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The Discovery
“The elves have landed,” Edric announced at the ball following Castle North’s Winter Festival, much to everyone’s surprise. Weeks earlier, ships had been spotted off the southern coast of Elnara near Seaside Castle. Speculation was that the ships were merchants from Kellmorgen, anxious to be the first to land in Elnara once the travel restriction between the two kingdoms was lifted. Lord Fafnir, former Noble Lord of Castle West, now head of the Elnaran Defense Council and Sir Camden, trusted friend of Kellmorgen’s King Aden, had made the long journey from Castle North to Seaside Castle, joining King Lifiel in an effort to determine the purpose of the elusive vessels.
Edric had given the message to Lord Dellmont, Castle North’s Chief Armsmen, for safekeeping, refusing to discuss the details of its content during the Winter Ball. The next morning Edric called a meeting in the Grand Chamber to discuss the contents of the message. He was joined by Princess Elizabeth, Lord Lark, Lord Avery, Lord Warren, King Aden, Prince Albert, Prince Percy, Princess Clara, Sir William, Lord Wolcott, Lord Braddock, and Prince Evan. They sat around a large wooden table, Lord Edric sitting at one end, Elizabeth at his side, with King Aden taking the position at the other end. Lady Ellen, Mistress of Castle North, had her staff set out platters of fresh bread, cheeses and fruit, along with several large platters of scrambled goose eggs, which was Edric’s current favorite dish, finding the Kellmorgen bird’s eggs far superior to the usual green dragon eggs.
Edric heaped the eggs onto his plate until he had no more room. He then proceeded to scoop eggs onto Elizabeth’s plate.
“I don’t want any eggs,” Elizabeth was more interested in the fresh fruit and cheeses.
“It’s okay. I’m going to eat them,” Edric informed her.
“Really,” Elizabeth picked up the plate, dumping the eggs back onto the platter. “Leave some for your guests,” she scolded.
“If you insist darling,” he smiled lovingly at her as he tried to fit a couple more scoops onto his plate.
The meal went quickly, most of the conversation centering on the previous days Winter festival and Ball. Lord Braddock had adapted amazingly well to his new situation, Elizabeth thought, going from being the commander of the Dragon Lord’s army, fighting against the Kellmorgen royal family, to being the King’s loyal subject and being married to Lady Ellis who had been the Dragon Lord! Of course, King Aden had explained how Lady Ellis had been under the magic of the Dragon Lord, a powerful force created by the evil of some ancient Kellmorgen princes bent on seizing control of the Fairy kingdom. It was believed that when Elizabeth defeated the “Dragon Lord”, Lady Ellis had been released from its power.
Elizabeth and Edric had been satisfied with King Aden’s explanation of events. It gave Lady Ellis a fresh start and brought the two sides in the centuries long Kellmorgen civil war together, both sides rejoicing over the Dragon Lord’s demise and the new era of peace which they all found themselves a part of, as well as the prosperity that being rejoined to the Fairy Kingdom of Elnara would now bring them. King Aden quickly involved Lord Braddock in Kellmorgen affairs, understanding that Lord Braddock would be key to pulling both sides together. Also, Lady Ellis’s son, Prince Evan, was King Aden’s heir until such time that King Aden had children.
Edric rose from his seat, waiting for conversation to die down. “I apologize for calling this meeting,” Edric began. “I know we all made quite merry, quite late last night, but this could not wait.” Edric held up the message that had arrived yesterday evening that had been sitting on the table in front of him. “Lord Fafnir sends word that they made contact with the mysterious ship,” Edric informed them. “He reports that there are five ships in total. They made their initial contact with the largest of the five ships. They found that the ships were carrying elves, mostly males. Lord Fafnir does not know where they came from or what their purpose is, as they cannot understand their language. He’s sent to Castle South for Kartymin, who is head of the School of Elf Studies in Village South, in hopes that he can help in communicating with these elves. He feels it would be advisable if Princess Elizabeth and myself traveled to Seaside Castle to be on hand to make decisions regarding our guests.”
