SciFi and Fantasy Stories: Return to Me: Chapter One

Pray thee, O Muse, that my story might be given wings of spirit and shadow so as to reach the ears of those willing to listen. 

            For thee I weave here a tale of love most tragic, sparked by jealousy and a bitter heart of one not so loved.  The setting is thus: Imagine a majestic town nestled in the woods, thus shall be known as Cairndale.  It is the Royal City in the country of Aldamar, ruled over by the elven King Taemar and protected by the elite cavalry brigade known as the Wingéd Riders.  The hero stands as the elf warrior Kaelimine, Captain of the Wingéd Riders.  His lady doth be the fair elf maiden Analaeia, most royal in blood, niece of the King.  And the villain, alas that there must be one, shalt be named Tyaro, a human, and advisor to the King.  Dost thou see the tragedy already?  But woe shall betide me if I should stand here any longer, and babble needlessly on about the story you shall just now hear!

~*~

            Kaelimine, Captain of the cavalry brigade, wheeled his horse around and looked out over the field.  The riders synchronized their movements perfectly, so that the horses leapt over the bars in perfect unison.  They had been practicing the somewhat lavish display all day.  Perfection was not something they took lightly.  Now the sun in the west was sinking, and the horses, as well as their riders, were no doubt weary.  The Wingéd Riders had a reputation to keep, however, and a King to protect on top of it all.  There was no room for error, and so every moment of training went to good use. 

            The Captain rode forward and held up a hand.  The Riders turned to him.

            “Your work today is truly worth merit, my friends.  Go now, your homes and a fine bed await you.”  His announcement came as a great relief to the tired Riders.  Breaking ranks, they turned aside and began riding toward the stables.  One of them rode to join Kaelimine. 

            The Rider’s name was Ti’lan.  He served as Kaelimine’s second-in-command and also as his best friend, and had been the latter of the two for many years.  The two elves clasped hands as they met. 

            “It has been a good day,” Ti’lan said confidently. 

            “Indeed,” Kaelimine agreed as he gazed off into the west, squinting to watch a particularly beautiful sunset as it dipped below the hills in the distance, casting a fine display of pink and red hues against the darkening sky.  In doing so, he caught a glance of a feminine figure sitting on the edge of the fence that surrounded the grounds.  He knew instantly who it was.  A smile spread over his angular face.  She smiled in response.

            “And it is about to become an even better day, I am sure,” Ti’lan said, noticing Kaelimine’s attention drawn to the visitor.  His friend looked back at him, throwing him a reproving glance.  Ti’lan smiled broadly.  “Very well, I shall go,” he said in mock disappointment. 

            “Yes, you shall,” Kaelimine said with a laugh as he moved away, cantering towards the fence.  Ti’lan waved to the elven maiden sitting on the fence, who waved back, and then turned to trot off to the barracks.

            Sitting upon the fence was Analaeia, the niece of the King and Kaelimine’s love.  She smiled as he approached.  Kaelimine felt his heart jump.  Analaeia was, in every sense of the word, beautiful.  Clear green eyes greeted him, framed by locks of long, shining obsidian hair that came to rest partway down her back.  Her smile lit her face, making her pale complexion seem to glow with happiness.

            “A fine speech, to be sure,” Analaeia remarked as he rode up to her. 

            Kaelimine looked at her and grinned, pulling off his riding gloves.  “Naturally,” he quipped.  She laughed and leaned forward to kiss his cheek.  “Hello.”  He accepted the light kiss and returned it by grasping her around the waist and putting his lips to hers gently.   “Does the King’s niece think it wise to be here alone approaching twilight?” he asked. 

            Analaeia rolled her eyes and looked down at him, taking his hands.  “I am quite certain no harm will befall me now, dear Kaelimine.”  He grinned, and his amazingly crystalline-blue eyes seemed to dance.  Of all Kaelimine’s features, it was his eyes that truly entranced Analaeia.  They were particularly striking, sometimes appearing opaque in the right light, sometimes seeming deeper than the sky.  He too had a mane of black hair that he tied back during training sessions, as it was considerably longer than even Analaeia’s and needed to be tamed with various braids and ties.  Even when it was twisted into a knot at the back of his head, it still fell about freely, reaching the small of his back.  When he let it free, it fell about his dark, angular face in waves.  It was a feature he personally held great pride in.  His complexion was considerably darker than his lady’s, which added to the remarkable effect his eyes gave. 

