Chapter 38

 

News from South Port

 

Shortly after lunch Monday, a falcon arrived with a message for Kevin from Crinsor Run. When he opened it, a second letter fell out, an official letter stamped with the seal of the Council of Elders and addressed to Rhianna. Duane asked Kevin to see that Rhianna got it as soon as possible.

While they’d been eating lunch, Rhianna had said she’d be working with Laryn and Marshall in the meadow behind Laryn’s house, so Kevin took the sealed letter out there.

As he approached, Laryn tilted her head in his direction. “I have a feeling today’s session’s over. Wonder which one of us he’s looking for.”

When Rhianna saw the look on Kevin’s face, she had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. As soon as she saw the seal on the note he handed her, it turned into nausea. She fingered the edges, hesitant to open it. No matter what it said, it wouldn’t be good news.

Laryn saw the dread in Rhianna’s eyes, so she put her arm around Marshall’s shoulders and said, “I’m ready for a break. How about a cup of tea?” and herded him towards her house.

After they left, Rhianna slowly broke the seal and opened the letter.

 

Rhianna,

It is my privilege to inform you that in honor of your service to North Amden in regards to the men sent here by the Sorcerer of Brendolanth, you have been appointed an instructor for the incoming warrior elf candidates.

As you know, it is a two-year program which begins on March 1. You will need to be on site by February 1 to observe the qualifying trials for the incoming candidates. Please let us know if you need any help with preparations for your arrival.

We look forward to seeing you on February 1.

With warmest wishes and congratulations,

Weldon

Chairman, Council of Elders

 

Rhianna read the letter twice before handing it to Kevin. He read it, frowned, and read it again. “Does this mean what I think it does? That you’ve got to go back to North Amden?”

Rhianna nodded as tears filled her eyes. “For two years.”

“Do you have to accept it?”

Rhianna brushed at the tears coursing down her cheeks. “Being an instructor is one of the highest honors granted to a warrior elf. For every twenty or so elves who pass the test and become warriors, maybe one gets appointed an instructor. I’ve never heard of anyone turning it down, and with the way this is worded it would be an insult to the elders to refuse it.” She shook her head and tried to smile. “Father was an instructor before he married Mother, and Duane’s been an instructor several times.” Rhianna took a deep breath. “Two years ago, I’d have been thrilled. I’d have been celebrating, dancing around, showing this letter to everyone I could find, but now…” She shook her head as more tears gathered.

Kevin forced a smile. “Then celebrate we will. We’ll get Blair to bake a cake, Joan to decorate it, and we’ll invite the whole town to the party.”

When Rhianna frowned, Kevin shook his head and put his hands on her shoulders. When she met his eyes, he said, “You’re being honored. That’s the important thing here. I know you don’t want to go and I don’t want you to, but this is the chance of a lifetime and it won’t be forever. You said it yourself, it’s only for two years. And if you turn it down, you’ll regret it, and in the end, you’ll resent it, and probably resent me, so we’re going to protect our future by making sure there are no regrets, at least not for this. So, we’ll celebrate the fact that they’re recognizing how wonderful you are.” He slipped his arms around her and held her tight as she embraced him and cried.

After a few minutes, Rhianna pulled back and wiped her eyes. “People are going to see us.”

“So let them.” Kevin smiled. “If they ask, we’ll say you were overcome with happiness because one of your dreams has come true, you’ve been asked to serve as a mentor to the next crop of warrior elves.”

Rhianna rolled her eyes and tried to smile. “I guess that’s one way to look at it.”

“The only way. Now, I have a question.”

“What?”

“When do you get breaks? When can you slip away? After all, I have a key and no intention of going two years without seeing you. I can pick you up for a week, a weekend, a day, or an hour. All I need to know is when and where. Do you have any idea what your schedule will look like?

Rhianna laughed. “Not yet, but I know Duane came home while he was an instructor, not for long, but fairly often, probably once every couple of months, but I’m not sure the elders would approve of the Master Sorcerer showing up at the training camp.”

“How did Duane get home?”

“Xantha picked him up.”

