Luminescent (Inheritance Cycle and Beyond)

Chapter Sixty-Five: Blinding

Hidden behind the curtain of hair, was a dull garnet eye. The child blinked before looking him, her lip trembling as if she was waiting for the strike of a hand against her dirty cheek.

"Heterochromia," Murtagh muttered to himself before sighing. She was born with two different colored eyes, one green, and one red, and had been thought a demon because of it. In all honesty, Murtagh believed that the variation her eyes held was beautiful. Most others would not think as kind thoughts.

"Child, when was the last time you had a bath?" Alethea asked. Once again, the child answered with her shoulders. "Murtagh,"

Murtagh glanced back at the White Dragon.

"Bathe, clothe, and feed this child, she has suffered enough." The Dragoness announced as if it were an everyday task.

"I am sure others have already tried," Murtagh replied, frowning. "what makes you so sure she will even let take her somewhere?"

The Dragoness let out a chuckle.

"The fact that she hasn't run off," Alethea replied. "She is a flighty one, and fast. The elves charged with her care have had a challenging time keeping their eyes on her. The mere fact that she had stood in your presence this whole time means that she does not feel threatened by you."

Murtagh returned his eyes to the child in front of him. If the child let him take her back to his room and the Inn, what would Mal think?

"You'd be proving that you are a worthy father," Thorn interjected with a huff. "You are showing her that you are willing to care for a youngling and that you will be an excellent father for your own youngling."

Murtagh sighed before standing up. His Dragon was right. Mal wouldn't care if he brought the child home, she would, however, care about how he treated the girl.

"My dragon and his mate like you," Murtagh told the girl. "they also think that you would benefit from eating more."

The child's dual eyes widened as she snuck another look at the Dragon's resting behind him. Murtagh nodded.

"They think that you need to eat." Murtagh continued, figuring out just how the child's mind worked. Currently, the red and white Dragon fascinated her. "you wouldn't want to disappoint them, would you?"

The long brown locks swung vigorously as she shook her head. Murtagh inwardly smiled triumphantly as he continued to hold a serious expression on his face.

"I didn't think so, would you like to join me for breakfast?" The child nodded vigorously at Murtagh. He smiled at her.

"She will follow you to breakfast," Alethea responded before she closed her eyes and snuggled back into her own mate.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

I finished my meal in the quiet morning, listening to the birds and animals sing their morning song. I hadn't eaten all of the food, as there were copious amounts of food, not to mention I wanted to see a healer about elvan pregnancies. I had called for one and was told that one would be arriving soon.

The door to the room opened and shut shortly before I heard Murtagh's boots on the floor. Turning around, I was about to tell him to eat his own breakfast when the words died on my lips.

Murtagh had indeed returned, but he wasn't alone. A waif of a human girl stood slightly behind him, taking shelter behind his legs.

"I was ordered to make sure the little one ate breakfast by a stern Dragoness," Murtagh announced. I took the hint. Whoever this child was, it had taken convincing to get her here, as well as involvement from my Dragon.

"Well, we shouldn't disappoint the Dragoness," I spoke up with a kind smile, beckoning the child to the chair I had previously sat in. The girl timidly walked forward before climbing into the chair. I grabbed a clean plate and set it in front of her.

"Do you have any favorite's?" I asked her. She gave me an absentminded shrug. My eyes flickered to Murtagh's, who also shrugged. Good Gods, these two might have been Father Daughter with the way they acted. Rolling my eyes, I grabbed an assortment of fruit and placed a few bites of each on her plate. "Let's find out what you like, shall we?"

The child grabbed onto a fork and speared one of the slices of fruit before shoving it into her mouth.

I sat down next to the child and started picking at the grapes on the tray as the child tried each fruit.

Watching her face, it was easy to tell that she wasn't picky, but she certainly did enjoy raspberries and blueberries the most as she finished those piles first. Murtagh leaned against a wall, watching us as the two of us picked at the breakfast tray.

I decided to split one of the remaining rolls and add some marmalade to it, I to get her to eat as much as possible. The child had a gaunt, sunken in face, that told me she wasn't eating enough, and it wasn't because the elves were starving.

I had a hunch her looks related to her underweight appearance and overall tepidness. A look shared with Murtagh told me that my intuition was right. Somewhere in her life, she has been abused for being born with two different colored eyes.

Putting my elbow on the table, I rested my chin in my hand as I observed the child. Other than her green and red eyes, she had long brown hair that I was reasonably sure never got brushed and an oversized dress that hung poorly on her body.

Elves were not cruel creatures, especially to a child whom they had taken from a bad situation. Most likely, she did not allow them to touch her or accept any offered clothing. Whatever had happened left a lasting scar on her mind that needed plenty of time to heal.