Milo and Clack
Part XIX:
Clack
I didn’t move from my spot. Both Generals Olcarlamon, and Litlebeiah stood before me. I’d been summoned out of the Erime for this conversation. Leaving the king had caused me quite a bit of alarm. I surrounded him with a sleep spell that hid him from onlookers if by chance someone came into the void while I wasn’t there. There wasn’t much else I could do. Now I wished I had disobeyed orders and remained. The whole thing was preposterous.
“Lieutenant, you can respond, what are your thoughts?” Litlebeiah asked.
I cleared my throat and looked down at the ground. “To be honest it sounds preposterous. How can I keep the king safe in my family’s dilapidated castle, with no powers? You want to make me human?” I asked trying to wrap my head around it all.“Yes, and no. You will never be human, Clack, neither will any of the other elves, but we can make it so you appear, smell, look human.” Olcarlamon said.
I looked between them. “They found the King once before, what would prevent them from finding him again?”
Olcarlamon smiled wickedly before schooling his expression. Then he told me what had happened with the council. “Lord Atticus has no power, he’s the same as King Repratian. Without Atticus’s powers, they can’t track him, not like they’d done before. Even when Atticus had his power they didn’t find him until he was outside of the direct care of his foster parents. We’re confident they won’t be able to track him again.”
“It seems so dangerous to leave him vulnerable,” I said, pleading for them to hear reason, “at least his guards should maintain their power.”
Litlebeigh shook her head, this is a 'hiding you all in plain sight' type of situation. If any of you have elvin magic, you will stick out. The world must believe you are all humans.”
I groaned, “I’m not going to be able to talk you out of this am I?” I looked up to see the two smiling faces.
“I will agree to this, with one condition, and one condition only. I… I won’t go without my memories. Someone has to know what’s going on in case I need to summon one of you. Before you court marshal me, I’m a descendant of the leaders of Riparian Castle. That means the guardian souls that still walk there will recognize me as their heir. If I need to summon you, they will be able to do that for me, without raising any alarms within the Elvin community.”
Olcarlamin cocked an eyebrow. “You know of the spirits in Riparian Castle?”
I just laughed, “Of course, I do, my father introduced me to them at a very young age, long after our families stopped living there. Our world is a mostly peaceful one, but my father and all his predecessors understood this day could, and likely would, eventually come. Naturally, we would maintain our familial connections.”
Litlebeigh nodded, “you have a good head on your shoulders Clack, we will comply with your request, but none of the others will remember they are elves. That must remain this way until the king has developed his powers.”
I sighed and accepted the fact that this was our fate.
“Pick your soldiers, Lieutenant, but pick wisely. These elves will be the only security you have to keep your king alive and safe.”
I thought about that; already I was developing a list of people in my head. Laci, not only because she was young and smart, but I could continue her training even without her powers. More than anything though, she was without connections here at the camp and wouldn’t be allowed communication with her clan again until she’d completed her training. That meant few if any would miss her.
I went through a mental list of the people I trusted and unfortunately that list wasn’t very long. I personally hated old man Allocious, or Allo. The man was a total jackass, but he was also one of the best defensive elves in King Repratian’s guard. I was going to regret this, but he was one of the top on my list.
Of course, knowing the old man’s memory was going to be wiped of his elf heritage made me feel a little better. At least that would cut down on his never-ending doomsday theories about the Limbert Stone.
The rest were needed more as auxiliary support. If the castle was to be opened to the human public in the summers, we needed to look like we were doing historical reenactment. That served my purposes well. Using the swords made us look like knights from the human dark ages. The concept played well with the architecture of the castle as well, since my great grandfather had built the castle during that period to keep the Vikings from attacking us every other day. Of course, the fact that more than a few of those Vikings were Elves themselves made the castle seem even more important for our clan.
Plans were forming in my head, even as I was contemplating the list of elves I’d take with us. If we were going to create a historical replica, I’d need to fill the castle with staff, which also made sense for who and what we were up to.
Ultimately, I’d be the only person who didn’t have my mind wiped. Including the king. I was just about to leave the General’s tent when Litlebeigh called me back. “Clack, you have feelings for the king, both Olcarlman and I are aware of those. Don’t hesitate to let those develop. Again, we are hiding you in plain sight. If you are in a relationship with him, few would think he is a king.”
I laughed, “I… well we aren’t pursuing that, but not in small part because I could and very likely will lose my head for such improper conduct with a sitting king.”
“Please, royals have been having affairs with the lower members of their courts since time began, but you aren’t wrong to be cautious. We aren’t commanding you to be in a relationship with the king, but we are saying, if it happens we aren’t opposed to it.”
I laughed again and saluted her like human soldiers did their superiors. Mostly because I knew the action was seen as sarcastic, and that comment deserved some insubordination. Elves were worse than old humans in their matchmaking. Litlebeigh was one of the worst at trying to bridge relationships amongst the king’s guard.
It was strange she’d be doing this with a royal, but she wasn’t wrong. Royals were elves just like the rest of us, with the same sexual appetites. Why wouldn’t they pursue sexual relationships with those who weren’t in their royal courts?
I thought of Milo. He did cause my senses to dance inside me. Especially when he was giving me lip, or teasing me about something. I’d forced myself to consider that as friendly banter, but could it be more? Would I want it to be more? I don’t know.
Before they took his memories away, I’d ask him though. If he didn’t want it, or if he thought I was planning to take advantage when his memories were wiped, I wouldn’t pursue it. Milo was a good Elf. He deserved respect whether he was the king or not. I knew I’d never do anything to take advantage of that.
Join us next time for more adventures of Milo and Clack! |