‘But even if your brothers and sisters do manage to breed again with humans, I am very much afraid of the consequences. Their offspring might not even have our better looks anymore and live less long, but what’s of course worse is that they might be flawed, feeble. They could lose the comyenti side all together; our unique trait and powers. I’m sure you heard about our plan that we hoped our children together could save our kind, but I didn’t have any other natural children than you.’ He rubbed his beardless chin but he did not look sad, in fact far from it.
‘So that plan failed, but even if you and my mother…’ You were reluctant to breed with humans weren’t you? How convenient that your wife was barren… ‘would produce more children, in theory, which must have been your backup plan, those children; my full brothers and sisters, would have had to breed with humans again for lack of comyentis; something you do not agree with, do you?’
‘My theory was that our species stays pure.’
‘Was, yes, but…’Aigle’s eyes grew big at hearing Shazar’s thoughts. ‘Incest? That’s your plan? But…but that’s sick!’
‘Why? Pah, it does happen in the animal kingdom if a species has to due to a lack of suitable mates, and we are animals in clothes after all! People seem to have forgotten that, but we comyentis haven’t. Or at least we shouldn’t!’
‘So you compare and justify every behaviour present in the animal kingdom to ours, even when it does not fit in with our ethics? Then, you would not hesitate to kill my brothers and sisters; because you did not father them, and chase away the real father? For that’s the way of many male predators; lions, bears, even vegetarian gorilla’s at times; to ensure that every offspring is theirs!’
‘Well…no, that would be going a bit too far,’ Shazar calmly responded. Aigle, still upset, stared him in the face only to see that the man was amused!
‘Indeed, we’re not lions or bears,’ he smiled at his son, clearly proud of him having a mind of his own, which proved his intelligence. ‘Don’t worry, your mother made it very clear she wants to stay with her family. I wouldn’t want to abduct her and demand she breed my children, or try to impregnate her again and have the whole village including Felix and their children after me!’ He laughed hard trying to break the tension somewhat.
Aigle was not in the least bit amused and he looked grimly at the river whilst at the thought about mating one of his sisters or future nieces. He had been brought up to look at everything with an open mind, but this was unthinkable. Aigle was appalled and disgusted.
Shazar, sensed this, hung his head low and stated, ‘I have to try and find a way to accept that I have failed and that is hard, son, very hard.’ He tried to swallow his pride.
Aigle had no desire to debate about it, because if the man felt it like that, then that was his truth. Yet he felt a little sympathy for him and said quietly, ‘Then I must be your last hope, aren’t I?’
Shazar’s eyes lit up and when he stared into his son’s eyes, reading him, he noticed his eyes were almost like mirrors of his own.
‘Yes, you understand. Good. Yes, you are my last hope, but I realise what a huge weight I have put on your shoulders. You can never fall in love with a human woman and start a family with her, you are our only chance-’ His words were interrupted by girlish laughter. It had sounded nearby.
Both men looked up at the bridge they were closely seated by to see two figures crossing the wooden construction slowly. The two people stood still to gaze at the river below, however, they didn’t see the father and son in the dark, as they remained dead quiet.
They heard the boy mumble softly, and the girl giggled at his remark. Aigle recognized his sister at once, and Shazar used his hawk sight and hearing, above the soft murmur of the river, to distinguish the two people. Valera was not using any ability; she was completely focussed on the boy by her side who was closing in on her.
Shazar’s eyes grew bigger at seeing his human son kissing Sula’s daughter Valera. Sudden rage erupted in him and he wanted to rise, but Aigle, sensing it straight away through the family tie, tried to prevent him from making a fool of himself, by tugging at his sleeve.
No, son. Let me! Shazar objected but Aigle sent him a quick, powerful thought, quicker than any spoken words.
No! You won’t interfere with their happiness and destroy it. It’s not all about burdens and onerous tasks in this world. There is love as well and that makes us strong and it defines us. It is love that enables us to conquer any evil that is within us and the world. Not everyone is up to what the world expects from them. Fay wasn’t and neither is Valera.
