Heart Song

by Samantha LaFantasie

“Am I?” Marren retorted then cocked his head to the side as if he was trying to listen to something. “Do you hear that?”

  Vibrations surged through the walls, faint shouts and echoes made their way down the stairs. It was the sound of battle.

  Jiren heard it as well. His expression changed from victorious to fierce. His image shifted, faltering, letting a bright purple hew line his appearance. He turned quickly and ran, like the coward he is, up the stairs.

  Lernn didn't wait to run after him.

  “Marren, what about Naloud?” I asked before he ran off as well.

  “We will come back for her,” his response was soft and soothing, but his eyes held so much more. A need for revenge.

  I nodded, running after him up the long winding stairs to the courtyard where battle raged. A battle that quickly became an image of chaos burned into my mind as we pushed through the door. Humans and immoral races fought, swords clanking, voices shouting. Things of nightmares filled my eyes. Bodies were torn and ripped apart. Fire consumed the lush gardens. Screams of terror, pain, and war filled the air mingling with the scent of blood and steel. The fray was disorienting.

  But I had a job to do.

  It would be too easy to join the fight and help rid the world of those who sought to destroy what the world needed and the humans understood so little of. And fight I did, only with those who got in my way. Many of the men that fell at my hands were taken off guard by my mere appearance. A vicious animal is what their eyes said to me. And it wasn't in a hateful way. It was fearful. They feared me.

  I searched the chaos for signs of Jiren, finding instead, Serid. His eyes met mine. An emotion too much for me to control took over. I knew, if what Marren said was right, I would kill Naloud for sure if I harmed Serid. But he didn't deserve to live after what he did to my daughter. He killed himself along with her. A fact he would become aware of when she took her final breath.

  I approached him slowly. He didn't back down. When I was inches from his face he still didn't flinch. I kicked him to the ground and held my sword to his throat.

  “I don't suppose you want to hear my side of the story, do you?” Serid asked with his hands in the air.

  “No excuse is going to save my daughter.” I lunged at him. He swung his leg behind me, hitting me square behind my knees. I fell to the ground. He scurried to his feet then kicked my sword from my hand.

  “What do you mean save her?”

  For a moment, I was confused by the amount of questioning in his voice. He seemed lost and confused, as if he didn't know what he had done.

  I climbed to my feet, determined to rip him to pieces if need be. “She barely clings to life because of you! She loved you! You were supposed to be her heart song!” I swung at him with so much force that I continued spinning as he dodged it.

  “Wait, that wasn't the plan,” he said then stopped my next swing by catching my hand. “Jiren tricked us all,” he continued.

  “Ha! And how do I know you are not him?” I retorted.

  He moved my hand to his chest where I felt a pounding beneath his ribs. “I have a heart.” His words were even, but the look in his eyes was of terrible sadness. It was then I realized he loved her too. If he was Naloud's heart song, they were both going to die because of Jiren. Not him.

  I pulled my hand away. “Go to her. See what you can do to bring her back.”

  He didn't hesitate in running to her. I wanted to look behind me to make sure he made it there okay, but a strange sound filled my ears. It was a flapping sound. Like a flag in a raging wind. I looked around and then up in time to see a figure in a red cloak fall to the ground in front of me.

  “You should have left well enough alone girl,” Jiren said as he stepped towards me with a sword in hand. I eyed mine lying on the ground still. Behind him.

  “It won't be so easy to defeat me this time!” I dodged around him, rolling on the ground to pick up my sword, and then shifting to my feet as my sword clanked against his.

  He spoke no retorts, choosing instead to attack me with all his strength.

  Marren. I'm fighting Jiren. Now! We need to do it now!

  Jiren's hood to his cloak fell back, revealing his ethereal form. “I'm glad you decided to face me yourself. It will make defeating you all the sweeter!” I said and attacked harder.

  He swung his sword hard enough to disarm me then held it to my throat. It nicked the skin with a piercing kiss. I watched a smile form on Jiren's face. He opened his mouth to say something, but before he could spit his words out Marren showed up, knocking him to the ground. Marren took Jiren's sword and threw it across the courtyard.

  Lernn appeared behind Jiren. “Do it now, Relena!”

  I quickly ran up to Jiren and shoved my hand deep into his chest. A shocking pain surged up my arm. I shoved harder until I went through Jiren and into Lernn's chest, grabbing ahold of his heart. I pulled it back through, leaving it inside Jiren.

