Failira, the Tahlet Vahllah (The Beautiful Whisper of the Goddess Saga)

by Orr, Krystal

  Arizira was being pushed toward the opening of the hut. Iolirthas trailed behind her. "Harm? What harm? To whom? What is this all about?" Arizira demanded.

  Cynra turned her around and held her shoulders. "No more questions, Arizira! You must leave. There is no telling how long it will take you to reach your love."

  "But, I cannot go in this condition! With this weakness. Besides, she is with the Esu! How am I to get her to safety?"

  Cynra sighed. Questions, questions, questions!

  "I do not have all of the answers, Arizira. I know I have betrayed your trust, but you must believe me when I say I am trying to do the best thing for everyone. Please, child. Go. The wolf will walk with you and offer you strength."

  Arizira looked down into the eyes of her mother. "You said that was not her purpose."

  "It is now," Cynra replied. "Go, find Talliea. Taetylona and I will meet with you again as soon as we can. I am going against my faith to do this, Arizira, but I have recently learned that more is at stake than what I previously believed. War is brewing, child. Soon, the stain of battle will mar the floor of this grand forest. You must find Talliea before it is too late. I will help you as soon as I am able."

  Arizira looked hesitant. She did not know what to believe or think or how to feel. Her body was still tired and worn. She still felt weak, but the idea of finding Talliea gave her a surge of strength. She was unsure what all Cynra was talking about and she did not understand why the older woman felt that such haste was required, but she did not question anything. She was being given a chance to see her love again. Her failira. There was an end to her suffering and, with the aid of her mother, it no longer seemed as tedious as before.

  "Honored One--" Arizira began, but Cynra stopped her.

  "No goodbyes, child. We will see one another again. Soon. Go, remain hidden and pace yourself. Your mother will give you strength on your journey, but you will still feel the restrictions of your illness. If Talliea is still with the Esu, Iolirthas will be able to aid you in her rescue. Just go, child. Now."

  "Thank you, for everything. For answers," Arizira said hurriedly. She nodded to Taetylona and secured her weapons to her body. Turning to open the flap that served as a doorway, Arizira was nearly outside when the sound of Cynra's voice stopped her.

  "Arizira?"

  Arizira turned back around, her body half in and half out of the hut. A bright smile spread across Cynra's wrinkled old face and her purple eyes lit up with some unknown happiness.

  "The answer to your unspoken question, the one you always sought to speak to me about before your separation from Talliea?"

  Arizira stilled. Her eyes bore into Cynra's and her heart pounded in her chest. She knew the question Cynra was referring to. The one she had not mentioned to anyone at anytime…including Talliea. The one that had the potential to change her life…forever.

  "Yes?" she asked expectantly.

  Cynra's smile grew. "The answer is yes, child."

  "Y-yes?" Arizira stuttered in disbelief. A smile of her own appeared on her lips. A happiness she had not felt in weeks flared inside of her. She was overcome with emotion.

  "Yes," Cynra confirmed again. "Yes, but now that you know, caution must be even more than ever your ally."

  Feeling a renewed sense of purpose at having the answer to her question, Arizira laughed and nodded to Cynra. All of her worries and her pains and the sting of betrayal no longer seemed to encompass her. A small spark of the life she had lost returned to her and she felt lighter than she had in ages.

  Without another word, she left Cynra and Taetylona. Iolirthas walked at her side. Her steps were heavier than normal, due to her condition, but she felt positive that she was walking toward happiness. Her life was back on track. She had a plan. She had a purpose.

  She had a second chance.

  Chapter 7: A Desperate Departure

  "Are you prepared? We will have to be quick and you will have to follow my lead. Deception is to be our ally this night."

  Talliea breathed deeply and raggedly as she listened to Markahn. The two of them were in the healers' hut preparing to leave the settlement. Two days had passed since their last conversation and Talliea had worried that Markahn had betrayed her when he failed to return right at first. That fear had not lasted, however, and they both were now going over the finer points of their escape.

