by Melina Grace
“May I?” asked Caris.
“Of course, all the plants in Telvendor are available to those who would put them to good use.”
Caris bent down and using the small curved knife, Amarin had gifted her, she filled a small leather pouch with flowers. She was still amazed by the beautiful leather bag Jeniel had given her. It was full of separate compartments and pouches with drawstring tops. Along with the bag had come an offer to help Caris fill it and to teach her all Jeniel could of plant lore while Caris stayed with them.
Caris and Jeniel resumed their wandering. Jeniel had told Caris that rather than leading her directly to where she knew plants grew, she wanted to give Caris some practice in using her instincts and senses to find plants. The plants Caris discovered would also speak of where her natural abilities in healing lay most strongly.
Caris had argued that she knew nothing of healing; Jeniel had smiled enigmatically, merely answering, “Nevertheless.”
So now, Caris wandered happily through the trees indulging her desire to learn more of plants. Every now and then she felt guilty about Crispin still lying mostly unconscious in his room. He had revived a couple of times yesterday and eaten some soup that Caris had spooned into his mouth. She was finally agreeing with Colden that Crispin would mend, but she still didn’t feel entirely right about leaving him. She had sat with him for almost the entire day before, but today Jeniel had coaxed her out. Caris knew that Crispin was in good hands, so she resolved to learn as much as she could while staying with the elves.
Caris noticed that Jeniel was watching her closely. Surmising there was a plant of interest in the area and that Jeniel was waiting to see if Caris would see it, she brought her thoughts back to the present and searched the ground around her. Close by, under a bush, were some peculiar looking mushrooms; she moved towards them and Jeniel followed her, smiling.
“These are?” Caris asked.
“When prepared properly, these can be used as a paste to congeal blood. If taken orally they can bring on sleep; a little more, and they slow the heart; too much, and they cause death. They are rare and used even more rarely. I will teach you the proper preparation and dosages, but Caris you must always take care with these.”
“Thank you.”
They spent the rest of the morning meandering through the immense trees discussing plants and the differences and similarities of each other’s homes and people. At lunch, they sat in the sun by a small quickly flowing creek and snacked on plants and fruit Jeniel had collected during the morning.
Caris loved the forest. Its majestic trees were a continual source of amazement to her, but equally attractive was the amount of sunlight they allowed through and the gaps between branches that showed the blue sky above. The forest floor teemed with different plants and scurrying animals, as well as the occasional quillet. Caris had even seen a small herd of eppet in the distance.
The greatest wonder of the forest, for Caris, was that while the trees were so large, they were spread apart, and while there was a bountiful amount of plants, most were only knee high, so for the first time in weeks, Caris was able to look into the distance. She could not see the horizon as she had been accustomed to all her life and her view was not uninterrupted, but she could see three times as far as she could shoot an arrow.
As they continued their meanderings in the afternoon a feeling of freedom and joy slowly grew within Caris, until finally having to express her happiness, she dropped her herb satchel and reaching her arms out to her sides spun in circles.
Jeniel, observing her, began to sing. She laid down her small bundle of plants and, raising her arms above her head, began to dance a beautiful twining dance around Caris and among the trees. Her voice was rich and beautiful, and as she sang, birds added their voices to her happy melody. She sang of the wonder of spring and trees and healing, the abundance of the forest, and the blessings of family, friends, and life.
Caris spun and spun and spun in wild abandon, and as she spun, she felt profoundly relieved she was no longer alone with Crispin, bearing the mother load of the responsibility for his survival. Travelling with The Singer had done most of the work of relieving Caris’ anxiety, being with the elves and stopping her exhausting travel was now completing the job. As she continued spinning she began to laugh, she laughed until she was exhausted while Jeniel sang and danced around her. Finally, Caris collapsed contented on the ground and Jeniel joined her for a drink of water.
“You must think me crazy,” Caris said when she had regained her breath.
“Only slightly,” Jeniel smiled in response. “The beauty of the trees on a fine day often causes me to laugh for no reason as well, though possibly not as exuberantly as you.”
They rested for a while, lying on their backs watching the birds flying amongst the treetops and above them through the sky. Eventually, Jeniel broke the peace “We should start heading back. We will eat with all the elves tonight and as you are the guest of honour we shouldn’t arrive too late.”
Her words filled Caris with alarm. “No! I’m not a guest of honour! You should wait for Crispin to wake. He is a guest of honour!”
All of a sudden, Caris was back at her sister Dilna’s wedding trying to hide in the background while Dilna shone. All the young women and girls looked radiant in their festive dresses and blonde curls. Caris wore a pretty festive dress too, but felt ridiculous in it as it clashed with her long dark hair and dull green eyes. She had not minded the weddings of her two eldest sister’s as much but it seemed the older she got the less she felt she had any right to dress in pretty clothes and especially not to be in the lime light.
Her friends’ weddings had not been as bad as she had been able to stay to the back, but as Dilna’s sister, there were expectations for her to participate and everyone’s eyes were often on her. People had done nothing to hide their embarrassment or resentment at her being in the forefront.
