Origin

by Samantha Smith

  A few days later Rhianna described how Lilith arrived at her suite one evenfall pale, shaking, and with tears rolling down her cheeks. Rhianna wrote that it took her almost an hour to calm Lilith down enough to get her to talk about what upset her. Lilith described how she was standing outside the council chambers and overheard a conversation about the human women and her unwanted offspring. They were saying that Rhianna would not be around much longer. Lilith said that she was now sure that someone was trying to poison Rhianna and feared that, if the poison didn’t work, they would try more drastic measures. Lilith also believed that whoever was behind this plot wanted it done while Lord Azavon was away. Rhianna wrote she was actually feeling a lot stronger now that she was eating only the food prepared and brought to her by Lilith. She was very troubled by the rumors though and felt extremely unsafe, even in her own suite of rooms. She tried not to panic and prayed that Azavon and Ayron would arrive home so that she could discuss her fears.

  That evening after Lilith was asleep, Rhianna wrote how shocked she was to discover that she had enemies in the castle, other than Alysan. She also added that it was hard to imagine that any of them would actually do her harm, or even worse, want her dead. Rhianna wrote that the next day she talked with Lilith trying to put all the pieces of information they had together. Unfortunately neither one of them had enough facts to figure out who was even involved, and certainly not who was behind the attack on her life. Rhianna ended the day’s entry by writing that she told Lilith to spend her days listening to what was being said outside her suite, and then they would talk at evenfall when Lilith came to stay for the night. Rhianna made another short entry stating she planned to continue to keep to her rooms, working on regaining her strength. She added that she also didn’t want the person who was trying to poison her to know she was wise to what was going on. She continued to accept meals graciously from the kitchen staff, but threw the food outside so that the trays were empty when the staff came to retrieve them.

  Rhianna wrote a short entry describing how, a few days later, Lilith arrived for the evening in tears and shaking with fear again. Apparently, there were additional rumors about the state of Rhianna’s health and emotions. Lilith said she overheard a few of the kitchen staff say Rhianna might not live to greet her husband upon his return and that no one, even her own physician, knew what to do to help her. The staff also said they heard she was so depressed about her husband being gone that she didn’t want to live. There was speculation that if she died soon, her baby would also die with her. It was obvious to Rhianna that someone was setting the scene so if she died at their hands, it would be excused in some way. It also sounded from the rumors, that her death might be imminent. Both the women felt that whoever was behind this plot was tired of waiting for her to die of poison and was preparing to take further action against her. It also occurred to Rhianna that her enemies not only wanted her dead, but her unborn child and future heir to the throne of Silvendil as well.

  Rhianna wrote she knew it was important to act immediately if she wanted to save her life and that of little El. She asked Lilith to gather some food from the kitchen that would keep well on a long journey. She then got one of Azavon’s maps that showed where Unity, and more specifically Tarlon, was located. She took a large pack and filled it with some clothing, an extra pair of shoes, her diary, and food brought by Lilith. She then had Lilith go to where the military gear was stored and get her a bed pad, a waterskin, and a dagger. Very late that night, Rhianna and Lilith left her suite and went quietly out to the meadow. Rhianna called Gemma, saddled her and tied on all of the extra gear. She then turned to Lilith with tears in her eyes, told her that she would miss her, and told her to take care of herself. She bid her not speak of her disappearance to anyone. Rhianna also advised Lilith to get away from the castle for a while since she would probably be questioned about her disappearance. Lastly, she asked Lilith to seek Ayron out upon his return and tell him what happened. Rhianna wrote that to ask Lilith to try to get to Azavon would be too dangerous and might also make her a target for assassination. A sobbing Lilith agreed to what she asked. Rhianna, with tears in her eyes and a heart that felt as if it was breaking, rode for Tarlon to find her brother Rhys.

