by V. R. Janis
His beard was another feature that set him apart from the other elves. They all had the smooth faces of youth while he had a full, long beard. I think he took great pride in his beard, often combing and cleaning it.
My father valued his differences. I guess that is where I learned to love all unique things. My father was one of a kind.
As he walked away, every person who had watched our match stared after him. He turned to wave and everyone looked in a different direction. He knew; I saw the arch of his brows and the shrug of his shoulders. He grinned and waved. I grinned back; he was always such a happy man.
I looked toward the sea and saw a man studying me. Our eyes met, and not for the first time. It had happened on more than one occasion. I had noticed his closeness over the past few months. I tried not to worry about it, but there just seemed to be something wrong about him. I did not want to tell Father either. I did not want to get the man killed for being near me.
I was walking back to our stall when I heard a shout. Curiosity made me head in that direction. When I heard whimpering, I took off at a run. A man had a young girl in his grip, yanking her back and forth.
“That bread did not just get up and walk away. Where did your little friends go? Answer me! Who’s going to pay for it?”
I pushed my way to the front of the gathering crowd. Some people looked at the scene and then kept going, as if this were a normal occurrence. I jingled my purse.
“I will pay for whatever she took as soon as you release her.”
“If I let her go, how do I know you will pay?”
I dropped a gold coin on his table. “I am sure that more than covers anything she took. Now release her. I said now!”
He let go, but instead of running she walked over to my side and stood slightly behind me. I heard the whispers start.
“Look at her ears. She's an elf.”
“She’s not just any elf; she is Great Tree’s daughter.”
The bread maker must have heard the whispers too, because he whipped around and stared.
He bowed with a halt, and then opened his hand with the gold coin in it. “I am sorry, good lady. I cannot accept your gold.”
“My gold is as good as anybody’s. I will not take it back. I will be going now. Instead of trying to give me back my gold, why not try to help those who have less than you? Good night, sir.”
I turned and headed for our stall. My new shadow followed.
“Why do you follow me? Will the others have eaten what you took? Do you have no food?”
“I want to pay you back for the help you gave me,” she said. “The others have probably saved a piece for me. We take care of each other. We have very little to call our own.”
I studied this little girl. While small, she was not young by the expressions on her face. She spoke as if she had lived lifetimes in her short years. She looked to be twelve, which would make her six years my junior.
“Well, follow me. I will get you food aplenty. Where are your parents?”
“My father left us and my mother just disappeared a few years back. I take care of four younger ones,” she said. “I have swept up for the baker for months and all he pays me is a loaf a week. It is not enough. My brothers were hungry.”
“You seem to have had it hard. The baker did you wrong, but you did wrong first by stealing. You were both wrong.”
“Where are your parents?” she asked.
“My father is probably loading the ship for our departure in two days. Tomorrow is our last day here. My mother died when I was very young. During a sea voyage.”
At our stall I grabbed her a pack and started to load it as full as I could with food. Then I threw some coins on the top.
“That should help for a while. Try to find a better job. What are you good at?”
“I used to be pretty good at weaving. I haven’t done it for a long time.”
I set the bag next to our stall and then walked her over to the other vendors. They had yarn in a variety of colors.
“Pick some, um….”
“My name is Jan and I could not. You have already helped us so much already.”
“Pick some.”
She reached over and rubbed her hands over the yarn. She grabbed a few skeins and I chose some colors I liked. By the time I was done her arms were loaded down. I laughed at her wide-eyed expression.
I led her back to our stall. “I think I need to find another pack.”
She shook her head and then held up a skein of yarn. “Wakangli, please hold out your hands in front of you, a little wider than my hips. Great, thank you.”
“You knew who I was this whole time? Why, you clever little girl.”
She wound the yarn around my hands, one color at a time, but she cut pieces off of some of them and set them aside. When she was finished she stepped into the circle I held, making a belt of the yarn. She sat down again and started to weave together the small pieces she had cut. I watched in wonder at how fast her fingers moved. When she was finished, she tied the weave around my wrist. It was a beautiful bracelet.
“I will be back early in the morning to help in any way I can. I need to get back before my brothers do something stupid. You have done a great kindness. Thank you.”
“You are so very welcome.”
“I am serious, Wakangli. I will not forget this.”
I smiled. I had made a new friend for the duration of my stay in this busy port town.
CHAPTER 7
I sat in our booth at the market square on the hottest day of my life. The heat made me crabby and I wondered why I had been excited when father wanted me to come with him this year. This was not nearly as exciting as I had thought it was going to be.
I stared at all the people passing by as they concluded their business, even though I knew it was rude. I was looking for one little girl in particular and I thought I had seen her across the square half an hour ago. Where did she go?
The desperation I felt must have been plain on my face because Iyatan laughed.
“Poor Tanksi, poor little sister, Wakangli. Are you bored already? The day has barely begun. Smile! It may bring us some customers.” He turned away as he winked at me. I stuck my tongue out at him.
