Bliath: Shattered

by Theresa Caligiuri

  Vance got down and handed her a canteen with water, she almost didn’t want to take it.

  “Fera,” Vance groaned out her name when he could tell how mad she still was, “You are going to listen to my explanation, it is not that I don’t want to touch you, but our energies, well, um, you saw what happened back there, we almost killed Leo, I lose control around you, and you have not learned control, one or both of us could get hurt, Fera, please look at me.”

  Fera was biting her lower lip with her eyes closed she shook her head and looked up to Vance as she spoke, “You know, I could feel your energy, it runs cold, and mine runs hot, and when they mixed, it was, I am not sure I can explain, it felt like my body was warm yet tingled, did you feel it too?”

  Vance nodded, and didn’t want to think about it, because in the back of his mind he knew he loved that feeling. “Ok, Larin said to head straight North, and if we attempt to get to your grandfather in the Mountains, we will fall into a trap, what do you think?”

  After a moment of thinking on what would Markus do or what she calls in her head W.W.M.D, she spoke, “I think we straddle the line, like ride the half way line as long as we can and get a feel for the land, and see what we can find, and make our decision on which way to go once we have all the information?”

  “Spoken like a queen.” Vance laughed at her.

  Fera put her hands on her hip, “I am not a queen, I am a Princess and that means I get my way and I can throw the brat card down.”

  “Not to mention the DO you know who my Grandmother is card?” Vance laughed back.

  Fera went to playfully punch Vance’s arm but when she stepped in close he flinched, even though he told her why, it still stung.

  They climbed back up in the saddles, Fera’s head began to hurt, she reached out, “Oren, how are you, need anything?”

  “I need you to be ok, and I need us to be safe, and when your head starts to hurt worse I need you to just lay down on me like before, and I will take care of you.”

  “Oren, I love you so much, I love the fact I can talk to you now, really talk to you, were you always this sweet?Is this what I could never hear, I felt it, I just couldn’t hear it?”

  “Melamin, amin mela lle.” Oren’s thought had such conviction to it, it almost sounded like a prayer to Fera.

  “Was that Elfish, you know the only elfish I know is what I picked up from Markus and that was usually when he was mad so something tells me, Auta miqula orqu and Wethrinaer, are not appropriate to use? So what did you say?”

  Oren was laughing so hard he could hardly send her a focused thought, “You know how to say, go kiss an orc, and say, you're deceitful, in my tongue, well your tongue too, but you should refrain from saying them if you can, as for what I say a'mael, nothing that you do not know already. We should focus on the trail, and your head's pounding more.”

  Without another word Oren put the mental wall back up, but it was a little too late, Fera felt the blood drip from her nose. Vance saw too and pulled alongside them. “Are you ok, do we need to stop again? What caused it?”

  “No, let’s keep going. I am not sure, but I think my brain is not used to hearing Oren’s thoughts, smaller animals seem to be ok though, then again he functions on a human level? It has stopped now, I guess I will just have to not talk a lot at once and build up a tolerance.” She shrugged it off.

  Vance slightly scowled at her, “Fine if you say so, but you don’t look so good.”

  “Thanks, just dump salt in a wound why don’t ya, you aren’t looking that hunky either at the moment.” Fera was clearly annoyed, “So how long until we get to a point where we will have to decide which way to go?”

  “That is not what I meant, I don’t think you could ever not look beautiful, you are just pale, umm, paler, and now you have blood smeared on your clothes. I am guessing it is a few days if not a week’s ride to whatever grandparent’s door you decide to knock on. We will ride until dark, then try to find a place to camp.”

  Fera looked down, she did have blood on her, her head was pounding, and she was a little shaky, “Oren” She said aloud, to get his attention and the drop the wall, which he happily did.

  Before she got her thought out, paused and turned his head to take a look at her with one eye, “You are more than beautiful and if anyone saw you and the blood, they would think you a skilled elven assassin, and beg for death just to be touched by such an enthralling creature’s hand.”

  Fera was laughing in his head and that was his favorite sound in the whole world, the sound of her happiness. “Oren, you are even more charming than I ever thought. You almost sound a little cocky, it’s funny. I am going to have to shut you out, sorry, but I am going to lean down on you ok?”

  “Confident, never cocky, relax you will always be safe with me.” Oren felt her wall come up around her mind and she leaned down against his neck, and brought her hand up to rub his neck.

  “I know” She said out loud to Oren.

  “So, you are conspiring with a horse?” Vance hated being left out of the conversation, but what could he do.

  “Yes, we are plotting a hostile takeover of all of Bliath,” She said with sarcasm and a hint of irony, “I am going to chill up here, so if we need to full on run a heads up would be welcomed.”

  Vance knew she was feeling off again and he prayed she would not go back into limbo or if she did, they would be somewhere they could hide. “Ok that is fine, whatever you need, let me know if you need to stop, ok?”

  Fera just nodded her head, then laid it back down on Oren. They rode on in silence for a while, the day was coming to an end and they could see night slowly descending around them.

  As the stars came out Vance stopped in a clearing, and looked up, Fera looked up too, hoping he was better at following them than she is.

