Doira'Liim (The Beautiful Whisper of the Goddess Saga) (37 page)

     "It will not," Arizira said over her. "This is not a wound of broken flesh, Tah-li. I can not support myself or my weight. This pain restricts my movements and brings me to my knees."

     Crying more profusely, but trying to hide the sounds of her sobs, Talliea wiped away at her tears and asked, "Then what am I to do?"

     Arizira was quiet for a moment. She did not have any answers for Talliea. She was scared and the sensation was not pleasant. In all of her years, she had never suffered an injury so serious. In her youth, she had bruised herself during sparring sessions with other huntresses and weapons' training had brought about various cuts and whelps, but never had she broken a bone or taken a direct blow from an adversary. Her cuts and scrapes had always been minor and she had counted herself lucky for that.

     This injury, however, was unlike anything she had ever felt. The pain did not remind her of a bruise. It did not remind her of anything she had experience with. Her shoulder blades felt...different. She could not move them. The pain in them was deep and heavy and sharp. She knew the cut Talliea had spoken of, the one that had caused her to bleed, was minor in comparison. Her true problem was in her bones, not her skin.

    
Dohethra
eased pain. It did not mend shattered bones or heal broken bodies. Likely, it would alleviate some of her pain, but it would not address the true nature of her injury.

     Inhaling through her nose, Arizira closed her eyes and tried to focus on something apart from the hot jabbing pain she felt. She could not tell Talliea how serious her injury was. The other woman already felt responsible, and hearing that Arizira was unable to move her shoulders would only break her heart all over again.

     What scared Arizira the most was that she did not have any answers for Talliea. She did not know what to do. Her people were days away and the snows were only going to get heavier. Sed'dya would be able to help her, but reaching her was nearly impossible given her current condition.

     "Tell me how to help you, Ahmanae. Please." Talliea's words were heavy and sad. Arizira knew she wished to feel useful. She knew she needed to do something. Opening her eyes, she could just barely make out Talliea's curtain of dark hair as she looked at her from over her shoulder. "Just lie with me, Tah-li. Stay behind me and brace me," she whispered.

     Offering a small smile, Talliea nodded and leaned down to kiss Arizira's cheek softly. Gently removing the cloak she had rolled up to keep between them, she settled against Arizira. She replaced the wolf hide blanket over their bodies and wrapped her left arm around Arizira loosely. Talliea tried to keep from bumping her love’s shoulder blades or jostling her body too roughly. Keeping her weight braced on her right arm, she lowered her head until her lips brushed along the curve of Arizira's neck.

     The hand she had around the smaller woman's waist splayed across her stomach and she could not help but enjoy the feeling of unrestricted skin on skin contact. She laid small, lazy kisses of comfort along Arizira's neck and shoulders as her tears fell down her cheeks and met the smaller woman‘s skin.

     Everything would be okay. They had to be. She could not be responsible for something so tragic. What if Arizira was never able to use her bow? What if she never got the pleasure of climbing trees or running through the forest again? Could Talliea live with herself knowing she had caused the one person she loved more than anything so much pain?

     She had promised herself that she would never let anything happen to Arizira. She had made a vow to protect her even at the cost of herself. Feeling Arizira tremble and shake against her as the pain washed over her body, Talliea buried her nose into silver-blonde hair and made another promise: she would do whatever it took to heal Arizira. No demand was too high.

     As she held the smaller woman close to her, Talliea could feel the heat from the dark and swollen wound pressed against her chest. Again, the direct skin on skin contact brought her a small amount of joy. Her thoughts were consumed with but one overwhelming and all consuming desire: To heal her love.

     "I will make you whole," she whispered against Arizira's neck, her lips pressing lightly to the soft skin found there and offering their own promises. "I will not allow you to suffer,
Tahlet Vahllah
. I will make you whole. I promise."

     Arizira placed a hand atop of the one resting on her stomach. Squeezing Talliea's fingers in a show of reassurance, she felt the panic from before slowly begin to ebb and wane. In far too much pain to wonder at the nature of the calm washing over her, Arizira relaxed against Talliea as much as her injury would allow.

     She could feel Talliea's heart beating against her shoulder blades as the strange serenity continued to take her over, and allowed the soothing rhythm to lull her into an easy sleep. The last thing she heard was Talliea's promise whispered again and again.

     "I will make you whole. I will make you whole..."

                                                                      *  *  *  *  *  *

     "Injured?"

     The wolf gave no reply, instead choosing to sit next to the fire burning brightly before it.

     "This was not spoken of," Cynra insisted, seating herself next to her four-legged fellow. The wolf looked at her, its piercing blue eyes communicating what mere words could not.

     "I see," Cynra said, a tight-lipped smile gracing her mouth. "You always were a sly one. You know what will happen as well as I. You know her powers will manifest."

     The wolf flattened its ears in a coyish manner before lowering itself to the ground and laying its head on its paws. Cynra chuckled and patted the space between the wolf's ears. "This is the first step upon the path?"

     Again, the wolf did not respond, but Cynra continued after a moment of silence. "Then all may not yet be lost. The prophecy could manifest differently."

     Looking deep into the wolf's blue eyes, the Dream Speaker wrapped her cloak tighter about herself and looked out at the coming dawn. The sky was a wondrous shade of blue and pink with only a few stars still dotting its canvas.

     "She shall arrive soon," Cynra said, changing the subject. Her words were both a statement and a question. The wolf licked its jowls and inhaled deeply.

     "You could offer your aid,
Blessed One
. The woman is old." The wolf only closed its eyes and settled itself into a more comfortable position, seemingly unaffected by Cynra's verbal jabs.

