Mira's Hope (20 page)

Morgo later told him how much the old one was
able to instruct them in the area of tree growing as well as other
vegetation the underground elves had not been able to grow in the
thin, weak soil found under the cold rocks of their world.
Moreover, as Morgo explained before, since the underground elves
considered themselves mainly pacifist, they lacked knowledge on how
to adequately strengthen the metal used for blades. They’d given it
their best try, but Tark felt the blades produced with the
assistances of the underground elves, were somewhat lacking.
Pangoro’s knowledge proved to be insurmountable in this particular
area.

However, the arrival of whole villages made
Tark realize something much more important to him. Taura’s thoughts
and emotions were becoming clearer. Tark realized this could only
mean one thing; they were on their way too. Over the next couple of
days, Tark could perceive Taura’s thoughts better and better. He
could hardly contain his excitement during trainings and serious
meetings. Better still, his excitement seemed to be catching as
most of the camp seemed to be in better spirits. They trained
harder, laughed more, and seemed to have permanent smiles on their
faces.

By the end of the second evening since the
arrival of villagers from Gora, Tark was practically bouncing in
anticipation of his commitment partner and daughter’s arrival. He
knew it would be within the hour as he felt the excitement in her
own mind and feelings of love and happiness that were not his own,
consume his mind. He bathed in them, letting them soak into every
fiber of his being. How he had missed her and her stubborn
ways.

He promised himself he wouldn’t let the petty
little things that drove him crazy before, bother him now. It had
been months since he’d seen her. With the knowledge of her arrival,
he had Nina and Morgo grow another bed in his room for their
daughter. He wanted them with him as much as possible. They’d done
this and even against his initial wishes, provided the young elf
with a room of her own within Tark’s room. He had been upset at the
time, but upon further thinking, realized it was a good idea. They
could do with some privacy and it wasn’t as if Silva would be
farther than a few footsteps away. Compared to the distance he’d
been, that was nothing.

As to Venia and her young one, Morgo insisted
he move into the last floor of their home, which contained the
growing library he was so fond of, so they could have his room. He
had some of the elves make a small little room and wash basin
within that room so he would have some privacy. Tark originally
stated Venia could stay with his family, but when Morgo claimed he
spent most of the time in the library anyway, pouring over all of
the wonderful treasures it contained, Tark relented.

Looking past the campfires in the direction
he knew his village was, he peered into the darkness, willing his
eyes to see something, anything. However, all he saw was the inky
blackness of the forest. Seeing Tark staring out into the trees as
he did every minute or so, Morgo nearly choked on his suppressed
laughter. Tark, thinking initially he was choking, reached over and
slapped him on the back, which resulted in Morgo actually choking
on the bread he’d just popped into his mouth. The following episode
distracted Tark for nearly ten minutes until Morgo was once again
breathing properly. Although, he now had tears streaming down his
face and was glaring at Tark for his near death experience.

In his attempts to dislodge the chunk of
bread from Morgo’s throat, he’d forgotten to check for Taura,
resulting in her getting to the edge of the firelight without his
seeing her coming. When he looked up, there she stood, Silva asleep
in her arms, her head resting on her mother’s shoulders. Words
failed him. He’d never seen anything as beautiful or wonderful as
his love standing there holding his daughter. He ran to her.
Throwing his arms around both her and the sleeping child, he held
her as tight as he could; afraid of letting her go for fear that
this may all prove to be a horrible dream. Tears streamed down her
face and he kissed her, causing Silva to stir slightly. He kissed
his daughter’s cheek gently, not wanting to wake her for he knew
she’d been traveling longer than her little body was used to.
Beyond Taura, Venia stood a little way into the shadows, hesitant
to come any closer during the reunion, but now Tark held out an arm
to her. Smiling vaguely, she remained where she stood. Tark was
somewhat distressed at this reaction, but feeling Taura squeeze him
tightly with her free arm, the feeling was quickly dismissed.

