I had put off talking about anything all week. Though we acted like nothing happened, things still weren’t the same. To be expected.
I missed her smile, her laugh, and her free spirit that now seemed to have been locked away. Could it ever be set free?
She now stood, waiting for the Elders in a grand dress even fancier than at the ball. In the meeting hall, I stood beside her. There were so many things I should have spoken to her but somehow never could. I glanced at her many times, but she remained fixed forward, standing tall like a dignified stature.
A servant announced the Elder’s arrival, giving me a mere minute to speak. Still, a great too many things burned in my mind.
What I didn’t expect was for her to say something first.
“I will agree to marry you. But you must also agree to help the gnomes.”
“Help them with what?” I was too dumb to ask first.
“We don’t have time to discuss that. Do you agree or not?”
“Alright, sure. I agree.”
I gritted my teeth at my own stupidity. I should have said I would marry her because I wanted to and not for political benefits. But it was too late. The Elders arrived, and we both made our bows.
I stepped forward first as was my duty. “Auden welcomes you. We are most honored. I hope your journey was agreeable?”
We continued with the proper formal greeting and introductions. I did all the right things, and she did all the right things. It made me realize for the first time that being a royal was basically a bunch of actions and formalities that were all fake. No wonder Ellia didn’t like it all. And now I was starting to resent it as well.
We then all sat around the meeting table. The Relkom Elders first made all the obvious questions about her health and safety and time spent while here. Ellia answered everything with the same unwavering grace as before. At the ball, I had been so enamored, but now I just wanted the real Ellia back.
They next talked in great detail of all the problems they were facing in Relkom and how their people were suffering. And just as I had known, they weren’t doing a single thing to help since the split vote could never be agreed upon. That’s why they needed a king so greatly.
I could see the care grow in Ellia’s eyes. Just as she had said. She did care for the people of Relkom though she had never been there. She was amazing.
Then sooner than I wished, they brought up our marriage.
“When is the wedding expected to happen?”
Before I could answer, Ellia jumped in.
“As soon as possible.” Well, that wasn’t what I expected her to say. “The sooner our kingdoms can unite, the better. There are a great many things that need a strong leader like King Kalin to resolve.”
“Do you think he is a good leader?” One Elder asked.
“I do.”
Though her words sounded so unwavering and convincing, did she actually think that of me? Since everything else was faked, probably not.
The question was, was I actually a good leader? I had always done the actions that were expected of me and seemed right, but how much did I actually care about the individuals of my kingdom let alone Relkom’s? And here they were about to hand over their entire kingdom to my ruling.
Before, it had all been about making sure our army was big enough to fight our enemies. Even Ellia had shown care for the people. She was even willing to rush our wedding for the sake of others. In all my ruling, I think I never had such care. But now I wanted to.
Knowing her truly had changed me so much.
~*~
Rushing to the garden was the first thing I did when having the chance. The Elders dumped out a lot of their concerns and problems to see how I would answer. It made me realize, it was more me who was going through this test. Yet, Ellia seemed more prepared.
The weight of new responsibilities and the distance I felt from her started to burn in my chest.
Now breathing the still air was all I wanted. Well…not exactly.
Just as I was thinking of her, I turned to see she had followed me. I smiled but was only met with a continuation of her queenly act.
“We need to discuss the gnomes now.”
“Yes, you may see them of course as promised, I just need to—”
“Not that. I mean helping them. They were able to send me a letter back. The fairies have been harming them again.”
“The fairies? How?”
“Remember how I said gnomes aren’t born like humans? They grow inside a plant-like thing for a while. The fairies used to take those plants and use them for their magic and thus killing the gnome that would have been born, and they are doing it again.”
“Are you sure about this?”
Her eyes narrowed in annoyance. “Of course I’m sure.”
At this point, I had a huge decision to make. I knew I had agreed to help the gnomes but that was before I knew what she was asking for. If we used any force with the fairies and intervened with their plans, then it would probably destroy any further aid they might have to offer us. It would be a huge loss. And I had no proof that the gnomes were innocent. I could only take her word for it.
Naturally, I wanted nothing more than to fulfill her wishes. But could I be so reckless because of my personal feelings?
Though I didn’t know the gnomes, I knew her. And I could only see she was trustworthy and caring which meant the gnomes had raised her to be that way.
“I will look into it, I promise.”
“Very well, I will depart now.”
I sighed at her over abundance of formal words. “Ellia…you don’t have to be like that. Not around me. You know that.”
Her dull eyes wilted to the ground. “My new life is something I just have to accept.”
“I’m sorry.”
She looked at me, surprised. “What?”
“I know you don’t want to marry me. And I’m sorry that’s how it is.” I wanted so badly to speak of my true feelings and assure her I would do my best to be a loving husband. But it felt that only would put unneeded pressure on her. Making her feel bad for not returning my affections didn’t seem right. “I will do my best to stay out of your way. And there really isn’t anything expected of you. So you can just live life as you please.”
I wished we could be as we were. To have fun and laugh as friends. But I felt that wasn’t possible any longer.
