ALL NOVEL Chapter 14: Arrival
The next morning, as the sun began to pierce over the mountainside and down upon the valley, I awoke as the bright rays pierced through the canvas of our tent and shone upon my eyes. I squirmed and moaned as I rolled onto my back and sat up. I glanced over and saw Varis curled in on himself, sleeping still, the sun's rays not quite reaching him as of yet.
Outside my tent, I could hear the adults already awake. The smell of coffee over the fire permeated the camp, and I yawned and rubbed my eyes. God, what I'd do for a fresh cup of coffee right now. Damn shame, my mother says I'm too young for it.
I shifted out of my covers, and with Varis asleep, I took a chance to strip out of my clothes and change into something fresh. Already, the air was warming up out here as spring seemed to be blowing in with full force this year. I chose to slip into something warm yet lighter than the layers-on layers. Such as a nice blue dress with white lacing around my top and the usual corset beneath. I still don't know why girls are practically forced to wear these things, but Mother always gets grumpy when I forgo the right thing. To top off my outfit, I chose to go with some nice, white stockings today and my usual heavy cloak.
When I finished dressing, Varis started to stir, which was perfect timing as I dipped out of the tent and into the morning light. I squinted as I held a hand up to shield myself from the sun's rays and looked towards the campfire in the center of our tents and was surprised. Mother wasn't wearing her usual dress today. Instead, she wore men's garb, such as a loose-fitting alabaster polo with the top few buttons undone, exposing her pale chest, a pair of black khaki suspenders, and her calf-high boots normally hidden beneath her dress.
She was kneeling over the fire, inspecting the coffee, as Father came out of the tent wearing a similar polo and dark pants, his hair a mess like Mother's. The two of them smiled at each other happily before noticing me and waving.
"Morning, Sleepy Head." Father teased me as I frowned at the two of them. "Sleep well?" He smirked.
I did not smile; I simply squinted at the two of them. Mother seemed to notice my look and glanced at Father with a faint blush on her cheeks. Yet my father seemed oblivious and shrugged.
"Ah, well, you'll get used to traveling on the road this week." He took a seat around the fire while Mother placed some tin cups out and filled them with hot coffee.
"Love, why don't you give Luna a tin?" Father gestured to the black coffee she just poured.
Mother shook her head. "No, she's too young. If she takes a drink now, she'll not sleep at all tonight."
"Oh, c'mon, it's not that strong. Besides, it's early morning." Father chuckled. "And also, her birthday is in just two days. So, lighten up a bit."
Mother pursed her lips and thought for a second as she glanced at me. Yet my eyes were locked on the tin of coffee. If there is a God, and if you're the one who brought me back, please, just please, this one time. Let me indulge in the bean.
Mother sighed. "Well, do you want some, Luna?" She relented.
I nodded my head rapidly. "Yes, please," I said softly. "I've been wanting some ag—" I cleared my throat. "—wanting to try some." I corrected myself.
Mother motioned for me to come over, and I did so and sat down beside her. "Careful. It's hot." She handed me the warm tin.
I grabbed the cup, the thin metal instantly warming my hands. The smell was stupefying. I never cared much for just black coffee; whenever I ran out of creamer in my past life, I would just spike it with some sugar to combat its bitterness. Yet now. After almost seven years, I didn't care. I craved the bean.
Tipping my head back, I brought the tin to my lips and sipped it. The taste struck me hard. It was bitter, very bitter, and somewhat sweet. The taste nearly made me cough it back up.
Was it because of my childish taste buds? It's not horrible, but… strong.
Father laughed and smirked. "Okay, that took me back." He hummed as Varis came out of the tent dressed as well in his shirt and suspenders, though he had a nice black vest. Father waved him over. "Boy, come over here and join us."
Varis stepped over and said, "Yes, Father?" He looked at him and rubbed the bottom of his eyes.
"Sit down; try a grown man's drink." Father hummed as he grabbed the other tin of coffee our mother just poured and passed it over to him.
Varis blinked and looked at the cup before he sipped it without thinking. "Blegh!" He instantly spat it out, which sent Father howling with laughter.
Even Mother grinned a little as she sighed. "Well, this was to be expected… Luna wait!"
While they were distracted, I swung my head back and took a big swig of the dark liquid, chugging it all in one go as the searing heat burned my tongue and throat. Yet I fought through the tears.
I won't have this taken away from me! I thought as I lowered the tin down and gasped.
Father blinked. "Oh, she's going to get the jitters."
"You're supposed to sip it, love!" My mother looked at me with wide eyes, but I simply beamed with excitement.
