Chapter Three: Escape
I
The Empire of Estra, Tempus Fugit 983
Rimmed on all sides by deep valleys, the Empire of Estra was a minor nation in the west of Duvedirica. Emperor Hule shin Estra was a shrewd man of seventy summers, under whose sage governance the common folk enjoyed peace and prosperity.
On the outskirts of the town of Toa, the doorstep for those entering Estra, there stood a lone, dilapidated hut. Making his way toward it was a man.
“I’m back.” Eliot Blaine, his hair as silver as the moon, kissed his wife Olivia on the cheek, before he unloaded the pack he carried on his back onto a rudimentary table.
“Welcome home.”
“Sound asleep, I see,” he said, taking six-month-old Caroline gently into his arms.
“She’s been asleep for a while now, so I expect she’ll wake soon,” Olivia said. “There, see?” As Eliot held her, Caroline twisted her little body. Finally, her large eyes blinked open, looking from Eliot to Olivia and back before breaking into a smile.
“You know, I don’t believe in any sort of god, but every day now I’m reminded that angels really do exist, if nothing else.” He touched Caroline’s cheek with the tip of his finger, and she gurgled with laughter, kicking her feet about.
“You know what they say about parents and blind love, don’t you?” Olivia commented, holding back laughter.
“You wound me deeply, lumping me in with those types. Right, Caroline?”
“A severe case, I see,” Olivia chuckled. “Now, I’ll get dinner ready. In the meantime, may I entrust the care of our angel to you, good ser knight?”
“If my princess desires it, it would be my honor.” Eliot attempted a sweeping bow, but Caroline, misinterpreting the movement as a new game, buried her hands in his hair and yanked hard.
“She’s all yours, ser knight.” Smiling, Olivia walked away, light-footed, toward the kitchen.
An hour later, Eliot was playing with Caroline with a gray wooden rabbit toy he’d whittled himself when Olivia called to announce that dinner was ready. He picked up Caroline and went to the table.
“Eat up, before it gets cold.”
“It looks delicious, as usual.”
“You can praise it if you like, but this is all there is.”
Eliot handed Caroline, who had started squirming wildly at the sight of the food, over to Olivia, then sat down. A mouthwatering aroma wafted up to him, setting his stomach rumbling.
“Still, I know I say this every time, but you do so much with such paltry ingredients.” Everything that had gone into the meal had been purchased by Eliot in town, and he was hardly flush for cash. Mostly, he bought the refuse that failed to sell. He therefore had nothing but awe for Olivia, who took those ingredients and transformed them into dishes that could have come from a first-rate chef.
Olivia chuckled. “I’m telling you, compliments aren’t going to get you a second helping.”
“Ah, well.” Eliot got stuck into one of the many and varied dishes laid out before him. “Mm! This is excellent too.”
Caroline, sitting on Olivia’s lap, opened her mouth wide, imploring her to hurry up and feed her too. Carefully spooning soup into the little girl’s mouth, Olivia casually asked, “What was it like in town?”
“Nothing amiss today either.”
“Good...” Olivia replied. “Maybe this time we managed to outwit them. We’ll be able to stay here a good while.”
“It seems so.”
This was a conversation born out of the wishful thinking the two of them had engaged in together in recent days. It had been almost two weeks since they’d slipped into the uninhabited cottage. Situated as it was away from the center of town, as well as from commonly trodden roads, finding this place had been a true stroke of luck. For Olivia, and most of all, for Caroline’s sake, Eliot didn’t want to move on too soon. But their pursuers—the Asura—were as tenacious as a serpent with its coils around its prey, so such thoughts wouldn’t do.
I’d be more than happy if we can make it a month... Eliot thought, feeling bad for Olivia and the sliver of hope she held. He looked over at Caroline, who was happily gobbling up her dinner.
“You know, I’ve thought this for a while, but Caroline’s a real glutton, isn’t she?” he remarked. Setting aside infants her own age, Caroline as of late was capable of clearing an adult-sized portion without leaving a crumb. As a father, he was only too happy to see his daughter had a healthy appetite, but he did always wonder where she stored it all in that tiny body of hers.
Olivia turned a delicate shade of pink at his words. In a barely audible mumble, she said, “I don’t remember this at all, but apparently my parents were flabbergasted by the amount I ate as a child. So she must get her ravenous appetite from me. I’m sorry...”
“What are you apologizing for?” Eliot thought for a second, then added, “For one thing, that means she’s going to be a stunner when she grows up.”
Olivia looked at him strangely, her head to one side. “How can you say that with so much confidence?”
“Well, she takes after you, doesn’t she? It’s as good as decided that she’ll be beautiful. Good thing all she got from me was the silver hair. Right, Caroline?” Eliot laid a hand on her head and stroked her silky silver hair. She looked up at him, mystified, with the eyes she’d gotten from her mother. Though she was still only a baby, Eliot thought, despite himself, that his daughter was uncommonly pretty. Privately, he even suspected she might grow more beautiful than Olivia one day.
“Oh, shush. It’s embarrassing when you say that sort of thing to me.”
“I’m not embarrassed in the slightest. I’ve said nothing but the truth.”
“I give up,” Olivia huffed, then added, “But beauty comes with its own troubles, you know.”
“How’s that? Surely there’s nothing bad about having a pretty face?”
“Will you still be saying that when Caroline has young men lining up to talk to her? Is her father going to be able to endure that?”
Eliot hadn’t considered that. He pictured men flocking around Caroline like moths to a flame, then without hesitation threw his chest out and declared, “I will endure no such thing. I’ll send every man who comes calling on her packing—every last one!”
“Dear me. Poor Caroline,” Olivia smiled, stroking Caroline’s head. Caroline, who wasn’t interested in any of this, pattered her hands on the table, demanding more food.
Eliot was putting Caroline to bed after dinner when he caught the faint sound of Olivia sobbing. He rose quietly and went over to where Olivia stood washing up in the kitchen, wrapping his arms around her from behind. She hurriedly tried to brush away her tears.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“What for?”
“It’s all because I’m descended from the Deep Folk that you’ve been burdened with this terrible fate...”
“Is that what’s on your mind?” Eliot felt his anxiety lift. If her tears were out of fear for him, there was nothing to worry about.
“If you’d never met me, you wouldn’t have to spend every day in fear for your life. If I’d never fallen in love with you...”
Olivia trailed off. Eliot replied with conviction, “I am truly glad that I met and fell in love with you.”
“How can you say that when I can’t even offer you the smallest measure of happiness that ordinary people enjoy?”
“Don’t be silly. The happiness you’ve brought me already is more than enough.”
“I haven’t— Oh?!” Olivia exclaimed as Eliot took her in his arms and embraced her tightly. Little by little, he felt the tension drain out of her.
“You have. Back then, when I’d lost everything, even hope itself, your kindness saved me. And now we have Caroline, thanks to you. Maybe you’re right that I can no longer hold out for a peaceful life. But even then, I should still hold myself the happiest of men. So don’t speak of such sad things.”
Olivia turned to him, “Oh, Eliot!” she cried, tears pouring down her cheeks as she buried her face in his chest. He stroked her lush black hair.
“Don’t worry, my love. I’ll keep you and Caroline safe, whether from the Asura or whoever else. I swear I will.”
After a moment, Olivia said, “I know.”
The clouds covering the night sky rolled away, revealing the perfect silver circle of the moon. Eliot and Olivia’s words fell away, and they pressed their lips together. The moonlight filtering in through the window held them both in its soft embrace.
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