say.
“Yes, fine.” He says, “Good idea, I’ll do the same.”
I turn my attention back to Byronn. “Said what?”
“He said that we didn’t have the forces to break in, and even if we did we would be able to get back through. So he decided to wait until you two had powers, then he’d make you marry the boys under the pretense of a treaty, and if peace didn’t bring your mother back, he would tell you to.” He says with finality.
“Wait… So how’d you get back in and talk to Mother?” I ask.
“Well the soldiers allowed trade carts through, but only if they had goods and could prove themselves. So your father gave me a cart and goods and made me the official messenger to the Queen. I kept tabs on her by visiting as often as possible and delivered letteres back and forth. Your mother has suffered, but we’ll rescue her soon.” He promises.
I wonder aloud, “What does mother look like? I don’t even know her name…”
“Her name is Amaris, and she is beautiful. She has hair so brown it’s almost black and she has green eyes like Woande’s. She often wears a black hood and a gold band around her head. She hates wearing shoes, she always wears gloves because some of her powers are by touch, and the reason nearly all her clothes is black because she still mourns for her family.” He tells me.
“She sounds so… mysterious.” I say. “I’m so scared that she won’t like me.”
“You’re her daughter! And what could she possibly not like?” He says, turning a bit red.
“I don’t know. What if I disappoint her? What if I’m not what she expected?” I ask.
“You won’t disappoint her. You’re everything she wanted to you become. And if you’re not what she expects, it’s only because you’re better than she could possibly have dreamed of, okay?”
I look at him, stunned. Nobody has ever told me things like that, except maybe Father and Waonde, but that’s just because they feel like they’re supposed to. He has no obligation to tell me those things, in fact, it’s improper to speak to a princess that way. I blush, making him blush even deeper. I feel my face heating up so I look down at my shoes. For a minute, we are very silent. What if I’m falling for Byronn?
This can’t be good. I look back up at him to see him gazing at me so intensely that it makes me uncomfortable. This time, there is no timidity in his stare. There’s something else, though. Admiration? Affection? Longing?
Before I’m conscious of what I’m doing, I pull my legs up onto the bed, lay down next to him, and lay my head on his chest. His arm slips around me and I nestle into his side, listening to his heartbeat.
“Frickle frack! I was hoping you wouldn’t wake!” I say, covering up. He just stares at me dumbstruck. “Well don’t look! Close your eyes!”
He blinks at me twice, as if my words are going right over his head. Then he opens his mouth to say something and gurgles blood and water. It drips from the corners of his mouth. I turn him over so he can spit it out and he sways dizzyingly. His eyes roll lazily shut. I lay him back on the ground and see that his head wound is bleeding heavily now. I press the towel to it and wrap it around his head. I wishfully decide that he’s too out of it to remember what he saw. Then I pull him to his feet, put his arm over my shoulders and practically carry him to the bed. Once there, I pull off the wool blanket and quilt and toss them onto the cot. I lay him down gently on the white cotton sheets.
Then I slip on a nightgown and bloomers. I slip a pillow beneath his head and then head down to the lobby where I saw an open supply closet. The sign on the door says, “Please take only what you need.” Inside, I find dishes, mops, broomsticks, and (most importantly) bandages and other medical items.
I quickly gather up a bowl, a wash cloth, floor soap, cleansing alcohol, bandages, cotton strips, and pain relieving topical ointment. Then I dash back to our room as fast as I can. I shut the door and rush to Byronn’s bedside. The towel has been soaked through with blood. So I carefully peel it from his skin, then I clean the wound with alcohol and put pain reliever on it. I put strips of cotton over the cut and wrap bandages around his head to hold them in place. He stirs and wakes up.
I am reminded that by nightgown is translucent and that I’m not wearing top undergarments. It was okay before because I knew that nobody would be awake to see me downstairs, but now… I push the thought out of my head. I’ll have time to change later, right now Byronn needs my full attention. I push his hair back away from his wound comfortingly.
“Thank you, By. You’re okay, just relax. You can go back to sleep if you want, I’ll take care of you, okay?” I coax.