  “Everything is written in them.” Vance said in a hushed tone gesturing up.

  Without thinking Fera started talking, Markus would have called it word vomit if he was listening, but she needed anything to fill the silence, to stop the what ifs, and whys, or she was going to go insane and Vance’s comment rocked her core.

  “What are you saying?” Vance was looking at Fera like she was already crazy.

  “They fall, the stars, they fall to Bliath, or burn out, I am looking up to see where I am going, where I have been, they are supposed to be a constant, but they fall, if something so mighty, so all telling, that burns so bright can...”

  Vance cut her off, “Are you ok?”

  Oren pushed on her wall to get his thoughts in, “Fera, a'mael, it is still worth looking up. Even if it’s just for the view.”

  Fera reinforced her wall, and said aloud, “it is.”

  Oren heard the tones of her broken heart, he wanted so bad to comfort her, but knew it was not his time, that Vance would have to get a clue to her, the real her and what she needed, he needed to hug her to tell her this is just a bad moment, and when this world hands you a good one this one will be gone, but he would not touch her, not that it bothered Oren, but it is what she needed and he would give her anything she needed.

  “It is what? Fera do you need to rest?” Vance was really starting to worry.

  Fera, now looking Vance in the eyes, could see the concern, “I was talking to Oren, he understood what I was rambling about, I am fine, are we heading the right way?”

  He very much disliked the fact a horse understood her better than him, but he had to keep reminding himself that Oren has had so much more time with her than him, and he just needed time too. “We are headed the right way, we actually covered more ground than I hoped for today. We can and should rest here, then get an early start, I am thinking before sun up?”

  “Well that is good I guess, you know I hate the fact I feel like I am running, I mean I know we are running, but I was taught you never run from a fight, you fix it, and now I just run, and I can’t help but wonder am I running to something or from something? I have no clue what I am supposed to do.” Fera let
out a long sigh and started to climb out of the saddle.

  Vance finally gave in and touched her arm, and to his delight he only felt a slight warm surge if energy, no big explosions happened around them, “I think it is a little of both, running to and from something, as far as the fight, how can you expect yourself to enter a fight when you do not know who you are fighting, and what you are fighting for? That will come with time and understanding. You just have to trust in what your father and Markus said. Your mother protected you at all costs, you owe it to her to keep yourself safe.”

  The tears welled up in her eyes, she hated thinking about any of them in this moment. “Vance, I need to know the why, and not just the text book version, there are at least two sides to every story, and this one has like five.”

  That got Oren’s ears to perk up, he knew she was very much her own person, this would give her issues if and when she met her grandmother, the high elves. People that questioned things tended to disappear, but with her, they just might be different.

  It took Vance and Fera a few minutes to untack the horses, and set up a small camp, with no fire. Fera started to share her supper, two rolls and some cheese, when she caught Vance staring at them, “What?” she asked him like it was obvious what she was doing.

  “Why do you do that? You treat him just like a person, you know if he was hungry enough, he would eat like a normal horse? I get the super smart Elven mount thing, but still?”

  Fera could tell Vance had thought about this for a while and it bothered him. “You're funny, you can’t see it can you, he isn’t a horse to me, he isn’t a pet, he is my best friend, I trust him, I love him, we understand each other, he carried me through all of this mess, he tried to protect me from you and Leo, and the big guy before, but I was so sick, and he knew we needed help so he stopped fighting. He has carried me through this mess,” Fera was made a big gesture with her hands, “I know he would carry me through so much more if I needed him to, so if giving him part of my dinner is what he wants, it is the least I can do.” She was now looking at Vance like 'duh you idiot get a clue.'

  Oren threw his head around her and hugged her close, and she laughed into is neck.

  Vance threw up his hands, but he couldn’t help but smile slightly, “Ok ok, I get it, let’s turn in ok?”

  Vance got out two bedrolls, after putting one on the ground, Fera snatched the other from his hand. He wanted to know what she was doing, they had curled up before, and figured sleeping next two each other was no big deal out here, in fact it was safer, but he found himself shaking his head again as he watched, Oren lay down and Fera cuddle up into him. He swore he saw Oren stick his tongue out at him. There was definitely something more to Oren, and Vance was going to figure it out. The sounds of the night lulled them to sleep.

  Chapter 23

  Fera slept but not well, her dreams were not fully formed and the pieces she saw made her heart and stomach feel heavy. She could see her father locked in a room, he looked disheveled and broken. She saw Markus in a pub he looked clean, but just as her father slightly broken. She saw a man that looked familiar but she could not place him, he was pacing the floor talking to someone, he looked pensive. Then there was a voice, it softly called to her, wanting her to follow it, to come to her. It was so haunting and beautiful, it made her feel at peace. Before she could follow it, Oren woke her, and he looked startled.

  “What is it”? She said in a low tone so not to wake Vance.

  “Look around, something is not right.” Oren’s thoughts hit her, but not as hard as they have been.

  She looked around, there was a fog like mist that surrounded them, it hung in the air, and Fera could feel a strange energy signature in it, it made her hair stand on end and Goosebumps travel down her arms. “What do you think it is, when did it come in, have you ever seen anything like this?”

