TBATE - A New Start

Chapter 11

Eleanor POV:

We arrived at the mansion, still in silence. We climbed out of the carriage and went inside. Casma wanted to go to his room alone while he calmed down and I was willing to let him go, but I had second thoughts as Yukina bit at the hem of my dress. I looked down at her as she seemed to want me to go along with them.

Casma had already started walking away. I knelt down and picked her up. She seemed to want to hop out as she looked between Casma, me, and then the floor, "You want me to go and comfort him or something right?" She seemed to have understood what I said and unexpectedly nuzzled into my face. I giggled at her reaction, "Okay, well, let's make sure he's ok then."

Casma was already out of sight, so I made my way slowly through the halls to his room, trying to think of what I would say, if anything, to make him feel better. The closer I got to his room the more I felt my heart race. The fact that he saw other elves even if they were only half, doesn't fix the fact that it had hurt him.

Once outside of his door, I took a deep breath. Yukina seemed to look up at me pleadingly, "Don't worry I'm sure he's fine."

I opened the door to see him sitting on the side of his bed. I walked over and sat down next to him not saying anything. Yukina hopped out of my arms and onto his lap. She seemed to be eyeing him and then headbutted his chin. After that, she looked at me and then laid next to me. I sat for a few minutes just being someone in the room letting him know he wasn't alone.

After a while he finally spoke, "I was told stories of what Gramps saw during his time in the war. That cage and the way they looked seemed so similar to his stories. I thought that that simple display, no matter how much of their blood may, or may not be elven, it could lead to war."

"I don't know much about your family, but in the small time that we were together I doubt they would've gone to war," I said.

"You don't understand." He got up and walked around the room, "The royals are the ones who decide that, my parents only have so much to say, they can't let the royals cause some kind of revolt. That'd be an even bigger problem."

"Would it really come to that though?"

"Yes, the view elves and humans have of each other is still strained due to the war, that even most of the people alive nowadays don't even remember. All anyone really knows is that it ended with both sides deciding it would be in their best interest to end the bloodshed."

I was about to say something when Yukina pawed at me. I picked her up and then she pointed her pawa toward Casma as if telling me to walk over to him, "You want me to go up to him?" She eagerly shook her head. I guess she really is an intelligent species of mana beast.

I got up with her still in my arms. After thinking for a moment, I grabbed Casma's arm and dragged him to the window, opening it up to let the moonlight shine into the room. I stood there letting him soak in the sight, "So what do you see?"

"A full moon and stars," I gave a slight laugh as I knew this was how he would answer, "What's so funny."

"I think I'm figuring out how you see this world." He gave me a confused look but before he could answer I continued, "You see this world as is, not as what it can be. You see the moon and stars but not the hope."

"Hope?"

"This is the only place I've ever seen the moon. This town is all I really know, but you know the moon and stars from where you lived as well as here now. Everyone looks at the sky hoping for a better tomorrow or something to change. We're looking at the same sky now as we have in the past the only difference is that now we have someone else looking with us. Even if war did happen, I believe my brother and my parents would take the elves' side on this. I also believe, your parents would allow them to stay with you and your family if it came to it."