Wealday, 12 Rova

I knew I had been tracking this giant-mage for two days now, and I could sense I was getting closer. The signs were fresher and every now and then I imagined I could actually smell his stench. Sparna was right; you really could smell them if you knew what you were … smelling for. There’d been no sign he knew he was being tracked.

I crept slowly to a clearing. At the far side, there was a small fire, and there looked to be something cooking over it. Perhaps today would be the battle. The others were too far behind to give them time to catch up, but with the element of surprise this was very doable. But first, scout, always scout. Shalelu had certainly taught me that much. I began to carefully, silently circle the clearing, searching for traps or additional enemies.

About 3/4 of the way around, I came across a track too small to be that of any giant. Did he have minions? I had not observed any before today. I studied the track. It was relatively fresh; probably only a couple of hours old, and it too headed cautiously towards the clearing.

Curious, I followed this new track. The small boots could be that of a true elf, or perhaps a small human or half elf. But there should be no others in this area. A disturbed area seemed to indicate a scuffle … did the giant now hold a prisoner? That would complicate things.

I was startled by a booming, stilted voice in Common.

“Ah, you have arrived,” the voice echoed from the far edge of the clearing. “I felt it appropriate to wait.”

Was he talking to me? I had been silent; there’s no way …

“You can bear witness to my success!” I could see now that the giant was indeed facing my direction, and seemed to be holding a struggling, bound figure.

It seemed the element of surprise was lost. From the cover of the woods, I replied, “You will not have success unless you kill ME. And that shall not happen tonight. I will be there when you rest, and I will be there when you sleep. You will die of exhaustion when you find you cannot adequately –”

“Stop your prattle and view your defeat yourself!” As the bound figure swung behind the fire, and the fire’s light shone upon it, it’s face was evident.

It was Ameiko.

That couldn’t be! She should not be here! She .. she … sigh. She was fully capable of moving as quickly and silently as myself. Again, the lure of adventure had taken ahold of her and now in a moment of carelessness …

“I will be rewarded richly for this!” he laughed, and with his free hand, he swung a mighty, spiked club that landed with a sickening, dull thud on Ameiko’s head. She immediately stopped struggling. He laughed again. “Despite the magic at my disposal, there’s something so pleasant and visceral about a good stout tree! I am not so skilled at this as some so I apologize if this will take several attempts!” And he swung again, and there was a dull crack this time. “Ah, that was much better!” he said, grinning. I leapt forward from my place of hiding and
And awoke in a cold sweat. At my side was Suishen, and I was still in my mithril breastplate, which was my standard sleeping garb these days. I was wet, cold, and uncomfortable.

For the last three nights I had had variants of the same nightmare. My responsibility. My failure. In every one of them, Ameiko had been trying to escape my custody like a child from a parent. She was working against me, not with me.

It was still relatively early in the night, but this needed to happen now.

I nodded at this hour’s guard as I walked over to where Ameiko slept. I moved her blade just out of reach before gently waking her, and smiled slightly as her instinctive grab did not find the expected blade. Her eyes narrowed. “Olmas?”

“I would like us to talk,” I said softly. “Alone.”

“NOW?”

With a sad sigh, I replied, “Yes. Now is best if we wish it to be private.”

She looked at my face, nodded, and arose. Together, we moved to a place well within the camp but still away from other sleepers.

“Ameiko,” I began, “I completely understand what it is like to have expectations of you that you did not set yourself. As a half elf, it has been a large part of my existence. But what I have come to realize is that those moments require not simply introspection nor dismissal, but instead, discussion and compromise.”

“My, Olmas,” she said almost mockingly. “You’re talking like some kind of diplomat now. Vying for a position in my court already?”

“Please. I am serious. Until the past few months, I knew you only through Shalelu. I had met you a few times, but I didn’t really know you. I knew of you more than I knew you.

“Then came the revelation that you were heir to a legacy nobody in our corner of the world suspected to exist, least of all you. You do not feel like royalty and you do not wish to be treated as royalty. And yet you find yourself in that role, and with a giant bullseye painted on your back for good measure.”

“Tell me about it,” she almost snapped back. “It’s an incredible shock and change for me. I never pictured myself living up to the expectations of my own father,” and her eyes drifted a bit, “let alone an entire empire.” Her eyes focused again, and she continued. “I need to surround myself with advisors and protectors I trust already.” Looking directly at me, she said, “I’m glad to have you as one of those, Olmas.”

I gestured back towards my belongings. “A few weeks ago, that sword came into my possession. It would seem it chose me as much as I chose it. It bestows upon me a … I will stop short of calling it an obligation but instead, a responsibility.” I took a deep breath.

“However, members of my order take responsibility very seriously. I find myself needing to protect and defend a person who has, so far as I know, never found themselves needing protection or needing to be defended. Someone who feels much more at home fighting for their friends than having their friends fight for them. Someone who abhors being dependent.

“And yet here we are.” I fiddled nervously with my hands.

“You represent both an office, and a person. I want to see you survive to fill that office, but I wish to do so without driving away the person I am growing to know. We can joke about ‘your highness’ and ‘my protector’ but we truly need to have a way that I can communicate to you my concern and you can communicate to me your desires without either getting angry with the other.

“When the day comes when you are truly worried, and truly need help, I want you to be able to tell me that, knowing that I am only there to help and that it does not diminish you, in my eyes, as the brave soul you already are.”

Ameiko paused a moment before replying. “Thank you for your service, oh protector of mine.” As my face fell and I prepared to reply, she laughed. “Yes, I understand well enough that when we are done with this journey we will need to be more regal and watch our demeanor when in public.” She paused again. “Will you then serve me as my personal guard or is it your quest simply to deliver me there?”

“I believe,” I replied slowly, “that that will be your decision, not mine. When you ascend, we should revisit this question.” I smiled at her, and she gave a goofy grin back.

For the first time in weeks, I slept well the rest of the night.