Chapter 8: The Calm Before the Storm

Naimh gave two or three big sobs before taking a deep breath. As she exhaled, she stood up and made her way to her balcony to watch the stars appear in the evening sky. The colors of twilight spread over the Elven kingdom like waves on the faraway ocean.

Niamh leaned over the edge of her balcony and movement caught her eye. She saw two children playing outside of the castle wall. The young elflord was trying to reach an apple hanging on a branch out of his reach. His smaller, rosy-cheeked sister watched hopefully, wiggling with excitement. The fruit was obviously out of reach, but the brother wasn't going to give up. Niamh could only watch the struggle for so long before her heart made her act.

"Are you hungry?" she called out.

The pair of elflings, startled, turned to run.

"No, wait!" Niamh ran back into her room and grabbed two shining apples from the small fruit basket on the table. "Wait!"

With apples in hand, Niamh ran back to the balcony. The elflings were obediently waiting, holding hands nervously by the wall. Niamh held up the apples and smiled her best smile.

"If I toss this, can you grab it?"

The brother grinned excitedly and nodded, holding out his hands. Niamh tossed the first apple high.

The older elfling caught it and instantly gave it to his sister, who was jumping up and down with joy. They began laughing.

"Well done!" Niamh joined in. "Wait!"

The children had turned to leave. Someone was calling them.

"I have one more!" Niamh held up the other apple and waited for the pair to get ready once more. The brother caught the apple easily and waved as he and his sister scampered off into the rows of buildings beyond the walls.

Niamh sighed. That made her heart lighter. She turned, and on the balcony beside her stood Lorcan, staring at her with dark, troubled eyes. He said nothing but looked from his wife to the spot where the children had stood.

"They were hungry," Niamh said loudly so Lorcan could hear.

Lorcan still said nothing.

"That was kind," he said in a rough voice.

"I am impressed he caught the apples. It's quite the distance," Niamh felt her heart quicken at this unplanned conversation.

Lorcan continued to look out over the trees, but nodded. His gaze finally fell on Niamh. "Tomorrow I ride to battle once more…"

"I thought it was just a border dispute," Niamh felt her heart grow cold.

Lorcan shook his head, "It's never 'just a dispute.' I don't know how long I will be gone."

Niamh heard herself saying, "I will make sure your people are taken care of."

Lorcan opened his mouth to say something, but someone entered his room and called for him.

"My general calls," the King headed back inside. "I must go… for now."

Night came, and passed. Niamh had not slept well. There were too many questions, too many emotions, swirling around in her heart, to let her rest. The sun had just started to show over the horizon when Moidrin knocked on the door.

Niamh rose and dressed quickly. Without waiting, she left her room and paused in front of the King's chambers.

"He is already in the main hall," Maeval had followed her into the hall.

Niamh sprinted to the stairs and was on her way down when she overheard Lorcan and the scar-faced general talking.

"General Konnyr, she will be queen. She will rule by my side."

"She has not yet been crowned," the scar-faced general snarled. "To leave her to rule your kingdom while you are gone....

"I expect you, and the council, to respect her. She… is… the queen," Lorcan said unblinkingly. "We will hold an appropriate coronation celebration when I return."

The general finally shifted his stance and lowered his eyes.

"Understood, your Majesty," he mumbled.

Lorcan caught sight of his queen descending the stairs. To Niamh's surprise, his eyes lit up with delight.

"You rose to see me off," he said in disbelief.

"Of course. I wish you well, a swift horse and a balanced sword," Niamh gave a soft smile.

"That, my men, is your Queen," Lorcan said softly.

He climbed the remaining stairs to meet her. In one swift motion, the king held her briefly and kissed Niamh on the forehead before turning and walking out of the grand hall. Niamh followed and watched the band of mounted soldiers trot out of the castle courtyard, the King leading the way.

"Lady Niamh," a now-familiar voice said nearby. "I was instructed to escort you inside."

Captain Aengus came to stand beside Niamh.

"Oh," she blinked. "You did not go?"

Captain Aengus grimaced slightly. "The King asked me to stay here and take care of your safety while he was away."

Niamh found herself speechless. Perhaps the king was actually developing feelings for her.

"My Lady, King Lorcan would like you to stay inside while he is away," Captain Aengus continued.

"What?" Niamh asked loudly. "Stay inside? Why ever would I do that?"

The captain looked around awkwardly, "The king requested I keep you within the castle for the duration of the battle. You will be safe."

"Safe? From a battle miles away?" Niamh shook her head. "How does this make sense?"

"Not all enemies are on the battlefield," the captain said plainly.

"Oh," Niamh felt the dawn of understanding blooming in her mind, but the thought of not going outside for days made her reluctant to leave the sun.

She eventually followed the captain back inside like a little child. Niamh was soon very glad she did, for a tremendous rainstorm rolled across the sky barely an hour after the king's departure. Niamh swore she could feel the castle shake with each crash of thunder and flash of lightning.

Never before had Niamh been through such a storm. Maeval and Moidrin stood huddled by the fireplace.

Niamh took pity, "Build me a fire and sit beside me. I would like to have some company while I read."

As the fire was built, Niamh wandered over to her balcony and looked out. Was it her imagination, or did she hear the distant sounds of battle?

'No, no, it's just the storm," she chided herself.

Why was she worrying so much about an elflord she barely knew?

A flash of lightning and an accompanying roll of angry thunder brought a fresh new wind rolling over the palace. It made Niamh uneasy and she turned back to the fireplace.

"What would you like to read, my Queen?" Moidrin asked.

Niamh paused, "Bring me a book on the history of the Elven Kings."

Maeval raised an eyebrow, but nodded and set off to find such a book. Moidrin brought soft slippers for Niamh's feet and a blanket for her lap.

Maeval returned a short time later with several books. Niamh looked at them questioningly.

"These are records of the Elven kings from the time of the creation of this kingdom, all the way until King Lorcan took the throne."

"Oh, well that will interest me," Niamh said and thanked Maeval as she began to read.

Niamh had been educated alongside Eithne so knew the history of the kings, however, she was looking for more than just a list.

Niamh found what she was looking for. The heart of the Elven kingdom was broken when King Lorcan's father fought his own tyrannical brother to take the throne. Soon after, Lorcan's mother died from a fever. His father went mad with grief. This caused Lorcan's brother to step in and end his father's reign. In the end, King Lorcan had to reunite the kingdom and form new alliances. A daunting task, since relationships, and trust was destroyed.

"Why did I never learn of this?" Niamh lowered her book.

Moidrin looked at Maeval.

"These books aren't from the library… they are from the temple," Maeval whispered.

Niamh dropped her book in surprise.

"My mother is a priestess," Maeval shrugged."That's the only place you will find such recorded history."

"Why?" Niamh asked.

Moidrin raised her eyebrows, "The council."