by Orr, Krystal
Before the attack, Bela'luin had been eager to march to war. She had argued with Talyn and been furious that her leader had not shared her viewpoints.
Now, she appeared solemn and full of remorse. Something haunted her and was carried in the wake of her steps.
"Do not be coy, Bela!" Talyn snapped.
Ever since hearing about Talliea and her powers, she had wondered about Arizira and her involvement. Why had Bela'luin not mentioned her? Surely, she had been present in the clearing? Why would Talliea be without her?
"Nai'iris--" Bela'luin started.
"Arizira! Where is she? You know as well as I that she would not be--"
Bela'luin interrupted Talyn. "Dead," she said simply.
Talyn faltered and took a step back. Her eyes searched Bela'luin's for a further truth, but found nothing that offered her any hope.
"Dead?" she whispered.
Bela nodded, unable to meet Talyn's gaze. "Yes."
Running a hand through her hair, Talyn shook her head and closed her eyes against the tears she could feel wishing to be free.
No...Arizira could not be dead! She was important. She was the Child of Whispers! Cynra had told her that Arizira's destiny was love. She was meant to love the Esu woman. Words from long ago came back to Talyn in an instant.
"Arizira's love is not some trifle. The kind of love she will experience will be unlike anything any one of us has ever felt. She will find the mate her spirit has searched for. This love will unlock the past and secure our future!"
If Arizira was dead, how was she to fulfill her destiny?
"Keep a close eye on your hunters, child. Anger always lets loose the first volley."
Cynra's last words of warning caused Talyn to look up sharply at Bela'luin. The young hunter still refused to meet her eyes and, instead, stared blankly ahead. Talyn became suddenly aware of Cynra's ill omen.
"What have you done?" she asked in a dark whisper. She rounded on Bela'luin in a flash.
"I-I..it was--i-it was an a-accident." Bela'luin's words were stuttered as she fumbled with how best to say them. Tears made her green eyes watery and blurred her vision while the muscles in her throat contracted.
"An accident? What was an accident?" Talyn question, her hand grabbing Bela'luin's chin and forcing their eyes to meet in an uncharacteristic display of strength.
"I only wished to help her, t-to free her from the bonds that held her prisoner to that w-woman."
Woman? The Esu woman Cynra spoke of? Arizira's spirit mate? Tayln knew that Bela'luin had discovered their relationship. It had been the cause for her later actions, though she had tried to deny that truth. What had happened? Had she found them? Tried to bring harm to the Esu woman? Had she been the one to kill Arizira?
Suddenly, Talyn could not stand to be so close to Bela'luin. She had been against the course of action the younger huntress had taken. She had been against her trying to divide Arizira and the dark skin, though she had been unable to express as such at the time. She backed away from the taller woman with a heavy breath.
"What did you do?" she asked again.
Bela'luin described, in detail, how she had come upon Arizira and the Esu woman. They had still been feet apart, but she had witnessed the look shared between the two. She had also noticed the enemy approaching from the opposite side of her location. She told Talyn of her thoughts and how she had only wished to 'cure' Arizira and release her from whatever sway the Esu held over her.
Talyn shook her head at the words. There was no spell. No power. No sway or anything of malcontent in Arizira's feelings. She was--had been--in love with the Esu woman.
"...but she moved and in the next moment..." Bela'luin's words cut into Talyn's thoughts, but quickly faded as soon as they reached her ears. She could not believe what she was hearing. There had been no need for Bela'luin's actions! Her mission was to find and detain any Esu settlers, not attempt to 'rescue' a woman who no longer loved her. How could Bela have been so impetuous?
"The Esu woman closed their distance and she and Arizira appeared to speak to one another. Fighting broke out. Our hunters engaged the Esu warriors, but it was obvious the Esu woman was everyone's target. We surrounded her and--"
"And then she unleashed this power you spoke of?" Talyn questioned, turning back to look into Bela'luin's eyes.
"Yes."
