I start towards the edge of the gathered crowd, my heart in my throat. I had been told not to leave, and I was so much smaller than all these people. If they wanted to pick me up and put me in time out for disobeying them, they very well could. Even the women stood at no shorter than five nine. I felt like a child.Nonetheless, I was nosey, so I pushed my insecurities down as far as they would go."Excuse me." I say with as much confidence as I can muster once I reach the group. The woman closest to me, probably five eleven, with short black hair and sharp brows, glares down at me. At first. We meet eyes however, and she sort of goes, "oh!" and quickly moves aside, slapping the arms of the people around her, who all pretty much have the same reaction.Interesting.I begin tiptoeing forward, at first glancing wearily at the tall wall of people on either side of me, but eventually moving my eyes towards where the group was originally looking. I gasp and stop for a moment at the sight.T
A few moments after everyone else left, the man who had run away before comes back with more leather clothes in his hands now. Finally, I look back at the bear, who is already looking at Erik."Come." I jump a little at the sudden touch of Erik's hand on my shoulder. "He needs room." I comply, standing beside and a bit behind Erik while the bear does what he needs to do.It lays down, closes its eyes, and seemingly starts to shrink. It's a bit creepy looking for a moment, not gonna lie, as its black beady eyes disappear and are replaced with very human-like blue ones. Its limbs start to shrink and almost look freeze dried for a second. It's fur kind of... dissolves into the air.In just a few moments, the bear has become the boy from my dreams, and I felt a surge of satisfaction at finally getting to lay eyes on him for real, face to face, in person.The man tosses him the clothes from behind me, and I huff a little as Erik blocks my view with half of his body as the boy gets changed.
The woods here are very beautiful.The forest is composed of what look like Ghost Gum trees, a fact I only know because my dad was always taking me camping. I'm not saying we ever came across any of these, because we lived in North America, but he talked a lot when we'd go out together. He'd tell me all sort of random facts, different uses for plants we'd walk by. I always felt like he knew everything. We'd fish, we'd catch frogs, we'd pick berries and he'd tell me what was safe to eat and wasn't. I grew up around nature, always running and playing with him. He was my best friend.I ran a hand across a tree as I walked, my thoughts heavy on my dad.You're so close child...I jump at the words that float through my mind when I touch the tree. I pull my hand away quickly. I pause for a moment, then place is back. Nothing this time. Am I for real losing my mind right now? I shake my head, and keep walking, occasionally touching a tree or a hanging leaf. Each time I heard that little voi
"I don't think I want to talk about this anymore." I huff at the trees mention of Erik loosing interest, sitting up and choosing to instead lean my head against the tree. "Let's talk about you instead. Yeah?"I have no quarrel with that.Ha. A prideful tree. How funny."Who are you to me? Why can I hear you? Can everyone hear you?" I look up at its beautiful drooping branches, all heavy with gently falling pink flowers.I am what some consider your Aldre, a mentor of sorts for you and only you. Until you depart this world, that is. I blossomed from the blood of your ancestors, and therefore am connected to your blood line and your blood line alone. No one else will ever be able to hear my thoughts.My heart aches a little at that. How lonely.Sweet child. So sweet. Too sweet...You are quite weak, you know. Especially if it is the belief you are an Alva."Gee, thanks for calling me out." I rolled my eyes and looked down at my legs. I had never felt all that small or weak, but these pas
"I just don't understand how you can both claim to love me when neither of you knows me." I say to Erik once I've started following after him again."On the contrary, I can say for sure I know you quite well." I roll my eyes."Just because you got a slideshow of my greatest memories, doesn't mean you know me." He throws his head back and laughs."You've been around Mann for too long, Delilah. You were weak when we met, I was not. You only saw fragments of my life; I saw your entire story. I felt everything you felt when your dad died, how excited you were the first time you tied your shoe, the sadness in you when your cat was killed by a loose dog." I stare up at his back as we walk closer to his estate. I can see it looming in the distance now. "I saw all of it." He breathes softly. My heart skips a little. Damn him. He was making it really hard to be cold towards him."Well. It seems awfully rude to tease Larkin like that and then just send him away." I mutter, more to myself really
"You made it back." Larkin grins at me, quickly closing the distance between us. I squeal when he picks me up by the armpits and spins me around a little, setting me back down on the other side of him."Geez." I back away a bit, brushing my pants free from imaginary dirt. "Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?" I ask, suddenly remembering the state his bear had been in before.He shakes his head, showing me his wrists. "My kind heals very quickly." I nod, looking up at him. His face grows somber."You are fated to that man." He states. I guess we're skipping right to the crappy conversation that had to be had."And you aren't allowed to marry someone who isn't your kind." I can see his shoulders sag even more."You found out." That irritates me."You were planning on hiding it? I mean come on; I crossed worlds for you." I slap my thighs in defeat, looking up at him. "What was your plan? I really want to know. And why can't you be with someone who isn't like you? What's the beef ther