“Mmm-kay.” He says sleepily, giving a small nod. Then he sighs and his beautiful blue eyes slip shut. I stroke his hair some more, admiring his many, many freckles. I should probably get to work cleaning the curtained room of evidence, but I don’t want to stop looking at Byronn and get up. Just as my resolve gets strong enough to get up, I feel a nudge in my telepathic block. Then I feel a shove, so I let my block down.
“---You can hear me. I REALLY need to talk to you about something.” I hear Woande saying.
“Woande? I’m so sorry. I forgot to take down the block when I woke up.” Truthfully, I hadn’t even realized yet that it was morning. “Did, um… anything… odd happen to you last night?”
“Wait. Did something odd happen to you too? ‘Cause last night some odd stuff definitely occurred.” says Woande.
“Yeah. Last night I was in the bath and I let my imagination run a bit wild. I imagined myself in acid, then next thing I know I'm on fire! It was scary.” I think to her.
“Really? Well while I was in the bath last night I fell asleep and was dreaming of the ocean. And I woke up to floating water making huge waves in the bathroom!” She says.
Fire and water. Interesting. I think to myself.
“How did you stop the fire? Did you like burn down the inn? Who knows of your powers?” She continues, bombarding me with questions.
Then I remember something. “So… we both have powers…? Wait! This all sounds familiar… Didn't father take us to an oracle when we were little about the telepathy? And she said we would have powers… This must be what she meant. And don’t worry Byronn is the only one who knows and he won’t tell. And no, I did not burn down the inn. I think I just had to get my mind off the fire and on to a different subject, then the fire stopped.” I tell her, careful not to give too much away about what happened with Byronn.
“Well what did you do to get your mind off of the fire?” She asks. Frickle frack. “Wait, tell me later. I have to go to breakfast with Cadarum. I will talk to you tonight.” She says, and I sigh with relief. I do [not] want to tell her about what happened.
“Wait Woande! Don’t tell Cadarum about your powers! He might not be trustworthy!” I warn her, but she’s already gone. I hope she got all that; it’s rather important. I close my eyes and give an exasperated sigh at my sister even though she can’t hear me.
“What is it?” I hear Byronn ask me. My eyes pop open and I look down at him.
“Nothing.” I say.
“Talking to Woande?” he asks. “What’s wrong? You look troubled.”
“You… you know about the telepathy, too?” I ask, confused.
“Woande! Listen to this quietly!” I think to my sister, letting her into my head. Still blocked.
He says, “Of course. Your mother told me.”
“She knew?!”
“She gave it to you.” He tells me.
I don’t understand. “What do you mean she gave it to me?”
“I’m getting the feeling your father didn’t tell you much. What do you know about your powers?”
“Well… I know me and woande can talk to eachother. And that our telepathy can go pretty far. I can also give her full access to my brain if I want to. She can see out of my eyes and hear through my ears. I could even give her the power to control my body, and she can let me do all those things, too. But we can only do those things with consent from one another.” I try to think of more. “Oh! And when we were younger Father took us to a fortune teller and she said we’d have more powers.”
“Okay, first of all, those were fake memories. After Gorongl captured your mother, the king had a wizard wipe yours and Woande’s memories. Second of all, He left some memories but instead of remembering your mother telling you those things, you remember an oracle.”
“You mean the black-cloaked woman?” I ask.
“Yes. Your mother often wears a cloak for her protection.” He says.
“Why does she need protection? And what about the powers?” I demand.
“Before she married your father, people suspected her of being a witch because of her powers. The only people who didn’t think so were her family. She had a mother, a father, a sister, and two brothers. She was the oldest and the only one with powers, but she didn’t know how to control them. One night, her elemental powers got out of control and her whole family died. She tried to kill herself in guilt and to be with them, but she couldn’t harm herself. Her powers wouldn’t allow it. The villagers chained her and brought her to the castle to be heard out. They wanted her hung. At her hearing were two charming young princes who saw instantly that she was no harm. They both knew she was not a witch and the did their best to convince the court of that. It worked, too. They came to an agreement that the young girl would stay at the palace until she could control her powers, and then she wanted to use them to help people. The two princes both had vast education, so they took it upon themselves to train her. During her training, they all three became very close. Best friends. But, with one being a woman, trouble was bound to occur. Both of the princes had feelings for her. She of course had no idea of this and didn’t really think about either of them that way. She was much too busy with her training.” He says.