After they had Silva settled in her little
room, still fast asleep, they worked on getting Venia and little
Jamin comfortable in the room above their own. He already had an
underground elf take care of a baby bed and anything else she would
have needed in advance. He was glad he had, because Venia laid the
baby down instantly and then laid down herself, pulling the
blankets over her shoulders before Tark and Taura even left the
room. Taura looked somewhat concerned at Jamin and after a few
moment’s hesitation, went out the door onto the landing and back
down the stairs with Tark. Tark noticed she did not close Venia’s
or their door all the way and when he asked her about it, she
simply shook her head and said she would explain in the
morning.

Tark lay awake long after Taura fell asleep.
He was afraid to close his eyes, afraid she would disappear, and he
would be left with the aching pain that filled him before from
longing for her. He stroked her hair, enjoying the way the silky
strands flowed through his fingers. He listened to her steady
breathing and savored the smell of her. This is why he left with
Galena in the first place, and this was the reason he’d stayed
behind to train others. He would do anything to protect his love
and their precious blessing.

Tark kissed the top of her head, happier than
he could remember being in quite some time. He was proud his
commitment partner was confident enough in her abilities to travel
without others, leaving the village a ways behind so she could see
him sooner, and to make it to him unharmed. She was strong and
capable, something he found irresistible at this moment. He wrapped
his arms tightly around her before closing his eyes and drifting
off into a deep and content sleep.

The next morning, Tark awoke to the gleeful
cries of a little one as she raced through the door, into their
room. Leaping onto the bed, she successfully managed to knock all
the wind from him as she landed on his stomach. Unaware of the harm
she caused her father, she threw her arms around his neck and what
little breath he had, was promptly squeezed from him. Struggling to
breathe, he reached his own unoccupied arm around the tiny girl’s
waist and returned the hug with the exception he wasn’t trying to
drain the life from her.

Taura sat up and smiled at them both before
gently removing her still strangling daughter from around Tark’s
neck. She tweaked her nose lovingly before telling her that her
father was turning blue in the face from the giant hug. Silva
looked at her dad, shrugged, and started jumping up and down on the
bed, landing on Tark several times as she did so until he felt it
would be safer and less painful if he just got up.

He reached out a hand toward Taura who smiled
wonderfully as she took it. He pulled her over to him and kissed
her gently before holding her once more. He never wanted this to
end. Silva continued jumping on the bed, making up her own song
about anything that crossed her mind. At that moment, she was
singing something about Daddy standing and the bed being
unmade.

Venia came down the stairs and through their
door at that moment. Tark stared at her in amazement. He apparently
had no eyes for anyone other than Taura last night. He couldn’t
believe the differences in his sister-in-law’s appearance. A smile
lingered on her lips, but that was the only place you could see
happiness. Her cheeks were sunken in and her eyes were dull and
hollow looking. Her once radiant skin looked lifeless now. It
looked like she hadn’t been taking care of herself very well or at
all. He nodded at her, his own smile fading.

“Did you sleep well?” he asked softly, like
one might talk to someone on his or her deathbed.

Instead of answering, she smiled vaguely
before continuing down the stairs.

Eyebrows raised in a questioning look, he
turned to Taura for answers.

Shaking her head sadly, Taura went up to
fetch the baby, who was squealing at the top of his lungs. She
brought him down and changed his clothes. When the baby had calmed
and was looking and giggling at Silva and her song, Taura turned to
look at Tark once more.

“She has not been well since the death of
Melan. I think something broke in her and she hasn’t recovered
completely or at all. This has been the most I’ve seen her respond
since his death. The first week was the hardest. She didn’t leave
her bed, even to relieve herself. She just lay, not moving for
hours on end. I really thought I would be sending her off as well.
Then one day she just got up and started eating little things. She
takes care of her basic needs and sometimes tends to little Jamin,
but I have found myself doing everything else for her. It’s almost
been like I have had three children instead of one.” Taura sighed
heavily as she stared toward the steps where Venia disappeared. Her
gaze returned to Tark and he saw the pain there even as he felt the
overwhelming sadness that encompassed her when she thought of
Venia.

