Chapter 54
Chapter 54
CHAPTER 54
BESMIRCHED HEARTS
Her steps were languid, yet she never stopped . Climbing up a spiraling slope made of white, jade stone, surrounded by ever-tall crimson red sumac trees, she felt an array of complex emotions that she could hardly express at the moment . At the very end of the slope was a round clearing, in its center a humble abode, half-spherical, barely a few meters tall off the ground . Surrounding it were two gardens of flowers, a small stream and a pond of crystal clear water . Birds weaved and chirped about, singing a song of tranquility that the whole of the place exuded . The courtyard was barren of people, but by the doors lied a wholly white wolf, his eyes starkly silver in hue, full of wisdom . He rested his head on his paws, seemingly asleep . He jolted all of a sudden, his ears perking up, his eyes wide open . He rose up to his feet and looked toward the entrance of the courtyard . A low whine escaped his maw, his snout jerking slightly, his eyes growing tender and moist . There stood a woman clad in shabby clothes, yet hardly any different from what he had remembered of her . Hair as golden as sun cascaded down her back, her eyes pure blue, ethereal . It was her, he realized . His feet moved forward slowly as he approached her, continuously sniffing loudly .
Ella stared at the all-too-familiar approaching figure; though he had grown quite a bit since she last saw him, he still had the same fur, the same eyes that were like moons . The same air, one full of wisdom and serenity, still surrounded him, swaying away dark thoughts in their wake . He came before her and stopped, looking up directly into her eyes . She smiled faintly, extending her hand forward and resting it on his head for a moment before caressing it warmly . A low cry bellowed out as the wolf heaved forward, leaping atop her chest and pushing her down, weaving his two front legs round her neck as though to hug her . He kept crying into her ear while nudging his snout into her face . Ella laughed peacefully, drawing lines over his silken fur . In the distance, the sound of the opening doors broke their little moment; through came two figures, a man and a woman, who both immediately locked their eyes onto the scene transpiring before them . The woman’s lips curled up in a warm smile while the man’s eyebrows furrowed slightly . Varren and Jade remained silent as the wolf whined lowly before coming off Ella and retreating back to Varren’s feet, sitting beside them . Ella got up slowly and dusted herself off before looking at the two people before her . Complex emotions once again assailed her eyes, conveying far more than words ever could .
"Let’s go inside . " Varren suddenly said, turning around . "She’s prepared your favorite . " he was the first one to walk inside, followed by the wolf . Jade kept standing, waiting for Ella to walk up before joining her in waltzing inside .
Unlike the courtyard, the inside of the house was rather simple; there were only a few rooms, decorated mainly by necessities, and only a few paintings hanging on the walls, one which caused Ella to nearly choke in tears; in the hallway extending from the entrance, at its far other end, there was a portrait of a young girl, roughly ten years old . She was exposing a beaming smile, her golden hair weaved into waves cascading downwards, blue eyes standing out against her pale skin . She wore adorned, golden dress and a tiara of precious gems and diamonds while holding an old-looking book in her hands .
"I’d say you haven’t changed at all," Jade said as she realized Ella had stopped walking . "But you have . "
" . . . " Ella bit her lower lip, lowering her head in process as though ashamed, resuming the walk . It took but a moment till they reached the small, yet comfy room, with a single table and three chairs around it . Varren was already sitting on one of them, caressing the wolf by his feet . Atop the table were several plates of various cakes, all of Ella’s favorites . She sat meekly, avoiding the two and instead focusing on the wolf .
"You look well . " Jade said, leaning her head against her hands supported by the table, smiling . "Would you like some actual food before the cakes?"
" . . . n-no, it’s fine . " Ella said . "You . . . you guys look good, too . Where’s Drew?"
"Ah, you know him," Jade said, sighing faintly . "He’s out there somewhere, proving something to someone . It’s only gotten worse after you’d left . "
" . . . " Ella drew an arc with her eyes around the room, feeling a wave of nostalgia assail her .
"We haven’t changed it one bit," Jade said, noticing it . "Do you want us to call him back?"
