Royal Treatment

Queen Eioldth holds a bridal party for Alis and her closest friends, with magical gifts that will aid them on the campaign against the Necromancer's Guild

6.

Royal Treatment

 

The Queen surprised the ladies in Alis’ wedding party with a shower for Alis. So immediately after the feast, Aurei joined Eioldth, Alis, Rori, Brandi, Krys, Siris, Zeatt and Leah in the Queen’s chambers.   She had selected something for each of them and had wrapped them beautifully.

 

“With all the chaos that all of you have experienced this past year, I felt that you should each find joy at this celebration.   These are just small gifts given out of gratitude for your service in defending Northmarch from evil.”

Each lady opened their gift one at a time, while the others watched.  Leah Flydros received a beautiful crystal gem set in a necklace, but enchanted so that when touched once, it shines with a brilliant white light that can’t be dispelled magically.

Zeatt received an ornately engraved book.  The Queen explained, “It is the teachings of Yesh the Merciful; a compilation of all of his disciples’ tales of his life and his teachings.   St. Kinnis finished this great work last winter and had copies secretly made for each of his Archbishops, but the Civil War stopped that work.”

 

“This is your copy, Matron Zeatt, and he had finished the writings, but was working on the binding and the cover when he had to flee.   I had some of my craftsmen finish binding it and as skillfully as they could, craft what I feel was an appropriate cover to the holy book.”   

 

Zeatt clutched it to her with tear filled eyes, “It is the most precious thing I have ever received; thank you, Your Majesty, I will treasure it forever.”

Siris received two presents; one for her and one for the baby she still carried.   Her gift was a quiver of arrows, about 30 in number, which the Queen informed her were arrows of Undead slaying to replace those of her own that she used in battles in the past year.  

For the baby, Siris received a silver cross inset with ruby.   “It is an amulet of protection against evil, but once a day it will also surround the wearer with sphere of magical energy that nothing will penetrate, yet will move with the wearer.   It will last for seven minutes or until the wearer orders it to cease.” Eioldth explained.  

Siris hugged her for the thoughtful gift of protection for her child.

Brandi and Krys each received the same type of present; a beautiful dress.  But it was more than that, the Queen told them, “It is practical magic enchanted.   Each dress can change form three times a day, to become any garment made of cloth or leather that runs from the neck to the ankles.”  

 

“It could be a barmaid dress, for example, and then change into a tunic and pants, or to a suit of leather armor.   Each form fits exactly as the wearer desires and if damaged or stained, it can be restored by changing its form to something else, then back to the form that was damaged.”

The two sisters were thrilled with the magical dresses and the other ladies seemed somewhat envious of them.

 

“Rori, Aurei has told me how valuable your service has been to her and how very useful you were in battle.   I certainly understand the dangers of magic use, so I have selected for you something you have probably heard of; Bracers of Defense.”  

The Queen held up a pair of large ornate silver bracelets.  Rori was thrilled, “I’ve heard of these, but would have waited a long time in the Guild before I would have received any from the Grave Masters.”

“These hold an enchantment of protection equal to wearing chainmail and carrying a shield.”   Eioldth informed her, and Rori thanked her, then immediately put them on.

 

The Queen turned to Aurei and Alis, “That leaves the two of you.   One a bride-to-be, the other one to have that title not too long from now, I imagine.    So I have selected for both of you, as well as for your mates, rings of Autocasting."

Rori whistled upon hearing of them, but everyone else in the room looked puzzled.

“What do they do?” Alis asked.

“They are recent inventions by the wizards of the southlands.   There are three types; Lesser Autocasting rings, ‘regular’ Autocasting rings, and Greater Autocasting rings.”  

“The four rings I have had made for you are all of the Greater Autocasting type.   An Autocasting ring is a ring that a wizard or cleric can cast a spell into that will activate automatically upon some specific type of condition that the caster sets up before hand.”  

“For example, you could have a Neutralize Poison spell cast on the ring, set to activate whenever the wearer is poisoned.   Then, if he was wearing the ring, when he was poisoned, it would activate.   The spell works only one time, but the ring can be recharged with another - or even the same- spell again.”  

