Lia was already born on Earth, and did not see the home world of her people, never ate the fruits of the Great Tree, and did not drink its juice. Fortunately, the elves lived side by side with it for so long that it’s blessing remained even with subsequent generations of magical people, so even those who had never seen the forests of Al’Zeldarn were immortal. And despite the fact that Liavangareil never felt the fullness of being an elf, she knew about the pride and great history and purpose of her people.
That's why she hated her father. Sianverlay was a disgrace to the elven family. He was completely out of step with his age and his race. Lia was very ashamed to be near him. The far middle-aged elf behaved like a clown. He constantly traveled in search of some kind of adventure, changing one party to another over and over again. And what’s more, these were even troops that weren’t made up of elves! He was always making stupid jokes and smiling like an idiot. And he completely abandoned his family, returning home only once every few weeks, after which he spent twice as much time talking about his adventures. And Lia absolutely could not understand how he could tell the events of one week for two weeks, without interrupting to sleep and eat. The latter was the norm for elves, but such verbiage was a sign of a weak mind.
In addition, Sianverlai showed ancient mysteries from the homeworld of the elves to all sorts of rogues, as if they were cheap tricks and not the great sacred art of his people! And when her father left home on another hike, Lia’s life became even worse. After all, she, a young two-hundred-year-old teenage girl, had to remain alone, locked in the same house with her mother. And it was torture.
Liavangareil dreamed of travel and adventures like her father's, only normal ones, in a good, worthy company of a loyal race, and without any nonsense! But she was forced to work as a nurse, doing housework, preparing food, combing her hair and putting her mother to bed. Living like this day after day, discontent and hatred towards her parents grew more and more in the girl’s rebellious heart. She dreamed of running away from home. All the same, the mother did not say a word for the last hundred years, and the father was always lost on his travels, and when he was at home, he did not pay much attention to his own daughter, all the time telling his wife his stupid stories, mixed with even more stupid jokes. The mother probably didn't even care about them! She did not react with a word or gesture to any of them.
But once upon a time everything was quite good for them... Lia sadly recalled the times of her childhood, when her father did not disappear into the unknown, and her mother spoke with her family. In this she was very similar to her parent. He often told the girl with inexpressible longing about their true home. Although almost all the stories boiled down to the fact that it is impossible to convey in words this feeling of omnipotence and being exactly where you need to be.
During such stories, the mother became even more unhappy than usual. Being several thousand years older than her husband, she spent more time in Al'Zeldarn, and the loss of the Great Tree hit the elf woman especially hard. Every time dad noticed this grief on his wife’s face, he instantly changed the topic of conversation, ignoring his daughter’s feelings and desires.
One day, when Sianverlay returned home and was again talking incessantly, Lia sat and looked at the garbage that he brought into their house, calling it curiosities and rarities. Unable to bear it, she interrupted her father, picking up a bunch of hollow sticks, and asked irritably:
- Father! Stop being a disgrace already! Everyone in the area despises us for your antics! And stop carrying trash into the house. Tell me, what kind of branches are these!? Do you want to make a fire or what!?
- O! I'm so glad you asked, daughter! – The elf answered with a wide smile. – This is a musical instrument that came to us from the fauns! Do you have any idea how rare they are? This is incredible luck to find such a thing in our lands! It's called a harmonica, look!
The elf brought the bundle to his mouth and began to blow into it with all his might, giving rise to a terrifyingly loud cacophony of sounds. Lia covered her ears with her hands, screaming for him to stop tormenting her hearing.
- Ha ha, well, apparently I need to practice a little more! – The man laughed, putting the accordion aside, and continued with burning eyes. - But I promise, I will become better, and I will play our national anthem on this beautiful instrument!
A faint smile flashed across his wife's face, making the man incredibly happy. At that second he was convinced that he would definitely learn and fulfill his playful promise! Lia angrily snatched the instrument from the hands of the winged elf and furiously shouted at him:
- That's exactly what I'm talking about! Honor, pride, great history of the elves! Are you familiar with any of this, or are you just pretending to be one of us!? You waste your time in an unknown place, abandon my mother and me, hang out with lower creatures, and even now, you admire the crafts of some fauns! We created them! We! We gave them life! We created their entire worthless race! For the sake of them just monitoring the eternal beauty of our forests, so that they delight our eyes every day! And now you show them respect, and you want to learn how to play their... Their... Thing!?
Releasing her feelings, Lia furiously threw the harmonica into the wall under her father’s frightened cry, and, loudly slamming the door, rushed off into the forest. Sianverlay immediately jumped up and ran. But not for his daughter, but for the stupid tool of the despicable fauns. That night the girl did not return home. And the next one too.
In a fit of anger, the little elf ran away from home. She waited for a long time in the clearing by the lake, where they used to love to walk as a family. She waited for her father to come and calm her down, say something, or even scold her! And he will show attention not only to her mother, but also to herself. And he came. Two days later.
- Hello, Lia. I'm going on a new journey, please look after your mother. She really needs you. Okay, I'm off. Bye! I will definitely bring you a souvenir!
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Liavangareil looked with growing anger at the back of her father, who was in a hurry to leave. When he disappeared, she got up and walked away. But not home. Her father didn't care about her wishes, she didn't care about his. Everything was fair. The girl headed straight into the forest, going in search of her own adventures.
Only two weeks later, mystical roots returned Lia home. The journey into the forest was amazing and full of wonders! She met many fairies and spirits who, living in the territory of the elves, knew very well about their place, bowing before the true mistress of these forests. The girl spent the whole time in a great mood, and regretted that she had not done this a hundred years ago.
