A Hiccup

Hastily, Soldiers on the ground surrounded the hole forming in the courtyard beside the forlorn gate. The ground roiled in anticipation of something yet to be seen.

As stones swirled and parted, an overanxious soldier lifted his sword to strike as soon as the creature reared its ugly head.

He had heard stories of the mole that used to live this far north. Or perhaps this was a new attack by the abominations? Either way, this soldier was not about to let them invade his city without a fight. He had already begun his downward swing when a counter order was issued.

"Hold off! Don't attack!" Devrim screamed at the top of his lungs. The Emperor had already begun to run to the source of the commotion, but he knew he would never get there in time.

Recognizing his sovereign's voice, the soldier slowed and turned his body enough to miss the halfling as he exited his tunnel.

Seeing the sword flash in the sunlight, Gandr lifted a protective wall of earth around himself.

"I come in peace!" the halfling called.

At the same time, Junayd bounded on all fours from the bottom of the stairs to tackle the offending guard. Although the white wolf was careful not to scratch the soldier, they still fell into the magical barrier with tremendous force and crumpled in a heap.

With fear in their eyes, the soldiers surrounded Junayd with weapons drawn, afraid that he had gone feral at last. But the advisor stood up and brushed off his fur. "At ease, men. I am fine. I was just stopping him from hurting an ally."

"I wish to speak to the Emperor," Gandr's voice echoed in his gnome-made chamber.

"His Majesty is coming." Junayd gave the soldiers around him a fierce glare because their swords were still raised. Then, realizing this would only make them more on edge, he relaxed and helped up the man he had tackled.

"Junayd? Is that you? You sound funny." A small peep hole appeared in the dirt.

"It's probably all that mud in your ears from tunneling…" The advisor shrugged his hairy shoulders.

The eyeball peeking through opened wide. "You're a wolf!"

"Or it could be that," Junayd shrugged. "Shall I sing a merry jig to prove my identity?"

"That won't be necessary." Devrim pushed his way through the growing crowd. Even running full out, he was still far off as his voice rang over the assembly. "All of you lower your weapons and back away. That is Gandr, agent of Her Majesty and member of the royal house of the elves!"

Coming to their senses, the men of Oblivion parted to let the ruler through to the front of the group. Winded, he approached the earthen barrier to speak to the returning halfling.

"I am most glad to see you. I was beginning to get worried. I thought you would be back yesterday at the latest." Devrim was not being judgmental. His concern was genuine. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes. Everyone made it safely to the place where Her Highness indicated. It was a rather smooth journey, all things considered." Gandr let the dirt around his face and head fall back to the earth. The rest of the magical structure stayed intact.

"Why do I feel like there is a 'but' coming?" Devrim noticed Gandr's discomfort.

"No but exactly. However, I did hit a hiccup…"

"However and 'but' are the same in this case," Junayd pointed out, smiling with his sharp, glistening teeth.

Gandr winced. "Human-speak is not my first language…" the halfling claimed ignorance. "Anyway, there is something I need to discuss with you, Your Majesty, but I am not sure that this is the best place."

"Perhaps we should talk in private." The Emperor motioned down the long lane toward Ashleigh's manor.

"I will see you there." Gandr disappeared into the ground accompanied by a high-pitched sound that Devrim couldn't quite place.

Rather than guess at the mystery, the Emperor summoned a horse and motioned for Junayd to follow.

"If anything happens, find me right away," he ordered the sentry.

The two males hurried to the manor quickly in case another misunderstanding occurred when Gandr reached the palatial house. Fortunately the Duchess was waiting for them to allay their fears when they arrived.

She curtsied as the Emperor dismounted. "I happened to be passing from the infirmary to check on our food store when I spotted your elf friend popping up like a daisy. A few of the soldiers recognized him or we would have quite a problem. Things are very tense, you know."

"I am very aware. How is our food situation?" Devrim was momentarily distracted from his initial goal. Ashleigh's face at his question did not inspire confidence.

