Through her, I could feel they were onto us. She was able to sense their presence, despite not actually seeing them yet. They were close on our heels, staying hidden in the shadows and foliage. They chased us mercilessly. We darted in and out of trees as her hooves pounded into the hearty soil below. I held onto her and tried to look behind us, but I couldn’t see anything. Were they playing with us?
Lissë galloped rhythmically and with litheness, pouring all her strength and quickness in her step. But it wasn’t enough. We had been surrounded from the beginning, and whoever was after us ran with the same haste and grace. We were fast, but they were just as fast.
Closing my eyes, I tried to gather some sort of aid from the land to use against them, but it would not come to me. My eyes popped open in shock. I tried again, extending my hand outward with my palm down, reaching for energy. I pulled with fierceness, begging for assistance. It felt like I was tugging on a taut elastic band with no more give. Come on! Nothing I did worked.
An arrow whizzed past my head, just centimeters from my ear, and stuck in a tree in front of us with a loud bang. Oh, crap. Again, I turned around to see where they were, but nothing was there. Where were these devils hiding?
The wind rushed through my long hair, blowing it in front of my eyes and blocking my view. I looked ahead to clear my vision, and that was when I finally saw them. They broke from their hiding places and finally made themselves visible.
Lissë was forced to skid to a stand-still, stopping right before their blockade. A strange voice demanded, “Stay where you are.”
From this proximity, I was able to recognize them. They were my kin! An army from Lassaira—my kingdom of Tavas’Elda.
“Guys! It’s me—Nariella Woodlinn,” I blurted out, regretting it the instant the words bounced off my tongue. I slapped a hand over my mouth, remembering my grandfather telling me to never use my name. How could I be so stupid?
“We know very well who you are. We have been searching for you. Leave your beast and we shall let you both live. Resist, and we shall consider it as your submission to death. You and your Fëa.” The tall elf lifted his readied-bow and aimed it directly at my forehead. Or maybe he aimed right between my eyes. Apparently, it didn’t matter that I gave my name, because they already knew who I was, and despite my battling on their side just days ago, I seemed to be in trouble. What did I do now? Didn’t the Lassaira army risk their lives to save me from Ohtar? Before that, didn’t they at least try and save me from Sarqua’s custody?
I had thought they were on my side, the same way I was on theirs. I considered them my kin—my people. I killed Night Elves, who were also my kin, in the service of protecting the Wood Elves. What was going on?
The entire fleet of them raised their waiting arrows in our direction when I didn’t move. Slowly, I did as they commanded and climbed off Lissë’s back. My feet touched the ground on shaky legs. I didn’t like this. Something felt off and terribly, horribly wrong. My eyes circled the space, taking in each of the ethereal Wood Elves that surrounded us. Their hair ranged in color from the whitest blond to a chestnut brown. Nothing darker than that was found among them. Dressed in simple earthy colors of brown and green, their garb was light and wood-like.
“Why are you doing this?” I asked, my feelings hurt by their abrasive treatment. “I thought we were on the same side.”
“You were wrong,” the leader announced. Several of them stormed over and took my arms behind my back, binding my wrists. Lissë reared up, neighing and snorting in distress.
“Hey! You don’t have to do that,” I let them know. Really, I wanted my hands free in case I could try commanding the elements again. They pushed me forward at the same time they slung a rope around Lissë’s neck, pulling her after my guards and me. Several elves walked around at my sides, not letting me even look behind at her to see if she was okay. Not that I actually needed to see, since I could feel her. But it was out of habit to want to look with my eyes, too.
“Yes, we do have to. You are under arrest by order of King Aglar, Lord and Sovereign of Lassaira,” the captain informed me.
“On what charge?” Shoot. This was exactly what my grandfather warned me about. I was in serious trouble. “Will you just listen for a second? Remember when you came to my rescue when Ohtar had me imprisoned in Aselaira? You called me a princess. Is this how you treat the princess of your kingdom?”