Kevin shrugged. “Then we’ll use Xantha. He and I have a link. He can let me know when and where to meet him. Then we can come back here, go to Rainbow Valley, Elsewhere, or anywhere else you want to go, and when it’s time for you to go back to camp, we’ll meet Xantha and he can fly you back.”

Rhianna’s smile was a bit more natural. “Sounds like fun.”

“Playing hooky always is. Now, my schedule’s pretty clear this afternoon, and your students have taken off, so who would you like to tell first? Your family or Landis?”

~~~~

Kevin and Rhianna spent the afternoon in Crinsor Run. Then they had dinner at Fenway’s and left for the island. After Rhianna told Landis and they spent a little time catching up, Kevin and Rhianna went back to the castle, picked up Nikki, and headed out for a long walk.

When it came time to say goodnight, Kevin put his arms around her and held her close. “I’m going to miss this,” he whispered. “More than you know.”

Rhianna ran her fingers through his hair. “No more than I will.”

As they melted into a slow kiss, they heard a giggle. Without breaking the kiss, Kevin used his seeing eye to find the source. Shelley was standing on the porch in her nightgown grinning for all she was worth. Without moving his head, he broke away from Rhianna enough to whisper, “We have an audience.”

Rhianna swallowed a giggle of her own. “Shelley?”

“Uh-huh. What do you want to do?”

“Kiss me again and then I’ll go put her to bed.”

After Rhianna and Shelley went inside, Kevin took Nikki back to his office.

Chris was sorting through some papers at his desk so Kevin asked him what he was working on. “Lining up some trade requests from some of the ministers.”

“What kind of requests?”

“Mainly produce. The hard part is finding someone who has fresh produce this time of year.” Chris stuck the papers in a folder. “I’ll work on it tomorrow.”

Kevin nodded. “Anything happen while I was gone?”

Chris shook his head. “Not that I know of.”

“Good. Are you ready to go up?”

Chris nodded. “Want anything from the kitchen?”

“Scog.”

“Anything else?” Chris put the last bits away and stood up.

“Not unless you can find some bourbon. Tonight’s one of those nights when I’d really like a drink.”

“You could go get one, you know.” Chris covered the office glowstones.

“How? I don’t have any money, and I can’t exactly pop into my foster parents’ house and fix myself a drink.”

“No, but you could pop in on Paul Stewart.”

“If I knew where he lives. He moved around a lot while I was growing up and I’ve never been to the house he was living in when we left.”

“I thought you and he were fairly close.”

“Not really. He visited me a couple of times a year, but I never visited him. When I was living at home it wasn’t an option. While I was in college, he’d call and we’d meet for dinner. After I started working, he’d see me at the office. He was a fixture throughout my life, but I wouldn’t say we were close. At any rate, I have no idea where he lives now, or even if he’s still going by the name Paul Stewart. Pallor may be using another name by now.”

As they left the office, Chris said, “I bet Kalen could tell you how to get in touch with him.”

“Probably, and I may do it at some point, but not tonight. Tonight scog will have to do.” He turned toward Nikki. “Come on, girl. Let’s go upstairs.”

“I’ll be up in a bit,” Chris said as he headed towards the kitchen.

Fifteen minutes later, Kevin was sitting on the floor brushing Nikki when Chris walked in with two mugs of scog and a plate of brownies. “I was hungry.”

Kevin laughed. “When aren’t you hungry?”

“You have a point,” Chris said as he picked up a brownie. “Now, what happened this afternoon? What was that letter about? Not another summons, I hope.”

“Actually, it was good news. At least I keep telling myself that.” Kevin explained about the training program for warrior elves and Rhianna’s appointment. “It’s an honor to be asked to serve. Only the best warrior elves are asked. Duane’s been an instructor. So has Hayden, so her family’s excited for her.”

“Who does the asking? I mean, who makes the decisions?”

Kevin shrugged. “All I know is the appointments are approved by the Council of Elders and the announcement is made in their name.”

“This is the same Council of Elders who summoned her to answer charges for killing Saryn? The same council who pretty much decided she was guilty based on a rumor started by Rolan’s men?”

“The very same.”

“And now they want to make her an instructor?”

Kevin nodded.

“Isn’t that like saying she’s a good role model? Someone the new warrior elves should emulate?”

Again, Kevin nodded.

“Is this their way of apologizing?”

“Maybe, but from what Duane said, she had the highest scores on the final tests the year she qualified and it was one of the higher scores on record. So it’s possible there’s no connection between what happened last year and this.”

“Could it have something to do with the fact that she’s here, living among humans and seeing you on a regular basis?”

