by Viola Grace
Habel looked at her companion, but he was digging through a box that was fixed to the front of the compartment. He pulled out a long swath of fabric that was nearly transparent. It was saved from that fate by a lot of embroidery.
“Put this on.”
She frowned and took the embroidered silk. “No.”
“What?”
“I said no. There is supposed to be another layer under this to keep the skin from getting scratched by the embroidery. May I look?”
He frowned and then stepped aside. She found the piece she had been looking for in a few seconds. The small square of silk unfolded into a flaring chemise. “There we go.”
She slipped the underlayer on and then the overlayer on top. He was staring at her.
He cleared his throat. “How did you do that?”
“I have siblings. Fighting is a normal instinct when dealing with them. I am Habel, by the way.” She smiled and took a seat on one of the four chairs in the compartment.
“Artuan. You are Habel for this journey. You will be renamed when you arrive at the tower.”
“I know. My mother told me. She also said that I will lose my memories of my home.”
Artuan smiled. “You will have a new home with beauty and grace. The tower is exquisite and has withstood a thousand years since the cataclysm that shattered humanity.”
“We know about that, too, you know. Trolls know where we came from. That is why we are all born human. The world rewrites us to her purpose.”
Artuan was staring at her in shock. “Yes, she does.”
“How long have you been at the tower?”
“Six hundred years. You are the first call I have had in quite a while.” He sat across from her, and he cocked his head. “I do not recall a collection quite like this. Was that really your mother?”
“Of course. She is our clan leader as well. She was my hero, my companion, my counsellor, and a great cook. She has three children—two daughters and a son. I was the youngest child of Haladen. I am the youngest child of Haladen.”
He said softly, “Are you trying to tell me or remind yourself?”
She looked at him calmly with her hands folded in her lap. “Both.”
He laughed. “Fair enough. Well, we have a journey that will take a few hours. May I offer you some water or some food?”
“Both would be welcome. I missed my transformation party... for some reason.”
He nodded and told her about some of the beautiful sights she would see when they arrived at the tower. She watched as the green expanses passed the sides of their vehicle, and she wondered where the tower actually was. How far could they go in just a few hours, and would she ever find her way home?
The food had been good. It wasn’t to a troll’s taste, but her new body decided that she liked the bright acidic flavours of the fruits and vegetables.
She looked at him and cocked her head at his dark crimson locks. She held up a handful of blue hair. “Why did this happen?”
He smiled. “You transformed. You changed; you just didn’t remain a troll. Elves wear all the colours in nature. You are wearing the colours of the sky. Your eyes are also remarkable. It seems like you won’t have a problem harnessing your light.”
She paused. “Um, my what?”
“The light. The power that we unharness in times of need. It is the power that all elves can summon to various extents.”
Habel nodded. “Oh. That. Yeah, I think my mom mentioned that.”
“Did she? How odd. I didn’t think anyone outside of our community was aware of it.” Artuan smiled slightly.
“Well, my mother is chief, and she reads. She reads everything and has access to a lot of records and documents that others don’t.” Habel didn’t want to tell him that she had already found her voice and her light. Men weren’t generally fans of surprises, and strange men she couldn’t get away from were something she wanted to avoid irritating.
She chose a distracting tactic. “How long did it take you to get to the settlement?”
“From the time the chime rang out, it was two hours until the pod was outfitted to travel and then three hours to reach the settlement. We will be at the tower in under an hour.”
Habel nodded. “Thank you. How often do you head out to pick up new elves?”
He blinked. “You are the first one in over a hundred years.”
She stared.
Artuan smiled. “You will be addressed as Novice when your mind has been blanked. Your memories of your past life will be stored in our archive for safekeeping. You will be taken to your quarters, and after you have rested, your training to join our community will begin.”
Habel smiled and looked through the windows as dawn raced them to the spire that she could see in the distance. That had to be the tower. The beacon of light blazing from the top kind of gave it away.
“So, I just have to forget who I am and where I am from?”
Artuan nodded. “Just as all of us had to give up our pasts to embrace our future. You will be cared for. No one will take advantage of your state as a novice. You will be with your people now. You will be safe to learn and flourish.”
“As long as I forget who I am.”
“Correct. Ties to the rest of the world will only hold you back. Think of it as a fresh start.”
