Song of the chapter - Wild Boys by Duran Duran

It took several days to recover from Finding Night. The rumors had been true; the party lasted until the last star in the sky fell from night and light illuminated the forest trees, still laden with silver streamers catching both the firelight and the sun. Eliana had managed to remain for the entirety of the party, although her eyes battled to stay open for the last several hours. The Queen had taken her leave in the early morning hours as well, not wanting to disappoint the community.

Throughout the evening, the Queen had spoken little more of what was to come with Eliana. Their talk had returned to the celebration and the joy of the night, but not before one final bit of cryptic information.

"As we recover from this night, preparations will be made for the forces to move. You are almost ready; your skills have been honed for battle. Blaike and Zolen are quite impressed with your natural abilities. The final step will be to train the Starlight which you hold, and that is a task for later." Queen L'Oran had said as they sipped sparkling Ferlish wine.

"I don't know if I can do what everyone expects me to do. I'm still trying to understand it all. I wish someone would just draw me a map or write a timeline or something. It's so confusing." Eliana confessed.

"My dear, I realize there are still things you do not know, but there are reasons for us to hold information and release it slowly. Too much would overwhelm you, I am sure. There is destiny at play, timing which must be in place. Prior to our fight with the dark forces, your knowledge will be complete, and all of those who have their destiny wrapped in this moment will be present."

Eliana nodded, hopeful that soon the answers will make sense. "I trust you," she said, and meant it. Somehow, she had always believed the Queen to know the right thing. That feeling had hit her the moment Blaike had mentioned the Queen so long ago, the day she found the Ferlands.

It felt like a lifetime had passed since walking out of that cave. Eliana was a different person, a new person entirely. Receiving her sight, becoming a Seer and a warrior had been unexpected. However, it was wholly natural. It was as if Eliana was born to do what she was doing. Although not everything made sense, she trusted the Queen's words.

The community was at rest for two days after Finding Night. Other than day-to-day needs for food, most Fae were enjoying leisure time and resting up. On the third day, Zolen was knocking at Eliana's door bright and early, calling her to training.

"The time has come for work to resume. This year's celebration was bigger than most, but the fun has come to an end." He stated.

"You guys sure know how to throw a party, right Eli?" Harper called from the couch in the common room.

"Thank you." Zolen answered with his typical seriousness. "But your fun has also ended. Please report to the main hall. You have been recruited to prepare our food stores for the journey to Travor."

"What? Who signed me up for that?" Harper stood, hands on hips, protesting the plan.

"I did. If you are to travel with us, you need an occupation. Pantry chief was available so that is what you will do." He nodded his head, then promptly turned on his heels and stepped back onto the path. "Eliana, come." He commanded gently.

Eliana turned to shrug at her friend, a look of horror plastered on Harper's face. "Bye. Have fun." She waved as she also turned to leave, not wanting to hear Harper's inevitable melt down at having to pack food.

Weapons mistress, she would have gone for, wardrobe a definite yes. But pantry chief? Harper didn't even like to make microwave mac and cheese back home, being in charge of the pantry was sure to put her in a foul mood. Eliana was suddenly grateful to Zolen for whisking her away for the long day of physical exertion.

"Where is Travor?" Eliana asked after she caught up to Zolen, his pace leading him quickly away from the fuming female pantry chief.

"It is to the North, in fact the northern most town in the Ferlands. The dark queen has claimed it as her capital. It is also near the main stronghold of the Ancients. So we travel there for two purposes; to hold council between the Ancients and our forces, and to engage in battle with Claec the dark.

A shudder went through Eliana at the mention of the dark queen. Something about that name did a number on her nervous system.

"How long of a journey will it be? When do we leave? Is everyone going? Are we walking or riding? I mean, you do have horses, right? Are there enough?" Eliana's sudden nervousness created a barrage of questions that Zolen couldn't answer fast enough.

His hands went up to stop the rapid-fire inquiry. "Slow your speech! I am not that quick to reply."

"Sorry." Eliana attempted to physically shake the stress from her body. Another good reason to train; the exercise would relieve the worry.

"It is fine. For the first answer I must only say it will depend. With a league of our size, most likely a few weeks."

"Weeks!" Eliana was shocked. "So, no horses?"

"Oh, you would like me to answer out of order. Fine. Yes, there will be horses, but limited to Fae guards, not to the warriors as a whole. The horses are not battle trained, therefore it would be a useless addition."

"Ok, when do we leave?"

"Back to the beginning, is it? We leave in two days time, just time enough to renew our training, pack our supplies and ready to journey. Moving this many Fae and Ferlish troops is no easy task."

Eliana took in the news as they made the long walk to the training field. Blaike stood among the other Watchers as she arrived. Eliana noticed that the Fae were also among Blaike's ranks, and it appeared that a joint training had already commenced for the morning. How early had everyone arrived? Eliana wondered.

"Ah, thank you for fetching her, Zolen. Eliana, you are to join us today, rather than train separately."

Blaike's words caused a lump to form in her throat. Eliana had not sparred with others yet, or shown her learned skills to anyone other than Zolen and Blaike. Suddenly she felt as though she were on stage and having to prepare an impromptu performance.

