Heart Song

by Samantha LaFantasie

  “My only choice was to work for the king. As the gatekeeper.”

  All that time I listened to his short and very sad story. I couldn't help but feel beside myself in my brash and unfounded feelings towards this man. I felt guilty. “What is your name?”

  “Gandir.” Instead of saying it proudly, he looked as though he had just been told he was doomed to die in the next few moments. His shoulders were slouched, his arms were slack at his side, and his eyes remained low.

  I approached him, dropped to my knees and wrapped my arms tightly around him. He stiffened for only one small moment then relaxed. “You are more than just your blood. Your parents and grandfather would be proud of you. Thank you for helping us.”

  “Ahem. Uh, yes, well...” He took a step back, pulling free from my hold.

  I stood.

  “Where to now, Gandir?” Marren asked, taking a hold of my hand. Our eyes met and for a moment, I saw pride and awe shine through them.

  “Uh... oh, right. Follow me.”

  We followed Gandir out of the covered shelter for the broken down wagons and carts to the side of a building that stretched above the wall. Windows were alight with blinking candles and a soft orange glow behind them. Murmurs of undecipherable chatter blended into one another and the smell of ale and spice flowed from the openings. It reminded me of the inn, during one of its busiest seasons.

  Beyond that was a large open road, bordered by buildings built upon one another of staggered heights. Each one had arched doorways of dark wood and a small hanging sign above the door. Some were dark while some were alive with business. People walked to and from these opened stores. Some even gathered in small clusters. It seemed odd to see such a contrast within such a close area.

  “This way,” Gandir said, pulling my attention back to where we were walking and not what was going on.

  A small space between two buildings offered enough room for us to walk single file through. I only had to flick my hand to get my fingers to touch either wall. There were no windows in these walls, just rough stone squares stacked upon one another to form the sides of the buildings.

  The further in we went, the darker it was and the harder it was to discern shapes beyond our own. We arrived at the end of the small alley. Gandir knocked a couple times. A few knocks were returned, followed by something scrapping against the ground. It sounded like stone on stone.

  A stone door?

  Seems like it. Marren squeezed my hand.

  “I've got some rather intriguing company here. Won't ya let us in?” Gandir's voice was low and deep. I couldn't see anything on the other side of the stone door, but then it scraped some more, raising the hairs on the back of my neck and inside a darkened room stood a figure outlined in a light blue-green aura.

  “Well, let us have a look at this intriguing company. Do step inside. Quickly.” The voice came from the other side, thickly accented and choppy. He was tall and thin in stature, judging by the way his robes cloaked him. He turned and walked further into the darkness.

  30

  A Fallen Comrade To Kill An Enemy

  Into the belly of the city. At least that's what it felt like. We walked through darkened halls after a long flight of stairs downward. Soon the shadows lightened and the sounds of chatter filled the air. We turned down a hallway and into a room lit with sconces and lanterns. In the center of the room rested a small table, crudely made. A chair sat on the other side of it. It looked like it had seen better days. The walls were bare, made from sandstone and left jagged in areas. Aside from the door, there were no other ways in or out of the room, including the extreme lack of windows.

  “Please forgive my humble decorations. It's difficult to find pieces to carry this far. And the dwarfs seem less enthused with building furniture than they are about carving this place out of the ground.” The man took a seat in the chair. It groaned loudly at his weight. He removed his hood to reveal long light brown hair, straight eye brows and bright green eyes. His lips were squared, yet puckered and he had a large scar that crossed his face in a diagonal. I quickly averted my eyes when he noticed my gawking.

  “It's quite the sight, isn't it, my lady?”

  I looked up, meeting his gaze again. There wasn't any sarcasm in his voice and I didn't detect a hint of anger in his face. I smiled politely. “I'm sorry. I wasn't expecting to see... well...”

  “Relena was attacked when she was younger,” Marren said. “It scarred her horribly. You are the only one of the immortal races that she's seen with scars like hers.”

  “Ah, I see. Kindred spirits, you and I.”

  I nodded.

  “The name's Lernn, elven rogue, and leader of this band of dying soldiers.” He stood then held his hand out to me. I placed my hand in his then he brought it to his mouth and placed a gentle peck just below my knuckle. “Pleasure to meet you.” He released my hand and stood formally while looking at Marren. “Master Marren, heard a lot of you lately. Lots of whispers.”

  “Whispers?” Marren asked.

  “Yes. It's somewhat of a gift—a talent, if you will. I'm very good at not being seen or heard. I can blend into the shadows.”

  “Interesting.”

  “Yes. My talent is very useful. It's saved us a time or two.”

  “What kinds of whispers have you heard exactly?” I asked.

  Lernn's eyes peeked over my shoulder. I followed his gaze to Gandir, standing silently in the corner. He nodded once then his eyes fell on mine. I returned my gaze to Lernn. “I know that your daughter is being held in the lowest cells of the dungeon. Those reserved for the most heinous and foul offenders. Not many people actually make it that far. Most are beheaded first.”

  “You know Naloud is here?” I turned around to face Gandir to yell at him for not being up front with me, but he wasn't there. I hadn't even heard the door. I turned in a complete circle searching for him.

