by Derek Palmer
""Like you couldn't count the people by yourself.""
I shrugged.
""I could, but I'm certain that you know the exact figure.""
""Three hundred and five. Unless some new baby was born last night that I hadn't heard of.""
""So, the count was under three hundred?""
""Yes.""
""How many of are there of the Trolls - The Ugly People, I mean?""
""As far as we know over five hundred and growing. Not counting the women. They started from one hundred and fifty or so.""
That shocked me a bit. Five hundred Trolls was like a small army. In fact, it was group that could easily wipe away all the villages on the coast. If they decided to do that. As their number kept on increasing, they also formed a serious threat to this Elven society.
""I take it that there's no way your people and the Ugly People could...""
""No!""
That answer came so quickly and with such emotion that it surprised even me - and little Elarinya in my lap reacted to it. After a moment she let out a silent snort and relaxed again. The look Bellcauniel was wearing softened a bit when we both looked at the cute girl resting in my lap.
""I'm sorry, Stian, you probably have no way of knowing the detailed dynamics between these different groups - or races. We have lived here, isolated for so long, that even I keep on forgetting that there's no way you can know things that we all know by heart.""
The look on her face was suddenly deathly serious.
""Let’s just say that those Ugly People have no issues in mating with us, none at all. However, unless we react quickly enough, the result is probably deadly to the woman and to the unborn child. A terrible way to die or a terrible experience even if the person survives the rape and the termination of the pregnancy.""
The ultimate shock could be seen on my face even if I had decided that nothing here would shock me anymore.
""They do that? Even if they know what would happen?""
""Oh, yes! They had no problems with it. After the incident they saw no more need to act civilized towards us. They kept on doing that until we also started killing them. We killed two if the victim survived and five if she didn't. That stopped the rapes - and the fact that they found human females who can serve them much longer and also give them babies without problems. However, there is a small possibility that the baby survives even if the Elf woman dies, and that's why those Ugly People want to keep on doing it. Because the offspring would be strong with magic.""
After that, I heard how the women had needed to learn to defend themselves very quickly, back then. The Elves weren't able to match the Trolls with force, but hiding and sneaking, hitting quickly and disappearing became almost a second nature to the Elves when they moved through the forests. Besides, while doing their revenge strikes the Elves weren't selective. The fact that I had been willing to protect the girls against their captors might have been a major thing towards my acceptance. Elves lived long and had an even longer memory.
""You shouldn't have healed this quickly. Not even with my help. Would it be okay for me to make another cut so that I'd be able to figure out how you're doing it? I'm sure it wouldn't hurt too much.""
I looked at Allynna trying to make sure if she was joking or not. The problem was that I was almost sure that she wasn't, not when it was about healing. No, in a sense she was like Caladwen, who had documented both having sex and childbirth with astonishing detail. A small wonder it was that she had survived those births that had been painful to the mother. In the name of learning more about healing, Allynna was quite willing to make another cut or two to my body if it would help her figure out why I was healing faster than I should. Of course, that would be for the common good. I rolled my eyes.
""Allynna, I'm quite certain that you'll get your chance to examine... Auch!""
""Oops! Sorry, Stian. My knife slipped. However, I'm sure that we can patch that little wound in no time.""
Sometime later I felt that all too familiar feeling of exhaustion. Not the same kind of exhaustion that comes after hard physical activity but something that made you feel tired instead of actually being tired. Yet I could see that Allynna wasn't happy.
""I don't get it. It's healing already and I can both see, sense and help it, but I have no idea how you are able to do it. Not only that, what you do shouldn't be possible at all.""
""The beast that I chased was able to do it. I'm quite certain that it didn't speak the Old Language. Besides that, my mother was able to heal people.""
""Makes sense that she could heal you, she probably tested you for magic.""
""What do you mean?""
Now it was Allynna who rolled her eyes.
""Don't you know anything? You can only really heal magical beings with magic. With non-magical beings, the effect is so minimal that it isn't usually worth the effort.""
Suddenly some things made sense to me. At the same time, a whole lot of things didn't make sense anymore. If Allynna had been following me, she would have noticed something, but she was still sulking because of the failed experiment, mumbling to herself about what had just happened. If I had not been feeling the pain from the cut, I might have felt like laughing.
""Allynna.""
""Hrmph.""
""Allynna. Don't do anything like that ever again. Ever. Again.""
I didn't ask, I ordered. I knew that it was terribly rude, something that the Elves considered almost illegal. However, I was quite certain that it was the only way to get the message through to her. Her eyes popped fully open when she turned to gaze at me and she opened her mouth and closed it again. Then she raised her hands to the sides of her head and shook it slowly.
