Capítulo 12: Adjusting to the Present
When I woke up, I was wrapped in a blanket and I was alone. I rolled onto my back as I rubbed my eyes. The stars were out. Millions of beautiful, bright stars. I could barely make out the sides of the cart, but I could see the stars. I could hear the crackling of a fire to my left, and my parents whispering.
I was self-aware enough to know that I was in shock. Perhaps it should have been expected to see bandits and outright killing on the highways of this world, but this was my first time and no, I hadn't expected it. My parents were killers.
No, they were fighters. They were amazing fighters. They were graceful even as they were vicious. They were cool-headed with each bloody stroke.
I pressed my palms against my eyes, blocking the stars, and took a deep breath.
All right, Molly. This is normal. This is your new normal, just like when Raewyn was five and she changed a snowstorm into a hot, sunny day for her birthday. This is all normal. Kill or be killed. Highway robbery. Mom making heads explode.
…I think I'm going to throw up.
My hands moved to my mouth as I swallowed hastily. I pushed that image far into the back of my mind.
Sleep makes everything better. I rolled over, scrunched my eyes closed, and willed myself back to sleep.
We were on the road for four more days. We didn't see any more bandits, and the trip passed quietly. I couldn't manage to get excited about seeing the new scenery, so I spent most of my time petting Lamlan or braiding Maxine's hair. I used to be an expert hair stylist for my two daughters, so a little practice and muscle training was enough to regain my skills. During mealtimes I ate, during the night I slept. I couldn't muster the energy to speak, however.
Every once and a while I noticed my parents exchanging worried glances, but I ignored them. The two expert fighters there could deal with a bit of a cold shoulder. They managed to so neatly kill a group of bandits without a care for life, so why should they care about their daughter's feelings? That's just hypocritical, right?
The worst part? They didn't protect me. While they went and had their fun, I was captured. I had to protect myself with my new ability. I would have been dead if not for that! Sometimes I tasted the blood in my mouth, and remembered the man's tortured expression. They acted as if it was normal for a child to be caught up in a fight. Then I found out that was exactly it.
One morning I woke up to my parents in a heated discussion right next to the cart. Curious, I pretended to still be sleeping as I eavesdropped.
"—it must have been too soon."
"We've gone over this, Al'na. It's perfectly normal for children to fight. It's probably something else."
"What else can it be? She's not sick. She wasn't injured. She's just quiet! What does that even mean? She's never been this quiet!"
"Al'na, my love, calm yourself. It has just been the three of us for her whole life and she was surprised by the sudden experience of meeting humans. Violence is perfectly normal. Demon children follow their parents into battle all the time and are none the worse. What about elvish children?"
"…I helped hunt for food when I was five. But she's neither a demon nor an elf!"
"She's our daughter. She's only three, and she bonded an asper hatchling! This little fight was nothing. Wait until we get to the town. She'll be too distracted to remember it."
"But what if something is wrong with her? Maybe we should have had her kill one of them, so she would know that she can protect herself. Tunifer, buy her a dagger."
"That's a good idea. Once she draws her first blood, she'll feel better."
No, no, no, no. What are my parents thinking?! They're going to have a 3-year-old child kill someone so that she can feel better? Are they out of their minds?!
Or, no, maybe I'm just out of my world. They are in agreement with each other, so it could be the values of this world. I just have to think of it like the Addams Family. Different, gruesome values, but ultimately loving and normal in their own right. This is my new normal.
When Mom came to wake me, I greeted her with a cheery "Good morning!" and a hug. I was worried that if I let my parents simmer any longer, they might go actively search for bandits for me to kill. I could live without that, thank you very much. Though a dagger sounded nice. I never say no to presents.
We arrived in the town at noon. The farmers in the fields saw us first, and after ascertaining our purpose, they sent a guide with us as well as a messenger ahead of us. The mayor was a middle-aged human with plenty of muscles and a dark tan. He greeted Dad familiarly, then handed him the keys to our new house. Apparently, we were buying directly from him. Dad lead the horses through the center of town to a house that was far bigger than our old one, and even had a small stable and yard for the horses.
