Page 80 of Tashama
Everyone dismounted from the horses as Aleron helped Tashama down from his steed. One of the ladies waved her hand to her. Tashama took Aleron’s hand as they walked along a green moss-covered stone path. Columns of green marble suddenly appeared, blending into the vegetation as pink-flowered vines wound their way up the striated pillars. She touched one of the flowers, and the blossom wiggled slightly. “Have you ever been here before?” she asked him.
“No, and you?”
“When I was little, my father brought me here to trade with the elves. One of the maidens gave me a sapphire—not in trade, but as a gift. I’ve found them to be the most generous of people.”
“The jewel was not a part of your possessions when you were brought to Banff.”
“No.” Tashama shook her head. “During the terror that followed when my father and mother collapsed in the great hall during supper, I left the jewel in my room as Balthazar ferreted me away.”
“To Texas,” Aleron said.
“Yes.” Tashama nodded at one of the maidens.
“What does she say?”
“We must follow her to the place where we will sleep the night. The queen of the elves will meet with us tomorrow. She and her husband have retired for the evening.”
Tashama and the prince followed the maiden up winding stone stairs surrounded by ferns and drooping palms. “Only the queen will meet us? Why not the king? My coronation!” Aleron stopped in his footsteps. “I cannot believe I’ve forgotten about the most important moment in my life.”
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“You can schedule another coronation.” Tashama tugged at his arm to continue the long flight with her.
The prince shook his head. “I cannot believe you can beguile me so as to make me forget about such a thing.”
They finally arrived at a Greek-like structure with marble columns and goose-down mattresses surrounded by pillows; all set amidst plants to obscure the view of the next sleeping couple. Tashama smiled at the maiden. “No, he will sleep alone tonight.”
Tashama nodded to the elf, then turned to Aleron. “She wants to know if you have angered me in some way as we lay together so compatibly early this morning. Since I do not want to lie with you, she desires to know if she could do so instead.”
“Where will you sleep?” The prince folded his arms across his chest.
“I will sleep with some of the single maidens.”
“Are you angry with me?”
Tashama smiled. “When I choose a mate, I will sleep with him. Goodnight, Prince Aleron, soon-to-be king of the Maldovians.”
She waited. Would he select one of the maidens? The elven maids giggled in anticipation. Aleron smiled wickedly at Tashama. She followed another to the end of the expansive building. Here, she found thirty ladies of various ages.
One of them motioned for Tashama to take a place on one of the mattresses. Tashama lay down. One of the maidens soon joined her. “He did not select one of the single maids to lie with, this love of yours. He has met the test. Did you want to return to his bed?”
Tashama shook her head. “He has already met a test by coming with me in the first place, but he must meet many more before he can be the one for me.”
The maid smiled as she lay down beside her. “He is very handsome and has a commanding presence. He will make a good husband and father to your offspring and will rule wisely beside you.”
“Yes, well, he will need more training before he is the right one for me.”
Early the next morning,Tashama met with the queen of the Elorians. When the prince woke, Tashama greeted him in an arbor covered in wisteria. The purple, grape-like flowers hung in bundles all across the arbor, shedding their sweet scent into the air.
“Why did you not wake me?” The prince frowned at her.
“You would not have understood the queen’s words. Your coronation is important to you, Prince Aleron. The Elorians have offered to escort you safely back to Banff.”
“And you?”
“I must continue on my way.”
“I won’t leave you.”
