Akenji was puzzled by the Elven woman’s tears. He had been raised in a society of boys—now men—and, except for the day that Alayna had been killed, he hadn’t seen such an emotional reaction in years. He had no idea what to say or do to comfort her, so he said nothing and simply allowed her to lean against him and cry herself out.
When the woman had regained control again, Akenji gently prodded her for answers to his previous questions.
“I am Princess Brandela,” she began, and gradually, she told them the entire story…, from the event of her kidnap, to the long months with the Barbarians, Donovan’s daring rescue and their eventful journey across the Wildlands. She left out nothing and only hesitated once, at the end, when Akenji, impatient for news of his friend, asked, “And where is Donovan now?”
Brandela looked at him for a long moment, knowing her news would be painful for him, hating to be the one to cause that pain. Finally, she lowered her eyes and whispered, “I believe he is dead.”
“Are you certain of that?” asked Akenji, his voice husky, almost angry. “Is there any possible way you could be mistaken?”
“No. As I told you, I had bonded with him. I could feel him within me and I felt the moment of his death. He died to save me. I’m so sorry.” Once again, her eyes filled with tears, but Akenji quickly soothed her.
“This is sad news, my Lady. Donovan was my closest friend. But I am happy that you are safe. It is what Donovan wanted. You must not blame yourself. There will be an appropriate time to mourn his passing, but first we must finish the job he was trying to do and get you home to your family.”
Akenji sent a runner to Weeping Tree Outpost with a message that high Lord Aden’s daughter had returned to the forest. The runners there would take the message to Alderwood.
In the week that passed, as they waited for word from Lord Aden, Brandela grew to know the men of Donovan’s world very well, and was once again surprised to find that humans were not nearly as horrible as she had been raised to believe. In fact, these men seemed to live by an honor code that nearly rivaled that of her own people. When the message finally arrived, ordering the human Rangers to escort Brandela to Weeping Tree Outpost, Bran-dela received the news with mixed emotions. As much as she longed to see her family, she knew that things would never be the same. She was no longer the innocent maiden who had disappeared. How would she find her place now?
Her maidservants would be sent ahead to prepare for her arrival and provide for her comfort, the message informed them. Brandela had often thought about that group of women and wondered what had become of them in the months since they had been separated. She hadn’t even had a chance to get to know them. She wondered, especially, about the girl, Kerala. She had felt a particularly close bond with her and looked forward, now, to seeing her again. Lord Aden told them to expect his arrival about a week later, sooner if he could manage it.
At Weeping Tree Outpost, Brandela was overwhelmed to have so many people around her again, waiting for her every word and command, caring for her every need and desire. For so many months, it had been just she and Donovan. She had grown accustomed to the quiet and to taking care of her own needs, and taking care of another. What used to be so normal for her was now quite disconcerting.
The young woman, Kerala, whom she had appointed head maidservant, approached the princess at the end of Brandela’s first day at the Outpost. Brandela sat in her room, staring out of the window, lost in memories of Donovan. Kerala, not wanting to startle her, stopped in her doorway and called to her softly. “Princess Brandela, may I speak with you for a moment, please?”
Brandela looked around and smiled when she saw who her visitor was. Such an unusual face, with her auburn hair and hazel eyes…, and those lovely freckles. Something about the girl was refreshing to Brandela and instantly made her feel better. She gestured for Kerala to join her, and Kerala approached, curtsied respectfully, and sat across from Brandela.
“Are you comfortable, my Lady?” began Kerala.
Brandela sighed, unable to put into words what was in her heart. She looked down at her fresh green-and-white dress and touched her hair, washed and bound in a shining ponytail. Physically, she was cleaner and more comfortable than she’d been in months. And yet…
“I am sensing a great sadness in you, my Lady. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Not unless you can bring back the dead,” answered Brandela. They sat in silence for a while before Brandela continued. “I’m sorry to seem so melancholy at a time when we should be rejoicing. Coming home has somehow made what I have lost seem so much greater.”
Kerala listened patiently, her expression somewhat puzzled.
Brandela looked at her with eyes full of pain and confusion. “Kerala, have you ever loved someone so much that you felt you would never be whole again without their presence?”
“No, Mistress,” Kerala whispered.
“I just wish the pain of loss was easier to deal with,” sighed Brandela. “This pain is nearly unbearable tonight.”
Kerala remembered one of the Proverbs of the Elders and quoted, softly, “Things that come easy, when examined through the lens of time, often prove to be of little importance and are worthy of even less regard.”
Brandela smiled. “I chose well when I chose you, Kerala. You are a comfort. Thank you.”
Four days later, Kerala brought Brandela a message that her mother, high Lady Alousia, would soon be arriving at the Outpost. Instead of the excitement and happiness that Brandela had expected such news to bring her, she was suddenly nervous and anxious. How would she explain what had happened?
