Chapter Three
Current Word Count: 5714
Words Left To Count: 44286
Days Left: 28
Chapter Three
"It’s a nice place..."
"What?" Galma asked, looking over at her mother. The two were sitting together by a log, Atanax was laying back on it, looking up at the sky through the trees. The leaves were all red and yellow, a few of them slowly falling away from their branches and gently gliding towards the earth.
"It’s a nice place to be buried in."
"Oh... You know, we really are sorry... but you were dead. You had been turned back into a Crystal."
Just like the Druids, Atanax thought to herself. Just as they turned into what looked like Diamonds, the Elves turned into what looked like Rubies, when they died. Of course, once Atanax had her memories back, she understood why the Ruby on Zeal’s sword interested her so much. That Ruby, had once been an Elf. Probably an Elf killed in the massacre, picked up as a souvenir. Zeal was too young to have taken part in that, so the sword must have belonged to a parent.
"I know... And I was dead," she turned to look at her daughter, and she felt pain in her heart. Pain for having left her daughter to go fight, pain for letting her daughter think she was dead. "But I came back..."
"Why would you want to come back here?"
Atanax’s hand went up to softly caress Galma’s cheek, like she once did when Galma had been but a child. Did she hate her mother for leaving her? Was it all the greatest mistake of her life? Fighting their war, falling in love with Zix? The war would have spread, and before long it would have engulfed her people. Would they be able to survive through that without an ally? Maybe she had saved her children, and by coming back she would make sure of that.
She smiled. "Why wouldn’t I want to come back?"
"You never wanted to come back before..." Galma’s head dropped as tears came to her eyes. "Showex said you didn’t love us anymore."
"Toshowex said that?" Atanax sat up as her daughter began to cry. "You didn’t believe it, did you?"
"It doesn’t matter what I believe, you never came back!" Galma was crying now, her head buried in her hands.
Atanax wrapped her arms around her youngest child. "You’re right, I didn’t come back, but not because I didn’t love you."
"Then why!?!"
"I was scared..."
"Scared of what?" Galma looked at her mother, her eyes were red from the tears.
"I was scared... that you’d hate me for leaving in the first place. And the longer I put it off, the more scared I became. One day it just wasn’t an option anymore. But I never stopped loving you, or thinking about you and imagining how wonderful it would be to be together again when the war was over."
Galma pulled away and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Does that mean the war’s over, and you won’t have to fight anymore?"
"No... there’s still a war to be fought..."
"So why come back? The Serrians killed you. They sent messengers to every village, spreading the news. Even we heard. I went to Toshowex, and she wouldn’t talk to me. So I took my Elves and we stole you back from the Serrians... But you came back."
"I came back because the war’s not over... I can’t sleep until I know you’ll all be safe. You know I’m fighting this war for you. You know that right?"
"But why’d you take so long to come home!?!" Tears were trickling down her cheek once more.
"Because I was stupid, and there’s no reason for you to forgive me... I know that-"
"Mehren, just promise you won’t disappear again and I’ll forgive you."
Atanax felt a smile of relief come to her face. "I promise, even though I have to fight, I’ll come back as often as I can."
"Alright..." Galma smiled through her tears.
"We have to go see Toshowex... and Geriha," she had to go see her eldest daughter and her son.
"You should know... Toshowex won’t forgive you."
Atanax felt like someone was hitting her, felt as though her heart were going cold, but she hid that from her daughter. Toshowex? Her little baby girl? Her first child? Did she hate her mother? Could she blame her daughter? Shouldn’t she have understood better than her other children? Before every battle she repeated the names of her children to herself. For Toshowex, for Geriha, for Galma. She fought for them...
Yes, of course there were other reasons she found herself in the battlefield, but her mind always found its way back to her children. If ever she pushed them out of her mind, it was simply so she wouldn’t feel the pain of having left them behind. Even that was for them. If her enemies didn’t know she had a child, then how could they hurt them?
She smiled, to hide her pain. "I never imagined you’d look so much like me."
Galma smiled back. She had always loved it when people said she looked like her mother, and hearing it from her mother’s own mouth warmed her heart.
"We should spend the night here, and tomorrow we’ll set out for Toshowex’s Elves."
"How far are we?"
"It should only take us one night after tonight."
"Ok, that’s good."
(Today's chapter is pretty short. I have chapter four written, but I figured if I actually want people to read this that maybe it's best not to overwhelm you with more than one chapter a day. Not too much longer until that romance I promised you! Or if you're a guy: the fighting I promised you.)
