Chapter 9:
New Mission
The next few days after the wedding, everything returned to normal. It did not last long; however, because a guest dropped by unexpectedly in the village.
Every week, a human servant would enter the elven colony and pass on information that he heard, as well as exchanging goods to trade with the locals. This human was of elven ancestry, but his blood was diluted enough that the humans did not notice their appearance.
The human’s name was Devon, and he was a third generation elven servant. His skills were widely recognized by Silas’s tribe. He was Meredith’s secondary messenger.
Devon was not supposed to come for another two days when he entered the village on his tall, speckled horse, trotting down the dirt path with care. The boy’s eyes never left a particular home on the tip of the forest. He had the mail and extra goods collected in his satchel, which swung back and forth as he tightened his grip on the reins of the horse, preparing to stop.
Silas’s mother stood alone in the kitchen of her home, sipping a mug of warm herbal tea. The faint taste of lilac tinged her lips. Yet a sour taste filled her mouth as the horse moved closer and closer to her doorstep. Her eyes narrowed as she set down her mug and walked towards the door, preparing to greet the visitor.
Hearing the sound of footsteps approaching the door, the twins stood by the door and stood behind their mom, wanting to be involved, but not directly. The two were shyer than they appeared.
The door opened but the visitor did not step into the home. “Maeir.” The visitor said politely, clasping his hands together, lowering himself onto one knee and bowing his head low.
His mother copied the movement with her hands, but instead stood tall on her two feet, looking at the man blankly. Her short silver hair sat taut at her shoulders, and her sharp brown eyes did not leave the man’s head. She quickly sent the twins away to play before she opened her mouth and asked, “Where is Meredith?” It was rare for Devon to come into the village, especially alone. It made her curious.
“Meredith has been sent to the capital of Yursear, Durbrame. He was sent by the village chief to scout the capital. He has heard news of a counter attack against us.”
Maeir knew where the conversation was headed, and she asked Devon directly. “You are here for my son, aren’t you?” She was no fool. As a previous spy herself, she was familiar with the steps involved.
The young man looked away, slightly taken off guard by her directness. “Maeir, if possible we would like to recruit Silas as a spy for the capital.” His words sounded more like a plea than an explanation.
“Tell Meredith if he needs my son, he can come get him himself.” Maeir said, ready to slam the door, before she heard Silas call out to her, approaching the front door. Maeir shut her eyes in annoyance before moving out of the way. He could tell by his mother’s expression, something was not right.
Silas had heard the clattering of hooves near the front of their home and stopped reading his book. The mug of tea he had poured was still steaming, so he had set it aside to cool. He looked up at the window and saw a horse standing just outside their home, causing him to hastily stand up and put his book down on his bed.
His room was not much larger than a large closet, but Silas enjoyed the comfy, warm room. The wood walls were full of trinkets from his family and friends, and his bookshelf and desk on the opposite side of the room were full of books. His bed sat just below the window, to the front of the room against the wall. There were many books scattered around the patchwork quilt lying on top.
Silas reluctantly but hurriedly stood up and walked out of the room, taking small, light steps down the narrow stairwell. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, he saw the twins standing not too far away from their mother, watching her interact with the stranger intently as they pretended to be immersed in play fighting.
His mother heard his footsteps and turned around, shooting Silas a bitter look. Now he had to make his decision in front of Devon. Maeir could not help but sigh to herself again.
Seeing her expression, Silas stopped a few steps from her and asked, “What’s going on?”
Devon, seeing Silas, smiled brightly as his eyes lit up, as if seeing his savior. “Silas! It has been a while! I have something I need to discuss with you.” He said this all as one sentence, as to make it impossible for Maeir to cut in.
Maeir coldly glared at Devon, making him stand stiff. Silas approached and put his right hand on his mother’s shoulder. “What brings you here, Devon?”
