CH 7: TRUTH ABOUT DRAVE

When Kestra woke, she did not know where she was. It was dark and dry. Her head ached as she tried to recall what had happened. All she remembered was that men who served Drave brought her here. Everything her parents told her was all true.

As her eyes adjusted, she took in her surroundings carefully. Stone walls surrounding two of the four walls. She felt the rough blankets under her. Her cot was in the far-left corner. In the next cell to the right, she saw Sylvaria, trying to break the bars of her own. Passed Sylvaria and up a few steps, Kestra saw a small armory. She could see her sword hanging up like a trophy that had been won.

"It looks like our princess is finally awake." Spoke a deep voice. Kestra couldn't tell where it came, yet shivered none the less.

"How did you know where I ran off to?" She spits the words out before she could bite her tongue. Standing with both fear and anger, she went up and grabbed the bars.

"Oh, I know everything about you, Princess. Including a certain mark you were born with."

Kestra fought against the urge to grip her shoulder. How did he have the slightest clue about that? She watched as he appeared before her. The dark brown hair, tan skin, that smile that made her cringe. Even the magic itself, she knew. She whispered the name with venom. "Drave."

"It's a pleasure to see you, my young princess." Drave replies, giving a half-bow mockingly.

The insult didn't escape her notice. She would get out of here and kill him. She glanced again towards her friend. The dragon almost seemed relieved to see him. What was going on? Clearing her mind, she turned back towards her captor. "What have you done to Sylvaria?" Her voice shook with every emotion she felt.

"I cursed that cell just for her. She cannot escape it, no matter how hard she tries. That's not the point of this visit." Drave says calmly.

"Then what is the point? Why do you even bother keeping us down here?" Kestra hated the way he avoided her question, stating the obvious instead. She hoped he would shed even the smallest amount of light.

Drave just smiled at her. "Why should I tell you? It would ruin the surprise I have in store."

"You want revenge on my parents? That has to be what the argument was about." Kestra responded stubbornly.

"Yes. I should have known that you would have figured that out after you saw me stomping away that day. Allow me to explain that. There is one crucial thing that your parents haven't told you about me." Drave watched as she tried to figure out what he was talking about. For all she knew, everything he said was a lie. He would show her.

Kestra responded after a few seconds of silence. "Yeah, and what mighty secret would that be? They would keep nothing from me." 

"No secrets, you say. Princess, they have sheltered you more than you even realize. Let me enlighten you now. I am not an elf." He lifted a finger to her lips as she formed the words to argue. "I am a Morvaie."

Kestra felt the finger leave her lips and couldn't utter a word. Fear raced through her body. Her mind processed almost too quickly for her. The Captain was a Morvaie? Their violence and impatience were two prominent qualities. And Drave didn't fit that bill.

Drave watched as she continued to open and close her mouth a few times. "Have you lost your sharp tongue already?" He asks, raising an eyebrow.

Kestra found her voice quickly after that remark. "You can't be a Morvaie. You can't expect me to believe that you fought against your own brothers for the sake of the Elves. Besides that, you look like an elf. Uncommon, but an Elf regardless. If you expect me to believe such blatant lies, you might as well say you are keeping me here for my own good!" She threw in the strength that she wasn't feeling at all.

"Princess, harsh words. It may be true that I impersonate an elf, but I expected you to know an illusion spell, complex or not. It's one your father taught me himself." After speaking, he allowed the façade to drop.

Kestra watched in transfixed fear as it fell away. The man before her was not anyone she had before seen. He still held his brown hair, but his eyes were no longer dark, but maroon. His skin darkened, the tan skin fading away. She jumped back, impressing herself by holding in a scream. 

"What's the matter, Princess? Scared?" Drave spoke, insultingly. He watched Kestra take a few steps closer as he continued. "You see, my parents abandoned me when I was only a few weeks old. Stories go I was nothing more than a burden. However, they couldn't seem to finish me themselves. So, they placed me in Melderan, hoping the elves would do the dirty work. After one of the many battles, the Royal Army heard my cries. I was malnourished and dehydrated even though it had only been a few days. They brought me back, unable to harm a defenseless baby.

"As I grew, your father claimed to see something inside me. Potential. At first, he taught me until I was old enough to be admitted into Knight training. Showing me an interesting illusion, he allowed me to join. "

"What does that have to do with the war against the Morvaies, and the revenge on my parents?" Kestra spat out. She wanted answers, not elaborate stories.

"Patience was never your strong suit, was it?" He reached out, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. He noticed she jerked back at the contact, but continued as if nothing had happened. "You will want to listen though, Princess. It has everything to do with the war. Yes, I fought against the Morvaies. After that wretched battle was over, something inside me snapped. Morvaies aren't the real enemy. I knew then I was meant to be king. What better way to make your kind grovel before our very feet? I had to move carefully, of course. A little at a time. When your father refused my request for more land, I was upset. As furious as I was, I started forming a new plan." Drave answers. He silently braced himself for the onslaught of words she was going to throw. His exact story was a concocted lie. Not that it mattered. Her words brought him back to his senses.

"Let me guess, revenge." Kestra replies with a roll of her eyes. She was becoming calm once again. Her breathing slowed, but the fear still shone in her eyes. Her hands were gripping harder on bars, turning her knuckles white.

