Mira's Hope (10 page)

She saw Amrick approaching as well, one hand
holding onto her daughter’s hand and the other arm around her
commitment partner. She had a huge smile on her face. “You fared
well enough,” she called, continuing toward them.

Galena returned the grin and waited for them
reach her.

“We’re sorry they were harassing you at all.
It was us they were looking for,” Elenio said when they stopped in
front of them.

“Welcome to Corista. I trust you will stay
for the feast we shall prepare this evening for we have much to be
thankful for it appears.”

“We would be honored,” Galena replied as she
tilted her head forward slightly.

“I’m sure we can find someone with room
enough for you to stay, or at the very least would be willing to
give up the comforts of their home for a few nights.” Amrick looked
to the other elves who were all nodding in agreement. Many were
already lining up to do such a thing for their saviors.

“No, please. We’ve already caused enough
trouble. We will gladly come to the feast that you talk of, but we
are able to provide our own accommodations,” Galena said,
addressing all the elves. She held a hand up as Amrick tried to
protest this, saying, “I insist. It truly is no trouble at
all.”

Amrick nodded amicably, but still looked a
little dismayed at this.

“If you could send for us when you’re ready,
we would greatly appreciate it.” Galena once again addressed all
the elves, who were still nodding their heads enthusiastically.

The trio started to make their way through
the crowd of elves in the direction they had come from. Their
progress was made slow by all the elves that reached out to shake
their hands, or touch an arm or shoulder. Many more called out
their thanks and appreciation. It seemed they all wanted Galena’s
attention. She shook hands, smiled and nodded, and handed out kind
words whenever she could until they reached the edge of the crowd.
They headed back toward the forest, still hearing the occasional
‘thank you’ as the elves began to drift off back toward their homes
in order to prepare for the festivities that evening.

They headed a little ways into the forest
until they found a bit of an opening between trees. Taking a couple
of branches from different trees, Galena placed them in the small
holes she dug out and began the simple task of growing
accommodation for them. This time she fashioned the home to be like
the first one they’d stayed in when they first started out. It had
several floors, ending in a sitting room high up in the
combinations of trees, and several bedrooms and washroom below. In
the very bottom level was an eating area, as well as an area to
prepare food and several places for multiple elves to sit and chat.
Galena felt this would be an appropriate gift for the elves of this
village for having to put up with the torlics in the first place.
Plus, she liked the idea they would never again have to give up
their homes for guests. What a huge inconvenience it had to be to
continuously give up your home for traveling elves.

Even though this tree house was considerably
larger than anything else she had ever grown, it took less time,
because she didn’t focus so much on making it pretty as making it
large, usable, and comfortable. Like her previously grown tree
house they stayed in, her bed mats and chairs were covered in a
thick layer of leaves to make them soft enough for sitting or
sleeping. The home also contained a fire orb in each room and at
least three in the larger rooms to provide warmth during the winter
months. She would have to figure out how other elves could control
the orbs after they left though. Maybe she would just provide a
stone house that they could place the orbs in during the summer
months.

Satisfied, she walked up to the home and
through the door, Elenio on her heels. She looked around the giant
common area as Elenio stepped through the door.

“Where’s Tark?” she asked.

“He went to retrieve our packs.” Elenio
looked around the great room and up through the hole in the ceiling
where the stairs continued their upward spiral. This time, instead
of the stairs intruding into each of the rooms, she had the stairs
wind along the tree walls with landings and doorways that led into
each of the bedrooms. She figured this would provide more privacy
and it hadn’t been hard to do. She didn’t know why she hadn’t
thought about creating that type of feature before.

“Do you really think we need all this
room?”

“No, but I felt it would be a nice addition
for the villagers. A kind of, thank you for putting up with
monsters that were sent out to find us, present.”

Elenio nodded in agreement. “Well, I’d say we
should wash all this blood and gore off of us, but the rain already
took care of that.”

“It didn’t wash the stink off of you,” Galena
said, still looking around at what she created.

“I don’t smell that bad, do I?” He raised his
arm, sniffing cautiously. He pulled his head back quickly, before
making a gagging noise.

“Mmm hmm,” Galena said, smiling at him.

Tark walked through the door, a look of
concentration on his face. Galena looked at him and went to
retrieve her bag from his grasp. He barely noticed her however.
Handing Elenio his own pack, he started up the stairs.

“I’m going to clean up,” he called down to
them.

“Well, that was strange,” Galena
murmured.

Elenio just watched him as he continued past
the first room. Galena filled the water in the first three
washrooms and caused the stones at the bottom to heat up, before
looking over at Elenio once more.

“Pick a washroom. I’ll take the one that you
don’t choose.”

Chapter
Thirteen

Both Elenio and Galena were cleaned and
dressed long before Tark emerged from the room above. They were
sitting on some of the chairs placed around the sitting room when
he finally descended the stairs.

“Bout time. We were just debating which one
of us should go and retrieve you,” Elenio said jokingly.

Tark simply nodded and sat, still looking
like he was lost in his thoughts.

Elenio and Galena exchanged looks, but said
nothing more.

Twoit scampered over to Galena and scaled her
leg, hopping up and down on her lap in excitement. Galena absently
scratched her head, contemplating Tark’s mood. It was unlike him to
be this quiet.

“Are you hurt?” she asked, eyeing him
suspiciously.

He looked at her, appearing to be startled
that she and Elenio were in the same room with him, but said
nothing. Instead, he shook his head and continued to stare at the
floor.

She looked at Elenio again, who simply
shrugged in response.

“Okay, well then, they should be coming for
us soon. It’s almost twilight,” Galena remarked, still eyeing Tark
with curiosity.