Devon’s youthful face lit up, and his spiky red hair seemed even brighter. “First, I wanted to congratulate you on your wedding. Emmeline is a lovely lady, so you better treat her well.” Devon was only two or three years older than Silas, yet his young face made him look much younger than Silas.
“Anyways, we’re in need of some young spies to keep an eye on the going-ons in the capital. We’ve heard from some reliable sources a counter attack is coming soon, so we want to be as prepared as possible.” Devon sold his words the best he could while facing the intense stare of the infamous “Bloody Maeir”. The air around them was frosty. “If you’re up for it, you’ll leave immediately!”
Silas opened his mouth to reply, but was suddenly cut off.
“Devon!” A deep voice called out from behind the group. Devon turned his head as the other two looked over, trying to see who was approaching them, but they all already knew. It was the village chief, Rohan. Devon repeated his respectful bow before standing back up and looking at the village chief curiously.
“What can I help you with, Chief?” Devon asked respectfully.
“Plans have changed, Devon. Go to the meeting hall. The messenger in there will give you the details.” The chief seemed eager to speak to Maeir.
“Yes sir!” Devon said before bowing. He turned his head and gave one more bow to Maeir and Silas before running off to the meeting hall. The village chief watched him go, then turned to Maeir and Silas. An unreadable expression greeted the two, and Silas felt a bad premonition coming on.
“Is there something you want to tell me, Silas?” The village chief said this with a low tone, his voice slow and deep, but the frustration he was trying to hide was leaking out with every word. Silas shook his head slowly, confused, as Maeir’s face began to quickly sour. Her face dropped.
“What does that mean, Rohan?” Maeir asked with a scowl. Silas stared towards this mother.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Vajs bea bo atlr, Zjflg.” Ktf mtlfo aegcfv mbivis abkjgvr tfg, “Yeg ibcu oglfcvrtlq klii cba qgbafma sbe tfgf.”
“Lbk vjgf sbe mbwf ab ws vbbg jcv rqfjx-” Zjflg yfujc ab rjs, rafqqlcu eq ab atf mtlfo klat tfg tjcvr mifcmtfv.
“Zbw, qifjrf.” Vlijr rjlv, qijmlcu tlr tjcv bc tlr wbatfg’r rtbeivfg, “Qtja vb sbe wfjc, Jtlfo?” Llr ojmf vgbqqfv.
“I know what happened, Silas. I know you let the crown prince go. I just want to know why you did it.” The chief stated in one breath, his face tired and angry, “You had the chance to end this never-ending war, and you didn’t. The least you could do is explain to me why.”
Silas’s eyes widened, speechless, as Maeir spoke up for him almost immediately, “You do realize what you are accusing my son of, correct?” Maeir questioned, her anger quickly building to the point she was almost shouting, “This would ruin my son! He would be banished from the village, or worse!”
“Don’t you think I realize that?!” The village chief fixed his gaze on Maeir and shouted back. Immediately after, he ran his hand down his face and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, “I would not come here if it wasn’t confirmed to me. So tell me the truth, Silas. Maybe we can fix this before the whole village hears of this.”
But Silas was unable to answer. His head was spinning and he felt like vomiting.
The crown prince? He thought to himself, his hands shaking, No, I couldn’t have possibly saved the crown prince. I would have known if it was the crown prince. He was just a kid.
“I-” Silas tried to say, but his voice was as weak as a whisper, “I saved a child. His name. His name was Clarence.” Silas began to find his voice again, “I saved a maid’s son! She begged me to! How was I supposed to kill a child?!” Silas’s innocent face paled as he said this, remembering the events of that night as they flashed in his mind. Thinking of killing the child made him abruptly stop, his words cut off as he shook his head frantically.
Maeir looked at Silas with sadness and the smallest amount of shame, while the village chief shook his head with a restless expression. His face dropped as he looked up at Silas’s face with an all-knowing stare.
“The crown prince’s name is Clarence.”