"This is very good!" I squeaked out; all it needed was just some sugar. Some sugar, and then I'd be content. Or milk if we had some.
"You can drink this crud?" Varis spat more of the coffee from his mouth. "It's gross."
"It's not that bad," Father said. "Give me your tin if you're not going to finish it." He held his hand out, and Varis passed it back.
Meanwhile, Madam Soza crawled from her tent and came over, and I gawked. She was wearing practically nothing aside from some loose robes tied around her body. Yet what stunned me the most was that I never realized how built she was, not to mention the dragon tattoos that covered her upper bicep and shoulder, which went down her back. Her red hair was disheveled, and her fluffy crimson tail flicked left and right. She stood up, and I noticed she wasn't wearing her shoes, revealing her clawed feet. She glared over at us at the camp with a tired look. Though I noted she wasn't glaring at Varis or me, but specifically at my mother.
I take it; she was disturbed just as I was the night before.
As Soza walked over to the camp, my mother greeted her, "Morning, Isa, did you—"
"I recall explicitly telling your two to be quiet last night." Soza interrupted her, and my mother sputtered, blushed, and lowered her head.
"S-Sorry about that."
"Ah, there's nothing to be sorry about," Father butted in as he began to give poor Soza a tin of coffee. "Things just got a little heated between us, and we got lost in the moment. We won't let it happen again."
"Are you guys referring to the wrestling match last night?" Varis asked obliviously, "Who won?"
I couldn't help it. I tried to stop myself, but I snorted and laughed loudly. Even Soza, who had moments ago been pissed, hesitated before also laughing out loud.
Father and Mother both sat there as if stun-locked. Their eyes trained on the fire and coffee in front of them. Mother looked at Varis and then at me just as I fell back, giggling uncontrollably.
"Va-Varis? Luna?" Mother blinked as her gaze flicked between us, and I sat up, wiping the tears from my eyes. Mother looked at me, her face red with embarrassment. "What have you been teaching your brother?"
Before I could answer. "Your mother definitely won." Father said it nonchalantly after a moment as he raised a clenched fist. "Her grip is nothing short of a—" Soza and Mother both smacked him upside the head as I snorted and began to giggle once more.
Well, the news is out now, and my parents are well aware that I know what they do at night alone. A shame, well, for them, not me. Now that they know it, they'll probably try to hide it or not do it. Or not. They might just say fuck it and do it anyway. But I doubt that, honestly. I'm better off for it.
For many years, especially back when both Varis and I were just little kids, I had to sit in my crib and listen to my father plow the fields in the other room. At first, I was like, hell yeah. But that creeping thought came into my mind and was like, "Hey you degenerate, these are your parents now." And when that realization hit me, it hit me hard.
It's yucky and gross. Ew.
Now that I'm aging and my little body is starting to develop, hearing my parents partying at night is starting to stir things up. Things I'm not fucking ready for. I hate it. I hate it so much. I'm not ready for puberty 2.0.
What's Elven's puberty going to be like? Let alone an elven girl's puberty? Am I going to have periods? I don't even know what normal human periods are like! I wish I had a fucking smartphone or a PC to go to and read about it.
I won't lie and say I'm not a little excited for puberty. I hope I'll get taller, and judging by how Mother looks, I'm hoping I take after her. If I did score lucky on the genetic lottery, though, my mother is going to have to work on making me new clothes… especially in the breast department.
I wonder if I'll get boobs like hers. I won't lie and say the thought hasn't cropped up from time to time. Though usually my right hand is quick to shut those thoughts down, right now, around family, smacking myself would only raise concerns.
So, I'll just need to take deep breaths and try to quell the degenerate back into his corner.
Begone vile thoughts!
"Luna, what're you doing?" Mother asked as she pulled me against her chest as we continued with the day's journey to the Heinland Mountains.
My hands patted my cheeks as I looked up at Mother and said, "Purging my mind of impurities."
Mother blinked a couple of times before she said, "Okay."
As the wagon strolled along the dirt road, I saw that Varis had fallen back asleep, and I shifted my weight a little on Mother's lap. "Momma, can I ask a very personal question?"
I felt my mother tense up. "If it's about last night, no."
"No! No!" I quickly said, "It's, uh… about growing up."
My mother relaxed and audibly sighed. "Growing up?" She clarified.
I nodded. "I, uh, recall reading from the books about how Elven girls go through…" I was purposefully trying to play dumb. "Puberty." I nodded.
Mother snorted. "Puberty, eh?" She tussled my hair as per usual. "Aren't you still pretty young to be thinking about that?"
I blushed and said, "Maybe, but I want to learn about it." Continuing to play along, I asked, "What is it?"
