––––––––
Standing there in the midst of all that death, all of that pain, and all of that suffering and to still have feelings of levity was indeed odd. There is a relief I suppose, a relief that you are still alive and a relief that the ones you care about are unharmed. However, the moment of joy didn't last long. It quickly gave way to a great sense of loss as I looked around to see so many other people mourning. I had a small personal victory when I found out the woman I saved, the one who had been bit on the shoulder, was actually the mother of the children in the house I shot arrows from. I smiled when I saw all of them embrace.
The storm had finally calmed, and now that it was daybreak we were left cleaning up the aftermath in a cold drizzle. Stafien had his hands full trying to organize the villagers. He had a group of men working to fix the broken fence, and another group comprised of men and women taking care of the people, and also the Vaipes, who had been killed. The Dwarfs worked with the latter group. I certainly pitied them. Sometimes they only could find parts of people, and this was incredibly disturbing. Charis helped a collection of women tending to the injured. I wasn't sure who to help. I thought maybe I could use my powers to ease the heavy lifting of the men working on the fence, but I wasn't so sure I could do it. I think Charis might have been right about adrenaline fuelling my telekinesis. Now that I wasn't under the stress of being eaten alive, I don't think I'd be able to move so much as a feather with my mind.
"Will you come with me? I want to check on something," Shaw asked, interrupting my thoughts.
"Sure," I replied, and he led me away from the construction at the northern part of the city back toward the village center. We only walked a short ways before I realized Shaw was heading back to the alley where we first encountered the Vaipes.
The cold wet grayness of the day certainly did nothing to improve the moroseness of the alley. Bodies of Vaipes lay in the muddy street, and much to my horror, the remnants of the man the Vaipes had killed still littered the alley alongside his murderers. Shaw didn't seem concerned about the leftovers of the battle. Instead he walked up to the fence and peered through the slots between the boards.
"That's how they were able to scale this part of the fence so easily. There's a toppled tree down right here. They were using it to help themselves up." He gestured for me to look, and I joined him at the fence. Sure enough there was a tree butting up against the fence. It would have been easy for even a child to climb into the village, let alone the Vaipes.
"We'll have to tell Stafien about the tree, he'll want to get rid of it," I said as I straightened back up and looked at Shaw.
He already watched me, looking down at me, when I turned. The look in his eyes caught my breath. Shaw laid his hands on my upper arm, squeezing gently. "I want you to know I think you did very well last night, especially since it was your first battle."
It was amazing how the warmth of his touch could send shivers through my body. I guess I could, in some way, understand the jealousy I felt when Markella and he were together. I was, without a doubt, completely enamored with Shaw. As much as I tried to talk myself out of it, there was nothing I could do or say to myself that could stop the feelings overtaking me every time I looked into those eyes. I also could completely understand why Markella constantly looked at him with such adoration. Shaw is quite simply amazing. Any woman would be taken with him. I certainly was. The only thing I could do was remind myself that his feelings for me were solely based on duty. He was here to protect me. Even so, I couldn't help but wish things were different.
I had lost myself in thinking about him for so long that by the time I finally said, "I didn't even get a chance to use any of the sword fighting skills you taught me," it sounded really out of place. I could feel heat searing my cheeks from embarrassment.
Shaw just smiled. "I constantly pray that you never have to use those skills." He paused for a moment, and after a drawn out sigh, he said, "We should head back. I'm sure the people will need our help."
He turned and walked back toward the northern part of the village.
I gazed after him for a second, and allowed myself to feel the lingering warmth his hands had left of my arms. He was such an anomaly to me, but I was desperate to try and figure it out. Every time we were alone, he struggled against himself. His voice would catch or he would look at me just a little too long, searching my face for answers. I sensed he wanted to say something, but never did. What was it? What was he keeping in, and what was keeping him from saying it? So much of Shaw was a mystery to me and I hoped that someday I would unravel the mystery.
Our little group of travelers had decided to stay in the Mortif village for an extra day. We all agreed to stay and help the villagers, but the day after that we continued our journey north to Verna Mount, with Markella as a new addition to our crew. It didn't take long for the scenery to change. Instead of traipsing our way through overly dense forests, we soon found ourselves amongst some breathtaking landscapes. It reminded me of pictures I had seen of Ireland. There were beautiful, lush green, rolling hills sprinkled with large trees. Our walking order remained the same, except Markella placed herself alongside Shaw. Again, I felt jealous. It aggravated me that Markella could talk to Shaw so easily. Their conversation never ceased. I was able to catch snippets of their conversations a couple of times, and they were always about fighting and weaponry, but I was still envious that Markella could be so loquacious with him.
