Tales of Fire and Ruin - Chapter 32: Chapter 32

I clung onto Oleander's scaly claw as if my life depended on it, because it literally did. We soared through the clouds, so far above the ground that the city of Wildewall and its surrounding farmland looked like a patched blanket girdled by a yellow and green landscape. I should have been more scared than I was, but flying this high was so surreal to my mind, it no longer seemed capable of comprehending the danger.
Wind stung in my eyes and rushed in my ears. The only sounds I heard over the howling were queen Idonia's screams in panic. She pulled on Oleander's claw with all her might, trying to escape his grasp, but she would accomplish nothing with it unless she wanted Oleander to drop her while we were mid-flight.
"Your majesty! Stop struggling, you will fall!" I yelled, but it seemed she either couldn't hear me or was too panicked to listen. After a few attempts to calm the queen down with no luck, I gave up. There was little I could do except wait and see where Oleander was taking us.
We flew without slowing for quite a while. Although it was impossible for me to tell exactly how long we were in the air, it couldn't have been more than a few hours. The sun was still high in the sky when I noticed Oleander was descending into a woodland clearing next to a large body of water. Like I couldn't tell how much time had passed, I also wasn't familiar enough with the landscape to know exactly where we were. But I only knew of one giant forest near Wildewall, and that was the Starcross woods.
Spreading his wings and keeping them still, Oleander descended slowly until he was flying only a few feet above the sparkling, clear lake. That was when his grip on me loosened until I slipped out of his claw and fell. I involuntarily swallowed a mouthful of water as I plummeted into the cold water. Swimming up as fast as I could, I broke the surface just in time to glimpse Oleander's black tail disappearing between the trees up ahead.
"Oleander!" I yelled between coughs. "Queen Idonia?"
I received no response. The was no movement on the water's surface, safe for the ripples I made. It seemed this had only been my dumping spot, not queen Idonia's. Still spitting out water and coughing, I swam to the shore and pulled myself out of the water. There was no time to lose, and I forced my trembling legs to straighten below me. Mumbling a quick prayer to the thunder god, I turned away from the water and stumbled in the direction in which Oleander had disappeared.
"Oleander! Queen Idonia!" I yelled. When I received no answer again, I sped up the moment I trusted my legs to not give out and started running. Branches swept into my face as I pushed my way through the thick vegetation. I didn't find any traces of a dragon's presence, and for a moment I thought I'd gone in the wrong direction. But then a path suddenly opened up in front of me, flanked by snapped branches and fallen trees. A very similar pattern to the one I'd seen in the valley where I found Oleander.
Moments later, I reached a clearing, but I didn't find a dragon. Instead, I found Oleander as an elf, standing naked with the queen's bejewelled staff in his hands. He was injured. Blood dripped down from several wounds on his body, corresponding to the places where an arrow had hit him as a dragon. Injured or not, however, Oleander stood ready to fight with the staff's blood red gem pointed at the queen.
The queen's expression was a mixture of fear and indigence. "I do not know what you think you will achieve with taking me or the staff," she spoke in a trembling voice, "But know that the city of Wildewall and its humans will never stop hunting you for this."
Oleander regarded the queen levelly as he took a step closer to her. Queen Idonia kept her dignity by refusing to back away, even if all her muscles tensed in fear.
"Are you certain, your majesty, that none of your humans would help me instead of hunt me?" Oleander asked quietly. "What of the wither-touched that escaped your grasp? Humans you condemned and forced on the run for having an 'elven' gift? How about those you accused of being elven blooded, warranted or not? There are more of us than you think. An entire army of us."
The queen jutted her chin up in fake bravado. "Is that supposed to be a threat, elf? You and I both know your words are empty," she spoke in a trembling voice. "There is no army."
"Isn't there?" Oleander taunted. "Perhaps you chose who to trust poorly, queen Idonia. The snakes in your beloved city don't all hide in the grass. Some are curled up comfortably inside your court."
Endris. Oleander meant Endris. He'd been helping 'undesirables' from Wildewall and beyond escape the court's gaze for gods know how long. There were undoubtedly people who didn't like the royal court living beyond these woods. Maybe there was an army of wither-touched and accused half-elves that would side with Oleander.
But for what?
"What are you doing, Oleander?" I spoke up for the first time since reaching the clearing. "Please, just explain it to me. Why are you speaking of an army?"
Oleander tightened his grip on the staff as he slowly turned to me. "Why do you think, Laurence?" he asked. "Now that you know who you aimed your bow at in the Serpentine Mountains, what do you think?"
I looked at the crimson gem, at the queen, and finally at Oleander. I had already realised the dragon I downed in the mountains had been Oleander. I knew the moment I saw him again. I'd sought him out because of king Bertram's decree that knighthood was only given to those who had slain a dragon. This tradition dated back to the end of the human elven war... when all the elves had vanished.
My breath caught in my throat. "Is your army the dragons in the mountains? They are like you, aren't they? Elves. Elves who can... shapeshift?"
"Elves who were warped and changed into beasts against their will," Oleander sharply corrected me. "They all live there, mindless and feral, because of them. Them and this wretched gem trapping them there." Oleander jutted the staff in the direction of the queen, who now finally lost her composure and recoiled as if Oleander had threatened her with a dagger.
"That cannot be true!" she blabbered. "I merely received this staff from my predecessor when I became queen as a keepsake from king Bertram's rule. We all know the tales about prince Malte and Sage, but this gem never behaved as more than a simple stone upon touch. People love the tale of the star-crossed lovers, but it was never proven any of it actually happened. It's just a stone the late king Bertram wanted us to keep in the royal family as an heirloom."
