by D. E. Morris
There was sorrow on Mairead's face. She turned more into the shadows, her eyes downcast. For a long moment, neither of them said anything. Mairead seemed too stricken with grief to speak, while Elas fought against the pull of all the old emotions. He cleared his throat, his shoulders slumped as he leaned forward. “I ran to my family for help. My brothers were outside, one older, two younger, and my da. None of them would let me see my mother or let her see me. They just kept yelling at me, telling me I had to go. They said I'd frighten her to death and that if the villagers saw what I'd become they'd chase our entire family away. So instead, they chased me off like some feral animal.”
“What did you do?” asked Mairead, raising a trembling hand to wipe a tear away.
Elas sniffled himself, remembering all too well the sense of worthlessness he'd felt, the disgust with himself, and the humiliation he carried everywhere he went. “I ran for six days, trying to escape the shame I felt and the sounds of their screams in my head. When I found a ship to take me from Ibays, they agreed to pay me the wages of a deckhand as long as I did my work at night and stayed hidden during the day. When I did finally arrive in Caedia, I found some old waterway tunnels under the monastery near the capital and stayed there until hunger forced me out again to find food. I tried to find work from time to time and more comfortable places to sleep, but you don't realize how important beauty is to the world until you are no longer beautiful yourself. I had things thrown at me, people spat on me...had their dogs run me off. Every now and then I would find someone kind enough to give me some work, provided I kept myself hidden, and it was enough to live for awhile. Then the work ran out, and one night when I was at my lowest, I decided to end it all.” Mairead looked up sharply, alarmed. “I was tired of fighting to survive each day and let myself believe that it would just be easier if I was no longer alive. I could have simply turned into a dragon and let my humanity slip away, but I had heard for years at that point that I was worthless and nothing worth having around, so not even giving into my Gaelic side was as appealing as death.”
“What stopped you?”
Taking a deep breath, Elas looked up, his blue eyes full of sorrow, but a slight smile on his lips. “A girl. She was from Amme, a doll-maker's daughter. I remember she had pink hair that she always tied up with green and gold ribbons.”
“Was she your first love?”
The question managed to make Elas tear his far away gaze from his memories and finally look at Mairead. “Not in the way I love Kenayde, no. She saw me buying flour from the miller one night. My hood slipped and she saw my scarred face. Instead of being frightened away, she was careful and curious. She pitied me, something I didn't get often and when I did, I hated it. There was such an innocence to her that made me look past it. Though there were years between us, she became my only friend. That first night she asked me what had happened to my face. Before I knew what I was doing, I told her my whole story. She was kind - sad for me, but kind. Eventually she was called home and we had to part ways, but just being able to talk to someone who would actually listen was enough to sustain me for a few nights. I saw her occasionally after and she always managed to cheer me up, even if I never showed it outwardly. The last time we saw each other, four years before I met Ashlynn and Kenayde, she gave me a doll she made of me. It was crude, the stitching uneven and lumpy with excessive straw in places, but it meant a lot to me.”
“Do you still have it?”
He shook his head. “Straw and burlap mold rather quickly when they're in a humid underground tunnel in the summer.”
Mairead looked genuinely sorry. “What a shame.”
Elas only shrugged. “I've never been one to need things to remember good or bad times. My memory has always been fairly sharp when it mattered.” He held her gaze a moment before confessing, “I've never told that story to anyone before, not even Kenayde.”
Mairead's one visible eye widened, her brow lifting. “Why tell me?”
“Because I want you to know that I truly do understand what you're going through, and maybe because I knew it would be nice to have someone else who knew what I'd lived through that would understand the feelings.” She looked down, and Elas stood to face her, extending a hand. “You can't stay in the shadows forever, Mairead. The enemy didn't kill you, but they may as well have if you keep yourself secluded like this.”
She swallowed hard. “I am ugly.”
