A healer blotted the fevered sweat from Jelina's forehead. While the two Rangers with more grievous wounds and the third Ranger, who had looked to have gone through the same torments as Jelina, had succumbed, the she-elf refused to give in. It was almost as if she truly were too stubborn to die. Whatever torments she'd been subjected to, they seemed to be replaying in her fevered dreams. She was restless, tossing about in the bed and muttering in her sleep. The healers did not know what she was saying as she'd slipped into the tongue of her ancestors.
~~~
Ruarc stood, his good arm against the door frame. The cries in the elven tongue had begun that night. They had become progressively worst. It was taking everything for him not to rush into the room. While Jelina had taught him her language and he was fairly fluent in it, what she was saying now he didn't understand a word of it. He had a stray wonder if the elves had two languages. Ainnileas was across from the door, leaning against the wall and looking up at the ceiling, praying for Elohim to give her peace and looking like he, too, wanted to rush to her side. Dante was leaning against the wall closest to Ruarc. Her cries were killing him, knowing there was nothing he could do for her. He looked upon each of his Rangers as a father would his children. And there had been a rumor that Jelina was his child, despite the fact he was only a decade older than she. What hurt the most was he could only pray.
~~~
The three men stood in breathless anticipation. Anyone who passed close to them could feel the tension. Jelina had finally quieted after three days of fevered cries and all three prayed that she had not taken a turn for the worst. Finally, the door opened and a healer emerged. Ruarc was able to catch a glimpse of the sweat-soaked she-elf. She was lying in the bed and he guessed she was in her smallclothes, he could only see her bare shoulders and arms. Her hair was loose and lay to the side and was soaked, stray strands clinging to her forehead. The door closed before he could see any more.
"Any news?" Ainnileas asked.
"Her fever has broken." All three gave a breath of relief.
"Thank Elohim," Dante breathed.
"Don't thank Him just yet, Dante. She is still unconscious and there is still no sign of her waking soon. But you may see her now." She opened the door and stepped aside.
~~~
Jelina slowly became aware. She focused on keeping her breathing steady. She listened. She could hear the steady breathing of four people and an animal. The air smelled fresh and clean, not stale and musty. She could feel warmth and felt as if she were lying on a soft bed, not cold stone. She was terrified that all of this was but a dream and that when she opened her eyes she would be back in that dank cellar with Ruarc. Or worse, staring Conaire's lapdog in the face as he tried to break her, spirit, body, and soul. The man was ruthless and took joy in causing her pain and reveled in her screams. She decided to risk it and opened her eyes. She truly hoped that this vision wasn't a figment of her fevered imagination. Jelina was in the room the Priests had given her when she first came to Ainnileas' village. She quickly glanced around her. The room had the look of early morning twilight. Ruarc was sitting on a stool next to the bed. He was asleep with his head on the bed and his hand in hers. Ainnileas was sitting against the wall, his head on his chest. Mara lay on the floor, her head resting on her father's lap. Ainnileas' hand rested on her shoulder. Dante had taken a chair and had fallen asleep with his head resting on his fist. He was the only one she knew who could fall asleep in odd positions but the man was a light sleeper when he did. She couldn't see him, but Jelina was sure Tristan was laid out next to the bed. She smiled. They had come for her. Her family. Yes, this was her family. Dante, Tristan, Ruarc, Ainnileas, Mara. They had risked themselves to come for her and she was grateful for it. Her eyes fell on Ruarc. He looked peaceful as he slept. She didn't know how long she'd been in that fort but it felt like it had been years. She gently squeezed his hand. The sudden movement must have startled him because he suddenly shot upright and looked at her.
"Jelina." She could see and hear the relief on his face and in his voice.
"Oh, thank Elohim," Ruarc's voice had woken Dante, who stood and went over to the bed. Ainnileas and Mara joined them a moment later.
"Please, tell me this isn't a dream," she whispered.
"It's not," Dante said, gently laying a hand on her bare shoulder. "You're safe now."
Jelina shook her head. "I'll never be safe, Dante. You know this." She looked over at Ainnileas. "I fear I have brought war upon you." She knew if they tracked her here, the village would not be safe. Even if she left before they came. They would kill everyone in this place just because she'd been here.
"Mara, go check on your brothers." The girl looked about to protest, then seemed to realize that things were about to be said that did not involve her.