"Yes." Drave, surprise clear in his voice. He was astounded that she was so calm. "I'm quite amazed that you got past that group I sent. They were in the perfect position to capture you while you were in the forest."

"You're the Dark One? So, you sent them. That is what the captain said." Kestra shouts.

Sylvaria struggled once again. The simple mention of that name sent her into a protective mode. Her cell wouldn't bend.

"Ah, yes, I forgot about your dragon. What's her name … Sylvaria, if memory serves correctly?" He enjoyed the fear that Kestra had in her eyes. "Don't worry your pretty little head. I will do nothing to your dragon unless necessary. Besides, even if she broke down the cell door, she wouldn't get far.

"Sorry I have to leave after such a brief conversation, Princess. I have a meeting I must attend to. Afterward, I need to talk to my messenger, see if your parents got my letter. They want to know where you are, after all." He turned and walked away, laughing.

"You won't get away with this Drave, do you hear me?" Kestra shouts in the darkness.

"Oh, Kestra, I think I will." Drave's voice was soft, yet Kestra heard it ringing in her ears.

 ***

­­Drave went just outside The Abandoned Caverns and waited for his messenger that he sent two weeks earlier.

"My Lord, I have returned." Drave made a slight jump. Lost in his own thoughts, he failed to notice Elerate's approach.

"Did I startle you, my liege?" asks Elerate as he came to the rockslide, which serves as one entrance to the lair. About half a mile off to the North, there was a torrent waterfall from The Abandoned Caverns River that goes into the Cathealth Ocean, which made this place perfect for his command post, knowing that no one would dare come up here.

"Of course not, Elerate. I presume you had delivered the message?" Drave asks.

"Yes, I believe they will make a deal with you. They would hate having anything happen to their precious daughter." Elerate says happily.

"Did you tell them what I was going to do with her?" Drave watched Elerate closely.

Elerate waited a moment before he replied. "No, I thought you might like to have that honor yourself when they visit here in a few days."

"THEY ARE COMING HERE NOW?!" Drave roars with rage. He didn't expect the King and queen to come so soon. This could ruin his plan.

 "Y-Y-Yes, I-I-I thought that is what you wanted." Elerate stammers.

"Where did you tell them to meet me?" Drave asks as he was calming down and taking in the sudden news.

"Just about where we are standing." Elerate replies.

Drave breathed a sigh of relief. Elerate can share just about anything with anybody without thinking twice. Sometimes he wondered why he hired Elerate.

"When were they going to leave, or did they say?" Drave inquired. He needed to know how long he had.

"They said to tell you they would leave two days after I did."

"How long ago was this?" Drave anxiously remarked.

"Just over a week ago." Elerate stated.

"So that means that they will be here in about a week, maybe a little later." Drave murmured. He turned away, going back inside. A few minutes later, he returned, holding a piece of paper.

"Elerate, I want you to keep watch with Gallix. Let me know when they are approaching, so I can get everything ready for the transaction to take place." Drave continues, handing the paper to Elerate. "That paper that I just handed you contain information that no one is to seize. Once the King approaches, you are to give him this paper directly, you and you alone. It contains the two options that I have with the Princess." 

"Is that all that's on the paper, my liege?" Elerate asks, slowly reaching for the paper.

"No, Elerate. Other information there as well. Things that the King is the only one to know." Drave stopped for a moment as Elerate took the paper. "If anyone seizes that paper, you will not live to see another sunrise. We can't have others reading this and creating more of a problem than we already have. If the Royal Guard is coming with Keldo and Celia and receives this information, I will not have to kill you myself. They will do it for me."

"Yes, sir, I'll leave right away." Elerate responded as he started to depart.

"Good. And Elerate," Drave stated, "if you told anybody anything about this place, for example how to get in, I would see that the Dark One will kill you." Elerate knew what came out of Drave's mouth was nothing but the truth for threats. 

"Yes, my Lord." Elerate replies in a whisper.

Drave waited until Elerate left before turning back to the task at hand. Which of the two options would he choose, should he ransom the Princess, or marry her? He should have had this entirely planned out. If the King and queen agreed to one of his plans, he would let the Princess go. If they didn't, then the Dark One would have his way with her.

It was straightforward. Why was he having second thoughts? True, he had seen no one so beautiful handle a sword like her, or use magic quite like her. That's no excuse, not even for him. The Dark One was in charge of her fate, anyway.

"What is happening to me?" Drave whispered once Elerate left. "Something is changing in me. Something that feels familiar." Drave shook his head and headed back in. Once reaching the passageway, he heard a gentle, yet fearful voice.

'Alen, you must remember who you are. She will not survive without you.'

 As he heard those words, he gripped his head in pain. Flashes of his life, his real life, played in his mind's eye. The special training, learning about the prophecy, his duty. Last of all, his own screams during his capture, refusing to be the Dark One's pawn. The threat he heard, and the promise he made. It stopped as quickly as it started, and Drave realized what it was.

"Guardians! What have I done?" Drave whispers, terrified. Someone tampered with his memories. He had suspected this before as he had glimpses, but now he knew the truth. The Dark One and his generals had tried to wipe them entirely and failed. The Guardians had been showing him bits and pieces of who he really was. He was the Protector, and no one could do what he needed to. "I only hope I have time to fix this."