Chapter 625: An Elf’s Tale, Part 3
A more peaceful mont there never can be.
When Lenora finally mustered the will to pull away from her embrace, it was with the biggest grin that has ever filled her face. Her big, round green eyes brimd with emotion as well as tears. And sohow, she exuded an air that felt so grand, massive... and yet she still looked so small.
And when she spoke, when her lips parted in a whisper, it was as if ti had never moved, nothing had ever changed... and their lives together had never been the slightest different.
“Geth namur, Eshwlyn...”
The bigger Elf felt her cheek sore, only then realizing the wide smile permanently etched across her own face. Chuckling, blinking, unable to tear her gaze away from her sister, Eshwlyn replied no different. “You sll even worse, actually.”
“English,” Lenora said, her mouth in a gaping smile and with a glitter of amusent twinkling in her eyes. “Well, this is different.”
Once the initial euphoria had waned, at once Eshwlyn’s nurturing instincts had roused awake from a long-dormant slumber. Perhaps partly unwillingly, Lenora was subjected to a rigorous process where she was combed every inch for any signs of illness or injuries, or worse, a fatal mixture of both.
.....
There was a faint gash across her cheek, how did that happen? Her skin was rather pale, her arms rather skinny, had she not been eating in a while? Her fingers felt thin, were they always this bony?
“Eshwlyn, I’m fine! Really!” Lenora exclaid for the umpteenth ti, finally managing to wriggle free from her scouring hands. “Terra has been taking care of , and anyway-it’s you that needs worrying for, sister! The last ti I saw you, you were being beaten... you were... dragged... bleeding... and I thought...” a flicker in her expression, a flicker in a second, and the blistering cold of that winter night seed to blow once more. “I thought I was never going to see you again...”
“There is no need for alarm,” Eshwlyn quickly reassured her, clasping a hand over Lenora’s faded scar. “The injuries I sustained that day had long healed. And in spite of my current circumstance... I am in a far better state than I could ever be.”
“Hor milu rita’gar, Eshwlyn!” The little elf blurted out in amusent again. “What are these words? What is this fancy speech? You’re better than I am at speaking! How is that even...? Formu’twa, are you sure you’re actually my sister?”
“Is it... is it really that strange?” Eshwlyn asked, frowning and for so odd reason, feeling slightly embarrassed. “I, uh... I never regarded it as such. Um, regardless, you do understand , right?”
“No, it’s not that. I do understand you and I like it that I’m understanding you like this too! It’s just... wow!” Lenora gave a little bounce, blinking incredulously. “Talking to you in this language, I just... never expected it. It takes getting used to, but... dera’mur Elfa, Eshwlyn? Wouldn’t you rather speak in our language instead?”
Countless days spent pretending, hiding, had the calmness in her expression from breaking but in truth, she was afraid. If she spoke differently, if she directly disobeyed his orders, even if he wasn’t here to hear it, see it... sohow, Eshwlyn felt that he still could anyway.
“I...” Eshwlyn began, hoping to hide the stiffness of her voice with another smile. “In the first place, I am under strict orders that prevent from doing so.”
Lenora’s chipper instantly dissipated. “Strict orders...?” and with a single glance, a softer voice, it was clear she already knew. “You an from that man, right? He’s not allowing you to. Kimlita. Your, uh... your Master, right?”
The conversation was quickly steering to a darker course, this reunion being tarnished-Eshwlyn refused to allow it. She rose from her knees, and took her sister by the hand.
“Enough of . It is you that is most curious,” She said. “Co, let us not squander this mont. Let us walk, and you can tell of your exploits. How is it that you defied all odds, braved all dangers, and managed to be right here with now.”
“Ooo, so grand...” Lenora giggled. “You are making blush, Eshwlyn. It’s really not that special.”
“I disagree,” She said. “It is to .”
Through stalks of grass and beneath the rays of the sun, they began leisurely crossing the plains of springti... just the two of them... as close as close could be and with their fingers still intertwined and refusing to uncouple.