“I’d be lying if I said that possibility hadn’t crossed my mind.”

“How does she feel about it?”

“She has mixed feelings. Part of her is excited. She said if this had happened two years ago she’d have been jumping for joy. But she doesn’t want to leave Milhaven. She’s made a lot of friends here, and if she’s here, she’s got a connection to Landis. She can go see her any time she wants.”

“And you’re here.”

“There is that,” Kevin said with a faint smile.

“So how does this instructor bit work?” Chris asked. “I assume she’ll have to spend a lot of time in North Amden while she’s an instructor.”

“She’ll have to live there, Chris.”

“For how long?”

“Two years.”

“Two years?!”

Kevin nodded. “That’s the bad part.”

“Why doesn’t she just say thank you, but no?”

“It’s not that simple. It’s an honor to be chosen and it would be a slap in the face to say no. And the way they worded it, saying it’s in honor of her service in getting Rolan’s men out of North Amden, it would be an insult for her to try to get out of it. She’d never live it down.”

“So what are you going to do?”

“Spend as much time as I can with her before she has to go.”

Chris shook his head. “That’s not what I meant. What are you going to do to stop it? To keep her from going?”

“There’s nothing I can do. It’s out of my hands.”

“You could ask her to marry you.”

Kevin shook his head.

“Why not?”

Kevin shook his head again. “It wouldn’t be right.”

“Why not? You know you want to marry her, and unless I’m misreading her, she wants to marry you, too. We could set it up next week. Then she could go to the council and explain that as a married woman…”

“I’m not going to do that to her, Chris. And I doubt it would work anyway. Duane was married the last couple of times he served. Besides, this is the chance of a lifetime, something she’s dreamed about for years. There’s no way I’m going to stand in the way of that.” Kevin paused and let out a sigh. “If I were to ask her to stay, to turn down this offer and marry me, and she did, she might be okay with it today, but somewhere down the line she’d start wondering what it would have been like to be an instructor, what she’d missed, what she’d given up. And she’d end up regretting that decision. And before long, that regret would be followed by resentment, and that resentment would be laid at my door.” Kevin shook his head. “No, thank you. I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure that doesn’t happen. I’m going to encourage her to enjoy each and every day of this experience, while at the same time, down deep inside, I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed that one two-year session will be enough to satisfy her and when the time comes to sign up for another one, she’ll opt out.”

“I still think you should ask her to marry you.” When Kevin started shaking his head, Chris held up his hand. “Hear me out. I didn’t say use it to keep her from going. I get your point about that. But if she’s your wife, they wouldn’t try to stop you from seeing her. You could pop in whenever you wanted to.”

Kevin paused, then shook his head again. “When and if I ask someone to marry me, I want it to be about us, nothing else.”

Chris shrugged. “There’s probably something behind at least half the marriage proposals, both here and on Earth. People talk about love and fate and all that stuff, but it usually boils down to ‘what can I get out of it?’ Take Blair’s situation, the one she ran away from. The man was willing to marry her in exchange for land. Bet that happens more than we know. And I imagine the reverse happens too, where the woman or her family benefits in some way.”

Kevin stood up and stretched. “You may be right, but I’m not going to do it.”

“So you’re willing to go two years without seeing her?”

“Absolutely not! I plan to see her as often as she can get away.”

“How? Are they going to let you just drop in?”

“No, but Xantha’s been pushing me to start seeing someone ever since we landed on Terah. Time to put all his meddling to good use. He can fly in and out of the training camp whenever he wants to. From what I understand, they’re used to him up there. Plus, he lives in Crinsor Run. For all practical purposes, he’s part of her family. No one would raise an eyebrow if she left with him.”

“And you know this because?”

“He told me when I asked him about it this afternoon. He’ll check in with her on a regular basis and find out when she’ll have some free time. Then he can use that mind link we have to let me know when and where to meet them.” Kevin shrugged. “He’s been eavesdropping on my conversations and thoughts all my life. About time I got some good out of it.”

“You could have told me that up front and saved us both a lot of time.” Chris stacked the empty plate and mugs on his tray and picked it up as he stood up. “I’m ready to get some sleep. I’m going to bed.”

“Me, too. See you in the morning.”

