The Queen's Host [unedited version]

~ 26 ~

It was late in the evening. Auro was out in the courtyard, tossing meat pieces into the air for Flayke to catch mid-flight. Luminus visiting his family. The news of Lustris was hard on them. The news was hard on the majority of everyone who cared for the girl.

"Will I get a familiar?"

Auro stopped what he was doing to smile at Aleia as she joined him on the ground.

"Do you want one?" he asked, tossing another piece of meat into the air.

"I have this yearning in my heart for one," she replied, nodding. "I don't know how to describe it. But when I went into my mind to see if there was anything the Queen might wish to tell me, I saw a pair of eyes. Eyes that seemed to know me, and I knew them, but I don't know who they belong to."

Auro whistled and Flayke flew to a nearby tree to perch.

"That's usually how the pairing begins," he explained, facing Aleia. "When I reached a certain age, I would dream of white wings with black tips. Nothing else. Just the wings. And then my father took me to the mountain where the birds go to lay their eggs. Flayke had just hatched. When I first saw her, I couldn't look away from her wings. Mind you, her kind is fairly common, but something about her just become familiar."

"And then you bonded," Aleia nodded, understanding. "So, the eyes I'm seeing are possibly a vision of my soon-to-be familiar?"

"I suppose. I'm actually surprised you're not bonded with Askan or Azris. You've known them for a long time. But I guess guardians are different than familiars."

They fell silent. Saying nothing as they looked up at the stars. Which were so different from Earth, Aleia thought. They reclined against a tree. Side by side.

"Auro?" she said a while later.

"Hmm?"

"I just realized something."

"What have realized?"

Aleia blushed but didn't look at him.

"Betrothed means to be married," she whispered.

"It does...," Auro trailed off thoughtfully. "It wouldn't be right away. Anerathian marriages are not like on Earth. At least, that's what your father told me."

"Have you ever been to one?"

Aleia moved so she was on her back, and looked up at Auro.

"Once," he said, nodding. "My mother's younger brother wanted me to stand next to him as he spoke his vow. Anerathain customs require the soon-to-be husband recite all he promises to do for his bride. The bride does the same, but she is free to decide if she wants to speak her vow publically. Many choose to say it in private."

"That is different," she smiled, looking up at the sky. "A good different. I never thought something as simple as a vow would be wonderfully secret or sacred like that."

"It's not necessarily sacred, but it is special. It's a covenant between two people. Promises to love and cherish, and protect them."

"What about divorce? Is that something here?"

"I've never heard of anyone who would want to separate from their spouse," Auro furrowed his brow, looking down at Aleia as he caressed her hair. "If a couple has a problem, they bring it to a counselor. They make an effort to work through the problem. They remain faithful to each other."

"Even if they fall out of love?"

Aleia's question struck Auro in a manner he was not expecting.

"I-I . . . I do not know," he said as his voice softened. "I've not met anyone who has fallen out of love. And if they have, they were not married yet."

"How long would you say is customary for an engagement to last before they marry?"

"Customary? I would think at least three months. But it's different when you have gotten to know the person you want to marry."

"Hmm."

Aleia closed her eyes and was nodding to sleep. Auro chuckled softly and bent over to kiss her forehead. He then lifted the girl in his arms carried her to her room. After she was tucked into bed, Auro wished her pleasant dreams.

***

Inanis had been walking around the palace for some hours. His sleep was troubled by nightmares. He hadn't had nightmares in months. But tonight, when he had closed his eyes, all he saw was the look of terror in Glint's eyes when her life had left her body. She was not even of age yet.

"Inanis?"

He gasped as he was awakened from his thoughts. Kinasha was walking in the opposite direction and stopped in front of him.

"What's wrong?" she asked, reaching for his arm, but thinking better of it.

"It's nothing," he replied, his gaze falling to her retracting hand. "I am unable to sleep. That is all."

"But you appear distressed. Please, tell me what bothers you."

Inanis looked up. There was genuine concern in his old friend's eyes. Eyes that had so often mirrored his own.

"Glint," was his reply. It appeared enough for an explanation because Kinasha raised both her hands to cradle his crown. She closed her eyes in concentration. Inanis had to close his own eyes when he felt her enter his mind. And then, the pain he held for so many years was gone. The memory of Glint was still there, but not the pain.

Kinasha cried as she pulled away from him. She fell to the ground, clutching herself.

"Why did you do that?" Inanis asked as he fell to her side. "Why did you take it on yourself? This is not your burden."

"I don't want you to be in pain anymore," Kinasha whispered as she locked the pain away. "It was not your fault. You didn't know."

He shook his head, but pull the girl to his chest. He cried into her hair. But not from the pain he had carried. He cried for the girl who took it away to give him peace.

"I don't want you to live with my burden," he whispered, pulling away to look at Kinasha. "You have enough to live with as it is."

"I would rather carry your burden than see you suffer as you have."

Kinasha's words struck a chord. They moved within Inanis chest, warming his heart.