Miras Last (20 page)

He made sure there were no more enemies in
the camp before he went to find Galena. The underground elves had
taken her to their tent and made her comfortable. Elenio had also
been pleased to see they had already healed her leg, which one of
the underground elf healers indicated caused her to lose a great
deal of blood in just a short amount of time. Morgo had been in the
tent with her as well as Lars and Nina. Elenio nodded to each of
them as a way of greeting before checking on Galena himself. He saw
she was very pale, but otherwise fine.

“Would you like someone to take a look at
that,” Nina asked quietly.

“Take a look at what?” Elenio asked a little
more harshly than he meant to. He was feeling rather annoyed at
Galena once again. He figured he could feel that way now because
she wasn’t awake to scold him.
Might as well get it out of my
system,
he thought sarcastically.

“The cut on your arm,” she replied. She
hadn’t seemed to take offense to his shortness.

He looked down at the cut, but seeing that it
wasn’t particularly serious or painful, he shook his head. He would
rather see the healers work on the elves with more serious
injuries. Nina smiled at him and then beckoning toward Lars, the
two of them headed out, leaving Elenio alone with Galena and
Morgo.

“I should probably go and apologize to Nina,”
Elenio said, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

“There’s no need, she understands,” Morgo
said calmly.

“Well, we did it.”

“Yep, and not many underground elves passed
out. Well, with the exception of Nina. I’d say we had a good day,”
Morgo said, smiling broadly.

“Want to go get some food? I’m starving.
Plus, I want to talk to Tark and make sure no one was really
hurt.”

“I’m always game for food,” Morgo said
excitedly. “I’ve discovered it has a whole new taste to it in this
world!”

Elenio shook his head at his friend. The
small things seemed to amuse him the most. Morgo stood and
following Elenio, and they headed toward the food tent. They passed
a large pile of dark bodies, the only evidence of the crags that
had dropped in the camp. Several of the underground elves were
placing the glass balls filled with flammable chemicals called ires
all around them and on them. Once they were satisfied all the dark
monsters had at least one ires close to them, they set the pile
ablaze with a white, hot fire.

“How many of those things did they bring?”
Elenio asked as he watched the flames lick and dance all over the
fallen creatures.

“Enough to get us to the end of this war come
what may. We also have several elves who came just to produce more
food, more healers, and a variety of other elves just willing to
help however, they can. Tark is confident they won’t be able to
learn enough combat skills to be helpful during battle, but Lars
and I are working on a way around that.”

“I bet you have been,” Elenio said, smiling
and heading toward the food tent again. The smell of burning flesh
filled his nostrils and made him gag. He was very quickly losing
his appetite.

“Hmm, seems like we can send a breeze to
clear away that smell,” Morgo said thoughtfully. He gazed back at
the blazing fire and seeing an underground elf watching the flames,
he walked over to her. Elenio watched as they exchanged a couple of
words before the female nodded her dark head quickly and with a
wave of her hand sent a constant breeze over the fire, pushing the
smell away from the camp. Elenio watched Morgo as he returned, lost
in his own thoughts of Galena and what it would be like if he ever
got to use magic. He wouldn’t be nearly as helpless as he had been,
that was for sure. Moreover, he wouldn’t have to let Galena do it
all, which was his biggest concern.

“What’s troubling you, my friend?” Morgo
asked, seeing the look on Elenio’s face.

“Just wondering what it will be like when I
can do magic for myself instead of complaining about everything,”
Elenio said, giving a half grin.

Morgo nodded his head, but said nothing.

“I’ll be able to help Galena more. That way
she won’t have to risk her neck so much.”

At this Morgo let out a bark of laughter.
“I’d like to see you try and slow her down. She seems like she has
always been a force of nature to reckon with!”

To this Elenio actually found himself
laughing. “True story!”

“What’s a true story?” Tark asked.

Elenio actually jumped at this. He hadn’t
realized Tark had come up on them.

“Your sister’s whirlwind personality,” Morgo
said, calming down.

“Was anyone hurt?” Elenio asked, also
settling down.

