After he got over the river and down the hill he stopped before a tall stone wall. He could hear the waterfall, but he struggled to locate the muffled sound’s origin. The grey barrier was steep and quite smooth - it would be too dangerous for Elias to climb it.
Upon looking around he discovered there were some flower vines growing down it. He grabbed one and yanked it hard, putting his full weight on it. It wasn’t tearing, so he went a little to the right, where the vines grew more thickly. Elias would tie himself up on one and then climb up the wall.
As he was about to do so, he tried to lean against the stone, however when he reached for it, there was nothing. His hand went through the vines. Elias moved the densely grown vines revealing a dark cave.
Elias’ heart jumped in excitement.
A secret cave!
Elias rummaged through his bag and pulled out a match he stole from the kitchen. He lit it and boldly stepped in the cavern, letting the vines down behind him, the darkness and coldness of the cave swallowing him entirely.
As the weak light illuminated the stone around him, Elias noticed that the cave spread much further than he anticipated.
And he could hear the waterfall more clearly now.
He carefully made his way towards the sound. Eventually, the light from the other side shone its way in. When he came to the end of the cave, Elias’ hand which was holding the match, dropped limply to his side, blowing the fire out with it. His jaw mimicked the fall of his arm as his pupils widened.
He found himself standing in a lagoon surrounded by a big sheer rock overgrown with lush greenery. At the top of the stone wall, there was the waterfall he was looking for, falling into the crystal turquoise lake which ended in a river flowing through the thick forest ahead. The sun was high in the sky and the light illuminating the surface of the lake reflected in white swirls on the rock surrounding the lagoon.
Elias didn’t even realise he was holding in his breath.
He had never seen a place as beautiful as this.
His smile grew wider with each and every detail he took in. He couldn’t help himself - he stripped down his clothes and jumped into the lake. The water was still cold, but Elias didn’t mind it. He laughed out loud as he swam in it.
Elias idly floated on his back, looking up at the blue sky.
In this moment he could forget about his worries. In this moment he could pretend that he was free.
He swam to the waterfall, holding his hands in it and drinking the crystal water from his hands. Something caught his eyes. There was something behind the waterfall.
Elias quickly ran out of the water and pulled up his trousers. He walked towards the water falling into the lake and peeked behind it. There was a passage behind it. Elias stepped in to investigate. The passage was narrow at first and then it opened up into a big cavern.
Elias' smile grew wider.
In just a mere day, Elias grew to love this little mysterious island called Dalelry.
In the days that followed, Elias proclaimed the cave to be his, despite not knowing if someone in the past had found it before him. He had brought food from the storage house, lanterns, and blankets from the abandoned houses. He had carved little shelves into the stone and made a fireplace outside the cave.
He had made the lagoon his hidden secret home.
Almost two weeks passed, Elias was sitting by the lake, staring at his reflection. In the past years his skin got darker, hair long enough that he could put it in a low ponytail. But his eyes were the same. Same shade of blue as his fathers.
Elias thought about it. He could stay here and hide. The crew wouldn’t be able to find him. He could live the rest of his days here.
Suddenly, his bones started itching, the pain from the past beatings came to him as if he had been beaten merely an hour ago. Elias knew that no matter how good he was at hiding, they would eventually find him. And he had a feeling that if he didn’t return, Nick would be the one to get punished.
Elias couldn’t do that to him.
After an hour of thinking and contemplating he got up, filled his bag up, took the dagger and left his little home.
When he got to the village, the ship was preparing to set sail. Elias hurried to it, just barely making it in time. He leaned on the railing, trying to catch his breath.
“Thought ya weren’t comin’ back.” Elias turned to see Gerold walking to him and leaning on the railing beside him. “Beautiful, isn’t it?”
Elias figured he was talking about the island. Elias followed his gaze and nodded.
“Don’t ya worry. We’ll come back here eventually.” He placed one hand on Elias’ shoulder and turned around to leave. “Tomorrow we continue yer trainin’.”
Elias looked at him and then back at Dalelry.
They would return to it.
He just had to wait until then.
The pain spread up his arms like a dozen crawling spiders and he had to effortfully grip his sword tighter to prevent it from falling.
