"You aren't just saying that?" I shake my head. "Thank you, my Lady." Pur presses her hands together and bows her head again."How old are you two?" I ask as I finish off my bread. It really was good."I am eighteen, my sister is seventeen." Pur looks a little bothered by her brother's words. I wonder why. "We used to live in the valley, but our parents sent us here for jobs a few years ago. Pur only has another year though, and then she never has to work again if she doesn't want to.""Hey! Jeri! We caught a boar! Come see how we contain them!" I look to where three men are standing at the entrance of the slightly less crowded dining hall, calling to the boy beside me and waving him over."Sorry, I am a guard in training, I have to go when they call. I'm glad I got to meet you." Jeri springs up then, grabs his tray from his old spot, bows at me once, and then runs away to the men waiting for him.It's just me and Pur now."How long have you two been here?" I ask after a minute of che
"Chepi." I call, turning in my seat and hurrying towards her. I pause, grab my plate, and drag my servant out of the room with my free hand. "That girl just told me the Alva living here are forced to procreate. Is that true?" I whisper as soon as we're outside the dining hall. The evening is setting in now, the sun has turned the sky a light pink color, and the light is dwindling."Yes, Lady Delilah. I had my child four years ago but chose not to marry." I feel my jaw dropping at the news she so casually drops on me."So, you're saying you have a kid? Where is it? You're always with me and I've never seen a kid." I looked behind her as though it had been following her all this time and I just hadn't noticed."Come, let's head back to Erik's estate." She ushers me away from the dining hall, gently taking my plate as she does."Chepi?" I press as she guides me ahead of her. She was usually so anal about making sure I was always in front; I wonder why she was trying to scurry away from m
I could hear birds chirping, a bit loudly to be honest.Sun was shining on my face, and there was a sweet smell tickling my senses."My flower..."At the feel of someone's breath on my ear, I was very suddenly awake."What the hell." I gasp when my eyes open and I see Erik is hovering over me in his bed, whole body, face by my ear. I sit up a little, backing up against the headboard quickly, trying to put some distance between me and the gorgeous elf man in front of me. I suck in a sharp breath when he moves forward with me, his gaze never leaving mine.I shake my head as visions of him talking to a group of men as an adult flashes in my sight."What do you want Erik?" I huff, wiping at my eyes. It was too early for a memory slide show right now, and definitely too early for him to be breathing on my neck and whispering in my ear.He backs up a little, finally, and smirks."You've been asleep for fourteen hours. I wanted to see if you were still alive." He moves to the edge of the bed
I move closer to the water, frowning a little. "Do you have something bubbly?" I ask Erik, hands still on the straps of my nightgown. The water was a little milky looking, but still too see through to be in it naked with Erik in the same room.I jump when he's in front of me suddenly, facing the water and dumping a bottle in. He doesn't look at me when he holds his finger above the bath and starts spinning it. The water moves with his finger, and the bubbles mix and foam."Better?" His eyes dart to mine. I nod, backing up a little, shooing him away. There's a smirk on his face, but he returns to his cart with no comment and turns his back to me. I very quickly let my nightgown drop and sit on the edge of the tub to sink in. I move to sit against the spouts, and so I have a good viewpoint of Erik. He turns after a moment, coming back to the water. He has another bottle of soap in his hands, and he's rolling up his sleeves."I can do it myself." I say quickly, almost standing up out of
I drip water all over the floor as I walk towards the cart to grab a towel and examine what Erik has brought me. It's a dress, with an attached slip underneath, cream colored and with a lace trim, and a sheer top layer. It had no shoulder straps, and there wasn't a bra either. This felt like a recipe for disaster, but nonetheless, I drop my towel to the ground and start figuring out how to pull the dress over my still slightly wet body.I struggled, huffed and puffed with pulling the double layers over myself, but finally got it right. It was comfortable, much more so than what I'd been wearing. I pulled the hem of the boob area up a little. It wasn't too bad, but I wouldn't be doing any jumping jacks today, that much was for sure.I decide against waiting for Erik to come back for me and make my way out of the bathroom. It's quiet in the hallway, no one is around still. Where were they all? As I walked towards where I thought the kitchen was, I noticed the usual guards weren't even a
"You probably didn't have to send them away for that, you know." I say to Erik as I finish the bread and pick up the cup of steaming liquid he had brought, bringing it to my nose to smell it. It smelled earthy, and a bit like mint and some kind of unfamiliar citrus. Its tea, I confirm as I take a small sip. I think there's even a little honey in it. "What's this fruit?" I ask, pointing to the hunk of orange colored flesh. Part of my problem with the food here was I didn't know what any of it was. I just kept getting plates full of small animals and unidentifiable produce."It's a natmelon. It's good, I promise." He leans over me and picks it up by its pale green colored rind and pulls a piece off with his finger. "Try it." He holds it out to me, and I realize he's expecting to feed me."I'm not helpless, you know." I say, instead of taking his offering. He doesn't drop his hand though; in fact, he raises his eyes to mine with a glint of challenge in them."Why would you assume I think