  Elwyn had to tear herself from the diary to tend to her meal. She put the risen bread dough in a pan and set it to bake in the coals of the fire. Her stew finished cooking and the smell of it made her mouth water. Elwyn took some of it to Keroc and began to feed him the broth and some small pieces of cooked fish. She could feel a slight tingling in her head and thought maybe Keroc was trying to communicate with her. She loosened the cloths that held him so tightly so that she could check on his broken wing. The wing seemed to be healing nicely and there were no signs of infection. When she went to rewrap him, he squawked softly and bobbed his head. She agreed not to bind him so tightly in exchange for his promise not to try to stretch his wing out. Of course, all this was communicated with a bobbing head and a few well placed squawks. Before she went to eat her own meal, she looked outside at the falling rain and decided that she would wait one more day for Ayron to arrive. But she was determined to move on if he hadn’t reached Kren by the next morning. She was secretly pleased that she had more time to read the diary and understand more about the mystery before Ayron arrived. She realized that she and Ayron would have a lot to talk about on their travels.

  After a pleasant meal, Elwyn opened the diary again. The next several entries in the diary were about Rhianna’s trip to Tarlon and her search for Rhys. Rhianna wrote that she’d been terribly frightened to be making a trip like this on her own, but trusted Gemma to keep her safe. Elwyn realized how difficult it would have been for her mother, without any survival or woodland training, to travel such a long distance alone. Rhianna also wrote that riding so close to the date she was to deliver made her very nervous, but added that the only problem she had during her trip was that her back ached in the evenings when she stopped to rest. Rhianna wrote that she was very grateful that Lilith insisted she bring so much food and that, while after a few days the food began to taste rather stale, at least it was nourishing. A few days passed before Rhianna’s next entry. She wrote one evening, when it was raining and storming, that she’d been lucky enough to find a small cave for shelter and lit a small fire with some matches that Lilith had thoughtfully slipped into her pack. Rhianna’s next entry said that after about a week of riding she was very sore, out of food, and thoroughly lost. She also added that, just as she was about to give up, she came upon the small village of Kren. She wrote she wandered into the center of the village late one afternoon and almost tumbled from Gemma in utter exhaustion. She added later that the villagers fed her and got her to rest for the next two days, but on the third morning, realizing that she was determined to leave, sent her on her way with directions and enough food to last for the rest of her trip.

  Elwyn was interrupted from her reading by a rustling sound and suddenly realized that Keroc was moving. She rushed to him, gently warning him not to try to move too much or he would hinder the healing of his broken wing. After he settled, Elwyn got another bowl of broth and slowly fed it to him. While she did, she told him about her decision to move on if Ayron hadn’t reached Kren by the next day. She also reminded him again that Kierra had dispatched several of his nest mates to nurse and help him recover from the poison. He nodded, cocked his head, and tried to make a noise. Elwyn knew what was bothering him and she really didn’t know what to say. Believing that honesty was best, she told him that the last time she heard from Kierra, Ayron was alive but that, for some reason, she hadn’t heard from Kierra since that time. Elwyn did try to comfort him by sharing that Ayron was probably safe and had just been delayed by her uncle’s injury. That seemed to comfort the little drakenhawk a bit and he soon drifted off to sleep again. Elwyn hurried back to her bed pad and the little diary to read some more about her mother’s journey.

  Rhianna wrote that she was terribly grateful for the villagers help.
The village elder Owen and his new bride had been very kind to her and wished her well as she continued her travels. Owen told her that if she followed the old wagon trail south for about three days, she would come to the village of Tarlon. He warned her not to stray far from the trail as it was easy to get lost in the woodlands that bordered the trail on both sides. The villagers filled her waterskin and gave her an extra one to take with her in case she didn’t find more water close at hand. Rhianna was sad to leave the village. The villagers had been very kind to her and she felt safe there with them, but she knew that she needed to find Rhys soon. The traveling had taken a toll on her. She felt tired and achy all the time. Rhianna finished the entry by writing that next to seeing her brother, she was most excited about sleeping in a bed again.