"No, that’s fine," Ella said . "He’d just yell at me, anyway . "
"Ha ha, yeah, he certainly would," Jade said . "Hey, mute, your daughter is back after so many years . Maybe you ought to stop petting the damn beast and say hi to her?"
" . . . " Varren seemed to have froze for a moment as he let go of the wolf and looked up, meeting Ella’s eyes . His lips trembled for a moment as he swallowed a mouthful of spit and coughed to calm himself down . "Hello daughter . How . . . how do you do?"
" . . . really? ’Hello daughter’? Ugh . " Jade grunted, gently slapping him over the head . "There’s only us here . Why are you still ashamed of getting up and hugging her? Geez, you and your machismo . It will kill you one day, you know?"
" . . . " Varren remained silent for a moment before suddenly getting up and walking over, grabbing Ella and heaving her off the chair, wounding his arms tightly round her back . Though startled for a moment, she relaxed almost immediately and hugged him back, taking in the warmth of his body, the familiarity that she had thought had disappeared a long, long time ago . "I’ve missed you . . . " she heard his gruff voice enter her ears, causing her to smile .
" . . . I’ve missed you too dad . " Ella said .
"Yeah?" she said, pulling back and sniffing for a moment . "Then why’d you never come to visit?"
"Hey!" Jade exclaimed, flashing him an angry glance .
"No mom, it’s fine," Ella said, sighing . "Dad’s right . "
" . . . no, no I’m not . I’m sorry El’," Varren said as he sat back down into his chair . "You’re a grown woman and you can live your life the way you want to . I’m . . . I’m just being selfish . "
"He’s right though," Jade said . "An occasional letter would have been nice . "
"Hey! You can’t go and berate me and then do the exact same thing!" Varren cried out .
"Oh, cry me a river . " Jade rolled his eyes at him as Ella burst into short laughter, startling the two .
"Ha ha, ah, I’m, I’m sorry . It’s just . . . you guys are still the same, after so many years . It’s surprising . I was sure you’d have killed each other by now . "
"Oh, trust me, it isn’t for the lack of trying . " Jade said .
" . . . how long are you staying?" Varren suddenly asked, breaking the warm atmosphere and turning it frigid in a moment .
"Varren--"
"It’s okay mom," Ella interrupted . "A day, at most . I have to go back . "
" . . . what did you and the Patriarch talk about?" Varren asked .
" . . . sorry, it was private . " Ella said .
"So private you can’t even share it with us?"
"Varren! Enough!" Jade exclaimed angrily . "Do you really want to spend today like this? Fighting? We haven’t seen her in thousands of years for crying out loud!! At the very least let me have this!"
" . . . sorry . " Varren said, looking away .
" . . . I want to tell you . I really do," Ella said . "But . . . it involves certain things that only Patriarch knows . I’m really sorry . "
"It’s fine sweetie," Jade said, grabbing her hand gently . "Don’t worry about it . I’m certain you haven’t traveled hundreds of thousands of miles just to borrow a book from him . You’ve got your own reasons for not telling us and, like civil adults we are," she glanced at Varren . "We’re going to respect that . Right, Varren?"
" . . . yeah, right, respect . Sorry . So, uh, how’s the musclehead?"
"His name is still Eggor, dad . " Ella said .
"Never cared much . " he looked away .
"He’s still using the spear Eggor crafted for him, isn’t he?" Ella asked Jade who smiled immediately, ignoring Varren’s stern gaze .
"Yup . He practices with it every day . I swear, if it weren’t for me, he’d probably be sleeping with the damn thing . "
"And, to answer your question, he’s fine," Ella said . "He should have escaped the Kingdom by now . "
" . . . you seem really happy, El’," Jade said, smiling . "You two finally decided to have a kid?"
" . . . uh, no," Ella’s cheeks flushed red for a moment as she looked away . "But, uhm, we, we sort of adopted one? I think?"
"Oh?" Varren arced his brows as he looked at her . "He must be pretty special to catch your guys’ eyes . "
" . . . special?" Ella said as Lino’s grinning face popped into her head . "Uh, sure, let’s say he’s special . "
"Well, tell us about him," Jade said as she sliced three pieces off one cake and distributed them . "How old is he?"
