Lady of the Eye and Ear Read online

  Chapter 2

  “Words and Silence”

  Haudriss awoke, the two little nymphs he had frolicked with still sleeping in his bed. He fondled one of them, making her stir and coo. Vorla’s words echoed in his memory, “I am not a silly little nymph who smiles and giggles at the sound of sweet words.”

  “But what delightful smiles and giggles they are.”

  Dame Aylith was bathing when Lord Vellizar came into the chamber. “Milord!” she covered herself and blushed.

  The gray elf held up the now sheathed spear-sword Aylith had captured from the dark elves. “As I speak to you, every ambassador of the Dwarfish League is meeting with Lord Haudriss.”

  “We did not foresee this meeting?”

  “Only that it is sudden and unheralded surprises us.” The gray elf laid down the sheathed weapon, then left the chamber. Aylith remembered his command, “Silence the Voice of the False Queen.”

  The grounds of the dark elfin embassy: “There is neither a handsome face nor a pleasant voice among them,” a sword-girl told the other with her. “Does a she-dwarf truly lay with a male of her own kind?”

  “Undoubtedly,” the other nymph giggled. “There is nought of beauty among any of them, male or female. Who but a dwarf would fancy a dwarf?”

  “True.”

  Suddenly the two were knocked into each other and pressed to the ground!

  A guard nearby was startled to hear faint, scuffling noises. She listened but all was now quiet. “Hello?!” Going to investigate, she gasped as a blond, greater nymph lunged at her!

  Lord Haudriss sat cross-legged on a plush carpet, his eyes closed, when Vorla came into the room. “Vorla.”

  The nymph asked, “Am I disturbing you?”

  The he-fay, his eyes still closed, smiled, “Delightfully so.” He opened his eyes and stood.

  “Haudriss, you are offering the dwarves allowance to mine the jewels of Middle Umbra?”

  “I have the blessing of Her Majesty to do and offer as I see fit.”

  “You would give our jewels to the dwarves?!”

  “We shall spend them wisely. The dwarves shall be bound to us by their own greed.”

  Outside on a balcony: A bow nymph was startled when a blond form sprang over the railing and pounced her!

  “Haudriss, you should not test Her Majesty’s favor.”

  The ambassador chuckled. “Test? My task is to clear the way for our return to Elfland. Dwarfish armies shall not be poised against us when we march. I have told Her Majesty of my design and She praised me as the wisest of Her counselors. I shall affirm, not test, Her favor.”

  Vorla pouted and folded her arms. Haudriss pulled them away from her bosom and asked, “My love, why are you sour?”

  “You are selling away Her Majesty’s jewels... to dwarves.”

  Haudriss embraced Vorla, cooing, and whispered into her ear, “All that we give them shall return to us when their lands become ours.” The nymph gasped. The he-fay hinted, “Our people made a promise to the monsters that must be kept.”

  Vorla laughed, reminded as to why she loved Lord Haudriss.

  A little sword-girl guarded a corridor... when seized in a firm headlock! A sharp jerk snapped her neck. She writhed and urinated as her killer lowered her to the floor.

  Vorla wondered, “What of Aylith?”

  “The dwarves are now wary of her, thus, there is little she can do to trouble us.”

  A sprite approached, bowed before Haudriss and told him, “Milord, the seven ambassadors of the Dwarfish League have returned. They wish to give you their answer.

  Haudriss nodded at Vorla, smiling, then told the messenger, “I shall see them now.”

  “Yes, milord.”

  Aylith found many chambers but no doors, thus, she had yet to find a room with secrets. She pounced and killed two sword-girls... only to find they had been guarding a library. She hid the bodies behind a bookcase then resumed her search. She crept and tiptoed past rooms and chatting sprites... until happening upon a door guarded by one sword-girl. The sentry cringed and screamed! Aylith snatched her by the throat and pressed her to the floor, strangling her. The greater nymph lay atop the lesser; listening... and waiting. None seemed alerted by the hapless one’s cry. Aylith got up off the little body and opened the door... only to find an empty quiet room! She had explored much of the palatial embassy and killed several guards, but she had yet to find her quarry.

