by Linn Tesli
“Now, don’t you go imagining things.”
“Oh, it hadn’t crossed my mind. But now you mention it, I think your company is more than enough. Besides, I’m headed in that general direction either way.” Birken’s laugh was a rumble in his throat.
Everine clenched her jaw. “I promise to repay you for your kindness.”
He sucked on his pipe for a few silent moments. “I happen to be a terrible cook. Cook our meals, and I’ll do my best to get you safely past Griffin Peak. After that, we must part ways.”
That was a generous offer, considering they had only just met. Everine extended her hand to seal the deal. This seemed to amuse the Earthling, which she found irritating.
As she held her ground, Birken carefully tucked away his pipe to place his right hand flat on his chest. He turned her extended hand palm upwards. Soft lips landed on the inside of her wrist as he bent down. When the moment dragged on, Everine nearly pulled away, but then he let go. Birken stepped back and retrieved his pipe. Everine’s cheeks burned a little, and she averted her face.
After Everine had been standing silently by the rails for some time, Ayva stirred. Everine excused herself and went off to find a sheltered space between some barrels where she could feed the infant. As they waited for the ship to dock, Everine quietly sang a lullaby of the Old Age while rocking Ayva in her arms.
The ship had felt intrusive, and Everine didn't much care for the unsteadiness of the ocean’s moody waters. Still, it had been a blessed breather. It was what would come next that concerned her.
She was not particularly looking forward to passing through Lycobris. The thought of possibly running into Silverlings or being caught by the Vulkan guards made her skin crawl. However, there could be no turning back.
So many ships had arrived at the docks that they were forced to wait for other ships to depart before they could disembark. By nightfall, however, Everine would set foot in the Land of Fire.
They would have to stay at an inn in the village of Arvaex for the first night. Everine had hoped to set off immediately after departing the ship and had unsuccessfully protested against staying in the village. Birken had insisted they wait till morning so they could gather supplies for their journey.
He had also pointed out that leaving Arvaex would be easier during daylight hours. Most of the malevolent activity in the village happened after dark, which meant more patrols. There would be fewer guards during the day, which meant less chance of being stopped.
Birken’s arguments had made sense, and he was clearly adamant, so Everine had eventually succumbed to his reasoning.
She was unimpressed, however, when Birken brought them to a place not quite her choice of beverage. A lopsided, rusty sign above the entrance read: “The Dungeon.”
“Lovely.” Everine grunted with disgust as she eyed the run-down tavern in front of them. The stone walls were smeared with some kind of green-brown sludge Everine could not identify. Broad streams of sewage ran by either side of the inn. With no other options, she pulled her hood tighter and grabbed the Earthling’s arm. Birken had such a massive trunk of an arm that she needed the whole of hers to reach around it. His skin was so warm that Everine felt as if she were embracing a furnace. It was surprisingly comforting.
A bell rang overhead as they opened the door to a dingy room filled with scruffy-looking men seated at grimy stone tables scattered throughout the long space. Everine fought her instinct to turn around and leave when she took in the low ceiling and horrid stench of filth. However, Birken’s presence propelled her forward despite her qualms. His size was an advantage she didn't care to lose.
A short man waved them over. He stood on a stool behind the stone counter in order to manage his affairs. As it turned out, he was not a man at all. By his tall forehead and his long, crooked nose—not to mention the large amount of moss on his skin—it was clear to Everine that she was encountering a Jotter for the first time in her life.
The Jotters were skilled smiths and proficient with numbers. Despite being generally very successful businessmen, they were unpredictable and most people would shy away from trading with them. They were also known for being unkind and typically resided in the Land of Earth. However, their excessive greed drove them to venture wherever the money was.
The Jotter’s murky green eyes were callous and his brown, wavy hair rested heavily on his shoulders. His face was deeply furrowed, his attention glued to a book filled with numbers.
“Welcome to The Dungeon. I am Hyme.” He spoke with indifference.