Without turning around, he laughed. “Don’t make that face, it may scare away customers. Smile.” He turned around with a grin on his face and a huge crate in his hands.
“Fine, but I am not going to like it.” I smiled a grimace.
“No, stop that, please. You look like an animal in pain. No smiles, please, it’s torture.”
I tried to hold in my laugh, but it escaped as he staggered around as if he were in pain, and then he really tripped.
“Hey, not funny,” he said. “I could have been really hurt.”
“The big and strong Iyatan? Never.”
He picked up his crate, pouting, and carried it to the ship. We were packing to leave for a new trade city. We had a few more days here, but the goods we gained here were loaded as they were traded for or purchased.
I went back to studying the people around me and caught the gaze of one of the men leading a wagon past my stall. His eyes caught and held mine for an endless time, and then he turned to speak to his trading partner. I was sure the desperation was still on my face, waiting for someone to save me, to save me from this boring job.
I heard a muffled shout come from inside the wagon as the tail end of it passed by the stall. I studied the men walking behind it. They looked like mercenaries. One of the men in the front of the wagon fell back beside it, walking at its pace. He reached inside it with the butt of his knife. I heard a thud and then silence, which was suspicious and definitely not normal.
These men looked familiar, but their clothes and attitudes were not. Father would never have men like these on any of his ships. I tried to study the men some more, but they were moving farther away from the stall.
I called to Tanagila in the back. “I’ll be back in a minute; I remembered something I wanted t
o get before it’s gone. Tell Father I will be a little while.”
He raised his eyebrows. “I don’t want to tell your father why you aren’t where you’re supposed to be. It could be the end of me. Be reasonable, Wakangli.”
“I don’t have time for this; I will be back in a bit.” I snatched my sword on the way out of the stall.
“Hey, hey wait. What do you need your sword for? Come back! Wakangli!”
I was pretty sure he had lost sight of me in the crowd by now. However, with his holler he probably brought all the men from the ship racing across the pier to the stall. I had minutes—if that—to help this person, to find something to buy and get back to give my father the “sorry” look before he began fuming.
I raced around the corner of the alley where I had last seen the wagon, trying to be quiet. Not quite enough.
A hand snaked around me and then another followed. The hand grabbed the wrist of the hand holding my sword. He pinched a pressure point and my sword fell from numb fingers. I screamed but he covered my mouth with his hand. I bit him and he yelled as I tasted blood on my lips.
“Her eyes are starting to shine. Take her out now or I will.”
“I am trying, but she is very strong.”
I screamed again. I felt wind gather around me, trying to push the man away. I could see my light on the face of the man in front of me and my reflection in his wide eyes. My hair was flying around me and my eyes were glowing brightly. My body was starting to glow as well.
I continued to scream and fight but the men were surrounding me. My power sent a shock wave into the men, and they flew backwards.
I leaned against the wall, exhausted. I had used too much power. I raised my head and walked slowly down the alley toward the noise of people in the market.
I felt a hand grab my waist and yank me back. I started to holler and the leader covered my mouth again with his uninjured hand.
The last thing I smelled was pine trees, and the last sound I heard was, “This is ridiculous!”
I felt a sharp pain in my head and then nothing.
CHAPTER 8
The prattle of the people made my head hurt. Wanting to stop the noise, I tried to cover my ears with my hands. I groaned in pain and passed out.
I woke again and wanted to throw up. I was pretty sure most of the bones in my body were broken, but why? Obviously they didn't know how to treat a captive. Unless…unless they never intended to give me back to my father?
He would pay them anything, of that I was sure, but I also knew he would not let this aggression pass. He would make all of them suffer each mistreatment I had been subjected to. I was worried because they clearly knew who I was, but they didn’t seem to care.
“She’s awake.” The gruff tones grated in my ears and made my eyes water.
My eyes burned and their heaviness was hard to fight, but I tried to open them to see where I was. To get my bearings, I wrenched them opened and then felt my stomach twist in pain. I turned my head just in time to throw up beside me instead of on me. As I turned my head, I gasped in pain, squeezing my eyes shut again. I hoped and prayed this would all go away, that it was just a bad dream.
A man squatted next to me. “If you scream, they will hit you again. I don’t think you can take much more, so please be quiet.”
I squinted, trying to bring his face into focus. His voice sounded familiar, and he shifted with guilt. My voice rasped, “Well, by the feel of things, I think most of my bones are already broken. If you are going to hit me then do it. Just shut up because you are hurting my head.”
Another man loomed behind the squatting man. “Geez, just hit her. Teach her who the boss is here.”
The other man didn't turn away from me. “Go away. Just go away, Hanyetuwi. I think you have done enough.”
I froze at the name, bringing his face and voice to mind. Silver Eyes. It was a mistake, it had to be.