     "Of course. You have matters thought out, just as you always have and used to," Cynra said, more to herself than to her companion. She looked outside the den again and let her thoughts completely occupy her mind. The game was in motion, but still it was moving much too slowly for her liking. She knew it was only a matter of days before Talliea and Arizira consummated their relationship. When that action came to pass, everything would move forward far more quickly than she could imagine.

     She knew this. Still, the constant waiting and watching and listening was something she was not enjoying in her older years. Continuously standing before the edge of an abyss was draining. Not being able to intervene and change the course she knew awaited both women was gut wrenching. Arizira was her daughter's daughter. Her child. She had always seen the world in a more beautiful way than any of her sisters. Knowing that Arizira was sharing that view, that beauty, with Talliea gave Cynra's heart a happy flutter.

     They both deserved to be happy. Tragedy should not be the price to pay for such a beautiful love between two people. Yet, her hands were tied. What could she do? How did she know that speaking to Arizira of future events would not, inadvertently, trigger said events? Prophecies were always presented upon a slippery slope. One action, however small, could effect them in the most profound of ways, just as good intentions sometimes held the most ill outcomes.

     Could she risk bringing about Arizira's death by doing nothing, though? Could she allow Talliea's pain and anguish over that death to consume her and herald the events she knew would come?

     Despite the situation's apparent gloom and despondent nature, Cynra still held to the belief that an alternative would present itself. She was a firm believer in the idea that every action and outcome had a reason and a place in the Grand Design. Nothing happened by accident or chance.

     Holding to that belief, she tried to convince herself that she was doing the right thing by keeping her silence. She knew she could not defy matters of fate and destiny. "Be safe, child. Rejoice in your love. Rejoice in her," she said to herself in a low breath. "Be happy while you can and embrace the bond you feel with your love."

                                                       
Chapter 26: Anarchy

     "You are certain of this? There must not be any doubt held within your words."

     "I am without the need to question what I saw. Arizira is not upon a Spirit Quest, unless by 'spirit', she is referring to passion of the body."

     Ma'nolira listened to the words being spoken by her daughter with a dreadful sense of despair. Since the Esu had first appeared in the valley south of their territory, the entire tribe had been in a divided state of unrest. Many, like herself, believed that preemptive action was the only solution. The tales sung around campfires throughout the ages had all depicted the Esu in a similar way. None of those tales had given the people any endearing qualities. Attacking before the Esu became aware of the Arniran presence would most assuredly seal the victory of the Arniran tribe.

     Others, like Talyn, were of the firm belief that stories spun about to be myth, rather than fact, could not be believed as an absolute truth. Communication, according to Talyn, was the only way to learn of the Esu clan's intentions among the northern forests. Striking first, she said, would only incite old feelings of hatred and make them no better than the people they were wishing to attack.

     Ma'nolira looked around the single room of her abode and sighed.  When Bela'luin had first come to her with news pertaining to Arizira, she had been cautious to believe her daughter. Bela'luin had told her of Arizira's movements and actions the past two months and informed her of the Esu people venturing into the forest and sacred sites such as
Li'nas Dei.

      She had told Bela'luin to continue tracking Arizira and report her findings to her and her alone. Now the young huntress was standing before her telling her that one of their own was lying with one of the enemy, an Esu woman.

     The thought caused a sour taste to settle upon Ma'nolira's tongue. Arizira was enjoying the body of a dark skin? Was she imparting the secret of the Arniran people to her Esu woman? Was she being coerced into telling her about them or was she willingly spending so much time away from her own people just to enjoy the Esu woman's body?

     It did not matter. What Arizira was doing was treason. Whatever her reasons, she was choosing to remain with one of the enemy rather than be amongst her own people. Instead of helping the tribe in deciding upon a course of action, Arizira had lied to the
Nai'iris
and set out to fulfill her physical desires.

     "You have spoken of this only to myself, yes?" Bela'luin, arms clasped behind her back, quirked an eyebrow and nodded. "Of course, Elder. To speak of it to another would mark me as no different than Arizira."

     Ma'nolira studied the green eyes of her daughter for a moment before,  "Talyn will need to be told. This may just be the leaf that topples the great tree. Her soft spot for the Child of Whispers is well known."

     Bela'luin inhaled sharply at the words. "It is that weakness that will blind her to these words. She will not soon wish to learn that her favored huntress has betrayed her."

     "Then what other path would you suggest, 'Luin?" Ma'nolira asked using the shortened version she favored of her child's name. Walking closer to Ma'nolira and unclasping her hands from behind her back, Bela'luin smirked and replied, "Leave that to me. I shall deliver the sickness this news carries."

     Ma'nolira looked into steely green eyes again and thought she detected a darker intent lurking somewhere therein. Nodding slowly, she finally offered her sanction of their course.

     "So be it."

             
                                                        *  *  *  *  *  *

     Talyn sat in the center of the large
Raekir
tree with her eyes closed. Her thoughts were jumbled and without any direct end in sight. She kept repeating Cynra's words to her from weeks before.

     "An Esu woman. Arizira's Doira'Liim is a follower of Esuval and a day walker."

     She could barely get the words to form properly in her mind. How much did Cynra know? What other information had she been withholding? Should she engage the Esu people in open war, or would that action somehow bring harm to Arizira and this woman she loved so? Would allowing the Esu to continue to use their land without hindrance be a better option? If so, how could she justify those actions, or lack of action, to her people? To herself?

     Arizira had always held a special place for Talyn. Maybe it had to do with the fact that Talyn had never been blessed with any children of her own, or perhaps it dealt more with the whispers that had always been spoken about her.