Our usual routine recommenced. Walking during the day, dinner and lessons at night. I had no new premonitions, but I was able to move the rock a little. I could get it to levitate off the ground. Charis told me it would take some time to perfect this skill when I wasn't fuelled by adrenaline, but I was happy with the little advancement I had made.
Unfortunately, my sword lessons had picked up an observer. Markella would come along with us, and watch as Shaw worked with me. I found this incredibly irritating, but I certainly wasn't going to take it out on Markella. She was just a girl who met a guy—an incredibly amazing guy, who had absolutely no romantic attachments to anyone whatsoever—so she certainly wasn't doing anything wrong. I wasn't unpleasant toward Markella, but I wasn't going out of my way to be her buddy, either. That's why when, after three days of traveling, Markella fell back from walking with Shaw to talk to me I was just a little bit surprised.
"I wanted to let you know that I'm not going after your man," she said in a hushed voice.
"Excuse me?" I replied, totally taken aback.
"Shaw... you two are together, right?" she asked.
I had to stifle a laugh because the internal battle that commenced in my brain after she asked this question was hysterical. I could almost picture the angel and the devil on opposite shoulders, trying to tell me what to do. Naturally, the devil insisted that I lie. If Markella thought Shaw and I were together, maybe she would leave him alone. Unfortunately, the angel had a more compelling argument. First of all, my morality was against lying, but an even greater influence at this point was that it would be way too easy to get caught in the lie. So in the end I told the truth.
"Oh no, we're not together." Stupid angel.
"Really," Markella whispered with obvious shock, "I think he's completely in love with you. He never takes his eyes off you."
This time I actually snorted with laughter. "No, he's not in love with me. He's just my Watcher, my body guard," I explained.
"Oh... hmmm... Well what about you then?" she said, her grin growing larger with each second.
The way she talked reminded me a lot of the conversations I use to overhear everyday at school. She sounded eager and giddy, like a teenager. I pondered her question. What was the right way to answer this? Should I tell her how I really feel about Shaw? But then it would be out there. People would know. That was too difficult of a thought to deal with. So instead of saying anything, I hoped to confuse her by shooting her an expression of embarrassment mixed with confusion coupled with a sheepish grin.
She must have been very perceptive, because she was able to read through my insufficient response. If possible, the smile she wore got even bigger. Her teeth looked as white as new fallen snow surrounded by the contrast of her dark skin.
"I knew it," she whispered. "Are you in love with him? Does he know? What are you going to do about it?"
The barrage of questions she was launching at me started to make my head spin. I decided I needed to distract her. "How old are you?" I asked hoping this would stem the flow of her curiosity.
"I just turned seventeen," she said happily, bouncing on the balls of her feet. That made sense. No wonder she's acting like a teenager, she is a teenager. I felt better at this revelation. If Shaw thought of me as a child and I was thirty, he must look at Markella as even more of a child.
"For seventeen, you are quite a good sword fighter." I wanted to keep the topic of conversation off me as much as possible.
"Oh, thank you. I've been training since I was old enough to hold a sword. Being a warrior is all I want to do. And don't you see... this is why I want to be around Shaw as much as possible. He's the best sword fighter in Meric. There is so much to learn from him. Believe me I have no interest in him whatsoever... well, other than as a mentor... besides he's way too old for me... ew." She cringed and made a face like she had just tasted something bitter. I was a little stunned because I think even if I were that young Shaw, still would have been very appealing to me.
I found it a bit hard to keep up with Markella's choppy, erratic way of speaking. Her voice was just as bouncy and lofty as the spring in her step. She had a very carefree, happy way about her, but at the same time she took her calling as a warrior so seriously. I also found it hard not to smile when talking to her. Her happiness was contagious. Either it was the fact that Markella wasn't interested in Shaw, or it was her jovial tendencies, but I found myself actually enjoying her company. I hated to admit it, but I was almost certain it was the first reason. All of those things aside, it was nice to have a girl to talk to. Even though Charis was awesome, it sometimes felt that she was more like family than like a friend. She acted very motherly toward me. She was friendly, but not exactly a friend. Although I don't think I would place Markella in the good friend category, either. What Markella really reminded me of was normalcy. She was a return to my normal day-to-day, because as a teacher most of my conversations were with teenagers.
