Diamond Elf - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

“Today, General Grey, is the day you surrender this keep or die!” Chelindra announced at that evening’s meal. She stood at the table at the Master’s right where she had just finished consuming her dinner.

The Master laughed outright at her. Gabriel studied her from his place in attendance on the Master, which was directly behind him. 

She looked very young, and lovely in her lavender uniform. Her skin was still oddly dirty looking, but her hair was breathtaking. Somehow, she had contrived for it to look as if it were made out of glass, and she had woven it into several braids which had been pinned into a crown and several loops. Now, he could see that her hair was auburn, but however she had made it look like glass had given it the effect of a lightly tinted hand blown ornament. Perhaps her hair is simply hidden under a glass crown of braids, Gabriel mused.

In any case, she looked fragile; as if she were too young, and too weak to withstand even the most basic of attack.

Suddenly, Gabriel realized that his Master, and all the Master’s men – who had been laughing also – were silent.

“That is your message? That is what your King sent you to say? Go home, young lady, before I make you my newest slave,” Grey advised.

 “I’m giving you one last chance to surrender peacefully before I kill you, and retake this stronghold,” Chelindra warned. This caused a renewed round of laughter. Quick as lightning, Chelindra struck, and the Master was dead before his laughter stopped.

“Hear me now, this is QueensHeart castle, and it belongs to King Collin of Arminta. My name is Chelindra, and I will fight all who care to say otherwise!”

More than half of the Master’s officers rushed to overwhelm the weaponless woman.

Gabriel bit his lip in frustration. Was she a fool? She retakes the keep, only to die? He watched in amazement as Chelindra evaded all of her attackers’ blows. Damn, she’s quick! At the same time she dodged one opponent, she disarmed another, then used his weapon to run him through! In a very small amount of time, all of the officers stupid enough to challenge her were laying dead on the floor. Those who wisely backed out of harm’s way cast their weapons aside, and dropped to their knees.

“My Lady, we pledge to serve you,” they chorused.

“Good. Gather all your men into the yard. They will be given a choice. Those who do not wish to give their oath to King Collin will be locked up until they can be escorted back to the new border. Those who choose to serve the King may stay here when his Castellan and troops arrive to occupy the keep. Those who are servants here will remain here, and all slaves must travel to see the King, who will present them with papers of freedom,” Chelindra announced.

Orders were passed down through the ranks to gather in the yard. In the meantime, the head housekeeper, one of the very few free servants employed at the stronghold, approached Gabriel.

“What shall we do?” She asked in a concerned whisper.

“I imagine that you should gather all the free servants, while I speak with the slaves,” he answered.

“But what shall I tell them?“ She asked.

“Tell them,” Chelindra answered, coming up behind the housekeeper, “That if they swear loyalty to King Collin, they will, if they wish, retain their positions here, and even receive a raise, as soon as the household books are found, and a fair wage based upon the keep’s income can be determined.”

“You mean that, my Lady?” The timid servant asked.

“Of course. Now, can you tell me who is in charge? Who sees to it that all of the slaves and servants are organized, and assigned tasks?” Chelindra asked.

“Well, technically, I do that, my Lady, but Gabriel here is the one we all turn to to handle things. He was specially trained by the General to take care of everything from the ledgers, to organizing the seasonal chores, to dealing with anyone the General thought too irksome to handle personally,” the maid explained.

“It seems to me that General Grey was far more stupid than anyone could have imagined.” Chelindra studied Gabriel a few moments. “Well, Gabriel, suppose I were to tell you that I am entrusting you to ensure that my instructions are carried out?”

“Then, I would ask you how much time you are giving me to accomplish these tasks?” Gabriel smiled.

“My troops will arrive at mid-morning,” Chelindra replied.

“Rest assured, it will be done.” Gabriel bowed, then rushed off to organize the inhabitants of the keep.

*******

To Chelindra’s delight, by the time her troops arrived, every man, woman, and child had been persuaded to pledge loyalty to King Collin, and had been assembled to greet their new Castellan.

“Chelindra, sweetheart!” Called out a kindly old bear of a man who had been placed in charge of QueensHeart Castle. “You never fail to amaze me by just what you can accomplish all on your own. These people positively adore you!”

Chelindra smiled at the praise. “Oh Benjamin, stop! You’re making me blush. Besides, I had help. In fact, to tell the truth, Gabriel here is the miracle worker. He single-handedly talked to each person to gain their cooperation.” 

Gabriel flushed at the unexpected acknowledgement, and tried to hide behind Chelindra.

“Is that so? Then, perhaps you should take on the role of Sub-Castellan,” Benjamin suggested.

“He can’t, at least, not right away. He has to go to see the King to be set free,” Chelindra apologized.

Benjamin made a sound as if scandalized. “Well! Of course you must go see the King!” Then, he surprised Gabriel with a hug and a friendly pat on the back.

“Is he gay?” Gabriel asked Chelindra softly after Benjamin had walked away.

