Chapter 7: The Space Before You

The envoy wasted no time falling asleep, complete with an annoying snore. His head drooped to one side which revealed his neck full of sustenance. Melyiana thought it too but I was too numb to comment. She finally said, “If this man doesn’t stop snoring soon, I don’t know what’s going to come out of my mouth.”

“It would definitely put a premature damper on this arrangement if the guards find a bloodshow in the wagon come morning,” I whispered in between several of his snores.

“If you want that, I will help you.”

I wasn’t serious but her fealty felt whole-hearted already. I reneged the notion and said, “No, I can’t do that to my family.”

She leaned in and said, “This porky human isn’t family.”

I laughed and said, “Thank you for the clarification.”

After some time, he shifted his posture and the snoring subsided. Melyiana whispered, “What do you think, hm, no. Are you prepared for a marriage? Pretend he’s not human and you’re madly in love with your betrothed, is this something you want?”

“I don’t know. I’m still young at twenty-eight but my aging hasn’t slowed yet because I’m not a matriarch. I don’t know how much longer I should wait. I don’t know, I just don’t know,” I said with a titter. “I need some time to digest everything.”

“Understandable,” she answered and leaned her head against the pillow.

The envoy woke up sometime around dawn and smiled, “You ladies passed the test. I did not wake up in a puddle of my own blood!”

“There wouldn’t be a puddle,” Melyiana stated so matter-of-fact that it may have actually scared him.

I closed the curtains further to make sure no sunlight could sneak through and asked, “Sir, what is your name?”

“I am Minister Tolston, remember?”

“I don’t remember much from last night so if you introduced yourself, the moment is lost,” I replied.

“I understand,” he smiled. “Do you eat food? We’ll camp soon for breakfast I imagine.”

“It’s daytime and the sun burns us, remember?” Melyiana asked.

Tolston looked surprised and said, “I thought that was just an old wives’ tale.”

I interjected, “We don’t exactly eat food. We can but we have no need to. We don’t mind slightly cooked meats or animal blood, but we absolutely love wine. I’m sure you can guess our favorite course because that’s not an old wives’ tale.”

He tapped his neck and said, “I will give you a quick lesson on Avenadyn society after breakfast.”

Within the hour, the caravan paused and Minister Tolston exited to find his morning meal. As the door opened, a cacophony of conversations rushed into the coach and silenced again when it shut.

Just a minute later I said to Melyiana, “I’m going to walk around.”

“You’re what now?”

I flicked the hood, sewn to my dress, over my head and smiled as I exited.

The force numbered around forty men, higher than I thought and they all stared at me. A gathering of men sat around a fire, spit-roasting a deer and cutting off pieces of the skewered doe for their meal. Others slept on blankets placed directly on the rocky ground. A gathering of soldiers tended to the horses but paused when they saw me. Even the horses appeared to stop chewing their hay.

The nearest man stood still and put a hand on the hilt of his sword as if he expected to defend his life in the coming moments.

Then Minister Tolston broke the uncomfortable silence with, “Everyone, allow me to introduce Lady Yyrdra. Please extend your hospitality and protection as we continue towards the capital city.”

The Avenadyn men whispered amongst themselves. I had no doubts they questioned my significance and refused their loyalty in the same thought.

“Does she eat venison?” a man mumbled.

“She does not,” I responded, walked forward and said, “But I’ll try it.”

At first I mistook his puzzled expression for a frown but then he smiled before saying, “Let me cut you off a piece.”

Before I could approach the fire, a tall man stepped in my path. He tried to intimidate me with his monstrous size but I could see the faults in his armor. If I wanted to, he’d be dead before his friends could stop me. He soon stated, “My cousin was butchered by your kind. It’s a sin I won’t soon forgive.”

“I’ve lost friends and family too,” I said and continued walking.

“Let her pass,” Minister Tolston ordered.

The Avenadyn knight didn’t move but he didn’t stop me either. I reached the man that offered me venison and I took the piece from the knife.

The chef, presumably, sported a thick beard, a freckled balding head that looked out of shape for a soldier. He stated, “It’s a bit dry. No proper kitchens or root cellars out here.”

I gnawed on the gamey meat and asked, “Is there wine to wash this down with?”

“I fucking wish,” he laughed, tilting his head skywards in the process. I heard his pulse through the laughter. This was not good.

“I should return to the shade,” I smiled and turned around but bumped into a different man. I almost lost my balance and my hood nearly came off. With just a second of exposure, I didn’t burn although usually it would redden. Perplexed, I adjusted my covering and walked towards the coach to hide my cravings.

I don’t think I’ve ever been surrounded by this many humans standing so still in almost perfect silence. My thirst panged and my fangs craved a meal but I could not despoil this mission I have embarked on so soon.

I reached the wagon, struggled with the latch and finally pushed myself into the shadow.

“Are you okay?” Melyiana asked in concern and shut the door behind me.

“No,” I growled and covered my mouth as heavy breaths enveloped my knuckles.

“Did they harm you?” she questioned with squinted eyes.

“No, I wanted to harm them. I was almost tempted to bite one,” I admitted with closed eyes. I had to distract my mind with other thoughts but everything kept pulling me back to there and then.

“What’s in your hand?” she asked and poked the slice of meat.

I laughed and said, “Venison.”

