Armed As Royalty

Sha'iva

It is later in the evening when I'm moving back to the palace. I'm tired from the long journey and don't feel like spending any more time with the celebrations than necessary. While walking back I hear her voice. Mother. I hide behind a tree and listen. 'You have seen her today, yourself. Now you may already know what I'm going to ask of you but I will still do it. Give her armor the enchantments of our people.'

I then hear the second voice. It is more raspy. The keeper of our races magic. 'My queen, you know how I am in the aftermath of the Celebration of Unity. You know I cannot work magic for a decent time.'

They seem to stop. Then the queen talks with a more venomous tone. 'Do as I ask or I will find someone who will. That you are the oldest to use magic doesn't mean you are irreplaceable.'

The Keeper of Magic grumbles. 'Your majesty, your first daughter is dead. Nothing can bring her back. This... human archer is not your daughter.'

I hear my mother move rapidly. 'What do you know about it? Nothing. I have seen her use a bow. HER bow. She is almost as natural with it as... my daughter was. Not only that... she saved my life using a bow made by the outcast. She is an archer yes. And yes she is also a human. But she shoots like an Elf. Now for the last time. Will you fulfill my request?'

The Keeper of Magic is slow to answer. 'Fine. I will do it. However don't expect me back at work before the Solstice though. This will wear me out even further. And again, she isn't your daughter.'

The queen responds angrily. 'Why would you even care about it? In the end it is my choice and not yours. She saved my life and that makes me indebted with her. Despite her boldness and recklessness she hit the right notes. I never know if I should give her a hug or a punch in the face.

The Keeper grumbles again. 'Well, at least not a set of armor of our people that is enchanted. No matter how she saved you.'

I hear mother reaching the point of rage. 'She shot the outcast with a bow he made himself in front of my guards, the moment she heard an arrow. She was quicker than me with the bow.'

He responds with a honing tone. 'And you want to do what? Make her a guard? Have her stand at your front doors for ages doing nothing but listening to the sound of the birds in the trees? She is a Dragon Guard. She flies into combat after combat, slaughtering hundreds on top of an armored, flying beast that spits fire and claws dozens to death in a single strike. The Elven lifestyle isn't for her.'

The queen seems to turn on her heels. 'Not all Elves are guards. There are more positions than that where you need a full armor set. Which one is best for her I have yet to decide. However my point remains: with your age has come blindness. She may not be an Elf in body or heart, but she is in spirit and whits. It is not coincidence she was assigned to my daughters squad. I know the Dragon Guard long enough to know it is all about uniformity and getting rid of your identity. Every squad leader advertises the same. All the squads from the moment they all got their dragons wear the same armor. Except hers. They wear the armor and weapons of their people. I heard the Dwarves build a makeshift forge in their quarters and are forging as we speak. She took the time to learn our greetings and traditions. Even as we speak she is participating in the festivities as if she were an Elf. Yet she seems to not take on any identity yet. I think we should give her an identity worth living and fighting for. Reward her for the respect she is showing us.'

Shirley

In the morning the queen invites both Sha'iva and me for breakfast. I choose to wear one of the more simple Elven tunics that I got supplied, though it does not look any less elegant. After breakfast I start exploring the palace. I didn't get any specific permission to do so but more critically I didn't get told not to. After wandering from room to room, admiring the flower gardens and armory, I reach some kind of place that showcases what must be Elven treasures. As I walk through the hall looking left and right, I then see what is at the end of the hall. A set of beautiful armor is on a stand at the end of the room.

As I walk up to it I see the incredible attention to detail. It is crafted in the usual Elven flair but with so many more details. From the royal seal on the chest, the tree with the sun rising above it, the roots spread over the remainder of the armor below, where the branches spread out to above. The helmet is designed to accommodate the pointy Elven ears but it is also crafted with insane details. The closed visor shows a sun on the brow. As I see it I whisper to myself. 'This must be Sha'iva's armor...'

From behind me I hear a voice. 'No, it isn't.'

I spin around to see the queen standing there, in all her glory. A couple of tears are in her eyes. 'Before Sha'iva was even born I had another daughter. If I don't look at you as a human but as an Elf I see so many things about you that she had to. Your love for archery, your sheer recklessness when it comes to saving lives... she had it all. She died defending the Emerald City, in that very armor.'

I almost want to touch it, seeing a couple of undeep gashes in the side of the armor. However I decide against it with the queen here. I then close my eyes remembering the right words. 'She now walks with the stars where the heroes belong.'

The queen lowers her head for a moment. 'Yes she does. However I made the mistake of sending her into that battle ill equipped. I thought she would be fine. That mistake I won't make again with my daughter.'

