“Thanks, Tgfhi,” Rhen told him. “I’ll wear them forever.”
Tgfhi lifted his little chin and beamed with pleasure.
--
As the days passed, the Thestran Royal Family and Elfin Royals adhered to their plan, following Rhen everywhere. They attended his classes, sat with him during his meals, tagged along behind him when he went to the library, out for a stroll or even to the bathroom. They dogged his every step. They were desperate to connect with him. They worked on Ceceta too, asking her thousands of questions which she always found some way not to answer.
The only time, when Rhen and Ceceta could be alone with their friends, was during their study sessions in their apartment. Rhen had asked the Thestran Royals not to attend those meetings, since their presence would distract them from their studying. Charlie still showed up occasionally, but he was often drunk or he fell asleep on Rhen’s bed or he’d throw up in Rhen’s toilet, instead of studying.
“This isn’t working,” the Air Elf King complained, walking away from Rhen and Ceceta’s apartment door, after Ceceta had closed it in his face.
“It will,” James said, from his spot on the stairs. “We just need to keep at it. We’ve ignored my brother’s existence for years. It’s going to take a little time for him to warm up to us.”
“How can we connect with him, if he refuses to speak to us?” the Wood Elf King asked.
“He is speaking,” Sage countered. “Not in sentences, but at least he’s not outright ignoring us, like he did before.”
“Sage is right,” James said. “We have to be patient. Rhen will come around.”
It was clear from their faces that the elfin kings didn’t agree, but they held their tongues.
Charlie walked up the stairs, smelling like stale cigarettes and alcohol. He paused beside James. “I think you’re just annoying the hell out of him,” he said before farting and continuing towards Rhen’s apartment door. “Excuse me. Nature calls,” he said, opening the door.
“Yuck,” Sage said, after Charlie had gone into Rhen’s apartment.
A few seconds later, everyone, who had been in the apartment, was out in the hallway.
“Dear God,” Tgfhi said. He shoved his and Crystam’s textbooks into their bag. “What is wrong with him?”
“I don’t know,” Ceceta said, wiping at her tearing eyes.
Rhen appeared to be amused. He glanced towards the stairs, caught James’ eye, and nodded towards James in greeting.
“Come on, we’ll study in the library tonight,” Ceceta told the others, as Erfce blew his nose to rid it of Charlie’s smell. “Rhen, will you go back in and open the windows, so it won’t smell when we return later?” Rhen’s eyes widened with horror, but he nodded. “Thanks love. We’ll see you in the library.” She and the others walked off down the stairs.
When they heard the downstairs door swing shut, James glanced over at his little brother. “I’ll do it,” he said, pushing off from the stairwell banister and strolling towards Rhen’s apartment.
“That’s okay,” Rhen told him. “I’ve got it.”
“Hey, what’s going on?” Lilly asked, mounting the stairs. James summarized what had happened and Lilly shook her head. “What are we going to do about Charlie?”
“Give him a job,” Rhen told her.
“What?” James asked. “Give who a job?”
“Charlie,” Rhen said. He turned and threw open the door to his apartment. The smell that seeped out into the hallway made them all step back. “Charlie’s too smart. He should have graduated years ago. He needs a purpose. Give him a job and he’ll come around,” Rhen said.
“Okay,” James said with surprise. He’d never considered Charlie to be smart. The boy was failing all his classes and would only be graduating this year because he was a Thestran Prince.
“You’re very verbose tonight,” Lilly told Rhen.
Rhen frowned. “Sorry,” he said before closing his eyes and rushing back into his apartment.
“Lilly! Why’d you say that?” Sage hissed.
“Well, he was talking, I was surprised,” she said in her defense. “That’s all.”
A moment later, Rhen ran out of his apartment. He stopped by the stairs and took several deep breaths before laughing. Without looking behind him at the others, Rhen trotted down the stairs and out of the building. The Royals caught up to him on the lawn. They began to tell him about upcoming events he couldn’t care less about. The Air Elf King was droning on about some Sunrise Ceremony, when Rhen heard a sound, like that of a Surpen Beast of War, out in the forest. “Quiet,” he barked, trying to hear it again.