I open my eyes when my desperate question is only greeted by the night's silence, peering up at the moon. I reach my hands down and grab handful of grass, bringing them up to pull them apart in my hands. Tears sting at my eyes for no reason."Dammit." I mutter as tears start dripping from my eyes without my consent. Why was I here? Why had I left my home, and everything I had, for this place? So far, I'd just been disappointed. I almost wish Larkin had never let me remember him. Ignorance is bliss, right?I wipe at my eyes with one hand and then return it to the grass to pull absentmindedly at it. I wonder what my mom is doing right now, and if she misses me. I wonder what happened to my car, and if anyone at work noticed when I didn't show up. I hope my dog doesn't miss me too much.I wonder if I'll ever get to go home again.I sigh and move to stand up. But I hesitate when my eyes catch a splotch of color on the ground under my hands that hadn't been there when I sat down.There we
"My Lady!" My lady? Who the hell is calling me my lady now? And why are they yelling?I pry open my eyes, blocking the sunlight from them as I do so. I groan, looking up to meet gazes with what appears to be another servant woman. She wears the same dress as the others, and the same apron. She's staring down at me in horror, shock clear on her face. Her hair is almost yellow in color, pulled back into a tight bun that hung low on her head. Her eyes are a pale brown color with long, lovely lashes surrounding them."Why are you on the floor? Did you and Erik have a fight?" She quickly sits down on knees, laying down flat so her hands stretch towards me. She looks up at me with her face only."What are you doing right now?" I ask, scrunching up my whole face. It was too early to beat around the bush."I shouldn't stand above you. It would look bad." I shake my head a little, rubbing at my still tired eyes. I am definitely not used to this weird master-servant relationship all the helpers
"Come, Lady Delilah. Since Erik won't be returning until after dinner, he's instructed me to lead you to the dining hall, so you may eat with the rest of the Alva." We're walking out what seems like a back door of Erik's place, down a small hill with a path, and through a clearing towards a plain looking salt structure. It looked like it was only one room, but a big one.Dining hall sized, I guess.Chepi was carrying a covered tray while walking behind me, with what I assume to be my dinner underneath. My nerves started buzzing at the sound of loud chatter coming from the naked entry way of the building. We were getting closer, and I was feeling very nervous.This was a total lunchroom situation.We finally come to the entry way, and I stop for a moment to take it all in.There are four room length tables in the room, all with dozens of wooden stools around them. There are a few small groups of people congregated around a couple spots, and it reminded me of the same kind of groups I'd
I turn the page of the journal I was reading for my little audience. "The Mann returned, but he did not return alone. I fear this may be my last entry, as we are currently under siege. Mann attacked in the night, slitting our fighters' throats as they slept and smothering our babies before they could cry. We were only alerted when one of the Mann stepped on an animal's tail and woke the house he was invading. We all heard their screams as they were killed. Our goddess is angry, angrier than I think I've ever seen her. She has called forth the rage of the forest, and Mann hang from limbs by their necks. She says she's done with Mann, and this world, and plans to create another for us and her new slaves." I stop reading and glance up at Chepi, who looks ashen. "She's on top of the hill now, absorbing energy. Only seventy-nine of us remain, and ten of the invaders. Including the original Mann who stole the blood of our people. She has him with her on top of the hill, last I saw she was i
Hello again, Child. I didn't think I'd be seeing you so soon, and with company.I was nestled against the roots of my Aldre, the book I had picked up first in the library in my hands. Chepi had come along, with a ball of scratchy looking yarn and a small stool. She was perched on it now, her fingers moving the string around methodically, paying me and my tree no mind."She's okay." She doesn't even look up when I speak out loud to the tree.What ails you?I sigh, and hold the book in front of me, opening it and turning the pages."When Mann, as we've branded them, was first encountered by Sanju, tidings were well."You can read the old tongue. I nod, and continue. The pages are laid out like a journal, starting on the second page."Sanju left the fort at first light on the second day of the full moon with the objective of obtaining medicine for a group of sick children. While she and many others possessed healing, the sickness that taints the children is deep, acquired from an unknown