The best part was that I had my own room. I plopped my small bag on my bed and ran over to the window. A few feet away Tibi and Ulna were munching on oats in the yard. Beyond the yard was the wall of another house. They didn't have any windows in the wall facing us, so we would have a bit of privacy from that side at least. The yard was smaller than our old one, but the town was so much bigger than anything I had ever been able to explore. And on our way to the house, I had seen children who looked to be only a little older than me.
"Molly, let us go meet our neighbors," Mom called from the main room.
"Can I bring Lamlan?" I asked as I closed my bedroom door. Lamlan was currently curled up near the stove in the kitchen.
"I don't think that would be a good idea. It would not be polite to scare them before we have even introduced ourselves." Mom smiled and ruffled my hair.
"Okay." I beelined to Lamlan and patted him on his head. "Be good while we're gone." He hissed.
Mom and I walked hand-in-hand down the road towards the center of the town where we had seen some women and children gathered. As their eyes turned towards us, I began to feel nervous. This would be my first time meeting children my age. But not actually my age, because I was reincarnated. Would they know that I was unusual? Should I intentionally act young and stupid so that I don't stand out? I had forgotten how real 3-year-olds behave. The best strategy would be to act shy and quiet. Maybe I could even pretend that I don't know how to speak. I'll be mute until I'm ten. But then I wouldn't know how to be a 10-year-old. My eyes were spinning with the possibilities.
"Good afternoon. My name is Aldweina and this is my daughter Molly." I'd like to say that I made a polite nod, or bowed, or curtsied, but no. I hid my face in my mom's skirt.
The women laughed lightly. "Welcome, Aldweina." A human woman with light brown hair stepped forward to grasp Mom's hand. "My name is Estra. This is my son Theo." She pushed forward a boy with similar hair. "Theo, go introduce Molly to the other children."
"K, Mum. Molly, come." He was holding out his hand imperiously. That wasn't cute at all. I looked up at Mom.
She copied Estra and pushed me forward. Traitor. "Go have fun, sweetie, while I talk to the other adults." She smiled at Theo. "Molly is very shy, so I hope you will be kind to her."
He nodded. "Will do. Come on." This time he just grabbed my hand and pulled. The suddenness had me stumbling after him, and I marked off another point of not-cuteness.
Apparently, they had been playing a ball game before we arrived. Theo wasted no time in rattling off the names of the five other children and the rules of the game, before giving me the ball and ordering me to play. I wanted to throw the ball at his face, but I was actually intrigued by the game. It wasn't just any ball; it was a magic tool that would light up with harmless sparks after reciting the correct spell.
"Say 'Light'," he said. "Then throw at anyone. After you can do Light, I'll teach you something else. You gotta think about it as you say it. Do it." His explanation was superb. Really. He deserved the Global Teacher Prize.
I looked at the leather ball in my hands. Right now, it was dark brown with white thread. Imagining it glowing like a lamp, I said "Light" and threw it.
Two things happened. Nothing changed with the ball, and it plopped down not even half way before reaching a girl with dark purple hair tied in two braids. I flushed in embarrassment.
"Sowwy." I said and rushed over to pick it up. She patted my head comfortingly.
"It's okay." She said and smiled. Her baby teeth were perfectly aligned and stunningly white.
We continued to play for another half an hour. My biggest accomplishment was that as long as I stepped forward and threw underhand, I could get the ball to my target. Barely. I was far too weak and unskilled compared to the other kids. The ball never lit up when I spoke, but it sparked in many different colors for everyone else. The older kids were even able to make the sparks come out in different shapes, like flowers and leaves.
The girl with dark purple hair was the best at the game, and Theo was average while still being the most overbearing. He insisted on giving me instructions each time before I threw the ball. I eventually learned to ignore him, which he found irritating. The more irritated he became, the more my delight increased, so it was a satisfying game in some ways. Perhaps we were born to be enemies.
As I walked home with Mom, I enjoyed the feeling of holding hands. We hadn't done much of holding hands while walking around our old house, because we didn't walk far distances.
Mom smiled down at me swinging our arms. "Did you have fun?" She asked.