  The short, stocky, bearded ambassador for the Dwarfish Kingdom of Dwarf West uttered in a gruff voice, “We must await the final say of our kings, but we are confident they will accept.”

  Lord Haudriss smiled and nodded. He then looked over the table at Mother Crystalline, and enquired, “Does doubt remain?”

  The she-dwarf answered, “”Duria has decided that it would be best to consider your queen’s offer.”

  “How delightful.”

  A sword-girl faced a winding stairwell, guarding it... when grabbed by the head, and her face then snapped past her shoulder! She twitched as she dropped but otherwise went limp. Aylith draped the little body over her shoulder, picked up its dropped spear-sword and hid them in a storage chamber. She then descended the winding steps.

  Lord Haudriss and his counselor, Mother Dellinnay, personally escorted the dwarfish ambassadors to their awaiting carriages. “Peace be with you all,” the he-fay bade his guests farewell. As they departed, he asked Dellinnay, “What are their feelings on the matter?”

  “Suspicion, but also desire.”

  “Is that not always a dwarf’s feelings?”

  Dellinnay laughed, “Yes, milord. The dwarves distrust you, but they believe your word.”

  “Good.”

  Lord Haudriss could not be found! Soon, however, a dead guard would be. For now, Aylith would escape the grounds the way she came. If the Voice of Nicnivin was to be silenced, it would be another day.

  Elsewhere in the City of Peace: “Milord,” the blond little nymph, Twaylee, whined, “I am her companion. Why did you not tell me?”

  Lord Vellizar explained, “Aylith alone has a right to avenge herself. It would be unseemly for her to be accompanied.”

  “Yes, but what if she needs help?”

  “The quest is hers alone.”

  “But, milord...!”

  “You are oft her companion, little Twaylee, but not always.”

  “Milord, did Aylith herself request to go alone?”

  “She made no request of me.”

  The littler fay opened a scroll and read, “Two-hundred-forty sword-girls (minus thirteen), forty-eight bow nymphs, nine witches and three priestesses.”

  “Lord Haudriss’s personal guard,” Vellizar recognized the numbers.

  “Yes, milord. These are not mere conscripts. These are elite soldiers, handpicked by Dame Vorla herself!”

  “They are elite lesser fay soldiers.”

  “So?”

  “The elite of the lesser are no match for the best of those greater.”

  Stung and feeling personally insulted, Twaylee sulked. She reminded, “They are many and she is but one.”

  “Yes. Dame Aylith is mindful of her danger.”

  “It would be best if Aylith were not alone!”

  A strong, feminine voice agreed, “Perhaps.”

  “Aylith!” Twaylee smiled and turned.

  The greater nymph hugged and kissed the lesser. “Thank you for your worry, Twaylee, but I am well.”

  Lord Vellizar hoped, “Is the Voice of Nicnivin silenced?”

  Aylith answered, “No, milord. Though I entered his abode, I could not find him.”

  The bodies of nine little nymphs lay side-by-side. “Aylith,” Vorla sneered.

  “Undoubtedly,” Haudriss agreed, “but she had not come to kill them,” he gestured at the row of corpses. “She had come to slay me.” Haudriss chuckled.

  “You are amused?”

  “Not at the deaths of our pe
ople, but I am amused.”

  Aylith was resting on a divan when little Twaylee entered the chamber and squatted next to her. The sprite wondered, “Why did you not ask Lord Vellizar to take me with you?”

  “Twaylee...”

  “Aylith, please tell me.”

  “Twaylee, you should not be offended. I alone hold right to ‘avenge’ myself. It would have been unseemly for you to accompany me.”

  “Aylith, you so often leave me behind!”

  “Twaylee...”

  “And you answered my question as if you were Vellizar himself.”

  “What he told you was true.”

  “No!” Twaylee explained, “It is known that Vellizar dislikes ever sending a sprite on a perilous quest.”

  “Twaylee, you have oft faced danger at his command.”

