by Sarah Thomie
The Elder laid his cold gaze onto me. “It is not like you to pick up strays. She can stay the night, but I want her gone by tomorrow night.”
I almost sighed in relief. If I did not stay, then my curse would not harm anyone here.
Howling Wolf argued, “But Elder—"
“You dare talk back to me?” the Elder’s voice edged on deadly. “This creature is cursed, and she will only bring ruin to the Clan if she stays.”
I nodded.
He gestured to me. “Even she understands that she does not belong here.”
Howling Wolf’s chest fell. “May Grandfather see her? She cannot talk, and if she could, it would at least help her continue on her journey.”
“You may.” The Elder gave his permission as he left us.
Sparrow looked at Howling Wolf and I. “Brother, I have never heard you go against the Elder before. Why would you start now?” She gave me an appraising look.
“The way she acts, she has never been outside city walls, so I am worried. But I have seen her fight, so I worry if she is taken on by another Clan, that she could be used against us.” He grabbed my shoulder and said, “Let us go see Grandfather.” He then led me through the village Wood Elves stopped what they were doing to stare, then whispered to the closest Elf to them.
I kept my eyes to the ground, trying to not feel like an abomination. We reached the large building in the center of the village.
Sparrow opened the door. “Grandfather! Howling Wolf has something he wants to show you!” Her voice carried.
A man who looked to be the same age as the Elder came from a side room. He saw me and stopped “Is this…?”
Howling Wolf walked me over to the older man. “Grandfather, she needs your help.”
I stepped toward the older man, feeling comfort radiating from him. He reminded me of the city Healer, so I wondered if Wood Elves had the same kind of person. “So, she is the one the whole village is buzzing about.” He smiled. “It is all right, City Elf. I will not hurt you.”
I trusted him at his word. I showed him my wrist, letting him read the brand.
“13-87-22, what brings you to our village, besides my grandson?”
I mimed that I could not speak.
“Her voice is gone, and I was hoping there would be something you could do to help her. The Elder will not let her stay, so if she is to leave, it would be best if she could talk,” Howling Wolf explained.
“13-87-22, come with me.” The older man held my elbow in his hand as he led me to a larger interior room. An inferno blazed in the center of the room, and it reminded me of where I had just escaped.
I froze, unable to take another step closer to the raging fire. I did not see the room or the Wood Elves anymore, instead, I saw the city I ran from burning.
The older man came between the large fire and me. “It is all right, City Elf.”
I shook my head, taking a step back. It was not okay, but I could not explain to them how it was not all right.
He looked at Howling Wolf, concern written on his face. “Have you seen her do this before?”
Howling Wolf shook his head. “No, I have not. She has been near fire for the past two nights, so I do not know where this is coming fr—" He looked at the ground, touching his chin with a hooked index finger. “But when she found me, she was covered in ash. So much of it, that her skin and hair was dark grey. I did not know she had silver hair until she fell in the river, and it dried.”
“Maybe it was because you built small fires instead of a larger one like this,” Sparrow mumbled.
I looked at her, nodding. I swallowed hard, trying to push the terror down.
“What kind of a fire did she run from that would cause her to be completely covered in ash?” She thought out loud.
The older man turned me away from the fire, so that I was looking at Howling Wolf. “Keep looking at him. I am going to cut your finger and use the blood to see what I can do to help your voice.”
I nodded, not taking my eyes from Howling Wolf’s own. I felt a prick of pain as the knife cut my finger. The blood burned, and I thought I was going to throw up, the memory of the smell attacking me.
Howling Wolf pulled me closer to him. “She looks sick.”
I nodded, holding my hand in front of my mouth. Sparrow handed me some water, and I took sips, hoping to keep my stomach from rebelling. They were watching something behind me, and I could see the reflection of the fire in their eyes. I turned to face it, needing to see what they saw.
Images rose into the smoke, showing the three of them when and how my voice was stolen. They watched the City Elf Seller whip me for disobeying his commands. He gave an evil smile, as he used magic to rip my voice away from me, transferring it into a silver ball on a chain. He put the chain around his neck, a trophy. The images in the smoke disappeared, leaving only the blaze’s regular smoke.
They then led me to a smaller room away from the flames, while they discussed what they saw. The older man told his grandson, “Since her voice was stolen with magic, the only way to return it is by magic. There is nothing I can do without the ball with her voice in it.” He looked at me. “I will talk to the Elder about this and see if he is willing to extend your stay a little bit longer. If he does, you will have to work just as hard as the people who live here. Are you able and willing?”
I nodded to the older man.
“With winter coming, the Elder might allow you to stay until after planting season. We could always use more hands in harvesting the winter fruits.” That decided, he looked to his grandchildren. “I assume she will be staying close to you two?”
“I have room for her.” Sparrow smiled at the older man, then to me. “Since she is wearing Howling Wolf’s clothes, I will let her borrow some of mine.” She grabbed my tangled hair and let it fall back down. “I also want to play with her hair, since it feels different than mine.”
“I need to give my full report to the Elder. Should I wait until after you talk with him?” Howling Wolf asked his grandfather.
