The Trials of Ruin and Longing

Davon

Davon left the party after speaking to Liliana and Elda. He stalked through the sleeping halls, the noises of revelry fading away. Finally. Davon sighed, letting out the tension. He loosened his pace a little, peering at paintings. The landscapes, the flowers, all tastefully chosen.

Davon found the door leading to the garden and opened it. He walked into the summer heat and the sounds of the summer night slammed into his sensitive ears. As Davon began walking through the gardens, the scent of fresh cut grass and the rich earth beneath filled his nose. He could hear the wind sing and trees sigh with contentment as he wandered through. He felt the tug to them, but ignored it.

He knew he had magic. When he got tested on the Ragnarok Scale, the nurse had explained that most half-bloods were generally on the lower side of the scale, the highest she'd seen had been five.

"Your real father must be a very powerful Fae if you landed a nine on that scale," the nurse told him, one of the bits of information he kept hidden away in the dark parts of his mind. Gerald had beaten him for a week and had told him that if Davon ever attempted to use his magic, Gerald would kill him.

Gerald was cruel from the beginning, but once Davon hit thirteen, it got so much worse. It went from constant small cruelties to much bigger ones. Heating up iron till it was liquid and then splattering it all over his back. Getting his back whipped with a specially designed metal whip with iron barbs. Davon shook his head, letting the pain slip off like a heavy blanket. At least in between the horrid punishments, Gerald generally ignored him.

Davon ears pricked as he heard a slight crunch noise, like a twig breaking. He whipped his head towards the noise, his pointed ears straining for something more. Another slight crunch. Light steps, as if someone was sneaking up on him. Or at least, trying to.

He was still scanning the woods when he heard the crunch behind him.

He whipped around, only to find Elda standing there.

"I do not want to speak with you right now." Elda gave him a feline smirk.

"I doubt that, boy." She pointed at him. "What do you want to know about your parents?"

Davon stiffened.

"My parents? My mother's dead and I live with Gerald-"

"I'm not talking about the mortal that parades as your father. I'm speaking of the Fae male that sired you."

Davon stilled. He couldn't breath.

"You know my father?" Davon had meant to say it louder, but it came out like a forbidden whisper. Elda merely nodded as she started back onto the garden paths. Davon wasn't an idiot and followed her. When he was back in step with her, Elda spoke again.

"I knew him. As well as Amaya." Now sadness crept into her eyes.

"Amaya was a beautiful soul for a human. She was kind to all, even those that crawl in the underbelly of the world. You could've been a troll, and she still would helped." Elda laughed. "But she had a wild streak. As if she too was made from the wild things of the world. She hated Gerald as well, you know."

"Then why she'd marry him?" Davon had been under the impression that Gerald's marriage to his mother had been a mutual decision. Until his father, the mysterious Fae male.

"It was an arranged marriage between her parents and Gerald. Gerald met your mother and decided she would be his. So he made it happen. Your mother wasn't treated very well either, you know." Elda saw the shock that appeared on his face and laughed. "Boy, I can smell the blood and pain on you. I saw the spark of fear when you spoke of Gerald. I am many things, but oblivious is not one of them."

"If he hurt her too, why didn't she leave?" Davon let that part of the conversation slide by. He didn't want to talk about what Gerald did to him. Not to this stranger. As if Elda read his thoughts, her eyes dimmed.

"She wanted to. But Gerald has a... firm hold on his belongings." Davon nearly puked at that. So his mother was a prisoner too. A belonging. Not a loved and adored wife, but a thing to control.

"Amaya enjoyed the parties though. Enjoyed the company. We met at a party similar to this one, actually." Elda waved her hand around. In the moonlight, she looked ethereal. Like the moon goddess decided to grace the world one more time.

"Your father met Amaya at a party a few weeks later. I introduced them, actually. I don't think I had ever seen Amaya laugh like she did with your father. And your father was entranced by the beautiful human who still carried light despite her darkness."

"So what did they do?" Davon asked.

"Well, your father started going to all of Gerald's parties just so he might see her. And Amaya started to hope for him to show up at them. And then they started meeting in secret. In this garden actually." Elda sighed. "Your mother started trying to leave. But then she learned she was pregnant. And Gerald did too. He was overjoyed that Amaya would having a child. And when he learned you were a boy, he locked her away. To keep her from running."

Davon stopped walking. Elda stopped a few steps ahead, looking back at him.

"Your father saw Amaya at a few parties, always with a beaming Gerald. And then one night she called your father, sobbing. She said that Gerald knew and then the phone cut out."

Davon wasn't sure he was breathing now. He was so still that he felt paralyzed.

"I don't think I ever saw him that angry, your father. He went berserk and ran to your mother. When he got there, she was dead. And Gerald was there."

Davon could feel the dread looming over him.

"Your mother had given birth that day. And while you had her features, there was one thing that showed the proof of your real father." Elda approached him and brushed her fingers over the sharp point of his ear.

"In a rage, Gerald killed your mother."