  Markahn had secured traveling clothes for both himself and Talliea, as well as sturdier new cloaks, fur-lined leather satchels filled with food, supplies, and medicines, and sleeping rolls. All of these he had hidden over the past two days in various spots in the forest. They were to be picked up and retrieved once he and Talliea were safely outside of Esu borders.

  Talliea, still incredibly weak, fought with her body to cooperate. Her excitement over being able to see Arizira again was the only thing compelling her to go through with Markahn's daring plan. She looked down at the bedding she had spent the last month and half on and was overcome with a sense of loss. Not for the bed or for her people, but for all the things she had lost when she had been ripped away from Arizira.

  She wondered what had become of the blanket Arizira had made for her. Had the Arniran woman gone back for it and their supplies when she had fled, or had other Esu men gone to the cave in search of clues and confiscated their belongings?

  The thought of her people being in possession of anything Arizira had once touched caused Talliea's stomach to turn over. They did not deserve anything so beautiful.

  “Talliea?"

  Markahn's voice brought her out of her thoughts. She turned away from the bed and looked over her shoulder at him. His reasons for helping her still baffled her greatly, but she was tired of lying around and eagerly awaiting death. If there was any hope of reuniting with Arizira, Talliea knew she had to take it.

  Still, there was the thought in the back of her mind that spoke of lies and deceit. Was she leading Markahn to Arizira and, in effect, bringing danger to her love, or was she accepting an offer of aid from a strange, but possible friend? When she had told Arizira to go, she had truly believed that her actions were right. At the time, she had been doing what was necessary to save the woman she loved.

  Now looking back on those events, Talliea could not help but wonder if she had made a mistake in being so rash. Her impatience and inability to think matters through had always gotten her into trouble. Her impetuous nature had sent her into the forest the night she had met Arizira. It had compelled her to leave without supplies when Markahn had granted her freedom. It had been the driving force behind her finally taking a chance and telling Arizira how she felt about her.

  All of those things had turned out for the best, despite her not thinking so at the time. Was it possible that her rash and hasty decision to send Arizira away was possibly going to end for the better after all? She did not know. Markahn's help was unexpected, but she could not turn him away. Even with the risks such a decision held, Talliea knew she had to at least try to find Arizira.

  The alternative was death.

  "Talliea? You must be more alert if we are to pull this off. The guards at the perimeter must not suspect anything other that what I tell them. I am sorry it must be this way, but it will allow us to leave. Lao'dahn sleeps now that the moon is high. If we are to make our escape, it must be now. Are you prepared?"

  Talliea turned around fully and stood up as straight as she could. She tried to adopt an air of comfortableness and ease and not one of pain and stricken sickness.

  "I am ready. Let us go," she replied in as strong and normal a voice as she could muster.

  Markahn smiled and reached out for her. Talliea allowed him to place his arm around her and the two of them left the healers' hut. There were few people out and about so late at night. A few men played a game of chance around a fire, while a group of small children sat not far away from them staring up at the nighttime stars. Activity was light and voices were hushed. When Talliea and Markahn exited the healers' hut, the men playing
chance looked in their direction.

  Markahn wrapped his arm around Talliea in a more possessive gesture before leading them toward the eastern edges of the camp. Two Lat'sa'val sat against a giant boulder, obviously lax in their patrol, and spoke to one another. At Markahn's and Talliea's approach, the men stood up and dusted themselves off.

  "Where are you going?" one man, D'leit, asked Markahn.

  Talliea noticed the eyes of the other man were focused on her. A smug smirk was on his face and his eyes openly appreciated the thin material of her skirts and blouse.

  Markahn smiled back at the two men, his body language telling them that he was just as bored as they were. "I thought I'd have myself a good time with Talliea here. I've grown tired of waiting for her. Lao'dahn has challenged my claim and she has finally seen that I am a better man for her. I want some privacy."

  D'leit laughed at Markahn before slapping him on the back. "She is finally ready to spread her legs for you, is she? All that time spent in the woods warmed her blood for you?"

