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“All is well sir.”
“Very good, carry on then.”
I turn towards the other end of the garden, where less guards are usually deployed on patrol. I need as much space and time alone as I can get. The sounds of a nearby fountain swishing water around helps me to concentrate.
I come to a stone bench, big enough for two. It’s old in age but remains well maintained by the gardeners.
At least some people can do their job around here,I think to myself in frustration.Anyone could be a better leader than my brother.
“What should I do?” I mutter. “Fohri always has to go and make things so damn complicated… Should I just take a chance and write a formal letter to the council?”
I give it serious contemplation for it would be an ideal solution. Alas, I’m reminded of the threat that Fohri made to me back in his room.
“What on Protheka did he mean by ‘or else’?” I ask aloud, stroking my chin in deep thought. “This could very well mean danger, and that’s not a path I’m sure I wish to embark on.”
Grunting, I realize it’s just as perilous to let my brother do what he wants. There stands an equal, if not greater amount of risk if he continues being as careless as he is, but he truly doesn’t seem to give a damn. I run a hand over my hair, sighing loudly.
“It would be wrong of me to stand by idly while he carries out his twisted fantasies, that would make me just as bad.”
I think of Ellie, the human woman he took from the Anocne estate as his plaything. As the image of her face pops up in my mind, I’m temporarily distracted by her beauty. I snap back to reality, remembering the dire situation the both of us are entrapped in.
“I need to get us both out of this mess caused by my brother somehow.”
Ellie’s face comes into my head again but I remind myself I’m not doing this for her. This goes beyond saving another one of his victims , this is for the sake of my family’s reputation.
“I must do everything I can to maintain whatever’s left of it. It’s already in shambles as is, barely hanging by a thread. But that’s not all…”
I recall word that I’ve received from the other continents on Protheka, hearing that human mates are beginning to become the new normal all across major cities, some to prominent figures in royalty. While not opposed to the idea itself, the news gives me anxiety.
What if the wrong people are to hear about this?
To them, it would seem that my brother had seemingly kidnapped a human woman to do his bidding with. If he were to go down, I’d go down with him just because I’m his brother. In turn, it would lead to our authority being stripped from us.
Likelihood is that we’d end up in prison. Considering all possibilities, I begin to wonder if an Infnore without the Renzius in charge would make for a better future.
Could there be a better leader out there? I cannot lie to myself, I’m sure that there is… But I’m going to stick with this and see it through that my brother is dealt with accordingly.
I find strength in remembering how noble of an elf my father was during his lifetime. He spent all his days building the family legacy up to where it was before passing away and I’m not about to watch it crumble to dust.
“Fohri has ruined Infnore but I will be the one to fix it.”
With my mind now calmer, I rise from my seat and continue my stroll through the gardens. Having settled on what I’m going to do, I push the thought of my brother out of my mind, instead choosing to focus on the beauty of the gardens around me.
No doubt the plants possess a healing nature about them. I keep walking straight,
eventually coming to the wall surrounding the gardens on all sides.
“I just need to—wait a minute,” I say.
I spot a figure in the distance as I turn. It’s far too small to be one of the guards, or even a gardener. Using my advanced vision, I squint my eyes.
“Ellie?” I say in surprise, alarmed to see her trying to climb the wall. “But how the fuck did…” I look over my shoulder, eyeing the tower in the distance. “No, surely not. She couldn’t have climbed down…”
I follow the ledges leading away from the tower and soon it becomes perfectly clear. From where I am, I see a possible route she may have taken, guessing that she must have followed the rooftops as they got smaller in height.
My eyes lead to the side of the smallest building, where there hangs a long line of fabric tied above a pillar. Darting my glance back to Ellie, I can see it’s the same dress that she’s wearing.
“Well I’ll be damned, she fucking made it all the way out here without alerting anyone, I’m impressed.”
