After hearing his words, the look on Colbyn's face changed. Suddenly he looked like a bloodhound on a fresh track.
"Witnesses? Did your mother ever say the names of those guards?"
"Why, I think she did. It seemed to be important for her that I know their names and learn them by heart. She made me to repeat them endlessly till I could say them even in my sleep. Addyn of the house L'sanar and Miebdyn of the house Elunesath."
Colbyn rushed out, leaving Goed there with a puzzled expression. In the end he shrugged off Colbyn's behaviour and concentrated on the scary thought of being an heir to the crown. Honestly speaking he felt like running away. How could anyone in their right mind expect him to fulfil the part of a prince, not to mention the part of a crown prince on top of that?
It was like taking him to the tailors and then say that he better start sewing. Oh, you don't know how? Doesn't matter, you're the tailor now. He felt like he was on pins and needles, and started walking around the room restlessly. Everything he saw was pleasing to the eye, simple yet luxurious. He remembered the castle of the Western kings and realised that it could not compare to the things here. And this was but a normal home of one of the elven families.
On the left wall there was a scroll library and next to it was a bookcase filled with bound books that looked like they came from the dwarven kingdoms. Another bookcase had several books from the human lands and next to them was a collection of rune stones and clay tablets. Still, it was the scrolls that captured his attention. Most of the scrolls looked very old and fragile, and he didn't dare to touch them with his bare hands. He looked around the room and returned to the table. He opened the boxes one by one. The first one contained writing reeds, brushes and ink sticks. The second one was used to store parchment, mainly vellum. The last one had ink slabs, penknife and a decorated wooden box. Inside the box were thin silk gloves.
He put the gloves on and picked a random scroll from the shelves. The reading table stood next to the shelves, far away from the writing desk, and was accompanied with a bright reading orb. He hesitated for a moment, but opened the scroll case and slid the scroll to the table. Anything was better than listening to the chaotic thoughts running inside his head.
He started to uncurl the scroll gently with slow hand movements to avoid tearing it. It was a history book about the family history, telling the tale of Aërenduil and the birth of the house. The language used felt slightly odd at first, but soon he got used to the archaic language. He wondered how old was the scroll, but was soon immersed into the reading.
"And Aërenduil bore three daughters for she wished no sons, and her daughters were wise and gentle. The gentry respected them for they learned the ways of the leaf and the tree and the common folk respected them for their ability to fend for themselves. When it was time for them to marry, Aërenduil chose suitors to their liking and allowed them to decide whom to marry. Thus it happened, that people noticed they were ruling their houses and that their husbands were prone to concentration in their arts and magics.
The daughters of Aërenduil were Anethyriel, Undiel and Celuniel. Anethyriel gave birth to Avael, Undiel gave birth to Aimee and Melyne. As their husbands did not want to rule, Aërenduil became the name of their house. Their offspring are.."
Goed stared the words in disbelief, and read them again in case he misunderstood it. But there it was, right after the reason why the house bore the name of Aërenduil. Both of her maternal and paternal grandparents were mentioned there. He had thought he had only inherited royal blood from his sire's side, but with his mother's side there was no way out of it. He was of the blood royal, and even if his father had not.. disinherited? Died? He did not know what word to use.
"By the Lords and the Lady! I don't even know what happened to my sire!"
"That is a long story, my prince. Would you like to hear it?"
Goed turned around and saw Colbyn standing behind him. His eyes seemed to be filled with strange fire that was hard to read.
"Will it bring trouble to you if you talk about him? My mother never even mentioned his name, like it was a forbidden spell or a high-level curse to be avoided."
"Actually no. The king has lifted the geas on his name for a month, as there are ceremonies that can't be done without mentioning him."
Colbyn paused and walked to the wine cabinet. He took out a jar of Eldervine and poured himself a glass. Then he looked at Goed and raised the jar.
"Just half, thank you."
Colbyn raised his eyebrows, opened his mouth and hesitated but didn't say anything in the end. He poured the golden liquor into the glass but didn't stop until the glass was full. In the end Goed took the glass without mentioning it and took a sip waiting for Colbyn to speak.
"I was but a wee lad of forty years old when the royal couple conceived their first and only child. The whole nation was ecstatic, for the infighting for the throne had been fierce behind the doors and everyone yearned for stability. But soon we learned that the pregnancy was not going well and the rumour was that the queen was poisoned by someone. In the end they used magic to save the child even though they knew that it could make the queen infertile. When the court questioned this decision, they were informed that the poison used had already killed all the other eggs and this was the last chance to get a legitimate heir to the crown. It was only later that they found that the court physician of the time was bribed, and she had not lost her fertility because of the poison.
With the help of the spells, she carried the child to the full term and gave birth to prince Maledar in the day of the Departing Spirits about nine hundred and eighty years ago. He had the best magic talent seen on a new-born that century. But to be born on the day of the Departing Spirits was considered to be an ill omen, so the royal couple was advised to give the child to the elders to bring up. They were told that this way he could be monitored and taught carefully, without his magic interfering with his physical and mental development. The queen refused the proposal outright. She did not believe that the child would be in danger because of having born that day, nor did she believe that the child could face danger because of innate talent. If that was true, she said, then every child in the elven nation should be brought up by the elders. In her opinion every elven child had inherited the capability to deal with their inner magic."
Goed was astonished. Every fey knew that the children needed guidance to learn to control the powers within or they would either die or morph into dangerous beasts without intelligence. How could the queen not know that? He stared Colbyn in utter disbelief and felt his heart turn cold. He had the feeling that he would not like what he would learn about his grandparents.