Shazar looked dubiously at him, but upon seeing Twello and the girl, he remembered love himself… and the loss of it, and he dropped his head in defeat.
‘I had other plans for her.’
‘I know you did. Focus on me instead. I will be your hope, Shazar, I don’t know how yet, but I will…’
His father stared at him in surprise and saw that he meant it. He would find a way; they would find a way.
Chapter 24 Love
‘So,’ Shazar crossed the meadow at the farmhouse where the goats grazed and saw, with disgust, that Twello was helping Valera milk some goats. ‘There you are.’ Shazar tried to make his voice as friendly as possible.
‘Hi,’ Twello looked up, not too surprised to see him, as he usually knew when he was on his way, very much like a comyenti would. That was one of his gifts. The autumn sun shone in the happy couple’s unworried eyes and the air smelled of leaves and earth. In fact Twello had some dry leaves stuck in his hair. Valera noticed Shazar staring at the top of his head questioningly, so she started to pick at it, removing the few leaves.
‘Hello Shazar,’ Valera greeted him in a friendly manner. Shazar noticed her gentle gesture and Twello’s glazed over eyes.
‘I thought you hadn’t met a comyenti yet, but I see I was wrong,’ Shazar said, nodding at the girl. ‘I must apologize that I have been a bit preoccupied to introduce you properly to everyone.’
‘Not at all, I sensed Sula wanted you to meet the others first without me. I sort of bumped into Valera while I was waiting. It was hard to not notice her.’ Twello smiled warmly at the girl. Their eyes exchanged love and Shazar felt a little out of place.
‘So you thought you could just introduce yourself to her?’
Shazar had sounded a little annoyed and they both looked up to study his mood.
‘Is something the matter?’ Twello stood from the little stool he had been sitting on, wiping his hands on his breeches, to stand level with his father. Valera picked up the bucket full of milk, and said, ‘You two have a lot to catch up on. I’ll come back later.’
‘No, wait-’ Twello started to protest, holding her arm lightly.
‘No, really,’ Valera said shaking her head before walking off to the farmhouse with the bucket.
‘Great! Do you disapprove of me seeing Valera?’
‘Seeing her would be alright, but did you have to get yourself involved with her?’
Twello’s pale blue eyes showed hurt and he looked away when he said, ‘I had a dream about her before we came to Rosinhill. The night I grieved for Mum. I saw Valera’s face so clearly, as if Mum sent her image to me! When I first saw her when we arrived here, I knew it was her; the girl of my dreams. That’s why I was so focussed on finding her. You always told me to analyze my dreams, so I did. It was a premonition, surely! I have fallen in love with her, what is wrong with that?’
How could Shazar argue with that? He wanted to say that Twello didn’t know the girl, but how well had he known Sula when he fell for her?
He sighed. ‘Have you forgotten she is half comyenti?’
‘Of course I haven’t. I didn’t even know at first, until I saw her at the inn with her father, and I put two and two together. I was already in love! She is beautiful just like you told me comyenti woman are.’ Twello drew a quick breath, suddenly upset. ‘Now you might think I came with you to see for myself, but that’s not i
t! I’d forgotten all about my dream until I saw her. I often have these moments of déjà vu. Moments that seem so irrelevant, but might be of importance if I could just somehow read them. Maybe time as we know it, is not as we think with a past, present and a future. Maybe they are intertwined somehow, leaving a trail behind, and I pick up on those trails.’
Shazar sat down on one of the tiny stools to gather his thoughts.
‘Interesting. I do believe that what you say is true. I have had moments like that too, and often wonder why we are shown images, only to recognize them later on. There must be a reason for this. Perhaps one day it will all become clear. As for the present… perhaps it’s my fault for having filled your head with notions of comyenti women, or with comyentis in general, for that matter.’ He placed his head in his hands in defeat.