"We still have a store, but it is not lasting nearly as long as it should. We should have been able to hold out for weeks, maybe longer. But to keep those who have been turning both well-fed and content…well it is taking a large toll."

"How large?" Devrim braced himself. Yet, the duchess's words still caught him off guard.

"A couple of days. Maybe four if we ration better." The duchess tried to sound more positive than she felt.

"Or less if more of us transform in the next attack…" Junayd realized his thought was spoken aloud. "Sorry."

"No, you are right. And we cannot dismiss that possibility. I don't know when outside help will arrive, but when it does it is likely to be an extra strain on our resources. We need to be ready." Devrim rubbed his head. It was a challenge being in charge, especially without someone to share the burden.

All the responsibility for those around him was left squarely on the Emperor's shoulders. He inhaled deeply.

"Have someone tally an exact count of how much food we have and how long it should last with our current army. I need to know precisely where we stand."

Ashleigh nodded and signaled her steward, who was standing nearby. "I will see that it is taken care of," she assured the Emperor. "If it pleases you, I shall join you shortly. I sent Gandr to my sitting room. You can meet with them there."

Devrim dipped his head to his wife's cousin and headed inside. He wanted to hear about the citizens of Oblivion and this mysterious hiccup that the halfling had mentioned. Hopefully it was just a small problem and nothing more.

But when was that ever true in his life? Devrim chuckled darkly.

"Is something funny, Your Majesty?" Junayd asked with his eyebrows raised.

The Emperor shrugged. "We shall see…"

In the Duchess's sitting room, the privacy screens blocked off the majority of the space, giving them a very intimate area where Gandr awaited them. He had been given fresh clothes and refreshments to help him recover from his journey. The halfling stood as soon as the men entered, and he bowed.

"Your Majesty."

The white wolf looked around at the small feast spread out on the table. It had been nearly half eaten. "Comfortable?" Junayd scoffed.

Gandr gave a lopsided grin. "You took your sweet time coming. I took the liberty of having some without you."

"Not everyone can travel underground at breakneck speed.... Did you really feel the need to drink two glasses of juice?" The advisor motioned to the cups on the small table. "We are rationing, you know."

The halflings eyes darted away. "My apologies. I shall slip out and replace what I have consumed after nightfall."

Junayd opened his mouth to spout more pithy banter when Devrim raised his hand.

"There will be time for that later. First tell me about my daughter and then the citizens you escorted. Is everyone alright?"

Devrim slipped into a chair, and Gandr returned to his seat. Junayd stayed standing, agitated by something he could not quite name.

"As I said, it was a smooth journey. When I last saw Her Highness, the Guardian, Prince Renat and Eira, they were safe and sound and heading steadily toward the ice barrier. It is a long journey there, but I think they should be able to make it without issue." The halfling waited for Devrim's acknowledgement.

The grey-eyed man looked visibly younger when given the news. He was only thirty, but some days the weight of the world made him look twice that. Just this moment, he looked like the handsome young man that he was. "Thank you," he said simply. "And the others."

"We made good time! That Kiz fellow was just as helpful and welcoming as Princess Mairwen said. Of course, I had to stay and help make up camp. I had to make sure that all the women and children were fed before I left. Can't let anyone starve, you know. Then I had to give instructions on what to do next...all of that took time and delayed my departure." Gandr trailed off.

"I am glad you took good care of my people. But why did you say you 'had to' do those things? You were in charge, were you not?" Something about the way in which the halfling was speaking was weird. Why did he make his actions sound so passive?

Embarrassed, Gandr looked down at his hands. "I should have been in charge, yes. But when we arrived, I gave over control of the planning to someone else."

"Why in the world would you do that?" Devrim's eyes grew wide.

Junayd, on the other hand, was sniffing experimentally at the air. He peeked behind one of the privacy screens. "Your Majesty?" There was a small bit of urgency in his voice.

Before he could finish his statement, Gandr broke in, "You know that little hiccup I mentioned? She can be very persuasive..."

Junayd pushed back the screen to reveal a woman with mood ring eyes.

Gandr cleared his throat. "Your Majesty. May I present Eliana?"