Drucilla knew of a small hut in the woods close by, occasionally used by the gamekeepers when they needed to stay out overnight. She would take the man there-if she could get him to his feet and moving-but in order to do that, his leg would need a splint.
“ She had no way at hand t’ make such a thing, but she knew she could get some boards an’ cloth back at th’ castle, so she left him with her waterskin an’ a promise t’ return.” Here, Claudia paused in her narrative.
“ Go on, Heartmother,” Jelena urged.
“ Patience, my girl. I’m an old woman, an’ all this happened a long time ago. I want t’ get it all straight in the tellin’” Claudia replied. “Now, where was I?”
It took some doing, but Drucilla managed to gather up the things she needed for the splint, as well as some food. She was, after all, the duke’s sister, and no one would dare to question her. Afternoon had turned to dusk by the time she returned, and the man seemed to be either asleep or unconscious.
“ Yer mam said she just sat for a bit, starin’ at him. She’d never seen a man so fair… As beautiful as the gods must be. After a while, he woke up and caught her lookin’ at him. He said not a word, just smiled, and my Dru fell in love.”
“ Did my mother describe him to you? Did she tell you exactly what he looked like?” Jelena eagerly asked.
“ She said he had eyes the color of the sky in winter… her exact words!” Claudia chuckled. “And dark hair shot through with silver, like an aging man’s, ‘cept that his face was that of a young man. That’s all she could say of his looks, other than he was beautiful in a way no human man could be.”
Claudia continued her narrative.
“ Well, Drucilla told me she was able t’make a splint from the things she’d taken from the castle.” She found a fallen branch for him to lean on, and with that, and her help, the man could stand, then walk. Many times during the long, slow, journey to the gamekeeper’s hut, the man had to stop and rest. Pain, hunger, and thirst had sapped his strength.
“ By th’ time they reached the hut, the poor man was just about done in, and yer mother could barely hold him up.” Claudia raised her hand to her mouth and coughed. Grimacing, she waved towards a little shelf upon which sat a plain, ceramic jar and two cups. “Bring me some o’ that water, child. My throat is parched of a sudden.” Jelena quickly complied, and after Claudia had taken a drink, she continued her story.
“ Well, she got him settled and took a closer look at his leg. There weren’t no bones sticking out through the skin, lucky for him, tho’ it were a bad break just the same.”
The man had fallen unconscious, and Drucilla took the chance to re-do the splint, cutting his boot off with his own knife beforehand.
“ The hut was bare, not much but a cot, a table, and a stool. No fuel for a fire, no blankets, no food. She’d have to bring everything the man would need from the castle without anyone, ‘specially her brother, findin’ out. And, she’d have to pray that none of the gamekeepers came along and discovered her elf.”
“ Yer mam was very clever and careful,” Claudia continued. “It took her several trips, but she managed to bring everything she’d need to care for the man proper like. He was helpless as a little babe, an’ he didn’t say much those first few days, mainly please and thank you, but as time passed and he grew stronger, she got him to talk to her.”
“ He said he was a traveler, out t’ see the world before he had to take up his official duties. What those duties were, he never told. He’d wandered by mistake into our country. As soon as he got his strength back, he said, he would have to leave and get back ‘cross the border into his own land. He seemed very worried ‘bout what might happen to them both should he be found. Dru told him not to fret, that she’d take care of him.”
“ Did my mother tell you his name?” Jelena asked.
“ She said his name was Zin,” Claudia answered. “Not much to it, but that’s what he told her. Anyways, th’ two of them had a lot of time to talk together. He spoke very good Soldaran, and told Dru many, many interestin’ things about his homeland. There’s just somethin’ about bein’ that close to another person, taking care of ‘em and all. It brings up things… feelings that might not otherwise be brought up, if you catch my meaning.”
Jelena tried to imagine her mother’s thoughts and feelings. The danger and excitement of knowingly breaking one of society’s most important taboos, combined with the powerful physical urges of young womanhood-such a heady potion had obviously proved impossible to resist.
“ She must have confessed her feelings to him at some point, otherwise…” Jelena began, barely able to keep her own excitement in check. For the first time in her life, she felt a genuine connection to both of the people who had come together to create her.
“ Aye, she did. How could she not? She was so young and trusting. She believed him when he said he loved her, too.”
“ Are you saying that you think Zin lied to my mother just to have her?” Jelena asked, a little miffed that Claudia might make such a suggestion. “Why would he do such a thing after all she’d done for him?”
“ No, no, child! I’m not sayin’ that at all. We can never know what was in Zin’s heart, not truly. He had a beautiful young girl in love with him. He was a man, after all, even tho’ he weren’t human. I hope he meant what he said. Anyway, the two of them just did what came natural ‘tween a man an’ woman.”
“ Not according to the priests and just about everybody else! Haven’t you heard? Elves are supposed to be soulless and unclean,” Jelena retorted sarcastically. “My mother committed an act of abomination when she lay with my father!” Her anger tasted of bitter gall on her tongue.
“ I never believed that nonsense, child, an’ the gods know I tried to raise you to not believe it. Yer cousin Magnes, good man that he is, doesn’t believe it, either.” Claudia took another drink from her cup and wiped her mouth on the back of her hand.
“ So, what finally became of Zin?” Jelena asked.
“ He left, like he said he would. Yer mother knew he couldn’t stay, nor could she go with him, no matter how strong their feelings for one another. He gave her the ring as a keepsake. What he couldn’t know is that he also left her with a child… You.”
Claudia fell silent, lost in the country of remembrance where a young girl she had once loved still lived, laughing and happy. Jelena felt so tightly wound up that she could barely breathe. She knew so much more now than she did this morning. The mere possession of her father’s name, and an object that belonged to him, gave her hope that finding him would not be such an impossible task after all.
“ Mother, why didn’t you tell me any of this before now?” Jelena asked. She continued to play with the ring, slipping it on and off her thumb.
“ I could tell ye that it was because yer mother didn’t want you to know until you were ready, but that would be a lie. The truth is, I was afraid that if I told you, you’d want to go off and try t’ find him…yer dad, I mean.” Claudia shook her head sadly. A single tear leaked from the corner of her eye and trickled down her lined cheek. “I am a selfish old woman. I didn’t want to lose my baby.”
“ You’ll never lose me, Heartmother, not really,” Jelena said. She reached out and placed her hand over Claudia’s. Conflicting emotions stirred her soul. She felt a little angry that Claudia had not told her about her mother and father, but at the same time, she ached for the loss that Claudia would suffer when she left.
“ I have to find Zin, Mother. He’s the only one who can tell me what the blue fire means.”
“ Ay, gods…I know you do,” Claudia murmured sadly.
Jelena raised the ring up to eye level and stared intently at the white griffin inlaid into its surface.