“Maybe that's what your reflection is telling you, but to the people who love you, I now understand that you can never be ugly. I can never be ugly. True love doesn't begin and end with what the eye can see, and I'm not just talking about the romantic side of love.” He ran a finger down the left side of his face, feeling just a hint of roughness under otherwise smooth skin. “My scars are coming back. The potion Tasarin gave me is wearing off or the magic I was wounded with is too strong, I don't know which, but I won't look like this forever. Not even the elixirs he left here are working as they should. I've been terrified every morning I wake up that I'll look the way I used to, and I didn't realize how foolish my fear was until now. Kenayde won't leave me; Ashlynn and Jaryn won't send me away. No matter what I look like, they are my family. They love me in spite of, and sometimes because of, my imperfections.” He held his hand out to Mairead once more. “Come out of the shadows, Mairead. Take control of this, don't let it control you.”
She wrapped her arms around herself, her head bowed. “I am afraid.”
Elas shook his head, his hand lowering. “It's only me here, and I promise you, I won't run screaming, not after waking up to my own face for so many years. You can do this.”
Mairead kept her eyes down and she was silent as she took several deep breaths. After a moment, she lifted her head and slowly rose to her feet. With the sun fully behind her, she was a black silhouette outlined in a golden ring of light for the quickest second. Then she took a step farther into the room and the light shifted back to normal.
While the left side of her face was filled with anxiety, the right was a mask of torn, poorly healed flesh, scars and burns. Deep welts had been dug right above her brow and ran down over her eye and cheek. Though she seemed to still retain vision on the damaged side of her face, the skin had healed together in such a pinched way that her eye was half closed. Even her lips were damaged, seemingly set into half of a permanent frown. As Elas looked her over, her eyes filled with tears that quickly spilled down her cheeks, making his heart hurt for her pain and vulnerability. Still, he smiled at her with encouragement.
“That took a great deal of bravery.”
She looked away, angrily brushing at her tears. “I could not feel further from brave right now.”
“I wish you understood how much power you just took back from those that would have cut you down. It would show you just how strong you are, and how much stronger you will be.” He looked at the scars again, brows coming together. “It's uncanny how similar our injuries are. The placement, the length...though I'm glad to see your eye is undamaged.” He lifted a hand and asked, “May I?” She wiped her face once more and nodded. Carefully, Elas reached out to touch the deepest of the scars. As soon as he made contact with her skin, something sharp and powerful passed between them so strong that both of them flinched away from the other, taking a step back. With wide eyes, Mairead touched her face and Elas looked down at his hand.
“Did you feel that?”
“What was it?” she asked, fear in her voice.
“I'm not sure.” Tentative, he reached out and touched her again, yet this time, nothing happened. “I've never felt anything like that before.”
Mairead's cheeks colored, her gaze dropping to the floor. “This is terribly inappropriate.”
Ignoring her quiet comment, Elas looked at his palm once more. “I've been shocked on the dry summer days when I touch something metal and I am only in my stockings, but this...this is different.” Thoughts racing, he said, “Ashlynn described a similar sensation when she heard the song on the
wind.” His muttered comment drew a look of confusion from Mariead, causing Elas to shake his head to clear his thoughts. ”There have been several nights these past few weeks where an odd sound has been heard, like a mourning wail. Have you heard it?”
She nodded slowly. “Some nights more clearly than others.”
“Has it made you feel anything at all like what just happened?”
Mairead shook her head. “No. Perhaps a bit of a stirring...”
“That's exactly how I described it.” He frowned, more confused than ever. “I should go. I need to talk to Ashlynn about this. If you'll have me, I'd like to come back and visit again.”
“You leave me with more questions than when you came, but...I would enjoy that.”
“I'm sorry, that was not my intent. I seem to have questions now, myself. Maybe next time you'll let me leave the door open. Maybe one day we can even sit in the hall.” He hurried for the door and pulled it open, but turned back toward Mairead before leaving the room all together. “Come to the wedding. It's a masque. No one even has to see your face. Just come.”
Sitting back down in the half shadowed spot, she nodded slowly. “I will think about it.”