"Yes!" I glanced over my shoulder before looking back at her. "But I don't like Theo," I whispered. "He's rude."
She laughed. "Maybe you will like him in time."
"No." I said immediately. "Don't think so."
She continued laughing. Mom also got a mark off.
During dinner, Dad talked about what he had been doing while we were meeting the neighborhood mothers. He had met most of the town men when he had flown here to look for our house, so he had been doing some basic meet-and-greet while looking around the town. More than getting to know people, he seemed more interested in the fortifications and how often the town interacted with other human towns.
"Are humans dangerous?"
My parents froze at my interruption.
"Why do you ask that, guppy?" Mom asked.
"Because…" I pushed the food around on my plate. "You don't want to see them, right?"
"More than half of the people living here are humans," Dad pointed out.
"But…" Mom had just confirmed that outside humans only visited once a month for general trading, and that none of the humans living in the town ever wanted to leave. I didn't know why that was important, but it was weird. "The humans here are different from other humans?"
They exchanged glances again. It was nostalgic. My wife and I used to do that all the time when we were debating whether to tell our children something. After the initial steady stare, one person's eyebrows would twitch slightly, the other's pupils would dart to the side, and then we would spin a tale that would misdirect our children for another five years or so. Yeah, right. Children are unfortunately perceptive. So, Mom and Dad, do your best!
"We haven't talked much about history yet." Dad had taken up the challenge. "There are many different people in the world."
"Okay."
"I am a demon, and Mom is an elf."
"Okay."
"There are also humans."
Mom was tapping the table with increasing rapidity.
"Sometimes demons and humans don't get along."
"Okay…" I think he's trying to bore me to death.
"When they don't get along, they will fight – like Mom and I did with the bandits!"
Oh jeez. I forgot. I'm 3-years-old, aren't I? Is this my punishment for living? Could I survive another ten years of this? Or worse – do elf and demon children mature slower? What if my lifespan is actually hundreds of years, and I won't be considered an adult until I'm eighty? Tears started pouring down my mental landscape. I can't do this. Maybe Maxine would forgive me if I jumped off a cliff. No… she would be just like Genie and stop me from dying. This is surely hell. Hell is having an adult brain and being treated like a baby.
Mom slammed the table.
"This is a border town between the demon country and human country. The people here are those who cannot live in either country, and do not want to be found by either government. Your dad screwed up while working for the demon army, which is why we are in hiding. But since your dad used to work for the demon army, it is dangerous for the human government to find us. Elves traditionally sided with demons instead of humans, so I cannot be found either."
She smiled sweetly at Dad.
"And that is how you explain history."
Dad – fail. Mom – 10 points.
Dad didn't seem too happy with losing, because it took him a moment to recover.
"You are right, Al'na." He sighed. "That is how you explain history. Do you have any other questions, Molly?"
I shook my head. "No, Daddy." A memory of earlier that day flickered. "Actually, Daddy…"
"Yes?" Was his smile strained? Was he that sore about losing?
"Can you teach me how to use a sword? And magic. Everyone else can do magic, so teach me too. And I want to read history books. And learn the other languages, not just the common one. Oh! And hand-to-hand combat. And I want to know how to shoot a bow and arrow. And—"
"Hold on!" As I had ticked off each request on my fingers, my dad had looked more and more worried until he could bear it no longer. "I already told you that I would not teach you magic until you were older."
"All the kids my age know magic! It's not fair!"
Dad turned to Mom. "What is she talking about?"
"The children were playing with a magic tool," she said. "Molly was unable to play properly with them."
"I see." He leaned towards me again. "But why do you want to learn how to wield a sword and fight bare-handed?"
"Because I'm weak!" I squeezed out a few tears for good measure. "I want to be strong, like you and Mom! I can't even throw a ball!"
"Wait, wait, don't cry! Al'na…" Dad patted me on my back as he sent an imploring gaze towards Mom. She listened to my choked sobs for a minute and then shrugged.
"I suppose it is time to rejoin the world." She stroked my head. "Give your poor father a break, my guppy. We will teach you."
I could hear Maxine grumbling about ignorant people increasing hard-working people's workload, and I grinned merrily.
Status de energia semanal
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