Date: Sun, 30 May 1999 05:32:08 EDT
From: MISOMLTR@aol.com
Subject: A Romance Out of Time and Place--Part 3

"Blaine and I were talking when I saw you on the field--looks like your
health has regained itself."
   He couldn't think as he saw the light in those steely blues as Davin
stepped closer.  The arm moved from his waist to his back and then Michael
took note of his words. 'He talked with Master Blaine. . .must have told him
about my being his supposed Heartsworn, and how he needs me in order for him
to keep his kingdom--only for that does he want me,' he thought and moved
away from Davin before he could bring his other arm about him.
   "Yes, my health is fine--I thank you for your concern," Michael said
almost in a whisper as he tried to still the traitorous pounding of his heart.
   Davin watched Michael as he stepped away, not knowing what to do--he had
felt the attraction, seen it in his eyes. . .seen also a sharp sadness as he
had pulled away.  'Did he perchance have an intended or a set joining?  No,
lords had set joinings and the ring was on the wrong hand for that and the
ring itself was too fine for a lord--more befitting a Royal. . .yet I know
every Royal in the kingdoms,' Davin thought as he turned and moved forward.
   Michael's shoulders tensed as he heard Davin walk up to him.  He didn't
realize just how tense he was till he jumped slightly when the prince spoke.
"There was fought a fierce battle," Davin--pointing off to a far
mountain--voiced proudly and told of an ancestor who had staved off an
invasion from a rival House.  He told of the six other kingdoms and their
prominent cities--trying to acertain where Michael was from--as they walked
alongside the wood to their right.
   "Blaine was telling me about your kingdom and how you've stayed
autonomous," Michael said after a long silence, "it must be quite a struggle."
   "Verily so.  I and my Council have kept the benefits of peace since my
father's father. . .but some are not so contented," Davin said, his jaw
tightening angrily.  There was dissension amongst the Council--a few wished
to support a cousin that had a wife along with a young son and daughter,
while others urged some kind of alliance but then his county would be a
vassal only--but these were mere mutters for none could rule without a
Heartsworn and he had lost his love years ago.  Of course he had dalliances
here and there, but finding love again?  No, that could not be for Trey had
loved Davin for who he was.  The men he dallied with were responsive enough
and interested. . .in what they could get out of a Royal.  The Royals were no
better--they were more enraptured by the prospect of his land than in him.
So, Davin had closed his heart off emotionally.  The Council--at his behest
had declared the cousin's elder child heir to the kingdom--this along with
the loyalty and strength of his army prevented civil unrest and war from
other kingdoms.
   Michael listened as Davin talked further about his land and his people.
He felt his concern and desire to protect his people and he saw something
deeply shadowed in his eyes as Davin changed the subject and talked of his
growing up--getting into trouble swinging down a castle wall by a rope,
riding his father's war-charger and being flung over it's head and breaking
his arm, snatching food from the cook's kitchen, and learning to fight with
his father's guards.
   "What of your mother?"
   "She died when I was barely 10 summers," Davin responded.
   "Ah--I'm sorry--my mother died nearly 5 ye. . .um, summers ago," Michael
corrected, using their term for years.
   "She was beautiful. . .she always had a glow about her--would you like to
see a portrait?"
   "Yes, I would," Michael answered as they walked back to the tree where
their horses were and rode back to the castle.  Davin led him up the stairs
to the second floor of the Main Hall and began to point out portraits that
were on the walls.
   "Queen Ana and Prince Consort Reynan. . .King Andor and Queen Consort
Kalse. . .Queen Averyn and Consort Sharlyn. . .King Artyn and Consort
Brennan," Davin said as they walked along the gallery.  Michael saw that the
last two were of two women and two men--hence the difference in the titles.
"Here she is, my mother--Queen Consort Helea and King Arden."  The portrait
captured the essence of the two--force and strength seemed to radiate from
the King's dark eyes and warmth and light emanated from the Queen Consort's
deep blue eyes and fair hair and her upturned face showed a strong jaw line.
Their left and right hands were intertwined
   "She must have been a remarkable woman."
   "Verily so--she could be every bit as stubborn as father was," Davin
commented as Michael's attention was caught by a dusty painting hung in a
dark archway.  He walked closer and could barely make out two figures but
could tell they were two women.  He reached up to brush cobwebs and gray dust
away and heard Master Blaine greet Davin.  He worked at the painting and
finally saw a pair of grey-blue eyes whose color was soft yet powerful.
