by D. R. Rosier
I frowned, and exchanged a look with Regina, who also looked troubled. I chose my words very carefully, she’d talked about honor a few times, and the last thing I wanted to do was offend hers.
“Saria, I trust your word and the oath you’ve given me completely, but what if your princess disagrees with that plan, and decides to burn the city to the ground, or just create havoc and slaughter on the way out?”
I was still a little afraid she’d be offended, but she didn’t even bat an eye.
Saria replied, “Princess Desirae will see the wisdom in my plan. We don’t want your land, we prefer the forest and its life and magic around us. We fight because your king, along with mages, constantly raid our forests for rare fae breeds, and other components used in their foul magic. The elves are stronger in magic than humans are, but the fae are magic. We respect life, and the circle of life to kill when needed to survive and eat, but humans rape the forest and kill for the sake of greed and sometimes just for the killing. We choose to protect it.”
Regina finally spoke up, “What’s your point?”
Saria said, “That should be obvious. If we as you say, go on a murderous rampage and leave, and your task fails, things will quickly go back to how they are now. However, if we free your city, and the humans previously under thrall to the king are able to run it, and beat out the human scum who choose that life of dishonor, things will change for a long time.
“I have no doubt, the king will eventually crush you all, but for a time he’ll be dealing with a city in revolt. For months, or perhaps even years, his troops will be focused on you, which means they won’t be in our forest. If you need a bloodthirsty reason to make sense of it, if we go with my plan, far more humans will die in the long run in your rebellion, and my people won’t pay a blood price for it.
“Once the city is freed, my people will happily leave you to it, why would we kill the enemies of the king?”
I frowned, it made logical sense if all that was true, and they only wanted to keep us out of the forest. I was also a little disturbed by her belief I was doomed, along with the people in the city, but pushed that to the back of my mind for now.
“And your dark cousins, how do you get along with them, and will they agree with your plan?”
Saria didn’t hesitate in her answer, as if she’d already thought all this through. Perhaps she had, she led an elven war band of many men, and was obviously a powerful warrior. It would make sense for her to consider all these things and tactics while she’d meditated last night.
“Lelmalond and Amathyr don’t always see eye to eye, our dark cousins can be frivolous at times, and much like your human kingdoms war, we too have clashed in the past. Though, our two cities have been at peace the last two generations, given our common enemy. They wouldn’t fight, or be captured if they didn’t want the same thing we do, to lessen the number of humans stealing into our forests.
“That said, they tend to be more enslaved to their emotions, and I will admit it’s a slight risk. They might not do the smart thing in the face of a vulnerable city. I believe however, my princess heir will be able to persuade them. At the very least, they would be pleased to keep your baron and human scum busy, while my people help you free your enslaved human rebels. Perhaps the necessary bloodshed from both those groups will slake their thirst for revenge, and allow them to walk away peacefully when the city falls into rebel hands.”
That kind of made sense, but also sounded risky. Though, the whole thing was risky as hell. I also wondered if her looks were affecting my judgement, because I was seriously considering going with her plan, and freeing the enemies of humans before I freed the humans. But… she wasn’t my enemy, perhaps the elves merely distrusted humans, and fought those that violated their borders.
She was also exotically hot, the more I was around her and got used to her alien beauty, the more attractive she was. She was also intimidating as hell, and I wondered if that mixture was influencing me to her thinking, or if it was truly logical. Probably a little bit of both.
Regina wasn’t any help. When I gazed at her she just shrugged as if to say it was my decision. That told me she wasn’t sure either, because although I knew Regina would accept any decision I made for us, she certainly wouldn’t hesitate to advise me or give me an opinion first. I had no choice but to go with my gut, and that told me she was right.
“Alright, I’ll follow your plan Saria, how do we get in the city?”
Saria shook her head, “You two can just walk in. The human scum who prefer living on the edges of your civilization often just show up to the city. As far as me, or my men, I’m still thinking on that. My last plan failed spectacularly.”
I nodded, and couldn’t think of anything either. If that answer was easy, they’d have infiltrated the city a long time ago.
I asked, “You’ve spoken of honor a few times, and some humans do have honor as well, but what does honor mean to an elf?”
She replied, “It means many things. It means we keep our word and our vows. It means we respect the life around us, even if we’re forced to end some of it to survive. It does not mean we fight over petty insults, that is a human conceit. The only person who can besmirch my honor is me.”
“Dark elves?”
She shrugged, “Similar, we are much alike in truth, though many elves would disagree. However, they are higher strung as I said, and are less controlled with their instincts and reactions. A petty insult from another may not stain their honor, but they’d be likely to slit their insulter’s throat anyway, in anger.”
Right. That wasn’t disturbing or anything, not that I had any plans to insult a dark elf, or a light elf for that matter.
“What’s the forest like?”
She sighed, and gave me a predatory look that made my mouth go dry.
“Enough questions James, I’m trying to pay attention to our surroundings, to protect your life, and I’m working on a plan to get into the city. I’m here to fulfill my vow, not your curiosity.”
