Return To Sky Raven (Book 2) Page 14

  Maya whistled. “Isn’t this place impressive? It looks like a room for royalty,” she said in awe, as she looked around the room. Nia buzzed over to the back of one of the chairs and canted her head slightly.

  “Maya, weren’t you listening? You and Alex are royalty!”

  The three maidens bowed and the fox-headed one spoke in common, “Is there anything more we can do for you my Lord and Lady? We were instructed to provide for your every need until such time as your new body servants are trained. Would you care for some wine or a snack? Or shall we assist you in getting dressed now?”

  I looked at Maya and she was definitely looking uncomfortable, especially about the help-in-getting-dressed part, and I really wasn’t looking forward to finding out exactly what that entailed either.

  “Um, no thank you, you have been most efficient; I believe we will handle it from here,” I said, not really knowing what the protocol for this was. The fox maiden nodded and inclined her head toward the dressing room doors.

  “You will find your bedclothes within. Enjoy your repose and your servants will be up in the morning to serve you breakfast before you depart. Goodnight, my Prince and Princess.” And the three of them backed out the door and shut it quietly.

  “Well, I suppose we should change then?”

  Maya nodded and Nia flew to her shoulder as they approached the dressing room door with the carving of a Lady on it, and I entered the one with the Lord figure. This closet was seriously larger than my room back in Foalshead. It was lit with a couple of strategically placed magic orbs and looked like it could hold more clothing than the combined total of an average village. However, in this case the shelves and suit hooks were bare, save for one. Apparently, my bedclothes consisted of a pair of very short pants made out of the same silky material as the sheets, and a silky shirt that was about three sizes too small as it really had to stretch to cover my arms and shoulders.

  Shaking my head, I hurriedly dropped my clothes, pulled on the bedclothes, and exited the closet. Looking around for the girls, I could hear muffled talking through the door and since it didn’t sound like they were coming out anytime soon, I took the opportunity to wash up and clean my teeth in the washroom. By the time I was finished, Maya and Nia were still nowhere to be seen, but I could hear a heated debate going on inside the dressing room. Finally I knocked on the door.

  “Ladies, is everything ok in there?”

  Suddenly, the door opened a crack and Nia was propelled through the opening like she was shot from a crossbow and the door slammed shut again. Stabilizing in flight after a few feet, Nia zipped over to me. I noticed she was wearing a pixie-sized nightgown made out of the same material as my bedclothes, and proportionally, even shorter than my own. Nia did a lazy circle around me and grinned.

  “Mister Alex, you’re looking pretty good in that outfit.”

  “Pretty exposed, you mean,” I said. “When’s Maya coming out?”

  Nia got all toothy on me again and chuckled, “Possibly never! How do you like my outfit?” She laughed and did a mid-air pirouette.

  “It’s pretty small, even on a small person like you.”

  “Well, imagine the exact same amount of material being used on Maya’s night gown!”

  I stopped as my mind attempted to imagine just that. Unfortunately, I think I forgot to breathe for a minute or so, and when my lungs finally kicked back in and sucked in a huge draught of air, I think a small amount of drool went along for the ride. Several minutes of coughing later, I finally got off the floor with bleary eyes and a sore chest.

  Nia was nearly dying of laughter at my expense, and it felt good to hear her laugh again.

  Finally the door to the dressing room opened a crack and Maya’s voice came through the opening, “Alex, turn off all the lights and get into bed; you too, Nia!”

  “Oh, come on,” I protested.

  “Do it or I’m not coming out! I’ve slept in trees that were a lot less comfortable than this closet, and I’m sure I’ll do it again.”

  “Fine,” I sighed, getting Nia situated on a small pillow with a blanket, both of which were placed on the table next to the fireplace. Pixie tucked in the for the night, I went around and snuffed the magic orbs; and just to be thorough, I closed the curtains that were draped on either side of the glass door, so there wasn’t any moonlight. Crawling into one side of the bed, I called out. “It’s safe to come out now; all dark!”

