Chapter 6 part 1:

Lifelong partner

It was early morning, the sun had just risen and the sky was fading from orange to blue. Many of the elves were already awake, prepared to attend to their morning duties, when a messenger entered the town on his horse, quickly making his way to the central clearing.

Silas had just woken up from the clattering of horse hooves, as did his mother. He walked downstairs and was greeted by his mother standing at the window, looking outside with a heavy glance. 

“What’s going on?” He asked, smelling the scent of freshly brewed tea leaves.

His mother was holding a clay mug, sipping her tea and observing the messenger dismount from his horse and look over at the village chief’s home. 

Maeir and Silas watched as the chief exited his home rather quickly and ran up to the messenger, preparing to receive the message.

The messenger was an elf disguised as a human, a powerful magician with unlimited magic potential. This man’s name was Meredith. He traveled under the guise as a noble merchant, but in truth he was a spy for the elves, working in the capital to gain information. 

The two men spoke for a moment before the messenger retrieved a scroll from his bag and showed it to the other man with a stern expression across his face. The other man’s eyes widened and he stroked his chin thoughtfully, Then the two men rolled up the scroll and began to walk towards the chief’s house.

Silas looked to his mother and back outside. “What do you think they were looking at?” He asked nervously.

His mother took a sip of her tea and sighed, “Whatever it is, it’s probably nothing. I’m sure the chief will take care of it.” She turned away from the window and walked back into the kitchen.

The twins finally stumbled out of bed and raced towards their older brother, each grabbing a hand. They were jumping up and down, ready to play. Silas had not yet eaten breakfast and was still exhausted from his long mission, but he did not want to disappoint his younger siblings.  He was not sure how to tell them though that there was little to no time to sleep while preparing for war, and afterwards, how difficult it was to sleep.

Even last night, Silas saw the faces of the men he and his team had killed. They were standing together, looking at him in particular, judging him with their eyes. When Silas had looked down at himself, he was wearing the same black clothes from the mission, yet they were entirely soaked in deep red blood. Each step he took left another bloody footprint. He woke up drenched in sweat, unable to fall back asleep until early morning. The dark circles under his eyes were darkening.

Silas helped his mother prepare breakfast, a simple meal of fresh fruits and porridge, one of Silas’ favorite meals. He liked the sweet taste of the fruit best.

The twins ate their porridge playfully, sticking their spoons in and out of their bowls, making funny faces at each other from across the table. Their baby fat still hadn’t left their faces, leaving the two to look even cuter. Silas’s mother chastised the two and told them to properly eat their meal, like their older brother.  They listened, but still played with their fruit, rolling it back and forth in the porridge. Their mother shot them both a very disapproving stare.

Silas collected their bowls and put them into the wash basin when there was a loud knock at the door. The twins looked at their mother curiously. 

“I’ll answer the door.” Silas said, walking outside the kitchen to the front door.

Before Silas could even fully open the door, a familiar voice called out to him and two delicate hands reached out through the crack in the door. 

He did not even have to see her face to know who it was. “Emmeline.” Silas smiled tenderly, meeting eyes for a moment with the girl behind the door before her slim arms wrapped tightly around him and her head hit his chest with a small thump.

His childhood friend Emmeline was sweet and delicate at first glance, but she was stubborn and truthful to a fault. Though her face was delicate and pale, her hair was unruly as she was, curly and light brown. It seemed as if her small head would be swallowed by her overbearing locks of hair. 

She fought for what was right, like Silas, and the two bonded as children based on their similar values. He loved her deeply since they were children.

After another moment and one more tight squeeze, Emmeline stepped back and greeted Silas, bowing her head and closing her hands together in front of her. Silas copied her movements, following traditional elven greetings. “Silas, it’s been forever! How was your mission?” She said this rapidly in one sentence, her curly hair bobbing up and down.

Silas laughed as his mom walked to the door frame of the kitchen and watched the exchange between the two, unnoticed. “It’s only been a month… and everything was okay.” He forced himself to smile, but his face still held a bitter note that made Emmeline pause and refrain from poking further.

 “Ah, Maeir.” Emmeline quickly caught sight of Silas’s mother and bowed, putting her hands together respectfully. His mother paid no mind to the formalities and nodded her head.

“Emmeline, there’s no need for formalities. It’s been years since I’ve been to war anyway.” Maeir said with a flick of the wrist. Silas’s mother was a respected warrior in the past, and she had worked hard to procure a safe and stable childhood for Silas and his young siblings. His father raised their children until he disappeared after a trip to the capital, shortly after the twins turned four. When that happened, Maeir laid down her sword and never returned to it following that day.

Emmeline smiled, nodding her head enthusiastically. “Can I borrow Silas for a few minutes?” She grinned, winking at Silas.

His mother, happy to send Silas off with her, agreed readily. “Take him for a few hours.” Emmeline laughed with Silas as he looked at his mom, slightly embarrassed by her straightforwardness. 

 Emmeline grabbed Silas’s hand and was about to walk out the door with him when the twins came barreling through, grabbing onto Emmeline like a piece of driftwood. She almost lost her footing, but Silas caught her back and smiled. She blushed lightly.

“Aurelia, Cirdan!” She rubbed the twins heads lovingly. The two troublemakers ate up the attention, causing their mother to sigh.

“I think these two brats have some chores to do.” Their mother said flatly, “I don’t remember the dishes being finished, do you?” The military training she had endured had made her far stricter of a parent, but the three appreciated their mother’s ways.

The two forlornly looked at Emmeline, giving her their all-famous puppy dog eyes, but they had no effect on the quick-witted young woman. “You two should listen to your mother.” She chided them, causing Silas and his mother to smile.

Emmeline looked at Silas as he laughed and she returned the joyous smile. She wished with all her might that one day he would smile and laugh like he was now, without a care in the world. It reminded her of their childhood, when he would smile and laugh at the smallest things.

With that, Emmeline took the initiative to take Silas’s hand once more and walked him out the door, before they could be further delayed. Due to construction in the middle of town, there were many private places for them to chat. 

Emmeline did not tell Silas where they were headed, and instead made him guess as they walked. 

“Are we going to the wild fruit patch?”

“Nope.”

“Hm… What about the stream by the chief’s house?”

“Keep guessing.” Emmeline was amused, smiling brightly. 

As the two walked, other villagers were busting out and about, attending to their daily duties. Some of them noticed Silas and Emmeline walking towards the woods and stopped, eyeing the two with an all-knowing glance.

“Ahh, those two are at it again.” One of the elders gossiped.

“Maeir must be preparing for their wedding already… What it is to be young!”

Due to the declining population of the elves, it was common for families to arrange marriages for their children, usually starting in childhood. If two children had a good relationship growing up, they were paired together until adulthood, when they were ready to marry. Most of these marriages were pleasant, but most unhappy arrangements worked out in the end.  

Finally, the two reached an open clearing, and Silas instantly recognized the area.

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