SciFi and Fantasy Stories: Of Love and Blood: Epilogue

            Ti’lan looked out over the training field.  It was mid-day, and the spring sun was shining down in full, the day warm and pleasant.  Pink blossoms on the nearby cherry trees waved in the breeze that blew through softly.  It was nearly distracting to the elf; he was almost entranced by the beautiful springtime display that was so refreshing after the harsh winter that had fallen over Carindale and seemed to linger weeks longer than it should have.  With a sigh he glanced back over the field, just in time to see one of the Wingéd Riders and his mount finish a jump a second or two behind his fellows.

            “Tuck in that formation tightly,” Ti’lan called.  He was not participating in the drill himself, but instead was watching from not far away.  It was his turn to watch the new routine after training with the Riders for the past week.  The good weather had afforded them a chance to train outside, which nobody disagreed with.  The winter had been hard, and had kept the Riders indoors for most of it.  They could not have hoped to have performed with the horses on the ice and snow that had covered the field for many long weeks.

            The Riders fell back into formation, coming around to attempt the jump again, hopefully in unison this time.  Ti’lan watched them form, but then turned his head at the sight of a rider turning down the path towards the compound.  Even from a distance, he could see that it was a messenger.  He glanced back at the Riders in time to see the jump again, and this time he was satisfied with the result.  He held up a hand, calling them to a temporary rest, and then walked up the path to meet the messenger. 

            “I have a letter for Captain Kaelimine,” the messenger said, glancing at the folded paper in his hand to reference the name. 

            “He is not present,” Ti’lan replied.  “But I will take it for him.” 

            He took the message from the rider, who swiftly turned and galloped back up the path.  Ti’lan glanced down at the folded parchment.  He contemplated reading it—it was addressed to Kaelimine, after all, but he had been specifically instructed by the Captain to look out for any word from Kiyralynn and Ayrin while he was absent.

              Kaelimine had been gone from the compound for a little more than a month, and Ti’lan had assumed his duties in his stead.  His temporary absence was due to Analaeia, who had at last given birth those weeks before.  It was customary for Elven parents to remain tucked away in their home for several weeks after the arrival of their child, and it appeared that Analaeia and Kaelimine were adhering to that custom.  Ti’lan and the Riders had received word that the child was a girl, but knew nothing else.  He had not seen Analaeia or Kaelimine in all that time.

            Kiyralynn and Ayrin, meanwhile, had been gone on their journey to the shrine since the previous autumn with no word of any kind.  They had all known that Kiyralynn had anticipated the journey to take some considerable length of time, though Ti’lan wondered if she had known it would be so many months.

            Ti’lan looked up, realizing that the Riders were watching him, awaiting his next command.  Tapping the folded letter against his other hand, he told them the drill would continue after a short break, and then he turned and went inside the compound.  He unfolded the letter even as he walked down the hallway and turned into Kaelimine’s office.  He stood in front of the desk, his back to the door, and looked down at the writing.  His eyes traveled immediately to the name at the end of the letter, and breathed a sigh of relief to see that it had been written by Ayrin.

            Captain:

            Kiyralynn suggested I write on both our behalf, as she suspects that by the time this letter reaches you, your child will have arrived.  Should that be the case, she extends her hopes that all is well with Analaeia and the little one both.

            We finally reached the shrine several weeks ago and have since then been recuperating—I am sorry to say that the journey has been less than ideal, with many a distraction coming across our path.  That, of course, is a story for another time.  Kiyralynn hopes to embark on the road back to Cairndale within the week—it is possible we have already left as you read this.  If all goes according to plan, we shall have returned by the end of the summer. 

            Regards.

            Ayrin

            “Reading my letters, are you?”

            Startled by the voice, Ti’lan looked up and turned.  Immediately he smiled.  Kaelimine stood in the doorway, wearing as happy a grin as Ti’lan had ever seen on his face.  Indeed, his every demeanor seemed cheerful, and his friend had no doubt that it had to do with beautiful Analaeia standing beside him, and the baby that was cradled in her arms. 