When Edric finished, he looked at those present, “Any thoughts?”
“Have the elves been allowed to disembark?” Lark asked.
“He doesn’t say,” Edric answered.
“Could this be an invasion force?” Lord Braddock speculated.
“Unlikely,” Lark rebutted. “They wouldn’t have made peaceful contact if they planned on attacking.”
“I advise caution until we know more,” King Aden suggested.
“I agree,” Edric told his Kellmorgen counterpart.
“But elves are peaceful,” Lord Avery interjected.
“Our elves are peaceful,” Elizabeth entered the discussion. “We have no way of knowing if these elves are from the same land that our Elnaran elves originated.”
“Where else would they be from?” Avery wondered.
“We’d be foolish not to think that there are many other kingdoms out there besides ours,” Edric spoke indicating Elnara and Kellmorgen.
“When will you leave?” Lark asked Edric, knowing that he and Elizabeth would wish to travel as quickly as possible to Seaside Castle.
“Soon,” Edric replied.
“I’m going with you,” King Aden stood from his seat. “This could affect the security of both kingdoms or if the elves have come as refugees, perhaps some could be offered homes in Kellmorgen.”
“That’s very generous of you, but I’m sure you have enough on your plate at this point.” As much as Edric would like to have King Aden’s council, he did not wish to keep him from his Kellmorgen duties.
“Prince Evan and my brothers have things under control,” King Aden assured him.
“Alright then,” Edric conceded.
“How large of a traveling party will you need?” Lord Warren asked, thinking ahead as to who he would send with his son and the princess.
“I think it best if we traveled via the enchanted mirror to Dragon Castle and then from there south to Seaside Castle,” Edric told his father.
“That would certainly cut down the travel time,” Lord Warren agreed.
“Yes, but it cuts down the number we can take with us,” Edric replied, obviously thinking that saving time was the most important factor.
“I can do better than that,” Elizabeth announced.
“How so dearest?” Edric asked, smiling at his beloved.
Elizabeth smiled back, looking more beautiful than anyone had a right to after dancing well into the night. “I’ll use my magic to transport us from here directly to Seaside Castle,” she explained. “I’m sure I could manage bringing several.”
“Magda, Princess Clara, and myself,” Lord Avery suddenly spoke, standing up in front of his chair, all eyes turning in his direction.
“Magda should come,” Elizabeth turned to Edric. “Her knowledge of the old elf language could prove quite valuable.”
“I agree,” Edric announced to those present. “But why you and Princess Clara?” Edric now asked Lord Avery.
Lord Avery stood, trying to think of a good reason before finally shrugging his shoulders. “I want to bring Princess Clara to Castle West and it would be a shorter trip from Seaside Castle.”
Edric opened his mouth to admonish Elnara’s second lord, but closed it, changing his mind. “You can come with us,” Edric told Lord Avery. “But, you will stay at Seaside Castle until a course of action is determined.”
“Agreed,” Avery smiled, retaking his seat and then quickly standing again adding, “I promised Maymar that he could come with us.”
“Anyone else?” Edric asked, putting his hands on his hips, looking a bit put out.
“No,” Avery shook his head thoughtfully. “That’s everyone.”
“That makes seven,” Edric tallied the traveling party.
“Eight,” Lark now stood.
“Eight?” Edric was certain that he had counted correctly.
“Shaylee won’t let the princess go without her,” Lark told him.
“You’re right,” Edric agreed, knowing his sister well enough to know that Lark was correct in thinking that Shaylee would insist on accompanying them.
“What about yourself?” Elizabeth asked Lark. He and Lady Shaylee were newly wed and Elizabeth imagined her half-brother Lark would not wish to be parted from his wife.
“I don’t want to over burden you,” Lark told her sincerely.
“It will be no burden,” Elizabeth reassured him.