Twello smiled a kind little smile.
‘I fell in love, how can that be your fault? And how can it be wrong anyway?’
He tried to understand what his father meant by implying it was somehow a mistake. Shazar felt his confusion. He was actually pleased his son had found some joy in his life again after losing his mother and all the grieving that went with it.
‘To love is never wrong, son. It’s whether you act on it or not. I just-’
‘You had other plans for her, didn’t you?’ Twello suddenly jumped up, understanding, pointing towards his father. ‘I saw you looking at her, but you can’t have her!’ He faced his father in anger, fists clenched.
‘No, son-’
‘I know you better than that! You thought; now that Sula isn’t available after all, her daughter, who is half comyenti and looks a lot like her, will do! Well, guess what? She’s not available, she loves me, and we will marry and have children one day whether you like it or not. What’s more, I don’t care if they are one-fourths or one-eights or whatever! We will love them just as much and there isn’t a thing in the world you can do about that!’ He pointed his finger at him while his face grew hot.
So much anger, what have I done to trigger that? Shazar bit his lower lip, letting his son cool down a bit before speaking.
‘Well? That was what you were hoping for? Wasn’t it?’
‘I love Sula perhaps with a different intensity than I loved Ashanna but there is only room for two women in my heart, Twello. Only those two women, past, present and future. There is nothing and no one who can change that. I had my time, I lost both. Now it’s your turn, your special time to make a better effort, I assume. I just hoped-’
‘That doesn’t answer my question!’ Twello still raged. ‘You’re avoiding it, as usual! I didn’t speak about love. I know you and your ethics! Who’s to say history won’t repeat itself?’
Although Shazar never told Twello about his way of impregnating Sula, Twello wasn’t stupid and had seen how Sula had avoided his father and surmised that he’d not always been mister nice guy. Darkness somehow surrounded Shazar. Twello had always felt it, although Shazar had never showed anything but love for him and Ashanna, but it was there, staining his soul. Worse was the very fact that he was responsible for Ashanna’s death. She didn’t stumble or fall like Shazar thought. Twello knew it was a jump. She had surely leapt to break their Heartmerge; to set Shazar and herself free, possibly so that he could visit Sula again. How could Twello not think about that and blame him?
When Shazar didn’t reply Twello said, ‘Believe me, I would rather have fallen in love with a human woman than…than to stand in a comyenti’s shadow again. But I don’t think we have a choice in love. Valera understands me; my sensitivity and feelings. In our thoughts, interests and passions we are equals.’ He blushed at the admission.
‘She is a bit young for you, don’t you think?’
‘Eighteen and very mature for her age!’
Twello was fuming now and Shazar felt the heat and intensity of it like fire licking his face.
‘Calm down. I won’t take her away from you. You have my word on that. I promise you!’ Aigle is my hope now, he crossed his heart. ‘In fact she is a lot different than Sula.’
‘Hah! I know you where comyentis are concerned. It matters the most to you! You only stayed with me and Ashanna because of your Oath, didn’t you?’
Shazar swallowed at that.
How does he know?
‘Mum told me when I was old enough to understand,’ Twello said as in answer to the puzzled expression on Shazar’s face. ‘To remind me that we were safe as long as you were there. I guess she meant well, not realising how it would make me feel that the man I adored, my wizard, my hero, only stayed because of some stupid oath. An oath which that same man valued maybe even more than his family. Perhaps he hadn’t fully fathomed the consequences before he took the oath? That he would lose all his powers when he broke it!’
‘Ashanna didn’t know about that Oath, I never told her! She only knew about my Oath to my people and to…Sula. That I could only go back if I had any children myself, and she knew what I would risk losing if I broke it!’ Shazar stood with his face as white as snow.
