NOVEL NEXT Chapter 68: A Change of Pace
My vision was blurry. The world around me swirled and shifted in a kaleidoscopic cascade of colors. Ever moving, ever turning. My body felt weightless like I was flying through a void. I tried to stretch my arms out, like a bird extending its wings for flight. I hoped to catch the wind and lift me off the ground. I felt. Wonderful. Stress-free, like the problems I had faced before, had vanished entirely. Where was I? What time is it? Where was I before this?
My mind felt fogged. I try to think back, and only vague memories come to me. I recall being in a fight. Who was I fighting? What was I fighting? The colors shifted again. My body churned and jostled. I could faintly hear voices and muffled sounds echoing in the colorful void. Cheers. I could listen to cheers. Are they cheering for me? What are we celebrating?
The colors faded. Darkness swept over me, but then, just as quickly as they left, they returned. Saturated reds and greens shone around me. I could feel the wind blowing over me and, once again, the sounds of distant voices. A woman's voice echoed loudly, calling out to me, or so I thought.
"Luna!"
Luna, what a nice name. I thought to myself.
"Let me speak to my daughter!" The woman's voice shouted angrily. "Luna!"
Okay, this lady is really killing my vibe. Is someone going to get her—
My body jolted and shifted as I was shaken abruptly as the woman shouted again, "Let her out, dammit! Luna, do you hear me? Wake up!"
Wake up? Wait, that's me! She's calling for me!
"Luna, wake up!"
As if yanked in by my waist, my body jolted as if breaching the surface of a lake. My lungs burned for oxygen as I sucked in a sharp intake of air and gagged. My body tumbled forward as I had woken up in a seated position in a chair, but I was quickly saved by what seemed to be my very worried and tired-looking mother.
"Luna?" She asked, "Is that you?"
I coughed and breathed heavily. Suddenly, I felt something being shoved into my hands, and I looked up to see an equally tired and dirty Isa. I glanced at what was in my hands and saw it was a metal canteen, and it was here that I realized how dry my mouth and lips were. Wasting no time then, I tipped my head back with the water and eagerly began to drink up its contents.
"Easy, easy!" My mother predicted I would drink too fast, and she was right. I was inhaling too much water, some of which was caught in my windpipe, and I was immediately sent into a coughing fit.
After a few moments of my mother patting my back and softly scolding me, Isa smirked and chuckled before she said, "I think this is Luna."
I took a couple of deep breaths and nodded. In a hoarse voice, I said, "Yeah. It's me…" I looked at my mother. Her hair was matted and dirty, and the outfit she had worn the day we left Oren was all but gone. Instead, she wore what looked to be a men's button-up and some baggy pants. The clothes looked fresh, and nothing like the army had. My eyes then shifted towards Isa; she was no longer wearing the soldier uniform I last saw her in…
I closed my eyes. The memories of the last moment I had seen her were fresh in my mind. The commissar crushed her, and Isa's painful screams. I gritted my teeth and took in some more air before letting it out slowly.
Sensing my distress, my mother reached over and placed a hand on my shoulder. "It's okay," she said softly, "we're safe. We're far, far away from the danger."
"As far as we can be right now," Isa said softly.
"Wh-what happened?" I asked softly and looked up at Isa. "Last I saw you..." My lower lip began to quiver. "You were dying…"
Isa's eyes widened a little as if I had just reminded her, and she looked away. "It's a…" She started as she continued to look away; however, I wouldn't be able to hear what she had to say as my mother gripped my shoulder and turned me to face her.
"A lot happened, Luna, some of which we can talk about later." Her expression took on a very serious look, a look I had grown to recognize over the years of living with these people. A look that even my old mother shared.
My old mother. I can remember her clearly now. The look of her knowing something was up and that she wanted to have a private talk later. A look that used to turn my blood cold whenever I showed up late from home or something awkward on the browser history appeared.
