"Adelphia!" Darwyn's voice called from the kitchen, reverberating off the walls of the cottage.
I brushed the loose twigs and leaves off the hem of my skirt. "Coming!" Then I slipped into my rough, but sensational wooden slippers, and dashed to the kitchen.
"Good morning," Ozanne beamed as I walked in. She was near the dusty kitchen counter, mashing some strawberries into jam and adding a few magical remedies inside.
"Good morning," I answered good-humoredly, as Darwyn handed me a bowl of jumbled nuts and berries. I grasped a nut with my fingers and picked off its shell, popping the softer insides into my mouth. A chestnut. I savored the taste for a while, before I clasped a handful of berries and chewed them thoughtfully.
"Ozanne, how's the potion going?" Darwyn asked, as Ozanne poured her finished jam into a glass jar, sealed the lid, and headed down to the breakfast table with bowls of mixed chestnuts and berries for her and her father.
"It's spectacular- I just need to find some leaves of the RedStar Oak," she exclaimed, and then ticked the ingredients off her fingers as she popped a chestnut into her mouth. "And mash them, mix them in, drizzle in a spoonful of sap, and mix it all up. If my logical calculations are correct, according to this book I read the other day called, Healing Potions, it can heal broken bones in about an hour!" She grinned.
"Good luck," I murmured half-heartedly, picking through my food.
After finishing my bowl, I picked it up and stood up. "I'll go and wash this in the stream," I murmured. "See you guys."
"Be back soon!" Ozanne called out, before she leaned towards her father excitedly, no doubt to continue rambling about her potions. Despite her obsession with making potions, she's a good friend. But, strangely, I caught the words, "Leave... wait... three years... growing up..."
Must be another...upcoming potion, I thought to myself nervously, as I was myself in the stream, glancing at my reflection in the crystal-clear waters.
How much I've changed, I thought, with an unexpected stab of nostalgia. I can barely remember the empress' face, or Klide's, or Nydia... poor Klide. I hadn't heard of her in quite a while.
Three years. I flashed a glance into the stream again, looking at my reflection; an old habit from the palace I never got rid of. My hair had grown to my waist, tangled with a shower of twigs and other bits of undergrowth. It hung in a messy braid twisted down my back, and I'd grown taller, too. Stronger. Tougher. I would say less, too, if I did say so myself.
A light brush of clothes touched my arm.
"I'd say you've grown quite a bit," Darwyn smiled as he strode up to me.
"Thanks Mr. Darwyn, I'd say to myself too," I beamed, pleased.
"Eh, okay, but you still have a lot to learn," he said firmly.
"Come on teacher, a praise doesn't hurt, right?" I said wistfully.
"Ha," Darwyn laughed. "I'll never praise you until you master everything, kid." He grinned, before growing serious. "Adelphia, listen closely. I've had you as a student for more than three years now, you've grown so much. So..." He took a big sigh.
I suddenly got a whisk of what he was trying to say and gasped quietly to myself, my hand freezing as I washed the bowl. Cold water seeped around me, wetting my wrist.
I felt so strange, knowing that he wanted me gone. Not sad, or even happy. Just strange.
"You think I'm ready?" I said glumly.
"Adelphia, this is perfectly fine if you don't want to," Darwyn said sadly.
"Mr. Darwyn, by living here, I've put you and Ozanne's life in critical danger. I'm using your lives to survive. And in fact, I want to leave this hideout," I said a bit too loudly. "You guys can die any moment with me here, and I don't want to put you in any danger anymore. Plus, I need to get to the Thinia empire. To defeat my mother." I took a small gulp of air.
Darwyn regained his stony face, engrossed in his thinking for a while, before breaking out of hissaying: "Yes, you may go, indeed. I'll come with you."
It took a few seconds for the words to sink in. Darwyn?! No... he'd die immediately!
"No!" I gasped in a rush. "Um, teacher, you are getting too old and wrinkly. The trip will be too hard for you," I added quickly yet kindly.
"This should be the other way around," he said, annoyed. "I am the teacher, and you are just a student. Plus, you are still horrible at hand-to-hand combat and cannot master the art of outdoor foods yet. You still think you should lurch your shoulder back everytime you deflect a punch, and believe that every type of ivy is edible." He shook his head irritably.
I was speechless. "Hmph," was all I managed to say, before a cloud of smoke suddenly blew me off. I lifted the bowl and set it onto the ground lightly, wiping my hands on my mossy skirt.
"Hi, Adelphia!" Ozanne squealed as she approached her father and I.
"Ozanne!" I sighed as I coughed out a wisp of the dirty gas. "Your potions!"
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," she giggled. "I forgot to add the leaves of the Oak, I was getting impatient. It just slipped." She laughed her usual dainty laugh.
"Nice. Anyways," I said quickly, turning my attention back to Darwyn. "I won't let you go with me, teacher."
"Where?" Ozanne quipped.
"I'm ready to go; defeat the empress and claim the throne," I said softly. "I'm ready."
Ozanne stared at me with a shocked expression on her face. "By yourself?" she frowned. "No... Adelphia, I can't let you. Maybe father will not come with you, but I will."
An awkward silence followed.
"No Ozanne, you could get killed-" I said softly after not being able to bear the treacherous silence.