"And so your family kept their promise to a dead king without ever questioning any of it," Oleander snapped. "You kept his barbaric trial without wondering how there were suddenly so many dragons in the mountains. You kept his spoils of war close to you without ever wondering what it truly was. The temples have trained you well to be obedient. Bravo, queen Idonia. Bravo."
"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about," the queen spoke in her defence. "This gem is just an heirloom to take with us during parades or festivities. That is all."
"Festivities like a knighting?" Oleander asked through gritted teeth. "While parading the real monsters like Ytel around with dragon tooth around their neck as a trophy? That dragon had a name. They were a person, and you hunted them for sports!"
Despite Oleander's word lashings the queen didn't relent. "If they are truly people, I didn't know that they were. Nobody did!"
Oleander scoffed. "I suppose it doesn't matter to you, does it? If you knew they were elves, they would've still ended up in one of your executions, being called a beast or a monster. Like me. Even if I had done nothing to you, I would have ended up at the end of a priest's blade had you discovered me inside your city walls."
I just shook my head, not wanting to believe any of this. Elves turning into dragons and being hunted for knighthood after losing a war sounded like an insane story. But I'd seen Oleander change in front of my own eyes along with the rest of Wildewall. I knew it was him, and I felt an even worse stab of guilt in my gut at the realisation that until now I'd been ready to kill a dragon. I'd been ready to kill Oleander, and I would have if I'd succeeded that day in the Serpentine mountains.
Where I felt deflated, the queen balled her fists. She found her voice back, which was now clear and loud without shaking. "You elves took our children, lured them into these woods, and killed them. If your story is true, why would king Bertram not make a trial of you? Why would king Bertram not hate you?"
I had expected Oleander to match the queen's anger. But while I saw anger flare up in his eyes for a moment, he then shook his head. "We hated the elves who did that to your people as well, queen Idonia," Oleander said. "For they also did that to our villages and our children."
"I... what?" Queen Idonia asked with a confused frown.
"Humans fight humans in war, don't they?" Oleander asked. "Sometimes, elves fight elves in wars, too. And sometimes it's not entirely clear who your enemy is."
A silence fell in the clearing.
My mind reeled from all the revelations. I fully understood why Oleander was so angry about the trial now. There was one thing about it I didn't understand, however.
"Oleander," I muttered, making him turn to me. "Why... why didn't you tell me about this?"
Oleander's jaw went slack as he stared at me. "What?"
I breathed out through my mouth. "I don't understand much of the trial. Or how the elves got trapped on mount Serpentine, or what the royal family and that gem have to do with it. But I do understand there are elves trapped and killed needlessly right now. Keeping an entire group of people captive as mindless beasts and using them as a trial, whether they're your enemy or not, whether they've killed your people or not, is cruel and unacceptable. If I had known, I would have helped you stop the trials and bring out the truth. I still would."
Oleander looked absolutely baffled as he continued staring me down. He searched my face as if looking for signs I was lying, but there wasn't any lie to be found. I was being sincere, though, sincere wasn't the smartest thing to be. I felt the queen's eyes resting on me as well. It was not wise to admit in front of her that I would make this secret known and side with the man who'd abducted and threatened her. But I didn't take my words back.
After what felt like an eternity, Oleander finally spoke. "Laurence, you are such a simple man that I actually kind of believe you. But why are you so eager to help me? I betrayed you. I was even going to kill you."
I looked off to the side, swallowing thickly. "I was going to kill you too when we first met in the mountains. So I'll call that even," I joked. "I am aware you were just playing me to get your ride to Wildewall and never liked me, but if there is any way I could free the elves in the mountains, I would. Because that is the right thing to do. I had hoped you knew me well enough by now to know you didn't have to deceive me, if this was the reason why you needed to go to Wildewall." I attempted a smile. "You could have trusted me. Thankfully for you, I am benevolent and still willing to do the right thing."
Oleander's mouth twitched. His gaze lingered on me for a moment longer and then he turned to the queen. "We will be leaving, your majesty," he told her politely. "I will explain to Laurence what we can do to help the dragons. But not to worry, your soldiers will find you here within a day or two. They saw where I flew. The blue berries in the bushes are edible and the water of the lake is clean."
"And I'm truly sorry, your highness," I apologised with a bow. "For not making it to the ball and for... this. Please, don't punish my siblings or parents for my decisions today. They were only my own, and not made as the heir to the Montbow family."
The queen didn't reply to my words, and I hadn't expected her to, but it did make me hesitate.
My disgraced family believed their only way of reclaiming glory was having a storm-touched in the family who had a chance of knighthood. But I wouldn't be slaying a dragon now, and they would not have glory either if we were all blamed for threatening the queen and committing treason. Maybe my parents and siblings wouldn't receive their titles as nobles back after today, but they would be alive if I distanced myself from them.
"If I must, I will step back and give my heir title back to Conrad," I added.
I didn't await the queen's reaction. Turning away, I retreated into the woods and started walking towards the lake, all the while wondering what the hell had just happened and trying to wrap my mind around Oleander's story.
I glanced behind me at the sound of branches snapping. Oleander was following me. I darted a glance down his beautiful but battered body without being able to stop it and looked away with heat rushing to my cheeks. He was still naked, so I unclasped and took off my cloak before abruptly handing it to Oleander without looking at him again. The piece of cloth was still wet from my fall into the lake, but it was better than nothing.
Oleander took the cloak from my hands and from the corner of my eye I saw him wrap it around himself. "Still trying to protect everyone I see."
Now that Oleander had covered himself, I dared to sneak another glance. "Whenever I can help it. Absolutely," I replied with a small smile. "Now, I assume you have a plan. Tell me what we need to do to help these elves in the mountains."