As I stand there I realize how wrong Sha'iva is. Her mother is just protective. 'In time Sha'iva will realize the reasoning behind your actions. In time she will respect you, your majesty.'

She puts a hand on my shoulder. 'This isn't just about her. This is also about you. I will not send you out either without the right equipment. Please follow me as we need the blacksmiths to measure you up. Your armor will be made to fit you and show where you've come to.'

After a while I find myself in some kind of smithy, where a somewhat bulkier Elf male takes measurements of my entire body. With every measurement he lets a part of the sapling he is working on grow. Eventually the sapling looks like a brown skinned variant of me, down to every detail. Then he nods. 'I got what I need to start working, miss. I'll now start working on the armor and I'll give a call when it is done.'

The queen gestures outside and leads me to another craftsman, this one seeming specialized in bows. He bows his head to the queen and then starts showing bows, occasionally giving me one to test out. Some feel to flimsy, others to hard. Not one feels right. The craftsman sees it to... 'No, these are no good... you are used to a somewhat stronger bow. You aim yourself instead of letting the bow aim... I got one model that you should be able to work with. For horseback riding it isn't ideal as it isn't as mobile but... it is worth a try.'

He starts walking to the back and returns with a longer chest. This is the first bow he shows that spends its time in a chest and not in a rack or on a wall. When the chest is unlocked he turns it to me. The bow is longer than what I'm used to and is carved with songbirds and the handle is wrapped in a braided string of what seems to me horse hair. As my hand glides over the bow I feel every edge and detail. Grabbing it gives me a good feeling to. The weight is perfect. The draw is still a bit light as with most of the bows here but... I like it. 'This is the type of bow I like. It is not to light though the draw is still light. It feels more like bending a branch than drawing a bow.'

The craftsman nods thrice. 'That bow is reserved for a client. I will make you something similar though. So you need something with a heavier draw... so I guess your bow has to be thicker than usual. So thicker, shorter if able... I can make that I think. It will be something quite different.'

Two days later the queen invites me for a walk after breakfast. I notice quite quickly we are on our way to the working district where the forges are. There I find myself staring into the forge where a smith is working on a piece of armor. My armor. It is far from done, with only the majority of the chest piece being finished, but it is a magnificent piece of forged work. Behind me I hear Noruk, who apparently followed us here, speak. 'Blast and stone, that is some forge mastery. This metal is in perfect nick if yer asking me...'

The craftsman looks up from his work. 'That is one compliment I did not expect to hear from a Dwarf...'

Meanwhile I'm walking over to the armor. The smith seems to have chosen for a way more modular armor than with the queens first daughter. At the front are three overlapping plates with hidden connections. From there on each side are more overlapping strips of metal, each looking somewhat thin but all together they form a solid protective shell. The smith made the overlap in such a way that the plates also interlock so even thin knives cannot get past the plates. Then I look at how it is held on the small tree that is shaped like me. On the back is some kind of lace that goes through eyes in each of the plates, tied at the bottom. Even here the plates seem strong and with the interlocking laces there is no way the armor could fall off without me wanting it to come off.

As I'm looking at it the Elven smith finishes another plate and attaches it at the front, before slowly working it to the back working the grooves into each other. At the back he has to put a bit of force on the metal to get it into place fully before untying the lace and putting the metal strip on its place. Only now do I notice how much the overlap looks like the belly plates of Rashter. This detail I cannot get out of my mind now.

The queen speaks softly. 'This must be the masterpiece work we've been waiting for. His masterpiece work. If it is, he can finally take an apprentice...'

Noruk walks over to the smith and without a word starts helping him. The two seem to be linked through their minds as neither Noruk nor the Elf need to talk about anything as they work on the next piece of metal. The Elf starts singing a song I cannot understand but it sounds mesmerizing. Then I see the fur clad Elf from before in the shadows of the forge. He is muttering something and seems to be completely unapproachable. I turn to the queen. 'I've seen him before, at the celebration. What is he doing here?'

The queen smiles softly. 'That is something to be revealed in time. I can tell you he is the guardian of the Elven Magic. A respected elder of the Elves who spends his days practicing and performing magic from the old Elves. In a way... he is quite the appearance. He goes where he wishes to go and does what he wishes to do, only answering to me.'

Soon she motions me to come with her. We visit the forge where we ordered my blade to find that the blade smith hasn't even started on my sword yet. The queen seems displeased but doesn't mention it yet. Then we go to the bow caster. As we arrive he mentions to me to come closer. As I approach he puts a chest on the table and turns it to me. 'Here she is. The bow told me how she had to be and this is it...'

