LITMIR.BIZ

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high respect. She only recently found out about her destiny in this world. She would rather remain unobtrusive.”

      “As Her Highness wishes.” The older man said, then bowed quickly to her before returning to the table.

      Dain took her hand and led her over to where Maddon sat. When he glanced in their direction, he stood. “Melenthia, this is Maddon Ellbert. He is the grandson of a very important military strategist from my father’s ranks. He was the one who was sent to Pembroke, by himself, to deliver message to General Thorne about Fallon and his movements. He helped protect the survivors of his city left behind after Fallon’s hordes came through. He’s an extremely brave lad, and I plan on honoring him with a squires rank when this is said and done.”

      “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Maddon. Alek mentioned you in passing. I’m very happy to finally be face to face with you. A rank of squire you certainly deserve.”

      Maddon’s face turned a bright shade of crimson, and Dain smiled covertly behind his hand.

      The boy bowed to her. “I’m honored to receive such high regard from someone such as you, Your Highness. Thank you for your words of praise.”

      She smiled at him, and he blushed again. “You’re welcome. Now go, eat and get warm. I’m sure you’re tired and hungry as well.”

      He went back to his place at the table; Dain and Melenthia left the room for a minute to talk.

      “Are we feeling a bit surly today, my love?”

      “No, I just don’t care to be treated as some high honored deity. I will be on the battlefield just as they will be, fighting the same war, fighting the same enemy. They are my equals, not my underlings. I feel they should get used to thinking that way.”

      He kissed her. “You still don’t understand the importance of your part in this world, do you?”

      “Yes, I know it. But that doesn’t mean I want to flaunt it. They should never give more honor to me than to you. You’re their king.”

      “Okay, Melenthia, as you wish.” He shook his head smiling at her. He looked her in the eye. “You’re a special woman, Melenthia, and I’m honored to have you in my life.”

      “And I’m blessed to have you in mine.”

      “Let’s gather Tomaz and Sol. Ruan will return shortly. Let’s get filled in on General Thorne’s movements, then we can retreat after dinner to my apartments. I promised Ruan we would have drinks with him tonight. He’s dying to get to know you. Your short conversation with him last night wasn’t nearly enough. Like myself, he can’t get enough of you. He’s already enamored.”

      Now it was her who blushed. “I’m not sure if I can handle two handsome rogues in one evening.”

      “He’ll try to win you over, but just remember where your heart lie.”

      “Don’t worry about that, darling. You are my one and only. Ruan will just have to find his own odd and awkward girl.” Dain laughed and went back into the hall to join them.

      CHAPTER 6

      Najwa and six of his men guided Alek and his party through the desert and across the dunes. The sun still beat down on their heads, and the glare from the sun on sand did nothing but make his eyes swim with spots. The heat was unbearable, but the Isamarian tribe, called the Badu, Alek had learned, had given them more adequate clothing for the trek. The pants and tunic they wore were light and airy; the singlets they wore underneath were made from a material Alek had never seen. It breathed, and what air was present in the dusty terrain seeped through, cooling the skin and keeping them dry. Their water bladders had been refilled, and the women had put in some kind of oil that Alek’s men were assured would keep them hydrated longer.

      Najwa told them that the trek into Salador would be a day and a half’s ride, but entering the city would be difficult. The guards on the border of the city were trained well, and weren’t cooperative with outsiders, especially when the chancellor was in residence. Najwa assured the party that he would get them inside the city walls, but it was up to them to gain entrance into the Council Headquarters.

      He also warned them that they may run into another tribe of nomads, enemies of the Badu tribe, and much more barbaric. He admitted that the stories the easterners told around their dinner table about the barbarian warriors in the west that killed for fun and ate the flesh of their enemies, had probably come about by the tribes they were on the look out for now. The Badu and this tribe, the Qismah tribe, were not related, and they had a feud that went back for centuries.

      Alek was not at all pleased by this news, hoping that all he had heard about this strange people were unfounded. Now he knew there was some truth to it after all. Najwa had just waited until now to say so. He was wary, his eyes roaming across the vast expanse of sand, looking for any signs of men on the horizons. He had cloth wrapped around his head, covering his mouth, a necessity, he was told, to keep the heat from baking his scalp and lips. The men had left their mail at the Badu encampment, being assured by Tallyn that it would be safe without it. Alek had relented, only at the constant urging of his guide. He didn’t feel at all secure in this decision but didn’t want to offend the nomadic tribe who had allowed them night’s rest and hearty food. The mail was heavy and extremely uncomfortable in the heat, and he was glad to be rid of it, but the knowledge that they could run into trouble caused the warrior sense in him to become rigid and a bit skittish.

      Winds swept through the dunes, rippling the sands into intricate patterns, and the grit that was not able to get into his mouth was collecting at the corners of his eyes. He wiped them periodically, but to no avail. The grit remained all the same. He was irritable. He had gone from raw cold to unrelenting scorching heat within a week, and his body admonished him profusely.

      He glanced over at his guide and his six men, who were scantily clad, long braided hair flowing down their backs. They sat on their mounts straight and sure and didn’t even squint a little in the glaring sunshine. He supposed living in these conditions day in and day out, one would become immune to the blazing heat and glaring sun. It was amazing to him to witness another race in their own environment and admitted that the humans on the eastern side of the kingdom could learn a thing or two from other races. How naïve and arrogant they were to see themselves as superior and talk up the oddity of others like it was truth. He sighed. He himself had misjudged them. This tribe, even as rough and uncivilized as they were, could very well have the upper hand on intelligence and survival. He wasn’t sure the enemy tribe would be so accommodating or polite, but he thanked the gods for allowing his party to run into the right group, and not the tribe that they were keeping watch for now. Yesterday could have been their last.

      They traveled on into the day with no hint of another soul anywhere in sight. He was beginning to think this trip would be uneventful, but his evaluation of that assessment was about to be proven false. They could see a dark spot appearing on the horizon. The heat from the sand made a hazy shimmer and the shape was ghostly, but as they continued on, the spot started to become more defined. On the horizon, traveling toward them at considerable speed, came a group of Isamarian nomads, riding the same jaza creatures their guides rode on. They were running toward them, and Alek started to sweat underneath his head wrap, and not from the heat. He felt exposed out here on the open desert plain, nothing to hide behind, nowhere to run. And the fact that his mail was sitting in a pile at the Badu encampment didn’t help his nerves at all. Najwa tried to convince them to leave their weapons, but Alek, even at the urging of Tallyn, refused to give in to that idea. It was bad enough that they were unprotected by mail; he would not give up his defense as well. He did not draw his sword and motioned for his men to keep still too, but he was ready for what might come.

      Najwa was not stopping. He continued forward at the same pace, not wanting to give the enemy any reason to feel threatened. In the span of about twenty minutes, Alek could see the riders clearly. They were riding on jazas just as Alek had suspected, but this group of men were more ragged and mean looking. There were twenty men in the group and they finally closed the gap, the leader pulling up to stand face to face with his rival tribesman.

      Najwa

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