Silas froze, his every muscle and fiber stopping in a moment. The only thing that moved was his heart, but it could only faintly beat, the only thing telling him this was not some awful nightmare. Cold sweat poured down his spine as his blood ran cold. His body was tense, and he felt as if the anxiety he had been feeling peaked at this moment.
“No.” Silas said, forcing his quivering lips to move, “No, his name was Cedric. I was told so.” Silas shook his head, staring at the village chief with an expression heavy with disbelief.
The chief could not contain himself and he shouted in anger, “You fool. We were given the wrong information. It was a decoy to fool you and the other men on the mission.” The village chief shook his head again, gritting his teeth, “And fool you it did. Couldn’t you tell? The prince has different clothes, different speech patterns, even his hair is a unique color for the gods’ sakes!” The village chief grabbed Silas’s shoulders, his fingers digging into Silas’s shoulders hard enough to break the skin, “You let a human go, Silas! You let the most important human go! With no crown prince, the kingdom would have crumpled!”
Silas’s eyes began to water as the weight of his decision fell on his shoulders. His lips moved, but no words escaped them. His pallor paled another degree and left him looking whiter than the first snow of the winter season. Silas’s hands shook as the chief’s nails continued to pierce into his shoulders.
“I-I just wanted to save a child.” Tears spilled down Silas’s face, but he was not brave enough to attempt to wipe them, “I’m sorry.” His words shook.
“What are you going to do now?” Maeir asked with a heavy tone, looking up at the chief with an unreadable expression.
“I haven’t told anyone yet, and I don’t plan to, if Silas fixes this.” His voice was resolute.
“What are you suggesting he does?” Maeir said, stepping between the village chief and the shivering Silas, forcing the man to release his tight grip on her son.
“I just received news of a parade being held in Prince Clarence’s honor. To celebrate his birthday, no less.” The chief scoffed, “They’re trying to make a mockery out of us, and I won’t stand for it. The parade is in a week. Silas will go and kill the crown prince then.”
Maeir snapped, “In all the time I’ve known you, I never thought you were so stupid! You’re putting your revenge over the safety of the villagers, and most importantly over the safety of my son!” Maeir grabbed the village chief’s shirt and pulled him close, ready to kill the giant man, “Don’t you see this is a convenient trap! They’re doing this to provoke a reaction out of us! They know we’ll come, and they’ll be waiting! My son will die, because of your stupidity, just like your son did!” Maeir, no longer able to contain her building rage, shoved the aging chief heavily with her hands, preparing to harm the selfish man.
“Don’t you mention my son, Maeir. This is your only warning.” His voice chilled the air.
“To hell with you! And your son!” Maeir spit at the chief’s feet, then she wiped her lips with the back of her hand as she heartlessly snapped back, “I hope he’s burning in hell!” She gritted her teeth heavily as she said this, her rage boiling over. No one would put her children in harm’s way. She would kill anyone that would try.
It was then that the chief stepped forward, beginning to charge at Maeir. His sunken cheeks were flushed red, and his pupils had shrunk, making the man look insane. Just as the chief was about to land a blow on Maeir, Silas shifted his body and put himself in the way, taking the blow the chief inflicted all by himself. Maeir screamed a ferocious yell as she grabbed Silas’s slumping body.
“I’m going to send you to your son!” Maeir screamed, holding the now bleeding Silas. Silas managed to grab hold of his mother’s arm with a weak grip as he began to stand up on his own.
“Mom, I’m okay. Please stop.” Silas’s cheek was throbbing as his teeth rattled in his mouth, but he was otherwise completely intact. He spit out the blood in his mouth on the ground, looking paler than before, “Please don’t fight.” Silas weakly lifted himself using Maeir’s arm and carefully looked at his mother’s pained face, then the chief’s sorrowful face, “I’m sorry. This is my fault. I’ll do what I have to to fix this.”
The two explosive warriors stared at Silas, their anger quickly fleeing them as they looked at the result of their anger.
“I’m sorry too.” Maeir looked away as she said this, feeling guilty, “I never should have mentioned your son, especially seeing how fresh your grief is.”
