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Child of Two Bloods

Everyone should follow the rules. As the creatures of majesty and loyalty, the encantors should follow what’s written in the stone. But then, the time comes that someone shattered it into pieces… One of them, along with a human, breed a child... A child now belongs to two different bloods, a child of two different creatures… Meria Arcson hated to take responsibilities to problems that she didn’t even commit. Until, one time, she discovered that she was different from the others. She was human, still, but at the same time, was not. And of course, people will take advantage of this strange occurrence for their own benefit. How can she avoid the threats that kept chasing her? Will she able to unravel the mystery surrounding her identity?

TheALONEMan · Fantaisie
Pas assez d’évaluations
118 Chs

Chapter 21: The Tree People

Large cylindrical houses like caramel puddings can be seen, the walls made of straw with strong timber frames to support the build. Wooden staircases were wrapped around outside the building, reaching the roof, which had a wide platform can be seen in each of them.

Each house has its own height and radius, all are surrounding the enormous tree in the middle of the town. Its leaves were white, seems like it was made of silver, yet its trunk was made of pure wood.

Several ponds are scattered the town filled with water lilies and insects, locked in a pile of different rocks to keep the water from leaking. Some ponds have a bamboo pump to provide clean water to the residents. Smaller and thin trees had been standing still on every side of the street.

Tall tendrins had been walking all around, busy and lively.

On some parts were wide fields filled with golden wheat and corn, unlike ours in Coira. Then, they were being blown away by a weak but gentle wind, leading it towards the empty baskets prepared on the ground. Beside it was a tendrin who was watching– or requesting, the wind to do its job. The trees in the orchards stretched their branches bear with fruits, far enough for the children and the workers to collect it.

I've seen images about this place in the books years ago, but it's more beautiful when I see it with my own eyes and the place had improved compared to the previous years. I can't believe that there's a town like this in the middle of the deep dark woods filled with predators and monsters. Somehow, I'm glad that I decided to go here with my friends and leave Coira. It's unfortunate that Farin wasn't here.

"Oh, Dalary!" A loud female voice interrupted. I turned around to see a middle-aged tendrin in her early 30's, walking towards us at a fast pace. When I take a closer look at her, she looked like Dalary, but older and livelier. The small tree on the top of her head was bigger than any of the other tendrins.

The sapling actually represents their life and growth towards the years of living. It grows larger and healthier every time a tendrin aged.

As soon as she made it towards my friend, she raised her arms and reached for a tight hug. All I can see from her face was struggling for air. The lady didn't care and just continued her embrace.

"You came back!" She exclaimed as she let go, and started scanning my friend's whole body. "I miss you so so so much!!"

"Ah, hey, Mother…" Dalary tried to look away from her. It seems like she doesn't want to be treated like that. I wasn't surprised when she called her 'Mother' since they almost have the same features, but I didn't expect that she was a bundle of joy than my friend. I assumed that they will both be sarcastic and stubborn.

"I thought you're not gonna come back with us!" Her mother shouted with pleading eyes, about to release warm waters from those.

"Y-Yeah…" Dalary answered, still not looking. It seems like her mother is really happy to see her daughter home, while she is really embarrassed.

A daughter and a mother…

I was in deep thought, as I stared at them. I know that my real mother is dead, but I wonder if… until her death, she is taking care of me. She loved and worried about me, protected me from any threat. It's a shame that I couldn't be able to fell her embrace even just once, but if the time comes that I die, I wanted her to hug to be the first thing that will greet me from the afterlife.

"Oh my!" I came back to reality as I heard a yell. Then, Dalary's mother leaned closer to my face, while I stepped backward, trying to keep our distance. A hint of amazement can be seen in her eyes.

"Who's this beautiful young lady?" She asked, as she started scanning my body as well, overjoyed that I'm here. Then, she peeked at my back, staring at the two boys that had been stayed quiet until now. She rushed towards them and also started looking. "And these two handsome men you've got?"

"Ah, them… uhh…" Dalary approached us, trying to introduce us, even though it's obvious of her fake smile that she doesn't want to do it. "This is Meria. This is Cainne. And this is Kandini."

"U-Umm… it's Kandani." The scarnet muttered in a low voice.

"It's really a pleasure to meet all of you!" Her mother said with a wide sincere smile. I couldn't help but smile at her joyful character as well. Now, this is what I've read about the tendrins. They are friendly and filled with happiness, although not all of them are following the stereotypical culture. "Dalary never came home with friends before."