Words Left To Count: 44286
Days Left: 28
Chapter Three
"It’s a nice place..."
"What?" Galma asked, looking over at her mother. The two were sitting together by a log, Atanax was laying back on it, looking up at the sky through the trees. The leaves were all red and yellow, a few of them slowly falling away from their branches and gently gliding towards the earth.
"It’s a nice place to be buried in."
"Oh... You know, we really are sorry... but you were dead. You had been turned back into a Crystal."
Just like the Druids, Atanax thought to herself. Just as they turned into what looked like Diamonds, the Elves turned into what looked like Rubies, when they died. Of course, once Atanax had her memories back, she understood why the Ruby on Zeal’s sword interested her so much. That Ruby, had once been an Elf. Probably an Elf killed in the massacre, picked up as a souvenir. Zeal was too young to have taken part in that, so the sword must have belonged to a parent.
"I know... And I was dead," she turned to look at her daughter, and she felt pain in her heart. Pain for having left her daughter to go fight, pain for letting her daughter think she was dead. "But I came back..."
"Why would you want to come back here?"
Atanax’s hand went up to softly caress Galma’s cheek, like she once did when Galma had been but a child. Did she hate her mother for leaving her? Was it all the greatest mistake of her life? Fighting their war, falling in love with Zix? The war would have spread, and before long it would have engulfed her people. Would they be able to survive through that without an ally? Maybe she had saved her children, and by coming back she would make sure of that.
She smiled. "Why wouldn’t I want to come back?"
"You never wanted to come back before..." Galma’s head dropped as tears came to her eyes. "Showex said you didn’t love us anymore."
"Toshowex said that?" Atanax sat up as her daughter began to cry. "You didn’t believe it, did you?"
"It doesn’t matter what I believe, you never came back!" Galma was crying now, her head buried in her hands.
Atanax wrapped her arms around her youngest child. "You’re right, I didn’t come back, but not because I didn’t love you."
"Then why!?!"
"I was scared..."
"Scared of what?" Galma looked at her mother, her eyes were red from the tears.
"I was scared... that you’d hate me for leaving in the first place. And the longer I put it off, the more scared I became. One day it just wasn’t an option anymore. But I never stopped loving you, or thinking about you and imagining how wonderful it would be to be together again when the war was over."
Galma pulled away and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Does that mean the war’s over, and you won’t have to fight anymore?"
"No... there’s still a war to be fought..."
"So why come back? The Serrians killed you. They sent messengers to every village, spreading the news. Even we heard. I went to Toshowex, and she wouldn’t talk to me. So I took my Elves and we stole you back from the Serrians... But you came back."
"I came back because the war’s not over... I can’t sleep until I know you’ll all be safe. You know I’m fighting this war for you. You know that right?"
"But why’d you take so long to come home!?!" Tears were trickling down her cheek once more.
"Because I was stupid, and there’s no reason for you to forgive me... I know that-"
"Mehren, just promise you won’t disappear again and I’ll forgive you."
Atanax felt a smile of relief come to her face. "I promise, even though I have to fight, I’ll come back as often as I can."
"Alright..." Galma smiled through her tears.
"We have to go see Toshowex... and Geriha," she had to go see her eldest daughter and her son.
"You should know... Toshowex won’t forgive you."
Atanax felt like someone was hitting her, felt as though her heart were going cold, but she hid that from her daughter. Toshowex? Her little baby girl? Her first child? Did she hate her mother? Could she blame her daughter? Shouldn’t she have understood better than her other children? Before every battle she repeated the names of her children to herself. For Toshowex, for Geriha, for Galma. She fought for them...
Yes, of course there were other reasons she found herself in the battlefield, but her mind always found its way back to her children. If ever she pushed them out of her mind, it was simply so she wouldn’t feel the pain of having left them behind. Even that was for them. If her enemies didn’t know she had a child, then how could they hurt them?
She smiled, to hide her pain. "I never imagined you’d look so much like me."
Galma smiled back. She had always loved it when people said she looked like her mother, and hearing it from her mother’s own mouth warmed her heart.
"We should spend the night here, and tomorrow we’ll set out for Toshowex’s Elves."
"How far are we?"
"It should only take us one night after tonight."
"Ok, that’s good."
(Today's chapter is pretty short. I have chapter four written, but I figured if I actually want people to read this that maybe it's best not to overwhelm you with more than one chapter a day. Not too much longer until that romance I promised you! Or if you're a guy: the fighting I promised you.)
posted by Elise at 4:13 PM
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