“Didn’t I tell ya to practise?” said Gerold, playfully twirling his sword around.
He did tell him to practise, however Elias was so caught up in exploring Dalelry that simply slipped his mind. He looked down at his fresh cut wound.
“Eyes up, kid.” He started circling around Elias. “Think of it as a dance.” He lunged forward and Elias couldn’t move his left hand away in time, for Gerold to strike him. “Hide yer hand behind yer back! Don’t just let it flail about like ye don’t know what yer doin’.”
Elias did so, despite it feeling rather unnatural to him. He tried going for Gerold, but missed him a couple of times. In his focusing on the attacks, he subconsciously brought his left hand to his side and Gerold sharply smacked it again.
“Stop it!” Elias’ dropped the sword and covered his arm, where Gerold struck him. “This isn’t working.”
Elias didn’t want to meet his eyes, feeling ashamed and disappointed in himself. Gerold started impatiently walking around, contemplating what he should do with Elias. Suddenly he stopped mid step. He turned to Elias.
“Pick up yer sword.” Elias hesitated, but still picked it up. Gerold turned his sword and handed it to Elias. Elias looked him up with confusion. “Take it. With the other hand.”
Elias took it, trying to balance both of the grips. Gerold pulled out a third sword and pointed it towards Elias. “Now try.”
And Elias did.
And it was the first time Elias managed to strike Gerold.
Somehow this was revolutionary, it felt much better and more solid when Elias was dual wielding the swords. Just like that his other hand wasn’t redundant anymore, it was not in the way but was in fact great advantage. It was much easier for him like that.
Rush of adrenaline flew through his veins as he charged again. He saw Gerold smile as he parried the attack and then returned the favour. Elias blocked it with both swords. As they fought with each other, the crew gathered around them, watching them intensely.
Elias' heart was beating with excitement and thrill and before he knew it Gerold’s sword came flying out of his hand, landing with a clank on the black wood.
Elias managed to disarm Gerold.
At first he only saw shock in Gerold's face and then a wide genuine grin stretched across his face. “Good job, kid.”
A cheering ay sounded through the crew and with a corner of his eyes, Elias caught Kian smile and nod in satisfaction.
“You put on quite a show.” said Nick as he sat beside Elias in his secret spot, while he was patching up his wound. “Even Kian was cheering.”
Elias finished with the last stitch and looked up at Nick with a bright smile.
“Not everyone can defeat Gerold. Aside from Kian he is the greatest fighter on The Rose Sparrow.”
Elias couldn’t help but blush, feeling immensely proud of himself.
“Just try not to lose yourself in it.”
Elias looked at him, but he didn’t meet his eyes. As Elias saw that he wouldn’t continue, he didn’t prod any further. Some things were better left unspoken.
After a minute of silence Nick turned to Elias. “Your hair is getting long; it could get in your way. Want me to cut it for you?”
Elias paused to think then nodded and Nick pulled out one of his pocket knives. He gestured to Elias to turn around, gently grabbed a strand of hair and pulled the blade across it. When he finished, Elias’ hair was the same length it was when he was taken from Parahill. Nick, seemingly proud of his work, put the knife away in his pocket.
“There, it should be easier now, little guy.”
He stood up to leave.
“Thank you.” managed Elias with a low weak voice.
Nick turned around, unable to completely conceal his astonishment and smiled. “Of course, no problem.”
“E-Elias.” He fidgeted with his fingers, afraid to meet his eyes. “My name is Elias.”
Nick nodded, a smile still on his face when he left.
That night Elias couldn’t sleep - he was too thrilled, the adrenaline, still present form the match keeping him from closing his eyes. He decided to go up on deck and stroll around.
The dark of the night was accompanied by a cold breeze which made a low howling noise traveling through the ship. Autumn was coming. He was just passing the Captain's cabin when he overheard Nick talking to Sabur.
“He has potential.” Said a rough, low voice.
Nick sounded desperate. “He’s a kid, Sabur.”
“One day he won’t be anymore.”
Elias hastily moved on, knowing that he shouldn’t eavesdrop on Captains conversations. But Sabur’s words kept reverberating through his mind.
One day he won’t be a kid anymore.
Sabur was wrong.
Elias stopped being a kid the day they took him from Parahill.
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