  “You'll have to forgive him. We know that you would do anything and risk everything to find your daughter. Unfortunately, that is not the way to help her. If you go running in there like that, you'll likely find your daughter dead.” Lernn's words penetrated the air, dissolving everything around me until there was nothing but his words.

  “What else do you know about my daughter?”

  “That she's extremely well taken care of, for being a prisoner and all.”

  “What do you mean extremely well taken care of?” Marren asked.

  “Well, it appears that she arrived of her own free will with a man by the name of Serid. They appear to be quite fond of each other.”

  I clenched my fists together. “So you say.”

  “Well, I'm no expert on love, but apparently Serid has been taking food and water personally to Naloud,” Lernn said. “Word has it that he's even spent several days with her.”

  A growl erupted from my throat.

  Marren cleared his throat and placed a hand on my shoulder. “Not exactly the best argument you can present at this point in time.”

  Lernn raised his eyebrows as if he was surprised but understood. “Very well.”

  “Just tell me how to get my daughter back,” I said, enunciating every syllable.

  “Well it's not going to happen tonight,” Lernn said, stepping around the table and towards the door. He gripped the handle and pulled on it. “You may want to see something first.”

  I looked at Marren to see how he was handling it. His eyes found mine, nodded once, and pressed his hand on the small of my back.

  We walked towards the murmuring. It started out as a whisper and grew louder as we got closer. We approached a set of stairs and started to descend. The stairs led to a large open room with large tables and chairs. Lamps and sconces lined the walls and illuminated every corner of the room in a hazy orange glow. Groups of immortal races were gathered and conversing loudly with one another. None were even slightly aware of our appearance.

  Lernn had stopped at the last stair then nodded at someone. Three loud booms filled the a
ir, vibrating off the walls. Silence settled as all eyes fell upon me and Marren. Lernn looked at me with a smirk on his face then turned towards the crowd. “These two need no introduction. Their daughter is Naloud. They want to rescue her. Who will stand behind them?”

  A loud roar came as a response. Lernn turned towards me then said, “We all want the king dead. And you will too as soon as you find out who he really is.”

  “Fine. How do you propose we do this?” I asked.

  His smirk grew into a smile. “I’d hoped you would ask. Follow me.” He stepped through the crowd. It parted as we walked through the long corridor to the room at the end. A figure stood hunched over a table, reviewing a large scroll of parchment unrolled onto its large flat surface. The figure's form was familiar to me and I felt my heart skip a few beats. Light caught golden strands of silk. I held my breath as we entered.

  “I believe you three already know each other...” Lernn said, as we entered the room.

  Then he turned and I saw the sad blue eyes that I have come to know and love as my father. “Athair!” I ran into his arms.

  “A'lainn,” he breathed into my hair and squeezed me.

  “I was so worried about you. We were chased out of towns and nearly killed. I thought I wouldn't see you again...I thought...” I started sobbing into Enid's shoulder.

  “Shh. I'm here. It's alright. I'm alright. We are going to get through this. I promise.”

  “And Raden?” I asked.

  “Raden, unfortunately, shares much of the same fate as your daughter,” Lernn replied.

  I nodded into Enid's shirt then pulled away, wiping my nose on the sleeve of my robes.

  “Enid,” Marren said with as much happiness he could muster into a calm conversation.

  “Marren,” Enid held out his hand. They gripped each other's arms at the base of their elbows and pulled each other close, giving a couple good and sound pats on the back then releasing each other.

  “Family reunions. Beautiful events, aren't they?” Lernn said to no one in particular. “Let's arrange one final one, shall we?” He bent at the waist over the large parchment on the table. It was a map of the city and the castle. The inside workings of it and a schedule tacked to the side.

  ***

  For the rest of the night all three of us poured over the plans. Marren and I learned the king's true identity was Jiren and had actually raised Serid on the belief that we were responsible for Okelo's death. Serid had started out his journey set on revenge. But he didn't account for the possibility of falling in love. If what Marren said was true, then it only made sense that what Lernn said was true as well. About Serid's caring for Naloud while she was in the castle's dungeon. And with Lernn's bit of vital information, recounting a story of how to kill ethereal beings, we made a plan of our own. It was a shaky plan at best, but it was better than nothing and anything was worth freeing the immortal races for good. But the cost seemed far too great.

  “I don't like it,” I argued with Marren after we were led to a room.

  “You don't have to like it. You just need to go with it. It's his choice.”

  “That's not a choice. That's a sacrifice,” I countered.

  Marren cupped my face in his hands and pressed his lips against mine. “He has nothing holding him here. His entire life was taken from him. This is something he wants. This is how he can feel at peace. Who are we to deny him that?”

  I rolled my eyes, forced to admit there was logic in his words. But it still didn't feel good. It felt sad and empty.

  “Tomorrow evening seems so far away,” I said just before the exhaustion claimed me.

  “It will come quicker than you think.” Marren's words echoed through my head as sleep took over my consciousness.

