by Derek Palmer
Bellcauniel smiled at me.
""Funny that you say so. Immianthe was almost certain that there were one or two Magicians among the Guardians. Hiding there.""
I shrugged and closed my eyes for a moment. Thinking and talking like that was almost too exhausting. Besides, I was really hungry.
""I think I could try to eat something. For sure I'm not in a shape to ride back home before that - and I'd really like to sleep a full night in a real bed.""
Two days later I had been able to sleep one full night in my bed - and that was all I did there. I went to sleep before sunset just after a light dinner and washing myself, and the sun was high when I woke up. I might have slept even longer, but my bladder made sure that I had to hurry getting up. Even if I was more or less used to the fact that I had to share the toilet with several women, this morning was something special - I was being followed and even peeing while sitting seemed to fascinate them. Well, at least they had some fun. I quickly washed myself with some cold water, then dressed and headed to find something to eat. Both Fainauriel and Bellcauniel had probably been up for some time already.
I was just finishing my second portion of porridge when Fainauriel came to me.
""Stian, there are people who'd like to talk with you. Or do you need to eat some more? Allynna can take a look at your wounds while we’re talking.""
""I guess I'm finished here. Another cup of tea might still be fine.""
""I'll get it for you.""
Then she gave me a kiss on my cheek. Maybe this would be a good day.
""Thank you for coming, Stian - and that tea smells heavenly. Could someone get some more of it for everyone?""
The tone of Mylaela's voice was so different when compared to what it had been that I was sure I pricked up my ears so that they moved. The look on my face probably also showed my bewilderment since I faced more smiles than I had ever seen here. Then I remembered something that had bothered me but I had had no possibility to ask before falling asleep.
""How about the girls at the hut? Are they all okay?""
As soon as I had asked the question I wished that I hadn't, since the looks around the room changed immediately.
""Neuriel died soon after you left the hut. There really wasn't much anyone of us could have done for her. Luckily she's the only one who died.""
Mylaela took some breath before continuing.
""The others... Melima and the baby seem physically okay, despite everything that happened. She seems to be safe from the bad effects because she was pregnant. The others are still undergoing thought treatments for some time until we can be sure that we have gotten all those deadly Ugly People seeds out of them. They should be okay, finally, at least physically.""
I felt both bad - and relieved. Bad because Neuriel had died but relieved because of the others. Even if they may never want to see a male person again.
""Stian, there might be a time in the near future when those women would need you. It has something to do how we Alfar respond to certain stimuli - but the main point is that the girls should have babies as soon as they are healed enough.""
I coughed up some of my tea.
""How... I was almost sure that doing something with a male would be the last thing they want to do now.""
""I'm not saying that we really understand it ourselves, but it's the way we are and how our psyche reacts to certain things. We really hope that you can help them.""
It was Bellcauniel who snorted now.
""Like there would be some serious doubt about that. You know that Fainauriel and I are different than most of us, but even if we usually really like what he's doing to us we don't mind some help there. However, based on the looks the girls gave him last night and this morning there might be a queue.""
It wasn't just what she said, but the way she said it, that made me blush. It didn't help at all that there was a roomful of older women looking knowingly at me - and most of them smiling. On the other hand, this episode took our thoughts away from all the bad things that had happened. I was a big boy, I could take this.
""Just for you to know, there were some minor wounds when we took care of the second group of those Ugly People. Unfortunately, we don't have the same skills as you have and it is possible that one or two of them might have escaped and returned to their own valley over the hills. Just that thought makes me feel sick, but there's nothing we can do about it anymore. Did you know that there were almost a hundred of them?""
""No, I didn't know the exact number. I believed that it was some eighty of them when we first attacked them and released their ponies. I guess I'm not that good in estimating bigger groups.""
""Still, the idea of you two attacking eighty or one hundred Ugly People was just madness.""
""But it worked, didn't it?""
""Before doing anything like that again you really should consult us elders.""
""Yes, Ma'am.""
""Don't you ‘ma'am’ me, young man! I may decide to resign and take my turn before those wounded ones.""
I closed my mouth.
""So, Stian, that ability of yours to sense the bigger living beings from a distance..."
The rest of the morning was more or less used in figuring out how I could use my special ability, to make sure that the village and its inhabitants would be safe. It was agreed that I would do some more or less regular patrols around the village trying to sense if there were some unwanted visitors close by.
""It was clear that those Ugly People had been following us for some time. In fact, we found out that they had been doing it from a distance for almost a year. I don't even dare to think what could have happened if they'd been able to reach the village in the wee hours of the night as they had planned. These two things were a wake-up for us, since we are certain that it wasn't a coincidence.""
