Only Darkness Lies

Chapter 34

She rode her horse towards her home, away from the restless mob gathering around Shim's house after hearing his wife's wailings. They had seen Elvira coming out of the house but no one knew what had happened inside. They were shocked to find Shim's body lying cold on the floor, covered in blood, his wife wailing desperately. Elvira knew she was going to get into trouble. Afterall, they were Shim's followers and won't let her get away with murdering him.

Elvira reached her home safely and found the old lady, Marin, standing near her home.

Her eyes glimmered at the sight of Elvira and she hurried towards her. Elvira was visibly confused to find the lady there. She got off the horse and as she walked towards her, Marin embraced her, sobbing silently.

"I'm so relieved to see that you are alright darling" she said.
Elvira was speechless, confused by her behaviour. Marin treated her as if she knew her for as long as she could remember.

Why is she so concerned for me? How does she know my house?

"Marin, did you come here to check on me?" She asked in a confused tone.

"The cycle of revenge is over now and so there is no reason for me to hide the truth from you." Marin replied.

She paused and looked at Elvira's eyes.
"I am your mother darling, you are my daughter."
Her words were a thunderclap to Elvira. She listened intently to her.

"Your father and I were happily married and after some time we were blessed with Aden and then you. It was all going well until your father volunteered to help with some reasearch, unaware that they wanted to conduct experiments on him. I didn't hear from him for years and it worried me. But then one day he unexpectedly returned in a bad shape. I took care of him and after some days he was all well but he wanted revenge from Shim's father because of his involvement in the experiments. Even after my opposition, he killed him and to keep us safe from the consequences, left the village. I was opposed to the idea of letting the two of you come along with us. That's the reason we left you in Aden's care."

Tears rolled down her eyes, "I am so sorry for what you had to go through darling. I am sorry that I couldn't save Aden. I couldn't save anyone". She apologized, sobbing.

Elvira couldn't hold back her tears, "Shim said earlier that I possess my father's powers now. So, does that mean.. the person in the woods who gave me the powers was our father?" She asked in a shaking voice.
"Yes, but he is no more, he died after giving you his powers."

Elvira was heartbroken, she tightly hugged Marin, sobbing in her arms. She told her about everything that happened after their last meeting, her visit to Etiome, about the troupe, Arson, Tinpole and the deaths of Elfred, Kin, Monre and Ekom.

"You should leave this village. I don't want you to ruin your life by staying here, being the victim of people's hatred." Marin suggested.
She suggested her to go to Arson, the person she loved and wanted to spend her life with but Elvira wasn't convinced. She wanted to head to Etiome village and look after it since Elfred was gone and she blamed herself for it. But her mother suggested to leave it in her care.

"I would go to Etiome and look out for it. I would let you know if any danger comes up." She holded Elvira's hands in her own. "I am your mother. Let me do atleast this much for your happiness." She requested.

Her mother was right. She couldn't possibly do anything for Etiome other than protect it and her mother's help would be best for her.

Elvira thanked her and left with her for Etiome. After leaving the village in her care, she left to meet Arson, who she knew was waiting for her.

She reached the village by evening and surprisingly the villagers recognised her. They gave her a warm welcome and told Arson about her arrival.

Arson came rushing as soon as he got the word and was visibly shocked to see her. The villagers witnessed a lovely sight as both of them reunited. They could see the happiness in his eyes as he embraced Elvira.

At night, Elvira told him all about her adventures and about her mother. Arson was overjoyed to hear about her mother and at the same time was all praise for her bravery.

"I can't return to Ilsiome. The villagers hate me for killing Shim. In their hearts only darkness lies for me." She said in a serious tone.

"You don't need to" he said assuring her "We can live here together, forever. That's all that I want."

He smiled at Elvira. All of her worries faded as both of them gazed at the shining full moon in the peaceful night.