As soon as the door was closed, Jelina looked at the three of them. "You two already know about this but I need to tell you, Ainnileas, the truth."
"About what?"
"Me."
Jelina sat up with Dante's help. After she was settled against the headboard, she continued. "I told you that I was born in the Wilds and I was from a village in the northern part of the forest. You asked me why I left the Wilds. I did not leave the Wilds willingly. My village was raided in the same way as the one that we went to when we were in the Wilds. Those that fought back were killed, including my father. The rest of us were taken to Moldov and sold into slavery."
Things began to make sense for Ainnileas. This explained her knowledge of the slavers' raid tactics.
"I was only a child at the time. I was separated from my mother, sisters, and brother at auction. I was sold to a man called Conaire and he renamed me Vashti, like I was a common house pet. I served in his house for eleven years. He was not a kind man nor was his wife a kind woman. They both were quick-tempered and had heavy hands. I was nineteen when he chose me as his... favorite. For lack of a better word. And before you say anything, it was not a good thing." Jelina took a deep breath before continuing.
Ainnileas could tell this was hard for her to speak of and he now could see why she'd dodged every question he'd had of her pre-Ranger life.
"He tried to... take advantage... of me one night in the kitchens. I defended myself and broke a Moldovan law in doing so. I fled in fear, knowing it would only be my word against his. What weight would a slave's claim have? I managed to dodge the city guard and the border patrol and made it into Aleera and to the safety of an Elohim Monastery."
"What law did you break?"
"Well, I broke more than one." She gave a small smile. "I did bodily harm to my master. He lost his eye in his attempt to take advantage of me. That would have only got me severely whipped. But my escape broke a major law. My life is forfeit because of it."
"So that's why Dante forbade you to go on the mission into Moldov he sent me and two others on?" Ruarc asked.
"Yes. Conaire'd had several others. I was only the first who'd dared to fight back." She reached up and touched her left shoulder. "When I first came to Conaire's, before he gave me the name of Vashti, he branded me so all would know I belonged to him. I knew I couldn't hide for long with that brand, so I asked the Priests to burn my shoulder. My plan had been to return to the Wilds and see if any of my village had escaped. But I was waylaid by a party of Wolf Brothers. I managed to fight them off but I wasn't unscathed." She held up her left arm. Ainnileas saw the faded scars of her bondage around her wrist, along with a clearer crescent-shaped one. A Wolf Brother's bite. "I'd heard the stories of their bites being deadly but I didn't die. I never even became sick. I ran into another, larger group and I was rescued from them by Dante. I will admit I was afraid of him at first."
Dante gave a small chuckle. "Rangers have that effect on people," he said.
"You took on Wolf Brothers and you were afraid of him?" Ruarc asked.
"I was barely twenty and an escaped slave, you dolt."
Ainnileas chuckled.
"Dante assured me I would be safe with him and he took me to Tearmann. He'd seen the bite and I was tested to see if I would turn. When it was seen that I was immune, I was offered a place among the Rangers. You know my choice and I've been a Ranger for thirty years now."
"The Moldovans have been after you all this time?" Ainnileas asked.
"Conaire was dishonored, I'm sure. He had a slave take his eye and escape completely into Aleera. I would be quite the prize for any slaver." Jelina bit her lip and looked at Ruarc. "Conaire called me a legend among the slaves. Did he speak truth?"
"There were tales of a slave who'd eluded capture, among other tales."
"What other tales?"
"A few were sure that escaped slave would return and free them."
"That tale has been floating around for centuries. It's only a tale that gives them false hope."
"What are you talking about?" Ainnileas asked, his curiosity peaked.
Jelina sighed. "There's an old tale that an old race would return to free the slaves."
"An old race? There's another race other than humans and elves?"
"Elysium. The story says that a pureblood Elysium will arise to lead them out of slavery."
"I have a dumb question..."
"Elysium are a bit like elves, for lack of a better comparison. They may look the same a bit but that is the only similarity. Elves are long-lived and fierce warriors. Elysium are, from my understanding, immortal, wise, and peaceful. They completely disappeared during The Scourging and I'm sure they were wiped out."
"The Aleerian War," Ainnileas said at the puzzled looks on Dante and Ruarc's faces.
"If Conaire takes you back to Moldov, he'll regain his lost honor?"
"Along with making me pay for my crimes against Moldov."
"Which isn't going to happen," Ainnileas said. "We have work to do."