Captured by the Elves Ch. 12

I collapsed onto her breathing heavily. With some effort, I rolled off of Katania, and we lied there on the forest floor beneath the great tree. It would've been a perfect place to die. Content and satisfied.

We didn't speak for a long time. Katania was the first to do so. She said, "Thank you, Kiari. I haven't felt like that since—". Her words caught in her throat.

Then Katania gripped her middle in pain. She cried out in pain. Its as the phantom girl said, I thought. I snuggled up to Katania and held her against me.

"I'm here," I said. "I'm always here for you."

It was a strange thing to see the conversion of an elf that had already been converted once before. There was something unnatural about it. Then it struck me.

I gripped my own middle in sudden pain. Everything that Katania felt I felt in turn. That was the price. I'd agreed to it. There was no arguing with it. Magic and miracles were dark and expensive things. A debt to that would be no different.

Katania and I were reborn in pain together. We were bound to our fate. I would not recall much of the process. The pain was a cruel mistress. And it had us in its grip. My hand found Katania's and we rode it out. The agony of the dream carrying us back to the real world. The doubt, the pain, the transformation—there could be no denial about it.

Katania and I passed out.

I woke back in the harsh real world. My knee was once again stiff and sore. It took some painful effort to get up. Katania was gone. I looked around frantically—convinced that all had been for naught. But my fears relaxed. I saw her walking about in the warm rays of the sun as it burned away the dew of the morning.

I found her bandages and discarded tunic on the ground. I gathered them up and put them on the litter. Whenever she was ready, I already had a small bundle of clothes for her tied to the littler. For a long time, I wasn't sure that they would ever be used by her. It was great to be wrong.

I sat down by the pack. Tired. I felt drained, and in a way, I wasn't sure that I could ever be made whole again. I retrieved some more of the bitter leaves from my pouch and chewed.

Katania finally noticed me and frolicked over.

"Are you well, Kiari?" she asked.

"Just tired. I'll be fine in a moment." I smiled up at her. Happy. I did it. I succeeded.

Katania was back and she looked different. Her unnaturally blonde hair had gone to brown. Somewhere between my chestnut locks and what her original sandy brown hair had been like. It was also shorter. Some portion of me had passed to her. Traits do not always pass during a conversion, but it happened. Regardless: I felt the bond with her.

Katania wasn't naive. She said, "I'm different now. I feel the bond with you. How is that possible?"

"I don't know. There are powers out here that I don't understand, but it worked. Do you still remember your old life?"

"Yes. I was thinking about my brothers. I used to take them out to a place like them to play around on our father's land."

"That's a good memory."

She smiled. "Do you have brothers?"

"Yes. Brothers and sisters. My parents needed a lot of children to work."

Katania helped me get to my feet. She said, "I guess we'll look after each other now."

It was strange to hear it then. I thought about the old days when Brendan and I had first left home. Being conscripted had been frightening. The very notion of choice taken away from me. Yet there was some strange hope as well. We thought that perhaps we'd become something more than we were.

I smiled at Katania. It was easy to do so. "Yes," I said. "Let's do that. Hopefully we can find the way back."

Katania was confident. She said, "I do know something about the land. Not as much as Rowan, but I'm sure that I could find the way back. "

"I hope so. Raina led us through some of the strangest territory I've ever seen."

Katania grabbed my hand. She was affectionate and reassuring. Somehow, I knew that she was that way because I wanted her to be that way. Had I desired something else of her then she would've been that. It was a scary realization and as much I wanted to test it, I decides to play it safe.

Start back for home, I thought. Hopefully we would find Ericka along the way.

"I'll lead you back to the trail, and then you can take over," I said.

I lead Katania away from the ruins of the old settlement. I could tell by the look in her eyes that she wanted to stay and explore it for a time much like I did. My time there had been short, and I knew that there were greater answers to my questions still lingering there. As we walked away, I turned back to see the phantom girl one last time. She had come to the edge of the settlement. She nodded at me solemnly. I nodded back. I would never return to that place nor see her again. How could I ever explain to the others the bargain that I had struck or the price that I had paid?

Katania said, "What're you looking at?"

I looked to her. Her bright blue eyes were such a contrast to her new almost chestnut-colored hair. I could see the person that had been Henry Collins in there, but there was no doubt that I had changed her. The bond was there, and I knew that I could never give her up. Even in the foolish hope of ending the war.

I couldn't do it.

"Just thinking that I wish I could learn more," I said. "I'll have many questions for Braith when we get home."

Katania nervously over-bit her lower lip with her teeth. "About that...," she said. "When we get back...can I stay with you?"

I expected as much and I could only laugh. "If you like," I said. "I don't think that Braith will object too much."

I was reminded of Ericka and my laughter faded. I missed her. Please let her be alive, I prayed.

"We should get going," I said. "The others will be waiting for us."

In truth: I had no idea of what befell the others. This whole enterprise of mine was foolish and yet Katania was now healed and easily walking with me. If anything, she was stronger than I was. I could already feel the price that I paid to make it so.

But I couldn't regret my choice. I looked at Katania—the new her, and she smiled nervously and kept walking. No matter what happened to me, she would live. That had to be worth something.

I turned back once more hoping to see the phantom girl, but by then she was gone. Some questions could not be answered. At least not then.

