Chapter 135
A Butterfly's Cry Shall the Centipede Soothe
Innocent and rosy-cheeked, the young Illumca was a beautiful child. Due to her mixed heritage, her hair was slightly wheat-colored and her ears shorter than most of the elven children her age.
Halfblood Elves live a shorter life than those with pure blood. Aside from that and the lighter-colored skin, they were not that different. Thus, the children danced and played among themselves.
Merida gave each child a slice of honeycake. A delightful treat of barley and honey pounded and roasted into the form of small leaves.
“Have some, dear,” the beautiful Merida cooed at Illumca. “I’ve reserved the best and the largest for you.”
“That’s okay, mother Merida. I’ll let Istia have it.”
“Oh, she already had hers,” the beautiful Elf said after a brief pause. “This is a special one for you. After all, this is such a happy occasion!”
“Really? Thank you!” Illumca said as she ate the honeycake. It tasted sweet and fragrant.
Merida smiled and pinched Illumca’s cheek until it was slightly red. “There you go. Now, run along and play with the others.”
As she watched her go, Merida’s bright smile turned cold.
“Yes, there you go, little half-blood.”
Soon, the time for merrymaking and conversation was at an end and the children were gathered in front of the Great Mother Tree. All the children’s parents stood in a circle around them, except for Illumca’s mother, who was forbidden to enter as she was a human. An Elder with eyes as green as unripe leaves prayed to Menakis in the old tongue. The bells hung on his wrists and ankles jingled as he stomped on the ground and shook his arms in a trance.
The children watched the wild and powerful movements with eyes filled with fear, as they had never seen such a raw and powerful dance. It was a dance of remembering. A dance as old as the birth-cry of the firstborn of the Elves. And as remembrance often did, it made those who watched it feel wholly uncomfortable.
Some of the children cried, but some were silent. And some still were thoughtful. Illumca was the latter.
After the dance was finished, the Elder slit the bark of the Great Mother Tree and let drops of golden sap drip into a goblet filled with young wine. He then mixed it with his bare hands before giving it to the children, starting from his right.
The children each took a sip and recited a prayer after. Not long after the fifth child took his turn, the first child was bestowed a blessing by Menakis. A green glow rose from the bottom of his feet, and he touched both sides of his ears, mesmerized.
“I…I can hear the grass…! The trees…!”
The second child followed suit with a cry of joy as he jumped as high as two meters.
The young Illumca could not hold her excitement as she watched those who had gotten their blessings ran over to their parents with joy.
“I hope you get a good blessing,” Illumca said to Istia, whose eyes were staring hungrily at the goblet. The kind gesture was responded with a dry scoff.
When the goblet reached Istia, she took a slow sip and handed it back to the Elder.
When the time came for Illumca’s turn, the Elder almost shoved the goblet to her. A drop of the wine fell and stained her pure white garment.
Illumca took it in stride and took her sip.
After all the children had taken their sips, one by one they received their blessings. Soon, out of fifteen of them, ten were left. Then seven. Then four. Even Istia and Arryn had gotten theirs. And finally, the only one left was Illumca.
She looked at Duane, who was smiling nervously at her. He mouthed an encouraging word to her.
Suddenly, Illumca felt heat coming from her stomach. Her skin and scalp tingled. At first, she thought that it was normal, and she was waiting expectantly for her turn to get Menakis’ blessing. However, that heat rose onto her throat and the tingle turned into a painful burn that made her cry out in pain.
“Aaaah!! It hurts! Mom!! Dad!!! It hurts!!!”
Boils then began to appear on her skin, rash and pustules followed.
The people around her quickly backed away, horrified.
Duane, who was presiding over the ceremony ran over to her daughter and quickly raised his Magic Staff. “High Heal!”
A bright healing light came onto her, but it had no effect. “High Heal!” The man repeated again. He tried a few more times before his brother came over and stopped him.
“Dad…It burns…!”
“Gean! What do I do?! Elders!! I need your help!! My Magic is not working!!”
Duane’s desperate cry for help did not have the desired effect, however, as none of the Elders made a move to help him.
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Merida came towards them and spoke. “It seems to me that half-bloods are not worthy to receive the blessings of our Great Mother.”
“What?!” Duane looked at his second wife as if he was seeing her for the first time. “What in Sud-Ghazid are you talking about, Merida?!”
“This is punishment! We should never have allowed the Chief of our Tribe to have children with those inferior humans!”
“How dare you!!”
The pain caused Illumca’s consciousness to ebb. She then saw the figure of her best friend and reached out to her.
“Arryn…please…help me…” Illumca cried out.
But her best friend looked at her as if she was a disgusting monster and ran away without looking back.
The shock of being abandoned and the pain of the change then robbed her of her consciousness, and she fell into darkness.
The next time she opened her eyes, she was chained and caged like an animal. Her every movement caused her great pain. She cried out for help only to be answered with nothing.
After a while, someone came into the room. It was a Dark Elf that she did not know.
“Where’s my dad?”
“Don’t talk to me, half-blood,” the Dark Elf threw a piece of stale bread into the cage with a look of disdain. “The Chief should have listened. A Loyalist should not have mingled with other Races. This is a just punishment.”
The man spat and turned his back from her. Leaving her in the darkness once more.
This occurrence was repeated time and time again. A brief moment of light, and then darkness.
She survived by eating whatever dreg was given to her that day, or when in luck, perhaps a stray rat or a bug would wander in and she would feed on them. During her days in the cage, her right eye grew infected and itchy that she had to scratch it until it bled.
