False Teachings
She made the mistake of keeping Lettvind off his usual leash for the night. The first night he stayed in her room after the fire, he was kept on a leash and lived in her large, empty dressing room. He still refused to inform her of the attacks or his history, but that only earned him more nights on the leash. But on yesterday, he seemed increasingly nice to her, showing every bit of respect there was to offer.
However, the reward of letting him off the leash has a stranger outcome than Ari expected.
She awoke to the faint sound of snoring, something that didn't seem to bother her. The only thing that did bother her was the fact that Lettvind was supposed to be sleeping in the dressing room as normal. She lifted up her torso just enough to lazily gaze around the room, looking for Lettvind. To her surprise, he was curled up next next to her, nestling into the thick blankets. His mask was off, and so was most of his armor, but the black jumpsuit remained.
She reached over and gently pulled the blankets off of him, trying not to wake the sleeping elf. Upon his left arm was a gigantic rip in the cloth, exposing a cut that was desperately in need of stitches. She flinched at the gory sight of it. Dang it. He's going to need stitches on this, Ari noticed. With enormous hesitation, she stroked his delicate arm, watching as he wiggled under her cold touch. She enjoyed treating him as her personal pet, because, of course, he was. Soon, she got comfortable with her soft strokes, and started to slowly advanced to massaging his tense yet tiny hand.
He twitched once, then again. He sleepily opened his left eye, unaware of his surroundings. "Vrine'winith ol, Solv. Nindol zhah'na fa'narow," he mumbled in annoyance. He closed his eyes again, frowning in disappointment. Then, he shot open his eyes and rapidly tried to escape from Ari. He was scrambling on the bed, afraid he did something wrong. "F'sarn taudl! F'sarn taudl!" Lettvind cried out.
"Lettvind, I can't understand you when you talk like that. English, please," she said tiredly, not ready for her daily chastising. The terrified look did not vanish from his face. "Taudl, Ari," he mumbled, "Oh, it means sorry. Taudl means sorry in Drowish. I'm sorry, Ari."
Suddenly, her soft expression turned to one of anger and humiliation. She scolded him for snuggling up to her, telling him that he was a pet, not a friend. She ran into the dressing room and returned with the black, leather leash. Lettvind screamed things out in his tongue once again, confusing and angering Ari.
She commanded him to stay still or she would kill him, and he fearfully obeyed. He was dragged into the dressing room and she hastily locked the door behind him. Once again, she decided to turn the soundproofing on.
Hours seemed to pass as she sat down on her bed, facing the door. At first, there was a slight pounding. As time went on, there was an abrupt and utter silence as the banging stopped. It remained that way for hours until she finally decided to drift back into sleep.
* * *
When she woke up, she was the one being stroked this time. Thankfully, it wasn't Lettvind. Kjer was seated next to her on the bed, rubbing her head with the same soothing motion that she had on Lettvind. He kissed her forehead, sending a relaxing spell flowing through her limp body. She smiled at his presence, him returning the favor. "Hello, my sweet sister. Good morning."
He always reminded her of some peaceful monk, never raising his voice and doing whatever was right for the people of Jotunheim. His voice sounded smooth and clear, reminding her of rivers made of honey. He continued to massage her head, making minutes feel like seconds.
"We should go downstairs. They're serving breakfast. It's sausage and faerie blood; your favorite," he whispered. She nodded and said," I'll be right down. Okay?". He put an arm under her and pushed her up a tad. He showed a suspicious smile. She didn't question it, though; she was only interested in eating right now. Then, he got up and slowly walked away. On his way out, he gave Ari the same smile but this time bigger. He slipped out the door and silently into the hallway.
A minute after she got comfy and stretched her way out of bed, she dressed herself in her normal, brown, velvet dress that she wore in the mornings. It was mighty hard to find clothes that matched her unique violet skin. She combed her light hair and put on her elk hide slippers. Before she left, Ari turned to the dressing room door, wondering if she should ask what food the Dark Elf weakling wanted. Since when did the pet choose what to eat? she thought and giggled aloud.
Ari made her way out the door and into the hallway, making sure to lock the door on the way out. She merrily walked down the corridors to the downstairs dining hall. On the way down, she took her time to observe the beautiful repair that the builders have done. Each spot looked unburnt, glossy, and better than ever. She was only 3 hallways away when she could hear the hypnotic music of the bard echoing through the building.
"Aye, sister! We have extraordinary news to share! Come, princess!" Shivan joyfully yelled. He signaled her to sit in a seat next to Kjer. Kjer had the same mischievous grin as when he was in Ari's room, his usually peaceful face turning into one of surprise and impatience. She sat directly next to him, stealing one of his mini muffins. "You won't be able to do that for much longer, Ari. Kjer has something to say," the king said. The room went silent and Kjer opened his mouth to speak after swallowing one of his mini muffins.
"I believe this might be too early in Miraak's rule to hand over the throne, but my beliefs do not stop the king from making his wise decisions," he started, "Due to the previous fire and me being the first born, our beloved king has chosen me as his successor."
Ari's mouth dropped with awe, and so did some of the other guests. This early? Ari thought. It was far too early in her father's life to hand over the throne already, but she did not argue. This was a life changing decision, she knew, but who ever said it would be a good decision? He could lead them into battle with his inexperience, but he didn't seem the type to do that. His peace-loving mind could get them all killed if he wasn't careful. Her mind spun with boatloads of questions, each one threatening to unexpectedly explode out of her mouth.
