Free Maliuth: The Reborn by Stormy McKnight

he would
keep…and soon. Making it into the entry, Maliuth turned to her. “I want to
explain what you can expect at the council. Only the three of us will be
allowed into the main chamber. The Elder, you and I.” He opened the door and
hurried along his bridge to the platform. He looked at her as they walked, “Not
that there won’t be others in the outer chamber. My mother and father will be
waiting to hear of the outcome. Along with Galan and some of the men from my
unit.” He kept walking and Alea lost track of the turns they had taken, “I’m
sure there will be an Oracle presence also. Their order is usually very
peaceful, but they will do as The Elder demands if it comes to fighting.” Alea
almost stopped. Did he think it would come to fighting?
      “Not that I think it will come to
fighting. There is nothing to gain by taking that route.” He smiled at her
reassuringly. To her surprise, they had come to another, even larger tree.
“Here we are.”
    He led her through a pair of double doors. Once inside, it reminded Alea of
the Redwoods on Earth. They were so large that even if hollowed out from a
fire, sometimes the tree was still alive. This tree was many times larger than
that. There was a room straight ahead and she had to step down a few stairs.
Once in that room, there were stairs leading up on the right and down on the left.
Along either side of a set of double doors were benches where she realized on
one side sat the Oracles. Ori, Jerr and a few others. On the other side were
Malendroch, Sartya, Galan and a few other males she hadn’t met. Maliuth led her
straight to his family and friends.
    “Thank you father…Galan, for arranging this council meeting so quickly.”
The males all smacked each other on the back. “Alea this is Akkar, Beldron and
Garnnon. Friends that I serve on the guard with.” Alea greeted each male, who
then made a smart bow. Before she could speak, Sartya moved to take her a few
steps away.
    “How are the dresses I had sent to you?” Sartya was looking her over,
“They seem to be a good fit.”
    “They are all very nice.” Alea had seen that there were a rainbow of colors
in the chest Sartya had sent. She was going to assume they all fit like this
one. “Thank you for taking the time to arrange for them.”
    “Not at all dear.” Sartya patted her hand, “You could not wear that blue
one from yesterday.” Laughing softly Maliuth’s mother added, “Not that it would
have lasted with all of the fire damage. I do not think I will ever forget the
look on The Elder’s face when you were chasing that Oracle with the burning
robes around.” Seeing the look on her face Sartya hurried to assure her, “It is
nothing to be ashamed of Alea! You have a great gift and should be proud of it.
Our goal is not to stop you from using your talents. It is to keep The Elder
from taking you from Maliuth for his own purposes.”
    Alea asked in a choked whisper, “What if I am not what is best for
Maliuth?” She darted a glance at him. She hadn’t been able to voice this worry
until now with Sartya. What if she humiliated him at every turn? What if she
couldn’t control what she burned? What happened if she started a platform on
fire, or one of the bridges, or a crowded merchant stall? She hadn’t realized
she had been talking out loud until Sartya drew her into a hug.
    “Alea…you would not be capable of doing any of those things. Furthermore,
Maliuth would never be embarrassed by you. I can see that he looks at you with
deep affection already.” Stroking her hair Sartya continued, “As for your
talents with healing and fire. Anyone with eyes could see that you only burned
those Oracles when threatened. Your healing them even after they provoked the
damage is a sign of your true character. Do not let your doubts cloud the
truth.”
    Alea was greatly soothed by Sartya’s words. She struggled to hold the
panic at bay. She already cared for Maliuth too deeply to ever give up.