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Treason	By : Dagian Category: +G through L > Lineage 2 Views: 832 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I own nothing, NCSoft regrettably does, I make no profit off of this story that is based on Lineage2.

Chapter List
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Nathavin squeezed Caellia tighter to his chest. He almost couldn’t believe that she’d said it. She had said it so softly his sensitive ears had almost missed it. His fingers trailed through her long silky hair as he kept her pressed to him, feeling her small nervous shivers. He began to stroke her back in a soothing manner. “You will never be hurt again. I swear it to you Caellia. No one will ever hurt you.” His voice was gruff with emotion.

            Caellia nodded into his chest, too overcome by a sudden bout of shyness to look at him. Instead of looking at him, she chose to simply relax in his embrace, leaning into him and accepting the calming motions of his hands along her back and through her hair. Softly, her voice no more than a ghost of a whisper, “Please don’t ever leave me.” She wasn’t sure if he’d heard her until she heard him growl fiercely and possessively.

            “I will never leave you.”

Kattath watched them from far below. One did not have to be able to see auras to know what had happened. She heard soft footsteps behind her. Before she could turn to see who it was, the healer’s voice carried lowly on the wind.

            “I see she has stopped struggling against her heart’s desire.”

            “Yes she has.” Kattath responded equally as low. They stood together in silence for a few minutes watching the couple. “Is Caellia well enough for travel?” Kattath asked.

            The healer turned his head toward her. “For travel yes.” He turned back to look at Caellia for moment and then swung his gaze back to Kattath, “For training, I’d suggest we wait another day or two.”

            “That will likely not be a problem. I believe that Lord Nathavin will want to return to the castle as soon as possible.” Kattath stated quietly.

            The healer’s gaze returned to his Lord and soon to be Queen. “They still face many problems.”

            “They do,” agreed Kattath. “They face many problems. Asadar is only one of them.” Her thoughts centered on the difficult task the two faced reuniting the two races. While both races were cooperating for now, the future of that cooperation was still uncertain.

            The healer thought in silence for a moment. “Do you think she is aware of the way to remove the curse on our lands?”

            Kattath started at the healer’s innocent curiosity. She had forgotten all about that! She cast a wary look at the scene playing out before her on the tower, a scene that now seemed rather dark and foreboding. Did Caellia know or had Nathavin kept that a secret from her? “I’m not sure.” She admitted.

            The healer looked at her askance before saying hesitantly. “If he’s kept this a secret from her…” He trailed off, letting the statement hang in the air ominously as he looked slowly back up at the tower.

            Kattath shuddered. Caellia had a formidable temper when suitably riled. She would have to find out if Nathavin had told Caellia of the rather unorthodox way to remove the curse. She suspected however that he had not informed Caellia of the unusual requirement. Shaking her head, she turned and left the healer alone to watch the couple. She knew Nathavin would want to return to the castle tomorrow and there were things she needed to do to make sure that they were ready to leave in the morning.

*****

            One week prior to Caellia’s accident in the Forest of the Dead, Asadar glared at one of his advisors. “What do you mean that a village was hidden away?”

            The advisor stammered nervously. “The…There was a village, hidden on an island, we…west of the dark elven territory.” He continued at Asadar’s silence. “No one has seen it for centuries. Not even the dark elves were aware of its existence.”

            Asadar stared at the lowly advisor. “What do we know of them?”

            “Very little I’m afraid. They are however extremely good fighters. They have weapons and abilities that are not well known.” He paused slightly for emphasis, “And they do not like the elves.”

            Asadar grinned widely, “Then that is one thing already that we have in common! When you send ambassadors to Gludio, Giran, Dion, Rune, Schuttgart and Innadril, send one to these…” He paused and looked at the advisor.

            “Kamael, they call themselves Kamaels.” The advisor supplied at Asadars questioning look.

            “Send one to the Kamael as well. Perhaps they would like to join us in our annihilation of the elven races.”

            A week passed and Asadar stared at the strange male and female in front of him. He could not help staring at them. They were stunningly unusual. Both were pale skinned, like that of the light elves, and their ears were pointed, though not as long as the elves. But the most startling feature was the wing. A lone solitary wing, covered in magnificent white feathers.

            “Welcome to Aden Castle, Yaran and Ardista.” Asadar addressed them, looking at the male and female respectively. “I trust that you have found everything to be to your liking?” He inquired. If his servants had done anything to upset the two Kamaels he would personally remove the servants’ heads. He found it interesting that the female replied first.