From the look on his face, Rhen could tell he had offended the Air Elf King. Stepping towards the Wood Elf Forest, he cocked his head to listen. There. He heard the husky, barking sound the Beasts would make when they were content. Without thinking, he ran into the woods. Behind him, he could hear the Royals shout, their heavy, pounding feet, hurrying after him. Rhen went faster to lose them. He stopped beside a tree and waited, listening. A moment later, he heard the sound again. Rhen rushed off to his left. After a few hundred yards, he slowed, coming to a halt beside a large boulder. On the ground, by a small patch of flowers, was a beautiful, red and gold dragon. Rhen watched the majestic animal in silence as it licked its claws to clean them.
In the distance, he could hear the Thestrans calling him. They were making a great deal of noise. The dragon lifted its head and snorted. Rhen watched its red and gold scales shift as the dragon took to the air, flying away to safety. “Wow,” he said. The dragon’s scales blended into the setting sun, making it invisible.
The Thestrans were getting closer, so Rhen phased himself to the school’s library door.
“He’s not out here,” Kate said several hours later. She leaned against a tree to rest. “We’ve searched everywhere.”
“I’m going home,” the Water Elf King announced. His new pants were ruined after he’d tugged them free from a briar patch.
“Let’s go back to the library,” James said. “He’ll show up eventually.”
When the Thestran Royal Family entered the library’s main vestibule, they stopped short. Rhen was sitting on a chair next to Latsoh with his head on the table in front of him. There were bits of vegetation and dirt on his purple tunic, and his black trainers were dirty. James walked over and sat down beside him. “Hey, where’d you go?” he asked.
Opening his eyes, Rhen lifted his head to stare at the Thestrans. “Go?” he inquired, yawning in their faces.
“Yes,” James said. “We left the Teacher’s Residence Hall on our way to the library, when you ran off into the forest. We lost sight of you. We’ve been looking for you ever since. Where did you go?”
Rhen shrugged and yawned again.
“Well, how did you get back here,” Lilly asked. “We would have seen you leaving the forest.”
Rhen shrugged again and put his head back down on the desk, ignoring them.
With his apparent lack of interest in them draining on their nerves, the Royals bid everyone good night and left.
After they were gone, Ceceta threw a pencil at Rhen. It bounced off his head and landed on the desk. Rhen looked up at her and yawned. “You went into the forest? Why?”
“I heard something,” he said, placing his head down onto the table again and getting a whiff of the tangy scent of dried glue and cleanser that had been left behind from a student’s homework.
“What did you hear?” Ceceta asked.
“A dragon, but he flew off before I could get close. He was beautiful.” Rhen yawned again and stood up. “I’m going to bed Cece. I’m sure Charlie’s stench is gone by now.”
Ceceta nodded and turned back to her book. Erfce, Crystam, Latsoh and Tgfhi stared after Rhen’s retreating form. Rhen had seen a dragon? No one saw dragons. The two organizations, who had permission to handle dragons, hadn’t found one in over ten years. There was no way Rhen just happened to hear one in the Wood Elf Forest.
/> Ceceta asked her friends about a math question. They turned away from their thoughts of dragons and back to their homework.
Chapter 22
Elfin University – Rhen and Ceceta’s Apartment
As the weeks passed and Rhen was pestered morning, noon and night by the Thestran Royal Family and Elfin Royals, Rhen’s friends began to pity him. They found themselves cringing at the sight of his family and avoiding Rhen’s company just to get some peace. “What do they want from you,” Tgfhi asked Rhen one night, during their private study session.
“I’m not exactly sure,” Rhen told him. “Latsoh, do you know?”
“No. My Dad hasn’t mentioned anything other than it’s important for you to be with us.”
“Why?” Ceceta asked. Latsoh shrugged.
“Maybe they miss you,” Erfce said.
Ceceta and Rhen laughed. “I don’t think that’s it Erfce,” Rhen told him. He lay down on the floor by the coffee table and closed his eyes.
Tgfhi watched Rhen settle down on the floor. He had been trying to learn more about Rhen’s childhood but had had no success. Deciding to try, yet again, he asked, “Rhen, did you play ‘hide and seek’ when you were a kid?”