“Shouldn’t I remain behind to handle things in you and Lord Edric’s absence?” Lark now inquired.
“My father,” Edric indicated Lord Warren, “can handle things.” Edric then waited to see if Lark had any further concerns that would prevent his accompanying them. He did not. “Then it’s settled,” Edric announced. “The nine of us will travel to Seaside Castle first thing tomorrow morning.”
The meeting broke up with Prince Evan, Prince Albert, Prince Percy, Lord Wolcott, and Lord Braddock following King Aden to his chambers to meet further. Lord Avery and Princess Clara hurried off to ride into the village to inform Maymar that he would be joining them tomorrow. Lord Warren left to find Lord Dellmont, Castle North’s Chief Armsmen, to update him on the situation. This left Lark alone with Edric and Elizabeth.
“Thank-you,” Lark told his sister.
Elizabeth gave him a quick hug. “I couldn’t separate you and Shaylee,” she told him.
“Translated that means no one would want to be around my sister if we left you behind,” Edric smiled until Elizabeth elbowed him in the side.
Lark laughed. “It’s okay,” he reassured Elizabeth. “I have no illusions about my wife’s temperament.”
***
“How long will we be gone?” Shaylee asked Elizabeth, she and Magda meeting with Elizabeth in the princess’s chambers.
“I’m not sure,” Elizabeth admitted.
“Then what would you suggest I pack?” Shaylee asked, her tone suggesting her displeasure with the vagueness of their trip.
“Just pack a few practical things,” Elizabeth suggested.
“You know Lord Kalen will wish to have a formal banquet with you, Edric and King Aden visiting,” Shaylee reminded her.
“No one is going to question my attire,” Elizabeth told her, not wishing to discuss it further.
“Who else is going?” Shaylee asked.
“Lord Avery, Princess Clara, Maymar,…”
“MAYMAR!” Shaylee interrupted.
“Long story,” Elizabeth told her and then continued, “and my brother.”
“Lark?” Shaylee asked, surprised, but pleased.
“Of course,” Elizabeth put her hand on Shaylee’s arm, “I wouldn’t dream of separating the two of you.”
“Thank-you,” Shaylee threw her arms around Elizabeth.
“I can’t believe that a ship of elves from some long forgotten land is actually here in Elnara,” Magda now spoke.
“It’s actually five ships,” Elizabeth corrected.
“This could answer so many questions,” Magda told them, excited by the prospect of meeting these visitors. “We could fully recover the elf language,” she speculated. “We could find out why the two groups of elves traveled here in the first place.”
“If these elves are from the same land,” Elizabeth interjected.
“They must be!” Magda hoped that they were. The prospect of having all her questions regarding elf history answered was more than she had ever hoped for. “Thank-you so much for including me,” Magda told Elizabeth.
“I’m glad you’re so excited,” Shaylee told the elf. “You’ll have double the duty. Helping with the visitors and minding the princess’s personal care.”
“I don’t mind,” Magda smiled at Shaylee. Magda was no stranger to hard work and her current duties were definitely a labor of love.
“The two of you best be off to make ready,” Elizabeth politely dismissed them. “I’m riding into the village with Edric.”
“Let me fetch your warm cloak,” Shaylee told her. “It’s pretty cold out.”
“That reminds me. It will be quite a bit warmer at Seaside Castle, so don’t pack anything too heavy,” Elizabeth instructed Shaylee.
“Nothing too heavy,” Shaylee repeated as she left the chambers to get Elizabeth’s cape.
***
“So what’s Seaside Castle like?” Edric asked Elizabeth as the pair rode side by side on the snow packed road to Village North. Edric rode Apples, a reddish unicorn with a unique red/cream twist colored horn. Apples was also unique in the fact that he was a wild unicorn, previously wandering the vast northern wilderness. Edric had found him in Castle North’s apple orchard and had trained the unicorn himself. Edric’s shaggy, wild mount was a stark contrast to Elizabeth’s unicorn Remi, a sleek black animal with a silver horn. Remi had been bred and trained at Meadowland Castle, a birthday present from her half-brother Lark.