  “I bind you to this heart, Jiren,” I said and watched as his eyes grew wide with alarm and changed into, not the green he had in the human form I met him in, but the soft jade green of Lernn's. Slowly, Jiren's form faltered and flickered as it became absorbed by the heart. A sizzling sound came from his body as it dissipated. Soon, all that was left was a slowly dying heart and a pile of robes and cloak, once belonging to Jiren.

  Lernn's body laid on the ground with a peacefulness in his eyes I’d never known anyone to have in death. I bent down and lowered his lids. “Goodbye, dear friend.”

  I started to cry. I thought revenge would feel good. Instead, I felt empty and alone. Marren picked the heart up from the ground, using a cloth to wrap it in. His eyes met mine and held them for a moment. No words were exchanged, just a long silence that fell upon the world that night.

  “Mom?”

  My head snapped to the side. Naloud stood behind me, staring at me sitting on my knees. Beside her was Serid, holding her hand.

  “Naloud,” my voice cracked as more tears stung my eyes and my throat swelled. I removed myself from the ground and took my daughter into my arms.

  “Mom, you have to let me go. I can't breathe!”

  I pulled away and looked at her. Not a mark was on her. I looked at Serid, “How did you—”

  “I was fed belladonna,” Naloud offered.

  “I told Jiren I wouldn't help him unless he promised no harm would come to Naloud. He needed me, so a compromise was reached. She would be given a small dose of belladonna to make it look like she was dying to cause you to rush into battle,” Serid explained. “But he gave her too much, nearly killing her. He didn't know about us and our shared heart song. I doubt he would've cared if he did. He never cared.” His voice trailed off as his eyes fixed on a spot on the ground.

  “How did you reverse it?” Marren asked with awe.

  “Opium,” Serid stated it as if it were a matter of fact.

  “The important thing is, I'm alive and he tried everything in his power to protect me. Don't be mad at him,” Naloud said as she stepped in front of Serid. I smiled.

  Although I hated how grown up she was, I could only remember what it was like for me and Marren, not so long ago. Marren's fingers folded around mine. I felt his love, joy, and relief.

  “I thought I told ya I wanted to fight too?” Raden's voice echoed through the air.

  We all shifted our gaze to see him and Enid standing in front of a large courtyard riddled with bodies and crowds of people behind them. The sea of faces with expressions full of fear. Daylight had lightened the sky along the horizon. I felt myself shift back into my human form. All four of us did. The sound of shock in the crowd confirmed it.

  Marren stepped forward, “Let it be known that Lernn, an elf, saved us all tonight from a man pretending to be your king. He was a Denai, made of energy, an immortal race. Lernn gave his life to protect all of you from a fate that would eventually claim the entire world.

  “Many years ago our worlds were separated. But that doesn't need to be any l
onger. We can live in harmony. Side by side. We can live amongst one another in peace. Our worlds can no longer afford to be separated. Our worlds were meant to be one.

  “The immortal races are only asking to rejoin this world, so that our worlds can continue on.”

  The immortal races stepped through the crowd and stopped before us. One by one, each one bowed to us. A murmur rushed through the crowd as some decided to join in the bow and others turned their backs and walked out.

  “Why are they bowing to us?” I asked, feeling unworthy of such a show of respect.

  “Because we just became their new leaders,” Marren replied.

  “Marren, I don't think I can rule a country.”

  “You don't have to do it alone. We can do it together. It's not as bad as you think.”

  Fear froze me in place.

  With a sigh he said, “If it will make you happy, we will only rule until someone comes to us who proves themselves to be worthy of the position.”

  “That could take forever.”

  “Have faith, mom,” Naloud interjected. “Humans aren't so bad, are they?”

  “You never were one,” I retorted. Marren's emotions were flowing through me, filling me with his desire and hope to bring our worlds together. Finally, I sighed and nodded. “Alright, just until we find suitable replacements.”

  ***

  I was surprised that it didn't take as long as I thought it would. The real princess stepped forth and took her claim on her own throne. She vowed to show mercy to the immortal races and pardoned all crimes brought against us in the past. We were given the same respects as humans and even called upon in times of war.

  Many years have come and gone. The world changed in ways that were only dreamed about when I was human. Advances in magic became known as science and the knowledge of our world became hidden and shrouded in stories. Myths and legends they called it. We now live outside of human knowledge, in places hard to reach.

  But one thing remains. Our imprint on the world—our story. The thing about happily ever after is it never really is an ending but a beginning of another chapter in another story.

  ~*~The End~*~

  About The Author

  A Kansas native, Samantha spends her free time with her husband and three kids. Writing has always been a passion of hers but she only took up writing seriously a few years ago. Among her writing credentials, she’s a board member of the Kansas Writer’s Association and has founded her own critique group lovingly named The Fighting Hamsters.

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