Mother sat in silence for a moment, and I glanced back to see her pursing her lips in thought. After a few moments, she breathed out, "Well, you're smart and pretty mature. So, I think I can explain it briefly." She smiled and poked my cheek. "Don't go telling Varis this stuff; this is only for we girls, okay?"
Oh shit, girl talk?
I nodded. "Okay. I won't say a thing!" I said as I mimed zipping my mouth shut.
Mother smiled. "Good." She nodded and thought for a second. "Puberty for little elves around your age really starts to kick off between seven and ten years of age. So, for you, it may happen in a few months." She booped my nose. "When that happens, you'll start your path toward becoming a full-elven lady." She hummed and continued to explain. "It'll feel weird; cramps and pains will start to make themselves known; your hairs on your body will darken; you'll start to have hair in silly places; and the most painful part of it is that your chest will feel sore because your boobs will start to fill out."
Oh God, she's laying it on thick, I thought as I gulped and nodded.
"Is it really painful?" I asked nervously.
Mother giggled and said, "I wouldn't say it's really painful, but it is uncomfortable."
"What're you two talking about back there?" Father called from over his shoulder.
"Girl talk! No boys allowed!" Mother snipped, and Father nodded as he focused on the road ahead Soza giggled and continued to read the map. Knowing her feline ears, she could probably hear exactly what we're talking about.
She looked back at me and said, "It's around this time that you'll begin to grow, and your body may start to change a little bit. This goes on for a few years for us Elves; compared to other races like humans or Madam Soza's race, the Serelli, we Elves develop much faster."
"Much, much faster." Soza said it from over her shoulder. Well, that confirms it; she's most definitely listening in.
Yet, that was nice to hear. Puberty is more like a speed run this time around.
Mother smiled at Soza and nodded before continuing, "You'll notice your voice is getting deeper too, but this is the part you most want to try and be ready for, and this is the hardest part, which is the menstrual cycle."
Ah, fuck, this is what I'm most scared of.
Mother pulled me in tight against her. "It's hard because the first one is unpredictable and can be the most painful if not prepared. We elves, compared to other races like humans, do not menstruate often. About every ten years or so, but during the times we experience it, it lasts for about a full week or more and does crazy things if we're not prepared."
I gulped, so a trade-off. I recalled from my old sex ed and Wiki diving that women back in my old world only had to deal with the period for about a week out of a month, though I'm just guessing. But if my gut is right, this kind of lines up, I think. 10 years and one or two weeks of pain? It sounds okay to me.
"What kind of crazy things?" I asked nervously.
Mother laughed nervously and said, "Uh well." She leaned into my ear and began to whisper what I can only describe as horrid, vile descriptions into me, which made me shudder before pulling back. "It also makes you act all goofy as your mood swings all over. Don't worry; when you go off to school next year, I'll make sure to pack everything you'll need for when it happens."
My eye twitched. I had expected her to tell me it'd only be blood. Yet no. It was much worse.
"Are you okay, Luna?" My mother poked my cheek.
Soza turned around, looked back at us, and smirked. "I think you broke the little one." She giggled. "If I was being honest, I had always wished to swap the Serelli heat cycles with what you elves and humans experience."
"Oh, believe me, you don't want it." Mother giggled, and I shook my head.
"Okay! I'm ready to change the conversation!" I blurted out.
Our second day of travel went smoothly. The Heinland Mountains now towered over us, and the elevation was becoming steeper and steeper the further we went. The night had gone by smoothly; Mother and Father did not partake in a wrestling match, allowing the rest of us a peaceful night's rest.
This morning, it was pretty much a repeat of the morning before. We gathered around camp, ate porridge for breakfast, and had some coffee. Varis refused the sacred bean this time, and Father snuck a second tin for me, which only made my love for him grow more. The caffeine was very much a godsend. Oh, deity, whoever brought me back. You're truly my GOAT.
Madam Soza and Father spent some time reviewing the map of the land while Mother, Varis, and I packed up camp and loaded the cart. While we waited for our drivers, Mother and I tended to Opal, the strider. Making sure she was fed.
Striders were interesting creatures, except for Mr. Blaxen's. Opal, who was very cute and nice. She was large, which in itself was intimidating, yet her scales were this cute gray and blue shade, which shone perfectly in the sun as they sparkled. The same went for her feathers, which lined her jaw and joints of her arms, kind of like those realistic depictions of velociraptors, except make them the size of a fully grown stallion, if not a bit bigger. Yet despite her razor-sharp claws and teeth, which could eviscerate my tiny elven body, she was immensely gentle and docile.
