Bliath: Shattered (6 page)

Vance went to the tack room, where he dropped Fera’s bags, sitting down on the floor and pulled the first one over.  Hoping this held some kind of clue to what was going on he opened it.  It was a few changes of clothes, and two sealed letters, both marked for Fera in different handwriting, he wanted to open them, but out of respect he set them aside.  There was also a small med kit at the bottom.  He carefully packed the med kit and clothes back in the bag, forgoing the letters, so Leo would not pry into something that might be very personal.  Pulling over the next bag, he found several small satchels of food, varying from breads, to nuts and dried berries.  That seems normal enough.  The third bag was what his mother was warning about, it had a forbidden history book in it, a few maps that marked where she was going - well two possible routes either going to The Elves or the Northern Dwarves.  This struck him as odd - he thought, maybe she was part Elven, but why the Dwarves then?  Tracing her path back, she came from the Great Valley of Thoren, but Thoren was closed off and protected, mystery surrounded it, along with a lot of speculation.  A blank journal, with another sealed letter in it, and a bag of coins was left at the bottom of the bag.  Vance took out the history book, putting all three letters and the map in the journal for safe keeping.  The rest he packed back up.  He picked all three bags up, he was planning on taking them to her room, the Rose room, when he saw his mother making her way the stable.  In the moon light he could make out the worry that her face held.  Panic welled up in side of him, and his mind drifted back to Fera as he left her room, and her calling out for him to come back.  He felt the need to drop the bags and run to Desree, but not wanting to show any form of weakness, he set them down and leaned on the stable door frame, trying desperately to appear collected. 

Desree walked into the barn and looked at the boy, the man that she raised since he was almost two years old up and down. “You’re not fooling me kiddo, she is fine, still in limbo, but the temperature is starting to ease up.” 

Vance let out a sigh of relief.  “Mom I have so many questions…”  Before he could finish, Desree cut him off,  “My boy, I know, and please do not be mad at me, I love you as my own, I can tell you what I am not bond to, and I am sure some of what I say may only bring on more questions, but please hear me out.”  Desree seemed to age before him, he had never seen her fear anything, but it was a fear mixed with worry and she was projecting it so strongly he could almost taste it.  “Come Vance show me what you have taken out of her bags.”

Vance took her to the tack room and pried back up the floor board he put the book under when he took her irritating horse to the barn.  Taking it out he handed it to her, she did not seem surprised, she opened the book, and flipped to the pages toward the back.  “Vance,” she said with almost a whisper, “I have taught you myself, as well as I could about the history of our world, that girl in that bed, you know her, you have met her, when she was a few weeks old, but you were still so young. Even then, you were so enamored by her.”  Desree stretched her hand up and embraced her son’s shocked face, as she did the memory hit him like a punch in the stomach, knocking him to his knees.  Images were around him, he saw a younger Desree, she was holding him, he was a little over two, if that, he was fighting to get free.  A beautiful woman was sitting on a chair, she looked like Fera, fair skin, and dark hair but when her eyes looked upon him, they were a hauntingly stunning shade of violet.  Her voice like a melody, telling Desree to put the boy down he was fine.  Desree complied, and the young Vance totted to the couch, climbing up.  He moved closer to the woman and peered into her arms.  Vance watching his memory play out, let out a gasp, the eyes that gazed back into his were pure honey, they were Fera’s eyes.  The lady with the violet eyes was talking to the younger him, but he could not look away from her.  He watched as she put the tiny baby in his small lap.  She helped him hold her. His face beamed and he giggled at Fera.  Her tiny hand came up and touched his face.  Vance faltered in the memory, he was sure it was Fera, but there was a mark, a magic birth mark on her wrist.  If it was her, why did she not have it now?  He snapped back when he heard the younger Desree speak.  “Are you sure Riel you want to do this, only she can undo it and it will be very hard on her.  Are you sure you want to seal Thoren, that much energy, that kind of magic, it could kill you.”  Vance looked back to Riel, her eyes were so deeply saddened it pained him.  She looked to him holding the baby, and whispered “I know” Desree nodded as she stood up going over in front of the younger Vance, she went to take Fera from Vance.  Little Vance’s grip tightened on Fera, and with as much determination as a toddler could muster looked at Desree and said “Mine!”