"Why?" Talyn asked.
Bela'luin paused, looking unsure and confused. "Why?" she questioned, not understanding Talyn.
"Why did you shoot at an unarmed woman who had done you no harm?"
The tall huntress opened her mouth to speak, but was quickly cut off as Talyn's voice continued to rise.
"Why did you decide to start a war based on feelings that long ago should have died! Why did you seek to take away Arizira's happiness by attempting to murder one she held so dear? It was not your place, Bela, nor was it our way! You have disgraced us all, cast a shadow over our honor and virtue! And for what? You have no idea what you have done! Arizira was important!"
Bela'luin took a step forward and spoke over Talyn. "I know that! She was important to me! It was not Arizira I fired upon! It was the Esu!"
Talyn closed the distance between herself and Bela'luin again. Her purple eyes were livid and her face was flushed. "Who are you to decide who lives and who dies? That woman is important to everyone!"
"Why? Who is she to be important to us?"
"She is Arizira's spirit mate! The Child of Whispers was fulfilling her destiny and you interfered! Anything ill that follows these events is on your shoulders, Bela! You have betrayed us all with your hate and your denial!"
Silence fell around the two women. Bela'luin shook her head slowly as she stared into Talyn's angry eyes. She could barely fathom the words she had just heard. Was she actually to believe that the day walker was some fabled great love of Arizira's? That was ludicrous.
The Doira'Liim was a child's tale. Nothing more. Even if it was true, there was no way some Esu savage could have any part in it.
And yet... Bela’luin had seen the way Arizira had looked at the woman. She had seen how they both had reacted upon seeing the other. If not for love, why else had the Esu woman reacted the way she had? She had not acted like a person whose spell had been shattered. She had not acted as if a person who had recently lost a slave or minion.
She had reacted as a person who was lost. Hurt. In pain. The Esu woman had been grieving when Arizira had died. Was it possible the two of them truly had been in love? Bela'luin knew very litte about spirit mates. The idea had always seemed more fanciful than useful to her. Was it possible the Esu woman's powers were the result of that connection?
She had stopped her own people as well as the Arnira. Though her display of power had been awe-inspiring to behold, Bela'luin had noticed that no harm had been done to anyone in the clearing. In fact, all the Esu woman had done was stop everything so that she could take Arizira away.
She could have killed everyone and everything present, yet she had not. Instead of killing Bela, like Bela had tried to kill her, the Esu woman had simply destroyed the arrow between them and walked away.
She had left to mourn, like a lover would.
Talyn watched as the reality of matters became known and understood for Bela'luin. Both of them knew very little when compared to what Cynra knew, but Talyn had always believed events were transpiring that were larger than she was.
She had not wished to be hasty like Bela'luin. Instead, she had chosen to believe that Arizira and her love would do what was needed and usher in whatever peace Cynra believed to be true. It was her faith in Cynra that Talyn followed, despite knowing so very little.
Bela'luin, on the other hand, had acted rashly and, as a result, possibly brought about events Cynra had not planned for. What would happen now? Was all-out war the only future left to them? Was bloodshed to be her legacy at the end of these days?
And Arizira, the woman who was like a daughter to Talyn, was dead, gone, her life end
ed. Would the Esu woman, wanting vengeance, seek her tribe out? Was death the only outcome to be had?
Talyn shook her head and stepped away from Bela'luin. She did not speak another word as her feet carried her out of Rae’kir and away from the damnation suddenly cast upon her people.
* * * * *
Talliea breathed easily as she lay by Arizira. The two of them were facing one another, Talliea with her back to the mouth of the cave. Her limbs were tangled with Arizira's and their bodies were pressed together. Talliea's right hand played with her love's silver-blonde hair, while her left was wrapped around Arizira's back, keeping her close.
Arizira's head was tucked underneath Talliea's chin and her arms and hands were, even in sleep, holding on tightly to the form of her love.
