The Storm King

There was a certain terror that caused Elise’s heart to always beat a little bit faster whenever Leon was gone from her side. She knew his predilection for getting into trouble, and while she loved him for it, it was also incredibly stressful, especially since she and her sisters-in-law hadn’t yet been able to give him an heir. That stress she felt was magnified whenever she knew he was doing something dangerous. She dreaded the day when she saw him brought back in pieces, never to speak her name or hold her in his arms again.

While she tended to find something to occupy her time whenever he was gone, with the Artor Valley under siege, she found such distractions to be less than adequate at capturing her attention. There were only so many times she could pour over plans for planting fields, check and recheck her plans to test growing certain herbs, and study how the Thunderbird Clan of old overcame their fertility issues. Her inability to distract herself was only magnified by the knowledge that she was the only one of Leon’s wives who was useless with a weapon. She hadn’t the predilection for fighting, and while she joined in Leon’s daily training and learned how to defend herself, she simply wasn’t a fighter, and couldn’t contribute much in such dire circumstances as they now faced.

So, she remained at home, desperately looking for something to distract her from how useless she felt, something to captivate her thoughts until her husband and sisters-in-law returned.

Everything she tried failed to properly distract her. The fighting Leon was taking part in was so close to home that she could not only sense much of the frantic magic being used, she could also see the flashes of silver-blue lightning that signified Leon’s activity.

At some point, she simply stopped trying to distract herself and sat down in the pavilion by the villa, dismissing all of her guards and handmaidens so that she could project her magic senses and try and watch what was happening.

Her horror was magnified when she saw that Leon was fighting a man who seemed to not only match her husband in power but exceed him. She watched deadly exchanges of ice and lightning, and saw Leon resorting to using black fire. His opponent was chased off, but she had to stifle a scream as Leon drifted through the air, eventually fall into Valeria and Maia’s arms, and finally lost consciousness on Anzu’s back.

Her breathing intensified as the group sped back into the misty veil, vanishing from her senses for the time being.

She didn’t remain idle, despite her horror and dread. Barely a few seconds after her husband entered the misty veil, she started calling her handmaidens and guards. She gave rapid orders for the villa to be prepared for Leon’s return, summoning healers and Clear Day.

‘Not today,’ she thought with immense determination. ‘I won’t lose you today…’