He accepted it as the best possible answer for now. With a nod of acknowledgment, he closed the door behind himself and rushed off to find Ashlynn.
Chapter Eleven
Two days before the wedding, Cailin and Wessely stood out in the warm morning sunshine. They watched Lochlainn crawling around the courtyard while his nannies were mindful of him.
“It is odd,” Wessely commented idly as he and Cailin followed Lochlainn with their eyes, “how some are affected by the night song and some are not.”
“Elas said he felt something when he touched Mairead. What he described was exactly what Ashlynn and I felt when we heard the sound. None of it makes any sense.”
Wessely glanced at her, a smirk on his lips. “You sound frustrated.”
“I don't like things that can't be explained. I deal in facts, absolutes...things that can be tangibly proven true.”
“Yet it was you who spoke most to my daughters about the Giver.”
A blush stained her cheeks. “Yes...well...that's different, isn't it?”
Saving Wessely from answering and Cailin from having to further defend herself, the familiar call to open the gates drew their attention. Lochlainn had long since grown used to the sound and carried on until he heard the clatter of horses' hooves over the stones. At this, he stopped and clapped, bouncing where he stood.
“The standard of the roaring Phoenix,” murmured Wessely, eyeing the carriage that rolled through. “It seems Nuala has truly embraced her role as the sole leader in Braemar. I must say, that is a fine looking banner.”
Cailin scooped Lochlainn up and pointed to the carriage. “Look who's here, little prince!” Lochlainn was far more interested in the horses as they approached. Even as the door to the carriage opened and the footman hopped down to help Nuala out, the child still reached for the animals.
Wessely bowed his head. “Your Majesty.”
Nuala, the high queen of the nation of Braemar and all Volarim, a race of winged people, gave Wessely a winning smile, her blonde ringlets pushed back with ribbons and her Phoenix wings flowing over the back of her warm cloak like silk. “Hello, King Wessely.” She let him kiss her cheek before turning to watch Cavalon, her husband, exit the carriage with her son, Lucien, in his arms.
“Cavalon.” The two men clasped forearms in greeting, then Wessely looked to the towheaded child Cavalon held, his little white wings still covered in the down of a fledgling. “Hello there, Lucien.”
“Say hello,” Cavalon instructed, giving the toddler a jiggle. Lucien raised his arm to wave chubby fingers at Wessely and said, “H'lo,” making Cavalon grin. “He says a lot more than that, trust me. How are you, Wessely?”
“I am well, thank you.” He glanced at the castle. “It seems there is only one party missing for the wedding and all will be accounted for.”
“And we thought we were late,” Nuala laughed. “Who is it?”
“Tasarin and Luella,” Cailin supplied. “Of course, they have a newborn so I suppose they can be forgiven.”
“I suppose,” grinned Cavalon. “How are you, Cai?”
“Not bad, thanks. How about you, you rascal?”
“Unruly as ever.” Cailin brought Lochlainn over, and laughed as the younger boy squealed and tried to squirm out of her arms as soon as he realized who was there. Both boys were set down and immediately on the go.
“Cavalon!” There was barely a moment for the Badarian to think before Misuzu seemed to appear from nowhere. He wrapped her in a bear hug, eliciting a squeal of shock.
“I was beginning to wonder if we'd ever see you again, squirt.”
Soon enough, the rest of the entourage poured out of the castle to greet the new arrivals. Before the sun was setting, Tasarin and Luella arrived with baby Tiyal, and the energy within the castle had certainly changed. It was a time to celebrate, laugh, and enjoy each other's company. It was also a time to remember those of their close knit group who were no longer there with them. Over supper they told stories of old and new, and simply enjoyed being with one another. After, when they were all gathered into one of the sitting rooms and had the children brought in, they enjoyed watching Lochlainn and Lucien play together and hearing Lucien's growing vocabulary. Nuala was asked when she and Cavalon would have a child, which he successfully saved her from answering by sharing Badru's apology that he couldn't come. One of his grandchildren was ill and he didn't want to leave.
