by Orr, Krystal
Exhaling, body still crouched low to the ground, Arizira opened her senses fully and allowed the more feral part of herself to take over. Behind her, she heard Talliea shift in her sleep. Her eyes found the form of her love in the dark and, again, a strong desire to keep any harm from her clouded her mind.
Movement.
There was movement in the forest. Arizira's head whipped back around to the landscape just outside the cave and paused. Whatever she had seen had been in her peripheral vision. Straightening her back, she sat by the cave mouth and listened. Her eyes tracked every slight shift that happened before her. She could smell the scent of pine and oak and sage and honeysuckle.
And…
…something else.
Something...alive, yet not a beast nor plant.
Slipping one sabre into the leather at her hip, Arizira slowly left the cave and ventured outside. She was as silent as a single leaf falling to the forest floor as she crawled further out.
Another sound. Closer.
Arizira cocked her head to the side. Her sense of smell alerted her to something nearby. The scent of leather.
Again, Arizira's heart raced. She was torn between returning to the cave and informing the others, and doing her duty and protecting those she loved. With her free hand, she placed her palm on her lower stomach and tried to calm her breathing. Did she return and, in effect, protect her baby, or did she continue on?
A twig snapped nearby. The sound of an exhalation was cut off before it ever truly came to life. Then, all was quiet. Deathly quiet.
Arizira knew, suddenly, that there were people close at hand. How many, not even her skilled hearing could predict. All she knew was that someone was drawing close to her position, someone who could threaten Talliea while she slept. Arizira’s mind did not allow her to think about Talliea’s newfound powers and her ability to now protect herself. All she could think upon was some harm coming to those she loved.
Her sense of duty and protection overrode any new information she had recently obtained.
The decision was made quickly. Arizira grabbed her second sabre and stood up. She moved across the forest, through the grass and underbrush without a sound, and headed toward the rustling she'd heard from before.
The smell of leather became more intense. Leather and...something else. Something pleasing and calming. Arizira tightened her grip on her blades. Her pace quickened as she began to run. Faster and faster she moved. A rock jutted up in the path before her. Without pause, she ran atop it and leaped onto a lower-hanging thick branch on a nearby tree.
She paused.
Her senses were vivid with the information she was gathering. The sounds of movement came again and she knew whoever was about in the forest was soon to be right below her. Flipping her blades along the insides of her forearms, Arizira lowered herself into a squat as she looked down from the tree branch she was perched in. The leaves were heavy and green and, with the darkness, offered her sufficient cover.
Two forms suddenly came into her line of sight. One she recognized, the other she did not. They were both Esu. One a man. The other a female.
A strange female.
She moved with far more certain steps than the man. Where her footfalls met the earth, hardly a sound was made. Arizira was impressed. The man, however, was heavy-footed. With the pitch darkness around him, his steps were loud and clumsy. Arizira watched him open his mouth to say something, but the woman held up a hand. A small sliver of moonlight lit up the area where the two Esu stood.
The man, using the light the moon provided, saw the gesture of the female and stopped. He sighed and looked around him, though Arizira suspected his eyesight afforded him very little. What was he doing here? Who was the woman? And why did the man appear to be taking orders from her?
Arizira's heart pounded in her ears.
The woman was looking up at the trees with a knowing light in her brown eyes. Arizira watched her, her head cocked to the side in a curious manner. There was something about the woman. Something...familiar. Something welcome. The woman's dark hair was pulled into a single braid that fell down her back and she was tall and sturdy of build. She was dressed in traveling leathers with heavy boots and a burlap bag across her shoulder. Apart from a mace and dagger that hung at her sides, she appeared to carry no other weapons.
The woman looked back at the man and nodded. He looked around, for all the good it did him, and slowly moved in front of the woman and continued walking. Arizira tracked his movements until he was out of sight, then returned her attention to the Esu woman.