I flinched and shook my head a little. Fuck, why am I thinking about that now? I gulped and nodded. "O-Okay… Wh-where are we?" I glanced at Isa, who was still looking away. I noticed her ears were flicking and her tail was swishing.
Did I upset her? I wondered. I had never seen her look like this before.
"We're in Gunther," my mother said, "a farm town just a few days out from Johanneson. Right now we're staying at Mr. Shwarz's farm; currently we're in his guest house." I glanced around the room we were in; it was a quaint little dormitory with four beds, plain white walls, and a wooden floor.
We seemed to be against the far wall; behind me on the left was a large window where the light spilled through. I could make out that we were on the second floor, and just outside the window was a large Sycora tree with its bright pink leaves adding to the color.
"How long have I been out?" I asked my mother, and when I turned to look at her, I spotted something that I knew most others wouldn't.
My mother was a master when it came to the art of the poker face. Having spent many years as a small infant, an infant with the mind of an adult, so close to her face, as well as many other times bathing and cuddling. I have become quite familiar with reading her. Like me and my wiggly ears. My mother also suffers from a familiar quirk.
Her ears are very, very faint. Twitch. They don't flop or wiggle like mine, as much as I hate to admit it. But there is a subtle fidget. Perhaps long ago she had the same issue as me, but she has surely mastered the art of hiding, or so she thought. Because when I asked that question about how long I've been out, her response was firm but to the point.
"About five days." She took a deep breath. "We just settled down last night in hopes of getting you some rest, and well, you finally woke up." That's when her ear twitched. "But before we continue on our little debriefing, let's get you cleaned up and dressed. Mr. Shwarz was more than kind enough to lend us some clothes." She gestured to herself. "I'm sure he has something for you, Luna, then let's go check in with your father and Varis.
"Momma," I said firmly, and my mother tensed and tried to give me a warm smile.
"What is it, dear?" She asked as Isa got up and quietly went towards the door.
"What aren't you telling me?" I asked her. "I'm okay with hearing what happened—"
Mother's face grew serious once more, and she held a hand up and said, "We'll talk about it once the family is all together." Her tone took on an intensity that told me not to push it.
I nodded slowly and took a deep breath as Isa left the room without saying a word. I bit my lower lip nervously as my mother asked, "How are you feeling? Are you stiff or hurt anywhere?"
I shook my head. "No," I said, "I feel fine."
Mother nodded and gestured for me to get up. Standing on my feet, my legs wobbled a little, and I noticed I wasn't wearing the ruined dress that halfling woman gave me. Instead, I was in an all-white nightgown.
"Mr. Shwarz, let you have that. He said it was one of his daughters," Mother said as she held her hand out for me to take.
I hesitated for a second but reached out and took hers and said, "I miss having my own clothes." I sighed, and my mother frowned a little.
After a few moments, she said, "I do too, Love. Now c'mon."
Mother led me out into a narrow hallway with four doors. To our left, at the very far end, was a staircase leading down, where I could hear muffled voices coming from below. The air smelled of fine wood and a bit of…
Bacon. I thought as my stomach growled loudly and my mother chuckled.
"Sounds like they have breakfast made." She hummed as she guided me towards the steps.
One by one, we stepped down to the main floor and into the living room. The room reminded me heavily of our old home. A wide open space, chairs positioned around the fireplace with a large bookshelf in the back. Simple yet cozy.
The voices I had heard coming down here were much more audible and unfamiliar.
"I heard from a few other refugees from Alderthal that the Rusivite's have pushed through there," said a woman from the kitchen.
"Alderthal? That's so far up north," said a man with a higher-pitched voice. "Are you sure those folks were from there?"
"No, but they said they've heard from others." The woman replied, "If it's true, then that means the northern province is occupied."
"Blimey," said a third man with a raspy voice. "I have a cousin up in Trenagor; gods, I hope she made it out."
