Through The Storm

t h r e e

Everything started to blur at the edges of my vision. My palms erupted in sweat and my heart began to race. That same sickening, sadistic smile stretched out across their shadowed faces in eerie coordination as they registered my buckling knees and flimsy bravado.

I was no warrior. I was not even a fighter. I could hold the fort against the beastliest of animals, but I relied much too heavily on the element of surprise... which, in this case, I had wisely forgone by yelling out to these soldiers. 

It wasn't just my own safety I feared now. I feared for Kaya's- but more importantly, the giant alarm bell inside my head seemed to gong Blake, Blake, Blake, Blake...

There was only a mocking smirk on their faces; other than that, not a word escaped their lips. Their silence pressed down on my ears much too hard. "What is the meaning of this monstrosity?" I demanded as bravely as I could. I still chided myself for using the adjective. It wasn't necessary- I was really testing Fate now. 

The abused girl looked up from the ground in bewilderment, her eyes piercing into mine. There was a sickening mix of gratitude and hopelessness that greeted me. Tearing my eyes away, I forced myself not to look away from the men. 

The shortest one at the back spoke first. His voice was soft like a breeze, and while his lips barely brushed against each other, each of his words hung crystal clear in the dark night. "Those who do not comply will be punished. This has always been the way of the Royals."

My heart began thumping so hard against my ribs that I thought it might burst. "Our village has always been exempted from the more... strict ways of the Royals," I said, trying to tread carefully with my words. I had dared to defy them by speaking out, and I needed to soothe the wound. 

Legend had it that the Elven Royals were the most ruthless rulers our land had ever seen. Most of us did not even remember a time when we had been ruled by any other race; they had held the throne for so long. All our hymns, all our songs and all our art centred around the Elves being in power. 

Except, of course, the contents of the Forbidden Library in Asten. Whispers carried tales of art and books in which the Elves had been a minority, and an ancient race called 'Riders' had been in power. But no one knew anything for a fact- the library was forbidden for a reason. If Elven rule was all we knew, what other choice would we have? What would we revolt for, if we ever did? 

In Asten, the common Elves had it a lot easier under this regime, and yet there were countless stories of Elves retreating into the wilderness to escape their brutality. In our insignificant town of Bracken, we did not know enough to distinguish whether these were mere fables or absolute truths. Bracken had always been safe, concealed in between the dense forest and the sea. We had never disobeyed laws, and we generally lay low as a community. 

The handful of memories I had of my parents were just random flashes of moments that I had not known would stay in my mind. They were rarely of any significance- but one seemed to stand out the most, at this time. It was of my father, complaining to my mother over the dinner table in hushed tones, even though we were in our own cottage without any risk of being overheard. 

"The Royals are fair enough if you stick by the rules," he had said, ripping the meat off a greasy chicken leg with his teeth and munching hard. "The things they say about the Elven Guard are true enough- but have we ever had trouble with them?" Without waiting for a response from his wife, he had continued, "No, we haven'. People want a safe, reliable system and yet they want to juggle the rules too." Licking his lips, he had huffed in an undertone, "Buggers."

This was rather how most of Mother and Father's conversations had been: one-sided. I hardly reckon Mother had even been listening. I do not remember if Blake had been born at that time. As for me, I had been much too young to understand Father, but what he said had resonated deep within me unknowingly.