Something in the woman's mannerisms fascinated Arizira. She felt as if she knew the woman, but that was absurd. Apart from Talliea and Taetylona, she had met no other Esu women. Yet, Arizira could not shake the feeling inside of her that seemed to be pushing her toward the stranger so near. The woman's face was so familiar...
The moon above became a shadow as distant clouds passed over it. Darkness covered the area the woman was standing in. Arizira gripped her sabres again an adjusted her feet on the branch, poised to attack if the situation arose.
A blinding light suddenly appeared by a few trees next to Arizira. The radiant flash caused Arizira to jump, but still she remained hidden. Her sense of alarm rose. Did the Esu know she was nearby? Were they attempting to flush her out? Arizira looked down and realized that the woman was not the one causing the light.
Another flash lit up the nighttime sky. This time, it was closer to her. Arizira deduced that the man must have been the one making the sheets of light. Her eyes remained on the woman as her survival instinct kicked in. She could not remain where she was and wait to be revealed.
A third flash of light colored the tree she was in and, as it did, Arizira jumped. Her knees were drawn up close to her body while her blades stayed tucked along the inside of her arms. The woman turned around and looked up right as Arizira landed behind her. Twin sabres swung into Arizira’s hands. Another flash lit up the sky. The woman looked with wide eyes at Aizira, but was unable to do anything else.
Sharp blades whistled against the wind as Arizira waved them at the woman. She was not trying to harm the Esu woman, just get her to understand the threat she represented. Darkness fell again as the light from before once again faded. A mace appeared in the woman's hand.
Another flash came, coupled with the sound of feet moving closer.
Arizira heard the man's approach and knew she would soon have two opponents to deal with instead of one. She could not understand why the man was here or what his intentions were. All she knew was that she had been flushed out of her hiding place and had to keep Talliea and the others safe.
Eyes returning to the woman, Arizira bared her teeth and hissed a warning. Her blades twirled between her fingers in a deft motion. The clouds above moved in the sky and the moon's light once again flooded the small area. Arizira charged at the woman. The blade in her right hand jabbed quickly in an attempt to disarm her opponent. To her surprise, the Esu woman deflected it and jumped back.
Arizira cocked her head to the side in approval and lowered herself toward the ground. She flipped her other blade in her hand and thrust the handle at the woman's side, again in an attempt to disarm her. The woman barely moved out of the way in time to dodge the attack.
Her eyes were wide again as she regarded her attacker. There was something about her. The way she cocked her head to the side...
D'jiira stopped suddenly and dropped her mace to the ground.
The Arniran woman, crouched in front of her, hissed again and turned her head. She watched every movement D'jiira made, but did not attempt another strike.
D'jiira held her hands above her head and crossed her arms at the wrists. She walked toward the small Arnian woman and stopped a few paces away. The woman's face was one of confusion and curiosity.
"Tai kha'vires feia h‘niz‘rah," D'jiira said in Arniran. Her words told Arizira that she knew her gesture of peace was understood.
Arizira releas
ed her grip on her blades before placing them at her sides. She remained on alert and from her face, D'jiira could see that she was at a loss as to how an Esu knew her language and customs.
D'jiira smiled when the woman lowered her head and stood up, keeping her weapons on the ground. The act was a return gesture. She was letting D'jiira know she accepted her offering of peace and goodwill.
No longer needing to defend herself, D'jiira allowed her eyes to completely take in the features of the younger woman. Her hair was silver with traces of...blonde? and her eyes, though glowing brightly, were obviously blue. She had a straight nose with a perfectly shaped mouth and high cheek bones. Tapered ears peeked past long strands of hair. D'jiira studied every inch of the woman's face. She watched her every time she cocked her head or raised an eyebrow.
Instantly, she knew the woman before her was her daughter. Not only did she look like D'jiira, but the bond she had felt when Arizira had been born, the bond she had tried to ignore for twenty-seven years, was drawing her toward this one woman. There was a connection that could not be denied.