My mother led me towards the kitchen and dining room, where I could finally put faces on the three voices I heard. In the kitchen, manning the range was an Elven woman in a nice yet slightly dirty dress. I could see she was frying eggs and bacon for the two men around the dining table.
The raspy voice man was a beastkin. A lupris, if I recall? He was a wolfman with a thick, gray coat of fur. Beside him was a plump human man with a thick ginger beard and small circle-rimmed glasses.
The two men's heads pricked up, and they looked at my mother and me as we entered. Momma waved to the two men and said, "Good morning, Marco." She nodded towards the lupris, then looked at the man and said, "And good morning, Stephen."
"Morning, Mrs. Ashflow," she said at the same time.
"Good morning, Mrs. Ashflow," the elven woman said as she came over with two plates of breakfast for the men.
"Good morning, Tiana," Mother said to her, and the blonde-haired elf smiled widely, her green eyes flicking down at me and her smile widening.
"And hello there, my lady." Tiana adjusted her dress and kneeled in front of me.
I gulped nervously as the anxiety of being around others I didn't know began to take hold. Shyly, I squeaked out, "He-hello… Who are you?"
The woman blinked and cocked her head to the side curiously. "I am, Tiana; we spoke yesterday?"
"Apologies," My mother suddenly spoke up, "My daughter has had a rough travel—we all had rough travels. She's just—"
The wolfman, Marco, held a hand up and said, "We understand, Miss; little one has been through a lot. I understand if this is all overwhelming."
What the fuck is going on? I thought as confusion took hold, but then something surfaced in my mind. The dream. My dream… Something I recall. A white-haired woman, she told me—
My mother jostled my arm to get my attention, and I blinked and looked up at her. "Huh, what?" I feigned a yawn as I brought my free hand up to rub at my eyes.
"Introduce yourself," my mother said with a smile as she gestured to the group.
"O-Oh…" My mother released my hand.
Instinctively, I went to reach for my skirt to curtsey, but I remembered I was only wearing a gown. A faint blush of embarrassment came over me, so instead I opted for a plain bow as I said, "Hello, I am Luna Ashflow. Apologies for not remembering you all; I've been very tired."
The three adults chuckled. "She's very polite," said Stephen in his squeaky voice.
My mother chuckled. "My husband and I made it clear we wanted our children to be the utmost respectful, speaking of which, have any of you seen where Slyran and our son had gone?"
Stephen sat forward in his chair and said, "I saw him this morning taking the boy towards the woods. I saw that they were armed, assumed they were going hunting, and thought nothing of it."
Mother scowled and sighed. "Told him not to go out without telling me," she grumbled and took my hand. "How long ago was this?"
"Just before sunrise," Stephen said as he began to poke at his eggs.
Mother nodded and glanced towards what looked to be a large clock mounted on the wall beside us. She craned her head forward and squinted. "It's about ten in the morning now, if they're hunting, they may be back in a couple more hours." She took a deep breath and glanced at me. "Well, how about we go see the Lord of this land?" She asked.
"Lord?" I blinked, immediately thinking of kings and queens.
"Yes, the land lord. Mr. Shwarz, we can go see if he's willing to part with anything for you." She gestured to my gown.
"If you're going out there," Tiana said as she went back over to the range. "The past couple of days have been chilly around here in the mornings. I recommend you get her a blanket," She pointed to me with a serving spoon.
My mother nodded. "Thank you; I'll make sure to do that." She placed her hand on my head and tussled my hair.
I squeaked and huffed as my mother messed up my hair, not that it wasn't messy already, and motioned for me to follow her back towards the stairs. I nervously glanced at the strangers in the kitchen, gave them a polite wave of goodbye, and followed my mother.
It wasn't long for us to get ready to head out. With me having practically nothing official to wear outside, my mother found a nice blanket to drape around me to keep warm while she slipped into a men's dress jacket. It didn't fit her well as it was baggy and tight around the upper region, though I had to admit it looked nice on her.