She watched the compartment they were in slow as they approached some kind of station. A large crowd was assembled, and they looked like a field of flowers. Hair in every colour in the rainbow was present. They stood together in small groups, and their clothing was graceful and vivid. Flowing lines and elegant gowns. Graceful tunics and high boots with some kind of legging for the men. It was almost a caricature of sexual dimorphism. The men looked like men and the women like women. Whatever had shaped them had used the same stamp.
A man and woman waited nearest the pod as it slowed to a halt. The woman carried an orb in her hands, and the man waited with his hands folded.
Habel ran her hands down her dress and got to her feet. Artuan smiled and held out his hand.
“What am I supposed to do?”
“Put your hand in mine or place it on the back of my wrist.”
She nodded and opted for the wrist. “Ready.”
He hit the door release with his free hand, and they stepped out onto the platform while the viewing crowd gasped.
She waved at them. “Hello.”
The man with the white hair stared at her. “You speak Elvish?”
“Um, yes. I speak six languages. I learned this as a dare when I was twelve, so my diction will not be good. I thought it was a dead language.” Habel smiled slightly.
The man smiled in a strangely helpless way. “Of course. I am Joren, this is Niika, we will take your memories now.”
She nodded, took a deep breath, and stepped forward, away from Artuan. Niika swayed toward her and handed her the glass orb in her hands. “Think of your life and your people. Tell it your name. It will do the rest.”
Habel fought a tear, looked at the expectant crowd, who looked just as she did, and she looked at the orb. “Habel born of Haladen by Ormieth. Troll daughter and greeter of the sun.”
The orb glowed, a bright rainbow began to emit from the crystal, and soon, a kaleidoscope of her memories played out faster and faster until the vibrating orb shattered.
She yelped as her palm was cut, and Niika moved toward her with worried eyes. “What do you remember?”
Habel looked at her and put a blank expression on her features. “Was I supposed to remember something? Excuse me, my hand hurts.”
Joren smiled and took her by the damaged hand, holding the cut up. “Of course, it does. Come with me, Novice. Niika and I will help you settle once we repair that injury.”
“Injury?”
Niika smiled as they walked into the building. “Yes, Novice. You were injured.”
She looked at her palm. “I think it is better now. It doesn’t hurt.”
Joren looked at her, and he paused
. “Lucky you. It has healed. Well, I suppose we shall show you to your quarters. You need rest after your trying day.”
She asked Niika, “Who were all those people that we passed coming in?”
“They wished to welcome you to our community.”
“Oh. Well, I am glad I am lucky then.”
Joren frowned. “What do you mean?”
Novice smiled brightly. “I will get to meet them all over again tomorrow.”
Her two escorts smiled and led her deep into the tower and her chambers halfway up. When they left, she walked to the balcony of the huge room and stared at the bright light of the sun, her skin easily able to manage exposure. Her balcony overlooked the track that had brought her here, and she could see the distant path that could lead her home if she could ever bring herself to return.
For better or worse, she was now an elf; she just had to figure out what that meant while pretending that she didn’t know who she had been. Habel had her work cut out for her, but she could always rise to a challenge.
Her dress fluttered in the breeze as she looked out at the landscape that she had never seen from this vantage point with light streaming around her. She was an elf now, but how long would she have to pretend that she didn’t remember her life from before? Well, at least time was on her side.
Author’s Note
This is the first of five chapters of the Habel Trollblood book, Born Human. I needed a project that would let me create installments. This one seems to fit the bill.
As a side note, each book is the same length as a comic book, so that is my current fascinated interest project... Habel may be showing up in a drawn format sooner rather than later.
It wasn’t my intention to get all weird on folks, but I needed to do something in a different-than-usual style for myself, and this qualified.
Thanks for reading,
Viola Grace
About the Author
Viola Grace (aka Zenina Masters) is a Canadian sci-fi/paranormal romance writer with ambitions to keep writing for the rest of her life. She specializes in short stories because the thrill of discovery, of all those firsts, is what keeps her writing.
An artist who enjoys a story that catches you up, whirls you around, and sets you down with a smile on your face is all she endeavours to be. She prefers to leave the drama to those who are better suited to it, she always goes for the cheap laugh.
In real life, she is now engaged in beekeeping, and her adventures can be found on the YouTube channel, Mystery Bees Apiary. Just look for the cartoon kittens.
Table of Contents
Part One: Trollblood
Author’s Note
About the Author
