Arrival - 35 Beloved & Awakening book preview, 1st chapter

Chapter 1-Kirinae

June, 1104 A.D.

I was so…tired. I was so tired of travelling. I was exhausted.

Its not like I had asked for this life.

My mother was the Sahyeen, or Skyelf, Queen of Celestial Peak, and my father was the King of Barrenwilds, the Dahrahm, or Darkelf city, but my father himself recently transformed into a Skyelf.

I was instructed to go around the lands, checking on the progress of the cities. I was looking to see if people actually were following the laws that my mother had passed, and that my father was enforcing.

I was one of the overseers, and it was my job to report back to my father, and then he could report to mother.

I sighed. I was in the Dwarf city of Dolinmuul, and it reeked. So many of the dwarves, men especially, didn’t seem particularly fond of the bath.

At least their women loved them that way, I suppose.

It seemed an odd preference.

The king of Dolinmuul was not happy to see me, but didn’t seem to have anything to hide from me. He began giving me a tour around the city, and once I had deemed that everything was in order, I was happy to get to leave.

Dolinmuul was my last stop on my way back to Barrenwilds, and I was happy to be getting to go home. It had been too long since I had slept in my own bed.

I also missed my grandmother, Arenatha.

Since father’s transformation and taking control of the city, despite her being a Darkelf, she fully supported him and his rule over the city, and I was happy that she and I had gotten quite close as time had slowly gone by.

But there was, at least, one reason that I didn’t look forward to going home; and that was my former boyfriend. He’d taken up residency in Barrenwilds to be with me, and….and things had not worked out.

He was handsome, of course. He had strong, thick arms. He had the typical black hair of the Wraiths, along with the eyes and facial markings.

I had been very hurt by our separation, but I was the Princess of Barrenwilds. I didn’t have time to mope over some boy.

Even though I was the one who had ended things with him, it still hurt. Luka…..my gorgeous Luka….

But he wasn’t mine anymore, was he?

When you’re the daughter of two of the most powerful people in the world, people expect for you to be powerful, as well.

And sure, physically I was powerful when I wanted to be. But….

In all honesty….

I didn’t want to be who I was.

I wanted to be a normal girl, ordinary. I didn’t want to be a warrior for my mother, or a Princess for my father.

I didn’t want any of that. I just wanted to be an ordinary girl with ordinary worries and concerns, and I wanted to have a husband who worked hard and who was strong, while I stayed at home and took care of the house and the children, should I ever have any.

Speaking of children, my mother’s new sons were only a few months old, now. They had been born a while back.

Since then, Dragon had married Arthenia, and my mother had also married again, this time to Coal.

Kelose had been turned into a human and frozen in enchanted ice to preserve him until it was the right time to release him, and Dragon and my mother had began taking the prisoners of the Skies of Light Project jurisdiction into custody and had them put into the dungeon until they were put on trial for war crimes and executed.

It was a dirty job, but it was getting the world back on track to the Light Realm, or so my mother thought.

Many people disagreed with her. They didn’t like her trying to bring the world to light. But I thought that her intentions were honorable, at least, even if the means weren’t.

I had went and seen my mother recently, just a couple of weeks ago, and had seen Adrian and Lucian. They were handsome babies, and mother seemed truly happy. I supposed that it was because she had a part of both of the men that she loved.

Dragon and Arthenia had opened a new clinic at the base of Celestial Peak mountain, and they had more business than ever. They were doing quite well.

I finally reached Barrenwilds, and I trudged through the city quietly, people bustling on about their lives around me.

I bumped into someone hard, and I tripped over my own feet and fell to the ground.

I hmph’d, and stood, brushing myself off.

“Hey, you should watch where you’re going!” I told the person as I looked behind me to see who it was.

And I was lost in a pool of blood red eyes and white hair, and a light gray body.

“I’m terribly sorry, highness, I should have been paying more attention to my surroundings,” he said, coming to see if I was alright.

And he froze.

“What are you looking at?” I grumbled softly, slightly disoriented from his dizzying eyes.

