Chapter 66. Teleri's Challenge

eleri waited until Pendaran was well asleep before rising from his side.  She regarded him by candlelight and was overwhelmed with tenderness for him as he lay wrapped in slumber.  None of the anguish that had twisted her gut etched his face now and though she longed to touch him, she did not.  He deserved some solace after what had clearly been a challenging ordeal for him.

Annoyed at Zhou for driving Pendaran so hard, she resolved to have a talk with him as soon as he was recovered.  She gently drew the sheets and blankets up under Pendaran’s chin before snuffing the candles and departing.  Geetha slipped into the bedroom with a questioning purr and she nodded, grinning as the lynx bounded up to curl against the sleeping man’s back.

She did not sleep well when she finally crawled into her own bed.  The toll of the city clock only served to drive home how little rest she was getting and how miserably tired she would be all day.  Not that it really mattered.  Tonight was the first time she had seen Pendaran in days and when he was missing from her day, the minutes stretched out into eternity and she dwelt upon Mabane and home.  And Morisedd.  It was something of a relief when a servant tapped on her door with the arrival of dawn.
 
“Master Bei requests your presence for breakfast, Lady Teleri,” said the woman as she placed a fresh ewer of lavender water beside the clean basin with a soft fleecy towel. 

“Is he well?” she asked instinctively, recalling his injury.

“Yes, my Lady.  He will be in the garden.”

Teleri nodded and the young woman departed quickly.  Sensing urgency, she hurried about cleaning herself up before donning the plainest of her green dresses.  Yawning, she made her way to the veranda where Zhou sat alone at a small bamboo table in a high-backed embroidered chair that had been dragged outside for his comfort.  He was draped in a blanket and wearing loose linen pantaloons under a caftan.  She guessed they were his bed clothes for they looked suitably rumpled.  His narrow face was drawn and tired, but he had taken pains to straighten his short black hair.

“Good morning,” the man said, smiling tiredly at her and gesturing to the chair opposite him.  She noted his strange fascination with mixing Canthan and Tyrian fare for he had a bowl of rice gruel sitting beside two decidedly Tyrian slices of bread that had been toasted and smeared with marmalade.  One of the servants had peeled an orange for him which he was currently picking at with the attitude of one who had no desire to eat.  She wondered if his servants were plying him a variety of things he liked for he was looking unusually thin and haggard.

“Are you well, Master Bei?” she asked both out of politeness and genuine concern.

“Considering the circumstances, better than usual, my friend.  Please, address me as Zhou.  I will not stand upon formality with you, Lady Teleri.”

“Then Teleri is enough for me,” she said, grinning.

“Point taken.  I have some good news to share with you.  Please, pour yourself some tea.  I am sorry that I am such a poor host this morning.”

She saw the stiff edges of bandages beneath his long tunic and realized he was propped up and movement was painful for him.  He reached for a piece of toast with some effort and she frowned, rising to help him. 

“Do you want tea?” she asked as she prepared to fill her own small cup.  He smiled at her and nodded, raising his cup to her after she handed it to him.

“You’ve chased off your servants.”

“There is no need for them to hear what we will discuss,” he replied, growing quiet to munch on the toast and set his empty teacup aside, which she promptly refilled. 

“You are a very kind and wise woman, Teleri Dunvael,” he said at last, pausing when she blushed, “I am going to be frank for I fear our mutual friend will rise shortly and come seeking us and I do not wish him to be present at the moment.  Is that alright with you?”

“Of course.”

“First, the news I promised you.  I have heard back from Shikai that Morisedd has been safely delivered from the hands of the Red Lotus Clan.  They are journeying home now and should arrive within a fortnight.”

Teleri beamed with delight.

“Are the others well?”

“Yes.  There were no casualties among your friends nor my guild members.”

“And that horrible woman?”

“Quite dead,” Zhou said, an edge of ice in his voice, “Which leads me to the very blunt question I wish to ask.  How much would you say you love Pendaran?”

Flustered, her tongue fell dead in her mouth.  He was watching her in the way of a mesmer, a keen and focused gaze that made her feel naked. 

“I love him a great deal,” she replied, a harshness in her voice, “I don’t know what you wish to know.”

“Have you decided whether or not you are merely infatuated?”

She held his gaze, knowing he was testing her.

“I don’t know,” she replied honestly.  Zhou lowered his gaze and put the toast aside.

“I believe you do know,” he said after a time, “but you are afraid of the answer.  It takes courage to love again so strongly.”

“So what if I do love him.  Why does it matter to you?”

“One cannot know the innermost fears and thoughts of another human being without learning to love them.  I have helped to restore Pendaran as best as I am able, and in so doing regard him as my brother.  I crave for him to be happy when he leaves me and goes once more into the world that injured him.”

“I see.  So you are afraid I’ll hurt him.”

“I am trying to decide what to do with him, Teleri.  When your brother and friends return, I detect you will all want to go home to your broken land.  But Pendaran will find no welcome in Morisedd’s presence.  What is to become of him?”

“Tyria is his homeland.  Why would he not return?  As for Morisedd, he did not approve of Rhys at first.  He does not trust mesmers.  He will get over it.”

Zhou frowned, his narrow brows meeting above his delicate nose.

“Has he told you nothing of his past?”

“Not really.  I know he was married and she died in the Searing, and he’s embarrassed about his past and wants to forget about it.  It’s not really my business.”

“It is your business, Teleri.  If you choose to stay with him, then you will inherit the consequences of his past.  You have a son, if I am not mistaken.  Would you place him at risk?”

Teleri swallowed, the hair of her nape rising.

“What kind of risk?” she demanded, suddenly tense and protective.

“I do not think Pendaran fully understands the danger himself.  He was a thief and a manipulator.  Many of the people he hurt still treasure their grudges with him.  Kiku is not the only woman he slept with for gain.  I suspect he will reveal dalliances that will be a source of pain for you.”

Angry, she glared at Zhou, hating him for being so blunt and uncaring.  How dare he attempt shatter her image of Pendaran for his own selfish gain?

“I’m sorry, Teleri,” Zhou replied to her rage, “I knew before I started this conversation that it would be difficult, but it needs to be discussed.  It is said a mesmer cannot spin twice toward darkness and recover.  If he falls back into his old ways, this time he will be lost.  As his teacher, I cannot, in good conscience, allow him to roam loose causing havoc with all that I have awakened in him.  It will fall to me to contain him or put an end to him in that event.”

Teleri was chilled by those words.  There was sadness in Zhou’s gaze this time.  She sensed that he spoke from painful experience.

“What do you need from me?” she asked calmly.

“Ask him to tell you the truth about who he is and what he has done.  If you still feel love for him after that, then I would speak with you again.  In a week, I must know your answer so that I can make the appropriate preparations.”