The Shieldmaidens Lover

(Thank you to all my beloved readers who have followed me through the final editing process and posting of this story that has been in the works for almost 5 years now. Thanks to your feedback and overwhelming support I finally feel that it is finished. I hope you enjoy this, the final installment in the story of Marcus and Elwyn.)

Chapter 20

The walk was a long one and there were many women and children slowing them down. Marcus walked with his mind far off, one foot moving mechanically in front of the other. He didn't know how long he had zoned out before he saw a flash of auburn and a glory of red velvet. He blinked and barely realized it was Elwyn in the hand made Elven finery. He could see the weariness on her face and knew that she slept even less than he the night before. Marcus turned to Koren beside him and pointed, an eyebrow raised.

"She refused to ride in the wagons. She said the small children the mothers and the sick would take up enough room." Koren replied softly. Marcus nodded and continued to watch her. She was going from person to person, speaking and giving hope to the already weary people. For a while she walked beside a woman carrying twin girls, not yet old enough to walk. She opened her arms and gently cradled one of the babies as she and the mother spoke softly. Marcus felt his heart lurch as Elwyn handled the babe as naturally as if it were her own child. There had been a pang of regret in his heart when she had told him she didn't know if she could have children. Mainly because there was nothing more in the world he wanted more then to give her that sparkle in her eyes. He wanted to see her joy as she grew round with his child.

His thoughts were scattered as a young boy looking to be about 7 years ran past him. Koren called out to the boy "Liam, be careful. Watch where you are going."

The boy turned a bit as he heard Koren's voice and lost his footing and landed on the ground with a thump not far ahead of them. Koren shook his head and both men walked a little faster to catch up with the child. Liam got up and brushed off his knees but was unharmed. Koren brushed the last of the dirt off the boys clothes before giving him a nod that he could continue playing. Marcus wondered if it was Koren's child but when the boy spoke he knew he wasn't.

"Koren, how much further is it? My legs are tired." The boy said with a heavy sigh.

"It is still a long way Liam. Go rest in one of the wagons if you like."

The boy grimaced and muttered "The wagons are for the girls."

Both men laughed as the boy sounded so detested at the thought of being around his female peers. Marcus looked at the boy and said "Well we all better start moving or they will leave us behind." Marcus reached down and swooped the child up as if he was light as a feather and set the boy to sit on his shoulders.

Liam clapped his hands and said "Wow I can see everything from here." Several of the other elves had stopped to stare at the spectacle, of the human man letting the Elven boy ride on his shoulders. Some shook their heads and kept walking. Others smiled. Elwyn heard the commotion and still holding the infant in her arms she turned around. Her eyes met Marcus and held for a heart beats time that seemed to last forever. It was then he saw the love in her eyes. The depth and the feeling she kept so well hidden. Then as suddenly as she stopped, she turned away, breaking the stolen moment.

They walked for hours and soon Liam began to fall asleep. Marcus shifted the boy from his shoulders into his arms and let him sleep, not having the heart to put him down with the others in the wagons.

Marcus looked to Koren for a moment. "Are his parents here?"

Koren solemnly shook his head and said "No. His father was killed in battle, and his mother died of grief. It is not the way of our people to make war. We may live a long time if such sorrows do not befall us and cause us to fade." Marcus looked down into the face of the child and then back to Elwyn, now not far in front of them. Would she too fade, he wondered after he had died. He shook his head trying to clear his thoughts from such matters, knowing now was not the time for questions. They all had to live to see the dawn first.

Just as the sun was peaking over the sky they emerged from the forest. Before them was a sight of desolate beauty. The once glorious castle of Ennonlai lay before them; walls broken, vines creeping up its tarnished white walls, the occasional helmet of a fallen soldier on the ground.

Elwyn made her way to the front of the procession again and was directing her people with an air of nobility and command that no one dared question her. "Take the women and children to the second floor rooms. All men and boys that are strong enough to fight take residence in the lower halls on the first floor. We should all rest until mid day and then I will see the council in the Hall of assembly." Elwyn then began to help the women and the children make their way up the stairs.

