Chapter Two
Safe
There are wonderful sounds outside. Most of the older elves are hard at work at this hour, building, teaching, growing, and trading. The distant calls of the market elves can be heard from the Outer City shops. Usually I would be mesmerized by the simplicity of daily life, but I can barely concentrate as I make my way down the garden path that passes south of the lake, jogging across the smooth dirt with ease. All of these noises fall away while my feet carry me almost automatically in the direction I want to go.
The road is familiar and safe, put in place during my childhood for easier travel to the Outer City. It stretches from the Housing District where my mother lives to the Academy where I currently reside. There is a path that leads to the markets and shops about halfway down.
As an elf, my stamina is pretty high, but I find that I am gasping for air as the housing district comes into view. My legs fall out from underneath me when I reach the tree that my mother frequented when I was young, my knees buckling under the weight of my fears, the bright, soft light of day and the lighthearted sounds of the afternoon lost to me. The cool shade from the branches hides me from the spring sunlight.
Curling into a ball, my chin meets my knee and rests there as my breathing slows. My eyes close as I wait for my head to stop spinning from lack of air. When I can finally breathe normally I stretch my legs out in front of me and lean back against the old tree behind me, laying one of my hands against the roots of the tree.
The trees in our city, like all trees, tell fantastic stories. If you listen carefully they’ll even tell you secrets that they know. The Tree wakes slowly at my touch, recognizing my thoughts. I used to come here when I was small and tell the tree stories in exchange for a history lesson which is the real reason I chose to study the history of elvenkind.
She waits patiently as I clear my mind of all fear and sorrow. I can feel her cringe mentally as she catches small pieces of my dream. Her branches droop as my thoughts darken, lingering on the creepy singing and the note I found. She begins to pull away and I panic, pushing these thoughts away and replacing them with the bright cherry red cardinal that I had seen earlier. This draws her back and suddenly her thoughts and the thoughts of the other elves she had spoken to today rush into my mind, clearing away any lingering fears.
There’s a smiling old man that left a pretty flower on one of her branches, a child sitting and singing a song of butterflies and doves, a girl in a satiny red cloak that doesn’t even pause on her way past. The tree pauses on the girl, probably because I had shown an interest in her, and I see her make her way towards the housing district, looking left and right as if she were being followed. But the tree must have seen this as not important because she moves on to Nayna who tells the tree an epic story of love and loss. She let’s Nayna’s story play out in my mind and I am surprised at the revelation that Nayna is the protagonist of her own story.
I have always seen my grandmother as a peaceful, old elf who sits around telling stories, not living out the stories she tells. My eyes open as the images fade, Nayna’s voice still fresh in my mind. I blink, finding it strange that she had been young once and I wonder what other stories my grandmother had been a part of. After the peaceful thoughts of the tree, the harsh, bitter memories of today feel unwelcome. A sour taste builds in my mouth as the words from the note run through my mind again.
My hand falls away from her roots as I adjust myself so I am sitting cross legged on the ground leaning against the tree and reach over for my book. Its hard to focus on the stories recorded there when thoughts of the note and the nightmare keep pushing to the front of my mind.
After a few sentences I put the book down in my lap and stare up through the leaves, trying to sort out my thoughts. The quiet in this part of town is peaceful and helps me to think more clearly. Finally I can relax against the tree, melting into the warm bark and the sweet smelling grass at it’s base. At last a sense of safety warms me, rising from my center and reaching to my fingertips. Here I am safe. I am alone. I am okay.
Then a scream pierces the silence, forcing my eyes open and shattering the small shield that the tree had helped me create to block the painful memories in my mind.
Horrible thoughts force themselves to the front of my mind as I push myself up, standing quickly and letting my book fall to the ground unnoticed. That voice… I knew that scream. I had heard it often in my childhood, playing in the streets of town. That voice belonged to my sister, Aleaya and that scream was not the scream of playing- that was a scream of pain.
Aleaya is the youngest in the family, only sixteen. She has hair as blond as my own, but her eyes are a deep blue color, quite unlike my grey eyes. I take off, my breathing even and my heart pounding as I sprint towards my childhood home, nestled into the safe looking housing district.