Michael brushed away the rest of the dulling film and saw long, wavy auburn
hair framing a heart-shaped face.  He gasped and drew back from the painting
as if it's subject had moved.  Davin and Blaine stopped talking and looked
over at Michael and then quickly away when they saw where he was.
   "Who is that in this painting?"  Michael asked shakily.
   "A distant relative to the Royals," Blaine said, trying his best to sound
very nonchalant.
   "Yes, merely a relative," Davin agreed tersely.
   "Who is that woman in the portrait?"  Michael yelled as a dusty finger
shook and pointed to her face.  "Tell me--please," he said, directing his
gaze towards Davin.  He looked at Michael--not at the portrait--then over to
his friend helplessly.
   "She was Consort to Queen Valeria and did manage to stop a war," Master
Blaine said in an almost excusing manner.  "Davin, a messenger awaits you in
the sitting room," he added.
   "Thank you, Blaine," Davin said in a tone that stated that the thanks was
not for letting him know of the messenger, but of giving him an excuse to be
elsewhere.  Davin nodded at Michael before he left and Michael saw that he
shifted his eyes away from the now visible woman's face.
   "Spill it, Blaine--who is this woman?"
   "Why do you not tell me yourself for your reaction to her tells me that
you seem to know already."
   "I know who--but it cannot be!  It is impossible!"
   "Whom do you think this woman to be?"
   "That face. . .is the face of my mother," Michael said in a whisper,
certainty that this woman was his mother crept into his voice, but a hint of
doubt as to how she could have been here edged the words.

*****
   Blaine stood in shock and then acted as swiftly as a hungry python
snatching an unwary animal.  He grabbed Michael and flung him into the
nearest room and slammed the door.  They were in a small study with double
doors leading out to a balcony and a fireplace.  A desk sat to the left in
front of many shelves of books.  Blaine closed the doors to the balcony and
sat down at the desk and looked up at Michael.
   "What you say is impossible," He began--sounding calm and rational," that
woman lived over a hundred years ago and was magically banished from the
kingdom."
   "What did she do--and what was her name?"
   "Her name was Alea--she was Heartsworn to Queen Valeria.  Theirs was a
troubled time--war was raging with the kingdom to the north, crops were at a
modicum because of conscription.  Queen Valeria fell in battle and her death
caused Alea to. . .lose control of her magic."
   "What did she do to make her into the all-time bad bogeyman?"
   "She cursed the northern kingdom's land--she not only had her own power,
but also that of Valeria for if one Heartsworn dies their magic is
'inherited' by the survivor."
   "So she made some crops to fail and rivers to dry out--so what?"
   Blaine pointed to a map on the wall.  "Look to the north of Ardith--what
do you see?"
   "I see nothing but a range of mountains," Michael answered as he found
Davin's kingdom on the map and then traced above it.
   "That range was the kingdom of Balsaryn--a wide place of level fields and
farms.  Hundreds of thousands of people died by her magic--a lot of them our
own men and boys."
   "I do not believe you."
   "Then ask Davin if you doubt my word--but you still need to explain your
own words to me."
   "You shall think that I am mad," Michael began as he sat down in a chair
in front of the desk.
   "I saw the way you arrived here--tell me."
   Michael then confessed everything to Blaine--the book containing the
spell, the flare of light and the bump on his head and then he started to
tell him of the world where he was from.  Blaine just looked at him as if he
had sprouted wings and flown about the room.  Michael grabbed a writing
utensil and a paper and drew some of the things as best he could to explain
them better.  He drew cars, airplanes, told of TV and radios, skyscrapers and
telephones, wars with bombs and chemicals.  He grew tired and sat back in the
chair--he had no idea how long he had been talking, but the desk was littered
with drawing after drawing--and waited for the men in the white coats to
come, if indeed they had such here.
   Blaine held a few of the drawings in his hands and shuffled through them
for a while and then set them down.  "I believe you--only because a madman's
words would make more sense to me than yours have.  This is no good thing,
your being the son of Alea--none must find out."
   "Who would believe it?  I do not--my mother was a great woman capable of
every kindness and would not harm anyone."
   "I cannot say as to what she was only to what she had been," Blaine
pointed out gently.
   "How could she have come from here to where I was?"
   "How is it that you came to be here?  She was banished by the Great
Council's magic--we thought she had died.  But apparently she was sent in
exile to your world."
