Tragedy Of Rain
/ Tragedy of Rain 9 Chapter 9: New Beginnings
"You've grown taller," was the first thing Maxine said as she soaked her hair in the water, "and healthier, that's a good sign."
Maxine then used a sponge on her shoulders and the touch was like balm against her skin. Rain had never had a warm bath before.
"Does it feel good?" She asked Rain who had nearly fallen asleep, Rain wanted to simply close her eyes and keep them closed for a while.
"It's so warm..." Rain stuttered loosely.
"That's all you, I guess we know how the marks magic is manifesting." Maxine said calmly. Rain didn't know what she meant, she opened her eyes and realized somehow for the first time that the water wasn't getting colder, and there was no fireplace to warm it.
Steam emitted from the water gradually, and Rain couldn't find the source of the heat. She lifted her hand out of the water and noticed the mark was glowing slightly. It's glow a deep purple color.
"Congratulations, your an elemental. It's not uncommon, the mark gifts everyone with something. In time it will enhance and if your not careful, it could overpower you. But the wards here will prevent it from spreading." Maxine touched Rains hand and while relaxing her shoulders placed it back in the water.
Within a few minutes Rain fell asleep. It was the deepest sleep she ever had.
When she awoke, this time devoid of nightmares, she was clothed in a clean robe and laying on a hay mattress in a secluded corner of the catacombs. A neat pile of clothes laid next to her. A small plate of bread and dried meat had been laid at the seat of the bed.
When she moved, her muscles ached and protested. Rain was used to feeling at the edge of exhaustion, surviving on scraps of sleep and food. The monastery had relieved her of some of that, but to get a full nights rest was unusual for her. She raised from the old sheets and studied the pile of handed down garments.
They were an assortment of wool and cloth tunics and leggings that were intended for a human female. Rain might have gained some more weight and height since her "transformation" but she was still smaller than an average human. Perhaps the mark didn't transform her as much as she thought? Maybe the life she had been forced to endure had stunted her growth, and the mark rejuvenated her body? She pondered this as she felt her stomach tighten.
She ate quickly, the dried meat was cold and the bread stale but she treated it like a feast. She then changed clothes in the safety of her secluded corner. The leggings and pants were durable and tight against her skin, the shirt meanwhile was low cut and baggy, she used a sash to tighten it around her mid rim to keep it from sagging. She couldn't help but notice her chest had filled out the shirt more than before? That she wasn't used to...
She then found a sleeveless leather vest that completed the ensemble. She then grew irritated at the shirt itself, it was loose in the chest but too tight for her shoulders. She found a small dagger alongside some of her valuables, which wasn't much, and used it to cut the sleeves to match the vest.
When finished she looked at herself in the mirror, a single torch lighting the room. She felt odd looking at herself. She was taller, her muscles more defined and her shoulders stronger. But as she looked at her face covered in white hair it was unmistakably the same girl she had always been. A shem elf girl of the alienage desperate to stay alive, surrounded by those who considered her outcast. She was slightly taller, her skin shade more grey and her body more filled out, but otherwise she was the same person. The mark of jagged and curved black lines almost looked intricate and beautiful against the light.
She touched the weave of markings with her left hand, and felt the muscle on her biceps. Her body somehow didn't feel her own.
After a few minutes of thinking to herself she braved the catacombs, each footstep echoed in the gloom. She held a torch to guide her path and knew this undercroft was much larger than she originally thought. The hallways went on endlessly, each new intersection leading to new ones. Some delved downward into pathways that faded into darkness while others elevated upward to large rooms that were filled with ancient statues. Every once in a while she would encounter marble or ironbark coffins in the walls, the names of their inhabitants etched in words she couldn't read. Strangely a few of them were encased in obsidian glass, dark and smooth to the touch. There were no names associated to them, no identifiers of their legacies.
The entire undercroft seemed out of place, out of time. Roots had dug through some of the rock in the ceiling covering up paths and concealing several tombs. It was the only thing that reminded her where she really was, in the forests far away from home.
She didn't want to venture too much farther, it was too easy to get lost down here. Rain had experience finding her way through the maze of the alienage, the undercroft was much larger but so far not as complex. She explored only a few additional paths before finding her way back to where she started. This time as she found her straw mattress she heard singing. Footsteps were all echoing nearby which suddenly made her alert.