"Momma?" I asked as my mother pulled out some preserved chunks of meat and handed them to Opal, who happily chomped them down.
"Yes, Luna?" She glanced at me just as Father and Soza began to walk over to us.
"Why is Opal called a 'Ground Dragon' I thought dragons were big and flew.' Opal glanced at me, and I swore she seemed offended. I looked at her warily. Does she understand me?
Mother chuckled and said, "That's because Opal is a dragon, love. Not all dragons are like the ones we see in the books. There are many breeds of them. Opal just happens to be of the ground type, or more specifically, a land strider. They're the fastest of all ground dragons." As if to boast, Opal puffed her chest and squawked.
Huh, so kind of like dogs, in a weird sense. So many dogs look drastically different from each other, yet they all classify as the same species. If that's how dragons are in this world, I'm curious as to what the other types look like.
"Alright, are we ready to go?" Father asked us.
"Wagon's packed up!" Varis called from the other side of the wagon.
"Guess we are now." Mother hummed and patted Opal's nose before turning around. "How far do we have to go?"
"Not far at all," Soza said as she placed a hand on her hip. "About three more gilos, and we'll be at the base of the trail."
If my memory served me right, a gilo was almost equal to like a mile, if not a little under.
"Excellent," Mother said as she patted me on the shoulder. "It should take us about an hour to get there. Come on, Luna; it'll be our last snuggle session.'
"Gaaah, I don't want snuggles!" I protested. "Cuddle with Varis!"
"But you're so soft!" Mother said as I ran to the cart.
"You're just going to say gross things again!" I teased as Mother scoffed.
"You asked for it!"
Finally, since the start of our journey, our environment has begun to change. After an hour of travel, the wagon began to veer off to the left slightly and uphill. The environment around us began to darken as massive trees resembling evergreens began to tower over us as we entered what Mother told us was the Heinland Forest. These trees, if I remember right, were called Kefners, and the ones that resembled oaks with the pink petals were Sycoras. Yet unlike the beauty of the Sycoras, the Kefners stood hundreds of feet into the air, their massive trunks resembling redwoods and their pine needle branches resembling umbrellas, which blocked all light, leaving this forest very dark as we went deeper into it.
Madam Soza turned around to face the three of us in the back and said clearly, "Listen up, children. This is very important. The Heinland Forest is not a safe place for little kids. Legend has it that a Web Way is connected to this forest, which leads to the Fae Wylde. This forest is known for having creatures of trickery roaming it."
She glanced at Mother and Father, who nodded. Mother lightly shifted me off her lap, reached into her satchel, and pulled out two frosted rods of metal. "Both of you," she said, "take one."
Both Varis and I reached out to grab the metal rods, and I gasped. These things are fucking cold!
"These are rods of cold iron," Mother said.
Yeah, no shit, I thought, but I kept my lips sealed. Though, judging by my mother's face, my expression didn't hide my thoughts.
"These are magically enchanted items I made before our trip." She said this as my thoughts drifted back to what Herbert Hautckins said about Mother cooking up weird things.
She continued to explain, "If by chance we get separated out here and you encounter any Fae, show them this, and they'll surely leave you alone."
"Why?" Varis asked as he played hot potato, or perhaps cold potato, with the iron bar in his hands.
"Because the Fae despise all forms of metal," Madam Soza answered for Mother. "Yet they are especially terrified of cold iron because it's the only metal that can truly slay a fae."
Mother nodded. "But as long as we stick together, we shouldn't have to fear. This is only to be used as a precaution. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Mother." Both Varis and I said as I stashed the magically cooled metal away into my skirt pocket.
"We're almost to the campsite!" Father called over his shoulder.
A few minutes passed as the ground seemed to level out once more, and sunlight could be seen as we entered a large grass clearing slightly off the path. As our wagon crept forward a bit, our father pulled the reins and brought Opal to a stop.
"Alright, get comfortable. We'll be here for the next six days." Father whistled as he hopped off the wagon.
One by one, we all dismounted and began the routine of setting up camp. I was getting quite comfortable pitching a tent, as this time it only took us about ten minutes for Varis and me to pitch our tent. Yet when we finished pitching our tent and I stepped back, I glanced to my left and gasped.
"Whoa!" My eyes widened as I realized straight ahead I could see over the treetops and down below to the valley, and just further ahead. The town of Oren and the puffs of white smoke coming from Chimney stacks, and I swore I could see the Hautckins mill and the speck that was our house.
"What is it?" Varis asked, and I pointed.
"I can see our house from here!" I beamed.
And soon Varis gasped as well and quickly began shouting for our parents.
"Mother, Father! Luna and I can see our house!" As he ran towards them.