When I heard about what she said, I started to raise an eyebrow. Come to think of it, I only knew the things about her after we found her outside of our home. I never knew about her life in Zentra, and even before our meeting. I realized that I didn't have enough knowledge of my friend, even though she's with me since I was a kid.

"Hey, what we have here!" A voice of a male can be heard from afar, with his deep voice like that of an adult. We took a peek of the incoming tendrin. He looks like a giant because of his height that is looking down at the girls. His tree on top is the same as her mother's. His red hair bounced along with his steps.

It's not a surprise to me to see a male tendrin since some of them are staying and living with humans, but their height is always getting my attention.

"Is that… Dalary?" He narrowed his white glowing eyes, peeking at my friend's face, trying to identify if she was what he was talking about. When he finally realized who it is, he sparkled with joy and started walking in a rush towards us.

"My daughter! I'm really happy to see you here!" He hugged her with his warmth but compared to her mother, his embrace was less breathtaking and more relaxed. He let go and also scanned her body. "You're so tall right now!"

She answered with a wide smirk that will slit her mouth, but her eyes aren't showing the happiness that she felt. Or, is there happiness in her heart at all? As far as I know Dalary, she isn't really fond of something that will make her immature and weird, and I guess, this is one of those.

"Well, since you're all here, let's have a homecoming party!" She yelled.

"What?!" Dalary exclaimed, her hollow eyes enlarged and the glowing light became smaller than before. Her jaw dropped from her mouth, as her muscles near her eyes flinched.

"Pholly," She called for her other daughter. "Call Green and the others to prepare."

Pholly didn't answer it at first. Even though it couldn't be seen in her face, there's still a hint of rebellion in her eyes. But after a minute of resisting, she sighed and lowered her head in defeat.

"Okay…"

With that unexpected task at hand, she walked away from us at a slow pace.

"M-Mother, what are you doing?" Dalary whispered to her, worry and confusion can be seen in her face.

"Well, I am preparing a party for you, of course!" Her mother answered with pride, expecting that her daughter will like everything that she is doing. After realizing that she isn't pleased, she reached for her shoulders and looked her in the eye. "Everyone missed you, Dalary. Especially me and your father. Even Pholly!"

"Yeah… right… Pholly…" She said as she looked away once again as she mentioned her name sarcastically. I'm finally convinced right now that she isn't fond of her sister at all. "But it's not necessary… I mean, that's not the reason why we're here."

"Who's that?!"

A yell coming from afar interrupted the awkward conversation we started to have right now. Curious about who shouted it, I tried to take a peek in one of the houses and in the streets, guessing who have done it.

Then, from an old house, all damaged and rotten, an old man with the same height as Dalary's father but with a skinnier body, came out, turning his all around him. He doesn't have a single strand of hair in his head anymore, and instead, a small tree canopy was sticking out of it, filled with leaves, some are green and some are wilted.

When he saw our little group, he approached us with his grumpy walk. His pants are tattered and patched. After making it in our position, he started to scan all of our faces.

"Who brought a cursed being on this land?! Who's that?!" He yelled, pointing his index finger at us one by one.

As I heard what he said about an evil being, I couldn't help but let my sweat to drop from my forehead and my heart to beat faster than before. My mind was now filled with possibilities and anxiety that I might be the one who he was talking about.

"Elder, please, lower your voice… there are visitors here." Dalary's mother whispered to him as she tried to push him in his shoulder away from us, embarrassed about what the old man had been doing.

But the elder didn't care and started approaching Cainne, who was just standing on the back. He, too, was surprised that he was being called and pointed by the old man, even though he's an encantor. It looks like he doesn't care if the one in front of him was a creature of majesty.

"Is it you?! Are you the cursed being?!" He shouted at him, in which he raised his eyebrow.

I know. I know that I'm the one that he was searching for, and I'm scared that I was called as an evil being. I'm not just a cursed being, but an evil one. I started to feel that my existence in this world shouldn't have come true and that I should vanish.

But since this is Dalary's hometown, I'm sure that no one will despise or kill me when I can't watch my back. And this elder can detect my presence even without knowing about me at all. So maybe… he can help me in finding out about my true identity.

"Please… stop it, Elder…" Her mother tried to stop it once again, pulling him out of Cainne's personal space.

"It was me," I said, never stuttered. All of them turned their head around to see me at the same time, with different reactions to what I said. Dalary just gives me that 'what are you saying' look while the other two boys didn't have any reaction. The tendrins widened their eyes.

"What?!" The old man asked with an angry look.

I didn't let him scare me, and pulled all of my courage to say it clearly without my fears.

"I am the cursed being you were talking about."