  “You better not be using that mage sight, either!” A few seconds later, I heard the door open all the way and Maya slid into the other side of the bed. “Ok, what’s this all about then? This bed and these clothes, if you can call them that; what are your parents up to?”

  “I don’t know; a condemned man’s last wish before charging into the undead horde? Perhaps this is what all the fashionable Nova are wearing this year, or maybe they really, really want a head start on grandchildren, ” I said, only half joking.

  “What are you worried about?” she questioned, ignoring the grandchildren remark. “You’re a prince of the Nova; you’re probably immortal anyway.”

  “Not true, unfortunately. My father took me aside and explained it to me. While I have an extended lifespan like any wizard, you and I will cut, bleed and die like any mortal, at least until our service to the universe is completed. If our opponent can be killed, then so must we have the same risk.”

  “But he’s an undead necromancer…he’s already dead.”

  “Well, we’ll just have to find a way to make him deader yet.”

  Maya’s voice softened, “And how are you doing with all this? The whole parent thing, I mean. You just found your real parents and now they’re sending you off to save the magic kingdom; it’s a lot to take in.”

  I thought about what she was asking. What did I really think about this anyway? “I don’t know. I mean, I know they’re my parents, I guess you could say I can feel it. But even though they’re my parents, they feel like strangers to me. I just don’t know yet.”

  She slid closer to me and rested her head on my shoulder. “I can understand that and I think they understand as well. But they seem to be trying really hard, so I see no reason not to at least give them a chance. Besides, just from the way your mother was talking to you, I know she was heartbroken to leave you. No parent wants to leave their child.” She was silent for a moment. “After everything that happened today, I would very much like to see my parents again; I miss them.”

  I wrapped an arm around her and felt padded sparring armor where there should have been lingerie. “You little cheat, you!”

  She chuckled, slid closer to me, and whispered, “Alex, I tried it on and believe me, if I had worn that to bed, being this close to you with what you’re wearing, well let’s just say I would really like to face my father and mother with a clear conscious in a few days!”

  I sighed and silently agreed with her. I gave her a hug. “You will. With any luck, they will be in the Capital when we get there.”

  She snuggled a bit closer to me. “I think I would like that.” I was about to kiss her, but suddenly a small pillow was dropped on our faces, followed shortly by a damp pixie. Since there was nothing inappropriate to see anyway, I switched back to mage sight. Besides, I knew Maya could see as well in the dark as in the daytime anyway.

  “Nia, what are you doing?” we asked.

  She sniffled and said, “All this talk of families is making me sad.” A small tear fell on my face. “You two are the only ones I can call family now, so please let me stay with you tonight.”

  Maya repositioned Nia’s pillow so it rested in the space between us. “Fine, you can stay here tonight, but no pranks.”

  Nia smiled and wrapped her blanket firmly around herself. Maya propped up her own head with one hand and smiled warmly down at Nia for a bit, seemingly contemplating something, then looked at me with a glint in her eye. “Alex, how do you feel about children?” I will admit the question was quite a shock to me, seemingly coming out of nowhere
, but then I noticed her wink and nod at Nia. Ah, now I understood.

  “You know, I haven’t given it much thought.” Actually I have, a lot in fact. “But I would say somewhere around three or four would be great.” Maya smiled, her eyes shining; I do believe her number is a bit larger than my own. “But at least one of them would have to be adopted.” Nia looked up at Maya and me in confusion. “And smart, funny, and have a great personality.”

  Maya nodded. “Yes, and maybe about six inches tall with cute wings, I would think. Now where in the world would we find someone like that who wants to be with us?”

  Rivers of tears were running down Nia’s face. “You want me to be part of your real family?”

  “Very much so,” I said.

  “Besides,” Maya snickered, “Mother always told me that I should get a pet so I can get some practice at motherhood. A pixie has got to be way better than a bearded cave gecko.”

  “I have a slight feeling I’m being used, but I don’t care, I have parents!” Nia hugged both our faces.

