At Last, A Song

"I am sorry," Mairwen said to break the tense silence. "I nearly got us killed with my foolishness."

"We all have our moments, Your Highness," Junayd answered.

"So many of my choices led us here," Mairwen paused, lost in the reverie of her own thoughts. When she spoke again, her voice sounded distant. "This would not have happened if I hadn't insisted on finding Dania myself. We should have listened to Mother and found a safe place to stay until the danger had passed. I did not value his life—or any of ours—like I should."

"You are too hard on yourself," Eira spoke to her mistress comfortingly. "You care about others more than yourself. It is one of the many reasons I am proud to serve you. Even knowing how hard this journey has been, I would still follow you. And I will still follow you wherever we go next."

Alaron shook his head. "I will not let you take credit for my choices. You may have invited me on this trip, but I came because I wanted to prove myself. And I plan to see this through to the end, both to find Renat and Dania."

"The princess and Empress are cut from the same cloth," Junayd said warmly. "Both take the problems of the world upon their shoulders when really they are what makes the world as wonderful as it is. Don't lose that light inside of you, Your Highness, or the rest of us will be lost. This is not your fault."

"'Blaming yourself will not change what has happened, and blind determination will only make things worse." Alaron said gently. "Trust me, I have tried both."

Mairwen inhaled deeply, letting the cool night air fill her lungs. Her skin was covered in goosebumps, but somehow the sensation calmed her. Hope was not lost, but she could also not lose her head to it. She had been swaying between determination and despair like a pendulum for days now and it needed to stop.

"Thank you. You are right," she said to those in the boat, her normal energy beginning to return. "I am not sure what I would do without you to bring me back. I am afraid I have been insufferable, haven't I?"

Alaron smiled beneath his inscrutable hood. "Considering that you have saved all our lives at least once, we cannot fault you for a little insanity of your own. Don't worry, Mair. We won't tell anyone."

"Insanity?!" Mairwen turned to her brother, resisting the temptation to lob her remaining shoe at him over the rowers.

"I don't know why you are getting upset. You asked! Take is as a compliment, sister. For a while I thought I had inherited all the crazy in the family. It looks like it was spread around at least a little." The Guardian shrugged casually, amusement clear in his voice.

"Alaron, Prince of Valiant, you are a menace!" The princess's mouth hung open. "Just when I thought you were being kind, you flip and start attacking me."

"If by attacking, you mean being honest, then yes. I thought you valued honesty?" The Guardian quirked an eyebrow.

Mairwen puffed her cheeks. "Honesty, yes. Cruelty, no. I--"

"My head is empty as the jug I drank at last night's pub!" Junayd sang the final refrain of the song. The other three fell silent as they turned and stared at the advisor. "Sorry, that song has been stuck in my head. Did I sing it out loud?" he asked innocently.

Mairwen's face softened. "I see what you are doing..." she chuckled. "You were trying to make me angry to get my mind off my troubles, weren't you, brother?"

"Guilty as charged," he admitted easily. "The best way to get rid of an emotion is to replace it with another one."

"And you chose anger as the replacement?" the princess brought her hand to her face.

"It is my specialty," the cloaked figure joked. "I have years of experience frustrating those around me. Don't tell me you haven't noticed..."

The blue-eyed woman shook her head. Her brother's love language had always been to tease her. It was something he and Brinn had in common. Perhaps that is why the two princesses had always gotten along so well. The elven princess was like an extra sister.

Mairwen turned to the advisor, "And you tried to distract me with random lyrics to a song."

"If I have learned anything both in the army and in politics, nothing beats a good distraction. The more confusing the subject, the more effective the result." Junayd nodded at his own sagely wisdom.

Looking off toward Oblivion, the dark-haired princess judged that they would not be there for quite some time. The city lights were still quite dim on the horizon. "Very well, You shall have your way, Advisor Junayd. What distraction do you wish to provide."

"A song as you know is my specialty." He chuckled at Eira's groan, which gave the charming man an idea. "Although I have no instrument, I am sure the lovely woman next to me will accompany me."

"What?" Eira lost her stride and the boat went spinning slightly to the left. "I don't sing."

"Yes you do, and it is lovely!" Junayd argued with a winsome grin.

"When have you ever...oh!" Eira lost her stroke again. She recalled her restless singing last night before she finally went to bed.

The advisor nodded. "The fireplaces in our rooms are connected at the roof. Sound carries. Please hum a merry tune to accompany me before I tell the royals what you think of when you go to sleep."

Eira blushed, but complied. Her clear tone rang through the night sky like a bell. It wasn't quite a jaunty tune, but pleasant enough for the advisor to use. "I shall try something different, I think. Your melody is very soothing." He hummed along with her for a moment, his tenor joining her alto. At last he began.

"Do not weep for me, my love

I know the distance ails you

Just think of all the times we've had

When word of comfort fails you

I leave upon a ship so soon

I'm headed to the sea

To make my fortune 'fore I die

I'll scant have time for thee

You do not have to wait, my dear

Your future is so bright

If you find another man

Who sets your soul a'light--

What's that you say? You've found him?

Well, good for you, I guess

You've left me in a quandary

My life is now a mess

You see I only joined the men

In uniforms of blue

To get out of the city

And far away from you

But now there is no need for it

You guessed my selfish whim

The joke's on me; I fear the sea,

Get seasick, and can't swim!"

"It started off so sweet and melancholy. You almost had me believe it would be a love song, and then you just had to twist it," Mairwen smiled in spite of her scolding. Eira also found it hard to be mad that Junayd had altered her sweet tune despite her best efforts.

"How did you make that up so quickly?" Alaron wanted to know.

Junayd tapped the side of his nose between strokes. "That's the key. I didn't make it up. It is my story if you must know. No one ever asks me how I ended up in the Empire's service."

"You are telling me you wanted to break up with a girl so you joined the military?" the princess raised her eyebrows incredulously.

"What can I say? I've always been a ladies' man. I mean of course there was more at play, but..."

"Look!" Alaron pointed to the shore. The boat had gone far from the side where the wolves had attacked them, and was now not close to the opposing bank of the valley. Up ahead, a light was waving at them in the darkness.

"What do we do?" Mairwen squinted.

"It could be a trap." Eira stopped rowing and turned in her seat, slowing their progress. "I doubt the wolves swam across and lit a torch, but there could still be those infernal lizards around." The soldier shivered.

"Why would they signal us? Seems counterproductive." Alaron watched as the flame continued to wave back and forth in a rhythmic pattern. Twice left and then twice right. Then again twice to the left.

Junayd was quiet for a moment. Then he dug in his oar to aim the boat toward the shore. "It isn't a trap, I don't think. We are going in."

As he was the most seasoned fighter in the group, the others decided not to argue. They held their breath, hoping the charismatic advisor knew what he was doing. As they neared, the light lowered to reveal the face of the signaler, and Junayd's face split into a wide grin.

"When you said reinforcements were coming, I did not think you would be among them!" Junayd allowed the boat to glide into shore. "How did you know we were out here?"

The other man smiled. "Are you kidding? We could hear your caterwauling on the other side of the mountain! No one can spin a yarn of a song like that except you, Junayd!"