"What am I supposed to do with all of this?" I ask as Erik returns to his seat in the corner with me cradled in his arms. He turns me so I straddle him, both our chests pressed together and with my face buried in his shoulder. I was probably being a little dramatic, but it kind of felt good to let it out for once and not hold back my reaction. I wasn't exactly sure why I felt comfortable doing that around Erik, but here I was, crying like a baby in his arms. I had to keep reminding myself I'd only known him for a couple of days; this level of comfort wasn't normal. "Please don't weep." He whispers as he strokes my hair softly. "It makes me feel things I didn't know I could feel anymore." I sniff, and back up a little.Our eyes meet, and more memories pour in from him. A woman, tall and beautiful with hair the same color as Erik's, with deep purple eyes and clear perfect skin, was shoving him into what looked like a cupboard. Tears were bubbling in his eyes, and he was saying somethin
"What the hell are you talking about right now, Chepi? You're confusing me." I ask, my heart racing at what she just told me. What is a Gudinna? What did it have to do with me, and why could I read this alleged dead language? It just looked like English to me. Normal words I had been reading my entire life."Lady Delilah, you asked me why I held you in a higher regard than I did Erik. My inviting you here was so I could prove to both you and myself why that is. I have a very strong suspicion that you are-""Chepi." We both jump at the sudden sound of Erik's voice. I look where he is standing in the entry way, glaring at my servant. My heart is racing; I feel like I've been caught with my hand in the cookie jar.She bows to him, and backs out of the room quickly, all while he watches her leave."Why did she leave? What was she about to say?" I shake the book at Erik, emphasizing my point. "Why did she say no one else can read this? You can, right?" I thrust it at him. Erik sighs, and t
Twenty minutes later, I'm dressed in basically the same clothes as yesterday, just clean ones, and leading Chepi towards a supposed library."Left." She whispers behind me as we come to a fork in the hallways."Delilah!" I turn around at the sudden sound of a familiar voice. Larkin has appeared down the hall from us, where I think the other bedrooms are. I watch as he jogs towards us, quickly closing the distance. "Larkin." I say, smiling up a little at him when he stops in front of us. Yeah, he irritated me. But he was hard to stay mad at, and there was no point in being mean to him. I didn't know what was going to happen with us, but I had a feeling we'd both end up hurt as it was. I didn't feel like I needed to rub dirt in the wound by rehashing his mistakes over and over again. "I had no idea if you were still here or not." His lips lift up in a smile and he squats down so we can make eye contact. I back up a little nervously when he ends up only a few inches away from me. Too ma
"Do you have any scents you prefer?" Chepi asks as I start peeling off my clothes to get into the bath. She graciously turned her back then to clink through the bottles of soaps and other liquids."No, I trust your judgment." I step into the water, lowering myself in quickly and perching on the provided ledge underneath."Very well, My lady." I sink into the water up to my nose, watching Chepi from behind the steam. She plucked vials of oil off a cart and made her way to the still running square shaped taps behind me. She empties a pink colored one into one stream of water, then crawls to another and adds a cream-colored vial. The water immediately starts smelling of honey suckles and vanilla. I sigh, and close my eyes for a second, opening them again when I hear her rummaging about some more.She grabs a fabric bag off the cart and approaches again. She kneels down and gently starts sprinkling the dried daisy petals into the bath, keeping her eyes on the water the entire time. She ri
"I guess I need to learn more about what it means to be fated." I feel his hand on my lower back, and I know I'm growing weak. I force myself to blink and break eye contact, so I don't lose consciousness again."Don't worry, we'll work on your magic, so you won't always get so weak when we connect." He moves his hand from my lower back once I'm stable again."Speaking of magic." I step away from him a little. "Something happened last night, when I was outside.""When were you outside? The guards said you were just wondering-" he stops when I turn to glare at him. He kind of opens and closes his mouth, avoiding looking at me for a second before shooting me a sheepish grin. I roll my eyes but turn back towards the window. So, he knew I was lost last night. He was probably the reason none of the many guards I'd walked by offered to help. How petty."Anyways." I shoot him a look and stop in front of the window, bending to look down and gasping in excitement at what I see. "I knew I wasn't
"My Lady!" My lady? Who the hell is calling me my lady now? And why are they yelling?I pry open my eyes, blocking the sunlight from them as I do so. I groan, looking up to meet gazes with what appears to be another servant woman. She wears the same dress as the others, and the same apron. She's staring down at me in horror, shock clear on her face. Her hair is almost yellow in color, pulled back into a tight bun that hung low on her head. Her eyes are a pale brown color with long, lovely lashes surrounding them."Why are you on the floor? Did you and Erik have a fight?" She quickly sits down on knees, laying down flat so her hands stretch towards me. She looks up at me with her face only."What are you doing right now?" I ask, scrunching up my whole face. It was too early to beat around the bush."I shouldn't stand above you. It would look bad." I shake my head a little, rubbing at my still tired eyes. I am definitely not used to this weird master-servant relationship all the helpers