All was quiet as dusk slowly covered the land. A steady and light rain fell easily outside, while the sound of frogs and cicadas intermittently added their calls to the slowly forming symphony.
Talliea, eyes closed, brushed her lips across Arizira's forehead. The cloak tossed over them both barely concealed their modesty as more skin was showing than was covered. Talliea smiled and pressed Arizira closer to the warmth of her skin.
Her foot ran along Arizira's leg before wrapping around her ankle. It had been several hours since the two of them had made love. Sleep had followed them both easily as their bodies and minds had healed.
Now, Talliea found herself awake. Her mind was busy with activity.
Arizira was back with her. They were together, but for how long? Were their others looking for her? For Arizira? Cynra had spoken of some purpose Talliea had yet to play. What was that purpose? Why was it she who was important? If she took Arizira and ran away, would she be dooming both the Esu and the Arnira to further condemnation? Did it matter? Their battle was not her battle.
Arizira was all that mattered to her. Her and their baby. Were not they her only priorities? Would she be forsaking something important if she left both peoples to their own whims and desires?
She had nearly lost Arizira once already. She knew she could not live with that type of pain. It had been too much before. It had been heavy and all consuming and it had left her feeling empty and dead inside.
Talliea knew she could not live without Arizira. Yet, Cynra had told her that while one lived, the other lived. Did that mean she and Arizira were immortal? That they could not die unless by a natural means? Were that true, what did it mean for them? Did that same gift extend to their unborn child? Talliea could gamble with her own life, but not with the innocent child growing inside Arizira.
At all costs, she knew she had to protect the baby.
The baby. Talliea smiled. She had never really pictured herself as a mother. A part of her had always wanted children, though. She had desired something in her life to be meaningful and important, and what other endeavor could prove more meaningful than nurturing new life?
But, she was Esu and when she had thought of her possible future children, it had been tempered with a harsh reality.
If she had a boy, he would grow to view her, his mother, as any other woman in the clan. He would adopt Esu ideals and learn that disrespecting women was what was expected of him. If she had a girl, that girl would know the loneliness Talliea had always felt. She would know how unimportant she was to others. She would know restrictions and unseen chains.
What happiness was there for those children?
Now, however, Talliea was having a baby; a girl, according to Arizira, and there was nothing else that made her happier. Their child would be free. She would not know the kind of life Talliea had known. She would not be held down or held back by anyone. Their child would know the world they showed her, as it should be.
For the first time in her life, the idea of a baby made Talliea immensely happy and overjoyed. It was with that thought, that she knew she could not be whatever Cynra and Taetylona wanted her to be. She needed to get Arizira away from danger so that their daughter could have a chance to live a happy and peaceful life.
"What thoughts burden your mind, failira?"
Arizira's sleepy, yet beautiful, voice interrupted Talliea's overwrought thoughts. She felt soft, small, hands begin to move across her ribs and the simple gesture helped to ease her anxiety.
"Nothing, love. Go back to sleep. You need rest."
Arizira pressed a kiss to Talliea's throat before moving back slightly so she could gaze into her eyes. Her hands moved and brushed across a tanned sternum.
"Do not lie, Tah-li. I can feel that something troubles you."
Talliea smirked. She dipped her head down to kiss Arizira's lips. There was no point in prolonging the inevitable she supposed. Besides, it wasn't like she could actually keep anything away from the smaller woman; nor would she ever want to.
Sighing, but keeping Arizira close to her, Talliea finally spoke. "I think we need to move, Ari. We need to place distance between ourselves and the hatred spilling out across this land."
Arizira pulled back and regarded Talliea with disbelieving eyes. "Leave?"
"Yes, it is for the best."
"For whom?" Arizira questioned.
"For us. For our baby. I can not suffer any harm coming to either of you. I need to protect you both, love. Do you not see?"
Arizira shook her head. Though she wished for no part in the battle between the Esu and the Arnira, she did not think she could just walk away from her people like Talliea was proposing. She had friends she would miss. What would Sed'dya think if she never returned? Talyn? M'kesei?