I nodded reluctantly, and noticed Regina looked amused.
The two of us fell back a few feet, but not too far. I knew Saria wouldn’t be amused if we got too far away. I felt both protected, and like a hostage to a strange and alien hot woman I couldn’t possibly understand. Human women were a mystery to me, Saria was an enigma.
Regina and I were quiet for a mile or two, but then started whispering back and forth. Soon enough, we were back to our easy banter and conversation, though at much quieter level. Regina was so beautiful, her red hair shined in the bright sun, and I often got a little lost in those green eyes of hers. The idea of cheating on her was impossible, but her insistence that I would have other women in the future was something I couldn’t shake out of my mind.
Regina’s alluring and innocent beauty also didn’t stop me from glancing at the exotically sexy and alien beauty of Saria during our ride. I had no true ambitions to sleep with her, she was far too intimidating and alien, but she was very nice to look at, exotic. It did make me feel a little guilty though, but Regina didn’t seem to mind, in fact, she looked quite amused by it.
When we stopped for lunch, curiosity finally got the better of me, and I connected my magic to Saria to look over what made an elf, an elf. I salved my conscious by convincing myself that looking wasn’t treating, I wasn’t changing anything or healing her without approval, just… looking. My oath was also safe, as long as I didn’t talk about what I learned with anyone, outside of another physician seeking knowledge.
It didn’t take me long to figure out humans and elves had a common ancestor, probably two or three evolutionary steps back they must’ve split, and somehow both lines of evolution had survived each other. Perhaps dark elves were third, only one evolutionary step back when they split from the light elves? I supposed I’d find out eventually.
Regardless, unlike humans, the elves didn’t give up all their other evolutionary advantages to support the brain. They had a denser musculature, leading to
their greater strength, speed, and dexterity. Their animal instincts were closer to the fore as well, but their brains were just as highly developed for intelligence giving them enough control over it to be civilized. Regardless, they’d be far more at home in the forests than even us humans would be.
Their lifespans were long, and I realized when Saria had said two generations, she’d meant four hundred years, not forty. Saria herself was just over two hundred, even though she looked younger than me. Their aging seemed to be at a ten to one ratio with humans. Honestly, they’d won the genetic lottery in a way, and were superior to humans in a lot of ways, which tweaked my vanity just a bit.
I crushed that emotion, the last thing I needed to do was think human’s superior to everyone else, which was basically just prejudice.
Their magic was almost identical to human magic, and I could clearly read what gave her telekinesis for her magic talent. The ears, hair, and thinner face, were all just slightly divergent evolutionary traits. The elves all seemed willowy or petite, those that I’d seen anyway, but so were a good number of humans. Past the large differences I’d talked about, there were far more similarities between our species than variances. We were similar enough to mate successfully at any rate, although I wasn’t sure what the result would be. Some kind of elf-human hybrid I’d assume, and I wondered if that had happened in the past. I swallowed my curiosity, and didn’t ask.
Humans did have some evolutionary advantages, but those advantages were geared more towards racial survival instead of individual survival. The elves were tougher and faster, lived longer, and were better hunters, but humans matured faster, and bred faster. There must have been far less elves in the forest than there were humans crawling around the continent, and given the light and dark elves only had one city each, that was probably a good guess.
I withdrew my magic, as we got back on our horses and headed out for the second half of our ride.
Chapter Thirteen
The day was cloudy, and there was a light drizzle that had me feeling a bit sticky and miserable. I was really spoiled I guess, from my world’s conveniences. It was late afternoon, and the woods and trees were growing thicker as we moved further east. There were less and less large open fields, but there were still enough.
Saria said from out of the blue, “Your oaths, you can’t kill or harm during treatment, correct? When you are acting as a physician.”
I was surprised by her sudden question, her tone of voice was even. I couldn’t figure her out, sometimes her voice was as gentle as a breeze, sometimes sharp, and sometimes like now, neutral. Humans were the same way I supposed, except, the times and subjects didn’t match what a human would change their voice for.
For instance, I noticed the more violent or martial minded the subject, the softer and sweeter her voice would get.
I nodded, “That’s exactly right, yes. Some believe the oath means doctors can’t harm, ever, but that’s not exactly true. There’s nothing in there that says I can’t defend myself from an attacker.”
She asked, “Then why did you not simply kill those soldiers. You weren’t treating them.”
I struggled with that for a minute, not the morality of it, but how to explain it.
“I choose not to end life, and I would argue that my magic is a tool to be used for healing. I didn’t need to kill them, I just needed to stop them.”
She shook her head, “Leaving enemies alive and behind you is foolish. It just gives them another opportunity to kill you, which is why I ended them. So, you would kill with a sword to defend your life?”
I frowned, uncomfortable with this conversation. I didn’t want to kill at all, but that conviction was much easier to maintain on my old world. The king wanted me dead, and I probably had a big reward on my head. I imagined that all flesh sculptors would.
“In self-defense, or to defend another, if I was forced to. I don’t know how to use a sword though.”