“What happened?” I ask, pleading for information.
“Well, they were both rather nervous to tell her, but Flabnorius got over it and told her how he felt. Not knowing that Gorongl felt for her too, the girl let herself fall for Flabnorius, or Nori, as she called him. Gorongl was jealous and seeing them together made him even more so. He had missed his chance and he knew it. So he returned to his own country. Flabnorius and your mother wrote asking why he had gone, but they never did more, for they were busy being in love. Gorongl eventually forgot about his heartache and moved on. Soon he met Queen Gwenith, and they fell in love. They received an invitation to your mother and Father’s wedding, so they decided to go, all bitterness forgotten. The new king and queen were so happy to see their old friend and meet his love. Your mother was glad to see him happy, for she had realized why he had left years ago. They stayed at the castle for weeks, blissful in each other’s presence. But Gorongl and Gwenith had a country to tend to, so they returned to goronglia. Soon they were married, too. Your mother and father attended the wedding. They next time they saw each other it was at Gwenith’s baby shower. Your mother was pregnant with you and Woande at the time. Stellan was born, and several months later I was born. You and your sister were born a couple months after. At your birth, your mother split her powers evenly between you and Woande, making sure you wouldn’t develop them until you were ready. She kept only a few for herself, that she would give to you later on.”
“Oh, I get it.” I said.
He continues without acknowledging my comment. “Your mother and father were busy raising you two, and so were Gorongl and his queen were raising Stellan. So they lost contact for a while. Your mother and father were unaware that Queen Gwenith had conceived another child. At this time, the gremlins became strong. Neither king had time for socializing. The gremlins spread disease, and both countries were suffering from their wrath. They set fire to village just to watch the people scurry about chaotically like ants. Lots of flabnorians went to war, including my father. The whole sky was dark gray. That’s how your mother described it to me.”
I smile at the thought of my mother and Byronn talking.
“Queen Gwenith became very ill during her last few months of pregnancy. She had a difficult childbirth, but the nurses were able to save the her and the weak, malnourished baby. She never fully recovered from her illness. Sometime during that time my father became missing in action and my mother became a combat medic, hoping to find him. Her mission was cut short by death’s blade and I was left in the care of your mother. She let me live in the castle and took me in as her own. She even called me her son.” He stops, reminiscing.
“Keep going.” I urge gently.
“The country recovered a lot when the angel Tilly was sent down from heaven to protect us. But the scars of the Gremlin’s reign were still there. When we were six years old, Queen Gwenith’s illness got the better of her. Gorongl and his sons were devasted. Your mother sympathized greatly with Gorongl, so she went to visit him in Gorongl. Flabnorius would have gone, too, but he was piecing his country back together and his people needed him. It was his duty to his country to stay.”
I burst into spontaneous laughter, giggling and even...snorting...a little. Byronn looks at me like I’m a lunatic.
“Sory, sorry. It’s just---” More laughter. “You said… haha… you said duty.”
He laughs a little, but he’s still serious.
“Sorry, go on.” I say, forcing myself to quit.
“When we--I drove the carriage just as my father taught me to-- arrived at Goronglia’s castle, we stayed for a few weeks, consoling and comforting him. She really liked Cadarum, although he was hardly able to remain tearless for one minute. Stellan never left his living quarters. The longer she stayed, the more Gorongl felt that life was unfair to him. First, Flabnorius stole your mother away from him, and now his wife was gone and his sons were motherless, yet Gorongl had a wife and two daughters to love him. His sons needed a mother, and who better than his first love? So on the day she tried to leave for Flabnoria, Gorongl refused to have her bags carried down.”
“What? How terrible!” I exclaim.
