Emerald And Aharon

Chapter Four

Alleyne and I rode out, and the days passed and turned into weeks and then into months until we had been gone a year.  We went north to the Acarin Mountains and visited the holy ground there; where druids were brought to be buried. Then we went to my castle that was about 25 miles east of our village.

“Why don’t we live here Daddy?” she asked, impressed by the large castle.

I didn’t answer for a few moments; the reason I thought we didn’t leave here was cause of Desiree.  She didn’t like the isolation and being so far from her friends. I hadn’t pushed the issue that far as I wasn’t home enough for it to bother me either way.  “Your mother prefers to be close to the village,” I finally said.

“Oh, then how come she always tells that man that she would like to run away with him?”

Oh how to answer a question like that! “You will have to ask your mother,” I said finally. I turned Nightshade away so she wouldn’t see the look that flashed in my eyes or the anger that I was feeling.  I knew the real reason why Desiree didn’t want to live in the castle; it was because of Yariv. The thought of her being with another man made my blood boil.

BOOM

A stonewall nearby exploded, sending rocks and shrapnel everywhere. Alleyne screamed and her horse Silver reared up, the whites around her eyes clearly visible.  I managed to keep Nightshade calm and I grabbed a hold of Silver’s reigns before she bolted, Alleyne holding on to the saddle for dear life. As I got Silver calmed down, Alleyne looked at me with her stormy eyes.

“Wh-what happened?”

At first I didn’t answer her, should I tell her that I had accidentally blown the wall up?  No, that would make her fear the power that I held in check and in turn me. I didn’t want her to fear me, respect me yes, but not fear. “I lost control,” I finally said quietly, “it can happen to anybody, they let their emotions get a little out of hand and as a result, “I gestured at the wall which due to the magic that held the castle together, was repairing itself.

Alleyne nodded her head, understanding what I meant.  I had taught her about control and power since she was old enough to start to understand.

I turned Nightshade towards the gate, “come on,” there were more things to see then this old castle.

We headed to the southeast, not back towards home but to the village of Seran that was to the south where my brother and his brood lived. I was tired of traveling, but I still didn’t want to go home. I didn’t want to know what Desiree was up to, the fact that she was seeing encouraging another man still made me sick to my stomach.  I didn’t know what was worse, that I had been wrong about what kind of woman that she was, or that she turned out to be that kind of woman.

“Are we going home daddy?” Alleyne’s voice interrupted my thoughts. I glanced over at her and she looked like she wanted to go home to.  Looking at her made a part of me want to go home. That same part whispered about perhaps that Emerald would be there.

I squashed that thought as quickly as it came about.  There was no reason that Emerald would still be there, and if she was, there wasn’t much I could do about it, as I was still a married man. I turned my attention back to my daughter and away from the green-eyed woman that haunted my dreams. “We’ll be heading home soon Alleyne, but first, I thought we would visit Auron and Aurianna first.”

Alleyne’s eyes lit up and I smiled faintly.  It was clear she was excited to see her uncle and aunt, as well as all their children.  There was never a dull moment at their house. “We should be there by sunset,” I continued and Alleyne grinned.  I liked seeing my daughter happy.

A few hours later the sun was sinking into the west, we reached the village of Seran. On the edge of the village we came to my brother’s home.  Out front I could see Auron and his oldest, Daystar sword fighting with a few of the other children looking on. Daystar was on the attack, trying to disarm Auron but Auron well had the fight in hand.

“Auron!” I called once we got into earshot. Daystar and the other children looked in our direction and Auron easily disarmed Daystar and held the practice sword to Daystar’s throat.

“And THAT is why you never take your attention off your opponent.  It will most likely be that last thing you will do.”

Daystar nodded his head, “yes dad.”

Auron turned his attention to Alleyne and I.  “Well, it’s about time you showed your sorry face around here.” He said in greeting as he grinned at us. “Where in the 9 hells have you been?”

I lifted a shoulder in a shrug, “around, traveling, doing patrols for Isilk, the usual.” I said it casually so the children wouldn’t worry but Auron caught on quickly.  He arched an eyebrow at me and I shook my head slightly and he relaxed.

“Good, now get your ass off that horse and let Aurianna feed you both some supper, then we can show these children a REAL fight.”

I did a mock salute, “sir yes sir!” and dismounted then helped Alleyne down off Silver. 

“Ash, Blaze, you 2 take their horses into the stable and make sure to bed them down good.”

The children rose obediently and took the reins, leading both horses to the nearby barn.  I took Alleyne inside and could smell something delicious cooking. The house was larger than the one that Desiree and I shared, but that was to be expected.  Was also very clean, considering how many people lived in the house. I came into the kitchen and Aurianna looked up from cleaning the dishes. She smiled a greeting, “Aharon! Hello, it’s so good to see you!”

I smiled back, “it is good to see you to Auri,” I responded as I sat down at the kitchen table and Alleyne took one of the other chairs.  I was glad the day Auron asked her to be his wife and she said yes.

“Momma? Who’s here?” a sleepy voice asked.

We both looked at the stairs that came down from upstairs and at the foot of the stairs stood a small dark haired child in a white night dress.  She rubbed her eyes, as she looked first at me then Alleyne then focusing on Aurianna.