            Ti’lan dropped the letter onto the desk and met Kaelimine as he entered the room, embracing his Captain and friend in congratulation.  Then he turned to Analaeia and similarly hugged her, also kissing her upon the cheek.  When he pulled away, Analaeia pulled aside the light blanket that had been tucked over the infant’s face. 

            A soft sigh escaped Ti’lan’s lips, immediately entranced by the crystalline blue eyes that looked up at him.  Wisps of blonde hair curled around her ears.  The tiny girl had a pale, sprite-like countenance even at only a month of age, but her eyes stood out so predominantly.  There was no doubt that she had inherited Kaelimine’s eyes.

            “Her name is Aurora,” Analaeia said quietly.  Ti’lan looked up at her and smiled.

            “She is beautiful,” he remarked sincerely.  “And you look well.”

            Analaeia rolled her eyes, but smiled nonetheless.  “You have never been one for flattery, my friend.” 

            Ti’lan laughed.  “Yes, you’ve told me that before,” he replied.  He looked up at Kaelimine.  “Fatherhood suits you.”

            “Imagine,” Kaelimine said with a laugh.  “I would not have thought so all those years ago when we first met.” 

            “Nor would I have thought it a good idea,” Ti’lan joked. 

            Kaelimine smiled and released his hand from around Analaeia’s waist, and moved past Ti’lan to his desk.  He picked up the letter from Ayrin. 

            Ti’lan looked at Aurora again with a smile.  After a moment he looked up at Analaeia.  The peace and contentment that was brought by the child was written all over her face.  “And I would never have imagined this moment five years ago,” Ti’lan murmured.  Analaeia nodded her head, sincerely agreeing.  Ti’lan glanced over his shoulder at Kaelimine.  “But she has blonde hair, Kaelimine, are you quite certain she is yours?” 

            Analaeia laughed, and the Captain looked up from the letter.  He had a smile on his face.  “Are you suggesting she might be yours?”

            Ti’lan had expected Kaelimine to pick up on the joke—he had blonde hair—and held up his hands in mock surrender.  “Of course not,” he said with a grin.

            “Good,” Kaelimine said.  “Otherwise I believe we may have to have a talk.” 

Analaeia and Ti’lan glanced at each other, smiling jovially.  She walked toward the window and sat down, resting Aurora on her knees.  Ti’lan approached Kaelimine and crossed his arms, looking down at the letter in his hands. 

            “Not the best news, but it is news,” Kaelimine remarked quietly.  Ti’lan nodded. 

            “I hope they are both able to find what they are looking for.”

~*~

            “Finally asleep,” Kaelimine said as he emerged from the hallway.  It was later in the evening, well after darkness had fallen, and he had just put Aurora to bed. 

            “Good,” Analaeia replied distractedly.  She was standing near the couch in the center of the room, finally reading the letter from Ayrin.  Kaelimine stepped up behind her, sliding his hands around her middle and leaning his chin on her shoulder, looking down at the letter. 

            “Strange that he mentions Kiyralynn wished him to write but she did not do so herself,” Analaeia murmured. 

            Kaelimine nodded.  “I suspect the journey was much harder on her than she anticipated.” 

            “I can hardly believe it has taken them all this time to reach the shrine,” she said, shaking her head a little.  “Where else have they been?”

            “I do not know.”

            “It was thoughtful of them to write nonetheless.” 

            “Surely,” Kaelimine replied.  He kissed the base of Analaeia’s neck and tightened his grip around her.  With a smile, she dropped the letter onto a nearby table and turned to look at her husband.  She slid her hands up his neck and rested them on the sides of his face.  He leaned his head down and kissed her deeply.  Then he pulled her in tightly, lifting her from the floor and taking a few steps backwards until he hit the couch and sat down, resting Analaeia astride his legs. 

            She rested her arms on his and smiled. 

            “I think Ti’lan was pleased to see us,” she murmured. 

            Kaelimine nodded.  “He seemed quite taken with Aurora,” he said.  “I sense a fast friendship.”