Vance felt the floor lurch under him, he opened his eyes and he was down on all fours. 

Looking up, he saw Desree, sitting on a bale of hay waiting for him patiently.  “Mother, what was that?”  His voice was beyond strained.  “That was a memory; I gave it back to you.”  “The mark on her wrist is gone, that was Fera wasn’t it, what is going on?”  “Vance you can sit quietly and listen and I can explain to you what I am allowed to or, you can keep asking questions and get nowhere.”   He sat down next to her.   “My boy, I am sorry, your life, your fate, was chosen for you before you were even part of this world, I love you, you know I love you like my own flesh, and I would take away any pain you have, but the time has come where I must let go.”  Her voice was pained, Vance took her hands that were resting in the book, and she continued on.  “This war is their war, but we were all drug into it, fate she is a cruel mistress, we all must play our parts.  The night you were placed in my arms changed my life forever.”   Vance interrupted her, “Show me, do that memory thing again and show me!”  As his world was fading out, he could hear Desree apologize. 

Things were a blur people were running everywhere, he could hear some of them talking, saying things like they will be here soon, what are we going to do, and we need to leave.  Everyone is so panicked.  A woman, in her mid-twenties held him; she was trying to comfort him.  She was telling him things like, mommy is here and he was ok, and daddy would come soon. He had her nose and creamy skin tone.  Desree was walking over to them.  Vance felt the tears on his face now as they were on the younger version of him, even then he knew something was wrong.  That was his mother, the one he tried to remember since Desree told him that he was not really hers’ and seeing her in pain too was almost too much to handle.  He felt love for her, her pain was so clear, and this was a memory, he could not make her feel better.  A man walked up to them, and took Vance from his mother, his eyes were the same his, dark green, with the swirl of light green energy moving in them.  He talked to them, telling them that the army was close, that there was little hope but he would make sure they were safe, and Desree, his mom, and he needed to leave now.  His mother fought with him that he needed to come too.  He kissed Vance’s head, taking a hand and putting it on his cheek, it warmed, sending a tingly feeling through him and whispering something in his ear that he could not make out or remember but he knew it was important.  Telling him he loved him and that he needed to be a good boy for his mother, then placing him back in her arms.  His father embraced them both kissing his mother.  Desree and his father had a brief exchange and then Desree started pulling both the toddler and his mother out the door.  His little form looked at his father and said “bye bye daddy,” like he would see him soon.  They climbed into a carriage; his mother had tears running down her face.  A few minutes later there was a loud explosion and the building they were in was gone.  It was starting.  His mother let out a scream.  She looked at Desree, then handed Vance to her, she told her to keep him safe, that she knew what to do and how to handle things and to go to Thoren.  Leaning forward she whispered in Vance’s little ear like his father had, then told him she loved him and one day he would understand.  Kissing his forehead she left and did not look back.  Vance started to scream for her and was desperately trying to free himself from Desree.  The carriage started to shake and lightening was masked by the explosions going on around them.

As his head cleared he was still sitting next to Desree in the barn, tears trickling down his face.  Before he could formulate words, Desree spoke in a quiet calm voice, “Before you ask, I made promises, took oaths to protect you, things I could and could not tell you, to keep you safe, they loved you more than you will be able to know until you have your own children.  They knew what they were facing that day, but that doesn’t make it easier on the ones they leave behind.”  