Later that day, Lady Alousia was led into Brandela’s quarters. In the few moments before they embraced, her mother took in the fatigue and stress in her daughter’s face, the weight she had lost, the sadness in her eyes. The months and all she had experienced at the hands of the slavers had taken their toll. Still, she was home!
Lady Alousia pulled out of their embrace and smiled warmly at her youngest daughter. “It is so good see you alive,” she exclaimed. “If it wasn’t for the fact that your servants were still alive, I might have given up hope of ever seeing you again.”
Brandela smiled halfheartedly, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. “I’m happy to see you too, mother,” she answered politely.
Lady Alousia frowned and placed her hand on Brandela’s forehead to check her temperature. She studied her face, searching, with a mother’s eye, for signs of illness that might explain her daughter’s lack of enthusiasm. She seemed physically well, so it must be something deeper.
“You seem troubled,” she said, gently. “I expected that you would be overjoyed to be home after all these many months. Did the slavers harm you, Brandela? What happened? You seem very different?”
Brandela looked away and sighed. “I will explain everything once father arrives,” she said. It would be easier to tell the story just once and deal with their reactions then.
High Lady Alousia nodded, respecting her daughter’s choice to keep whatever it was that was bothering her to herself for now. She motioned for one of her servants to bring a small, heavily engraved wooden box into the room and, trying to change the subject and the mood of their meeting, she gave Brandela a conspiratorial smile and held the box out to her.
“I’ve been saving this for your safe return, my daughter. It’s a special gift.”
Brandela looked at the box in her mother’s hands and, with a knot forming in her stomach, gently took it from her.
“Open it,” urged her mother.
Inside the box, a small rune crystal in the form of one of the green rosebuds that were native to the Wood Elven forest lay nestled on a velvet cushion. Brandela knew at once that it was her bonding stone. The bonding stones were the symbol of an Elven matriarch’s authority and power within an Elven household. The Elven nobility used the stones in a system of procreation that they called “orga-nized breeding,” used to produce a supply of the best Elven servants for their children.
Bonding stones were used as a medium to activate the bonding magic that every Elven being possessed within them. Elven servants could not be forced to marry, but they could be ordered to, and good Elven servants would not disobey the orders of their masters. Most of the time, they would allow themselves to be bonded to whomever their masters chose for them, and to have someone chosen for you was considered an honor, as it meant that you were considered worthy of producing new servants for the household.
Husbands were usually also handpicked for the daughters of the noble households. Mothers traditionally created the bonding stone for their daughters and presented it to them as a special gift when they came of age. The stones could range from quite simple to intricate and elaborate works of art. This stone was exceptionally beautiful. Brandela’s heart was pounding as she picked up the exquisite stone and held it in her palm. As she considered what it signified, it was all she could do to not burst into tears. Instead, she took a deep breath and forced herself to speak. “Thank you, Mother. It is very beautiful. It must have taken you ages to craft something this fine.”
Lady Alousia smiled and answered, “I have been working on this for you for two years now. Perhaps it will help you look forward to better times and leave this troubled time behind you. Soon, you will be married into one of the noble houses and running a household of your own.”
Brandela frowned and set the stone back into the box and pushed it away. “Things do not always go as we expect them to,” she murmured.
Lady Alousia frowned at that cryptic remark and waited for her daughter to continue, but Brandela said nothing more. Finally, she replied, “Whatever it is that’s bothering you, we will work through it. You are home and for now that is all that matters.”
She pushed the box into Brandela’s reluctant hands. “It is a gift to you, daughter. I insist that you take it. I made it especially for you.”
Brandela smiled at her mother, not wishing to hurt her, and took the box. “Thank you,” she said softly.
High Lord Aden arrived three days later and, once settled, he summoned his daughter to his tent. There was no joy or excitement for Brandela in this meeting. Not only was she nervous about her parents’ reaction to her news, she had also been harboring a deep hurt at her father’s lack of effort to rescue her.
Their embrace was quick and formal and Lady Alousia, who had just arrived, was puzzled by the obvious tension between them. Brandela and her father had always been quite close; she couldn’t imagine what had caused such a change in her daughter’s behavior toward him.
“It is good to see you, Brandela,” said Lord Aden. “I trust you are well?”
“I am,” she lied.
An awkward silence fell between them for a moment while he studied her, trying to read her strange mood. Something about her had changed.
“So, tell us,” he said finally, “how is it that you managed to escape the Barbarians? I was waiting for them to send some sort of a ransom demand for you, but one never came. Don’t tell me you managed to escape by yourself and somehow make it back here alone.”
Brandela’s voice was clipped and cool when she responded. “No, I was not alone, father. I was rescued by a very brave man who I, at first, assumed was sent by you. It turned out that you had sent no one, and he was acting on his own volition.”
Lord Aden frowned, stung by her obvious accusation and puzzled by her story. “Who was this man?” he demanded.
“His name was Donovan, and he died saving my life,” she began. Once again, she told the tale of her rescue and the weeks that followed. Her father grew increasingly agitated as she spoke of her human rescuer with obvious fondness, and exploded in rage when she informed them of the bonding.