Maybe if I reasoned with them, they’d see the light and let me go. But they only scoffed. “That was prior to our learning of your true nature. We had been deceived by Lord Döron to believe you were of someone with purity and importance.”
“What are you talking about?” I didn’t get any of this at all. My heart pounded wildly against my ribcage. We crept through the forest in the direction I assumed would be the castle of Lassaira. “Please explain.”
“When King Aglar learned of our battle against Aselaira in attempt to rescue you from execution, it was made known to him who you truly were. His Lordship Döron had assembled the army without King Aglar’s knowledge; however, we had not known this. We had trusted Lord Döron and followed him blindly into war.” The brown-haired commander continued walking as he talked, never even turning his head to look in my direction as I was forced along at his back.
“Okay? But you don’t really believe I’m someone who should be arrested, do you? I mean, why are you taking King Aglar’s side? I’ve done nothing wrong. You should just let me go, and then we can pretend none of this happened.” While I droned on, knowing they’d never let me go, I did my best to pull from the land. If I could get any sort of elements in my control, I might’ve had a way to get out of this.
“Do not insult us, you vile creature,” he bit out menacingly. My eyes snapped to the back of his head, taken by surprise at his meanness. What did I ever do to him? Except maybe risk my life to save his. I didn’t know that for sure, but I battled along this army with all I had in me. I even exposed Mycah’s plan against Ohtar for these people. And this was how they treated me? “King Aglar informed us of your true origin. You, Nariella Ashwyn Woodlinn, are an abomination, deserving of nothing except death.”
My feet stopped moving automatically. I was a what? An abomination? How?
“Keep moving,” a solider ordered, pushing me forward.
“I’m not an abomination,” I shouted, feeling betrayed and torn up. “I’m one of you. I fought alongside you and protected you. I would’ve died defending you. How can you say this?”
“You are most certainly not one of us. You have Isil blood running through you, halfbreed. That makes you our enemy. You are living proof of our queen’s treachery. Her betrayal cannot be forgiven, and you shall never be accepted with sullied blood pumping through your heart. It is sick, what you are.” He turned then and spit at my feet.
My eyes grew wide in astonishment. I couldn’t believe what I heard. I was warned about King Aglar wanting me dead if he knew I lived despite his order of my execution as a baby, but the entire kingdom, too? I hadn't been told of this before. It all hit me at once like a ton of bricks sliding off the back of a dump truck. My heart grew incredibly heavy from the weight.
“You’re blaming me for what my parents did? You’re punishing me for them falling in love? I can’t help that! I didn’t ask to be born—”
“Silence!” the leader interrupted me. “We will not listen to your filth. Do not speak another word. Once we reach King Aglar, perhaps you may speak again, if he were to allow it. Until then, I will have silence from you.”
I clenched my jaw and my hands into fists. I kept trying to draw strength from the realm, but nothing was happening. I willed for the ground to rumble, or the trees to lash out and throw them around, or the wind to suck them up in a tornado. Anything to get me out of this mess. Why wasn’t it working?
Wait, could it possibly be that I couldn’t use Lassaira against her own people? Mycah’s words from the other day echoed in my mind. “My abilities have no effect on most of my
kin.”
Then I recalled the way I couldn’t connect with Aselaira to use against the Isil soldiers. It was the same with Lassaira. This land gives me aid when I needed it, especially when Night Elves were encroaching on the kingdom, but never to use in opposition of its own people. Lassaira would not harm the Tavas’Elda.
I was out of ideas and most definitely hope. We marched continuously over hills and streams, through forests and wide-open meadows. My mind was a bustling cloud of thoughts and doubts. I could feel the comfort Lissë was trying to pour into me. It didn’t help much, but I was at least thankful to have her near me. It meant I wasn’t alone.
