perfume had been applied, but as if the aroma came from her own essence. Finally, Syriel invited her to show her the gardens of the palace, to which she gladly agreed with ill-concealed shyness.
King Jorion welcomed his royal guests and invited them into his palace, bidding them farewell to the young fiancés.
It was the custom of the princes to give a white mare of the purest race to their future wife on the day of the announcement of the engagement. Therefore, Syriel took Lirieth to the knights to give her the most perfect white mare he had ever seen. He feared that the equine would get angry with her, for only the wildest horse breeds were able to withstand the presence of the orcs. However, when he showed her the animal, he immediately noticed that not only would it be able to withstand Lirieth, but that it could also make a good connection with her, perhaps even as it had itself initiated with its loyal Night, a beautiful thoroughbred, black as the jet.
"Lirieth, I give you this mare called Luna Llena, which comes from the purest and most regal races, as you can see from the commitment we are about to make. I hope you will accept it and that it will be to your liking," said Syriel, more with resigned formality than with enthusiasm.
But the princess's response once again filled the human being with astonishment.
"Prince Syriel, let us leave traditions and speak clearly. I know that you feel obliged to sacrifice the rest of your life for the good of your people and I respect and admire you for it. However, I would like you to know that the idea of the wedding came from me, I proposed this union to my father and not because he wants to marry me with a beautiful human prince with blonde mane and eyes like the celestial sky, but because if our peoples do not unite against the sombers, we will all end up dead or enslaved by them. My father intended to make a covenant with your king that would not be like a surrender, but would not cease to be one after all. Nevertheless, to fight effectively against the dark requires much more, at least some minimal ties of complicity and even true friendship. Something like this can only be obtained from our peoples by giving a good example and that can only be done by the two of us."
Leaving a few seconds for his interlocutor to assimilate her words, Lirieth continued:
“So, I propose a deal, an irrevocable pact, because the life of our peoples depends desperately on it. Let us solemnly agree to pretend that our union is the fruit of sincere love, only in this way will we be able to sow and propagate the seed of friendship and harmony between orcs and humans." proposed the daring princess, with passion and firm conviction.
After smiling almost imperceptibly, at the sight of the profoundly astonished countenance drawn on the prince's face, she added:
"I am aware of the aversion that orcs produce to humans, and I understand how difficult it may be for you to do your part. But I also know that you are a brave, kind and exemplary prince to your people, and I am convinced that you will be able to do so, at least in a minimally convincing way. I cannot give you much time to think about it, this pact is only between us, no one else should know it. I only gave my father the idea, but he doesn't know anything about this deal and neither does my mother. To them, even more than to anyone else, we have to convince them that our love is sincere and real, so that they will be able to transmit with greater force to their peoples good feelings between the two races. We have to start playing our role as soon as possible, so you have to decide at this point whether you accept the agreement or whether you are going to continue your traditions with that face of slaughtered lamb. If you have a better idea to be able to face the dark ones with well-founded guarantees, I will listen to you with attention, if it is not so, either you accept my proposal or we will end up succumbing irremediably before our enemies." concluded the princess, with a sincere regret.
Syriel took a few seconds to recover from so much surprise at once. However, after meditating and weighing up the unique purpose of the impetuous princess, he finally managed to respond:
"This morning I almost wished to lose my life rather than to see my people subjected to the orcs, and at the same time to see myself forcibly united with an orc woman. But your noble and sincere words (and he thought that also what I had read in his beautiful eyes) make reborn a new hope in me. I accept your pact, Lirieth, and I swear to lay down my life before I betray this agreement. And don't worry, since I will know how to interpret my role with complete conviction for all who contemplates it."
And after admiring the beautiful smile that was drawn on the pleased face of the princess, he added:
"Therefore, I assume that you accept this saddle… "
"It's the most beautiful mare I've ever seen. I accept it with enchantment, Prince Syriel." replied Lirieth as he gave the animal an affectionate caress and a luminous smile to his fiancée. "I also have a gift for you…" said Lirieth to the prince.
And she stretched out her hand to him, where suddenly a golden chain appeared with a pendant similar in size to that of a human fist, carrying a very beautiful and perfect flat ruby.
"It is a precious amulet that will protect you from the black magic of the sombers." she said. "Besides, it gives you renewed strength when you think that all is lost. It's an ancient necklace, but I've enchanted it myself. I am a powerful sorceress, you had better know that as soon as possible if we are going to share our lives," confessed the princess without being able to avoid a tone of slight pride.
"Are you also a sorceress? Will you ever stop surprising me?" asked Syriel something more animated.
"Probably not. I'll always have something in store to keep surprising you," Lirieth joked.
Syriel took the amulet and hung it around his neck. He seemed to see that both the ruby and the stone of his sword shone in unison for an imperceptible moment. And almost without realizing it, he took the princess' hand and kissed her palm delicately, thanking her for the valuable gift.
"And this scar?" The prince wanted to know pointing to the palm of his fiancée's hand.
"I made it a long time ago, sharpening my sword," Lirieth lied.
The lie went unnoticed to the sixth sense of the prince, because the princess took care that her eyes were not within reach of his as she said it.
Syriel looked the princess in the eyes again.
"At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if you even wielded a better sword than I did," said Syriel in a clear tone of defiance.
"Don't doubt it, whenever you want, we can check it," laughed the princess.
Syriel took Lirieth by the waist and concluded:
"It is also our tradition that after the exchange of gifts between the new fiancés, they kiss each other."
And then he put his lips together with those of the princess, and this time was she who was surprised, thinking that the prince was beginning to play his part much better than she expected.
The great Alliance
Frienia, year 1815 of the second era.
The two royal entourages sat at the majestic table in King Jorion's meeting room.
The human entourage was dejected and defeated and no one decided to open the conversation, not even King Khorion dared to do so.
It was King Gulrath who finally broke the silence:
"King Jorion, gentlemen, I am not here to demand unconditional submission from humans, even though I would be in a position to do so after the outcome of the last battle. We have already shed a lot of blood, no doubt uselessly,