  ***

  When I woke, I was stiff. So exhausted I didn't shift once, instead lying in one position. I spent most of the afternoon and evening working on stretching my muscles and making my body more flexible so that I could fight without much resistance. I sat on the floor as Marren, Lernn and Enid poured over the plans and map of the city one last time. The way this place was built underground was so fascinating to me. It had to have taken years to do this, yet it was done so quickly.

  “Does the city above know of this place?” I asked.

  “They think they know,” Lernn replied. “But no one has dared to find out. Humans are more afraid of us than we are of them, and we're the ones with the bounty on our heads.” He smiled.

  I became so lost in thought about all the things I would say to Naloud when we found her and all the things I would say to Jiren as the light of life faded in his eyes. However, something Lernn said caught my attention.

  “They call it, A Night of Celebration.”

  “Why?” I asked.

  Everyone turned to face me with confused looks on their faces, almost as if they were shocked I didn't already know.

  “It's celebrating the approximate anniversary of the disappearance of our kind. They will dress up and try to look like us,” Lernn offered. I realized I had known of this celebration for years but never really quite understood it. Tarn never allowed me to participate and never talked about it. “Quite hilarious, actually,” Lernn continued.

  I thought of someone trying to dress up to be a half-deranged elf or werewolf and stifled a chuckle. “Oh, I bet.”

  “Actually, people should be crowding the streets as we speak. It's time for battle, friends!”

  We followed the crowd up the winding road to the portcullis of the castle. We slipped through unnoticed to the part of the castle wall overgrown with ivy. We crossed the courtyard to the back entrance of the dungeon, a towering turret that supposedly went as far down as it did up. Stairs, on the inside of the door, spiraled downward to the deepest darkest depths.

  It seemed like an eternity descending the stairs, but we finally came to the bottom floor. Nicknamed the Abyss, for those condemned to this level. Solid ground, not stone, formed the floor as walls of bars lined the halls that spread out in four different directions. Torchlight gave away the cell Naloud was in, along with two guards on either side. It was expected, per the plan. I was to be the distraction.

  I stepped forward, but was forced to a stop by Marren's hand gripping me under my arm. Be careful, uwoduhi.

  I peered over my shoulder at him. His black eyes and his wolf face. I promise.

  He nodded once and released me, allowing me to continue on my quest to save our daughter.

  “Good evening gentlemen,” I said on my approach, hoping Naloud wouldn't give my voice away.

  They startled to attention.

  “What are you doing here? No one is allowed down here,” one guard spoke. His voice was gruff and sounded worn with age.

  “Oh yes, I know, but as you probably haven't heard, the castle is under siege. The king wishes all his men to the gate!” I tried to put as much formality and urgency as I could to appear official.

  “What do you take us for?” the other guard spoke. His voice came off grading and squeaking. Must be just coming into manhood.

  I shrugged. “A couple of idiots that are going to lose their heads if you don't obey his majesty's orders.”

  “Give it up girl. We were already warned of someone planning to try and get us to leave our guard,” the older guard spoke.

  “Okay, I will inform his majesty of your denial.” I paused and cocked my head to the side and studied the men for a moment. “You know you're going to look rather incongruous without your heads.” I stifled a chuckle in response to the wide eyes the guards gave at my words. I walked back to Marren, hidden in the shadows with Lernn.

  “Hey woman, wait!” called the squeaky voiced guard as both of them ran past us and up the stairs.

  I ran to Naloud as soon as their footsteps were far enough in the distance. The floor was covered in a thick layer of hay. Naloud laid on top of it with a blanket barely covering her body. Her back was turned towards me with her hair stretching like thin rivers of brown wat
er from her head, over the hay, and to the dirt floor.

  “Naloud, it’s mom, are you all right?” My heart was beating frantically against my ribs.

  No response.

  “Naloud?” Marren's voice echoed off the walls in the same tone he would use when she was younger and had done something very naughty.

  She didn't even shift.

  I pulled hard on the door. With a loud clank and crack, it pulled open. I rushed to her side and took her head into my hands. “She's so cold!” I lowered my cheek to her nose to feel her breath. “She's barely breathing!” Tears filled my eyes as I searched for her heartbeat. Only the faintest thump responded to my finger's pressure.

  “They knew!” Lernn said. “We must leave at once!”

  “What's the hurry?” A voice that had once given me nightmares pierced the air. A figure stood in the shadows and approached very slowly. He was dressed as the king but kept his own voice.

  “Jiren, you sorry excuse for life, I will see you destroyed!” I promised through clenched teeth. I teetered dangerously close to losing all control and falling into a dark place of sadness.

  His laugh came out dark and sinister. “I have the upper hand against you. Your daughter is dying. Your folly will be paid for and you will be forced to go back to the immortal realm and remain there peacefully... or die here painfully and very, very slowly.”

  “Mighty words for a man too cowardly to face me in his true form,” I said as I stood from my dying daughter's side. “You have to hide behind a mask, a falsehood.”

  A smile played on Jiren's face. It was a threatening “come and get me,” smile. I growled and started to run for him.

  “No Relena!” Marren's voice echoed around me as a pair of arms stopped me from seeing Jiren bleed.

  “Smart man,” Jiren said after a quick victorious chuckle.