            “It is adequate.” Ardista replied in a bored tone, inwardly smirking at the slight tightening of Asadar’s features. In truth the rooms they had been assigned were stunning. They had been given connecting rooms with access to a very large balcony. The open air balcony appealed to both her and Yaran as it allowed them to feel the upper level winds of the castle ruffle through the feathers of their wing. As wonderful as she thought the rooms were though, she could not allow Asadar to know that the rooms were anything more than merely adequate. To allow him to see that they were immensely pleased with the rooms simply would not do before the alliance negotiations began. It was better to keep Asadar a little unbalanced for now.

            Adequate, only adequate?! Asadar thought irritably. Aside from his own rooms, the ones he’d assigned to them were the best in the whole castle! He immediately checked his temper, now was not the time to show anger. “If there is anything you need, any adjustments needed, please feel free to ask any of my vassals. They will tend to your requests with utmost speed.” He watched as the lithe female merely nodded her head in acceptance before turning his attention to the male.

            Strangely quiet, the male, Yaran, bothered him. Asadar worked to keep the dislike out of his voice, “Is there anything you require?”

            Yaran held his aloof silence for a moment longer, studying Asadar a bit more before saying impassively, throwing Asadars unconscious insult back at him. “There is nothing that I require.” The twitch of Asadars right arm indicated that the verbal barb had connected.

            A tense silence filled the throne room as the two males glared at one another. Ardista cleared her throat, “The rooms are satisfactory, King Asadar.” While she did not want to placate Asadar, she also did not want the negotiations ruined before they had begun. She sent a brief sidelong glare at Yaran, silently urging him to make a temporary truce.

            Aware of what Ardista wanted, Yaran drew the silence out as long as possible. “They are,” pausing for emphasis, he continued, “tolerable.” He then turned and arrogantly strode out of the throne room, his wing twitching irritably.

            Ardista stared gape mouthed at Yaran. Was he trying to ruin the negotiations?!

            Asadar glared hotly after the arrogant Kamael. How dare he insult him?! Biting back the insults he longed to hurl after the arrogant fool, he addressed Ardista. “The other representatives will be arriving in the next day or so. Is there anything else I can do for you?” The words were short and clipped; he hoped the girl took the out he was giving her.

While he asked the question, his dire tone made it very clear to her that he was merely giving her an out, a way to save face. “No, I am fine.”

His next words were mere growls. “Then I must, regrettably, attend to other matters.” Asadar turned swiftly and retreated to his private chambers. Once there, his fisted hand connected resoundingly on the heavy wooden desk.

Ardista left to find Yaran. She found him balanced precariously on the rail of the balcony that was shared by their rooms. She aimed her crossbow and fired a single bolt at the railing immediately below one of his feet. The bolt imbedded itself deeply into the stone carved railing, sending a few broken pieces crumbling to the stone floor. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?!” She watched angrily as he slowly stood and gracefully pivoted on one foot to stare down at her from his increased height.

“Fire your weapon at me again, little sister, and I will relieve you of it.” His voice was cold. “He insulted me. I will not let that pass without repaying the favor.”

Ardista glared coolly at him as she backed away, acknowledging his threat, “Even if that means you ruin our chance to destroy the elves?” She watched his head turn to the side as he scowled.

“There will be plenty of chances to destroy them.”

“We need Asadars help…”

“No we do not!” He leapt off the railing and stood toe to toe with his sister. “We do not need anyone’s help!” He glowered down at her as he remembered the insulting way Asadar had addressed him. “We certainly do not need his.”

Ardista backed away from him slightly again. “Yaran, think clearly. We have only just been able to return to this land, it would be wise to make an alliance with a strong supporter.” Stepping closer to Yaran when she sensed he’d calmed somewhat, she continued. “We will destroy the elves for banishing our people to that island and isolating us for so long. But we cannot do it alone. They have had eons to grow more powerful, even if they are now divided into two races. We must not let our pride interfere now. If we do it could have disastrous results. For now, the most important thing is to make powerful allies and eradicate the elves from this world.”

Yaran stared down at his sister. She made sense. He hated it when she made sense. “Fine, I will attempt to hold my temper in check.”

Ardista smiled at his slightly sulking tone. “Thank you, dear brother.” She teased him before leaving him to his thoughts and disappeared inside.

The next evening saw Asadar greeting the rest of his guests at a long table in the great dining hall. He had invited the rulers of all the castles in the land to his castle to discuss the destruction of Lord Nathavin and the rest of the elves. Queen Aldana of Dion and King Therus of Giran were notably absent from the gathering. This didn’t surprise him. He’d heard rumors that they were planning to help the elves in some way.