“You should probably leave the heavy drinking
to us,” Elenio said seriously, a twinkle in his eyes giving away
his merriment. “The last time we attended a feast, it took you a
while to recover.”

Galena playfully shoved his shoulder about
the same time they heard a knock at their door. Galena stood and
walked over to it, pushing it open to reveal young Quona looking up
at the structure with wide eyes.

“I didn’t think I would see you before the
party,” Galena said, smiling at their young friend.

“They sent me to bring you to it. Actually, I
said I would go and get you, because I already knew you.” She was
now focused on the room with which they were standing in.

“Would you like the grand tour?” Galena
asked, taking in Quona’s curious expression.

The tiny elf nodded enthusiastically, but
then stopped short. “Actually, I better get you to the feast. They
told me I had to be quick.” A look of disappointment replaced the
curious one she had been wearing just moments before.

“Another time then,” Galena said smiling.

Quona smiled back and eagerly nodded once
more. “Are you ready then?” she asked, looking around Galena so she
could see the other two.

“Yep. Lead the way, young one,” Elenio said,
standing up and shaking the shoulder of the slightly dazed looking
Tark to gain his attention so they wouldn’t leave him behind.

At this point, Galena was sure they would
have been able to walk out and celebrate all night without his
noticing. They followed Quona out into the night for all the
festivities to come.

Quona led them toward the center of the
village where tables had been placed and were laden with food.

So much more appealing than the stuff we
were served in the underground world,
Galena thought while she
looked at all the smiling faces around her. Everything seemed so
much more pleasant and welcoming, not like a sending off feast.

Elenio, Tark, and she sat down at the only
three empty seats among several smiling faces. Once that that she
saw they were comfortable, Amrick stood, thanking everyone for
coming, the arrival of the trio, and then, the feast began.

It even tastes better,
Galena thought
joyfully
.
She felt slightly sad with it though. She wondered
what had become of Morgo since they had returned to the world
above.

Elves of all ages made a point of coming and
talking with her while she ate. She heard many grateful elves
praise her fighting skills as well as offer their help with
whatever she needed. Galena wasn’t sure if she should have felt
overwhelmed, or exceptionally flattered. She shook hands with all
of them, asked for the news of Tomiro from the older ones, and
played with the little ones. Galena realized she was happier than
she had been in months. Looking around at all the bright and happy
faces, her reason for finding the sword became more real to her as
well as more important. She couldn’t let this village down. More
importantly, she couldn’t let down the entirety of Tomiro. Failure
wasn’t an option.

* * * *

The next morning, Galena awoke to the warm
sun shining on her face and Elenio’s arm wrapped around her waist.
Even though she would never admit it to Elenio or Tark, she’d
decided to go easy on the wine this time, so she would be more in
charge of herself. It would be just her luck that another group of
torlics would come and find her too drunk to do anything about it.
She probably would’ve burnt down the whole village instead. Shaking
her head, she sat up slowly so as not to disturb Elenio from his
slumber. She carefully picked up his arm and gently placed it
beside him. Removing the blankets, she went to the washroom to
clean up for the day.

As she bathed and prepared herself for their
upcoming journey, she thought about Tark. He’d remained quiet
throughout the meal. He watched the other elves in his quiet
contemplation, and would respond to the questions asked of him, but
other than that, he remained aloof. Galena wasn’t sure what was
bothering him, but she hoped he would get over it, or come out with
it before they continued. She was starting to really worry about
him. He rarely went for long spells without talking, and this was
the longest by far.

She finished braiding her long hair into a
complicated pattern. Flipping it over her shoulder, she opened the
door, and headed back into her and Elenio’s room to find him
starting to wake. She crouched down by the bed, so that her eyes
were level with his and smiled when he opened them. She loved his
eyes. They were such a clear blue. She felt peace and love every
time she looked into them.

“Good morning,” she said, pushing the hair
from his face. She placed a hand on his cheek and temple, rubbing
her thumb back and forth across the smoothness that was him. “Look
who had trouble holding their liquor this time.”

“You always wake earlier than me,” he replied
in a voice filled with sleep.

She smiled at his argument, but didn’t take
the bait. Instead, she climbed back under the blankets, so she
could snuggle with him for a few minutes before he got up to get
ready for the day. He wrapped his arms around her, resting his
hands on her back and kissing the top of her head.

He sighed, pulling her closer as he did. “If
we lay like this for a few minutes, it’s like the world and all of
its problems disappear.”

She smiled, thinking it indeed feel that way.
She wrapped an arm around him, pulling him closer.

“Tark talking yet?” Elenio asked through a
huge yawn.

“I haven’t seen him this morning.”

“You think he’s behaving strangely too, don’t
you?” he asked.

“Yes,” Galena answered. “Either he will spill
what’s on his mind, or he’ll resolve the issue on his own. We just
have to wait until he reaches that point.”

Kissing the top of her head once more, Elenio
released his hold on her and sat up. She got off the bed so he
wouldn’t have to climb over her to get up.

“I better get ready. I think we should get
started sooner versus later. I keep feeling we’re putting off the
inevitable.”

Galena looked at him and sighed. She knew he
was right, but still, he wasn’t the one who had to go up against
Mira’s cunning little spell. She watched as he went into the
washroom, shutting the door behind him before she filled his
washbasin and heated the stones for his bath. That done, she headed
down the stairs to start packing their bags. Once this was all
over, she was going to burn her bag and stay in one place for the
rest of her life.

Twoit had just come back in, when Elenio
joined her downstairs. He was running his hand through his long,
brown hair, combing the tangles out with his fingers. Galena walked
over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck before kissing him
on the lips.

“You have to be the most handsome elf in
Tomiro.”

Elenio blushed a deep red and kissed her
lightly on the tip of the nose. “Sounds like you had more to drink
than I thought.”