  “Hold on one second,” said Maya, “there is a condition. An unmarried dark elf can’t have children; it’s one of the rules. So that means it won’t be official until Alex and I are wed; then you would be able to call us your mother and father. But the question still stands. Would you like to be our daughter?”

  Her eyes were sparkling with joy. “Yes, please adopt me!”

  We smiled. “Great, now everyone go to sleep!”

  Chapter 7

  Sleep was wonderful; the bed was even more comfortable than the ones in our Enchanters Hall. Somehow during the night, my dark elf maiden slid over to my side of the bed and cradled my head in her arms without disturbing the happily snoring pixie next to us. Sadly, this all ended as soon as the first rays of the sun struck the highest tower in the keep, as the twins and two nebulia careened through the door. Careened, because both dragons were carrying huge trays of food. Maya, of course, was awake and had her hand on Winya before the door was fully unlatched.

  “Why are you two up and in our room?”

  Dusk responded with forced enthusiasm after glancing warily back at the two nebulia, “Why, we have brought you your morning meal, my Prince, Princess and pixie!”

  “Huh?” the three of us chimed in together. But neither the twins nor the maidens seemed to be listening as the nebulia clapped their hands sharply together and pointed. Almost as if stung by a bee, the dragon girls quickly set down their trays and retrieved small bed tables from under our bed frame, deploying them in a crisp well-rehearsed manner. Then they began setting them with utensils, napkins and finally the plates of hot food. It was obvious the positioning of every fork and spoon was being scrupulously observed by the watchful eagle and hound eyes of the stern-looking maidens. With everything in place, the twins earned a grudging nod, and the nebulia exited respectfully, bowing and leaving the girls alone with us.

  “They’re finally gone,” they both gasped in unison and keeled over dramatically on the end of our bed in exhaustion.

  “What’s going on?” asked Maya.

  Both of them rolled their eyes, and Dawn yawned and answered, “Last night you both were brought up here to get some sleep; we were brought to the kitchen to start our training. Turns out that your parents are holding us to our promise to you.” Dusk elbowed her in the side, lighting up Dawn’s eyes. She waved her hands in the air and they got off the bed. “No, please don’t misunderstand, we love this opportunity! But we have talked too long, eat; we know you’re hungry. After you’re done, we have a lot of work to do.”

  The food was great but, sadly, finished way too quickly. Then the twins had baths prepared for us which, unfortunately, also meant I had to get out from under the covers still in my abbreviated bedclothes. Dawn and Dusk, even though tired, still managed to summon up the ability to gawk as they walked around me in obvious delight.

  “Dibs on Alex!” Dawn hissed, giving Dusk a glare of challenge.

  “Sister, that is most unseemly of you,” Dusk retorted. “To be eager to do a job well is one thing, but to get shamefacedly giddy about it, is quite another! It’s much too perilous for you. I shall accompany Master Alex to his bath with the proper decorum.” Unfortunately, she ruined the entire high moral ground debate by giggling uncontrollably for a few seconds.

  “Sister, dear one,” Dawn smiled evilly, “you have no concept of how perilous this is all going to get if you don’t stand aside.”

  “Enough, both of you,” Maya scolded as she grabbed them both by the arms. “I believe you are my handmaidens, not Alex’s; he’s a big boy.”

  “Yes, we can see that,” the dragons interrupted.

  Maya paused, plainly annoyed; and then she stopped for a long moment, looked at me appraisingly, and snickered. “Anyway, as I was saying, he’s a big boy. I think he can take a bath by himself, so you will both attend me - where I can see you at all times!”

  The spurt of energy left both dragons as they sagged tiredly and sighed, “Yes, you’re right, Mistress. Please forgive us, it’s the lack of sleep talking.”

  Back from the baths and with that awkward situation thankfully out of the way, we were asked to get into our armor. As I was putting it on, I noticed that someone had cleaned and polished both of our suits. Who could even have done that? Regardless, we got suited up and the twins escorted us down stairs and out the door.