I didn't ask how these women had found out that those Trolls had been spying on them for almost a year. Maybe some of them had really wanted to tell what they knew. Yeah, for sure.
Our discussions were interrupted by lunchtime - and some wine. I knew that Elves made some wine but so far I hadn't really been offered much of it. Now I got some tasty stew - and a big glass of wine. So many things had changed in just a few days that I wasn't really sure what to think about it. Or, it was like I was waiting for the dream to end. Just to add something to it, Immianthe came to sit opposite me while we were eating.
""I didn't really thank you for what you did there, with the Guardians, Stian.""
""I don't think that shooting one arrow is that much.""
""In that case it was... it was quite perfect. Especially when they weren't able to find or see you. Now they are at least a bit afraid of us, again.""
""I guess that it's the main reason they're avoiding you. That they are afraid of you.""
Suddenly Immianthe wasn't smiling anymore. I shrugged.
""Nobody has revealed anything to me. It's just a combination of many things - like some comments from the Guardians, fairy tales told to children and my mother's teachings. Somehow I have a feeling that at least some of you might be able to stop or disturb Magicians who are trying to do their thing.""
""You are a dangerous young man, Stian. Not only to those Ugly People.""
I had to laugh to that.
""Yeah, right. Send me to do something with my magic and then ask Bellcauniel to disturb me. There have only been a few moments when I have managed to get her in such state that I consider her quite harmless. Unfortunately I may be quite exhausted myself once I get her there.""
""That doesn't make you any less dangerous.""
I just rolled my eyes so that she knew what I thought about that and enjoyed the stew, fresh bread and wine. It was some time later when Immianthe turned to me again.
""Stian, what are your plans for your future? Please don't try to tell me that you don't have any, since you have been working very patiently and systematically with Leilatha and Shalana up to the point that they probably want to have babies in
the future. Not a small wonder, I'd say.""
I put down my fork and knife. I looked at those brown eyes that probably saw right through me. Immianthe was one of the few dark-haired women here, but it didn't make her any less beautiful. Or dangerous.
""Like you hadn't planned something like that when you wanted me to go hunting with them.""
Immianthe just kept an innocent face.
""You have to admit that it worked out just fine, even much sooner than we expected. But we'd really need to know something about what you have planned.""
Well, this was what I had planned to achieve. To be accepted - and yes, it had happened sooner than I had expected. I just hadn't had any real time to think what I would - or could - say to them. I still had no idea if you could really lie with the Old Language, if there was somebody with real Magic skills listening to you.
""My short-term plan was to be accepted. I have already abandoned two homes and my future as a vagabond wasn't very tempting.""
""With those Bonds you would have been a rich vagabond.""
""Maybe, but I would have also needed to be extra careful and stay on the run. I'm quite certain that the bankers would have been asked to give a description of what I looked like. No, I didn't want that kind of life.""
I took a deep breath and nodded to Mylaela who had moved to sit next to me, listening to what I was going to say.
""What I want to do is learn. Learn about Magic, what to do and what not to do with it. Learn this Old Language, since it still causes me headaches when I try to keep account of what is being said, what's the actual meaning behind the words. Most likely that's something that I'll never really master, since I remember that Human girls did that with Anglon, also. This Old Language is just much, much worse.""
""Stian, do not worry about that. Those girls - women - will probably never say anything bad about you. Some of them may be a bit afraid, some curious - and some envious.""
Mylaela had put her hand on top of mine when she said that, and the point behind her words gave the real idea about what would be the topic of those discussions. I didn't blush. Much.
""I understand that much. But please remember that I'm only eighteen summers old, while the youngest of you is several times that. When I first came here, I didn't really understand what it meant, but gradually I'm getting something of it. Except that some of the younger women - or girls, as you call them - do not always feel much more mature than teenage Human girls.""
""That's because we Alfar age differently than Humans, mentally - or even those Ugly People. Even if they are older, some of the girls act like they were teenagers even if they are much older than normal Humans can ever be. That's probably one of the reasons for the reputation that we have among the Humans.""
Suddenly Mylaela’s face turned into a grin.
""Of course, they mature very quickly once they have a baby. That's probably one of the reasons why the girls of our old home were encouraged to have their first baby while young. Otherwise nobody could stand them.""
I wanted to point out that, to me, the older Elven women didn't feel that much different but decided against it. For now, as things were progressing.
""Stian, besides learning magic and the Old Language - is there something else you want?""