"Fall into line with Zolen's guards, up front if you please." Blaike addressed her. Eliana followed the Fae leader across an open field, which had been claimed as the training grounds. Row upon row of warriors standing at attention filled the open space, with all eyes focused on the newest recruit as she trudged to her spot in line. Zolen kept her right up front. He stood her between two Fae guards whom she had not yet met, bringing an added layer of nervousness to her already fragile system.

"Ah, so we get the scrub? Excellent!" The one on her right whispered.

"Our training just became interesting." The one on her left replied.

Eliana just swallowed and took a deep breath, realizing that she was now a target as the newbie.

"Start planning her tasks, Zed." Mr. left side demanded. "I'll plan her punishment." He added with a devious grin. Eliana wondered if she had been placed with these two on purpose. Blaike and Zolen seemed to turn everything into a test of some sort lately.

"I have just the task, Zorn." The one called Zed replied. Eliana's thoughts immediately went to Harper, knowing exactly what her friend would have said in that moment. Perhaps that little insane co-ed would put those two Fae in their place and shut them up.

"Are all Fae warriors as distractible as you two?" She asked, giving her best Harper impersonation. "Those Ferlish guys are unmovable. I bet they could stand at attention for hours."

Zorn cleared his throat. "We'd be beating them senseless while they stood there, unmoving."

Well, so much for that.

"Now, scrub, go fetch us some water." Zed demanded, handing her a bladder flask. She wasn't even sure where the water stores or even the river were from their spot in the clearing. But the look the two warriors gave her left her blanching, so she turned to leave and do their bidding.

One thing was certain; the little experiment Blaike was running gave her new cause for her irritation with him.

"Where are you going?" Eliana heard Zolen call from behind her. "Training has commenced and you are required to engage."

"Tell that to the two frat boys you placed me with." Eliana bit back.

"Ah, Zed and Zorn already giving you trouble I see. Although I am not surprised with that turn of events, I am curious as to your response. Why are you schlepping to get their refreshments?"

Eliana turned abruptly at his question. "Well, what should I have done, thrown it in their faces? As they said, I'm a scrub, only existing for their entertainment."

Zolen stared blankly at her, then in a quite unZolen-like way, began to laugh. Eliana was surprisingly amused by his sudden sense of humor, causing the stress of the situation to momentarily flee.

Still laughing, Zolen reached for the bladder. "Allow me. Those two will stop their scheming once they see that I have intervened."

Eliana just shrugged, handing Zolen the object in question, then went back to her spot in line. Not surprisingly, the two guards were unhappy with her lack of compliance.

"Worthless scrub. Can not even complete a simple task as fetching water." Zed complained.

"That's alright, Zed. We can be entertained by her punishment." Zorn mused, a conspiratorial look upon his face. "You," he addressed Eliana directly, "will be cleaning the dung off of our boots for the next moon cycle."

"Ah, what a fitting punishment. A hated task for a hated scrub. Clever, Zorn."

Eliana again blanched at having Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum ordering her around for any length of time. Although she felt cleaning dung off of boots was most likely getting off easy with those two.

"She will do nothing of the sort." An unfamiliar voice spoke up from behind them. Eliana turned and was shocked to find a woman, obviously one of the Fae guards by the look of her clothing. She had a large mass of blond hair, braided roughly and looking almost knotted on the ends. Her clothing formed to her muscles, giving all who encountered her a quick glimpse at the strength they would come up against if they attempted an attack. This was a woman who demanded respect, and Eliana had no doubt that she received it.

"You truly know how to ruin our fun, Nura." Zed scoffed.

"I am heartbroken to do so, frankly." She replied, sarcasm filling her every word. Eliana had yet to meet a Fae or Ferlish who spoke with such dry wit. It pulled at her to learn more about the woman before her. Eliana's eyes scanned the rows of guards lined up just behind her and was glad to see that there were many females among their ranks. Her nervousness at having to walk in front and on display had kept her from noticing their presence.

"Nothing can break a heart of stone." Zorn bit back, surprising Eliana once again with his dry humor. Where had that come from? She had been under the impression that they had all taken every word literally.

"And that shall soon change." Nura said while eyeing Eliana, giving the impression that there was more meaning to her words than appeared on the surface. "Now, return to formation, keep your mouths quiet, and follow instructions to allow Eliana to train in peace." She demanded. To Eliana's wonder, both males did as she commanded without another scoff.

It was then that Zolen returned with the water, handing it to Zed sternly and then winking at Eliana.

"I told you this would fix everything." He nodded. Eliana just smiled and returned to the now-in-process exercises being completed by the others.

***

As the day wore on, the level of strain in training increased. Not only were there fitness exercises, but sword practice, defensive training and battle planning were also on the schedule. They had been training for hours and Eliana had yet to take a break. She was surprised that she had that much stamina, but her private training must have been more thorough than she realized.

