Chapter 5
Astria watched her mother, realising her sadness but knowing she must continue. “who are you? What race?”
“i am deus, i was a priestess and on my way to great things.”
“what happened?”
Tuviel smiled at the question, “i met your father.”
“who is my father?”
“that i am not ready to divulge, but i will tell you that he is an elf.” Mumbled her mother.
Astria frowned. “is he the reason you had to live with the fera?”
“no.” Tuviel shook her head. “you are.”
The girl gasped, “why me?”
“because half-breed children are forbidden and killed at birth, i ran to protect you.”
“that is who's looking for you isn’t it? You ran with me and hid here all this time to keep me safe.” Astria stated, already knowing the answer.
“yes, i had no choice, if they ever find us they will kill you.”
“what will happen to you?”
“i don’t know.”
Astria shook her head, knowing real fear for the first time in her life. Someone she had never met wanted her dead, a race that she partially belonged to. But why? Why couldn’t they just accept her and leave them alone? Allow her to live out her life.
“why didn’t you tell me sooner?” She finally asked.
“i never wanted you to know, but now that we have to leave here you need to know the dangers. What we are stepping into. Here you were always safe.”
“i’m afraid.”
“as am i.”
Astria’s blood began to boil as she thought of the danger that would now plague her life. “what else have you neglected to tell me mother?”
“do not speak to me like that, i amnstill your mother.” Tuviel snarled.
Astria shook her head, “i never said otherwise.”
“then do not speak to me in such a way.”
“what abilities do you have if you are a deus?” The girl asked, quickly changing the subject before it escalated.
Tuviel smiled, her anger subsiding almost immediately. “i can create a shield out of air, one that can stop evenmthe strongest of enemies from harming me and those around me. I used it to escape esina when you were born.”
“will it help us when we leave here?”
“i believe so, though i don’t know how long i will be able to hold it. I’m eighteen years out of practice.”
Astria lowered her eyes towards the ground, sorrow filling the air. “where are we going to go?”
“i don’t know, but i believe that finding your father may be our only option.” Tuviel admitted, weary of the reunion.
“why did he leave you? Leave us.”
“his father passed away and he had to return home. I never saw him again.”
Astria frowned, “then how do you know he is alive?”
“i don’t.”
“i don’t understand, why journey all that way when you are uncertain? What if we are caught along the way, or he isn’t where you believe him to be?” Questioned the girl, her mind whirling.
“hope. The only place we will be safe now is by his side.”
Astria nodded, finally beginning to understand. “when do we leave.”
“at first light.”
Astria and her mother spent the night packing all that they would be able to carry, watching in silent apprehension as the sun began to rise; knowing that once it did they would have to leave.
Never again able to return.
Lacus was no longer their home and the people would no longer welcome them as they once had, everything had changed.
The air felt different around them as they emerged from their hut, taking one last look at the place they had called home for nearly two decades. Nervous, the girl scanned the area, terrified that they would be attacked by the people they had once considered family.
Tuviel cast her shield, preparing for the worst. “astria. Stay close to me.”
The girl turned towards her mother, her eyes littered with panic. “i can feel your shield. Are you worried?”
The deus nodded. “yes, and so should you. We do not know how they are going to act and their are several miles between us and the river.”
Astria collapsed under the weight of her pack, knowing that their was nowhere for them to go, only a hope that her father may still be alive.
“get up. We do not have time for this. I need you to be strong.” Tuviel insisted, her temper rising.
“we have nowhere to go.”
“yes we do. We leave and find a new home. All is not lost.” She took a step forward, pulling her daughter from the mud.
Astria groaned, but followed regardless of how she felt, deciding against arguing with her mother. With each step she took she doubted that they would ever be safe away from the swamps, yet she prayed for hope to the lord of death. Pleading that he did not come for her. Or her mother.
she lead her daughter around the back of the vast river of huts, ducking into the shadows whenever they spotted a fera; still uneasy about how they would be treated now that a war had begun.
Astria shifted silently as she waited for her mother to signal that they could begin walking again; her heart thumping recklessly against her chest.