“The castle itself sits on a hilltop overlooking the sea,” Elizabeth told him. “I’d say it’s about the size of Lakeland Castle. It has two tall towers that are vantage points for spotting ships. Lark took me up one of the towers when I was six on my first visit south.” Elizabeth smiled at the memory. “On a clear day the view is endless.”
Edric smiled back at her, thinking how adorable she must have been as a child.
“There are stairs built into the hillside leading down from the castle to the beach,” Elizabeth continued her description.
“Did you ever swim in the sea?”
“Yes, Lark taught me to swim in the sea on that very same visit,” Elizabeth informed him.
“What about the village?” Edric now asked as he reined in Apples. The pair of unicorns had begun quickening their pace to the point where Edric knew that they would soon begin to race.
Elizabeth followed his example, pulling back on her reins to slow Remi’s progress. “The village sits below the hill between it and the Green River just back of the high tide mark,” she told him.
“How’s the food?” he shot her a mischievous grin.
She shook her head at him. “There’s a variety of fish of course, but their proximity to Castle South and Meadowland Castle gives them the opportunity to trade for the finest vegetables and cheeses in the kingdom.”
“So the food’s good?” he said, looking to confirm.
Elizabeth laughed, “It’s very good!”
Edric was going to query her next about Seaside Castle’s beverages, but realized that they had already reached the edge of the village. As they made their way into the unusually quiet streets, the pair spotted several elves hurrying in the direction of the northern road that leads up toward the mines. Elizabeth gave Edric a questioning look, but he only shrugged his shoulders, not knowing any more than she. When they reached the village square they spotted Vondar and Ashla heading in the same direction as the other villagers they had seen.
“Vondar!” Edric shouted to the dressmaker. Upon hearing his name, Vondar stopped, him and Ashla now seeing the royals approaching on their unicorns.
“Your Majesties,” the elf pair gave a respectful bow.
“What’s going on?” Edric queried.
“Apparently the miners found something extraordinary in a cave and are bringing it back to the village,” Vondar explained excitedly. “Everyone is heading up to the northern road to meet them and see what it is.”
“Well you best hurry along then,” Edric could tell that the elf pair was anxious to be on their way, not wanting to miss out on catching a first glimpse at whatever the miners had found. “The princess and I will be along shortly.”
Alone again, Edric turned to Elizabeth, “I wonder what it is?”
“Do you think they found something down that passageway?” Elizabeth wondered.
Dagmar and his crew, while working in a cavern complex in the mountains, had discovered that a tunnel they thought had been blocked by a cave-in had actually been purposefully blocked. After clearing away the debris, they had discovered a tunnel with lanterns already hung along the walls. It was a mystery as to why the passage had been blocked and why if the passage had been explored, did it not appear on any of the mining records or maps which dated back hundreds of years. Edric had urged his Chief of the Mines, Dagmar, to proceed with the greatest of caution.
“Vondar said they found something in a cave,” Edric reminded Elizabeth.
“Shall we go see?” Elizabeth smiled, certain that Edric would be curious to find out what “it” was.
“We should see Kathar first,” Edric decided, the pair steering their unicorns in the direction of the Village Elder’s shop.
***
Edric grabbed Elizabeth’s waist, helping her down from Remi’s back. He held on to both sets of reins while opening the shop door and yelling, “Hello, Kathar!”
After a moment the elf appeared from the back of the shop. “Come in,” the elf urged.
“I’m afraid the princess and I are holding onto our mounts and I suspect that you’d rather they stay outside,” Edric told him.
“Lord Edric, Princess Elizabeth,” Kathar now realizing who his guests were hurried to the doorway. “Shall I fetch someone from the stable to attend to your mounts?” Kathar asked.
We need to speak with you,” Edric indicated himself and Elizabeth. “But right now I’d like to go see what the miners are bringing down.”