Still holding Liam in his arms fast asleep, Marcus followed with Koren beside him. As he moved into the castle his eyes were marveled at the beauty in the ancient palace and could only wonder what it was like in its full glory.

They all began to climb the stairs to the second floor and Marcus turned to Koren and whispered. "Aren't they safer on the ground floor? Where they can escape if need be?"

Koren only smiled softly and replied "This palace was made long before any of this age came to draw breath. It has many secrets." Marcus only nodded even though he didn't understand. Elwyn began to lead the women into rooms, that save for the layer of dust that had formed were as perfect as they had been when the last Elven kin fled into the forest. Marcus waited patiently with Liam still cradled in his arms. Finally Elwyn turned to him and held her arms out for the child. Marcus looked to Koren and strangely enough saw him talking with another woman across the room. Marcus gently placed the sleeping child in Elwyn's arms and the boy wrapped his arms around her neck in a natural gesture of sleep. Marcus's touch lingered on her skin for as long as he dared without looking suspicious as he gave her the boy.

He whispered as soft as he could manage "Princess you must rest."

She held the child a little closer as she read all the meaning he had put into the simple words and savored the love in his voice. "I will rest. I have several hours before the council will meet again."

He looked at her long before whispering "You are ready to drop. I can see it in your eyes." She took a small step back and with one more parting glance she turned from him. She walked silently with the boy into one of the rooms where she tucked him in to bed. Marcus let out a sigh and shook his head and suddenly felt a hand on his arm and jumped in surprise. "Koren you shouldn't sneak up on people like that" he murmured.

Koren only smiled and led Marcus back down stairs. The two men walked in silence in the lower halls till they reached some of the smaller rooms, obviously servants quarters. Koren opened a door and motioned Marcus inside. Marcus walked in and murmured "I'm beginning to feel like the criminal you all are making me out to be, shuffling me from room to room." Koren began to close the door when Marcus's hand moved out to stop it. Koren met his eyes. "Thank you. For earlier."

Koren merely smiled and nodded to him. "I will be just outside should you need anything." The door shut softly and Marcus looked around the small room. It was sparsely furnished with the basic necessities. He went over to the bed and lay down trying to calm his mind from the continuous circles in which it had been running and the never ending questions and doubts that plagued his thoughts.

Chapter 21

Elwyn finally got a chance to rest and she moved through the corridors of the castle to her old room. She slowly opened the door and was surprised it was just as she had left it. It seemed that the aura of death around the fallen citadel had kept even the thieves and vagabonds from making their homes within their walls. All was in perfect order from the made bed to her brush sitting on the vanity. Moving over to the vanity she sat down in front of the mirror. She automatically moved to the drawer on the right and opened it, reaching deep inside. She opened a small secret panel in the back and took out a small box. She dusted off the top before putting it in her lap and slowly opened it.

A single tear trickled down her cheek as she saw the necklace she had been given as a child. It was a thin chain with two hearts made out of white gold, a small sapphire stone in the center of each. She remembered her mothers voice, echoing from so many years before. 'One for you and one for the man you will come to love and may you always live in peace.' She closed her eyes for a moment before she took the second chain from the box and restrung one of the hearts. Her parents had similar necklaces but theirs had ruby stones in place of sapphires

"Oh mother, if only you knew." She put on one of the necklaces and held the other in her hand, staring down at it. She walked over to her bed and sat down moving her hand over the soft sheets. So many nights she had dreamed of being back safe in her room, and now she was. But there was no elation, no relief or joy to fill her heart. She lay down and tried to sleep knowing she would be woken in a few short hours.

There was a knock at Marcus' door at mid day. He woke and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, even as his own weariness clung to him. As he went to the door he noticed something sparkling on the far table near the wall. He walked over and found it to be a small silver colored necklace, a heart pendant with a sapphire shining in the center. Marcus looked around the room for any sign of forced entry and found none. 'She was here' he thought and he smiled at he fastened the necklace around his neck. 'Better keep it hidden' he thought as he tucked the chain beneath his shirt. He went to the door after smoothing out his clothes and to find Koren who was still standing outside his door.