I heard the crunching of grass behind me, and I turned to Madam Soza, who was stepping forward. "This is exactly why I chose this camp site specifically." She giggled softly. "A beautiful view, isn't it?" She smirked.
I nodded. "It is; it's almost like something out of a painting," I said as I looked back across the valley and to the mountains that wrapped around the southern edge of it. From here, I could see that our lovely valley home was pretty much in a giant bowl, its walls being nothing but beautiful mountains.
"I agree," Madam Soza said as she stepped up beside me. "Many places I have traveled yielded such pretty sights. Though I must admit Heinmarr probably has my favorite mountains."
I nodded and said, "Is that so… You know, Madam Soza—"
She raised her hand to me. "Please, Luna. Before you continue, you can call me by my birth name, Isa."
My eyes widened a bit, and I blinked. Oh, shit we're leveling up from formalities to casual speaking? I smirked.
"At least when we're not in school." Isa smirked at me and winked.
I sighed and smiled. "Deal, but, Mad—I mean, Isa… you never got around to story time with Varis and me." This was true. She always said she'd talk about herself when story time came, but it never did.
Isa glanced back out at the valley, took a deep breath, and looked at me. The noon sun was beating heavily on her red hair and tanned skin, her green eyes shimmering from the light. She smiled, her sharp fangs peeking out from behind her lips a bit.
"Aye, that's true. I never have. Though now isn't the time for stories just yet."
Fuck I knew I saw this coming. Isa laughed, as my expression didn't hide what I felt.
"Don't look like that, Luna. You'll get wrinkles if you frown so much. How about this?" She turned to face me and squatted down; her red, fluffy tail was raised and flicked gently back and forth. "This evening, around the campfire, I'll tell you something about me." She booped my nose with a clawed finger.
Isa stood up. 'But for now, let us enjoy nature. There's a path up there that leads further up the mountain to something I think all of you will enjoy."
I sighed and nodded. "Okay, deal. But I'll hold you up to it!" I stuck my little hand. "We shake on it—no, we pinky promise!"
Isa cocked her head. "Pinky promise?"
Oh shit, this might not be a thing in this world. I have never actually tried this until now.
"Uh yeah… It's like a super promise that Varis and I do." I lied. "Breaking a pinky promise is worse than breaking a normal promise."
"Ah, so like marriage." Isa nodded as if she understood.
Wait what? Once again, Isa could read the confusion on my face.
"In Serelli culture, part of the marriage ritual is linking our smallest fingers in a dance like this." Isa linked her clawed pinky with my finger and began to skip around with me in a circle. "And sometimes the rowdier mates like to kick their legs out like this!" She said playfully, kicking her legs out wide with every other skip as we danced in a circle.
"Luna!" I heard Father playfully scoff as he walked over to us, feigning disappointment. "Isa, what are you doing, marrying my daughter? She isn't even of age yet!" He joked as Isa released my pinky and blushed as she waved her hands dismissively.
"I was just showing her something... She wanted a pinky promise." Isa coughed into her fist.
"A pinky what?" Father looked at me and smirked. "Making advances on your teacher, Luna? I knew you were smart, but not—" In a flash, Isa was beside him, and she bopped him upside the head. "Gyak! I'm just kidding." He laughed.
Isa smirked, turned to look at me, and said, "But I will uphold our promise. Now please, get ready; once everyone is settled, I would like for us to go on a hike further up the mountain." With that, she made her way back over to Mother and Varis, who were feeding Opal once more.
Father rubbed the spot on his head that was whacked and said, "Making a Serelli promise something, eh?"
I looked up at him. "Is that uncommon?"
He shook his head. "No, but they're known to keep any promise tightly to their chest. What did you make her promise?"
I ran a hand through my hair. "I made her promise to tell me something about herself. Isa never really talks about herself too often, and when she does, it's usually simple stuff."
"Isa? She's letting you call her by her first name now, heh." He smiled. "Well, knowing her, she'll probably just tell you what she dreamed about last night and nothing else."
I giggled. "I'll be so mad if she does that, and is me calling her by her first name weird?"
Father shook his head. "Not at all; it just means that specific Serelli really likes you."
I blinked a couple of times and covered my face. "Wait, so did we actually get married?!"
Father snorted and laughed. "No, no, I meant, like, in a friendship sort of way!"
I giggled softly and beamed at him. "I guessed so; I was just kidding." I snickered as Father playfully dug his knuckles into my head.
"You little goof." He said this before gently placing his hand on my back and pushing me towards the camp. "Go on, let's finish setting everything up, and let's go see what Isa wants to show us."
With a big smile, I nodded and ran back to camp.