“Not when I have my hero so close at hand,” Analaeia added softly, meriting another kiss from Kaelimine.

            “Then ‘tis a good thing you have me, for certain,” Kaelimine replied.  He leaned back on his horse and took her in for a moment.  “You are dressed finely this eve,” he noted.  Indeed, Analaeia was looking particularly stunning, wearing a fine dress in a deep red hue, laced in the front with flowing sleeves of lace.  The neck dipped tantalizingly low, accentuated by the lovely jewel in the shape of a flower that lay on her neck—a gift from Kaelimine.  “Surely not for me,” he added with a grin.

            While she caught his poorly disguised connotation, she smiled and laughed coyly.  “I am sorry to disappoint you.  Nay, my uncle has requested I wear it for his banquet this evening,” she explained.

            “Then I should not want to make you late for such an important event,” he replied. 

            She rolled her eyes up to the fading sky and sighed.  “I should not care either way if I was late or not.  This is surely not something I will enjoy being at.”  She looked at Kaelimine.  “Tyaro will be there,” she added flatly.

            He did not fail to notice how her lip curled at the name.  He raised his eyebrows and could not say he disagreed.  Tyaro was her uncle’s advisor.  It was not the fact that he was a human that was loathsome to Analaeia.  Rather, it was his obvious attraction to her that pushed her away.  Not only that, but since the day he had first seen her with Kaelimine, though the two had barely met, he had drawn a deep dislike to the Captain, and made his feelings very obvious at any chance he could get.  His attempts to be close to Analaeia often frightened her.  Kaelimine did not openly harbor any deep resentment towards the man, though he knew that his attentions upon his love were not well-received. 

“I see.” 

Analaeia smiled again.  “Perhaps you and I should simply run away.  Anywhere.  Away from this life and away from Tyaro.” 

Kaelimine chuckled.  “I can imagine it would go over well,” se said. 

Analaeia shrugged off the disappointment, but smiled all the same.  “No matter.  But go, I shall wait for you,” she said, waving a hand toward the stables where his riders had all disappeared a few minutes before.  Kaelimine was hesitant to leave her alone in the growing darkness, but let the feeling pass.  It would be all right.  He squeezed her hand and turned his horse around, then trotted off toward the barracks.

~*~

In the few minutes that Kaelimine was gone, the light had all but disappeared from the sky, save for the dim shine from a quarter moon.  All the same, Analaeia saw him moving across the field towards her.  He had an extremely graceful walk to him that belied his presence anywhere he went.  He met his love at the fence and helped her down to the ground.  He hesitated before starting their walk back to the Palace, however, keeping his hands about her waist.  He was a little taller than she, and so she looked up at him, snaking her arms up around his neck.  Her nails drew gently against his skin, sending a shiver down his body.  Suppressing a light smile, he instead leaned in and kissed her deeply.  She breathed in and pulled him close. 

When he finally pulled away, she looked up at him and could only smile.  She leaned into him.  “Could I not stay with you tonight?” 

“I can not imagine it would please His Majesty,” Kaelimine said sarcastically, smiling.  Analaeia groaned against his chest but ended the sound with a laugh.  “I’ll have you all to myself come tomorrow.” 

Analaeia lifted her head off his chest and smirked, lifting a shaped eyebrow.  “I suppose I can live with that.” 

Kaelimine smiled and took her hand.  “Come.  You will be late.” 

The couple started off, hand in hand, through the streets of the city.  It was still early in the evening, but the streets were quiet.  All the better. 

The lovers had been an item for going on four years, hardly a drop in the pond considering the years that elves lived.  Their love had been limitless from the instant they had seen each other, but Kaelimine had refrained from even so much as hinting at his adoration of Analaeia for nearly a year.  Once he did, however, they became inseparable, and had been every day since.

All the same, they remained particularly private concerning their love.  Analaeia was the niece to the King of Aldamar, and the next in line to receive the crown—her uncle had produced no children of his own and thus the duty fell upon her, the eldest of the Royal children.  Having hardly reached her one hundred-fiftieth birthday, Analaeia had no intentions of becoming Queen any time soon.  The pair had kept their love affair quiet due to the immense pressure Analaeia’s father would no doubt spring upon them to be wed and assume the crown, and also to spare Kaelimine unnecessary attention when he had other things to focus on. 