"So what? I don't care! You can get killed too! And I'd much rather die honorably than die cooped up in this place," she declared.
I sighed and brushed the last of the water drops off the bowl. This wasn't going to be easy.
"Ozanne, please, you don't understand," I reasoned. "This is my journey, not yours. I'm the only person-"
"As if I care!" she declared. "If you die, no one will ever take over the Thinia empress's throne! So I must come with you, I can't allow you to die!"
I felt so appreciated, I had to swallow back my tears.
"No, Ozanne..." I choked.
"Yes, and that's that," she said with a ring of authority. I began to bluster again, but she held up a hand to stop me. "Anyways, before I, er... so rudely interrupted you, what were you saying?"
"Ozanne! I can't let you come with me!" I exclaimed. "You'll die and sacrifice, and it will be all my fault-"
"Shush, you!" she ordered. "Father, what were you going to say?"
"OZANNE! LISTEN!" I yelled. "I can't-"
"Shut it, will you?" she growled. "I'm coming with you to protect you, and whether I die or not is not any of your fault, okay?" She gave an exaggerated sigh. "So, what were you saying?"
I saw no more point in arguing anymore. Maybe I can drop her off somewhere along the way, I thought helplessly.
I got back to the main point. "Mr. Darwyn, you cannot come with me, even if Ozanne is," I told Darwyn.
"What do you mean?" he yelped. "I'm your teacher, I have taught you-"
"Yes, I know, and I thank you for that," I said. "But now, it's my time to go, and I cannot put you in danger for your work."
He scowled, but slowly it morphed into an overbearing sadness. "... Fine..." he said forlornly, finally.
I stared at him strangely. "It can't be that easy," I muttered. "What do you want?"
He ignored me. "Before you girls go, Adelphia, here." He looked away as he handed something to me, taken off his back.
"My mother gave it to me when I started arching for the first time," he whispered as he held out a glistening golden bow, with a few small markings on the tip. "I will always cherish it with my heart, as I will always cherish Ozanne and you." He sniffed somberly.
"What is it?" I inquired gently.
"It's a power-mana bow," he explained quietly. "Of course, the magic part has worn off overtime, but its protection and spirit still exists. You will shoot normally, but then also cast a spell to activate it."
'What spell?" Ozanne asked, her hazel eyes wide.
"Say: 'Oplin Jinha Kintha, mui poweth o lowered, I seeth nui moigonthia,'" Darwyn said. "It means: 'Lord of spells and power, my faith is lowered underneath you, and I promise to use the magic wisely.'"
"What happens then?" I questioned curiously.
"The spell will be infiltrated with who your target is," he said, smiling a bit. "It will come in handy for long distances or if you don't want to get too close to your enemy. And after it has hit long enough, they will come back to the quiver and rest themselves there under your command-you just have to think it. They also will have your enemy feel burning fire, like being electrocuted instead of the piercing pain of a normal arrow."
I slowly took the bow out of Darwyn's shaking hands and examined it, as he handed me a quiver of trembling arrows. They were silver-tipped and a bit rusty, but otherwise, gorgeous.
"Oh, Mr. Darwyn," I cried. "Thank you, thank you!" I embraced him in a huge, bear hug. "Thank you, oh, thank you!"
"You're welcome," he said flatly, turning into a rock again.
"We'll take off tomorrow and not be in your business by sunrise," I smiled.
"Will we- oh yes, we will," Ozanne added unhelpfully.
Darwyn's eyes crinkled, and I saw little tears forming. "Stay safe, please," I heard him mumble.
"What did you say?" I whipped around, surprised.
"I said: 'DON'T DIE! THAT BOW IS A FAMILY HEIRLOOM AND IF IT IS LOST IN THE HANDS YOU- YOU TWO AMATEURS, I WILL BE VERY ANGRY!'" he screamed, covering his face. "I AM NOT SCARED THAT YOU TOO WILL POTENTIALLY DIE, I AM NOT! I JUST CANNOT AFFORD TO LOSE MY PRECIOUS BOW!"
I sighed, and bowed down. "Ah, yes, teacher!" I replied, hoping it didn't sound sarcastic.
"Come on, father," Ozanne smirked. "Be a bit more kinder, if you will. You never know when Adelphia and I are going to come back." She smiled. "Or, if we ever will come back," she added in a spooky voice.
Darwyn took a fresh breath of air. "Whatever, you children. Adelphia, I want you to take care of the bow, and Ozanne, don't die or sacrifice, I command you. I want full training right now, Adelphia for archery combat and Ozanne for potions."
We stared at him in utter silence.
"What?" he snapped. "Did I stutter? NOW!"
"Um, if you insist, Mr. Darwyn," I said nervously, getting up tightly. But before I did anything else, I gave another huge hug to Darwyn.
"I know I haven't left yet, but I just wanted to thank you for everything. I never deserved you, yet you still have been so kind. From the day, three years ago, where I was a weak elf, to now, where I can train and be free, I've changed tremendously, but in a good way. Thank you, and I will not disappoint you, Mr. Darwyn."
I didn't let go of the cuddle. Because I didn't want to. For a moment, it was just him and me in this world, embracing, loving, not wanting to leave each other's arms empty. All my life I had been searching for the right place I could be, somewhere where my heart would always long to be back.
And I had just found the place.