She measured me with a look over her shoulder, I felt like a butterfly again, being pinned to a board. I felt a little sick, I wasn’t a violent man, and in truth I wasn’t sure I could kill to save my life. Regina on the other hand, was a different story, I would kill to save her.
That scared me, because it meant it was just a matter of time before that choice was before me.
“How is that different from killing with your magic, in defense of your life or that of your companions, or the innocent?”
I frowned, “I use my magic to heal, would you have me become like the king?”
She gave me a haughty look and pulled her sword.
“This sword can kill cleanly, or maim someone in a horrible way, cripple them, or even be used to lance a boil and drain infection, to save life. This sword is just like your magic. I use it to preserve the lives I defend, I use it to take the lives of my enemies quickly and cleanly, and I never use it to torture or maim. To equate my using it to kill, with someone else that would use a sword to torture and maim, is absolutely absurd. I thought you were smarter than that. The king is evil because he abuses his magical gift, and uses it in evil ways. That does not make the magic evil. Magic is power, just as the sword is power, it is how it wielded by its owner that determines good or evil.”
I sighed, “I do understand that, and respect you for it, just as I respected those that maintained the laws on my world. I’ve chosen to preserve life, heal the sick and injured, it is what I do.”
My argument sounded weak even to my own ears.
She asked in contempt, “So you left the responsibility of stopping evil to others on your world, left the burden to them? For what, so you could feel better about yourself?”
I shook my head, “It’s not that simple, on my world it is very different, but I can’t argue that your assessment is what I face on this world. I’ve only been here for a week, and need time to figure things out.”
I felt like a coward, and as if not being a killer was suddenly wrong. Were my sensibilities really more important than protecting my life and the woman I loved in this far more dangerous world? Putting them to sleep worked for me so far though, and it seemed as if people here were far too eager to kill their problems. Wasn’t there a better way, or at least shouldn’t killing be the absolute last resort?
Self-defense was a lot more prevalent in this world, like the wild west. There were lawmen and authorities here, but not enough to ensure the safety of the people. Still, I was a healer, and hugely conflicted about the idea of killing someone. Especially with my magic, even if that didn’t make logical sense. Much like in my old world, I may have used a gun in self-defense, but the idea of using a scalpel would have been much harder to bear. It was a tool for healing, just as I’d made my magic a tool for healing.
How could it be both?
I also felt like I was being interrogated. I found it hard to even look at Regina right now, ashamed that I was risking her life for some morality that I wasn’t sure even made sense. Killing was wrong, but it was justified in self-defense. I knew that, but yet…
She asked, “Do you believe I am evil for killing those men last night, with my magic?”
Not evil, but perhaps a little too fast to kill? Although, she’s lived in this world her whole life, and she was probably right. They were rapists, and her enemy, who was I to judge?
I frowned, “No Saria, I don’t believe you’re evil.”
She said softly, “Then why do you believe defending yourself would be? It would be no different to what I did last night.”
She moved off a few feet, effectively ending her questioning and the conversation. I had a lot to think about. Was it selfish to expect her to protect me when I wouldn’t protect myself? Was it selfish to worry about my own morals and sanity if I was forced to take a life, and disregard those around me?
I was forced to answer yes, but it also wasn’t that simple. On my world, I could depend on the police to risk their lives to keep the peace, and it was even the law. Self-defense was okay, but always scrutini
zed there, and looking for criminals to stop was against the law. Vigilantism.
I’d never had to face this question before, and I was filled with doubts. I’d been naïve, thinking I could knock people out and heal them, and let them face all the injustice and keep me safe. What kind of man did that make me? I was about to stimulate a rebellion, just to preserve my own life, did I really think I could keep my hands free of blood? How selfish was I?
Was I healer from another world with a more evolved morality, or was I simply a coward that lacked the conviction to do the right thing to stop the evil men who would kill me, and kill or enslave others?
I knew I was a good man, I’d treat Regina right, and was excited by the idea of marrying her and raising a family together. The question was would I become a better man, one who would protect them in this violent world as well. I wanted to say yes, but I still squirmed at the idea of killing, for any reason.
I’d been programmed by society on my old world, and started to wonder that afternoon if they weren’t all insane, how could it be wrong to protect those you love, and your own life? The aggressor, the murderer, is evil, not the man who kills to stop the evil. Equating a defender, with an evil aggressor, was insane. The defender lived in peace until threatened, the aggressor was murderous at heart and chose violence as a way of life. The difference between the two couldn’t be starker.
I knew despite that, even the defender would be changed profoundly once he took a life, even if for a just reason.
Regina gave me a soft smile, but it didn’t help ease my troubled heart. Except, if it came down to my conscience, or saving Regina’s life, I knew that I would act to protect her. Problem was, I still wasn’t convinced it would be the right thing, intellectually I saw it, but in my gut the idea of taking a life still horrified me. Even if it wouldn’t violate the physician’s oath, and I could still call myself a doctor at the end of the day.