A Little Rest

The humans, along with Hanna, apprised the elven royals of the plan. Aurora and her group were going to the far south in search of the seed. 

"I suppose my daughter, son-in-law, and nephew were dragged into going with them," Lanassa asked with one eyebrow raised. Any good humor they had earned from Colvyr's present was quickly draining away. "My sister will not be pleased that her only son has gone so far away." 

"It was their choice where to go." Renat did not like the Queen's insinuation. "Her Majesty would have been content if they had come back to you. She said as much many times before we departed."

"Princess Brinn was adamant that the elves do not shy away from a challenge. If the world needs to be saved, then an elf should be there to make sure it is done properly. Prince Alvar and Gandr, of course, could not let her go alone." Mairwen played to Lanassa's innate pride in her people.

She did not mention that Alvar and Gandr had been excited to go. Duty and honor were the chief virtues of the elves. And those virtues were more than represented with the three heroes heading south. 

"Of course, bravery runs in the family," Lanassa tucked her red hair behind her ear. "I do wish we could have blessed them with better armor before they left." 

"They already have the best--" Ithel stopped short. "It would have been good to give them fresh armor for their journey with our blessing." 

The three had their armor battered during the war with the abominations. If the humans had not repaired it well, then that would look poorly on the princess and her companions. 

"Elves are such noble creatures. I am sure they will have all the respect they deserve." The princess promised. 

"If Her Majesty is getting the Seed, why is it you have come to us now?" Ithel brought the subject back to its original purpose.

"Ah, yes," Alaron took over the explanation. Mairwen and the others in the land of magic planned to work on securing the place under the Mystic Spires and getting down the Fates from their perch. 

"Once we get the Fates to safety, we hope to hold off any creatures from trying to take up residence under where Dew Mountain once was." Alaron pointed to a map that had been brought out after the table was cleared of food.

"I don't suppose you have heard anything from the Fates." Hanna knew the answer before the words even finished leaving her lips. 

Ithel lowered his head. "We sent a scout to go and check on them after you came, but he has not returned. We assume he was the prey of one of the creatures of the wildlands." 

The scout had been eager to go at the time, but now the king wondered if his hubris had gotten the better of him. Elves usually had no trouble navigating the dangers of the forest. 

Without magic, they could not disappear whenever danger came near, nor could they hide their scent from predators. When looked at in that light, Ithel wondered if the mission had been akin to suicide before it had even begun. 

"We will see if we can find any trace of him," Mairewen assured the king. 

"We should not add that to your burdens without at least providing you some aid," Ithel appreciated the humans' kindness, but he fought against being further in their debt. "We will find a contingent to join you on your quest."

"A small contingent," Lanassa corrected her son gently. "We still need most of our warriors here to protect our own people."

"I will go," Nath spoke out of turn. The soldiers stationed along the wall were never to speak unless spoken to, and that made everyone nearly forget they were even present.

"Brother!" Lilith tried to shush him, but the damage had been done.

"Because you entered with the esteemed guests and are known by them, I will overlook this blatant breach of protocol," Lanassa snipped.

Ithel raised his hand to call the soldier forward. "That is most generous, Nath. It will ease my mind knowing that you are looking for Uri and helping the princess and Fate across the land."

"I suppose you will request to go with him as soon as you have the opportunity," the Queen Mother's lips pinched tight as she looked at Lilith.

The female soldier took a step away from the wall and bowed. "I am at Your Royal Majesties' disposal as always. I will only do what pleases the crown."

"But you would prefer to go with your brother?" Lanassa pressed. 

"I think if you are going to send only two elves to accompany the humans, I would be honored to go alongside my brother." Lilith had come to her relationship with the queen quite comfortable, but she also liked a challenge.

More than that, she missed her brother and his bickering. Some time together again would be a most welcome change. 

The Queen Mother tilted up her chin before giving a short nod. "As my personal guard, it pleases me that you would be my eyes and ears on this journey. We want a full report when you return. If that pleases the king, of course." 

"Who am I to go against my mother's reasonable wishes?" Ithel had not meant to imply that some of his mother's wishes were unreasonable, but once the words were out of his mouth, he decided they were accurate enough to let them stand. "You both may accompany the humans if they deem you worthy of coming." 

"We will be most glad of any assistance," Alaron said on behalf of the others.

The Guardian liked how quickly the sibling duo had reacted when the Abominations attacked them by the Ice Barrier. Although in the end, Dania had returned with Taran to save them from a deadly fight, the elves had acted admirably to help the humans. Alaron felt the two were trustworthy. 

"It is settled." Ithel clapped his hands once. "Nath and Lilith, please take a seat. We may need your input."

The two elves awkwardly situated themselves on a couch in the circle. It was clear they had never sat in the presence of their monarchs. Nath had only seen them in court and official functions before and never this close.

His outburst before had been for the sake of the scout, or he never would have spoken at all. The young he-elf wondered how much his sister would scold him later for his actions. For now, there was no time for regret. They needed to plan.

"The elves wish to help in any way we can. Allow us to show you the path the scout planned to take, so you can decide if you would like to take the same path or a different one." The king summoned a different soldier from the wall.

Using the map already laid out on the table, the soldier traced the path of their lost scout and pointed out the last known location of all the local dangers. While a few of them were stationary plants, most of them roamed freely, and so the advice was only of marginal use. 

The king offered supplies and anything else the humans might need on their perilous journey. If not for his bride being with child, Ithel assured them that he would have liked to go himself to help them. Of course, this comment brought a judgmental scowl to Lanassa's face, but she remained silent. 

The meeting lasted several hours and covered every manner of topic regarding how to proceed. As Alaron and Hanna were the only ones who had explored the Land of Magic, the other three took every piece of information as if it were the purest gold. 

Towards the end of the encounter, the humans were becoming exhausted. The initial thrill of having arrived had worn off. Along with the warmth of the delicious food in their bellies, they felt close to falling asleep where they sat. Even Hanna seemed ready to nod off.

Yet, Ithel seemed oblivious to the plight. In the end, Zoltan broke off the meeting with a bone-shaking cough. 

"I think I might like to lie down now," the former king muttered. "Perhaps our guests should be shown their accommodations so they may do the same."

 "When will you be leaving?" Ithel stood and the others joined him. 

"In the morning, if possible." Mairwen looked to make sure the rest of her party agreed.

"Then you must rest as much as you can while you can. I will personally oversee provisions for you." Ithel took Mairwen's hand and kissed it in the manner of the human court. 

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Mairwen curtsied in response. 

A very short while later, the princess was clad in some of the softest Elven fabric and lying on what felt like a cloud. 

Rest had never been more welcome. Tomorrow the journey would continue. But for now.

Sleep.