“Someone who is beautiful,” he said softly, a mischievous grin on his face. He bowed slightly. “I apologize again for bumping into you, my lady. I will take care in the future to watch where I’m going,” he smiled, and then he walked away.

I smiled in spite of myself. Well…he had been quite attractive.

*

“So, the Dwarves in Dolinmuul are following and abiding by the laws, then?” My father asked as I came to report to him.

I nodded. “Seemingly so. They seemed to have nothing to hide from me, though the king was very displeased to see me.” “Well, he should be. If you’re there, it means that there are sources telling me that things aren’t going as they should be there. And he is aware that I am keeping tabs on everyone. He must have realized that I’d heard something if I’d sent you to check it out.”

I smiled. “Well, at least he didn’t seem to be hiding anything, sire.”

“Good.” He grinned. “Your boyfriend came by today, asking when you would be getting back. He wants to take you out on the town,” he laughed at my sour expression. “Are you two still fighting?”

I huffed. “I broke up with him for a reason. He was annoying. He was always complimenting my fighting skills and telling me how amazing it must be to have such important parents, and ugh…” I groaned.

He sighed. “I see. And you found his high praise for you and your life annoying,” he said in an amused tone.

I crossed my arms. “Don’t make fun of me! I don’t want to be a fighter, father. I don’t want to be a princess, either. I just…..I just want to be ordinary.”

His eyebrows shot up. “Ordinary? My daughter, ordinary? What would you want to be ordinary for? You have everything that you could possibly need, and you don’t want it!” He laughed.

“I am being honest, and here you are, laughing at me,” I said, my voice irritated. His face suddenly got serious.

“You….you’re serious?”

I nodded. “Yes, I’ve been being serious. Do you know me to usually joke?”

He looked away. “I….I didn’t realize that you were so uncomfortable here.” His tone was almost hurt.

“Its not that I’m uncomfortable here, father. Its just…I like my freedom. I like to be able to come and go as I please, to not be tied down. I would like to have no responsibilities. And once I have finished with that, I’d like a family and I’d like to be able to settle down and enjoy the rest of my life in solitude with them. I don’t want to rule a nation.”

He patted my back. “I am sorry, Kirinae. I didn’t realize that you were so unhappy with your new role in life.” He thought long and hard.

“Why don’t you give her some time to explore the world, without being on official business and sent by you?” My grandmother asked, walking into the room. “Her mother, from what I understand, had quite a while to explore and see things, and get to know who she wanted to become. Kirinae has had no such time. I think that perhaps, it would be best to let her go out and see the world for herself.”

He thought on that for a moment, and I looked at him with hopeful eyes.

“Alright….but I need for you to agree to take someone with you, a protector, if you will, to watch over you. You are my daughter, Kirinae….and, your role in this whole situation between your mother and I has put you at risk of being attacked. It would…It would just make me feel better, to know that you had someone with you, to offer a bit of protection.” Before I could protest, he held up his hand. “Yes, yes, I know that Dragon taught you how to fight, and that I have been training you as well. But you still aren’t ready to venture out into the world alone. You could take your boyfriend with you-”

“Former boyfriend, and no, father.”

He sighed. “I have another person in mind, then. He’s just been transferred here, he’s a born Darkelf who is very young and very powerful, and he had been living in a remote cabin in the western mountains, near the Ork city. He could go with you.”

I sighed softly, resigning myself to accept this if I wanted to get anywhere. My father, I supposed, was already being kind enough to let me go. I guess I would have to accept a partner for the journey.

“Who is this Darkelf, then?”

“Go into town, through the city square, and go to the poison hall. He should be there, gathering reports for me. His name is Severin. He will be your partner for your time away from here.”

“Fine.” I stormed out of the throneroom, agitated. My father was assigning me to go and find my own baby sitter!

I knew that if I just left without finding this ‘Severin’, father would simply summon Coal and come after me to bring me back. No, I had to take this whatever-his-name-was-again with me.

Severin.

I had to remember that. If I wanted to find him, I would need to at least know his name.

I went to the poison hall, and looked around. “Severin!” I called loudly.

One woman pointed me in the direction of a closed door. “He’s in there, highness.”

