The Remembered (Elements II)

Chapter 27

The wild rose on her dressing table sent her running down to the glade, where he had planted the wild rosebush. As she’d expected, he was standing there, waiting for her. However, his expression was grave, almost stern, and she faltered, coming to a stop.

“What?” she asked fearfully. “What is it?”

He glanced at her, and she shivered at the dislike kindling in his dark eyes. It had been so long since she’d seen that – all he’d been showing her was his true feelings; his love for her.

“Dvalin?” she whispered, stepping closer. He stepped back, and she bit her lip. “What? Have I done anything?”

“You must go.”

Tears filled her eyes at his cold voice, and she shook her head. “No,” she protested. “I’m not.” She tried to get closer to him, but a thorn hedge grew between them, preventing her from reaching him. She swallowed the sob in her throat. “Why are you doing this?” she asked, her voice trembling. Her whole body was shaking.

“We have no choice.”

“No!” The word tore out of her before she could stop it. She attempted to get closer again, but the thorns grew longer, stopping her. “Why?” she begged, hearing the pain in her voice. She couldn’t understand why he was hurting her. Not after the tenderness he’d shown her the week before. It wasn’t making sense.

“You’re human, girl. This is pointless.”

She flinched, stumbling backwards. He couldn’t mean it. “I don’t understand,” she whispered. He shrugged, turning away from her.

“I told you. You’re a human. It never works out.”

Again, a sob caught in her throat, and tears began falling down her cheeks. She reached a hand towards him, shaking, but he didn’t move.

“But –” she said. “There have been pairs before. It’s worked out before. Why not now?”

He swung around, glaring at her, and she searched his eyes for the answering pain, for the sign that he didn’t want to push her away. She couldn’t find it.

“It hasn’t worked for thousands of years!” he hissed, stalking forwards. “Always, always, in those pairs, the elemental’s been betrayed.”

“I wouldn’t do that,” she protested, but she knew that he wouldn’t believe her. He’d pushed her away, completely out of his world. When she saw that he wasn’t going to respond, she turned and fled, trying to stop the flow of tears. She was hurt beyond measure, feeling as if he’d crushed her heart. He’d told her he loved her. She had loved him in return, giving him her heart, but he’d lied. He had crushed her heart, crushed it into tiny pieces, and she didn’t know why.

She fled to her room, and threw herself onto her bed, sobbing until she was exhausted. Out of breath, out of tears, she lay there, her eyes closed, fighting her anger. She wasn’t going to shout at him. She wasn’t going to blame him. If he didn’t want her, she wasn’t going to push herself onto him. It would only make it harder for them both. She didn’t know how long she lay there, but after some time, her door opened, and closed softly.

“Mistress Nahara?”

She hid her face, not wanting to talk. Caoilha disregarded that and came over, sitting on the bed beside her.

“What’s troubling you, Nahara?” The elemental’s voice was gentle, offering a listening ear.

Nahara sobbed, feeling her tears leaking out from under her eyelids again. “I can’t,” she forced out.

“Sure you can, young one. It will make you feel better. What’s troubling you?”

Nahara sniffed, trying to calm her breathing, and then it all poured out. She was unable to stop, only falling silent at the end of her tale. Caoilha stroked Nahara’s hair, offering comfort.

“What do I do?” she whispered, finally looking at the elemental. Caoilha lifted a shoulder.

“He’s a hard one to understand, Nahara. But this is very unlike him.”

“What do you mean?” Wiping her tears, the young woman sat up, still sniffing a little.

“He protects those he loves with his life,” Caoilha explained. “This is uncalled for.”

“But he doesn’t love me,” Nahara said quietly. “He’s proved that. He never did.”

“No, he does, Nahara. Something’s happened to make him doubt it, though. He doesn’t know what to do, so he’s pushed you away. It’s all he knows how to do.”

“Then there’s nothing I can do,” Nahara muttered, disappointed.

Caoilha gave her a hug. “You can hope,” she told her softly. “His mother will give him a good talking to. He’ll come back to you – I promise. You’re the only one I’ve seen him look at like he does to you.”

Nahara turned her head away. “No,” she said flatly. “He doesn’t want me. I’m not going to wait around for him.”

The elemental sighed, and stood up. “Don’t lose heart, Nahara. He’ll come back.”

“It’s crushed, Caoilha. I can’t lose it anymore.”

She left, closing the door behind her.

Nahara stayed where she was for a moment, working on evening her breathing so that she was calm. When she had, she moved to the window, looking down on the garden. Pain shot through her, and she turned away. She needed to leave.

Searching for her father, she finally found him in his study, working. She poked her head around the doorframe. He glanced up, and she saw him blink, knowing that it was at her red-rimmed eyes.

“Yes, my dear?”

“I’m going out for a while,” she said. “You don’t need me?”

“No,” he assured her. “That’s fine. Be careful, won’t you?”

She nodded. “I will,” she promised.

“That’s my girl. I’ll see you when you return.”

She nodded again, and withdrew, muttering to herself. “If I return.”