"What would you like to see first?" We're standing outside Erik's estate twenty minutes later. He made me sit there and eat every piece of food he'd given me, even though I didn't like eating plain lettuce and I told him that. He just kept saying, "Goddesses aren't meant be stick thin." And pushing the bowl towards me. It was just lettuce; I had thought to myself. It's not like me eating it was going to give me thick thighs and lovely curves, but I couldn't reject the puppy dog look he was giving me, so I had eaten a bowl of dry ass leaves with some very stout cheese.I perk up a little though at his question. "I want to see where that path from your room leads." He looks a little surprised when I say this."I suppose that's as good as place as any." He nods and takes off to the left. I follow a little bit behind him, looking around as we do. The woods were mere feet away, I could see the wind blowing the leaves of the trees. It was so pretty. Everything was so clean, there was no pol
"Do you want to put your feet in?" Erik asks as we stand by the stream, holding his hand out. He's already removed his shoes and is standing in the water, so I nod, taking his hand. I hadn't been wearing shoes, unlike him. That was something else crazy about this world. I didn't have to worry about stepping on broken glass or a needle here. I didn't even have to wear shoes if I didn't want to and since Erik hadn't given me any, I'd just gone without."It's cold." I gasp when I close the distance between us. He chuckles, and I look up to meet his gaze. We're maybe six inches away, my hand still in his, just staring up at him. I can see a bunch of images of him in this creek going through my vision. Young him, older him, sad him, lonely him. My heart ached at how it seemed he always came here with tears in his eyes, or anger in his chest. He often picked up the rocks and hurled them at the wall on the opposite side or yelled into the sky and made sharp bullets of water pierce the trees.
Erik was going to ask me to marry him. And if I said no, that was it for us. I'd have to watch him marry another woman. I'd be his side hoe if I ever wanted anything to do with him again. And I couldn't deny, I wanted "something" to do with him. I wish we had time to do things a little... slower. That much was for sure. I knew my mom would be pissed that I was even considering marrying this man, but the thought of him with someone else made a ball of furious rage form in my chest. I swallow as we stop in front of a high entry way covered by hanging flowers."Have fun, Lady Delilah." I smile at Chepi and walk through the flowers.Here we go.The greenhouse was probably twenty feet by twenty feet, with rounded edges rather than squared like the rest of the rooms. The ceiling was replaced with a crisscrossing wood pattern, no glass though, just vines and flowers and moss climbing over the wood. I wondered if it'd form a natural roof one day. The sides of the room have rows of seedlings
"What are we doing today, Lady Delilah?"It was rhe next day. I spent the night alone, and in my own head luckily. I'm sitting in the tub currently, my favorite spot in the house."Will I get to see Erik tonight?" I whine. I was bored without him. I had hung out in the kitchen and helped make and clean up dinner yesterday and hadn't finished until it was dark out. I had enjoyed talking to the cooks, including Pur who was baking bread as she said she always did."Yes, Lady Delilah. And don't forget what else is happening tonight?" She leans towards me in the tub, handing me a small tub of scrubby looking stuff. I nod, holding a smile back."What if you're wrong though and I'm getting excited for nothing?" I scoop out the rough paste and bring my leg up out of the water. Chepi said she was going to shave my legs, which was fine, because they needed it. So, I was exfoliating first."I am not wrong. He told me. I wasn't really supposed to tell you, but my loyalty lies with you, not Erik.
"You saw, yes?" I nod, walking closer to the men. "Would you like to try?" I flick my eyes up to him quickly then, laughing a little. "I'm serious." He certainly looks it. I squat down in front of the balancing men without answering him, looking at the streams of light connecting their fingers to the earth below them. This man's light was green colored, this one was light blue."It goes with the elements they can control." Erik has squatted down with me. "Tye here," he pokes the man with the blue light coming from his finger, "can manipulate ice. He channels it from the core of the world, and therefore, levitates." I tilt my head a little at the floating man. "Want to try?" He asks again."I can't do that." I point to the men. Erik laughs."Don't be silly. I don't want you to do that." He stands, and I follow suit. "Men." Erik booms. Their eyes open, and they listen, still floating. "If any of you drop my goddess, you will be fed to the boars for dinner." he grins then, crossing his a
As we come close to the main building, I can hear voices and yelling. Thudding, and oofing."They're training." Chepi tells me as we round the corner into the empty grassy area in front of the huge building.The first thing that catches my attention, is a group of twenty or so Alva paired off, sparring against each other. Reni is walking in-between the pairs, making comments too quiet for me to hear, correcting foot placement and suggesting moves as she does. They're in the front of building, out in the open. Looking between them, I can see a large entry way leading into another training area."Erik is in there." I look away from where I'd been trying to see into the building, and meet eyes with Reni, who is looking at me now and pointing behind her. I nod a little, giving her an awkward thumbs up. She tilts her head to the side a little, and then returns to telling her men how to better beat each other up. Chepi and I make our way around the men, finally slipping into the building.
