Under the Oak Tree (Riftan Calypse POV) - The Return

The Return

The view of the port of Whedon was in the horizon. Riftan was looking out to sea from the deck of the ship that would take him and his men home after the final battle at the Pamela Plateau which took at least another month to end. Like the success of the Dragon Subjugation, there would also be a warm welcome for the Royal Knights and the Knights of Remdragon, with the glory shared by both groups. Since the battle was far away in Livadon, the fear among the people in the Whedon did not feel as worrisome as it was when Riftan and his men were at Lexos Mountains four years ago. The physical distance between Livadon and Whedon lessened the urgency of this war in the minds of Whedon's citizens. Something out of sight, was out of mind. Still, this would be an occasion to celebrate the men who have returned to the kingdom, and to give honor to those who died. These celebrations were necessary to give consolation to the bereaved, as much as they were an important tool to generate public loyalty to the crown.

While Riftan was a man who generally avoided pomp and circumstance, it was still an unspoken part of his job as Commander to make appearances to help strengthen the image of King Reuben among his people and most importantly, among the nobles of Whedon. But since this War Effort was mostly composed of the Royal Knights and the King's soldiers in terms of sheer numbers, he thought it would be best to send most of the 300 Remdragon men home. For the past several months, Anatol had only been held together by a skeletal force of knights, guards and apprentices. His fiefdom needed protecting, while his successful but tired men were eager for peace and rest.

He had selected only 30 knights to go with him to the celebrations at the Capital for appearances sake, which includes Gabel and Ruth. Uslin and Elliot should be waiting for him at the palace, having escorted Maxi back to Whedon several weeks ago with Agnes' party. The larger contingent will be heading straight to Anatol to be led by Hebaron.

Reuniting with Maxi was the only real reason why Riftan was looking forward to coming to the King's palace.

Back in Levan, while waiting for the injured to recover in order to endure the trip to Whedon by sea, Riftan found time to walk around the markets. He bought trinkets for Maxi with some of the spoils of the war taken mostly from the weapons of the dead monsters. He did not know much about women's tastes, but he did manage to buy some gold bangles, a few silver and gold earrings, and some pins and combs for Maxi's hair. He did not want to buy or carry too much. Riftan planned on buying her more things at the shops in Drakium so that Maxi herself could choose what dresses or jewelry she wanted to use for the banquets in the coming days, rather than borrow from the Princess.

***

Upon arrival at the port of Whedon, the Remdragon Knights stayed at the various inns in the busy town to prepare for the next leg of their separate journeys. From there, the journey from the port to Drakium Palace would take Riftan only 5 more days. He was excited but was also a little bit apprehensive about meeting his wife because of his own guilt. When Maxi left Ethylene Castle a few a months ago, Riftan initially thought it would be a good idea to avoid Maxi before he sent her off with Agnes in a carriage as he did not want to have a difficult time saying goodbye. But as his loneliness grew, so did his regret. Because no matter how much he tried to justify that his actions were meant to protect his wife, he also could not forget how badly he treated her once he realized they were not going to see each other for a long time. Riftan felt like a complete and utter fool.

How was it possible that the heroine of Ethylene Castle who was unconscious for a week, was not comforted with not a single embrace or kiss from her husband? Riftan felt incredibly regretful as he recalls their last argument and her somber face in the carriage. On the date of her departure at Ethylene Castle, he saw Maxi looking for him like a lost puppy who just wanted to say good-bye, and yet he purposely avoided her. It was difficult for Riftan to shake this off from his conscience. He wished for nothing more than to make up for how he treated her months ago when she left.