I guessed that this was it. The moment of truth.
""To learn geography and more about society. As far as I know, this country is the only one in this world that uses Magicians and it makes us feared and somewhat shunned. However, if possible, I'd need to know about those other places. Then, history. I need to know about what happened back then. I know that a group of people were violently and catastrophically moved from their world to this one, but I don't really know what happened after that. What caused the breakup between the races, since the next thing that is commonly known is that you are living in this hidden valley and those Ugly People are living in the valley north of yours. Something happened that caused the breakup and I'd like to know about it.""
Neither Immianthe or Mylaela was smiling anymore. It was Immianthe who spoke first.
""Stian, there are some good reasons why those old things aren't spoken of anymore. Some bad things happened and there is no way to turn the clock and make those things undone.""
""Immianthe, I think that I have quite a good idea what happened and why - and yet I'm here, rather than trying my luck as a rich vagabond. I'm certain that there were some rotten Magicians acting from the shadows. My mother told me a huge number of different fairy tales when I was a kid and now I'm beginning to understand that most of them really weren't just fairy tales.""
""We are on such good terms now that we'd hate to see things turn bad.""
Immianthe did not add the word 'again,' but I was almost able to hear it.
""Immianthe, if you Alfar - Pretty Faces - want to really survive, one natural Mage is only of temporary help. Even if I, as a young male, can find the situation quite desirable, it isn't really something that I had planned for my life. Besides, if my life span is also extended, I need to start thinking long term, too. All those babies born here are mine and I want to see them have a good life.""
Both women might have been a bit surprised because of my outburst, but their experience was shown in the way they adapted and agreed with me about their problem. We were also able to agree that both my presence and the babies needed to remain a secret, since it was clear that there were at least some powers who didn't honor the old agreements. Yes, we needed to be careful and, not long after, new construction was started for a building in a safer and more hidden location. A safe house for the children and pregnant women.
--
Chapter 7
If I had been somewhat bored with nothing much to do before that Troll attack - or Jotunn, or Ugly People, attack, depending on who was talking - suddenly I was in a situation where I barely had any free time at all. The change from feared or disregarded oddball to a common hero was, in a way, a very nice one. Except, the fact that most of the younger women didn't really know how to throw themselves at me. While Human girls followed the examples of their older girls, these girls here had no one to follow. It might have been fun for me if I hadn't been the target of their attention. However, the older women did have fun - lots of it.
I managed to tolerate them - with the help of Bellcauniel and Fainauriel - and because of the fact that I was really busy. In fact, that wasn't even that bad. What was bad were the nightmares.
They didn't start immediately, but gradually. During the nights I lived again each and every one of them - the kills I made. It seemed that I had been able to see them in much more detail than I had believed, or that it was my own mind that filled in the details. Very precisely. Those nightmares didn't come every night, but they came often enough once they had started. Without the help of the women sleeping with me, I would not have been sleeping very much.
There was another, more disturbing, thing that I learned during those nights. While talking with the older Elves they had been most fascinated with my ability to cloak, or mask, myself, since that was something unheard of. Finally, they just assumed that it was some rare combination of skills and they admitted that they didn't know everything about magic or how it had been used in their old, home world, Elonia. That was the first time I heard the name - and probably also would be the last. The pain of loss associated with that name was still too much for them. It was like a synonym of something that was lost forever and for good. But yes, they assumed that my rare skill was just something secret, something that they hadn't heard about.
I knew better. Unfortunately.
The first time I dreamed about the strange world and hunting there, I thought that it was just a strange dream. A very detailed dream that contained some odd-looking plants and huge insects. I believed that up to the moment I tasted the blood of the game in my mouth. That was just too real.
In a way, that wasn't even a bad dream, just a very odd one. More like a memory. Except that I couldn't have that kind of
memory. Like the cloaking skill, it wasn't familiar to the people here who knew magic. In the morning, I had to check that my hands were normal hands and not something with claws.
My dreams alternated with the kind of memories that couldn't really be my memories and nightmares during which I relived all the kills I had done. Not killing the game but killing the Trolls - and the odd creature from some other world. In those dreams, it wasn't just doing those things again but also learning how I could have done them better! How I could have been even more efficient. One morning I felt so badly that I almost threw up. For a while, things got worse and worse - until they started to get better. Slowly and gradually. Without some help from Fainauriel and Bellcauniel I might have lost my mind at some point. I had told them about my 'normal' nightmares and, together with those two women, I managed to convince myself that feeling bad about reliving those killings should just prove that I was a good person inside.