  Oren, sniffed the air, “No, I have no clue, Fera, I think you should wake Vance, I think we need to leave, something does not feel right.”

  “I hate to wake him, he has to be exhausted, he didn’t sleep much since I came into the picture. How about I stay awake and stay guard and if anything changes other than this dissipating, we wake him and go?” Fera was learning she didn’t need to put so much force in her mind to understand Oren, and her head was not pounding, there was a dull ache but that wasn’t a big deal.

  Oren was learning too, he did not need to overly project his thoughts, he just had to take down most of the mental barriers, and almost whisper, she was so in tune to him, and he relished that. “I will stay awake with you, two sets of eyes are better than one” He saw her nod, not that she could stop him, short of knocking him out, and he knew she would not do that. “Fera, I don’t really want to go to the Northern Elves.”

  “What? I thought you would want to go home, I mean you couldn’t have really wanted to leave your home, and you probably have a family there. Did you agree to be my present, or how did that happen? She was almost wishing she would not have asked that question, her heart ran wild waiting for his answer.

  “I do have a family there, a mother and a sister, but I will see them soon enough, after all time is different there. Fera, how I came to you, does it really matter? Isn’t it enough that I was there, as I am here now, I wish to never part from you, and that is my fear if we go there. Amin mela lle” Oren’s tone was ragged and torn, it was true, and that dread kept creeping into him, things would change so much, she might hate him then, and he knew that was a death sentence for him, or worse, death would be preferable to her hating him or losing her.

  “Oren, Oren, no, I would never let anyone do that, you are mine, as I am yours, I will always fight for you, as I know you would and will do for me. You know how much of a brat I can be when I don’t get me way, those pretentious elves won’t even know what hit them if they try anything to split us up.” Fera could hear his laughter in her head, she loved how he sounded, it was enthralling to her, he sounded deep. She thought his voice is the type of one that could warm you on a cold day, you could find comfort in, but then again she knew she was being silly, because she once again had to tell herself, he is a horse.

  A shrill scream tore her out of Oren’s mind, they both shot up, as did Vance, the misty fog was still there, heaver if possible, clinging to them, it felt like a cold sweat. Vance held up his hand to signal for them to not talk. Fera found herself holding her breath.

  “Slowly tack Oren, we need to go, the energy of the forest is trying to tell us something is not right, can you feel it, it is panicked.” Though when Vance said it, it came out calm, almost soft, but his eyes spoke volumes.

  Fera, gently as she could reached out sensing the air, her eyes widened, “There is something out there, isn’t there?”

  Vance nodded at her, but did not explain, he just finished readying Aloine and hoisted himself in the saddle, Fera followed suit.

  At first they just walked away from camp, like it is what they intended to do, keeping a steady speed. The fog started to clear, and after another few minutes of riding, they broke through it.

  “Ok, time to run for a little bit, you up for it?” Vance looked pensive, and Fera was having trouble reading him.

  He didn’t even give her a chance to answer, he took off and Oren followed in uniform without Fera even asking him. In that moment she knew both Oren and Vance knew what was out there, she knew Oren was her best chance to for information.

  “Oren, what was out there?”

  He tried to tease her, “What no sweet talking, no please? Maybe you are more a high royal than I thought.”

  “Please. I think you know?” She changed into a more sweet tone.

  “This is going to be a longer journey if you wish to truly know what this world holds.” He sounded more like Markus in the statement than Fera thought possible.

  “Is that you telling me no? You know I am a big girl, I am, OH tomorrow I will be 18!”

  “I am pretty sure I am not even allowed to tell you no, even if I cou
ld, you need to tell Vance tomorrow is your birthday, and we will need to find shelter, before the 23rd hour which marks your birth.” Oren knew tomorrow was going to be interesting.

  “Ok, but first you tell me what was just out there then….please?”

  “A water dragon.” His tone was so nonchalant that Fera took a minute to process

  “A water Dragon!!” She said it louder then she meant to.

  Vance looked back at her, “Tell your mule to keep his thoughts to himself, scaring you is not going to help. If that dragon wanted us to be a snack, it would already be too late, I am thinking it was warning us, but to what I am not sure.”

  “You did not just call Oren a mule, and for the record, I have kind of lead a sheltered life, I was mainly taught about the three main races, and then the possibilities of Elementals, and you blew the possibilities out of the water, so I am guessing the speculation of the other cognitive species is true as well?” Fera was clearly annoyed.

  Vance let his guard drop a little and an ornery twinkle graces his features, “Awe Princess did anyone tell you how adorably regal you get when you’re mad?” He looked at her, and she was clearly unamused, so he went on, “Ok so as far as I know there are: Elves, Dwarves, Humans, Elementals, but there are rules applied to them sustaining a form. Dragons, Fairies, but there are few left and there cognitive awareness is debatable, and lastly a high class of intellectual animals, such as Oren here, werecats, were-anything for that matter…..so does that help?”

  Fera took a deep breath, “Speaking of Oren, he says to tell you my birthday is tomorrow on the 23rd hour.”

  Vance came to an abrupt halt, he lurched forward in the saddle. Fera, and Oren came to a more graceful stop, and just watched him.