“You don’t have to do it alone anymore, my
love.” He caressed her face lovingly and broke into a smile as
Silva’s song reached a pitch only the birds would appreciate.

Once Taura, Silva, and Jamin had all bathed
and Taura had cleaned up Venia, they ate and then Tark showed them
around the camp and village. He was disturbed with the vague way
Venia simply seemed to just be there and nothing more. When he
introduced Morgo to his family, he noticed Morgo eyeing her with
curiosity and something more, but he couldn’t quite place what that
something was. They ate their noonday meal with Amrick and Fala.
Quona and Silva became fast friends, heading out into the front to
play outdoors in the chilly weather while the adults talked. Tark
watched Morgo as the elf continued to watch Venia and her lack of
presence. He seemed almost fascinated with her and her
condition.

Amrick was bragging about Tark’s
accomplishments to Taura concerning all the progress and the work
that had been done since his arrival. “You should see how many
elves we have that are fully capable of defending their selves and
others when it comes down to it. My own Fala is one of Tark’s
commanders.”

Fala smiled at Taura in response to this, to
which Taura returned the smile.

“What is your weapon of choice?” Taura asked
with more interest than Tark thought was necessary.

“The sword,” he said simply, shrugging in an
off-hand kind of manner.

“I think that’s what I want to learn to do
first. Although, I’m sure I would need to learn with a lighter one
than you use,” she replied, still smiling at him.

“What?” Tark spluttered.

Taura didn’t look at him, but waved her hand
in a kind of nonchalant reply.

Tark could feel anger starting to rise in
himself and within her feelings. He worked on controlling his
thoughts and desires to grab her and tie her up until she gave up
this silly idea. Once he felt he would be able to control his voice
somewhat, he leaned over and whispered in her ear so only she could
hear “May I have a word with you outside, please?”

She looked at him and sensing his anger and
fear, nodded, handed Jamin to Venia who took the baby, but did
nothing more with him. She then stood and followed him out.

Tark strode out the door and several paces
into the wooded area before he spun angrily around to face Taura,
who managed to keep up with him. He hadn’t realized she was so
close to him until he found himself practically nose to nose with
her. Feeling disoriented he stepped back.

“Who said anything about you training?” he
practically shouted. He sounded harsher than he meant to, but
barreled on anyway. “I just get you back and you’re already talking
crazy. Didn’t you see what happened during Clovia’s wedding?”

“Yes, and for the record she wants to be
trained too, when she arrives,” she replied in a calm voice.

Tark stared at her, dumbfounded. “Neither one
of you will be training. I can’t lose any more family than I
already have. Don’t you know what it would do to me if you
died?”

Taura’s eyes flared up at this and she
squared her shoulders, adding an inch or two to her height. Taking
a step toward Tark so they were once again face-to-face, she looked
angrier than Tark had seen in quite some time. “And if you think
I’m going to let you go off again without me, you are sorely
mistaken. I do know what would happen if another’s love dies. I
have been taking care of the results for the past several months,
thank you very much. I did not come all this way so I could sit on
the sidelines and watch you put your own life at risk,” she hissed.
“I will not be parted from you again, so I suggest if you don’t
want to see anything bad happen to me, you do a darn good job of
training me.” With this, she took a finger and poked him hard in
the chest so he had to take a step back once more.

Anger blinded him and he too stepped back
toward her so his nose was touching her own. “And what of Silva?
You would leave her without a mother and father?” he shouted, spit
flying everywhere including Taura’s face.

“If we lose, do you really think we would be
safe one way or the other? I do not plan to risk my life
heedlessly, but I will do what I can to protect our child as well
as you.”