"Should be sixteen . " Ella replied .
"Oh, wow, so he’s already a man, huh?" Varren said, stroking his chin . "Interesting . "
"I’m not letting you ’discipline’ him," Ella said almost immediately . "And, if I’m being honest, I don’t think even you could reel him in . "
" . . . oh wow, well, that’s just silly . I reeled you in, haven’t I?" Varren said .
"Yeah, but you’d probably have an aneurysm before actually reeling him in . " Ella said . "He has that sort of an influence on you . "
"A wordy brat, huh? I’d like the challenge . Most the kids these days in the Clan are so obedient I mostly sleep through my lessons . " Varren said .
" . . . you’d both like him and hate him, I think . " Ella said . "But, even if you do meet him one day, it won’t be any time soon . "
"I can live with that," Varren said, faintly smiling . "So? He a cultivator too?"
"Uh, yeah . But, he’s more like Eggor," Ella said . "Blacksmith first . "
"Tsk . "
"Hey! Don’t click your tongue!" Ella exclaimed . "There’s nothing wrong with being a blacksmith first!"
"Yeah, if you’re a complete hack at cultivation . "
"Ah, forget that," Jade interjected before the conversation spiraled any further . "All that is secondary . Tell me: is he handsome?"
" . . . and that’s somehow important?" Ella asked, arcing her eyebrow .
"Well of course! All members of our little family dazzle people wherever we go! We can’t be breaking that tradition!"
" . . . oh, wow, I didn’t know my family was so vain . " Ella said . "What an eye-opener . "
"So he’s an, how do they call it, ’acquired taste’?" Varren asked .
" . . . I’m not discussing how handsome he is with you guys," Ella grunted lowly . "He’s . . . he’s a smart, witty kid . "
"Oh, right . So he’s as ugly as they come, right?"
" . . . Telly, bite him in the ass . " Ella looked at the wolf and said; the poor thing whined lowly as he glanced between Varren and Ella, unsure on what to do .
"Hey, leave him alone," Jade said . "You know he can’t choose . He loves you, but he’s terrified of him . It’s an impossible choice . "
" . . . woooo . " the wolf cried out lowly before snuggling off into the corner, ignoring the trio .
" . . . so, what was that about Demons?" Varren asked as they finished up their pieces of the cake . "Do you need any help?"
"No," Ella shook her head . "We should be fine . "
"You know that you can always ask us for anything, right?" Jade added .
"I . . . I know . Don’t worry . It hasn’t gotten so bad we can’t handle it on our own . "
"You’ve resumed your cultivation . Only recently, though . " Varren suddenly said . "Something to do with the kid?"
" . . . yeah," Ella said, smiling faintly . "He’s . . . helped both of us, in his own little way . Helped us move on . "
"That’s good," Jade said, caressing Ella’s hair gently . "Taking away your cultivation was a terrible thing to do in the first place . "
"No . . . grandfather was right to do it," Ella said . "It set a perfect example: no matter whether you’re a normal member, or even the Maiden, no one is exempt from punishment . He already did me a favor by only taking it away and not crippling me entirely . "
" . . . he would have never done that," Varren said . "Even if the entire Clan demanded it, he would have fought them before crippling you . He . . . he may have been more loyal to the Clan than anyone else in its history, but you trampled that loyalty . He loved you very much, almost as much as we do . "
" . . . yeah . " Ella said . "I know . Where is his tomb? I’d like to visit it to pay my respects before I leave . "
"It’s in the Ank’ars," Jade said, smiling faintly . "Alongside his father’s . We’ll take you there before you leave . "
"Thanks . I’d like that . "
A long distance away, from atop of a mountain, a pair of crimson eyes stared at the distant compound, a pair full of resentment and deep-seethed fury . Crimson hair fluttered by the wind’s command, like trails of blood in the fresh sky . Though top of the mountain was covered in snow, the ground around the young man was entirely parched, blackened by crimson flames and suffocatingly hot air . His eyes suddenly widened as flames coiled around his feet . Before a blink of time was over, he disappeared from the top of the mountain, heaving through the sky like a falling meteorite, aiming for the peaceful courtyard in the distance .