  Rhianna made one more entry during the last leg of her journey. It was scratchy and hastily written. Elwyn guessed that she had written it as she rode. Rhianna wrote that she made the decision not to stop again until she reached Tarlon. She rode two days and nights along the trail to the south without stopping. She ate, drank, and slept in her saddle. She was frightened by the small contractions she was feeling from time to time and desperately wanted to reach Rhys before going into labor. It was evenfall on her third day of travel that she arrived in Tarlon bringing with her some dark heavy clouds and rain. She stopped Gemma and asked a villager that appeared to be hurrying home for the evening where she could find Rhys. She wrote that she was absolutely exhausted and sobbed with joy as his home came into view. She slid from Gemma’s back, too weak to dismount, stumbled to the door and, with her remaining strength, pounded as hard as she could. She was filled with relief when her brother opened the door. She was too weak to even speak All she could do was throw herself into his arms sobbing.

  Rhianna’s next entry was stained with what Elwyn was sure were tears. She wrote that both Rhys and his wife Alesia warmly welcomed her into their home and to her surprise didn’t demand any explanations. They made her comfortable in their guest room and called their friend Clayre to come and check on her. Because she was a little nervous about healers, Rhianna tried hard to assure Clayre, who was concerned because she appeared so thin and fragile, that she had been ill and would eat very well over the next three or four weeks and gain back as much weight as she could before her child was born. Rhianna wrote that while she appreciated their concern, she just wanted to be left alone to rest. Whenever she was alone, Rhianna wrote about her sorrow and inability to hold back the tears. She missed Azavon so much and wanted him with her. Rhianna closed the last entry in this group by saying that she thought of asking Rhys to ride to Silvendil to let Azavon and Ayron know what had happened to her, but she had no way of knowing when they would be back. She was also reluctant to ask him to leave his pregnant wife, Alesia. Most importantly, she didn’t want to put him in danger. Rhianna wrote that she felt so lost and alone. It was wonderful to see her brother again, but it wasn’t like being at home with her husband. She really hoped that Lilith would leave the castle until Azavon and Ayron came back to Findara and then tell Ayron what happened. Rhianna knew that all she could really do was be patient and try to grow strong for little El. She promised herself that she would do nothing except work to grow stronger, prepare to have her baby, and wait for her husband to discover her missing and come looking for her. In the meantime, she would try to enjoy her time with her brother and his new wife.

  There were still several more entries in the diary, but Elwyn, noticed that the rain stopped and decided to go hunting to see if she could find some game to add to the pot for dinner and to dry for jerky. She picked up her bow and quiver of arrows, checked on Keroc who was still sleeping, and left the hut. The afternoon sky was still dark with storm clouds. It looked to Elwyn as if she might not yet have seen the end of the rain. Elwyn checked on the morden, told them she was going hunting, but refused their offer to go with her telling them they would surely scare off any game.

  She wandered though the fields surrounding the village looking for signs of animal life. She came across some deer droppings in one of the grain fields that had been left to go to seed, and followed the small prints into the woods by the village. She wandered around for about a half hour before she lost the trail. Truthfully, the woods around the village made her feel very uncomfortable. Elwyn had the feeling that she was being watched, but could see nothing. In fact, she had never been in any woodland that was so abounding with growth and yet so empty of animals and birds. Still feeling very uncomfortable, Elwyn decided to go back to the meadows and fields surrounding the village to hunt. Over the next hour she shot three rabbits and decided that it would be enough meat to last for a few days. She cleaned them, skinned them, and buried their entrails along with the skin so that the smell wouldn’t attract predators that might be roaming the area. Her hunting done, she hurried back to the hut to make dinner and read more of the diary.

  Elwyn checked in with the morden on her way back to the hut and found them happily grazing on the grass in the meadow. She stopped to pick up some wood from under a large tree that seemed dry enough to use for her fire. Just as she was entering the hut, the sky open and the rain came pouring down. Elwyn was actually relieved that she hadn’t started her travels this day. She and poor Keroc would have been soaked to the bone. Elwyn put some of the wood on the fire and put on some water to boil. To that she added some of the root vegetables she’d gathered from the abandoned huts. While that cooked, she cut up the three rabbits, putting some of the meat in the pot with her vegetables and the rest on her homemade spit to cook and dry for her journey. While the stew was simmering, she made some dough but instead of letting it rise, she made several small cakes and baked them so that she would have some travel biscuits to take with her on her journey. She added the wild mushrooms to her stew and some of the herbs that she’d gathered. The stew smelled wonderful and she anxiously waited for it to finish.

