Elemental Witch: Child of the Earth (Part I)

Contemplation

Lady Reyani stood at the rail of Duke Oliver's ship, feeling the deck move beneath her feet as the current tugged on the anchor, listening to her friends talk lightly several feet away. The warm summer day had only threatened a storm once, though the dark cloud that had flitted over the sun was brief and judging by its cause, they were happy there hadn't been a hurricane. She watched the woods on the other side of the river, straining her eyes to search for movement. She  had been doing so since Verana and the three dark, silent, Feysha had disappeared within the forest. They had briefly paused to greet the occupants of the ship but even Verana appeared done with Humans and it wasn't until they had made it to the far bank that Sir Benchan had given them the true account of what had happened in the Market.

There had been rumours that followed but with no trace of disaster and the wisest course had been to not rush into the situation and respond drastically. Humans needed to know that interaction with the Feysha was normal and if the King was always interfering with the smallest detail, there would never be a normal. She wanted very desperately to follow Verana and... she didn't know. She wanted to remind her that humans weren't all the same, to reassure herself that the Feyshan woman who had begun to feel like a friend, still felt comfortable around her.

"You're far too melancholy for such a beautiful evening." Duke Oliver approached her casually, leaning on the railing of his ship beside her though he left a healthy space between them. He had been a lot more real and far less of a flirt around her and Amiya the last week or so, though she couldn't say just what had changed with him.

Reyani side glanced his direction, offering a smirk, "spare the flowery talk, your grace."

He laughed, his eyes flickering to the woods and then back to her. "Alright, let us talk straight. You're best friends with my best friend's future wife. So we have to at least be good friends. You don't have to tell me your most precious thoughts but what has you worried?"

"I don't know if it's worry. I'm frustrated. I know Kavenay purposely went out of his way to run into them. I know it, but why him? I know not everyone is going to give them a positive reception but why did it have to be him? Why couldn't someone more than that half wit have stepped forward." Reyani shook her head, letting out a frustrated breath, "What if that's all it takes, the rest are going to leave, and Verana is left to wait for an answer alone."

"They're not as delicate as you think. On all accounts, Lady Veranandein handled it swimmingly. I haven't seen Kavenay put into his place in years and I wish I had been there. And her friend Shaktay, as dangerous as he seems and as she said he was, he appears to be keeping the peace, himself. They seemed more unsettled at the concept of execution as a form of punishment, according to Benchan." Oliver's voice was thoughtful but it was real, he was putting thought into her words, and responding in a constructive way.

Reyani looked at him, then back to the woods. "I suppose you were put in your place by her as well."

He laughed again, it was a rich and musical sound that carried across the water and possibly to the watching eyes and listening ears in the dark forest beyond. "Yes. I was. But she did provide me with room to redeem myself. I was an idiot, I suppose that I limit my genuine interactions with people by doing it."

"I think the only reason why she tolerates you, is because she's fascinated by the concept of your Wild sea, Duke." Reyani smirked at him, watching him for a long moment, before inclining her head. "Still, Kavenay will not leave it at this. He will try to regain what he sees as the upper hand and I think he is stupid enough to do something that would break this unsteady acceptance."

"So far we have about half of the noble houses ready to follow the King's lead and a fair deal more that are willing to listen. There have been several enquiries by all camps at plans for an informal chance to meet this ambassador before the War Council begins. Though some, like Kavenay, will do it to get their two words in, a great deal want to meet her and judge for themselves." Oliver offered a shrug, before arching a brow. "For someone you dislike, you seem very certain about Kavenay's intentions."

Reyani blushed, looking down at the water then back to him. "He has asked for my hand in marriage about eight times now. The first time he did, I rebuked him quite solidly and it gave me peace for a couple years. But since Amiya has been linked with the King, and more relentlessly since their betrothal, he has resumed. He doesn't ask me anymore, he believes he can convince my parents to agree to it without any input from me. He wants to win but he also believes he should be amongst this group."

Oliver's expression darkened at that, and he crossed his arms over his chest in thought. He seemed to understand her frustration on a level most men did not. "And your parents?"

"They respect my wishes but he is a very well connected Lord and eventually the Queen will not have any use for me, as she starts her household. They currently just query if I am still very certain about it. " Reyani paused, blushing and looking to him. "I'm sorry, this is not a matter that concerns anyone other than my family and me. It isn't something that affects the world as it is."

"One thing I have learned in my short, colourful life is that everything affects the world. Even the most intimate or familial of concern. Besides, purely selfishly, I know Lady Amiya will never turn her back on you and I am not too inclined to welcome him into the folds of even casual friendship." Oliver gave her a thoughtful smile, offering a careful shrug. "We can always hope for an unplanned, accidental death at the tournament, I suppose."

Reyani frowned at that, gripping the ship railing tightly. "He signed up for the tournament?" He was a good fighter but she knew he would only have one reason for doing something like that.

Oliver nodded at that, "He did this afternoon after his run in with our friends."

"He's going to purposely try to hurt one of them." Reyani closed her eyes, taking in a slow breath. "I wish only good people could excel at things, I wish it all the time. He's a brilliant fighter, he doesn't lose often."

"Aye, but he has never beaten Shelby." Oliver shrugged, his voice showing little concern, not sharing her worries.

Reyani continued breathing, trying to picture the potential battles in her mind. "I wish I knew where Verana, or even Shaktay and whomever else is fighting, stands the ranks of talent."

Reyani opened her eyes to watch Oliver after he had fallen silent and not responded to her, his expression was distant and thoughtful. "The third Feyshan name I saw was Senchalneeria, Sir Benchan said that that was the one that trained Verana"

"Ah, yes that makes sense." She nodded gently at that, watching him, waiting for the answer.

Oliver met her eyes, pausing for a long moment. " Look, I've always been in the middle ground for fighting on solid earth. I'm better at the big picture tactics. And I haven't seen them fight, but if she handled Benchan easily and Shelby thinks she might be a challenge and if I watch the way that Shaktay moves, I would put them up for a very entertaining go against any of the Kingdom's best fighters."

"I don't want to be entertained, Oliver." Reyani frowned at him, though her expression lightened when he gave her a knowing look.

"I know. But I will never feed you false hope. There are so many different things that affect the outcome of a fight, sometimes it just comes down to the size of want in the fighter." Oliver's expression was momentarily open, raw, showing as much worry as she felt. "He will underestimate them, based on their size. He will believe in his ability to fight them in open ground, which is something to be said. This is a human arena, they don't even understand what it's like to fight in front of a crowd. I could dissect this all night, m'lady. Just have faith that things will go as they must."

"The Gods do not always have the same plans for us as we do." Reyani murmured softly, glancing up at the sky.