“Not seriously, and with all the new healers
that have joined us, they’ve all been taken care of. With the
exception of you I see.”

Elenio shrugged this off and continued toward
the food tent. The smell of sweet bread, juicy fruit, and something
else delicious wafted toward him. He couldn’t believe how hungry he
was. Elenio smiled to himself thinking how hungry Galena would be
when she woke up. He had better get his share now, because Galena
was sure to eat hers and his when she finally roused.

“When you’ve grabbed some food, I want you to
join me in my quarters.”

Elenio and Morgo both nodded and grabbed some
wooden trays.

A few minutes later, Elenio found himself
sitting on the ground, food tray on his lap listening to the
discussion going on. Tark brought all the generals, Lars, and a
couple of the other underground elves. They discussed the ways the
magical elves could help during battle. At this point, Morgo had
plenty to say, Nina backing up everything said on the matter. Lars
and the other two elves listened blankly to the conversation.

Elenio found himself tuning out the ongoing
discussion and instead taking the time to study the new elves.
There was Lars, another male elf called Wika and a female called
Poro. All three had the drab, lank hair that was characteristic of
an underground elf. Their pale skin seemed to glow in the dark
confines of the tent and their dull dark eyes seemed huge in their
thin faces. Looking at them reminded Elenio of how much the first
group of underground elves that had joined Tark, changed since
arriving in the world above. Galena pointed out, bringing out a
jealous streak in Elenio, that Morgo turned out to be a rather
dashing elf. Even Nina’s once black looking hair had taken on a
lighter brown look and was even beginning to curl. Her eyes
remained dark, but they had a snap to them. As the weather grew
warmer, Elenio noticed the once pale skin of the first group of
underground elves was beginning to darken up so they no longer
glowed in the sunlight.

“What do you think, Elenio?”

Elenio shook his head, trying to bring
himself back to the discussion and failed miserably.

“I’m sorry. I quit listening right at the
beginning. What are we talking about?”

He heard Fala and Erna chuckle somewhere
behind him and he fought the urge to turn around and share their
laughter. Tark rolled his eyes and Morgo grinned at Elenio.

“About heading out tomorrow at sunrise. We’re
just sitting ducks here. The longer we wait, the more chances we
give Rau to strike out at us and weaken our already minimal
defenses,” Tark answered.

“So if you’ve made your minds up, why do you
need to know what I think?” Elenio asked, feeling slightly annoyed.
Why they invited him to this discussion was beyond him.

“Because I need to know what Galena would
think on the matter and since she is currently indisposed at the
time, we’re asking you what you think on her behalf.”

At this, Elenio raised an eyebrow at
Tark.

Seeing Elenio’s face, Morgo let loose a gale
of laughter.

“Yeah, I guess that was a stupid question.
I’m just trying to be official,” Tark said, looking at the ground
before bringing a hand up and through his hair. The rest of the
group laughed then. It was almost as if a nervous tension was being
released in that moment. Well, Elenio was glad he provided some
humor to an otherwise extremely serious group.

“Now that the decision has been made, I think
I’ll head back to my tent and wait for the whirlwind to wake up.
When she does, I’ll let her know we leave tomorrow morning at
sunrise.” With that proclamation, the laughter died completely,
replaced with a weighty silence.
So much for bringing comedic
relief to the group,
Elenio thought grimly. He couldn’t wait
for this war to be over just so the fluctuation of emotions would
end. One minute everyone was happy and gay, the next, reality set
in, pushing happy thoughts out of the way.

He nodded his farewell to the group, grabbed
his tray, and went to fetch more food for Galena. He expected her
to sleep the rest of the day away and most of the night. He hoped
it would be enough because tomorrow would bring the fate of the
rest of their lives. One way or the other.

