Our pace finally slowed as the way became too treacherous. Loose stones caused the horses to occasionally stumble or misstep. The haze was so thick I couldn’t see where we were headed, I only knew it was up. The wind was biting so I pulled my cloak around my shoulders.
Chevelle rode beside me through the day. When we stopped for the evening, he pulled me down from my horse and stayed beside me as we sat on large stones around a fire. Ruby was telling stories again and everyone gave her their full attention… everyone but us.
“How do you feel?” he asked.
I shrugged. “Fine, I guess.” He seemed unusually concerned. He was also sitting unusually close.
He spoke in a low voice though the others weren’t listening. I had to strain to hear. “I’ve been thinking about the bindings.” I turned to face him as he continued, “I was thinking there might be another way.”
He was hesitant for some reason. “How?” I demanded, keeping the volume as low as I could. What was he waiting on?
“If… well, it seems you may have more control over your thoughts than you realize?” He phrased it as a question. Yes, my secret. Was he trying to be respectful of it… or trying to keep me from getting upset… my delicate brain….
I wasn’t sure how to answer. But if it helped, if there was a way to unbind me, free my brain, get the magic back…
I settled on a, “M-hm?”
He nearly smiled. “Well, if you were able to… move about…” It seemed to make him uncomfortable, searching for the words. “… then perhaps you could find a way around it.”
I was biting my lip. He reached up and gently pulled it loose, his hand lingered on my face, his thumb on my bottom lip. Definitely not imagining this. I flushed and he dropped the hand to my shoulder.
“Please, Freya, try.”
All I could do was nod.
And then he stood and walked away. I sat unmoving for a moment, and then finally glanced at the group. They were deeply involved in their conversations. I took a deep breath and attempted to “move about” in my mind. It was completely frustrating. Fuzzy, wrong. It didn’t take long before I had a buzzing headache.
I sighed and threw myself on my blankets away from the group. It was still daylight and I tossed and turned, unable to rest. I decided to go back to my favorite distraction.
The time came sooner than any of us expected. Looking back, I suppose it was fortunate. I can’t imagine what might have happened if a full birth ceremony had been prepared; if so many had been present. It makes me cringe to merely think of it.
The elders were there, though. My father and the others waited in the throne room, arranging a celebration. I had read everything I could obtain on the process during my pregnancy and imprisonment in the castle, even finding a few books and scrolls on humans. But nothing prepared me for what happened. I had been walking when the pain struck, pacing my room with worry if I were truthful. It hit suddenly, a stabbing, ripping, horrible thing. My screams called everyone to order, but then it subsided. However, it was only long enough to catch my breath and then it was back, tenfold. I writhed in agony, nothing they did would help. I could not control my magic; it shattered most of the things on the nearby table and twice caught the bedding afire. The elders were frantic, which only frightened me more. I had never seen them agitated much. This carried on for hours, my hair and clothing was drenched in sweat and I was near surrender. And then, with no more warning than when the first pains came, it was over. A small, sweet child was in my arms.
I drew in ragged breaths as I cleaned her face. I wiped her eyes and they came open, an unbelievable shade of dark green, sparkling like emeralds. She was a beauty. I wasn't aware the room had grown silent until I wiped her ears and heard my own gasp. They were slightly rounded at the tip… almost… blunt.
I realized I had stopped breathing as I read, so engrossed in the story. I reached up absentmindedly and stroked the top of my ears.
I looked up then, at the elders who surrounded me. Their faces were astonished. “She is… human,” they said in foreboding, tandem voices.
I took a steadying breath and spat out in a harsh voice, “No.” They stared at me, incredulous. I spoke deliberately, “She is elf. I name her… Elfreda.”
My heart… had stopped. And then it surged as blood rushed to my face, my neck… my ears rang. I must have been speaking… cursing… something. I could hear the sound but could not make sense of it. Nothing made sense. I was standing before I knew I was surrounded. Fury and fire were swimming in my head, my chest, my hands.
I heard them through the buzz, “Frey, what’s wrong... what is it... Frey… Frey.” And then, clearer, “Elfreda!” My jaws tightened, my teeth ground together.
Comprehension crossed Chevelle’s face as he saw the book on the ground between us. He reached for it.
“Touch that book and you die,” I hissed.
He stopped and stared me straight in the eyes. I was fighting for control, struggling to find my thoughts, force myself to think.