Kathar smiled, “Me too. I was just checking on Myrad before I headed up to the northern road myself.” Myrad, Kathar’s wife, was pregnant with the couple’s first child.
“Princess Elizabeth and I can double up on Apples if you’d like to ride up with us,” Edric offered.
“Thank-you,” Kathar told his future king. “Let me tell Myrad and grab my cloak.”
***
When the three reached the northern road, it appeared that at least half of Village North was already there waiting, along with Lord Avery and Princess Clara.
“AVERY!” Edric shouted, waving his arm above his head to attract his friend’s attention.
Lord Avery had not heard Edric but Princess Clara had, directing Avery’s attention to the trio now approaching. After the three dismounted, Edric tied the unicorns to nearby trees as Avery had done with his and Princess Clara’s unicorns. “Any idea what they’ve found?” Edric asked Avery as they all stood together looking up the road.
“None,” Avery admitted as he and Princess Clara gave Edric and Elizabeth a quick bow. As a member of the Kellmorgen royal family, Princess Clara was not required to bow to either Edric or Elizabeth, but she felt it was the least that every Kellmorg should do after Princess Elizabeth had ended their centuries of war with the Dragon Lord and rejoined Kellmorgen with Elnara.
“You want to ride ahead and get a look?” Avery suggested.
“Not necessary,” Edric told him, pointing his finger up the road where a sled being pulled by a pair of draft unicorns had become visible.
Avery diverted his attention up the road, everyone waiting becoming noisy with excitement as they too spotted the sled. “Do you see Maymar?” Avery asked as he strained to make out the many figures accompanying the sled as it made its way slowly through the snow.
“Hard to tell,” Edric was trying to make out what was in the sled more than who was with it.
Avery could wait no longer. “I’m going to help,” he told Princess Clara. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and started hurrying up the snow covered road.
Edric turned to Elizabeth lifting one quizzical eyebrow. Elizabeth laughed, knowing exactly what he wanted. “Go ahead,” she leaned forward and kissed his lips.
Edric wasted no time in catching up to Lord Avery, Elizabeth and Clara watching as the pair began to race through the snow to see who could reach the sled first. Fairly evenly matched, the two quickly closed in on the slow moving sled, but just as they both made their last surge to finish, a brawny elf tackled Lord Avery into the deeper snow just off the road.
“MAYMAR!” Avery brushed snow from his face. “I was about to win!” he told his friend as Maymar extended a hand to help Avery up.
“You’re not supposed to beat your future king,” Maymar admonished Avery as he turned and bowed to Edric.
Edric laughed at the snow covered Avery, but his laughter was cut short a he received a snowball in the face. Now it was Avery’s turn to laugh. “Can I throw a snowball at the future king?” he asked as he scooped up snow to form into another projectile. Edric quickly scooped up snow and the pair now started pelting each other with snowballs.
“Did the two of you come to play in the snow or did you come to see what we found?” a familiar voice yelled. Edric and Avery stopped their battle and walked over to the sled where Dagmar sat in the driver’s seat, the sled being a wagon that had been outfitted with runners in place of wheels for the winter season.
“Sorry Dag,” Edric sounded like a scolded child. Edric had spent much of his childhood up at the mines with Dagmar, Castle North’s Chief of the Mines, being a second father to him. Of course, Dagmar now looked more like an elder brother ever since Elizabeth had “turned back time” for him when she healed him after his encounter with the Dragon Lord. “We want to see what you found,” Edric now gave Dagmar and the sled his undivided attention.
Dagmar jumped down and walked to the rear of the sled where his other two sons, Lomar and Domar stood. Whatever was in the sled was covered with a tarp and tied down. Dagmar signaled his sons to untie the ropes. “You were right,” Dagmar told Edric.
“Right about what?” Edric asked
Dagmar gave Edric a serious look and then pulled aside the tarp. Edric and Avery moved closer to get a better look and then stared at each other in amazement.