"You dare refuse to bow before your king?" Father straightened his back, silently showing that he'd never bow. "Kill him," the king said. I'd been getting a cup of water when I saw my parents come downstairs and stayed silent when I heard my father tell Mother to hide.
"No! Please sir," I said as I rushed from the kitchen to hug my father. "Don't kill my father. He's the only one that makes sure we can eat." The king arched an eyebrow at me.
"Desmond, go back to your room," my father said.
"No. He'll come with me. You won't kneel before your king, I'll take your future." A guy grabbed my arm and yanked me from my father as another hit him across the face, knocking him to the floor. They carried me out of the house kicking and screaming as loud as I could. Before the door closed, I saw my mother rush to my father's side. Her gown cover billowing all around her as she kneeled next to him with tears streaming down her face. I tried to get free of the arms that were still holding me so I could rush back to my parents, but a large hand landed across the right side of my face and the world went black after that.
I awoke to find myself in a cold stone room with barely any light from the torch I could see flickering at the end of the hall. There was a blanket covering me and I was laying on a bed made of hay. I sat up and wiped the sleep from my eyes, but cried out as pain seared through the right side of my face. A door somewhere down the hall opened and slammed shut. Before I could think of what I could do, a small door opened and a tray slid in. "Eat and drink that, and keep your mouth shut from now on," ordered a rough voice. Scared to say anything at all, I nodded and stood up, swaying as blood rushed from my head. I stumbled back and fell against the wall, feeling my body stop swaying after a couple minutes. I walked over to the tray and looked to see what I'd been given, finding a wedge of cheese, a slice of bread, and a cup of water. I picked up the bread and cheese in one hand, and downed the water quickly. "If you need to go to the bathroom, pick a corner. If this door ever opens, you do as you're told or I'll knock you unconscious again, understand?" I nodded. "I'll be back later with your dinner," said the rough voice again as a hand reached in and took the tray and cup.
I stayed silent until I heard the door close again. "Is there anybody else in here," I asked out loud. The door slammed open again and I scurried back into a corner, trying to make myself so small I wouldn't be seen.
"I said keep your mouth shut, you worthless sack of bones! I’ll knock you out if I hear a single sound come out of these dungeons!" I nodded in terror and the man left, slamming the door shut again. I ate my meager meal and sat down on my bed of hay, missing my parents and friends. Dinner was brought in and was the same wedge of cheese, slice of bread, and cup of water, but this time there was a small cup of pudding. I went to bed after that and cried myself to sleep as quietly as I could. Breakfast and lunch were always a slice of bread, cheese wedge, and cup of water with dinner including a small cup of pudding. For nine years, this was my life. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner shoved through a door with barely any light from a torch flickering down the hall. There were never any animals that I saw or heard and the same man always brought my meals, but I never saw his face. He kept that hidden behind a helmet. Once a week, the door would open and a thin man would come in with a shovel and bucket to clean out my bathroom corner, but he'd never look at me or say anything and the door would close, leaving me alone again until meal time. I kept myself occupied by telling myself stories that I remembered from Tebury and using the hay to build a copy of my home.
One day, the door opened and Helmet Man walked in. I stood in place, not knowing what he was going to do since I hadn't made a sound since that first day. Yanking my hands in front of me he tied them together, then tied them to my body before slipping a rope around my neck. "In case you get any ideas on trying to run," he said as he tugged the rope to show me it'd go tighter. "Follow me." He led me out the door and down the hall. "Hurry it up," he snarled as he yanked the rope. It tightened around my neck and I stumbled forward, trying to keep my balance. We stopped in what looked like a bathroom, but it only had a spigot about halfway up the wall with a woman holding a towel. "Wash him. The king wants to see him." She silently bowed her head and Helmet Man shoved me towards her. She was a thin woman, had light brown hair pulled back behind her, looked to be only six inches shorter than myself, and was wearing a dingy green dress with a grey apron that looked like they were made for someone three times her size. The sight of her gown made me jealous since I'd outgrown my clothes and they were so tattered that they were barely hanging on by threads.
They had enough material to give her an oversized dress but not enough to make me some clothes that fit and weren't so torn?
"Be clean before I return and keep your mouth shut," he snarled as he took the ropes off me, smacking me in the back of the head with them. The woman pointed to the spigot as he left.