"It'll have to do for now," my mother said as she adjusted the buttons on the jacket before taking a brush to both mine and her hair. I whinced in pain slightly as she dragged the brush through my hair while doing her best to undo the knots. "Hopefully, once we get into the city, we can get us all some proper attire." She hummed.
"I hope so—gah, easy!" I whined, and my mother cooed and apologized.
After a few minutes of grooming, we were ready. As my mother took a step in front of me, she held out her hand and said, "Alright, let's go."
Yet I didn't take it right away. A thought had come to my mind. A memory from days before and how I made my mother so angry at me. "Momma," I said softly as I kicked my boots onto the floor. "I want to say sorry."
My mother blinked confusedly and asked, "What are you apologizing for?"
I looked at her. "I'm sorry for not listening to you when you told me to leave with Isa."
My mother froze up for a second, and her eyes widened a little. After a second, though, she closed them and softened them before opening them back up to look at me. "Luna," she whispered, "I was only mad because I was afraid for your safety. I'm sorry for smacking you; that was wrong of me." She knelt and gripped my shoulders. "You shouldn't have to apologize; quite frankly, I should be thanking you and Isa." Her voice wavered a bit at the end. "If it wasn't for the two of you, I don't think I would be here right now with you." She squeezed my shoulders and pulled me into a hug. "Thank you, Luna, thank you for saving us."
I squeaked as my face made contact with my mother's chest as she held me tight. For a second, I didn't know how to respond; for some reason, I hadn't expected this response. After a few moments, my little arms wrapped around my mother as I hugged her gently in return.
"Does this mean we're even now?" I asked her.
My mother blinked, pulled away from me, and looked down. "Even?" she asked.
"Yeah," I said with a little smile. "You saved me in the cave, and now I have saved you!" I snickered.
Mother snorted and rolled her eyes. "This isn't a game, you goof; best we keep the scores from getting higher or lower." She booped my nose. "Now, c'mon, let's go meet Mr. Shwarz."
Gunther was a beautiful town. Being so far south, away from the Duskland Mountains and over the river. The terrain here was flat as far as the eye could see, with only a handful of rolling hills. The only thing on the horizon was to the east, and that was the massive Urd tree reaching high up into the sky. Its pink and green leaves glisten in the sun's light.
I had lived all those seven years within Oren in the valley surrounded by mountains; I had never imagined such a tree existed. I had been told by Isa about their existence during our school days. She had told me how four grown trees exist in the world, scattered across the continents, along with smaller, younger saplings in other locations. I also recall Momma telling me about how the trees are related to why magic exists.
But to see one in person outside of some farmer's guest house every day. Maybe the people of this country are used to seeing it, but not to me. It's beautiful. My mother had noticed my locked gaze on the massive tree on the horizon and smiled at me.
"It looks so close, doesn't it?" She asked me, and I slowly nodded before shivering as a cool draft blew over the house.
I tightened the blankets around myself and said, "I know, but it's like a million gilos away." I smirked.
Mother chuckled and said, "Isn't that far, but you have the right idea; the Eurion Urd tree is…" She tapped her chin. "If we're in Gunther right now, that means we're…" My mother began to mumble under her breath as she performed mental gymnastics before me until finally she snapped her finger and said, "It's roughly 300 gilos from where we are." My eyes widened.
Holy shit that is a massive tree, then.
"Momma, you said it's called the Eurion tree, right? Is that where the tree is?" I asked her.
My mother smirked and said, "Did Isa not teach you guys geography?" She asked.
"That was our next lesson," I said with a pout, and I sighed.
Mother nodded her head as she took my hand, and we began to walk towards the front gate of the house. "Eurion is where we are now; it's what's called a continent."
My mother proceeded to explain to me what continents were. Unfortunately, having told her I didn't learn geography, I didn't want to interrupt her by telling her that I knew what continents were. Yet, not everything she told me was something I knew from my middle school geography class.
