In Lost Dreams the Four Were Bound

04 - Elis - Time About and With Child

Taking a deep breath, Elis reached toward the bright blue sky as she bathed in high-noon light. She couldn't stand being cramped within the dark, sterile rooms of the old healer's quarters. Despite her fondness for its most recent tenants, she couldn't stand the smell of the strange herbs and concoctions that Neris kept within. She also disliked the omnipresent feeling of being watched and judged as she prepared and waited to hold back their ward's chills and fevers, which came and went like clockwork. She had little doubt that the Hyunisti were both curious and suspicious of their new guest. However, despite the dread tidings, they had taken him in without second thoughts.

That had always been the Hyunisti way. Elis recalled how they had embraced Neris and Nerin when they arrived. Only six months prior, the odd pair of Delvori talvuo had appeared in the eastern forest, the brother guided by visions from a higher power. When they were brought before the council of elders, the dark-skinned Nerin had boasted of ancient rites known but lost to the village. He talked of the proud history of the Hyunisti and how his people shared a similarly lustrous past. With careful words, he had weaved the tale of the Delvori dynasties of old, the expanse of their tunnel empire, their riches, their harems, and their culture. And in a powerful play, he had connected it to the Hyunisti's own lost heritage, retelling stories that only Elis was still familiar with. The whole display disgusted her, knowing well the words of a practiced charlatan. Then again, even if he hadn't piqued their imagination, she knew they couldn't pass up the opportunity for new blood. After all, their blood had just started to regain its hue.

"Zaisure!" a young girl called from off in the distance. Elis turned her gaze toward the end of one of the long rope bridges that connected the great trees and the village's canopy buildings. Running between busy villagers was a small hazel-headed girl. Her gait was messy and clumsy for a child of her age. To Elis, the sight was endearing. Dismissing her dismal thoughts, she smiled in amusement. Within moments the small, energetic bundle reached her terrace, whirling without a care and wrapping her small, pale arms around Elis's waist.

"I see you're out and about, my dear little Rais," Elis said, bringing her hands down around the girl's shoulders. Rais buried her head in Elis's stomach, giggling as she danced at Elis's feet. "Couldn't wait for me any longer?"

"It was lonely, zaisure," the green-eyed girl said, not a hint of sadness tinging her high-pitched voice. "I tried to work on my dyes and paints, but it's no fun without you."

"You didn't sleep well then?" Elis asked, drawing the girl beside her. There was no point in standing on the veranda now that she had been joined by her young dependent. Now was as good a time as any to take a short walk before returning to tidy up whatever chaos had ensued in her absence. Gripping her by the hand, Rais looked up at Elis.

"I slept OK," Rais said as they walked through the village. "I tucked myself in with your quilt just like you always do. It was nice."

"Well, I'm glad the night went well." Rais had a fear of the dark unlike any child that Elis had known. Being born in the dead of night to a dying mother, the girl had struggled to survive the first few days of her short life within a dead woman's arms. As the story went, fearing the Hyunisti's ancient curse would take her baby, the woman had fled into the woods as the pains of labor set in. It had taken two days for the village scouts to find the newborn, but ever since then, Rais had had a preternatural fear of being alone in the dark. Most nights the girl required a warm body to sleep next to or a long, burning candle if she was left by herself. Even then she often had terrible dreams of being alone, crying out late at night. Of late, she had been sleeping better, but Elis had been concerned about leaving her even for one night. "So then, my dear, what have you been up to? You don't tend to roam about the trees."

"Thaimi came to see you about painting her face," the little girl said as they crossed a wooden arch that led into the canopy's main thoroughfare. "She was so excited! She talked a lot about being invited to naisure Nerin's."