When I reach the house I throw open the red wood door, barely stopping to turn the handle before stumbling inside, letting the door slam against the wall. I could barely make sense of the scene in front of me. There, kneeling on the floor where we used to play is my sister, clutching at my mother who is sprawled out on the floor, her skin pale, her eyes rolling, searching for something. Aleaya is wailing as she rips off her cloak, pressing it against our mother’s stomach, just under where her heart is.
Dizzy, I move towards them, grasping her shoulders and pulling her away, her hands clawing at mine trying to return to our Mother’s side.
“No sister! Go. I will stay with her. Go!” I manage to pull her to her feet, her whole body trembling as her tears mingled with the blood splashed across her face.
“Wait. Were you hurt?” I quickly look her over, checking for wounds or scratches or anything as she shakes her head, sobbing and coughing out what sounded like a ‘no’. I pushed her gently to the door.
“Go to Cartol’s next door. I will meet you there. Go now!” She nodded and then fled, her hands covering her face as she went. I took my mother’s hand in mine, using my other hand to hold Aleaya’s cloak to the wound. It was obvious that she was almost gone now, there was barely any light left in her eyes. The cloak was soaked through now so released it, grasping her cold, limp hand in both of mine. Her eyes, crazed with what could only be fear, finally found mine.
“My- Arie… You- ca- came…” Her voice was weak, and when she coughed, blood spilled from her lips. I nodded, brushing a piece of hair out of her face and cupping her cheek in my hand.
“I’m here. I’m here.” I whisper, my words sticking in my throat. She gasps and her weak, labored breathing pauses and her eyes close as all of the color that was left in her face drained away as she wheezes again.
“I- I lo- ve you. You- an- and your sis- sister.” She reaches up towards my face, her eyes opening and locking onto mine. I press my face against her hand and hold it to my cheek with my own hand.
“I love you too. I love you very much mother. And so does Aleaya. We love you so very much.” Her hand goes limp and her eyes glaze over, falling away from mine and looking off over my right shoulder. I shudder and fall across her, her blood soaking into my tunic. My cries echo through the empty building, bouncing off of drawings I had done and books I had read and songs I had sung with my mother.
"Why?" I scream to no one in particular, sitting up and lifting my face to the heavens and whimpering as I realize just how alone I really am now. That is when I notice the writing on the wall, written in what could only be my mother’s blood.
"Come now, come."
I scream, dropping my mother’s hand and backing away from the wall on my hands and knees. Stars blooming across my vision as my head rams into a lower shelf near the door, stunning me. I ignore the new pain as I stand and stumble through the doorway into the taunting sunlight, and crashing into Faolise who had been jogging towards the house. He holds me tight so I can’t fall as I crumble, my bloodied clothes and tears soaked face scaring the daylights out of him.
“Arie- wha-?”
"Sh-she's dead. My m-mother is dead! Gone!" I scream into his chest as he holds me, my throat ripping with the force of my cries. I keep repeating the phrase, my voice hoarse and rough. He hugs me tighter and rubs my back, craning his neck over my shoulder to try to see inside. My hands ball into fists and I pull away from him, wiping the tears from my eyes and sobbing.
“Aleaya, she- she’s at Cartol’s- I need- Aleaya- my sister.” There is a sharp crack as I fall forward onto my knees, both of them hitting the ground simultaneously. New blood darkens my leggings as my skin tears.
“Okay. Let’s get you over to his house and cleaned up. I’ll take care of everything here.” He scoops me up, cradling me in his arms as we cut across the lawn to Cartol’s house.
When we reached the door, Cartol was waiting, a blanket is draped over his arm. He holds the door open so Faolise can carry me inside. He brings me into the kitchen and sets me down on a chair, still holding me upright as Aleaya comes into the room. She rushes towards me and falls to her knees, laying her head on my lap and throwing her arms around my middle. Her hair has dried blood splattered across it and her clothes are in worse condition than mine, but we just sit there, holding each other as Faolise and Cartol discuss what they had seen.
“I- I just don’t know son. There was a girl in a red cloak who had gone towards the house, but she didn’t look like she went in and I didn’t see her walk past. I couldn’t tell you who she was, I’ve never seen her before today.” He shakes his head and Faolise puts a hand on his shoulder.