For instance, I learned that Enora has eight different continents, such as Eurion, Imera, Vinland, Aekroth, Inia, Dralon, Garlay, and Enderland, the Eternal Frost. All of which, I could guarantee you, I couldn't point out on a map, save for Enderland, which I recall seeing back on our camping trip when Mother described The Thing to Varis and me.
My mother seemed to take notice of my blanking mind during her impromptu lecture, and she smirked. "Sorry if this is overwhelming, dear," she said softly as we walked out onto a dirt road between two massive fields of wheat.
I shook my head. "No, no, it's fine. It's just a lot." I chuckled. "The world sounds so big," I said, and my mother nodded.
"Yep, each of those continents has dozens, if not hundreds, of different cultures and people…" She paused, pursed her lips, and frowned. "Okay, maybe not Enderland. I never actually been there."
"Why not there?" I asked her, and my mother smiled.
"Well, it's in the name. "End of the World, also known as the Eternal Frost. It's at the very bottom of the planet." She pointed at the ground. "It's very icy and cold there."
Ah, okay, I thought. It's this world's version of Antarctica. Seeing all the magic and such, I wouldn't be surprised if there are some groups down there. Unless magic Antarctica is worse than the one I'm familiar with.
"Have you been to any of these places?" I asked as the path began to go uphill and we began to ascend.
"Oh, I've been to almost all of them!" Mother beamed. "Your father and I used to travel a lot."
"Back in your adventuring days?" I asked.
My mother hesitated but relaxed and nodded. "Yes," she said, still seeming a bit touchy about talking about it. "We traveled for almost eighty years together. We've seen a lot of things, but even then, not all. The only continents I haven't stepped foot on are Garlay and Enderland, the Eternal Frost."
"Garlay is the one with the big wall, right?" I asked, recalling Isa's teachings last winter.
Mother nodded. "Yes, that one is under quarantine. No one is allowed in or out, and you missy, I better not hear you come the next century trying to get in there."
My eyes widened. Even now, after seven years of being an elf, I'm constantly reminded of how generous a lifespan I've been given. A century, sheesh, will I even be the same person come then? I wondered.
I gulped. "Yes, momma, I'll do my best to avoid it."
"Do your best?" My mother smirked, as I knew she was just toying now. "No, missy, I want you to do it." She chuckled.
As we neared the edge of the wheat fields, I could see a large manor house atop a nearby hill from the one we stood on. At the base of the hill, I could see a large number of men working on a large machine, one that I assumed to be some kind of tractor of sorts when I squinted.
"What is that?" I asked my mother; our town had some farms on it, so I assumed she'd know.
"Oh that?" My mother pointed to the machine, and I nodded as we walked. "That's Leopauld's Archaic Harvester."
"Leo—what?" I blinked.
My mother giggled. "That's its trademark name. Simply put, it's just called a harvester. I remember the first time your father and I saw one of these ten years ago; I think Mr. Helmer back in Oren rented one for his farm."
I watched as the men clambering on the harvester lept off of it as one ran up to a panel on the side of it. He then opened it and futzed around with some buttons and knobs before finally yanking a cord. As my mother and I approached the men, I watched the machine roar to life with a few loud bangs from its mufflers.
The large wheeled machine twitched and began to move on its own. Its exposed cogs and gears turned viciously as the machine began to roll towards the field. "It's driving itself…" I said, and my mother nodded.
"Yep, it's an… automaton." She said the last bit slowly and took a deep breath. "But not like a Rusivite one; it's a friendly automaton. It harvests wheat, and only so."
Seeing the autonomous machine roll out into the field, I watched as menacing scythes extended out from it and proceeded to whack at the wheat with great ease and efficiency.
"Howdy, Mrs. Ashflow!" An older man who had worked on the automaton shouted towards us.