“Does that bother you?” Chelindra asked.

“Not at all, but just the same I’m glad I get to leave,” Gabriel confided.

“So, it does bother you!” Chelindra chuckled.

“If you must know, the thought of being intimate with anyone just now leaves me feeling cold inside. It’s almost as if my soul hasn’t figured out that my body belongs to me. If I share it with others before I truly claim it for myself, then I’ll never know who owns me.” Gabriel sighed at the insensible mess he had just uttered.

“I understand that you are confused, and adjusting just now. Believe it or not, I too have had to allow my body to be used against my wishes. I was not a slave, but the experience has taught me that no one should ever have to do such a thing against their will,” Chelindra related earnestly.

“Is that why you fight to end slavery?“ Gabriel asked.

“A simple question, but I fear the answer is complicated. I fight as a champion for King Collin first and foremost. His cause is not to end slavery, but it is because he believes in freedom for all, especially slaves, that I decided to serve him. Once you meet him, you will know exactly why I stand loyal to him,” Chelindra answered as best she could.

Gabriel smiled knowingly. “Ah, I see, you love him.”

“Love him?” Chelindra paused to think this over. “Yes, but in the way any subject loves a good king. I do not love him as a woman loves a man.”

Gabriel nodded his understanding as one of Chelindra’s men ran up to inform her that her Second in Command wished to speak with her. He followed her as if he were physically tied to her, and had no choice but to go where she went.

Since he was not sent away, Gabriel listened in on Chelindra’s staff meeting. It was not so different from the many meetings he had attended in order to serve General Grey, with the exception that Chelindra respected her officers and they her.

He even found himself giving suggestions upon occasion, but he was the most surprised to learn that their concerns all stemmed, in one way or another, from the recent demise of their camp organizer. It seemed that no one was quite qualified to fill his position, and so each officer had taken on a part of his duties, resulting in near chaos.

“General, if I may make a suggestion, I was trained to handle such things from birth, allow me to take over the role of camp organizer,” Gabriel offered.

For the 2^nd time in two days, Chelindra found herself studying him intently, and deciding to trust him.

“All right, I hereby appoint you temporary Chief Coordinating Officer. Perhaps you could train someone to take your place once we arrive at the Palace,” Chelindra suggested.

Gabriel spent the next two hours taking reports from the officers, and organizing their supplies. After that, he supplemented their supplies with some from QueensHeart Castle, so that the slaves would have food & clothes for the journey to see King Collin.

Lastly, he joined Benjamin in the study for 5 hours of reviewing the ledgers, and explaining every last detail. By dinnertime, all he wanted to do was take a nap, but he had never been allowed such a luxury in his life, and he didn’t have any idea how to ask for the time to be alone.

Luckily, he didn’t have anything that required his attention for the moment. Perhaps, if he went to the main hall, Chelindra would allow him a bite to eat.

He stood in the shadows of the main hall watching everyone for a few moments before he gathered the courage to ask Chelindra for food. For all her kind words, she was his Mistress now, and she could easily send him off to handle more arrangements until after midnight.

“Hungry?” Chelindra asked appearing out of nowhere.

How does she do that? Gabriel wondered. “Yes. Very much so,” he confessed.

“I was just on my way to rescue you from Ben, when I noticed you hiding here. Unless you plan to take over the Emperor’s throne, and enslave the world, you need never fear me,” Chelindra remarked.

“A slave always tends to fear their master or mistress at least a little,” Gabriel answered.

“You are not a slave anymore,” Chelindra stated firmly.

“Until your King hands me a paper stating my freedom, I am,” Gabriel pointed out.

“Look me in the eye and tell me you are not working yourself to exhaustion because of the notion that I’m your new owner,” Chelindra demanded, gripping his left arm in her right hand, and his chin in her left. She searched his eyes deeply to discern the truth.

“Not… completely. I have only done what I was trained to do. Odd as it may sound, it makes me happy to do these tasks for you,” Gabriel answered.

“For me? Because I am your Mistress? Do you like being a slave so much?” Chelindra let him go.

“No, it’s not that! It’s because you fight for freedom. You are setting me free, and so I only wish to serve you,” Gabriel explained.

“Spoken like a slave.” Chelindra sighed. “Could I be wrong? Am I trying to free people who are happy being slaves?”

“No, you are not wrong. I sound like a slave, yes, but I was born a slave, and it’s all I know. However, you must trust me when say I have never had a happier day’s work than I had today, because for the first time I got to choose what I wanted to do, even if I did choose to do what I’ve always done. I owe that to you, so indulge me if I wish nothing more than to serve you,” Gabriel said vehemently. Suddenly, he colored in dismay as he realized that he had dared to grab hold of her arm.

   “Sorry.” He lowered his eyes, and released her.

   “Get something to eat, then please get some rest. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow,” Chelindra advised.

   “Yes Lady,” Gabriel murmured.

   “Please, call me Chelindra.”

   Gabriel nodded, then made his way to the buffet.

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