"I won't look. Hurry now. You don't want to anger him," she whispered as she handed me a small piece of soap before turning around. I undressed and went to the spigot, washing the best I could since I had to duck to get fully under the water spraying from it. "Wash everywhere. Hurry," she whispered over her shoulder. I hurried more and made sure I was as clean as possible, then turned the water off and covered myself between my legs. She motioned for me to come to her when she turned around. "Keep quiet, don't look him in the eye, and don't speak unless he asks you a question. Understand?" she whispered as she dried my torso off, trying to make me move my arms so she could fully dry me.
"Who is he and what does he want with me?" I whispered back. She pressed a finger to her lips as I heard footsteps coming closer. The door opened and the woman stood and backed away, leaving me the towel to keep myself covered.
"Good to see the boy obeys orders. That'll make the king happy. Put these on," he said as he threw some clothes at me. The pants brushed the ground and got a little wet as I caught them, accidentally dropping the towel in the process, but I tugged the pants on, then pulled on the shirt. Helmet Man tied the ropes around me again and led me up a staircase to a grand room. It was well-lit, large enough to fit all 40 of the homes from Tebury in it, the walls were decorated with tapestries hanging down, and there was a throne at the far end of the room. On the throne, sat a man I hadn't seen in years but knew all too well - King Betyn. There was a crown of silver on his head that had deep blue and bright green gems set into it, a mustache that ran into a beard which was trimmed close to his face, a cape draped over his shoulders that was white on top and red below his shoulders, a shirt that looked extremely puffy and hung down to his knees, a cinch around his waist which was bulging over the cinch, his pants were fitted to his legs like a second skin, and his shoes went halfway up his shins, making his legs look stubby. Remembering the woman's advice, I lowered my eyes to the floor and kept my mouth shut.
"The boy you requested, your majesty," Helmet Man said.
"Bring him closer." His voice was deep, hard, and demanding. I got walked a few steps closer and was yanked to a stop as the rope around my neck tightened. Our breathing was the only sound in the room for a few moments. "Does he have any skills?"
"He keeps quiet, sire. I've only had to warn him once. Never got to beat it into him."
"Good. I like my servants quiet. Does he obey?"
"Yes, sire," Helmet Man said.
"Better. A quiet obedient servant is what I want. He should do well. What's your name, boy?"
"Desmond," I whispered out.
"Speak up when your king asks you a question, you fool!" he bellowed, making me jump as the rope got yanked, slightly choking me this time.
"Desmond is my name," I said a bit louder. The king looked at me for another moment, but nodded.
"You'll be at my beck and call. Take him to the servant's quarters and put him in a room. Desmond, you speak to no one but me from now on. Understand, boy?"
"Yes, sir," I said, using the same volume I had when I’d repeated my name.
"And he learns quick. Yes, he should do quite nicely. Take him away." Helmet Man led me off through another door and up a stairwell.
"I’ll come get you when the king wants you. You do whatever he says without complaint. You'll be bound whenever the king needs you until he says to remove the binds. Your next meal will be delivered here. Inside," he said as he opened a door. I walked in but kept my eyes down as he removed my binds. "You’ll be required to clean yourself weekly now. Also, you’ve now got a bucket to use for your bathroom. No more messing on the floor. You need to be civilized for His Majesty. Understand?" I nodded and the door behind me closed. I finally looked up, surveying my new room. I had a raised bed to my left and a small window on the back wall, but it was too high for me to try climbing out. I could hear the call of the Xanadu Cassowary, but I didn't know what direction it was coming from since I couldn't see anything but sky through my window. I sat on the bed and found that it was hard. Lifting the blankets and looking under them, I saw that my bed was made of wood. I already knew extra blankets would never be given to me, but I was just happy that I was no longer sleeping on the floor.
Such simple things as a raised bed and a bucket for my bathroom making me happy. How my parents would weep if they could see me now, I thought. As the sky outside my window darkened, my door opened and Helmet Man walked in. He wrapped the ropes around me again and dragged me back out to the throne room.
"Stand here," the king said as he pointed at the ground in front of him. Helmet Man walked me over and I stopped where the king had said. "Give me the ropes, then leave us." My ropes were handed over to the king and Helmet Man disappeared from my left. I heard a door behind me close before the king spoke up. "Will you kneel of your free will or must I force it of you?" I stood still like I'd seen my father do all those years ago and a fist hit my gut, knocking the wind from my lungs. "Kneel before your king and swear to serve me." I knelt in front of him, not wanting to get hit again as I tried to catch my breath.