Townsfolk knew that the heart of the King’s niece had been won, but it seemed few if any knew of the identity of her loving suitor.  Indeed, not even Analaeia’s family knew the identity of her mysterious love.  At the same token, few of Kaelimine’s trusted Riders knew of his adoration for Analaeia, though it was common knowledge that he did in fact have a lady of his own.  Only Ti’lan and a smattering of others knew the truth.

They passed no one on their way to the Palace. 

At one point, a devious thought crossed Kaelimine’s mind to pull Analaeia off to an alley and delay her arrival at the Palace even longer.  He shook it aside with a sly grin.  As much as he would have liked to, he was certain it was a scene that would not be kindly looked upon by any passers-by. 

Eventually, their trip came to a close and the Palace courtyard loomed ahead.  Just as it did every time he said goodbye to Analaeia (and doubly so this night, knowing that Tyaro lay behind the doors of the Palace), a twinge of remorse flickered in Kaelimine’s heart, despite the fact that he would see her again the following day.  He took her as far as the steps of the palace, so as to draw as little attention to their parting as possible—and also, to keep away from Tyaro, should he suddenly appear, as he had the tendency to do.  

“Do try not to make him very upset,” Kaelimine warned, but his eyebrow was quirked, and Analaeia knew he was only jesting with her.  “I imagine it would be quite a brawl if I were forced to come and save you.  And in the end, Tyaro would find himself very bloodied indeed.” 

Analaeia smiled and put her arms around his neck.  “I shall try, that is, if he keeps away from me.”  She paused a moment to think.  “Though, any inventive way you could seek to come and rescue me from this place would surely be welcomed.” 

He laughed quietly and nodded, curling his fingers around her waist.  “I’ll think on it.”

With seemingly perfect timing as Kaelimine leaned down to kiss her goodnight, the door at the top of the steps opened, and none other than Tyaro stepped out.  He looked at the two elves and a smirk played across his face, as if amused with himself for finding them in such a situation. 

            Kaelimine sighed quietly so that only Analaeia could hear, and did not turn his head to look at him.  Analaeia did, however, and looked at the human with eyes that could have shot lightning bolts.

            “What is it, Tyaro?”    

            The man stepped down a few steps, folding his hands into his official’s robes.  “I was just coming to have a look to see if you were coming.  It is getting dark, after all, and the streets are quite dangerous.  And just my luck, but you have been escorted here in perfect safety,” he said cheerfully. 

            “Indeed, she is quite safe with me, never you worry,” Kaelimine said, finally looking up at him.  Analaeia removed her arms from around his neck and took his hand instead, squeezing it gently. 

            “That is good to hear, Master Elf.” 

            Kaelimine bit the inside of his lip and looked back at Analaeia.  She knew Kaelimine did not openly detest the man, but he certainly was not fond of him, and definitely would not be cordial with him after ruining their parting.  All the same, she could see the anger in his light eyes.  She shook her head discreetly. 

            “Your uncle is waiting, by the way,” she heard Tyaro say.  “The meal has been postponed for you especially.” 

            “Then it can wait a short while longer, can it not?” she snapped back.  Tyaro leaned back, raising his eyebrows but looking mildly pleased with himself.  Analaeia looked up at Kaelimine.  “Call on me tomorrow,” she whispered, conveniently employing the use of the Elven tongue.  “We will get out of here for a day at least.” 

            Kaelimine nodded slowly and offered a smile.  She left him, pulling her hand away reluctantly.  She began to make her way up the steps.  Tyaro held out his hand to assist her, but she stopped and looked at him, then looked back at Kaelimine and again descended the few steps to him.  She pulled him close and kissed him hard, plainly so that Tyaro would see.  When she pulled away, Kaelimine—surprised as he was—did not fail to notice the sly grin on her face.  Then she turned away and brushed past Tyaro, disappearing through the doors.

            Tyaro glared at the elf Captain for a moment, then turned away and followed Analaeia.  Kaelimine could not help but quirk a satisfied eyebrow at him, and tried very hard to hold back a laugh.