“Your Uncle Aharon and Alleyne have come for a visit, Kalli,” Aurianna explained as she walked towards the child, “and you need to be back in bed.” She scooped the girl up and headed back upstairs to tuck Kalli back into bed.

I shook my head slightly, it had been a while since I had seen Kalli, and she had grown a lot since I had last seen her.

As Aurianna came back down stairs, the rest of her brood plus Auron came into the kitchen.  The children all looked between Auron and me, and then to their mother. “Time for bed,” was all Aurianna stated.

Daystar and Blaze both opened their mouths to protest but a look from Aurianna silenced them and the kids dutifully shut their mouths and all including Alleyne marched upstairs to bed. When the last of them disappeared upstairs Aurianna’s eyes focused on me and they were full of fire. Aurianna maybe Desiree’s sister, but they were as different as day and night. Aurianna was a fighter, an sss warrior, would take no s**t from no one and let no one push her or those she cared about around.  She was a smart and sharp-tongued woman, and it was one of the reasons why Auron loved her.

“All right, what is it this time?” she asked as she sat a plate of food in front of me and sat down across from me, crossing her slender legs. 

“What do you mean?” I asked, playing dumb. I knew what she was asking, but I didn’t want to talk about it yet and was stalling.

“You know what she means brother, you may as well tell her cause she isn’t going to drop it until you tell her what’s going on.” Auron said as he took one of the other chairs at the table.

I didn’t say anything and just took a bite of food and pretended to have my full attention on my plate.

Auron sighed and leaned back in the chair, “ok, I’ll start.  What did Desiree do this time?” Aurianna shot him a glance but he ignored her.

I swallowed my food and finally said, “She’s been seeing someone else.”

“What?? Why that two-timing...” Auron started but was cut off by a warning look from Aurianna. She may not always agree with the way her sister acted but she would always protect her.

Aurianna broke the awkward silence that fell, “How did you find out?”

“Alleyne told me,” I said after finishing my food. 

“So what exactly did she do with this guy?” Auron asked his feelings about the situation and the woman we were talking about plain on his face and in his voice.

“I didn’t grill my daughter for details,” I snapped back coldly, wanting the whole subject dropped.

"You should leave her,” Auron continued as if I hadn’t spoken. Find yourself a better woman.  I know there are plenty out there that would love to be in Desiree’s shoes.”

“I thought about it while I was away, but I have to stay, Alleyne and Fire need a mother and Desiree is better than none.”

Auron shook his head slightly, “you’re digging yourself a grave Aharon.”

“It’s mine to dig,” I shot back. It really wasn’t any of Auron’s business what I did about Desiree, even if he did act like it was.

Auron stood; looking tired, “whatever,” he said as he too headed upstairs to go to sleep. I didn’t answer but stood up as well, and Aurianna looked at me, “heading upstairs to bed?”

I shook my head, “no, I’m heading home.  I’ll be back for Alleyne in the morning.” 

“It's late,” Aurianna said, “Why don’t you just go home tomorrow?”

‘Good question,’ I thought to myself, ‘why don’t I just go home tomorrow? What difference would it really make?’ A voice answered me from deep inside, telling me to go, that I HAD to go home.

“I need to go home, Auri.  I’ll be back in the morning,” I said as I headed for the back door and outside to the barn. I came into the stable and grabbed Nightshade’s bridle off the wall.  I slipped the bridle over his head and said, “We’re heading home old boy.”

I mounted up and headed back towards my home village.  The moon was high in the sky by the time I had reached home.  But I got a feeling of unease, like the calm before a bad thunderstorm. As I came up to my house, I saw a light on in the bedroom window and frowned, what was Desiree doing up this late? Frowning I dismounted Nightshade and went through the gate and up to the front door.  As I reached out to touch it the door yanked open and a man stood in the doorway.

The color drained from the man’s face till he was a sickly white and his eyes darted to the left and right, looking for a way to escape. He swallowed and finally said, “Hello Aharon.”

“Hello, Yarran,” I said, my voice deadly calm. “What are you doing here at this hour?”

He swallowed again and tried to keep his eyes focused on anything but my face.

“Aharon?” I heard Desiree call my name and looked up.  Desiree stood in the hallway in a nightgown that barely left anything to the imagination.  Rage coursed through me and I balled up my hands and the next thing I was aware of was Yarov was on the floor, holding his quickly swelling jaw.  “You son of a b***h!!” I yelled at him. My hand gripped my sword and was arcing it through the air and slicing through his neck.

His head fell off his shoulders and rolled a few feet to a stop at Desiree’s feet.  She opened her mouth and shrieked, burying her face in her hands and sobbing.

“Serves that bastard right,” I growled.

“How can you say that?” Desiree sobbed.

I stared at her, my sword still in my hand.  “How could you do that?” I demanded. Emotions ranging from betrayal and pain to rage pounded through me and I felt my body start to shake.  As I stared at her I wanted so bad to hurt her, to have her on the floor like Yarov. I raised my sword to strike again but I couldn’t do it.  As much as I was hurting and she had betrayed me, I just couldn’t do it. I sheathed my sword and left, heading into the woods nearby.