Green Eyes

Later that night Selene was led by a pair of servants through the mansion to the dining hall. Physically she was feeling great, having bathed and been given a fresh set of cloths surprisingly in the Kalashonian style, a simple red dress with long slits up the side and a gold cord for a belt. She was still a bit worn out from the battle with the unicorns and finishing healing Mara.

The mansion was the most luxurious place she had ever been in by far. The marbled floors were immaculately cleaned and the walls were lined with gorgeous tapestries. Crystal chandeliers lit up the vaulted hallway as she came to the large wooden double doors that led to the dining hall.

She was ushered in to the hall, at the center of which was a small table, or at least small in context of the massive room. Jared, Mara, Deborah, Andre, and Stella were already there, waiting for her.

The room was almost overwhelming. It was huge, forty feet by twenty with a high, vaulted ceiling. Around the base of the ceiling were a series of panel murals, depicting various scenes from Ammonite history. Many of them looked new, perhaps showing events from the Ammonite War. A massive diamond and crystal chandelier hung down from the ceiling, illuminating up the entire hall.

“Join us,” Stella offered Selene a chair with a friendly smile.

“Thank you,” Selene felt like bowing although she had no idea why. Did they socially outrank her or her them? Did it matter?

“Don’t worry about etiquette here, my friend,” Stella told her. “This is an informal dinner.”

“Thanks,” Selene said again as she sat down before the veritable feast. “The food looks fantastic.”

“Being a senator has its perks,” Andre allowed. “Jared was telling us some of your story. You have had quite an adventure.”

“That’s an understatement,” Selene nodded as she began to dig in as she reflected the craziness of the last couple of months. As much as she hated to admit it, Jared had been dead on about adventures.

“You’re safe for now,” Andre said. “Ammon is dedicated to persevering good relations with both the Navi and the Esthorian Empire so we’ll make sure that you are protected.”

“What about sorcerers?” Selene queried.

“There’s not much we can do about that,” Stella admitted. “We’ll post a couple of regiments on the road near the Harosheth to ensure no troops get through. But sorcerers are another issue entirely, but then you already know that I’m guessing.”

“Yeah,” Selene sighed. It was something. At least she was in friendly territory.

“I wouldn’t worry too much,” Stella added. “You are among friends here. Besides, with Jared and Mara, you’ve had pretty much all the protection you could want.”

“You two seem to know Jared from before,” Selene observed.

“We do,” Andre nodded. “We served under him during the Ammonite Wars.”

“Under him?” Selene cocked her head.

“What has Jared told about the war?” Stella inquired.

“Not much,” Selene acknowledged. “He doesn’t talk about it much other than he was a mercenary in it.”

“That’s partially true,” Andre said. “He was hired by the Senate to lead the Ammonites against the Malchians.”

“You led them?” Selene was stunned. “No wonder you’re so rich.”

“You’ve missed out then,” Stella replied. “We have tons of stories from the war. Most of them bad, I’ll admit,” Stella amended. “But we have plenty of good ones too.”

“How did you know Jared?” Selene asked.

“When the war started, Jared was hired to help out more as a soldier than anything else,” Andre told her. “That didn’t last long as he quickly rose up the ranks. Anyway, during the first years of the war, he and his squad led a raid to rescue some captives taken by the Malchians. Stella and I were two of those captives that he rescued. We were just kids, orphaned by the Malchians, and kind of just adopted Jared and followed him around.”

“At first he was just annoyed by us,” Stella added to the conversation. “But we hung around long enough to the point that he just gave up. So instead of pushing us away, he taught us how to fight and brought us into the military. Thanks to his teaching and position, we rose up through the ranks to prominent positions in the military and by extension the public eye. We are heroes and now senators thanks to him.”

“Wow,” Selene looked at her older companion. He was stone faced as usual, on the surface indifferent to the appreciation given to him. She knew that he was reticent to talk about his past, although it was forced to come up every now and then. “You’ll have to tell me some of the stories,” Selene was not going to let a chance to probe Jared’s past pass up.

“Maybe later,” Stella glanced over to Jared’s cold features. “But first we should probably talk some business.”

“That is a very good idea,” Jared icily cut in.

“How long did you want to stay? Just so you know, you’re welcomed to stay here as long as you want,” Andre offered.

“A couple of days,” Mara answered for them. “Your hospitality is beyond sensational. But we must get to Jerel as soon as possible. We were delayed in the Harosheth longer than was good and need to make up time. Jared and I were planning on leaving the day after tomorrow.”

“I suppose that’s a good idea,” Andre admitted. “Would you care for an escort?”

Jared and Mara exchanged a silent conversation. “I don’t know,” Jared slowly answered. “We don’t want a posse to slow us down.”

“Oh don’t worry about that,” Stella interjected. “It’ll be small: us and a couple of other riders. If anything, it’ll speed things up for you. You won’t have to worry about checkpoints or anything like that.”

Again Jared and Mara silently discussed it. “Alright,” Mara nodded. “Just be ready to take off in two days.”

“We will,” Andre nodded. “Now, how about some stories about Jared from the war.”

“Yes please,” Selene smiled.