Leslie Moore - Griffin's Shadow

“Careful, my love,” Ashinji warned, his voice muffled by the cloth pressed to his nose. “If you keep touching me like that, we’ll never get out of this room and my father will be forced to leave us behind.” He twisted in her embrace to face her.

“I think we have a little time yet before we must go,” Jelena whispered, her eyes smoldering with desire. The bloodied cloth slipped from Ashinji’s fingers.

A soft knock at the door interrupted their kiss. “Oh, damn, damn…” Ashinji muttered. “That must be Akan.” Jelena scrambled for the bed and dove beneath the coverlets while Ashinji threw on a robe and went to open the door.

“Good morning, my lord. I’ve brought you something to eat.” Akan was a small, older man, lame in the left leg from a childhood accident. He had served as Ashinji’s valet ever since Ashinji had been old enough to have private quarters. Whenever his young lord returned home on leave, Akan resumed his old duties.

The valet entered, carrying a large tray in his hands. He limped over to the low dining table and set his burden down.

“Thank you, Akan.” Ashinji said, sniffing and wiping his nose on a sleeve.

The valet bowed. “I hope my lady likes blackberries,” he said, glancing discreetly in Jelena’s direction. “They were picked fresh just yesterday. My lord Sen instructed that the best should be sent up this morning especially for your enjoyment.”

Jelena sat up, careful to keep herself covered. “I love blackberries! Tell my father-in-law I said ‘thank you’.” Akan smiled and bowed to Jelena then turned once more to Ashinji. “The bath is ready whenever you and my lady wish to use it. My lord Sen says not to dawdle.” He smiled again in gentle amusement. “I’ll send up Jawara to assist with your armor when you are finished. Uh, my lord Ashinji, do you need help with your nose?”

Ashinji grimaced and shook his head. “No, thanks. I think I have things under control.” Akan nodded, bowed a final time, and departed.

Jelena bounded out of bed and threw on a robe, then sat down at the table and began attacking the blackberries with relish while Ashinji sipped a mug of tea. Besides the berries, Akan had brought smoked fish, fresh bread, soft cheese flavored with herbs, and the favorite breakfast food of all elves-or so it seemed to Jelena-sour yogurt.

“We’ll be on the road at least seven days, possibly longer. The wagons and my mother’s carriage will slow us considerably.” Ashinji commented. He grabbed the yogurt and took a mouthful directly from the pot. Jelena wrinkled her nose in distaste. Try as she might, she could not cultivate a taste for the thick, tangy, fermented milk.

“I’m still not exactly sure why my mother chose to come along,” Ashinji continued. “She’s never expressed any interest in attending court before.”

“Your father says it’s to find Lani a husband. Many more boys to choose from!” Jelena giggled.

Ashinji shrugged. “I guess that’s a good reason. It’s true my parents will have a much bigger selection in Sendai than they would all the way out here. I don’t know how cooperative Lani will be, though. My sister has a mind of her own and a strong will to match. She’s set her sights on Ibeji Dai and I’m not sure she can be dissuaded.”

“Perhaps your parents will allow Lani to choose for herself who she wishes to marry, like they did you.”

“Sadly, no. Lani is too important. She’s the oldest girl and tradition dictates the match made for her must be as good as the one made for the Heir.” Ashinji sighed. “Lani and I are a lot alike. I know how much she resents being treated as a commodity, but that’s how things are. The twins, now, they are the truly fortunate ones. No one will much care who they marry, or even if they marry. Youngest children are the only ones allowed that kind of freedom.”

Jelena hadn’t had much opportunity to interact with Ashinji’s favorite sibling, but she resolved to get to know Lani better while they traveled to the capital. “We’d better go down to the bath house,” she said. “You heard what Akan said. No dawdling!”

The newlyweds found it hard not to linger in the bath house; the sheer sensual bliss of the hot water made it nigh impossible to hurry. They almost always ended up making love whenever they shared a bath, and it took a mighty effort not to give in to the urge to do so now.

Back in their chamber, Jelena busied herself with last minute packing while Ashinji checked his armor a final time. He had no plans to wear it on the journey, but he still needed to make sure it was in perfect condition before Jawara, the steward in charge of all the family armor and weaponry, came to fetch and stow it with the baggage.

Jelena sighed as she examined the piles of clothing laid out on the bed. Amara had given her several new sets of garments as a wedding present; now that she could finally trade her plain cotton and wool for the fine silks and linens of a noble lady, Jelena wondered at her reluctance to wear any of the new outfits.

“Ashi, will your mother be upset if I do not wish to wear any of the new clothes she gave me?” she asked.

“What, do you not like them?” he responded, pausing in his task to look at her.

“I do. I love them, but…” She shook her head, exasperated at her own ambivalence. “I am the wife of a nobleman now! I am supposed to dress like one, not like a…a servant!” she huffed, holding up one of her well-worn cotton tunics. “Truth is, I feel more comfortable in simple things,” she admitted.

“Wear whatever you like, love,” Ashinji replied. “You’ll look beautiful, regardless.”

Jelena smiled gratefully at her husband.

“I will be in the saddle all day, and my new clothes are far too nice to ruin with dust and horse sweat. That’s settled, then. The new things go with the baggage.”

As she donned her old tunic, scruffy breeches and riding boots, she wondered if she would ever feel truly comfortable in anything else.

Jawara the steward came for the baggage and armor, and with a message. “My lord, you are needed in the lower yard right away,” he said.

“I’ll see you later.” Ashinji gave her a quick kiss and left Jelena to finish her packing in solitude.

Not much remained for her to do, other than extinguish the lamps. Slinging her saddlebags over one shoulder, she glanced once more around the room, then departed, leaving the door ajar so Akan would know that he could enter at will. Taking the outer stairs two at a time, she descended to ground level and started toward the stables.

Sendai! I’m going to Sendai to meet my father, the king!

She gave in to excitement and laughed aloud.

“Jelena, really! You must learn to dress more appropriately now that you’re a member of this family. It simply won’t due for you to go around looking like one of the servants, even if it is what you’re accustomed to.”

Jelena felt a rush of irritation, but suppressed the sharp retort that sprang to her lips in favor of a more measured response. She regarded Sadaiyo’s wife with a cool eye. “I’m sorry if my clothes don’t measure up to your high standards, Sister, but for now, this is what I wish to wear,” she replied in as even a tone of voice as she could manage under the circumstances.

Misune Sakehera cut an imposing figure mounted upon a tall, bay stallion. She was truly the most beautiful woman Jelena had ever seen. Her jet-black, waist-length hair, secured at the nape of her neck with a heavy silver clip, gleamed like satin in the morning sun. The horse, as beautiful and imperious as its mistress, flattened his ears and glared at Jelena out of one liquid brown eye. Jelena, still afoot and leading her trusty mare Willow, prudently kept her distance.