            “Indeed,” Analaeia replied.  She smiled, and leaned in to her husband, pressing her lips to his in a lingering kiss. 

            Almost immediately, though, Analaeia took in a quick breath, one that sounded almost pained, and pulled away suddenly.  She put a hand to her forehead.  Kaelimine raised his eyebrows and immediately touched her arm, thinking perhaps she was having a vision.  In the months since Brooks Dell, she had continued to have them occasionally, but she had embraced them, and they had in fact proved to be useful in the foretelling of important events—the birth of their daughter, for instance.  Their continuance, however, proved that her visions were not of Dhaerow’s doing, as Kiyralynn had suspected, but rather were caused by something else—what exactly, they did not know. 

But she opened her eyes at his touch, and looked at him curiously, as if unsure what had just happened.

            What had happened in fact was a very slight, very fast feeling of painful pressure in her head, as if two hands had suddenly squeezed upon her skull.  The feeling had gone as quickly as it had come, but it still startled Analaeia.  The feeling was very familiar to when Dhaerow had been inside her head, and had used the telepathic connection to torture her.  The very thought of the evil man made her nervous, and she hoped it wasn’t showing on her face.

            “’Nalie?”

            Dropping her hand from her forehead, Analaeia shook her head.  “I’m fine,” she whispered. 

            “What happened?” Kaelimine asked.  “A vision?”

            “No,” she said quickly.  “More like…” She paused and shook her head, unsure.  “Just a pain.”  The elf hesitated to say Dhaerow’s name, as if afraid that if she said it with Aurora not far away, he might be able to hurt her, too.  The notion was a ridiculously irrational, but it scared her nonetheless.  After a moment, once the feeling was gone entirely, she shook her head again and looked up at Kaelimine with a reassuring smile. 

            He was tentative to believe in her assurance.  The thought of Dhaerow had crossed his mind in that moment, too.  It worried him, but decided that if Analaeia was fine, there would be nothing to be bothered by.

            Analaeia could see the hesitation in his eyes, but she smiled again and kissed him deeply once more, giving him something else worth thinking about. 

~*~

            The young man lifted his clean-shaven head and closed his eyes, inhaling with satisfaction.  A smile spread over his badly scarred face, and when he opened his mismatched eyes once more, he looked straight ahead at the nervous man standing before him.  His gaze seemed to startle Karelon, as it so often did, as it settled upon him.

This pleased Dhaerow. 

His new appearance was working out well for him, he mused.  Perhaps the vicious blow from the priestess had not been for naught. 

Several months before, in the field outside Brooks Dell, Kiyralynn’s sword had verily cut the psionicist’s face in half.  He had somehow called upon his magic to disappear from the battlefield, and the blow had not killed him.  Now he seemed to revel in the fear that the disfigurement caused.  A thick and deep scar ran from his upper lip to just above his eyebrow, curving over the right side of his face.  His right eye had been scored out and was now useless, and in healing, the eye had clouded over and now just served as a blank, unseeing orb—though the fear it seemed to inspire in men like Karelon was almost worth its loss.   

For he knew that he was well-feared now, more than ever before, simply for having survived such a debilitating blow.

Karelon’s tepid voice from across the room drew Dhaerow from his contemplations.

“H-have you found her, my lord?” 

The psionicist smiled.  “I have,” he said quietly.  “Just where I imagined she would be.” 

“Shall we send a force towards Cairndale, then?” Karelon asked.

Dhaerow considered the idea, and then shook his head.  “No,” he said.  His smile increased, pulling on the scar over his lip tightly.  “I have more satisfying prey to go after.  The priestess and I have a score to settle.” 

He laughed bitterly.  Yes, there was no doubt that finally getting his hands on the Captain’s wife and her daughter would be satisfying, especially after he had assumed her dead.  She should have died, and her life was due only to the albino priestess, a fact that only spurred Dhaerow after her instead of Analaeia.  He knew locating the evasive and powerful Kiyralynn would be difficult, but the thought of finally killing the meddlesome priestess would make the hunt all the sweeter.  Yes, he thought.  Killing her would be a joy indeed.

The chase was on.