“Thank you.” The chief paused, letting out a deep breath as he collected himself. “I apologize too. I’m not trying to send Silas into a death trap, I’m trying to save his life. The village will find out eventually, even if I try my best to hide it. If Silas kills the crown prince, he can easily be forgiven, and,” The chief said, turning to Silas, “The parade is your only real opportunity to kill him. But I won’t send you alone. You’ll have help.” He paused once more, sorrowfully looking at the ground, “You have a week. Once you make up your mind, let me know immediately.” Then the chief hobbled off, leaving the mother and son together.
“Are you alright?” Maeir asked quietly, lifting her hand to carefully touch the dark red bruise that was beginning to form on the young elf’s cheek.
“Yeah, he definitely didn’t put all his weight into the punch.” Silas rubbed his cheek with a grimace, “It felt more like a stern slap.”
“Let me look.” Maeir said, pulling Silas’s hand away from his face and closely examining the growing red mark, “It’ll leave a nasty bruise, but you’ll be fine.” She allowed her hands to drop to her side and huffed to herself before she looked Silas deeply in the eyes, making him look at her strong gaze. “This is the only time I will say this, so listen closely. Don’t you ever again jump between me and another person when we’re fighting, do you understand me?” Maeir clenched her fists before relaxing them, keeping her gaze on Silas’s face. “I’m so angry with you I could leave a bruise on your other cheek, but I don’t think it will teach you anything, so I’m controlling myself.” Maeir released her gaze and walked back into their home, her back facing Silas as she said, “Come on, we’ll put a cold rag on your face. It will help with the swelling.”
“Thanks, Mom.” Silas said, smiling weakly at the imposing figure of his mother.
“Shut up.” She replied plainly as Silas closed the door behind them.
…
After the passing of a few, short days, Silas had prepared everything for his departure to the capital, including what should happen should he not return. Maeir had fought him every second of the time he was home, trying to get him to change his mind, but Silas was resolute, never wavering to risk his life. It was incredibly difficult for elves to live happy, fruitful lives outside of the village, especially elves with young children. Silas wanted Cirdan and Aurelia to have a safe, happy childhood, even if that meant he could not be there to witness it. So his determination was resolved.
No one else outside of who was absolutely necessary knew why Silas and a small group of men were heading to the capital, but those who were curious did not dare to ask questions, because the chief sternly watched over the departing group. Silas said goodbye to all of the villagers, but he waited until the last day to say goodbye to his wife.
Silas hurried over and stopped in front of Emmeline’s house, looking up at the cozy, little home. He stared at all the nooks and crannies of the wood exterior and the small stream of smoke that rose from the small chimney. He closed his eyes and listened to the noises that he grew very familiar with over his life, from the happy screaming of children to the birds tweeting and fluffing their feathers. He only opened his eyes when he heard the front door open, and he was greeted by Emmeline’s mother, Catrice.
“Silas, I’d be glad you could make it!” Her long, silky black hair was tied into a tight bun behind her head, showing some of the age of her face. Emmeline’s illness had aged her mother more and more with each passing day.
His visit was planned to be brief, but he found it would be slightly longer than he anticipated. Silas greeted Emmeline warmly and exchanged pleasantries before explaining his visit to her home so suddenly.
“Emmeline, there’s something I wanted to tell you. It’s about my duty…” Silas hesitantly explained, holding Emmeline’s hands in his own.
“What’s that, Silas?” Emmeline saw Silas’s apprehensive expression and her heart sank. He had bad news.
Silas closed his eyes, “I’m being shipped out for a mission.” Emmeline sighed and pulled her hands away from Silas, instead using them to cover her face for a moment in frustration before looking up at Silas.
“But you just got back from a mission. We just got married. They couldn’t have sent anyone else?” Emmeline’s face dropped, and she could not help but deeply frown.
“No.” Silas shook his head, “This is something only I can do.”
“What do you mean?” Emmeline stared into Silas’s eyes, “What is going on?” Her voice shook slightly, her nerves building.
