Dealings in the Council of Avalhein - Chapter 12

Dealings in the Council of Avalhein

Chapter 12

Geirrha returned to her quarters with a triumphant smile. The council had taken little convincing and they now thought her plan was flawless. Well, it really was flawless when thought of in the planning room, but all mighty generals knew that even the best plans could fall apart once on the battlefield.

She was about to shut the door behind her when Malkknrre put a paw forward to stop it. Unfortunately, she had pulled it shut with a little bit more force and Malkknrre yelped and bit back a curse when it hit him. Something was strange about Malkknrre, he had been ogling after her for ever since that night, and she was strangely comfortable with that.

“To what do I owe the visit from the ‘king of the Ceree’ who has been oh-so-frivolously stalking me?” said Geirrha, a hint of mockery in her voice. It was true after all that Malkknrre had appeared everywhere she had been for two days. Had she not known any better, she would say the man was planning on convicting her as a spy.

“I just wanted to talk, councilwoman,” murmured Malkknrre. Geirrha could have sworn there was a hint of meekness to his voice. It was as though she was seeing Malkknrre for the first time. A new light now shone upon the notoriously arrogant Ceree. Geirrha would have gasped, but it wasn’t fitting for the situation.

“Well, what about, Malkknrre?” asked Geirrha. Her voice was softer than usually, sign that she was still trying to overcome the shock. It wasn’t everyday that a man would show himself as bare as a leaf, much less someone like Malkknrre. “Whatever about, my king?”

“Please, call me Kahyan…” said Malkknrre, as though he himself was stunned. “It’s been a few hundred years since I last heard that name used…” he trailed off, almost innocently. He had a wistful expression on his face and he was sitting in a way that only adolescents, conscious of their bodies, sat. He had his tail wrapped in front of his limbs, effectively covering his lower regions. “I remember that I usually followed a pretty pale blue Ceree around when I was a child.”

“Where are you getting at Mal… ah… Kahyan?” asked Geirrha, still reeling in shock. There was no reason, no basis and no political aim for that conversation; she didn’t know what to say.

“She had a pretty face and the most beautiful limbs that I ever saw. She walked like a queen, hips swaying with every step…” he trailed off, blushing. Geirrha stood there, looking on like a stunned idiot, at a loss for words. “I always saw her whenever I went around the city with mother. I made it a point to leave the house and wait for her in the square every day…”

“Was I that girl, M… ahh… Kahyan?” asked Geirrha softly. She wasn’t known to act this way, not even when she was young. She had always held her head high, proud in her noble ancestry. Malkknrre had no such ancestry, so as a child, she would never have noticed him, and if she did, she would have ignored him.

Something just wasn’t right about Malkknrre. “Why are you talking to me about this?” asked Geirrha. She couldn’t fathom the reasons behind how Malkknrre was currently acting, and she wanted to. It definitely didn’t seem like a political maneuver, and neither did it look like a ploy to gain favor. It was just Malkknrre opening up to her.

“I have reason to believe so, Geirrha,” said Malkknrre. He caressed her chin with an aleron and that sent shivers down her spine. “I think I love you, Geirrha.”

Geirrha looked on in stunned silence at the confession. “Go away, Malkknrre. I have no interest in you,” she said quite harshly. “I have business to take care of” she continued. She donned a brown woolen cloak with a hood and left the room. “I will pay a visit to the sorcerer’s guild.”

Malkknrre walked away sadly. His head hung down, the feeling of being rejected even before making the first move was too much for even him to handle. Before he could take another step, pain erupted in his mind and he blacked out. There was a burning sensation on his leg.