“We would like a room. One night only.” Birken tapped the counter decisively.
Everine gaped and quickly corrected him. “That would be two rooms, sir. Two.” She shot Birken a sour look.
“Is one room only. Name?” Hyme handed them a key without so much as lifting his gaze.
“Name is Prox, and we’ll take it. It’s all we need,” Birken said, snatching the key into his hand.
Everine wanted to object, but Birken was already pushing her toward the staircase at the far end of the room. A few of the clientele lifted their heads as Birken rushed Everine past them. He spoke to her quickly but quietly.
“I’ll sleep on the floor. The stone is good for my back. But, this is how it needs to be.”
Everine fumed. Once inside the room, her eyes bored into him as she unwrapped Ayva.
“Look, Ev, if you’re going to serve my meals, you need to be kept safe. A woman alone in a room—in this hellhole? You wouldn’t last the night.”
Everine grimaced at the nickname but said nothing. She had more pressing matters. Ayva was awake and hungry. Everine held her index finger out in front of her and made a small circle in the air.
“Turn away then, you big brute.”
He folded his hands across his eyes, stuck out his tongue, and turned heavily on his feet, much as he was told. Everine stifled a giggle. The Earthling was a big child. She was a mother of two, then. Only days ago, she had been the mother of no one. She hadn’t even birthed either of the two she had now. So much had changed in such a short amount of time.
When Ayva had fed, Everine laid her down on the bed and pulled the top of her dress back up, leaving her cloak on the nightstand.
“Such a vision.” Birken stared down at Ayva, an expression of total awe in his eyes. “She sort of looks like you…and yet she doesn’t.” He marveled at the child.
“Keep your hands away from my daughter, Earthling.” Everine’s words were harsher than she intended.
Birken frowned but excused himself regretfully. “I meant no harm, Ev. Besides, kids love me.”
She softened her posture.
“I really can’t imagine.” Relaxing, she sat back on the bed. “I’m sorry too. So far you’ve kept up your end of the bargain, and you have told no one of my daughter.” Everine looked down at the baby she now claimed as her own. She played with Ayva’s hands and was amazed yet again at her beauty.
A vision indeed.
“If you don’t mind me asking—” Birken said.
“Oh, I might, but do try your luck.” Everine almost smiled, inclining her head.
“Um, yes, right. She has a name, I trust? Don’t want to keep on calling her just ‘the baby.’”
Everine smiled then, still looking down at her child.
“Her name is Ayva, and I think she would like you to hold her now.” She shocked even herself at the gesture, but it had felt like the right thing to do.
- Birken -
Birken approached Ayva. Bending down, he cupped one hand gently underneath her to pick her up. Ayva flashed a smile at him, and one small hand reached for his face. She stroked her fingers over his jaw.
Her eyes shifted between bronze and shamrock-green to a flow of images, and Birken saw familiar faces within them. People he had lost and people to whom he was returning. He saw himself embracing his late wife. In the next instant, he danced with two baby boys in his arms. The images vanished as Ayva’s eyes returned to an oce
an-blue.
She giggled. Birken held her away from him in disbelief, wiping away a single tear.
“Don’t ask. I only need her safe,” Everine said.
Birken wanted to know, but all he could manage to voice was the sincerity in his heart. “I came upon you for a reason. You have my word that I’ll guard her with my life, for as long as our paths are aligned.”
Everine’s amber eyes held his. “I’ll hold you to your word, Birken Earthling, or I’ll have your life.”
He nodded. Everine could never possibly live up to her threat. Her small, curved body was pleasing to the eye, but she didn’t exactly scream intimidating. However, Birken had no doubt of her sincerity. Her peach-colored lips twitched in annoyance, and wisps of auburn hair curled around her cheekbones.
Perhaps it was time to move on and leave the past behind? Earthling women didn't seem to measure up to the fierce woman in front of him. And Earthling women were known to be the fiercest of them all.