‘Ah, yes, but you promised to keep her, to keep us, safe when you came back and crossed your heart, and there was such a heavy air around us, remember? All those years ago when we were still so unknowing, so innocent? You and Mum never kept any secrets from each other and she must have put two and two together when you mentioned the meaning of a Comyenti Oath years later! She kept this knowledge from you, kept her thoughts blocked to protect you, not herself. If you knew that she knew this, it would have made matters worse. She understood how important your comyenti side was to you! You never would have left, thereby risking your abilities! Without them you would have been nothing but human; your worst enemy! Her sense of guilt, yours and your wasted years, had you foreseen this-’
‘Now hold on! That’s not fair! Why was it wrong of me to want to keep you safe? I would have taken you and Ashanna with me anywhere!’
‘But never here, never to Rosinhill!’ Twello almost spat at him, lips pursed.
Shazar stood trembling on his legs looking for support. His eyes filled with tears so that it blinded him. He reached for a tree.
So much for gratitude… he thought. However Twello’s words had hit home, and had touched a very sensitive nerve indeed, for it was all true…
Shazar was crying now and crumpled to the ground. Twello looked affected, but remained standing tall. Shazar didn’t pick up the words the boy thought, but even if he had Twello wouldn’t have cared, No, not this time! I won’t budge! I’ll make you pay! Feel the pain that you caused! You were the one that made Ashanna jump of the cliff that day! It was her sense of guilt that pushed her away from you, from me….and over the cliff. It was you who killed her!
Twello turned round fuming and left the meadow.
~~~
That day Sula and Valera had been preparing the feast by baking cakes and small fruity snacks. Almaz and Jolaz had attempted to help, but they had made such a mess that Valera had to send them away. Felix had to do some chores in the fields, storing away the harvested apples and hay, building up the winter supply for the animals and themselves. He had help from Aigle and a friend from Rosinhill, Gettar. All men were stripped down to the waist. It was still warm enough to do this as it was one of the last sunny autumn days. The hay they were working on was golden, the same colour as Felix’ hair.
‘I heard you took care of that old rival of yours,’ Gettar started saying, forking a pile of compact hay before throwing it on the cart. Aigle stood on the cart to collect the heaps of hay and stack them up in the cart. They had a donkey to help them haul it. Aigle could have easily pulled it from and back to the farmhouse, but wasn’t allowed. Aigle always made sure he helped the donkey though, when no one was looking, as it would have been too heavy otherwise. Felix nodded in answer to Gettar’s question.
‘But what I don’t understand is why he is still staying at the inn.’
‘He is family of Sula, a distant…cousin,’ Felix simply remarked.
&nb
sp; ‘Her cousin? Ah, yes I can see the resemblance, especially with Aigle,’ he threw Felix another lump of hay. ‘But the rumour has it that the man tried to steal your wife away! If he is her cousin why would he do that?’
That was indeed hard to explain and Felix had to think quickly. He pierced a pile with force, as if it were Shazar, and threw it on the cart, saying, ‘Well, you have seen my wife. Even cousins find it hard to stay away from her!’
‘Well, you have dealt with men before who felt the same about your wife, but never have you invited any of them to your harvest party!’
How does he know about the party? They had to be careful; news did spread quickly these days.
‘Oh, no, it’s not a harvest party yet. It’s a family reunion and I didn’t invite him, Sula and the children did. He is after all…family.’
Felix stood and glimpsed at Aigle who had stopped in his tracks biting his lip, feeling embarrassed about it. Gettar wiped his brow.
‘Well, I am sure you know what’s best.’
It wasn’t my idea...
Later on Felix and Aigle cleared a stable in the big farmhouse for the party, in case it was raining, and outside they piled up wood for the bonfire. Father and son were both quiet doing so.
‘Dad?’ Aigle said at one point catching him staring at the cats who where whirling about him as if they too felt his worry. Felix knelt down by the cats and petted them lovingly. He looked up at his son, but saw him with different eyes now.
Shazar’s son.
The Comyenti Series Book Bundle, Volume 1 and 2 (Epic Romantic Supernatural Fantasy) Page 49