   "My home is not that terrible to be labeled so--the Great Council--do they
still exist?"  Michael asked, as he took in his last words.
   "Yes, my Master is a member--why?"
   "Don't you see?  They could send me home--I could return home!"
   "Michael, that way lies your ruination--it would call for them to know who
your mother was and they'd sooner kill you rather than banishment, which
apparently does not work in the way we thought," Master Blaine said wryly.
"Besides, you are. . ."
   "Please do not prate on about how I am fated to be here--I am not some
puppet whose strings can be conveniently manipulated!"
   "But who is manipulating you?  I did not bring you here--you did that
yourself."
   "Do not argue semantics with me--you wish to play matchmaker between me
and your prince and my heart isn't a thing to be bartered or sold!"  Michael
fumed as he turned and left, throwing open the door so it slammed against the
wall.  He was so upset that he stumbled into Davin without looking up and
moved on down the stairs and out of the castle.
   Davin called out after Michael, but received no response.  He frowned and
saw the study door opened.  Davin walked in and saw Blaine leaning back in
the chair with his head resting on the chair and his eyes closed.
   "Want to tell me what happened?"  Davin asked casually.
   "He found out who Alea was," Blaine said quietly and truthfully as he
gathered the papers off of the desk and placed them under his arm and stood.
"That would unnerve anyone--what did the messenger want?"
   "He delivered a message from the Grand Council--seems they wish my
immediate presence."
   "Why?"  Blaine asked, alarm in his eyes as he turned to face his friend.
   "The message did not say--but it does not bode well," Davin said grimly.

*****
   Michael ran out of the castle and slowed as he got to the courtyard.  He
just wanted to run away, but to where and what?  He didn't know enough about
the surrounding countryside.  How far was it to a town. . .a keep. . .another
kingdom?  He just didn't know.  He walked through the garden but did not
notice the flowers or plants.  What was he to do?  The one way that held a
chance of home would lose his life and staying could lose his heart.  Which
fate was worse--dying or falling in love with someone who didn't love you in
return?  How could his mother have done the things Blaine said?  She had
never talked about her youth, except to say that she was an orphan.  She had
been so practical and levelheaded and always had a soft spot in her heart for
any animal, especially a stray.  He couldn't match up the two images, they
were just too diverse.  He sat down on a bench that circled a tree and laid
his head back against the rough bark and closed his eyes as his thoughts swam.
   Michael was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't see or hear Davin
approach.  Davin paused a few paces from him and just stared at
Michael--every muscle in his body seemed to radiate stress and his shoulders
stooped as if he had the weight of the world upon them.  Davin stood for a
minute longer, deciding if it wasn't just better for him to walk away and
leave him alone and finally moved forward a step.  He knew something more
than what Blaine had told him was upsetting him.
   "Michael. . .are you well?"
   "To tell you the truth, actually, no," he answered giving a small laugh
twisted with pain as Davin sat beside him.
   "Do you want to talk about it?"  Davin asked quietly, placing a hand on
his shoulder.
   "It's just. . .well. . .I wouldn't know where to start. . .I. . ." Michael
said, emotion finally welling up and taking over him as he started crying.
He didn't even notice as Davin moved his arm around his shoulders and that
his head now rested on Davin's shoulder.  He couldn't say how long he
cried--a chance to go home turning into no chance at all was just the final
straw to everything he had been through--but he finally did come to himself
and pulled away as he realized that Davin held him even though a part of him
just wanted to be still and lay in his arms and be comforted.  'Men never
comfort and always hurt,' he thought wearily as he stood and walked away.
   "I can't do this anymore," Michael muttered in a heartbreaking tone.
   "Why are you always running away?"
   "Maybe I have good reason to do so," he retorted, turning back to him.
"You do not know anything of my past!"
   "And whose fault is that!"  Davin interjected as he stood angrily.
   "Oh, forgive me, Highlord, for not bowing to your every whim and wish!  I
am no one's servant--I am an individual and as such have my own will!"
   "Which seems bent on being left alone!  Have no worry--I always
accommodate my guests!"  Davin vented heatedly as he strode away, his blue
eyes fiery with ire.  Michael just watched him stride away, a piece of his
heart breaking at each step.
   "He'll be better off without me and I him--besides he just wants me in
order to gain his inheritance," Michael whispered, trying to make himself
believe that he'd be okay.
   Belief failed him.