The other man huffed, but walked to the other side of the building. The man squatting in front of me shifted, trying to pull my attention back to him.
“Can you tell how many fingers I am holding up?”
“Why? Are you a healer and didn’t tell me?”
“Hiya, but I know a few things. Please just tell me how many you see.”
“I don’t see any because I can’t focus on anything. It feels better with my eyes closed. Does it make you feel better to know I'm weak?”
“No, it doesn’t. I'll watch over you while we are here, until your father pays. Hanyetuwi is my brother.”
“Oh, how charming. You would suck as a brother.”
“You don’t know me; you can’t say something like that.”
“Leave me alone. If the way I look is not obvious enough for you, I am exhausted and hurting. I don’t want to talk to you.”
I turned my head toward the wall and let the tears fall. I wished my father would hurry up and pay whatever they wanted so he could take me away from this hell. I slipped into darkness with the tears still damp on my face.
The next morning the sun warmed my face and I could feel my body turning its energy into healing. My body was using the elves’ bond with nature to borrow energy and heal. I could now take a deep breath without pain.
I heard a moan beside me and looked over. They had taken the girl from the market, Jan, the one I had helped. She didn't look bruised except for a little blood coming from a gash on her head. Why did they still have her? She was a poor orphan.
“Jan, are you awake? Are you okay?”
“Wakangli? They have you too?” The little girl opened her eyes and gasped.
“I am okay. It probably looks worse than it is. Are you all right?”
“Yeah. My head hurts a lot, though.”
I started to move my body, slow inch by slow inch, toward Jan. When I reached her I put my forehead to hers since my hands were tied behind my back. I focused the energy I gathered from the sun and pushed it into her. Jan smiled with relief and the gash closed.
“Is that better?”
“Yes, that….aaahhhh!”
One of the men grabbed Jan and yanked her to her feet. He reached down to smack me across the face, but frowned when his hand was caught by another. I stared at this other man. It was Wi.
Wi’s eyes flashed to mine in a frown.
His voice was deep. “Enough! That is enough. You will not hit her.”
The other man dumped Jan on the floor, where she curled into a ball and covered her head. I crawled over to her and covered her with my body.
Wi stared down at us. “You will not harm either one unless Hanyetuwi or I say so. Do you understand?”
The other man grumbled and walked away. “Yes.”
Wi knelt down over us and lifted me off Jan.
“If I could have changed what happened I would have, but I could not. I will protect you from harm from here on out. Nothing will happen to you or the girl.”
I stared into his eyes. He still looked guilty and ashamed. I was angry.
“Don’t,” I said. “Don’t promise me anything.”
I hissed through my teeth as I turned on my side. I almost passed out, but I was determined to turn away. Even the tears streaming down my face didn’t change my course. I had given too much energy to Jan, but I did not regret it. Even if I could not get free, I could help her. In some way. I was resolved that she would be able to leave this place. I would have to think of a plan to get her out of here.
CHAPTER 9
I fell into an exhausted sleep, but woke when the sun no longer warmed my skin. I noticed that my hands were tied in front of me instead of behind my back. My shoulders burned and I wished I was able to swing them around and maybe punch something.
I wondered if the stick in my hair was still in place. Most of my hair was pulled away from my face, which gave me hope it might be there. I slowly brought my hands up to feel my hair. My fingers touched the stick.
My captors had made a grave mistake.
Some of my ribs were st
ill broken, as was one of my legs. I needed more energy, but no one would touch me and I didn't want to take any from Jan. She was going to need it later to stay alive. I grabbed my stick and slid it between my fingers.
I wiggled toward Jan and touched her face. The girl started awake without a sound and met my gaze. I nodded and whispered, “It’s time for you to leave. Get as far as you can from here and find water. When I say, you go.”
Jan didn’t argue with me, she just nodded and touched my hand. I gathered my strength and stood for the first time in who knew how many days. Pain shot through my leg and ribs, but I pushed it to the back of my mind.
I led the girl toward the door and I thought we were going to make it. Then a shadow beat us to the door. I willed my stick into a staff and swung it at the shadow and they both landed on the ground with a thud. I jerked the door open and shoved Jan through.
“Run, run fast. I’m right behind you. Don’t look back and don’t stop.”
She took off like a deer and I saw shadows trying to catch her, but they were too slow. I was not fast on my broken leg, but I did get out of the cabin. My feet touched the ground and I took in as much energy as I could from the earth before being yanked off my feet.
I knew it was coming, but it was still frustrating. He dragged me back into the cabin and shoved me onto the ground.
“Did you really think that you could get away?” Hanyetuwi hollered in my face.
I sat and said nothing as I pushed the energy I had gathered into my leg and ribs. Next time I wasn’t going to be so weak.
He looked really mad. “Did you?”
I met his gaze. “Oh, I’m sorry. Were you expecting an answer? No, I didn’t think I could get away.”