“Do your report first. I have a feeling that he and I will be talking for most of the night.” He smiled to me. “Good night, 13-87-22.”
I bowed my head respectfully to him.
“Off to bed, you two.” He practically pushed Sparrow and I out the door.
Sparrow walked me to her circle house. She opened the door, shoved me inside and into a chair.
I fell into it, as I felt the Snow Cat waiting at the edge to help me.
Sparrow smiled, “So, what are your intentions with my brother? You somehow got my heartless and cold brother to have emotions.” She put her hands on the chair’s arms, leaning in. Our noses almost touched, and I wondered if she knew how close to my teeth she was. “Are you planning on getting into his heart then ripping it out? Or are you planning on getting into his pants to see if you could get our family’s legacy? Were you sent by a rival Clan to kill him in his sleep?”
What was she talking about? My intentions with her brother were to steal his Wolf pelt to get warm, then to go somewhere where I could not hurt anyone else. I shook my head to all her accusations. She must have seen my confusion because she backed away.
“Howling Wolf is the strongest male in the Clan, but he’s also clueless on the wiles of women that want to use him. I just wanted to make sure that you weren’t planning on harming him. Take this as a warning to stay away from him.”
I wondered what happened to set her teeth on edge around women near Howling Wolf.
I looked around her small house. There was a bed off to one side, a small kitchen area on the opposite wall, next to a water closet. There was a fireplace near the bed, and the table with two chairs, where I sat. It was a warm and comfortable room, better than the stone walls of the people who owned me. It was a lot better than the shanties that other City Elves lived in.
“Now, take off his clothes, so we can work on the rat’s nest you call hair.”
I did as she commanded, since s
he was scary in her own right.
Despite seeing the memory, she sucked in a breath when she saw the extent of the scarring. “The humans did that to you?” She did not hide the anger in her voice. “Why would you allow them to do that to you? Why did you not fight them off?”
I realized that she did not understand that fighting always made the punishments worse.
How could I explain to this strong warrior of a woman that you did not fight the humans who owned you unless you had nothing to lose? I fought for others, which is why I had more scars than many other City Elves. The humans would not kill me, because my silver hair was a prize among slaves, so I often took the punishment of my fellow slaves.
Thankfully, Sparrow dropped it as she sat me back in the chair. She brushed my long, silver hair, drawing the knots and tangles out of it. She was gentle as she could be as she worked. Once she got all the tangles out, she braided it to keep the fine hairs contained. There was a knock on the door, and she answered it.
A woman’s voice drifted in from outside, “The Elder asked us to bring the silver-haired City Elf these clothes and some food.”
I stood up and walked to the door, not caring that they saw my scars. I grabbed the clothes from them and dipped my head as a thank you.
The three women stared at me, taking in everything from my pale skin, moonlight silver hair, and the thousands of scars that adorned my skin.
“It is not polite to stare.” She looked at me. “Stop showing off the goods to everyone. City Elves might understand your scars, but we do not, so it is not polite to throw it into people’s faces.”
“Sparrow, do you think they are all covered like she is? I mean, those must have taken decades to accumulate.”
I shook my head at her first question but nodded at her second one.
The woman looked at me. “Can you speak?”
I shook my head, and the looks of pity crossed their faces.
She looked back to Sparrow, her voice lightening. “So, we heard that your brother found her?”
“That is correct.” Her voice unsure of why they would ask.
“Did you warn her away from him?” The women smiled.
I nodded yet again.
They just laughed, as she closed the door in their faces.
“Get dressed,” she grumbled as she got ready for bed.
I unfolded the clothes to find leather pants and a shirt, smaller versions of what Howling Wolf wore, along with underwear and something to bind my chest. The final piece of fabric looked like the linen that Sparrow changed into, so I guessed it was a night dress. I put it on and set the rest of the clothes on the table. I looked around to see where I would sleep, deciding that the rug in front of the fire would be comfortable enough.
“What are you doing?” she asked as I sat down.
I mimed sleeping, and she sighed.
“The bed is big enough for the both of us.”
I looked at the bed, then her, then stood up. I pushed down on the bed, feeling its softness. It was softer than anything I was ever allowed to touch outside of my normal duties.
“Get in, so we can sleep.”
I climbed under the covers next to her and felt tears filling my vision. I sniffled as I used my arm to wipe away the free-falling water droplets.
“Are you crying?” She sat up and stared at me. Since she already saw, I did not lie to her. “Have you ever slept in a bed before?”
I shook my head. She growled when she wiped away my tears with the blanket, “Try to get some sleep.” She laid back down, and I let the exhaustion from the last few days pull me to a dreamless sleep.
Chapter 04
Sparrow and the other women of the Clan showed me their day-to-day work. I helped wherever I could, hoping the Elder would allow me to stay after winter was over. The Wood Elves were nothing like what we were warned against. I knew they could kill if needed, but it was not the joyful slaughter that I had been taught. Howling Wolf made me a wooden whistle to use if I needed anything. We came up with a system that differentiated between needing a smidge of help with something versus an emergency.