Especially with everything that had been suddenly dropped on her, I wanted to do anything I could for her. There was only one thing I could think of.
~*~
We were given two weeks to plan the wedding. Normally, something like this would take months, but I think we all understood the situation.
Though Ellia continued acting like the elegant princess she was expected to be, only I could notice the loss of excitement she once had. It pained me to see.
A week had already passed and each day seemed to only shut her tighter up like a coffin. Any attempts on my part to talk to her never seemed to do any good. And when I offered to read to her she only said we didn’t have time for such things.
Though I’m sure the getting married part surely was doom to her, I knew she also greatly worried about the gnomes.
Before the sun had time to offer its light, I rode out alone. This wasn’t exactly what I should be doing a week before the wedding. But something had to be done. I couldn’t watch her die inside like that every day.
Riding to the forest took a couple hours. The question was, how long would it take to find the gnomes? Since they lived all over the gnome’s forest, it wasn’t like an exact known spot.
Finding a well worn path, I followed. I had to be getting close.
In the distance, I swore I heard some rustling. I stood still a moment to look around. Nothing.
Suddenly, a voice called out, “human!” And then the next moment was like a fountain of bees rushing out of a hive as many gnomes appeared from under trees and bushes all headed right at me.
Their short bodies circled around my horse, waving their hands and asking non stop questions. “Do you have another letter from Ellia? Is she okay? When do we get to see her?”
There was only one calm gnome that walked slowly behind everyone else. “Settle down everyone! We don’t know that this human even knows Ellia or has any letters. So, what are you doing here, human?”
The gnomes finally gave me enough room to dismount. Standing on the ground, I was still a good three feet taller than most of them. Their white hair yet youthful skin was a strange contrast. Everyone also had a long beard and round, rosy cheeks.
“I’m King Kalin of Auden, and I’m here on behalf of Princess Ellia.”
My words only sent them into another round of frenzied excitement and more questions. “What he’s Kalin! He looks different than I thought! How is he so tall? Why is there no beard? Why isn’t Ellia here?”
The calm gnome had to hush everyone again. “Quiet, quiet, let the man speak. So you are our Ellia’s Kalin. It’s good to meet you.”
“Wait, you know who I am?”
“Of course, she told us all about you.”
“Oh, did she…” The letter I had read of hers had said nothing of me. How many had she written? And how did she manage to send more in secret? “Anyway, I’m here because she said the fairies were bringing harm to the gnome plants?”
Some looked offended and others snickered at my choice of words. She had used the word plants. What else was I to call it?
“You are here to help us then?”
“Yes, can you please show me?”
“Come, come. This way.”
All the other gnomes followed us, a few extras joined in as well. We made our way to something that somewhat resembled a pumpkin patch but also something like I’ve never seen. The plant-like things were round and large, covered with white leaves. They seemed to be glowing with sparkling dust floating around. Some of them appeared to be chopped up with parts missing.
I bent over to inspect one closer. “Why are the fairies trying to take them?”
“We aren’t sure. To use for some sort of magic is what we suspect. We call them the growing ones and try to protect them. You would think it would be easy since fairies are half our size. But they have those flying abilities and are swift as devils. Plus their magic. They swoop in and in moments are gone.”
“I will have a written warning sent to the fairies. Also, I will send some knights to put on guard until the threat has seemed to pass.”
The gnome looked a bit surprised. “You are really willing to do all this for us?”
“It will put Ellia’s worries at ease. I know she cares greatly for the gnomes.”
He smiled broadly. “And we care greatly for her. Thank you for taking such good care of Ellia.”
“Is that what she told you?”
“She told us a lot. But you called her princess, so it seems you aren’t married yet?”
“Oh…she told you about that too? So you must know she’s not very happy about it.”
“Being stolen from her home and now forced to suddenly marry when she’s never seen a single human before in her life. Yes, yes, that would be a bit off putting.”
I guess I had never thought about that before. It was probably much more of a shock than I could even imagine. And somehow, she bore it bravely.
“I do regret it. But…it’s just how it has to be.”
“I suppose. We were quite mad about her being taken from us. But she assured us it was for the best. So we will try to forgive you.”
The chuckle in his voice made it clear they weren’t actually all that mad. Their acceptance of me wasn’t something I expected but was grateful for. It wasn’t really something I deserved.
“Thank you for your understanding. It’s not easy for me either. I don’t like to see her so unhappy. That’s why I wanted to surprise her and take one of you back. Which one is named Chemy?”
The gnome brightened up. “That’s me!”
“Ah, that makes sense. You do seem just as she described.” The rest of the gnomes pouted and fussed that they wanted to go too. “I’m sorry, I can only bring one. But in time, I can bring her back to see everyone.”
There was yet another explosion of words and excitement. “Wedding party! Yeah, let’s make them a wedding party! But no beard, I don’t like. Broom shrooms, I can’t wait!”
I looked to Chemy after it quieted down. “We better go. We have a long ride back.”
Comments (0)
See all