Silas looked down and grabbed Emmeline’s pale hand and held it in his grasp. He rubbed her hand with his thumb, sighing to himself as he said, “I really messed up, Emmeline. And now I’m trying to make it right.” Emmeline grabbed Silas’s hand with her other hand and placed it on top of his, tightening her fingers around his like a rope.
“Silas, what happened?” Her eyes were fixed on his.
Silas paused, contemplating deeply before he found the words, “You know the crown prince of the Yursear kingdom? The current king’s only child and the future king of the Yursear kingdom?”
“Yes.” Emmeline said cautiously, watching Silas’s expression change.
“I- I saw him when we raided the human castle. I spoke to him.” He took in a shaky breath, “I, uh, I let him go. I let him live.”
Emmeline blinked slowly, “I don’t understand, Silas.” She shook her head.
“I know, this is all my fault. This war could easily be in our favor right now, but I messed up. I’m sorry. I could have killed him. I should have. I had the chance to. But I didn’t.” Silas looked down at their joined hands. He was too ashamed of himself to look her in the eye. “I had no idea he was the prince. I thought he was a maid’s son. I’m sorry, Emmeline.”
“No, Silas, I don’t understand why you’re blaming yourself.” Silas looked up in surprise at Emmeline’s reaction. He was waiting for her to be angry, to scream and smack him, but instead, she smiled gently at him as she always did. Emmeline moved her hand up to Silas’s face, tenderly holding it in her small, dainty hands, as if she were holding up the weight of the world.
“Silas, you saved a child’s life, how could that ever be a mistake?” Her voice was resolute and sweet.
“But it was the crown prince-!” Silas interjected.
“Who is a young child from my understanding.” Emmeline’s gentle smile never wavered. “The Silas I know would never harm a child, even the child of our sworn enemy.”
“Oh gods, Emmeline. They’re sending me out to kill him.” Silas said, dropping his head in his hands, barely holding back sobs. The tears that had threatened to fall earlier trailed down his face once again, staining his flushed cheeks and burning his skin.
“I see…” Emmeline glanced up to the sky, appearing as though she were looking for guidance as she was deep in thought. She waited a moment before she placed her hand on Silas’s shoulder. “Well, Silas. I-I’m not sure what to say.” She paused again, returning her gaze to him, “But no matter what happens, if you come home safe, we can figure it out together.” Silas glanced up at Emmeline while a beam of light came in through her window, enshrouding Emmeline in a halo of light. Silas turned his eyes away from the burning light, but could not help but feel cleansed by being in Emmeline’s presence at this moment.
A knock on Emmeline’s door disrupted both of them, and Emmeline quickly invited them to enter as Silas looked away. It was the village chief.
“My apologies, but I must take Silas now.” The chief stood in the doorway, waiting, as Emmeline and Silas said their goodbyes.
“Emmeline, just in case I don’t come back-” Silas began, before Emmeline held up her hand to silence him,
“No, don’t say that, because you will come back.” Emmeline smiled again, “Because I’ll give you this.” Emmeline said, opening her nightstand and pulling out a knife. She grabbed an inner layer of her hair and cut off a small handful of hair. Before Silas left, Emmeline wanted to give Silas a piece of herself, a common idea for the elves. When an elf was to travel a long distance from home for a long period of time, the traveler and their family would cut off a lock of their hair and give it to each other as a keepsake and a ward of protection. If an elf had a piece of home on their person, they were destined to return home eventually.
After Emmeline was done and tied her hair bundle with a string, Silas did the same, grabbing his long hair and cutting it at his shoulders. He took a small handful of the hair, tied it with a string, and gave it to Emmeline. Then Emmeline gave her hair bundle to Silas and gave him a long hug. Silas blinked back tears, as he held Emmeline and gave her one final kiss.
“I love you.” He whispered, closing his eyes.
