In Lost Dreams the Four Were Bound

46 - Elis - The Sprites Last Dance

Elis's thoughts were full of the dancing, smiling visage of her little girl as she stumbled through the lantern- and coal-lit canopies. The night air ripped through her thin nightgown as she walked. In her hands, she held a rolled-up quilt, the last warmth of her little girl fading into the darkness of the night.

"Rais! Has anyone seen Rais?" Elis called to the enamored masses as they thronged with food, song, and revelry.

The whole world seemed twisted as talvuo men and women gave in to their desires, their eyes just catching her before returning to their debauchery. A swell of madness clung to the air, the village's peaceful timidity replaced by a roaring flame. The few who turned to her shook their heads and pointed into the distance. Maybe Davnian was having better luck. Where was he? Did he know something she didn't? No, none of that mattered right now. She was supposed to canvas the trees, but in the light of the dancing shadows, her senses ran amok.

Call after call into the buzzing crowds went unanswered. Worry clung to her as Elis continued her march from one terrace to another. All around her, the people were alive. Spring was always a time of joy, of celebration, of lusts left to run wild, but never had she seen them so released. And without her child by her side, for the first time since Hyun's passing, she felt afraid.

"Vindal!" a voice called to her.

"Ne vindal!" another cried from beneath a shadowy tree, surrounded by the silhouettes of fellow drinkers and fornicators.

"Vindal Elis!" a little boy called as he was spun silly by two older girls.

As she wandered, Elis felt a heavy weight pressed down upon her and the entire village. Like a falling column of cold air at sunset, it threatened to blow out the smoldering flames of the forest. In response, the tiny flickers of life all about burned even brighter. In the space between was a welling mist, the oppression and hopes of a beleaguered people frothing all around them. Something that many had promised but few had seen seemed to be stirring all around them.

Change, the Delvori male had called it.

Change, the elders and villagers had wished for.

Greetings came her way as she called out again and again. In desperation, she waved off offers and gestures, her breath stopping in her throat. Could they not see her concern? Could they not hear her fear? Why wouldn't they listen? Why weren't they helping?

"Gods please, someone. Rais! Rais, are you there? Someone please—"

"Dear, if you keep going around shouting like that," a cool voice whispered into her ear as she rounded the last of the terraces, "people are going to give you a different kind of attention than you're seeking."

"Neris!" Elis turned and stared at the naked Delvori woman as a throng of followers gathered behind her. "Neris, have you seen Rais? She's gone. She's—"

"Quiet, my dear," Neris said, putting a finger to Elis's lips. Being shushed like a child made her heart pound, the heat of fear and anger overpowering the exposure to the waste-fed flames at her side. Shaking her face free, she furrowed her brow.

"You don't understand! She never runs off! She'd never—"

"Easy now, ne vindal."

As Elis readied to let loose a torrent of bile, she gasped as the dark-skinned woman wrapped her arms around her. Pulled close, Elis felt her legs tiring. Tears clung to the corners of her eyes, but she couldn't let them free. It was all too much. She was blinded by the sights. Deafened by the voices. The hanging terror that loomed in churning bubbles between hope and despair was crushing her. She needed to find Rais. She needed to find her daughter.