Pilgrimage – Reunion

Part One

        He’d come to visit Amelia, the Queen of Saillune. He couldn’t decide precisely why, he hadn’t been here in slightly over ten years. Maybe it was the memories. Maybe it was something else. But here he was, and she was glad to see him.

        Soon would be dinnertime and he was to be the guest of honor. Amelia had insisted, and who was Zelgadis to refuse her?

        But when she met him in the drawing room, he’d never seen her so embarrassed? Uneasy? Concerned, he rose to his feet.

        “Amelia? What is it?” He walked towards her, noticing her hand behind her back, as if she were hiding something. “What’s wrong?”

        Amelia flushed a deep scarlet, almost afraid to look to Zelgadis. Her voice was a quiet whisper as she stepped out of the doorway and brought her hand around. Clutching her hand was a young girl with black hair and brilliant green eyes. “Zelgadis I’d like you to meet Lina Wil Gracia Saillune.”

        Zelgadis kneeled to look to the shy girl who blinked back at him. She may have been eight years old, at most. “Your sister returned? This is your niece?”

        “My daughter, Zelgadis.”

        The words shot through his mind like electricity, and he looked back up to Amelia, noting the blush. He looked back to the girl who was busy hiding herself among Amelia’s skirt, and smiled faintly. “She’s quite lovely.” He knew better than to ask. He wasn’t going to ask. Amelia’s business was not his business.

        Amelia hugged the girl close, smiling softly to the big green eyes. “This is my dear friend Zelgadis, Lina. You remember me telling you about him, don’t you?”

        The child nodded, looking back to the chimera. A soft and shy voice whispered a hello, lips barely moving.

        Zelgadis stood and looked to Amelia. In a firm voice, he spoke the only words that he could. “You have a lovely daughter with a name that will be treasured always. Lina” Emotions suddenly flooded his voice, leaving him unable to speak for a moment. “Would probably be horribly embarrassed and honored.”

        Gone was the Princess who would have leapt exuberantly and hugged him for that comment. Instead, the Queen who was standing before him smiled at the unspoken acceptance and reassurance.

        A servant stopped at the door and called them to dinner, breaking the moment. They turned and moved out of the drawing room, following the servant to the dining room.

        After dinner, Amelia left Zelgadis in the drawing room again to put young Lina to bed. She’d said that she’d be back shortly.

        He’d walked to the bookshelves, idly scanning the spines for interesting titles when a thin set of books titled by Amelia’s hand caught his attention. The Beginning, Year One Year Two all through to a more recent cover titled Year Eleven. Interested, he picked out The Beginning, Year One and flipped it open, starting to read.