Children of the Sun and Moon (18 page)

“Do you think
he suspects?” she asked the squirrel seated on a rock.

“No, but he is
curious about you,” the squirrel replied. “Let's go back to your
room,” it continued. “It's easier to talk there.”

Adora scooped
up the animal and headed towards her room. As she passed by the
goblin group, Eric again stared at her. As unnerving as her stares
were to him, the obvious disdain he felt towards her, pained her.
She pushed the thought from her mind and rushed to her room.

When they
arrived, Mekken was standing outside. He was about to say
something, but Adora just rushed by and slammed her door. “Why must
he look at me like that?” she asked the squirrel again.

“Everyone
suspects you may be working for Malena or worse, the Order. You did
come upon them quite suddenly. You should have stayed on the road
and let them catch you.”

The squirrel
then jumped up onto her bed, transforming back into the wizard he
was. “Well, that's much better,” stated Gillock.

Adora smiled.
“If only I did not have to remain in disguise,” she remarked.

Gillock
motioned her to sit down beside him. “Your children need to learn
things on their own, Elizanne. You can't interfere, no matter what
the danger.”

Elizanne looked
into Gillock’s eyes, and knew he spoke the truth. “I am only going
to go with them until Keenley. I can get them through there better
than anyone in the group. After that, they will be your
responsibility.”

Her tone made
the last statement stick in Gillock’s mind. She was now placing her
children's safety on his head. “Don't worry, my queen. They will be
fine. The Order has no idea where they are, and the spell I put
around Robyn will make it hard for him to keep in contact with
Malena. I'm also going to speak with Glavlin tonight. He should
have been made aware of our presence from the start.”

“I agree,” said
the queen, “but be careful. There is something not right with this
group.”

Gillock nodded
his agreement. “I sense something off as well.” Then he turned
towards the table full of food and with much enthusiasm said,
“Let's eat.”

“There are just
so many books,” exclaimed Koral, as she ran her fingers across some
texts.

When Glavlin
didn’t respond, she turned around to discover she was alone.
Wondering where he could have gotten to, Koral started to roam
around the library.

She wandered
between shelves and came upon an open doorway. Inside, Koral could
see the elf king staring at something on a wall. Moving beside him,
Koral was again overwhelmed by the sight. It was a map. “Is that
what Melarandra looks like?” she asked, stunned by its size.

Glavlin kept
his eyes on the map. “The parts which have been travelled, yes.
There is a lot of this world which has yet to be discovered. Not
what you expected is it.”

“The Central
Lands appear so small,” she stated, moving closer to it. “The
Western Lands look to be at least two times the size, and I did not
even know the Southern Lands really existed. I also did not realize
these lands have names.”

Glavlin
chuckled. “Yes, the Western Lands are known as the Realm of
Lungast, although it has not been travelled past

Marlsman Keep.
No one has been able to travel through Death’s Boundary to get to
the Southern Lands in a great many centuries. It is also accessible
by sea, but the entire coast became riddled with reefs so no one
has attempted it for many years either. But it does exist and once
had more people than the Central Lands.”

“And what of
the Eastern Lands?” she asked.

“It is called
Jijitsa. You can get there by sea. You can also travel through the
Cyprian Forest, but once past the elf borders there are many
dangers. Anyone who has tried that way has never come back.”

Koral was
astonished. There was so much about her world she didn't
understand. “Who lives in those lands?”

Glavlin moved
over to where there was a small table and two chairs set up. He
motioned Koral to follow and they both sat down. “Have you ever
seen a giant?” he asked. “Or perhaps an ogre?” He noticed she was
shaking her head no and continued. “And I know Eric’s friends are
the first goblins you have ever seen. Have you not ever wondered
why? I know Gillock has taught you all about these creatures and
many others. Did you not want to question him about these
things?”

Koral was
shocked by how forceful his questions were. “Were they not all
creatures of magic?” she asked.

“No, although
some had developed magical abilities, none of them are creatures of
magic. They were banished to Lungast. Every creature deemed evil or
corrupt was sent over to the Western Lands. This was done by force,
of course, and to ensure they did not ever try to return, the Lake
of Despair was created. All done by wizards after the war was
over.”

