In Lost Dreams the Four Were Bound

37 - Elis - Time to Herself

"Zaisure!" Rais called as she skipped among the tall grasses and clover of a secluded clearing near the Hyunisti village. Elis looked up and shot the little girl a smile as she sat among old hewn stones and wooden posts. All around them were the small plots and mounds of those come and gone: lovers, singers, foragers, huntsman, warriors, and children. No one was spared the long-lived curse of the Hyunisti bloodline, but together there was a place of peace to call their own, nestled near the grave of their namesake. Elis laughed as Rais ducked behind a grave, her little brown ears giving away her location. "Come find me, zaisure!"

"But I've been watching you the whole while, my little one."

"But I'm hiding!" Rais's ears twitched as she protested.

Elis did not want to get up. All around her were baskets of wild berries and plant matter. They had spent the better part of the morning down in the dirt picking them. The day was already half gone, and the evening would be long and tiring whether she engaged or not. She just wanted to sit and think a while longer. If she got up, what excuse would she have to stay put?

Laughing at herself, Elis stepped off her boulder and crept toward Rais, avoiding sticks and stones that might give her away. Behind the grave, the little girl giggled and then quieted herself. Her floppy brown ears went to full attention as she took a deep breath. Elis's own red-and-gold cups homed in on her as she listened to her little one's tension. With patience, Elis filled her lungs.

"There you are!" she exclaimed, springing over the grave and wrapping her arms around the little girl. Beneath her, Rais struggled, frantic and laughing as Elis's fingers teased her sides. In a bold move, the little girl rolled away, but her freedom was short-lived as Elis rounded the stone and pulled her close. The writhing mass of limbs and giggles shuffled and protested, but Elis did not abate her assault.

"Zaisure. Zaisure! Please, zaisure. You found me. Please, zaisure. Please . . ." the little girl stammered out plea after plea.

Elis ceased her attack, confident in her victory. In one motion, she wrapped her arms around Rias and hugged her tight. Within her arms, the little girl gasped for air, still laughing between her breaths.

"I told you," Elis said as she nuzzled the little girl's head. "You can't hide from me."

Rais quieted down. Leaning back, she nestled herself in Elis's grasp, her dark hair and yellow day dress wrapped around her as Elis's body enveloped her frame. Elis planted a kiss on the girl's forehead. "Alright, up you go," she said, releasing Rais.

"Chase me!" Rais called as she tumbled forward onto her feet.

"You better run."

Elis chuckled as the girl stumbled and weaved between stones, posts, and stumps as she tried to put distance between them. Elis waited, counting beneath her breath. As the numbers rolled off her tongue, Rais continued onwards while shooting back excited glances. Elis began to walk forward, readying herself to follow.

"Chase me!" the little girl called back to her.

"Are you ready?"

Just as Rais reached the edge of the clearing, Elis shot off. With careful, powerful steps, she gained speed, weaving a path free of debris and obstacles as she accelerated. In seconds she had worked up enough speed to more than triple Rais's pace. Watching as Elis gained on her, the little girl shrieked. Instinctively, the hazel-headed talvuo started to make a curved path. Elis began ignoring obstacles, choosing instead to leap over them or use them as footholds for more powerful strides. Chasing Rais was like hunting game, minus the sharp brambles she'd be carrying.

"No! No!" the little girl shouted between panting laughs.

From a hundred paces down to a dozen, Elis went to cut Rais off. But despite her skill and efforts, she miscalculated as her split white tunic caught upon an ignoble plank of wood. Gritting her teeth, Elis went into a spin as she rolled to the ground. Barring a few bumps, she regained her composure just in time to spring up in front of Rais and grab her.

"No! No, zaisure!" the little girl cried as Elis rolled with her. Tickling Rais, Elis's eyes betrayed her own haphazard joy as the bundle of yellow and white squirmed with all her might. Rais reached for Elis's sides as she attempted to fend her matron off, but Elis was too fast and hawkish to let a single probing finger through. "Please! Oh, please! It's too much. Zaisure . . . zaisure!"

Elis laughed with her as she pushed Rais to the brink. The little girl gasped, unable to speak another word between her raucous laughter. As the little girl's pale face went cherry red, Elis abated her assault.

"No . . . no more, zaisure," Rais said, sweaty and trembling in her arms.

"No more?" Elis whispered into the little girl's ear as she hugged her close. "Are you sure?"

"I'm . . . I'm sure, zaisure . . ." Rais's words trailed off as she coughed and then giggled. Covered in leaves, dust, and dirt, her yellow dress was a little worse for wear. Elis would have to get that out later. She looked over her own white-draped frame. Her tunic was covered in dirt and plant stains. Motioning for the girl, Elis helped her up. Together they walked back over to the old stone monuments and the circle of baskets.

"We'll have to get all cleaned up," Elis said.

"Are we going home already?" Rais's red face was overcome with sudden shock as she pranced beside Elis. "We haven't picked the blue ones yet!"

"Ah, the little blue ones. Well, why don't you grab one of the small baskets and pick some, so we can boil them later, hmm?" Without a second's hesitation, the girl spun to action.

"Oh! OK, zaisure!" she cried as she fetched a small basket.

Elis watched as Rais buzzed about the stones and posts, distracted by her task. Elis sighed, relieved to have time to herself once more. Settling back on the ancient boulder, she watched as the girl bobbed from gravestone to grave post as she scanned for the tiny little things.

With careful fingers, Elis tugged at the twistblade at her side, feeling its simple handle and tangled barbs and blades. When she had set out, she had contemplated staying away for the length of the festivities and ceremonies. She and Rais could hunt, forage, and hide away until everything had cooled. The tensions that threatened to drive her mad would be done with for the time being. But as she thought about such an idea, Elis realized that returning would only lead to more headaches later. It would be better to just run away and leave everything behind, but doing so would mean destroying a beautiful relationship that had potential. It would also suggest turning her back on a long-lost friend and lover, one whom everything in her said to accept, but trauma beckoned her to run.

At the end of it, Elis knew she wouldn't leave, but she also knew she could no longer be a hermit. She couldn't bear to be part of the village yet disavowed of it. There were two roads ahead for the others. Without a doubt, she knew Davnian would leave. Whether through recovering his memories or in search of them, that moment would come. Neris would either choose to stay with her brother among the talvuo or leave and follow her star-crossed lover. For Elis, she had to accept her place among the people whose stories were deep within her. They needed a shepherd to care for them, a matron to lead them. Only after that would they know peace and prosperity once more.

"Zaisure!" the little girl called.

Elis turned her head, watching as Rais charged forward with a bundle of flowers and debris. There was that matter as well. Rais needed to be cared for. She needed a place to grow, to cherish, to call her own.

"Ah, look at that harvest!" Elis said, chuckling as the little girl rammed into her. Flower petals and dust scattered over her plain white tunic. Green bits and leaves got lost in their hair as she calmed her little one down. "Careful now. Careful. We don't want to lose it all."

"I'm sorry, zaisure," Rais said, huffing as Elis picked through lost fragments.

"It's alright, my dear," Elis said. Rais set the basket down as she tried to help, giggling as she picked flower petals and debris from spots of dirt and foliage. "There, there. Now let's fetch the rest up, shall we?"

"Yes, zaisure!" Rias said as she picked around Elis's feet.

More than a village, the little girl needed to be loved. She needed lessons and confidence.

"What do you say to one more tussle?" Elis asked as she loomed over her.

Without another word of warning, Elis descended, undoing their hard work as they wrestled around. As Elis released Rais to let her run, she knew there was so much more to it. Rais needed the mother that Elis could be, if not the one she already was.