“Lesser Autocasters can hold one spell, regular Autocasters hold two and Greater Autocasters can hold three different spells.”

“I have had Matron Zeatt cast three spells into each of the four rings, each to be activated if one of the wearers is rendered unconscious.   I’ll let Matron Zeatt tell you about the spells.”  

The Queen turned to the Drow Matron, who was happily flipping through the Holy Book.   She put the book down and explained, “First a Holy Word spell will be cast in the area in front of the wearer.  I theorized that if you were to fall in battle in the upcoming campaign, the spell would have the greatest effect on undead.    But even more importantly, a Word of Recall will be activated.”

“What is that, Aunt Zeatt?”

“It will transport the wearer back safely to a place of sanctuary, in this case, I’ve selected the location for each of the spells as the Church of Yesh in Westmark.   The final spell that will be automatically cast is a Heal spell that will be cast upon the wearer of the ring at the same time they are recalled.”

 

“So if the ring is activated, the wearer will disappear and then appear back at the church in Westmark, healed of their injuries?”   Aurei asked.

“Yes, but they will not be able to get back to the others, unless the battle happens nearby.   The ring will also lose its magic after it is activated, until it has three more spells cast on it.”

 

Eioldth handed the rings to Aurei and Alis.

“Don’t worry,” She said to the Drow girl, “It won’t interfere with the other type of ring that you and Eleazar wear.”

They both thanked her and then the talk turned to other wedding topics.

 

***

 

As the ladies received their gifts, King Haroldris was presenting gifts to the men of the wedding party in the royal armory.

 

Eleazar and Aeric received the Autocaster Rings just as their ladies had received.   Luke, who had come with Rori, was given an enchanted long sword by the King, much to his delight.  

Lute was given a Scarab of Protection while Pectros received a Displacing Cloak, which made the wearer appear to be slightly off-center of where they actually stood, causing the first attack upon them to miss.  

Thorm was given a Helm of All Seeing which protected the wearer from any form of charm, hypnosis, illusion or blinding effects, while giving him enhanced nightvision and the ability to see anything concealed by an invisibility spell.

Haroldris’ concern for Sir Alvis was evident, for he had paid handsomely for a Broach of Life, which was a magic item normally used by the undead of the Necromancer’s Guild.   It gave them the ability to walk unharmed in daylight and immunity from any effect from a Holy Symbol, Holy Water or from being turned.   Although Alvis was not undead, his Vampire Minionism could be neutralized by the broach, so that he could lead a normal life.  

 

The men all thanked the King for the gifts and they spent considerable time discussing the upcoming campaign and what strategies the Necromancer’s Guild might use to destroy them.   As they talked, the King gave them a tour of the Palace, which was fascinating to behold.   In no time, it was late and they all dispersed for the night, to get some rest for the wedding ceremony the following day.

 

But the women were still together, the Queen having taken them to the Royal baths for spa treatments.   They were all pampered and cared for by servants to their delight.    Aurei sat with the other women in the warm bath, her face covered with mud that she was told was good for her skin, while a female servant massaged her shoulders.   She turned to Eioldth with a content smile, “Your Majesty, it must really be good to be Queen!”

The Young Elven woman returned her smile, rubbing her swollen belly which protruded from the bathwater like a round island, “Aurei, this is one of the best parts of royalty, believe me.”

“You are extremely generous, Your Highness.”   Alis said from the other side of Aurei.  “I have never even dreamed of such luxury as this.   It is wonderful, I’ll never forget it.”

“I’m glad, Alis; I think every woman deserves pampering now and then.   I’ve ordered some Faesidhe tree leaf tea brewed for our enjoyment - here it comes now.”

 

A servant brought a silver tray over with steaming mugs of pleasant smelling tea.   Zeatt leaned over to look at Aurei, “This is the stuff that I’ve been drinking for months; it is marvelous.”

“It does revitalize the body, I think.   Ladies, I purpose a toast to you; to Alis and Aeric - may their marriage be full of complete happiness and joy.”

 

The ladies took their mugs and raised the toast to the half-Elven bride, who smiled happily from underneath her own mud mask, to everyone’s amusement.

It was an evening none of them would ever forget.