The last part
of his statement stuck with Koral. Glavlin was letting her know
that the Order had moved all of those creatures and had most likely
sent them to their deaths. “Why did they do that?”

Glavlin leaned
forward and rested his elbows on the table. “It is rumoured that
the leader of the Order was really a powerful wizard. If this is
true, then he could have removed all of those creatures to ensure
the Order would not have any trouble taking over the Central
Lands.”

That statement
made Koral sit up in her chair. “How would they to do that?”

“If all the
creatures which usually caused trouble were removed, then there
would no longer be a need for kingdom soldiers. The kings of the
past kept their soldiers, against the Orders wishes. Your father
did have them disbanded, as one of his first acts as king.”

Koral
remembered this story. Against her mother’s wishes, he had
disbanded the soldiers. Korben and a few others were the only ones
who stayed and became the king's personal guard. “So you think the
Order is going to try and dethrone my father?”

“I am not sure,
but the dwarves have been hearing that odd visitors have been seen
in Keenley and there has been talk of some kind of war. I do not
know what to think, princess, but I have a feeling someone is going
to exploit this prophecy to their own gain and you and your brother
will be caught up in it.”

Letting her
take it all in he added. “Koral, there is more to this prophecy
than you or your brother realize.”

Koral looked
into his eyes and saw a flicker of fear. “What am I to do?” she
asked.

Glavlin took
her hand and moved in closer to her. “I am not sure, but I will be
there by your side until the end.”

Koral felt her
heart start to race. Glavlin moved closer, drawing his face up to
hers. Koral closed her eyes, waiting for the kiss she longed for,
but was startled by something jumping into her hair. She quickly
jumped up out of her chair and brushed the creature from her head.
Glavlin, not understanding what had happened started to laugh.
Koral, becoming a bit furious with him, turned and saw why he was
laughing. On the table sat the same grey squirrel she had seen on
the road. Glavlin reached out to pick it up, but stopped his hand
short. His laughing had stopped and was replaced by an odd
look.

“We must
leave,” he stated quickly. “I am sure your brother is wondering
where you are.” Then he grabbed her arm and practically dragged her
out of the library.

When they
arrived at the entrance, Glavlin moved her past him and out the
door. “I must stay. There are many books I feel you should read,
and it will take time to find them all. Please go and find your
brother.” Then he shut the door and Koral heard the lock fall into
place. For a few moments, she just stared at the closed door. “What
just happened?” she muttered to herself. Not knowing what else to
do, she turned and slowly lumbered her way back towards the area
she had last seen her brother.

So many
thoughts were running threw her head and all were about what could
have happened with Glavlin. Koral was certain the elf king was
going to kiss her, but then why did he push her out so fast? Maybe
she had just read the situation wrong, after all, she was only
sixteen and not very experienced in these matters. Although Koral
had no idea what had just happened, she knew it was significant in
some way. Confused and a little shaken, she made her way to try to
find Eric.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“Did I
interrupt something?” asked Gillock. He had kept his squirrel form
until they were safely inside Glavlin's room.

“I am not
sure,” was the elf king’s response. “When I am around her my
emotions overpower my good judgment.”

Gillock sat
down beside him on his bed. “It sounds like you may be connected to
her in some way.”

Glavlin gave
Gillock a doubting look.

“Don't doubt my
hypothesis. No one knows her full potential, or even what all of
her abilities are. Koral is an elemental wizard and the fact she is
a human makes it an impossible thing. Somehow, she may be sending
her emotions onto you. Of course you have to be feeling some of the
same emotions for it to be affecting you that badly.”

Gillock, seeing
his friend squirm, knew he had hit the mark. A thought, which
disturbed him. He was glad to see Glavlin finally thinking about
love, something he thought his friend would never consider, but
picking a human was not what he expected.

“I think it is
because we connected so well these past few days,” came Glavlin's
voice a few minutes later. “I do not recall ever feeling this close
to someone. I feel I could tell her anything, and she would
understand. As if my past would not matter to her.”