Jeniel broke into her reverie with a laugh, “Don’t worry, we’re not going to put you on a dais or anything, everyone just wants to meet you, that’s all.”
Caris had grown a lot more confident during her time in the forests. She had been doing things she was good at, and learning more about her strengths in overcoming great difficulties. Away from her village and all the beautiful women with their blonde curly hair and blue eyes, she had begun to forget her own inferiority. Now she thought about the beautiful elves with their white blonde hair and startling green eyes and the shame she felt at her own ugliness filled her more strongly than it ever had before. Getting up, she rushed behind a tree and emptied her stomach.
“Caris, are you okay?” Jeniel asked, rushing to her side.
“I can’t be the guest of honour,” Caris sobbed.
Jeniel looked at her in confusion as Caris wiped her mouth clean on some leaves.
“You all seem so lovely; I can’t think why you would put me in such a humiliating position,” said Caris.
“What do you mean?”
Caris stared at Jeniel, looking for any hint that the elven woman was mocking her. Jeniel seemed sincere.
“Jeniel, you must know it will be embarrassing for everyone there, and especially so for me. I know I am ugly; I make no pretence to be anything special. You have all been very kind to me, but to attend a gathering where the expectation is that I will be the centre of attention? It will just be awkward for everyone. Please don’t ask me to do this; I don’t know why you would want too.”
Jeniel sat looking at Caris. Her mouth moved, but no words came out. Finally, she found some words. “Caris, you must believe me when I tell you we do not think you ugly. You are different to us, yes, but you are not the first human we have known. We have, in fact, known many and we are not so conceited that we can’t see the beauty in you.”
“I am not talking about humans in general, I am talking about me!”
“But why? Caris, you’re not ugly!”
Caris was in no mood to be patronised. “Maybe you don’t think so, but
I see no need to put myself out for inspection by all your people.”
“They’ve all already seen you!”
Caris looked at Jeniel appalled, she had forgotten to be self-conscious as she walked about the tree branches watching and waving to the elves among the trees. However, in light of their current conversation and her feelings of low esteem, she felt terribly humiliated that the elves had been judging her over the last couple of days.
“All those who didn’t see you when the scouts brought you in, have made sure to get a glimpse of you since, and I assure you no one thinks you are ugly. You are human! That is exciting for us, for as I said ‘we don’t get visitors regularly’. Everybody wants to hear your stories, about where you come from, your journey with The Singer, any news you have of The King. And though the children might gawk at your round eyes and ears, they will not mean it unkindly.”
Caris stared off into the trees, absorbing Jeniel’s words. Is it possible the elves have seen so few humans they are not able to tell whether one is particularly ugly? Caris had heard the elves singing and merrymaking down below, the last couple of nights, and she had a great desire to join them. I wasn’t nervous about joining them before, why did I suddenly overreact so much?
“I’m sorry Jeniel; I don’t know why I reacted so strongly to your words. I would like to come and spend time with the other elves of course, and share my stories. I am nervous about being the centre of attention, though. I don’t really want to be the ‘guest of honour’”.
“Don’t worry; there are too many elves who enjoy the lime light for the focus of attention to be on you much. I will stay with you the whole time; will that make you feel better?” Caris looked at her dubiously. She had seen quite a few elves now and though they were all beautiful, none was as breathtaking as Jeniel. Caris couldn’t imagine a worse person to have by her side. Caris decided there was nothing for it, but to push concerns about appearance to the back of her mind, just as she had always done before.
She liked Jeniel, and was glad for the growing friendship between them.
“You don’t need to babysit me constantly tonight, but perhaps you could keep an eye out for me?”
“Glad to, and I’ll get word to the trumpeters to cancel the fanfare for your entry.”
Caris gaped at Jeniel, aghast, and Jeniel burst into laughter.
“I was only joking,” she finally emitted between peals of mirth.
Caris sat back sipping a sweet warming drink watching elves dance around the fire. Her self-consciousness had evaporated quickly amidst the friendliness and laughter of the elves as they all helped themselves to scrumptious food.
She had been relieved to discover that not all the elves were gathered at her fire, in fact, there were many fires spread throughout the trees with large groups of elves gathered around them. The elves moved freely from fire to fire laughing and talking to friends and Caris discovered that Jeniel had been telling the truth about them liking the limelight. Caris didn’t think she had ever been so well entertained with stories and songs, ranging from hilarious to tragic.
From time to time, groups had formed around Caris, asking her questions and prompting her to tell them of her adventures. Caris was conscious she didn’t have the story telling skill of any of the elves but nevertheless they sat and listened attentively. One young man sat close by and listened to her telling the same stories repeatedly to different groups that formed about her. Initially he plied her with questions; at one point, he asked her if he could have her tale. Confused she had asked, “Have my tail?”
“Retell your story,” he replied.
“Oh, if you want,” Caris told him.
As the night wore on, his questions slowed and he sat back with his eyes closed, occasional mouthing her words along with her as she retold a story.