Now I understand why Father always said the elves were better. How I wish one would come here now and save me, I thought as I finally caught my breath. "I swear to serve the great King Betyn, Lord of all Inyarel," I said.
"Good. Stand." I stood and he spoke again. "As my servant, you will bring my meals to me and stand by my side all day. You will be my memory. Anything that is said to me or that I say to you, you will remember it. Forgetting anything could cause irreparable damage. That happens and you'll wish you were still my prisoner rather than my memory. Try to run or cause me harm and you’ll be killed. Understand?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good. Magden!" A door opened a moment later and Helmet Man came in. "Remove his binds. He has sworn to serve me of his own will and knows the punishment should he fail in his duties or attempt to harm me." Magden removed the ropes from me as the king spoke to me again. "Go to your room but arrive here when the sun rises. I’ll have need of you then." For the next ten years, I stayed one step behind the king from sunrise to sunset, but I served him out of fear for my life rather than the loyalty he believed he had from me. I kept quiet, brought him his meals, reminded him of previous agreements he'd made, and did my best to keep him from causing any more damage than necessary without him realizing it. One morning, early in the year, I walked in to stand in my normal place but found him already in the throne room. There was blood pooled in front of him around his messenger's lifeless body, and blood dripping from Magden's sword as he said something to the king. "Kneel, Desmond." I knelt, hoping my actions hadn't been discovered. "You've been a good and faithful servant, but now I need more from you."
"Yes, sir. Whatever you ask of me, I will do."
"You will travel to different cities to relay my messages to the city lords. These travels must be made as quickly as possible. You'll be given a Sun-bleached Zorse when you need to leave the city. If you attempt to leave without my permission or try to run while on these travels, I will have you hunted down and only your head will return to Tebury after it's burned down."
"Yes, sir. Your wish is my command. All you need do is tell me where to go and what the message is. I will deliver your message to the lord of the city and return as quickly as possible." Once I figure out what a Sun-bleached Zorse is and how I'm supposed to handle one.
Faylen's View
A strange noise caught my attention as I was training and I paused, motioning to Vinali to stop before turning to locate the source of the sound. I heard it again before a Flamifoutu screeched from somewhere in the forest, drowning out the sound again. Curious, I sheathed my swords and headed toward the south gate where the sound had come from. I could only make out that they were all human voices and wanted to see if they were soldiers that were going to attack us. “Faylen, your father will be furious if you leave the city alone at night with humans out there,” said Akkar as he tried to stop me at the gate.
“Then let him be furious at me. I am going to investigate.” I headed toward the voices, feeling my curiosity grow. When the city gates vanished from sight behind me, I started being able to make out what one of the voices was saying and broke into a run to be able to save the person that needed help. As I rounded the last bend, five humans came into view. Four were holding swords and standing over one that was on his back and looked to be unarmed, but none were dressed as soldiers. I quickened my pace, bounded off a tree, and leapt to the group as I reached the main road, drawing my swords in midair. The four that were standing, looked up and blocked with their swords, but they weren’t fast enough to match my elvish speed. Two lost their sword arms and fell to the ground to die as I landed. The other two pointed their swords at me, but I straightened and stood to my full height. “This human is unarmed, yet you and your friends here-,” I said as I pointed at the two on the ground, “-encircle him with every intent to kill him. This means that you are either too cowardly to kill someone by yourselves or that he is so powerful that it takes so many of you to overpower him. If it takes so many of you to kill one of your own people, what makes you think that you will be able to kill me?”
“You’re just a woman,” said one, making my gaze slide to him.
“And an elf,” said the other. “You don’t know anything about us.”
“Well then teach me. Show me what I can learn from two expert swordsmen such as yourselves. If you beat me in battle, you may kill him. If not, I will take your lives as surely no one would miss two cowardly humans that cannot beat a female elf that is alone.” They circled me and tried to distract me with bluff charges, but I didn’t move a muscle to defend against any of those. I listened closely to their footsteps and kept my gaze on them when they were in my sight. They were spaced evenly apart and directly across from each other, telling me they’d never fought with a dual swordsman before. A Kukawk flew overhead, singing its nightly song, making them jump as I felt a small smile curl my lips at their stupidity. After a few minutes, they charged at the same time from in front and behind me with their swords drawn. I jumped and spun a quarter of the way around as I moved my swords to point downwards and sliced through the back of their necks, killing them instantly as I landed. One of the first men I’d hit when I arrived was still alive and was reaching for his sword with his left hand as I pulled my blades from the lifeless bodies. “As I said, cowardly humans that no one will miss. Such a pity. I taught you all moves that you will never get to use,” I said as I slowly made my way closer to the one reaching for his blade. The one that was still alive finally grabbed his sword and I jabbed my right hand sword into the back of his hand, before kneeling down next to him as he screamed in pain. “You know you will never defeat me. Your good arm is gone, your bad hand is now useless, and you have bled so much that your cannot even muster the strength to stand anymore. Give in to the cowardly death that awaits you, empty-headed human.” He glared at me a moment longer, but I watched as his eyes rolled back in his head before it fell to the ground with a heavy thump. “Hm. Perhaps there was something in that head of yours after all for it to make such a heavy sound.” I cleaned my swords off on his clothes then turned to see the human they’d been surrounding.
