Chapter 36

Dane appeared defeated as he steadily rose onto the back of a white and black mare, his eyes lowered towards its neck. “i see, well in that case i have no choice. I will be a civil as one can be with your friend.”

Astria sighed once more, her eyes darting to the treeline as they began to move, knowing that the road ahead would be treacherous and perhaps it may even be strenuous on those around her.

But they could not just idly sit by and wait for death to embrace them with open arms, she wouldn’t allow it. She would fight until she could fight no more, and even then, she would give her final breath to protect her mother as she had done for the half-breed all her life.

They stuck close to the treeline, but did not enter the dense woods, they couldn’t allow themselves to be spotted by the bandits they knew roamed this part of the realm, looking for anyone that they could take advantage of. By sticking to the treeline, they hoped to avoid this, but if the outcome varied, they could make a hasty escape. They prayed that they would see the outlaws from a far, before they got too close, though astria didn’t know if she would be able to use her ability for much longer, her entire form strained and tired. She needed to rest, to allow her body to recover, but they just didn’t have the time. They could not risk stopping for longer than a few moments, not with the deus on their trail.

The half-breed wasn’t sure how far they must go, she had never ventured outside the swamps of lacus before everything began to turn sour, never once seeing the outside world. But it was for her own protection, she knew that now, she knew her mother was only trying to mask her from the world, to ensure she had a life. The deus despised her kind, despised those they couldn’t understand, without even giving them a chance. Astria wasn’t a bad person, she had always tried to see the good in people, giving them a chance to prove they were decent beings. Yet, no one had ever given her a chance, they had never allowed her to be anything other than a burden, a worthless abomination that must be purged from the world.

The sun was beginning to set over the hills, they had managed to make it past sential, the large city that man had built over a hundred years ago with tall walls and heavy wooden gates that prevented anyone from entering unless the guards deemed you worthy. But that didn’t matter to them, that was not their destination, they needed to make it past the kingdoms of men, past the cities of the deus. The destination they needed was the elven lands of shara, atrial and miake, they must make it there before was too late, before the war made its way to those lands, and they lost the one being that would be able to aid them.

Though astria knew nothing of her father, she prayed that he would be honourable, someone that would take responsibility for her and her mother. Help them to rid the kingdom of the deus, and anyone else that treated half-breeds as monsters. Yes, it was a long shot, and tuviel hadn’t seen her love in over eighteen full cycles of the sun.

But from the little that anyone knew of the past, he would have done anything for her, he would have died for her. All they could hope now was that he still felt the same, that his love for her was stronger than any misfortune he had faced. 

The girl rode up to her mother’s side, needing the answers that she so craved. “mother, this may not be the right time, but when will be? I have been waiting my entire life for you to tell me about my father, please. I cannot lose you to the guilt i see in your eyes. Tell me about him.”

“there is nothing to tell.” Tuviel sighed, once again closing off from her daughter.

How could she tell her that it was all her fault? How could she reveal the past and keep her daughter?

“mother!” Astria growled, “i have had enough of secrets and lies. I almost lost you to the deus not even a day ago. I thought i was all alone. Where would i have gone? Did you even think about that?! Without the knowledge of my father, without a name or a face, how would i have found him in the elven lands?! How?!”

Tears sprang free from her mother’s eyes, the strong woman the girl had always known crumbling down into a wreck.

“i cannot lose you astria, not after all we have been through.”

“you will lose me if you do not reveal all that you are hiding from me, mother.”

“then i must.” Tuviel said to herself knowing that the truth would be revealed once they reached the elven lands. Whether she wanted it or not. “your father is miek, he was the first in line for the elven throne when his father died, which was the reason he left me alone in esina. He had to go back and take the throne before his time ran out. But he never came back. Then, i found out on the next full moon that i was pregnant with you.”

Astria thought for a moment, her father was a king. The high king of all elves. But why did he not come back, if Her mother was really the love of his life, why didn’t he send someone to retrieve her? There was still something she wasn’t telling the half-breed, something important; and she needed to know what it was.

“what else, i fear you are neglecting to tell me something important. Something that i must know.” Said the girl as she adjusted her place on the horse, still weary of her surroundings, she would never allow herself to be ambushed again.

Tuviel sighed deeply, knowing that she had to tell her daughter everything, she was right, the information was necessary if they were to find help in the elven lands. “in the beginning, i didn’t know miek very well, so when the high priestess asked me to spy on him and his family, i accepted the request. I reported back to my superiors for almost three months. But then, i fell in love. I wanted to be happy with your father, but he found out... Regrettably it is one of the reasons he left, and by the time i could get news to him that i was pregnant, i was accused of treason against the high priestess and our lives were dwindled to nothing.”

“you worked for the high priestess of the deus?” Asked the half-breed, her eyes wide. Did she really betray the king of elves? Why did he not kill her as soon as he found out, why just leave?

“yes, i have done a great deal of things that i regret astria, it isn’t easy to admit. But you were right; you needed to know. But miek knows about you, he knows that i escaped esina i am sure of it. But i never revealed where i was going. I didn’t tell a soul, maybe he has been looking for you, we will only know once we arrive.”

“and what if we aren’t welcome there? What if my father is still wounded by your betrayal?”

“then, i guess we die.”

“die?” Astria asked, scoffing. “i am not going to let anyone kill you mother, if miek doesn’t want us there, then we will leave. But i will not go down without a fight should they want one.”

“it isn’t that simple, if he doesn’t grant us an audience we will be killed at the gate.” Tuviel said, slowly rubbing her temple.

“fine. If that is the risk, then we must simply ensure that we are ready.”

“how?”

“you are a shield mother, shield us when the time comes. Be stern. If we all stick together then i believe that we will be able to accomplish this.”

“i don’t know if i can shield so many of us.”

“then you must practice, begin with holding it for a few moments and slowly you should be able to do it for a substantial amount of time.”

Dane pulled his horse to trot beside astria’s, his eyes as bright as an evening star; his hair wild and knotted from the days ride. But the girl didn’t mind, she saw a certain charm in that, something enticing. She gave her head a quick shake, wondering if it was simply the fatigue that made her look at him in such a way, her stomach swimming and the little food she had managed to eat threatening to return. Taking a deep breath, the girl smiled kindly at him, but not in such a way as to give him false hopes. There wasn’t time for such feelings at present, not when death followed them wherever they went, promising a slow and agonising demise.

“what have you learned? Do we have a chance of making it into the elven lands?” He asked smoothly, his tone accusing her mother of something sinister, yet; he wasn’t entirely wrong.

The half-breed sighed heavily, knowing that the information she had acquired could lead to more tension between tuviel and the barbarian. “mother worked for the high priestess of the deus before i was born, her job was the spy on my father, but he found out and left.”