Chapter 37

“I see, so what makes you think that we will be able to enter the lands, let alone leave with breath still in our lungs?” Dane scowled at tuviel, the tension rising as the girl had predicted.

“i believe that miek knows of astria, perhaps he will allow her to enter.” The girl’s mother frowned, “i can deal with the idea of my death, but i do not want to lose my daughter to the high priestess.”

“ah, so your lover has a name. I’m impressed. But wouldn’t it have been easier for you to have told us this before we got this far? Before the bandits took your daughter and tortured her?” He pointed out sternly, shaking his head in clear annoyance. “if we would have died, your precious daughter would be lost with no place to go. Did you realise this whilst you were being so prideful?”

“yes. I realised when we were captured, but then it was too late. I know i have made some mistakes, but i only ever wanted what was best for her.” Tuviel sobbed lightly, true tears slipping from her eyes.

“no, you were prideful, and you only thought about what would be best for you. You never once considered what she would do without you, because you are so interested in your own skin that you didn’t think of the consequences to your lies and deceptions.”

“dane. That’s enough. She is still my mother.” Astria interrupted, hating to see her mother in such a broken state, and yes while dane wasn’t wrong, tuviel needed some comfort now. Not words of torment.

“i do not understand why you can still protect her after the years of false truths. If i were you, i would have...”

“i am not you. I will never be you.”

“can you not see that she is leading you to your death?!”

“i do not care if she is, she is my mother! And unlike you, i will do anything for those that i care about. I will not abandon her.”

“after all she has done, you still let her control you?!”

“she is not trying to control me, you are!” Shouted the half-breed, her mind racing over the possibilities, what if he was right? What if her mother was leading her into something from which there would be no escape?

Dane growled outwardly, his eyes coated in rage as he quickened the pace of his horse. “i will scout ahead.”

Tuviel turned to her daughter once the barbarian had disappeared from view, the sun finally setting over them trees, and the moon now guiding their way. She had never seen her act in such a way in all the year she had spent raising her, but in the short time she was with tarian, it had changed her. Maybe for the worse. It was making her into something that her mother did not like, nor fully trust. Before, she had been too moral to kill, too afraid of what would happen to her soul. And yet, now she barley seemed to care. What happened to her in that bandit camp? What did he do?

“i will not allow him to drive us apart mother.” Astria scoffed, her eyes as dark as her elven hair.

“i do not think that was his intention. He is trying to protect you, as i am.” Tuviel smiled softly, trying to lessen the blow of her next question. “what happened with the outlaws? What did they do to you?”

“now it is my turn to not wish to talk about something, don’t worry, i am not working for them.”

****

The road was treacherous and long, but they must travel it in order to get to where they needed to be, it didn't matter how fatigued they were, nor did it matter that they wished to spend a day resting. Astria and her mother must make it to the eleven lands before the deus caught up again, before it was too late and they would be unable to save themselves; the world around them more dangerous than it had ever been before.

She knew what would happen should they be caught and she didn’t think she would be able to fight them all on her own, she needed her mother’s ability as well; though that seemed to be a long shot. Tuviel had barely used her power in the years they had spent hiding in the swamps of lacus, meaning she was weak; her power couldn’t present itself as it once did. What would happen if her mother couldn’t fight? Would the young girl lose her as she had her home and everything else that she knew?

yawning, the half-breed sighed; they had been travelling constantly for almost three days and she didn’t think the horses would last much longer if they continued to push them at this ferocity. But what other choice did they have? They couldn’t sit idly by whilst they were hunted down like animals, their very lives at stake. The girl knew she was the only one who would be able to stand even the slightest of a chance against the children of the gods, and that knowledge placed a great pressure onto her shoulder; one she wasn’t sure she could cope with.

She looked back at dane who hadn’t spoken a word since astria blew up at him three days before, she hadn’t meant to upset nor anger him, but she needed him to know that her mother meant everything to her, possibly more than he ever could. But that didn’t mean she hated him, it only meant that she needed him to support her choices, watch her back when it was necessary. Besides, she hardly knew anything about him, or where he was from; she only knew that it was across the vast ocean past the underwater city of enat. Though, as she thought about it, she wondered how he had made it past the sirens and their songs, no man could do so without the help of others, it seemed impossible; or so the parchment in lacus had told astria.

The half-breed turned to look at her mother, her eyes watching the treelines for any sign of trouble; everyone was on edge. Their minds worried and drained. But what could she do to ease them, to get each one of them to rest? If they didn’t sleep soon, they would burn out and then none of them would be able to fight, leaving their lives in the hands of the unmerciful deus.

“mother.” She said, choosing her words with care. “we must take a moment to regather ourselves, if we do not rest, we will be unable to fight.”

“this is not a safe place; we cannot rest here.” Tuviel argued, clicking her tongue so that her horse would quickenmits pace, though astria could she it was as tired as the rest of them.

She knew that they couldn’t continue as she stopped, calling her mother back; “nowhere is safe, but here is as good as any place.”

Dane and panett also stopped, dane’s eyes locked onto the young half-breed; a determination littering his every feature. “your mother is right, it isn’t safe to stop.”

“perhaps it isn’t, perhaps it is a mistake to stop. But we must, both us and the animals are tired.” Astria growled to get her point across, why did no one ever listen to her? Yes, she was young, but she knew as well as them what was at stake. “we cannot go on like this, otherwise we will all die; either from exhaustion, or because we are simply unable to fight the enemy that pursues us.” She added strongly.

Panett smiled at her, carefully getting down from his horse. “i agree with her, we cannot continue to exhaust ourselves.”

“very well, but we shall take turns watching the horizon.” Dane suggested, a good idea to say the least.

The half-breed nodded, “that is a good plan, i will take the first shift.”

“i suppose one-night won't hurt.”

Tuviel finally agreed, getting down from her horse and beginning the unpack her blanket.

Dane walked towards the girl after tying his horse to a nearby tree, watching as she clambered down not so gracefully form the mare. “i will fetch some firewood; can you hold down camp until i return?”

“yes.” She said slowly, though in truth she was unsure that she could do anything. “i am sure i can manage.”

“good, make sure your mother stays close. You know she can be stubborn.” He warned her, knowing that tuviel had a habit of running off in the night.

“i know that better than anyone.” Responded the half-breed as she watched him walk away, wondering if she should apologise.

With a deep sigh, astria turned back towards her mother and panett who were talking as they removed food and blankets from the horses; her eyes sad and unsure.

“how did you meet my daughter?”

Tuviel asked him.