Katania and I left the specters of the past behind and we ventured back into the forest. I wasn't even confident that we could find the way back, but I was willing to try it. I was confident. That would prove to be foolish, but I had no way of knowing that. I wanted to be hopeful. For Katania and for the others. In my old life I'd been mostly a cynic. I still felt that way about so many things, but I loved the other girls by then. They were my family. I had to try and be better than I was.

I thought back to the vision that I'd had of myself after eating the fruit. I still didn't know if it was some other version of me, the goddess, or both in some strange way.             

"Our children," she had said.

What did she mean? Some things were just too difficult to understand.

I put it out of my mind. There was just Katania, myself, and the trip through the forest. We had to make it through.

After I led Katania to the beginning of the trail, I handed the reigns to her as I'd promised. There was some hesitation in her. She wanted to prove herself useful. I understood that. There was also a restless in her. Some swelling of energy coming from her core. Once she found her bearings though, her confidence returned. She'd heard of the plateau before. Also, anew trail had recently been created by the dragging of Katania's litter. We spent hours following it back. Through the so much of what I had passed through before. When Katania had questions about the silent portion of the forest or the collection of dead armies, I told her to keep going. I still wasn't sure what to think of them myself.

It wasn't long after we'd come down the plateau and into the regular forest that I spotted Ericka rather suddenly. One moment the vast forest had stood like a green enigma before me with no end. Then she was there. I couldn't believe our fortune. She was alive and looked healthy enough. I'd feared the worst, but was relieved so much that it was foolish. I even looked around for Raina. Hoping to see her. Maybe the feuding she-elves had made peace and we could all go home together like a family of sorts. Raina had converted me. I converted Ericka and then I "re-converted" Katania. It was all a confusing mess, but at least we would be happy.

I waved over excitedly over to Ericka and called her over to join us.

"I did it," I shouted. "I saved Katania!"

It was the happiest most successful moment of my life.

Then I noticed it. No, it wasn't some archaic thing that only a scout would know. As we walked closer, I could see more detail on Ericka's face. She didn't look happy to see us. I moved faster towards her. Struggling with my knee. Wondering what could ever be wrong. Ericka was suddenly shaking her head at me. It was a desperate plea and it took me a while to understand what it meant.

Finally, Ericka grew tired of subtlety. "Run," she screamed.

But it was futile.

They came at us from all sides. I struck out with my short lance, but it was caught by a large oak shield. Then I was struck by clubs wrapped in leather. Weapons not intended to kill, but to capture.

Katania faired better than I. she lashed out with her bare hands and feet. Blinding one man and seizing his club. While I was being beaten into the ground, she frantically attacked all comers proving to be more than a match for individual men, but eventually they locked shields and pressed against her from several sides. In such close quarters she couldn't hold out, and then they had her too.

Katania and I were bound with leather strips and hempen rope. Trussed up like hogs before a slaughter.

Oh gods, I thought. After all that we'd been through to be captured again...

"Well, well, well," said a large man appraising us. "Look at what we were fortunate enough to catch."

The man had a thick black beard that ended in several braids. He smelled of leather and old wine. The chainmail that accompanied his leather was starting to rust, but was still formidable.

He said, "Were you ladies trying to leave the party that we have in store for you? That's awfully rude of you. After all the effort that we've put in."

Another group of men soon arrived. My captor addressed them. "Did you lot capture the other one?"

"No," said one of the new arrivals. "The bitch was fast. Mean too. Put two arrows in Olaf's guts. Poor bastard is bleeding out over there. She probably ran off to join the others."

"Fucking incompetents," said my captor. "No matter. We'll settle her with all the others." He turned his attention back to me. "My name is Curly Jack. What's yours?" When I didn't answer, he seized my chin and twisted my neck to look at him. "I asked you a question, bitch. And you will answer."

"Leave her alone, you bastard," said Katania.

Curly Jack let go of me and promptly back-handed her across the mouth. "I didn't as you," he said. "Are you her servant? Do you lick her arsehole?"

Katania was bleeding from the mouth, and was going to say more, but I told her to stop.

I looked to Curly Jack. "There's no need for any of this," I said. My head throbbed after the blows that I'd received. It was difficult to focus. "I know Lord Collins. He will want to speak with me. You'll be rewarded for making this happen."

He started to laugh and then all the other men laughed as well. I expected that though.

I continued, "How much have you men been paid for this war? Mostly nothing, I suspect. There's scant loot out here, I assure you. Work with me and you can go home with real money. Ducats. You can go home and have all the wine and cunny that you want."

"Well, well," said Curly Jack. "You sound so convincing. Sounds nice. Unfortunately for you: Lord Collins was found to be 'corrupted' and put in manacles. Father Theobald is in charge now. He says that you lot are damned. And so, you are damned."

I was struck on the head and knew no more.

Note: Thank you very much for your continued interest. We're nearing the story's end. It's been a long journey to get there. I hope you enjoyed it. I'm sorry that it took me a while to get us here, but that's how stories evolve sometimes. Please feel free to rate the story and by all means leave a comment should you so desire. I love hearing from you. It's been a long day. I'm tired, but not sure if I can sleep. Like usual. I close this out while drinking a brand-new version of the Propagator IPA from Firestone: Galaxy Shapeshifters Hazy IPA. Pretty good. Though sometimes when you're tired anything will do. Cheers!