Lenora told a tale that spanned the long seasons. Alone for the first ti in her life and waging a losing battle against the winter storm, she was left no option but to return to their now ruined burrow to begrudgingly await the arrival of spring.
“When I finally woke up, I felt like it must have just been a long nightmare. Then I turned to my side, and you weren’t there,” Lenora recounted, coiling herself around Eshwlyn’s arm. “I’m... I’m a little embarrassed telling you how many tis I cried for you. I thought maybe I just had to wait. I thought maybe, one day, you’ll return... and I’ll see you coming out of the forest anyti now... finally coming back to . But you never did. And that’s when I decided I had to co for you.”
Lenora’s books had survived unscathed from the attack, and they proved invaluable in teaching her about human custom, and habits, describing in great detail the history and locations of several kingdoms and villages from all across the realm, one of which resided not that far from their burrow.
“I made sure to keep my ears hidden, I put on a hood I stitched together, and after that, I just started walking, I guess” They were beneath the shade of a tree now, above them the chipper and lody of birds, and Lenora was resting her head on her sister’s lap while Eshwlyn simply sat against the rough bark and continued to listen. “I t so travelers along the way, rchants with caravans. I was really nervous talking to them, but I managed to pass off as a human, I guess. I think they thought I might just be a lost little girl trying to get ho. They were very nice. They let ride in their carriage.”
“Where did they take you?” Eshwlyn asked.
“A human village,” Lenora answered, and in her tone was a tinge of fondness. “After I explained I was looking for people wearing red cloaks, they didn’t know what I ant but they said I might be able to get more information from the residents in the village. They were also very nice.”
Once there, the villagers imdiately took to her as one of their own, sympathizing with the lost child wishing to find her way ho, they fed her, nourished her, and sheltered her in the few days she spent under their care.
“I think I might be too cute for my own good...” Lenora let out a bashful giggle. “If I hadn’t left when I did, sobody might have ended up adopting instead. Isn’t it strange? Humans are an, scary, and cruel... but they are also so kind, loving, and gentle. There are so many I encountered that are either one or the other. Even to their own. But we aren’t like that, right? I wonder, what makes them different from us?”
She pondered the thought for a mont, before focusing back on her journey. Kingdom and village-hopping was a process that Lenora rinse and repeated, from the breeze of spring to the haze of sumr, each detour bringing her closer and closer to her goal, then finally in the somber skies of autumn weather, from a doting village chieftess from the township of Jotun, she was given a final destination.
“She told there was a neighboring province, a two-day journey by cart, a town under the domain of a Hendrick person or sothing. She said the red cloak person I’m referring to might be there... that there was an encampnt where a lot of them are placed... and that I may find what I’ve been looking for there.”
The rest, Eshwlyn did not need reiterating. That rainy day, the exploding storm and blinding lightning. It was not a day she’d ever forget. Lenora had a somber look on her face as if dreading even the mory of it.
“It was like they were expecting to co for you or sothing...” She muttered weakly. “I tried sneaking in, to look for you, and then sothing hit ... like there was a big stone pressing down on my body, I couldn’t move... and then I was hit with another stone, and then another... and after that... after... I... I can’t really rember...”
Anger flared inside Eshwlyn like a burst of flas. She tried not to imagine it, the cruelty, the cackling laughter of those red hoods... and above all... the haunting image of Lenora’s vacant gaze staring back at her behind the rust of cold, iron bars.
“Terra was the person that woke up, and I was so happy to see her again,” Lenora continued, her voice reverting back to normal. “Did you see her? She’s much more older now, right? Prettier too. Anyway, I wanted to speak to her, but she told to be quiet, that she cannot talk to just yet... and that she’ll try and see again soon. A few days later, her promise ca true. She brought here, fed , cleaned , clothed ... and even better... she said that you were coming to see again soon.
“And you did,” The little Elf finished, glancing up endearingly at her sister. “After so long, after all this ti... you finally ca back to . Eshwlyn, we’re together again.”
Eshwlyn smiled back, but her eyes told a different tale.
A darker tale.
This should never have happened.
Deep in her heart, she knew.
They should never have been together again.
Reviews
All reviews (0)