Graigus
Stombren
Part I
" 'Tis a boy milord!" cried the maid of the
daughter of his majesty Olamarr of the high court as she burst into the Lord's private
meeting room.
"Ah, a grandsire! Splendid! Bring me to my daughter and her new
child!" he joyfully exclaimed, as he hurriedly followed the midwife to the room where
his daughter relaxed. " All of the Elves will rejoice at the news of an heir to my
seat on the Elders Court!" But the Lord's daughter was not relaxing in the room where
she just gave birth to her half human, half elven son. The first child she ever bore, and
probably her last, due to complications in delivering her half-breed son, Graigus.
" What will I tell my father,
Emiel? " cried Kalil to her best friend and loyal servant. " I told him that
Jardus was the father, and he was upset about me mating the son of a lowly farmer, let
alone not even being betrothed!" She wiped a stray tear from her eye and looked down
on the half asleep, half crying baby in her shaking arms. " He is so beautiful "
she thought out loud, just as her father burst into the room.
"Kalil! A boy! My heir! Let me hold the child, so I may see the
future ruler of the Randeir Elves of Evermeet!" He reached for the child and
Kalil,
shaking now more than ever, pulled the child into her bosom, and turned away from her
father. She felt so ashamed, and now she would have to suffer the consequences of her
actions.
"Come child, don't dally!, surely he is not an ugly child?!"
The Lord could not help but to laugh at his own joke, for he knew that no grandchild of
his could ever be ugly! He was alone in his laughter though, for all of the maids just
stared at the floor, for they knew. His countenance grew grim, something was wrong with
the babe. He grabbed the shoulder of his daughter and forced her to face him, and with
that she winced in pain, for her father was a strong man. And then he knew. His face at
first was filled with worry, then as quickly as he realized what was taking place, anger
spread across his features. He pulled his hand quickly away from her, partially because he
felt anger, and he also did not want to hurt her. Yet.
"What is the meaning of this!?" he strained at the words, not
wanting to yell out. But still all of the women in the room flinched at his tone.
"What in the name of the gods have you done?"
Tears formed again in Kalil's eyes, all hope of her father accepting a
half- human child dwindling away like the sands of an nearly empty hourglass. What could
she say?
"Father, please, understand! I did this not to dishonor you! I
fell in love,' she held back the new rush of tears that threatened to escape her eyes,
'with a human." And with those words she braced herself for what her father may do to
her next. But he did nothing.
He turned to face one of the two women in the room, the one who had
summoned him, his face was blank. He looked into her fearful eyes.
"Kill the child, Mayla."
"No father!" cried Kalil, with the tears she was fighting
back forcing their way out. She weakly stood up in defiance and handed the baby over to
Emiel, making her way over to her father.
"He is my child, and I will keep him!" she yelled at his back
as he started to exit the room. And he stopped, and turned to face her. She had never felt
fear like this before, nor the bravery that came with the anger at his words. He raised
his hand to strike at her. She flinched not. And he did not hit her.
"My orders are clear, are they not?' he said as he lowered his
hand, directing his words to Mayla, and she bowed in recognition of his orders. "The
babe dies, or all of you die. I will not allow a half-breed to ruin my reign as Supreme
Elder of the Court. And the next person who violates any of my orders, especially the
order to stay clear of all other races will be the next to die. Am I heard by all?"
He looked around the room. No one protested. And with that, he left the room, Kalil
closing the door behind her father.
In a heartbeat she spun around to
face Mayla. "Let me take the child Mayla! I will take him and join his father in his
town, and I will be free of my fathers tyranny! Please let me take him!"
Mayla's eyes welled up with tears as she walked over to the child and
took him from the arms of Emiel.
"I am sorry milady! 'Twill be the death of both Emiel and myself
if ye flee! And you know right well that if you are to escape your father will hunt you
and the babe down, and he will rest not till you are found! What kind of life would that
be? For the child?"
And with that she seemed to convince herself that she was doing the
right thing, and started her way around the crying Kalil to do what she must, wiping the
tears away from her eyes on the shoulder of her shirt.
"Wait Mayla!" cried Emiel before Mayla was able to exit the
room. She turned to Kalil. "What if I were to take the child to his father? Would he
accept the child?"
Kalil's eyes lowered to the floor. "He knows not of the child. I
have not seen Draebek since my belly started to betray the secret I kept." Kalil was
now wiping the tears from her eyes. "And he is my child too!" she exclaimed,
anger starting to overtake her once again. "What of my feelings? Am I to give up my
only child so my father can keep his high standing with the others of our clan?
Emiel walked over to Kalil, put her hands on her shoulders, and looked
deep into her eyes. " 'Tis the only way! Like Mayla said, if you flee, you will have
to run your whole life to keep just out of your fathers reach! You know full well that he
has agents in cities all over the Known World, and you will be caught. This way the child
will live, your father will think him dead, and maybe one day you can rejoin him and his
father. Please Kalil, time grows short, and this is the only way!"
Kalil's eyes lowered to the floor, tears again flowing. She lunged into
the arms of Emiel, sobbing uncontrollably, and Emiel joined her in her tears. "He
will be ok, that I promise"
For a few minutes longer Emiel, Kalil, and Mayla cried and held each other. Damn the elders and their views on outside races! Damn them all!