This woman was her daughter. This woman was Arizira and she was beautiful.
D'jiira let out a choked laugh. Her face contorted as she tried, in vain, to keep her emotions in check. Arizira turned her head again in that endearing way and watched her with a furrowed brow. The sound of movement signaled Markahn's arrival a moment later. The tall man entered the clearing and paused at the sight that greeted him.
Arizira lowered her body into a defensive position and narrowed her eyes.
"It is okay. We will not harm you," D'jiira said in Arniran.
Arizira looked around for a means of escape. Her mind was cluttered with questions. She needed to return to Talliea and tell the others about this encounter. She needed to get away before any harm befell her unborn child.
"Arizira?"
Arizira turned back to look at the woman, eyes alert. "How do you know my name?" she asked quickly. D'jiira smiled. A few heavy tears slipped down her cheeks as she shook her head.
"How is it that you lead a man being a woman? That you wear clothing befitting a warrior? How is it that you know my words and my people's customs?"
Arizira's questions were plentiful as they left her mouth. She found herself wishing Talliea or Cynra or Taetylona were present. The man, Markahn, was eying her with something unknown in his gaze and made her uncomfortable.
"I can answer all of your questions," D'jiira responded, "once we are safe and out of this open space."
Arizira swallowed nervously. Could she trust this woman? Something in her was demanding that she do so, something strong and powerful and primal, but still she was hesitant.
"Who are you?" she asked.
D'jiira opened her mouth to answer when another voice interrupted. An older voice. A new voice.
"D'jiira? It has been many moon seasons, my dear friend."
Arizira, D'jiira, and Markahn all turned toward the sound of the voice. Standing along the edge of the trees was Cynra, Taetylona, and Talliea.
"Cynra?" D'jiira asked in a shaky breath as she dipped her head. "Leyaja."
Chapter 21: The Turn of Years
"Leyaja"
Cynra smiled, slightly misty-eyed, as she beheld a sight she thought long gone from the world of happenstance and chance.
"It has been long since I was called such," she said and her voice wavered on a heavy breath.
D'jiira smiled, her dark face easily seen by Cynra's sharp eyes, and exhaled shakily.
Leyaja was a word much like Aldis or Ahmanae in that it, too, was from D'jiira's dialect of Esulan. Literally, it translated as 'mother of my love', but most commonly its definition was mother-in-law.
Even after nearly thirty years, D'jiira's respect for the mother of Iolirthas had not lessened; much like her feelings for the woman who had carried the child she knew stood just paces behind her. The moon above shined down upon the small gathering of six and offered its light. Cynra stepped away from Taetylona and Talliea with her arms spread wide toward D'jiira. The Esu woman practically fell into her arms, so happy she was to finally be at an end to her journey.
Around the two of them, several pairs of eyes darted from one person to another. Taetylona looked upon Markahn with distaste while Markahn's surreptitious gaze continually sought out Talliea. For her part, Talliea only had concern for Arizira. She knew who D'jiira was. She knew how badly, despite Arizira never having said so, her love desired to know one of her parents. Now, the woman who had left Arizira in the care of her grandmother was here, in the present, her face no longer a ghost.
Her life no longer in the past.
Talliea watched Arizira, whose chest was still rising heavily from the excitement she'd so recently found herself in, and felt her heart spasm. Silver-blue eyes were lined with unshed tears and were wide with disbelief and...something else. Arizira's throat could be seen tightening painfully in an attempt to keep her emotions in check. Her attention never wavered from D'jiira's form.
"Why are you here after all this time, D'jiira? These are dark days you walk into."
Cynra's voice brought everyone back to themselves and to the situation currently at hand.
D'jiira, pulling herself away from Cynra's embrace, shook her head to herself and looked down at her hands. "I have ha--"
Her words died in her throat from a soft whisper behind her, a barely uttered name carried on the breath of one whose heart could not express what the spirit so desperately felt.