“Please, miss. Save me. I swear on my life to do everything in my power to help you where I can. Just please save me,” he groaned out in a weak voice before his head fell to the ground with a heavy thump. I'd never thought a human would know how to swear a life vow to an elf so I was highly intrigued in how he knew what to say, but I put my swords away and picked him up, carrying him back to the city. His body was limp and he had wounds all over his face and arms, but I still felt a pulse that told me he was barely alive.
“I cannot allow you entrance, Faylen. Not with him,” Akkar said as I reached the gate. I ignored him and walked in the city anyway. “Faylen!” he cried out behind me. I kept walking and went right to the healing station.
“Heal him,” I said as I laid the human on a bed.
“Faylen, he is human. Humans are our enemy. Your father will be outraged if I use any of our meager health stores to heal a human,” Tsarra said.
“I will deal with my father. Heal him. I need to speak with him.” She sighed but did as I said, looking at me as she laid a final bandage of Quixidomide over the last of his wounds.
“He will need some Caffetoxime and Tacronuma as well, but I cannot assure you that any of this will work on him.”
“No one is to touch him,” I said, looking at Tsarra and ignoring her statement. She nodded and I went to the kitchens, making the hot broth Tsarra said the human needed. When I returned, I gave her the bowl and she had me sit on his other side, holding his head up.
“Come on, human. It is not poisoned. Drink the broth,” she muttered. After a while, she sighed and looked up at me. “He is not drinking. Can you reach him with your mind, Faylen? If he does not drink this, he will not heal.”
“I can try.” I closed my eyes and searched for the human’s mind, finding it and connecting with it in mere seconds.
“Open your mouth, human. Drink the broth. You will not heal if you do not drink.”
“Who are you?”
“The one who saved you and whom you gave a life vow to. Drink the broth. We will speak again when you are better.” I left his mind and cut the connection. “He should drink the broth now,” I said as I lifted his head again. She tilted the bowl to his lips and smiled as he began drinking.
“Good. He trusts your word.”
“I am glad that worked.” We sat in silence for a moment as the human drank some of the broth. “This human’s mind feels strange,” I said to myself.
“How so?” Tsarra asked as she glanced up at me.
“It felt familiar yet not.” She gave me a confused look. “It felt so closed off from everything. It was easy to slip into his mind, like slipping into one of our own, but it felt so lifeless in there. Like the human had never seen the beauty or possibilities of the world.”
“I’ve only seen the world for the last four years,” came a soft mutter from my hands. I looked down and saw the human’s eyes flutter open.
“Good to know elven healing methods work on humans,” Tsarra said. “Although I am confused why it did. Our physiology is different. Drink the rest of the broth, human.”
“Desmond is my name,” he said. Tsarra looked at him with intrigue on her face.
“And why should I care about your name?”
“Would you like to be called ‘elf’ all the time?” I held back a smirk but spoke before Tsarra could open her mouth.
“Drink the broth, Desmond. It will help.” He took the bowl from Tsarra and slowly drank some more broth. “Can you hold yourself up?” I asked as he lowered the bowl to take a breath.
“I can try.” Tsarra took the bowl back from him and I helped Desmond sit up, letting go when he said he felt confident on staying upright.
“Good. Finish the broth slowly,” I said as Tsarra handed the bowl back to him. “Tsarra, may I speak with you outside?” She nodded and stood, heading to the door. “I will be there momentarily,” I said as Desmond’s hand landed on my arm.
“I didn’t state to what extent I can help you.”
“When I return, you may. I will not be long. Until then, drink slowly.” I stood and left the healing station.
“Faylen, your father is going to be furious. You saved a human, brought him here, and had me use some of our already tight healing stores on him.”
