With one eye closed, Erloff looked down his arrow at the target ahead. He hesitated, then released. The arrow hit its mark, right in the centre.
"Well done!" Lord Meridin applauded and grinned. "I've never seen a young elf catch on as quickly as you."
"Thank you, Sir."
Meridin's pride slowly faded from his face and he furrowed his brow. He sat upon a rock and put his head in his hands. The other children hesitated and looked over their shoulders at him.
"Take a break, children," he sighed. "You have worked hard this morning."
As they ran off to play, each thanking Meridin for the morning's lesson, Erloff took a seat next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"You should run along and play with the others, Erloff. I'm taking enough of your youth away from you by teaching you these things in the first place."
A high pitched wail cut through the air. Both turned their heads. Meridin's daughter, Canellaine, wriggled free of her mother's grasp and ran into the woods. Meridin stood with a sigh. He strode towards his wife, Erloff following at his heels.
"She doesn't want to train," said Lady Sheanni. "She won't even think about the possibility that she might have to face the enemy someday. What are we going to do?"
Meridin wrapped his arms around her. "Not everyone can be such a warrior as you, Sheanni Dragon Slayer."
She gave a small smile but her eyes brimmed with tears. "But how will she defend herself?"
"I'll protect her," chimed Erloff.
The adults looked down at him. Lady Sheanni tilted her head. Lord Meridin gave a warm, kind smile and stroked Erloff's long hair.
"It is not your job to protect our daughter, Erloff. We each have a duty to learn to defend ourselves, even if not all become soldiers."
"But she was not born here. She stays because you stay. You stay for me and my people. This was not supposed to be her life." Erloff looked over his shoulder to see Canellaine peeking around a tree, then looked back at Meridin. "I will protect her if she can't face a fight. I'll protect her right to my last breath, the way you have both protected me."
Erloff turned around to meet Canellaine's gaze, and smiled.
No comments:
Post a Comment