“What?”
“Did you play ‘hide and seek’ on Surpen?”
“No,” Rhen said. He opened one eye to look at Tgfhi. “We don’t play games on Surpen.”
“Yes, we do,” Ceceta said, kicking Rhen’s foot.
“Yeah? What games did you play? Run away from the butcher before he kills me for dinner,” Rhen asked.
“No, we used to play some hand games, where you clap your hands together and say a rhyme,” Ceceta told him.
“That’s so girly,” Rhen teased. “Was that what you used to do while I was off killing Dapags and Yentarians to keep you safe?”
Ceceta kicked at his foot again. “It was not girly. It was fun. You should try to have fun sometime. It might make you a more enjoyable person to be around.”
“Oh, I think I’m a very enjoyable person to be around,” Rhen retorted. “Ask them.” He pointed at their friends.
“Right,” Ceceta laughed out. She turned towards the others. “Who would you rather spend time with… me or Rhen?” No one answered. They sat staring with intense concentration at their books. “Oh, come on. You’re not still afraid of Rhen are you? You can tell him the truth.” Still no one answered.
Ceceta watched a grin spread across Rhen’s face. “Well, now I have a new game for you Ceceta,” he said quietly. “It’s called, ‘run away from the butcher before he eats you for dinner’.” Rhen lunged himself towards her from his spot on the floor. Ceceta shrieked and flipped herself over the back of her chair. The two of them giggled while Rhen chased Ceceta around the apartment.
The others had gotten used to this behavior. In the privacy of their apartment, Rhen and Ceceta were always flirting with each other. When Rhen had succeeded in catching Ceceta and flattening her onto the floor with his body, their giggling turned over into kissing.
“I used to play hand games as a child,” Latsoh said. “That’s how elfin children learn about Lord Themrock. We pass down the Genisters’ stories through games and…”
Latsoh continued to talk for a full twenty minutes, without realizing that no one was listening to her.
“…and that’s how you get your powers if you have them,” she finished. The others perked up in the silence that followed.
Tgfhi yawned. “Are you done?”
Latsoh’s face flushed with anger. “What do you mean ‘are you done’? Didn’t you hear what I was saying?” No one answered. “Were any of you listen to me?”
There was a collective, affirmative mumbling sound from her friends, yet none of them would meet her eye. “Right,” Latsoh said, the corner of her mouth rising. “So, what do you think?” She was sure that none of them would know what to say.
“Well, of course we believe you,” Erfce said, surprising her. Erfce shook his head for a moment, clearing the vision he was having of their wedding. He was going to have to ask Latsoh out soon, since the two of them were going to get married before they graduated from the University. “Themrock,” he said, “created all living things, so if anything has powers, their powers had to have come from him. It’s perfectly logical.”
“That’s stupid,” Tgfhi said. “How can one Genister, who’s not even around anymore, give me my powers. My powers came from my genetic makeup. My great, great, great grandfather had several powers. I seem to have gotten one of his abilities.”
“The Supreme Lord gave you your powers Tgfhi. Powers can be passed down to us genetically, but they all originate from the Supreme Lord. They’re gifts from God,” Rhen said.
Although religious, Rhen rarely spoke about his beliefs, so they were a little surprised to hear him engage in the debate. He was the only one who prayed on a daily basis. Out of curiosity, Latsoh and Crystam had joined him a few times during his morning prayers. They had found the experience peaceful.
“Who is the Supreme Lord again?” Tgfhi asked.
“He doesn’t have a name,” Ceceta reminded him.
“So how can he exist, if he doesn’t have a name?” Erfce asked.
“He just does,” Rhen said. “He created our Universe, as well as twelve other Universes. He gave us the gift of life, provided us with great powers and allowed us our free will. We must make sure that we never abuse his gifts.”
Crystam rolled her eyes. “Twelve Universes? Who ever heard of twelve Universes? There’s only one Universe.”
“You can’t actually believe there are twelve universes. Can you?” Tgfhi asked them.