  “No, I mean a truly perilous quest. Why else did he not send me with you to fight alongside the dwarves? Why did he not send me with you into the enemy’s embassy?”

  “Lord Vellizar’s reasons are his alone to know.”

  Twaylee huffed. “I know his reasons.”

  “Do you?”

  “Yes! Aylith, I do not need coddling as if a pixy. I am a fay and I long with all my heart to help our people. I am skilled. I can walk, run or hide unseen and unheard. There is no lock I cannot pick nor trap that I cannot foil. I know I am not as strong as you are... but I can help! Aylith, I want to go with you, always... as your companion.”

  Aylith giggled, “Twaylee.”

  Lella sat with Dame Vorla, playing chess. “Wise move, madam,” the lesser nymph commended the greater.

  “Lest I prevail, what does it matter?” Vorla smiled when little Lella made a wise move of her own.

  “Madam.”

  “Yes?”

  “Shall our fallen be avenged?” Dame Vorla said nothing. “Madam, forgive me.”

  “There is nought to forgive.”

  The two played in silence until Dame Vorla wondered, “What are your feelings?”

  “Madam?”

  “Lella, my dear, I wish for you to share with me your truest feelings.”

  “I...” the sprite choked.

  “Do not fear to tell me.”

  “Madam... madam, do you truly wish to hear me?”

  “Yes.”

  “I am sad... and I am angry.”

  “Angry?”

  “Yes, madam. The high elf murdered my fellows. She murders us! I want her to die!”

  “As do I.”

  “Madam, it is the hope of us all that this horrible enemy shall soon fall by your sword!”

  “Mine?”

  “Yes, madam! Though we are not her match, you would surely cut her down!”

  Lella was not at all surprised when her mistress won the game.

  That evening: Lord Vellizar and Dame Aylith were eating supper together when little Twaylee came into the room and joined them. The lesser fay wondered, “Were you discussing another quest?”

  Vellizar answered, “We were discussing poetry.”

  “Poetry?”

  Aylith told her, “I shared with our Lord Vellizar poems I have read and heard. He delighted me with those he himself has written. He was telling me that the poetic quality of an incantation is determinant in the potency of a spell.”

  Twaylee rolled her eyes and remarked, “Wizards make even fun things boring.”

  “Twaylee!” Aylith snapped.

  “I am sorry. I uttered my thought without thinking.”

  Aylith rebuked, “Your thought was rude!”

  The naughty little sprite looked at the gray elf and said, “I am sorry.”

  Lord Vellizar nodded.

  Three lesser nymphs knelt and bowed before Dame Vorla and her friend, the greater nymph Lady Gledriss. Two of the littler elves each were armed with a bow, arrows and a dagger. Jilleel, the leader of them, however, was armed with two daggers and two throwing knives. Vorla wondered, “How well do they know the way of silence and shadow?”

  Gledriss answered, “They are among the best of my disciples.”

  “Good.”

  “I am envious, dear Vorla, and sad that I must return them to you. All quarry ever appointed them perish.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes. They are loyal, obedient and unfailing. They shall serve you well.”

  “I do not doubt you, Gledriss, but I must put your claim to the test.”

  Lady Gledriss gestured towards the three sprites, “As you wish.”

  Dame Vorla commanded the trio, “You are to find and to slay Aylith the High Elf. She is a greater nymph and an agent of the Usurper’s Eye and Ear. Answer only to me. The lord ambassador must be able to say in all truth that your deed was not by his command. Do you all understand what is required of you?”

  The three answered in unison, “Yes, madam!”

  “Jilleel,” Dame Vorla offered her a thin scroll. The littler elf took it. “I shall await the pleasure of hearing of the high elf’s demise.”

  “Yes, madam.”

  Aylith was trying to sleep... when little Twaylee joined her in bed! “Did you hear me enter?” the sprite wondered.

  “No, Twaylee.”

  “Unheard and unseen,” the littler nymph giggled.

  “Yes and uninvited.”

  “Aylith, may I sleep with you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Aylith.”

