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Ch. 67: Goodbye for now
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Catalyst Ch. 1: Meeting of the Houses
Hayward Alekzander brought his horse to a stop as they crested the last small rise before the official border with the Elven kingdom of Treiaul. The youngest son of King Domaric of Aasleagh and second-youngest child, he was fourth in line for the throne; unless disaster struck, he was unlikely to get much of anything when his father passed. His choices to secure a future was the clergy or the army, and that hadn't been a difficult decision. Now in his mid-twenties, he was a fearsome warrior, standing a shade over six feet and two hundred pounds. He wasn't the traditional brick wall of a soldier, but built for speed as much as strength. He had limited usefulness to his father, but apparently dignitary was a role he could play. He was not a man of soft features; rather, a strong brow and jaw with high cheekbones, together with hair on the border between dark brown and black. It was clear where his ancestry originated. His complexion wasn't as tanned as that of the other soldiers, but he
Catalyst Ch. 2: The Arrival
Hayward looked up at the mountains rising before them and realized that they had packed little in the way of warm clothes—in part because they hardly owned anything of the sort. One more thing for the men to complain about. "I must say, I'm a little envious," he said, pulling alongside the princess, "to only have to worry about wild animals rather than bandits and thieves. The desert isn't kind to such beasts, anything big enough to be a danger will struggle to find enough food." Like the other men, he wore a pale white tunic and hat along with grey pants, all loosely fitting. Somewhere underneath was a muscular soldier, but it hid him well from the sun and anything else that wanted to see him. Hayward looked over at the princess again, smiling to himself. At least she's pretty. That'll make this more pleasant. "If you encountered some of these beasts, you might be less so," she told him, though she doubted he'd ever seen anything of the sort. The lush forests and mountains were an
Catalyst Ch. 3: Dinner
Hayward thanked her and shut the door behind her as she left. Then he turned and looked over the room. It was nice, possibly nicer than his own back home. He took a slow breath and licked his lips. The place even smelled nice. Ok, idiot. Focus. Foreign castle, upcoming dinner. Get cleaned up. He set to work, stripping out of his dirty traveling clothes and drawing a bath. Out of habit, he stopped when the water was only a couple of inches deep. Wait. They have plenty of water here, don't they? He looked closely at the sides of the tub for any indication and quickly found the faint deposits of soap he wanted. Usually filled up. Oh, this will be heavenly. It had been years since the young prince had enjoyed a full bathtub. He sat in the tub and waited for the water to rise around him. While he savored its soothing power, his mind churned. Ok. I'm here. In Treiaul. They appear happy to have me. Possibly too happy. I think her mother is going to try to get us paired up. Can't read the
Catalyst Ch. 4: Goodnight
As soon as they were safely out of the door, she breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank the gods that's over... I'm not sure I could've stomached it if Papa had decided we needed a toast for every course, like the time the visitors from Gaf arrived. And I know my mother wanted me to give you the tour TONIGHT, but what does it matter if it's in the morning? You're tired. Let the poor man rest!"Elissa, too, was tired. She had ridden to meet them and escorted them back. Then she had to be laced into this damned dress. One day she would give her mother a piece of her mind about the way she paraded her around like she was the true dessert on the menu. But that night was not tonight. Tonight, she just had to lead the prince to his room, make sure he was comfortable, and then she could get the damned dress OFF.Hayward wasn't quite o
Catalyst Ch. 5: Good Morning
The rest of the Aasleaghans eventually made their way to bed, though some of them needed more help than others. Hayward, meanwhile, slept soundly, at least until the first light of dawn started peeking through his window. He slowly, lethargically, dragged himself out of bed and walked over to the window. Without really thinking, he stripped off his shirt and then spread his arms, basking in the morning sun. Living and growing up in the desert, one learned to appreciate its warmth, even if one spent the rest of the day hiding from it. The prince closed his eyes and soaked it in; up in the mountains, he was going to want the heat. Then he opened his eyes and looked straight at the sun, his pupils contracting until they were little more than black pinpricks against a green background. Alright. I made it through the first night. No one tried to kill me. Good start. I may have even gotte
Catalyst Ch. 6: The Tour
"And I should see my horse again. Hopefully, he hasn't tried to break out of the stable and come looking for me." He paused, licked his lips, and lowered his voice once again. "Or tried to get to know any of the mares. He can be rather... randy... and I'd hate for you to end up with a generation of strong, stubborn, and nearly untrainable... horses." There was a playful twinkle in his eye. He was clearly talking about the horse, but he might have been talking about someone else as well."Yes, we will make sure to check on your horse, though I do promise, if he got too feisty... he's in a stall. So for his sake I hope he could keep it in his pants..." she thought about the sentence and rephrased, "metaphorical pants... I wouldn't want to be caged up when everyone else was running free..." that also had a deeper meaning than just horses, but she left it alone and kept talking
Catalyst Ch. 7: Saferoom
The stairs wound for two more flights before another doorway appeared. "They don't exist because they're meant to be safe rooms..." she said, sliding the lock on the door in a star-shaped pattern before it popped open. "And if anyone asks...you didn't see that..." it was the top level which had the "crown" of quartz on top. The top of the room was clear so you could see out, and while the sides of this circular room had limited view looking up because of the crown, the center was unobstructed. There were chairs, desks, dressers, and two oversized beds. Off to one side was a partitioned bath area. But in the very center of the room was a pile of pillows made into a sort of makeshift bed.She walked toward them, smiling. "Sometimes I come up here and look at the stars. It's gorgeous. Just...me and the sky. Except I don't actually have to be outside, and it's quite comfortable..." she laugh
Catalyst Ch. 8: Lunch Break
Elissa opened the door once more and made her way down the winding staircase. It was much quicker going down than up, and before long they'd made it back to the bottom. From there, she walked into the great hall where her mother and father were already waiting for lunch."And there they are!" Her mother said with a smile. "Prince Hayward, did you enjoy your tour? Is she keeping you properly entertained?"Elissa took the seat next to her mother with a sigh.I hate that I may give her what she wants. Then again, what she wants is for me to marry him. I still don't think I'm very interested in that. She'd probably be less happy if I just bedded him without that. I'll take that as my consolation prize for actually liking someone she chose.Hayward did his best to settle his t
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