“I’m going to get the authorities and alert the council. We’ll try and clean up as best as we can so that the girls can go and get there things. They won't let them stay there until they know what is going on.” Cartol nods as Faolise turns to me and plants a kiss on my fevered forehead.
“Stay put, clean up, I’ll be back. I won’t let anything hurt you like this again..” And with that he leaves us.
My tears stop, my sobs stop, my everything stops as a numbness seeps into my limbs, pressing down on me as if the heavens themselves were trying to crush me. I feel Aleaya freeze as well, shuddering once more and then sitting up slowly to wipe the tears from her face. She takes my hand and helps me stand, wrapping one arm around my waist as I drape the other around her small, bony shoulders.
“Bathroom?” I whimper in Cartol’s direction. He nods quickly and leads us down the hall to a room with a shower and lots of fluffy white towels. He ushers us inside and then leaves, closing the door behind him. Aleaya and I undress silently, throwing our destroyed clothes onto the floor in a pile and heading for the shower. She pulls the doors aside and tugs on the chain, starting the flow of water. We step in, letting the warm water wash away the stench of death from our bodies.
Aleaya helps me scrub the blood out of my hair, gently scrubbing the ends with soap as I stand under the stream of water. When she is finished I do the same for her, watching the bubbles from the soap turn pink with blood. When we are clean she pulls the chain again, cutting off the flow of water and we step out, clutching at the fluffy towels on the rack and quickly wrapping our shivering forms in them. The warm water did nothing to wash away the feeling of loss, in fact it feels stronger now.
I feel restless so I reach for a comb that had been left on the sink across the way. I look to Aleaya and motioning for her to sit on the stool at the vanity. She does and I slowly pull the comb through her hair, the knots untangling effortlessly. My hands are shaking now, so I put the comb down and pleat her hair, the rhythmic twisting helping me to pull myself together. There is a quiet knock at the door and a soft voice is heard from the other side.
“I’ve left some clothes for you here, and there is tea waiting for you in the kitchen. Come out when you are ready.” I thank every god there is for his kindness as I listen to his retreating footsteps. When I can no longer hear them I poke my head out and retrieve the fresh clothes from outside. Aleaya stands and grabs them from me, setting them on the stool so she can separate the outfits. She inhales sharply when she looks back to me, holding out the clothes meant for me.
“You’re bleeding sister… We should bandage your knees before you dress.” She puts the clothes back on the stool and bends down, picking up her ruined tunic and tearing it into strips. These she uses to wrap my bleeding knees up and to mop up the blood that had trickled down my legs.
We dress in silence after that, my cold wet hair leaving strange blotches on the soft blue tunic Cartol has lent me. The only piece of my original outfit that is not completely destroyed is my shoes, so I take only my boots before leaving the room with Aleaya in tow. Faolise is seated in the kitchen with Cartol, looking as if he had been crying as well. I took the seat next to him, wrapping my cold hands around the cup of tea set out in front of me.
"I sent for the authorities and they are taking care of everything. Aleaya has been instructed to move in with you at the academy until you finish your training." The authorities were really just people the Elder council trusted enough to handle gathering information for them and keeping the peace, but they did their jobs well and the idea that this attack was already being looked into comforted me.
"What about a funeral? Will they allow us to bury her with father? When will she be released to us?" Her small voice echoes in the silent room, stirring the heavy silence with her words. Faolise takes my hand to stop it from shaking while he answers her.
"Of course they’ll allow you to bury her with your father and they will take care of everything for you after they have finished their investigation.” He turns to me for a moment.
"Oh and Arie, they want to see you in the Chamber of Elders. Your grandmother is waiting for you. I’m sure she can clear some of this up for you." When I try to answer my voice is rough and hoarse, so I clear my throat and try again.
“Alright, maybe Nayna can help me make some sense of all of this.” I stand and drop Faolise’s hand, suddenly wanting to fly out the door and into Nayna’s arms. The need for her comfort burns through me as I speak a hasty farewell and give both Aleaya and Faolise directions on how to set up the room for when I return to them.
“Watch over her Faolise. Please.” I kiss them both lightly on the cheek and wave to Cartol as I rush from the house, struggling not to sprint up the path to the city center. It was time to meet with the Elder Council.