  Markahn grabbed a handful of Talliea's skirts and hiked them up, exposing her right leg and thigh. "She has seen that she can not continue her little charade of being ill. I promised to kill Lao'dahn in our duel if she gave me proper incentive." At that, Markahn's hands grazed Talliea's thigh and it took everything she possessed to not slap him silly.

  What Markahn was doing was necessary if they hoped to escape with few questions, but it still made her uncomfortable. Incredibly uncomfortable.

  "She wants you to kill Lao'dahn?" the other man asked.

  Markahn shrugged. "She holds no favor with him and sees him as nothing more than a boy begging for attention. If you could have Talliea, would you not kill for a little fun beforehand?"

  The man said nothing. D'leit laughed again and grabbed himself. "Maybe, to buy our silence, your woman would be willing to use her mouth for something other than talking back."

  Markahn laughed with D'leit. "I think that can be made possible, friend. I touch her first, however. Not you. She has denied me for five years. I know we can not lay together until we are joined, but there are other things she can do, other things she can learn, that still pleases a man."

  D'leit nodded and looked back at the second man. "What say you? Care to ease that bulge in your trousers with Talliea's lips?"

  The man snorted but nodded. D'leit turned his head back to Markahn. "Fine, I shall let you pass. You have two hours to teach your woman everything she will need to know to please me. I expect to see her on her knees before me, Markahn.. Do not think to rescind on our arrangement."

  Markahn nodded and grabbed Talliea in a show of force. "This way, woman. I have desired this for many summers."

  The two of them walked until they were out of sight of D'leit and the other man. Long after they could not be seen, Talliea could still feel the other man's eyes on her body.

  "I am sorry for such words and actions. They are what my brothers understand and appreciate," Markahn said as he led Talliea deeper into the forest and toward the first of their hidden supplies. They stopped underneath the boughs of a gargantuan willow tree. Talliea watched Markahn bend down and dig through a pile of leaves and pine needles. A moment later, a satchel was revealed.

  "Here, warmer clothing." Markahn handed her a thicker skirt with heavy leather lining and a sturdy cloak. Though the winter had passed, the nights in the north were still relatively cool compared to the days.

  "Thank you," Talliea said as she took the items from Markahn's possession. The man handed her a new pair of shoes with thicker covering around the ankles.

  "You can change up yonder," Markahn said indicating a covered area Talliea immediately recognized as the glade she had first met Arizira.

  An enormous and nearly overwhelming sense of nostalgia overcame Talliea. Whispers rode on the breath of the wind while images of soft smiles and innocent wonder formed behind her eyes.

  She remembered Arizira finding her in their glade more than once and how the two of them, at first, had been unable to communicate. Images from long ago formed her Talliea’s mind as her memories became more vivid…

  "Ahmanae?" Talliea said in an unsteady voice.

  Arizira cocked her head to the side and regarded her with curious blue eyes.

  Talliea smiled again and lowered her hands. Pointing to the Arniran, she tried again.

  "Ahmanae?"

  Releasing the tension she had on her bowstring, Arizira allowed the string to slacken and brought the bow down to her side. Nodding, she placed a hand on her chest and said, "Ahmanae."

  Talliea smiled and a small laugh left her lips. The woman understood what she meant. Arizira looked upon her face and was struck with how perfect the Esu woman's smile was. It made her appear even more beautiful.

  "Tai?" Arizira asked, indicating Talliea.

  The Esu woman looked confused and licked her lips nervously. Was the Arniran asking for her own name? Perhaps she wished to know what she was doing so far from her settlement?

  Arizira pointed to herself again and said, "Arizira Ahmanae." Bringing a hand to Talliea's chest, she asked, "Tai?"

  Talliea looked down at the slender and delicate hand on her flesh. The difference in their coloring amazed her. She realized the Arniran was asking for her name. "Talliea Aldis," she said, looking back into sky blue eyes.

  Arizira stepped back and turned her head in a curious manner. Talliea noticed the other woman's movements were more fluid and feral than her own.