As I open the bow I feel my heart leap. This is my bow and it suits me. It is carved to look like it is scaled, but these aren't snake scales. These are dragon scales. On the top half it has small wings that are spread towards the string and the top is shaped like a dragons maw. As I pick it up and test it I close my eyes. This feels right. This is the bow that fits me. This is my bow. The bow caster than walks over and straps something around my waste. As I open my eyes I see a quiver with similar details hanging from my hip, the quiver having a separated slot for the bow. Even the arrows are already in there. I put the bow away in the quiver and turn to him. 'This bow... it is perfect. It is everything I wished and more. I even feel... a connection with it.'

He smiles. 'It is grown for you. It will always be your bow and only your bow. Since you seem to be a bowman at heart... I think it couldn't have been better suited. True bowman need a good bow.'

I put one hand on the bow. 'Now the bee has its stinger back. I can defend myself once more the way I know best.'

I stand there, on the bridge, looking out over the water. Just looking and listening. For the first time in my life, I'm at peace. Not doing anything, not wanting anything, just standing somewhere and not caring about what happens around me. There is just me and the nature around me. I hear footsteps behind me, followed by the voice of Sha'iva. 'In the months that you have been leading the squad, I've never seen you this calm.'

I turn to her. 'This place is so peaceful. I'm finding peace inside me. Peace I never believed was possible.'

Sha'iva stands next to me. 'If it wasn't for one person I would be finding peace here to.'

I look back over the water. 'Your mother cares about you, you know. I spoke with her. I've seen your sisters armor and she told me about it.'

Sha'iva scuffs. 'Heh. She told you the sad story of how my sister died before I was born. Deep inside she never cared about it.'

'Except she does. When I spoke with her she said to me "I made the mistake of sending her into that battle ill equipped. I thought she would be fine. I will not make that mistake with my daughter." She loves you, Sha'iva. She still loves you, unlike my own mother.'

Sha'iva turns to me as she falls silent. Then I sigh. 'My mother wasn't there when I grew up. She went away after I was born. When my father died I sold the land he was farming and bought a bow and quiver from the few coins it gave me and went to the villages hunter. The rest of the story you already know.'

Sha'iva looks down. 'So that is one reason you could forgive Rashter. You had no family left. All you had was your work.'

I nod. 'However, that does mean you have a comparison. Your mother isn't to bad now, is she?'

Sha'iva looks away. 'She only truly cares about the Elves as a whole. To me this will always be some big scheme to show the humans and the Dwarves that you prefer Elven craftsmanship. Maybe I will see it differently in time, but not now.'

I take my bow from the quiver and show it to her. 'If it was all a PR stunt she wouldn't have told the bow caster to make me a bow like this. A bow that fits me. That belongs with me. Then It would have just been a plain bow, maybe with some standard Elven decoration. But not a master crafted bow.'

She holds it for a moment and test draws it before returning it to me. 'It is a bit heavy for me but I guess it is your bow. It is well crafted indeed. However it hasn't convinced me yet, Wing Leader. My mother is devious.'

I look sideways to her. 'It isn't just the bow and quiver. My sword is getting made at a blacksmith that couldn't start immediately because he was to busy. My armor, though Noruk helps, is of a design I have never seen before and crafted sheet for sheet. I'm not talking plates but strips of armor interlocking to form a strong but light whole...'

Sha'iva closes her eyes for a moment and then turns to me. 'My mother isn't a good person. She never was. She takes what she wants. Even if she does do all this for you, it has a price. I don't think you saving her life is that price.'

She then walks away. Right when I found peace again the queen is there again. 'Thank you for talking with my daughter. Maybe the relationship between her and me is still salvageable.'

I look at a couple of songbirds in a nearby tree. 'I did what was needed. Sha'iva may wish you aren't her mother, but I know how it is to be without one and don't wish that upon her. We are different people but I think she needs one thing above all others. She needs a conversation with you. Not as queen with a subject or as queen with a princess, but as a mother to a daughter. And not just some banter but a real talk. She needs a mother, not just a queen.'

The queen stands next to me. 'You are talking about something that may not even be possible with her views about me. She believes I don't care about her.'

I follow the songbirds with my eyes as they fly around. 'I opened the door for you. It is now up to you if you grab the chance and step in, or stay where you are and be left in the cold. If you wish to restore the relation with your daughter, your majesty, you now have a chance.'

She turns my head to look at her. 'Why would you do all this for me? I didn't ask for it, nor did Sha'iva.'