All of this made me wonder what was going on back home. This led to the inevitable question. Where am I, exactly, compared to home? I still had no clue if I was in some weird alternate universe, a different plane of existence, a different planet, or if I was trapped in some extremely realistic dream. The only thing King Quafin got out of Charis on the subject was that all things needed to be revealed in their own time. I wondered if she would give me the same cryptic type of answer. That evening, when we stopped for our meal, I decided to find out.
"Charis..." She smiled kindly at me as I started to speak, and the look in her eyes suggested she expected my question. I decided to ask an easier question first. "Do you think I will ever go back home?"
The kind smile remained on her face. "I am fairly certain that your time there is not complete."
So much for things not being cryptic. Even though it was dark around the campfire, the darkness didn't hide the pained look in Shaw's eyes. For one fleeting second, I thought that he could possibly be sad at the idea of me leaving. But then I remembered, as my Watcher, he would have to come with me. He was probably sad about having to leave Meric again.
With the mysterious answer Charis already gave me, I should have let the topic drop, but I decided to press on with my original query. "Can you tell me where Meric is compared to my home?"
Again her smile was steadfast. "There is a lot that you have yet to discover, my dear. Prematurely gaining this knowledge could possibly alter the course of your destiny, and that is something I will not do. You will learn everything in the natural passage of time. And many things will be discovered when you least expect them. Time will run its course, and even though many people can and will manipulate the movement of time, in the end everything will occur exactly as the Creator intended."
Everyone around the fire enjoying their meal had stopped chewing, talking, or drinking to listen in on our conversation and now their faces reflected the same confusion I felt.
"But what does that mean?" I said, unable to hide my frustration.
Charis smiled, stood up from her spot by the fire, walked over to me, kissed me on the top of the head and said, "Patients, Christina. You will find your answers soon enough." And with that she left the fire for the sanctity of her blankets presumably with the guise of going to sleep. I was left gawking at her in disbelief.
When I turned back toward the fire everyone was looking at me with the same incredulity that I felt.
"Eccentric ol' witch," Matthias chuckled, and added in a low voice. "Charis has always had a touch o' the dramatic."
"I don't know if it's being dramatic," Shaw argued. "I think there is a fine line that someone like Charis has to walk. Having so much power, being able to know what's going to happen, is a lot of responsibility to shoulder." He paused, picking off pieces of bark from a stick and tossed the bits into the flames. When he spoke again, his eyes remained on the stick, not us. "Saying the smallest thing to someone could end up changing that person's life forever. We all know having such powers can create evil. Look at Leticia. Charis needs to be incredibly careful with everything she says and does. Could any of us handle the kind of power and knowledge that she possesses? I don't know."
Everyone nodded in agreement, and perhaps pity. It had to be extremely hard to decide what to say and what to hold back. Such a fine line had to be near impossible to walk. I wondered if I would be able to find similar restraint as my own premonitions grew stronger.
The terrain we traveled changed a few days later. We were still in the beautiful grass covered rolling hills, but in the distance on either side of us, large mountains took shape. We were inside an incredibly large valley. Occasionally we would pass through a thin forest with pretty, white barked trees. We were in such a forest when Shaw informed us that we were about an hour or so from Verna Mount. Markella became excited at this news.
I smiled at her as she practically skipped along side of me. "Why are you so excited?"
"Oh, I've never been to see the Elves. Did you know they're supposed to be the most intelligent and most beautiful people in Meric? They're also supposed to be the best warriors. They were actually the ones who trained Shaw. I hope they'll let me train with them."
I shook my head and smiled, looking sideways at her. My toes caught on something in the trail, and I slammed forward, landing on my hands and knees. Sharp pain throbbed through my ankle. "Ouch... Ow... Crap!"
"What happened?" Shaw demanded, dropping to his knees beside me.
"I'm fine," I said, flushing with embarrassment. "I just twisted my ankle on that tree root." I nodded toward the offending foliage. Everyone gathered around me now and I felt silly for having such a klutzy accident.
Shaw shifted and knelt at my feet, deep furrows digging into his brow. With a brief glance at me, he eased up the edge of my long skirt and cradled the heel of my foot in his hand. He slipped off my boot, and tossing it aside, gently ran his fingertips around my ankle and along the side of my foot. I flinched when he touched the tender, swelling spot beneath my ankle joint.
"That hurts," Shaw said. I wasn't sure if it was a question, or a statement.
"Some. Not too bad."
His long fingers wrapped around my leg, just above my ankle, and awareness shot through me. I blinked against the sudden pounding of my heart and looked past him in a vain attempt at distracting myself. Markella met my gaze, and a slow grin spread across her face. I squinched my eyes and looked away.
"Well, would ya look at that. Our all powerful Savior as been defeated by a plant," Matthias joked.