  "Tah-li Aldis."

  Talliea laughed at the Arniran's attempt to pronounce her name. Even though, she thought the woman's voice musical and she liked the way her name, however accented, sounded coming from the Arniran.

  Nodding, she asked, hoping hearing the name a third time would help her in understanding it, "Tai?"

  Arizira looked surprised for a moment but a smile finally lit up her face. If it was possible, the act only enhanced her astonishing features. "Arizira Ahamane," she said slowly.

  Hearing the name again, Talliea found, did not help her any. The Esu did not have any 'Z' sounds in their language.

  "Ari," Talliea said with a nod of her head.

  "Talliea?"

  Markahn's voice shattered the memory her mind had been reliving. Talliea felt her heart tighten inside her chest. Things had been so very different all that time ago. Neither woman had known how to communicate their intent, but even then there had been some powerful force pushing the two of them together.

  Talliea remembered thinking that Arizira was the most magical and beautiful creature she had ever seen. The way her eyes had glowed in the darkness around them, the sound of her voice like music to her ears, and the way her movements had been more agile and feral than anything Talliea had witnessed. Yes, Arizira had captured her attention from the moment they had met. Everything else between them had been...fate.

  "I am sorry," Talliea said to Markahn as she shook her head. "My mind wandered."

  Markahn nodded but continued to study Talliea's expression. It was haunted, sad. Yet, there was a trace of happiness and joy.

  "You were thinking upon her," he said trying to give Talliea an opening to talk with him. He could understand her reservations, but he greatly desired to help her in any way he could. Despite not understanding Talliea's feelings, Markahn could still see how intense those feelings were. Talliea's affection for the mysterious woman was more powerful than anything he had ever seen from her. No other emotion had Talliea exuded so strongly before.

  The statement caught Talliea unawares and she turned away from him in a defensive manner. Before she could say anything, Markahn continued. "I know: She is not open for discussion. You have not the need to say it. I just…" he paused a moment. "I see your feelings for her reflected in the depths of your eyes. If it would help to speak aloud about her, you are free to do so. I will not judge you, Talliea."

  Talliea looked down at the cloak Markahn had given her. It was stiff and smelled of recently treated anima
l hides. The hood was simple except for a small bit of fur lining around the edges. Running her fingers along the soft fur, Talliea allowed her mind once again to wander to thoughts and memories of Arizira.

  Arizira turned around and smiled shyly before presenting the blanket over her shoulder to Talliea.

  "I made this for you," she said. "It will keep you warm while the winter holds the land."

  Talliea remembered Arizira presenting the elaborate and beautiful wolf hide blanket to her after Lao'dahn's attack. Like the cloak currently in her hands, the blanket had been soft and the fur smooth. Arizira's face flashed before her eyes and she recalled the shy way she had offered her gift. Her shoulders had been slightly hunched and her eyes had been unable to fully meet Talliea's.

  "I have you, Tah-li. I have you. You are safe with me."

  The words were a soft whisper. They seemed to wrap themselves around Talliea as she recalled them. Arizira had spoken those words to her when she had held her close. Talliea remembered crying over what Lao'dahn had done to her. Arizira had held her and whispered into her hair. In her embrace, Talliea had never felt so safe.

  "I will go change now," she said over her shoulder after a long moment of contemplative silence. Markahn's offer, though generous, was not something she felt she could take him up on.

  Her time with Arizira was her time with Arizira. It was not meant for the enjoyment of anyone else. It was not meant to be relived with Markahn. How could she tell Markahn all the things she had experienced with Arizira when those memories were still as if a fresh wound upon her heart?

  Though she desired to express her feelings for Arizira, Talliea felt that speaking of her time with the other woman would, somehow, be offensive to what they had. Perhaps it was because Markahn was the man who had sought to claim her. She did not know. All she knew was that trying to explain to Markahn that Arizira was everywhere she looked was too much. It was too hard. She needed time to sort through her own thoughts before she could even entertain speaking of those thoughts to another person.