""I... I don't. Damn, Stian! Why did you need to do that with so much force? It'll take forever to wear off.""
I couldn't help snorting, even if I was still pissed at her because of the cut she had made. Only she or Caladwen would respond like that and be totally unaware of their own behavior.
""Allynna, I did it just because it's the only way to really get your attention. Really get your attention.""
""Why would you need to do that?""
""Because I promise to help you with your quest as much as I can, since I also want to learn about it. That shouldn't scare anybody. Just, no more of those test cuts.""
Step by step. I knew that I needed more allies, and that meant that I needed to offer these people here something that they needed or wanted. The truth was that I was so much out of my depth here that I probably had no idea about it. I could find my way in a forest, I was good with tracking, hunting and fishing, but I had no idea what to do and how to behave here, with all these women.
--
Chapter 3
I was terrified. All that I could do was to hold Fainauriel's petite hand and watch her suffer. With the special connection we shared I was somewhat able to sense the pain she was in. We hadn't discussed the connection we had, nor had I talked to Bellcauniel about the ability to use magic without the Old Language. Most of the women had that ability, but it was usually in such a low level and low range that it wasn't much used. Since Caladwen's scans back in my old home I hadn't really felt it. Of course, that could also mean that these sneaky Elves were just able to use it so carefully that I wasn't able to notice it. Somehow I didn't believe it.
""Auuuuch! Damn you, Stian, and that magic wand of yours!""
Another contraction Fainauriel was feeling wiped away all other thoughts and I concentrated on pushing away her pain and calming her down. Allynna had made sure that I also knew everything there was to know about childbirth - which turned out to be much more than I wanted to know. I did have a curious mind, but normally my curiosity was focused on different areas and, even if I was interested in healing, this event gave me an uneasy feeling. Mostly because there wasn't really anything I could do - and as Fainauriel was squeezing my hand, I couldn't even escape. Now I could see another cramp closing and this time I was ready before Fainauriel started cu
rsing me.
""She looks so small. I had no idea.""
That small human being was hungrily nursing Fainauriel's breast while the mother herself had a blissful smile on her face despite being tired. I just looked at both of them, not really knowing what to think.
I had seen animals give birth, but this had been something different, something very special. Something that I'd remember the rest of my life. Never in my life would I wonder why the mothers loved their babies as they do. I also made a promise that I'd do my best to make life better for all the newborns here. For all my children. I just needed to convince the rest of the people here to allow me to see them. Another goal I wanted to achieve here.
""I'd like to go hunting. Just a short trip. Would that be okay?""
A few weeks had passed since Fainauriel gave birth to our daughter and she was nursing the baby close to me while Bellcauniel was doing the same with Elarinya. A part of me didn't want to leave them, but another part of me was becoming crazy because of living so close to all these people. Some of whom still didn't think too fondly of me. A part of that was also the need to feel useful, after all I was a hunter and I felt that hunting was the way to be most beneficial to this little community.
Then there was also the thing that I craved: the solitude of the forest. The smell, the silence and the lack of the presence of other people. Even if the Elves seemed to miss 'the magical signature,' I was now able to feel them if I wanted to. Usually I didn't, since I wanted to stay sane. Feeling a group of people all the time would not really help with that. So, I knew that I would need to practice that skill - and I really couldn't do it here, in the village.
The people here had kept saying that I wasn't a prisoner, that I was free to go - and we all knew that it was a lie. I was being watched and followed, if not officially then at least unofficially, and that was driving me crazy, slowly but surely. It seemed that, while my skills in noticing other living beings had become sharper, my ability to ignore what I noticed hadn't developed quite as quickly. So, I missed the peace and solitude that I could find in the forest. Besides, I had done my best to be a good father to our little daughters. In a way, that also felt very wrong, since I knew that besides Elarinya and Miriel - names Fainauriel and I agreed together - I knew that I had more than twenty other daughters here, but not all of the mothers wanted me to interfere in their lives.
It had been a week ago when Bellcauniel had told me about the difference between Elf and Human cultures:
""As you probably have guessed, we Alfar need a human male, a natural Mage, for procreation - and most of us use those men just for that, for procreation. Oh, they get horny and most of them enjoy the process a lot - but once they get their babies, they just turn back to their friends, the other women, and they lose their interest in the male of the species. For the next decade, or most likely three decades, they just concentrate on raising their children, forgetting and ignoring the males totally. In a way, it makes a whole lot of sense if you think about it. We live so long that continuous breeding would be disastrous.""