As the sun made its way to mid-sky, Blaike and Zolen declared it was time for the meal break. Ranks dispersed to shaded areas where Watchers and guards alike found spots to sit and eat. That's when Eliana realized that they had all brought a lunch with them, and she had come with none. Her stomach growling, Eliana went to find Zolen or Blaike, hoping to find the former and avoid the latter. But before she ran into either one, Harper bounded up to her, food sack in hand.

"Thought you might need this. The kitchen crew mentioned that today was a bring your own day." She said as she handed Eliana a Fae sandwich.

"Thanks. I'm famished." Eliana responded while taking the sandwich and taking a large bite.

"Yeah ya are! They worked you hard today, it seems." Harper added as the two of them walked toward a shady spot to sit. Eliana started to crouch on the grass when Harper called out, "Hey girl!" Her gaze shot over to Harper, still standing and facing a group of female Fae sitting a few feet from where Eliana was.

"How's it going?" Harper asked the woman, Nura, as she took a spot next to the powerful warrior as if they had known each other for ages.

"Fine today. I was pleased to see that your friend was allowed to join us. It has made the usual struggles of training much more enjoyable." She replied.

"Well, you know Blaike likes to keep her all to himself." Harper mused, causing each of the females she sat amongst to smirk, then turn their gaze to Eliana. This brought a heated blush of embarrassment to climb Eliana's neck and face.

"That is quite true, indeed. However, his time with her has come to an end. Unless he chooses to come to his senses." Nura adds.

Eliana's mouth fell open at her suggestion. Was it that obvious? Did she project her feelings so strongly that even Fae warriors she had literally just met could read them? Suddenly another thought broke into her mind, clearing the worry about her emotions.

"Harper, how in the world do you know them?"

"Like I said, Blaike has kept you all to himself for too long." She shook her head, then gestured to Nura and the other females. "These are my girls. I've been hanging out in the community long enough to have met some people. You, on the other hand, keep to yourself too much."

"Oh. Well, looks like that's changed now, doesn't it." Eliana shrugged. She hadn't meant to avoid others. The whole experience had been overwhelming, finding this land in such an unexpected way, learning the truth of her ties to it, and that Aine had not passed away, but rather past through the cave opening back to her homeland. It was a lot to take in.

That wasn't even mentioning the sight she had been gifted, now seeing Starlight and being heralded as the spark for change in the Ferlands. Eliana felt the pressure of the hope her arrival had given the land, and she didn't want to disappoint anyone by failing. Honestly, however, she couldn't imagine how she would possibly overcome a force as dark and powerful as Claec.

Just the thought of her name sent a shudder through her system. Eliana took a deep breath and looked back toward the women she sat amongst, gathering her composure and attempting to seem unaffected by her thoughts. She listened to the cheerful banter between the Fae and Harper, suddenly realizing where the sarcasm had been acquired. These females had spent quite a bit of time with Harper to have adopted her wit!

"Oh dang it!" Harper whispered with force. Her eyes narrowed as she looked just beyond Eliana to something approaching. "What the fu-"

"Harper!" Eliana interrupted.

"Trust me, you will be saying the same thing in about ten seconds."

"Isn't it about time for you females to begin cleaning up after the meal break?" Zed's voice called out from Eliana's left side. She begrudgingly admitted that Harper had been right. She was thinking the same thing.

"Have you lost the use of your appendages?" Nura asked, causing a chuckle from the rest of the females.

"Why, no. As you can see they are quite well." Zed said. Eliana twisted slightly to catch the view of both of his biceps flexing.

"Prove it." Harper quipped.

"Gladly. Not that any further proof is required. But I enjoy a challenge, so," Zed turned slightly, "Zorn, Zolen! Come here!"

"What is up with the Z names! Are all Fae guys named with a freaking Z?" Harper tossed out to the group, clearly irritated by the male's presence. Her demeanor was more frazzled now that Zolen was heading her way, Eliana noted.

"Z's? Oh, no." Zolen said as he approached. "That is just a tradition in my family. These two are cousins of mine. And irritations as well, of course. I have just been trained to put up with their nonsense."

Harper just scoffed, ignoring Zolen's admittance that the two Fae males were in fact annoying.

"Zorn, grab hold of my arm and attempt to pull me down. I will use my strength against you."

"Gladly, brother. And when my strength overcomes yours, you will have to admit I am the stronger one."

"That day has not yet dawned. Until such a time, which will not occur in our lifetime, you will acknowledge my dominance."

"Brother, you are on the verge of being proven wrong."

"Oh my god! It's like drunk frat boys at a low budget junior college!" Harper shouted. "Someone make it stop!"

Zolen just laughed. "This is not even their best effort." He smirked at Harper as he sat next to her to watch his cousins wrestle. "Wait until our travel begins..." he tacked on at the end.

〰🖤〰

Whoops! I almost forgot it was Saturday!

I hope you enjoyed our new characters, Nura, Zed and Zorn! We'll see more of them in the next few chapters. They seemed to take on a life of their own...

Next week will be another Ferlish history lesson. We will learn more about the dark leader, and her fall from grace. I hope it's eye opening! Thank you so much for reading, and here are my Wild Boys inspiration.

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