Marcus couldn't help asking "Don't you ever sleep?"

Koren laughed a little "Yes, when it suits me" he replied. Koren began walking down the hallway and Marcus followed close behind. Koren lead him down through the softly lit but crowded hallways, as everyone helped to clean and repair their home. Even the small children had taken to making a game out of wiping the floors. Koren stopped before a set of two large doors, easily 20 feet high. He opened them, giving a bow and motioned Marcus inside. The room was lavishly furnished with all the finery of a king's conference hall. There was a 'u' shaped table so that all the council members faced each other with the throne in the middle. Elwyn sat regal as a queen dressed in a deep red, several shades darker then her hair. On her head was a small tiara and he noticed around her neck was a necklace identical to the one he found in his room. There was something about her eyes that was different. All he could see in the place of her usually brilliant sapphire eyes was a grayness, as if a dark cloud had settled over her very soul.

General Donovan stood up and stared at Marcus. "The council has made a decision" the man said. Marcus's eyes lit up with hope, holding his breath. "The Elven armies will aide yours, much be it to our dismay at fighting with those who have the blood of our kin on their hands."

Marcus smiled and began to walk forward to shake Donovan's hand "You wont regret it I..."

Donovan's raised hand palm up made him halt and all the joy fled from his eyes and was replaced with dread. "This is excusable because the soldiers were only following orders from their general. You on the other hand will pay for your crimes against our people."

Marcus stared at Donovan as if unable to understand what was happening. "And you think that I should be blamed because I was taking orders from my king?"

"You are responsible according to our laws. The generals and the kings meeting together and discussing strategy defines that you hold much of the responsibility."

Marcus began to get angry. "Our ways are not your ways. I had no choice in the matter if I was not to become a traitor!" His voice began to raise and he looked to Elwyn accusingly for a moment. But the sight of the pain in her face made him calm slightly. "Has nothing I've done in the past years been counted? Your peoples scouts I wounded but didn't kill, when my orders were death on sight? Finding your Princess and nursing her back to health and delivering her unharmed by my hand to your door? Was it all for nothing?" he asked.

One of the older council members stood up and gave him a curt bow of respect and says in a tone that almost reflected regret "The law is the law General Marcus."

Donovan smirked and walked from his seat to the doors of the chamber. "Take him to the dungeon. Place him in the lower halls. Let us give a nice cell for our guest of honor" he said with a cruel smile.

Elwyn immediately stood up and said in a firm tone "No Donovan. He will not be mistreated. It is bad enough that he came here for parlay and we are forced by the law to lock him away." She knew the part of the dungeon to which Donovan referred. It was pitch black, cold and infested with who knows what kind of creatures after years of disuse. "Place him in the cells for political prisoners on the upper level."

Donovan looked disappointed and almost seemed as if he would argue but muttered under his breath "As the princess commands." Several soldiers came in and took Marcus' arms with Donovan moving in front and leading him away. The corridors were dark and got colder as they began to descend down the stairs to the prison block. The darkness surrounded them and Donovan took a torch from the wall and lit it holding it before them as they walked. Marcus noticed the bones of many prisoners scattered among the cells, but he walked straight with his head held high, feeling that he had nothing to be ashamed of. Donovan stopped and unlocked a cell door and gave Marcus a push in. Marcus heard the click of the lock as he turned to see Donovan with an evil grin plastered on his face.

"I only hope we are still here to witness your execution. It has been so long since we had someone of such importance" he said sarcastically. All the guards laughed, turned around and left him in his solitude.

Chapter 22

The cell was not filthy, though metal bars the size of his wrist made out of a metal stronger then any steal he had known made it clear it was an imprisonment. He looked around for a way to escape and finally seeing none he sat down on the small cot in one side of the cell. 'It could be worse he thought.' And laughed at himself. 'It could be worse but not by much. At least they agreed to fight with us and not against us.' Marcus's thoughts turned to Elwyn, sitting in her gown on her throne looking like something out of an exotic tale. He remembered the dark circles under her eyes as if she hadn't slept at all. He knew she had done all in her power to keep him from harm. But it could not have been avoided. All that mattered was that Earlar and Raygar were stopped. He lay down on the cot for lack of anything better to do and stared at the dark ceiling.