“Once again,” Luella lamented, “all of the Elementals are together but one.”
“So much for getting our answers,” Ashlynn sighed.
Cavalon looked between them. “Answers about what?”
“We had questions about the Elementals...all the Elementals,” Luella revealed.
With a nod, Ashlynn added, “And we thought to ask the two old men of our motley crew.”
Cavalon's heavy brows rose, a smirk on his lips. “Old men, eh? What do you want to know?”
“It can wait,” Ashlynn promised. “We will have plenty of time to talk once the wedding and the party are done with.”
The time passed quickly once everyone had arrived. The women were so busy helping with last minute preparations that it seemed as though the minutes flew by. Not all that interested in wedding arrangements and details, Misuzu spent most of her time with the men, happy to be drinking and playing cards with them instead of drowning in flowers and fabric with everyone else. As they had before, she and Cavalon got on the best, carrying on like any older brother and younger sister might with teasing and plotting with one another when money was on the table.
Elas was able to break away from the group to visit Mairead one more time, bringing a servant with him to deliver a dress Ashlynn had ordered made to match a gold mask she had found. It was large and loose enough so that would cover her face from her forehead to the tip of her nose, wrapping around her cheeks to disguise them completely, leaving only her mouth and chin exposed. Mairead trailed her fingers over the engravings in the leather, delicate and feminine, a smile on her face.
“There is no need for you to hide with that on,” Elas prompted.
“No,” she agreed lightly, “I suppose there will not be.” Giving her new friend a hopeful smile, she nodded. “I would be honored to attend your wedding.”
That night the mournful wail came again, closer than ever before. It brought many residents and guests of Altaine alike out into the night air, as well as villagers far below if the increase in torch light was any indication. Cailin shifted as soon as the call ended and she could move again, and leaped into the sky to try to follow the sound. Misuzu was right behind her as well as some others who shared the Gaelic blood. The search lasted long enough for many spectators to head back inside, and when the party finally returned, they brought no new findings to those who had patiently waited.
In the morning light, Altaine glittered like a jewel both inside and out. Many men and women worked through the night to make sure all of the flowers were ready and that tables were dripping with candles and rich fabrics. The kitchen had been buzzing for hours in preparation of the wedding feast. Altaine had not hosted a celebration this spectacular for years, and though the servants and staff were flustered and busy, it was easy to see that they were excited for the festivities as well.
As high king, Jaryn was given the right to preside over the wedding, and spent some time alone with Elas that morning, talking about marriage, life, and the future. He was amused to see the young water dragon so nervous and wondered if a swim might do him some good. Elas admitted, however, that if he went for a swim now there was a good chance he'd stay in the sea forever. Though Jaryn laughed, he understood and did his best to distract his soon to be brother-in-law with sips of dark beer.
All the way on the other side of the castle, Kenayde was the picture of calm. She sat perfectly still as her hair was braided and twisted, and set into place with jeweled combs and pins. Luella, Misuzu, and Nuala, as well as her ladies and her sister, were already dressed and ready for the ceremony, staying in the room to spend more time together talking and to watch as Kenayde was preparing. Her dress was a deep sapphire blue, the bodice and edges of her long swooping sleeves embroidered with beads and more jewels. When she was laced into it and stood to examine herself in the mirror, she smiled softly.
Ashlynn came up behind her and dropped a heavy necklace of diamonds and sapphires around her neck. The sisters were quiet as Ashlynn fastened the chain, and when she was finished, she laid her hands on Kenayde's shoulders, meeting her eyes in the mirror. “I know Mama would have wanted you to wear her necklace on your wedding day.”
Kenayde touched the jewels tenderly. “Papa gave this to her on their wedding night. It should be yours, Lynnie.”
Ashlynn kissed Kenayde's cheek. “Now it is yours.” She glanced over her shoulder, signaling Luella, Misuzu, and Nuala to draw close, helping to form a circle around Kenayde, each of them laying a hand upon her before bowing their heads and closing their eyes.