  Back in the courtyard, we both stopped and stared at the commotion around us. The wizards and servants were running all over the place, moving stuff, cleaning, hauling stones around, everything. The thing that really surprised us was that they were all smiling and laughing with each other as they worked.

  The twins just shrugged as if the object of our surprise was a common fact. “Morale is on the rise. Apparently, the accommodations here are not as bad as you would have thought after four hundred years of neglect. Obviously, there was a lot of damage, but once the excavators dug everything out, they found that most things were still intact. Rosa claims there are a lot of enchantments still functioning in this complex. And, apparently, this place has some form of heating system that is fed by the large hot water spring. All the outbuildings have pipes that have warm air flowing out of them as well as others with hot water; the kitchen staff is simply ecstatic.”

  As if she knew we were talking about her favorite things, Rosa came bustling around a corner, happy as a lark. She scooped both Maya and me up, she attempted to anyway, but the armor stopped her. Undeterred that she couldn’t hug us the way she wanted, she continued to bounce up and down, squealing in glee. “This place is amazing! There are so many new and wondrous things to discover and explore!” She was almost as happy the day she found me…almost.

  “Wow! Slow down, Rosa, we don’t want an old lady to die from a heart attack,” Maya grinned snidely.

  Rosa slowly calmed down. “Enchanters, ancient enchanters, were here before us. The beds are still here and as soft as the day they were new. The kitchen has a set of cookware that hasn’t rusted and rotted away, and don’t even get me started on the waterfall. Almost everything here has been enchanted with something. The only things that aren’t are the walls and the keep; but then they have very strange flows in them like your father said.”

  I didn’t even have to use the link to know that she didn’t go to sleep last night, but she didn’t seem to be slowing down any, either. “Not only that, but everything here is a new enchantment for me. I have learned so much in one night; it’s exhilarating!”

  “We thought you would be impressed,” came a voice from behind me. I spun around and found both my parents standing there. Father looked me over again and smiled. “I see you’re both outfitted and ready to go. I take it you both remember where you need to go, correct?”

  Without hesitation, Maya stepped forward beaming. “Yes sir, we do; we’re heading to the dark elf capital.”

  He smiled. “Maya, please, there is no need to be so formal with me.”

  “Sorry. But I tho
ught of another question last night; what happens when the magic runs out?” she asked.

  Father frowned. “Now that’s a bit of a hard one to understand. Put plainly, no more magic, no more magic creatures.”

  This shocked all of us. “We die?”asked Nia.

  “No, you won’t die. But without magic, new generations of magical creatures will slowly shrink down to nothing. Not because it kills you, but because it makes reproduction almost impossible. The only ones who will thrive are the humans because they aren’t reliant on magic to function. I know of one world, the inhabitants call it ‘Dirt’ or something, that is a prime example of what happens when the dark wins over the light. Right away, an age of death washed over the land. When it finally ended, no magical creatures were left. The fools even hunted down and killed the wizards of their own kind, leaving no trace of magic. But life itself went on. However, once all the magic was gone, even the clueless humans realized something was missing from their lives so they sought to find meaning in their paltry existence by creating puerile religions…over 4000 of them on one planet! Most of them either mistrust or downright hate the others. The wars, petty politics, famine, corruptions of the soul and general disheartening conflict were never ending; it was an incredible mess! I took your mother there for a couple days once just to show her the place, and she was so upset afterwards, she could barely speak for weeks!”

  “That sounds awful,” we all agreed.

  He stopped and looked at our horrified expressions and forced a smile. “But don’t worry, nothing like that will happen here; that is, unless we don’t get you two on the road.”

  I looked around and noticed that Mother had slipped away somewhere during the story, but the cause of that mystery was short-lived. Panicked screams filled the morning air, followed shortly by our two stable boys sobbing as they came around a corner. Quickly spotting us, they ran over to us, dropped to their knees, and hung their heads, begging for forgiveness. “We’re sorry! We’re so sorry, we didn’t mean to!” they both stammered as tears ran down their faces.