Then, without noticing, she blurted out, "When will the coronation be?" They told her it would be quite soon, three days in fact. Three days until the coronation meant three days of worry, suspense, and stress. Three days of Lettvind. Life seemed to slow down when they told her that she must attend the coronation, no matter what happened. Miraak explained how rude it would be to skip it, and it could possibly end in consequence.
They ate and talked, talked and ate. Sometimes, the promise of food cleared Ari's mind. Other times, it remained a useless variable to her situations. This time, it did nothing but heighten her worries. The long talks gave her time to relax and think about some positive outcomes of having Kjer as the king of Jotunheim. Kjer was obviously trying to make his last few days of being prince good ones, but she could still see the nervousness in his eyes.
In the middle of the morning feast, she finally remembered that Lettvind was still trapped in her dressing room, alone and hungry. Ari lied, "I'm a bit full, Shivan. Do you mind if I take some food up to my room to eat later?" He nodded gleefully, his shaggy hair bouncing with each motion. Shivan immediately turned back to the table full of laughter and messy meals. As quickly as she could, she grabbed whatever she could and rushed down the hallways to her room.
She locked her bedroom door and flicked the soundproofing switch. Then, she slowly approached the middle of her room, carrying the sloppy array of tasty Jotunheim delicacies. She placed them down in the center of the floor, crumbs flying everywhere. Then, she assorted the purified faerie blood, fried lizard tails, cooked salmon meat, and vanilla mini muffins on a small, bronze plate. She tiptoed over to the dressing room door, carefully wrapping her large yet thin, violet hand around the knob. She unlocked the door with her other hand, making sure to do it carefully, because Lettvind still might be sleeping. When she opened the door, the lights were still off as she had left them. Right in front of the door, Lettvind sat indian style, his crystal eyes glaring deep into her soul. However, his eyes were not full of anger or frustration, but with a heart-wrenching sadness. Ari hated to see even him acting like this.
She knelt down to his level whispered, "Lettvind, come eat. I can't have a starving Dark Elf living in my dressing room." He shook his head weakly. "We can talk nicely, if you like." He still refused, ducking his head into his chest. Then, he covered himself with his arms as if bracing for impact. "No, no, no. C'mon. Food is waiting for you," she said as kindly as she could. His head shook once again under his arms.
"Whatever," Ari whispered, brewing up a plan, "I can wait." She stumbled over to her bed and lay down, watching to see what Lettvind would do. She closed her eyes only to hear the elf push himself up and tiptoe over to the food. About a minute later, she heard crunching. Then, it stopped. She quickly sprung off her bed to see Lettvind coughing up and spitting out the snacks. At the sight of this, she slid down next to him, scaring the heck out of him. He jumped, falling onto his back out of the indian style sitting position.
Ari raised her hands, signaling him to calm down. He smiled cautiously, taking another bite of a vanilla mini muffin. "What? You told me to eat, so I shall eat," he explained. "Let's talk," she started, "So, Lettvind, where are you from? Are you well known?"
"Call me Letty. I live in Svartalfheim, the Stone Forest. No, about nobody knows who I am."
"Well, you said about nobody, so who is the about part?"
"My two friends, Drepe and Solv. Why so interested?"
"Who are they?"
"My friends," he stared at her as if she had a million eyes. Lettvind glared at the faerie blood, staring it down as if it was poisonous. She then noticed that he despised the faerie blood, and that was the thing that he previously spit out. Ari moved it out to the side, off the platter of food. Then she spoke again, "I mean, what are they like? Come on, Letty. Why can't we have a nice conversation?"
"Okay, fine. Solv is the same age as me, and so is Drepe. Solv is more of a... nerdy... elf, while Drepe is the muscular, bulky one. He tends to be a little bossy at times though. As for Solv, he's kind and funny. He's one of the darker skins, though. I mean he looks like Algrim, if you know who that is."
"Yes, I know exactly who Algrim is. I also know a good bit of Malekith also."
Lettvind flinched on the last sentence, his breathing uneasy. Ari stared into his eyes, watching as they flickered around the room. He mumbled something under his breath, and it seemed to be directed to her, but Ari signaled him to say it aloud once more.
"Tell me what you know, Jotun."
"I've only been taught a bit about the two Dark Elves, but I know for sure that Malekith is considered the worst Dark Elf monarch. Algrim was basically his servant, right? They attacked Midgard, nearly killed that Jotun, Loki, and attempted to set off that weird red liquid. I think it was called the Aether. They both died in the process, never had kids, blah, blah, blah. I guess thats all I know."
"False."
"Oh, my mistake. Did I miss anything?"
"Aye, quite a bit. You also lied a few times."
"Explain, Dark Elf."
"Not now, soon. I will reveal the secrets once Solv and Drepe are here to prove what I shall say."
"I hope you don't plan on bringing them here. I'll slay you myself if you contact them!"
"Oh, don't worry. I won't bring them here, they always find a way to get to me. It takes a day or so, though."
"Scratch that. How will they get here? The castle is heavily guarded and the ice is as hard as ever; it's impossible to sneak in."
A catastrophic smile escaped his grey lips and his eyes narrowed, showing his troublemaker side. He giggled and tilted his head. Finally, he pointed out, "You have a balcony, do you not?"