The look on my face must have been quite priceless when she talked about forgetting the male species for three decades.
""You poor, horny man. Luckily for you, there have always been exceptions to that rule. I know that this new mother here didn't lose her interest in sex even if she was pregnant, and back there, I was a happily married woman who kept her husband happy, too.""
Even if she had said that in order to make me feel better, the truth was that I was able to hear the pain in her voice. After all these years - centuries, even. I took her hand in mine.
""You must have really loved him.""
I had felt stupid saying that back then, but I had said it, anyhow. What had surprised me, was the response... not the audible one, but the one I was able to feel magically. A connection that reminded me of the one with Fainauriel. I had been there for a blink of an eye or two, but then it was gone again. But it had been there, and I knew it. So did Bellcauniel.
I remembered that episode now, when I talked to 'my ladies' - since that was how I almost saw them now, and they certainly were ladies - they were the only ones to spend a great deal of their time with me. I had concentrated on getting back in shape, and I felt that the only way to really do that was to go hunting again.
But the real reason to remember that week-old episode was that, for a very brief moment, I was again able to feel that connection as though there were a crack in the wall protecting Bellcauniel and a flash of light had managed to shine through that crack. Just for a brief moment before it was gone again. Again, that made me wonder, but I wasn't sure what to think about it. One more thing to add to my already long list of things to figure out.
I was so deep in my own thoughts because of that flash, that Fainauriel needed to repeat her question.
""Hunting?""
""Yes..., that's what I do. Or at least did. It used to be my profession.""
""Sure. If the Elders agree. I'm sure they'd appreciate some game.""
The look on my face must have shown my disbelief. Bellcauniel rolled her eyes.
""Stian, it's not like we cannot take care of the babies. We do, even if most of us have forgotten much of it. We'll be okay. We were quite okay even if you weren't here.""
I guessed that I may have been just a bit overprotective, but that was their fault, too. I wasn't at all sure that it was a good idea to let a father see childbirth, since, for sure, that changed something. My respect towards mothers had been high, but now it was sky-high - and it showed. I refused to look too embarrassed.
""Hunting? You can go, but not alone. None of us is allowed to go hunting alone here.""
I wanted to protest to Immianthe but it I knew it would have been useless. Maybe I wasn't a prisoner, but for sure I wasn't all free to move, either. Not yet, maybe not ever.
""Okay, no problem. I can appreciate some local knowledge.""
Once the morning came and it was time to leave and I found my companions, I wasn't so sure anymore. I had been quite okay to have someone who knew about the local terrain and the game with me. I wasn't quite that okay to see two other hunters. Especially when they were those two who had tried to kill me: Leilatha and Shalana. From the look on their faces, I was able to see that they were quite as happy as I was with the situation. I was almost able to feel Immianthe looking at us. I closed my eyes for a moment and pushed back the urge to protest. I needed to do this if I wanted to stay here - and I had promised to forgive them.
""Leilatha, Shalana - I'm happy to have some company out there.""
I nodded to them and after a moment of hesitation they nodded back to me without saying anything. Then we picked our backpacks and headed towards the North-West forest. At least their crossbows weren't loaded and their knives weren't visible.
The sun was high in the sky and we were well outside the village area when the silence was broken for the first time. Okay, there had been some brief discussion about the direction we were heading and the game we were supposed to find, but since all I had sensed close to the village had been two small herds I hadn't protested the idea of going further away.
""You should have died back then. We just don't miss like that.""
Shalana said that in a way like she was talking about the weather - which was very nice for our purposes. Overcast, not too hot and a nice breeze. I was almost surprised because there was no cold chill going down my spine. No, I just shrugged.
""I won't be apologizing for staying alive. I can't even promise that killing me would be easier in the future.""
I didn't smile at those two women while saying that, since I remembered the hatred they had shown me when we first met. I didn't have a death wish and I had no doubts about their ability to kill me if they really wanted to do that. Yes, that possibility had crossed my mind a few times.
Two pairs of dark eyes were staring at me intently and I could almost sense that there was something boiling under the surface. I had been careful not t
o use my magical abilities since the start of this trip. I wasn't at all sure how good these two women were. Neither did I know their real feelings regarding me, but I assumed that there wasn't much love to be expected. So, I was totally unprepared when Leilatha started laughing.
It wasn't that kind of happy laughter or giggle I had occasionally heard from young girls or women, Human or Elf. But it was laughter, nevertheless - and mostly unexpected. I raised my eyebrows which brought another snort of laughter out of her.