The table was immaculately set with the finest foods and wines his chef’s could find. There were deliciously spiced meats and fish, fresh fruits and vegetables, and a seemingly endless flow of delicately aged Red Codran wine flowed freely from large pitchers carried by the most courteous of servers. There was also an abundance of pies, cakes and other sweet treats.

The dining hall itself had been scrubbed top to bottom and the white stone shone brilliantly. The ruby red banners of Aden had been cleaned, aired and re-hung from the walls and rafters. Ornate picture frames had been meticulously dusted and polished till they gleamed in the candlelight. Three enormous golden chandeliers had been specially ordered to replace the old aging ones. Various decorative weapons and shields adorned the walls. The shields displayed the different designs of Asadars family crest through the years that his family had ruled Aden.

Large floral decorations and delicately scented candles were placed strategically throughout the hall. Their delicate scents blended with that of the food to create a near heavenly aroma. Echo crystals were spaced evenly above the table, spinning and twinkling merrily as they played a broad selection of music, synchronized so that they would play the same music at the same time.

Hontas, seated a small ways from Asadar, looked around the great dining hall. He had never seen it so finely decorated. Asadar clearly wanted to impress the other Kings and had set out to do so with a vengeance. He’d even insisted that the best, most expensive, tableware be used. A deep ruby red table runner ran the length of the table, perfectly contrasting the stark white of the underlying tablecloth. Mithril and silver serving dishes littered the table, along with the matching plates and cutlery. The heavy wine goblets were solid mithril.

The sight was awe inspiring. However, the beauty of the feast was marred by the conversation. Asadar was in a fury. The King of Innadril had flatly refused to aid Asadar. He had managed to retain his castle and lands however by agreeing to hand over a generous sum of his profits over to Asadar, in addition to the taxes he already paid.

Gludio’s King had also refused to help, although his reason was more understandable. He was currently under funded. His lands were not yielding enough crops and he did not have sufficient means to raise a fighting force. He could not mount an army that could sufficiently help Asadar.

The king of Schuttgart merely stated that his lands were too far north of the conflict to be bothered with it and all but dared Asadar to mount an attack on his castle, secure in the knowledge that Asadar would not be able to reach his castle. To do so Asadar would have to cross through either Nathavin’s territory or the dwarven territories. There was simply no means in which Asadar could enact any repercussion on him other than monetary. Unlike Innadril, his lands, though frozen, supplied him and his territory with ample means to pay whatever tithing amount Asadar wished to impose. Not that there was truly any way for Asadar to actually enforce said tithing since he couldn’t reach Schuttgart in the first place.

Hontas watched avidly as the negotiations progressed. Representatives from the dwarven race had come since they had built Rune. But being that they more closely neighbored Nathavin’s lands than any of the other castles aside from Aden, they refused to risk a border war. And Hontas suspected that Nathavin was paying them significantly more to help him than Asadar had offered.

His gaze swung to the odd Kamaels. They were the unknowns. The only things he knew of them were that they held a deep rooted hatred for the elves for a past wrong done eons ago and that they held no appreciable territory. Aside from the destruction of the elves, what did they hope to gain from this alliance?

Ardista set her goblet down and stared at Asadar alertly as the other Kings finished giving their answers and reasons for not helping. Bad for Asadar that they were declining to help, but good for her and Yaran because now she could use that to their advantage. “I see that there are three representatives missing from this wonderful dinner, the King of Giran, the King of Oren, and the Queen of Dion. Have I missed anyone?” Receiving an answer that she had not, she continued. “Am I right in assuming that these three have no intentions of helping you as well?”

Asadar gazed shrewdly at the woman before answering slowly. “The current ruler of Oren is absent because his loyalty to me is unquestioned.” He was surprised, and not pleasantly so, at her response.

“You mean the one you specifically placed there to replace Goryn, the one whom rumor has it was betrayed, by you?” A dead silence filled the hall at her words as the other Kings looked to Asadar with varying degrees of suspicion.

He slowly lowered his wine goblet to the table. “Me? Betray Goryn? Why would I do such a thing?”

Ardista smiled enigmatically at him. “Why indeed?” The silence that filled the room was broken only by the still merrily spinning echo crystals as they continued to play their music. She let the tense moment stretch before neatly turning the subject to the King of Giran and the Queen of Dion. “And what of Therus and Aldana? What is to become of them? Surely they have the means to help you. The towns within their territories are quite profitable. I find it hard to believe that they cannot afford to help you.”

Asadar glared at Ardista, she was cunning. “It is true, their towns are quite profitable.” He admitted guardedly.