"Ha ha. Very funny," I snarked back.
Shaw slipped the boot back on as gently as possible, stood, and offered me his hands. I balanced my weight on the uninjured foot and let him pull me upright. He wrapped his arm around me, holding me against his side until I found my balance. He had no idea what being held by him did to me.
"Do you think you can walk?"
"I'm not sure," I replied and took a step. Pain shot from my foot all the way up through my leg. "Crap!" I almost went down again, except Shaw pulled me closer and kept me from falling.
"It doesn't look broken, just a bad sprain. You'll have to ride one of the horses."
"This is so stupid. I'm sorry, everyone," I gushed.
"Ah don't worry about it," Maxatte said. "Let's move the equipment from Chett onto Gunther, and then ya can ride Chett."
I eyed the small blue pony.
"I know he may look small, but Chett's strong. He'll be able ta carry ya," Cody assured.
Maxatte and Matthias worked on moving everything from Chet to Gunther. All the while, Shaw held me against him. I gave in to the temptation of pressing my hand against his rock hard abs. I tried to convince myself that I did it just to correct my balance, but there was a tiny bit of me that did it for self-gratifying reasons, and wow!
With everything shifted on the horses, Shaw dipped and slid an arm behind my knees, lifting me off the ground with apparently little effort, and placed me on Chett's back. I felt ridiculous. My feet dangled precariously close to the ground as Chett lumbered forward. Carrying me didn't seem to bother him one bit.
Not long after that, Shaw announced that Verna Mount was just over the next ridge. The pace of the group quickened with anticipation. I could hardly believe after everything that had happened since my first day in Meric I was finally here. I had made it to Verna Mount.
I was amazed when I saw it.
We reached the top of the ridge and broke free of the forest. The view was so breathtaking I was certain it was the loveliest place I had ever seen. To our right, huge purple mountains rose in the distance. In front of the mountains, not even a half a mile away, was a deep drop off into a ravine. To our left, the rolling hills continued for miles, growing in height until they became another set of mountains. In front of us was a lush green field full of every color of wildflower imaginable, extending for about two hundred yards to where the forest resumed. The city of Verna Mount took shape within that forest.
There were no sparkling buildings made of steel and glass like in Nyco, but Verna Mount was far more stunning. The dwellings flowed with the environment. Instead of cutting a tree down they simply built in it or around it. Instead of leveling a hillside, the Elves structured their homes so the hillside added to the foundation. All of the structures were made of white wood similar to Charis' staff. The Elves had evidently taken great care when making their city. The wood making up the buildings had elaborately carved patterns, adding to the stunning beauty.
We were still a good distance away, but I saw off to our left a small road made of white stone gravel leading to the entrance of the city. Shaw directed us to the road. Where the road met the forest, there were two incredibly large trees on either side that the Elves had converted into watchtowers. They had carved lovely designs into the trunk of each tree, and perched near the top was a small structure that looked similar to a huntsman's stand. This structure weaved delicately around and through the branches of the trees, encircling the entire tree trunk. Inside each white structure stood the first Elves that I had ever seen in the flesh.
As foretold, the Elves were incredibly beautiful. These two were male, and they looked more beautiful than most human women. The Elf on the right pulled out a small wooden horn and blew into it three times. The horn made a lovely melody. It was nothing like the deep booming sound of the Mortif horns or the high-pitched squeal of the whistle Horeil used back in Nyco. No, this horn sounded like a pretty tweet of a lark or songbird.
Hundreds of Elves almost immediately lined the white gravel stone road. They cheered and applauded us like we were brave soldiers returning from war. I couldn't help but stare at the gorgeous faces celebrating our arrival. All of them had the same sleek black hair and emerald green eyes that my mother had in the painting. They were all built very much like me tall, thin, and willowy. They all had perfect faces and perfect skin. I couldn't help but envy their beauty.
The cheering intensified. Small Elf children tossed flowers onto the road before us and waved branches with multiple colored leaves in the air. One young girl ran up to me and handed me a bouquet of wonderfully smelling wildflowers. I had to fight back the desire to wave at the Elves like an attraction in a parade.
Only a short distance into the city two men and one woman stood in the middle of the road, blocking our path. They were smiling widely at us and the man in the center had his arms outstretched in a welcoming gesture. He wore a circlet band on his head made of woven white wood. This had to be King Tornus. The man on the left was so handsome his perfect face almost brought tears to my eyes and I recognized him from his picture to be Prince Jonus. However it was the woman who held my attention. She was the one I had been most anxious to see. It was my mother.