~~~~

While Kevin and Chris were hashing things out, Rhianna was confiding in Doreen. “I hate to leave.”

“I hate for you to go, too.” Doreen sighed. “I’ve been expecting you to tell me you’re moving out, but I thought you’d be moving in with Myron rather than going home. We’ll miss you around here.”

Rhianna felt her cheeks warm. “Just between the two of us, and don’t ever repeat it, I thought I’d move into the castle when I left here, too. I hate the idea of being so far away from all of you.”

“When do you think you’ll be back?”

“I hope to be able to visit every couple of months, but I won’t be back here to live for two years.”

“Two years?!”

Rhianna nodded as tears gathered in her eyes. “Our training program lasts two years. The first is focused on skills. The second on using them.”

Doreen leaned back in her chair. “That’s a long time.”

“I keep telling myself it’ll pass quickly.”

Doreen shook her head. “I’ll miss you so much. Shelley’s going to be crushed, and what about Nikki? Not to mention Myron. Or my garden! Everything will die!”

Rhianna grinned. “No it won’t, at least not as long as you don’t try to tend to it. I’m sure we can find someone to take care of it for you. Maybe Neisha. I’ll talk to her and see what she thinks.”

Doreen didn’t look happy, but she gave a nod. “All right. But who’s going to take care of me?”

Rhianna laughed. “That’s easy. Rigel.”

A small smile tugged at Doreen’s mouth. “Maybe.”

“No maybe about it. Just be sure I’m here when you two make it official.”

“I don’t see that happening any time soon,” Doreen said. “He’s one of Myron’s bodyguards. On the days he’s on duty, he has to be available twenty-four hours a day. Doesn’t leave a lot of time for a wife.”

“It leaves his days off. I’m sure you’ll figure it out, but don’t forget I want to be here when you make it official. We’ll have a big party out back, like we did after the house was finished.”

The smile spread across Doreen’s face. “That would be fun.” Then the smile faded. “But only if you’re here. If you can’t make it, we’re not doing it.”

“Deal. You let Myron know when, and I’ll make arrangements to be here. Same with when your first baby is born.”

“Woah! I’m nowhere near ready for that!” Doreen stood up, shaking her head. “I don’t want to even think about that. I’ll have nightmares for sure!”

“What? About having children?”

“Not the children so much as the having them. Have you ever been around when someone’s giving birth?” Doreen shivered. “Just the thought of it gives me chills.”

Rhianna laughed. “Well, when it happens, I’ll be right there beside you.”