He gestured for the other farmhands around him to get back to work as he approached us. As mentioned, he was an older human fellow with receding white hair and a thick beard. He wore a blue long-sleeved button-up with denim overalls, which looked to be stained with oil and other liquids.
"Good morning, Mr. Shwarz," my mother said as she released my hand.
My eyes widen. This is the landlord? I blinked. I half expected to see some overly rich-looking guy. Like a pompous nobleman, the expensive manor fed into that stereotype, yet standing before me wiping his oiled hands on a cloth was a typical farmer.
Holding out his wiped-down hand, my mother took his hand and shook it. "Why the both of you are looking beautiful this morning," he complimented, looking my mother up and down as he gestured to her outfit. "I apologize for not having any proper clothes for you, Mrs. Ashflow."
My mother smiled and said, "Please, Mr. Shwarz, call me by my first name, Cailynn. And it's fine." She raised a hand. "I appreciate you offering what you have."
He nodded and looked at me. "And you, Little One." He crouched down in front of me. Once again, my shyness kicked in, and I shimmied a bit towards my mother. "You look a lot livlier than yesterday."
Excuse me? I blinked and looked up at my mother, and once again, I noticed the subtle twitch of her ears.
"Well, we just got done with a long march yesterday," my mother answered for me. "But now she's all nice and chipper, or, well, a bit shy." She outed me!
My mother placed a hand on my head and said, "Go on, Luna, properly introduce yourself."
"Heh," Mr. Shwarz smiled, and to my surprise, despite his rustic appearance, he had beautiful white teeth. "It might be easier if I start." He placed a hand on his chest. "Greetings, Madam," he said, acting overly dramatic. "I am Albert C. Shwarz, owner of this fine land." He gestured to the field.
Internally, I was cringing. Perhaps if I were a normal kid, I would lean into this bit. Right now, I wanted to just sigh and move on, but I didn't. This man was trying to be helpful, even though I didn't want to. I decided to humor him and play along. Timidly, I stepped out and gave Mr. Shwarz a polite bow.
"Greetings, Mr. Shwarz, I am Luna Ashflow. It is a pleasure to meet you." I straightened up and then immediately inched closer to my mother.
Mr. Shwarz's eyes widened, and he stood up. "My, my, such pleasant manners." He chuckled. "I wish my girl was just as nice as you growing up." He laughed and then asked my mother, "How was the guest house? I hope my servants prepared it nicely for you."
My mother nodded. "It was very pleasant; thank you."
He nodded and clapped his hands together. "Would you like to come inside? I was about to take an early break while the harvesters tend the field."
Momma smiled. "That would be nice, and it fits with what I wanted to do anyway." She took my hand again.
"Oh, and what would that be?" Mr. Shwarz asked as he began to walk us towards the path leading up the hill towards the manor entrance.
"I was hoping you would have some spare clothes for my daughter." She gestured to me as we walked, and the older man nodded.
"It is done," he said, and my mother smiled.
"Excellent. If need be, I'm sure I can repay you back—" The man held a hand up.
"No need, Cailynn; you and your husband helped me enough." The old man chuckled as we reached the front, ornate gate.
My mother looked confused. "Excuse me?" She asked.
The man hummed as he took out a key and unlocked the gate. "It's no surprise you don't remember me," he said. "It was sixty years ago. I'm all old and wrinkly now, and yet, all that's changed is your boy and her." He smiled at my mother as he opened the gate.
"Sixty years, what happened…" My mother blinked, and then her eyes widened. "The Khretenmoss!" She suddenly blurted out, and the old man howled with laughter.
"Yep!" He ushered us through the gate.
I was so confused. "Khreten-what?"
"You're the little boy!" My mother said she was still astounded as the old man nodded and then glanced at me.
"C'mon, let's go in, and we can hear some stories while we get you nice and fitted."
I blinked and glanced at my mother, who was still staring at the man. New clothes and story time—finally, a change of pace.