Even though the elf-leader had ordered me to keep silent, I couldn’t help saying, “You were right to trust Döron.” When he turned around to reprimand me for breaking his rule, I quickly added, “Just wait! I’m sorry for speaking, but you have to hear me out. I’m a good person. I grew up in the Earthly realm, with no knowledge of who I truly was and where I came from. I had never heard of Luïnil, the Tavas’Elda, or the Isil’Elda. This is all new to me. I wasn’t raised to believe in this war, or that any one race of people were my enemies. I’m genuinely innocent in this entire thing!”
“It matters not. It is forbidden for our two races to mix. Your very existence is treason. Entering our sacred Ëlemmiire to pass into the Earthly realm was treason. As I said, you are an abomination to our people.” His words stung my heart like bitter icicles. I couldn’t bear to be ostracized from Lassaira—the place I thought of as my true home. It didn’t matter that I didn’t grow up there. When I had stepped through that beautiful gate for the first time and witnessed the marvelous wooden city, I knew I had found home. It was where I had always belonged, and now that I was being told the opposite, it pained my insides like a kick to the heart.
Gradually the sun left the sky, blanketing us in darkness. My feet moved slower and heavier with each step in protest of returning to the castle. The unknown of what would happen once we got there sent pangs of anxiety pounding in my chest. Would the people surround me while yelling obscenities at me? Were they going to stone me? Throw rotten food at me? Okay, that might’ve been scenes from old medieval movies I had watched sometime in the past, but that was all I could envision at the moment.
The idea to send Lissë escaping with the intent to find Rydan or Mycah crossed my mind, but I quickly dismissed it. If she had the ability to break free from their restraint, I knew they’d shoot her with an arrow in an instant. Wood Elves were skilled archers most of all, the way Night Elves were skilled with the sword. And I could not possibly bear the torment of losing my Fëa. Our souls were bonded together, and I didn’t need her to die to know that it would be utter misery for me. Same for her if I were to die. So I couldn’t risk the Wood Elves’ wrath. Not when it involved her.
As we approached the alabaster fortress, a new wave of terror washed over me. I didn’t want to face King Aglar, and I definitely didn’t want to die. From this distance, I could already see the magical forest that the city was nestled into sparkling in the moonlight.
“Please,” I began to beg the lofty leader, “please don’t do this. I’m sorry for my parents’ act of treason. But you can’t bring me to King Aglar! I need to live. I have people depending on my survival. I know you may not care about that, but if you could only understand that I live my life the best way that I can. I don’t want to hurt people, I want to help them. I’m a Healer. I could be useful.”
“A Healer? Is this true?” one of them asked in surprise.
“Yes, it’s true,” I replied proudly. “I don’t think of you as my enemies. I don’t feel connected to the Isil people the way I do with you. In my heart, I know you’re my kin. I can feel it whole-heartedly that we’re friends, not foes. Please, I beg of you, don’t do this.”
“You may beg all you want, nadorhuan,” the captain of the guard snickered. “It will not save you. We are here.”
There we stood in front of the ivy-clad archway that led into the castle of Lassaira. Unlike the first time I stopped here with my breath held in awe of the city’s beauty, I did not find pleasure in this moment one tiny bit. Saying a quick prayer, I asked for strength and bravery, which were the top things I struggled with on a daily basis. My foster father Ray turned me into a shy coward, but I would be the one to rise above it in the end. It was solely up to me, and no one else, to not let my past dictate the type of person I was today.
Chapter Eight
~Naminé~
Hours had slugged by, and I was beginning to grow concerned. Had they discovered Ender was something other than human? Was he still alive? I had been forced to wait alone in an area with chairs and a machine that could talk as it displayed fuzzy pictures. A few humans had joined me here and there, but we did not speak to each other. My nerves were uncontrollable as I fearfully waited for something to turn horribly wrong.
Eventually, a woman wearing light blue clothing and a long, white outer-covering walked into the space. “You’re the daughter of E. Nightly?”
I abruptly stood. “Yes.”