No, she had a responsibility to her tribe, to her people. She was sworn to protect them even from themselves. There had to be an alternative. "I can not, Tah-li," she whispered slowly after a time. "I can not walk away from my people."
Talliea shook her and looked down into Arizira's glowing eyes. "Your people walked away from you! It was one of your own that… th-that..." Talliea closed her eyes as she struggled to complete her sentence. "It was Bela'luin that nearly took you from me, Ari."
Arizira sighed as her eyes dropped. She knew it had been Bela'luin's arrow that had slowly begun to claim her life days before. Even still, matters were vague and uncertain and a fair amount of confusion and misconception was clouding both peoples' realities. Arizira still felt a sense of duty to her people. She could not walk away while both her people and Talliea's brought one another to annihilation.
Her left hand fell from Talliea's chest and moved to settle on her own stomach. Her connection with her baby had only increased since bonding with Talliea. She could feel the life inside of her more vividly now than ever before. The same sense of protection that had come over her when Bela'luin had attacked the Esu men came over her suddenly.
Perhaps Talliea was correct. She could not risk her life by fighting in a war when she did not even know whose side she was supposed to be on. But, she needed to do something. It was not in her nature to shirk her responsibilities or to walk away. What would she tell her daughter when the repercussions of present events rippled into the future? What example would she be setting?
A hand landed on top of her own and helped to settle her mind. She looked back up into Talliea's deep and dark eyes and could not help the smile that appeared on her face.
"We do not have to decide now, love," Talliea whispered, her hand smoothing over the soft skin of Ariziria's abdomen. "Just know that I will always choose you. You are what matters to me. There are no other ties that hold me to any one place. All I know is that I have to protect you."
Arizira nodded. "And I have to protect you, failira, but I can not walk away from something that will impact so many. Peace can still be achieved so long as there are those who desire it."
Smiling, Talliea pressed forward to kiss Arizira again. "I suppose you are correct, but I will not allow anything to happen to you or to our baby. Whatever we decide to do, we shall do so together."
"Always," Arizira replied before snuggling a bit closer to Talliea. The rain outside picked up and night lar
ks added their calls to the music being created. Darkness grew.
Talliea continued rubbing small circles on Arizira's stomach. She was overcome with a powerful emotion the longer she did so. "Ari?"
There was a brief pause.
"Hm?"
"How is it that I feel her as you do?" Talliea asked in regard to their child.
Arizira smiled and kissed Talliea's neck again before answering. "Because you are a part of her."
Talliea said nothing for a time. The easy peace around herself and Arizira continued to grow.
"This is not the same for the men of the Esu?" Arizira asked, breaking the silence. "They do not feel the life of their children?"
"No," Talliea replied. The foot she had earlier wrapped around Arizira's ankle moved. It slowly glided over calf and knee before being tossed, leg and all, over Arizira's thigh. Talliea placed small kisses across Arizira's forehead and nose.
"Then that is a sorrow, Tah-li. You shared yourself with me when we bonded. It is only natural that you should share in our baby's growth. I carry her, nurture her, and share my life force with her, but you will experience everything that I do. When she kicks, you will know. When she moves, you shall feel it. When she sleeps, you will know peace. It was not only my doing that gave her life, but yours also. You will share this experience with me, as we have shared everything else."
Talliea's smile grew bright and happy and, for a moment, she was able to forget about all the bad taking place in the world around her. She was able to think about her family, a concept she had never fully understood. Her hand stilled in its movements and she allowed herself to just feel the life inside of Arizira. It was magic.
"This will take place even with her being more Esu than Arnira?"
Arizira shrugged slightly. "I can not say, but you feel her now so I can only assume."
Another silence.
Arizira entwined her fingers with Talliea's over her tummy and scooted closer to the warmth of her body. She pressed her cheek against Talliea's chest and over her heart, and contented herself with falling asleep to the sound of her heartbeat.