“I love you too.” Emmeline replied, her eyes misting. Silas finally let her go, and the two parted as Silas followed the chief out of the room.
“I’m sorry to do this to you.” The chief said, keeping his gaze forward as they exited the warm home. Silas nodded in reply, and they walked over to three men, waiting for Silas.
“Are you ready, Silas?” One of the men Silas only knew faintly asked.
“I just need a second.” Silas said with a solemn nod. Silas then turned to the chief of the village and passed his bundle of hair to him, “Please make sure my mother and siblings get this.”
The village chief nodded solemnly before taking the hair and gripping it tightly in his hand. The three men began to get on their horses, and Silas put his foot in the stirrup, ready to get on his horse, before he heard an angry voice call out to him.
It was Maeir and the twins.
Silas took his foot out of stirrup and looked at his mother and siblings with a face of shame.
“What were you thinking?!” Maeir hissed between her clenched teeth, coming up to Silas, “You weren’t going to come say goodbye to us right before you left?!”
Silas looked down in shame, “I’m sorry, Mom. I thought it would be easier if I just left.”
Maeir faltered a little as the twins ran past her and grabbed Silas’s legs, sobbing loudly.
“Please don’t go!” Cirdan cried as Aurelia nodded in agreement. Silas bent down and hugged them, apologizing to them and kissing each of their foreheads before he stood back up. Maeir then gently grabbed the two and pulled them back.
“Come on, you two. Don’t make this harder for your brother.” Maeir said, her voice tight. The chief looked at the small group, then put Silas’s bundle of hair back in his hands.
“I think you need this.” He said, then took a step back.
Holding the bundle of hair in his hand, he passed it to his mother and said, “Mom, this is for you.” Silas tried to smile warmly.
Maeir, tight lipped, grasped the hair in her hands tightly and hugged her son one last time, as if they were departing forever. The twins sobbed and hugged his thighs tightly, not wanting to let go.
Finally, the other men coughed and Silas smiled weakly before letting go of his family.
“I’m not giving you my hair.” Maeir said, frowning deeply. Silas looked slightly surprised until Maeir continued, “Because you’re going to have to return home to get it.”
“Then I’ll be home before you know it.” Silas said with a faltering smile as he mounted his horse. Maeir grabbed the twins and pulled them back as Silas and the three other men took off, quickly fading into the horizon.
Most of this chapter was written by Hunny ♥ My Japanese and Spanish translation classes have me by the gonads right now, so there will probably be more parts where you see her writing with my edits （Ｔ∇Ｔ）Thank you, Coco, for your dramatic, sensual reading of the first chapter. Didn’t know I needed that in my life ( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°)
Thank you all for your sweet comments too （*´▽｀*）Hunny and I greatly enjoy reading them! (As I try not to spoil)…. Clare has changed from my original idea of him, so expect some changes in the characters in the next chapters ♥
As always, thanks for reading!
afksdlmcsjkd noooo….why is this so sad…. (ノಥ,_｣ಥ)ノ彡┻━┻
thanks for the chapter~~
（πーπ）I promise some fluff is coming soon! Thanks for reading!! ♥♥
hehe np~~
and fluff omg yesss ⁂((✪⥎✪))⁂
This is going to be a fantastic story. Thank you for taking the time.
Bringing happy tears to this old crow’s eyes (Ｔ▽Ｔ) Thanks so much for reading!! (❤ฺ￫艸￩)
i cant help but feel like silas will get exiled from the elves’ side and given up to the humans for his mercy towards clarence. this could be bc he cant kill clarence after promising to protect him once. but the rest of the elves try to finish the job for him. or it could be bc he turned himself in saying he didnt want to hurt clarence and accepting whatever punishments for treason he’s dealt out.
whatever the case, clarence will be really happy he gets to see silas again… at least for the first 6 seconds.
thank you for the chapter!
Thanks so much for reading!! ☆ ～(‘▽^人) You’ll get to see Clare’s reaction to the events on Sunday ♥ I can’t wait to post it! hahaha