“You bit it?”

I nodded and offered her a piece but she shook her head no with vigor. I placed the cut of meat on the bench and let my mind drift again. This time, I remembered the vibrations of the Kindred crystal and pondered if that fisherman lord could please me with the same ferocity. To think with relevance instead, will my husband be able to? Could he elevate me above this mortal realm with powerful hands and whatever weapon he swings?

* * * * *

We began traveling again which thankfully provided new scenery to admire. Within the hour, we passed by a quaint farming village host to more fields than buildings and more sheep than people.

“That’s Granham village. It grows grains and cabbage for this portion of the duchy. Huge fields and free laborers come and go each season to work the lands,” Toltson commented.

Next, we passed through a town called Dunderby and the men stopped to eat and feed the horses for an hour. Minister Tolston advised, “We’ll just stay in the coach for this stop.”

During the afternoon, our flock traveled through a forest and down the center of a woodland village. It reminded me of Mirewood to some extent as I admired the shade bestowed by the trees. Vast beams of sunlight pierced the canopy in several locations and that’s where they grew crops but otherwise, it strangely felt like home.

“Woodbury,” Tolston noted. “Not a very inventive name.”

“No mistaking it,” I mumbled.

As the afternoon morphed to dusk, we traveled through another large town called Sordenchester, home to a large castle complete with walls and towers. It sounded lively even in these waning hours of the day. The caravan halted for another rest and continued onwards. Truthfully, I nearly exited the coach again to stretch my legs. It had become entirely uncomfortable.

“We’re now on the last leg of the journey so allow me to brief you on Avenadyn affairs,” Minister Tolston said.

I shifted to the side that held my weight on the bench and motioned, “Go on.”

He cleared his throat and said, “Avenadyn is an old duchy originally part of the Arvenswal Empire but gained her independence. We are ruled by our Grand Duke Maleninon. He is aging and your betrothed is set to take the throne soon. You will be our duchess. This station wields power and commands respect but it won’t be easy.”

“I can’t imagine it will be,” I said.

“There are several ruling noble houses; I won’t bore you with names you have no faces to pair them with,” he smiled.

“When is the wedding?” I asked and peeked out the window pane. The town of Sordenchester sat at our flank but several exterior residences and farms still offered some light in their windows.

“I believe within the month is the target,” he answered.

I nodded and wondered if I'd even survive that long. I imagined a great number of Avenadyn people would rather see me dead instead of upon their throne.

“As is custom, you and Velador will have your separate bed chambers but where you sleep is entirely up to you,” Minister Tolston explained and folded his arms after a yawn.

“I think we’re skirting around a major detail that needs to be addressed,” I said and looked at Melyiana. She nodded her head and understood where I was going with this. “You know our diet?”

“We do and we want to try an animal blood diet because Avena…”

“That won’t work,” Melyiana interjected. “It just won’t. You’ll quickly diminish our ability to resist human blood and we will become very, hm, how would you say it?”

“Jumpy,” I said.

“Jumpy, yes,” she smiled.

Tolston looked somewhat scared but tried not to show it. He sat straight on the bench and said, “Well, we have dungeons to pull from I suppose.”

“We drink blood from bodies not skeletons,” Melyiana smirked.

Tolston didn’t have the best response prepared so he resorted to, “We’ll figure something out.”

Hope so.

* * * * *

The journey to the capital city, aptly named Avenadyn, ended after midnight sometime. The exterior farms gave way to suburban sprawls, which led to the walled section of the city home to tightly packed buildings and streets. The wheels bounced quite loudly on the cobblestone and I’d wager these weary soldiers look forward to returning home to their families.

The elevation increased and finally we parked inside a courtyard within an impressive castle. Minister Tolston exited first and said, “Alert our young lord that his betrothed has arrived.”

“He’ll surely be asleep,” a castle guard said and smiled at me. He mustn’t know my origin yet.

“Then wake him,” Tolston said.

“Minister, can I dismiss my men?” the leader of the caravan asked.

“Ten minutes, just ten more minutes,” Tolston said with hands cupped together in a pleading fashion.

“Fine, not a second more!” the soldier said and dismounted with a thud from his sabatons on stone.

“Take their bags off the back of the coach, please,” Minister Tolston asked goodheartedly.

Melyiana whispered, “I wish we had a castle like this back home.”

“Some day,” I muttered and looked around at the surrounding towers in awe. This was probably a small castle compared to some that the larger kingdoms may possess.

“Let us make our way inside,” Toltson smiled.

“He’ll be down shortly,” one of the castle squires shouted out of the main entrance to the keep.

We followed the minister inside the main foyer of the castle. It opened into a large room as any good foyer should and shields hung on the far wall above a large hearth. Stairs hugged the wall on the left and several corridors ran to the right. Additional doors remained closed throughout the room and a balcony perched directly above us.

Footsteps echoed from the stairwell and my heart started racing for reasons yet unknown. Can humans hear our hearts beat the way we hear their pulses? I’ll ask them someday.

Velador appeared in the dimly lit stairwell. Broad and fairly tall. I couldn’t make out his face yet but Melyiana whispered, “Easy on the eye wouldn’t hurt.”

I quickly laughed but that turned to complete shock. I nearly jumped out of my skin and I’m sure he did too.

We both shouted at the same exact time, “You?”