  While she waited, she laid out any clothing that was wet or damp so that it could dry near the fire during the night. She also fashioned a new carrier for Keroc so he could see where they were traveling now that he was awake. As she worked on the carrier, she told him of her hunt and how uncomfortable and devoid of life the woods surrounding the village had been. Keroc bobbed his head a lot and blinked his eyes. Elwyn thought that the sensation in her mind was growing a bit stronger and was hoping that Keroc would soon be able to communicate with her again. She was still very puzzled she hadn’t heard anything from Kierra, nor had the other drakenhawks she was sending from Findara arrived. But she was also not sure just how long it took to fly from Findara to Kren, and how long a drakenhawk could fly without needing to rest. Unfortunately the only one who had the answers to her questions could not answer her yet.

  By the time the stew was finished, Elwyn had most of her possessions packed in her saddlebags. She wanted to be ready to leave early the next morning. Her belongings were packed, her wet things were drying, and the travel biscuits she made were packed in the tin Clayre had given her for her journey. Elwyn fed Keroc some of the stew and also some of the pieces of rabbit from the spit. They weren’t fully cooked which made them all the more delicious to Keroc, who normally ate his kill raw. She knew that he was feeling better because he ate and drank quite a bit. He was getting more vocal with each passing hour and Elwyn knew that her respite from the loud screeching sounds he often made was rapidly coming to an end. With Keroc settled for the evening, Elwyn checked on the meat cooking on the spit, ladled some soup into a small bowl, tore off a chunk of homemade bread left over from the morning, and settled down to eat and read the remaining pages of her mother’s diary.

  There were several entries in this part of the diary that Rhianna dedicated to constructing a layette for her new baby. Having to travel light, she unhappily left all of the items she’d so lovingly made for her baby in Findara. Alesia, whose baby wasn’t due for another few months, was a big help to her. Rhianna, wanting to keep a low profile, chose not to leave her rooms, so b
oth Clayre and Alesia brought her all kinds of material to work with. In her diary, she drew out some of the patterns she was planning to sew. It was a strange feeling for Elwyn to see the clothing that her mother designed and made with such loving care for her to wear when she was born. Both Clayre and Alesia also made some items for the new baby, and a few of the neighbors dropped off some items their little ones had outgrown. Rhianna felt very blessed to be surrounded by so many people willing to befriend her as well as help her prepare for her baby’s birth. Clayre, who was to be the midwife with Alesia’s help, told Rhianna what to expect when her time came. The biggest surprise of all was when Rhys presented her with a small but beautifully carved cradle for little El to sleep in. The days were very busy, but the nights were lonely and Rhianna often cried herself to sleep wondering when Azavon would come to get her so they could be together again.

  The next entry was made a few hours after Elwyn’s birth. In it, Rhiannon described her beautiful daughter. The entry was so full of love and tenderness that she began to cry. Keroc misinterpreted her tears and became increasingly agitated. Elwyn went to give him some water and explain to him what she was doing. He calmed down quickly and fell asleep shortly after. She sat down on her bed pad again and continued reading the diary. It was strange for her to see herself described so lovingly by a person she’d never met. Rhianna wrote that she was very surprised at the strong elven traits that were evident in her daughter. She couldn’t wait to show her to Azavon. Rhianna was also shocked at her deep violet eyes which were, in fact, darker violet than those of Azavon or Ayron. They were more the color of Lady Silvenna’s eyes. Again, she couldn’t wait for Azavon to see his new daughter. Rhianna laughed to herself just thinking about how this little girl would wrap tall, handsome Azavon right around her tiny little fingers. She loved the fact that Elwyn, named for her grandfather, had her curly reddish gold hair. The hair was not at all elven and would always serve to remind her daughter of her human heritage.