"Ha! Just what I thought. A hair above nine stone," the king crowed, as Isallia went through the demeaning process of being weighed once a week.
In truth, if she was being honest with herself, that wasn't all that bad. Considering everything, being starved and later coming here, she had pretty much ended up no bigger than when she had first left. But, she wasn't going to show any sign of relief at that. There was no way she was going to give the king even an inch of satisfaction.
"As promised, little elf, I will give you one day back in the Verge."
She was actually surprised to hear this. She had been waiting for the moment for the king to double-cross her on this little bargain. Then again, it wouldn't have been to his advantage to go back on their deal so soon. He might still hold off on that idea, when she wouldn't be in a place to protest. "Really?" she asked, having trouble concealing her excitement.
He nodded. "But of course, I am a man of my word. I will arrange for a carriage to take us tonight. We should arrive there by the first light of morning."
She arched her eyebrows. "We?"
King Roland chuckled. "You didn't think I'd just send you there on your own did you? No, no, then you'd have a chance to get away. I will be attending with you, along with a few of my guards."
"The elders aren't going to be pleased with that. You'll be lucky if they even let you anywhere close to the Verge."
He put an arm around her shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. "That's where you come in, my dear. You'll meet with your beloved elders and tell them that I will be coming with you one way or the other. Or, perhaps you'd rather not take the chance, and you could just stay here."
She swallowed, weighing her options. In the end, anything was worth it to see Rhalas again. "I'll do it."
"Good," he said, gently poking her side. "Now, best you go to your room to prepare. I had something extra special brought up for you to celebrate. Might as well get a jump on that ten stone, eh?"
She tried to resist the urge to throttle him. But, she had to keep reminding herself that she was doing it all for her son.
Isallia was surprised to discover that by the next morning, they were indeed in the Verge. He must've ran his horses ragged to make such good time, she thought. Still, it was good to breath in that fresh, natural air again.
That sense of relief was short lived. Fairly soon, she and the king found themselves at the ends of spear points from her own people. No surprise there, she thought. Humans were still not to be trusted. However, one of the warriors recognized her, and though he considered it against his better judgment, led her and the king to the elven king, Orym.
And King Orym was not pleased...
"So, you thought that you would just bring a human to the Verge and everything would be fine?" he asked incredulously after she had relayed most of her story. "Do you realize what a danger you've brought here? Did you even think of the consequences to our people?"
Elven politics were slightly different than that of humans. Hierarchy and status was mere formality. Conversations were held with everyone being considered equals. Votes were taken among the elders, true, but only based on what they believed the people wanted. King Roland had to admit he was impressed that Isallia held her ground. "I did it for my family, for my child. If it was your child, wouldn't you have done the same?"
The king's only daughter, and heir apparent, Princess Dhasca was sitting beside her father when Isallia said this. She placed a hand on her father's. "We can't blame her for her reasons," she said.
"That's not what I meant. It's that... Oh, fine, you may go back to your family as of now, but we will be keeping a sharp eye on your guests."
Isallia nodded. "Believe me, I don't trust them either. These unfortunate circumstances have made it so that I have no choice."
There were no words to express the joy Isallia felt when she was at last reunited with her son. He gurgled and gave a happy squeal when he was able to be held in familiar arms once more. "I missed you so much, my sweet, baby boy," she cooed, holding him close.
King Roland had insisted on following her to ensure she didn't run away, but in that moment, he felt a bit out of place. "I'll just, leave you to catch up," he said in an embarrassed whisper. "I expect you back at the carriage by morning."
She hardly heard him, so focused on making the most of her time with her family. She began retelling her tale to Niyi, leaving nothing out. "You can't be serious!" she said. "He...he does that to those women?"
She nodded. "Yes, though some of them may be more willing than others. But, if I want to keep seeing Rhalas and maybe Inaril one day, I have to go along with this. It's not so bad right now. I mean, I haven't changed all that much."
"Well, no," Niyi said, "but pretty soon, you will. And then what? You're just playing into his hands right now."
"That maybe, but right now, I just want to focus on being back here. Is there any word about Inaril?"
She sighed. "Same as always: no change. The healers can't deal with all these new human diseases. I don't know what we're going to do."
King Roland had been listening just outside the door to this conversation. So, that's why she hadn't seen her mate yet. Though he wasn't about to give up his newest acquisition, perhaps there was a way to make her more complacent.
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