“That does not explain why we went to Thoren and where her mark went and why.”  Vance was shaking he was upset by what he saw and both Desree and himself knew that he needed time to process it.   Desree was not going to push things on him; so many things she was swore not to tell him. “My boy, I, we went there to be safe after the war was brought to our door, but I also was requested by the Queen of Thoren, Fera’s mother, Riel, she had just had her and in order to keep her safe, needed me to hide her magic from Fera, herself, and the rest of the world.”   Vance stood up and started to pace.  Nothing was making sense.  Something clicked, Fera’s mother’s name was Riel, her image flashed in his mind, Desree watched him as a few of the pieces were coming together.  He looked at her, the only thing he could say was “NO!”  She slowly stood up and handed him the book, he looked at the image drawn on the page, it was the High Elven royal family as it was before the fall.  Queen Estreal, King Ilsar, Sarion, and Riel, both looking young, Vance gasped, the necklace that Fera wore was the same that Ilsar wore in the picture.  He looked at the woman that raised him, his mother in almost every sense of the word and whispered, “She is the next in line to rule the elven nations, and she is a crowned Princess of both Thoren and Elven domains?  This is why they want her.  Does she know this?”    Desree touched Vance’s arm, “Yes, and no, things fell apart and she is still in the dark about so much, and her binding is undoing.  We can’t tell, she is dealing with enough, things will come out in due time, they always do.”  Vance picked up the bags and walked out of the barn with a very heavy soul.

Chapter 8

Leo watched as Fera talked in her sleep, guilt riddled his mind, if he would have known it was someone like her at the end of their pursuit, he never would have fired on them.  His hand reached up and lightly touched her cheek, a slight shock went through is hand, he pulled his hand back, thinking he must be imaginings things.  Fera mumbled “Please, come back please...” Leo leaned forward “Shhhh I’m here, you're safe, you’re not alone.”  She was very much alone in her head. 

The meadow that Vance helped make was still there, she was no longer in the dark, but there are scarier things than the dark, and she was all too well aware of this.  Fera paced back and forth in her limbo, yelling out, not knowing no one could really hear her.  She collapsed to the ground; she never felt so many thing at once, anger, frustration, loss, fear and confusion.  The boy, that man, was here told her she was in limbo and it was her own fault and something about her binding and magic.  Her head hurt.  Pulling herself back up, she focused, maybe she thought if she goes back in the memories that were firing in her head the last few days, she could figure it out. 

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She was back reading in her favorite chair in the library, she was safe and at home looking down at the book where she had left off:

The alarm was going crazy, guards were running everywhere, Riel drew a deep breath and ran for her father’s study.  It was dark when she entered, creating a small light in her hand so things would not go noticed, she went over to his desk and sat down, the room still smelled of him.  Taking in his scent, she let out a sight, what she did next forever changed her mind, her heart, and the fate of the world.  Closing her eyes she reached out for her father’s energy trace hoping to feel even the faintest bit of it, just so she would not feel alone.  She found it easily, but then she felt her brother’s energy as well, that made sense, as did hers and her mother’s energies, but then she felt any energy wave unlike anything she had ever felt, it was pure, it was not elven, and strange. Harnessing what control she had while still being alert to the world outside the room, she whispered to the spirits calling on them for help to see what happened, she knew that her mother already did this and gave little explanation other than it was Sarion’s doing.  Riel had to know, she had to see it herself, even if it was something that was more than likely to scare her in ways most would never even think about.  She pulled the energy in and let go.  She was drawn back to the events that ended her father’s life, but only a small few know the actual details, as she never recanted them but most speculated that it was a different story that what Estreal told.  Going back to her father’s desk, she took the royal seal that he used every day, opening the latch on her necklace and slid it on, just as she closed the latch, her mother threw open the doors.  Riel guarded herself, but the force her mother used still knocked her over.  The Queen was seeing red, before she could send another attack at Riel, Riel pushed with all her energy, sending her mother flying down the upper corridor.  It is said as Riel fled the palace, she was heard shouting, “you know what you have done”.