Birken yawned and slumped down onto the hard stone, turning his back on Everine. The heavy bag of coins in his belt dug into his side.
I shouldn’t have taken the money.
-Everine -
They left the inn the next morning and went to the village market to gather what they needed to travel to Caradrea.
It came in handy that Birken was abnormally big, even for an Earthling. By the end of their errands, there was no room left for anything more to be carried on Birken’s body. A couple of buckskins were rolled together on his back. Pots and pans hung from his waist, and the satchels tied around his arms and feet contained waterskins, bags filled with spices, wheats, rye, beans, peas and other essentials.
Everine pointed at the supplies around his feet in particular and frowned. “That does not look like a comfortable way to travel.”
“Oh, but I shan’t be carrying it for long. You’ll see. We’ll find a better way once we’ve entered Elfen Lyconis.”
“I do hope you're talking about horses.”
She shook her head at his grin, and found a small space among all the baggage through which she could hold on to Birken’s arm as they scurried off through the narrow muddy streets.
Lord Hadeth’s human guards, the Vaexennas, patrolled the barricades that embraced the village in a wide crescent from one side of the bay to the other. The Vaexennas, once personal guards of the King of Fire, were now known to be ruthless in their duties. Any and all activity deemed suspicious would mean facing Hadeth or the king for judgement, assuming the Vaexennas didn’t decide to kill the offender first.
Everine and Birken would need to remain as inconspicuous as possible, a task not easily executed for someone of Birken’s size and appearance. Even so, they managed to escape the notice of quite a few guards on their way out of the village. They detoured every so often and slunk their way around the few stone houses on the outskirts of Arvaex. This side of the village was quiet and there were less people around, but they were drawing closer to the barricades with every step.
Their luck didn't hold. As they neared the barricades, a pair of Vaexennas spotted them and raised their swords.
“Names and business,” the elder of the two Vaexenna said.
“Is that your child?” The younger Vaexenna pointed at Everine—Ayva’s hand was sticking out from under her cloak. If they were to see her eyes, the Vaexennas would doubtless hand all three of them over to the Heartless King. Running would be just as futile.
Birken looked over at Everine with an apologetic look. It was as if he had read her mind.
He spun around, pots and pans clanging against each other, and placed himself squarely in the middle of the guards. He grabbed onto the Vaexennas’ hands that held the hilts of their swords. With a single thrust, Birken broke the wrists of both men simultaneously. Grabbing the swords as they fell, he twirled them around, taking a single, long stride forward that placed him past the two men. Kneeling, he thrust the swords backwards, sinking them deeply into the guards.
Releasing the swords, Birken took Everine’s hand, and they started running. Everine felt a moment of remorse for the dead guards, even though she was grateful for her own escape.
The load Birken carried produced a lot of noise with each step, and Everine prayed to Emblanyiêa that the guards would not be found too soon. They only slowed their pace once the barricade lay far behind them and they had entered Elfen Lyconis. The sound of bells ringing alerted them that the Vaexeannas had been found, but there was no sign of anyone in pursuit.
By midday, Everine and Birken found themselves hidden within the dense forest, the homeland of the wild elves. Their path joined a trail that carried them into the thick green of Elfen Lyconis; hours passed before Birken led them down a narrow path off the wider trail. Grass and weeds were waist high, slapping against Everine with every step. Birken found the path with little effort, but Everine never would have found it without him.
Her feet ached from traveling the entire day. Fatigued and out of breath, Everine gritted her teeth and kept walking.
Birken eventually steered them into a small clearing hidden among clumps of linden trees.
The trees had thick trunks, and the branches spread out overhead to provide shelter. Birken reached up to pick a few nuts off the closest tree. He patted the trunk, as though thanking it for the snack. Reaching out for a few more nuts, he announced, “We’ll camp here for the night.”