Despair and pain became her constant companion. And soon she lost track of time and what little hope she had before, was then lost.
Days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into months. And months turned into years.
Left in such a state, she should have gone crazy.
Or perhaps, she already had.
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Connie watched and listened. Even in her best hours, the Dark Elf was a very private person. Doubtless that the experience that shaped her current personality was not a pleasant one. Now that Connie had listened to her, she understood why she felt compelled to help her.
For Illumca had drunk of the same poison as her. A poison named betrayal. And even now the wound festered within.
The night had grown silent and the final embers of the night’s revelry in town had died.
Illumca turned to her. After recounting the dreadful events that led her to her fate, tears wet her cheeks. Whether out of relief or anger, she knew not.
“Why did they not kill you?” Connie asked.
“It is forbidden for a Dark Elf to take the life of another Dark Elf. For it is an act despised by the Goddess Menakis. Thus, all they could do was keep me out of sight. Istia and her mother wanted me to live. I’m sure of that. They wanted me to suffer.”
“I spent years in that cage, in the darkness. I cannot remember how many times I wish I could just die. They kept me in a cage; like an animal. and from the bits and pieces of news I overheard, I found out that they had usurped my father’s place. Only then did I realize that what I experienced was their deed. But I could not find out what happened to my parents.”
“When you found me in the Bandit’s hideout, it was because they were moving me somewhere. Only they were ambushed by them, and I was taken in as a part of their trophy. Why they did that, I do not know. Where they were going to take me, I also did not know.”
Illumca clutched at her chest. “I have had enough of not knowing! I have had enough of feeling helpless!!”
“What should I do, Connie?” she said as her grip on her chest tightened until her hands were trembling. “What should I do with this feeling that burns inside me? I have never felt it scorch me so!”
“…what does your heart tell you to do?”
“I want to know why they did this to me! I want revenge on all those who hurt me!”
“…Revenge…is it?” Connie spoke with a somber tone. “Revenge…is a hollow thing. It will not return to you what you lost, nor will it ease the pain that you felt. It is a selfish thing. And no good will come of it.”
“You speak of it as if you’ve experienced it.”
“I’ve experienced it. And I still am,” she said with eyes that told of the ages. And the fire that still burned within.
“But what if that’s the only way to make things right?!” she asked again her silver eye burning with determination. “What if that’s the only way for me to sate this anger inside me?! If it is the only thing keeping me sane?!”
“As I said, revenge is a selfish thing,” Connie commented. “It means something only to the person who exacts it. The question is…are you ready to do it?” she paused, eyes gazing deep into Illumca’s silver eye. “To do this deed that your Goddess had expressly forbidden you to do?”
“I will take my revenge…even if it means I become a sinner in the eyes of others of my Race. But before that…I want to look at Arryn in the eyes…and ask her why she abandoned me.”
“If that is what you decide to do, then I will help you,” Connie took her by the chin and kissed her forehead lovingly. “But never let revenge be the only thing in your head. You still have many things to do, many things to experience.”
The silver-haired Dark Elf looked into the eyes of her teacher and beloved and found comfort in them. But for some reason, she felt her eyes suddenly filled with water.
“Eh…what’s…happening?” she tried to wipe her tears, but for some reason, it kept flowing.
Her body sagged to the ground. Then she buried her head into Connie’s lap and sobbed. Connie placed her arms around her back in response and stayed there until Illumca fell asleep from the relief of unloading the burden of her heart.
“The Autumn wind rolls cold; the wolves welcome the young into their fold,” Connie said quietly while she stroked the head of silver of her disciple, eliciting a contented sigh from her. Chen and Yao-err popped up from inside her sleeves and watched the moon beside her.
“The young and innocent have no worries,” Connie’s voice fell into a whisper.
“The villainous heavens have no eyes.”
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“I am sorry that we could not host you better than this,” Baron Miller said. It was early in the morning and the whole Miller family went out to send them off. Even the young son. Who was still groggy from lack of sleep.
“That will have to wait for next time, Baron Miller. We have a schedule to keep,” Connie said to the old man as she glanced at the pregnant daughter-in-law of the Millers, clutching at the sleepy young boy leaning onto her leg. “And perhaps, by then we’ll see a new member of your family.”
“By Junnaveil’s Grace, Lady Steelheart,” Bernie said as he exchanged gaze with his wife. “Safe travels.”
After that brief goodbye, the wagon plodded down the hill and eventually passed the forest and onto the plains.
A few hours after lunchtime, they reached the outskirts of Arlaine. It was an uneventful journey that Connie used to its fullest as she taught her two disciples. Akula was outside listening in from an opened window.
When the sky grew dark once again, they stopped by the side of the road and lit a fire. The five had the Millers’ delightful bread, some fresh cheese, and roasted meat that the Millers packed for them. The Miller’s daughter-in-law was indeed a true lady of the house. She would not be lacking even compared to the Nobles of the Capital.
Illumca was cutting a piece of meat onto her bread when her ears twitched. She quickly pointed the knife, still greasy from fat, towards her back. Nick too, stood up at ready at the figure coming closer towards them.
“Peace, fellow travelers. I mean you no harm,” a steady voice said. Its owner had raised his arms in a show of surrender. The moment the light from the campfire hit his face, a rare look of distaste came upon Akula’s face.
“Anapua’s blessings be to you, fellow travelers,” the newcomer said. “May I share your fire?”
Nick’s eyes widened in surprise.
“…Is that an Elf?”