Several long drawn out hours later he was surprised to see Koren walking down the stairs towards his cell with a plate of food. "Thought you might be hungry" Koren said and slid the tray under a low bar on the floor into the cell. Koren then sat down with his own dinner and began to eat.

"I'm not that hungry for some reason" Marcus said in a soft voice.

"You should keep your strength up. Besides Donovan would love to have you starve. So if nothing else, prove him wrong?"

Marcus smiled a bitter smile at that and reached down and took an apple from the tray and bit into it. "I don't know about needing my strength, but anything to keep Donovan on his toes is alright with me."

Koren could already see the despair settling into Marcus' eyes. Koren spoke in a hushed voice "It is said among my people, that hope lost is the most difficult thing to regain. But that it dwells in the most unlikely places."

Marcus sat back down on the cot and nodded before looking up to the Elven man sitting and breaking bread with him. "Do something for me Koren?"

"As long as it is not helping you escape, name it."

"Make sure that your shield maiden is not harmed in the battles to come."

Koren placed his hand over his heart "It shall be so." Marcus seemed to take hope from that as he lay back down. The sun was setting and he watched it till it disappeared beyond the tiny barred window of the cell. Neither man spoke further, merely sitting in the silence of the others company, till each fell asleep.

When Marcus opened his eyes several hours later he didn't know what had woken him. He sat up slightly and he saw a cloaked figure inside his cell moving silently to where Koren sat, dozing. Before he could call out the figure held out a palm and blew a fine dust all over the guard. Before the figure could turn and realize Marcus was awake he lay back down and closed his eyes, pretending to sleep. The cloaked figure came closer and he felt a soft touch of a feminine hand covering his lips. His eyes shot wide open then as he looked up into the face of his beloved.

He got to his feet and she moved her hand and he spoke in a hushed voice "Elwyn...Elwyn what are you doing here?" he asked as he looked down into her eyes. She grabbed his hand and she placed her finger over his lips and she lead him over to the wall. She pressed her hand to a certain panel and he thought he saw a drop of blood as a secret door opened. She pulled him inside quickly and the thick invisible door shut silently behind them. She waited till the pitch blackness of the secret passage had settled around them completely before speaking. "I'm getting you out of here."

"What did you do to Koren?"

"A sleeping spell. It wears off at dawn. You have that much time to get as close to the borders of these lands as you can."

He said her name in a solemn tone "Elwyn" and grabbed her arm in an iron grip. She turned to him, staring into his eyes. Still there was so little emotion there it was almost unbearable looking at her. "The council is right. I should have spoken against Earlar long before I did. And now I'm sure your story was not the only war crime that was perpetuated by my people." She narrowed her gaze slightly and he saw the beginning flares of anger in their depths. She pulled her arm from him and continued walking along the dark pathways. He sighed and followed as the silence between them grew to a painful point.

When he could stand it no longer he asked "How did you know about these

passages?"

She spoke in a slightly softer voice. "Only the royal family know how to get in and out. Many of the people believe them to be mere legend. I used to play in these hallways as a child." He didn't know how long they moved through the twists and turns of the passages but she moved with ease despite there being only the barest hint of light in the most well lit passages. Finally they came to what seemed a dead end. "Go out into the forest. There will be a path in front of you. Do not follow the path. Follow the moon in the opposite direction. Do not stop no matter what happens." She put her hand on the door in the same motion as earlier the invisible door opening a crack letting a sliver of moonlight shine on her features. Her other hand reached beneath her cloak and took out his sword and his other weapons that had been confiscated.

He looked at them and then attached them back to his person before speaking softly. "Elwyn. This is folly." He tried to draw her closer "They will know it was you who helped me escape." As he pulled her into his arms she was stiff as cold marble.