She advanced cautiously until reaching a small staircase, vibrant firelight danced on the walls as she reached the top. Each step upward was heavy but her curiosity got the better of her. When she reached the top and turned she found an open commons room. A dozen others were dancing around an open fire, the smoke billowing through large cracks in the ceiling. A young man, sat just at the edge of the circle playing a violin while the others spun around dancing to his music.
Rain watched as the men and women danced around the fire and laughed, their feet in sync with the violins melody. She looked at the young man playing, he was handsome. He had a noble face with a strong jawline, his hair a vibrant gold. He played like a master artisan but for a brief second she remembered the last time she heard a similar musical instrument and felt a knot in her throat.
He looked at her and seemed eager for her to join the song and dance, he stood up still playing the instrument with grace. He waved to her to join and even took a step in her direction. He was saying something to her as well, eagerly trying to buy her attention. Rain blushed as she couldn't understand what he was saying.
He spoke in a foreign language she had never heard, and it flowed from his lips so fast that it sounded eloquent. The look of confusion on her face seemed to spell her dilemma. The young man laughed to himself and reached his hand out to her. Rain hesitated at first, but felt awkwardly calm about the whole situation. Their hands met and he gently pulled her close to him. He wrapped one arm around her, so that he could continue playing the instrument.
Rain had never been this close to anyone, she could feel his body heat against hers. She never danced either, and he gently gravitated from side to side to show her how to move her hips in accordance to the tune. She kept her hands close to chest as she still felt embarrassed about her clothes, but the young man never once looked at her in an odd way. Instead he sang in a language that was foreign and smooth, she moved her feet that matched his own albeit not as well. Her hips moved from side to side and then after a moment he sang louder in jubilation. He released her from the embrace and seemed to be praising her to continue on. Free from having to do two things at once he kept close to her but played the instrument in an upbeat rhythm. Some of the other women in the circle broke off to open room for her and Rain, eagerly joined it.
For several minutes the party lasted until finally the tune ceased. By that point Rain was already sweaty, and several of the others approached her to welcome her to their odd jubilee.
The young man took a bow, and gave her a wink as he said something that could have been a flirtation, but she couldn't be sure.
"By the goddess I love your hair," one of the women, taller and older exclaimed followed by, "look at those ears! Are you an elf? Where we come from we don't see any elves?"
After explaining she was only half elf she met eyes of confusion, one of the woman chuckled to herself before saying, "and how does that work exactly?"
Rain knew she was blushing as she found herself stuttering again, "um...the same-" she paused cursing herself for not finding the words quick enough, "the same way as everyone else...I guess?" She realized most of the women were actually her same age or younger. They were all human, and obviously better off. There greatest concern was probably boys rather than starving or fighting guards, or living with a curse burned into there body. She let the thought slide.
Rain barely said anymore when someone entered the room from an adjacent doorway, Zane seemed relieved to find her there, "hey Rain your awake! Leave her alone you bunch of loons," the crowd parted to let him through. He easily stood taller than all of them.
"Zane, how long was I out?" Rain asked as she took a few steps away from the gawking crowd to walk towards him.
"Surprise, it's a new day. We were going to wake you but Maxine thought you really needed your rest. Besides it's not like we needed you or anything. And I would've felt guilty waking you, you are really cute when you sleep." Zane spoke with his arms crossed, that last part made her raise an eyebrow, "relax I'm just trying to get a rise out of you, you elf girls really take things too seriously."
"I'm-" Rain began to state the obvious.
"Only half elf, we got it!" He cut her off, "and that's the part you need to lighten up on." He gave her a smirk. She returned it with a cold stare.
"Did you need anything?" Her words cut like a dagger.
"Now that you mentioned it, now that your up we can finally start." He turned around and motioned for her to follow.
Rain looked behind her to see the small group talking amongst themselves, she picked up some of their mentions of her and how a few were even jealous of how Zane gave her attention. She found the young foreigner at the other end of the room, he was tuning the instrument, a full cup of wine within arms reach. He looked at her with kind eyes, light brown like with a sliver of yellow at the edges. He raised a cup to her while saying something that she recognized as "m'lady".
She was drawn to keep looking at him, and him to her as she walked through the doorway and escaped his view. She didn't realize it but she was blushing red enough for the others to see until she left. The hallway suddenly grew colder as they continued walking away from the commons room, "where are we going?" Rain asked.
"To find out just how powerful your mark is, and if we have time, I want to see how good those knife skills are." As he spoke she felt like she would rather return to the dancers and the funny man with the odd language. For some reason he was foremost on her mind.
Chapter end
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