“Hello, I’m Doctor Vicky. I oversaw your father’s surgery. You can come with me.” And so I did. The woman spoke as I followed her closely. “Your father’s a lucky man. It was only a flesh wound, so thankfully no vital organs had been hit or even grazed. It was a miracle, really. The bullet had penetrated his torso just so. Less than a millimeter in any direction and he’d probably be dead.”
There was no stopping the gasp that left my lungs, and I covered my mouth to contain my surprise. I did not understand what that weapon had been, but clearly, it was something to fear.
She continued, “Don’t worry, he’s fine now. We extracted the bullet that had lodged itself into some fatty tissue. One thing though—he refused a blood transfusion, despite losing a frightening amount of blood. He seems to be doing okay without it, but you might want to try and convince him to change his mind. We’re still waiting on the new test results from the third sample of blood we took from him. For some reason, our tests keep coming back with errors.”
“Can I see him?” I jumped into the discussion, my stomach clenching in fear. I sensed that the problem with his blood was elda related. I have learned from my studies that elf DNA was far different from human DNA. Would they have a way of discovering this? I felt quite sick and infinitely more nervous; yet, she did not mention anything more specifically.
The doctor stopped in front of a closed door. “Right in there. I’ll be back to check on him.”
“Thank you.” I entered the room once she had walked away to find Ender lying on a bed with several machines surrounding him. “Ender, are you all right?”
“I will be, yes. We must leave after tonight. I have had to manipulate their minds several times since we arrived, and it is not an action I revel in doing,” he said in a hushed whisper.
“After tonight? Will you be recovered by then?” A weight had been lifted from my chest. Ender must have been keeping our secret from being discovered somehow. If he were to keep it up, we may be in the clear after all. I sat in a chair contained in the corner of the room.
“Yes, one night in the care of humans is perfectly acceptable. I only needed the bullet removed and the wound cleaned. We elves are quite strong and do not need great care to heal, whereas humans are much more delicate in this regard.”
“And will they allow you to leave so soon?”
“As I said, I may need to compel them to do so, but we have no other choice. Human minds are weak and easy to manipulate, and yet, I would rather not continue to perform such abrasive means to keep suspicion off us. Currently, they are labeling the strangeness of my blood as mechanical mishaps. However, as you should already be aware, that is certainly not the case. They will never receive the results they are looking for in any sample of blood they extract from me, and soon they will begin to question what the truth really is. Do not fear, there is no reason to believe they could ever suspect what we actually are, but let’s n
ot give them the chance to ponder it.”
“Tomorrow then.” I forced a smile, though I did not feel at ease here.
As the day turned to night, Ender was given food that he had shared with me, for we did not have currency to gather a separate meal for me to consume on my own. The humans allowed me to sleep in the same room, as they believed I was his only daughter.
The next day, I thought over how I had no knowledge or understanding of how to fill out the paperwork they had entrusted to me on the previous day, and it had almost caused a hiccup. They had let Ender finish what they needed to know, and now I had grown curious on how he answered the strange questions.
“Ender, how were you able to answer that paperwork yesterday?” I waited to inquire once we were alone again. My curiosity ran high. As he had planned, the doctor also agreed to allow him to stay over only one night. We would be leaving later today.
“It was quite easy, my dear. What convinced the doctors to at least provide some care to me was the fact that I had set up an identity known as E. Nightly from when I had been here in the Earthly realm prior to this. Of course, the humans in control of this hospital and my aid are unaware of this fact. They believe I was born as E. Nightly in London, England, thirty-five-years ago. I was able to answer most of the questions required because, to them, I am legally a human in their society. And I did not need to do much mind-convincing to allow me only one night’s stay, for apparently you are required to have what they referred to as health insurance.”
“Health…insurance? I do not understand what that is to mean,” I responded in a low voice, scratching my head.
“Neither do I. It would be stating the obvious to say I have nothing of the sort. They advised that I would be billed for this particular treatment at a later date. I used the London mailing address as my place of residence. Let us hope Remycah has kept that location in his name.”
“Is there anything you need me to do, then?”
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