Too tired to respond, Everine slumped to the ground, still cradling Ayva in her arms. Birken untied the various supplies from his body, dumping it all at his feet. He picked up a small knife and turned his head back for a quick glance before he disappeared into the trees.
His voice reached her from out of sight, “Be back in a hammer’s beat!”
He reappeared a few minutes later with a couple of dead hares in his hands, along with a collection of various greenery.
Everine sifted through Birken’s findings while he played with Ayva’s nose.
“You do know most of these greens are inedible?” Everine shook her head before discovering a plant that stood out from the others. She brightened. “Ah, now this I can use.”
“Told you I was no cook,” Birken mumbled from behind his hands, which were folded over his face. “Boo! Here I am, Ayva. Had a hard time finding me now, didn’t you?” He was making funny faces and playing peekaboo with the newborn.
Ayva giggled with excitement to Everine’s amazement. She had already developed so much. Ayva was certainly nothing like any other child.
The game continued until Everine had finished preparing their meal. She was proud of the accomplishment as she served what she thought was a meal fit for noble folk. She had skinned the hares and cooked them to perfection. Then, she had roasted the nuts and seasoned everything with the one usable herb Birken had found, as well as a couple of others she had bought in Arvaex
Ayva fell asleep instantly as Birken laid her down on a bed of moss he had created. “She truly is something else, isn’t she?” He marveled at her.
“In truth, I don’t know what she is.” Everine sighed and leaned back, resting her body on a nearby linden trunk. “Have you travelled a lot in Aradria, Birk?”
“Yes, I certainly have. Not many places I haven’t seen.” He pulled out his pipe and lit it.
Everine bit her lip before asking her next question. “Still, you have never seen anything like her anywhere, have you?”
He shook his head. “On my travels? Can’t say I have, though she does remind me of something from the stories of old. But those are children’s stories.”
Everine was somewhat disappointed with his reply. It would have been a comfort to learn more about what Ayva was, but she found she rather enjoyed the Earthling’s companionship nonetheless.
“You read children’s stories?” Everine grinned.
“Every now and then, yes.” Birken narrowed his eyes. “Lately, not so much.”
She laid herself down beside the tree trunk. “Tell me one, please,
Birk?”
Birken studied the carvings on his pipe for a while, and then closed his eyes. He started with a story about the Earthlings’ betrayal of the Elemental Rule during the time of the Fall and their futile search for redemption. Everine pulled the buckskin over her tired body and listened to the sound of Birken’s voice until her eyelids dropped.
9
Yirin’s Glade
- Everine –
They were already back on the path, hiking deeper into Elfen Lyconis, as the sun rose. Birken wished to reach their next stop before midday. The Caradrean borders were still days ahead of them, however.
By the time the sun filled the sky, the forest had opened up to reveal a spacious glade. Dense tree trunks encircled the area, and the thick crowns of the trees extended to touch each other.
Birken inhaled sharply, flaring his nostrils. “We’re here.”
Straight ahead, in the middle of the glade, stood a small, wooden cottage. Everine was primarily interested, however, in the rows of well-maintained stables that lay next to it. It was a relief to think she might get to rest her feet for the remainder of their journey. Ayva was small, but it was still a strain on Everine to constantly carry her while walking.
As they approached the cottage, Birken halted and eyed Everine seriously. “Now, I need you to be…not you, alright? I mean, let me speak and make yourself as invisible as you possibly can.” He smiled and added, “Though, I realize that’ll be hard.”
Everine’s exhaustion left her glad to slip into the background, but she couldn’t help huffing a little and pursing her lips in annoyance. A rumble of amusement issued from Birken’s chest. He quickly recovered his composure, however, and knocked on the arched wooden door.
A husky voice bid them to enter.
The door opened into a circular space with an immense central hearth. The faint smell of resin and spruce wafted through the air. A round table and a few wooden chairs stood in front of the fire. A wild elven woman sat upon one of these. Everine’s heart leaped as she beheld the strange sight.