“Yes. So then she carried them to the door herself, but guards barred her way. She no longer had powers that would do any good against guards, and she was no match for them physically. She tried anyway. I heard Gorongl saying, ‘You can stop fighting and stay here in the castle, or you can stay here locked up! Choose one!” She said, ‘You can’t keep me here! Listen to what you’re saying! Gorongl look at yourself, grief is making you irrational!’ She’s a smart woman. Then he took her down to the dungeons and locked her inside. She kept persistently trying to get out.”
“What about you?!”
“Gorongl had forgotten I was even there. I kept to myself because the whole situation reminded me of when my mother and father died, so I avoided it. So that night when nobody but the dungeon guards were awake, I snuck down to the cells. There were two guards, so I took a coat rack and threw it down one of the stone tunnels as a distraction. One guard ran after it and I knocked the other one out with a chair.” He says this rather smugly. “Then I went to your mother and asked if she knew where the keys were. She said Gorongl was sleeping with them, and that it was too dangerous to get them, so I should go back to Flabnoria for help. By the time I showed up, Goronglian troops were already rallied at the border. They had a much bigger force than us now, because we had made such a huge effort to kill off the gremlins. I told your Father what happened, and he said--” Byronn is cut off by a knock at the door.
“Yes?” I call. I look at the clock on the wall. It’s about eight o’ clock. Breakfast isn’t served until ten.
“It’s Stellan. I have something to tell you.” Says Stellan.
I stall. “Umm. I’m not properly… I’m still in my nightclothes. And my hair isn’t done.” I say, as if I care about those things.
“Well there’s been a gremlin sighting near the Goronglian border, so we’re staying here awhile longer, possibly another night.” He informs me.
“Okay.” I respond. “Breakfast is at ten right?”
“Yes.”
“Well, I’m going to sleep until then if that’s okay.” I say.
“Yes, fine.” He says, “Good idea, I’ll do the same.”
I turn my attention back to Byronn. “Said what?”
“He said that we didn’t have the forces to break in, and even if we did we would be able to get back through. So he decided to wait until you two had powers, then he’d make you marry the boys under the pretense of a treaty, and if peace didn’t bring your mother back, he would tell you to.” He says with finality.
“Wait… So how’d you get back in and talk to Mother?” I ask.
“Well the soldiers allowed trade carts through, but only if they had goods and could prove themselves. So your father gave me a cart and goods and made me the official messenger to the Queen. I kept tabs on her by visiting as often as possible and delivered letteres back and forth. Your mother has suffered, but we’ll rescue her soon.” He promises.
I wonder aloud, “What does mother look like? I don’t even know her name…”
“Her name is Amaris, and she is beautiful. She has hair so brown it’s almost black and she has green eyes like Woande’s. She often wears a black hood and a gold band around her head. She hates wearing shoes, she always wears gloves because some of her powers are by touch, and the reason nearly all her clothes is black because she still mourns for her family.” He tells me.
“She sounds so… mysterious.” I say. “I’m so scared that she won’t like me.”
“You’re her daughter! And what could she possibly not like?” He says, turning a bit red.
“I don’t know. What if I disappoint her? What if I’m not what she expected?” I ask.
“You won’t disappoint her. You’re everything she wanted to you become. And if you’re not what she expects, it’s only because you’re better than she could possibly have dreamed of, okay?”
I look at him, stunned. Nobody has ever told me things like that, except maybe Father and Waonde, but that’s just because they feel like they’re supposed to. He has no obligation to tell me those things, in fact, it’s improper to speak to a princess that way. I blush, making him blush even deeper. I feel my face heating up so I look down at my shoes. For a minute, we are very silent. What if I’m falling for Byronn?
This can’t be good. I look back up at him to see him gazing at me so intensely that it makes me uncomfortable. This time, there is no timidity in his stare. There’s something else, though. Admiration? Affection? Longing?
Before I’m conscious of what I’m doing, I pull my legs up onto the bed, lay down next to him, and lay my head on his chest. His arm slips around me and I nestle into his side, listening to his heartbeat.