“Of course, there are,” Ceceta said. “The Supreme God loves life. Each Universe is its own self-contained celebration of life. The Universes don’t mix, the TUB keeps them apart. They run independently of each other in perfect harmony. God is very generous.”
“Okay,” Erfce said. “First, there’s nothing beyond The Ultimate Blackness or TUB, as you call it. And secondly, your Supreme God is just another name for Themrock.” He turned to Tgfhi. “Just as those nameless gods that you worship on Tgarus are the Genisters.”
“Hell, no,” Tgfhi said.
“Themrock is very generous,” Latsoh broke in. “He gave us the ability to love, the ability to learn and the ability to experience joy. He was a musician and an artist. The murals, on our castle walls, show him during different stages of his life.”
“Anyone can paint a mural, Latsoh,” Tgfhi said. “Maybe I’ll paint one showing myself as an amazing God and you can worship me.”
“Latsoh isn’t going to worship anyone but me,” Erfce said, without thinking. A moment later, everyone laughed. Erfce blushed and looked away.
“Are you guys going out?” Crystam asked.
Latsoh shook her head and frowned at Erfce. “No,” she told Crystam.
“Oh,” Crystam said. She flipped to a new page in her text book. She’d noticed the way the two of them looked at each other and figured it was only a matter of time before they did hook up.
“Hey, my birthday is at the end of the week,” Tgfhi said. “I’ll soon be a man.”
“That’s great Tgfhi,” Rhen told him.
“We have to celebrate,” Crystam said. “Let’s go out to dinner in Warton and then see a movie.”
“Only if we can ditch the Thestran Royals,” Tgfhi said. “Rhen and Ceceta are never any fun when they’re around.”
Rhen laughed.
“Don’t worry,” Ceceta told Tgfhi. “We’ll find a way to get rid of them.”
“Great,” Crystam said. “It’s settled. I’ll arrange for everything.”
On the last day of the week, Tgfhi arrived at breakfast wearing large shorts and a huge shirt over his clothes. His enormous green shirt hung off his shoulders and dangled down around his knees and his big, brown shorts were tied together around his waist with rope, but they kept slipping down to the floor. The students in the dining hall laughed at
Tgfhi as he walked over to his table with his tray. Tgfhi glared at them while he placed his tray next to Ceceta’s. “Can you believe them?” he complained. Turning, he noticed his friends were also laughing at him. “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he told them, with a shake of his little head. “Laugh all you want, but by the end of today, these clothes will fit me just fine.”
“Are you sure Tgfhi?” Erfce asked with a snicker. “They seem rather large for you. I mean, let’s face it, even if you were to double in mass, you still couldn’t fill them out.” He reached over to pull on the loose sleeve of Tgfhi’s enormous t-shirt.
“You’ll see,” Tgfhi said slapping Erfce’s hand away.
Rhen was flanked that morning by Reed and Lilly, so he didn’t comment on Tgfhi’s clothing, but he knew from experience that Tgarian men were quite large, and Tgfhi, if he did grow into a man today, would easily fill out his new set of clothes.
Tgfhi was teased, without mercy, about his clothes during the school day. At lunchtime, he was still small and his big clothes were looking rather disheveled. “Are you sure you’re growing today?” Crystam asked, when he arrived at their table with his lunch tray.
“Yeah,” Latsoh said. “We don’t want to go out to dinner with you tonight if you’re still wearing a second set of clothing.”
“Just wait,” Tgfhi said, his lower lip trembling. He plopped down on the bench and focused on his meal to keep from crying. While he ate, his belly began to bother him. Tgfhi pushed on it with his little hands, but the pain wouldn’t lessen.
“Are you okay?” Crystam asked. “Your face seems a little pale.”
“No, my stomach hurts. I must have eaten something bad. I think I’m going to throw up,” he said quietly. Tgfhi crawled off the bench and ran towards the bathroom.
After a few minutes had passed and Tgfhi still hadn’t returned from the bathroom, Ceceta turned to Erfce and Rhen. “Come on you guys. One of you should go see if Tgfhi’s feeling alright.”
Erfce had just put his hand on Latsoh’s arm for the first time. He had no intention whatsoever of moving.
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