 

***

 

Several hours later, just before the women left the spa to head back to their quarters, a large bat flew up next to one of the windows of the guest quarters and morphed into the form of a lovely Drow woman.   She stood on the balcony that the window looked out upon; unable to enter, as a Vampire could not go into a house where they were not once given permission to enter.  

 

But it did not matter to Alleania; for she had no intention to enter the room, only to get a good look at the man who had fallen asleep while reading as he awaited Aurei.   Looking through the large window, her Drow eyesight easily made him out in the dim light of the room, and she studied him for a long time; hoping to size him up as best she could from only his appearance.

 

He was young, but very muscular for an Elf, and quite handsome.   Though he was only half-Drow, his features mixed very well with the surface-Elf race of one of his parents, giving him a neutral gray skin color.   His hair was white and from what she had seen of him earlier, he had the red eyes of her people.   A fine specimen for a male of mixed race, and she found it easy to see why Aurei was attracted to him.  

Of course he was a Paladin, but that also meant that he would be honest and noble in how he dealt with her.   From the brief times she had seen him with Aurei, she could tell that he deeply loved her as strongly as she loved him.  

 

This type of love was different in many ways from the love she had for Chal.  That had only occurred after she had died, but now he was more to her than just her Vampire Lord and master.  They had both changed and learned to rely on each other in the last 74 years.   Their vampirism had drawn them close together and they now thought alike.   

 

Perhaps it wasn’t that different from what Aurei felt for Eleazar, she pondered as she looked through the glass at the sleeping Elf.   He would do for her; she had picked well.   With a smile, she raised her hands above her head and a moment later became a large bat again.   With a flurry of motion, she flew off, leaving the sleeping knight to his dreams.

 

 

***

 

Aurei crept into her room to find it empty, but almost immediately noticed the dim glow of candlelight coming from the adjoining room.    She hurried over and glanced inside, happy to find Laz there, asleep with Kinzer’s huge book across his chest.   She wanted to wake him and tell him about her evening and all about the time in the Queen’s spa, but he seemed so peaceful that she just softly picked the book up and placed it on the table next to the bed.  

 

Perhaps it was the effect of the Queen’s Elven tea, but for once she didn’t feel the physical hunger that she usually felt when she saw him.   Instead, she just felt love and the thrill of knowing that he would be her husband one day officially, though he was already that unofficially.  

 

She slipped into bed next to him, nestling up under his arm until her head rested against his chest.   He didn’t awaken, but subconsciously moved so she could snuggle there.   With a sigh of contentment, Aurei soon joined him in slumber.

 

 

Reviews

[Elina]

"...to the Royal bathes..." I think bathes ought to be baths, here.

Wow...I'm a little slow. Just now realized who Alleania was/is. I had remembered Chal, but I could only ever remember Tholmi, so it took me a while to realize that Alleania is Aurei's mother.

[Eddie Davis]

Yeah, it sometimes got a bit complicated. Originally I started 'Aurei of Westmark' with a LONG backstory that told about the Drow raid and its' failure and I was about 3/4ths the way through writing 'Aurei' when I thought 'Naw, I don't like all of this', so I went back and spent 6 months removing the backstory and redoing the story to what it looks like now. Alleania was the main character in this back story, until she dies (sort of) then Zeatt is it. I'm debating doing a completely separate book dealing with the Drow raid, but not for a while. I still have it all typed up, though.

Alleania and Chal's appearance in the third book were a surprise to me too -- I know it sounds nuts, but my Muse will throw out twists in plots and the two of them appearing was one of those twists. I'll get to work on the editing, thank you so much for all that you do, Elina.

[Elina]

You are most welcome! I have really been enjoying these books. In fact, I've had to force myself not to read them, at times, so that I can work on writing my own. So much to do, so little time...

[Eddie Davis]

Oh goodness, I certainly understand that! I've been trying to finish 'The Forging of the King' for a month, but at the same time trying to edit the other stuff I've already posted. Added to that, I've tried to post a 3D Rendering for as many chapters of each book that I can, but I had to scrap that this week due to being sick. Don't let my stuff keep you away from your wonderful book, I'm looking forward to reading more of it.