I sighed. I went and knocked on the door. “Severin, if you are in there, I demand that you come out by order of the King of Barrenwilds!”

Within seconds, the door opened-only to reveal the young and incredibly handsome Dahrahm, or Darkelf, that I’d crashed into earlier that day out in the street.

My heart raced. “Don’t tell me that you are Severin,” I asked, mouth agape.

He grinned like a naughty kid. “Guilty. What does your father need me for?”

“Oh, alright, this is just too much. You know my father already, and you obviously knew who I was when you crashed into me earlier! Now I see, father’s trying to set me up!” I complained.

“Set you up? What do you mean?”

“My father told me that I could leave the city to go on my own personal journey to see the world, and told me that the only way that I am allowed to leave is if I take you!” I shouted in a huff.

He looked at me as if he were surprised. “But…why would you want to leave? Is palace life not good enough for the poor little princess?” He asked, mocking me with a smile.

“That’s it!” I went to slug him across the face, but he easily caught my fist. I looked at him in shocked rage.

“Temper, temper, my lady. Please, calm down. Now, let’s go and just have a talk with your father, then.”

Sputtering the entire way like an idiot, I was pulled by the hand back to the castle to speak to my father.

Severin was awful! Cracking jokes and poking fun at me! And yet….and yet, he was so darn gorgeous….

I shook myself. No. No, no, no, no. I had just gotten out of a relationship. I wasn’t ready to jump into another one. This journey was about me.

“Ah, Kirinae, you have returned, and Severin was nice enough to bring you,” my father chuckled. “Severin, did Kirinae tell you why I have you here right now?”

Severin nodded. “Yes, sire. Apparently, she wishes to leave the city for some odd personal journey and the only way that you were willing to allow her to leave was if she agreed to take me as her escort. Right?”

Father nodded. “Yes, that’s right.” He looked at me. “Is this acceptable to you? Or do I need to put the both of you back to work?”

I grumbled. “Its acceptable enough,” I whined.

He clapped his hands. “Wonderful!” My father grinned at my glare. “Oh, dear, don’t be so irate. I simply don’t wish for my lovely daughter to be taken hostage or put into danger just because she has the whim to leave her homeland for a deeply personal journey.”

“Why are you going on a journey?” Severin asked me.

“My…my mother, has went on a couple of personal journeys in her lifetime. And she came back a better person each time because of it. I would like to have a chance to see the world through her eyes, through my own eyes, to see it for myself and make my own choices for myself for a change. I don’t want to just be told how I’m supposed to live, I want to…go out there, and live it.”

“There you have it, then,” father said softly to Severin. “And I agree. I have went on many, many personal journeys for that purpose, and look where I am today. I think that the trip will be good for her, and for you as well. Now, then. Severin, I give you my full permission to take charge over my daughter, to protect her and look out for her. If she is doing something dangerous, stop or restrain her. If someone comes to attack her, kill them. Have I made myself clear?”

Severin nodded, bowing. “It is an honor to serve the royal family, sire.”

“Now, go pack your things then, Severin. I need to talk to Kirinae a bit more.”

Severin bowed again, before he left out of the room.

Father turned his attention back to me. “Do try not to bother him too much, dear. I have given him my full persmission to do whatever it takes to protect and care for you.”

I huffed. “Fine, then.” I gave him a quick hug, before I took off out of the throneroom once again, rushing to my chambers to pack a backpack.

I was so excited, though I did dread being followed around by someone. At least I was getting to leave, I thought. And I fully planned to go and enjoy my journey.

When I had finished packing and went to leave my room, I jumped to find Severin outside of my door, waiting for me.

“You certainly got ready quickly,” I said.

“When you only own a few clothes and weapons, there really isn’t much to get ready,” he said softly.

I couldn’t respond to that right away. “So…you don’t own anything but some clothes and weapons…?”

He glanced at me. “Didn’t I just say that?”

I nodded. I suddenly felt my cheeks get warm. “Yes.”

“You certainly are strange,” he said, looking me up and down. “Now, let’s go.”

I followed him out of the castle. This was going to be one long trip.