“I’ve got a better idea. You have the children and I’ll be there with you.” Doreen picked up the papers on her desk and put them away. “Let’s get some scog and talk about something less scary, like assassins hiding in the woods. Then maybe I’ll be able to sleep.”

~~~~

Meanwhile Gwynn and Hayden were in the kitchen having a cup of tea.

“We’ve had a lot of people in and out today, but I haven’t heard you say what you think about Rhianna’s appointment,” Hayden said.

Gwynn stirred her tea and set the spoon to the side. “I think she’s a very lucky girl.”

Hayden nodded. “I do, too. It’s quite an honor. I was so proud of her the day she qualified for training, and I thought I would burst when she had the highest scores when she tested. Did you know she scored as high as Duane did? But this tops it all.”

“That’s not what I was talking about. I agree, it’s quite an honor and she’s worked hard for it, but that’s not why I say she’s lucky.” Gwynn picked up her cup.

Hayden frowned. “Then what are you talking about?”

“I think she’s very lucky to have found a man who loves her so much he’s willing to let her go.”

“Huh?”

“This is a dream Rhianna’s had since she was a little girl. I’m not sure she understood what being an instructor meant, but she knew you had to be one of the best to be asked. And that’s what she wanted, to be good enough to be asked. And Myron loves her enough not to stand in her way, and he could, you know. If he’d asked her to choose between being an instructor and being with him, she’d have chosen him, but he’s man enough not to do that. He didn’t ask her to choose. He told her to do it and he’s planning a party in honor of her appointment. How many men would be that unselfish?”

“Well, maybe he doesn’t mind because it doesn’t matter to him. Ever think of that?”

Gwynn looked at her husband and shook her head. “Sometimes I wonder how such a smart man can be so dumb.” Still shaking her head, she got up, picked up both cups and rinsed them out. “I’m going to bed. Are you coming?”

“I’ll be along in a bit. Thought I’d check the pastures before I turn in.”

“Tell Duane I said good night.”

“What?”

“Check the pasture is usually code for go talk to Duane. If I’m asleep when you come in, see you in the morning.”

“Thinks she knows me so well,” Hayden grumbled as Gwynn left the kitchen. Then he got up and went outside in search of his son.

He found Duane and Xantha at the edge of the pasture. “What are you doing out this time of night?” he asked Duane as he joined him.

“Checking on the horses.” Duane stroked Xantha’s forehead.

Hayden looked at Xantha. “Any problems?”

Xantha shook his head, his mane flowing with the movement.

Then Hayden turned to Duane. “What do you think about your sister’s news?”

Duane paused. “I have to admit I was a bit surprised.”

“Why? Don’t you think she’s qualified?”

“Of course she’s qualified, but she’s untested. She hasn’t had any experience.”

“Yes she has! She was Landis’s bodyguard!”

Duane shook his head. “No matter what the council was told, we both know she was there as an observer, to watch the sorcerer. Myron sent one of his own bodyguards with them.”

“She was tested under fire, not once but twice,” Hayden insisted. “A lot of warrior elves work as bodyguards for years without being tested that way.”

“I’ll grant you that, but it doesn’t alter the fact that she’s inexperienced. Still, I think she’ll do a good job. I’m just surprised by the appointment. You didn’t have anything to do with it, did you?”

“How could I? I’m not on the council!”

“No, but your brother is. And shortly after we got back from Milhaven, you paid him a visit.”

“To see if Rolan’s men were gone.”

Duane nodded but didn’t say anything.

“I think it’ll be good for her, to be back in North Amden.”

Duane looked at his father. “You’re afraid she’s going to decide to stay in Milhaven, aren’t you?”

“Well, that thought has crossed my mind,” Hayden admitted. “You know how it is when you first move out, first put down roots somewhere else. It’s easy to just stay put, but she’s an elf. She needs to be with elves. I don’t want anyone making her feel less than she is because she’s not human, and a lot of humans do that.”

“The folks in Milhaven are different. They’re used to seeing other races. Shelandra never had any problems with any of them, but she did run into it in other places. So have I for that matter, but not so much in Camden. Probably because they like the House of Nordin and they don’t hide the fact that one of their ancestors was an elf. Besides, Myron would put an end to it before it could get started. He wouldn’t stand for it, not from anyone.”

“You know him that well?”

Duane shrugged. “I know him pretty well, but Xantha knows him better.”

“Your mother’s got the notion Myron’s in love with your sister, but I can’t see it. If he was in love with her, he’d try to stop her from going to the training camp.”

“He’s smarter than that. This means a lot to Rhianna. He won’t stand in her way. That would be a huge mistake, and he’s not stupid.”

“Humph! I think all those two have is some kind of infatuation. She’s never known a human male before, much less a sorcerer. And he’s never known an elf. It’s the lure of the unknown.”

“Can’t say I agree, but I guess time will tell.” Duane gave Xantha another pat on the shoulder. “Think I’ll head back. Shelandra’s probably ready for bed by now.”

Hayden nodded. “See you tomorrow.”