Gillock sat up.
He had not thought about Glavlin's past being an issue, but
apparently, the elf king did. In addition, there were certain
similarities between what was going on with Koral and the prophecy
and Glavlin's past. “Glavlin, what happened was not your fault.
Your birth may have triggered events, but you were not the
cause.”

“How many
people, including my father, have died over the last ninety-five
years because of my birth? How can I justify my own existence when
so many have died? I know I am young by elven standards and war is
something my people have experienced many times within the last
thousand years, but living every day is still hard for me.”

Gillock sat
staring at his friend. He was indeed young, only ninety-five years
old. By elven standards, he was a young adult, and his entire life
had been one trauma after another. He was thrown into his royal
duties at the age of twenty when his father disappeared and as he
said, his birth had not been a good thing. “I'm glad you are
finally feeling something other than guilt. You're a young king,
but you are a good king. Don't forget you have many friends, and
your subjects are loyal to you. There are many people with whom you
can talk to about all of this.”

Glavlin gave
him a half smile. “I know you understand, but what of everyone
else,” he asked, motioning out the window to Eric, Koral and the
rest of the group.

Gillock smiled
back. “Your people may not know the whole truth, but they still
follow you. Do not doubt them, especially now.”

Glavlin shook
his head. “And what of Koral?”

Gillock sighed.
“That’s a decision best left to you, but remember, she does have
feelings for you. She may not understand what she is feeling, but
I'm certain Koral thinks she’s in love with you. Handle the
situation with care, but you can let it take its course. Who knows,
maybe when all of this is over we will be attending a wedding.”

Gillock's
attempt at humour shocked Glavlin, but he laughed anyway. “To
dignify that with some type of response would be beneath me,” he
remarked. “Now, you should be getting back into your squirrel form.
I have to go and find Koral and apologize for throwing her out of
the library so rudely.”

Gillock smiled,
glad to see his friend’s humour returning. He transformed himself
back into the squirrel and set out to find Elizanne. She may want
to hear about her daughter’s new found love.

Koral and Eric
sat, eating their lunch, in silence. Koral, brooding about what
happened in the library, and Eric, about having to sit and do
nothing.

“This is
getting ridiculous. How long are they going to keep us here?”
grumbled Eric.

“I have
recommended a month,” said Glavlin. Eric turned to see him
approaching, and it appeared to the young prince, he had purposely
snuck up on them.

“Why a month?”
Eric demanded. The anger in his voice was apparent.

Glavlin moved
to stand beside Eric. “You and your sister need to be trained to
use your magic.”

Koral nearly
choked on the water, she was sipping. She had thought Gillock would
be the one preparing them magically. “What are we to learn?” she
asked.

“There is going
to be a time when the two of you will need to combine your magic to
gain something which will help you fulfil the prophecy. It will
take some time for you both to master it so we best get started.”
Glavlin had responded to Koral's question, but had kept his eyes on
Eric. When he started to move away, the twins scrambled to catch
up. “What about the mess we have there?” asked Eric.

“I will take
care of it,” said Adora.

Neither one
turned to thank her; instead, they ran to catch up with the quick
moving elf.

They followed
him to the library. Eric’s response to its vastness was the same as
Koral’s had been, but more vocal. However, Glavlin did not give him
any time to digest his surroundings. Instead, he spirited them off
to a small room at the back of the library.

“I have already
discussed Melarandra with Koral so this will make more sense to
her,” he began, taking a seat at the only table in the room. The
twins joined him. “There have been many prophecies over the years,
but they are all insignificant next to yours. You will be restoring
the life force of the earth and thereby bringing back life to the
world.” Glavlin could tell they were both a bit confused but
continued anyway. “All magic is connected. When some of it dies,
other parts will weaken or get stronger, depending on the magic.
The strongest magic is that of the earth. The only ones to possess
it are the woodland beings. Elves, fairies, some gnome tribes, and
dwarves. Humans and other beings possess other types of magic. The
only way they have been able to use elven magic has been through
the use of amulets, potions, and specific spells.”