Claimed by the Elven King: Part Two

Author:Cristina Rayne [Rayne, Cristina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2014-04-29T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOUR

The equivalent to a human earth month later, I would have given anything to be having that unsettling conversation again.

As soon as Sethian had escorted me back to the rooms that were now essentially my new apartment, he had left to attend to his duties, leaving me to have lunch with only Lariel. Although I was more upset about it than I had wanted to admit, I was happy that I at least had Lariel to keep me company until I could see him again.

The only problem was that he still hadn’t come back.

Lariel told me not to worry, that the king had many duties that often kept him away from the palace, that the passage of time was perceived differently by the Sidhe, but I was still irritated that he hadn’t at least sent me a message or something to let me know that he wouldn’t be back for a while. As the days turned into weeks, my irritation gradually shifted to mild anxiety, then finally to full-out worry that my initial fears of being no more than a viable womb to the elven king were only too warranted.

I struggled not to let my fears show to Lariel, instead trying to distract myself from my growing anger—and if I were completely honest, despair—by asking her and the other two elf sisters that had arrived to serve as ladies-in-waiting a little bit after I last saw Sethian as many questions about the elven realm and its many protocols and customs as I could. They had also begun to teach me the elven language, a dialect so incomprehensible and unpronounceable to my human tongue that I despaired of ever learning it. I had never been good with languages.

It helped immensely that the three women were genuinely friendly and quite curious about the human realm in return. Otherwise, I probably would have curled up into a ball of misery after only a few days alone with only my dark thoughts and fears to keep me occupied.

Today we were having an elven version of tea out on the balcony. After assuring me that the wind wouldn’t be a problem, it had become my favorite place, other than the private garden that the king had apparently given me as a marriage gift, to visit with the elf women whom I now considered as friends. The balcony had also become a favored place to think (worry) when I was alone.

“So next year, you won’t have to work at all?” I asked Lariel in disbelief.

She nodded seriously. “It’s custom. Long ago, our families tied themselves to the fortunes of the royal family. In exchange for our service, we are allowed to set up residence within a single wing of the palace, itself. Starting at age twenty, we begin working in whatever position we have grown up preparing to fulfill.”

“One year of service. One year of rest,” Saeria cut in. “At least for those who serve within the royal household. The pact is different for those who wish to serve in governance or in one of the many trades.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.