  “Twaylee, I do not wish to again hear your pleas that you always be with me.” The lesser fay tittered rather than respond.

  The two lay on their sides, staring at each other... when Twaylee asked, “Aylith, do you like Sir Thaydrin?”

  “Yes.”

  “If he courted you, would you marry him?”

  Aylith caressed Twaylee’s cheek and asked what she already knew, “Twaylee, do you like Sir Thaydrin?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then I would not marry him, even if he courted me.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I love you.” Aylith played with the littler elf’s hair.

  Twaylee uttered nothing else until commenting, “Sir Thaydrin likes me.”

  “A he-fay likes all nymphs.”

  “No. I believe Sir Thaydrin is truly fond of me.”

  “Why?”

  “Before we departed Avalon... he asked me to journey with him to the Sunrise Islands.”

  “Yes,” Aylith frowned, “and what would be his pleasure amid such a long voyage?”

  “I have already pleased him.”

  “Twaylee!”

  “I like Sir Thaydrin. Why should I not play with him?”

  Aylith sighed. Twaylee giggled.

  Morning: Aylith and Twaylee were already eating breakfast when Lord Vellizar joined them. “Milord,” Twaylee offered him grapes.

  “Thank you,” he accepted. “Dame Aylith.”

  “Yes, milord.”

  “The Reverend Ambassador for Duria has invited you to her embassy.” The gray elf looked over at little Twaylee, “Alone.”

  Aylith wondered, “Milord, do you wish me to go?”

  “The Reverend Ambassador has invited you to meet with the Voice of the False Queen, Lord Haudriss. It is your choice alone if you accept or decline.”

  Aylith thought for a long moment before deciding, “I shall meet with the dark elf.”

  “Why?” Twaylee wondered.

  “Because the Reverend Mother Crystalline has invited me.”

  The Embassy of Duria: A typically stout and bearded dwarfish guard told Aylith, in his gruff voice, “This way, madam.” He led her to the courtyard and pointed at the dark elf who stood alone at the fountain. “Madam, the Ambassador for Fay Umbra.”

  Aylith enquired of the dwarf, “Will Mother Crystalline be joining us?”

  “No, madam. Do you need or want anything before I go?”

  “No.” Aylith bowed, “Thank you.”

  The dwarf nodded then left.

  The dark el
f smiled but said nothing as Aylith approached him. “Lord Ambassador Haudriss?”

  “Yes,” he bowed. He said nothing else as she drew nearer.

  “You wish parley with me?”

  “Yes.” The tall he-fay studied her form and face then said, “It is my pleasure to behold your beauty.”

  “Lord ambassador, did you summon me for parley... or to proposition me?”

  The dark elf chuckled. “Forgive me if my compliment has offended you.” He sat at the edge of the fountain and gestured for Aylith to join him. She did so. “Dame Aylith, you glorify your cause.”

  “Thank you for your praise, lord ambassador.”

  “My praise is no flattery. Dame Aylith, you are a spy and assassin. I am a diplomat. I shall not waste out meeting with fruitless rhetoric and sophistry.”

  Aylith suspected, “Nor did you call me here to make peace.”

  “Peace is born only of victory.”

  “So say the dark elves.”

  “What we say is true.”

  Aylith disagreed, “Peace is born only of friendship.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes. So often, victory stings as if defeat.”

  “Yes. Dame Aylith, I do not doubt your wisdom nor your skill nor that you are true to your cause. We are not enemies. Our quarrel is not our own. We are but soldiers doing our duty. We live and, if need be, we shall kill... or die for what is dear to us.”

  “Lord Haudriss, why did you call to meet me?”

  “Dame Aylith, did you not wish to see the face and hear the voice of he whom you imagine to kill? If this is to be a mortal contest, then let us know each other that it shall be our contest. Let us be intimate, even if only as adversaries.” The high elf stood and started walking away. “Dame Aylith.” She ignored him. “Aylith!” She turned and faced him. Haudriss told her, “There shall be peace.”

  “Yes,” she told him, “but it shall not be yours.” The dark elf said nothing else as the high elf left him.