~
Tamsin watched Cassie’s face as the enormity of what he had just shared sunk in. He hadn’t told her everything; she wasn’t ready for that. She wasn’t ready to know that if Trik didn’t choose her, if he didn’t choose to love her, then all would be lost. Not only was she not ready to know but she didn’t deserve that kind of burden either. Cassie would feel responsible if Trik made the wrong choice and she would blame herself. Tamsin didn’t want that for her. She was so young, so full of love and compassion.
“Trik is a King?” Cassie asked for the fifth time.
Tamsin nodded.
“And then he chose not to be a King anymore because…,” Cassie drew the word out as she waited for Tamsin to fill in the explanation.
“Our people were fighting amongst themselves. We were once all pure and good. The Forest Lords showed their favor over us, their creation, and we flourished as a whole species. Then,” he paused and looked away from her, his eyes losing focus as he remembered the long buried past, “then something inside us changed. Selfish desires began to take over and some elves grew vain and conceited. They thought themselves above the Forest Lords, and above the one who had been appointed King. It was a difficult time. We each struggled with our own darkness, however great or small. Some gave in and some fought and are still fighting. The final straw was…”
“Trik,” Cassie whispered.
Tamsin nodded. “He was tired. And instead of seeking the help of the Forest Lords, he walked away. He had the weight of a race on his shoulders, a race that was dividing itself more and more every day and it just became too much.”
Cassie sat silent. She didn’t know what to say. Who was she to judge? She’d never ruled a nation, never had the wellbeing of a race dependent on her.
“So the Forest Lords just let him walk away?” Cassie finally asked.
“There were consequences. Trik became the man he is now.”
“Wait, he wasn’t always the way he is now?”
“He wasn’t full of darkness, he wasn’t a killer. But he was always powerful and still just as sure of himself.”
“You mean to say that he was just as much of a cocky ass back then as he is now?” Elora interrupted.
A low chuckle came from Tamsin. “Yes, I suppose that is a good way to put it.”
“So he walked away from his responsibility knowing that he would become an assassin, knowing that he would be evil?” Cassie’s eyes brimmed with tears as she pictured a broken King, a broken Trik.
Tamsin didn’t answer, he didn’t have to.
Elora looked from her friend back to Tamsin.
“What does it mean?” She asked him.
“What does what mean?”
Elora rolled her eyes. “Okay we may be human and not old as dirt, but we do still have active brain cells. You can’t tell me that you figuring this all out now isn’t significant, that there isn’t some purpose in this information.”
Elora and Cassie watched Tamsin as his lips tightened into a thin line.
“I knew it,” Elora said as she shook her head. “What is it with you pointy eared leaf huggers that you can’t just spit out the truth all in one sitting?”
Tamsin let out a deep breath and in a very human gesture rubbed his forehead where wrinkles of stress were currently marring his flawless face.
“There is more, much more, but this isn’t the time.” He raised his hand when Cassie started to object. “Later, let me at least show you to the room you will be staying in.” He stood and waited for the girls to do the same. Seeing that they weren’t going to get any more information from the Light Elf King, they stood up and followed him out of the room and back into the hallway. They walked from the throne room down a long twisty corridor, brilliantly illuminated by the same crystal-like walls. After several turns they arrived before a large shimmering door. It carried the same theme of the ice sculpture and diamonds and, though it should have appeared cold and uninviting, seemed to welcome them in. There was peacefulness about the castle that neither Cassie nor Elora had ever experienced. The door opened on its own accord as they approached and they followed Tamsin inside.
“I take it that whatever it is you do, it is lucrative,” Elora mumbled as she looked around the large bedroom.
Cassie’s eyes roamed the room as she winced against the pain that still attempted to overwhelm her. There was a large four-poster bed made of rich wood on the far right wall of the room. The posts and headboard were intricately carved with scenes of the forest so lifelike that Cassie half expected them to come to life at any moment. The silver blankets that lay across the bed beckoned to her, tempting her to curl up under them and push the pain and worry away. The walls were silver and shimmered as the candle light danced across them. There was a beautiful desk made of the same wood as the bed on the opposite wall. The carvings in the wood appeared to match the ones in the bed. In the center of the room was a large white couch with pillows stacked around it, clearly made for serious lounging. There was a fireplace across from the couch and a blue flame flickered to life as Cassie stared at it. Under different circumstances she would have been impressed, but currently she just couldn’t bring herself to care.
“I will leave you to get settled. There are clothes in the wardrobe,” Tamsin pointed at a tall cabinet that stood to the right of the desk, “and you should find that they will all fit.” As he opened the door he looked back at Cassie. “Please don’t give up on him. We will figure all of this out.”
Cassie stood frozen as she watched him close the door behind him. Elora sunk down onto the large couch and laid her head back. Cassie walked over to the wardrobe and pulled out a tee shirt and shorts. Syndra must have stocked it if there were such human clothes. She pulled the dress off and her heart fell as she saw the ring Trik had given her fall to the floor. She had forgotten it. She picked it up and stared at it. She wanted to throw it out the window, she wanted to hold it close, she wanted so much at that moment. In the end, she couldn’t part with it. Call her crazy but it was the only thing she had of him. She slipped it on her finger but turned it so that the top of the ring was facing her palm so that if someone saw her hand it would look like all she wore was a plain band. She walked over to where Elora sat and collapsed next to her friend. She was so tired and she hurt all the way to the marrow of her bones. Her arms felt like lead and her brain was having a hard time processing all of the information that Tamsin had given her. She laid back and closed her eyes thinking she would just rest for a moment, and before she knew it she had slipped off into darkness.