“Perhaps we could come to the same, arrangement, as the current ruler of Oren?”

Asadar smiled slowly, her meaning all too clear. The Kamael wanted castles. “Perhaps we can.” The alliance made was clear to everyone present.

The rest of the meal passed peaceably, but there were dark undercurrents. Enemies had been made this night as well as alliances. Asadar was pleased with the outcome. It could have been better admittedly but, overall it was a success. As the dinner came to an end, he grinned widely to himself. Lord Nathavin and the rest of the elves would soon no longer be a threat to his rule.

He frowned slightly as he remembered a conversation he’d overheard that had taken place between two of his generals. Caellia, although an elf, was a beauty. It was a shame that he had to kill her as well. As he climbed the stairs to his chambers, he remembered the conversation more clearly. The generals had pondered the necessity of killing the light elven Queen versus allowing her, and only her, to remain alive and be forced to spend her life with him.

They had, had an interesting idea, one that bore closer examination. They had believed it might be possible that given time, Caellia might come to eventually love him, or at least have some semblance of it. He smirked devilishly as the idea grew on him. Yes, that was what he would do. She would be the only one allowed to live and she would learn to love him. He had no idea that at that very moment Caellia was professing her love to Nathavin.

Many hours after everyone had gone to bed, Hontas looked bleary eyed at the chest in front of him. Contained inside were the garments of his past. It was time to leave Aden and Asadar. He knew of the plans that Asadar had made regarding the siege of Goddard. There was nothing left for him to do here. His only concern was that, once he’d given the information to Nathavin, he’d be of no more use to him. His training as a bishop had not progressed nearly enough for him to be of any use to Nathavin. And he desperately wanted to be of use to him.

Unlocking the chest and flipping the top back, he slowly drew out the dark green robes. Reverently, he laid them out on the bed piece by piece. The shield followed them. He turned back to the chest and carefully reached inside and drew out the long, slender black sword. It was just as he’d remembered it. With eyes closed and a heavy heart, he prepared himself to once more take up the magic he’d sworn to never use again. The magic that brought the dead back to do his bidding, the horrible magic that had revealed his sisters terrible fate at Asadar’s ruthless hands. Tonight he would leave for Goddard to aid Nathavin and avenge his sister. For her, and her alone, he would once again take up his original calling.

*****

            The healer sighed in exasperation as Nathavin stood possessively close to Caellia as he checked her injuries for a final time. Ever since she’d finally admitted her feelings for him the night before he’d been guarding her like this. Sighing again, he glared at Nathavin before backing away. “She is fit enough to travel back to the castle.”

            Nathavin nodded curtly before once more pulling Caellia close to him. “Kattath has gone ahead of us then?”

            “Yes, she said that she needed to prepare the castle for the….” Stopping himself, he looked back at Caellia, unsure of how much to reveal in front of her. “Plans, that she needed to finalize.”

            Nathavin merely nodded, understanding perfectly. Kattath had gone to finalize the wedding arrangements. She was truly a savior. She’d known that he would want to wed Caellia as soon as was possible upon their return to the castle and had gone ahead of them to make sure that everything would go accordingly. He sent an appreciative look at the healer for not revealing the nature of the ‘plans’ Kattath had gone to see about to Caellia. She was still extremely nervous and he was afraid that she would panic if she found out he intended to wed her so quickly.

            For her part, Caellia paid no attention to the discussion taking place between the two males. She was content to relax against Nathavin’s side with her eyes closed and breathe in his familiar soothing scent. Nathavin’s gentle nuzzling of his nose in her hair caused her to look sleepily up at him.

            “It’s time to leave for the castle.” He quietly informed her as two striders were brought to them.

            Caellia looked from him to the striders and a look of distaste crossed her face. Why did they always have to ride those loathsome beasts?! She would much prefer to walk to the castle!

            Though Nathavin knew she hated the creatures in general, he pretended to misunderstand her look of distaste. “What’s wrong? I thought you liked striders and would be happy to have one of your own.” He quickly hefted himself onto his own strider and edged it closer to her.

            Caellia glared at him. “No, I don’t like…” She yelped in surprise when his strider dipped lower to the ground unexpectedly and he swiftly leaned down and scooped her up, placing her in front of him.

            His arms came around her waist and held her close while he whispered, quite enjoying the way her breath hitched in her throat at his words. “I don’t mind that you don’t like the striders though. Riding like this is much more entertaining.” He then kicked the strider into a fast run. Any words she would have said were lost upon the wind as they headed back to the castle.
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Treason