And at home she met her father. He, as usual, sat in front of his wife and joked stupidly, again bringing a pile of garbage into the house. Lia, gritting her teeth, went to her room. And, to her surprise, Sianverlai came after her. Closing the door, he turned to his daughter, starting a conversation.
- Where have you been? Why did you leave your mother alone? Something happened?
- Yes, it happened. I'm tired. And I was in the forest, it was wonderful there. Unlike home. In particular, because neither you nor mother were there!
- Lia... I understand that this may be hard for you, but please don’t leave your mother alone. You can see what condition she is in. Please, she needs you. You can't leave her alone.
- Really? Maybe then you won’t go on your stupid adventures, and still take care of her not only in words?
Sianverlay closed his eyes, clenching his fists. He was breathing slowly, and the girl suddenly realized that he was angry, and thus was trying to calm down. Smiling with anger, she continued:
- Oh, don’t act like you don’t care! You never cared about mom and me, just looking for fleeting entertainment for yourself! You always didn’t care how we live here, your teenage daughter, and your paralytic wife!
There was a loud sound, and Lia, in disbelief, looked at her father as she lay on the floor. She clutched her stomach, gasping for air. Her father hit her. Father. Hit. Her. Too shocked, the elf did not even feel pain, silently looking at this clown who suddenly showed character. She had never seen her father angry, especially like this. He opened his mouth and spoke in a poisonous, threatening tone:
- Close the. My. Mouth. And never dare to say such things again. You don't know what I've been through, what your mother has been through. You have no idea what I sacrificed for her and you. And you will not insult me or her. Not now, not ever again. Having the sacrament of [Return Home], you, unlike me, can indeed leave the house, but you must spend at least half of the time here, talking with your mother! I said everything.
- But I... - Lia croaked. – Didn’t…
- You will have the right to vote only after three hundred years. – Sianverlay answered without turning around. - Now do as you’re told. And sorry for the blow. I couldn't help myself.
Lia didn't forgive. And she didn’t listen. The very next day she left home, going to her new friends. Of course, when her father wanted, she did not return back.
So month after month went by. Liavangareil spent most of her time in the forest, having fun and enjoying freedom. She really appreciated her comrades, especially the fact that they treated her like a princess. The girl liked the wind spirits the wind, they looked like her, and were so... windy. “Hehe, great joke, I need to remember it,” Lia thought.
She explored the area around the lands where her people settled, occasionally encountering other elves. And she did everything. She studied whatever she thought of at the moment. And when she got bored, she immediately quit, finding something more interesting.
When she crossed paths with her father, he would lash out at her more and more, behind her mother’s back, and Lia would respond in kind. So they lived, father and daughter on travels and adventures, and mother in complete solitude. Looking at the wall. Day after day, week after week, month after month.
And one day Lia returned home from her walk. In a cheerful mood, she went inside and saw that Sianverlai had returned. “Oh, it’s about to start again,” the girl rolled her eyes. She expected him to attack her as he habitually entered his room. However, nothing followed. Her father didn't even get up. This alerted the girl, and she went back into the hall.
The elf knelt before his wife. Tears rolled down his cheeks. And in front of him in her chair sat his wife, just as Lia had left her a month ago. Only something has changed in her. “Her eyes”, Lia suddenly realized. The woman's eyes were empty. Like fish on a store counter. Just glass, no mind, no soul, no life. Her mother completely froze.
Lia did not know how this was happening; her father never told her what was happening to her mother. But now the girl instinctively understood. And she was terrified. Hesitantly she called:
- D-dad? Dad? Hey! Answer me something!
However, the father was silent. Only tears streamed down his face. Not a single nerve wavered on him. And Lia was scared. Stronger than ever in my life. She ran up to her father and began to shake him, hug him, cry and almost shout:
- Dad! No! Do not do it, Please! Don't become like mom! Everything is fine, I'm here! It’s me, your daughter, and you know, I’m not offended at you at all! And I... And I... And... Sorry! It's my fault, my! I abandoned my mother, although I shouldn’t have, and here she is... Sorry!
Sobbing, the girl began to try to somehow cheer up her father, to return to him at least a particle of the life that was disappearing before her eyes. And suddenly she understood why he, an adult, respectable elf, had behaved this way for the last century. He did this for her mother. He tried to do the same thing that Lia herself was doing now. And she only wanted to cry harder, but she was able to stop herself. The girl wiped away her tears and smiled as brightly as she could.
- It's okay, dad! Now everything will be fine! I am here with you! You can rest. You no longer need to have fun and amuse the mom and me! I'll take your place. Now I will have fun for both of us. Just don’t freeze... Don’t leave me, please. And I... I will make your life more cheerful, you'll see! We will never quarrel again, and everything will be fine! You know, I went to the forest here, and there I met such a beautiful sylph...
Sianverlai turned his head sluggishly, looking into his daughter’s eyes. She flushed with joy when she saw at least some reaction, and an unstoppable stream of words flowed from her mouth. She didn't stop for a second and talked until the next sunset.
Finally, the elf stood up. He looked at his wife again, saying only a few words:
- We need to take her away.
After this, the father and daughter carried the wife and mother to a secret place in the elven settlement. There were already thousands of elves there, frozen in various poses. They were all completely different. The only thing that was the same was their common unlife, and the eyes of the dead fish.
- We will take care of her from now on for you. We are sorry for your loss. – The cemetery guardians said as they took Lia’s mother away.
Tears welled up in the girl’s eyes, but at that moment her father looked at her and saw only a shining, sunny smile. And they went on a journey, this time, together. Sianvaerlai never smiled as sincerely as before, and Liavangareil's face never left an expression full of happiness and joy.