“My father will be more furious about the fact that I left the city alone at night,” I muttered. “Besides, while I was in his mind, I sensed that he knew things that could help us. I have a blank life vow from him and that includes helping me however he can.”
“But what am I to tell your father? I need to let him know why we are even lower in health stores now.” I sighed, knowing my father wouldn’t take the news well.
“Tell him the truth, but also say that I will not leave the healing station until the human is fully healed. It should not be long, but we will come to him the moment the human can walk again.” She bowed her head and left, heading towards the castle as I turned and went back in to speak to Desmond. “Feeling better?”
“Much. Thank you.” I nodded and had a seat next to his bed.
“So to what extent can you help my people and I?”
“I'm the messenger for King Betyn. I know everything that he's organizing, how strong his forces are, where they are weak, and where they keep their food and health stores. Will any of that help you and your people?”
“All of it will. Especially the health stores.”
“Then my knowledge is yours. I, Desmond Timms, give my life’s vow to help the elves defend their cities and lands against the attacks of King Betyn.” I nodded but knew he’d have to redo the vow at some point.
How did he know to say those exact words? “I accept your life vow, Desmond, just know that it will have to be redone in Faejesh to assure all of your intentions for the elves. Rest now. When you are able to walk, we must go see King Delsaran.”
“I didn’t know the elves had a king.”
“Rest,” I said softly.
“I think I’m okay and able to walk.” I sighed but nodded.
“In here only for now. Just so that I know you will be fine.” I took his empty bowl and he put his legs over the side of the bed. “Take it easy, Desmond.” He slowly added weight to his legs and pushed up off the bed, letting me see he was every inch as tall as my father. “How does everything feel? Any wounds that have not healed?” I asked as I peeled a bandage back to check on his wound, seeing it fully healed already.
“None. I feel better than I did when I left Madun. Better than I have in years, actually.”
“Good. Can you walk and bend?” He took a few tentative steps, holding out his arms to help balance, but quickly dropped them and started moving faster. He jumped, bent in half, knelt, and spun his torso around to each side before looking back at me with a radiant smile.
“I feel fantastic. Thank you,” he said walking back over to me. I nodded and started taking the bandages off his legs while he got them off his face and arms.
“You are welcome. If you are sure that you are healed and will be fine walking to the castle, then come with me. We must go see King Delsaran,” I said as I set the stack of bandages in a bucket for Tsarra to dispose of. Desmond stayed one step behind me all the way to the castle, and Tsarra stepped out the door as we got on the steps.
"He is fully healed already?" I nodded and she stopped next to Desmond, checking on where she'd put the bandages. "I need to speak with Adrella about why our healing methods work so well on a human," she muttered.
"Please do and let me know why when you find out. How well did the meeting go with King Delsaran?"
"Use caution when speaking with him, Faylen. He is quite mad about the health stores and what we just did. I fear this result will not improve his state either," she said in my mind. I nodded and drew in a deep breath, opening the door and motioning for Desmond to step inside the castle.
Desmond's View
I looked all around the castle as we walked in, taking in the artistry of the building. It was nothing like the castle in Madun. Where that one had tapestries and wealth flaunted everywhere you looked, this one was modest but skillfully done. Although the walls were stone, they were chisled so precisely that there was no spacing between them, even at the corners. There were arched windows that let light stream in and fill the long hallway, but the top of the windows looked to be held up by nothing but their own construction. It definitely took skill to build this castle. This is beautiful work, I thought as I kept looking around. At one point, I looked ahead of us and saw a tall male elf that was my height, standing at the end of the hallway even though there was a large chair behind him. Even though I wanted to keep looking around to take in the full beauty of the building, I couldn't take my eyes off him. I could see him glaring at us as we got closer, and I dropped to a knee instantly when we stopped, knowing this had to be King Delsaran as I saw two guards appear behind me and push me to both knees before lifting my torso up and making me look at King Delsaran.
"Princess Faylen of Gewood, you have defied a direct order from your king and father. You have left the safety of the city at night, rescued a human, used our health supplies to save the human's life, and by the looks of this-," he said, motioning at me, "-the health supplies actually healed him when he should have been been left to die outside our walls." He kept talking, but I couldn't make out anything he was saying since it was in a strange language.
