In Lost Dreams the Four Were Bound

13 - Elis - Called Away to Care for a Friend

Elis had lost track of time as she awoke from dreams of the past and flights of fancy. Childhood dreams danced in her head as she rose from the table, wiping drool from her mouth after her restless slumber. She lumbered through the dark room to the door to their shared bedroom, smiling as she watched her little one curled up beneath a quilt. The girl slept like a babe as she clung to the blanket. Elis wanted to lie down but dreaded waking the girl from whatever benevolent place her dreams had taken her.

Still fixated on Rais, Elis felt guilty for all the times she had scolded her for daring to call her the one thing she wanted to be more than anything: mother. In her heart, Elis knew that to Rais she was, in everything but blood, her mother. Elis had cared for the girl and raised her. Deep down, Elis wanted to return that favor and welcome the small, hazel-headed bundle of energy as her daughter. But beneath the layers of yearning and superficial regret was a deep sense of shame. If she opened that door, then the woman who had died to bring the girl into the world might be forgotten. It would deny her the birthright that she had earned in life. For all of that, Elis could not bear to let those things pass. She would tell Rais about her brave mother and ensure that the woman's life lived on in her daughter's memory.

But maybe that was all just fearful justifications. Elis did not see herself as a mother and hadn't in countless years. She had only held a child in her belly once but had lost it to the dreaded Hyunisti curse, or so she was told. Hyun had said it wasn't her fault and that if the father had been anyone but one of the forest folk, then fate would have done otherwise. Elis had taken the loss in stride. Compared to the chaos and hurt from times far darker, the event seemed nondescript. Her lover at the time was so disheartened he tried to take his own life, but as luck would have it, another woman earned his love. And as implausible as it was, he had a child with her. All the better for them, Elis had thought. She could only move forward.

Closing the bedroom door, she returned to her things. She cleared the old tome and loose pages from the table, promising herself that she would put them back in their proper spot in the morning. Elis furrowed her brow at the sight of loose wax spilled upon the table. It was bad enough having every crushed thing imaginable spread out, so Rais could find a color that she liked. Scraping it up, Elis tossed it in a tiny jar to be melted again for reuse. Satisfied with the state of the room, she sat in her chair, laid her head down, and prepared to return to blissful sleep. However, as she closed her eyes, her speckled ears perked to the sound of a sharp rapping at her door.

"Vindal Elis," a muffled voice called from beyond the house's portal. Rising from the table, she walked to the entryway and unlatched the door, fixing her lavender eyes on the haggard silhouette of an older talvuo man, silver sword at his side, brilliant lantern in hand with the light directed at their feet. "Evening, vindal."

"Bedimer, why are you here at this hour?"

"Trouble with vindal Neris's project. Your sleeper is having a howling fit, and it's wracked the woman's nerve. She needs help this evening. If you would oblige, vindal."

"Yes, of course," Elis said, snapping to and looking around for her cloak and sandals. Something that could upset Neris enough to call for help was unthinkable, but she couldn't leave the other woman to fend for herself. Grave images danced through her head. She found her garments and donned them. Yet as she strayed outside, she was filled with guilt. "Bedimer, can you do something for me?"

"What is it, vindal?"

"I need you to stay here in case Rais wakes up."

"I'm sure she'll be fine either way, ne vindal." Hesitation clung to the man's voice as he shifted in place.

"No, I mean it," Elis said, shooting the old talvuo a glare. "She often wakes up at night from terrible dreams, and I told her someone would be here if that happened. I'll not be a liar to my—"