* * * *

Galena woke up to the thin light just before
the rising of the sun. Her body felt stiff, and her leg was tender.
Reaching her mind out, she found most of the cuts were healed, but
there was still a great deal of bruising around where the torlic’s
sword cut her. She quickly healed the broken blood vessels there,
easing the pain as she did. She sat up carefully, noticing Elenio
still sleeping beside her. She looked around the tent, her heart
aching slightly. It was in the mornings she missed Twoit the most.
She could always count on the tiny creature’s company first thing
in the morning, but alas, the ferret remained missing. Galena
sighed heavily and then spotted a tray laden with food on one of
the chairs. Her stomach growled loudly, reminding her how long it
had been since the last time she ate.

Galena got up as quickly as she dared and
squatting down beside the food, she began to stuff in pieces of
cheese, fruit, and vegetables as fast as she could. She filled her
cheeks until they were bulging, chewed, swallowed, and did it all
over again. Her hands were shaking from hunger and nothing tasted
as good as that food. Taking a swig of water from a flask beside
the tray, she picked up a loaf of bread when she heard a quiet
cough from behind her. Turning, she found Elenio propped up on one
elbow, a smile on his face as he watched her inhale an entire tray
of food in just the few minutes she’d been awake.

“And then you wonder why everyone assumes you
could put away half of the camp’s food supply,” he said with a
mischievous smile on his face.

“Hey, remember what happened the last time
you decided to pick on me for the amount of food I was eating?”
Galena asked, while looking intently at her loaf of bread.

Elenio unconsciously rubbed his nose, the
thought of bread flying up his nostril, front in his mind.

“Yeah, I thought you would,” Galena said,
smiling to herself.

Elenio stood up and walking over to Galena,
took the loaf of bread from her hand, and returned it to the tray.
He then turned to her and helping her to a standing position,
kissed her lightly before holding her tightly in his arms.

Galena leaned her head on his chest, slightly
confused at his actions. “What’s going on?”

“Tark decided it’s time to finish this. He
figures the longer we stay here, the greater the chances are Rau
will figure out a way in.”

“He’s right.”

“I know he is, but you know what that
means?”

“This is the last chance I may get to be held
like this.” Galena suddenly felt very sad and very scared.
Everything seemed to be moving at the speed of light and suddenly
she felt like she needed more time to prepare herself. Yes, the
Sword of Lumina protected her from Rau’s shadows and dark magic,
but he was still an incredible swordsman. He defeated Lamiria with
those same skills.

“You don’t need any more time, you’re already
amazing,” Elenio said, burying his face in her hair and kissing her
head.

“What happens...?” Galena started.

“What happens will happen,” Elenio said.
Hooking a finger under her chin, he tilted her face toward him, his
own eyes searching hers.

“I love you,” Galena said. Three little
words, but they told it all.

His own carefully constructed emotions broke
for a moment, showing Galena the fear he felt before he regained
control again. He kissed her, this time a little longer before
breaking away. He held her away from him and just stared. Galena
looked into his clear, blue eyes, studying them, memorizing them.
The future was uncertain and she wasn’t quite ready to face it.

“No matter what, we’ll be together in the
end,” Elenio said, running a hand through her loose hair.

She nodded, knowing the meaning behind his
words. They either both survived or they both would die, but they
would not be apart.

“I need to get ready. Sounds like it’s going
to be a killer kind of day,” Galena said smiling half-heartedly up
at him.

He rolled his eyes and got to work on pulling
his longer hair back. Galena focused on putting her long hair in a
tight braid and polishing her blade with an old cloth. Her mind
trailed back to happier times. Playing in the garden with her
father and brothers; training with Elenio in the clearing by their
village. Going to commitment ceremonies with her father and then
with Elenio. Playing as a child with Elenio by the creek. She
remembered all the things she loved and was fighting to
maintain.

Elenio came up behind her and placed his
hands on her shoulders. He bent down and kissed her head once more.
Galena looked down at the Sword of Lumina and stared at the
reflection in it. She saw her own coppery hair and her golden eyes
staring back at her. She had changed since she left her village.
Her face had gotten sharper, somehow fiercer looking. She saw a
strong elf in that reflection, full of sadness as well as
determination. What she saw in that reflection gave her the courage
to stand up. She looked once more at Elenio, smiling briefly at him
and then turned to head outside. The time had come to end this
war.