Of course she's the princess. She's more beautiful than any other woman I've ever seen. But how was the princess able to kill four humans on her own? Why was she even allowed outside the city? I didn't think an elven princess would be allowed to travel anywhere outside city walls on her own. I mentally laughed at myself. What am I talking about? I didn't even know the elves had royalty. That was never in the stories my parents would tell me. A booming voice pulled me from my thoughts.
"If you had not saved his miserable life, there would be one less human that we have to fight! You know this, Faylen! This wretched race forced us from our homes and lands only 200 years ago, and now you save one from death! Why would you save a human?" King Delsaran asked loudly.
"Because of the way we are. We take pity on and protect those that are not as strong. We help those that need it. We defend ourselves from those that mean us harm. Why would you think I would do something that defies who I am?" Faylen said quietly. I took a glance at her and saw that she was looking directly at the king. A memory of some documents I'd seen in Madun one time showed that an elven woman had been raped and killed in Dragon's Veil, just before the elves had vanished from the world. Although there was no description or name of the elven woman, I somehow knew that her death had been the cause of the elves fleeing.
"Do you think he would have done the same for you? No, he would not have. He would have let you be killed or have done worse to you!" King Delsaran looked away from us, taking a deep breath before bringing his gaze back to us. "What can he offer us in return for our aid and protection?" he asked as he looked at me disdainfully, the human that Faylen had not only saved but had brought into the city and healed. I could understand his hatred of me. I was human and so far humans had taken everything from the elves and killed any they found.
"He has sworn a life vow to me," Faylen said. Although she spoke softly, her voice commanded respect and was full of power. It reminded me of the summer breeze off the shore of Baste Lake just before the approach of a strong storm. Delsaran's gaze slid to Faylen, wide-eyed in astonishment.
"A life vow?" She nodded.
"One to help us defend our cities as we try to reclaim them and defend the forest that the humans drove us into. He says that their plans are to take over all the lands in Inrayel and drive us from our home here to lands yet discovered."
"And just how does he plan to help us defend our cities and forest? You saved him from being killed so he must be poorly trained in battle."
"I know the defenses that the humans have, King Delsaran," I said quickly, hoping to defend Faylen's actions. "I can show you where their defenses will be weakest so you may strengthen your attacks. I know how their attacks will be weakest so you may strengthen your defenses. I know where their food stores are, how well guarded they keep their stores, I know when and where they will attack, and I know how they chased you from your lands all those years ago. I was on my way to inform the city lords of the king's intended plans when the bandits outside captured me. They meant to kill me so I would not be able to pass the information entrusted to me. I have sworn a life vow in the human tongue to this elven maiden. If you send me back to King Betyn, he will kill me and change all his plans. Spare my life and I will do everything in my power to help your race defend the cities and forests that rightfully belong to the elves." It was silent for a few minutes, with only some Xanadu Cassowarys screeching as they flew around in the city.
"Swear the life vow to me in Faejesh or it means nothing," King Delsaran said.
"I do not know the elven tongue."
"Speak the phrase, Faylen. Give me your life vow."
"But-"
"I will release you from yours after I have his," he interrupted. "Swear it to me." I thought fast through everything my parents had mentioned about the elves before I'd been taken, while hoping that Faylen wouldn't give her life vow before I could think of a reason for her to deny that order.
"I cannot give you my life vow," I said quickly, sensing Faylen's fear as I remembered what I needed to know. "This maiden saved my life and I know a life vow is given only to those who save the life of another. I can only swear my life vow to her." I saw Faylen look at me, completely startled. King Delsaran looked impressed that I knew that much of their customs and looked thoughtfully between the two of us for a moment.
"You will stay in the city's prison until your life vow is given to her in Faejesh. You will have no visitors, not be allowed out of your cell, and only receive food and water when Faylen comes to teach you the vow. Faylen, you will teach him only the words he needs to say until he speaks them as well as you." Faylen bowed her head in compliance with his ruling. "Take him to the prisons and give him a cell," King Delsaran said to the guards standing behind me. They hauled me out of the throne room and down the hall, letting me get a departing glance of the beautiful elven woman that had saved my life and was now going to be the only face I saw until I spoke Faejesh with elven fluency.
"Do not waste your time hoping that you can have her, human. There are several reasons you will never be together. She is Elven and you are human; she would be locked in a cell for getting entwined with a human; and most importantly, she is royalty and you are not." I looked at the guard that'd been speaking.
"How did-"
"I could hear your thoughts," he interrupted. "Clear her from your mind and do not waste time hoping to have her. You have more important things to place your focus on, human."