"Lana?"
D'jiira turned around at the name falling from her daughter's lips. Lana meant 'mother' in Arniran. Arizira's eyes, so silver and blue, were watery with tears she still refused to allow a release. Her bottom lip trembled and her hands were in fists at her sides. D'jiira exhaled sharply, a timid smile coloring her features.
She had never thought to hear any variation of mother from the woman standing not five feet away from her. The knowledge that Arizira knew her, knew who she was, was the sweetest and most dear news D'jiira had ever received.
Facing Arizira fully, she cleared her throat which was suddenly thick. "You know who I am?" she asked roughly.
A barely perceptible flicker around Arizira's eyes caught D'jiira's attention. Behind her, she heard movement.
"Ahmanae?"
The voice was full and rich and...pained. D'jiira surmised it to belong to the younger Esu woman she had seen standing near to Cynra.
Talliea, the woman her daughter was in love with.
Another voice broke the silence. It was Cynra. "No, child. You can not help her in this. Leave her be."
D'jiira's attention returned to Arizira. Again, her throat was nearly painful in how it gripped her emotions. She took a small step forward and re-asked her earlier question. "You know who I am?"
Instead of answering, Arizira took a step toward her. Then another and another until she was face to face with D'jiira. D'jiira's eyes were taking in every nuance of Arizira's face. She noted the way she walked and moved and the way her own eyes seemed unable to stray from D'jiira's face.
Hands moved and a moment later, D'jiira felt them on her face, tracing over the contours and the lines and she smiled. She remembered that Arnira used touch as a way of learning about the world around them. Arizira's fingers smoothed over her cheekbones and down her jaw. Tears still lined her mesmerizing eyes.
"I know this face," she whispered, her gaze unfocused. "I know your face. It is like my own."
D'jiira, overcome with so many conflicting emotions, found she could do nothing but stare at her child who was no longer a child, but who would forever be her baby. The innocent baby she had been forced to leave behind because the world, at the time, never would have accepted her.
Smiling, tears staining her cheeks, D'jiira reached up and placed her hands around Arizira's wrists. Her daughter moved her hands down and ran them across her neck, every action painting a picture in her mind of who D'jiira was.
"I know your face," Arizi
ra whispered brokenly, her tears finally falling.
Upon hearing the emotion evident in Arizira's voice, D'jiira's resolve faltered and her face contorted painfully.
"I am so sorry," she said, her hands moving to land on her daughter's shoulders. "I left you and I should not have." She did not know how much Arizira knew about her or the circumstances surrounding her departure. She did not know what Cynra had told her or even if she had told her anything. The bond between an Arniran and her child was said to be powerful, unable to be broken, but able to transcend distance and space.
D'jiira was no Arniran, but she had been in love with one and that love had made possible Arizira's conception. She knew that bond between mother and child extended to her just as strongly as if she were Arnira herself. Had Arizira known D'jiira was her mother because of their bond or because Cynra had told her?
As she looked into Arizira's face, a face that looked so much like her own, she decided it did not matter how Arizira knew she was her mother. All that mattered was that the two of them were finally together. She now had a chance to say all the things she needed to say.
"I have thought of you everyday of every year. Always you have been a part of my thoughts. I prayed I had done the right thing, that my actions had aided you instead of harming you."
Arizira shook her head, tears continuing to fall from her silver eyes. She bit her bottom lip while her fingers explored D'jiira's nose and chin. Before she could speak, her mother's voice came to her again.
"Can you forgive me? Please...please. Tell me you forgive my actions, my decisions."
As if a dam had been breached, every emotion D'jiira had been carrying within her for twenty-seven years finally flooded to the surface of her being. Her hold on Arizira's shoulders became frantic and her tears grew more forceful. Twenty-seven years ago, she had been only a few years younger than Arizira was now. She had been in love and amazed at the magic that existed in the world.