He and the other men went on different missions every day, but they were back by nightfall. I guessed they were scouting for enemies to protect the Clan. I noticed that he wore black when the other warriors wore brown, which fit his status as their Enforcer.
At night, he would work with me with weapons, building up what the Snow Cat could use. As we sparred, she danced through his movements, watching and learning. He kept the practices a secret, worried what the Clan would think about teaching an outsider. Sparrow was the only one who knew, after she had followed us one day, thinking we were having a lover’s triste or something like that. I became more confident with the spear than with the bow, but I had the most familiarity with the dagger, since all City Elves learned knife work in secret during short stints of time where we were not closely being watched by the humans. We shared our different techniques in honor of our myth of The Reckoning, a spirit that rose from the ashes of a wildfire to save our people. Wolf made me a sheath for a dagger that he traded a pelt for. It was very basic, but it was perfectly balanced.
One cold winter afternoon, a few months after arriving at the village, the women gossiped about Howling Wolf and how Sparrow kept warning potential suitors off. They asked me if I thought he was handsome. I nodded, and they pounced.
“What do you find to be his best feature?” The women talked about his eyes, his hair, his rippling muscles, but none of those is what made him handsome for me.
Objectively, I understood and agreed with the women. I did not say it, but I liked the fact that he danced with the Snow Cat, taught me how to fight better, and most of all, the pure look of joy and excitement on his face when I threw him into the dirt using a techniques he taught me. Those times were when I could see what the women were saying.
Two boys screamed from the village. I dropped the basket I was holding and took off towards the sound. The Snow Cat took over, spurred by the screams of younglings. I heard other shouts, as the large brown bear chased the boys into and through the village. A spear leaned against the wall, and I grabbed it then followed the bear and boys. The children fled into a dead-end area in their panic.
The bear stopped running; its prey cornered. I slid to a stop between the bear and the boys. I whistled over my shoulder for them to get down. They did as I commanded, ducking low to the ground.
The bear roared. I grabbed the dagger from its sheath, and stared at the creature, my blue tinted vision waiting to see what it would do. It lunged at me, but I moved to the side, slicing its skin. My goal was to anger it since that was the best way to keep its attention on me. The bear foamed at the mouth, and I wondered if that was normal. It lashed out, but I dodged its wild slash. I kept its attention on me, as I led it out of the village. The women stared as I kept attacking the bear to draw it away from the other Elves.
A loud whistle called some of the men back to the village. The bear turned toward the sound, but I caught its attention again with a slash to its wrist. Once we reached the forest, I hoped the bear would leave, but it attacked me. Its long claws dug into my right forearm and blood dropped down my skin. I dropped the dagger; pain numbed that arm.
The Snow Cat did not feel the pain, only acknowledging that I could not hold anything with that hand. She lunged, using my body to attack the bear. I jammed the spear’s sharp point into the bear’s throat, through the soft palate, and into the base of its skull. It tried to rip the spear out, but its weight pushed the spear into the ground, sending the point further into its brain. The bear fell over, and I pulled the spear from its throat. The Snow Cat retreated into her den within me.
I blinked, my vision me own again, and looked at the dying bear. I cried as I fell to my knees in front of the animal. I grabbed the dagger from the dirt, using my non-dominant hand. Then I set the bear’s head in my lap and used the dagger to slash its throat, ensuring the end of its misery. I tried to apologize
to the animal, but I knew it would not hear me, even if it was still alive. I stroked the bear’s facial fur, crying for the loss of life. I do not know how long I sat there and wept for the poor creature.
Howling Wolf came running to where I was sitting. He must have saw my tears and hesitated in case I was hurt more than just my arm. The other males stayed at the edge of my vision, but I only looked at Howling Wolf, using his face as my focus. He stepped closer to me and wrapped his arms around me. He rubbed my hair, letting me take comfort from him.
“It is all right, City Elf.” He helped me climb out from under the bear’s head. He saw my arm and called one of the other warriors over to help stop the bleeding. The warriors whispered to each other, approval in their voices.
I could not face the bear without feeling more tears well up.
“What is wrong, City Elf?” Howling Wolf asked, his voice gentle and soft.
I mimed that I killed the bear.
“I know you did. Why does that bother you so much?”
I could not figure out how to explain that the bear was innocent. I never killed something innocent before, not even when I killed in the cities.
“You killed it to protect the Clan, yes?” he asked.
I nodded, pointed to two warriors, and then mimed short.
“You saved two Clan boys by killing the bear. Would you rather have stood by and let the two boys be killed? Because we would not have made it in time if you did not get the bear away from the village.”
I saw it from his point of view, as I ran my arm across my eyes to dry them.
He looked to the other warriors and said, “Let us get back to the village.” He pulled away from me. “Come on, City Elf. Grandfather will need to clean and bandage that arm.” I learned that the older man’s title was Grandfather as he was the oldest member of the Clan. I watched as a couple of the warriors grabbed the bear, as Howling Wolf bent down and picked up my dagger and put it into its sheath. Someone else took the spear, and when everyone was ready, we walked back to the village.