The elves fascinated Caris with their unusual beauty and obvious joy. They seem to celebrate everything, every moment, and every beauty. They are so ready to laugh and yet so ready to cry as well, Caris reflected as she thought of one of the truly tragic tales she had heard that evening.
Caris was thoroughly enjoying herself. She had wanted to visit Crispin before the evening meal, but Amarin had pleaded with her not to as she didn’t judge her yet ready to climb the stairs twice in one day. Colden had sought her out, however, to inform her that Crispin was sitting up in bed and talking freely, happy to find himself among elves. She looked forward to talking with Crispin the next day and was happy to be without anxiety concerning him.
As she watched the dancers, Caris’ thoughts returned to the feast they had enjoyed at a village on The King’s road and the afternoon she had spent dancing with Janen. She wished he were here to share this experience with her. Janen would love the elves.
It felt like forever since Caris had seen him. She had thought of him often and missed him a lot over the last half moon, but now with time to relax and enjoy herself without worry, a deep longing, to see him and sit by his side and talk with him, filled her. She wondered where he was and whether they had had any success in tracking down the pendant. She hoped fervently that they had regained it and were now safely returning to The King.
Crispin slowly recovered. Though alert and communicative, Colden was worried about his wounds reopening if he exerted himself too much. Therefore, most of Crispin’s stay among the elves was limited to the top branches where he received many visitors and was able to give and receive news about the outside world.
Early in their stay, Caris had found Crispin much relieved and content to take his time to heal. He informed her that the elves had sent a missive to The King from him. Caris had expressed surprise that they were in contact with The King and Crispin had replied that they were among His most loyal subjects.
The knowledge that The King was aware of Crispin’s whereabouts and the loss of the pendant was a relief to Caris as well. Gone was some of the urgency of reaching The King with the news as soon as possible. Caris found she settled into life with the elves remarkably quickly. In many ways, they were completely different to her people, and yet she felt more at home in Telvendor than she had ever done elsewhere.
Early on, Caris had offered to hunt to help earn her keep, but the healers had unanimously rejected her offer. There were plenty of hunters and no need for another; they wanted to use her limited time with them to teach her as much as they could of healing. Caris had protested she wasn’t a healer, to which Colden had merely replied, “How do you know?”
Caris had not had an answer and as she was fascinated with everything to do with how plants could be used to benefit the body, she had taken the opportunity to learn as much as she could. Her mornings were spent leisurely strolling the woods with Jeniel, searching for plants and learning their uses. Caris found that she liked her new companion immensely. Jeniel was full of laughter and song and showed a keen interest in what Caris’ life had been like growing up; but what drew Caris to Jeniel the most was their mutual interest in plants and healing.
Caris had never had female friends with whom she shared much in common. She had loved her sisters dearly and had a couple of girlfriends from her village, but while they loved to sit and talk about dances, who they might marry, the children they would have, about baking and the clothes they were making; Caris preferred to be outdoors working, exploring, and hunting. Her new companionship with Jeniel was filling a hole Caris had not been aware was there and she was sorry her time with her would be so short.
As Caris spent time with the elves and learnt more about their community it was like a balm to her soul. She was astounded to learn that the elves lived for hundreds of years; fifty-five was considered a long life in Caris’ village. While the elves considered themselves blessed to have two children, it was normal for families in Caris’ village to have five. The scarcity of children in such long lives meant it was impossible for elven women’s lives to revolve around the rearing of children or grandchildren.
Caris was amazed to discover all the different activities
, both the men and women elves, dedicated their time too. There were healers, musicians, story tellers, scouts, hunters, painters, wood carvers, builders, and a myriad of other occupations that built a community that was not only functional, with everyone’s needs met, but also beautiful.
Caris longed to be part of a community where she could be valued for her contribution; despite the fact she wasn’t marry-able. The knowledge that such a community did exist, helped Caris to begin to believe that her existence was justified, that she could have a worthwhile role even if others didn’t recognise her value.
Caris spent most afternoons with Amarin, learning how to make ointments, teas, and poultices. She learnt how to package them for longevity and what dosages to administer for different ailments. Jeniel and Colden often came to Amarin’s small rooms to help teach Caris.
Caris seemed to have a natural affinity for plants, surprising in that she had come from a place with so few. Often when Amarin told Caris the use of a plant, it felt like a confirmation of something Caris already knew. Colden, Amarin, and Jeniel often exclaimed over how quickly Caris was learning. The knowledge she was lapping up was information it took them many years to acquire.
Amarin warned her that as elves they always spent years practising healing as they learnt, and that Caris would have to be very careful of how she used her head full of knowledge in practical application. Colden contented himself with making withering comments to Amarin and Jeniel about how he wished his apprentices applied themselves half as much as Caris.
At first, Caris felt guilty about how little time she had to spend with Crispin, but whenever she went to see him, he was deep in conversation with one elf or another, and though he always welcomed her warmly, she felt like she was intruding. She quickly settled into a routine of sharing a midday meal with him. Most elves ate midday meals with their families and so she often entered his room just when someone was leaving.