'I don't want Sha'iva to deal with what I have had to deal with. That and I'm sick of hearing her complain about how bad her mother is. At least her mother tries to build a bridge to her.'

The queen puts a hand on my shoulder. 'I owe you a lot if you are right and I can restore the bond with my daughter.'

Two of the Elves, both females, help me in the slightly thicker tunic of the armor. Then one of them lifts up the armor and lowers it onto my shoulder, the second pulling the lace through the eyes pulling the strips of metal taut against the tunic but not constricting me. As soon as the lace is tied I see the first Elf grab one of the weird three plate structures and putting the top hooks on the top of my back, letting the three plates slump a bit before pulling them taut and clipping them on at the bottom. Then both of them start working on an arm each, first putting the shoulder pauldrons on which are held in place with hooks and a fine chainmail, then the upper arms with a similar system of a single plate tied in place with lace and then covered with another clipped in place plate, the elbow guard which is chainmail with hooks on a single curved plate again and then a similar lower arm guard to the upper arm.

As they finish with my upper body I feel the pattern on the steel plates, which seem almost seamless when the armor is worn. It is an engraved scale pattern with a blue hue to it. I did notice something is changed to the chest piece but I didn't get to see it before it was put on me by the Elves. Meanwhile the Elves start putting on a cape on my back, while also putting some kind of embroidered loincloth or something similar below the chest piece. Apparently it isn't enough to wear a tunic with pants as an Elf... when both are done they put on the breacher plates, as well as a similar system of overlapping and interlocking plates that covers the part where the chest piece stops and the breachers begin. I'm not super happy with the strips of metal and how they seem to slightly impair movement, however as the Elves continue they connect it to the breachers and that problem is solved to.

As one finally finished the armor with the somewhat light steel boots the other moves up again and straps on the quiver and sword, as well as my shield. As a final touch they give me my helmet. Then finally they pull the curtains away from in front of the mirrors. I see that, with the exception of the strips of metal on the sides and the chainmail parts, everything is engraved with an almost seamless scale pattern, the lines even more apparent with what seems to be gold inlay. However what is more eye catching is the loincloth and symbol on the chest piece. The Loincloth shows the tree of life, symbol of the Elves, in golden thread woven in. And on the chest I see the Royal seal of the queen. The symbol only worn by the queen and the princess. I hear the queen speak then. 'Yes, you are right. That is my royal symbol, Shirley. You are one of us now.'

As I test out the armor I feel almost no hindrance from the armor, even when I twist my spine. Very occasionally the chain mail does crumple the wrong way and stops me from fully bending a limb but it isn't detrimental. In fact, I like it a bit to much. 'Why the Royal Seal though? I'm not even an Elf, let alone a daughter of you. I don't have a mother to speak off nor a true sister.'

The queen walks up to me, making me notice that Sha'iva is walking behind her with some kind of crown on her head though she still wears her sword and bow. She carries some kind of chest with her as well. On the other side of the queen a male Elf stands with a smaller chest in his hand. As she stands in front of me she speaks. 'Please kneel in front of me, Shirley. The armor, sword, bow and the spear that hasn't arrived yet are a gift of the Elven people to you. However I never thanked you for saving my life, nor for restoring peace not just within me, but also between me and my daughter. I heard about your rough past. Even we, the Elves, cannot clear a past. But we can offer mending. We can offer a replacement. And that I am doing now. Please give me your hand.'

As I kneel before her and offer my right hand, the queen turns to the male and opens the small chest. There she grabs a ring from and puts it on my ring finger. It slips on but somehow also stays where it is as if it is anchored in place. Then she grabs a piece of paper from the box. 'This is the contract. To sign it all you have to do is to press the seal into the wax, and from that point on we are legally family. Then you are next in line after Sha'iva.'

She holds out the contract in front of me. Unlike what I expected there are no clauses or anything. All it says is that I'm the adopted daughter of the queen on signing. I hesitate for a moment and converse with Rashter about it in my mind, but then support the paper and press the ring into it. The wax is still hot enough to heat the ring up and cause discomfort in my ring finger but as I pull it off I get a first look at my own seal: the Elven tree with a dragons head above it. A seal fitting for a Rider of the Elves. Then the queen turns to Sha'iva, who is now smiling, and opens the chest she is holding. There she pulls a similar crown from as Sha'iva is wearing, though again with a dragon theme as it has horns similar to Rashter's. As she lowers it onto my head she speaks loudly. 'May you now be known as Shirley Oaksinger, second heir to the Elven throne and first Dragon Princess of the Emerald Realm. May your years be long and your life be fruitful.'