“You bonded with a human, Brandela! You have dishonored me and all the ancestors of the entire house of Oendale! How dare you show your face in this forest?”
Lady Alousia gasped and began to protest, but Brandela replied calmly, “He was an honorable man, Father, and saved me from certain destruction.”
High Lord Aden growled fiercely as her words sunk in. “Honorable man?” he roared. “There is no such thing as an honorable human. I took these creatures in and showed them kindness and look how they have repaid me.”
“Showed them kindness!” Brandela scoffed. “I’ve heard all about the kindness you showed them…, sending them into battle when they were much too young, making them live hand and mouth all those years, under your thumb the whole time. Sending them and their commander—one of our people—to their deaths! Don’t speak to me of kindness, Father. A kind man would have tried to rescue his daughter. A kind man wouldn’t have left me in the hands of those Barbarians all those months.”
“Silence!” ordered Lord Aden. “You do not know what you’re talking about. The humans have obviously brainwashed you against me.”
He snapped off an order to his head servant. “Tell the human Rangers that they are no longer welcome at my kingdom. I don’t care where they go, but if they are not out of the forest in five days, I will slaughter every last one of them.”
As the servant ran from the tent to do his master’s bidding, Lord Aden turned his furious gaze back on his daughter.
Before he could speak, Lady Alousia cut in. “My Lord, perhaps the bonding was not of her choosing. Perhaps this man somehow forcefully bonded her to him.”
Lord Aden considered this thoughtfully for a moment before replying, “I can’t see how that might happen, except that there have been rumors of the presence of Shadow Elves. Who’s to say that this human didn’t somehow learn or possess some devilish technique from them?”
Brandela stood and shouted, “Donovan did not force me into the bond. I gave myself to him willingly and I will not dishonor or betray my husband’s memory with such talk.”
Lord Aden’s face flushed dark red with rage and his voice was low and dangerous when he responded. “Since you like these humans so much, then you can suffer their fate along with them. I decree you are banished! I order you to leave my kingdom within five days and never return. If any of my men see you again you will be killed on sight. Now, get out of here!”
Brandela turned her back on her father and walked out. Her mother followed close behind. Brandela went back to her quarters and ordered Kerala to prepare the servants for a long journey. “We must leave immediately,” she told the stunned girl.
When Kerala had left, Lady Alousia stopped Brandela for a moment and said, “Just because your father does not want to hear the full story, doesn’t mean I feel the same. Please, finish telling me all that happened, child. I want to know about the man who saved your life…, for I am grateful.”
Brandela looked into her mother’s eyes and saw only sincerity there. Her own eyes filled with tears as she realized that she may never see her again. Slowly, she finished telling the story, leaving out nothing and crying again as she shared the moment when she had felt Donovan’s death.
Lady Alousia listened quietly. When Brandela was finished, she sat for a moment before smiling and saying, “I won’t lie to you by saying I agree with your choices, but I do respect them. It is every noble Elven lady’s duty to support her husband through whatever circumstances may arise. I am starting to wish that I hadn’t trained you so well in this regard.”
“Thank you for understanding, mother. I miss him more than I can describe. I must find a way to live a life that will honor him…, and you.”
“You will,” her mother answered, kissing her on the top of her head. “I will miss you, my daughter. I have always had a special fondness for you. I have never told you this but, as you know, every Elven woman can choose the sex of the child they are carrying. When I conceived you, your father ordered me to give him a boy child, as we already had so many daughters. I disobeyed him and made you a girl instead.”
Brandela’s eyes widened. She had never known her mother to disobey or to do anything improper. She had always seemed the perfect picture of an Elven matriarch.
Lady Alousia laughed at her daughter’s expression and replied, “Don’t look so shocked. I had given your father the exact gender of children he wanted all the times I had been pregnant. I knew you would be my last and so I would not allow him to take the choice of what you would be away from me. You were the only real thing I ever defied your father about. Oh, he was in a rage when he found out and didn’t talk to me for several weeks, but it was worth it. It’s also the reason I personally trained you in the ways of the Elven matriarchs…, because you were a child after my own heart.”
“If that is true, then why did you not attend my coming-of-age ceremony?”
Lady Alousia sighed. “I wanted to but I thought it best to go along with what was expected. I did not want anyone to know how special you were to me, for you are the youngest and within our culture, as you know, the youngest is merely a bargaining tool. I was protecting you as much as myself…; I hope you can forgive me.”
Brandela nodded and, for a long moment, no words passed between them as daughter looked at mother, seeing and recognizing love and kinship between two women.
Lady Alousia broke the silence. “Once you make it past the forest line, head northeast across the river to the Clan Lords of the Eastern Wood Elves. You have kinsmen there; they will take you in.” She smiled sadly and added, “Perhaps one day I will see you again.”
“I will see you again, Mother,” promised Brandela. “I will.”