Hello, Child. I sigh in happiness as I finally lay on the roots of my Alder almost an hour later. Chepi had brought her stool and her knitting again and was focused on it.But the conversation I wanted to have with my Alder was extra private today.I have something I want to ask you. I think, feeling a little silly.A secret from this woman you claim to trust. I nod against its roots. Ask away, child.Do you know anything about the Gud species? I turn away from Chepi and curl into a ball, closing my eyes and listening to the tree's words in my head.The Gud species is, as you suspect, descended from the original God, Forradd, who had great powers. He could change forms, manipulate the earth, and even time itself. Now Forradd was desperately in love with Sanju, the original goddess.I laugh a little. It kind of seemed like everyone's problems could be chalked up to loving someone.Pay attention. Sanju was originally a normal Alva, which is why she's depicted as having pointed ears, and
I sit up quickly, inhaling air into my lungs and looking around wildly.I was back in Erik's bed. But it was morning now, sun was streaming in through the window. I could hear wind chimes outside and smell bread baking somewhere. It felt early, but I remember it had been dark in my dream. I had lost a few hours.I rub my eyes, thinking about last night.That was the first time I had traveled through a dream since I came here. And this time no one could see me. The last time I was very much visible and interacted with people and talked. This time it was like I wasn't even there.The Gud species.I needed to find a way to find out about them. They seemed to be important. Honestly, the word kind of sounded like "God," and I wondered if they were the male version of the Gudinna species. Erik had said it was a line of women that descended from the original goddess, so with that in mind, was there a line of men that came from the original god? Was there an original god? I had way too many q
Soft footsteps approach my sleeping form in the window. My head leaned against the frame, the book I had made it halfway through open on my lap. The sun had set hours ago, the moon was but a hunk in the sky now, but still shone brightly on my sleeping figure."Sweet flower..." Erik approaches me, gently wrapping a strand of my hair around his finger when he does.He takes the book, closes it, and sets it on the ground beside the window. He scoops me up gently in his arms and carries me to his bed, where he brushes aside the curtain and crawls in with me in his arms.He sets me down like I'm made of glass and brushes my hair away from my face."Sleep well, my goddess." My heart tugs as he leaves, instead of curling up with me like I wanted him to.Where was he going?I could feel myself following him out of his room, but my body remained in his bed.I was dreaming, I knew that now. This wasn't like before, though. I drifted all through his house and outside, where he turned right and
"It's just over the hill now!" Reni calls from the front of the group of Alva. We had left early that morning, after I evidently fell asleep quite well, and had been walking for several hours now. It had taken a little longer than originally said, but it was still just after midday when Reni announced we were growing close.I slow and watch the other Alva disappearing over the hill, Erik last. I could tell he was anxious to get back to his land, but he was still lingering behind everyone else for my sake. I stood at the top once I reached it for a moment, taking it all in.I hadn't had a good vantage point of the land so far, Vacket, as Erik called it. From up here though, I could see it all.I could see Erik's house to the left, surrounded by tons of trees and mostly separated from the other buildings. Maybe a half mile down from his large estate was what I think was the medical wing. It sat atop a hill, and I could see a grove of weeping willows not far from it. I remember when I f
"Are you tired?" I look away from Reni and the other chatting Alva and to Erik, who is looking me up and down like he's checking for injuries.I shrug. "I guess." He ushers me towards the platform and behind the half wall, and sure enough, there is a large nest of clothes and animal pelts.He kneels down then on one knee and pats his bent one with his hand. "Give me your foot." I comply, watching him curiously as he starts removing my shoe. I can hear his men laughing a few feet away, but I can only focus on his gentle fingers untying the soft leather strings. "The other." He says once he's slid it off and set it aside. This foot is the one that still bears his anklet, and I saw him notice right away. "You still wear it." He says as he unties my shoe. I nod, even though he isn't looking at me. "Has anyone told you of its meaning?" He looks up at me, pulling my shoe off as he does. I shake my head, feigning ignorance. No one did tell me its meaning, I just happened to overhear it. He s